Chapter 20

Galion grumbled on his way to his study, he had just come from Thranduil's chambers and had a lengthy discussion on the current situation at hand.

It was more of a one sided argument really, Galion sighed. With Thranduil it was always a one side argument. If anything bothered the King of Mirkwood, he never revealed it in the open.

Speaking of his current situation, he was startled to find her waiting at the entrance of his office. He looked her over to make certain his immense frustrations with Thranduil were not causing him hallucinations. She shifted from the wall by the doors of the study and bowed subtly as she greeted.

"Good morning Lord Galion" She said quietly before resuming a straight posture.

"Is it really such a good morning Lady Leanna?" He scowled at her before opening the doors and beckoning her to enter.

Leanna followed behind and stood by the desk as Galion rummaged through his disheveled desk. His grumbling about a tyrannical king who demanded things according to impetuous desires, continued on as he seemed to be searching for something.

"Ah yes found it" He said before shoving a scroll towards Leanna who looked at him in question.

"Your duties…" Galion explained as she opened it and read through. "You will begin your lessons every morning, after which Elaran the store keeper will show you what to do. The rest, Gwuineth will guide you on".

Leanna looked down at the content of the scroll, written on it were tasks to assist the storekeeper in the affairs of the store. The second task which was in line with the first one, was to keep track of the details the kitchens needed to function smoothly ' Oh if Bertha could see me now' Leanna thought as she went through the scroll. The third task made her curious, she would make certain Tallahir received his daily tribute from the store keeper but most interesting was the final task, it made her eyebrow arch up as she looked over to the elf bent over a scroll.

"I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding Lord Galion"

"Oh? How so?" Galion looked up at her. He knew what she was talking about but he had no intention involving his person on the matter.

"There are maids already assigned for this duty"

"Not anymore, Gwuineth is already stretched thin with other duties. One of the maids just married and is on a break to spend time with her husband. As for the remaining one, she left the palace two nights ago to see her family in Imladris.

"And the maids assigned to me? He can have those to serve him as much as he likes and if he is not content with such then he can use his hands to do it himself" Galion dropped his quill to soak in the inkpot and leaned back. She had him beat, that was sure but then Thranduil did not leave him any say on the matter. If anything, Thranduil was determined to have his way on this.

"As much as I agree with you on that, it is what he wants and if I remember correctly, you are here to serve him yes?"

"……" Leanna glared at the last instruction on the scroll again, she could feel the ice already flowing from her fingers. In less than three months she would be back in Dale, back at home where she would never have to set sight on a single elf again. At this rate King Dain of Erebor seemed far more reasonable than dealing with ego bruised, ill tempered, snotty nosed elf.

"Ahem" the sound brought her back to reality and she blinked at the paper which had been partially frosted.

"If that is all, I would like to get on with lessons today preferably" Galion said as he moved to a book shelf and selected several books before returning. Leanna had the grace to blush at the embarrassing loss of control earlier. The earlier parts of their morning was spent with Leanna learning the history of elves and the basics of Sindarin, the traditional elven tongue spoken by most elves on middle elves.

Noon had hit and Leanna found herself moving from one intersecting hallway to another. Her lessons had been both intriguing and tedious which she partly expected. Now it was time for to meet with the storekeeper. Leanna with a little help from a guard on the way, found the store at the farthest end of the palace, amongst the lower levels.

She knocked on the old wooden door and stood by for a response. With no word from the other side, Leanna tried once more. The door unexpectedly yanked open and a brown haired elf popped out the door.

"Yes?"

"Good day I am Leanna, i was told you needed assistance in managing the storeroom"

"Come in" Leanna followed him in from behind into a set of large rooms connecting with one another, each filled with different food items all together.

" Do you speak Sindarin?" the elf turned to her as he opened a book. Leanna who caught on to his question, shook her head in denial. Elaran sighed, he asked for an assistant and they sent him a clueless child.

"How then do you intend to be of any use to me?" he dropped the book aside and folded his arms while looking at her. Leanna remained silent for no answer she gave would be good enough for him, not unless she was able to fluently speak and read sindarin in a day, which was something she doubted any one had the ability to do. She answered nonetheless.

"These are goods from all over middle earth?" Leanna looked around, taking note of different plants, crops and materials all present in the room they were in.

"Not all, most which are not so much as you can see" And she could see it, she guessed by the look of things, the food storage was not enough to feed the entire palace for few months.

"If you teach me how to work the ledgers then I can be of assistance" Leanna turned to Elaran who was still sizing her up.

"…Teaching it is hard enough but to a woman who does not even understand sindarin, will consume too much ti-"

"Try me" Leanna spoke out, her eyes hardened as she challenged the storekeeper. Elaran surprised by her sudden change in demeanor stood before her.

"It takes all day to mark each item by their numbers, seasons, use and demands by the people of this kingdom. A single mistake will mean serious consequences for everyone here"

"Try me…" Leanna raised her chin up and met the storekeeper's gaze. Elaran found his new charge interesting, he partly expected she'd refuse to work under such unfair circumstances but now that she had accepted such heavy responsibilities, he wondered how long she would last.

"Very well" Elaran gave her a large and fat book to hold and opened it.

"These are all the items present in the storeroom, beside their names are sketches of what they look so you can find them easily, take count of each item…." Elaran pointed from the top page and turned several more pages before stopping. "….down to the last, note the numbers at the end of the row for each item and return the book back to me when finished"

Leanna breathed out in disbelief, she had to finish this task and move on to the next one set for her as soon as possible. She fumbled all through the way with hasty hands and feet. As she moved about the room taking the count and conditions of each item and produce, she realized she truly had no knowledge of so many things in this world.

!

!

Gwuineth waited by the main gates, noon had very well passed and the day was quickly coming to an end. She heard the light tapping of feet and knew her charge was already close by. She waited as Leanna appeared on the pathway that led to the main gates and smiled kindly at her as she greeted her for the first time that day.

"Lady Leanna, good day to you, I trust you have been well?" Gwuineth looked her over and noted the sheen of sweat over her brow. It appeared Elaran had been working her hard on her first day.

"Good day to you Lady Gwuineth and I am well thank you" Leanna responded, bowing briefly and waiting for the elleth to relay her instructions.

"It is the great elk's feeding hour, normally he finds his food for himself but King Thranduil also takes responsibility for him as he is the only one he allows to ride his back" Gwuineth took the large basket full of some apples and dried hay from a servant nearby and handed it over to Leanna who took it and was about to turn around when Gwuineth stopped her.

"He does not stay in the stables. His home is in the forest"

"Oh, well I was told not to go into the forest" Gwuineth smiled, seeming uncaring of the restrictions placed of Leanna and extended her hand to her side.

"Which is why you will not go alone" An elven warrior stepped from behind and moved to stand by Gwuineth as she spoke.

"You…" Leanna whispered, stunned as she looked the elleth over.

"Tauriel will see to your safety as you move about the forest and lead you to the elk's waterhole."

The forest had beams of sunlight still trickling in from spaces in the foliage of trees. It was a sight you would see in a fairytale book where the ideas of elves which were tinier would be flutter from flower to flower. Leanna never knowing the beauty of fairytales could not see the beauty around her. No, her sights were set on the auburn elleth leading her quietly to her destination.

She had not heard a word of her since the day she woke up from the battle. She had tried to find her but discovered she had left Dale along with the rest of her kin. Now that she was here before her, Leanna didn't know what to say, what she should say. The walk was quiet as they quietly made their way to an enclave made by trees and vine wreathing around each other as they surrounded a small pond.

"We will wait here for now"

"And the elk, how do I find it?"

"You won't, he will come to you" Tauriel said watching the forest around her. Leanna dropped the basket on the floor and waited for Tauriel's words to come true.

She looked down at the contents of the basket and realized at that moment that she had missed both breakfast and lunch. It must've slipped her mind since she didn't feel any hunger pangs. A bellow sounded close by and the snapping of twigs and sticks on the earthy floor had Leanna turning towards a small opening on the side of the enclave. She breathed out in anxiety as the large beast approached slowly, sniffing the air around her.

"The basket" Tauriel said and Leanna took an apple, stretching it towards the elk. Tallahir recognized her as the human friend from the battle ground and stamped his hoof in approval before clamping on to the apple in her hand and crushing it with his teeth. He lowered his head toward the remaining contents of the baskets and proceeded to have his meal as Leanna brushed her palm over his body.

It was the first time Tauriel had seen the woman smile and guessed that it was something many were not privy to. When word of her arrival had reached her ears, she was curious to see her again. She shifted on one leg, watching with fascination as the two interacted with each other. Tallahir allowed no one to touch him except the King and yet he accepted someone else. She quickly dismissed a thought before it formed in her mind.

The sun had set and it was time to return back to the palace halls. Leanna looked back at the enclave as she and Tauriel trudged back, her eyes filling with warmth and nostalgia over the elk's insistence on keeping watch over her. Tallahir had followed from a distance to make sure his new and strange friend returned back safely until he turned back and went deeper into the forest.

"I believe you'll find your way from here on" Tauriel said as she turned to Leanna. They stood facing eachother at the entrance.

"Yes, I'll be alright, thank you" Leanna responded. She felt a stab of guilt, like a knife twisting in her chest and she found hard to speak further. Tauriel nodded and turned away, the action caused Leanna to act impulsely.

"Tauriel" She called out. Tauriel turned around to her.

"Yes?" At her response Leanna felt the words die on her tongue. Seeing her now, this was not the same elleth she met in Lake Town.

"No, I um its nothing, have a good evening" Leanna said looking down. Tauriel nodded and turned around, walking away.

Dinner was rushed, she had barely taken a bite out of her food before Gwuineth came knocking on her door. The elleth entered the room and looked at the woman in pity.

"The King has asked for you…" Gwuineth looked at the bowl still filled with food and said nothing. Leanna decided she would finish her food when she returned. She rose from her seat and followed the elleth out the door.

On getting to the door of Thranduil's chambers, Gwuineth removed two items from a small pouch and placed it in Leanna's hands.

"These are bath ointments for his hair" she said pointing to blue vials filled and then to the larger bottle. "This is an ointment for his shoulders, use it after he's done in the bath" Gwuineth said before ushering her in.

"Lady Leanna of Dale my lord" Gwuineth bowed quickly before leaving. Leanna looked at the door as it closed with a large thud before turning to the elf standing in the center of the room. Try as she did, she failed to hide the deep dislike she felt for Thranduil at that moment.

"Ah, Lady Leanna I wondered if you had chosen not to come" Thranduil smirked at her, facing her as he dropped his wine cup before receding into his bath chamber. She followed from behind glaring at him with full force, it was not like she had a say in this matter. After all, she was simply fulfilling a task he personally assigned.

She would personally attend to Thranduil whenever he asked for it.