the Stowaway (Hobbit fan-fic)

Chapter 11

We walked along the path towards the palace seemed to last forever. When we finally reached the palace, I saw the front guards look at me with recognition. They bowed, slightly stunned. I nodded to them.

"Holo in ennyn (Close the gate)," Legolas ordered.

I walked through the door, but stopped when I felt something following us. I turned around to look back outside. Legolas saw me turn and did the same. We both stared down the path, confused. After a moment, Legolas turned and walked inside before the doors shut behind him. He looked at me.

"Aeareth," he started.

"I said we would talk later, Legolas," I said. "I'm going to change. Then I am going to see the king."

I saw him stiffen at my words, but he nodded. I turned away, quickly walking down the halls of the elven kingdom until I reached my familiar room. I opened the door and sighed. Memories came flooding back to me as I stepped into the room. I placed my quiver, bow, and swords against the wall and walked to the balcony, which looked out over the forest.

I sighed, remembering the fun times my family and I used to have before my mother passed. We would play in the forest some days. Others, we would run around the gardens, trying to catch one another. During the winter, we would have snowball fights. I ran my fingers through my messy hair. Those days were long gone now. My mother was gone, as was my father's happiness. When my mother died, he only became more distant with me and my brother.

Turning back to the room, I stepped into the bathroom to bathe. After I had cleaned myself of the spider blood and dirt, I dried off and changed into an elegant blue dress. The sleeves flowed at the elbows, almost touching the ground. There was silver trim along the collar and sleeves. I sighed when I saw it showed off my scars, but I was in no mood to try and cover them. I brushed my hair until it was perfectly straight. I made my way over to the door. When I opened it, a shine caught my eye. I turned my head and froze when I saw the silver circlet sitting on the nightstand. I thought for a moment, then gently picked it up and placed it on my head before walking out of the room.

I quickly walked down the halls to the throne room, my blue dress dragging behind me. I nodded to the elves I passed, looks of bewilderment on their face. When I reached the throne room, I asked the guards to open the doors, which they quickly did. I thanked them and walked at a quick pace towards the throne, but as I drew nearer, I saw Thorin walking towards me. He was being escorted by two guards, their hands under his arms to keep him from struggling.

"Ias are cin taking hon (Where are you taking him)?" I asked the guards.

"Hain gador with hain hae prisoners (The dungeon with the other prisoners)," one replied. "Bui conn- -o aran plural erain Thranduil (By order of King Thranduil)."

"Cin lothron vora (You may continue)," I said, rubbing my head in annoyance. I looked at Thorin. "I will speak with him, Thorin, then I will come and see you and the company."

The dwarf king glared slightly at me, but was led away. I watched as they passed through the throne room doors, but not before passing Legolas, who stepped inside. His gaze found me and he walked towards me, but I had already started forward again. I walked up to the throne and stood there, arms crossed, waiting to be noticed. The king looked up upon hearing Legolas's hurrying footsteps and his icy blue eyes landed on me. He froze in his seat.

"Aeareth," he breathed.

"That's my name, adar," I replied, emphasizing the last word. "I'm surprised you still remember it."

Thranduil stood up and slowly made his way towards me. Legolas stood off to the side, allowing our father to speak to me directly. My father stood a small distance away from me. He slowly reached his hand out, cautious as if he was scared that I could disappear before him. His hand touched my hair and I could see him jump slightly in surprise. He gently brushed my hair over my right shoulder and froze again. He put his hand on my shoulder, touching my scar. He looked at my other shoulder then looked into my eyes. Anger spread over his features.

"What happened?" he demanded. "Which of those dwarves are responsible?"

"The company did not know I was traveling with them until your scouts found us." I shrugged his hand off my shoulder. "It was not them."

"Why are you traveling with them?"

"I was asked to protect them and so I have for the last year." I glared slightly at my father. "Then you went and imprisoned them for no reason."

"They were trespassing on our lands."

"They were lost! They got captured by spiders that you apparently have failed to kill! I hardly believe that to be a good reason to through thirteen dwarves in your prison."

Silence hung in the air for a moment before anyone said anything. Legolas ordered the guards out of the room and a minute later, it was only the three of us. Father, son, and daughter.

"Aeareth," my brother said. "Why did you leave?"

"Why did I leave? I left because of him," I replied, motioning to our father.

"Me?" he asked, somewhat stunned.

"Yes, you. You lied to people and did not keep your promises. I was annoyed with you originally because of that, but when you refused to help the dwarves of Erebor, that was the last straw for me. What kind of king, what kind of friend, does not help others?"

"Aeareth!" Legolas said in shock.

"Why do you care anyway?" I continued, ignoring him and looking straight at Thranduil. "Why do you care why I left? What did you do when I left?"

"I sent the guards to look for you," Thranduil stated. "They searched for months, but could not find you."

"How far did your men search? The palace? The kingdom? The forest? They searched for months, but I was gone for six decades! Your men searched for me, but what about you? Did you ever step off your throne to look for me? I'm your daughter! You should have been the one searching, not your men. And what about Legolas? Did you let him go off in search of me?" I looked at my brother. "Did you even try to find me? Did you try to join the guards in their search?" I looked back at the elven king. "You only cared about your kingdom and keeping your power. Did you even care when I left?"

I could feel tears forming in my eyes. My words hurt as I spoke them, but they were true. My father had seemed to stop caring for my brother and I after our mother died. They fact that neither of them tried to look for me felt like I had been stabbed.

I glanced at Legolas, who looked to the ground to avoid my eyes. His face was covered with regret. My gaze fell back to my father. I stared at him and saw pain in his icy blue eyes. No one spoke for a minute.

"Aeareth," my father said quietly, his voice shaking as he took a small step forward.

"Don't," I told him, holding up my hand to stop him in his tracks. "We can talk after you start caring and you've seen the effect your decisions have made. Until then, do not consider me your daughter."

I took one last look at Thranduil and Legolas before turning and walking towards the doors. When I was halfway there, I heard Legolas try to follow me, but he was stopped.

"Don't bother," the king said to him.

His words stung.

"You're just going to let her go?" There was a pause. "You may have given up, but I have not. Aeareth!"

At the sound of my name, I sprinted out of the throne room. I ran as fast as my dress would allow, increasing the distance between the elven prince and myself.