An Unexpected Fanfiction: The Hobbit & LOTR One Shots

The King and the Pauper

Requested by the splendiferous Abauzon! Thanks so much!

Type: One shot

Pairing: Female (elleth!) Reader x Elrond

Translations: 'Eärcalwen' =  'Maiden of Sea Light' // 'Alla, milyawë.' = 'Greetings, gentle woman.' // 'Alla, melda tár.' = 'Greetings, beloved king.' // 'Á tulë asenyë.' = 'Come with me.'

"Alla, melda tár." Eärcalien bows, speaking the customary greeting to Lord Elron, the young king of the new elven kingdom of Imladris, who sits tall and proud on his throne. The lower-class elleth who has come to greet him rises and stands, hands clasped nervously before her as she waits for him to reply. "Alla, milyawë," Elrond replies, rising from his perch and descending the five steps to the floor of the unfinished throne room, smiling warmly at her. As always when her king smiles at her, as he does now, Eärcalien's heart does a flip in her chest. Elrond gives her a small bow politely and asks, "What matter do you bring to discuss with me this chilly morning?" She offers a sad smile as she replies, "My father has fallen gravely ill. He offers his apologies for his and his families' absence at the festival yesterday." Elrond frowns, sensing the hidden sorrow behind her gaze and- in a surprisingly informal move- takes her hands in his own.

"Please, tell me of your troubles," Elrond asks with a tenderness in his voice Eärcalien is not used to hearing and that makes her heart do a spin again. She lowers her head, blinking away tears and admits, "I fear my father does not have long to live. I will miss him gravely. He is all I have left." Elrond frowns and drops her hands, giving a quick wave to his guards at the open doors to the throne room. "Move all my scheduled meetings two hours back," he commands and they nod dutifully. "Á tulë asenyë," Elrond says and leads the silent, sad elleth out the side door and down a tiled path into his private gardens (newly planted and still rather sparse), where he finds a bench and has her sit beside him.

Eärcalien swipes at the tears brimming at the edge of her vision and sighs despondently. She tells Elrond of her father falling sick three nights ago, his condition steadily growing worse as each morning came. "He woke before the dawn and was strangely calm this morn," Eärcalien says softly. "He declared he knew his time in this world was up, but I refused to let him believe this." She brushes away more tears. "He then sent me here, commanding me to not return home until this eve. I think he wants to spend his last day alone." Elrond nods understandingly. It was rare for an elf to pass away from sickness in his kingdom, as all elves' lives were endless, unless they personally gave away their immortality to another, but he knows the sting of death as well as any of his subjects.

Elrond has a long conversation with Eärcalien in the gardens, and as the sun rises higher and higher in the sky, so do her spirits, it seems. She comes to terms with her father's imminent passing and so the king turns the conversation to more pleasant things, such as the Winter's chill fading into Spring soon and the festivities to celebrate the change of season planned for a week's time. As they speak, Elrond watches Eärcalien and slowly begins to realize little, beautiful things about her. When she speaks of her young nephews and nieces, her dark brown eyes light up. Her silky hair, which is held back in a braided bun with two strands curling down upon her cheeks, is the pretty color of a pine tree's bark. She has the smallest of gaps between her two front teeth, a natural beauty mark beneath her left eye, and a smattering of freckles across her nose; all these things seem lovely to Elrond.

Just as the sun reaches it's highest point in the sky, the king's adviser Lindir comes down to find him and call him back to his kingly duties. "It is just past one, my lord," he says, twiddling his thumbs apprehensively in front of him. "The visiting party from Eryn Galen is not pleased with waiting for quite some time." Elrond rises abruptly and nods at Lindir, replying, "I will return in less than three minutes. Please let them in. I will apologize in person." His adviser nods with a quick smile and heads back toward the palace at a quick pace, that of which is still being built. Elrond turns back to Eärcalien and bows, kissing the top of her hand in parting. When he rises, the blush on her cheeks warms his heart and he sends her on her way with kind words of parting a spoken wish to see her again.