The ElvenKing [A thranduil fanfiction]

Chapter 32

I exhaled in defeat and ran a hand through my hair, pushing it back as I turned towards the desk, where my guard uniform was neatly folded. I knew it was Thranduil because I had left it on the floor before joining him. I had chosen to dress in the green dress Thranduil had given me after Mereth-en-Gillith. It was a bit warmer than the cobber dress I treasured and similar enough not to annoy me like dresses usually did.

"Elarinya!" Legolas' voice suddenly filled the room as the door was pushed open. He came running into the room, dressed in warmer clothes as if he were going outside. I crouched down to greet him when he reached me, arms wide open to return the embrace I knew would come. He howled with laugher when I spun him around once. It had been long since I had seen him. When I sat him back down, he began looking around as if he expected Thranduil to be here. "Where's ada?" He asked the same moment he sidestepped me and ran out onto the balcony connected with the room, searching for his father.

"He's not here, Legolas." I tried because he seemed disappointed when he realized that Thranduil wasn't here. "He was needed somewhere else." I offered him a small smile before sitting down on the edge of the bed. Legolas seemed saddened when I told him his father wasn't here. "Is there something you needed from him?" I asked when he approached me again. Legolas climbed up onto the bed next to me and sat down with his arms folded against his chest, and a small pout on his lips. He was swinging his legs because he fumbled with his next words, well knowing what I would already say.

"I wanna go outside." Legolas managed to say but without looking at me, his eyes lingered on a spot on the floor. I offered him another small smile which he didn't see while I placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort. Legolas' pout deepened because he already knew my response. Since everything with Ranîr, he hadn't been allowed outside, only on rare occasions where Voronwë was at his side, and only when it was near the kingdom, for shooting arrows or things like that. "Elarinya, annin—" Legolas pleaded, eyes wide and a soft pout on his lips.

"Legolas, it's too dangerous and you know why you can't go outside." I shifted my hand to the back of his head, but he wouldn't have it and pushed my hand away before pulling his knees up against his chest. I knew he was a wild spirit, matching Thranduil's own wild spirit. "Legolas—" I tried again when he refused to look at me. "I know." I sighed and pressed a kiss to the top of his head when I saw his tears. Legolas sniffled before wrapping his arms around my midsection, head buried in my dress. I wrapped my arms around him as well and just held him, allowing him this comfort.

Then soft knocks on the already open door. "Legolas, Elarinya is right. You know why you can not go outside. I will not have you injured once more. You're not allowed outside without an escort." Thranduil's voice sounded tired. I jolted because I hadn't heard him arrive, nor inter the room before he knocked because I had been occupied with Legolas. I lifted my gaze to Thranduil when he closed the door behind him, with just a little more force than necessary as if he was fleeing from something. He looked utterly exhausted, but also frustrated. Worry replaced my initial surprise as Legolas sat back up next to me. I kept a hand on the back of his head until he scooted off the bed and ran to his father.

Thranduil was ready and swooped him up into his arms. I watched them as Thranduil walked through the room, coming to stand beside me. I straightened my spine when he sat down, where Legolas had sat earlier. "But Elarinya can go with me, she'll protect me." Legolas still tried while Thranduil held him. The serious gaze he sent his son thereafter even made me swallow nervously because Thranduil was not in the mood to have this conversation with his son, not right now at least. Legolas pouted before climbing down onto the bed behind us where he just laid down on his stomach, refusing to look at either of us in protest.

Thranduil sighed once more before he covered his face with both hands, rubbing his eyes in frustration and exhaustion. The meeting must've taken quite a bit out of him. I dared put my hand in his, shifting it from his face to my lips where I pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. "What do you need?" I asked once I had gained his attention. Thranduil watched me, eyes following our hands. It wasn't hard to notice how the bags under his eyes had become darker once again, though I knew I had contributed to that as well. Our nightly tumbles in the sheets had become quite frequent.