The Elf, the Hobbit and the Dwarf - Book 1 NEW VERSION

King Thranduíl of Mirkwood

King Thranduíl's palace was magnificent and incredibly constructed. Despite the sun not being able to penetrate through the thick walls with a ceiling so high that it could not be seen by human eyes, it did not feel like one was underground. The caves and tunnels were somehow made not to look like some Goblin cave, but rather a beautiful kingdom.

"Walk faster," one of the Elves in the front mumbled to poor Orí.

Míriel frowned and glared at the Elf. She never knew that she could despise her own kin as much as she did at that moment. Of course, she understood that this was their kingdom and that it was an unusual sight to see a company of Dwarves with an Elf, but what real harm could they do? It was a great waste of time, and therefore Míriel suspected that they must have been watched by the King ever since they entered Mirkwood or even before that. He wanted something from them, or rather from Thorin. For it was to the King that they were being taken.

Elves strolling around the palace were looking curiously at the newly arrived company and Míriel especially felt their burning glances at her. Her eyes were kept strictly on the front to not look at anyone, but then suddenly she felt another set of eyes burn at her side. She turned her gaze toward Legolas who quickly looked away.

It was amusing really, that only a couple days earlier Míriel had thought about the Prince of Mirkwood. Now she was walking right next to him and he was not at all as she would have thought him to be. In her mind, she would have imagined someone younger and more... happy she assumed. He was so cold and harsh, such as you would expect of an Elf from the Woodland Realm Míriel supposed, but she had never met one before.

It was obvious that Prince Legolas lived a very different life from what Míriel did in her merry haven at Rivendell. The differences between the two cities could not have been larger for Rivendell was light and dreamy while Mirkwood was cold and dim. Míriel could never imagine people actually having fun and being happy there.

From far away Míriel could see a throne in the centre of the palace, and the closer they came the more the Elf sitting upon it became visible. They came closer and closer to the Elf that had once abandoned Thorin and his people after his people was attacked by Smaug the dragon. For every step of the somehow uneven flooring, Míriel started to realise that they were closer to the end of their journey than ever now.

Finally, they arrived in front of King Thranduíl of Mirkwood, and there was no doubt that Thranduíl was the father of Legolas for they were very much the same. They had the same light hair and icy blue eyes, but his father was noticeably older, Míriel could see it in his eyes which so obviously displayed thousands of years of pain and misery. He looked wise, but also dangerous in a way that Míriel had never seen in Galadriel or even in Celeborn do. He was beautiful, though, and must have been as handsome as his son was when he was younger.

The King wore a magnificent crown upon his light head, one that was garnished with berries and leaves. Míriel had never seen a crown-like it before, but she thought it fitted a king that lived in a forest that had once been so beautiful. It was not anymore, but somehow that crown could make them remember what had once been.

Legolas and the other guards had let the Dwarves and Míriel go freely when they got closer to the King, as the Elven Prince had moved to walk in the lead. There in the front was also the other Elf-maiden with the fiery hair, Thorin, Dwalin and Balin. Thranduíl, who laid casually over his throne did not even seem to flinch when the company approached them. He appeared to be a little bored as he looked so superior up there, with all the short Dwarves under him, dirty and full of cobwebs over their bodies.

Legolas suddenly grabbed his long dagger from its sheath and aimed it at Thorin again.

"So much for the benevolence of Thranduíl, Lord of the Elves," Dwalin said loudly to speak for his companions. "Is this how you treat travellers through your lands?"