In the Lonely Hour (A Thranduil Fanfic)

Twenty Two

A/N:
Geez, it's been awhile since I've updated!! I'm so sorry for that... It shouldn't be like this anymore, at least not that long of a break.

Thranduil paced in the library, muttering angrily under his breath while he waited for Legolas and a few of the captains from the different borders to arrive. He couldn't exactly wrap his head around what happened since Laer was the one to actually interact with the sorcerer but he wanted her to stay in his bedroom.

"Ada," Legolas announced himself and entered the room, seeing his father pace the floors and took a seat at one of the far away tables. "What is happening? The guards told every one that no one is to leave or enter the palace."

"Yes, I'll explain when everyone-" He was cut off by the three other elves entering the room, two were older but one was much younger. "Please, gentlemen, sit down and we can discuss the matters of this sorcery." The elves took their seats near Legolas, watching as Thranduil continued to pace and thought of how to start. "Princess Laer, do you know of her?" Thranduil asked, looking over at the men and stopped pacing briefly.

"Yes, sir, we do," The younger one spoke first, nodding along with the others.

"Laer and I were out in the forest today, bombarded by an Orc pack. We took them out easily but one ran off and Laer chased it down until she found herself at a sorcerer. She killed the orc and the sorcerer was ready to fight her but I came up at that time. I don't exactly know when he found the time to do this but he cast a wall or some sort of force field in the forest. I tried hitting it with my sword and it did absolutely nothing. For some reason the sorcerer was carrying the orc that Laer had killed back to wherever he came from."

"What is a sorcerer doing in Mirkwood?" One of the older elves asked, being interrupted by the younger elf.

"What would he want with an Orc?" The younger one asked, looking between the two older elves then at Thranduil.

"More importantly," Legolas started, grabbing everyone's attention. Everyone almost forgot that he was even attending this meeting. "Why is this sorcerer casting a wall in the forest and how far does it span?"

"I do not know how far it spans but I think he could have cast it to protect himself. I knew from the energy that it gave off that it was dark magic." Thranduil said.

"This sorcerer has to be very trained in dark magic to cast such a spell in Mirkwood. Do you think it will fade?" Legolas asked.

"Not as long as this sorcerer remains in the woods. I do not want anyone to leave. This sorcerer will not spill any elvish blood... I need to go take care of some business now. I will be sending out some men to scope out the land later. I would like you to go, Legolas," Thranduil said over his shoulder as he left the library.

Thranduil went out into the halls of his palace, looking around to find Laer, first checking Rovain's room.

"Rovain, have you seen Laer?" Thranduil asked, seeing Rovain sit at her vanity.

"I believe she's in her bedchambers," Rovain smiled at him through the mirror, putting her earring through her earlobe.

"Thank you," Thranduil nodded, turning to leave until she cleared her throat.

"Your majesty," Rovain spoke up, turning towards him and nervously tucked a strand of hair away. "Is the realm safe?"

"I'm not sure." He muttered. "Please stay in the palace until you hear otherwise," Thranduil gave her a small smile and left her room, walking over to Laer's door, barely opening it.

"Thranduil, I- I think I love you. No, that's too straight forward," Laer said, pacing back and forth in front of the window facing the forest. "I think I've fallen in love with you... That sounds strange... I'm just going to come out and say it-"