The Dwarf Prince

Chapter 15: The Lovers Part

"Thia?"

"Thia, can I come in?"

Alithia lied down on her bed, her face buried in her pillow as she ignored her brother on the other side of the door. She didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. All she wanted to do was stay in her bedroom and never come out. And maybe eat some cake. 

To her annoyance, her brother opened her door and came in before shutting it behind him. Legolas was  just about to finish his patrol when he had seen his sister flee to her room, hands over her eyes, so he came to see if she was alright.  Legolas stopped in front of her bed. 

"Thia, what's wrong?" he asked, seating himself on the edge of the bed. Alithia didn't reply, and Legolas sighed. He waited by her side, knowing that eventually, she would open up. She wasn't very good with hiding her emotions. 

It took a total of five minutes of complete silence before his sister raised her head from her pillow.

"I hate men," she muttered miserably.

Legolas snorted at the comment, immediately regretting it when his sister frowned at him. Her eyes were red, signs that she had been crying before he arrived.

"Sorry, Thia," he apologised, scooting closer to her as she turned over on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"What did the dwarf scum do to you?" Legolas asked. 

"He said..." she stopped, afraid to say it out loud, as if saying it aloud would confirm it. 

"Said what?" Legolas asked, suddenly feeling very protective as he regarded his little sister's state.

"He said he couldn't be with me anymore..." she started. "That there was no future for us..."

"Thia..." Legolas began softly, but she raised her hand for him to stop, eyes filling with tears again.

"Don't," she said quietly. "Don't say that you told me so. Don't say that I should have seen it coming."

Legolas shook his head, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Wasn't even going to."

Alithia looked up at him with sad eyes and a tear spilled out. "Do you know why he broke it off?" she asked, her voice cracking. Legolas looked at her with concern and shook his head.

"Because I'm an elf..." she whispered, so softly that if Legolas didn't possess his elf hearing, he would not have caught her words. Another tear rolled down on her face, and she leaned into him, hiding her face.

"Oh, Thia..." he said with a small sigh, wrapping his little sister in a hug. Anger boiled inside of him. The nerve of the dwarf to hurt his sister! Already, he was planning many ways to torture the dwarf that did this to her. He would have him prosecuted, imprisoned in the dungeons of Mirkwood until he died, and his body would rot in the filthy cell.

But now was not the time for seeking revenge, no matter how justified it was. Now was the time to be there for his sister, and so, Legolas stayed with Alithia, offering whatever comfort he could.

***

"You mean you met Elrond and he didn't even tell us you were at Rivendell?" Legolas asked in disbelief. After comforting his sister, Legolas had asked her about her adventure, and she had recounted her whole story, in better spirits than she was before. 

Alithia laughed and nodded. "He told me to just carry on since I was already in trouble."

Legolas raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Are you sure we're talking about the same elf?" he asked jokingly. Alithia giggled and the two siblings continued chatting away.