The Hobbit/LOTR Imagines (Requests Closed)

(Thranduil x Reader) I Didn't Even Realise

(Imagine you begin to fear the fate of your Kingdom as your husband, Thranduil, orders an unjust punishment)
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"You let them break into my kingdom." Thranduil's voice was full of calm rage but you could feel his anger in the vibrations of the ground.

"My Lord," the elf said in front of your husband's throne, his body shaking slightly, "I assure you it was not my intention."

A darkness covered the King's eyes. "Take him."

The elf flinched and all colour drained from his face as the guards beside him shifted, their armour clinking as they moved to grab him.

"Thranduil." You said quickly.

"Please my Lord, I didn't mean for them to enter the Kingdom." The elf's voice rose as he pleaded.

You could feel your palms sweating a little and your heart beat increasing.

"You allowed rogue elves back into the very home they abandoned and betrayed. If it wasn't for your Queen, their presence would have gone unknown and placed our home under threat." Thranduil took a step forward and you followed suit.

"Thranduil, the elf said he didn't recognise their mark. He saw them as Mirkwood elves, just like any other would." You said confidently, making your husband turn to look at you. You couldn't quite make out his expression.

"It matters little." Your heart sank at his words. "He allowed elves with no proof of their identity into the city. Any guard worth his trade would refuse entry to those so ambiguous, Mirkwood elves or not." A coldness stung his eyes and you kept level. That was until he turned back to the quivering elf before him.

It amazed and saddened you how an elf once so proud and dutiful as a guard, now stood shaking in front of the very King he served. "Take him." Thranduil said. "And under no circumstances let him leave his cell without direct order from me."

You held back an irritated growl and simply turned your back from the elf that was being dragged away, crying to be released.

Once the noise dwindled, Thranduil's presence behind you became more noticeable. But it didn't shake you.

"Do we rule by mercy or fear?" You asked, more to yourself and the great Elven halls beyond you, rather than to the elf behind you.

"Whichever is necessary at the time." A more gentler voice than you had been use to only moments before replied.

Feeling a hand on your shoulder, you turned to see Thranduil looking at you.

"Life imprisonment is not a just sentence." Your voice grew a little. "It's not as if he intended to let rogues into the Kingdom, surely you can see that."

Something in Thranduil's face twitched slightly. "(Y/n), I have to set an example. He was a guard, someone the Kingdom must rely on to protect them."

"Yes and I believe that you should condemn such foolishness but not with what is practically a death sentence to an elf deprived of any interaction with the outside world. The broken heart would kill him." You found yourself staring wide eyed at the graceful elf before you.

He stood proudly like a king. His grace and confidence radiated from the way his head stood high and his ancient wisdom laid buried deep within his gaze. It reflected your own. You had both loved one another from what felt like before your own lives had begun.

Thranduil glanced at some distant thing behind you and an uncertainty sparked in his eyes. "When did you tie back your hair?" He asked.

You stared at him, confused. Your hand reached to feel the soft leafed band that held your auburn hair together behind you. "Oh, I didn't even realise I had."

A frown formed on Thranduil's face and he let out a sigh. "I didn't realise how much this troubled you."

His words hit differently. You didn't even notice your self that you would subconsciously tie back the heavy locks of your hair when you felt uneasy or stressed. Somehow, the red tinted strands would end up pulled back from your face whenever something troubled you deeply, as if you needed to escape the boundaries of your own body to feel at ease again. Thranduil, however, had noticed this pattern.

"Apparently neither did I." You sighed.

A soft hand reached for your chin and lifted your gaze to meet his. "What should I do?"

At his troubled tone, a frown grew on your own face. "I don't know yet. But not this. Not a punishment that would hurt one of our own. It is what the rogues want, after all, for us to hate one another. We've dealt with enough in our reign to know this. It is the only reason I had recognised their black painted mark after all."

As soon as you had seen the strange figures dressed in darker clothing enter the city on your way through the markets, your heart had stopped when on if the Mirkwood elves had turned their cheek and let their hood reveal the black arrow drawn just a over their jaw.

Now, as you stood with Thranduil, a strong sense of duty rose. You had both protected your people well, even if Thranduil had been harsh and emotionless to his subjects at times. But you knew he only wanted what was best for Mirkwood and for you. The way he noticed a fear that even you hadn't seen in yourself, brought you comfort that you would always deal with things together.

You took a steady breath and reached behind you, your fingers contacting the leafy wrapped around your heart, loosening the knot and letting a cloak of red float around your body. "We let him free, Thranduil. Keep him in the cells for a few months if you must, but no more. Only enough to make a point." Your eyes became level with his. "He is a good elf, he has protected our Kingdom since we were both young elflings. He made an error of judgement, my love. Nothing more. We have both done the same. If we let them divide our kingdom, we lose." You placed a hand to his cheek. "If we let them divide us, we lose even more."

Thranduil leaned into your hand and sighed. "You speak nothing but wisdom. I will do as you say. You are right, I have been to harsh in my judgement."

You smiled sweetly. "Thank you. I know you only do what you believe is best for our kingdom. I just fear those who will try to tear down everything we have spent so long building."

A soft hand raised your chin, and you gazed into your husbands eyes. "Nothing will ever break what we have." He said. "Never."

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Sorry it's a bit of a talky one I didn't really know where to go with this haha