Thranduil stood on his balcony, his gaze fixed on the horizon. Enraged by the unexpected changes, he held on to the railing so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His first plan had not worked out and now his second plan was failing, too. This was truly unusual, he thought. He slowly shook his head as his eyes wandered over his forest in Erebor's direction. His memories of king Dain only worsened his already foul mood. That dwarf was the most loathsome of his entire race Thranduil had ever had to deal with. Sometimes Dain had driven Thranduil so mad that the elf king almost wished that Thorin Oakenshield had not died in the Battle of the Five Armies.
His face darkened and his thoughts returned to the current situation, reflecting on the various possibilities. Thranduil had less than two weeks left to win Tinnueth's heart. But he was not the kind of elf who would charm an elleth to win her favour. He had never done so. It was not in his nature. His wife, Legolas' mother, had placed many obstacles on Thranduil's way. But eventually he had overcome them all by the use of deceit. He wondered what he could do so that Tinnueth would desire to marry him. How would he be able to spend more time with her? He might have another sword fight with her, but he doubted that another fight would be of the same quality as their first one had been. Now she was blinded by her love for Esgaron, a fact which angered the king greatly.
He walked back into his chambers and picked up the wine goblet, drinking a few gulps before he refilled it again. Thranduil sat down in his chair and slowly spun the wine around inside its goblet, watching the dark red liquid spin around, colouring the inside of his goblet light red. He had tried so hard to make a couple out of Tinnueth and Legolas. Thinking all the time about her, watching her move and speak, eat and drink, she had occupied his mind to such a degree that he had eventually become attracted to her. Such is fate. The only positive thing about the whole situation was that Legolas had not fallen in love with her. That would have been the worst possible case. Thranduil would not hesitate to kick Esgaron out of his halls and realm, in fact he might even kill him to achieve his goal. But he would not be able to kill his own son over an elleth. He thanked fate for having been on his side so far. Now that he had entangled himself in the game of love, he only desired to win it badly. But what could he do to change Tinnueth's feelings? The situation seemed hopeless. He leaned back in his chair and drowned slowly in the gloomy mood.
Later that evening Thranduil watched Tinnueth as she enjoyed her supper. He was greatly disgusted by her obvious attraction to Esgaron. How had she developed such a deep affection for the ellon within such a short time? Did that happen simply as a result of the time they had spent in the practice grounds? The king's gaze remained on her as he ate his meal and drank his wine. He could not get rid of the feeling that he had seen something like that before. It was time that his spies brought some useful information to him. He knew that Estehelth's and Tinnueth's brothers were still spying on the elleth. Thalawest had informed the king that her brothers had made sure that Esgaron would not come too close to Tinnueth. He had tried to kiss her a couple of times after the king had caught them in the garden. But before their lips met, one of the brothers had interrupted them, always finding new excuses to disturb them. The king was greatly pleased to hear about their endeavors to protect their sister and friend. They were in fact acting to his advantage. Still, he was worried as their betrothal was to be held in less than two weeks. And time passed quickly these days, too quickly for the king's liking.
*****
Legolas and Esteleth sat on the balcony of his chambers. The king had arranged a table and chairs for them and tonight they had their supper alone, far away from everyone else. They ate together and spoke about their plans. Legolas definitely wanted to visit the north. He had suggested to Esteleth that after their betrothal ceremony, when the festival was over, they would travel north, where they would spend the full year of their betrothal together. Then they would return to his father's realm for their marriage. Esteleth smiled happily.
"And after our wedding we will return to my father's home."
Legolas was startled at her idea.
"Ahm..... I don't think that this will be possible."
He watched as her smile faded away and her facial expression saddened.
"Do you expect me to spend my life imprisoned in these halls, visiting the forest only occasionally, accompanied by heavily armed guards? Is this the future you imagine for us?"
Her words made Legolas aware of the fact that they had completely different opinions about their common future. He reached over the table and held her hand gently while he smiled at her.
"Esteleth, I am the crown prince of this kingdom. Even while my father is alive, and I do hope that he will stay with us for a long time, I have to fulfill my responsibilities. I cannot simply walk away from my duties."
"But you were ready to leave all this behind for me... for us."
The prince leaned closer to her. "Yes, that was when my father had rejected our love. I was ready to fight for it. But when he gave us his blessings, the situation changed. I will have to return to this kingdom and fulfill my duties."
Esteleth pulled her hand out of his, her expression furious as she left the table. She walked away from his balcony and left his chambers. Legolas heard the door slam and sighed in frustration. He would give her some time to think about their words and then he would follow her. He continued to eat his meal when he heard his door open again. Legolas smiled, hoping that Esteleth had changed her mind. But it was not that easy to deal with an elleth, as Legolas had thought. It was his father, who walked out onto his balcony. Thranduil looked in surprise at the empty chair and his questioning gaze fell upon his son, who looked at him briefly and shrug his shoulders, before he continued to eat his meal.
"Where is Esteleth?"
Legolas chewed his salad and gave his father a brief look. "She's gone."
Thranduil's brows furrowed and he sat on her chair, watching his son eat. "Is that all that you will tell me, my son?"
Legolas drank some of his wine and shook his head. "I told her that I thought it would be a good idea to spend the year of our betrothal in her father's home."
Thranduil leaned back in the chair. "This is indeed a good idea. But where is her problem? She should be happy."
Legolas shook his head and rolled his eyes while he helped himself to a fruit. "No, she is not, because I told her that we would return to your halls for the wedding and... would stay here because, as the prince, I have my duties to fulfill. She left a few minutes ago. I did not follow her immediately, but I'm planning to do so once I have finished my meal."
A smirk crossed the king's face and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "If you marry her, you'll have to deal with these kinds of situations more often than you would like. But do not worry about it, they always calm down again."
"Did you have such problems with my mother, too?"
His son's question came unexpected, making the king's body stiffen, as his expression turned somewhat cold and distant.
"This is another topic. I will not talk to you about her. But we had another situation to deal with."
"And you failed."
Thranduil looked at his son with an unreadable expression. "Yes."
"Whose fault was it?"
Thranduil's gaze froze. His son must have felt very comfortable and confident that night to ask him such bold questions. Probably the love for the elleth in his heart had caused him to become reckless. That was the only explanation Thranduil could think of, that would explain Legolas daring questions and statements.
"It was my fault."
"And what did you do wrong?"
"Everything."
Legolas looked up at his father and beheld sadness in his usually cold and distant eyes. He decided to drop the topic. Whatever had happened between his parents, it had filled his father's heart with grief. That was an unusual emotion for his father. Legolas had rarely seen it. He continued his meal and Thranduil took a few grapes from the bowl and leaned back against the backrest of the chair, gazing over the forest while he ate the fruit.
"When you leave for the north for a year, I will personally take over the cleaning of the forest. I want to get rid of all the foul creatures once and for all. Elrond and Galadriel have offered to help us with this task and I have accepted their help. We will begin after the festival is over and all the guests have left."
Legolas nodded and was glad that the work he had done over the last decades would be continued by his father's own hands. This meant that the problem would be properly dealt with.
"What are you planning to say to her?"
Legolas looked up at the king in confusion. "Pardon me?"
Thranduil sat up straight in the chair, eyeing his son with curiosity. "What are you going to tell Esteleth? Do you have a strategy in mind to follow, or will you improvise when you see her? What do you think works best?"
His father's question surprised him greatly. He smiled at him and raised his eyebrows. "I will kiss her. That's what I am going to do."
Thranduil's expression was unreadable. The prince grinned at his father and left the table, trying to find the whereabouts of his future wife. Thranduil remained on his son's balcony, pondering over Legolas' answer. He would kiss her... Thranduil shook his head and remembered watching Legolas and Esteleth kiss in his garden. Probably ellith liked these kinds of gentle kisses. Thranduil had always been kind of straight forward with his wife, not wasting much time on tender acts. That might be one of the reasons why their marriage had lasted only as long as it had. She might have found a liking in him if he had been more gentle and caring. But then, it was not in his nature to behave like this. He was not sure how to approach Tinnueth, if in fact he would ever get the chance to do so.
Tinnueth... Thranduil sighed and decided to stay in his son's chambers. At least no one would disturb him here for some time.
*****
Legolas found Esteleth in her chambers. She was lying on her bed and he could tell that she had been crying. He walked across the room to her bed.
"It is not unusual for an elleth to live with her husband's family after she has got married. In fact, it is quite common among elves."
Esteleth turned her face away from him and pouted. "But they normally do not have to live in a dark forest, infested with cruel and horrific creatures."
He smiled and sat next to her on the bed, taking his boots off. Esteleth lay with her back facing him, and he lay down behind her, pulling her body close to his. A shiver ran through her body and a small gasp escaped her lips when she distinctly felt his manhood pressing firmly against her butt. Legolas gently turned her face towards his own and began to kiss her blushed cheek while he caressed her arm. Her physical reaction gave her away, showing him that there was no need to say more. She would forgive him easily. Legolas' hand moved to her flat belly and he turned her onto her back while he rose up, placing one knee between her thighs, hovering above her body, looking down into her beautiful face. He closed the distance between them and sealed their lips in a soft kiss. Esteleth had obviously relaxed when Legolas requested entrance into her mouth by running his hot tongue over her lips a couple of times. Slowly she parted her lips, letting his tongue enter her mouth and explore it. She tasted of grapes. Hesitating at first, she then began to move her tongue along with his, tasting him and experiencing the great urge to feel more of him than just his tongue and lips. Legolas lowered his body onto hers, making her feel his swelling erection. Fighting hard to control his urges, he opted for the moment and enjoyed the feeling of her shivering body under his own, as he slowly grinded his loins into hers.
Their kisses became more and more passionate while Legolas slowly pulled the hem of her dress up. Lifting his body off hers for a moment, he slid the dress over her navel, then slowly further up until he pushed it over her head, freeing her body of the unwanted garment. He sat up and looked down at her. She looked beautiful, her pale soft skin now shining golden yellow in the candle light. He swallowed hard and noticed her deeply blushed face. Slowly he laid his body on hers and kissed her reddened lips with passion while they touched each other, enjoying this new feeling of closeness. When Esteleth began to unbutton Legolas' tunic, he stopped her by gently holding her hands in place.
"Better not. I would not be able to withstand this temptation."
She nodded and Legolas covered her naked body with the blanket, holding her close to him while he kissed her again and again.
Later that night he returned to his chambers only to find his father still lounging in his settee, reading a book. Thranduil lowered the book and looked up at him with a smirk on his lips.
"The look on your face tells me that all is well."
Legolas simply nodded and sat down next to his father.
"It seems to me that you kissed away her doubts." Thranduil eyed Legolas with an amused expression. "Do not make her father angry, though. You know the rules of our people."
Legolas' eyes widened in surprise. "Is it obvious?"
Thranduil grinned and nodded amused. "Yes, my son. Your whole aura is glowing with lust and temptation."
"What am I to do now? If her parents see me like this, they will certainly know."
Laughing at his son's worries, Thranduil advised him, "Take a cold shower. And when you have done so, tell her to do the same. I will leave you now." He placed the book on the low table next to the settee and got up.
As soon as Thranduil exited his son's chambers, a guard came running to him.
"My king!" The guard bowed quickly to his king before he passed on the message. "The spies have returned along with your trackers. They have brought an elleth with them. "
Thranduil was surprised by the news. "Who is the elleth?"
"My king, it is Laerguleth."
Thranduil froze in place, his momentarily surprised expression darkened at once. Not even his breath escaped his lips. He furrowed his brows as he stared at the guard. Laerguleth... Laerguleth... Tinnueth's sudden attraction to Esgaron... He knew that he had seen this before, how could he have missed that? Now everything made sense! Thranduil's face darkened even further, making the guard step back in fear. Never would Thranduil have imagined that those two brothers would beat him at his own game. Fools! His eyes grew large with rage and his jaw tensed visibly as his hands clenched to fists.
"Where is she?" His voice was dark and threatening.
The guard pointed down the corridor. "They have taken her to your chambers, my king."
With long strides Thranduil approached his doors. How could he have been so blind to the obvious? He opened his doors in wrath, clomping into his chambers.