My Dear King (Thranduil love story)

Chapter 3

I'm finally giving the parents some names,
Father: Nicoli
Mother: Anabeth
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Preparations were made as soon as they had arrived home. The bodies of the dead were carried into the hall on beds of flowers, leaves, berries and branches. The were all drapped in a cloth made of gold. All the bodied they could not idetify, were too mangled or not found were all honoured with crows of flowers, a folded golden cloak and a name plate.
Arasseth only took the time to bathe and change into black robes when she arrived, she stood in the halls comforting the families in mourning and saying good bye's of her own. Many of the dead were people she had known, grown up with or heard of. At the end of the second day, the bodies were all burried where their families wanted them to rest. An homage to the king of Greenwood was also displayed.
Everyone feasted into the next day and drank their plenty in rememberance. She sat at the end of the table with her mother, father and brother. She often found herself lost in thought about Thranduil. Unlike herself he had no family there to support him anymore. She took a sip of her wine and felt her mother squeeze her shoulder lightly.
"My love, he will be fine. Do not worry about the prince too much. He was raised knowing that this day might come, just like your brother Adrian." She smilled softly at her. Like a lot of mothers, she coould read Arasseth like a book.
"I know mother, but being a species not affected by time can get to you, we forget that one can die especially after being with them for hundreds or even thousands of years." She smiled faintly and placed her own hand over her mothers."I pray that death will not be upon you, father or brother. Losing any of you would break my heart."
Her mother bent over and kissed her forehead. "Do not worry my child, we are a lot harder to get rid of than we look." Arasseth smiled and wrapped her arms around her mother, embracing her in a tight hug. "Gi melin." (I love you).
Everyone left for bed as the sun broke the horizon. She stood out on the main balcony watching she sunrize. She had finally allowed herslef to cry for her people as she whispered a farewell song. The wind carried it and spread it across the land. The forest felt her grief and other elven folk would know what had happened in their kingdom ,if they wished to listen.
She finally found rest but only for a few hours.

~*~

A week had passed and it was time for Thranduils coronation. Her brother stayed behind to watch the kingdom while she rode to greenwood with their parents. They had brought gifts for the new king as oferings to honour their elliegance to him. Things are moving quite quickly for beings that had a lot of time she thought. She kept to herself for the first part of the trip down to Greenwood. They had stopped for the night at a small elvish inn to rests. While around the dinner table her mother talked of Thranduil.
"I heard that there's going to be some lovely elleths at the coronation. Thranduil will be expected to have a wife in the next hundred years or so, and maybe some little princes and princesses of his own. To assure that his blood line isn't broken of course, it would take ages for someone to be chosen, especially in the elven kingdom. Going with the bloodlines is much easier for everyone." Her mother smiled and drank some wine at the though of little elves running around. Arasseth knew this was the way things worked but for some reason she felt a little disturbance in the pit of her stomach. It was probably the wine she thought while pushing her glass aside.
"Of course, it is how things work, hopefully the new king will be as lucky as I was." Her father said while tenderly placing his hand over his wife's and giving it a light squeeze. "And may he be blessed with children as kind and beautiful as my own" he then took Arasseth's hand as well. She smiled back but there it was again, that odd feeling.
"This wine doesn't set well with my stomach, I think I'll go to bed." She mumbled while getting up.
"It seems fine to me" her mother said and her father agreed. "Maybe you got it from a different barrel."
"I'm not sure, sleep will most likely settle it." She smiled kissing her fathers and mothers cheeks and retired to the room they had rented, quickly falling asleep.
They headed out early the next morning, elves were known for not sleeping very long. She kicked the black stallion she had taken as a replacement because her last horse died in battle. This new horse was a young male that buzzed with power and wanted nothing more than to run. He was obedient but still wild. The stalion began to run right away and her parents were only a few paces behind. They made it to the new kings realm around midday. When the saddle bags were taken off of the horses and taken by some younger elves helping them, a council member met the at the door.
" Nicoli, Anabeth, Arasseth , welcome honoured guests." He said with a bow of his head.
They all bowed their heads in return and followed him into the castle. They were shown to their bed chambers, her father and mother were further down the hall and she had a separate room, the one she was usually given during her stays. She entered her room and the one carrying her bags followed her in. She took a bag from his arms and smiled at him gently.
"Could I give you a gown? Just to wash and hang so it does not smell of horse and travel?"
"Of course my Lady." He responded with a gentle smile and put her other bags down on a bench. She gave him her gown and he bowed lightly and exit the room. She took the braid out of her hair and braided a much cleaner one, she glanced at herself in the mirror and if you knew her well you could tell that behind her silver-blue eyes she was tired. A soft knock on her door took her out of her thoughts.
"You can come in." She spoke softly. The door open and Thranduil stepped in looking at her and smiled softly, but she could tell that he was simply being polite.
"My lady..." He walked up to her taking her hand and kissing her knuckles.
"My lord, how do you feel?" She asked cupping his cheek with the hand he was just kissing and lifting his head. She could see the sorrow deep inside his soul. She took her hand away from his face and gave him a brisk hug, which to her surprise he returned.
" I have known you for about five hundred years now my lord, and I have not seen such sorrow in your eyes until this day." She said while stepping back from him.
"I mourn my father, I already miss him dearly." He sighed looking away from her and out the window of her room. She followed his gaze and then looked back at him.
"Our kingdom share your grief for the late King Oropher." He slowly looked back at her, his head still held high. The man before her was slowly becoming someone different, from a prince to a noble king right before her eyes. He extended his arm out while turning towards the door.
"Walk with me to the gardens Arasseth." When he said her name it rolled off of his tongue and sounded like warm honey in her ears. She wrapped her hand into the crook of his elbow and walked by his side until they reached the gardens. They sat on a marble bench the had a small spotlight of sun that was peeking through the thick roof of branches. They say at opposite ends but their knees towards the center.
"I am very glad you are here Arasseth." He took in a deep breath, she could tell he was about to say something he didn't want to but had to, like the many times he had to agree with his father as a young elf but didn't deep inside. "I want you to approve of my next wife." He looked away from her and at a berry bush next to them.
Her breath caught in her throat and suddenly that rotten wine was making a fuss in her system again. Why now? She thought placing her hand on her stomach.
"All you alright?" Thranduil asked concerned and she nodded with a smile.
"I had some bad wine at a inn while we traveled here and it's acting up again." She took his hand with her free one and found it surprisingly hard to say what she was about to say.
"...I will help choose a beautiful elleth for you my lord." He smiled at her lightly and bowed his head.
"...Thank you" he whispered and looked at her but only for a fraction of a second. She saw that same grief in his eyes again. His father must really be on his mind. They sat in silence for the next while, simply enjoying each others company.
Someone called Thranduil's name and he left giving her a small nod.
"Good night Arasseth, I will see you at the coronation tomorrow." He walked away from her and she said good night in return. She turned around to see him leave the gardens with a council member and he looked back at her for a few seconds and then turned back around.
That night, she was unable to find sleep. Too many things were on her mind and she felt that her dreams would not of been forgiving as soon as she closed her eyes.

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Until next time,
Kelly.