Jewel In The Palace(Lord Of The Rings Fanfiction)

A Father's Moment

~~O~~

One month later...

Queen Miriel awoke with a start. She sat upright in bed and looked over at the clock.

One in the morning.

At first she was not quite sure why she had woken up, then she realized how strangely quiet the room was. Her daughter was not crying. Her daughter always cried at that hour. She had for the past two weeks. A chill ran through her bones.

What if something was wrong?

Working herself into a panic, she reached over to wake up her sleeping husband only to find that he too, was gone. Now she was really scared. Thranduil rarely left the bed at that kind of hour, without letting her know where he was going. First, her baby did not cry, and now her husband was gone.

What is going on?

As fear crept into her stomach, Mirialia crawled out of bed and tiptoed over to the nursery door. The first place where she thought the baby would be. When she reached the door, she stopped in surprise. The sound of a soft male voice chattering away floated in from the other side. She knew Thranduil's voice from anywhere, and a feeling of relief swept over her.

Being as quiet as she could, she slightly opened the door gently and peeked inside. She smiled and her heart was touched at the moment that greeted her. There sat Thranduil in a chair, holding their baby in his arms and calmly talking to her.

"That's my elfling." the Elvenking cooed proudly.

He continued as if the infant had answered him.

"You know, there's a lot you and I have in common. We are both quiet thinkers. We only talk when we need to."

He lovingly stroked his daughter's forehead. "You look like your mother, though. And I'm very thankful for that. You've got her eyes, but I think you've got my hair and nose." he commented.

Carrying the infant carefully, Thranduil stood up, preparing to take her back to bed. But the minute he moved, baby Mirien started to cry.

Mirialia put her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. Her husband looked a little silly with a crying baby in his arms and a panicked look on his face. For a moment, it seemed like he did not quite know what to do.

"Shhh, it's alright. I am just putting you back to bed. Quiet. You will wake your mother," Thranduil said as he hugged his daughter. He seemed to be searching for a way to calm his child when his blue eyes lit up with an idea. Slowly, he began to dance around the room and sing an Elvish lullaby.

Mirialia's breath caught in her throat. Here was her husband, the Elvenking, standing in the middle of the room singing to his child. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. Thranduil did not sing very loudly, but the song did carry across the room.

He had gotten halfway through the tune when he realized that his baby was no longer crying. Instead, the infant was already fast asleep. Smiling, he slowly walked back over to the crib and gently laid the sleeping baby in it. He carefully covered her up and turned to go back to their bedroom. He stopped when he saw his grinning Queen standing in the doorway.

"That was a lovely song." she whispered, the smile still plastered on her face.

Thranduil shrugged. "Thank you."

"Would you be up for singing another one?" she teased.

He chuckled. "No, I think that was my swan song for the evening."

"That's a shame. I might need a lullaby." She wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a nice, soft kiss.

"It's so quiet. May this moment last forever."

"It will, my love." He kissed her again. Without another word, he led her into their bedroom and quietly closed the door.

~~O~~