Almarëa

Tear Streams

Her heart seemed to have stopped inside her chest. She felt almost every pair of watching eyes silently string at their King, curiosity easily seen on their faces. The Elvenking remained unmoving, a heavenly statue sitting royally on his throne-like chair, ice blue eyes staring at the newly unwrapped gift. His expression was a perfect stone mask, unreadable.

She saw Tadion rise form his chair, clear blue eyes narrowed in confusion as he rounded the table to stand behind his father. She watched in silence, feeling petrified, as he looked over the King's shoulder, his eyes glancing at the gift before darting back up to meet hers. Clear blue eyes were wide, astonished, seeming to study her in a way he never had before.

Tadion did not say anything, and she watched in despair as Legolas also rose to take a look at the gift, Lossenel quickly following him. She did not know if to run from the halls or to stay, she wanted to disappear, or to at least for the King to react in a way, in any way.

Legolas' eyes widened as he looked inside the tiny box, infinite blue irises instantly lifting to meet hers. He looked shocked, surprise easily readable in his face. She felt fear starting to consume her, suddenly regretting giving the King the missing pearl. Had that been wrong? Had she offended him somehow?

Ever so slowly, the King's eyes lifted in her direction, his perfectly composed face still a stone mask, entirely relaxed and looking as royal as ever. Ice blue eyes met hers, piercing her dark green ones, so silent and impenetrable, not allowing her to see behind their iced wall.

Most of the hall had gone silent by now, nearly every elf seeming to have noticed that something was going on. She could see out of the corner of her eyes some of the elves whispering silently to each other, trying to get informed on what was happening.

Slowly, the King's lips curved into a smile, the gesture polite and perfectly well orchestrated, but never touching his impenetrable eyes. He nodded his head in thanks, before placing the tiny box with the gift inside his robes' pocket. Every single one of his movements was so elegant and polite, and yet so cold and distant...so Kingly.

The perfect smile remained on is handsome face, almost looking genuine, and she was sure every single elf in the feast believed it, for she felt the eyes starting to look away, once again concentrating on their own conversations and dances. Everything seemed different to her now, the joyful aura of the room suddenly feeling less welcoming as she gazed at the King's perfectly composed expression.

Every second seemed to stretch into hours, every noise and every sight suddenly becoming so distant. She did not know what to do, did not know what to think, regret slowly starting to consume her. Her siblings had all returned to their seats, taking their father's polite yet distant reaction as an example to act as if nothing had happened. None of the elves seemed to be paying attention now, everything appearing to be once again normal and joyful to them.

Elegantly, the Elvenking rose to his feet, looking tall and regal, not saying a single word as he casually walked through the halls, silently disappearing through the large pairs of doors. She felt her heart stop beating, her insides feeling heavy, sinking to the ground in the worst of ways. She did not know what she was doing, or why was she doing it, but she found herself silently following, avoiding every single pair of eyes as headed towards the doors. She needed to apologize, to tell him that she had not meant to do anything wrong, but she did not really understand what had been wrong.

Outside the King's Halls, the Palace was silent, feeling more magnificent and empty that ever, the tall stone columns suddenly feeling colder and imposing, even in their delicacy. She felt scared, regret invading her heart as she walked through the large Main Hall. She could see the King in the distance, rounding a corner that led to the main terraces of the Palace. She could tell that he knew she was following, but he did not turn to look as he disappeared from her sight. She quickly walked in that direction, not really knowing what was causing her sudden impulse.