Impulsive and young, Thranduil brings back Aerneth to Doriath as his wife, making his abusive father furious. Through the Ages their hasty marriage is shadowed by war and death, dragons and dark lords, betrayal and kinslayings. How can they ever fin...
~After Elwing and Eärendil gets married a lot changes in the realm, and not everything for the worse.~
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Elwing and Eärendil, cosplay by karo_lavellan and elfpirate on Instagram
Prince
When Thranduil saw Elwing again the next day, she sparkled as a Silmaril in a long, white gown and wore her dark hair braided like a crown. On her side Eärendil looked like he did not know whether to grin stupidly or run away in panic.
After the ceremony was over and the couple had exchanged rings, Thranduil sat with his friends, drinking too much of Galion's wine and generally enjoying himself while watching the dancers form large circles. The whole city had been invited and the area was packed with merry people.
Yet, they all fit into the city square, he reflected. The elves gathered here represented several of the once proud realms of Beleriand: Doriath, Nargothrond, the Falas and Gondolin. Discounting the inhabitants of the Isle of Balar and Fëanors people, these were almost all elves left in Middle-earth. A mere shadow of their former glory.
A female voice interrupted his gloomy line of thought. "Care to dance?"
He looked up and met his wife's sparkling eyes. His breath hitched at the stunning sight; she wore a flattering coral dress, her blonde locks cascading down one shoulder, and had put on jewels he had not seen in a very long time: the quartz necklace and matching earrings he bought her when they were newlyweds.
He took her offered hand. "My pleasure." Bending close he whispered: "But you are not supposed to outshine the bride at a wedding."
She snuck him a discreet kiss. "Flatterer."
Then there was no more opportunity to talk for the dance pulled them with them and the beat was quick.
A lot later when they wearily left the circle, Galadriel and Celeborn danced past. She frowned deeply at their still joined hands but said nothing.
"Your friend is not pleased," Thranduil remarked.
Aerneth looked a bit embarrassed but then appeared to shake off the feeling. "She cares about me and my well-being, and as matters stood two decades ago, her advice was wise." She gave him an almost shy glance. "However... lately things have changed."
There it was again, the tiny butterfly tickling his heart. He dipped his head in acknowledgement, not quite daring to say anything for fear it might come out wrong.
Her grasp on his hand tightened. "And it has led me to reconsider our... arrangement."
He thought of something suitable to say in reply, for even now, at his age, he sometimes struggled to find the words in an important conversation.
