Deep in the vast halls of the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo Baggins stumbles upon a treasure a thousand times more priceless than the Arkenstone.
(Thranduil x OC)
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They say when the Ice Queen learns to love again, the first snow of the year shall feel unlike anything you've ever experienced—they say the snow dances on the dry air of the kingdom her love resides in.
IN THE FOUR WALLS OF HIS PRIVATE OFFICE, THE ELVENKING SAT. Thranduil had finally finished the paperwork for the day. He snapped the last scroll he had read shut and decided to strut towards Anastasia's chambers. He was about to turn the doorknob, but shook his head—he had gotten used to being in the highest position in the castle. And with his son gone, only one of royal blood remained in the castle. He cleared his throat and he knocked on her door.
"Vera? Is that you?" Anastasia opened the door, ready to look downward as Vera was slightly shorter than her. Vera's feet aren't this big. She looked up only to see Thranduil gazing at her. Her eyes widened a fraction.
"A-ah, King Thranduil! What brings you here?"
"Is it wrong for a host to meet his guest?" he replied calmly, though he was sure his heart was quaking and yearning to crush his ribcage with the intensity of its' thumps. He leaned closer to her, before turning his head left and right to see her room. It was cold, very cold, and there was a thin layer of ice on the floor.
He made the mistake of stepping inside.
He slipped on the ice and Anastasia quickly put his arms around her so he would not fall. Her face was half buried by his right shoulder. "Are-you alright-my king?" she said in such a muffled voice that it made Thranduil bury his face in the crook of her neck to bury his laughter. Without warning, Anastasia, for whatever reason decided to laugh along as well, hoping to encourage more of the Elvenking's happiness.
After a while, he cleared his throat and slowly, (with the guidance of Anastasia, who had now regained her ability to walk) decided to take a seat on a comfy chair next to her bed. Anastasia seated herself across him.
"I'd like to know more about your kingdom, Kholo-Kholodno?" He struggled with the pronunciation and Anastasia would have laughed if her kingdom wasn't such a sore subject for her. She let out a strained smile. Thranduil took note of that.
"It's..a long story. And not a pretty one," she paused, waiting for a sign that Thranduil was willing to continue listening. He nodded, and she let out a sigh.
"In the Kalten Mountains, where my people used to reside, before I came to be, there lived two clans—one of fire and one of ice. There was constant competition between these two clans. Both were there for the same period of time, one reveled in the cold while the other seeked other means to battle it.
My father, the prince of the latter clan, had an open mind and shared no direct prejudice against my mother's clan. My mother came across him once, in the woods. They shared many other similar encounters before they'd fallen in love and had gotten married. Seeing my mother and father together, the people of both clans eventually overcame their differences, and I was born.
My mother and father... There was never a day when I felt that I was unloved by them. Three years later, they had my brother, Aleksei. He was...a strong spirit, that one. He was very demanding of respect. I showed him care and love, for I was blinded by the love I had for him. Now, dozens of years later, my parents wanted to step down from their position as rulers. In my people's culture, a fight between the direct descendants of their ruler would fight to determine their future ruler. No bias in terms of gender, age or legitimacy or anything else.
A week before the fight was to occur, my parents confronted me. They told me that my brother had to be stopped at all cost from getting the throne in order for my people to prosper. He was too greedy, too adamant—the future of my people would not be safe with him. There was a rule for the fight though, you were given the option to yield, and the other would be immediately declared the winner. My parents and I both knew that my brother would never yield—would never back down.
It broke my heart to kill him.
His sacrifice ended in vain, though. The followers of my brother's strange ideals were enraged. They absolutely destroyed the mountain we resided in, burning away what was left of my people and my parents and then themself. I managed to make it out, with whatever luck I had. That was the fall of Kholodno. That was the end of my parents' legacy. I had nothing left, no will to live, no will to die, the Queen of a destroyed kingdom."
Her eyes stared at the ground now. Thranduil couldn't bear seeing her like this. He actually wanted to know why she was in the casket, but she looked too fragile, too broken to talk to right now. He took her hand in his.
"Come with me,"
Anastasia cocked her head to the left but followed as the elf king led her to a garden in the palace. She covered her mouth with her hand when she saw the most enchanting creature. A beautiful elk, with shining eyes and majestic antlers. It stepped towards her and nuzzled her shoulder. Thranduil raised his eyebrows at his mount's sudden friendliness. Rarely was blank friendly with a stranger, one who wasn't an elleth or elf, nonetheless.
Thranduil was just about to mount the elk when it strayed away from him and closer towards Anastasia. Traitor, he thought, wishing that it was he instead of the elk that was being caressed by Anastasia.
"Seems he likes me more than you,"
There was the sarcastic woman from before, Thranduil smiled, happy that she regained her confidence from before. She had no problem with getting onto the elk, and Thranduil thought her skillfulness in the art of riding was rather charming. Thranduil got on after her, securing his hands around her waist.
"I always wondered how the royal families coped with stressed. I must say, frolicking in the woods was not what I had in mind,"
Thranduil flicked the back of her neck playfully and she yelled out a "hey!" in a whiney voice. The elk started charging forward, making its way around the forest, carrying the laughter of two royals on its back.
