"I cannot believe you left me out there on your balcony, in the cold, shivering."
"I told you I'd show you shaking. Now look at you, your body can't stop trembling."
"You know sometimes, you just need to let things go."
"I will never put you placing that grape in my mouth behind me." Lúthien rolled her eyes
"You're so petty."
"And you're so shaky."
"Oaf."
"You're such a child, I should punish you for your immature behavior."
"And how do you propose to go about it? Your Majesty?"
"Hmmm, I'm not sure. Maybe like this!" Thranduil grabbed her by her waist and hoisted her up onto his shoulder so that he'd have her by the legs with her rear in the air.
"Valar! Thranduil! Put me down!" She said hitting his back with her fists
"What's the matter? Afraid of heights?"
"Well actually the view from here is kind of nice." Lúthien eyed his posterior and silently agreed that it looked 'cute.' So with her index finger, she lightly poked the firmness it and deemed it satisfyingly hilarious
"What in the Valar are you doing!?" Thranduil immediately walked over to the bed and threw Lúthien over his shoulder. She giggled as her body bounced against the mattress.
"Your rear is quite adorable."
"You have a foul mouth woman, now come over here so I can teach you a lesson." He said pulling her by her feet
"What are you going to do? Banish me?"
"No." He said softly, clasping her hand so that he could pull her off the mattress. Lúthien knelt on the bed as Thranduil stood beside it, both his hands now on her waist.
"I'm going to do what I should've done the moment I realized you had returned." He gently tucked her soft hair behind her ear. Thranduil leaned in slowly, giving Lúthien time to adjust. But when he drew near, he couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the sound of her thumping heart.
"What's wrong?" He shook his head
"Can't you hear it?" Lúthien furrowed her brows "I'm certain you can feel it." She was stumped
"You're heart Lurielním, it's always beating so profoundly. It's astonishingly lovely, something I could never grow tired of."
Lúthien had always thought of it as such a bother, a give away to her true emotions. It always betrayed her in the most dire of situations. Whenever she's with him, it's pounding never seems to stop. But they way he described it just now, gave her an entirely new perspective.
"It flutters so dearly whenever I'm around." He smiled "I cannot help but adore it."
Lúthien could begin to feel her face grow warm, her body betraying her yet again. She attempted to look away, to keep him from gazing at her magnificence. With the gentleness of his finger, Thranduil nudged her face back towards him. He studied the way her pupils dilated when she looked into his eyes. It was one of the most exquisite things he had ever witnessed.
"Why do you look away from me?"
Lúthien knew in her heart she'd always be vulnerable for him. There would always be apart of herself that belonged to him and even though she loved him more than anything, it terrified her. She couldn't bring herself to answer his question right away. Thranduil studied her carefully before coming to a conclusion.
"You're afraid." Hearing him say it aloud somehow helped her accept the truth
"Yes." Her voice was almost but a whisper
"Why?"
"Because...I'm in love with you. And I've never felt this way about anyone before." Tears began to build up in her eyes "And hearing you say those things about me fills my heart completely with joy."
"You once told me that there wasn't anything wrong with the way that I was feeling..." he spoke, wiping away her tears "That I should express my emotions...So why wouldn't I say the same to you?"
Thranduil cupped the side of her face and with the pad of his thumb, caressed her cheek.
"You mustn't be afraid...let go."
Let go?
What did that entail?
Surrender.
Lúthien leaned in slowly, gently pressing her lips against Thranduil's. It began with a small, soft gesture that gradually escalated into something more. Their lips danced in union as their hands explored one another, hers tangled in his silky hair and his below her waist. They separated momentarily, only to catch their breath.
Thranduil's primal instincts emerged, his propriety dissolving with each passing second. Before he knew it, Lúthien was already removing her upper garments, in which he responded by doing the same. But as he did so she paused, gleaming at his chiseled upper body. The more she stared, the more she began to notice the freckles that were speckled across shoulders. Lúthien smiled as she embraced him, so that she might be able to view all of them.
"What's wrong?" He asked
"Your freckles, I love them." She said tracing over them with her finger. Thranduil could feel her smiling against him, which made his heart skip a few beats.
Lúthien let out a squeal as he swiftly picked her up and gently laid her down onto the bed. Thranduil smiled down at her before their lips met again, sending chills down both of their spines. And when he pulled away, the King spoke softly into her ear
"I love you." He whispered, his breath slightly prickling her skin
One hand held him up, while the other ventured south to find the small of her back. Lúthien slowly lifted her hips against his as he began littering her neck with passionately warm kisses. But it wasn't gentleness she wanted anymore, her breathing now heavy as she yearned for something greater.
Or so she imagined
Soon afterwards, Lúthien's mind began to replay the horrific scene with Eris in the tub in sequences of flashes. Including the torturing she faced in the dungeons. The passion was now tainted and grew into panic. All the trauma began racing through her thoughts and she couldn't help but remain still. This was going to hurt him and there wasn't anything she could do to stop it.
A chilling gust of wind grabbed his attention and when Thranduil looked up, he was in complete darkness. He glanced down at Lúthien a found her in a total state of shock, tears flooded her eyes and she was wheezing as if she wasn't able to breathe.
"Lúthien!" He immediately got off her and helped her up
"Thranduil!?" She felt around her surroundings as if she wasn't able to see
"I'm right here Lurielním!"
"Stay back!"
"What?"
"Please." She sobbed "I don't want to hurt you."
"Lúthien?" Thranduil looked around but still couldn't see anything, except for her. She slid off the bed and landed on the stone cold floor with a thud. "Let me help-"
"No....please."
"I'm not leaving you!" He went over to pick her up
"You don't understand! Do you want to be sucked into the darkness!?" Lúthien cried, trying to pry herself away, but Thranduil was too strong
"If it means being with you, then yes."
"I won't bring you down with me Thranduil."
"Did you not hear me? I don't care!"
"I'm sorry." She breathed
"What?"
Suddenly, Lúthien's wings outstretched behind her. The action forced his hands apart, leaving him on the floor. He had never seen them completely out before, the magnificence of them was unlike any he had ever seen. But then she started taking steps away from him.
"I'll be taking the darkness with me."
"Lúthien don't!"
She turned her back as the darkness that masked the entire room began to absorb into some sort of rift. Lúthien stepped inside of it, looking over her shoulder one last time to find Thranduil grabbing hold of her wrist. By then it was too late, the darkness had already engulfed the both of them.
*+*
Thranduil's stomach churned as he came to, his head spinning. Everything was still dark, except for a small area in front of him. It was a hazy illumination of light, that turned into a large bathroom as his eyes focused. A steaming basin, candles everywhere. Despite its warm appearance, there was a chill that ran down his spine.
He didn't think anything of it, until a man came into view. He was carrying something and when he turned, Thranduil realized that the person being carried was indeed Lúthien. She was covered in nothing aside from a small blanket, her body beaten and bloody. The man removed the cloth, placing her into the steamy basin.
"Eris?" She spoke
This is Eris?
Thranduil's thoughts began racing as he continued watching what was happening.
"The water is growing cold."
"I'll warm it up then." He replied
"No, I think you should come in here with me. They say skin to skin is the best way to truly keep a person warm."
"Is that so?"
Eris removed his clothing, slipping into the bath and pulling her by the arm so that she'd be closer to him. Thranduil stood by, his heart shattering as the mongrel had his way with Lúthien. He could barely watch as things escalated between them, tears built up, blurring his vision.
Lúthien's arms wrapped around him as she began to plant kisses on his neck, just as he had done to her earlier. Her hands ran though his hair before lowering to cup his face. Thranduil was at loss for words, his throat dry.
"I hope you rot in hell." She spoke before completely snapping his neck. The crack echoed in the darkness as Eris's body fell limp.
Lúthien immediately hopped out of the tub, dragging his body with her onto the tile. She lunged for his belt, and grabbed his dagger. With it in her possession, she jabbed it into his chest and cut him open so that she could pull his heart from his corpse. She threw it aside before setting his body ablaze. Everything happened so fast, it was over before it even began.
Once again Thranduil was left in the darkness
"I told you to stay." Lúthien's voice echoed
"What was that?" He asked rising to his feet, unable to comprehend what he just witnessed
"I had to make you understand."
"He...? You..?"
"I did what was necessary to ensure my survival." She said, finally coming into view and walking over to him
"You killed him?" He was in complete shock
"I had to."
"I didn't...."
"You couldn't have known, which is why I'm showing you now."
"Lúthien." Thranduil breathed, taking her hands in his "There's more, I know there is."
"This is all I needed to show you."
"This wasn't the only thing that happened."
"You're not going to see anything else Thranduil, I won't do that to you."
"Stop lying to me!"
"I'm protecting you from the truth!"
"There's another word for that Lúthien." He snapped
"It'll hurt you."
"I don't care, the only way for me to truly understand your heart is for me to know what happened!"
"You'll see me differently Thranduil."
"What!?"
"If I show you what's in my tormented mind, you're going to look at me the way your people always have. The same judgmental expression that make me feel as if I'll never be enough for you. Like a disappointment, a mistake."
"Nothing you could ever do will make me feel that way about you Lúthien."
"This knowledge is a curse." She whispered with tears streaming down her cheeks
"Curse or not, it's something I'm willing to bare with you. Trust me....please."
"Thranduil, forgive me."
Suddenly, another light was illuminated in the darkness. The difference with this memory though was that it had a darker, eerie feeling.
Thranduil could see Lúthien strung up by her wrists, completely naked and shivering. Frost was forming on her toes and finger tips, her lips blue. Unlike the other memory, this one didn't have any dialogue. She muted it, so that he wouldn't have to hear her scream.
Eris and his men walked into the room and they began beating her senseless until she coughed up blood, her body swinging back and forth. Afterwards, Thranduil witnessed Eris slicing her in random areas with a knife before taking possession of a whip.
"No." Her King couldn't believe what he was watching, he squeezed her hand in agony. The pain he felt in his heart was excruciating, but not as much as hers in these horrible memories.
Eris, swung and swung until her back was slashed beyond comprehension. Each strike, more difficult to watch than the last. Even though there wasn't anything to hear, her screams echoed in Thranduil's ears. He left her back desecrated, blood trickled down her body and pooled on the floor beneath her.
That image disappeared, but another one emerged.
It was Eris on top of her, taking advantage of her weakened state. Watching him enjoy himself was agonizingly painful, but seeing Lúthien strike him was satisfying. Then it too, vanished.
Thranduil looked down at her, his chest heaving with every breath. It took every fiber of his being not to scream out in fury. The tears completely flowing like a stream. Despite all of the overwhelming emotions that flowed through his heart, not once did he see Lúthien as a disappointment. Her never stared at her as if she was a mistake, because he was proud of how far she had come. Even with tears in his eyes, it was easy to see how much he loved her.
"Lúthien..." He spoke with a shaky voice, his lip trembling.
"It's alright Thranduil." She wrapped her arms around his torso, embracing him wholeheartedly. "I'm alright."
He cradled her with one arm, pulling her closer to him. And with his other hand, Thranduil held the back of head as he planted a kiss on top of her soft caramel colored hair. They both remained that way for a while, holding one another.
"Forgive me." He finally spoke
"There's nothing to forgive."
*+*
They returned to Thranduil's chambers and Lúthien thought it'd be better to give him his space. But when she pulled away to leave, he held on to her wrist.
"Please." He voice was gentle "Stay with me?"
She smiled "Always."
*+*
Broken. Beaten. Scarred.
All of which defined Lúthien and what made her strong. Before today, Thranduil never would've been able to imagine the things she had to endure. He had known she had gone to great lengths to be here, but he never would've thought.
As he sat in the basin, he thanked the Valar for allowing them to be together. He gazed over at Lúthien as she sat comfortably on the balcony ledge. Thranduil had advised her not to act so rash, but she assured him that she'd be fine if she fell because of her ability to fly.
She rested her elbow on her knee while her other leg hung over the edge, swinging back and forth. Her eyes remained closed as a slight breeze blew her hair off her shoulder. Lúthien didn't realize how closely she was being watched until she looked over at Thranduil.
The light of the moon made her silky night gown gleam in the dark, giving Lúthien a goddess like appearance. He smiled at the thought, for she was his goddess.
"What's so funny?"
"I was only thinking of how beautiful you are sitting in the moonlight."
"That's interesting, because I was thinking about you as well." She chuckled, walking over to him
"May I ask what exactly was on your mind?"
"Well...." Lúthien began, sitting down and dipping her legs into the soapy bath "I was thinking about how you were feeling."
"Honestly...I feel quite good despite the things I witnessed today. Your presence soothes my heart and I'm thankful to have you beside me."
"As am I."
"May I ask you something of you?" He asked suddenly
"Anything."
"Your wings...why do you hide them?"
"Well, uh because they're big, intimidating and they'll knock things over I suppose."
"So you're telling me the reason you conceal them is because they'll knock things over?" He said moving over to her
"That's right."
"Why do I sense the notion that you're lying?" Thranduil stood up, forcing Lúthien not to look at anything other than his eyes
"Maybe it's because you've been sitting in the warm water too long. The steaminess has clouded your judgement."
The water droplets falling from Thranduil's shoulders we're now dripping onto her gown. His damp hair stuck to his defined muscles, which she pushed back to gain a better view at his chiseled upper body.
"I think not."
"I think so."
"Would you feel comfortable showing them to me?"
"Are you sure Thranduil?" His eyes pleaded and she let out a sigh of defeat "Alright, but must promise me not to say anything."
"You have my word." He smirked "Will you take my hand first?"
"In my gown?"
"Why not?"
"You know what? Screw it." She took his hand and slid into the tub, causing a little splash
Lúthien turned her back to him, she wasn't sure how he'd react seeing her wings up close for the first time. The scars were the first noticeable things, but gradually her wings began to appear as she lifted her magic. They were folded and close together, she knew he wanted to see them. Slowly Lúthien extended both wings so that they'd be outstretched completely.
They were dragon wings, elegantly magnificent. If he was honest with himself, they were the most majestic things he had ever seen in his life. And to think that she hid them all this time.
Lúthien's eyes were squeezed shut in anticipation as she awaited a verbal reaction, even though he swore he wouldn't say a thing. But they were opened by the sudden but warm feeling of Thranduil's lips on her back.
She winced at his gentle touch on her right wing, which caused him quickly to retract his hand.
"My apologies-"
"It's fine." She laughed, looking over her shoulder. He could see her face beginning to flush with color. "They're just sensitive."
"They're lovely."
"It makes me happy hearing that from you."
"I wished you'd show them to me more often." He said stepping around her so that he might be able to see her face, Lúthien simply rolled her eyes
"You said they were sensitive?"
"Ummm yeah."
"Sensitive how?" He curiously dragged his index finger along the inside of her left wing. Lúthien's breathing hitched and her teeth immediately clamped down on her bottom lip. Of course he was too occupied to even notice and continued doing so until a small moan escaped her lips in which Thranduil stopped promptly.
Lúthien slapped her hand over her mouth, her wings suddenly disappeared and she sat herself down in the bath. With her head in between her knees, she refused to look up. It didn't matter if her dress was now completely soaked, all she could possibly think about was how embarrassed she was.
This wasn't the reaction Thranduil was expecting at all, but he was thrilled to have it. She knew she couldn't just sit there forever, remaining there clearly wasn't an option. So Lúthien summed up the courage to stand, excuse herself and leave the bathroom.
When he finished drying up, he entered the room to find Lúthien pretending to be asleep. Thranduil tried not to think about how amazing her drenched gown looked hugging every curve of her body.
"I know you're not truly asleep Lúthien." He said, but she didn't budge
"I must admit, I was a bit shocked with your reaction back there. It was something I definitely did not anticipate." He said sliding into bed
"Would you hate me if I said I found it quite adorable?"
Lúthien turned around to face him, with the most serious look in her eye and said,
"Yes."
Thranduil bursted out laughing with tears in his eyes.
"Don't be angry with me Lurielním, I enjoyed your little reaction. Glad to know I have some sort of effect on you." He said with a smirk
"You oaf."
I think this chapter was the longest one in this book so far. 😬 thank you for reading, hope you guys enjoyed it! Pls don't forget to like and comment ❤️ -E