Another World

Chapter 20

Thranduil stared at Charlotte with an eerily unblinking gaze; his body still and unmoving and his face an achingly and beautifully sculpted mask. Charlotte bit her bottom lip in uncertainty as she wondered what his reaction was going to be: would he explode, chastising her for putting his life in even more peril, or would he be accepting?

Instead, Thranduil blinked once and asked, his voice a smooth, rich baritone flowing like honey over her skin, "I take it you trust Carl enough to reveal my true identity to him?"

Charlotte gave a slow nod. "I trust Carl, Thranduil. Even with your secret."

Thranduil folded his arms in front of him, the movement precise and exact. "It is usually the ones we trust the most that cause the most betrayal, Charlotte."

Charlotte's hazel eyes flickered to the floor before she met his penetrating gaze full on. "True, but in Carl's case, I know he can be trusted."

"Really?" There was no mistaking the patronising tone lacing his words. "Care to enlighten me as to why I should trust him? I don't know the man."

Charlotte closed the distance, placing her small hands on the lean, wiry muscles of his upper arms, but Thranduil remained unmoving as he stared down his nose at her, waiting for her answer.

Charlotte sighed. "Carl used to be military. Something happened. Something that must have been pretty bad, but he is tight-lipped as to what turned him against the government." Charlotte gazed up imploringly at the icy features of the Elvenking. "I know he will help us, not only because he is like family to me, but because it will give him a chance to spite the government he hates with a passion."

Thranduil did not deign to reply, choosing to gaze at her impassively.

Charlotte took a deep breath through her nose and dropped her hands to her side. "I had every intention keeping your identity a secret, Thranduil, but this whole mess with Eric has forced me to call upon the one person I know who can actually help. Carl is the only one I trust enough to help us and not screw us over in the end."

There, in those warm depths of her eyes, despite her newfound inner strength, Thranduil glimpsed the crippling fear that was driving his little spider to such extremes. He wanted nothing but to envelope her in his arms right there and then and comfort her, which is exactly what he did - much to Charlotte's surprise. She didn't resist, though, and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his lean chest. They stood there in companionable silence, Thranduil's warmth enveloping her and soothing her soul.

"Are you alright, little one?"

"No," she mumbled against his chest, her arms tightening around his middle. She pulled back enough to gaze up into his hypnotic blue eyes. "But I refuse to go down without a fight." Charlotte paused. "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have to, Thranduil," she said more softly.

Thranduil cupped her face between his palms, his thumb absently caressing her cheek. "I understand, Charlotte. Eric is more dangerous than originally anticipated. As much as I loathe to admit it, we are going to need all the help we can get." Thranduil closed the distance and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead before pulling back. "But I'll reserve judgement until I get to know Carl better."

"Fair enough, but I should warn you that Carl can be quite...unconventional."

"Unconventional?"

Charlotte hummed. "Yeah," she drew out the word into a long sounding syllable. "Best to ignore his conspiracy theory spiels. Once Carl gets started on those, he can go on for hours."

"Conspiracy theories?"

Charlotte breathed out a heavy sigh, realising that there still was so much that Thranduil did not know about this world. She stepped back and ran her hand through her messy waves.