Forever Alone (Thranduil Fanfic)

Chapter 12 - 60 Years Later

60 years. To humans, that is quite a long time. But to elves, that is nothing. It has been 60 years since Miriel has seen Thranduil. Many people have noticed her change quite a bit since the battle. She is much colder than before and she closes herself off of the outside world. One might say she is like Thranduil, hiding from the outside world, not going out to save other realms. She doesn't talk to many people, in actual fact, she tries to avoid them.

Thranduil at least is doing a little better than Miriel. He tries to get her off his mind by throwing himself into papers of work and work. When he heard about his son, Legolas leaving to destroy the one ring, he wished Miriel was by his side to comfort him. He felt lonely without his son and Miriel. He beats himself up every day when he is reminded that it was his fault for all of this to happen.

If he had been truthful to Miriel from the start, maybe things would have gone a little better. Waiting 60 years wasn't much to Thranduil but when it came to Miriel, it felt like forever. He really wanted to visit her but he knew she wouldn't allow him to visit. He knew she didn't want to see him again after everything that has happened.

Miriel POV

"What do you want?" I snap at the messenger that is below my throne. "If it is from that king from that realm, I don't want it"

"N-no my queen. It is from Lord Elrond" He stutters. I gesture for him to pass it to me and he quickly hands it to me before retreating out of the room.

I look at the letter curiously and opened it.

To Miriel Estelmist, Queen of Menel,

6 months ago, a fellowship of nine departed from Rivendell to destroy the One Ring. Just recently, it has been destroyed and Sauron is now defeated. With the evil lord gone from Middle Earth, we now live in peace and the time of elves has almost come to an end and the time of men is beginning. There will be a small group of us departing for the west. If you would like to join, please inform me as soon as possible.

I would also like to warn you that after the war, some orcs have managed to escape. So please be careful, stray orcs still could be roaming the lands. We don't know how many but I know that there aren't as many as before.

Lord Elrond of Rivendell

"So Sauron is gone for good" I mumble. "Sadron!"

"Yes my queen?" he bows.

"I need a pen and paper" He rushes out and returns quickly with both items. I nod to him and he leaves.

I write my response to Elrond, saying I would like to stay here on Middle Earth. I call Sadron again to send it off the Elrond and I leave for my room.

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"My Queen, there are people that want to see you" A guard says through the door.

"Tell them to leave, I don't want to see anyone" I go back to reading my book.

"It is an elf and a dwarf my queen"

I sigh and get up. I open the door to my room and head towards the throne room without a word. I walk to my throne and sit upon it, waiting for my guests. As soon as the doors open, my mouth drops but I quickly regain my composure.

"Legolas?" I ask the blonde haired elf. He looks quite different, almost younger. How is that possible? Must be his side of the family because he doesn't really look like he aged a day either.

"My queen" He bows.

"You remember?" I ask, slightly shocked still.

"I will always remember your kind offer" He smiles. He reminds me so much of him. "This here is my friend Gimli"

I look over to the red headed dwarf. "It is a pleasure to meet you my queen. Legolas has told me much"

"You are both so kind, but may I ask, why you are here?"

"We were heading back from Minas Tirith and decided to stop by here before heading home" Legolas says.

"Then I will gladly lend you both rooms for the time being. Join me tonight for dinner and we can talk about your adventure. I didn't know you joined Legolas"

Legolas gives me a kind smile. "Thank you, I will love to share my adventures with you My Queen"

"Please, both of you call me Miriel" I smile slightly at them and they get escorted to their rooms by the guards.

When dinner arrived, Legolas and Gimli walked through with new fresh clothes. They sat down and at first, we ate in silence until Gimli spoke up about their journey to Mordor. Both Legolas and he talked about it with so much excitement and large gestures. They told me about Gandalf and how he fell in the mines but came back as Gandalf the White.

Then they said a friend, Boromir fell protecting the Hobbits. That is when the group of them split into different directions. They went after the other 2 Hobbits and ended up finding Gandalf. Then they got into a war at Helms Deep. They won and went to Isengard, found the Hobbits and watched Saruman die.

Then they got into another war in Minas Tirith where they had ghosts help them fight. They won and decided to make a diversion for Frodo and Sam by bringing Sauron's attention to the black gates. They won in the end, Frodo destroying the ring and Aragorn crowned king and married to Arwen.

"That must have been one long 6 months for you all then, huh?" I say, taking a sip of my wine.

"It was, but it was worth it in the end" Gimli laughed. "Especially the banquet we had in celebration for Aragorn"

Legolas and I roll our eyes at the dwarf. Always about food. "Excuse me Miriel, but I think I should retire early. That trip was quite tiring"

"Of course Gimli, enjoy the rest of your night" He bows and leaves. Legolas looks down at his plate, thinking deeply. "Mind telling me why you are thinking so hard?"

He jumps a bit and scratches the back of his neck. "It's about my father"

"Go on" Kind of regretting asking him.

"What happened to the both of you? After the war?"

"He has told you?"

"No, when I told him about going to destroy the ring, he told me about you but never said anything about what happened between you. I remember he was very happy after meeting you 60 years ago about the war plans. But when I saw him 6 months ago, he was quite depressed."

I sigh, here we go. "Your father never told me he had a son or that he was married. We had told each other no secrets between us. But, he still kept a secret from me. An important one"

"So you didn't know I was his son or that he was married to my mother?" he tilts his head.

"Yes" I nod.

"You know father told me that it was an arranged marriage" I raise my eyebrows at this news. "My father never really loved my mother. They were more like good friends and they had me because they needed someone to take after the throne. When my mother died, he was sad for a long time, having lost a good friend. He raised me by himself for years and years. He taught me archery and how to fight"

I look shocked at this news. "I don't know what to say"

"Maybe you should give him a second chance. You both need this, I have heard that you are much different without him"

I nod slightly. "Think about it Miriel, have a good night"

He heads off to his room, leaving me to my own thoughts. Should I really give Thranduil a second chance?

ao&