Greenwood The Great

Amused

The golden rays of Sunlight brightened the clear blue summer's sky, washing down peacefully over the green leaves of the forests of Mirkwood, and reflecting especially beautifully on the many colors of the flowers that inundated the Palace Gardens. Overall, the day had proven to be a slow relaxing day for King Thranduil as he peacefully made his way through the intricate labyrinth of trees and flowers back to the Palace.

He wore a plain- for a King's standard- elegant light blue tunic, its delicate silver embroidery almost unnoticeable as they traced complex patterns of leaves. There had been no council to attend that day, nor had there been any meeting for negotiations of any kind, and thus he had gladly taken the opportunity to be freed of the long formal robes he usually wore. His long light blond hair fell loosely down his back and nearly to his waist, no crown resting on his head. He knew he would eventually need to have it properly braided and combed for dinner, but he decided that that could wait a couple of more hours.

Dinner. The sole thought of it made the golden sunrays of the bright summer's day turn to grey clouds in a stormy sky. The report form the patrols over the last two weeks had informed about an unusual increase in orcs roaming near the borders. His past two weeks had been spent on his study strategizing patrol routes and schedules and, as if the long sessions in his study were not enough, his two closest advisors had a special affinity for bringing up the topic at the dinner table. He was certainly tired of having his sacred joyful mealtime used as a council meeting. On the bright side, at least at dinner there was wine.

He shook his head lightly, forcing his thoughts in a different direction as he stepped into yet another garden. Unlike the other ones, this one already had an occupant, a Lady, he noticed, although he did not pay much attention to her.

"My Lady." He greeted her politely, nodding his head curtly in acknowledgement. His tone was short, his serene voice silently indicating that he wanted no conversation. He absently noticed that she looked up from the book that had been sitting on her lap, but he kept walking, heading back towards the Palace.

"Well, it was about time you came. I have been waiting here for almost an hour." He heard her voice saying just as he had taken the first steps into the garden.

At first he thought she must have been talking to someone else, but a quick scan around the garden told him that there was no one else but him. He turned on his heels to face her, a fair eyebrow raised questioningly. Waiting for what? No one had informed him he was expected to be somewhere at this moment. And yet, what puzzled him the most what the casual and informal tone with which she had addressed him. Did he know her from somewhere?

"Pardon me?" He replied politely, standing tall and royal, almost expecting her to realize that she had most certainly mistaken him for someone else.

The Lady however did not look at all confused. She was young, he noticed, and she was definitely beautiful. As he stared at her, paying her attention for the first time, he was completely sure that he had never met this Lady before. Large emerald eyes stared back at him, the color of the forest, soft and kind, and at the same time so impenetrable, her gaze steady. He could not make out what was going through her head, but she looked at him directly in the eyes, her head held high, shoulders back underneath her flawless strands of golden hair, which cascaded long down her back. She held an aura of authority that for a split second made him doubt his own. Where was her respect and humility in the presence of her King?

"Are you not the ellon my father said he would send to show me around the Palace?" Her voice was refined, musical, carrying the same authority as her posture. Nothing in her expression or in the tone of her voice sounded impolite or unkind. No. But it certainly implied a sense of superiority over him, the way a Lady gently asks a servant for a glass of wine.