Sooner Rather Than Later

The next three days passed slowly. I stayed in my room and when I wasn't staring outside, I was holding one of the books I had found in the dresser. They were, as you would expect, written in one of the Elvish languages, but I had made it my goal to learn some. Legolas, or should I say old Legolas, had explained the alphabet to me in Minas Tirith and had given me simple exercises whenever I had time for it. I had asked the guard standing outside my door for a quill, ink and paper, which was brought to me. Since then, I worked my way through the books to banish all other destructive thoughts from my mind. Despite my best efforts, only one kept circling through the loops of my brain: now that Legolas knew the truth about my connection to him, would he tell his father? Or would it be too upsetting for him, so that he would never get the idea that what I had told him was the truth, but far from the most important secret I was keeping?

I was in the middle of deciphering a particularly tricky passage when someone knocked on the door. My eyes still fixed on the paper, I asked, "Yes?"

After making sure who was standing in the doorway, I relaxed a little. It wasn't the elf I hadn't seen since our last conversation. If he was avoiding me or his questions had simply been answered and I was no longer of interest, I didn't know. And I didn't care either. After all, it came down to the same thing. I stood up. "Mithrandir."

He entered and gave the door a push with his staff. "I apologize for my long absence."

"You are here to interrogate Sméagol, not to concern yourself with my state of mind. You have already done much for me."

"I wouldn't call fighting the Father of Evil a state of mind," he said with a slight edge in his voice, and I saw a smirk dug into the many wrinkles on his face. "As you can see, Thranduil was willing to listen to me."

"What did you tell him?"

"The truth." He leaned his staff against the wall. "As much of it as I think he can handle."

The idea that Thranduil, the Thranduil, couldn't handle something was almost outlandish. But from the wizard's perspective, the situation was perhaps different. "What did he say?"

Gandalf sighed. "He wants to talk to you. That is why I am here. You said that you have been to the Woodland Realm before and he let you go. Tell me all about it."

It didn't take long for me to bring the wizard up to speed. He had now stopped in front of one of the windows and was looking out. "So he was reasonable enough to realize that he couldn't fight this battle himself."

"But that was after all that came with the discovery of the Ring." I was still trying to keep as much of the Ring's journey to myself as possible and Gandalf didn't ask. We had a silent agreement: I only said as much as was necessary and he was wise enough to take that for granted.

"Which were dire."

"Yes." I didn't give too much away. Hopefully.

"So you don't think he will react in the same way at this point?"

"I can't say, but there's a chance." After all, Thranduil had also suffered many losses during the Ring War. In hindsight, it made sense that he was tired of the war and had let me go. He didn't want to lose any more of his elves. Except that hadn't happened yet. "Do you think I will have to reveal the Silmaril to him?"

The wizard took out his pipe and began to fill it. "I think it would be wiser if you let me do the talking. Thranduil has a very special interest and that is mainly his kingdom. He is a useful ally, but it is important to know where his limits are."

I had had the same feeling. So I replied: "Won't the story about time travel be too thin?"

"Of course not!" Gandalf glanced up at me. "Thranduil himself ought to have encountered more than one time traveler in his lifetime. His son, on the other hand, grew up well shielded within this forest, always trying to protect its borders."

"You mean Legolas did not tell his father about me because he thought what I said were lies?"

Gandalf nodded. "I wouldn't bet my hand on it, but I hardly think Legolas Greenleaf ever met a traveler. For him, you were a spy of the enemy and it was only in this context that he told his father about you. Thranduil trusts his son. He must have waited for him to elicit more from you."

"I... was?"

An amused expression crossed the wizard's face. "You certainly impressed him in one way or another, for he decided to tell his father about your story after all this time. He could hardly have kept it secret any longer, after all, I asked forgiveness for you."

Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle came together. Legolas had never told Thranduil that I had fallen through time because he thought it was nonsense. That was why his father hadn't played a role until now and Legolas had always tried to squeeze a supposedly different truth out of me. His last visit, the one where he had learned from me how we had been together, also fit into the picture. He had come to see for himself whether his father and Gandalf were right. I just wondered if that had been enough to convince him. "So he believes me – now?"

"I cannot answer that for you. But he knows now that the travelers exist, his father must have informed him." The wizard lit his pipe. "As for Thranduil, you are a lost soul, lost on your way home. Stick to the story and he should let you go."

With a swallow, I looked to the ground. I didn't know if Gandalf wasn't making things too easy for himself. Thranduil was cunning. He recognized a lie ten miles upwind. But it's not a lie, said a voice in my head. Just not the whole truth.

"When will the audience take place?"

"Tonight." The wizard reached for his staff. "I'll be there to pick you up. Then we'll see what happens."

When the doors to the throne room opened, my heart was beating so fast that everyone in the room must have heard it. I could still remember my last audience with Thranduil and what had followed. This time, however, I was not walking behind the son of the realm, but the gray robes of a wizard.

As soon as we left the doors in our backs, my gaze was almost magically drawn to the throne. As you would expect, the leader of the Woodland Realm, Thranduil, was sitting there waiting for us in person. His eyes followed our every move warily. He sat upright, this time wearing only a simple diadem on his head. I had to swallow. He looked just as terrifying as the last time I had met him. But different. Less tense. Was that a good sign?

Next to him, slightly behind the throne, stood Legolas. He had his hands crossed behind his back and avoided my gaze. It was as if he was only there physically. As if his father had forced him to attend this meeting.

"Mithrandir."

We stood still. Thranduil's voice had sounded calm, not ironic or as if he knew something he was keeping from us. He was another person sitting in front of me. Perhaps the Ring War would change him, or maybe he had simply enjoyed his breakfast.

"Thranduil." The wizard indicated a bow and I did the same. I felt like Pippin must have felt when he was hanging on Gandalf's coat-tails in Minas Tirith. But I wouldn't blab like him. At least, I hoped I wouldn't.

"I see you brought the traveler with you." His eyes wandered from the wizard to me. I immediately looked to the ground. Thranduil's attention was like an eagle talking to an earthworm – I felt so insignificant.

"Yes," said Gandalf just then. "Would you not like to introduce yourselves?"

I hurriedly stepped forward, forcing myself to look at the King of the Woodland Realm. A slightly amused expression settled on his face, but his eyes were softer. "My name is Aspen," I said. "I... I've come a long way. And I apologize for the inconvenience. It was never my intention to steal my way into your realm, but I had no control over... the jump." That wasn't a lie, which didn't escape Thranduil's attentive gaze.

"True," Gandalf took up this opening, as if he did not want to give Thranduil time to reply. "You come from further than some might imagine." As I was standing next to Gandalf and did not dare to look to my left, I could not tell for sure whether he was looking at Legolas. The expression on the elf's face did not allow any conclusions to be drawn; he was just as stone-faced as before. "I thank you for releasing her from the bonds of your cells."

Thranduil bowed his head. We would not get more than that as an admission of his mistake. Although, strictly speaking, it was not his, but his son's. Legolas behind him straightened up even more. His lips pressed tightly together.

Thranduil leaned forward. "While I appreciate your opinion, Mithrandir, I would like to know more about the story."

Gandalf next to me nodded barely noticeably as if he had already seen this request coming. "Of course. I'll be happy to tell you about…"

"From Aspen herself." Thranduil's gaze held mine, a small spark of the sharpness in it that I knew from our first encounter. "Tell me, how is it that you speak the common tongue?"

I felt my throat go dry. But I knew I had to tell the truth. Even if that would take us dangerously close to the true core of my secret. "I learned it," I replied simply. "For four years, while I was serving ale in a tavern in the White City."

Thranduil raised an eyebrow. "So this isn't your first leap in time."

"No."

"It is unusual for this to happen more than once." He leaned forward a little further. "Very unusual. All the travelers I've encountered had only made one shift through time. But Mithrandir here assured me that he had heard a story like yours before."

I met his gaze without blinking. "I can't judge that. But I wished from the very first jump that it hadn't happened."

The corners of the Elven King's mouth lifted. "Well, I don't think Middle Earth is all that devoid of charm," he said with a subtle mocking tone in his voice. "Even if I do not know your homeland."

"No, that's not... that's not what I meant," I said. The burn on my cheeks was telltale.

"Mithrandir further assured me that on your first fall, you came to a time after... the time of the great rings."

With a curt nod, I said, "Yes, that is true."

"He convinced me that it would be better if you didn't go into detail about the outcome of the circumstances. I agree with him that we shouldn't find out about a future that may no longer be possible for us, especially not now. Nevertheless. I wonder if your appearance at two points in this world has not taken place for precisely this reason. Because you are supposed to shape events."

Oh no. He wanted me to tell him about the Ring War. Or he suspected that what we had told him was not the whole truth after all. Gandalf seemed to sense the danger too, for he said, "That remains to be seen. In the meantime…"

"In the meantime, she will be a guest of my halls," Thranduil said, standing up. "I know you wanted to take her with you, Mithrandir, but I deem it better that you go about your task undisturbed. We cannot afford any mistakes. She will be safe here."

"You do not know that." Gandalf's grip on his staff tightened. "I really think that…"

"This is my realm. Even if the situation is different than initially assumed, I still consider your task more important."

I knew that we wouldn't be able to fight it. The decision was logical. Practical, even. And if the wizard tried to talk the Elven King out of it for too long, Thranduil would realize that there was actually something else behind Gandalf's request to take me with him. We could not risk that. I just wondered if Thranduil himself was up to something else: Did he really believe my story or was he simply trying to get rid of Gandalf so that he could continue to interrogate me alone as to my true motives? Had Legolas told him that we had already met or had he kept it to himself? And if so, would he continue to do so after Gandalf had left?

As if he had read my thoughts, the wizard said at that moment: "I thank you for your generous offer. We will accept it. But I insist that Aspen is no longer treated like a prisoner in her own room."

"She will be able to move freely."

"Father..." That was Legolas' voice, but Thranduil raised his hand. The Elven King turned away from Gandalf and me and towards his son. "It has been decided. She poses no threat to our realm. She needs our protection far more than she needs our distrust." He looked sternly at Legolas, causing him to nod curtly. He looked anything but thrilled, but he must know as well as Gandalf that he would not change his father's mind. Thranduil turned back around. "Now that we've got that out of the way, I've been told you're a good singer," he said, addressing me. "That is indeed excellent, for Nost-na-Lothion will be celebrated in just a few weeks."

With a furrowed brow, I looked at Gandalf, who explained: "Nost-na-Lothion means the birth of flowers, it is a festival in honor of spring. The Elves have been celebrating it for many millennia."

"I will arrange for you to meet with the musicians." Thranduil adjusted his robes, then strode down the stairs to his throne. "To a reunion under happier circumstances, Mithrandir. Let us speak of the creature Sméagol in my chambers. Legolas," he beckoned to his son with a beringed hand. "Take Aspen back to her room and make her feel welcome."

"As you wish, father."

Whether the Elven King didn't notice the spike in his son's tone or deliberately ignored it, but he turned and led the wizard out of the hall and into one of the back rooms. Gandalf gave me a look I couldn't read, then Legolas brought me back to reality: "You got what you wanted. Let's go now, I don't have all day."

"Why are you so hostile?" I hurried to keep up with him. We left the throne room behind us and turned into one of the corridors. "Is this a matter of principle – If you're not in the right, you will let me feel it?"

The elf did not answer, only quickened his pace.

"Or is it about what I said to you? About our connection in a…"

"Don't talk about it here." His voice sounded cold, still not stopping.

So that was it. He was uncomfortable. Which was why he wanted to believe in anything but that I was telling the truth. I overtook Legolas and stopped him, placing a hand on his forearm. He pulled it away as quickly as if he had been burned. Even though this obvious display of dislike hurt me, I couldn't blame him. How would I feel if a complete stranger revealed to me that we had had a relationship in another life that I didn't remember? Especially one that was not looked upon favorably and that I would never willingly choose in my current life? I raised both hands in an effort to appease him and said, "I know you're not him. And I don't expect you to act like him. To be honest, I don't expect anything from you at all, except that you don't look at me like you're plotting my demise every time we meet."

He opened his mouth, but I wasn't finished yet: "I would have gone with Mithrandir if your father had let me. I don't want to stay here because, as you can imagine, this situation has left its mark on me, too. But I will not defy the King of the Woodland Realm either." It almost escaped me that I had already failed once, but I bit my tongue in time and instead repeated what Gandalf had promised me, even though I knew it would never happen: "He will leave Eryn Lasgalen in the next few days, but when he returns, he will take me with him and we will not meet again. I promise you that." The wizard would not return to the Woodland Realm because of being captured by Saruman, but I did not have to tell Legolas that. I had my own plan and it was to slip away at the first available chance. I already knew how.

Legolas looked at me warily before replying, "As you wish."

With that, he turned away and left me standing alone in the corridor. I looked at him until he had disappeared from my sight, then I sighed and ran my hands over my face.

Hopefully the moment to escape would come sooner rather than later.