Betrothed(ON HOLD)

Chapter Four

"I have summoned you this morning to speak about why I am truly here."

Thranduil's drawling voice rang through the room, drawing Arwen's attention to every word he was saying. She was quite tired this morning and whished she could be resting rather than listening to the king. She half-heartedly asked her father earlier that morning if she could lie down a bit longer, but he had said it would have been disrespectful to ignore Thranduil's summons and she agreed. Thranduil was a king and it was dangerous to defy his wishes.

Thranduil shifted in his high-backed chair, leaning slightly forwards to look at the young elves who stood before him. "I know that you both have no idea about the friction between Imladris and Mirkwood." Behind her, she heard Elrond's sigh. "We are on the brink of war, and the only way to resolve that is by uniting the two."

Silence settled over the room as Thranduil let the words sink in. The only noise that filled the room was the chirping of happy morning birds that sang outside the tall opened windows. But the world seemed to go quiet and her head filled with a ringing noise as what Thranduil said was setting in. A feeling of concern washed over her. What did Mirkwood have against Rivendell? There was no way for her to comprehend why there would be friction between the two of them. To her, their relationship with them had seemed so peaceful and they had never been openly rude to Thranduil or his people. Of course there was the occasionally story about how evil, selfish and scary the Silvan elves were, but they were just children's tales that some parents used to scare their children into behaving. And quite frankly, Arwen had never believed them.

After a few minutes, Thranduil spoke again. "You are to be betrothed and married."

It felt as if her stomach had dropped to the floor and a wave of dizziness fell upon her. She could feel nothing and hear nothing, only her beating heart and rushing blood in her ears. Her mind could not wrap around what Thranduil had said, and so she could say nothing.

In her shock, her face feeling numb, she looked over at her father who had moved more towards where Thranduil was sitting. In his gaze, she found that same look he had been giving her over the course of the last few months.

"Father! How could you do this?" Legolas demanded. Arwen was surprised at the boldness of him, blatantly disrespecting and yelling at his father with others in the rooms to listen.

Thranduil turned harshly to his son, giving him a cold and menacing look Arwen had never seem from her own father. He leaned forwards in his make-shift throne, tilting his head slightly to the side in what seemed a mocking way.

"Would you rather have out kingdom die in war?" His voice was quiet, but his words were filled with malice. He straightened and look away from his son and at the wall opposite him. When he spoke again, his voice was back to its normal tone. "I will not suffer our soldiers to fight when there's another way to get what we need."

Legolas straightened his back and squared his shoulders, looking his father in the eyes. "I am a prince. I can protect the kingdom. But I am not a doll that you get to decide the fate of. I should be choosing my own path."

"You may be a prince, but I am a king."

Arwen glanced between the two as they argued in front of her. She was slowly awoken from her numbness and initially shock. A hard lump was growing in her throat as reality was fully hitting her with each second that passed as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

Though she tried her best to repress her emotions and represent her people, she was not strong enough. She felt betrayed by her father who had once told her that who she loved would be her own choice. A sob escaped her trembling lips and all the eyes in the room turned to look at her, halting the argument that was still ongoing in the background. Arwen dropped her gaze to the floor in shame, muttering about how she needed a minute alone, then leaving the room before any other words could be spoken.