Beauty and the Beast | Thranduil x Reader

Chapter 1

Your father had gone missing three nights past and had yet to return. He had left your village to go out hunting and nobody had seen or heard from him since. The worry had been coursing through you, steadily growing as the seconds passed. You had tried to keep your mind busy by tending to the crops and animals around your small farm but you couldn't stay your panic. Your father had never been gone so long and you knew for sure that something had gone wrong when his horse came back this morning, alone, clearly spooked.

You'd rushed into town, pushing your way into the local tavern and attempted to rally together some of the men to help, to go out and look for him. But they hadn't listened, they hadn't taken you seriously. To them you were nothing but a silly girl who knew nothing of the world and spent too much time with her nose stuck between the pages of books they deemed pointless.

Left with no other options, you had saddled the horse back up, praying it would somehow know to take you along the path your father had taken. When it came to a stop on the outskirts of Mirkwood and stamped its feet, snorting in fear, you knew. You knew that he had ventured into these woods. Your heart leapt into your throat as you dismounted, swallowing thickly. "Go home.." You said gently to the horse, turning to send him away back to the farm. You knew he wouldn't go in there and you weren't cruel enough to force the beast past the boundary of the forest. You had no idea what had happened in here, what you might find, or what dangers you might encounter, but you knew that turning back wasn't an option. Your father was all that you had and you would not leave him here.

Mirkwood was not what it once was, you knew that. The forest that had once been the Greenwood was changed. Full of darkness and your people had long since known to stay well clear of this place. Monsters lurked in and beneath the trees, large spiders some people said. Wolves, said others. Not only that but you had been warned since you were a child about the Elves who dwelled within the borders of the kingdom. Rumours had always flown around the villages about these beings. Beautiful and powerful but some said they were as dark as the forest itself. There were stories about them taking humans, killing or keeping them as slaves. You didn't know about that, you had heard that Elves were wise and kind... but maybe the air of the wood had infected the ones living within. There were all sorts of theories and tales and you had no proof either way and now that you were here, stepping into the suffocating forest, you were terrified that everything you had ever heard was true.

But you continued on. Your father was here, somewhere, you knew it. And you would not leave him.

It felt like you had been walking for hours and you had lost the path some time ago. The air felt like it was pressing down on you, trying to push you down into the earth beneath your feet. Your head was heavy and you wanted to simply lie down on the ground and close your eyes. You even started to forget what your goal was in coming here, what your purpose for being in the woods was. You couldn't see the sun overhead to gauge the passage of time and you felt trapped and hemmed in.

You had been so focused on the pressure in your head, the unsteadiness of your feet, the strange thoughts whirling through your mind, that you hadn't noticed the soft sounds all around you. The sounds of tiny feet and even tinier voices. Eyes had been on you from the moment you set foot in this forest, following your trail. Spiders had you in their sights and were closing in. You were easy prey, especially considering you didn't even know that they were there. Something suddenly took hold of you from behind - no, not behind, from above - and you were flying. Panic coursed once more through you as you twisted your head and saw the beast. Its legs seemed larger than your entire body. Before you could do or say anything, it let out a piercing screech and released you. Sounds of fighting filled your ears but you didn't look up.

"Hir nin!" A voice cut through the air but you had no idea what the words meant and you truthfully thought that you had imagined it completely. Nothing felt real anymore.

Suddenly, there was a new presence to your right. Just as you were about to fall, fingers clasped around your upper arm, hauling you back onto your feet. Shock rippled through your body as your head snapped up, gaze landing on the sandy haired elf who now stood in front of you, eyeing you with mild curiosity. A human alone so far in these woods? It was strange.

You opened your mouth to speak but nothing came out and it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway. You were pushed out of the grip of the blonde elf and into the arms of another, whose grasp was tighter as he pulled you along, obviously wanting you to go with them and you had not the energy to refuse any longer.

"Take her to the king."