Chapter 38
She had taken to locking herself in her chambers, refusing audience of any kind. The worst of it all was the fact that he could not feel her through their bond.
Thranduil felt sick to his stomach at the thought that he could no longer feel her.
True to his normal countenance, he remained calm as he listened to the reports for the day, waiting to get to the final report he had been waiting to hear all week.
"Her majesty has not left her chambers for most of time that she's been in there, she speaks to no one, only giving responses where absolutely necessary. She barely eats Sire...and" Gwuineth paused with a look of uncertainty as she debated whether or not it was a wise thing to say.
"And?" Thranduil asked, his eyebrows both lifted up, indicating his lack of patience.
Every word that came out of his former nursemaids mouth sliced in various ways he did not conceive imaginable, but this was his mate and wife she was talking about.
"I do not think-"
"I did not ask what you thought Lady Gwuineth, I asked for a report on every single detail concerning my wife or must I find another who will give me what I simply ask for?" Thranduil snarled at the surprised elleth. Gwuineth overlooked his rash and unsettled countenance due to the pain he was most likely experiencing from the strain on his bond.
"She asked if there was a way to undo the bond" The silence that followed, spoke volumes in response to that statement.
The pain was visible on his face even though he tried to hide it and while Gwuineth felt sympathy for him, a part of her knew this to be the outcome based on his stubbornness.
"I would suggest that you speak to her your majesty..." Galion who had been present throughout, spoke his thoughts.
Thranduil stared into the nothingness and felt despair at the words spoken out to his hearing.
"She does not even wish to see me, she will hear nothing of what I have to say. Her mind is so clearly set" Thranduil murmured as though seeing no way forward on the matter.
"You may try still, until she caves in. Otherwise I need not explain how this will pan out for the both of you"
"One may wonder why the Valar sought to punish me so!" Thranduil slammed his fists on the table. The table shook as did Gwuineth and Galion who were startled by the movement.
"This...may not be as ill-fated as you imagine, all you need to do is resolve whatever misunderstandings present between you two" Galion chose his words carefully, a fact which deeply irritated Gwuineth, if his senior advisor thought not to speak earnestly then she would in his stead.
"You must explain yourself to her Sire, you have not only broken her trust, you made her the butt of a joke to the entire kingdom by keeping her in the dark...your actions have done more harm than good to her and her reputation"
"..." Galion stared in pale horror as he watched Gwuineth scold their king like a green eared elfling. It was such a bold act that Galion seemed almost afraid to know Thranduil's reaction to it, so he looked down and waited.
"I would've told her, had she been patient enough to listen!" Thranduil seethed out, every word Gwuineth spoke to him was a knife twisting in his chest.
"Well it matters not anymore, whatever plans you had concerning her majesty have been defeated. The only way out of this situation is to earn her trust back" Gwuineth countered firmly.
Galion sighed quietly, he knew of no other who could be this daring towards Thranduil, bearing in mind his very low threshold to dishonour or disrespect of any kind. However he supposed Gwuineth being who she had always been, was the first exception.
"If that would be all Sire, I shall take my leave of you and pursue my tasks in hopes that you will need my words" Gwuineth said curtly and left the room in abrupt silence. She was upset understandable so, however her choice of words left Thranduil in a fouler mood than Galion was willing to deal with.
"And you? Do you have words of your own to speak?" Thranduil sat back in his chair, watching his most trusted advisor with a piercing gaze.
"I may have a means to resolve this matter, though you may not want to hear it" Galion spoke calmly, watching Thranduil's demeanor as he contemplated what he garnered would an unpleasant solution to an already displeased king.
"And what could be more unpleasant than the current situation Galion?" Thranduil looked at him, annoyance and a great deal of stress written on his face.
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She felt all of it, in the silence of her empty room she felt the never ending screech of pain bleeding from her chest, her heart.
She had kept to herself these past weeks, not wishing to speak to anyone despite many futile attempts by the people around her.
Leanna looked outside her window, the only view to the world beyond these walls, walls that she had not left since her last confrontation.
She could trust no one at this point and while she had tried to find more information on her own regarding marriage in elven culture, she so dearly wished to be among people she felt a sense of kinship with, she wished to be home, with her family.
Her eyes watered at the thought of Bard and the children, who were no doubt older than when she left them and her body trembled in renewed sorry.
Bard was wrong, she did not feel protected here, he would sooner throw her to the wolves even though it looked to be the best choice at the time.
She heard a knock at the door and ignored it, she did not wish to speak to anyone still and waited as the door opened regardless of her silence.
"Some food to take you through to dinner your majesty, the maids said you barely touched your food..." When Gwuineth received no reply, she continued.
"There...is also a letter, from Dale" At this, Leanna turned to the startled yet hopeful elleth. She looked at the letter which had been kept on the tray beside her food and nodded before turning back to the window.
"Thank you Lady Gwuineth, you may go now" Leanna said blandly, ultimately dismissing her. Gwuineth wished to say more, had hoped something good would come out of her attempts for a decent conversation today, however it would be the same as it had always been since the day of her discoveries. Sighing, she bowed and sent the servants away.
"As you wish, your majesty" Gwuineth said lowly and left.
Hearing the door close in finality, she waited for a time before rising from her seat. She ignored the food that had been brought to her and reached for the break knife as she lifted the letter closely for inspection.
It was Bard. She opened the letter and slowly digested it's contents, her heart feeling some relief to hear from Dale.
They had finally completed construction over the lower levels and opened up a new line of trade on those levels. Jewellers and Blacksmiths taught under the blunt but reliable tutelage of dwarvensmiths who had opened up workshops.
Dale was growing in commerce, the news made Leanna proud of the work Bard and everyone else had put into restoring Dale.
She stilled when she read the next sentence, scrutinizing every sentence, she murmured out to herself in the silence as she unconsciously read the words out loud.
"And while I have tried to delay this matter to a point, I fear I must accept it is time the path Sigrid's future will take her, a betrothal has been set for her hand in marriage which we hope to deal with one year hence.
I know you may have objections, however it is only fair that I inform you of the arrangement, with much hope we see you soon,
Love always,
Bard.
She had scolded him several times over his disregard for his own title and though he insisted it was a habit hard to break, she partly suspected he did so to rile her up.
The matter however, which brought concern to her mind was the betrothal Bard mentioned in the letter. While it was understandable for Sigrid to settle down, she was of the age after all, Leanna wondered who the suitor was, the letter said nothing regarding what she hoped was a young gentleman.
It was in that moment she decided she would find out for herself, she would journey to Dale. She stopped pacing as another thought came to her, one she immediately regretted.
She would have to seek the King's permission, said King that she had not spoken to in the last two weeks. She inhaled deeply and braced herself as she walked out the door.
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Blatantly ignoring the gasps and whispers around her, Leanna in a role she had taken most of her life, moved with the regality of a Queen and kept her a head high as she made her way to the king's study.
She did not know how but somehow a feeling had led her to the conclusion that he was there.
She nodded to the guards stationed at the doors who quickly bowed in wordless greeting before opening the door.
As she entered, she noted the silence from those within. Thranduil rose quickly from his chair, speechless over her unexpected appearance as did Galion who concealed the victorious smile he felt, his plan was already in motion.
"Your majesty" Leanna greeted him, her tone sharp as a blade and cold as ice.
"Leanna I-"
"As much I do not wish to so much as look at you, I fear I must seek you out first if I am to leave"
"Leave...you wish to leave?" Thranduil swallowed as he asked carefully, surely he had not done this much damage to force this decision out of her.
"I wish to go to Dale" Leanna responded bluntly, her expression not giving room for a refusal despite her asking.
Thranduil glanced to Galion who subtly nodded his head. Seeing the action, he sighed and nodded his head before responding.
"Very well, I will have Feran make the arrangements" Thranduil finally responded. Leanna did not give him any more chances to speak and left as abruptly as she came.
Thranduil seeing the act, felt knife in his heart cut even deeper, he would not blame her, he was after all the cause of this.
In his slighted ego he sought to gain the upper hand to a battle that was really non existent and now that there was a fight, his opponent did not want to even lift a finger against him.
A part of him had hoped she would strike at him, pour out her anger and rage in full force, but she was silent and as much as he hated to admit it, that frightened him greatly.
Leanna returned to her room, not wishing to speak to anyone. She knew Tauriel and the others had been greatly concerned for her well being, she understood this but she felt so incredibly vulnerable that her mind was beginning to play tricks on her.
The idea of not knowing what to do or who to trust in earnest was a crushing feeling. Despite her friendly relations with the people of Mirkwood, she was forced to understand one heartbreaking fact, their loyalty to their king would always take precedence over her own self.
The sun had set as she entered her brightly lit room and sat on her vanity mirror, pulling out a parchment sheet neatly stacked on the wooden cupboards, she dipped her elaborately decorated quill into an ink jar.
She had not been to Dale for long while, she was excited to return even if it was for a short while.
She imagined the city to be far more grandiose than the last time she saw it and wondered what the trade markets looked like now. The kitchens, and Bertha who she no doubt had her work doubled feeding a great many mouths in both the Lord's home and those outside it.
It had occurred to her that she had never been to the markets here, she did not even know what they looked like. She always wondered what else they sold and or what other realms they traded with beyond Dale. Finishing her letter, she decided she would visit come morning.
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The next day, she found herself moving to the other wings of the castle, drinking in the sights around her.
She was well aware of the curious looks thrown her way and as much as she had tried to appear casual, Gwuineth had replaced any old dresses she had with more exquisite ones, leaving her with the elegant choice of either wearing fine cloth with expensive jewels or walking naked.
She caught sight of an item on display by an embroiders stand and immediately moved to inspect it in awe.
Losing herself in the beauty of the tapestry, she softly thumbed over the patterns of a man and a woman both facing off against an evil creature, one with a large bow and arrow another with a silver strands of thread shooting out her hand...
"It is so very beautiful" she said to the artisan who watched her in absolute shock. The woman rumoured to be the king's mate had spoken sindarin. The elleth quickly responded in kind.
"Thank you your highness, I'm glad it is to your liking" the elleth bowed, which startled Leanna.
"It is indeed, it reminds me of home" Leanna said, gently placing the finely threaded cloth back on the stand and looked over it. She did not correct her and did not wish to, she had learned a long time ago that moments like these would sort themselves out, eventually.
"The tales we hear from traveling merchants is that you helped the lord of Dale kill the dragon...and save Esgaroth" the elleth said and blushed as she realised she may have overstepped.
"They tend to embellish those tales with fantasies of their own making, Lord Bard was mostly responsible for saving everyone" Leanna smiled at the elleth. She spoke a little more and moved on to other stalls, interacting with different traders.
Some elves she found curious and forward with their questions, wishing to know more about Dale and the world of men.
Others were skeptical of her, weary and cautious of her presence, they watched in silence as she came around and waited to till she was satisfied with snooping through their items.
She would not blame them, being the only human woman in their midst, it must have been a difficult reality to reconcile with. It was much worse now, knowing the rumours floating around her did not help the situation.
She finished her exploration of the shops, not wishing to go any further than she already had. With a shaky smile, she bid the stall keeper she had been conversing with a goodbye and returned to her chambers.
The ever present ache in her heart was gnawing her from within, coupled with a wave of nausea and longing.
Dismissing the servants trailing her every step, she entered her room quietly and breathed deeply as she loosened the intricate braid styled into her hair and paused as she sighted the items on the bed.
Moving closer, she lifted the folded fabric and frowned. She held it up and gasped, it was the tapestry she had held at the market place. She laid it back on the bed and quickly looked through the other items. Stepping back, she breathed deeply instantly recognizing all the items she had touched at the trading stalls. Who? How?
Thranduil... there was no doubt about it. This was his doing, of this she was sure. Her heart beat even faster at the thought that he was doing something again to get her attention once again.
It made her upset to react in this manner, as though her body was not her own. She had sent her letter to Dale and hoped to get a response quickly enough. A few days among familiar faces would help her find some of her bearing back. However, all she had to do now, was wait.