Brightest Stars | Love of Royals: Book I

VII: The Stand

'Are you sure you're ready to do this?  You could wait one more day if you wanted.'

'I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't confident.  I'll be fine.'

It's been two days since the incident with the ellons, and in those two days I haven't had a moment's peace. That hasn't been a bad thing, of course, because the two people giving up their time to be with me are Thranduil and Gelya. They take turns spending time with me; when Thranduil has kingly jobs to attend to, he sends Gelya to keep me company.

I think this is very kind of him, as he has taken into account how Gelya and I are becoming friends, and especially as he wishes he was with me all the time. There's always a crestfallen look upon his face when he tells me he has to go, but this afternoon he has put aside to help me achieve something.

I'm going to stand up by myself.

Thranduil nods and gives my hand a little squeeze.  We're sat on the edge of my bed, bathed in the pleasant spring sunlight.  I look over at him, and he places both hands back on his lap.  'Whenever you're ready,' he says, 'I'm here if you need any help.'

'Hannon-lë.'  I prepare myself for the great effort ahead of me.  My leg has been improving these past couple of days, but not so much that it won't be difficult to put weight on it.

Thranduil looks surprised but happy at my use of Sindarin, for I have never thanked him this way before.  I felt that, after a week of knowing him, I should try and use a little more of his language.  One advantage of being a Star is that I have always had expert knowledge of the languages of the different peoples of Middle Earth—Varda made sure we didn't all have to watch events going on without the faintest idea what anyone was saying.

With an almighty push, I use my hands to heave myself up into a standing position, my leg screaming in protest at first but calming in a matter of seconds.  I teeter slightly, but Thranduil places his hand on my back and helps me regain my balance.  My legs are locked, still painful in places, but holding me up like pillars as my upper body shakes and wavers slightly.  My arms are also flung out sideways to keep me steady, as if I'm about to walk a tightrope.

'Thranduil, I... I did it!' I stutter in sheer disbelief, 'I'm standing!'

'Not yet,' he replies calmly, and slowly removes his supporting hand from my back. 'Now you're standing.'

I'm utterly speechless—the amount of time spent waiting for this moment has felt like an eternity. On top of that, this is the first time I have actually stood, unsupported, on my own two feet, ever. I have lived as a Star since the beginning of Arda, and lived in an elleth's body for a week, and only now have I experienced what is a normal action for most inhabitants of the world: standing. It's almost unbelievable how elated I feel at doing such a simple thing.

Thranduil rises and walks around to stand in front of me, surveying me with his hands behind his back and an impressed air about him. He moves forward to carefully assist me in moving my own hands back down to my sides—so I no longer resemble a scarecrow—then stays close to me, for the first time in his life seeing me stood before him. He's several inches taller than me, and I can't help but notice how my head would fit snugly under his chin.

'Hold your head high,' he smiles, 'you are a Lady of the Stars, after all.'

Smiling back proudly, I lift my head up a little and shift myself into a posture one would expect from an Elvenqueen. This seems to please Thranduil, who slips his fingers under my chin to raise my head just the slightest bit higher.