The Great Sacrifice

The Most Precious Treasure

Since the king was daily busy with his duties, Ari often found herself with too much idle time on her hands. She spent a lot of it reflecting on her many journeys and how she had finally come to meet the Elvenking. Once she had told him that one day she would repay him for his hospitality, but Thranduil had claimed that there was nothing for her to repay. Nevertheless, Ari always felt guilty because to her it seemed as though she had not kept her word. With the planned wedding, she thought she could use this opportunity to offer him something to express her gratitude. She called Galion and Legolas to inform them of her desire to give the king a present. She wished to gift Thranduil a chair which would have to be made of mahogany wood.

She had handed Galion a piece of paper with a sketch. "I wish to be involved in every detail," she had said. Ari had secretly gone to the elven carpenter and had taken part in the manufacturing of the chair. She had begun to carve patterns into the wood. She wished them to look as if vines were crawling up the chair. The fine lines of the branches would be filled with molten silver. In Erebor, the dwarves had used mithril. Then, Ari would use green and red gems for the leaves and a few roses. Legolas would go with her to the king's treasury and Ari would be free to choose anything she liked.
Now she was sitting on the floor in a servant's chamber, carving on the mahogany timber. The servant was very excited to have the future queen, who was crafting a gift for their king, in her own home.

"My lady, please forgive my curiosity, but is this going to be your wedding present for the king?" the maid inquired.

Ari looked up, her face tense with concentration. She had not thought about this possibility yet. Ari feared that her husband might reject her gift, as he had said that she did not need to repay his hospitality. Making the chair as a wedding gift seemed to her like a good idea. She looked down at her work and ran her finger over the carved lines.

"I guess this is a good idea," she murmured, almost as if to herself. Looking up at the maid, Ari smiled gratefully. "Thank you for it."

The maid's cheeks flushed with excitement and she shifted closer to Ari. "My lady, we have heard that the wedding will take place next summer, at the end of its first full moon. But that's all we know. Could you please tell me about the details?"

Ari laughed heartily. "The details for my wedding?" she asked amused. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I do not know about my wedding preparations anything more than you do! My king and his son and even Galion have kept me in the dark."

The maid looked surprised. "They won't let you know about you the details?"

Ari shook her head and smiled. "No. As I said, they have kept me in the dark. I guess that the day will come when you know more about my wedding than me."

"My lady," the maid leaned closer, her voice but a whisper. "Would you like to know? If you wish, I could get information for you. Should I try?"

Ari pondered for a moment. She was curious, it was part of her nature, but... Ari raised her eyes to the maid and shook her head. "No, please don't. I guess I am as curious as you, but I am sure it will be a special day. The king wishes to surprise me, and I know that he will put great effort in doing so. It would hurt my own heart if I ruined his surprise with my curiosity. Do you understand?"

"You must love him a lot," the maid mused aloud before a satisfied smile crossed her timeless face.

Ari was lost in her thoughts. Yes, she had begun to love him. But she could not tell when. She suspected the elven betrothal ceremony to be the cause. Perhaps it was elven magic. She remembered that Legolas had promised to show her elven magic. But he had not done so yet. She had to remind him of the importance of keeping one's word. After finishing her work, she would find Legolas and speak to him. Ari felt more than ready to witness something magical. Maybe her feelings for the king had another cause, nothing magical at all. Maybe it was the will of the Valar, as the elves kept saying. Ari sighed and went on with her work.