A Lasting Legacy [ Thranduil X OC ]

Chapter 17

"I've only recently come across some valuable information. Information that pertains to Ardor and it's holdings."
At the rare sound of hesitancy in his voice, Arden lifted a delicately arched brow and he continued.
"I only found this information because of Lord Rowan's seemingly odd fascination with a land that is of no traditional use for him or his people."
Turning, he walked behind his desk and pulled out a drawer.
In it was an old leather journal with horrible scratches and marrs upon its cover.
Pulling it out, he came back to her and promptly handed it over.
She opened it and briefly leafed through its worn pages.
"This belonged to your father. Its a geographical and topographical history of Ardor. You'll notice that while the land was split off and given out to different kingdoms upon your families' removal, the land's mineral rights always belonged to your parents, and now you."
At the onslaught of information, Arden's eyes widened.
Then she saw the lists.
Page after page, elements and minerals of unimaginable wealth and rarity where listed, some thought to be only a myth.
Next to the element was the date in which a sample had been found and the exact coordinates to find it.
Carefully, she closed the book and handed it back.
Pinching the bridge of her nose and willing her sudden headache to go away, she finally said,
"How long have you known all this?"
For the second time in his life, Thranduil looked sheepish.
"Around the night of the Starlight Festival. That is when I saw that things did not add up and looked into the land more in-depth. I would have told you sooner however you suddenly fell ill and the timing never seemed right."
Arden felt a simmer of anger at his words.
Her life at this point had been filled with nothing but of her and her people begging for things that seemed to be rightfully theirs all along.
Even if everyone had voted against Arden at the festival she would have still walked out as the wealthiest person in all of Middle Earth if the journal was anything to go by.
She was about to voice her disappointment, but he once more stopped her by continuing on.
"I know you might be mad at me, I would understand if so, however you have more important things to think about right now. Don't hesitate for a second and think that news of Ardors' splendors won't come to light. If you thought the battle for Erebor was ruthless, then this will be thrice to that effect. Men have killed for much less, that I promise you."
Arden's head spun with with the words of truth he was heaving on her.
He was right, she knew this could get ugly fast.
Her and her people might be some of the most skilled and feared warriors in the land, but a couple hundred would be nothing to the thousands that would descend upon Ardor once news got out.
Oddly this all reminded her of one of the many visions she had the other night.
One that ended with death and sadness.
She shook her head at the multitude of thoughts intruding, trying to focus.
Thranduil's voice once more cut through the fog.
"The best advice I have for you is a union. Between us and our kingdoms."
Shocked, she jerked her head up to look at him as he said this.
"Think about it, no one would dare attack Mirkwood and my holdings. The woodland elves may not have the same aura of danger that the Belegdae seem to carry, but we are also not taken lightly."
He continued talking but Arden had stopped listening.
All the pieces were coming together now and one thing was truly clear;
he only wanted the land.
If Thranduil had started off by saying how much he loved her or wanted to work on their relationship, she would have agreed to anything.
Ardor be damned, she would move her and her people into Mirkwood in a second if Thranduil had offered.
She loved him so much and once more he was using it against her.
She could see the panic in his eyes as he spoke.
Not panic over losing her or for her safety but for Ardor.
Hell, he had basically just proposed marriage to her and not once did he speak of love.
It was all a cover up.
That's why he had been so nice to her, even going as far as making himself kiss her.
He said he had known all of this since the night of the starlight festival and that's when his whole attitude had seemed to change.
She had thought he was truly starting to see her for herself.
The utter emptiness must have seeped onto her face because she finally heard him stop talking about why they should join the two kingdoms.
As silence ensued, he stared at her, not knowing what to say.
"Arden, I'm not telepathic like you, I won't know what your thinking unless you tell me."
A slash of anger went through her.
"I think no thank you."
More silence.
"No thank you? What do you mean?"
She heard the note of panic in his voice.
"I can't speak any clearer, no thank you. I decline your offer of joining my realm with yours."
Without another word, she turned to go, set on gathering her things and leaving as soon as possible.
She couldn't seem get away from her love and Mirkwood fast enough.
But before she could take a full step, Thranduils' strong grasp wrapped around her arm and pulled her back with more force then he meant.
"Tell me what your thinking, surely your not daft enough to see that this is not the best thing. What have I done to upset you? All I'm doing is trying to help."
Tired of his persistence and the sad story that was her life at this moment, she wrenched her arm from him and maintained distance.
She was a queen.
It was time she start acting like it and reminding others as well.
She didn't need Thranduil or anyone else to be a good one either, she was doing just fine by herself.
Looking directly into his eyes she finally responded,
"I love you. I've loved you since we were children. I've loved you through my banishment, your torture of me and my people, your insults and your indifference. I've never stopped loving you. But I draw the line here. I know you have never realized it, but you have never once treated me with an ounce of respect and I'm done. I will not marry you so you can retain rights to Ardor. Unlike you, I marry for love and not for wealth. I thought you were different, I don't know why as I was never really shown signs, but I thought you could become better. I'm not in love with you anymore, at least not with the selfish man you've become. I thank you again for your hospitality when I was sick, I'll make sure that your more then compensated for that burden. It must be painful for you to have put all that time and energy into me and not get what you wanted out of it. From now on you may correspond with me through my second in command, Aego. If you'll excuse me now, I have a kingdom to build."
But instead of leaving after she finished, she stood there a moment longer.
She was praying to the Valor that he would say something... anything.
Even if it was to tell her that she was wrong.
Deafening silence.
But then again the silence spoke volumes.
As she was about to leave to lick her wounds, a messenger was admitted into the room.
He bowed hesitantly towards them both, sensing the unmistakable tension.
"Your highnesses, Queen Arden's presence has been requested by Lord Rowan of Rohan. He is presently waiting her arrival in her encampment of Ardor. He says it's of the upmost urgency".
Arden nodded, already moving towards the door.
"Tell him I'm on my way, I just need to gather a few things."
Bowing once more, the messenger nodded and scurried towards the door ahead of her.
But as she made her way to exit through the doors and follow the messenger out, they were both simultaneously closed by the guards outside.
Knowing this could only be of Thranduils' orders, she whirled back to face him.
Now she was beyond annoyance and humiliation, she was in fact livid.
However, at some point he had made his way next to her and used her temper against her.
As she turned in anger, he slipped behind her and acted as a living barricade along with the closed doors.
He crossed his arms over his chest and stood tall,
"I can't let you do this. If you let Rowan sway you, he will take advantage. I can't defend myself on not having ulterior motives. It's true, I was interested in Ardor and it's wealth. However, I can say in the end I did have a change of heart and goals. I'd rather face your fury then let him destroy Ardor, you and it's people."
Fuming and now facing him, Arden rolled her eyes.
"I've wasted enough time on you, nearly 2,000 years to be exact."
With that, she removed her sword hidden inside her skirts and pointed it directly at his throat.
"I'll not ask again, Mellon. Move."
Thranduil seemed to hesitate.
He did not know if she would truly hurt him but there was death in her eyes.
He was reminded once more why everyone feared her so.
Slowly, he moved out of the way and she re-sheathed her sword, quickly exiting.
He stood there bereft, thinking of what to do now.
He refused to go after her, his pride ultimately rooting him in place.
This definitely could have gone better.

Fun fact;
Tolkien originally didn't want the third Lord of the Rings book to be called "Return of the King" because he felt it revealed too much about the story.
The title was chosen by the publisher.