Learn To Love - A Thranduil love story [discontinued]

Chapter 8

Firstly I just want to apologise for how slow this update was! >_< I hope this chapter is worth the wait! XD

A strange silence hung over the room as you and Legolas stared at Thranduil with wide eyes, who stared back with his eyebrows raised in confusion. You stood up straight and hurriedly attempted to brush off the flour that had coated you.

"...what's going on?" he eventually asked.

"...we were just baking." you replied weakly.

"I can see that..." his gaze averted to his son, who blinked nervously. The silence continued for a couple more long seconds, before Thranduil's lips tugged into a smile and he tossed his head back with laughter. You exchanged quick glances with Legolas and joined in. It warmed your heart to see Thranduil show so much happiness, and you couldn't help but find his laughter very attractive. As you all quietened down, Legolas gasped loudly.

"Ada! You're not meant to see any of this!" He exclaimed, waving his arms around. Thranduil whipped his head away dramatically.

"I haven't seen anything!" He joked as he looked up at the ceiling. You laughed quietly and proceeded to dust off the flour from your face. Thranduil chuckled and walked up to you and Legolas. He smiled warmly and pressed a kiss on the top of his sons head, and then one on yours, to which he jumped back slightly as if he startled himself by his own gesture. You felt your cheeks heat up, and he blinked quickly. Looking at his features, you saw that dark circles surrounded his bloodshot eyes. Legolas giggled at his father as he watched him stride out of the room with flushed cheeks.

'He looks tired; he must have so much work to do...'

After all that, the cake was finally ready to go into the oven. Whilst it was baking, the two of you remained in the kitchen and chit-chatted about nothing in particular. As much as you enjoyed your conversations with Legolas, the thought of Thranduil's small, affectionate gesture clung to your mind. Legolas sat down on the kitchen work top whilst you washed the dirty utensils in the sink.

"Thia?"

"Yes, Legolas?"

"Are you in love with ada?"

His question caught you off-guard and you almost dropped the plate you were washing. You took a pause and stared into the bubbly water in the sink, contemplating his question.

"...love..." You uttered. You felt Legolas's gaze. A rush of thoughts flooded your head, you struggled to form a response. "...I don't know." You said lamely.

At least what you told him was true. You didn't know. Indeed, there was a pleasant emotion that filled you when in Thranduil's company; you felt appreciated, accepted, welcomed. Was that love? You loved Granny June and Edwin; that much was clear to you. But it didn't feel the same. Was there a different sort of love? Was this warm feeling you felt towards the king love?

'It couldn't be.' You thought to yourself. '...and even if it was, he wouldn't love someone like me.'

As you continued to think deeper and deeper about the situation, you hit a mental brick wall of realisation.

Elves only love once.

'Oh...'

You felt as thought a your heart had been run through with a blunt blade, and the wielder had twisted it inside you.

"Come on! I want to give the cake to Ada!" Legolas hopped off the work top and tugged at your sleeve.

"Okay..." You tried to swallow the lump in throat, and dried your hands. Legolas watched closely as you cut the cake into even slices and presented them on a plate. As soon as you had finished that, Legolas excitedly picked the plate up and hobbled to the door.

"Come on, Thia!" he called cheerfully. Not wanting him to suspect anything, you forced a smile and followed him to his father. Legolas lead you to a large wooden door on the far end of the palace, and knocked. Thranduil opened it and his face lit up upon seeing you.

"This is a pleasant surprise." he greeted, smiling warmly at you. "Come in, sit." You hesitantly stepped into the room, which turned out to be his study. The room was lit with the light from the windows. There was a large desk flooding with paperwork on one side of the room, and two sofas in front of a fireplace on the opposite side. He sat down on one of the sofas and rested his head back on the back of it, letting out a heavy sigh. Legolas sat down next to him, looking as though he was going to explode if he didn't show his father his creation. You stood by the wall next to the door with your hands held in front of you. "Calathiel, come." Thranduil waved his hand. Nodding quickly, you shuffled to his side. He looked up at you and took one of your hands in his. "You are no servant here. Relax." he said softly, rubbing his thumb over your knuckles.

"Ada ada! Look what we made!" Legolas cut in. Thranduil flashed you a last smile, let your hand go and turned to face his son. You took a seat on the opposite sofa.

"This looks delicious, is it for me?"

"Yes! Eat it, ada!" Legolas kicked his legs. Thranduil chuckled and picked up a slice, taking a bite out of it. His eyebrows sprung up. "Do you like it?"

"I love it." he smiled and patted his sons head. He continued to eat the slice of cake until someone knocked at the door. "Come in." he said, placing the plate on the small table. An elderly-looking elf entered, and Legolas groaned and sunk into the sofa.

"Pardon me for disturbing, your highness, however it is time for Prince Legolas's Elvish lesson." she said. Thranduil chuckled at Legolas, who slowly trudged to the door with his head hung low. She bowed and closed the door behind her with a quiet click, leaving you and Thranduil alone. He let out another sigh and ran his finger through his hair. He glanced at you and patted to the empty space next to him. You stood up and walked around the table, sitting yourself down by his side.

"Thank you for the cake." he said and smiled.

"You're most welcome." you tipped your head and looked at your hands, too shy to meet his gaze. You jumped slightly as his finger tips touched your chin, tilting your head up to look at him.

"Why do you cower?" he asked, staring deep into your eyes. His eyebrows were furrowed together and his eyes looked pained. "Have I done something to upset you?" You felt stuck in his eyes, and stuck on what to tell him. He shifted so that he fully face you, and held both your hands in his larger ones. "If there is anything I have done wrong to you, please tell me."

"You haven't done anything wrong, your highnes-uh I mean Thranduil." you whispered. His shoulders relaxed slightly and he looked down at your hands. A small smile spread across his lips as he caressed your skin with his thumb once more.

"Such pretty, dainty hands..." he said gently and lifted one up to his lips, pressing a lingering kiss on your knuckles. His sharp eyes stared into you as he did, the intimate aura making you blush. You turned your head away in an attempt to hide it, but one of his hands rested on your cheek to stop you. "Don't hide your face, Calathiel. Beauty such as yours is rare in this world." His words didn't help, instead they made you blush more. His eyes softened. "So sweet how a simple compliment can bring rosiness to your cheeks."

"It's...it's something I am not used to..." you admitted. He smiled more and proceeded to caress your cheek, trailing his thumb down the side of your face until ghosting across your lips. His eyes flickered to them before meeting your eyes again. Your heart beats became quicker at the sensation.

"Calathiel." he said quietly and leaned closer to you, stealing another quick glance at your lips. "There is something I want to tell you."

Aaaand I am so mean! XD What a cliffhanger, eh? Sorry, I couldn't help it!

I hope you enjoyed reading this chappy! Thank you all so much for your patience, comments and votes! Let me know what you think! :)

Stay tuned! I love you all! <3 <3

Chiyo xxx