Erebor, Lonely Mountain

34. Thranduil | Library

Your eyes scanned the room, nowhere near as massive as Ori had claimed, whispering to yourself in Khuzdul, "For a Dwarf who lives in a mountain you'd think he'd know massive when he saw it...though it is bigger than the apartments in the Royal Wing." Your eyes falling to the scarce but comfortable looking large chairs scattered through the room all with massive blankets thrown over them making your eyebrows press together as you remembered Ori saying how clean, orderly and crowded it was.

The silent empty room around you nowhere near what he described, though the dark wooden shelves caught your eye as you noticed the Ancient Elvish texts across the bindings that Ori hadn't mentioned, most of the languages not even spoken outside of those Elves' bloodlines after the destruction of their former homes.

You smiled as you skimmed the titles in a language you'd ached for since you'd been forced to flee your ruined Kingdom, pausing on a title you'd never heard on the last row of shelves, your smile growing as you noticed it was a series, something truly rare for Elves. Mostly preferring in that age to keep their stories verbal so they could grow like their tree filled Kingdoms.

Your fingers tentatively reached out and gently slid the first of the books off of the shelf, cradling it carefully against your chest as you walked to the armchair closest to you, sliding the large blanket to the side as you curled your legs into the cushion. Laying the small leather bound book on your lap as you slid your fingers gently across the title in your old tongue, "Mighty Duil." (Mighty River)

Butterflies filled your stomach as bumps rose across your skin from your nerves at what you'd find inside, smiling again as you opened the book, examining the title page then flipping again eyeing the chapter titles and flipping again finding the start of your new Journey.

The book seemed to be akin to a diary, but written more as what they had wished had happened, working in the main character, Duil, through the problems under the watchful eyes of his Father and the thousands that surrounded him. His Father being a high ranking Elf so the Son had expectations to face but yearned for the ability to do more than be what his Father has expected of him, aspiring to heal his world. Building his way to being their masked hero, their first choice when the world fell around them.

You quickly worked through the first three books, slipping from serious to terrifying with dashes of humor in the interactions with his Father, as you started the fourth book your eyes went cloudy for a moment as your body let out a quiet hum as your head unwillingly dipped for a moment. You jerked your head back up as you shivered at your sudden drowsiness, feeling a tightening in your stomach your signal that it would start growling soon. Regret filled you at not bringing your bag with snacks in it, mainly at the insistence from Ori that the several servants that had tended to him brought a round of snacks every half hour for him to keep up his energy as he poured through the stacks of books.

You gently closed the book as you shivered again, feeling another wave of exhaustion taking over you, forcing yourself onto your feet, brushing your hair back before pinching the bridge of your nose again as you cradled the book again. The cold marble floor making your entire body chill causing you to turn to your only option, mumbling softly, "I suppose they wouldn't mind if I borrowed this too, I'll bring it back tomorrow with the book."

The incredibly soft yet thick massive burnt orange blanket with a shiny silver covered in embroidered green vines stretching on the opposite side felt heavy, and somehow still warm, against your cold skin as you pulled it around you. Wrapping yourself in a little cocoon making sure not to let it touch the floor, fighting another head droop as you headed for the door again, the closer you got you'd started to finally hear the first traces of life since you'd left the gates.

...

Earlier that day...

The King gracefully glided through the empty halls from his Rooms to the large meeting room on the main floor nearly twenty floors below him, quietly humming to himself as his mind wandered to you. As his boots finally reached the last step of his last flight of stairs he'd heard the front gates open in the distance signaling the first Dwarf visitors for the day. His humming pausing as he heard his Guards straightening up as they heard his footsteps approaching, rounding the last corner and he froze.