"Hello." Says the Elvenking.
You are sitting in his dungeons. You'd long since given up on trying to escape, because, unfortunately for you, the dungeons of Mirkwood were well made.
You make no comment, and instead stare up at him.
"Well? Are you not even going to greet me?"
Again, you say nothing.
"Are you deaf?"
"No," you say, your voice hoarse for lack of speech, "I merely do not care to speak to someone who is holding me prisoner for no apparent reason."
"Well, if you're agreeable, then that can quickly be remedied."
"And what would that entail?"
"You speaking to me."
"Only if you explain why I'm here, first."
"You were caught trespassing in our forest."
"Well, if it's our forest, then you can hardly claim that I was trespassing."
"I meant that the forest belongs to my subjects and I."
"Well, I'm sorry for your loss. It is quite an awful place to inhabit."
Thranduil merely sighs. "You are a difficult one, aren't you."
"Thank you! I do my best." You answer sarcastically.
"What if I were to let you go?"
"Why- why would you do that?" You ask, suddenly defensive.
"Because I have taken some interest in you. It is not often that I find a human lady wandering about my woods."
"I thought they belonged to you and your subjects?"
"Would you just listen! I'm offering you a place in my realm and you continue to goad me!"
"A place in your realm? So, like a house arrest?"
"A what? No, don't answer that. I wish to get to know Your Rudeness."
"What's in it for you?"
"Nothing."
"I don't believe that."
"Then don't. Just come with me. I've already told someone to set up some quarters for you."
You look at him in confusion.
"Just trust me."
You cautiously stand up.
~§~
"Ah, there you are." Thranduil says as you walk into his dining room.
"Where else would I be? On the moon?"
"Ada, are you sure-" says another elf.
"Yes, Legolas," Thranduil says. He then addresses you, "Y/N, do sit down. This is my son, Legolas."
You nod at Legolas and take a seat.
"So, Y/N, would you care to explain what you were doing in the Woodland Realm?"
"Oh, is that what this is? I thought it was the Woodland Dump."
"Are you going to say anything to explain yourself?"
"No." You help yourself to a bread roll.
"Why not?"
"Now, that would be explaining."
"Y/N! You are trying my patience. Just answer the question!"
You take a deep breath. "I was running away."
"From what?"
"From goats that can fly. What else?"
"Y/N, please. I want to help you, but you have to actually speak to me."
You hesitate. "I thought I was running from the people I knew. Everyone who couldn't care less whether I lived it died. All those who made me feel... Worthless."
"You thought?" Thranduil's tone was gentler now.
"Now I realize that I was running from myself. It was me who made me feel worthless, useless, like I could never achieve anything, like I could never be loved. It was never them, though they never helped. It was just me."
Thranduil quickly glances at his son, who takes this as a queue to leave.
"Y/N, look at me." You obey. "You are worth something. You are worth more than all of Middle Earth, to me. You are worth loving, and I knew it the minute I first saw you. I fell in love with you, and I want, more than anything else, for you to be happy."
Sometime during Thranduil's speech you'd looked down, and you again have to force yourself to look into his eyes. "I love you too, my King, but you don't want to love me."
"Yes, I think I do. Y/N, will you marry me?"
You hesitate a moment. "Yes," you say, an air of finality to your word. Thranduil breaks into a smile and so do you.
"Well," he says, "now it really will be our kingdom."
