A Lasting Legacy [ Thranduil X OC ]

Chapter 2

A solid knock on the door took Thranduil from his thoughts.
Looking up from the parchments he read, he nodded his head in the direction of his guards. Seeing his approval, the guards promptly opened up the doors.
Thranduil watched as his captain entered the cavernous throne room.
Walking gracefully, Tauriel came before him and bowed.
"What news have you Tauriel?"
Tauriel looked different.
Not nervous or hesitant so much... but unsure.
Without wasting a second more, Thranduil spoke again, his anger rising.
"It's her is it not? She trespassed again onto my land. Did you shoot her this time or must I take it upon myself to rid the kingdom of such rats."
Tauriel stood still, face blank and body unflinching at his harsh words.
If there was one thing Thranduil lived for, it was finding weakness in ones' composure.
Finally she spoke.
"I'm sorry my lord but I failed yet again. I did shoot but she managed to out maneuver me."
Thranduil sat in silence continuing to stare into her unblinking gaze.
He found no fault.
"You have fought hundreds of battles, killed thousands of Orcs and trained countless amounts of the finest warriors the elven race has to offer and you expect me to believe that she 'out maneuvered' you as you so put it?"
This time she had the decency to look away and Thranduil inwardly huffed.
"It is as I say my lord. As for the rest of the report..."
Thranduil gazed off as she started recounting the days' events and happenings for the border patrol.
He wondered how many times she had caught the abomination or one of her kin and let them go.
Hell, she probably escorted them back herself.
Smirking now, he tried to pay attention.
While many would not believe it, he was a lot softer than he used to be or at least he began to be after the battle of the 5 armies.
Losing his son to the vast openness of Middle Earth did that to him.
All he wanted was to know that Legolas was safe.
If he even had to humor Tauriel and keep her on to appease his son, he would do that as well.
But repealing Tauriels' banishment came with other benefits besides being in his son's good graces.
She was one of the finest captains he'd ever had barring one.
And that one was out there trespassing on his land.
Gritting his teeth, he looked back to Tauriel as she continued her mundane spiel.
Holding up a hand to halt her, she stopped instantly and he rubbed the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes.
"Thank you, that will be all for today. Notify me again if you see "it".
Bowing low, Tauriel quickly exited and his headache instantly lessened.
His attention was brought once more to the creature that plagued him.
Never would he say her name out loud but Arden was beginning to be an issue.
He recalled the days of his childhood.
His father and mother had been good friends with Arden's parents, in fact they were their most trusted advisers.
They had been friends since birth, Arden being born only a few years before him, which then blossomed into something more.
Just on the cusp of reaching adulthood they had turned into lovers.
Simultaneously, she had trained constantly as an elven warrior, becoming one of the best in which his father had even promoted her to captain of the guard.
Nothing could separate them, Thranduil was sure she would forever be his beloved.
Then one day his mother never returned and the fault lied with Ardens' family and kin.
For centuries the elves of Mirkwood knew that the elves of Ardor held special powers.
Powers even more potent then that of Galadriel's, only because they wielded no real instruments.
To this day no one knew exactly what they were but Thranduil had witnessed it.
Witnessed Arden and her family having visions and prophecies of the future.
Witnessed their bodies changing form in stressful situations.
While he was sure that was not the end of it, he had not seen anything more.
Any being that held powers like that were not only dangers to his kingdom, but to society as a whole.
Never again would he let her or her kind take something from him, because at the end of the day, she and her family had the power and knowledge to stop death.
His mothers' death.
Soon after his mothers' passing, his father banished the cursed elves and their kin.
They wandered around endlessly, finding no where to call home as everyone had heard the news and deemed them too much of a liability.
However over the years, the prejudice towards the race had lessened, many elves coming to accept them once more.
This was only reinforced when the monster had come riding to their so called aid in the last war.
Thranduil scoffed and got up to pace.
They were foolish all of them!
To forget what they represented, death, would only destroy those who befriended them. Walking calmly back to his desk, Thranduil pulled out a drawer and looked at the paper that was set on top.
It stated the next starlight festival date and place.
The celebration would be held at Rivendell this year and Lord Elrond was kind enough to invite all races after the war from then on out to celebrate such an important time in the elvish world.
Nodding, Thranduil closed the drawer.
He would bring up the issue of Lady Arden and her people there.
He would make sure it would be known that she could only bring death and destruction wherever she went.
At peace for once, he motioned to the guards waiting.
First thing on the list was to double the border patrols, he'd like to see her "out maneuver" them this time.

*Fun Fact: Tolkien famously modeled many of his works after biblical characters and legends.
One such example is the Nazgul.
The nine mounted ringwraiths (who are most known for pursuing Frodo for the ring) are meant to symbolize the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
In revelations (6:1-8/bible) four horseman represented various scourges such as: war, death, famine and pestilence.
They were also a prophecy of the eventual decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Similarly, Tolkien uses them to bring such hardships and more upon Gondor and other various kingdoms of Middle Earth.