The ElvenKing [A thranduil fanfiction]

Chapter 24

Greenwood T.H 2058

         Autumn was already upon us by the time the constant patrolling of the forest became more lenient after Ranîr's first appearance. He had not been spotted again, not once since he showed himself to me. It had been more than a few weeks already and I knew we would not see him anytime soon. It would also give him time for his wound to heal. It had looked painful whenever he drew an arrow. I had noticed the slight hindrance in his shoulder, but it had not been my main concern when I stood before him. Still, I had relayed what I had seen to Thranduil and his councilors, they had been grateful to know, despite all else.

I was admiring the color of the leaves above me, their red, yellow, and orange shades reflected the lowering sun perfectly, coloring the platform we were standing on. A soft breeze rustled the leaves and brought with it the unmistakable scent of rain. I tightened my hold on my arms, I had crossed against my chest. It was my turn for a nightshift, luckily, I had Voronwë and Charanthir with me tonight. They were leaned up against two different trees, on each side of the platform, opposite the other. I was in the middle of the platform, just listening while feeling the wind on my face.

Alagos had sent us to the southern guard tower, near the old fortress. If I climbed just a little higher up, I would have full view of the ruins. It was just the three of us, until Nendir, Aronhir and Ferendir returned. They had been tasked with patrolling the area, while we remained behind. It had not sat well with Charanthir because he had grown restless these days and hated whenever it was his turn to remain idle. I turned to take him in, he was comfortably resting against a tree, one foot on it underneath him and his arms crossed. It wasn't hard to distinguish his features in the dimming light, even though he refused to meet my gaze.

With the first few raindrops after the sun had passed beyond the horizon, I already knew it would be a long night ahead of us when I sought refuge from it near the trunk of the tree Voronwë was also leaned up against. He offered me a small smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. He and Charanthir were still fighting, in some odd way. And it bothered them both. I gave him a gentle shove with my elbow, and he chuckled in response before straightening up when the rain increased in strength, thrumming heavily against the platform. Charanthir released a soft groan from the other side of the platform, showing his dissatisfaction towards the weather as well.

Within minutes we were all drenched to the core, the rain falling heavier than I had rarely experienced. It was bad enough that even Charanthir sought refuge on our side because it provided more cover from the rain. He came to stand at my left side, obviously avoiding Voronwë already on my right.

I sent him a look that he ignored before pressing his shoulder up against mine, to remain underneath the cover of the leaves above our heads. I rolled my eyes and shook my head disapprovingly, couldn't they just kiss and make up? This was getting tiresome and had to stop eventually. However, something happened, that I had not been prepared for at all before I could call them out for their behavior.