Chapter 24
It was the day of the ceremony. Leanna had woken up earlier than her usual hours, feeling tensed and unsettled she looked at her shaking hands. She was afraid, that much she would not deny. There was no telling what would happen, even Lady Galadriel didn't know what would happen during the ceremony as she would not be a part of it. Such words proved to aggravate her worries even further.
She breathed deeply and tried to remain calm. Deciding to distract herself, she drew herself a bath not bothering to wait for Gwuineth and her minions to torment her into one. Dawn had yet to break and with very little lighting, Leanna prepared herself for the day. She had just finished braided her hair when a knock sounded on door.
She looked at the door in curiosity and alarm. It was not yet daylight, Gwuineth would not be coming any time soon. She walked to the door and opened it slightly and met the sight of Thranduil waiting at the other side. She opened the door fully and bowed in greeting.
"Good morning my lord" Leanna greeted coldly. If he was here then that did not bode well for her.
"Take only what you need, we leave now" Thranduil said, indifferent to her greeting. His gaze quickly swept over her appearance, half expecting her to be unprepared at this time of the morning. Wisps of hair had escaped her braid and framed her pale face with her eyes growing slightly wide in surprise.
"I would like to be done with this quickly, preferably before the end of the third age" Thranduil said when he saw she had not moved an inch from her spot. Leanna blinked from her trance and closed the door.
She moved around and took the bag she had traveled with from Dale and took a few of her things, including the dagger Feran had loaned her. She had not found the appropriate time to return the weapon since she had not seen or heard from him in the last few weeks. She shoved the dagger in the satchel, deciding it was a safety precaution on her part.
When she was finished with her packing, she opened the door and saw Thranduil still standing where she left him, he raised an eyebrow in scrutiny of her composition and looked to be assessing her once more, for whatever reason. He left without a word and Leanna followed from behind.
The paths they took led out of the palace, with the sentinel guards giving way once they recognized their king approaching. Thranduil ignored all around him, moving with determination and a certain level of discontent added to the mix. The Elven King most definitely had better things to spend the early hours of his morning on and this was certainly not counted amongst them.
They stopped at the edge of the forest and Thranduil turned Leanna who had stopped a few feet away from him. It made him curious, she had not said a word since they left the palace and had not even bothered to ask where they were going.
Thranduil ignored the questions in his mind, he would get his answers later but for now, they would deal with the current situation at hand.
"Stay close and do not lose sight of me" He said turning around to move ahead. Leanna felt irritation rise up, he doesn't say where they are going and to make matters even more infuriating, he behaves as though she is no matter of significance. She chose to focus on keeping sight of him, hoping they would reach their destination quickly.
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!
They had entered deep into the forest and Leanna clutched her bag in apprehension. She had never ventured this deep before with the trees further clustered together and the light dimmer than the other parts she was accustomed to visiting. Something told her they were close, they had journeyed for about an hour or more, if she estimated correctly, but she could feel it. The air had changed, it became heavier and as they moved Leanna had to endure the weight and breathe forcefully.
Thranduil stopped at a large tree in the center where a stream of sunlight had managed to break through. It was a huge tree with great roots digging deep into the earth. He turned to her finally and regarded with the usual indifference he often gave her but this time, there was a glint in his eyes. Leanna decided not to think anything of it.
"Where are we?" She turned, looking around the area and up into the trees which were almost knitted together.
"We are at the heart of the forest…and here the ceremony must take place if there is any hope for success" He responded, gesturing for her to come closer. Leanna moved, taking her water sac and squeezing it quickly down her parched throat. Thranduil watched her actions, his eyes trained on the water flowing down from the sac and into her mouth. A water droplet escaped, trailing down her fair throat and Thranduil watched it follow the curve of her neck as it sunk down to a place unseen.
"Wear this around your neck" He removed a piece of jewelry from within his robes and handed it to her. Leanna took it and inspected it curiously. It was a beautiful jewelry shaped as a rose, crafted with wood and metal. She looked up to Thranduil frowning in question.
"Why are you giving me this? What is it for?" Leanna asked and wondered if Thranduil would give her a decent enough explanation for this action.
"I see I must explain even the most obvious of things as well"
"…" She had a retort dangling from her tongue but remained calm. She would be so dishonorable to insult her host who was trying to help her, albeit how unenthusiastic he was about it.
"What you now carry is a heart, a symbol of one's essence, a portion of your fea. You must wear with you at all times and under no circumstance must you lose it"
"Right…" she said, nodding her head to indicate she was listening.
"You will have to move much closer if this is to work" Thranduil said, rolling his eyes at her weary gaze and actions. He was growing impatient with the woman, they would take all day or week by the time they got round to conducting the transferal ceremony.
Without warning, Thranduil grabbed Leanna's waist and drew her close to him, taking her hand into his and placing it on the tree bark. He noted the flush of red over her nose, bleeding softly into her cheeks as she struggled to remain calm.
"You have nothing to fear" He said, trying to reassure her, holding her slightly trembling hand gently to help remain calm. He placed her hand on the tree bark with his hand over hers.
"This tree holds the most flow of magic in the forest, it has been here since the beginning of Arda, planted by Yavanna herself" Thranduil said in soft tones.
"The Valar responsible for plant life?" Leanna said, to which Thranduil drawled out his response.
"Perhaps there is some credit to the head councilor's efforts after all" Leanna glared at the tall ellon before her. Anything meant to be a compliment came out as an insult. Truly, if she looked forward to anything in the Greenwood, it was leaving it and him behind.
Thranduil began to chant in Sindarin and Leanna could not stop her body from feeling tensed, part of her greatly wished Galadriel or Elrond even was present but the lady of Light had been explicit in her words. The forest only answered to the King it was bonded to, thus rejecting all outsiders, whether they were royalty or otherwise.
Thranduil drew her in closer, to which he felt her tense up. His eyes were closed and focused on opening a bridge between her fea and the magic of the forest but he found it difficult to do so when said lady herself was proving uncooperative.
"It seems I was not clear enough Lady Leanna but if we are to succeed in the slightest, I would have you ease yourself of tension"
"Is this level of contact truly necessary?" she bit out.
"I act as a controller over the amount of magic needed to flow into your body. Unless you have a better idea to prevent yourself from being fried to a crisp, I suggest you silence yourself and let me focus"
She could feel his breath on her nose and her eyes fluttered closed to keep herself from thinking about the situation she was in. She let herself drown in her thoughts until a feeling suddenly enveloped her. She gasped and her eyes opened, meeting Thranduil's gaze. She was stunned at the sight she was met with, as Thranduil himself seemed different no, he looked different, fiercer and more beautiful. His eyes had been tinted to a lighter icier shade and she shuddered as the feeling she felt got stronger, hotter.
Leanna tried to remove her hand from the bark but Thranduil pinned it still, still chanting as he did. Around them, ice crystals had begun to form on the ground jutting up in aggression. Thranduil guessed her magic was resisting, fighting for its territory and focused still on his chant. The heat of the forest's magic was intense and he filtered it as best as he could into her body.
The ceremony was working. The light of the heart around her neck was glowing lightly, collecting both magic from her and the forest along with a piece of her fea, merging into the trinket. Leanna felt her body grow weaker and breathed heavily as the magic flowing into her was getting hotter and hotter.
The ceremony was coming to close as Thranduil had assessed most of her magic removed from her body. However, something unexpected happened that he did not plan for. Flashes of images, with her in them filled his head and the last one being her…engulfed in fire.
He removed his hand and the connection immediately closed. He staggered back while looking at the woman before him in shock. She was in a daze, sweaty and breathless, Thranduil caught her quickly before her body hit the floor and he looked her over. She was alive, that part he could see well. But he had to determine if the ceremony was truly successful.
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Leanna was tired, the ceremony felt like it had drained her far more than she thought. And because of this, she was lagging farther behind than when they got here. She was breathing hard and in her struggle to keep up with Thranduil who was moving casually as though they had not touched the burning currents of raw magic.
Thranduil lifted an eyebrow in amusement. The girl was proving stubborn in her decision not to ask for assistance. Under normal circumstances, he would have ignored her situation but he could only imagine the exchange he would have with both Lady Galadriel and Elrond. He sighed and rolled his eyes before turning around to approach Leanna.
Leanna noticed a shadow over her bent form and looked up in alarm. Seeing Thranduil staring down at her sternly without a word made her stagger back, conscious of the proximity. She could not move away quickly enough as Thranduil caught her arm.
"W-What are you doing?" Leanna said, her blue eyes wide in surprise. Were it another time and in another place, Thranduil would not have minded enjoying the vibrant display of expressions on her usually blank face but they were still in the forest and the hour was growing late. While the forest had been purged of evil, there were still many dangers he was not interested in tempting at the moment.
Despite her efforts to free herself from his vice like grip, Thranduil held on steadfast and proceeded to sweep her feet off the ground, all the while blatantly ignoring her very verbal protests.
"What are you doing?! Put me down at once! My lord I can walk just fine!"
"Indeed and make certain that we do not see the palace grounds until winter" Thranduil responded as he walked long and fast strides.
"I did not ask for your help and I would not ask for it still! Now put me down this instant!"
"I was under the impression that females of your kind enjoy fantasies of this nature" Leanna glared at him, noting the look of wicked humor in his cold eyes.
"I assure you my lord, while that may be, I do not hold such sentiments. That and I do not wish to be a burden"
"If your concern lies on the challenge of carrying you all the way to the palace then it is misplaced, elves are not weak as the men of your city would be"
No matter what she said, Thranduil simply ignored her and moved in the direction of the palace. Which they were reaching soon and Leanna could tell, because she was very familiar with the terrain they were moving in.
"If you would let me down my lord, I think I can handle things from here" Leanna said stiffly. When she got no response from Thranduil, she looked up to see him sporting a slight smirk as he looked down at her.
"I do not care for your shame in being seen in such a manner, until you leave the Green Wood, you are my responsibility as you are always so quick to remind me"
" Lord Thranduil! Put me down now!" Leanna burst out, tired of his games.
"What a poor representation of Dale, for a mere emissary to command the King of the Woodland realm. I wonder if the Lord of Dale is aware of such poor manners" At his words, Leanna grew red with anger and embarrassment. She wished above all to strike him but knew she would be playing into his hands again, so she did the only thing she could manage to do in that situation.
Thranduil strongly relied on his graces as an elf, and were it not for them he would've stumbled at the feel of her face on his chest. He looked down to find her burying her face, red with so much embarrassment and smirked at the sight of the proud and brave maiden of Dale unable to face scrutiny over their situation. This he would definitely count as a victory.
He marched into the halls, ignoring the stares and murmurs of elves around them and walked off into the healing chambers. Once he was there, he let down Leanna who practically flew from him and kept a distance. He paid her actions no mind and ordered a servant to fetch Galadriel and Elrond from wherever they were lurking within the palace walls.
"I must attend to other matters, the Lady Galadriel will deal with your situation from here" Thranduil said. He said before moving to the door.
"My lord wait!..." the door closed with a thud as Leanna called out to him. "…thank you" she said to herself, sighing as she rested on the bed next to her.
Thranduil stood at the feet of the doors, hearing her lasts words. He looked to his hands which were trembling. He did not understand it but he felt the overwhelming urge to protect her after the visions he had witnessed during the ceremony.
She was affecting him far more than he anticipated, far more than he liked and if there was one thing he hated greatly, it was not being in control. He left to his chambers in terrible need of a distraction, while issuing an order that indicated he did not wish to be disturbed.
Leanna had been left alone in the healing halls for the time being, her mind replaying the happenings of the entire day. She flexed her fingers gently, curious to see if her magic was still there.
A gush of ice sprung from her fingers and she looked at her hands in fear. The ceremony...it failed...