You stand on the slave block, your body shaking. You take in deep, shaky breaths as Men, Dwarves, and Elves look over you for inspection. You avoid the gaze of the men who's eyes linger on you longer than normal. Fear spikes in your heart, knowing that these men have darker intentions than just having you as a normal work slave. As slaves around are being sold, you still have no one putting a claim on you, to your relief. Your breathing starts to return to normal and the shaking in your body stops. Suddenly a tall, handsome Elf walks to your block and your body stiffens. King Thranduil of Mirkwood. You swallow as he looks you up and down. "Excuse me." He says, turning to the slave master. "I'll take her." Thranduil says. Your eyes widen and your heart stops for a second. You fight back tears as the master unlocks your manacles. Thranduil pays the master and then looks at you, a kind smile on his face. "What's your name?" He asks, walking, beckoning you to follow. "Y/N." You answer quietly, looking to the ground, while catching up with him. "That's a lovely name." He says softly. Your stomach twists. You've known men like this before. The men who sweet talk you and then end up using you. Then once they're done with you, they drop you like you're nothing. Your heart hardens and you defiantly stare up at king Thranduil. "I-I'm not going to use you as a slave." He says. Your eyebrows draw and your mouth slips open. "What?" You ask, confused. "I want you to live with me in Mirkwood-The Woodland Realm." Thranduil says, smiling. "I-I don't understand." You say quietly. "I want to get you out of your slave life. I want to protect you and make you a citizen of Mirkwood." He explains. "If that's what you would want." He rushes to add. You give him a small smile. "Would you like that?" He asks, smiling. You nod."I would." You say quietly, relief running through your veins.~
"This is your room." Thranduil says, leading you into a large room. You gasp and your eyes widen. You walk into the room and turn in a circle. "Wow." You breathe. Thranduil smiles. "It is to your liking then?" He asks. "Yes." You answer, smiling. "Th-thank you." You choke out. "No one...no one has ever treated me this kindly." You add quietly. Thranduil walks over to you and puts a hand on your shoulder. "Things will be different now." He replies, squeezing your shoulder gently. "Dinner is at six. I will come and escort you to the dining room." He says. You nod. "Also, I have arranged for a seamstress to come and get you a wardrobe." Thranduil says. You stare at him in shock. "Y-you really didn't have to do that." You say. "Nonsense, Y/N. I wish I could do more." He says. "There's nothing more for you to do, my king. This is more than I have ever had." You say quietly. "You needn't call me king. Thranduil will do fine." Thranduil says. You smile. "Okay." You say. "I'll give you some time to rest up a bit and then I'll come get you for dinner." He says. "Maybe Legolas will join us if he's back from hunting spiders." He adds, smiling. "I'll see you in a bit, Y/N." Thranduil says. You nod as he leaves your room. You sigh and look around your room. "Is this even real?" You whisper. "One minute I'm on a slave block, fearing my new owner, and then the next minute I'm being treated like royalty by my owner." You say, walking to the window. You look over Mirkwood and for the first time in your life, you finally feel at home.~
As you walk into the dining room, your arm tucked beneath Thranduil's, you spot Legolas who stares at you, prejudgment in his eyes . You wrap your other arm around your waist, self-conscious about your tattered clothes. "Legolas, I'd like you to meet Y/N. Y/N, this is my son, Legolas." Thranduil introduces. He leads you to a chair and pulls it out for you. You sit in it and he pushes it in. He takes the seat across from you, Legolas next to him. You take a deep breath and look at Legolas, putting a polite smile on your lips. "Nice to meet you." You say quietly. You swear he scowls, but then you blink and his face is emotionless. "Likewise." He says shortly. You take another deep breath and glance at Thranduil, who nods encouragingly at you. "Excuse, my lord." An Elf says entering the dining room. He bows quickly and then looks at the king. Thranduil looks at him, his eyebrows raised. "Yes, Feren?" He asks. "Elros was out on patrol when he was attacked by an Orc, he's injured, but it's not life-threatening." Feren informs. "Oh no." Thranduil breathes worriedly. He stands. "Ada, I will go." Legolas says. "No, no, stay here. I need to talk to Elros. Tomorrow, we must double the watch and search Mirkwood." Thranduil says. "I'll be ready." Legolas says. Thranduil and Feren walk off to tend Elros.
You eat in an awkward silence with Legolas. "So-so you're the captain of the guard?" You ask, looking at him from across the table. "No, I'm the commander in a way." Legolas says, continuing on with eating, not even bothering to look at you. "Oh." You say quietly, picking up a slice of cucumber and putting it in your mouth. "Do you have siblings?" You ask. "No." He answers. You sigh. "Do-do you have a mother?" You ask quietly. Legolas stiffens and finally looks at you. The sudden anger in his eyes surprises you. "I did." He replies, clenching his jaw. You sniff and pull back your chair. "Well, I think I better go to bed. I-I had a...trying day." You state. "Okay." Legolas mutters, looking back to his food. You bite your lip, not wanting to ask him for directions back to your room. You sigh and leave the dining room. You wander up a staircase, trying to picture the way to your room in your mind. After ten minutes of searching, you sigh in defeat. An Elf walks your way. "Excuse me!" You exclaim. He looks at you. "Yes?" He asks. "I-I need to get back to my room." You state, flushing with embarrassment. He smiles. "You're Y/N, yes?" He asks. You nod. "My name is Lethuin. I'd be happy to show you to your room." He says. You smile. "Thank you." You say. Lethuin starts walking and you follow him. "So how do you like your new home?" He asks. "I like it very much. Everyone is very friendly..." You trail off, thinking of Legolas. "But?" Lethuin draws out. You sigh. "Is Legolas unfriendly or is he just like that to me?" You ask. Lethuin eyes the ground. "Oh." You say quietly. "I'm sure he'll warm up to you." He says, giving you an encouraging smile. "Maybe." You say. "Just be friendly." He says. "I will." You say.~
For the next month, you try to be friendly to Legolas, but he just rebuffs you every single day. Even though he is unfriendly towards you, something about him entices you, and you find yourself like him more than you should. One day, as you're waiting in the armory for Lethuin to train you in the ways of archery, Legolas comes into the armory. "Hi." You say, smiling. "What are you doing here?" He asks coldly. "Lethuin is teaching me archery today." You answer, grinning. Legolas narrows his eyes and he crosses his arms. "Is he really?" He snaps. You flinch and nod. "Yes." You answer. Legolas humphs and goes to the weapon wall. "Why didn't you ask me to teach you archery?" He asks. "What?" You sputter. Legolas turns around and faces you, his face hardened. "I could have taught you." He states. "Why would I want you to teach me? You've been nothing but cold and ignorant to me since the first day I've been here!" You exclaim angrily. "Have I done something to upset you?" You ask, shaking your head, staring at him. Legolas lets out a harsh breath and shakes his head. "I've tried being friendly towards you and you just ignore me! Now you complain that I didn't ask you to teach me. Why would I? You've barely say anything to me. Have I offended you in anything that I've done?" You ask. He stares at you, the hardness in his eyes falling away. It takes you by surprise, but you remain passive. "Tell me what I have done." You command quietly. "Is it because I was slave? Is it because I was used and manipulated by men all my life? Is it because you think I'm a bad girl?" You ask. Legolas looks to the ground. You let out a harsh laugh, tears in your eyes. "Well that's rich." You say angrily. "You shouldn't of judged me before you even knew me." You say, before turning around and stalking out of the armory. "Y/N, wait!" Legolas exclaims, his voice cracking. You ignore him and run into the forest, brushing the tears off of your cheeks.~
You sit at the base of the tree, your face in your hands, weeping. "Well, well, well, what have we here, boys?" Someone asks. You lift your hand and jump to your feet, your eyes widening at the dozen Orcs. "Why would the pretty She-Elf be crying?" The captain asks. You swallow. "Oh, boss, she ain't no She-Elf." One says from behind you. You shriek and jump away. "She don't have any pointy ears." He finishes. "Well, then I guess no one would miss if she disappeared." The captain says. They all laugh and the captain pulls out his ax. Your eyes widen. You're frozen in fear. He takes the hilt of the ax and smashes it against your temple. Blackness clouds your vision and you collapse to the ground, whispering one broken word: "Legolas." ~
Legolas paces the armory when Lethuin walks in. "Legolas, where's Y/N?" He asks. Legolas stops pacing. "I don't know, okay?" He snaps, agitated and slightly on the verge of tears. Lethuin lifts his hands in surrender. "Whoa, okay, I was just wondering. If you see her will you tell her I'm looking for her? We have an archery lesson today." He says. "Fine." Legolas mumbles. Lethuin smiles and puts a hand on Legolas's shoulder. "Women will do that to you." He says, winking. "What?!" Legolas exclaims. Lethuin sighs and rolls his eyes. "You like her, don't you?" He asks. "I-I-I-" Legolas stammers, stunned. "It's okay. Y/N will probably notice you if you treat her nicely. I don't mean to be blunt or anything, but Legolas, you've been treating her like an Orc." Lethuin says. He pats him on the shoulder. "Good luck." He says, before leaving the armory. Legolas stares after him, his eyes widen. He collapses into a chair, his mouth open. "Do I like her?" He whispers, leaning back in his chair. He rubs his jaw, his heart pounding within his chest. "By Oropher, I do like her." He breathes after a few minutes of thinking. He stands. "I-I think I might even love her." He says, shocking himself. "I need to find her and tell her how I feel!" Legolas exclaims, running out of the armory.
He runs into Mirkwood. "Y/N!" He calls. He follows the path you took. "Y/N, please I need to talk to you!" He shouts. Legolas runs farther into the forest, while shouting your name. He stops at a tree, looking around. He glances at the ground and spots blood. His eyebrows draw and he crouches. He swipes the ground with his fingers and sniff the blood on it. "Y/N." He says, worriedly, looking up. He grabs his sword and races deeper in the forest.~
The Orcs through you to the ground and you cough. "What does Azog want with her?" An Orc asks, kicking you in the ribs. You cry out and squeeze your eyes shut. "Who knows? All our orders were to find someone and bring them to Dol Guldur. Let's follow them and not ask questions, okay?" The commander asks. Your stiffen at the mention of Dol Guldur. Thranduil told you about the forbidden fortress and all that lies there. "Are we close? I'm getting hungry." One says. "A mile or so." Another answers. "It really is a pity no one came looking for her. I was expecting a good fight. This was just lame." The commander says. They all agree. "I'd say this is about to get interesting." Someone says from up in the trees. You open your eyes. "Legolas." You breathe. He effortlessly climbs off the tree. He runs at the Orcs and kills them within two minutes. "Legolas." You say, almost crying with relief at seeing him. He rushes over to you and helps you sit up. "Are you all right?" He asks. He notices the wound on the side of your head. He touches the dry blood and you wince, a headache suddenly pounding in your head. "I-I'm fine." You say weakly. "Y/N, I need to you tell you something." Legolas says. You look at him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for judging you. It was wrong of me. Please, please forgive me." He pleads. "You're forgiven." You reply. He smiles and cups your cheek. "There's something else I need to tell you as well." He says. Your eyebrows draw. "I love you." He says. You draw back, your eyes widening. "What?" You gasp.
"I didn't realize it until Lethuin brought it up to me. I'm in love with you." Legolas says. You blink a few times, in shock. "I-I-I, um..." You say. "I love you too." You say quietly. He smiles and cups your cheeks with his hands. He leans forward and kisses you softly. You sigh and wrap your arms around him, deepening the kiss.
[THE END] I hope you liked it!
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