Ashes and Elves (Thranduil Fanfiction)

Chapter 14 | Ashes and Elves

Thranduil's voice echoed through my chest. Nobody had ever said my name like that before, as if I was the only thing that mattered. As if I had caused their world to stop spinning. His eyes froze me solid and I held my breath. I couldn't sort out the emotions running across his face — grief? Agony? Conflict?

I stared at him, my lips parted and my eyes wide. At that moment, Itehion muttered a goodbye and scurried out, long gone.

"Dreidha. I thought you wouldn't make it, although you were hardly injured. I should not have taken you with me, I am sorry. Please, forgive me." His glistening eyes swallowed me whole.

"If I had not found you in time, those orcs..." His voice trailed off and he cleared his throat.

"Thranduil, do not worry about me. I knew the risks." His voice reverberated in my head....

"They knew the risk, did you?"

He looked away from me, not able to meet my eyes. I fiddled with the soft covers on me, my heart heavy with loss. I heard a shuffle and looked up, the King approaching the side of my bed. He knelt down, his long fingers cupping my chin.

"I can feel your sorrow, and it pains me more than it is hurting you. I know what it is like to lose everything you love, to feel as if you have nothing left." His golden voice enveloped me in warmth as he gently sat down on the bedside.

"My own father died long ago, as did Legolas' mother. When my father died, I was just a young elf. And when my love died, I thought I would die too. But I saw the light in my son, the way wonder encompassed his pure heart and I found myself living for him. Breathing for him. Although filled with death and sorrow, I leaned on those around me. You just have to find something worth living for, breathing for." I gazed into his eyes, pools of water beckoning me to jump in. His face held emotion that I had never seen before, no one had ever looked at me this way before. My heart swelled against my chest, threatening to break through.

"You're all I have left, Thranduil." My fingers played with my mother's necklace strung around my neck. I felt a tear roll down my cheek, his lithe fingers brushing it away.

"My sweet Dreidha, do not fear. No one will take you from me." He leaned in, murmuring into my neck, his eyes fluttering shut. His cool breath brushed against me, sending goosebumps rippling across my whole body. We stayed like this for a few minutes, until he leaned his head on my shoulder. My eyelids grew heavy, and I found myself slipping away once more, exhaustion overwhelming me.

No one will take you from me. I played those words over and over until I fell asleep with a warmth inside my body that I had never felt before. For the first time in a long time, I felt the hole in my heart close up, silently pulling itself back together. After all my losses, I was finally gaining something.

I dreamt of ashes on the ground where a village had once been. I dreamt of elves with silky hair who rescued me when I had nothing left. And I didn't wake up until the next morning.

I had found my something worth living for.

{DRUMROLL PLEASE..... I'M BACK! I'm back for real this time, and once finals are over I'm finishing this story! Expect updates within the next month. To those of you who have stayed, thank you. To anyone who has read my story, commented anything, or has liked it- thank you. I can't thank you all enough! Thank you for all the support and for being with me through everything and for such a long time! I know this was such a short chapter, but sometimes short and sweet is good! Once more, thank you, and don't worry - we're back in business.}