The Moth and the Flame (A Thranduil fanfic)

Chapter 20

Evelyn sat in the freezing basin for a solid hour. By then, all the ice melted, but by then the water was still freezing.

Her skin was cold and she couldn't even feel her body. It was so numb that she honestly couldn't even feel the ground as she walked.

She looked into the full length mirror and for the first time in a long while, she actually saw herself. All her scars were fading and for a while all those consuming feelings dissipated. But right now, Evelyn could feel them returning. Although she's been doing well, she wasn't going to break that streak.

Evelyn ignored her terrible feelings and quickly dresses herself. She tried to warm her body and when she left the bathroom, she noticed Thranduil's robe still sitting on her bed.

She remembered how warm she felt next to him and how he stopped her shivers. But he was gone now and probably didn't want to see her.

Their fight could've been bigger, but it impacted Evelyn on a number of levels. She really thought that he was no longer her friend, he had been her only human friend.

Everything replayed in her mind......

"Don't come crying to me when you're injured or sad like you always do!"

She was sad. And injured...in the heart. She did feel like crying. And she wouldn't go to Thranduil for comforting. Not this time. Maybe never again.

Poor Evelyn couldn't keep it all in anymore. But she wasn't going to hurt herself, not this time. All she needed was some time by herself.

She dressed in herself in her training clothes and slipped on Thranduil's robe. And she packed a few things in a bag and Evelyn was about to open the door, but someone was outside. She quickly closed her door and peeked through the keyhole. King Oropher and Thranduil were outside talking. It wasn't her business, so she didn't pay any attention. There was no way she was getting out through the door.

So she left through the balcony doors. Quietly, she opened them and shut them, not even a sound was made. And she lifted her legs up on the stone railing so that her feet were dangling.

There was no way she was jumping. There was a slim chance of surviving if she did. But there was a tree nearby. She hopped up on her feet and leaped from the ledge.

Grabbing hold of a branch, the momentum from the leap made Evelyn swing like a monkey. And when the movements stopped, she sat up on the branch, looking back at her balcony.

The light was on and everything. There was only one thing out order. Through the glass, she could see that her bedroom door was open. Someone had opened it, and that someone was Thranduil. She saw him, he was sitting on Evelyn's bed with his head in his hands. He looked so upset, he stood up and headed towards the balcony.

She quickly hid in behind the leaves, so that he couldn't see her. For a while she sat there watching him look out into the darkness.  The pain soon returned, and she climbed down the tree, hoping he didn't see.

Thranduil stood high up on that balcony, wishing he could see her. But she wasn't even in her room. He didn't know where she could be. And he heard something move in the darkness, but whatever it was he couldn't see it.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*

She landed quietly on the ground and sprinted toward the stables. And when she got there, she swerved for Deppson. Evelyn was happy to see him, he always made her feel batter. So she unhitched the latch to his stall and let him out.

"Hey boy." She said extending her hand to pet his muzzle "I'm not feeling the greatest at the moment...I think I've lost my best friend." She sounded like she was going to cry "it doesn't feel good." Evelyn placed his saddle on correctly and buckled it. After mounting on his back, she felt finally set.