Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit-Imagines and Oneshots

Thranduil- Scandalous pt. 3 (Alternate Ending)

So, I myself am not a big fan of sad endings. I prefer stories that end with love making the reader cry tears of joy and pain from the fluff overdose they just had. But I know some people prefer ending that make the reader cry for other, more somber endings. With that, here is an alternate ending for the last part of my Thranduil one-shot, "Scandalous."

Thranduil waited outside the delivery room, bubbling with excitement. Though, he had been sitting here all night waiting for his and your child to come into the world, he was wide awake. He simply couldn't wait any longer to meet his heir. 

He had been wondering all night long what he would name him or her. After all his hard thinking, he could only think of two names: Thranduil if it were a boy, and (y/n) if it were a girl. He had never been very creative, especially when under stress such as this. 

His father, Oropher, tried to tell him to calm his giddy nerves. He was truly being the adult of the situation, thinking logically whereas Thranduil could barely think at all. 

"She's going to be exhausted after the baby comes," he had explained. "Make sure to praise her and tell her how beautiful she and the child are."

After what seemed like a lifetime, the midwife opened the door.

"Ernil nin," she began. Oropher noticed the somber tone in her voice, but Thranduil didn't. He didn't even look at her face before rushing inside to see you and his baby. Both his father and the midwife called after and chased him, but he was too excited to stop. 

In the delivery room, another midwife with teary eyes was rocking a bundled up baby in her arms. Thranduil approached his child with awe. It was clearly a boy. He had a son. Thranduil the second, he thought happily

"I'm so sorry," the young midwife whispered before before hastily placing the infant in his arms and running out of the room, choking on her own tears. By the time Oropher and the first midwife finally caught up to Thranduil, but it was too late.

Thranduil looked to the bed where his son had been birthed. He could see the form of his wife resting under a thin beige blanket. Confused and ignorant, he snatched the blanket of the bed, ignoring the warnings from his father behind him. 

You were there, bloodied and pale. Thranduil realized immediately that you were dead. He didn't want to believe it. He loved you far too much to let you go, especially in conditions like these. You had just given birth to your firstborn, but never got to see how beautiful he was. 

"She was far to delicate," the midwife explained gravely. "The stress was too much for her body to handle. We tried everything we could-"

Thranduil drowned out all the noise and her observed the scene, his mind clouded with sadness and disbelief. Your head was tilted to the side, eyes still open. It looked as though you were gazing out the window at the ancient trees. Those green leaves had been the last thing you ever saw. Thranduil decided he would name his son just that. 

"Legolas," Thranduil interrupted the midwife, bringing himself back into the real world. 

"Wh- what, my lord?" she asked shakily.

"My son's name is Legolas Greenleaf."

He turned and made his way to the door. After shoving his son onto the midwife's breasts, he paced down the halls, going anywhere to escape the conquering grief, which was, of course, no where. 

It was on that day Thranduil's heart left him. The love of his life had been cruelly ripped away from him by nature, and he would never forgive a soul for it. He would've taken his own life that day, too, but he knew you would want him to take care of your son, so he stayed. 

Over time, the grief turned into anger. He began to take it out on the dwarves of Erebor over a simple trading disagreement. He knew his wife would disapprove of it all, but he had not the heart to stop it now. Legolas, now grown and strong, left his heartless father after that bloody and meaningless battle. With his son's departure, Thranduil felt his heart slowly return to his being. It had taken him until that moment to realize that Legolas was not only his heir, he was your son, the only true gem you left behind, and he loved him dearly. 

Then Thranduil's emotions returned and grief consumed him mercilessly. He remembered you and the feeling of love. It began to return to him as his son walked away, but by then, it was too late.