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anundyingfidelity · 4 months

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NO SECOND CHANCES — Brother Day/Cleon XVII

Summary: A lonely space traveler happens to save from a certain death the most annoying person of the entire galaxy, the Emperor.

Pairing: Cleon XVII x female reader.

Word count: 8.1k. (oooops).

Warnings: well, spoilers for whole season 2. Language, angst (the reader wants to die, really). Talks about suicide, talks about suicide attempts, reader having nightmares, PTSD, reader is suffering too. Some hurt/comfort, some fluff? Filthy smut (included but not limited to hand jobs, unprotected sex, oral from both parts, dirty language, etc. etc.), and end of the world sex (to Beki's arsehole bitches yay🥂). Also Cleon refers to the reader as "woman" a couple of times lol. Reader has pierced ears? (wait for it). Bittersweet ending tbh.

Notes: just trying to make slow burn in a one shot because I'm a lazy fucker who doesn't like to write stories with chapters, otherwise I don't finish shit. Uh probably OOC Cleon??? I don't know. Fully inspired by my favorite trope ever: saving the bad guy and making him humble. I don't care we're four people watching Foundation, I need to write about this little piece of shit I love him so much. Cleon XVII is a himbo I said it. Not beta, we die like bitches of the Gossamer court.

☕ if you like my writing, support me with a ko-fi !

Tagging: @curiouswildi hope you like it 🥺💘

GEN MASTERLIST!

I. BEYOND

The last thing wandering his mind was Bel Riose. Fucking Bel Riose. That idiot. They had won over him; over him, who was Empire and still meant to be for years ahead. Next, the cold feeling of space was embracing him. But he felt he was not floating around anymore.

Cleon was tied to a surface. It felt like harsh, uncomfortable metal under his back. He slowly forced his eyes open, moving his limbs and trying to escape whatever it was restraining him to do so. His wrists and ankles, as his waist, were tied by a light blue particle field preventing the patient to move at all. He was met with the roof of a ship and equipment, but it wasn't any Imperial one. In panic, he moved until he was able to shake the surface he was on, panting and grunting, feeling some pain and sting resurging all over him. The headache was becoming unbearable and the sounds coming from his dry mouth finally transformed into screams. The room doors opened and a strange voice catched his attention.

"Finally, you're awake."

Cleon obliged to follow the shadow moving around, his eyes focusing to try and see who was talking. He heard steps and the sounds of metal and glass clinking around, probably looking for medication and tools as he was know fully concius. The figure finally came to view by his side.

"I will inject this, so don't move," you said, grabbing his bicep. Cleon was about to protest, but the needle was faster and the medicine was welcomed on his vurnerable system, easing the pain and calming down the headache. "Welcome back, Eminence," you smirked to him.

"And just so, who are you?" he asked chuckling to himself, licking his lips. "What have you done to me?"

"First, I saved your life and cleaned all your bloody wounds. You should say thanks at least," you sat down dangerously close by his side, on the same surface he was on.

"I did not ask you for mercy."

"Oh, but I did," you replied, a smirk on your lips. "Perhaps I shouldn't have, right?" you took a small pencil-like device in your hand from the pocket of your pants and used it to scan his vital signs. You touched his face carefully with your fingers, examining his eyes, his heartbeat, and any anomaly that might be on his system from head to toe, but the scanner found none. Cleon watched you doing so until he asked again, his voice softer this time.

"Who are you?"

"Just no one as important as you are," you said, saving the scanner back.

"Where are we?" Cleon asked, looking around. He observed he was placed in a small medical bay.

"In space, in the middle of nowhere I suppose," you shrugged, getting on your feet again. "It seems you're recovering quite well and fast. At least that's what my scanner says. So first, I think you should want some water, which I am leaving right here," you put a flask on the small table next to him. "And before I give you this to drink, I want to make sure you will not restrain or fight back at me."

He laughed, that narcissistic smile on his face. You wanted to punch him.

"You're no match for me, woman."

"Really? Then I could just throw you out there again, you know, it's not difficult. I'm spending resources on you, surely I won't oppose to that idea," you snapped back.

His smile faded slowly, thinking. If it wasn't for you, he would be dead by now, it was true. But he was so used to be immortal and undefeteable that the situation was kind of new. He only had been vulnerable and exposed to his doctors in the palace, and you were a complete stranger. And still, you had the heart to take him in your ship and save his life. He sighed, rolling his eyes to the ceiling.

"Fuck, fine. What do you want me to do?"

So this was his way of cooperating, you thought.

"After I turn off the restraints, you will have to sit down on the stretcher. I will help you. Do not try to get up yet, you might feel dizzy."

With a nod he said to you the orders were clear. Next, the restraints disappeared in the air with a push on a button and Cleon felt a small relief. As you promised, you helped him to sit and he realized that the clothes he had before were replaced with a set of new pale grey robes that allowed him to move freely. You offered the flask to his lips, but he watched you with a questioning look on his face.

"Is only water, I swear. See?" you had a small sip from the bottle and he looked more at ease after you swallowed the liquid.

You offered the bottle again and helped him to slowly drink. Once he was done, you placed a small tray with fruits and dry seeds on top of the same table beside the stretcher.

"You might want to eat something," you said, breaking the silence under his fixed gaze. Even when he was sitting down and you on your feet it felt rather intimidating. "I'm still collecting supplies and food. You were certainly not part of the plan these days."

"So you travel alone," Cleon said, taking a small red fruit between his fingers and began to eat it.

"I do," you nodded. "Sorry if the taste of the fruit is not pleasant."

"You're doing your best," he said while eating, studying the room around him. You were not sure if he was mocking you or not. "What was your name again?"

You chuckled. "You're very interesting, Empire. Why don't you finish eating and rest before taking a bath?"

The next few hours, you left him to rest and escorted him to your quaters, the only place with a comfortable bed, so he could get proper sleep. Since there were no further questions from him, you got to your business and requested more provisions to the merchants. Traveling alone had made you some contacts and traders, from time to time you would request for food giving in exchange money or rare knick knacks, and within a day you had a small capsule with supplements heading to your coordinates with everything you needed. You just had to wait for now.

After checking the estate of your ship and confirming everything was working correctly, you went back to your quaters to see how the Emperor was doing. You were startled to see him sitting on your bed with a book between his hands. He looked like he just had a bath because his shirt was gone and his hair was wet, some droplets running down his skin. Quickly, you studied him. He was handsome, muscular, his skin had a beautiful tan, and he was tall and heavy as hell, something you noticed when cleaning his wounds and taking him inside your ship. The earring on his left ear was also interesting, you thought, for a member of the most important dinasty of the galaxy. Very rebellious for the emperor.

You also knew he heard you steping in but never looked up from the book because he was the first one to talk.

"Never I could imagine you would have books in here," he said, clearly interested on the pages.

"Yeah, not all of us are barbarians as you work so hard to convice yourself we are."

He chuckled to himself, looking at you for the first time since you entered the room.

"Are you from Korell?"

"The book gave it away, didn't it."

"This is very old," he said, closing the book. "You are for sure not allowed to have this in Korell."

"That is one of the reasons I left," you replied, looking around the place. It was obvious to you that he was pearing within your personal stuff because the old myth book was secured down your mattress. At least he didn't leave a mess and everything seemed in the right place. "I was a threat in my planet so Argo kept looking for me for some conspiracy shit and terrorism when all I did was oppose myself to his repression and freakshow," you continued, his eyes drew back to you. "They wanted me dead in Korell, but I am the only one to decide that, even when and where will it happen."

Cleon shifted on his seat, wondering why you were sharing a piece of your life to him when he didn't even know your name yet. Words and thoughts wandered his head on how would he answer to your words, compassion or empathy sometimes were difficult things to feel. But before he was able to speak, you interrupted his thoughts.

"I will leave you alone to rest for a while and will come back when it's around supper. I follow Kornell cycle of time, so you know... Just don't poke around my underwear, Empire," you dragged his title mockingly.

He laughed softly, going back to his reading.

"Thank you for the idea."

That was the first time you would hear him expressing gratitude.

II. GHOSTS FROM THE PAST

Around more than a week passed, and Cleon was healing and his wounds were not so visible now. You made sure to inject him every day and gave your quaters and bed for him to sleep and recover. He had took a pad you had in the room so he could count the cycle of days in Trantor. Hardly to admit, he found himself missing home rather than hatred. Sometimes the rage mixed with sorrow, but he forced himself to try and understand that it was a normal feeling due to the sudden lose of everything he once had.

Cleon had been up from some time now as he counted the end of the eighth day on the pad, and wondered why your daily visit was taking so long. It was a habit you had, to come in and wake him up with the medicine, and after it was done, you would tell him to eat some of the fruits and food on the tray you brought for him. He got on his feet and put a shirt on before leaving the room to search for you. On the pilot cabin, you had an improvised, small stickable mattress on the wall that had saved your life before, so you used it to sleep and rest the past few days while he cured. Cleon observed your figure lying down on the mattress, walking slowly and sensing something was not right. He found you shaking and trembling, eyes still closed and chest heavily breathing as your hand held onto dear life what he realised it was a gun.

He felt somehow frightened and confused. If you wanted to kill him, you would already have done it. You had made yourself clear on that. The tremor of your body seemed it was increasing and Cleon, with a gentless he did not know he possesed, tried to soothe you with his voice, removing the gun from your embrace.

"Shh... everything is fine," he mumbled, not sure of his words, his other hand touching your shoulder in soft circles. He was able to withdraw the gun from your hands and placed it on the floating shelf near by.

Your eyes squeezed and some tears flowed down your face as you sobbed still in your sleep. Cleon hesitated on what to do next to wake you up. He leaned again, his hand slowly tracing the skin of your arm, like he did when his brother Dawn was a child.

"Woman? Wake up," he whispered, shaking you a little bit and pating your arm softly, and when he talked again, his voice was a little bit louder. "You're having a nightmare, wake up."

And as he repeated his words over and over, your eyes opened wide, feeling your lungs able to breath again. But your senses still were coming to awareness, and automatically you slapped the face of whoever it was touching your arm. You heard him groan in pain and you rolled over the mattres, until you hit the floor, taking out a small blade from below the makeshift pillow of fabrics you used. The blade pointing at him as you looked around the cabin to find out it was only both of you.

"What- are you okay?!" Cleon questioned with a frown, rubbing his hurting cheek as he remained on the other side of your bed, the only thing separating you from him was the mattress.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine!"

He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Of course you are not."

"Then why the fuck would you ask that?! It's obvious I'm not fine!" you yelled. Your body was tense and ready to attack. You felt a knot on your throat, like if you were to cry again. Silence envolved you, trying to calm down. That inner voice in your head began saying it was just a dream, and you wanted to believe it. It was all in your head. It was not real...

"Do you want to kill me?" Cleon's gloomy voice echoed.

"What? No! I would never-"

"Then why are you sleeping with a damn blaster shot and a blade on your bed?!" he confronted, screaming at you, but not daring to move as you also remained standing in the same place.

"Because I wanted to kill myself!" you yelled back, pointing the sharp of the knife to you instead. His face became stern and you realised what you had said, and what was happening. Ashamed, you threw the blade back under the pillow. "Sorry, I don't want you to know that. Forget it."

You wiped the tears on your face under his piercing and concerning eyes. You forced your head to compose and burry your nightmares and memories deep inside before talking.

"I have to inject you," you said and walked back to the room, sure he would follow behind. Once you crossed the doors, you prepared the needle but Cleon remained standing near the exit of your room the whole time, arms crossed over his chest, observing you with utter worry on his face. Why? He really did not know. Probably because you were the only human and intelligent contact he had for days now, and you had the decency to keep him alive. Though he was not going to let that in his head - yet.

"Why don't you seat?" you most likely ordered. Cleon slowly made his way to you and remained standing, tall and kind of threatening. He was Emperor, after all.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked with a careful tone.

"Nothing, Empire. Just sit," you said, coldly, waiting for him to do as you requested.

"No, I need to know," he demanded, coming closer to you, jaw clenching. Anger started taking over your being and held his gaze as you replied.

"I have the right to decide whether or not speak about my personal life, I am not one of your subjects, so sit the fuck down so I can give you the last dosis of this shit."

"I need to know if I can fucking trust you after what I just heard coming from your mouth," his voice boomed around the place.

"You really want to know?! Fine, back in Korell I lost my family, my brother, my parents, my home - everything I had they took it from me! I was the last one alive and I escaped after they killed my brother in front of me and that day is still haunting me," you muttered and felt the tears forming on your eyes, but this time, of rage. "So if it concerns your own well being, like it always has been, no, I will not kill you. But you are no Emperor here, so stop that game. Some of us never gave a fuck about you or the Empire, or the Foundation and Hari Seldon, or the Church of the Galactic Spirit -I don't care! I'm tired, I just want to be free and live peacefully!"

You had not noticed you stepped closer to him, feeling the heat radiating from his body. His face was blank, as if he had been slapped again, but this time to reality. A reality he was not familiar with on his own bubble.

Quickly you grabbed his bicep and injected the dosis with him standing up. He whined in surprise. It was fast. So fast that you just removed the needle from his flesh and left the room.

III. WHAT YOU REALLY KNOW

According to the Trantor cycle, evening should be now. When you left him alone in the room, Cleon spent the next hours by himself, and since he watched you looking up for garments and food around the ship before, he made sure to get those without speaking to you. Not that you wanted to talk either. He noticed you sitting on the main pilot seat, looking at the stars and the void through the glass the whole day. He got concerned for a moment, but decided to let you be as he, also, understood that some time alone was necessary.

However, Cleon thought to talk to you finally and say something. Anything to get you back to reality and forget your bad dreams. So he found himself making his way to sit on the other chair of the ship. He prepared the words to say inside his head, but it was more difficult to speak out loud.

"I think I owe you an apology," he finally said, taking in the view of space. You nodded slowly your head. Nobody turned to see each other.

"It's nothing. But apology accepted I guess."

"It's not nothing. I rarely thought about what other citizens and planets are going through... I'm so sorry it happened to you."

"I would like to say that was not your fault, but since the Empire withdrawal from Korell, living there definitely became so much worse," you confessed, very aware of the genetic dinasty and some of the things previous emperors did, which did not change much. They were the same man after all. Cloning again and again...

"Probably should apologise for that as well," he said.

"Yeah, it's too late, but thank you."

Cleon could still sense a feeling of resentment in your voice. He thought you were right to feel that way, but he was also going to try and make you understand him.

"I never had a mother, or a father, and my brothers are the same man as me, so it's hard to understand that some people lose their family and loved ones. I was born with that loss already... That's why I wanted to end the genetic dinasty."

"You are the eighteenth?" you asked, not knowing exactly why he was opening to you.

"The seventeenth."

"That's a lot of you though. Do you remember anything from the past?"

"I do not. But our memories are always saved. Everything that happens in Trantor is recorded and kept as data. If I want to know something about a previous Cleon, I would just request it."

You turned your gaze to finally see him, he looked in awe with space as he spoke.

"So what was your motive to destroy a planet?"

He turned his eyes to you. "I believe you didn't care about Empire or the Foundation."

"That doesn't mean I want to see a genocide, your Eminence."

Cleon stirred on his seat, with a strange feeling of guilt, sadness and regret. For some reason, the title falling off your lips made everything worse.

"You saw it," he said. "How? You're no part of the Foundation, at least you're lying to me."

"No, I am not! I did a stupid space jump without course and I ended here, unfortunately." You were growing tired of the conversation. "I don't know why we keep talking. We're both shitty people anyway."

Cleon chuckled, not to mock you, but because of the whole situation you were in together.

"I know you are. Brave enough to kill yourself, taking another life is nothing compared to your own."

You locked your gaze with his, thinking if he was he judging you or flattering you.

"And have you, like, tried to end with your life at some point? You must feel lonely, under the shadow of a clone, not allowing you to be, well, you."

He let out a deep breath, avoiding your eyes.

"I have not, but my genes are already compromised and adultered. No surprise if any of us dared to commit suicide before," he replied, looking to the void. "In any case, if something out of the ordinary is to happen to my brothers or myself, we have another clone with our same memories, same age, everything; prepared to be woken up and take our place. Like if we never existed."

"That's fucked up," you scoffed. "We are never trully free, are we."

You got on your feet to look up for something to eat and forget your small talk. You knew he had searched for fruits and dry food because you heard him moving around and then leaving a couple of times, but you had nothing through the whole day. Cleon followed your steps, leaving enough space between you both as you took a couple of apples, giving one to him.

"The jump, how did you do that?" he asked, taking a bite of the fruit. "You don't have spacers."

"The rebels are smart people. A lot of members of the Foundation replicated your technology."

"I thought you were not involved with them," he insisted.

"I am not, but I would never deny any help. That my support doesn't rely on them doesn't mean I will let a chance slide."

"You're not answering my question."

You pulled the sleeve of your shirt up to show your bare wrist to him. There was the same device Hober Mallow and the Clerics had, inserted on your skin.

"I use this.”

"This is a whisper ship," he mumbled.

"Smart. Yes, sort of."

Cleon scoffed. "So that means we can land somewhere."

"About that, uh, we can't."

He moved to throw the remainings of his fruit with a confused look. "Why?"

He heard your sigh as you covered your wrist again, looking away from his deep eyes.

"I- I threw myself to space because I wanted to kill myself," you started, avoiding his gaze. "I didn't care how long would take me, I just wanted to blow up my ship. Just end everything. But then I saw you, floating, dying... and for some reason I couldn't let you die. I didn't know who you were but I saved you. There's no energy or fuel to make another jump. I don't have that. We are far from what Terminus was now. From any planet, form of life or civilization... plus you are unarmed. You still are weak and anyone could kill you," you finished, and waiting for some reason that he could forgive you for giving him any sort of hope. "I'm sorry, Empire."

Beyond madness, Cleon felt you were worried for him. Not the kind of sentiment his brothers or palace workers would do, but a real one. Because you knew saving him was condemn him to death anyway. But this felt much better than dying alone. He had sins, past despiteful decisions and ghosts hunting him, as so were you. You just addressed your feelings and your life together in less than a day. And you were right, none of you were never trully free, but as crazy as it might be, being lost in space with you felt like freedom to him. Finally, he was far away from everything that was keeping chained to a life and responsibilities he never asked for, living under the shadow of an egotistical emperor.

There was a strong impulse growing inside him and before his rational voice began to scream it was a bad idea to continue, he had cupped your cheeks between his hands and his lips pressing hungrily against yours. You whined, surprised of the warm feeling of his mouth, his tongue hurriedly asking for permission to taste you. When oxygen was not enough you pulled away, shocked and panting. You barely noticed your hand around his forearm, recovering yourself from the best kiss you had in some time.

"Cleon," he whispered, kissing your lips one more time.

"What?"

"Just call me Cleon. I'm not Empire anymore."

You kissed him in response with the same eagerness he had before, heart beating strongly in your chest. His hands caressed every inch of your body, from your neck, breasts, your hips, your soft thighs, your ass... he touched you with desperate fire while you moaned against his mouth, liking where was this leading you, more than you wanted to admit.

That was the first time you gave in to him completely.

IV. TO LOVE AND TO BE LOVED

You moaned against his lips, those that forcefuly broke the heated kiss you shared as he ruts into you desperately to reach his own climax. His flesh hitting against yours made an obscene harmony that echoed the confines the ship, far from civil and coherent noises fell from his lips as he sucked into the skin of your neck.

"Fuck, yes, right there," a broken whimper escaped your throat, your nails scratching his back, your walls clenching around his cock. "Cleon..."

The sound of his name being moaned by your sweet, raspy voice, caused him to slow down his thrusts just a bit.

"I still don't know your name," he whispered, bitting your bottom lip only to kiss you wet again.

"And yet you're fucking me, isn't that enough?" you teased, rolling your hips to meet his own.

He gave you a smirk, that fucking handsome smirk you hated so much. He took you with his strong arms, flipping you around so he was now on his back and you got control on top of him. You sinked down his dick setting a reckless rhythm, his thrusts matching yours every time you went down, his grip hard on your waist, marking and bruising your skin. One of his hands massaged your bouncing breasts, one after the other, pinching and then, you felt his mouth biting your nipples and chest, as he leaned your body to him for easy access, with slow grunts and groans that didn't sound human anymore.

His cock repeatedly hit that sweet spot from the position you were taking him, increasing the tension inside you. The sensation of his hands coming back to your sides and making its way to your ass cheeks to guide your bouncing hips became too much so soon. You cried as you felt drunk and high, muscles tense as you finally came. Cleon held you tight, fucking into you as you reached sweet release. His tongue traveled down your collarbone and breasts.

"Cleon," you moaned, your hands on his chest to support your body better. You felt him twitch inside you, knowing he was dangerously close too. Quickly, you slid off him, taking his girth, slick with your own wetness, between your hand you pumped him hard, easing his own release. His seed coated your palm, sprinkling on his abdomen.

"Shit, you're great," he praised, voice dark from lust. His fingers tangled into your hair, his forehead against yours as you recovered from the intense sex session you had for the second time that day. He kissed you sweetly, like a sweetness he only had discovered in the short time with you. "I wish I could know your name."

"You can call me your savior," you gave him a playful smile.

After a shared lazy kiss, you got on your feet, legs still shaking, and left the bed to clean yourself in the small place you called bathroom right next to the only room of the ship. Once finished, you threw the cloth away, and looked directly the mirror, or poor attempt of it. In the damp glass, you watched Cleon appear to embrace your body against his, your back touching his chest muscles and his hands roamed your abdomen while he left butterfly kisses on your shoulder. His big arms around you, pressing your figure to his own, huge in comparison entrusting protection.

The nineteenth day it was, and you spent it exploring your pleassures, talking nonsense and overall for Cleon, thinking he might love you. The confinement had flourished different kinds of feelings and sentiments inside his heart. He finally learned to feel something else besides hatred, power, or selfishness. The more you spoke to him, the more he grew to like you. You were far from perfect and so was he, and the way you opened your heart to him - the man who was to wed a powerful queen, govern thrillions of people around the galaxy and kill a few others - caused him to feel unworthy of anything coming from you. The man he grew up to be slowly disappeared as long as you had him under your light and spirit; his old self was fading away. And it scared him, but excited him at the same time. Even when he was very aware you were near the end together, he had nothing to ask for but to perish with you.

"What's in your head?" you whispered.

Cleon had no longer been tasting the skin of your neck, his chin pressed on your shoulder instead with his mind running a million thoughts by now. He took a glance at the damp and dirty mirror of how perfect you looked, bare and exposed in body and soul, only for his eyes to witness the true beauty of being alive. Of being human.

"You."

A loving smile curled up on your lips, looking directly into his enamoured gaze through the mirror. He decided he wanted to remember you like this in the afterlife.

You finished marking the last spot with an 'x', a wide grin over your face.

"I won."

"Yet again," Cleon chuckled. His laugh had grew sincere with you as he settled on the floor on the cold floor of the pilot cabin, just giving enough space for the board between you and him. "And what is your question, person-I-not-know-the-name-of?"

You just had finished playing another round of a silly game. It was an old Terran game, and you were surprised it made it this far across the galaxy. It was good to pass the time though. It kept you and Cleon thinking about other things besides dying. The fuel and energy, along with the water, were lowering on their levels. Food on the other hand was not a worry, you knew you could request to the traders as long as energy was functioning to make communication with them. However, the energy of your ship had to be loaded in land, just like fuel. And you had no place to go now to do that.

Being together as long as you had the resources was the main goal now. So many things crossed your mind as you talked about everything and nothing at the same time the past days.

"Have you ever been in love?" you asked after some time thinking.

You thought maybe it was the first time in Cleon's life that he was finally able to think and behave on his own, with no burdens about a dinasty to protect or pleasing his council.

He was taken by surprise as you spoke. He immediately remembered Demerzel, his loyal advisor. His relationship was merely sexual, but there were no feelings that would assimilate to what love is in reality. For sure, his own clone should have been woken up by now with no further consequences. For Cleon, it felt like he was actually erased from existence forever. He was disposable, just like his brothers. But thinking about your question, his answer was no. He never knew what love was. Not from Demerzel, certainly not from Dusk, Dawn was slightly different though, he did love Dawn but not the way you were referring to. He never knew the love from a mother or a father, nor family. Sareth hated him, so even if they got to marry he knew there would be no space for such sentiment. His own future children with the Queen of Cloud Dominion would have grown up without an essential part of being human.

"No," Cleon finally gave an answer, his gaze went soft as he realised what you just became to him in a matter of days. "However I sense something different when I am with you. And I don't recall to know what that is."

You smiled. "Isolation tends to create adjustments in those who suffer it."

"And have you?" Cleon asked back. "Have you ever felt it before?"

"I did... With my parents, my brother, my best friends, and a couple of assholes who broke my heart."

He chuckled, admiring the charm you had to brush off the hardships in your life. You smiled back at him. Gods you loved seeing him like this, like if he was happy and nothing had happened.

"And how is it?" he said.

"It's affection, it's addictive, not everyone can escape from it. You feel like you belong somewhere, that your life is strangely complete," you mumbled, locking your gaze with his own. "And it hurts a lot. But as you go through that path, you get to know the most beautiful kind of pain."

"Does it hurt now?"

You swallowed hard, that familiar knot on your throat. You were not expecting to feel this way. Not for the Emperor, not for the clone, not for Cleon. Yet one does not control love. You don't decide to love someone without a reason. And what else could two lost souls do in the middle of the galaxy with no purpose but to wait and die? You had opened your deepest fears and secrets to him, not expecting Cleon doing exactly the same. He trusted you and you trusted him. You slept in the same bed, ate the same food and fruits, fucked like animals everyday and yet there was an emotional connection in between you thought would never know again after so many years. How could you not fall for him when everything was crumbling? Finally, you nodded your head, feeling the tears burning in your eyes.

"I always have been alone, Cleon, but my soul seems to have a little love to give. In the end, love is what makes us human."

Cleon put the board of the game away and leaned closer to you, his hand caressed your cheek, cleaning the tears falling down your face as he pressed his forehead with yours. He kissed you softly, swallowing your pain, as a way to say he was hurting too.

V. VOYAGE

It was the thirtieth day on the ship.

Your last try to get and land in any planet failed. As much as Cleon told you to stop, that everything was fine, you felt you had to keep trying until your last day. But the ship was basically to zero fuel and soon energy will follow. You used the control panel of the ship, hopefuly to find a near by land, but luck was not on your side. There was nothing. You don't know exactly how many miles you traveled with no course for a month. It was getting beyond bearing.

Frustrated, you pulled away the holo of the map and the calculations you did in the air, throwing a lose screw of your seat directly to the glass. It did nothing, but you were starting to hate the view of the stars and nothingness sorrounding.

"I told you to stop that," you listened to Cleon, who seemed just arrived to the pilot cabin.

"I had to try," you stood up, walking towards him. Your arms embraced his waist and he took you in with the same warmth.

"You're worried."

"I am not," you whined. "I should have sent for help with the merchants."

Cleon broke your hug and cupped your face between his hands, leaning closer to you.

"No, we should end this now," he whispered, his brows furrowed.

"No!"

"Why not? You wanted to do it even before you found me."

"Because now ending me is ending you too!"

Cleon felt your pain, but there was no other option to make than to blow up the ship anyway. Even if you were to land somewhere, what was for him? You were not able to go back home, and Cleon was discarded at this point. The throne could not have two of the same in the middle. Hiding and running away sounded like a good choice, but still, where? There was nothing left, but he found comfort with you.

"I am okay with this," he said. "I told you. You have to do it."

"Cleon-" you plea was cut by his voice.

"How much time do we have?"

"I don't know, a couple of days at last."

"Then do it. You said you were to decide when and how you would die, this is the time," he remembered with a stern voice. "Take it."

You let out a shaky breath and pushed him to press your lips to his own, like saying goodbye. But you still would not accept this fate. Not like this. You kissed him with hunger and need, your tongues tangled up as your mouths danced together.

"I just have- I can't yet," you mumbled once the kiss was over, leaving you both seeking for air. "Can we just fuck each others brains again and pretend none of this happened for a moment?" you asked against his lips, your hand now on his cheek, caressing the stubble on his face. You always remembered to help him shave and that was one of the most normal things you had to do since you found yourself confined with him. The most casual and mundane things to do became

He nodded. "Yes, my love.”

Cleon kissed your lips with the same hunger and desire, his hands caressing every inch of you until he lifted you up, your legs quickly went around his waist. With eyes closed, you let him guide you to the bar fixed against the wall of your ship.

He made sure to throw everything that was on the surface to the ground to place you in there. Once you were sitting, he pulled your legs apart to stand in the middle of them, and full with lust, his lips and teeth marked your neck and collarbone. You moaned sweetly, palming his groin still covered with the fabric of his pants. He traveled down your breasts, kissing over your shirt until he took it off. He was lucky you decided not to wear bra anymore. He sucked on your tits and nipples, grinding his hips against your hand.

You tried to pull his pants away, but he finished the job first, pulling away from your chest. After his pants were discarded, his shirt followed. He also got used to no underwear so he stood exposed all for you. A true god he was, looking perfect and like if every inch of his body was created for you to worship completely.

Cleon hurried in getting you out of your clothes, and in minutes you were naked and feeling his tongue dancing on your belly. His fingers and massive hands teasing your thighs, avoiding the place where you needed them the most. You moaned when he finally used a single digit to rub your slit, collecting your wetness. He rubbed your clit, mouth going slow and dangerously close to your pussy.

You laid your back on the bar and Cleon grabbed your thighs to have you exactly at the edge of the surface, ready to eat from your heat.

"Cleon," you cried out his name, your fingers tangled on his hair as his tongue licked your most sensitive parts.

He kept your hips in place, fucking you with his tongue and licking your folds, going to your clit. You couldn't help but whimper and moan, removing his hair to see just how much he yearned your cunt.

You tried to roll your hips but his grip was too strong. He looked up to lock his dark gaze with you, his humming creating strong vibrations down your core. He played some more, using a finger to tease your entrance. You were about to cum just by watching him.

"Cleon, please-" you gasped when he inserted a finger inside you, thrusting slowly. "Please, I want to taste you too."

He stopped, looking your flushed face for a moment. Your eyes were begging to suck him right now. He released your pussy with an obscene sound, pulling his tongue and hand away, but your wetness still shined on him. You got on the ground with his help and started to kneel down, kissing his skin, from his chest and then abdomen, licking and biting to leave your marks on his sculptured muscles. You made sure to adore and suck the skin of his navel, knowing he was insecure with not having a belly button. Still without it, he was more human than he could ever get to accept because you have seen that on him.

Cleon grunted once your hand wrapped around him, his hand on your scalp. You gave him a far from innocent look from your position before licking the head, rolling your tongue around it, lubing it with your saliva. His desperate groans led you to wrap your lips around him, pumping with your hand what you couldn't reach with your throat yet. You had to learn he was big for you, so a little of warm up for your mouth was a good start.

He cursed under his breath, thrusting his hips a little to go further, slowly, and you welcomed his cock with a small gag once he reached the back of your throat. He moaned darkly, your rubbed your thighs together when he started to fuck your mouth. Both his hands taking the sides of your head as you choked and gagged around his lenght. You felt him throbbing but he quickly pulled out, and left you empty and with drool falling from your lips, your pussy now aching and clenching around nothing.

"So beautiful," he purred, the touch on your scalp soft now. "But I want to finish inside you."

You nodded, obedient. Cleon helped you to sit down on the bar again, he stayed between your legs, spreading them wide, you held onto him, arms around his neck. He entered slowly, the warmth of your walls swallowing his cock, inch by inch, until it disappeared completely inside your dripping cunt.

You shivered, broken moans falling from your lips. Cleon muffled your low cries with kisses, waiting for you to get used to him.

"Fuck me, Cleon," you mumbled against his swollen lips.

He complied happily, thrusting and pounding into your heat, with a frenetic and brutal pace you had learn to love. You hid your face in the crook of his neck, yor nails scratching his arms and back. His cock touched all the right places inside you and he whispered sweet nothings into your skin, fucking you right under the light of the stars and the void of space.

He moaned along with you, wishing heaven or whatever it was after felt exactly like this. Like you, with your arms around him, your sweet voice calling his name lovingly and whimpering for more, giving your soul to him and only him. Your walls started to clench and his hips stuttered, aproaching a craving release. But in between, he heard a word against his ear you never mumbled before, turning his lustful eyes to you and slowing down his thrusts.

You repeated it again, he was visibly confused but kept ruting into you.

"My name," you said, fingers now caressing his hair.

He smiled. He knew it now. The stranger who saved him had a name after all. Cleon kissed you fiercely, repeating your name again and again between wet kisses. You were close to release, feeling one of his digits rubbing your clit as you moaned together. The wave of electricity took your body first, clenching your pussy around his cock. Cleon followed soon after, rhythm slow and tense muscles, until he spilled inside you, coating your sensitive cunt with his seed.

Catching your breath, you remained together. He sucked on your neck softly, your name was the only thought inside his mind. And as much as you loved his touch on you, you remembered there was something to do still.

"Cleon," you called, getting his attention and feeling he was pulling out of you with a low groan. He looked at you with loving eyes and you smiled. You brushed his hair with your fingers pulling him to yet another smooth kiss. "It's time."

He knew it was. In silence his fingers found his earring, twitsting it and pulling it apart. He took it from his ear and placed it on yours carefully. You were always amazed at his touch, how rough and yet soft and gentle he could be.

"So you can remember me," he smiled when he was over. You let out a laugh and curved your llps in a grin. "It suits you."

"Thanks, Cleon."

Cleon leaned down to kiss you one more time before cleaning both of you. You dressed together as if you were not about to meet finally death. For some reason, you saved everything that was not on their cabinets or initial positions, packing all you could, like if you could take those belongings with you, most of which were from your family. One day Cleon asked why you had clothes that could meet his height, being taller than a lot of people around. You told him it was from your best friend. You thought every piece of clothes or souvenirs would help someday, but it never crossed your mind that it was going to be this way.

When everything was was done, you and Cleon settled in front of the control panel, however, before you could start the holo, a loud explosion could be heard. You frowned, turning to Cleon.

"Did you-? Ah!"

The ship almost overturned as something heavy hit the side, making you trip and fall over with Cleon on the ground. Again, an explosion was heard, far from the ship but clear enough to say it was getting closer, and seconds later, the ship got hit but this time on the glass, almost breaking it over. Quickly, you both stood up and saw what was happening.

"A black hole..."

"Look, there are debris around," you pointed a huge piece that looked the size of your ship, but that definitely was part of a much bigger one. You saw the debris and metal being swallowed and destroyed by the black hole. It wasn't pacing fast, but wasn't slow either. It looked like it was talking its time for much bigger things to eat, such as your ship. Cleon called you, taking your hands and pressing his forehead to yours. You could feel he was shaking, and your skin grew cold. You realised it was really happening now.

"Do it," he said. "Destroy the ship."

After a moment of hesitation, you gave a nod. He kissed you deeply again. You turned the holo to activate the ship and program its own destruction.

"Self-destruction mechanism activated," the computer confirmed.

"We have sixty seconds," you mumbled, tears already forming in your eyes. He cut you off with a kiss. You would miss those warm lips on yours.

"That's enough for me," he said. You smiled and he did the same.

"I love you, Cleon," you embraced his body with a hug. "I am happy I met this kind of pain with you."

He cupped your cheeks, pecking your lips, smiling down at you, saying I love you too. You, the one who saved him and gave him a second chance. Or at least a moment of relief. A place and a person who allowed him to be himself and find things he never knew would have.

"We have more in common now," he whispered. "We are both alone and hurting somewhere in the galaxy.”

#brother day x female reader #brother day smut #brother day x reader #cleon xvii #cleon xvii x reader #cleon xvii smut #foundation 2021 #foundation fanfiction #foundation apple tv #foundation imagines #isaac asimov foundation #lee pace #lee pace fanfiction #lee pace x reader #lee pace smut #brother day foundation #foundation season 2

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shelbgrey · 10 months

Note

Prompt 1.7 the hearing aid one with Garrett from Twilight if you can! I'd love to see him with a mate that was born deaf and perhaps has a cochlear implant. Perhaps post what happens when she becomes a vampire and hears for the first time without the use of her implant. Please and thank you!

Voice of an Angel(Garrett)

Parring: Human!Cullen!Reader X Garrett

Summary: Garrett loves everything about you even if your deaf, he's always been fascinated about your cochlear implant and even learned sign language for you. But then he has no choice to turn you into a vampire after an accident, but on the bright side you hear for the first time.

Prompt: 1.7)“I'm not ignoring you. My hearing aid just doesn't like you”

A/n: for plot reasons we're just gonna say Garrett was invited to Edward's wedding and that's how you met then you'd be in astablish relationship by BD2

Twilight Master list

“It's really good to hear your voice saying my name, It sounds so sweet. Coming from the lips of an angel Hearing those words, it makes me weak” - lips of an Angel, Hinder

-------(3rd pov)-------

Bella and Edward's wedding ceremony went off without a hitch and now they're husband and wife. Y/n clapped for her little brother dispite the lonly and aching pain she felt, she wanted what Edward had.

During the reception y/n turned off her hearing aid, getting tired of all the noise that surrounded her. She was leaning against the wall away from everyone when her best friend Eleazar came up to her.

“you okay?” he asked, she didn't respond too stuck in her day dream. Eleazar nudged her, making her look his direction. She turned her hearing aid back on a smiled.

“you turned your hearing aid off again?” he asked. She shrugged. “I hate how loud it was getting”

“try listening to all this with vampire hearing” Eleazar joked.

As the friends talked something or someone cought her eyes. She looked over and saw a scruffy vampire joking with Emmett and Rosalie. She pointed towards the vampire. “hey El, who's that?”

His gold eyes shot to the direction she was pointing. “I don't know... Friend of Edward's maybe”

Garrett looked around as he was joking with Emmett, he tried to ignore the smell of humans everywhere as he had promised not kill anyone, but then one smell cought his attention, it wasn't an appetizing smell... It was a smell he was attracted to. He looked over and saw a woman, the prettiest one he's ever seen.

He couldn't explain the emotions he was feeling, but he knew one of them was jealously as she laughed with a guy he didn't know. He nudged Rosalie not taking his eyes off the girl.

“who's that over there...” he pointed at y/n. Rosalie smiled. “that's y/n.. She's the newest member of the family, she's kinda like our big sister”

“she's gorgeous” he mumbled and for a second he forgot about the advanced hearing him and Emmett possessed. Emmett smacked him upside of the head. “that's my sister... My human sister”

Garrett, not phased by the smak walked towrds y/n, completely ignoring Emmett's threats. As he silently walked towrds her he felt relieved as another woman whisked the guy she was talking to way.

“Hey, I'm Garrett” he said flashing his devishly handsome smirk. “you looked lonely”

“y-you mean board” I she chuckled. He smiled then looked at all the couples dancing. “would you care to dance?” he held out his hand, y/n didn't know why but she took the strangers hand.

“I'm y/n by the way”

“Garrett” he replied as he pulled her to the dance floor and flawlessly swayed around the room among the other couples his ruby eyes stared into her's like a love sick puppy. “can I ask you something?” he asked.

“Sure” part of her thought he'd ask about the hearing-aid, it's always the first thing people notice about her. But not him, the first thing he noticed was her eyes. But then he asked somthing cought her off guard.

“Do you believe in love at first sight -or should I walk by again?” he grined. She let out a chuckle and looked away as she unexpectedly blushed at the cheesey pick-up line.

“really? You've been spending too much time with Emmett it sounds like” she joked. Before he could awnser Jasper came up with smile but his eyes held fire.

“can I cut in?” He asked. Y/n gave her brother a weird look as Garrett released his hands from her.

“Sure”

“what was that about?” she asked putting her hands on his shoulders. Jasper just shrugged. “What, I can't dance with my sister?”

“you can but, Emmett and you both have been acting weird, so has Eleazar” I said as we danced to a more up-beat song.

She looked passed Jasper's shoulder and saw Garrett talking to Rosalie. He looked up and their eyes met. She immediately looked down when he flashed her a smirk.

The smiles, the pick up lines, it didn't go no where the rest of the night. It's not like he had the chance, her brothers and best friend wouldn't leave her side. It didn't go anywhere passed a dance, or so she thought.

After Bella and Edward left for their honeymoon people dispersed throughout the next two days. But one didn't leave, Garrett hit on her every chance he got and she didn't know why. She was sure it was just in his nature to do so, but it was annoying.

She always felt a little insecure about her hearing aid, she never thought a guy would find it attractive. She got over it thought and she wasn't ashamed of who she was, but then Garrett shows up and she starts to question everything.

~~~~~~~~(.......)~~~~~~~~

It was night three and Garrett still. Hadn't left, he used the excuse that he wanted to catch up with Emmett. He wasn't catching up with Emmett.

That night she sat on the roof of the house trying to get some peace and quiet, but she wouldn't be alone for long.

“Any chance you have an extra heart? Mine’s been stolen” Garrett smirked as he jumped on the roof and sat next to her.

“Garrett” she said simply.

“Yes?” he smiled.

“shut up” she smiled softly and shook her head.

He chuckled, she looked at him and she couldn't held but laugh with him. They talked into the night, important and useless stuff on both ends.

“can I ask you something?” he asked”

She nodded. “how did you get thing on your ear?”

She recoiled and moved her hair over it without relizing it. He grabed her hand gently stopping her. “I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you”

She shrugged. “I've had it as long as I could remember... I was one of Carlisle's patience before he took me in”

“I know thst look” he started as he read her body language. He could be all jokes but over the centuries he learned how to read people.

“I didn't realize it when we first met ya know? I noticed your eyes” he said. She looked into his red ones and saw nothing but the truth. Being around Edward for some long she learned how to read people too, just the human way.

“I think your beautiful” he admitted. She looked at him shocked at his boldness, but then she couldn't deny the connection between them. Without out thinking he leaned down and connected her lips to his could ones. He froze for a second, not expecting it but his brain quickly rewired and he pulled her closer.

~~~~~~~~(1st pov, present time)~~~~~~~~

The whole family was in shock when Renesmee was born, the little miracle quickly terned into a curse when Irina outed us to the vulturi.

We gathered many witness, even some of Garrett's old war buddies. The house was full of red eyes and being human thst wasn't so great. Garrett knew that too which is why he wouldn't leave my side for too long, and if he did Eleazar or carlisle would be with me, watching me like a couple of body guards. As much as he loved being around my brothers I think those two are the only ones he really trusted.

He especially didn't trust Vladimir, not because he thought he would drink me, but beacuse he saw the way Vladimir would look at me and flirt with me. He was nice and I was too head over heals about Garrett to realize the flirting.

After Garrett told me his concerns I started to notice Vladimir's flirting... Then it started to get annoying. Tody was one of those days.

Vladimir smirked and continued to flirt, you could tell it was getting on Garrett's last nerve. Vladimir then tunred to carlisle. “carlisle, do those little hand movements you and Garrett always do, she can't hear me”

I snorted “I'm not ignoring you, my hearing aid just doesn't like you” I said not taking my eyes off my book. “and it's sign language you Dracula want to be”

Garrett smirked as I snapped my book closed and left the living room. “that's my girl” he smirked and followed after me.

We got threw the week though and the kid was safe and so was the family. The witness said their good byes thought out the week and left for home. The Denalis were the last to stay, which was nice to just morn the death of Irina.

Sigh...

I don't know how it happened really, one second I was saying goodbye to my knew friend Benjamin and then the next I'm lying in the woods covered in my own blood... I couldn't hear a thing either.

~~~~~~~~(Garrett's pov)~~~~~~~~

I looked around the house feeling uneasy. Y/n hadn't been back yet and that was unsal for her.

“have you guys seen y/n?” I asked coming into the living room. The family looked up confused.

“somethings wrong” I mumbled. Some of them shrugged and said she usually disappears after a 'family emergency'

“maybe she got tired of you and left for Egypt with Benjamin” Emmett joked. I knew it was a joke but I was to nervous to think of a usual comeback.

Everyone chuckled but Eleazar looked at me just as worried. “your right... Somthings not right”

Alice dropped something and gasped. She looked panicked, I feared the worst. “it's y/n”

I didn't think twice and was out of the house in seconds with Carlisle and Eleazar behind me. We raced around the woods frantically. The deeper we got the stronger the smell of her blood was, I gasped feeling sick at how strong it was.

I stoped and saw her hearing aid. “over here!” I shouted. Eleazar was at the scene first. I jumped back aginst a tree at the sight of her... Blood never looked so sickening.

“Garrett she needs you right now” Eleazar said as his hands socked up the blood as he checked her womds

“I can't do it” I gasped. “changer her! Please before she dies”

I closed my eyes as Eleazar bit into her. I would be sobbing like a baby if I was human.

~~~~~~~~(1st pov)~~~~~~~~

When I opened my eyes everything seemed so clear. I could see the tiniest cracks in the wall and every single dust partical.

I heared birds chirping. I was so loud it was like the bird was on my shoulder yelling in my ear.

Wait..

I reached up and I didn't feel my hearing aid. I immediately sat up and looked around. My eyes stopped on Garrett. He looked so relived.

“are you okay?” he asked frantically. My eyes widened at how clear his voice sound, I could always sort of hear him but to hear him clear as day made me want to cry.

“say something eles” I said ignoring the question. He looked at me with a questioning look. “What?”

“say something! I can hear!” Garrett shot up immediately with suprise. “oh shit!”

He looked around with the biggest smile. “oh my god! I love you! This is great” he picked me up and spung me around.

“I love the sound of your voice” I chuckled. He pressed his lips to mine in a passionate kiss. “I love you” he said.

“love you too”

#Garrett x reader #Garrett imagines #Breaking dawn Garrett #lee pace #Cullen family x reader #garrett denali #Twilight Imagines #Vampires #Twilight x reader

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madwomansapologist · 11 months

Text

Autumn Thunderstorm | Chapter 1 - A way to break the ice

Navigation | Series Masterlist | AO3

series synopsis: Thranduil thought the recent attack of spiders on a periphery village was the only thing deserving of his attencion. If he could've imagined what he would found there, who he would found there, the Elvenking would wait a millenia in front of that river so he could see her sooner. Or: how Gandalf managed to keep a secret for 14 months.

first chapter synopsis: Thranduil traveled to a village that reported spider attacks with his army to protect those who need it, and accepted when a respected family offered their inn so his army could rest. He didn't expect to find a mage there. Or for the dam to break. [3K]

warnings: female!reader. lotr kinda of violence. pre-Smaug.

glossary: Lossëistar: Ice Mage┆Mithrandir: Grey Pilgrim┆

Gandalf it's a recuring face in the inn. In some months he appears twice, mostly at the end of the year when he don't have anything else to do, but he never goes more than a month without coming back. Even if he can stay only for a day or two, he always comes back.

Gandalf has been to so many places. Met so many people. Lives so many adventures. So why does he keep coming back? It's just a normal village filled with normal people living normal lives. It's a good place to live, but not the kind of place people want to visit.

"I will see you next month?" Helping him saddle the sorrel, you asked the obvious. Goodbyes were never your forte. Hearing more, even if it's something you've heard before, is better than being silent for the whole time. You already miss him.

You led the horse out of the inn's stable, petting it. The cool breeze made your hair fly. Autumn has begun to announce itself. The sorrel tried to run away, but you held him in place.

"There is someone I need to visit, a master who needs advice", you know that tone of voice. Gandalf uses it whenever you do something stupid. Something as recurrent as his presence at the inn. Someone is about to hear a stern lectur, and you're so relieved it's not you.

"Good luck to the poor person you will pay a visit." You say as he mounts the sorrel. Part of you is still surprised that someone so old would be able to ride a horse so easily, but looks can be deceiving. Gandalf is older than he looks, as well as more skilled.

Gandalf appreciated the river that cut through the property, focusing on the sound of water lapping against rocks. It was one of the reasons for the inn to be so popular. Away from the village center, higher on the mountain, there the water was so calm. So crystalline. But in the background Gandalf could see the high wooden dam. It held back the stormy river, ensuring that it wouldn't run to the waterfall miles ahead and crash against the village.

Suddenly a familiar fear gripped your body. He always comes back, but you're always afraid that one day he'll realize this is just a waste of his time. And if one day he decides not to come back, you'll be alone. "You will not forget about me, will you?"

Awakened by your voice, Gandalf faced you. His voice went softer. "Continuing to ask will not change the answer."

"But why do you keep coming back?" The sorrel stirred. You had to take a step back, and you could felt that Gandalf would use that to move away without really answering you. "You really do not know what happened to me before my awakening? Why did you help me?"

"Continuing to ask will not change the answer." Gandalf led the horse away. And so he goes, without really answering you. As always. "Farewell, persistent girl, and do not cause troubles."

"I can't promise anything." Gandalf sighed. He knows you're being honest in the same way you know he isn't. "Good ridance, Gandalf!"

You stood still, watching him go down the mountain. When he disappeared into the ash trees, taking some of your fear with him, you took a deep breath and remembered that you had a lot to do. Aerin is a kind landlady, but she made it clear that your stay would not be paid with grateful smiles and friendly words.

Gandalf is always travelling, you never have an address to send letters. He usually sends you a letter a week, but you never have a way to respond. But inside the stable, surrounded by horses that needed your attention, work managed to override your concern. Everything would be fine. Everything always turns out fine.

So why does you feel like something bad will happen?

"Breakfast!" You served each horse a mixture of fresh grass, hay and silage, thereby distracting them to prepare a new bedding for them. "Good morning, beauties."

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Elrond called the Counsil.

Four hundred years of peace. The enemy was dead. Sauron was dead. It's being a long time, but something had awakened in Rivendell. Something dark and hungry. Something that none could ignore. Evil things did not come into that valley, but maybe something was born there.

"That is not enough to think something is happening", Saruman explained. Sitting in his armchair, Saruman's pearly tunica appeared to be floating as he move his hand. "Orcs and spiders? Not enough."

Galadriel countered the room. Her white gown gleamed at every step, almost hurting the eyes of those who dare to look direct at it. Just almost, the temptation to look at her was bigger than the discomfort.

"It would not." Galadriel whispered. "But we are not talking about ocasional attacks. It's strategical. They are hunting something. Something south of Rivendell."

Gandalf glared at Saruman. He grabbed his staff, holding it closer to him. That subject wasn't on a good path. Not a good path for them.

The Istari came in five. Not that anyone but Elrond, Cirdan and Galadriel knew what they really are. The rest of the world see them as inopportune pilgrims, but they're so much more than that.

Saruman the White, a Maia of Aulë, leader of the White Counsil. The enemy of Sauron. The one who advice great lords, who is responsible for the biggest events, present whenever a important choice needs to be made. When the War of the Ring start, he will be the one fighting Sauron.

Gandalf the Grey, a Maia of Manwë and Varda. The one to defeat evil by the lives of commons. The wiser. When the War of Ring start, Gandalf will be with the soldiers and squires.

Radagast the Brow, a Maia of Yavanna. The protector of Nature and it's life. The avenger of animals and plants. When the War of Ring start, he won't interfere. Saruman don't speak to him since he made his decision.

And there are the two blueses. The ones whos only purpose is to defend humans. Different than Gandalf, they don't organize humans. Different than Saruman, they don't empower them. They're here to purely defend humans from Sauron. Saruman pretend they don't exist. It's been years since Gandalf spoke their names. Elrond and Galadriel often ask about them, but they resufe to answer.

Saruman looked into his tired eyes, and Gandalf understood what he was saying: "Do not".

Elrond was bewitched by the landscape in front of him. He could see the river, the montains, the infinity of the sky. And he felt it. A shadow that grows in the dark. Elrond still not sure if it's something evil, but it's powerful. "Sauron have..."

"Do not even start with this!" Saruman nodded. "Sauron is dead. He is done."

At one point while Saruman and master Elrond discussed, Saruman's only argument being the death of Sauron and Elrond trying to use some logic to explain his fear, Gandalf heard a voice on his head. "What are you hiding from us, Mithrandir?"

Gandalf smiled at Galadriel. His white long beard almost covered it, but she saw it. "Nothing."

"We are not summoned to argue about the Enemy's existence." Thraunduil rose from his chair, but it would take a fool to not perceive how, even simple and identical to those of the other counsil members, it looked like a throne. Thranduil was a king, his presence lived up to his reputation. "We are here to put an end to these vermin."

"Finally someone with a agile mind", Saruman intonate. He was relieved someone changed the topic.

Master Elrond sit down. "This horde keep reproducing. Until we find the nest, the spiders will keep coming back."

"Then we know what to do." Thranduil put and end to the endless discussion. "Mine guar..."

The door was flung open, shaking the council room. A sweaty, breathless messenger leaned against it, legs shaking with exhaustion. His eyes met Elrond's, who immediately rose and approached. "We found another litter."

"Where?" Galadriel asked.

"Above the tributaries of the Bruinen River, in the gorge of the last dam." The messenger straightened up. "They're at least twelve."

"Wake up the intendant," Elrond ordered. "Tell him to prepare my armor."

Saruman swallowed hard. It would be too close. If Elrond... He glared at Gandalf, hoping he could think of an excuse. Elrond would need just a look to recognized her. He can't be near the dam.

"In a token of gratitude for your hospitality," Thranduil made his way near to Elrond. He touched his shoulder, squeezing it gently. Kind words, but attention would show that pride lurked among them. "Let me defeat these insects for you."

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⋆✦⋆ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

They rode in twenty. Led by the Elvenking, the little guard entered the mangrove with their golden armour lit by the midday sun. Protected from the rear by the Elvenking, the little guard came out of the mangrove with their bloody armour lit by the sunset.

They were still twenty.

"Our mounts need to rest before our return", Gildor saddle his sorrel. One of Elrond's captains, he was the one that managed to map the nest and guided Thranduil and his guard to annihilate the spiders. "Just like your elk, your grace."

Thranduil carressed his brave elk. A longtime companion, that faced bigger threats than a nest of spiders. He wasn't tired, Thranduil could ride back to his realm if he wanted to, but his men needed to rest. "We went through a village, didn't we?"

"Yes, your grace", Gildor pointed to a trampled tail. "An inn favored by master Elrond would gladly welcome us, with comfort and food for us and our mounts. I took the liberty of sending a letter to inform our stay when we were getting organized in Rivendell."

It was a long road. The trail ran along the mountain, climbing towards the setting sun. The sound of running water showed that they were arriving, but what really made them understand that the path had ended was the sound of chitchat. Coming out from the trees, the Elvenking and his men were greeted by dozens of people.

The grooms approached first, taking the horses from the guards with many smiles and promises of good care. As the king descended from his elk, everyone bowed and thanked him for defeating the spiders. Leading the small crowd, a short, plump lady approached.

"Lady Aerin, the owner of the inn", Gildor whispered to Thranduil.

"I imagine it must have been a long and painful journey, your grace." Aerin used sweet words, but it was clear that she practiced them a few times. "All my employees shall respond to your orders, no matter what they are. I know my little inn is nothing compared to your castle, but I hope it brings you comfort."

It was obviously true, but it was modest to say that this was a small inn. It was an immense structure, perhaps six floors high, and the long stables were visible even from the entrance. Nothing compared to a castle, but it certainly wasn't small.

Aerin was kind, personally guiding the king to his chambers. While everyone bathed, supper was cooked and the horses tended. The sun had already set when they gathered for supper, and the food was delicious.

"It's a very lovely inn", Thranduil tried to calm Aerin. Her nervousness was clear.

"Oh, your grace, that's very kind of you." The old lady smiled, then went back to her food. The lull was marvelous, but it didn't last long. But this time, Aerin was trying to whisper to her son. Trying, not succeeding. "Why is she taking so long? I'm starting to worry."

Gildor took a sip from his wine. "You talk about the Lossëistar?"

Aerin was surprised he could hear her. After all, she was so subtle. "She was supossed to be back by now. It's a long way to the fair, but not that long."

"Lossëistar?" Thranduil was interested. "An elve mage life here?"

Aerin and Gildor glared at one another. Gildor was the one that responded Thranduil. "Not exactly an elve, not exactly a mage."

His interest got bigger. "Explain yourself."

Aerin sighed. "She... Look, I don't mean to gossip, I really don't." She looked around the room, and began to whisper. "We don't really know what she is. She definitely isn't human. But an elve... I don't think she's tall enough to be one."

Thranduil laughed at Aerin's honesty. "What's the cause of such confusion?"

The younger boy, Aerin's son, responded before his mom could. "She's weird. Gandalf worries about her."

"Beren!" Aerin scolded him. "Keep yourself silent!"

Thranduil's interest turned into something else. Gandalf isn't exactly a friend, as he often delivers bad news and forget who's the ruler, but Thranduil is wiser to not underestimate him. Elrond and Galadriel care for him, and Thranduil respect their wit. If Gandalf has someone under his wing, then he has his reasons. Thranduil can't help but to wonder why.

Before he could ask more, the creak of the entrance door was heard. "Lady Aerin," a female voice echoed to the hall. It was melodic, Thranduil could sense the happiness. "You won't believe what I found!"

You entered the hall holding a basket full of fabrics, herbs and pots. "Close your eyes, it's a surprise." You were looking for something inside the basket as you walked towards the hall, not even noticing that it wasn't empty.

Thranduil swallowed hard.

Your dress was wrinkled and muddy, the marks of a long, busy day of walking. Your loose hair, falling around your shoulders, framed your face with a sense of freedom. The smile on your lips, so simple and true, carried such lightness. Your crooked steps, of those who need to balance their weight with the heavy basket in order not to fall, were lit by candles. There were violets in your eyes. They glowed. You glowed, even without intention.

"Lossëistar", Aerin called. "We're not alone."

Your smiled died before you rose your face. Lossëistar. It's been more than a year, but she never called you by your name. Don't matter what you say, they never hear you. What's the reason to keep trying? But then you rose your face, and you disappointment turned into shame.

"Your grace", you bowed. "Pardon for the interruption."

Thranduil took a deep breath. He could smell the salty scent, a mixture of earth and herbs, emanating from you. A shiver rose the Elvenking's spine. "Apparently you're late."

"You're supossed to be here two hours ago", said Aerin. "Are you fine, kid?"

"The horse you borrowed me wasn't obedient." You looked up. Your eyes alternated between Thranduils's and Aerin's. With a sign of his head, you slowly stand up. You may be a fool on a few subjects, but you always know when your presence isn't expected. With another bow, you walked towards the entrance. "Have a good night."

"Supper with us." Thranduil didn't control his own tongue. There was something about you that intrigued him. He repeated to himself that he was only trying to find out what interested Gandalf, but he was too clever to be so easily deceived.

"Your grace is so kind, but she don't need to", Aerin thought it was the right thing to say. "I'll bring you a plate when we're done. Thank him, Lossëistar, for his generosity."

Thranduil's voice was heard again. But this time it was different. It was less graceful, less friendly. It was the voice of a leader, and a tired one. "What makes you think that an invitation to dinner and a cold dish are equivalent?"

Aerin blinked. "I'm sorry, your grace. I thought..."

"Join us, lady", the Elvenking looked into your eyes.

Unsure of how to proceed, you followed in silence to the empty armchair at the end of the table. Next to Aerin's son, who was staring at you in a way you couldn't identify, one of the employees served a plate. Conversation returned, Gildor launched into a subject that made the tension in the air dissipate, but you could feel the weight of the Elvenking gaze.

"The last time we saw each other", Gilgor smiled at you. "You still didn't knew how to ride."

You smiled at him, but discomfort gripped your body. You were too dirty, too tired, to sit across from a king. You must have reeked of mud and riding horses. How was your face? And your hair? He's very kind, kinder than the stories about the Mirkwood elves, but it was humiliating.

"I'm still learning." You tried to sound comfortable on your own skin. "I'm not the best, but also not the worst."

"Certainly a stimulant way of thinking, Lossëistar."

"I'm sure you have a name, my lady." Thranduil didn't bother smiling. It was weird the way people didn't addressed you by your name.

"I... I do." You bit your tongue. "People just don't use it."

"So it's about time we change this."

A warmth took over your cheeks. You told him your name, and only then you noticed how long it been since you last heard it. It felt nice to have the Elvenking saying it, almost testing how it sounded on his tongue.

But everything was forgotten after the explosion. The guards got up, not sure what was going on, but you knew that sound. It was the sound of work. The sound of letters and more letters of complaint being ignored. The sound of the dozens of times the village had to rebuild everything because they didn't fix the problem while there was still time. It was the sound of water. And it was near.

You drank the rest of your wine before getting up. "A moment, please."

You ran out of the inn. As imagined, the dam had broken. The second time this month. "That's what happens when you keep solving it," you said to yourself. "They know you're going to fix everything so they don't even bother doing something."

Mist dominated the river bank. You took a deep breath and ran closer to the forest, as far away as possible. You took a bow out of your pocket and tied your hair in a tight knot. The last thing you needed was something clinging to your face. You heard the screams of some of the guards, but didn't let that distract you.

It raced down the gorge, skipping the bank and destroying everything in its path. You could hear the trees bending, you could feel the cold, hard wind burning your face. When the trees behind you shuddered, you knew you could start. So you ran towards the river.

You ran and ran and ran. You stopped walking on leaves to step on land, then you stopped stepping on land to run over the river. And you didn't dive. You just ran, a thin layer of ice forming with each step, and you ran towards the pouring water. And when it was so close she could crush you, knock the air out of your lungs and claim it as it's own, you stuck out your finger and touch the wave.

And as quickly as it started, it ended. It ended with you standing in the middle of the river, with tons of frozen water in front of you, and a speechless Elvenking.

[Second Chapter]

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lillianofliterature · 11 months

Note

If your requests are open, and you are comfortable with it, could you maybe please do a King Thranduil x reader one-shot where reader has cancer and it is like angsty?

the toll of sickness | thranduil x reader

a/n: Anon, I am sincerely sorry for the long wait, but I wanted to provide all the angsty venting and comfort I could for you in this! Thank you for your request! I wanted to do this right by you. I hope this helps soothe whatever parts of you need soothing today. I don’t know anon’s/anyone’s specific diagnosis or symptoms, so I’m doing my best to remain respectful and widely general with the topic of cancer. I took inspiration from my own experiences with the mental/emotional toll of long-term chronic illness to supply a plot to resolve, I hope that’s okay (and still relatable). <3

The reader is implied feminine in this as they are referred to as lady/queen, but otherwise, I did my best to keep it gender-neutral with descriptions.

This could also be interpreted as a reader with chronic illness.

DO NOT REPOST MY WORK. GIF EDIT IS MINE.

summary: after a long day of tiresome treatments and the heaviness of your thoughts, you retreat to your chambers to seek the comfort of your husband’s arms.

warnings: mentions of cancer (the reader has cancer), mentions of cancer treatments and symptoms (including needles), medical exhaustion, nonsexual nudity and nonsexual bathing, open discussions of symptoms, fear of death

word count: 6.1k

music: As Long As We Both Shall Live by Bear McCreary

elvish translations: melamin = my love, melda = my dear/beloved

“I think we will conclude here for today, my lady.”

The head healer’s voice drew your wayward attention back to his prim features. His thin lips spread into a smile as he gently unstrapped the tight leather band above your inner elbow, releasing the tension from your skin. The long syringe with its glass barrel was gently pulled from the blue vein that the pressure had highlighted. You rubbed your arm subconsciously as he set aside the supplies for cleaning, hoping the motion would rid your flesh of the awful sensation of being probed.

You blinked away your muddled thoughts. Briefly, you worried that perhaps he had been talking to you long before you’d heard his assessment to end the treatments for the evening. If you had, you were grateful to find no resentment in his gaze for your absentminded silence.

He softly closed his collection of books that had been displayed around a table on the wall adjacent to your cushioned cot in the infirmary. With a bottle of herbal salve, he applied a generous portion to the inner curve of your elbow, satiating any irritation from his needles. The cool gel of the aloe soothed the itchy redness, while the lavender masked the sterile scent of the medications and intensely bitter herbs.

You glanced up from the healer’s gentle efforts, trying on your best smile. “Thank you for your diligence today, Sudryl. It is very much appreciated.”

He bowed his head as he clasped your hand between his palms, “It is always a pleasure to tend to you, my queen. We will resume tomorrow morning if it suits your schedule?”

“My schedule is always free for your remedies. Thranduil has made sure to take over many of my duties so we may focus on my treatment.”

Sudryl smiled once more as he helped you stand from the cot, draping your silken robe over your bare arms as he did so. “The king is very wise, your majesty. I know you detest this period of healing you’re undergoing, but you mustn't mistake rest for idleness. Your people desire greatly for your full recovery, myself included. In order to achieve that, your rest is crucial.”

You didn’t know what to say. Rest was crucial, you knew that. As were the innumerable treatments and remedies being applied and adjusted every day.

But didn’t anyone understand that you were tired of all of this? Exhausted by more than just the cancer and its seemingly endless repercussions that it presented almost daily. Worn down by more than just needles and salves and bitter syrups that lingered in your throat.

You missed feeling well-rested when you woke up in the mornings after a long sleep—you missed having the energy to spend your days fulfilling your duties as a queen, as a servant to her people. You missed the days in which every activity was not dictated or measured by searing pain or groggy fatigue. You were tired of wrestling with your body just to exist comfortably.

But it’s your duty to get better, they keep telling you.

It’s what everyone’s hoping for, your majesty.

Do your best to rest and eat well, my lady.

Don’t give up hope, Queen (Y/n). You are blessed among our kin!

The people have been petitioning their prayers to the Valar fervently, your grace.

They were supposed to be words of encouragement spoken to invigorate your fighting spirit, to ignite that spark of determination that was starting to flicker these last few months. But these endless strains of hope and enlightenment had started to weigh heavily upon your shoulders like a milkmaid’s yoke, and with every well-intentioned word and chorus of song another stone was dropped into the buckets you carried.

The pressure to recover for the sake of others was beginning to feel like too much—the toll of the sickness itself was enough for one to worry about, was it not? Not only did you feel this fearsome desperation to recover for your own sake, for your own life, but also the need of a thousand other voices begging for a show of strength you didn’t feel tangible anymore.

The summoning of one of your servants outside the infirmary doors reminded you that the hour to retire for supper was nearing presently. You felt your posture deflate as it dawned on you that you couldn’t yet retire for the day. Although your extravagant evening meals were one of the few constants that motivated you to follow your days through until nightfall, your hunger had dispersed in the last few days. Being seated at a stiff table dressed with rich delicacies and savory wines sounded nothing short of torture at the moment, even with the promise of dessert.

The servant curtseyed in the broad doorway as Sudryl led you across the room. You couldn’t help but tense as your legs tremored from the sudden activity. A long exhale slipped through your pursed lips.

“My queen,” She rose gracefully, her hands folding together at her waist. “Your supper with the king is nearly prepared. He will be present in the dining hall shortly as soon as his meeting has concluded. I was advised to escort you there safely.”

Clutching onto Sudryl’s forearm, you hesitated to address the messenger. You couldn’t help the expression of distaste that twisted your face. The thought of food was not the only thing that churned your stomach at that moment; the prospect of being walked through your own palace as though you were an invalid, incapable of making it there of your own merit, as though every pair of eyes in this forest need offer you their due pity, bothered you even more than the risk of losing your supper to the toilet.

Knowing you couldn’t send her away under Sudryl’s watchful eye (for surely there would be further inquiries as a result of such an unnecessary dismissal), you managed to nod in thanks to her before turning to him. The head healer’s smile was brimming with empathy. You tried not to feel offended by his pitying compassion. He leaned forward and pecked your cheek reverently, bidding you a respectful farewell until the morning.

You turned from him and followed the servant into the winding halls. Gaze following the eroded pathway of the massive tree roots beneath your sore feet, you bided the seconds until you were both too far to be noticed by any superior voices that might challenge your decision-making. When your footsteps halted, she turned to face you.

Her brows raised, she asked, “My lady? Is something wrong?”

“No, no. I’m alright,” You waved her worries aside with the vague gesture of your hand. “But I can manage the walk to the dining hall from here.”

Her brows drew together in an expression of confusion. You straightened your back—had she seen through your polite fib? Was it that obvious you had no intentions of eating this evening? Or was just she not used to being given conflicting commands between two monarchs?

“—On my own. I can make it there on my own.”

Her lips parted in protest as she recalled what you assumed were very clear orders from your husband only minutes prior. Stretching your hand out to gently touch her shoulder, you reassured her it would be alright. “I will explain to the king myself that I demanded to be left alone. No trouble will come to you, I promise. You will not lose your position.”

“But my lady, I—it is my duty is to ensure your safe arrival. Are you sure you don’t—?”

The irritation that swelled within you wasn’t her fault, you hastily reminded yourself. You bit back the frustrated sigh you wanted to release, tightening your polite smile. Reasoning with another person about what you wanted to do and why you wanted to do it was the last thing you presently wanted to deal with. Desperate to detach yourself from her and anyone else lingering about, you decided to be straightforward. No beating around the bush.

“I value your persistence, young one, but I would very much like to retire early tonight. You may inform my husband that I’ll be taking my meal in our chambers if you must.”

“Understood, your majesty. I shall inform the king. Have a good evening.” She dipped into an impulsive curtsy, quickly trailing back to the chancellery to relay your decision.

You didn’t even wait for her to pass beyond the long hall ahead before you turned in the opposite direction. Your private chambers weren’t too far from the infirmary, thankfully. However, it still took some resolve on your behalf to encourage your depleted energy through corridors and foyers all the way back to your comfortable bed. The silver silk of your robe billowed around your feet with every step, giving your eyes something other than walls of stone and root to follow.

You were sure your husband wouldn’t be taking the present news about your wellbeing all that agreeably. You could see it clearly in your mind—the disheveled, anxious worry in his eyes that he masked behind a wall of solemn regality. But you could always see what he was thinking. He wouldn’t like the fact that your treatments were taking more and more of a toll on your already wearisome state. He would like it even less when he found out you would soon be dismissing supper altogether.

His concern wasn’t for himself, of course. It was for you—it was always for you.

He wanted desperately for you to be able to enjoy your meals in the glittering brilliance of the dining hall, unperturbed by fatigue and nausea. He wanted you to be able to take those strolls through the forest gardens that you adored so much without the sore discomfort in your bones. He wanted you to relish in your life and its unrivaled importance. And most of all, he wanted desperately to take this lingering sickness away; he wished he had been born with a skill for healing like some of his kin.

But all he could give you were the promises of an unsure future and the enlistment of his most skilled associates and all relevant resources that could be found about your condition. And some part of you—some sad, twisted part of you—felt a rush of guilt that so much commotion and worry was being circulated about the kingdom on your behalf. And that guilt only made the whole affair all the more frustrating and maddening. These days, everything inflamed your anger. This whole tumultuous ordeal seemed to be unraveling more than just your physical state.

You knew it was ridiculous to feel responsible in some way for what was happening to you. You hadn’t chosen this, you hadn’t brought it on yourself—you most certainly didn’t deserve it. No one with cancer ever does. But reasoning with your inner turmoil was like wrestling a wild boar in the mud; there was never any true resolve without the cost of more anxieties, more wounds, more gashes in your soul. And the more you tried to gain a grip on yourself, the less grounded you became, the more it all slipped through your fingers.

The click of the door was a chime of resolve as you leaned against the tall wooden frame from within the calm confines of your spacious bedroom. Sliding out of your supple leather flats and letting your robe slump to your elbows, you took the first deep breath you had been able to control since earlier that morning. The king-sized bed frame creaked subtly as you lowered yourself onto the fluffed silken duvet. Ever so gradually, you felt the weight of the vertical world begin to reprieve from your muscles like steam rushing upwards from a boiling pot.

Rest wasn’t a cure for what ailed you, no, but Valar above, sometimes it felt like it.

Since your diagnosis—the terrifying sickness devouring your energy and livelihood from within your own body—nearly every day had been spent in the infirmary or the healer’s sanctuary, remedies administered by the hour, conversations turning tiresome and sour. It had begun to feel like your own home was a prison, the world beyond the palace unreachable, like every action was a strenuous transaction of vitality and exhaustion. Even just walking the gardens that lead into the forest had become inexplicably draining—it left you feeling as though you’d run to Mirkwood’s southern border and back rather than taking a few turns about the courtyard.

But here, on the cloud-like comfort of your private chambers, there was some reprieve from it all. There were no endless strands of questions about your well-being and your comfort and opinions on the tedious details of your health here—only the distant rush of the waterfalls that crashed brazenly into the river moat outside the palace gates. You could hear the chirping of the early summer insects as dusk narrowed on the horizon beyond the open terrace. There was no sterile smell of concentrated alcohol or the pungent gnawing of tart herbs. Instead, there was a faint aroma of lilacs wafting in from the gardens and the scent of your husband’s musk lingering in your bed.

Closing your eyes and rolling onto your lesser-sore side, you sought out the imprint that his body might have left there that morning. But the duvet was creased flat and folded with a chill under your skin. It was curious futility to think his warmth might have lasted after so many long hours away, you knew that; the bed was always plumped and remade in the mornings by your gracious servants. A coldness ran through you, engulfing your skin in little bumps that felt like prickling needles.

Too sore from your aches to unfurl the taut covers from the mattress and too comfortable to retrieve one of your husband’s many fur throws, you recoiled your arm and folded your limbs closer together, curling into a position that would magnify your own body heat. While quietly taking in the environment of your sanctuary, this small peaceful haven that almost made you forget the turmoil your body was enduring, you hardly noticed as you faded into a light slumber. Caught between the ebbing flow of consciousness as it bobbed around the sleepy release of your strained body, wading between thoughts and dreams.

Unaware of the passage of time as you laid there in groggy consciousness, you hardly felt the urge to stir from your position until you felt the back of someone’s hand on your cheek, the brushing aside of your askew (h/c) tendrils. Then you made out the quiet husk of a voice that hovered above you in the dark.

In the dark? Sunset was still a couple of hours away! And after that, dusk would linger still until the light vanished beyond the mountains to the west. Why was it already so dark?

Hadn’t it only been a few fleeting minutes since you’d closed your eyes, listening to the cicadas and savoring the sweetness of the summer flora? Eyebrows pursed, you could hear yourself attempt to answer, but the meticulous reply you’d fabricated in your mind was delivered in heavy vowels that grouped together lazily. Your speech felt like treacle slipping off your tired tongue.

A velvet chuckle reverberated in your perking ears.

“Have I forgotten my native tongue or was that a very poor attempt at Sindarin?”

Thranduil.

Your nose scrunched up as you fought to drain the sleepiness that was working against you so fervently. Before you could stir the tired droopiness from your eyes with eager fists, two gentle hands cupped your cheeks and swept their thumbs over your closed eyes. The motion was akin to a gentle massage, spanning your sore eyelids and dusting across your cheekbones, a cradling of your vulnerable stillness that filled your chest with a fond fervor. The supple tenderness of his lips collided briefly with yours before parting all too quickly.

“Mm?” Your vocabulary hadn’t quite refreshed itself, it seemed. “When d’dju geten?”

Another rumbling chuckle he didn’t bother trying to hide. You pictured his willowy frame standing primly in front of the tall gilded looking glass, unfastening his stuffier robes and tucking his powder–blonde hair behind his pointed ears, or perhaps even tying it back for the night as he often did.

Stars, it felt like there were weights on your shoulders pulling you back against the duvet as you forced yourself to sit up, like the muscles beneath your skin were unraveling at the seams. You rubbed your eyes and shooed your disheveled hair from your peripheral vision, glancing around the dark room for your husband’s silhouette. A flicker of light plumed suddenly in the sconce near the vanity, illuminating his fair features. The match in his hand extinguished with a puff of air from his lips before his pale blue eyes found yours.

“I only just came in,” he reassured you, “I’m afraid I underestimated how much wind some of our advisors have in their lungs, especially when provoked.”

Another votive flickered to life on the other side of the room, another match snuffed out under his breath. The sunlight outside had all but gone in the murky hours you had been asleep. Now that you could take in the mellow darkness of the evening without confusion, some part of you felt distressed about the sudden absence of natural light. The daylight, warm and golden, always brought you a sense of comfort. But now it was dark and grey and the light of the moon was cold, distant, and you hadn't had a chance to prepare yourself for it. Another chill ran across your skin as a more frigid breeze swept in from the open terrace.

“Did Sudryl have a chance to share the news with you before retiring this evening?” He asked, glancing over his shoulder at you. His lips pursed when he saw your unmoving figure still sitting on the edge of the bed, your back draped in silks, facing away from him. Your slumped posture told him all he needed to know about how you were feeling after your treatments—the exhaustion was palpable in how slow your palm rose to cradle your own forehead, in how shaky you were as you forced yourself up from the bed and took hold of the bedpost.

He was near you in an instant, his strong hands taking gentle hold of your bowed shoulders. There he was, combing the stray hairs on your head down with doting affection, all while the same frustrations were building up inside of you as your sleepiness dissipated.

“You needn’t rise for me, melamin, I am no guest.” He chided gently.

“I know, I just need a bath before we settle in for the night.”

“You’re in no state to manage that tonight, (Y/n)—”

“Thranduil, I haven’t rinsed off the ointments. I smell like the forest—and not in a good way.”

“You smell like an herb garden, fresh and natural, as all things should be.”

“Pungent is more like it,” You quipped, catching the accent of bitter walnuts exuding from your thin robes. It was that old, damp, dingy sort of bitterness that made you want to expel the air from your lungs with a snort when you caught a whiff of it—not the pleasant sort of musk from the gardens.

He laughed again, this time with more relief behind his eyes. Even though he knew you were spent from the day’s strenuous activities, the presence of your humor provided him with some semblance of comfort. And as for your own weary senses, his smooth strain of laughter was more than a consolation for the muted anxiousness that the infirmary always inflicted.

“Then let me help you.”

“Thranduil, I can do it mys—”

“I insist,” He offered decidedly, and you knew well enough from past experience that arguing with him on the matter would prove ineffective.

He gently looped your arm through the curve of his elbow, placing a sweet kiss to your messy hair before turning along with you toward the adjoined bathing chamber. You leaned into him for support and begrudgingly admitted to yourself that he was right—there was no way you could withstand the exertion on your own, at least not tonight. Not while you felt this lethargic, not while your stress levels were causing such tension throughout your body, making everything denser, slower, sluggish.

Once he led you into the warmly lit haven of the spacious chamber, the steam of the hot spring pool seemed to draw you in on its own accord. The walls and their rugged shapes made the flickering yellowness of the torchlight spread longer shadows among its natural angles and divots. The far right wall was connected to the run-off of one of the many springs that stretched like veins throughout the mountain palace—and it was little cavern rooms like this one that reminded you that you were living in the majesty of a low-peaking mountain, not just nestled in the forested density of the Greenwood.

You knelt at the rim of the bathing pool on the soft stone edge, dragging your hand through the clear blue water. The natural warmth of the hot spring invigorated you with a sense of eagerness as you remembered just how soothing these glowing pools always were. A gentle touch to your shoulder lured your attention back to your husband, who with a fond smile, was waiting to help you unravel your robes and underthings. Taking his hand, you were pulled to stand in front of him with the gentlest limits of his strength.

You hardly felt the pressure or the tugging of his lithe fingers as he helped you undress, his touch but a breeze across your sore skin. When you were naked and chilled from the exposure, he guided you into the blue waters and leaned over the pool’s edge to make sure you were steady on the outcropped seat of eroded stonework submerged in the water. As the bubbling warmth enveloped your flesh, your eyes fluttered shut with an involuntary sigh of relief.

There were very rarely things that proved effective for your ceaseless pains—medicines and supplements only lasted so long or relieved so little, and sleep was growing more difficult to manage. But this—the heat bubbling up from the earth, sorted through sediment and mineral—was the most relief you found these days.

When submerged in the hot spring bath, your entire body numbed to its own plague as your bones and muscles absorbed whatever benefits came from the terrain around you. You briefly wondered how you ever managed to get out the last time you soaked like this, with every inch of your flesh basking in the warmth that enveloped you.

You relaxed against the glossy stones, trying to quiet your mind of all the infernal anxieties pressing a weight against your chest. The noise of your thoughts made it difficult to focus fully on the soothing effects of the natural hot spring, tensing and loosening your muscles and posture between every harsh doubt.

With a fresh cloth he brandished from a side table, Thranduil dipped it into the warm bath and began gently scrubbing away the ground athelas mixture. He’d seated himself comfortably on the edge of the bath, submerging his calves into the pool to cradle you between them. The cloth strummed along your chest and stomach as he reached over and behind, where the herbs from Sudryl’s remedies had been infiltrating the cancerous sickness plaguing your organs. You hadn’t meant to show him how weak you felt, how tired you were, how desperately you needed this—but your head fell back to rest against his stomach despite this as the steam curled around you both, dampening your hair and foreheads.

After your rinsing from the spout of a silver pitcher, he coaxed oils and lathered soaps across your flesh, your own fingers clasping onto the pale skin of his forearm or around his leg, refusing to cease contact with him. And although he generously and willingly offered his aide while the healing minerals of that glowing pool of steam soothed you, some venomous voice in the back of your mind tried to feed you strings of doubt and loathing.

He shouldn’t have to do this. He shouldn’t have had to become my caretaker.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I wasn’t supposed to get sick—neither of us was.

He deserves more than this mess I’ve given him. He deserves better than me.

You cleared your throat, trying to silence the growing guilt and shame before that stinging swell of tears could grow any more than they already were.

“What was it you were going to tell me?” You asked after the first of his own sweet-scented oils was being lathered along your arms, turning you about to face him. “Earlier, you mentioned something about Sudryl?”

“Ah, that,” he nodded in remembrance, “I gather he didn’t mention anything about Lord Elrond to you today?”

“Lord Elrond?” You inquired, lifting your questioning gaze to meet his. “No—no, he didn’t. Has something happened? Something to do with our alliances? Or with that trade treaty we adjusted with Laketown in the spring—”

“No, melamin, nothing of diplomatic proportions—all is still amiable with our kin for the time being,” he reassured. When he glanced up at you, the tranquil hope glittering in his blue eyes soothed the curious worry growing in your mind. He almost seemed excited about something. It tugged the corners of your mouth into a brief smile. “I sent word to him a little more than a month ago now, I suppose, to see what he might be able to do about your condition, to inquire about whether his skill with healing might mend what ails you.”

You swallowed hard over the sudden discomfort of anxiety that rose again like bile in your throat at the mention of more treatment, more guests, more expectations for healing. More, more, more.

“He is to arrive within a week of his latest correspondence, which came this morning. Preparations are being made for his arrival as we speak.”

Unknowingly, your grip had tightened on your husband’s forearm, your nails digging shallow crescents into his skin. The sharp sensation drew his attention downward to your hands, his dark brows furrowing in concern. His fingers winding around yours brought your attention to your vice-like grip, which you promptly loosened.

“What is it, (Y/n)? Does this news not please you?”

The earnestness in his pale eyes pierced your heart, the guilt bubbling up in your mind again. You weren’t sure what worried you most. The prospect of more prodding, more treatments, more attempts that might lead to nowhere; the fuss being made across the realm about your condition, about this peculiar, harsh sickness that was so puzzling to even the brightest minds; or perhaps, most worrisome of all, was the fact that you were no longer able to manage the upkeep of a happy facade. So many people were hoping, praying, supporting, and tending to you.

And somehow, you found that to be the most exhausting part of it all. Not only were you fighting for your own body, for comfort and life, but you were trying to uphold and appease every pair of eyes that was eagerly awaiting your miraculous recovery from something you didn’t even know how to fight. There were so many hopes to meet, so many hearts to comfort on your behalf, and your resolve was quietly crumbling.

Before you could think to soften your words in an attempt to save Thranduil’s optimism, your lips began to move, a sudden impulse of tears gathering in your eyes. “What if there is nothing even Lord Elrond can do to cure this?”

He paused, his eyes searching yours briefly before his damp fingers reached up to caress your cheek. How had he not seen the disparagement growing behind your gaze, darkening the lilt in your voice? Hidden behind humor and mischievous quips, but no less obvious.

“If—if I do not show improvement, our people will lose their resolve. Everyone’s counting on me to get better, to show some store of strength I no longer have and I–I can’t will my body to right itself,” you bore to him, panicked and spent from months of effort, “I cannot give everyone the hope they're seeking from me."

“Oh, melamin,” his chin nestled over your ear as he murmured with such rich affection, pressing your face into the musky homeliness of his neck.

“I know I should be grateful for their support, for their prayers and their offerings, but it’s becoming too much, Thranduil. I don’t have the strength for a kingdom’s worth of miracles.”

“You do not owe anyone but yourself the grace of your strength. Had I known their encouragement had put pressure on you to perform, I would have silenced the lot of them.”

Despite his sincerity, you panicked on. “What if I am never rid of it? What if this is my blight that I must war with for the rest of my life?”

He sombered then, drawing in a deep string of air into his lungs. You could see him wrestling with the reality of your honesty, with the questions you both had been too afraid to speak aloud before now. Gathering himself, he drew you nearer to him, clinging to you with a brief urgency that almost startled you.

“Then we will rise together each day to face it. There will never be a single day that you will have to endure this on your own. Do you hear me? That is my promise to you—that my vow and my diligence will never waver where you are concerned.”

Your tears burned with his words and you worked to force them at bay, his sweetness drawing every sour fear and thought of guilt from your mind and onto your tongue. “I am so sorry for this life I have given you. You didn’t ask for this—you cannot be happy with me—with this-this terrible thing I’ve brought upon us. You deserve so much more, and I can no longer give it to you.”

“You’re apologizing—?” He questioned, his voice quiet in shock.

Your eyes clamped shut, forcing the well of sorrows from your eyes to plummet. Gently, he pulled himself back, repositioning his hands on your upper arms as if to garner your absolute attention.

“(Y/n), this life you have given me has been far more than I have ever deserved and could ever strive to. From the moment we met, you have enriched my life just by your existence alone, much less the many qualities and traits about you I have come to treasure beyond all fortune or success. You have given me everything, a dozen lifetimes over, in the mere centuries we have been together.”

“You cannot have wanted this,” you breathed out, hushed by your own shame.

“No, I did not want you to suffer with something so abysmal, something so beyond my control. Of course I did not want for your pain…but if this is our future, if this is our path together, then I want every minute of it, and I will not settle for a second less. I would upheave the very crest of the world and drown mountains in flame if it meant saving you. And if that makes me selfish or ruthless, then I will be the standard at which devils compare their sins.”

His hands had gradually found their way up to your face, cradling your damp cheeks with a sincerity that made your lip quiver.

“Look at me,” he whispered.

The sight of the tearful waterline reflected in his eyes drew a noise of curt regret from your lungs. Your sob pierced his heart, filling him with a desperation to amend the shame and anxiety plaguing your mind.

“If you truly believe that you are at fault for this sickness, then in turn I must be held responsible for allowing it to happen in the first place. As your husband first, but also as your king.”

“No, no that’s not true! It’s not even reasonable of you to—”

“Then how can it be your fault? How could any of this be on your shoulders? There is no sense in blame, (Y/n). Not here, not with this.”

There was a stillness after his words, a stillness that was meant for rumination, and sealed with his lips against your skin and hair. Your hands rose to rest against his chest, nestling them over the dip of his collarbone as you felt for comfort in the blur of your tears. His silence prompted an answer.

“It’s not my fault,” you replied.

“Say it again.”

“It isn’t my fault,” you echoed, meeting his gaze once more, “just as it isn’t yours.”

And as shocking as it was for you to realize it, you truly believed the words he encouraged from you. This sickness wasn’t your fault. Neither of you could have had any sway with fate or destiny, with whatever had brought this on. And perhaps, it just simply was, with no cause or fault at all. What mattered now was how kind you could be to yourself, how to take one moment of strife and find something in it to hold onto. Moments like this were one of those morsels between the ebbing aches of pain and grief that you could relish and devour again and again.

Thranduil leaned forward, pressing his sweat-laced brow against yours. “Do not ever blame yourself, melamin. Do not let those foul words pass between your lips again.”

You nodded against him, pulling him nearer. “I promise.”

In the long minutes that followed, there was the solace of quiet intimacy as he rinsed through your hair one final time, peppering you with kisses and caresses at every opportunity. He met you with a soft fluffy towel when he led you out of the bath, never allowing a breeze to nip at your damp skin. His touch was featherlight as he patted you dry from head to toe, scrunching your drenched tendrils of (h/c) hair without complaint.

“I’m still so afraid,” you managed the courage to speak aloud, “What if–...what if this sickness claims my life?”

“You will not part this world without me, melda. Not a single breath will leave your lungs without my sharing it, not a single heartbeat will we not share,” he vowed, the absolute belief in his voice making the promise all the richer, “there isn’t a corner in this world or any other that you could wander to that I would not accompany you.”

Your silk nightgown slipped over your outstretched arms swiftly, sliding down your body and into place comfortably. He did up the lace of the collar with efficiency, not missing the chance to playfully tug you closer with the slightest bit of his strength. You planted yourself against his chest, the smile on your lips effortless with his own. The firm warmth of his arms wrapping around you had the same sort of pain-numbing effect as the hot spring, lulling every fretful thought to a close. His somber laugh reverberated again, this time through your bones, bringing an ethereal kind of peace with it.

The pillows of your large four-poster bed were positioned, fluffed, and repositioned. You waited patiently, upon his insistence, as he untucked and pulled the puffy duvet back for you to crawl under. Once comfortably tucked beneath layers of silk and cotton, he assumed his place beside you, careful not to jostle the mattress as he settled, mindful that every movement enticed your discomfort.

His body heat made you sleepy as you sank further into the covers, fogging your thoughts with a drowsy anticipation for the release of slumber. You’d waited for this moment all day—it had been the image that had pushed you through the hours of treatment and questions—the moment you could finally burrow against his warmth and drunken yourself with his scent. There was a slight stirring as he reached off to the side to retrieve something on the bedside table.

The fluttering of pages caught your fading attention, pulling your heavy-eyed gaze toward the book in his grasp. “Would you like to continue where we left off?”

You smiled tiredly against his chest, not recalling the events of the book he’d been reading to you for the last few nights. Oftentimes, the first few pages would strike vividly in your imagination, but as his lustrous tone carried on through paragraphs and chapters, the sleepy security that his presence enticed made it impossible to recall anything beyond the thrilling hum of his voice. In all actuality, you were quite sure he didn’t mind if you knew anything at all about the story he was reading aloud. It was enough to hold you and be held.

TAGS: @tessaem @izbelross @bloodblossoms73 @sunnysidesidra

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ndcgalitzine · 2 months

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“I’ll tell you how long I’ve known Lee Pace. I’ve known him since he was shorter than me, when he was 14 and I was 15.”

Matt Bomer and Lee Pace were friends in high school and shared a one-bedroom apartment at one point... how did I not know this??? idk about you guys but this information has blown my mind 🤯🤣

#omg they were roommates #Lee Pace #Matt Bomer #I also can't imagine Lee having ever been shorter than Matt...#or anyone for that matter 😂

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theartofimagining13 · 1 year

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Imagine:

Lee met you through mutual friends and developed a huge crush on you, so when he hosted a party at his house, he was very excited when you showed up and was practically unable to hide it. He spent the whole evening with you and you could tell that he was slightly nervous. He asked you out on a date while confessing that he really liked you from the moment he saw you.

#Sighhhhh #Imagine Lee Pace #Unfaithful Fridays #Lee Pace #Lee Pace x reader #Imagine

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pedro-pascal · 2 years

Photo

THE FALL 2006 | dir. Tarsem Singh

#the fall #tarsem singh #lee pace #thefalledit #filmedit #perioddramaedit #userteri #userlindir #tuserdana #usercarol #userakrivi #henricavyll #*#imagine erasing the colors from this movie? couldn't be me #truly one of the most beautiful cinematography i ever witnessed

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bowieandqueen11 · 2 years

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Fluffy Thranduil Headcanons

Request: If you wouldn't mind, could you write some fluffy headcanons for daddy Thranduil?? I can't really find much for him... I just wanna be enveloped by him while we lay on the bed and I play with his hair and his rings-

The daddy sent me please nonnie I- also I was having this debate with my friend but please back me up Elrond is also a daddy right???

Warning: NSFW! I’m sorry I don’t know how this ended up so much spicier than I was expecting lmao

Also I wrote this while I was ill so sorry if it’s terrible whoop whoop

(I do not own LOTR or its characters, all rights go to creators. Gif credit goes to @claireywestside.)

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°

Mr. Lee Pace Sir I don’t think you quite understand just what you did to all of us in the Hobbit series: seeing you in the cinema for the first time as Thranduil was an EXPERIENCE I will never forget as long as I live like damn.

He’s a needy boi. Needy needy boi!! I know Thranduil spends so much of his time trying to look properly regal and stern and collected, but my goodness to high heavens do his fingers itch to touch you constantly. Every time he’s sitting on that throne, steadfast as a steering star, his brow furrowed with the intensity with which he waits for you to come home; he’s desperate with need for you to come bursting through those doors and away from the gloom of the dogged tempest that awaits along the scarlet edges of the Mirkwood forest. That impatient frown of his just grows even tighter, until even Legolas knows to steer clear of his father for the time being. The incessant foot tapping, the finger drumming along the woven leaves of the arm rest are only interrupted by his boots thundering across the hall like an autumn thunderstorm. As soon as he spots your weary head cross the threshold of the looped stone bridge he’s on top of you, collapsing over your body in a burdened relief until he’s eclipsed your vision and encompassed you within the warm confines of his cloak.

Let’s just say, when that chamber door slams everyone in the halls of the Elvenking knows not to dare disturb the two of you until at least the morn, or perhaps until the next breath of star shine blazes across the crisp canvas of the night.

At first he seems almost... angry? No, not quite. Perhaps disgruntled? Agitated? He lingers around the edges of the bed, just an arms length away from where you’re lying, and stalks over to fling open the balcony doors and let the staunch moonlight flood in. He’s so fast though. He seems to disappear from sight - you can only tell he’s still in the room by the sound of him placing his crown down one of of the silver gilded chest by the sill. He actually almost takes your breath away: one moment he’s gliding past your vision, the next he’s hunched up over the edge of the bed with a wild, desperate, needy smirk on his cracking collected face. As if he’s been dreaming of doing this all day: of slowly coasting up the bed towards you, fists clenching into the sheet and pulling it away from your body as he hovers over your midriff.

When he gets to the point where he’s able to hit the bottom of your chin with the top of his head, he grunts as he dips down to elicit chills down the dip of your throat. His hand grabs the back of your thigh, lifting it up to half-wrap around the side of his waist until you can feel it digging into the flesh of his hip. His trail of kisses are impassioned fury; a trail of roaring desire is left as he marks his way up from your jugular to the corner of your jaw, a wet trail of scorching kisses and tongued apologies against your nerves setting your whole body alight.

He seems amused, interested, curious as you reach up and manage to fist your hands into his hair. Once you catch your breath, and he decides to be merciful and alleviate the thundering within your heart by panting heavily against your cheek, you manage to start twirling the strands of his long hair like silken grain, flowing through your fingertips like a spring bounty. He closes his eyes and purrs as he nestles his head into your palm like a content cat. His silken robes rub up against your calves, the embroidered leaves that fall and flourish along its trim itching your fingers as you reach up to carefully unbutton them.

Before you can even finish, though, Thranduil’s own deprivation and wild want takes over. If you even try to squirm or move away from him... oh boi. That hand that rests firmly against your thigh begins to crawl up further and squeeze, until you’re arching your back against him in breathless wonder. With a cluck of his tongue, and a press of his midriff down against your own, he holds you tightly in place against him.

When you reach up to grab his hand, making him fall onto his elbow next to you, he growls and pretends to bite your fingers as you reach for his own. But oh, the shimmering glow of the stars as they peek out from behind the solitude of the heavens makes his heart almost burst when you finally manage to latch onto them. While you’re busy fiddling with his rings, warping them around the slender fingers that keep curling and capturing over your own, he’s busy trying to hold them up palm to palm in the miniscule gap between both your breasts. For a while, as he allows the storm within him to settle into a tempered rain, he observes you with widened eyes, as if the whole of middle earth was settled in the space between your skin. ‘Vanimelda’, he whispers out on the sharp edge of his breath as he finally gazes down to meet your eye, and you finally understand. All the devotion within him, all that passion, and need, and impatience, and worry, and awe: he looks at you as if you’re not even real - just a translucent, iridescent mirage braided out of moonlight and celestial dreams. To him, you were divine. You were ethereal. You were more than he deserved.

And then he leans down to kiss you, and despite the fluttering of his heart he still instinctively is dominating in the way his pointer finger curls up under your chin and tilts you up to meet his lips. It’s overwhelming, yet stunningly sweet at the same time: his lips seem to swallow your own as he lingers over you, pressing timidly between your own until you feel he may overcome you. His fingers reach up to gently rest against your cheek, comforting you as his legs come to rest against your inner thighs and hold himself up. And it’s bliss, plain and simple - the two of you pressed together, all warm and cosy against the blanketing furls of his shirt as he chases your lips every time you pull away. The strong warmth of his chest grounds you to this earth, and the feel of your whines against his teeth every time he drags his own over your tender bottom lip is enough to make him feel as if he’s forsaken the ground and is floating among the heavens like eternal starlight.

#lord of the rings #the hobbit #thranduil #thranduil imagine #thranduil x reader #thranduil headcanons #lotr #the hobbit imagine #middle earth #lord of the rings imagine #lee pace #the hobbit headcanons #lord of the rings headcanons #lotr imagine #lotr headcanons

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chicotfp · 2 years

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Mirkwood royal family portrait.

Legolas, Oropher and Thranduil.

#thranduil #lee pace #legolas #orlando bloom #oropher #from imagination #lotr #lord of the rings #the hobbit #tolkien #elves #the elvenking #two of them actually #mirkwood #mirkwood family #went slightly over the top with this one #edit/photo manipulation

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anundyingfidelity · 4 months

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INTERROGATION GONE WRONG – Cleon XIII/Brother Day

Summary: Cleon XIII interrogates his statisticians about Hari Seldon's predictions. His in-turn maid remains there hearing the conversation, unbeknownst to him, knowing the answer - at least part of.

Pairing: Cleon XIII/Brother Day x female maid reader.

Word count: 2.9k.

Warnings: extremely dub-con, smut, abuse of power, forced orgasm, choking, fingering, degradation, p in v, creampie, not the soft aftercare you're waiting for. The author is also non native English speaker.

Notes: this is based on that scene of 1x04. This is the most non-con thing I've written ever. I gave my warnings. Also please watch Foundation lol, this show reminded me of how much I loved Lee Pace since like 2014. Once I'm in, I will never get out and I needed to write something for Cleon I love him he is an idiot.

☕ if you like my writing, support me with a ko-fi !

GEN MASTERLIST!

The man fell with a thud on the floor. You should be scared, surprised, trembling with fear, but this was not new behavior for you or anyone in the palace. Since Seldon's exile and the disaster shaking the Empire gradually, the response of the new Cleon was clearly expected after being a witness of a poor reunion and inconvenience with the staticians. More than a conversation, it felt like a judgment, a death one.

"Dining, now," he ordered passing by your figure on his way to leave the throne room. With a bow, you followed in an instant and ready to serve him.

Cleary, you could tell he was not in the good mood that day, already skipping the meal for breakfast with his brothers earlier; something that was out of the itineraries. Once a change of the routine happened, it meant something was off, so you thought. Demerzel was also not around, attending other meetings, so this left you alone with Empire, opening the door of the sole dining room the Brothers used privately, with the tall figure of Cleon XIII waiting impatiently for his midday meal and looking every move you made around the place to please him as fast as your feet allowed.

The cooks served the meal arranged from the menu after your order and they left as rapid as they came in, Brother Day dispatching them with a hand gesture once they were done. You took a couple of steps back, standing close to the table but ready in case he dispatched your presence as well.

"Not you, you stay," he commanded after sipping his wine for the first time, eyes focused on the plate he would eat.

"Yes, Empire."

You had to obligue, and that is what happened. You watched him from the corner of your eye, from time to time in silence, pretending to be unconcerned and collected, though that was far from being true. The whole meal time was eternal, specially that day. With no Brother Dawn nor Brother Dusk around for Brother Day to have a bland talk with, only the sound of fine cutlery clinking against porcelain as Empire ate. Boring, your head began to spin around, thinking in non-senses and theories of what you heard and read from Seldon's predictions of the fall. Empire was cruel, but it had you working, serving food to your plate, and probably that was enough. But it didn't stop your curiosity of learning further the philosophy of Hari Seldon.

When in front of Empire, your gaze seemed lost but your mind was working. You never said a single comment about studying Seldon's theory, of course. You were just a maid. Science and university never were a good pair for a woman who served the Empire. However, you still found the math behind his calculations as something intriguing and fascinating for some reason...

"Maid," the loud voice of the Emperor interrupted your daydream. "I said, wine."

The intense look on his eyes forced you to attend his order fast, serving more of the fermented liquid on the cup standing besides his plate.

His large hand took the cup when you filled it with wine and he sipped again, his eyes scanning you slow and deep. You knew he sensed something was wrong with you. Swallowing, you noticed he already had finished with his meal, so you finally you dared to speak.

"Can I retire your plate, Empire?"

"Is there something you want to share, maid?" he responded, blatantly ignoring your question and dragging your title like it was nothing but a shameful word to spill.

"At all, Empire," your voice came as a whisper.

Brother Day stood on his feet with such grace and started a slow walk towards your figure. You wanted to step away, but you feet were glued to the ground, so his tall and intimidating form washed over you soon.

"Speak," he instructed coldly. You started to tremble, unable to take off your scared eyes from him, bitting your bottim lip as he leaned. "Or do you want to be punished?"

His hand forced around your neck all of a sudden. As an act of reflection, you tried to pull back from his grip, but he was much stronger, having you in place and cutting your breath. "I know you hide enthusiasm around Doctor Seldon's theories," he whispered darkly on your ear. "I am not giving you a choice, speak!"

As he yelled down his last words, he pushed you harshly, body falling to the grown. Air filled your lungs once again and you coughed, sitting down and watching that he was coming closer with big steps. You dragged yourself on the floor using your hands and feet trying to not tangle yourself with the fabric of your dress. Fighting the tears on your eyes, your back touched the wall and sobbed. There was nowhere to go now. So you finally confessed.

"Your staticians would not give you a number because it's true!" you cried out. Brother Day stopped on his tracks just a couple of inches before you. "It's all true, Doctor Seldon is right. And it all began with the Star Bridge, I know you were a child when it happened because I was a child too when the crisis started. There is a probability, but is not zero," you said, recalling his words.

You saw his face changed. He was exhasperated already, but rage appeared in his eyes in a very visible way; a rage that you had yet to see from Empire. Fear took over you, afraid of what would happen next. Should you keep talking? Should you continue crying? Scream for nobody to come around for your sake? As you questioned yourself, he lowered himself to be at your level on the ground. Brother Day never sat down, but he was making sure to get under your skin. His powerful gaze had a quick effect to do that.

"Go on."

Too scared to speak, you opened your lips but no sound came out. Empire waited your words for a moment, scrutinizing your face. And still, nothing came. He grabbed your arm with a rough grip, forcing you to stand up, colliding with his body until your back hit the empty part of the table he had been eating in.

"You have ten seconds to continue or I will force everything that is in your head out of you, maid," Cleon threatened. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three-"

"I said it was probability," you shuddered. "Life is a probability by all means and Seldon knows that," you breathed, aware that Brother Day was feeling your shaking body under his piercing eyes. "I studied Doctor Seldon's psychohistory and theory for the last four years, learning math and other sciences on my free time on the library. So even if I don't posses a title, I know his hypothesis was only that at the time; a hypothesis can be null, but also be provable, and thus now is not untrue."

He slowly leaned away.

"So you say there is no error on Seldon's ecuation," he concluded, jaw clenching.

"None that I could find."

Brother Day paced in front of you, back and forth, hrad processing what he just heard. You could tell he was getting what he wanted, but nothing was what he really longed for. And what you found was nothing but the truth. Maths don't miss, it was useless to lie.

"How do you simply fall into a conclusion like that? Prophecies of the Empire declining into a dark age after centuries of rising. Of our legacy!" he stopped again and went back to your figure, trapping your body between himself and the dining table. You felt his breath when he leaned close, the smell of wine and fruits mixing with his cologne was intoxicating your nostrils as the last tears flowed down your cheeks. Sooner or later, you thought he was going to end up with your life. You had nothing left to lose by now.

"It's simple history and logic. Everything that goes up has to go down, even empires."

All you felt was his big palm slapping your face, your back hitting the edge of the table. A hurted moan filled the room, and he forced you to look at him grabbing your chin with the same strenght he had used on you all this time, like you were nothing more than a doll to play with as he pleased.

"In other circumstances, I would find you amusing," he breathed gainst your lips. The touch of his thumb on your cheek, wiping away your last tears, contrasted the roughness of his words, his body between your legs and his weight pressing you to lie down on the surface.

"Psychohistory words, not mine," you whispered, your hands running to wrap around his wrist, but his aura repelled instantly your touch. It was useless to keep trying. So here you were, ready for Brother Day to end with your life in just the blink of an eye. "Maybe Brother Dusk made a mistake," you continued, giving up on leaving the room alive. "Make Hari Seldon stay instead..."

Brother Day pressed further against you, almost crushing you with his significant huge frame.

"Such a talented brain and mouth, why don't I put you to good use? I think I deserve it."

He forcefuly turned you around until you were bending over the table, a loud gasp falling from your mouth. One of his hands making its way between your legs caused your thighs to press together, trying to stop him, but it was impossible, so you had nothing to do but beg.

"Please, Empire," you felt like crying again at his touch, his fingers cupping your clothed pussy in a slow motion. "Stop, please-"

"Shut up, whore," he grunted, rubbing his crotch against your ass and slammed your face with his free hand so you had your cheek lying against the cold surface. "I had enough from you."

Heartbeat rising, you tried with no results to escape from his body cage. The sway of your hips caused Empire to grow eager. His slender fingers pushed your panties aside, coating them with your own wetness, and that was certainly something you did not expect to be down there. He hummed in response, rubbing your folds, and you exhaled once he entered one finger.

Your body responded to his ministrations, his growing erection pressing against the curve of your ass while he played with your cunt as he wanted, easing a second digit inside your walls. Probably you should just give in by now as you felt your muscles tighten, already reaching your high. Almost. The first moan of pleassure escaped your throat and you regreted the answer of lust coming from your body the following instant, your palms holding yourself on the table.

His long digits fucked you faster and your legs trembled, his thumb played with your clit so deliciously you thought you were passing out soon. He leaned down until you could feel his breath on your neck.

"Fucking take it," he groaned, feeling your warm walls pulsing around his fingers.

Almost not having control over your body, your legs further opened, like his voice just ordered you to do it.

"Please, please..."

Again, you cried and begged, not sure of the reason. For pleassure, shame, mercy... Anything was possible at that moment as whimpers and moans fell from your mouth.

The sensation grew stronger down your belly, feeling him exploring your insides too deep, touching a place no man nor your fingers reached before. It happened repeatedly, it felt so sweet and sinful. Like something you never knew but you were sure would leave you aching for more. His fingers making you so drunk and pleading for a release, and the seconds that passed by were endless until you finally blissed out with a loud moan, convulsing by the work of his hand.

Brother Day gave himself a wicked smile, watching you squirm and gasp. Such a strong orgasm he ripped out of you. He pulled his fingers away from your pulsing cunt and admired your wetness coating them before he raised the skirt of your dress and took off your panties until they were hanging between your ankles.

You grimaced at the feel of his big palms rubbing your ass cheeks, parting them to get a view of your throbbing heat, still clenching around nothing. You could listen to him undoing his pants. He hissed, taking his hard lenght to rub the sensitive skin of your ass and his thick tip teased your slit, sliding slowly inside. You gasped at the sudden intrusion as he stopped from filling you up completely, feeling your tight cunt embracing him.

"Empire, please not this-"

"This is how I prefer you," Cleon whispered on your neck, you stopped your plea. "Submissive and quiet. You are not so bold now, are you?"

And he slowly entered your pussy further. You whined, nails scratching the fine material of the table. You were so tight and warm. He had to control himself of not pounding into you right away. Being filled up by the Emperor shouldn't arouse your body like this, but your heat welcomed his cock like it was the perfect missing piece of a puzzle.

"Are you a virgin, maid?" he asked, hips giving a couple of shallow, slow thrusts. Your hips moved in sink with his own, your nipples were now hard and erect against the surface, scratching the fabric of your bra and dress, giving up into heavenly bliss. Sweet mewls left your lips as he stretched your cunt. And it was oh, so long since you felt this full.

"No, Empire."

Your response was the green light. He started to rut into you. Rough. Even if your answer was to be different, you knew Empire would not care. He used to get away with what he wanted, and right now he wanted you. His own grunts made eco along with the sound of his skin hitting your ass, your moans escaping without any shame now. The small amount of discomfort he caused was transformed into pleassure and arousal, keeping his hands firmly on your hips.

"Then you can take it, you've done this before," he mocked, increasing his rough pace.

His grip was strong on your sides, you knew his fingers would leave marks on your skin once you finished. But nothing mattered, you decided, the only on your mind was reaching sweet climax and release. You could not escape from him, not ever. So your body and mind could go through it.

Cleon's eyes found the perfect spot of view to see his cock entering and sliding out your perfect pussy, his shaft glistening with your wetness and his own precum. He stopped and pulled out for a moment, teasing with entering and pulling out, watching himself sliding inside your body.

"Oh gods," he listened to your broken moan, breath hitching.

He again cupped your neck with his palm, fingers roaming around your throat, forcing your back to meet his chest. Your moans were cut by his firm hand, air being a privilige as seconds passed by. He sucked and bit the skin of your neck, burying his cock until his balls met your ass repeteadly, finding that sweet spot of yours.

"Cum," he ordered. "Cum or you will not breath again."

You knew you were close, but you needed it faster. You needed to breath, as good as his cock felt, fucking you and splitting you open, you still needed to make it until the end. Your fingers found your clit and played with your bud as Empire bucked his hips fast and rough. Finally, your muscles tensed and forced a hard orgasm out of you, walls pulsing around his dick. He grunted, not slowing his thrusts, softening the hand around your neck allowing you oxygen again.

"Merciful am I?" he groaned and you felt his seed painting your insides, cock throbing as he also came from his high.

"You are, Empire," you breathed out.

Your back arched and you held yourself on his hands and chest. You heard the sound of one of the chairs being taken out, being dragged by him until you felt he sat down, you on his lap with his cock still burried deep inside you. His slick cum ran down your inner thighs as he parted your legs, touching your abused cunt and clit, feeling how you were still connected. He rubbed your pussy in slow, gentle moves, collecting his cum mixed with your juices. He offered his fingers to your lips, so you licked them as he wished, sucking them clean. Your walls pulsed again.

"So obedient now," Cleon purred.

His hands undid your dress to free your chest, groping your tits as he pleased. He played with your nipples, just like he had played with all of you in a few minutes.

"What will happen to me?" you asked in a murmur.

"Such a pretty cunt you are," Brother Day began, tracing kisses on your shoulder. His voice made you shiver. "You would please me a lot as a cuncubine of the Gossamer Court."

You swallowed hard, not capable of speaking or fighting back. He felt your body tensing so he continued his speech in your ear. "No worries, I can play with you some more before it happens. And you will tell me everything you know about Seldon."

#cleon xiii x reader #cleon xiii x female reader #brother day x reader #brother day x female reader #foundation apple tv #cleon xiii smut #brother day smut #foundation fanfiction #brother day #cleon xiii #foundation season 1 #lee pace #lee pace fanfiction #cleon 13th #foundation imagines #lee pace x reader #idkkkk just leaving this here #I HAD TO DO IT OKAY?#foundation 2021

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multifandom-world8 · 1 month

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IMAGINE-

Being thranduil’s date to the annual ball at Mirkwood.

(Ps- it’s Lee pace’s birthday!! So this post is honor of that ❤️)

#thranduil imagine #thranduil x reader #thranduil #thranduil x you #thranduil x y/n #the hobbit imagine #lee pace x reader #lee pace

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madwomansapologist · 10 months

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Autumn Thunderstorm | Chapter 2 - A call to motion

Navigation | Series Masterlist | AO3

second chapter synopsis: Curious about last night's events, Thranduil dedicates his dawn to understanding who exactly you are. Accumulating questions and very few answers, you allow yourself to remember the past. Aerin, uncertain of your future, tries to make sure that you won’t be around to attract more attention to yourself. She should’ve known better than that. [4K]

warnings: female!reader. lotr kinda of violence. pre-Smaug. warg. blood. trauma (subtle). fear of being lonely.

glossary: Lossëistar: Ice Mage┆Vendë: Maiden┆Tîrwen: Honest maiden┆Thalieth: Heroine┆Maenwë: Clever girl┆Alassëa rá; Alassë’ arin; Alassë’ aurë: Good morning

The frigid shore was not so different from the frozen river. More grainy, dirtier, but as static under your feets as the ice. Or maybe the earth was warm. Maybe the earth was gentle and caring. Maybe it was as it always was, and you were the one whose now frost. Maybe it finally happened: your lack of control, your lack of knowledge, turned your boon into a curse.

But the mist surrounding the valley made your fear fade away.

As you walked into the shore, gravel crunching your feets, the freedom of being in the midst of danger without any fear was nothing compared to the cold. Looking down, you noticed that your numb feet were white. Your blood was not circulating.

And only when tremors overtook your winning smile the Elvenking managed to find the voice lost inside his throat. And his voice, tumultuous by a cacophonous mind, gave in to a king's first nature: a command. “Prepare a hot bath. Forthwith.” Thranduil’s words were not directed at anyone, but his steward hurried to the inn.

Thranduil took a step forward your shuddering shape, but no further. Because, when his foot touched the icy ground, the voices on his mind came to a consensus. Now he understands. What attracts Gandalf’s attention. What was so special that made him keep coming back to that exquisite inn.

Thranduil understands. And now, with that knowledge, Thranduil chose to get closer to you. “Vendë”, Thranduil spoke softly. “You did not need to act. The river would not affect us. Why did you put yourself in danger?”

Still reeling from adrenaline, for a moment you forgot that the man in front of you was a king. He was just a man, a kind one, asking a question. “Because I would’ve felt bad if I did not.”

For the second time in minutes, you left the Elvenking speechless. Analyzing your eyes, searching for some hidden lie, he didn’t even notice the silence. All he did was to let the truth sink in.

But you noticed it, and it reminded you of who Thranduil was. Did you say something you should not? The village is made up of elves, Aerin and her son are half elves, you know how to act around them. So the silence must be caused by a royalty norm. You should have called him king, shouldn’t you? Or maybe he was waiting for a formality that you did not know should be performed.

Staring into his ocean blue eyes, you bowed. It was a stiff move, your muscles throbbed, but it was the best you could do. The only thing you know about acting around kings is to obey and be polite. The Elvenking isn’t ordering anything, so your mistake must be about the second option.

Blankets were thrown over your shoulders. Aerin rubbed the blankets against your body, helping to ward off the cold. “You are wetting the king’s feet. Say you are sorry.”

“I’m sorry”, you obeyed her without thinking twice. She may not be the kindest person in the world, but she’s good. And takes care of you. So when Aerin says you should be sorry, you believe her. You didn’t even look down to see if she was right.

Before Thranduil could say anything, Aerin guided you into the inn. “Poor thing. Let’s make sure you do not get a cold.”

Gildor approached. “I bet your grace didn’t imagine that your night would end that way.”

“No.” Thranduil was not sure about what surprised him more. Your bravery, or the reason behind it. “I did not”, he whispered to himself.

You felt Aerin’s hands trembling as she helped you into the tub. The water was so hot, smoky, exactly what you needed. You thought it was her nerves. Plunged into boiling water, you forgot about everything that wasn’t warmth and twin suns and the color yellow and fire.

Aerin let you finish your bath with some privacy after you promised her to not sleep on the tub. She walked into her room and took a sip of red wine, and after a minute of silence Aerin guided her guests to their chambers. Then Aerin woke you up, complaining that you could have drowned on the tub, and helped you stumble your way to your bed.

Even alone, with everyone else sleeping, she didn’t stop shaking.

Because she had only one task. Gandalf made sure she would understand it. Aerin had only one thing to do: make sure you would stay with her, in the village, away from problems. But she saw how the Elvenking looked at you. He looked at you like someone that had innumerable questions. And a king’s question always gets its answer.

Aerin had only one task to fulfill, and now she has a problem.

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Shattering glass woke him up. Thranduil rose, and even in the dark of the room it did not take him more than a second to find his sword. Illuminated by moonlight, he stepped out his chamber and followed the treacherous sound.

But all he found was you, on your knees, picking up broken glass in a messy kitchen. Overturned pans, open jars, a mixture of spices in the air. A supper was served earlier, but you looked like you wanted to have one just for yourself. You must be starving.

“Did I wake you up?” You murmured, tiredness almost palpable on your voice. But that wasn’t the only thing he could sense. Thranduil heard your hesitation. Your fear. “It was an accident.”

Thranduil laid his sword on the table, the ghost of a smile appearing on his face. He knelt in front of you, picking up the shards of glass from what was once a cup. He could feel the warmth of your breath. “Have you heard many stories about Woodland’s elves, vendë?”

“I had, your grace.” Vendë. That made you feel warm inside. Most people call you Lossëistar. You don’t think someone ever called you maiden before.

Thranduil knows the reason for your hesitation. He had a long time to build a reputation. “And what did you hear?”

Your smile faded. “That most of you descend from ancient tribes that never went to Faerie in the West. That your magic is strong. That your folk are more dangerous between the elves. And less wiser.”

“Do I look more dangerous and less wiser?” Thranduil asked, his husky voice sending shivers down your spine.

You felt tempted to agree. Thranduil probably is dangerous, but not in a way you should be worried about. You shook your head with a genuine smile. “I can’t even remember the last time someone called me by my name.”

That made Thranduil bite his tongue. Distrust is his second nature, but something tells him you're not a bad person. People could have been nicer to you. “Then stop apologizing. You did nothing wrong tonight.”

You rose, and thanked him because you didn’t know what else to do. Without paying attention to what you were doing, you took the shards from his hand and left them in a box with some garbage.

Thranduil circled the table, the candles enlightening his golden hair. That’s something so alluring about elves' hair. They simply drew attention. Thranduil's hair seems to be so soft. You forced yourself to look away.

And that was your chance to shut up and not embarrass yourself in front of a king. But you didn’t. “Is it true that your kind live inside the threes?”

Thranduil slows down his pace. “It is.”

“So you can decrease in stature?”

Thranduil guffaw. You must be entirely wrong to get that reaction from a king. “Our trees are bigger than you think.”

“It must be a large forest.”

You sat back in front of your improvised supper and went back to eating. Until you dropped your cup, you’ve been eating for almost half an hour. You offered him food, Thranduil just shook his head and sat in front of you.

“How can I explain this to you?” He held his sword. Thranduil slid his fingers along the hem, looking for a way to make you see the correct image. “It’s like a bird house. But instead of birds, it is filled with elves. And instead of lean wood, it’s ancestral trees bigger than villages. And instead of a simple construction, it’s a king's palace.”

You swallowed the food. ”Termite is a problem? Or is the wood magic?”

“Three minutes of conversation and you were more creative than half my generals”, Thranduil wasn’t complaining. Not about you, at least. “It can be impolite, it probably is, but how many stomachs do you have?”

“It is, but I don’t care.” Your honesty attacked again. “When I do big things I can get exhausted. And hungry. So hungry.”

“Do you tend to do big things, vendë?” Thranduil looked out the window, seeing the huge frozen wave. To call it a big thing... kind of a euphemism. “It did not look like it was your first time.”

“That dam is a current problem.” You ate more before continuing. “I normally only do big things. It is easier.” Thranduil’s curious gaze made you talk more. “I know it seems stupid, but it is true. I couldn’t freeze a cup of water even if my life depended on it.”

Thranduil was intrigued. How can someone that does things like that face hardship on such an easier task? “Gandalf did not mentor you?”

“No, he’s just my friend. Wait. Do you know him?” You smiled, thinking about the old man. A yawn escaped your mouth. “He was there this morning.”

Thranduil arched his eyebrows. At the meeting, Gandalf said he had traveled far and wide. Why did he lie? Why would he need to lie about something like that? What piece of knowledge is missing to form the right outlook?

Thranduil wished he had a closer relationship with the inconvenient pilgrim. Perhaps he would understand the reason for such a small lie. But maybe you are the answer he desires. Maybe it’s you that can make him understand why the man respected throughout the continent decided to be unfaithful. “You work for lady Aerin?”

“I take care of the horses.” You pointed in the direction of the stable. Your eyes shone. “I also help lady Aerin with her garden, but because I’m the reason for them to crush her flowers. When I arrived earlier, my heart almost stopped because of an elk on the stable. But he was so nice. Big and scary, but he let me pet him and even stole an apple from my basket.”

“So my elk is a burglar.” Thranduil smirked.

“No… I didn’t mean it that way.” It hurt when you swallowed the food. “He was there and I just…”

When you let another yawn escape, Thranduil noticed how he lost track of time. It’s too late. So late it’s almost too soon. It's just… it’s been long since someone talked to him about things that didn��t really matter. Conversations beyond council meetings about the possibility that the Enemy is still alive, assemblies about his army organization, political discussions that led to nowhere. Something beyond flatterers and cowards without motive. A real conversation.

It’s been long since Thranduil laughed without fear of appearing disrespectful. Or tried to find a dumb but functional comparison instead of powerful yet useless phrases to describe his kingdom. Or discovered that apparently people think that Woodland's elves can decrease in stature to live inside trees. Just a real conversation.

“It is late.” Thranduil said, but only within a moment he stood up. “Enjoy the rest of your night, tîrwen.”

“Same to you, your grace.” You watched the Elvenking disappearing in the hall. “Tîrwen”, you let the word run over your tongue. “I don’t know this one.”

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By the beginning of the morning, Aerin made her way to the kitchen. Such was Aerin's astonishment when she saw that not only was her pantry attacked, but that the person responsible for such a horrendous crime was sleeping on the table.

Part of your face was dipped in what looked like a mixture between oatmeal, cherry pie and roast pork. Her disgust at your choices was greater than her anger at seeing the mess.

“You behave like a child. A toddler, even!” She pushed you toward your bedroom trying to sound angry. Your hair smelled of cherry, your mouth stank of pork, and what smeared your face was oatmeal. Aerin was laughing more than anything.

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“Orange leaf, anise and lemongrass," you murmured to yourself while feathering the straw basket with an old cloth. "That 's it?"

Aerin handed you a pot of honey and a jar of strawberries. "Milk. And sage." She folded a cloth and covered the basket. "Don't forget to eat. I don’t want you passing out."

"Sage?" You arch your eyebrows. "At this time of the year?"

"I need it for a recipe", lied Aerin. "If you can ‘t find it in the village, you shall gather their buds in the meadow. Remember where sage sprouts?”

You sighed. After sleeping for most of the day (and eating for most of the dawn), you weren’t so excited about going all the way down to the village. You could feel a migraine forming right behind your eyes. And considering that summer has already begun to say goodbye, the chances that you will have to enter the meadow are great.

“I do.” You opened the inn’s front door. A cold breeze shivered your cheeks. “Anything else?”

Aerin felt guilty for making you walk so much, but it was for a good cause. The longer you were away, lesser were the chances you would draw even more attention to yourself. And entering the meadow won’t hurt you. It will tire you out, but won’t hurt you. “Good riddance”, she said.

Due to the repairs to the dam, all horses were being used. How amazing for you. Walking down the valley, on the long path towards the village, you passed through many wagons carrying wood and workers. Many elves thanked you, with words or kind gazes, but you didn’t see the need for it.

To stop the water exhausted you, but it didn’t maim you. You’re fine, just a bit tired. It would be weird if you haven’t done something. To let tons of water fall right into the village, aiming and drowning hundreds of people, just because you didn’t want to feel exhausted? That would be perverse.

The quick conversation you had last night with the Elvenking came back to haunt you. “Because I would’ve felt bad if I did not.” As simple as that. You didn’t even thought twice before doing something. You just did.

And even if it could have harmed you in any considerable way, you would still have done it. After all, you owe this to them. No one here had any obligation to have helped you, and yet they did. Aerin did. You owe it to her. You owe her so much.

Walking alone, trapped with your own mind, things that you wish to forget come back to you like hauntings. Every elve that thanked you, that smiled towards you, that said you were a thalieth: they only remind you about what you owe to them. It all just reminds you of how you got there.

Rain dripping on your face, land penetrating your nails, owls chanting. Wind roaring, trees shuddering: it was like being caged inside a monster beating hurt. So wet, and dark, and frightening. And so fucking loud.

That’s how you first woke up, alone in a dark forest, during a thunderstorm. The only thing you could see was a distant light, and you wandered towards it because what else could you have done? When you finally made it out of the woods, following that yellow glam like it would protect you from all your fears, you collapsed on Aerin’s doorstep.

What a first memory to have.

It’s been a long time since you thought about that. About what happened fourteen months ago. You don’t like to do it. It’s painful. It makes you feel so lonely. But you were alone now, walking down the dirt path, and that memory kept you company.

After the mental scourge, you made it to the village’s core. You roamed the fair, way more tumultuous than usual, seeking Aerin’s orders. You heard whispers about the Elvenking’s frightening presence. About how his army could burn cities to the ground with just a single command.

That made you chuckle. You heard stories about Mirkwood, but now they don’t seem so legit. You don’t think a cruel lord would compare his palace to a birdhouse.

You chatted with the elves, tried a better price for the things you wanted, discovered that no one had sage anymore. And little by little that gray cloud that stalked you disappeared.

Gradually, leaving you with a bitter taste in your mouth, it faded.

“Are you sure you don’t have sage? Or anything that looks like it?” You begged the tradeswoman at the last stall. “Honestly I can work with anything green…ish.”

She laughed telling you to just go into the meadow, you sighed and waved. At the village’s entrance, when there weren't a lot of people around, you started running. If you get to the sage’s buds soon, maybe you can take a nap.

You crossed the path and went down an embankment, dirt soiling your dress. It was already old and rusty, a little bit of mud wasn’t a big deal anymore. As you advanced, the weight of your body on the angled ground turned your steps into slips. You almost fell, but you made it to the lowland.

Laughing to yourself, you dropped your basket on a fallen log and searched it for your crimson ribbon. It was so silly, you could have fallen and gotten really hurted, but it was fun.

“As a foreigner I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure that’s not a path for a lady.”

You let the ribbon fall into the mud and a scream escapes your throat. You turned around, a hand up on your chest, and saw the slim figure leaning on a tree. “Does your grace want to kill me?”

Thranduil moved towards you, slowly decreasing the distance between you both. “I saw you running, vendë.” There was something that resembled a smile on his face. ”Thought you were a damsel in distress.”

“Damsel in distress?” You rolled your eyes. “Nah, I don’t think so.”

Something burned inside Thranduil’s chest. “Not in need of help?” He did his best to ignore that fire.

“Lady Aerin demands sage.” You tucked your hair behind your ears. Your ribbon was floating in a mud puddle. “I don’t think that task requires a king’s escort.”

Thranduil stood in front of you. You had to lift your face to look him in the eye. They were so enveloping. Like a river current that hides treasures while fending any intruders. “...could leave a damsel alone in such an environment?”

Ashamed that you didn’t listen to most of what he said, you nodded and guided Thranduil into the field. Following footprints that showed a familiar path, you made your way through natural plantations. Sunlight began to irritate your eyes.

“Managed to rest, vendë?”

“I took a nap.” You tried your best to sound energetic. “It was a really good nap.”

“You should be resting.”

“But Lady Aerin…”

“Lady Aerin should have sent her son to the village.”

“I appreciate it, your grace, but there's no need to defend me from her.” You rubbed your hands against the basket. One should not disagree with a king, but you tend to speak before you think. “Lady Aerin has done more for me than anyone ever did, and for that I’ll always be grateful. I have a debt with her, one that nothing will ever pay. She may not be the kindest, but she's not wicked.”

Thranduil said nothing else.

For a long minute, you guided him into a wheat field. Leaves tickled your arms, you ran your hands through the wheat as you walked. Tickling. And warm. The breeze played with the sprouts, and you like to imagine that the field was breathing in and out.

“You are more tender than me.”

You turned your head to look at him, hands still playing with leaves. “Do you consider yourself resentful?” You covered your eyes, protecting yourself from the sunlight so you could see him. All you could see was a dark shape.

“I do”, Thranduil whispered. It wasn’t just a confirmation. It felt like sharing a secret. “My anger can be inconsolable.”

“You were injured, weren’t you?” You decided to get closer to him. A shadow, almost like sent from above just for you, made you able to see his eyes. Now you see. Not rivers. They had storms caged inside it. You felt the urge to take his face into your hands, but you kept that desire to yourself. “And no one noticed.”

His calloused hand reached up to caress his face, but Thranduil stopped the involuntary instinct. It wasn’t a question. No one noticed. You didn’t ask, you just knew. Thranduil never felt so seen. “I envy those who grew kind.”

“It’s so easy to grow kind”, you gave him your brightest smile. “But to turn kind? Oh, this is noble.”

All the Elvenking could hear was his heartbeat. There was a sparkle in your eyes. A certain sort of calculated innocence that only a person who suffered can manifest. It was like you had lived an infinite lives before. “You are… sharp.”

“I’m not”, your bright smile turned into a giggle. You took a step back, suddenly aware of how close you both were. “I don’t think so.”

“I do.” Thranduil’s solemn expression got softer. “I do, maenwë.”

“What does that mean?”

“You don’t know elvish?”

“I know a few expressions.” You went back to walk through the field. Thranduil followed you. “Alassëa rá. Alassë’ arin. Alassë’ aurë.”

“Three different ways to say good morning.” Thranduil chortle. “Practically fluent.”

“Ouch!” You put your hand on your chest, pretending to be offended. “I thought kings were supposed to be polite and pleasant. I guess it’s not a rule.”

Within a couple of minutes you found the place where sage grows. Analysing every branch, you tried to distinguish all plants growing there. When you found the frosted pointy leaves, you started breaking a few branches. Your basket was already filled with jars and paper bags, but you found a way to make it fit.

“Done.” You covered everything with a thick cloth and rose from the ground. “Lady Aerin sorted strawbe…”

A howl shut you up.

Thranduil held his sword, not drawing it from its scabbard yet. It was a total change. The relaxed countenance, just waiting for you to pick the branches you needed, became as hard as stone. His long body became more aware of space, you noticed that he straightened up. His eyes scanned the meadow, and you knew what he was looking for.

“There are no wolves in Rivendell”, your voice was nothing more than a whisper.

You were right. There were no wolves in Rivendell. It has never been a problem before for your village or any other under Elrond’s protection. But as another howl crossed the sky, you understood that times have changed. And it didn’t change for the better.

“You will stand behind me. Will step where I do and nowhere else. You will not talk, will not scream, will not whisper.” That wasn’t Thranduil’s voice. Not the one you know. It was husky, concentrated, immediate. Each order evokes a clear meaning: the best you can do is obey. Whoever spoke to you wasn’t Thranduil anymore. It was a king.

“Do as I say.” The Elvenking reached out to you. “Trust me, vendë.”

Your response was as clear as his orders: you held his hand.

Thranduil walked fast, analyzing the ground before stepping on it, holding your hand tightly so that nothing could separate you from him. He didn’t make a noise. You followed him as best you could, the basket weighing on your left arm, and your legs not always able to reach the same spots he did. But you never complained, or asked him to slow his pace, because the howls didn’t stop. They just got louder.

You don’t know how he learned the way back so fast, but within minutes you could see the smoke coming from a village’s house. And maybe that made you let your guard down. Because you only saw it when it was right in front of you.

It was twice your height. The claws could cut through wood without difficulty. Its fangs were bigger than your hands. You read books about it, but no draft could ever translate the fear they emanated. A giant wolf. As smart as human, and as malevolent as the most corrupt man. It was a warg.

Thranduil pulled you behind him, you can remember the gleam of the longsword and the weight of his hand on your belly. A black shadow filled your vision. It all happened so fast. A howl, an illusion of movement, and a blur dominating your eyes. Everything happened so fast.

It wasn’t until you felt the golden hair falling on your face that you understood: it wasn’t a blur, it was an attack. And you were now lying on the floor, sun burning your eyes, with a deep pressure on your shoulder.

Your head fell to the side. Moist grass and a mess that once was a filled basket came into focus. Your eyelids closed, a voice you never heard before told you that darkness had taken you before, and then something shook your body.

You were awake again, and your eyes saw beyond the mess in front of your face. You saw the warg giant body. And you saw his decapitated head.

“There are no wolves in Rivendell”, you coughed.

The ground has moved away from you. You were flying. But you shouldn't be. You’ll end up flying and flying and flying without knowing how to get back to the ground.

“Maenwë”, you recognized Thranduil’s voice, and within time you saw his face. He was holding you in his arms. There was blood on his cheek. And when you looked down, you saw blood dripping from your shoulder. “Keep talking.”

The voice spoke to you again, and darkness took over your vision. It was so calm, so warm. You let him envelop you.

“I miss the cold.”

[Third Chapter]

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