Legolas and Esteleth rose from the bench in slow motion. Out of his protective instinct Legolas held his arm in front of Esteleth and gently pushed her behind him. Seeing his father in seething anger was no pretty sight. He held Esteleth by her wrist, making sure that she would stay behind him, thus shielded from his father's fury.
"Both of you! In my study! Now!"
The king's voice thundered through the garden and he left them behind, knowing that they would follow him soon.
When his father's voice boomed at them in anger, Legolas could feel her body tremble with fear. He had completely ruined the beautiful moment they had shared. Esteleth had opened herself and her heart to him, but his father's behaviour must have hit her like a hard blow in the stomach the moment she was open and vulnerable. Legolas turned around to Esteleth and embraced her. She buried her face in his chest and he gently stroked her back, trying to soothe her. She let out a sob, and Legolas felt anger accumulating within him. This kingdom was no place for an elleth with such a gentle heart. He would not stay here with her. It seemed to the prince that his time at his father's side was over.
"Dear Esteleth, as much as I desire it, we cannot stay here. We have to go to my father. Please have faith in me that he will not harm you. I'll protect you from his wrath."
Legolas kissed her forehead. He took her by the hand and led her back to the palace.
Thranduil waited in his study on them. He stood erect, his arms crossed over his chest, trying to control his raging fury. His anger was written all over his face. Legolas knocked on the door and together with Esteleth they entered his father's study.
The king looked down at Esteleth, and began to speak to her with a disgusted expression.
"You have lied to my son! You have tried to enchant him with beauty and charm. But I have knowledge of your misdeeds. You may have fooled my son, but you cannot fool me!"
Thranduil's eyes were narrowed and his expression was furious. Legolas could not understand what his father was talking about, but before he could open his mouth to ask him, the king went on with his accusations.
"You have deliberately given my son false information about Tinnueth in an attempt to lure him into your arms. Sorceress!I will not tolerate your presence in my kingdom any longer!"
"Nonsense! What do you know of her deeds?" Legolas had stepped closer to his father, his anger written all over his face.
"My son, she has told you that Tinnueth hates weapons and fighting. That she loves flowers and that she is romantic. You have acted according to the advice she has given you. And the result is, because you did everything wrong, that Tinnueth is now with Esgaron and not with you. This elleth here is a liar and deserves to be treated like one."
Esteleth was frightened to death by the king's murderous gaze, which he had fixed upon her, torturing her with his cold and penetrating stare. She let go off Legolas' hand and ran out from the study.
"It was not her that lied to me. I am the one who has lied to you, father! She answered all of my questions truthfully, but I was the one that changed the facts to fit my purposes. I was the one who loved Esteleth first. And I lied to you in order to escape from a marriage I did not desire. She has nothing to do with this! Leave her alone and mind your own business. I will not bother Tinnueth with my attention and flowers again. I hated doing this. I love Esteleth and you cannot change that. If you cannot tolerate this, then I am out of here. If this is the case, then I will leave this kingdom with Esteleth instantly and travel north to her father's home."
Thranduil had heard enough. His voice thundered at Legolas.
"You are going nowhere! I will personally make sure that you will stay in my kingdom. Even if that means that I will have to lock you up in my dungeons! She is leaving this kingdom, and you are staying here with me. You are my son, my subjects' prince, and my heir."
Legolas pushed his father backwards, making him stumble from his son's unexpected attack. The prince stood right in front of his father, his voice filled with anger and hatred.
"I will do whatever I want, and you can't stop me! If you object to my decision, why don't you make yourself another heir? But, oh, I understand, you can't do that because no one wants you. That's why you are alone and miserable! No elleth could tolerate to be with you! As for myself, I have reached the end of my tolerance. I am not staying here any longer!"
With these words, Legolas left his father's study, leaving a shocked king behind.
He found Esteleth crying in her parents' chambers and knelt down, trying to comfort her. Istor stood at the bed and watched as the prince tried to calm his daughter down. He did not know what had happened, but he and his wife had suspected that the prince might have rejected her love. But now he was there, sitting next to her, caressing her face gently, wiping away Esteleth's tears. The prince looked up at Istor and Galliel and began to explain the situation.
"I love your daughter. But my father does not accept my feelings for her. Tonight he saw us kissing in the garden and became terribly angered. Unfortunately, he attacked Esteleth with false accusations, of which I am guilty."
Istor and Galliel needed a moment to process the princes' words. After a minute of realization, Istor left his chambers to call upon Belegur and Riniel. Maybe they knew how to help them.
*****
Tinnueth was unaware of the previous night's events. She had been in her chambers all evening and night, feeling more and more uneasy by each hour that passed. She felt different. The only thing that she could think about was Esgaron. She got up from the settee and looked around her chamber, feeling a sudden sadness that he was not there.
Thranduil sat on the head of the long table watching as the elves enjoyed their meal. Soon half of the festival would be over. He was glad that everyone would leave, but felt greatly dissatisfied. His plan had not worked out. He spotted Tinnueth who had entered the dining hall. She looked different today. Thranduil furrowed his eyebrows, gazing at her with suspicion. She walked over to the table and took her seat next to her brother. The king kept his eyes on her the entire time. Tinnueth literally stared at Esgaron the whole time. Her eyes hardly left him, while she ate her breakfast. Thranduil moved in his chair and leaned back, sipping on his wine from time to time. Where had he seen this?
Elrond interrupted the king's thoughts when he began to discuss the upcoming ball. Thranduil sighed and reluctantly turned his attention towards Elrond who eyed him thoughtfully.
"Yes. Let us discuss tomorrow's ball."
The king and Elrond engaged in a long, detailed discussion until they were the only ones left in the large dining hall.
"Are you well, my king?"
Elrond's question annoyed Thranduil.
"Of course I am fine. What makes you think otherwise?"
"To be honest, you seem to be deep in thought at times, and I just felt that you might need help or..."
Thranduil realized that Elrond had slowly begun to understand what was going on. He pulled his best card off his sleeve to end Elrond's thoughts and suspicions.
"My son has chosen a wife and I am not happy with his choice. I am sure that you, above all others, will understand my feelings. Your daughter has married a human and accepted mortality."
Elrond felt frustrated upon hearing the king's words. But he was right. He could understand Thranduil's feelings.
"Is Esteleth the lucky elleth?"
Thranduil almost choked on his wine. He eyed the Lord of Imladris sternly.
"Lucky elleth? I am not sure that any elleth may consider herself lucky having me as her father in law. I can tell you for sure that my own son shares my opinion."
Elrond eyed the king with interest.
"What makes you think that?"
Thranduil avoided Elrond's eyes and instead stared at the other end of the long table.
"Last night he told me that no elleth would want to be with me, because they would not be able to tolerate me. That this has been the reason for my loneliness and misery."
Smiling bitterly, the king emptied his goblet and poured himself more wine.
"May I offer you my best wine?" Looking at Elrond with sarcasm, the king's expression was cold and distant.
Elrond nodded. "Does he know?"
Thranduil looked at the Lord of Imladris coldly and almost unnoticeably shook his head.
"No, he does not know. But the witless son of Dogion made a comment which definitely had my son think a lot."
"And what was that?"
Elrond was curious. He had not noticed all those things, having been too busy with the elves who were looking for a spouse and had requested his help and advice.
"Maldor intimidated Esteleth in order to extract information from her about Tinnueth. He touched her, making her very fearful. My son stepped in and ended her ordeal. He told Maldor that he had frightened Esteleth, and that he had touched her without her consent, and that this type of behaviour would not be tolerated by neither him nor me. However... Maldor replied by asking him if it was not his own father who has broken such rules. He even suggested that Legolas has known too little about his own life."
Elrond took his goblet and sipped on his wine, while he studied the king's behavior.
"All this sounds very dramatic. Strange things are happening within your halls. In fact, it reminds me of a similar incident, a long, long time ago."
Elrond leaned back against the backrest of his chair and eyed the king with an intense, penetrating gaze. Thranduil froze in place and burned in Elrond's glance, which he hated immensely.
"Well, it seems that your son has found love and that the two of you had an unfortunate time last night."
The king nodded with a displeased expression.
"I caught them kissing in my private garden."
Elrond raised his eyebrows.
"And that made you jealous?"
Thranduil coughed out the wine he was just about to swallow. He took a napkin and wiped his mouth before he looked at Elrond who eyed him with suspicion.
"I am not jealous of them. I just had another elleth in mind for my son. Seeing them with locked lips and all romantic simply made me angry."
"Is that so?"
Elrond nodded, but continued to look at the king closely. Something was going on. He believed that it could be the unexpected.
*****
Thranduil picked up the goblet of wine from his desk and drained it. He refilled the goblet again, and took it outside in his balcony where he stood and thought. This situation was becoming strange. He could not shake off the feeling that he was missing out on important facts. He drank his wine and decided to walk through his halls. Maybe he could find some answers. It was late at night, and the first elf he spotted when he opened his doors was Lady Tinnueth who was walking past them, heading for the halls. She stopped and looked at the king in surprise.
"Where are you going so late at night?" The king's stern voice made her shiver.
She smiled shyly and lowered her gaze. The king stepped out into the corridor and lifted her chin up, looking deep into her eyes.
"You are supposed to be in your chambers. Where are you going?" His voice was strict and commanding.
"I, mmh, I am going to see Esgaron," she replied honestly.
Thranduil nodded and he pulled her into his private chambers. Tinnueth was surprised by his behaviour, but said nothing. She looked up at him with wide eyes, waiting for what would happen next.
Thranduil turned away from her, and strode over to his desk where he sat down in his chair and began to read a scroll. Tinnueth stood absolutely still, utterly confused. Perhaps she should try to go back to her chambers, or at least pretend to be doing so. She was on her way to Esgaron when the king saw her. The king could not prevent her from doing so. She touched the cold iron handle of the king's doors and tried to open them, but nothing moved. She tried again and again she suddenly felt his intense gaze on her back. Tinnueth turned around. The king had leaned back in his chair and watched her sternly.
"Are you trying to leave my chambers?"
She nodded. "Yes. I wish to return to... my chambers."
"You are LYING! You are going to meet Esgaron. Nothing of that nature will happen within my halls."
He got up and walked over to her. The doors opened and the king called a guard.
"Tell Belegur to come to my chambers at once!"
The king entered his chamber again, and Tinnueth watched as the large doors closed by themselves. Thranduil was aware of her thoughts.
"This is my magic. You can't leave my chambers without my consent."
He looked down at her before he returned to his desk, sitting down and sipping on his wine, while watching her intently.
A knock on the doors caused Tinnueth's body to stiffen. Her father had come. The doors opened and Belegur walked inside, smiling happily at the king.
"My friend, you have called for me?"
Thranduil answered him with a nod of his head into Tinnueth's direction. She was standing behind the open doors when her father entered. Belegur turned around and was surprised to see his daughter standing in the king's chamber.
"What is the meaning of this"? Belegur's head turned from the king over to his daughter and then back at the king.
"I caught your daughter while she was on her way to Esgaron, in the middle of the night. Does she have your permission to do so?"
The king eyed Belegur in expectation.
Belegur shook his head as anger slowly entered his eyes.
"No, my king. I was not aware of her... strange... ideas..." His eyes fell upon his daughter and his expression turned stern. He looked over to the king.
"Thank you for keeping my daughter safe."
Grabbing Tinnueth's hand, he hissed at her.
"You are coming with me."
Thranduil chuckled when they had left his chambers and returned his attention to the scroll he had been reading.
*****
"I will see no more of this. You will stay here and if I hear a single word that you have left your chambers, I will not be kind."
Belegur left her chambers and closed the door noisily. Tinnueth sighed and sat down on her bed. This had not gone well. She fell back and let her legs dangle off the bed. Now she had to wait till morning to see Esgaron again. That would be a very long time. She began to recollect the numerous times they had played together as elflings, fighting with wood sticks and running through the forest. Esteleth had never liked seeing them together. She had never done so. Esteleth...
Tinnueth furrowed her eyebrows in anger. Esteleth had always kept Esgaron away from her, denying her happiness. But this would end soon. No one could stop her from marrying Esgaron.
Late at night, she stole away from her chambers, heading for the lower halls. Little did she know that she was being watched. Words of her disobedience reached the king's ears quickly.