A Lasting Legacy [ Thranduil X OC ]

Chapter 15

Later that night, Thranduil waited for word from Tauriel and his men.
Pacing as usual, he thought about the days' stressful events.
Why would Orcs dare come that close to the palace?
They must be looking for something, but what he did not know.
He had been surprised when the leader of the nasty group had proclaimed that he was to be delivered unharmed.
Delivered to whom?
Azog was killed along with almost all orcs save for a few mercenary groups that did not belong to the main legions.
He must be missing something, someone was calling the shots and he wanted to know who.
He had also been surprised when the monsters did not recognize Arden.
Maybe it was her clothing or pale demeanor, but normally orcs did everything possible to stay clear of Belegdae elves.
All for the best though, he could not imagine what would have happened if the hideous creatures had realized they stumbled upon a king AND queen unaware and unprotected in the forest.
Another stupid move on his part.
Although if he were being honest, all his once calculated and thoughtful actions were replaced by said stupid moves because of a certain female presence.
Stopping his pacing, Thranduil moved across the room to a window and looked out.
Craning his neck slightly, he checked Arden's window to find it blessedly dark.
Unaware, his lips (and other parts) began to tingle from the memory of their passionate exchange earlier today.
She made him crazy.
One minute he despised her interference, next he was jealous and then far too protective.
Even with his first wife and his own son, all those emotions rarely came out and certainly never at once.
His past marriage had been one of convenience really but he had truly grown to love her.
Just then a thought hit him.
Tabling the issue of the reappearing orcs for later, Thranduil moved to his desk and sat.
He couldn't let Rowan get control of Ardor.
At this point he had to admit that he didn't mind Arden assuming control of the land and becoming his neighbor.
Over the past few weeks he had grown to care for her against his better judgement and now his only real goal was to make sure Rowan didn't take advantage of her.
However he was still a king himself, with people who needed their needs met as well.
A partnership was the perfect solution.
Aligning both kingdoms.
He toiled with the idea of writing a contract that stated the alignment, however he wanted something more... permanent.
If they were going to do this, they needed to go in all the way.
The new kingdom that would come from the two would be the greatest elven stronghold in Middle Earth and really the world.
Better than Rivendell and all the other kingdoms combined.
They would be unstoppable.
Smiling now, he thought of what precautions would need to be taken.
To make sure the alliance was fully viable and solid, he'd need to marry Arden.
Even thinking of the action less than a month ago would have made him violently ill but now, not so much.
He couldn't stand Rowan, couldn't stand not strengthening Mirkwood, and couldn't stand Arden being courted by others.
It was perfect, he got everything he wanted in the end.
Thinking of how to get the ball rolling on this, a scout interrupted his thoughts by requesting entry.
Allowing it, the scout scurried in and bowed.
"What news have you?" Thranduil's voice boomed.
"I have found the general location of Lord Rowan, my king, he still resides at Rohan. However he seems to be preparing to leave soon for parts unknown to me. He was seen training men and stockpiling supplies."
Thranduil frowned.
No doubt he was on his way to call upon Arden.
Waving his hand in the air, Thranduil thanked and dismissed the soldier, telling him to continue his watching.
In the end, Thranduil was unmoved by the news.
From what he could see, Arden had been in love with him since they were children and never fell out of it.
Proposing this all to her would be a walk in the forest.
He couldn't possibly imagine otherwise.
Decided, he figured he would approach her the next morning.
Rest would be non existent tonight.

Fun fact;
To create the war cries of the Uruk-Hai army, Peter Jackson went to a cricket stadium, filled it with 25,000 people and led them all in chanting the words "Derbgoo, nashgshoo, derbgoo, dashshoo."