Chapter 10
"What were you thinking Leya??" Bard exclaimed as he paced round his study room, while Leanna stood sober by the table, watching a disgruntled lord move from one end of the room to another. In one quick movement, Bard turned to the woman he had taken in months ago, the look on her face calming his mood down.
"Leanna you should've spoken to me first before doing something like this"
"I…admit, I was hasty in my judgment-" Bard cut her off with a snort as he sat back down behind his large desk.
"Hasty indeed, you literally fell into the palm of his hands" Bard groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Orcs have been sighted near the borders of Dale and we don't have enough men to defend a city as large as this, men who I may remind you don't have proper training, I had no choice but to make this deal" Leanna said convinced she had made the right decision.
"Don't you think I know that? But what you don't seem to understand is, Thranduil does not give anything for free, not when there's something to benefit"
"It was a sacrifice I had to make and we don't even know that he's after anything beyond proving me wrong…" Leanna looked at Bard who smiled wryly at her words, for someone who knew the workings inner court politics, Leanna was oblivious to the interests of men around her.
"And when he decides he wants more? What will you do then?" Bard asked, his question jabbed at her with a bite in it. She could understand his worries, but they needed a proper defense for their city, they had just barely survived a war.
There was no telling when another attack would happen and the amount of losses they'd be able to handle. They were vulnerable, they needed aid and they both knew it.
"I'll deal with it if the time comes" Leanna said with a steely gaze. This was only a small price to pay, they were a newly established city and they needed as much support as they could muster to survive and grow.
Bard was far more worried for her than she realized, and he had due cause to feel apprehensive about this little arrangement between his aide and King Thranduil. He sighed at the thought of the Elven King, Leanna didn't know the kind of person she was dealing with.
As far as he had known Thranduil from the short time spent with him during the war, Bard had seen enough to know this was not one person to toy with, even if it was for the good of the people of Dale. Leanna was often too smart for her own good and he prayed nothing more would come from this than a simple payment of debt.
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Thranduil returned to his halls and headed towards his bath chambers as he listened to Galion brief him on the happenings of the kingdom while he was away. Discarding his armor from his body the moment they entered his rooms, he inquired about the situation around his borders and the reports of Dol Guldur.
"The scouting party returned Aran'nin, the abandoned fortress is empty with the last of the yrch dealt with" Galion said, waving the servants in dismissal as they carried Thranduil's armor to be cleaned. When the room was empty, Thranduil's high councilor turned to him and spoke.
"And the Dale woman?" at this, Thranduil discarded the rest of his robes in silence as though Galion had not spoken.
" What of her?" Thranduil asked over his shoulder, his tone was aloof but had an edge to it.
"I take it your…business with her is concluded?" Galion cautiously asked and immediately felt the temperature of the room drop as he saw Thranduil remain still in place.
"No it is not, after my bath summon Feran to my study, I have a task for him" Thranduil said, he entered his bath chambers and there his discussion with Galion ended, Galion who recognized the dismissal bowed and left his King to his privacy, he would concede and let his curiosity be answered in due time or at least when Thranduil would feel obliged to give him an answer.
Thranduil descended into the hot water, the steam settling heavily in the air as he leaned against the edge of the pool of water. He closed his eyes and mind to the noise of his environment and sank into the depths of his thoughts.
Pale hair and glittering blue eyes flashed in his mind and Thranduil drew his eyes open. She had not left his mind since he left Dale, her powers and origin were a cause for concern as well, along with something else he would never admit. He gently cleansed himself with the oils and ointments on the shelves, although he would've had a servant do that for him, he needed time to himself.
When he was finished, he rinsed himself in the lukewarm water and rose from the pool of water. Using the private doorway connected to his bedroom, he called for a servant who dressed him up in his robes. Thranduil walked to his study and met one of his captains waiting for him. On seeing his king enter the room, Feran bowed his head low in greeting.
"Aran'nin I was told you asked for me…" Feran said raising his head to Thranduil who quietly sat down.
"Yes I have need of you, take six of your best warriors to Dale tomorrow. There you will be in service to the lord for a short period of three months" Thranduil drawled out, not caring for the confused look on his ellon's face.
"To Dale my Lord, I don't understand…" Feran frowned at the order for it was an unusual request, even for an elf as mysterious as Thranduil.
"I did not stutter Feran and unless your hearing is impaired from the dying squeals of yrch and spiders at our borders, I also believe you heard me quite clearly" Thranduil responded harshly to his captain, his head tilting to the side as though daring him to question him.
Feran bowed quickly and responded evenly, he would not dare show any form of disrespect to his king.
"Yes Sire, we shall set out immediately" said Feran, it was better he appeased Thranduil here and now than awaken his temper and suffer consequences. He heard his trip had been far too unpleasant for warriors in his escort detail.
"Good, you're dismissed" Thranduil said as he leaned back into his chair, grasping his fingers round the glass of wine. Of course, Thranduil would never tell the captain the reason he had sent them to Dale for, it was humiliating enough that he, Thrandruil, King of The Woodland Realm and the only one of the three elven realms left to boot, owed a mortal a debt.
A knock sounded on his study doors and he gave the command to enter as Fernas moved to leave. A green eyed elleth entered, her lush and golden curls bouncing as she walked with catlike grace to stand tall before Thranduil. Feran bowed in greeting which was not reciprocated as the elleth had eyes for only one ellon in that moment. Feran already annoyed with the abruptness of his task, quickly left the study room to assemble his warriors for the journey ahead.
"Lady Athiniel…I don't believe I summoned you" Thranduil said, his eyes roving over the alluring dark green dress she wore to complement her eyes. She clearly did not mind walking around the palace halls nor presenting herself in this manner.
"No my Lord, I merely wanted to ensure you were well" Athiniel giggled as Thranduil rose from his chair to move closer to her.
"As you can see, I am as well as I have been for ages" Thranduil said, placing his empty wine glass on his desk.
"Oh but I'm certain my Lord…that there are needs that only I can tend to" Athiniel whispered huskily as she grabbed his hardening member through his tights. Thranduil smirked and grabbed her neck, bringing his head down to capture her lips. Yes, he was truly glad to be back in his kingdom.
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Leanna breathed the cold air harshly, her targets shattered from the force of her pull. She had left the busy city hall where Bard tended to the daily problems and reports of the people, to the training grounds to let off some steam. She pulled her arrow back against the thick string of her bow and aimed at the small board a few yards away from her.
Boots crunched behind her and she turned sharply on the heels of her feet and aimed at the source. Bain stilled as he faced an arrow pointed directly to his head, his arms up in a gesture of peace.
Leanna sighed and put her bow down. She signaled Bain over with her hand and tsked as he walked over.
"That was careless Bain, I could've shot you" as she went over to her targets and picked up her arrows embedded in the wood.
"But you didn't and I was being careful actually, you were just startled" Bain said cheekily as he bent to help pick the arrows on the ground.
"It was still dangerous, next time at least call out to me before you try to creep up behind me" Leanna scolded, she knew the moment he had stepped into the field but decided to let him have his little win.
"Here for some training?" Leanna said nodding to the sheathed sword hanging from his hip and Bain nodded seeming bashful.
"Actually, I was hoping I could train with you…"
"With me?" Leanna was surprised at his indirect request. She didn't think Bain wanted anyone other than his father to train him which was why this turn of events was quite surprising.
"Da says you're really good with a sword and seeing you were a Qu- I mean, you're used to holding a sword…Da thinks I'd learn a lot from you so…" Leanna listened to the young boy blabbing his mouth off while tripping over his words.
She narrowed her eyes at him clearly hearing his slip, yes she had been queen and she was trained from a very young age to wield a sword along with magic. Leanna sighed and muttered under her breath, she would deal with Bard later.
"Alright fine, unsheathe your sword" She ordered while she unsheathed her sword and moved into a stance, Bain who held his sword mirrored her stance and waited for the next move.
"Alright, come at me" Leanna commanded and Bain flew into action.
Bain was thrown to the ground and he struggled to rise to his feet when a blade pointed to his chin. He stilled and looked to Leanna who stared down at him.
"If you come at me with no intention to kill, you won't last a minute in battle, again" Leanna said retracting her sword and resuming her stance. Bard rose up, dusting himself up and getting into his stance.
"You're not up against Leanna, you're dealing with an enemy, an orc" Leanna instructed as she held her stance, watching him reveal openings to attack.
"But what if I hurt you?" Bain said, feeling very concerned that he would harm her. At this, Leanna changed her stance and held her sword with one hand whilst the other was fisted behind her back.
"I assure you Bain, it'll take a long time before you're able to do that" Leanna smirked as she egged him on.
Bain moved and struck at her, Leanna blocked it casually sliding her sword up against his. Bain with as much force he could muster aimed for her midsection and Leanna parried it and twirled to his side. Bain held up his sword, swaying from side to side and Leanna could see his anxiety working him up.
Within a blink of an eye Leanna leapt to strike him to which Bain blocked, the blade barely digging into his shoulder. Bain took some steps back blocking with his sword up as Leanna continued to strike at him with ferocity. She came in high and low and Bain saw no opening to press on the offensive.
In one forceful strike Bain had his sword knock out of his hand, moving back he stumbled back to the floor in fear as Leanna advanced him, her sword drawn back in the position to strike him. Bain's eyes quickly darted around looking for his sword and found it far off from him. Leanna pointed the sword to him.
"You're going to have to try harder if you want to hurt me Bain, Again" Leanna moved away and let him pick up his sword. Bain got into stance and Leanna observed him.
"Raise your sword higher and widen your feet" Leanna walked over to him and kicked his legs wider apart. She raised his arms to the position she was satisfied with and moved back. "Loosen your grip on the sword, hold it too hard and your fingers will grow numb quickly. It would be easy to knock it out of your hand".
Bain nodded, relaxing his hold over the handle. Leanna bid him to attack her and kept instructing him in the midst of his attacks. He would get knocked down but his sword was still within his grip and his defense was easier to keep up a bit longer however, Leanna still knocked him to the ground.
Noon had passed and the day was coming to an end. Bard had come to a home filled with the sweet and warm aroma of food being set up at the table. Sigrid and Bertha placed the food on the table while Tilda set the tableware for each member of the table. He looked around for Leanna but saw no sign of her.
"Where's Leya?" Sigrid turned to Bard and smiled, a bit startled that they had not heard him come in.
"Da welcome home, Leya's not home yet" Sigrid said. She walked up to Bard and collected his coat to place on the hanger. Tilda rushed to hug her father, beaming as his hands patted down her hair.
"Bain's not here either, he hasn't come back since he left to the training field" Tilda said as she let go of her father. Bertha came round and bowed her head in greeting.
"Welcome h'ome Master Bard, did ya ave a pleasant day Sire?" Bertha said she served the food into the plates on the table.
"Thank you Bertha, The days are getting better as they go on shorter" Bard said washing his face and hands in a bowl Sigrid brought for him.
Just then the door opened and Bain stumbled in limping with Leanna close behind. At the sight of his son in such a beaten down state, Bard rose from his seat.
"Bain! What happened to you?" Sigrid cried out as she touched the side of his face smudged with dirt and a bit of blood. At the contact, Bain flinched away groaning his response out.
"I'm fine, it's nothing really, I'll go wash up" Bain limped up to find the bathroom, groaning with each movement he made. Bard turned to Leanna who was calm through the whole interrogation.
"What happened?" Bard looked at her, pointing to his son who they could still hear groaning.
"He's alright just a few scrapes here and there, training on the first day is never pleasant" Leanna dropped her bow and quiver by the door before washing her hands and smudged face.
"Training. Bain is training with you?" Bard frowned at the news, he hadn't had the time lately to teach his son how to use a sword properly as he should but he didn't think he'd go to Leya.
"You did tell him how skilled I was so this is in a way this is your fault, not that I mind anyhow, it was a good way to work off some steam" Leanna grinned and went up to get cleaned and maybe check on Bain while she was at it.
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The following days saw Leanna and Bain training together into the late hours of the day. Leanna had currently been instructing Bain on techniques to parry and disarm an opponent when Percy ran up to her, interrupting their session.
"My Lady Leanna!" Leanna turned to face Percy who was short of breath. Taking a minute to compose himself, he cleared his throat and told the news she had been hoping to hear for some days now.
With haste she ended the training session for the day and moved to the city gate where she met Bard standing with elves. Leanna composed herself, well aware she was not properly dressed to receive guests in her current state.
"And this is Lady Leanna, my aide who will oversee your stay here" Bard who had seen Leanna rushing over, introduced her without delay.
"Leanna at your service, you are most welcome to Dale" Leanna bowed in greeting to the elves that were of cold bearing. The elf that seemed to be the leader of their troupe spoke up.
"I am Feran, Captain of the guard and it is I along with my kin, who shall be in your service as ordered by our King" said Feran. Leanna nodded and then sighted a familiar face amongst the warriors who had come to Dale. It was the one who had been in the company of Thranduil a week ago. He sensed her eyes on him and held her gaze steadily, his face hard as a flawless stone like the rest of his kin.
Leanna led them to the rooms she had Bertha prepare quickly to freshen up and instructed another maid to inform the cooks to make due for a feast tonight.
As elated as she was to see that her request had been answered, the pressure of the wager had begun to set on her shoulders. This was going to be a very interesting period for the residents of Dale.