A liaison in the Great Greenwood

Chapter 56

Thranduil strode into the main palace courtyard, his retinue struggling to keep up with his pace. He moved with much urgency now, for now he was in disbelief. The horn he had heard was one he had not heard for many, many years. Yet, it was one that was all too familiar.

His heart sank into his chest when he beheld her, standing by her carriage, awaiting his presence. He felt as if all sense of time and place faded away as she turned to him, her smile as radiant as the sun. He could clearly see where her daughter's beauty was inherited from.

"Thranduil." She greeted with a bow, chuckling to herself when she saw how he was rooted to the spot in surprise. "Is the great Elvenking lost for words? How peculiar!" She teased him. His heart fluttered at that mischievousness of hers which had once been so well known to him.

"Celebrian? I received no news that you were coming here..." He stayed where he stood.

"No, for I sent none." She replied, her songbird voice becoming more serious. "Your power has waned Thranduil, for you did not even sense my coming..."

"No, I did not." He concurred, frowning slightly at the truth of it. "What brings the Mother of Imladris to the Woodland Realm without so much as a word? Surely it was not to surprise her daughter."

"I have come on a matter of great urgency, one of which we must discuss in private." She replied, pulling off her traveling gloves.

"Of course." He nodded. "But let us get you settled. You must be exhausted from your travels. I trust that you did not run into any troubles on your way here?" He motioned for her to follow him to the guest rooms.

"Not unlike my daughter."

"Still biting, I see." He sighed.

"Seasons change, Thranduil. We do not."

As much as season change, Celebrian chose to change her clothes as well before meeting Thranduil in his private gardens. Her travelling clothes were indeed comfortable, but now she was in the court of a great king and she chose to dress accordingly. With a help of a servant who awaited her in the guest rooms she quickly washed herself and then changed to a beautiful lavender gown which she had brought from her home in Imladris.

She then released her hair from the tight braid she wore during travelling and, putting a single flower in it, plucked from a vase in her room, she headed to meet the Elvenking.

Thranduil was already there, sitting casually in a pagoda waiting for her, an empty cup in his hands.

"Getting drunk already?" Celebrian quipped before he could see her. "How inappropriate." She shook her head as she approached and sat on one of the seats adjacent to the king.

Thranduil ignored her tone this time. "It was medicine," He murmurs. "I guess you were already informed about my injuries."

She nodded. "My husband is quite informative. He does not keep any secrets nor does he try to hide anything, considering his persona or others."

Thranduil hummed something under his breath.

"What is it?" She asked directly, paying him her full attention.

"Nothing important." Thranduil sighed heavily, instead calling the nearby-waiting servant. "Bring lady Celebrian a beverage of her choice."

"Plum wine." She ordered without a second thought. "If you do not have it in your cellar, I have brought some with me. Just ask my servants."

The servant boy bowed his head. "Of course, my lady."

She dismissed him with a kind smile and a nod. Only after the boy was gone she turned her attention back to Thranduil. "Call off your guardian pups as well. I want this conversation to be private."