Greenwood The Great

Silence

Alarya placed one foot in front of the other. The long steps to the Main Entrance of the Palace stretched majestically in front of her, carved into stone in perfect craft. The pouring rain made her long cloak feel heavier than usual, the water sliding down the long steps like prancing waterfalls. It had been raining mostly every day for the past month, which did little to cheer her mood.

She let her eyes follow the tall figure of her father, walking in front of her. For the first time in her life she dreaded this majestic ascent towards the Palace, knowing that the only elf in Mirkwood she most wished to avoid at that time so happened to reside in there. No, not only reside. This was his Palace. There would be no way to avoid seeing him once inside those splendid halls.

To her horror, the reason she was now marching into her judgment was because her father sought to speak with the Elvenking about moving into the Palace. Yes, moving. The forests outside the Mirkwood gates were not as safe as they used to be, even though patrols secured the borders day and night. It had been some years now that her father had considered the King's multiple offers for them to move into the Palace –given that her father was a high-ranking warrior and Lord. As if it was not already bad enough to have to face the King, let alone reside in the same building. At least the Palace was so large she hoped to find a way to avoid seeing the King.

Much too sooner than she had wished, Alarya found herself stepping into the overly large Main Hall. A servant at the door took their soaking cloaks from them, as another elf –of higher rank judging by his robes.

"Lord Lasgaer." The elf bowed his head in greeting before turning to face her and her mother. "My Ladies."

She nodded her head, imitating her mother, and the strange elf continued speaking to her father. "I am afraid my King Thranduil is holding a council meeting at this moment and is not able to welcome you himself. His Majesty has received the letter you sent in advance, and will be receiving later this afternoon, my Lord. In the meantime, I will show you to your rooms, and a meal has already been sent for you to enjoy in private."

Her father said something in response, but Alarya did not pay attention. Oh, thank the Valar for that council. She was sure she had never received better news that to hear she would not be seeing Thranduil at least for some hours. And strangely enough, part of her felt disappointed. Part of her wanted to lay eyes upon him once more, to talk to him again.

The chambers they had been assigned were, well, large. Then again, everything in this Palace was grand and elegant, every single detail perfectly thought of. Both of her parents gladly accepted the offered meal, but she was not hungry. She casually excused herself, deciding to take a walk through the Palace to clear her mind.

To say that the Palace was large was an understatement. As soon as she had stepped out of the set of chambers that her family occupied, she had found herself lost. She had been there a couple of times before, and still had not managed to learn where anything was. But that was fine. She did not need a destination, no. She simply needed to wonder around, as aimless as her confused thoughts.

It had been three weeks since she had last seen the King. Three weeks since she had fled from his presence. Three weeks since he had kissed her. The sole thought of the kiss made her feel a slight fluttering in her stomach, accompanied by the same irrational fear it always brought to her. Oh, she had liked that kiss. She had kissed him back. And yet, it was exactly that what scared her the most. She had never felt so confused in her life.

True, she did not want to be Queen. She was deadly scared of having that possibility. But what scared her the most was the realization that had come with that simple, gentle kiss: For him, she would accept any tittle. And that was what frightened her, what prevented from sleeping at night, from concentrating right now walked aimlessly through the halls. She would be wiling to become Queen -something she was deeply sure she did not want- only for him. She could not allow that to happen, could not allow someone to have such power over her, make her want to do things she was sure she did not want. Valar, she could not let him have this control over her, make her willing to do things she had never wanted to do make her want to give up things she had been sure she would never want to give up.