Thranduil x reader short story *finished*

Chapter one: Rotten flowers

I opened my eyes and looked around. A smile appeared on my face as I saw the beauty of Rivendell for it was a beauty I will never get accustomed to. I noticed that one thing had changed: before I closed my eyes and lied in silent slumber, the halls weren't decorated with flowers and now they were.

It was a flower with rotten leaves that began together in the middle but parted from each other on their way and the edges hung down lifelessly. As far as I could see I saw those sorry flowers, the same kind and all hung in the centre of attention. But it wasn't the kind of flower that peaked my interest, nor was it the place it was hung on. No, it was the colour of the flowers that made me wonder, for the flowers were all as black as the darkest night sky. I rose out of bed and got dressed.

Not only my room and the nearest halls I could see from out of my chamber were decorated with the strange flowers, it seemed as if entire Rivendell was full of them. On my way to the dining room I encountered lord Elrond. He smiled at me, his eyes shining with joy and light.

'I'm glad to see you have awoken again. You have slept for a long time, I do hope you have rested well.' He said politely. 'I have, thank you.' I answered as we made our way to the dining room. 'Elrond?' I asked.

'Yes, my dear?'

'What are those flowers for? And why the dark colour?' Elrond smirked after I asked my questions. 'You will see when the time is right.' He responded mysteriously. 'Well, I think it poisons the light and beauty of Rivendell.' I said. It was true. The flowers seemed like a disease spreading over the Realm, consuming on its light and leaving nothing but the horrific dark colour of death. Why on Middle-Earth would Elrond decorate his wonderful Rivendell with such ugly pitiful flowers?

All the Elves Elrond and I met on our way to breakfast were smiling happily, and I mean happier than usual. They smirked and laughed with their lips and eyes. Even Elrond seemed to be happier than ever. But I wasn't; the rotten black flowers made me grumpy and not knowing why they were here made it even worse. I hoped it will all get better after some good breakfast.

All the Elves were talking excitedly while eating breakfast and I wondered what the excitement was all for and why they used rotten flowers to celebrate whatever they were happy about. But, no matter who I asked, no one wanted to answer my question, they all just smirked and said something mysteriously. Not even Lindir answered me, he just smiled at me and told me I'd love it and just had to wait. Time would show me the answer when time is right.

Great, thank you Lindir.

The day went by. Elves kept on being happy and they baked pastries or hung more of the ridiculous flowers so everyone could see them. No one told me why they were all happy so I couldn't share in their happiness.

'Come on, my dear, do not be melancholic. Soon your questions will be answered. What is the use in sitting here and being angry with us not telling you what you want to know, when you could help an old friend hanging more of the decoration to celebrate?' Elrond said as he neared the bridge I was standing on. He held some of the flowers in the air.

'You call that decoration?' I said mockingly. Elrond chuckled. 'Yes, I call these special flowers decoration.' A silence fell but Elrond broke it briefly after its birth. 'You spend a lot of hours on this bridge, staring dreamingly at the water underneath it, why is that?' Elrond asked me, his eyes filled with curiosity. 'It's a long story, do you want to hear it?' I asked him. 'My heart desires to know it.' He answered.

There once was a maiden...' I started, '... and this maiden was in love with a king. He was a noble and honourable being with a tender and true heart and he had eyes as blue as the water underneath this very bridge. They had fallen in love quickly, almost as first sight. They were meant for each other and the distance between their homes didn't kill their love. But...' I stopped and stared at the surface of the water.

'But what?' Elrond asked me and moved my head slightly so I had to look at him. 'What happened?'

'Well...' I continued, '... this king had a cousin who desired the throne and this cousin knew he'd get the throne when the king died. One day the king's desires to see the maiden grew too strong and it hurt him not to be with his lover. He decided to travel to her, but he had no companions to trust except for his greedy cousin.

When the king and his cousin travelled to the maiden, his cousin told the king it was better to travel on another road than they had planned for it was faster. The king, in pain because of his longings, agreed and they went another way. This way was through water.

"I will go first through the water!" the king's cousin said, "I will see if it's too deep to walk through and warn you if it is." The cousin walked into the water and faked that he was drowning. As soon as the king rushed into the water, the cousin, being obsessed with the riches and power, drowned his king...'

Elrond looked at me in confusion. 'Is that the ending?' He asked and I shook my head.

'No, it's not.'

I continued: 'the news travelled quickly and the maiden heard of the horrible death of her lover. Of course she didn't believe everything the news said for she knew that the cousin had killed her beloved king and lover.

She cried for days and was always at this very bridge, staring at the water which had the colour of her lover's eyes. One day, it seemed as if his eyes were really underneath the bridge, staring back at her. She couldn't believe it, but out of the water rose her beloved king. His still living body had travelled over the rivers and had flown to this bridge where he had encountered the loving stare of his lover. This stare had given him enough power to move his almost-dead limbs and he now stood before her. Lovers were once again reunited and they married and became king and queen.'

I sighed. 'One day,' I whispered, 'when the time is right, there will be someone special. And one day this person would walk with me, here, on this very bridge, and this person would love me. One day, my king will come and I will find him here...' I looked up from the water and looked at Elrond's amazed face. 'I know it's cliché, don't get me wrong. I just like the idea of someone special being somewhere and true love surviving, even after greed. I'm sorry for bothering you with my story.' I said.

'Bother me? That was... beautiful. You should do something with all those little breathtaking stories you always tell me.' He smiled and I sighed before changing the subject. 'Give me those flowers, I'll hang them like no other Elf can.' Elrond chuckled. 'Yes, you'll hang them askew.'

And with that we decorated Rivendell. I must confess I dumped some flowers into the water when Elrond was distracted... I felt slightly better, but still was annoyed why everyone was happy and I couldn't know the cause of their joy. But Elrond hushed me and we kept on decorating until all the flowers were hung on the right spots. He tried to correct the flowers I hung in the incorrect position but I kept him from doing that. We were just done when we heard a lot of cheering. 'Ah, the guests are arriving!' Elrond said happily and excused himself before leaving me alone. Guests? Who would come to Rivendell and be important enough to have such an enter?

A/N

That was chapter one! I really hope you liked it! Please vote and comment to tell me what you think of it! 

-MS