I bid Thranduil goodbye that night, we both couldn't keep the smile off our faces. After our kiss I stayed in his arms for what seemed like an eternity, I wanted nothing more than to stay there and kiss his soft lips again, but reality is a terrible thing and I knew both of us had to get back to it.
As I descended the staircase and headed to my room I felt relaxed for the first time in a long while. I was grateful for the late hour because if anyone saw me I was afraid my eyes would give me away. I entered my room and undressed myself as I looked out the window to the mountains and the sky, everything seemed as calm as I felt and I couldn't wait to get some sleep; maybe that way I'd see Thranduil in my dreams.
*
I woke up the next morning to a knock on my door, it was still dark outside and the wine I'd drank last night was catching up to me. I rubbed my eyes and then looked around my dark room, it was early too early and I remembered that Legolas and Tauriel had gotten back from Rivendell last night. My stomach dropped at the thought of facing Legolas. How would he react if I told him about me and his father? I was only a few centuries older than Legolas but Thranduil was a lifetime older than the both of us. Legolas would hate me and seeing him every day would make it harder for me to keep mine and Thranduil's affair secret.
"Caladhiel are you there?" The knocking on my door persisted and it was no other than Legolas.
I took in a deep breath and stood up from my bed; the moment my feet made contact with the cold wooden floor I crawled back beneath the covers and tried to ignore the persistent knocking.
"Open up you have training to do." Legolas shouted. "Don't make me come inside." He threatened, knowing him he was capable of doing so, I decided to stand up and open the door. "Finally! Now get ready, a long morning awaits."
It broke my heart to see the exitement in his face, I just couldn't train with him every morning and risk me saying something about Thranduil and I or worse; saying something to Thranduil about my training, he certainly wouldn't approve.
"Legolas I'm sorry it's just that I can't keep training." I muttered half asleep, half awake.
"Why, what's wrong?" Legolas asked as he invited himself inside. I walked over to my bed and he sat down beside me. "Caladhiel, why the sudden change of heart? You are doing so well in training, I was even concidering asking my father to let you train officially so you can join Tauriel and I on the guard."
"No!" I screamed, I couldn't concieve the idea of Thranduil knowing I'd been secretly training myself, for some reason I thought he might hate the idea. Legolas stared at me bewildered. "I mean, don't tell your father anything, I just don't want to train anymore."
Legolas raised an eyebrow as if waiting for an explenation that never came. "Very well." He said, the look of disappointment in his eyes saddened me, all of the joy I felt from yesterday vanished. He was the first person to believe in me, but I'd let him down. When he shut the door behind him I tried to go back to sleep, but his disappointed eyes haunted me until sunrise.
*
The weeks passed and I avoided Legolas as much as I could. He had been a wonderful friend to me and I'd caused him great dissapointment. But the thing that made the days better was the fact that Thranduil spent a lot of time with me, we would sneak together like kids in the garden; I'd hide from him and he'd find me, wrap me in his arms and kiss me. With me he became a different person, he smiled more, he even laughed but at dinner time and the rest of the day he would be the same cold man I'd met the first day I'd arrived.
*
The months passed and Legolas no longer spoke to me. During dinner he wouldn't even glance my way. It broke my heart to know his dissapointment in me was that big. He also seemed to notice a change in his father, Thranduil may be cold in public but there was something about him that showed he was happy.
It was a late December afternoon; the sun was almost setting and I was making my way back to my chambers before dinner when I ran into him. It was the first time in months he so much as looked at me, his features were becoming harsh like his father's but the disappointment in his eyes was his own.
"Legolas." I said with a glimmer of hope in my eyes.
He simply looked at me and kept moving further away. In that split second I knew I had to tell him the truth. I took a hold of his arm before he slipped away, he turned around unmoved by my pleading gesture.
"I need to tell you something." My voice sounded small but determined, I could only hope he'd take everything well and not react the way I feared.
"I'm listening." Was the only thing he said.
"Not here, I must talk to you in privacy and too many people can hear." I lead him up to my chambers, looked twice in both directions before finally shutting the door.
"I need to go keep watch, spiders and other monstruosities are invading us." His voice was as dry as a windless summer day and I gulped hard and scared.
"I'm so sorry to have stopped training with no explanation, I didn't want to hurt you." I started to say but he held his hand up to silence me.
"Caladhiel if you're apologizing for deserting me it's too late." He made a motion to stand up but I pulled on his arm making him sit back down.
"I know, but I didn't stop training because I didn't like it, in fact I miss it and I miss you. Legolas you were the first person to trust me and I know you disobeyed your father when you offered me your help, but that's exactly why I stopped." My voice grew louder but more strained, Legolas was now staring at me baffled and I could clearly see how things started adding up in his mind.
He started to open his mouth to speak when Thranduil walked in; he wasn't wearing a smile, he wasn't wearing an expression for that matter, he seemed angry for some reason. His sudden interruption made my heart stop beating and my blood run cold.
"Thranduil." I said at the same time as Legolas said. "Father."
His expression became amused and it softened. "I was on my way to see you Caladhiel when I heard you talking to someone, I should've known it was my son." I expected him to lash out at both of us and jump to conclusions but I felt he knew something.
"Father what are you doing here?" Legolas asked as he looked at his father and then back at me. I supposed his supositions were now being confirmed.
"That was what I was about to tell you...Legolas your father and I well, we are...I mean we...we have been spending a lot of time together." The words were hard to speak and Legolas looked discusted.
"She could be your daughter! How could you?" Legolas screamed at his father.
Thranduil's expression became outraged. "I can do whatever I please son, I do not want nor need your permission!" His voice boomed throughout the room and it silenced Legolas.
My eyes started to well up with tears and I stood at Thranduil's side. "I undersand what he's saying Thranduil, this does look wrong on so many levels." I said, trying to defend my friend. "He's just concerned."
"So you stopped training because you were affraid my father would find out? You had no idea how you would explain to him why you sneaked off from his bed so early in the morning!" His words were like a knife and I felt the blow. Tears were now rolling down my cheeks and I knew that I'd lost Legolas for good.
"How dare you insult her like that." Thranduil's voice came out calm and he wrapped me in his arms. "She has been through enough, she cares for you Legolas, you have no right to treat her like that."
I looked over at Legolas and saw how he realized what he'd done. His eyes were now sad and he walked over to me. I disentangled myself from Thranduil's embrace and Legolas took me in his arms. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you to keep our training a secret, you've made my father happy, I saw the change long before you two started spending time together. The first day you arrived he actually smiled, he hasn't smiled since he lost my mom." Legolas' voice was strained but he shed no tears.
"I should have told you sooner." I cried.
Legolas hugged me tighter and said. "Would you forgive me?"
"I think I'm the one you should forgive." Thranduil interjected.
Legolas and I both looked at him confused. "What do you mean?" I asked.
"I've known about your training sessions. I discovered it the morning I ran into you two, I knew you were hiding something so the following morning I followed you and saw what you were up to. You are a great warrior Caladhiel, I should have never deprived you from it but I made a promise to Elrond." My mind reeled and was being pulled in every direction, Thranduil knew and he wasn't mad.
"So I can't train anymore can I?" I asked as I sat down on my bed.
Thranduil sat beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I made a promise to Elrond but I'm affraid I'll have to break it."
A huge smile grew on my lips and I wrapped my arms around Thranduil's neck and kissed him. His kiss was filled with passion and I couldn't help but smile in the middle of it. After what seemed like an eternity I pulled away and saw Legolas was covering his eyes.
"I'll be expecting you first thing in the morning. And father, I think it's time to make your affair public." Legolas said with a smile and walked out of the room.
Thranduil kissed me again and I was now happier than I was when we'd first kissed. I had him and I had his son's friendship back.