ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪɢʜᴛ [ᴀ ᴛʜʀᴀɴᴅᴜɪʟ x ᴏᴄ]

Chapter 10- Home

Our time in Rivendel was fun and I learnt a lot whilst I was there but I was quite ready to go home. Home. I'd never had one until now.

"So what do you think Lady Galadriel meant by you sharing a close bond with Thranduil?" Laeanna asked.
"She may not even have been talking about him. She may have been talking about me and you, "
"Or both, " Astra added.
"Well, that makes things a whole new level of complicated, "
"Not necessarily, " Astra said. "If you and Thranduil are to be closer than either of you know then perhaps you may get married and even have a child together and you and Laeanna may be closer for the fact that you child and hers marry joining your two families together.
Laeanna and I burst out laughing.
"Me? Marriage? Kids? Really?" I howled. "Yeah like that would ever happen, "
"Well, you've got more chance than I have, " Laeanna laughed. "If you hadn't noticed before you came along I was the least liked person around. There's no chance of me ever getting married, " she added. We continued our journey home but I felt uneasy. I felt as if something was watching me from the shadows monitoring my every move.
Then finally I saw them. In the shadows. Lurking. Dark elves.
I didn't say anything hoping they didn't know that I had seen them. There seemed to only be two of them but two could still be very dangerous. I walked faster hoping the others would do the same which they did.
"Any reason for the change of pace," Laeanna whispered concerned clearly she also gelt that something was off.
"They've found me," I whispered.
"Then we should kill them. We cannot lead them back to Mirkwood, "
"I know but I cannot risk both of your lives as well. You two must leave. They want me not you. I will deal with them and then head back to Mirkwood on my own,"
"Araniel we cannot just leave you," Astra argued.
"You can and you will. You must. Please," I begged.
Thankfully they obeyed. I headed off away from Mirkwood noticing that I did draw all the attention. I was correct in my earlier assumption of there only being two. I moved quicker and heard the rustling behind me speed up. I leapt swiftly into a tree once I was out of sight of my two pursuers and waited silently.
"Araniel, " one called in a sing-song voice.
"We know you're here. Why don't you just come out now and maybe we won't hurt you too badly, " another snarked the voice was male where the first had been female.
I saw them below their hair like a pool of darkness that not even the golden rays of the sun could escape.
I drew my sword and dropped below plunging it straight through the back of one of them. I pulled the sword sharply as the elf made a noise of pain. The blow the threw to the other elf was blocked. He swung his sword high and brought it down with great force. I blocked it only to receive as a sharp kick to my sending me flying backwards over the corpse of the other elf. I went rolling over the forest floor my blade falling from my grip.
The elf advanced and I moved away from him trying to reach my sword again. The elf slashed my leg as I finally reached it. I didn't cry out in pain, I just twist and shoved my sword through the elf's chest before he could plunge his sword into my back. The elf crumpled on the sword and I pushed it to the side so the body of the dark elf would not crush me. I forced myself to my feet and unsteadily pulled the blade out of the blood-stained chest of my enemy.

I looked down at my leg and saw blood already pouring from the wound. After ripping apart the shirt yaw elf had been wearing I tied it tightly around my wound gritting my teeth from the pain thst surged through my leg. I needed to find my way back to my home and fast if I didn't want to lose too much blood and risk passing out.

I limped back through the forest trying to retrace my steps and praying I did not run into any spiders. Being bit by one hurt enough the first time and I didn't quite fancy today being my last. Soon the gate of Mirkwood came into sight and I breathed a sigh of relief having made it back safely.
"Araniel," Laeanna called running up to me followed by Astra - they had been sitting by the pale gate awaiting my return.
Laeanna swept me into a hug before letting go and hitting me in the arm.
"What was that for?"
"For guilt-tripping us to leave you alone at the mercy of two dark elves, " Astra answered.
"I don't think thst analogy quite works given the fact that dark elves aren't exactly the most merciful of beings, " I said as I limped along helped by Laeanna.
"You really need to stop putting yourself in such dangerous situations, Ara,"
"It's not my fault!" I exclaimed.
Laeanna and Astra shared a look.
"We're pretty sure it is, " they replied.
"I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble has its own annoying way of finding me,"
"I think you have your own annoying way of finding trouble. May j remind you it was your own choice to go running out into the forest to get me and you ended up getting bitten by a spider, " Laeanna pointed out.
"Well, when I ran out it was not my intention to become a spider snack, "
"And it was also you who decided to get us to leave and deal with those elves yourself," Astra added. "Although we should have tried a little harder to make you let hs stay,"
"Yes but even if we had stayed she would've gone running off anyway drawing them away from us because she has issues with letting others help her deal with things," Laeanna smirked.
"I don't have issues with thst I just have issues with getting my friends killed or hurt," I replied as we reached the healers.
"Yet you seem to have no issue with getting yourself injured or killed, " came the regal voice of Thranduil from behind us.
He face seemed unreadable and in didn't like that. He looked as if he was either going to hug me from worry or shout at me till his face turned red.
"Have fun dealing with that," Laeanna said patting me on the shoulder before leaving with Astra.
"Oh, I will," I sighed to myself.
I sat on a bed with a healer treating my leg wound with Thranduil looking at me from the corner of the room still not saying anything more. It made me more nervous and unsettled. Thankfully, the pain in my leg stopped me from being able to overthink the situation too much as I was unable to concentrate enough to do so.

Once the healer had left he still stood there staring at me.
"Come on, out with it. Yell, scream, berate, cry, walk away, break something, I don't know. Just stop looking at me like that," I burst out frustratedly.
Thranduil made his was across the room and stopped only inches away from me. He didn't yell or scream or cry or break something. He did something else entirely something I would have never have expected him to do.

He kissed me.