Princess of Arnor - The King's Regent (Under Edit)

Chapter Seven: Southbound

"For now and evermore!"

They sat awkwardly beside each other on the banks of the Celebrant with only a slight gap between them. Thurindaer kept his hood up as he gazed into the water, looking at Anberenien's reflection. Every inch of him wanted to reach out and hold her, but he resisted the urge. "You look good in white," he whispered.

"I prefer green," replied Anberenien. Thurindaer smiled slightly as he saw her blushing in the river's smooth waters. He had feared what he might find upon arrival. But here she was, a few more silver tresses in her hair, but still Thorwen, his Thorwen.

He looked up and scanned the trees across the river for any signs of being watched, but could see no one in the trees. "Celeborn said Galadriel took you to the falls of Nimrodel." He then turned to Anberenien, his bright eyes meeting hers. "Is it gone from you? The shadow."

Tears welled up in her luminous eyes."It has, along with much of my mannishness." There was a long pause between them. "I was surprised you came."

"You knew I would come. Why would I not?"

Her tears rolled silently down her cheeks. "Calenamath." Her words pierced his heart as if the very arrow that had killed his brother had struck him. "I feared you would turn from me when you knew how he died. He said 'Melleth nin ris' before he passed from this world."

My beloved queen. Of course, he would say that. Calenamath had loved her as much as Thranduil did. But he also knew the deeper meaning of those words. Calenamath was pledging his love and loyalty to them both with his dying breath. "If it were not for Calenamath, we would not be sitting here now. I owe him a great debt. It was not the first arrow he had saved you from. I am glad it was your arms he passed in. My brother was selfless, even in love." Thurindaer slid his hand towards Anberenien's fingers, just touching hers as her hand lay in the grass.

"Not here. There are eyes upon us," warned Anberenien.

"Let them watch!" replied Thurindaer. He edged closer, his fingers gently caressing the back of her hand. "Do you remember the last time we were at a riverbank?"

Anberenien lowered her eyes, but did not withdraw her hand."Yes, before our betrothal feast...... I pulled you into the water. I was whole then."

"You are still whole to me Thorwen, your scars do not make you any less of a woman, just as mine do not make me any less a King." They talked about how they lost each other in the battle under the trees. "I searched for you for hours, sent the best scouts, but they could find nothing. Calenamath knew in his heart what had happened to you. I wanted to march on Dol Guldur myself, but our people were weary after the battle. Their homes destroyed and their spirits low. And there was still a threat on our eastern borders from the Easterlings. Calenamath assured me he and the Hurscarls would find you whilst I attended to the needs of our people. Yet I took my fear and wrath out on him, forbid him from returning without you. I may as well have loosed the arrow that went through his heart."

"I was as much to blame. I drank too much wine that night and disgraced myself. Calenamath was returning me to the pavilion when it happened."

Thurindaer smirked slightly."Then Celeborn and Galadriel should have kept a better I on you. I would have done."

"I called out to you during the battle, but no answer came and I feared you were..... slain. Then some deserters from Dale tried to take me captive to claim my bounty. It did not end well for them. It was the spiders that got me in the end. I guess I have the priests to thank for my not becoming their next meal," replied Anberenien.

Thurindaer sniggered. "Spiders? How very careless of you, Thorwen."

He saw the blush return to her face as she beamed back at him. "I wish I was still Thorwen, and we were back in the Woodland Realm racing through the trees, and you cheating......."