The Secret of the Forest

36 - A Spell to Remember

Returning to the ominous tunnel a second time was infinitely better with Thranduil by Anna's side. His presence alone seemed to keep the darkness at bay. The lighthearted teasing about how she should have avoided her dress from getting stained had her in a joyful mood most of the way, even though she knew that she was literally heading into the unknown.

"It's true," he said, lightly tapping her hand with his fingers as they walked on, their arms linked, "when have you ever seen me getting my clothes so dirty in such a short amount of time?"

"That's just because you are the fabled Elvenking, who knows his way through this tunnel, and I'm not," she countered, nudging him gently with her elbow, "besides I had other things on my mind than the state of my dress as you well know. If I had known that you would be lecturing me like this, I would have taken my time and put on a fresh dress apart from the boots."

"That is true, of course," he said, nudging her back, "besides, you are always a pleasure to look at, no matter what you're wearing."

A grin spread on her face. "You do know that you are not only very, very ancient, but also dangerously charming?"

"Oh, I am well aware of that, but it's always nice to hear it again, especially the charming part," he said smugly, leading her through the darkness with unwavering assurance.

To her delight Anna found that he seemed more talkative than the usual, even about the secrets of his palace.

He told her about the tunnel's origin, allegedly dating back to a time where the Sindar under Oropher had not yet established themselves as rulers of Eryn Galen in Amon Lanc. When Thranduil himself had led his people away from the Mountains of Mirkwood even further into the North to build these underground halls, this tunnel as well as several others, which interconnected to form a veritable network, had been discovered by the elves as they dug their own dwellings into the earth. This most interesting piece of history was unfortunately cut short by their arrival at the wooden door, but Anna made a mental note to ask him more about this later.

To Anna's surprise the toppled shelf had already been put back in its place and whatever had survived the fall, had been neatly stacked again, the flacons and earthenware jars looking a bit lonely with all the empty spaces between them. A flash of guilt made Anna realise that she might have unwillingly destroyed some possibly valuable ingredients with her undue outburst.

"Do not fret about the shelf," Thranduil said when he caught her embarrassed look. "I keep everything of importance in the cave and it's about time that these shelves get sorted out and reordered. I daresay they have been collecting more dust than value over the years."

Anna nibbled at her lower lip. "Still, I am sorry that I have caused such a mess. It wasn't my intention to break things."

He gave her an understanding smile. "Are you ready for this?" he asked, as they stood facing the entrance of the cave, his hand resting on the door knob.