Beauty and the Beast | Thranduil x Reader

Chapter 13

His eyes held you in place as you lifted your gaze to meet his own, finding yourself both too scared and enthralled to look away. There was a softness in his gaze that you hadn't seen before, though it was so slight that you wondered if you were just imagining it. You swallowed thickly, doing your best to gain control once again. "I--I'm sorry." You began. "I just-"

"Sorry for what?"

Truthfully, you did not know, and it showed on your face if Thranduil's briefly amused expression was anything to go by. Colour crept into your cheeks and you stood quickly, remembering to bow just slightly before you turned to the door. "I will leave you to rest..."

"You like to read?" Thranduil's voice came again, as you were at the door, reaching for the handle.

Turning, surprised, you nodded. "Uh, yes... I... actually, I love to read."

Thranduil stared at you for a long moment, looking as though he were thinking very hard about something. You couldn't help but wonder what it was but then he was moving, pulling himself into a sitting position and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Your eyes widened as the sheets fell, bunching around his waist, and he reached for a shirt on a nearby wall hook. He was undressed beneath the sheet and your gaze took in his broad shoulders, travelling down his torso as though outwith your control entirely. When his gaze flickered back to you as he moved to stand, you immediately forced your body into a spin, cheeks burning as you stood staring a hole into the wood of the door.

You weren't sure how long you stood there like that but eventually you became aware of Thranduil lingering in the space behind you. He reached out a hand and you visibly flinched, unable to help it. He hesitated, pulling his hand back and sucked in a soft breath, releasing in a sigh. He had frightened you terribly, he knew that. He eyed you for a moment before he moved again, his fingers grasping the door handle, pulling it open. "Follow me." He said, face a marble mask once more, as he stepped past you and out into the hall. Clutching the book like a lifeline, you followed, legs feeling like they were full of lead. Was he going to lock you up again once and for all?

The silence was deafening as you trailed after the King, keeping up with his long strides as best you could. Everyone you passed bowed to their King, glad to see him better, before continuing with their tasks. You were either looked upon with mild curiosity or ignored and you weren't sure which one you preferred. When you finally paid more attention to your surroundings than to Thranduil's long legs, you recognised the hallway and you came to an immediate halt.

Thranduil continued to move, completely unaware for a few moments, before he realised you were no longer behind him. He turned, frowning, a deep flicker of irritation flashing across his face. Why did you always have to make things so difficult? He glowered at you for a long moment before his eyes followed your wide gaze and he realised what the problem was. You were staring at that ruby red curtain at the bottom of that forbidden staircase. Thranduil's shoulders deflated just slightly and he bit back another sigh before he took two long strides back towards you. "You have nothing to fear."

You, on the other hand, were panicking beyond belief. Your mind had convinced you that Thranduil had brought you back here so he could finish what he started when you'd gone up there before running away into the forest... you had gone where you weren't allowed to go and you were the reason he had gotten hurt by those orcs, he probably couldn't wait another moment to punish you properly. He was going to shout at you, hurt you, lock you back up...

When his deep voice reached your ears, you turned to look at him, meeting his gaze. Where you expected to see steel, you saw something a little softer in his expression, this time definitely real, and it surprised you.

"Please." He said, gesturing behind him to a door that was hidden away, tucked right beneath the staircase. "I only want to show you something."

After another long moment during which you hesitated, wondering whether you could run fast enough to hide from him, you nodded and took a step forward. You tilted your chin, holding your head high and your shoulders back, doing your best to look like you weren't scared in the slightest despite knowing that your reaction had already given it all away. Thranduil hid a smile at that... it was admirable.

Truthfully, he had felt a little... guilty... about what happened when he found you in the West Wing. He had been so angry. When Thranduil was angry about anything to do with his late wife he sometimes had a habit of acting before thinking. He knew this and everybody else knew this too - not you, of course. The topic of his wife and her fate and his grief was forbidden in this realm and had been since she died. Still, he had scared you beyond what he had truly ever intended and put you in danger. He'd immediately followed your trail into the woods that night in case you ran back into any spiders. You were his prisoner, yes, but the Woodland Realm treated their prisoners well enough... unless they were orcs, of course.

He had been surprised when you had not turned and fled with his horse after the orcs were slain, instead helping him return to the palace. He had been surprised when you had stormed after him into his quarters, insisting on tending his wounds. He had been furious with you that night but the guilt had already started to bubble its way slowly up to the surface so he had found himself indulging you... to his detriment, yes, but that was his own fault. He had also heard almost everything that happened while he was unconscious, though waking up to you at his bedside reading to him was incredibly unexpected.

Why you were there, he couldn't for the life of him figure out and he didn't plan to spend much time doing so, but he decided you were probably deserving of a little kindness in return... especially if you were to be here for the rest of your life. Thranduil was not one for apologies in a situation such as this, not really, so this was as close as you would get for now.

He pushed the door open and moved inside, waiting for you to follow. He watched your face as you stepped into the room, watched the way your eyes lit up as sheer awe carved itself into your expression. Thranduil had led you into the largest, most beautiful, library you had ever seen in your entire life. The ornately carved shelves reached towards the high ceilings, each one full to bursting with books. More books than you had ever seen and would ever have hoped to see. You had only ever dreamed of being able to look upon so many books, let alone hope to ever read this many.

Your village had no real library and only the smallest selection of books was available to you. You had read and reread your collection over and over, reliving the same stories and relearning the same information as the years passed. Your father had traded for a new book every so often, when he left to do trade with other villages, but that was all. What you were looking upon now was beyond your wildest dreams.

Suddenly, you remembered Thranduil, and you turned. He was watching you and you suddenly felt a little embarrassed. You shook your head and gestured to the room. "This is... it's incredible."

Thranduil inclined his head slightly, letting his gaze drift from you and around the room briefly. His hands were clasped behind his back and he was standing tall, proud, every inch the King you remembered but somehow not quite as harsh. "You may use it as you see fit." He said, glancing back in time to catch the surprise flicker in your eyes. "Come here whenever you wish."

Without another glance at you, he turned and strode from the room, disappearing back down the corridor. The door clicked shut behind him and you were left standing there, stunned.