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#but right now i am thinking about the orc
uruking · 22 days
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i didn't watch rings of power is it good ?
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ameliathornromance · 2 months
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A part of you was unsure how your Orc Boyfriend would react. As you pruned the bouquet of flowers in your hands, you were starting to regret your idea. It was only a few paces from the camp now, surely you could just turn back around and throw it away, right?
Flowers were something that women received typically. Maybe he would think you were insinuating something about him, or that maybe he was weaker than you thought he was-
“Love! You’re back!”
Too late for take backs now. Hiding the bouquet behind your back, you watched as your Orc Boyfriend dropped a wood chopping axe and rushed over to you. “How was your walk? Did you get what you needed?”
You weren’t sure why you thought you could hide the flowers from him. He was at least two or three feet taller than you.
He peered over your shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “What’re those for? You’ve never brought flowers back before.”
Well, now or never, you thought. Meekly, you pulled them out from behind your back and held them out to him.
Your Orc stared at you for a minute, looking you up and down in confusion. “I… Um…” Where did you even begin with this? You must look insane.
Sighing, you lowered the bouquet and looked down at the different blooms. “When humans really like each other, sometimes they give flowers. So, I picked some flowers for you.”
There was silence for a moment and you felt your face burning. You knew it, this was a stupid idea.
“You picked these… for me?” His green hand came into view, wrapping around your interlocked fingers.
You nodded, still not looking at him.
Before you could stop him, he had snatched up the bouquet and held it high above his head. He bellowed to his others in the camp: “Look here! My lovely lady brought me flowers! What have you suckers got?!”
Orcs from their various work stations looked up, growled, snarled and swatted their hands at your Orc, “get stuffed you lug!”
Your jaw hung open at your Orc's audacity, before he looked back down at you and gave you the widest grin. “I didn’t know humans did such a thing,” he admired the flowers in his hand, seemingly as big as daisies in his huge hand. “You picked these yourself?”
“Wait, you like them?”
“Why wouldn’t I like them love?” Your Orc kissed you on the forehead. “You went out of your way to get them for me.”
“It’s just… I thought… Human men don’t normally get flowers, so I thought that…”
Your Orc let out a bark of laughter, “but I’m not human, am I love?” He pulled you into his arms and squeezed you tightly. His arms were the most reassuring and calming thing at that moment.
Hugging him back, you realised that there had been nothing to be afraid of. How could you have assumed that he would have been insulted by your gift?
“Anything from you is something to be treasured.” He mumbled to you, giving you another kiss on your lips.
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purple-babygirl · 1 month
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in the far corner of the forest IV
Pairing: Orc!Bucky Barnes x human!f!reader
Word Count: 6,540
Summary: For the longest time, the kingdom has used Bucky as their number one fighter, forcing him to win their wars for them. The only thing he asked for in return after he was done was that they give him a wife, and they did. They handed him the orphan he picked on a silver platter; it wasn't like anyone would miss her. It would've been perfect if she actually wanted to be there though.
Warnings: mentions of hand injury, idiots in love, feels, jealousy, racism against orcs, angry behaviour, shouting, fight gets slightly physical, bruised arm, crying, angst (i'm sorry). I think that's all.
A/N: good news result in long chapters. thank you from the bottom of my heart for everyone who has wished me good luck with my interview, you guys are angels. please enjoyxx💜💜
~
“You’re in love.”
“I’m what now!?” Bucky chuckled dismissively as he dropped his axe.
Bucky had spent half a day at home, refraining from going to work because of his hand’s condition, but as much as he loved staying home with her, he knew he wasn’t made to take a break.
So he thought he would visit, talk to Sam for a bit and maybe get some pent up ‘feelings’ out on some tree logs. His metal arm was still working just fine after all.
“I said, you’re in love with your human wife,” Sam repeated, smiling so warmly that Bucky wanted to smack him.
“I got her a few weeks ago.” Bucky shook his head in denial of the mere idea of him falling for anyone, let alone a human.
He did love Sam and Sarah, but that was it. They were the only humans he could tolerate. He hated the rest of them. Hell, he hated the human half of himself.
Bucky was just trying to make life easier for himself, that was all. He has been through enough conflicts and he didn’t need this in his marriage too. He deserved to live a normal life like everybody else.
Yes, he was courting her, and maybe he did constantly crave the feel of her body against his ever since she let him hug her the night of the injury, and he was definitely getting hopeful now that she hadn’t tried to run for a whole half day, but that didn’t mean he was in love! Did it?
“And now you’re in love with her.” Sam smirked, knowing how much it drove Bucky crazy that a female human had him on his knees for her love.
“Quit saying that!” Bucky stood up, ready to walk away from his annoying friend.
“Why does it make you so angry that you’re in lo—”
“Don’t,” Bucky warned him, eyes angry and glaring.
“—ve?”
“I am not in love with her, okay! She’s human! Plus, that girl drives me crazy! Do you know how many times I had to bring her back after she’d tried to run in the first two weeks? Five fucking times! That’s almost once every two days, Sam. And she only had one foot working!” Bucky ranted heatedly, desperate to negate his best friend’s theory.
Was he in love with her? And if Sam could see it, did that mean she could too?
“Well, why do you care to bring her back? Why not just let her run?” Sam shrugged, internally dying for Bucky to acknowledge his feelings.
“She could die out there! Humans are weak.”
“So?” Sam probed, intentionally ignoring Bucky’s remark about humans’ strength.
“So— so I signed all those things when she was offered to me. She can’t— I can’t—”
“You can’t?”
“I can’t let her get hurt,” Bucky admitted lowly, sitting down on a log with a loud sigh.
“Why does that make you so upset?” Sam dug deeper.
“Because I think you’re right. I think I might be in love with her.” Bucky rubbed his eye with his good hand, pushing his hair back angrily.
“And?”
“And she thinks I’m the devil.” Bucky’s face fell to his palms.
“Did she ever say that to you out loud?” Sam asked, touching the end of his sharpened blade.
“She doesn’t need to, Sam. I see it in her eyes every time I find her after she’d tried to run away.” Bucky’s voice was broken like his friend has never heard before.
“I thought you said everything was better after your injury?”
“Yeah, but that’s not gonna last forever.” Bucky gave a sad grin, “she’s soon gonna go back to seeing me the same as before.”
“Well, it’s up to you to change her mind, Buck.” Sam patted his friend’s shoulder, giving a squeeze.
Bucky sighed once more before getting up.
Sam was a human. A very handsome one with much less scars and non-icy skin. He would never understand. It would never work. She hated him.
He could continue trying, but it wouldn’t change anything of the way she felt about him and their marriage. She had told him time and time again how she felt about both.
“Going home already?”
“Yeah, I can’t miss the running away bit. It’s my favourite,” he sighed, Sam's laugh trailing behind him.
“Smile at her for a change.”
“Shut up.” I do smile at her. I only ever smile at her.
“Sarah loved the jam by the way!” Sam yelled.
“I’ll let her know!” Bucky yelled back before exhaling sadly.
Sam would never understand. Her taking pity on him those past couple of hours was nothing more than sympathy and likely even guilt.
Sam would never understand that of all the eyes in the world, it seems like Bucky has managed to fall for the only ones that knew how to hurt him, the eyes that would only look at him as a disgusting, frightening monster.
~
When Bucky got home, everything was creepily in place. His door was closed like he had left it and he actually had to use his key to open it for the first time in a while.
Stepping inside, the warm smell of roast chicken welcomed him back.
The house was warm because all the windows were actually shut, too. It was all so calm and homely; the orc was seriously worried.
And then he heard it: his human wife’s sweet voice, humming the melody of a song unfamiliar to him. It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen.
Bucky carefully shut the door behind him, not wanting her peaceful mood to end so soon as he tried to take lighter steps to where she was.
Much to his dismay though, she needed something from the other side of the kitchen and when she turned around she saw Bucky and gasped, jumping embarrassingly high.
“You scared me!” She whined, holding a hand to her heart.
“Sorry.” Bucky smirked, entertained by how cute she looked when startled.
“Welcome home,” she mumbled with a bit-back grin, holding onto his forearms before getting on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on Bucky’s cheek.
She never told him, but she was unbelievably thankful when he didn’t specify which type of kiss he expected weeks ago, and even more thankful when he didn’t object to her pecking his cheek before burying herself under the covers.
Life with Bucky has gotten undeniably familiar lately and leaving him was all of a sudden an idea that didn’t interest her as much as before.
Everything he was saying and doing has brought her closer to him without her even comprehending it.
As the days passed, she had realized running away was too exhausting, too risky, and for what? It wasn’t like she had a home to run to or a treasure buried somewhere or a lover worth escaping her orc for.
Her orc.
Hers.
A word she never felt the meaning of until the day Bucky made her his wife.
Bucky was the first and only one to present to her a taste of something she has never had: the feeling of exclusively owning things.
The smile that graced her face when she brushed her hair the first time with the brush Bucky got her was new and unprecedented.
Her brush, he called it.
Her shoes. Her chair. Her towel. Her clothes. Her books. Her side of the bed. Her cottage. Her kitchen.
And her husband.
Everything was brand new and completely hers.
Nothing was handed down to her, nothing was used before the minute her fingers had touched it. None of the things Bucky gifted her had previous owners, including him and his heart.
Most importantly, she didn’t have to share any of it with anybody.
“You’re home,” Bucky said, a surprised yet very happy smile lighting up his handsome features.
“I thought the wife was supposed to say that,” she replied playfully, going back to the bubbling pot.
Bucky raised his eyebrows at the good mood she seemed to be in. He was liking this.
He watched her sprinkle some black pepper into the soup as he came behind her.
She could feel the heat of his body surrounding her even when they weren’t touching and it had her heartbeat going crazy.
“Thank you, little human,” Bucky whispered, before he leaned down and pecked her cheek as well, his stubble and blunt tusks tickling her jaw.
She felt her whole body jolt with electricity at the simple graze of his lips and tusks on her skin as she closed her eyes.
Bucky left the kitchen and went to the bathroom but she was still hot as if his warmth never left her.
And when she opened her eyes and absentmindedly reached her fingertips to touch her cheek, she found herself smiling too.
What was happening to her? What was this foreign feeling lifting her off of her feet in the middle of the kitchen?
“Sam’s sister loved your strawberry jam by the way!” Bucky shouted to her from the bathroom, making her jump again before smiling to herself.
He didn’t use Sarah’s name on purpose, not wanting to ruin her happy mood as he had noticed how angry she got every time he would say it.
“I’ll make her more tomorrow!” She replied with a grin, proud of her hand’s work, her jealousy long forgotten after Bucky’s words of the night before.
After all, how could she be jealous when she was the one that Bucky was looking at like that?
~
When she finished setting up the table and Bucky didn’t come out of the bathroom, she got a little worried.
He never took too long during his showers, and now that he only had one arm to use, she thought he would cut his showers even shorter.
What if his wound was bleeding again and he didn’t want to tell her and was trying to fix it by himself inside the bathroom? She knew she should have stopped him from going to the yard!
“Bucky.” She knocked on the door softly, wanting to make sure he was okay.
“Yes, little human?” Bucky instantly opened the door for her.
And he looked like a dream.
Steam has surrounded him inside the bathroom, water drops from his still-wet hair dripping down his muscular, bare chest and for the first time since Bucky has been naked around her, she found herself looking at him. Actually looking.
Bucky’s chest was so broad, beefy and ribbed down to his abdomen. Scars of all sizes and shapes littered the beautiful, icy greyish skin, a reminder of the battles he had fought and all the sacrifices he had made.
Her heart clenched at the sight, a pang of sympathy coursing through her as she could only imagine the pain he must have had to endure.
Still, she found her hands tingling in curiosity, desperate to know what tracing the healed skin would feel like under her fingertips.
Bucky was a sight for sore eyes, a sight that both captivated and unnerved her, stirring a flurry of unfamiliar emotions in her chest that she struggled to contain.
She averted her gaze, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over her at the unexpected intimacy of the moment.
“Are—” she chocked, her voice barely above a whisper as she coughed it out, “are you okay? You took a while.”
“Yeah, I’m just having a hard time drying up my hair with one arm,” Bucky reassured her, chuckling lightly at his dilemma as he let the towel around his neck drop.
He was completely oblivious to the way he just made her face burn up as her thoughts spiraled out of control.
“Come.” She took Bucky’s hand in hers, careful not to squeeze his palm, and led him outside to their bed.
It took Bucky a second to move his feet, but when he did, he felt like he was being carried on top of a cloud.
She felt herself drawn to him in a way she couldn’t quite explain, her heart pounding with a mixture of nervousness, curiosity and… desire. A new sensation was tingling all over her body, specifically in places she didn’t need to be tingling right now.
Positioning herself between his parted legs, she reached to take the towel from around Bucky’s neck.
His eyes watched her, surprise flickering in them as he realized what she was going to do, unable to believe what was happening.
Sensing her nervousness, Bucky offered her a reassuring, grateful smile, silently encouraging her to continue.
And as she began to carefully pat his damp hair dry, her touch tentative and her eyes focused, he felt warmth welling up inside him.
She couldn’t help but steal glances at his bare shoulder and chest, her cheeks burning with embarrassment at the engrossing sight. It was a feeling unlike anything she has ever experienced before, her heart racing with unparalleled excitement.
The awkwardness of the situation began to fade bit by bit as she focused more on the task at hand, in its place growing an overwhelming sense of closeness and familiarity.
Bucky’s hair was so soft under her fingertips as she took the towel up and down the brown locks. She wished she had given herself a chance to touch it more before.
As she finished drying her orc’s hair, she met his gaze with a shy bite of her lip, her eyes sparkling with newfound confidence.
Bucky reached out to take her hands, his smile appreciative as his lips pressed a deep kiss on each palm, silently thanking her for her kindness and care.
~
“I didn’t know your cooking was so good. You surprise me every day,” Bucky praised, as she filled his mouth with more lentil soup, trying not to think of his conversation with Sam or the way his body was still on fire from the mere act of her drying his hair for him.
He couldn’t even believe she was feeding him after seeing him struggle to keep the food on his spoon using his left hand.
“All the girls at the orphanage know how to cook. They teach us all sorts of things and make us to be good housewives,” she replied, suddenly nostalgic of her days at the orphanage, curious to know how, where and when Bucky got the chance to see her back then.
Bucky didn’t say anything, busying his mouth with chewing some bread as his smile shrank.
She didn’t look happy. Why did she stay then? Was she planning on running away at night that day? Maybe she put something in the food?
“I’m glad you like your dinner though,” she said, breaking the thick silence with a soft smile as she fed the orc a piece of chicken.
“Why didn’t you try to leave today?” Bucky couldn’t hold back.
She was taken aback by his question. She thought he wanted her here.
Was he finally done? Did he want her out? Was he not going to look for her this time? Has Bucky given up on her? Was he going to leave her be had she gotten out today?
Most importantly, she didn’t know how to answer because it seemed like she was done running away from her new life with him, and she didn’t know if she could admit that.
“I– did you want me to?” She asked, her voice strained as she tried to hold in the tears.
“No! No, of course not!” He assured her quickly.
“Then?” She chewed on her lip.
“I don’t want you to stop running if it makes you feel alive,” Bucky told her, his blue eyes gushing with love he didn’t intend to show, “I’m willing to go to the ends of the earth to find you.”
“What?” She wasn’t expecting this at all, all the tingles she had hardly managed to shake off after drying Bucky’s wet hair coming back to attack her.
How were these words coming out of an orc! And why did they make her heart stutter in its beats?
“I love your fiery spirit and I’m afraid I’m killing it by keeping you here against your wishes. I never want to be the one to snuff your fire out.” Bucky admitted, eyes sincere as he watched her.
She just stared at him for a moment, stunned as her heart skipped yet another beat.
If he only knew that he was the one who had managed to bring this fiery personality to life.
Bucky respected her silence and went back to enjoying his dinner, not wanting to push her for a reply. She could take her time.
She kept staring at him in confusion for another minute before taking her almost untouched plate and getting up.
She almost ran to the kitchen with her hand on her heart.
What was going on with her? Her heart wasn’t seriously beating this loud for the orc. Could it be?
He sounded so selfless and spoke so gently like he has never before and she was overwhelmed.
His words were doing things to her that she has never felt before. What was wrong with her?
She knew she had caught herself staring at him without a shirt just minutes ago, maybe admiring his eyelashes as he slept in some early mornings, but she rendered it curiosity and nothing more.
She shook her head, her thoughts startling to her as she emptied her plate in the garbage and started washing it vigorously.
Bucky no longer had an appetite, sighing at her reaction.
He told himself he could understand, but it was still hurtful the way she jumped out of her chair.
He left his plate on the table, not wanting to invade her privacy by going to the kitchen before leaving the cottage altogether.
He probably shouldn’t have said anything.
~
She revisited the subject the same afternoon though, not wanting there to be any misunderstandings between her and Bucky. Not any longer.
“I don’t wanna leave anymore,” she admitted timidly, making Bucky’s smile betray him and his usual frowning.
“But I don’t like being locked away in here all day either,” she said carefully, scared to upset him.
“Where do you wanna go? The forest is dangerous, little human.” Bucky was back to frowning at the thought of anything bad happening to her again.
It was torture for him when her foot was still healing and he was the most relieved when it finally did. He couldn’t just let her roam around when she didn’t know the area.
“Take me out when you come back from work maybe? Or even on your day off,” she suggested, desperate to see the world.
“And go where?”
“Anywhere. We can walk around the woods before it gets dark, you could show me your shop, I could meet Sam? Or we could even go to the market!” She suggested eagerly.
She has been locked up for so long and she didn’t want to continue her life like this.
Bucky actually thought about it and he didn’t hate the idea. Taking her out with him would ensure her safety. He would be by her side and he would protect her. He also liked the thought of taking her out and properly courting her even if she didn’t know that that was what he was doing.
He said he didn’t want to kill her spirit by keeping her in here and she gave him the solution.
“Okay.” Bucky nodded at her with a smile.
“Okay?” She exclaimed happily, not believing Bucky would actually take her out to see around.
“Okay.” He nodded again reassuringly, her happiness making him laugh.
“Well, don’t you have tomorrow off?” She asked suggestively, gesturing to his hand.
Bucky laughed, nodding, “put your shoes on.”
“Thank you, Bucky.” She involuntarily gave his healing hand a squeeze, kissing his cheek before running to get her shoes.
Bucky swallowed hard, hoping he would be able to hold himself together and not completely melt under her sweet company.
“You’ve got to promise me though,” he said.
She looked at him questioningly as she slipped one foot into a shoe.
“No running away, little human.”
“No running away. Promise.” She promised, shaking her head with a shy smile.
Bucky smiled big, taking her smaller hand in his as she grabbed her basket in the other, ready to browse the market with her husband.
Her husband. That was starting to sound unquestionably comforting.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
“What?” She tilted her head with a grin.
“You owe me a kiss,” Bucky said, his tone serious.
“No, I don’t! If anything, I just gave you an extra kiss!”
“Yes, you do. From that morning. You’re still one kiss behind!”
“I just made up for it!”
“Doesn’t count. That one covers the night before.” Bucky shrugged, a smile etched on his lips.
“Okay, fine.” She kissed Bucky’s cheek, “stop going around saying other girls’ names though.”
Bucky laughed, “I only know one!”
“Still too many,” she whispered under her breath, but Bucky heard it, smiling from ear to ear as he took his hand in hers, taking the right path out of the woods. ~ It was a beautiful afternoon, full of warm sunshine and fruitful deals. She has got some pretty good stuff for really good prices.
She couldn’t believe Bucky actually gave her pocket money.
He didn’t want her to have to ask him for money every time something caught her eye. He wanted her independent, fulfilled and brave as she bought herself whatever her heart desired.
Her heart was so full and her smile was inerasable.
Bucky didn’t let go of her hand all day and she actually liked it so much that she never complained. The feel of his calloused skin against her soft palm wasn’t like anything she has felt before.
She didn’t want to let go of his hand even while looking at the different stands and booths at the market.
But she eventually liked the flower stand too much and told Bucky she would take a look at them while he continued buying them the fruits he was picking.
“Good afteroon,” a smooth voice interrupted her admiration of the potted plants before her, making her look up for a second.
“Good afternoon.” She smiled coyly.
“Any favorites?” The handsome man inside the booth asked her.
“All of them,” she giggled softly, the sound catching Bucky’s ears at once.
The man laughed back, “okay, I think I have something special for you. How about this one?” He brought her a purple flower from the batch hidden behind him inside the booth.
“Oh, how beautiful! What is this one?” She wondered, amazement sparkling in her eyes at the sight of the pretty petals.
“That is a Globemaster Allium. Pretty, isn’t she?” He asked, staring at her desirously as she looked at the flower.
“Yes, she’s stunning!”
“I’m Cole by the way—”
She heard Bucky clear his throat next to her and looked up at once, the innocent awe in her eyes softening the orc a little.
“Look, Bucky! Isn’t this the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?” She pointed to the flower pot excitedly.
Bucky leaned in, his frown scaring her a little, her breath hitching when his lips tickled the shell of her ear, “no, little human, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
She chocked on her own saliva, hiding her hot face with her hand as she coughed, “Bucky!” She whined with a shy smile.
Where did that come from!
“Let’s go,” Bucky said with a nod of his head, eyes stern as he glared at Cole.
“Can—” She held his wrist, “can I have it?” She asked softly, gesturing to the flower pot.
Bucky wanted to say no. He didn’t want her to have this farmer’s flower. But he couldn’t say no to those hopeful, beautiful eyes of hers.
“Fine.” He watched her get the money out of her pocket and she smiled gratefully as she almost set them down on Cole’s counter.
“It’s on the house,” Cole said, still smiling dreamily at her.
She could all but swallow as she gave a polite smile back before looking up at Bucky for help.
“Take your goddamn money.” Bucky made a quick job of paying for the flower, taking the money from her and slamming it on the counter, making the whole booth shake.
He quickly took his wife home, deciding that was enough socialization for the both of them for the day.
She wasn’t going to lie, she was loving jealousy on her orc. It felt so intoxicating to have someone love her so much that he was jealous of other men talking to her.
She wouldn’t tell Bucky, but she would probably spend the nights of the next week smiling at the wall every time she remembered how he held her hand back home just a little bit tighter that day.
Her own heart was running wild at the sight of the orc now and she didn’t want it any other way.
~
“Now you know how it feels,” she teased with a smile as they were getting ready for bed.
Bucky couldn’t let it go, talking about how they were never going to stop by that farmer’s flower booth ever again.
“That’s not the same! I was never into Sarah! But that man was openly ogling you!” Bucky grumbled, his frown digging deep into the skin of his forehead.
“He was just being nice, trying to sell his flowers,” she laughed, upsetting Bucky even more.
How couldn’t she see it? The guy was all over her!
“He was flirting and you were all giggles and blushes.” Bucky copied her, going to the bed and burying himself under the covers, facing the wall.
He understood now why she had done that.
“Hey, that’s my spot!” She joked, not knowing if Bucky was being serious.
“Not tonight,” he murmured from underneath the covers.
“Bucky,” she whined, uncovering her orc’s face.
Bucky didn’t reply, pushing himself closer to the wall.
She tried to bring him on his back by the shoulder like he so easily did her a couple of night ago, but he was too strong for her and his body wouldn’t budge.
She huffed, “okay, you left me no choice.”
Bucky remained still, wanting to see what she meant by that as he felt her shift behind him.
Before he knew it, she was on top of his bicep, trying to slot herself between his body and the wall.
“What on earth—”
“You started it, Bucky!” She said, voice determined as she kept pushing, trying to squeeze herself in the small space accessible.
Bucky looked at her in amusement for a second before moving back, making her body drop as larger space became available.
She landed with the tiniest “ouff” on the mattress, facing Bucky on her side with her back to the wall, its coolness helping soothe the heat rising to the surface of her skin.
That was the closest she had been to Bucky since their hug the night of his injury, face to face as his passionate sapphire eyes watched hers.
“Hi,” she whispered, heart in her throat.
“Hi,” Bucky replied with a charming smile, smoothing some of her ruffled strands back in place.
She stared at the orc’s eyes, not the slightest bit scared of the fact that she was trapped against the wall by his huge body.
“You’re not the only one who wants to be loyal to this marriage, Bucky,” she said, surprising Bucky and herself, “I don’t want the farmer. I don’t want anyone else.” but you.
Bucky smiled in disbelief, taken aback by her words, and she took it as permission to move closer to his chest. He instinctively wrapped her up in a protective hug, wondering how he was able to hold himself back from kissing her.
She pushed her face into her orc’s chest, his scent and warmth engulfing her into a protective bubble.
She couldn’t believe she said the words she has just said and it made her bury her burning face deeper in Bucky’s arms.
He could only hug her tighter, his nose in her sweet-smelling hair as his smile grew bigger.
This moment right there was everything Bucky has ever wished for. He could die a happy orc right then and there.
~
It became a habit for them to go out to the village on Bucky’s day off. They were both having a great time, getting closer and falling harder.
Cole hasn’t spoken to her again after learning that the snow orc was actually her husband, and she respected Bucky’s feelings and never approached Cole’s booth no matter how pretty the plants on his stand were.
Market outings were their thing now and she wasn’t going to let anything ruin that.
She didn’t want anyone else’s attention but Bucky’s anyway. His hand has almost fully healed and she could now squeeze it all she wanted whenever she got excited about anything they encountered.
One thing did occur that annoyed her though and that was the way the jewelry lady would look at her every time she and Bucky would pass by. The woman had so much pity in her eyes when she saw her hand in an orc’s and she hated it.
She despised the way people misjudged her orc when he was far better than any human man she could’ve ever ended up with.
Yet, the lady kept giving her those pitiful looks, probably thinking Bucky had enslaved her or something.
But enough was enough.
When Bucky was busy looking at the knives, she made her way to the jewelry lady, determined to put an end to the ridiculousness.
“He is my husband,” she sternly told the lady in the jewelry stand, taking the chance that Bucky wasn’t listening.
“Oh.” The lady quickly gave a kind smile, turning from concerned about her to happy for her, “I apologize for misjudging you, dear. I was only worried about you. We’ve all heard stories about him.”
“Well, that’s all they are. Stories.” She ferociously defended, her eyes still stern.
“I’m sorry,” the woman sincerely expressed her regret, squeezing her hand.
She nodded with a small smile, accepting the older woman’s apology.
“I don’t see a ring on your hand.” The jewelry lady gestured to the collection of rings in her glass box with a wink.
“Oh.”
The sentence caught Bucky’s ears as he turned away to look at her embarrassed face.
“We didn’t get time to buy one. It all happened so quickly,” she explained awkwardly and Bucky’s expression fell.
“I have a pretty collection if you wanna take a look, and don’t worry about the price,” the older lady suggested kindly.
“No, it’s okay—”
“Choose what you like, sweet thing,” Bucky whispered to her, immediately by her side when he saw her eyes skimming over the jewelry, “I’m sorry I’m not familiar with the human marriage traditions. I should’ve gotten you one sooner.”
“It’s okay, Bucky. You don’t have to,” she reassured with a tender smile.
She didn’t need a ring to know that she was Bucky’s.
“I want to. I want you to wear my ring, little human.” Bucky raised her hands to his lips, placing the softest kisses on her each finger.
Her heart surged as a shy smile spread on her lips, heat rising to her cheeks.
“Okay.” She nodded happily, feeling like she was in a dream and she never wanted to wake up.
Though very expensive, Bucky ended up buying her the ring she chose. It was the prettiest gold ring with a moss agate blue diamond.
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She tried to talk him out of it, wanting to pick something cheaper, but Bucky wouldn’t have it.
She has never felt as special as she felt with Bucky’s ring on her finger. It was the prettiest thing from the most handsome orc.
And in that very moment, she was the happiest that she trusted her gut; that she gave Bucky, and herself a chance for this marriage to be something more than a contractual deal.
Bucky couldn’t believe she has finally let him make her his. When he slipped that ring on her tiny finger, he felt like he was king of the world.
While walking back to their cottage, a new dream got unlocked inside of her, one that included her and Bucky and their very own little stand in the market.
“Can we stop by the shop before we go home?” She asked tentatively.
“Sure, why? Did you forget something there yesterday?”
She has been to the shop a couple of times, curious to meet the important people in Bucky’s life and possibly have friends of her own, too.
“No, just wanna show Sarah the ring,” she said, a shy smile lighting up her happy face.
Bucky brought her hand to his lips, kissing her ring finger this time, “to the shop it is.”
~
Everything was going amazingly and she wished with all her heart that it would stay that way, but unfortunately, the very next day was a day for another fight that none of them saw coming.
Bucky still hasn’t recovered from her little stunt a few weeks ago and today he came back to find the cottage empty again.
He should have locked the door. He shouldn’t have trusted that a ring on her finger might stop her old habits or give her a magical change of heart.
What about all the small moments she had shared? Did those mean nothing to her?
Bucky’s anger and feeling of betrayal wiped away everything nice that had happened between the two of them, only remembering that she never wanted to be here in the very first place.
“Why are you so adamant about making me lose my mind?” Bucky asked, pushing her inside and slamming the door behind them.
“I’m not! Would you just listen?!” She yelled back, startled by the harsh treatment.
“What the hell were you thinking?!” Bucky shouted as if he didn’t hear her.
“I was just—”
“Wandering through the forest alone is dangerous, I’ve told you time and again, and yet you keep doing it!”
“Would you listen to me?!” 
“No! You acted like you would stop running, so what changed?!” Bucky threw his big arms in the air, making her take a step back.
Bucky looked bigger than he usually did when he was livid like that.
“I wasn’t running!” She repeated, her voice tinged with anger of her own at the distrust.
“Stop lying!” Bucky growled, roughly grabbing her by the arm.
“I’m not lying,” she insisted as she tried not to wince at the way Bucky held her forearm, her jaw clenched defiantly.
“Then what were you doing up the hill, huh?” Bucky unconsciously squeezed her arm harder.
“You’re hurting me.” She tried to pull away, but Bucky wouldn’t release her.
“You think you’re the only one who has fucking feelings?” Bucky shook her in his hold, unintentionally bruising her further.
She cried out but it fell on deaf ears, “Bucky, let me go!”
“Do you think what you do doesn’t affect me just because I’m not a goddamn human?!” He forced her closer, making her tears fall as he barked in her face.
His words hung heavy in the air, echoing through the spacious room.
“Bucky, please,” she tried again, not wanting to fight anymore.
Bucky finally listened, suddenly shocked at his actions as he let her arm go.
It’s been so long since he had made her cry and he just ruined everything good he had worked on building with her.
She just stood there, whimpering in pain as she held her arm to her chest.
Bucky watched her roll the sleeve of her winter dress up to look at her arm and there they were: thick fingerprints on her flesh.
“I— I’m sorry,” he whispered, trying to get closer to look at her arm, swallowing hard.
To his surprise, she let him.
“I’m sorry, little human.” Bucky wiped a few of her tears away, regret evident in his voice.
“I wasn’t running,” she repeated, pushing her hands in the pockets of her dress, “I was collecting berries to decorate the cake I made earlier.” She pulled handfuls of now ruined wild strawberries, raspberries and blackberries out of her pockets and dropped them on the wooden table for him to see.
She left Bucky alone to stare at the berries and went to the kitchen.
And boy did he stare.
He felt so stupid and ashamed at the way he had reacted. He just hurt her and she wasn’t even trying to leave. He wouldn’t let her explain either and had unjustly judged her.
She got out a cold water bottle from the fridge, pushing it to her bruised arm.
Bucky walked into the kitchen, shame branded on his face.
“Are you okay?” He asked, not knowing what to do to correct his mistake.
“What do you think?!” She irritably snapped at him, waving her bruised arm in the air.
“I just wanted to help!” Bucky barked back.
“Well, I don’t want your help!” She shouted.
“Fine! Don’t want it!” Bucky walked out, his feet stomping on the wooden floors.
He stormed out of the cottage, violently slamming the door behind him.
Bucky then realized what he has just done and how he had made the situation even worse. He kicked a rock so hard he was sure it flew to the other side of the forest as he saw birds flying disruptively.
“Damn it!” He yelled out loud, slamming his fist to the door, making her flinch inside the cottage.
The fight between the orc’s rough exterior and his rather tender feelings for her was torturing Bucky. What he meant to show was that he cared about her and was worried for her, but instead he’d done what he’d done.
She, on the other side of the wall, irately got out of the kitchen with the trash bin and swept the berries from the table, throwing them in the garbage.
When Bucky got inside again, she was cleaning the stain of the berries from the table, her features still twisted in a frown.
He opened his mouth, trying to think of anything he could say to fix this, but nothing came out. With a sigh, he left the cottage once more, leaving her all alone.
She sat down with a huff, throwing the cloth in her hand across the room.
She let her tears run in frustration.
It was supposed to be a peaceful night where they enjoyed a delightful desert that she has worked hard on making and was going to work hard on decorating.
She was trying to start a life with him. Why did he have to ruin it like that? She wasn’t running. How could she make him believe her?
She desperately wanted, needed Bucky to trust her.
She cried harder, feeling helpless in the face of her orc’s rage as her heart clenched at the thought of a happiness gone so soon.
Part V
~
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thewulf · 4 months
Text
Little One || Aragorn
Summary: Request -I had an Aragorn request that I wanted to send you; if it’s something you’d be interested in writing I know it’ll be perfect (but if it doesn’t strike your fancy I completely understand)!! After reading your fic with the orc attack I was thinking about how Aragorn would respond to reader being injured defending the hobbits... Read Rest Here
A/N: Thank you for the request @fluentmoviequoter !! Had so much fun writing this, hope you enjoy :) Kinda angsty but hella fluffy as always :)
Pairing: Aragorn x Female Reader
Word Count: 5.1k +
TW: orcs, talks of blood, arrows, getting shot, yelling, angsty
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You and Strider had been Rangers together for the better part of fifty years now. The two of you quickly found solace in the other. The two of you just seemed to compliment the other. What he lacked you picked up for him and vice versa. It wasn’t often he could find somebody who just understood him. So, he decided to keep you close but always safe.
He did what he wanted after all. He had a high enough ranking quickly. You were assigned nearly every patrol, raid, quest whatever the hell it was he did it with you. And you learned quicker than you had ever thought even possible with his aid. He wasn’t brutal on you, but he was not easy by any stretch of the imagination. He wanted you alive, so he trained you to stay that way. He had to be a little mean. A little too much sometime. For that was the real world. You couldn’t go out in the world as freely as one once could.
So, when Gandalf proposed the deal of getting the Hobbits from Bree to Rivendell he had agreed on the condition you could come with them. He wasn’t willing to leave you in some random village town in Eriador. No, he would never do that. Gandalf had agreed without a second thought thinking it was a good idea to have two Rangers instead of one.
You had decided fairly quickly that the Nazgûl was on your list of least favorite things in middle-earth you’d had the pleasure of coming across. You could deal with spiders and orcs buts these creatures were eerily different. Ice cold and terrifying, soul sucking. But you needed to remain stoic in the face of it all to help the Hobbits. The poor things were shaking they were so terrified. You’d tried stories of tales far and wide to shake their minds of their troubles, but it seemed no use as they only looked to the two of you in terror around every twist and turn.
When you stopped for the night to camp you’d noticed that Strider had led you deep into a dense forest. You’d never been the best at tracking, so you often led it to him. You really should’ve paid better attention before as you were often so reliant on his talents.
“I am off to gather a few plants for some tea. I will be back in an hour. Y/N, I trust they shall remain safe in your care?” He asked and you nodded without so much as a second thought.
“Of course.” You smiled to him, “Off you go. I know how mean you get without your tea.” That earned a hearty round of laughs from the Hobbit’s as they laid out their bedrolls for the night. It was nice to hear such a pleasant sound instead of hearing the screeching in the distance.
“I will remember that.” He glared at you with humor in his eyes before ducking into the night.
You turned back to the Hobbit’s with a stupid smile on your face not quite realizing how much you were giving way of your likeness towards the man, “Off to bed we go.” You shooed the silly little smirks right off their faces.
They all nodded quickly falling asleep without so much as a second thought. You were mighty jealous at the way they just did that. It took you far too long to fall asleep these days. Worry kept you up more than you liked to admit.
Thank whatever was out there for that worry that wouldn’t let you sleep as you heard the distant voices and branches breaking far off in the distance. Orcs. Had to be, they were so noisy. Your heartrate spiked as you heard them before you spotted them in the dark night. How in the hell had anything found you all the way out here?
“Up! Up!” You whisper shouted before shaking each of the Hobbits awake, “Abandon the camp we must go. Run” You grabbed for your sword and spare bow and arrow before ushering the small Hobbit’s further into the forest.
They ran ahead confused and disoriented having just fallen into a deep sleep but trusting you nonetheless. You knew you had made too much noise but did not quite realize how much the smaller ones were making as they ran.
You paused for a brief moment knowing your longer strides could catch up. You took a look behind you to see how in danger you truly were. The orcs hadn’t spotted your little group quite yet except one with keen eyes. Adrenaline shot through you as you saw the orcs arrow trained right at the back of Frodo’s head as he ran forward. He’d be dead instantly if the orc shot the arrow before you could stop it.
Panic shot through you as you ran ahead beside him pushing him to the ground with more force than you’d truly meant. You’d thought you were in the clear before the searing pain of being shot by an orc arrow throbbed through your shoulder blade sending you to the ground before you could think. Frodo rolled beside you which sprung Merry, Pippin and Sam into action as they pulled the two of you behind the thick trees of the dense forest. Fortunately for you it was mid-summer, and the forest was coated in dense foliage making it that much harder to find you and the Hobbits hiding in the trees.
Frodo looked more confused than upset before he saw the arrow protruding from your body. He’d understood instantly, “You have been hit miss Y/N!” Merry’s concerned voice only rose a few octaves as he saw the large arrow sticking right outside your shoulder. It hurt worse than it looked but you tried your best to bite back the tears as they were so unseasoned to such horrors in the world.
You looked down wincing at the arrow surely coated in poison. Thankfully you were only a few days out from Rivendell. You’d be fine… Strider not so much. Shuddering at the thought of the man who would be so mad you got hurt, you turned to the small Hobbit’s sitting in fear beside you.
Ignoring the arrow sticking out from your shoulder you sat up from the fall you took, “Listen, for there is not much time before they try and find us. Frodo and Sam run. Go find Strider. He will help end this swiftly.” You nodded watching them run quickly off into the forest. You’d sent Frodo off as he needed to be as far from the attacks as possible.
Wincing you turned yourself as best as you could towards Merry and Pippin, “Now, I need you two to be brave. You must snap this arrow as close to the wound as you can. I will fight these orcs off, but I cannot do that with this sticking out.” You huffed eyeing the rather large wooden arrow searing its mark in your shoulder blade.
Merry only gave you wide eyes as Pippin shook his head answering your request, “I cannot do that.”
“Not can I!” Merry agreed.
You looked behind you a little panicked seeing the orcs moving in closer. Far too close for your comfort. Lowering your voice, you leaned closer to them, “It does not matter any longer. Time is of the essence now. You must or we all die.” You glared at the two of them letting them both know quite how serious this was.
“Aye, turn away.” Merry stood with shaking hands grabbing at the arrow earning a hiss from your mouth. Pippin took his hands in his helping him get the leverage he needed to break the thick wood.
“All right.” You turned your head away clutching your hands into the earth trying to ground yourself. You had to fight back everything that was telling you to pass out as the arrow snapped in two under the hands of the much smaller Hobbits. A quiet whimper left your mouth as you tried your hardest to stay conscious. The orcs were close. You had to do something.
“Miss Y/N” Merry sounded concerned as he saw your face pale out and the orcs move closer, “Please be okay.”
You nodded blinking back the wave of nausea taking over your usually so agile self. This did not feel like your standard orc poison. You knew what that felt like and this was not it. This was moving faster than anything you’d been hit by them with, “I am fine mister Pippin.” You breathed trying to blink back the unshed tears. Pain only reminded you that you were alive. With another small groan you stood from the ground trying your hardest to fight the searing fire in your shoulder, “Stay quiet and hidden. It is best to attack them by surprise. Strider will be back soon. Let us try and wait this out as long as possible.” You whispered grabbing your sword from its sheath at your side.
You waited in silence as the first of the few crept into your field of vision. They must have been lost. No way a pack of orcs were this dumb. Or they were on a special mission. But you could wait no longer as they were likely to hear your breath or any sort of movement for he was a mere step away from you now.
Quickly, you sliced off its head without much of a sound. The loudness of the animals in the night covered up for its lifeless body hitting the ground giving you a second to recuperate and fight back the overwhelming feeling of pain now making its way down your arm.
When you killed the second and third the attention was finally on you. You were not able to be as graceful and let out a cry of pain as you had to use your bum arm to defend yourself. Darting behind a tree you narrowly avoided another arrow coming right for your head this time. But you didn’t have time to panic as the man you had been waiting for finally made his grand entrance. Just as you suspected it was over before it really begun. You were a fine Ranger. But Strider was an expert one.
Leaning back on the tree you let out the breath you were holding in. Never had you been so close to losing someone so quickly on a quest. Never had you been so close to being eliminated. You were usually so much better than this. Strider was getting in your head, and you were losing focus. A Ranger losing focus! That was unheard of. But Strider was your exception it seemed.
“You arrogant fool!” Strider yelled right at you as he came storming over to where you were leaning on the tree. He hadn’t seen the broken arrow in your shoulder nor the way you were holding your arm upright. He didn’t notice the sweat the coated your face or the distant gaze in your eyes. He was mad and he wanted to take it out on someone. That someone happened to be you.
You let out a cry in pain as he grabbed for the arm that you were holding gingerly. Even the smallest movement made it feel like your arm was getting ripped right apart. You had forgotten how painful poison was for it had been nearly fifty years since you’d been struck. The bastards made it as fast and as painful as possible. And whatever this stuff was seemed worse than before.
He moved his hand away from your arm after hearing your strangled cry. Pushing you back up against the tree, avoiding your injury, he felt the sticky liquid coating your outer garments. Blood. Of course, he knew what it was. He had only begun to panic as he saw the deliriousness in your gaze. You were hurt and badly at that. He was not used to this.
Frodo jumped in between the two of you, pushing Strider away just slightly, “She saved my life master Strider! Please have no anger towards her.”
His heart raced as he ordered the Hobbits to light a fire nodding at Frodo that he was done lashing out at you. He knew you needed a helping hand. Not one to hurt you while you were down. Gently, he pushed you down to the ground, “Sit down, nigol.” He’d all but ordered as he helped the Hobbit’s start a small fire. He couldn’t see your wound and you weren’t so forthcoming with information. That and he wanted to see it for himself.
A small smile came to your lips remembering the old nickname he’d given you, “Nigol… you have not called me that in quite some time Strider.”
Brushing your comment aside he asked you, “What happened?” As he sat down next to you waiting for the fire to glow so he could inspect your wound.
You turned towards him holding your eyebrows close together trying your best to bite back the pain, “Orcs happened is all. Caught a poisoned arrow to the shoulder.” Letting out a strangled sigh you sat further back against the tree.
“How did you get hit?” He clarified with more patience in his voice than you were used to. Maybe you looked worse than you felt because he never, ever cut you a break. And you appreciated him for that as you were still alive and usually avoidant of such injuries.
“Ugly bastard was aiming right at Frodo’s small little Hobbit head.” You frowned realizing if you hadn’t noticed Frodo would be sure as dead. You caught Strider’s smile at your crass language for he knew he would never grow tired of your fowl tongue. He loved it about you, “Had to push him out of the way and he nicked me instead.”
“I heard that miss Y/N!” Frodo yelled back at the two of you shaking his head at you, “Elves are not the only creatures with good hearing!” You only smiled as you watched them feed the small fire with more twigs and sticks. It surprised you that Strider ordered a fire for you’d just been ambushed. Who knew what else lurked beyond the trees that kept you hidden.
You let out a strangled laugh feeling the effects of the poison inch its way through your system. You watched as Strider looked at you with concern. It wasn’t often you were the one on the receiving end to such a look. You’d been under his wing for a better part of half a century. You’d gotten really excellent at not getting hurt. It must have been jarring to see you fighting the pain back with such a force. He’d never admit how much he had grown to love you. He didn’t like to see you in pain. Not a bit.
He sighed seeing the fleshy wound, “You must not be so careless next. I have trained you better than that.” He sighed inspecting the wound closely, “I must remove the arrow.” He spoke slowly feeling his heart drop at your startled expression.
You shook your head with a vengeance for you did not like that statement “We are but a few days from Rivendell. Surely they will have healers who can do that properly.”
He bit back the frown as he looked at your arm, “You will not have a few days if I do not get this out.” It wasn’t ominous but simply the truth.
“Is it not an Orc arrow?” You looked down knowing what his answer was going to be but trying to ignore it in your head was proving to be a challenge.
He gave you a solemn nod, “Aye, but it does not appear to be orc poison.”
All you could muster was a simple, “Oh.” Not thinking that was a possibility. You’d still concluded it was a different form of Orc poison. What could they possibly be using?
“It appears to be something much darker.” His frown only deepened as he was studying your wound. He had ripped your shirt where you had been hit to examine it closer. It was turning black far too fast to be the standard orc poison they’d become accustomed to.
You shuddered knowing the pain would be intolerable. You already seemed to be teetering on the precipice between the living world and the unconscious world, “Do your worst then.” You spoke quickly turning away and grabbing at a stick on the ground. When you tuned back he was just looking at you with such a sadness you couldn’t help but to ask, “What?”
He shook his head breaking the stare he had on you, “Nothing. Bite the stick. Don’t fight me. You know the rules.”. It had been a long time since you were at the mercy of his hands. You were but a young Ranger the last time you’d been caught in such a dreadful position. Back then you had medicine to at least dull the pain. This was going to be hell you thought as you placed the soggy stick in your mouth. Something to bite into, crucial to keep you from yelling too loud.
But you didn’t need to worry about that issue too much as darkness took over only a moment after he begun to tug on the broken arrow embedded in your shoulder. Of course, you didn’t catch the concern or the panic that overtook him when he saw you collapse into unconsciousness so easily. He didn’t waste a second longer after the arrow was removed from your shoulder to pick you up and carry you in his arms telling the Hobbits that they had to get a move on for your sake. With hushed complaints the group was off to Rivendell in the dead of night.
It must’ve been the pain overtaking the adrenaline that had subsided that made you fade out of unconsciousness. As your body stirred awake the sun rose in the sky before you. Strider only cradled you closer to his chest when he felt you squirming beneath him. A rather large sigh of relief escaped him as he looked down seeing you slowly blink your eyes back into reality.
“Did you enjoy your rest then?” Strider smiled most genuinely down to you for as much as he loved teasing you it sure made him happy to see you awake once more.
You cracked your own smile at his sarcastic words, “It was nice, thank you for inquiring.” You hummed squirming once more in his embrace. When he locked his hands around you it was only then that you realized he was carrying you like so and he had no intention of letting you out of his grasp.
He chucked seeing your startled expression. It was also new to him too and he really did not want to admit just how much he had enjoyed holding you close to him. It put his normally anxious heart at ease. He had long since found you beautiful. He knew he had loved you when he first heard you speak your mind to a superior all those years ago. For nobody, not a single man, had the courage to speak the way you did. And you had the skill to back it up. That was why he panicked seeing your injured silhouette in the forest. For if you were to go down he had no idea what he would do. You were so deeply embedded in his life he could not even begin to fathom a life without you in it.
He ran faster than he ever had before when Sam and Frodo found him foraging for plants. When they came in blabbering that you had been hit by an arrow he began sprinting in autopilot. It drove him mad feeling like it took longer to get to you. He was there in no longer than a minute to kill the ten or so orcs that were hunting you, the one he loved. He was a maniac when it came to protecting you. He hadn’t meant to yell so harshly at you but he was scared. Terrified of the thought of losing you, his person.
He noticed the pink beginning to return to your face and more relief flooded his overstressed system, “You are getting some color back.” He noticed as he held you closer, “That is a good sign. The poison must not be spreading.”
You let out a long yawn feeling the effects of it all starting to come over you once more, “That is good. It does not hurt as bad either. Just aches a bit.” Your eyes drooped as you tried to fight off the sleep that was overcoming you.
“Rest. Go to sleep, nigol.” He smiled down to you with nothing but love in those striking eyes. He’d been carrying you for hours already, what was another few anyway?
“Nigol.” You hummed remembering the times he called you that all the way back when you first had met him. He refused to tell you what it meant and by the time you finally met an elf you’d forgotten the nickname altogether, “What does it mean?” You inquired hoping he would indulge you this time as you were on the verge of unconsciousness.
He laughed, throwing his head back and all. You admired the way his dark hair framed his fair face as he looked back down at you. He was truly so handsome. It wasn’t fair he was placed in front of you like this and yet, was so unattainable, “I did not tell you fifty years ago, why would I tell you now?”
“I thought I would try.” You sighed, “Does it mean something bad? You only use it when I mess up.” You asked him once you concluded the worst. He often used that nickname early on when you two had been partnered up. It’s use seemed to fade as you had gotten more competent. Yet now when you had a bum shoulder rendering you useless he used it once more.
He shook his head quickly, “It is not bad. I can promise you that.” He eased your worried face quickly with his words.
“Well, I suppose I can accept that.” You didn’t want to push feeling oddly unlike yourself in his arms. Usually combative and wanting to pick a friendly fight you felt like doing anything but that. You just wanted to enjoy yourself in his embrace as you knew this moment would likely never occur again.
He knew you better than anybody else. He noticed how shy you were suddenly acting. Was it the nickname? Were you tired? Was the poison moving faster than he could? He looked down seeing you continue to fight sleep. Usually so powerful you looked helpless in his arms. His eyes softened as he realized how much trust you had to have in him to relax into him like so. You were always on guard, always ready. Frodo was alive because of that instinct. But now you were at his will and he felt more responsible for you than he had ever before.
“It’s Sindarin.” He admitted wanting to give you something more as you had given him exactly what he wanted, you.
Feeling your eyes getting heavier you replied with tiredness in your voice, “I had concluded that Strider. You did tell me you were raised by elves, remember?” Lazily, you smiled up to him laughing as best as your body would allow you.
“It is Sindarin for little one.” He finally admitted to you, “Or mouse.” He looked down at you nervously hoping you’d have a decent reaction to it.
“Mouse? Little one? I should be offended.” You grinned not taking offense in the slightest for you found it oddly adorable he had given you such a sweet nickname.
“Do not take offense.” He spoke quickly, “I did not mean it that way.”
“Relax, Strider.” You yawned once more feeling your head rest of his chest heavily. Sleep was coming on quick, “I am just teasing you. You are so easy to mess with.”
“Sleep now, little one.” He gave you another gentle squeeze letting you know he had you. It was alright. You could trust him as always. And trust him you did as you found yourself in a quick sleep right back in his arms.
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“There you are.” Strider’s voice pulled you from the sleep that had overcome you on the road. When you blinked you were stunned to be laying in front of a fireplace in a rather grandeur room. You must have made it all the way to Rivendell which meant you had been out for days at this point.
“Are we in Rivendell?” You tried to sit up before his hands pushed you back down, gently, into the plush elven bed.
“You must lie still.” He ordered before answering your question, “Yes. You have been unconscious for nearly four days. Lord Elrond was unsure if you were to make it.” His eyes were laced with something you had hardly seen on the man in your many years of knowing him, fear. He looked scared, terrified. Yet almost relieved seeing you awake.
“Four days?” You swallowed back your surprise.
He gave you a quick not, “Almost, you even have Lord Elrond worried.”
You sighed, “I did not mean to do that.”
He moved closer, sitting on your bedside. Taking his chance he brushed your stray hair away from your face, “You always do that.”
You just looked up at him, “What?”
“It is just that you always care for others before yourself. As much as I love that about you. Think about yourself for once. Care for yourself. You are far too kind.” He spilled his thoughts to you for he was too tired. Too scared at the thought of losing you he was not going to hold back his tongue anymore for he knew he loved you. He wanted you. He couldn’t see you with anyone else but him.
You blinked back surprise at his outright confession. Sure, the two of you had danced around any feelings for quite literally years. But you would have none of that, as sweet as it was, “You did not say that when I slayed half an orc army with you.” You spoke with a hint of playfulness in your tone. It was your favorite game to play with the man.
He laughed a full hearty laugh. A laugh so pure, one you’d heard so rarely from the man. He only laughed like that when he was at peace. Happy. Comfortable and relaxed. A sight that you could really get used to.
“For that is true.” His eyes searched your for any sign of pain. Any sign that something was wrong. He could not quite believe you were finally awake and chatting with him like nothing had happened. Like you hadn’t been knocked out cold for that long. When Lord Elrond had started to get nervous. Strider was not dumb. He grew up with Elves and knew their tells. When an elf grew worried he knew things were not boding well.
You felt yourself shrinking under his gaze, “What? Is there something on my face? Because that would be embarrassing. I have been asleep for three days and you let something stay on my face for that long?” You rambled not quite sure what you were doing. He was making you nervous. Strider never made you nervous. But when he gave you that earnest look you completely lost yourself to him. How fickle your brain was behaving.
He bit back a laugh sensing your nerves, “No. There is nothing marking your face. I was simply admiring you was all.”
Was he trying to kill you? Your cheeks were sure to be a bright rosy, red for his second confession was bolder than his first, “Admiring me?”
“Indeed. I would not be the man that I am had you not been by me all these years. I thought I was going to lose you. But now that you are back I get to admire you.” He spoke with that soft voice he only used ever so often. It was fascinating to get to know an entirely different side of the man you thought you knew through and through.
“I deserve no such thing.” You laughed trying to shake off the seriousness of his gaze down on you. He did not find your statement the least bit humorous.
“While I do not agree I also do not wish to argue. How do you feel?” He changed the subject even though he might have enjoyed watching you squirm. Placing a cool hand on your forehead, he did not miss the small jump you had in response to his contact. Touches he had given you so often before had changed. Things had shifted between the two of you and for the first time in a long time he was excited. He had a purpose. His purpose.
You gulped back your argument and nodded in agreement, “I feel fine, will you let me sit up now or must I stare up all afternoon?” You quipped hoping your quick mouth would let him know just how fine you really felt.
Shaking his head, he held out a hand for your to take, “You may sit up, but take it slow.”
“I was shot by an arrow Strider. I did not get my legs cut off.” You took his hand letting him pull you up to sit next to him.
He rolled his eyes yet still held admiration in them, “That mouth will get you in trouble one day.” His eyes traced your face as you too just looked at him. It didn’t feel quite real that he could have admired you just as you him. Had you been blind?
You hummed in agreement not being able to take your eyes off his, “Not if you are there to protect me.”
It was he who broke the staring game going on between the two of you as he collected his thoughts, “Indeed, little one. There is nothing truer than that statement.” Gaining some courage, he took your hands in his giving them a gentle squeeze, “Please never scare me like that again for I cannot bear it.”
“I will try my hardest, as long as you promise to do the same.” You nodded towards him feeling bashful in front of the man you’d grown to love. The man you had only hoped to love you as he did. The man you never could have imagined felt the same. Yet here you were.
Giving your hands a reassuring squeeze, he simply nodded to you, “I promise, little one. I promise with my whole heart.”
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yourplayersaidwhat · 3 months
Text
Today’s pathfinder module ran for eight hours. Highlights include:
Aracanist: “Can I linguistics him?”
GM: “What?”
Arcanist: “Y’know, can I, like, say calm down in the soothingest languages I know?”
Orc Fighter: “I’m not sure that’s how it works.”
Arcanist: “I know 84 languages, that’s gotta count for something!”
GM: “Y’know what, sure, roll.”
Arcanist: “That’s an eight, so… thirty-two.”
GM: “… Yeah, he calms down, somehow it works.”
-
Orc Fighter, OOC (about an NPC who bites people): “Clearly, his name is Bitey McBiteface.”
-
Bitey McBiteface: “You must kill me!”
Arcanist: “Uh, quick question about the area, is there a National Suicide Prevention Line?”
-
Orc Fighter: *rolls a nat one on perception*
Orc Fighter, who is 89 years old: “Grandma’s developed cataracts.”
-
Orc Fighter, OOC: “Everyone knows General McGeneralface, formerly known as Bitey McBiteface.”
-
Bitey McBiteface: *snarling and growling as Orc Fighter pins him*
Orc Fighter: “Now that’s just rude, young man.”
-
Orc Fighter: “That’s a nat one but it is a 26 to hit.”
GM: *sigh* “You hit.”
-
Arcanist: “So is it a sword?”
GM, frantically looking through her notes: “It… is… something.”
Orc Fighter: “It’s three goblins in a trenchcoat pretending to be a sword.”
-
Monk: “What is the population of this town?”
GM, off-guard: “Uh…”
Orc Fighter: “Between one and a fuckton.”
-
GM, annoyed with the module: “Aaaaah, why can’t I find the instructions for how to do this peacefully!”
Orc Fighter: “They’re expecting us to be murderhobos.”
Stryx Fighter: “Well…”
Monk: “They’re punishing GM for our peace.”
Arcanist: “Peace in our time, peace in our time.”
-
Arcanist, having used Command Undead on an enemy, tied her up, and forced her to play Tic-Tac-Toe with him: “I command her to place her O in the bottom right so I win.”
GM: “She’s gonna fight that… ten.”
Arcanist: “Twenty-four.”
GM: “She writes it with a shaky, reluctant hand.”
Arcanist: “Rather than win immediately, I am not going to touch the board for the next nine days.”
Orc Fighter: “Civilian NPC is just thinking to himself, ‘Do I want to be indebted to these people?’”
-
On a rather important diplomacy roll, Arcanist spent about five minutes rolling different dice, as he is one of two members of our five-person party to have a positive charisma modifier, only to roll a three, a five, a two, a one, a four, and so on ten times until we got it. The first time, Orc Fighter tried to help him.
Orc Fighter: “I assist… oh my god. GM, look at the chat.”
Spiritualist, laughing: “Oh my god.”
Orc Fighter, laughing: “I have a -1 to diplomacy and I just rolled a nat one.”
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Text
Hundred Years Ago
Pairing: Haldir x Reader
Summery: Haldir wants to ask you an important question, but you two are interrupted.
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
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"Will we be there soon?" you asked with feigned impatience.
Haldir snorted in amusement: "Can't wait, can you?"
"No." you admitted. You really wished you could see something, but Haldir was very thorough in covering your eyes. "I finally want to know what you are making such a secret about. You even took the day OFF! Until two days ago, I was sure you did not even know how to do that."
"Oh, shut up," you could hear from his voice that he was grinning. Then you felt him gently press his lips to the tip of your ear. "Do not worry, Meleth nîn, we will be right there."
Haldir had been very secretive for the past few days, sometimes whispering quietly with his brothers, but would stop talking when you were within earshot.
At first you didn't think anything of it, but you were very interested in what they were talking about.
When Haldir took the day off from his duties, you were sure that something was up.
And now he was leading you to a 'mysterious place'. Whether it was really that mysterious you didn't know, but as he covered your eyes you had no idea where you were going.
Suddenly he stopped and said: "Ready?"
"Of course!" you said excitedly and he carefully took his hands away from your eyes, and you couldn't help but notice that they were shaking a little.
It took a while for your eyes to find out where you were.
Spread out on the ground in front of you was a large picnic blanket with a huge basket on top, which, judging by the smell, was filled with all your favourite treats.
You were in a clearing that you knew only too well. "This is where we met for the first time!"
Haldir nodded. "Exactly one hundred years ago."
"What?" you asked in surprise and turned to face him. To your surprise, his cheeks were slightly flushed, which was a little unusual for Haldir.
"Exactly one hundred years ago," he repeated, "we met here for the first time."
"You mean when you nearly shot me with one of your arrows?" you replied, smiling gently. That he had actually thought of that was incredible.
"I thought you were an orc." Haldir only replied. "You were walking around far too close to the borders. Be glad I did not have such a good aim back then," he leaned forward so that you could feel his breath on your lips as he said, "I would not miss my target today."
He was probably expecting you to playfully punch him in the side or come up with a counter-argument, but he had surprised you today, so you wanted to surprise him too.
You quickly leaned forward and before Haldir could react, your lips had already captured his in a gentle kiss.
Haldir returned the kiss and wrapped an arm around your waist to pull you tighter against him, while the fingertips of his other hand glided over your spine.
Eventually he pulled away from you again and nodded towards the picnic blanket. "How about we sit down and eat something."
The food tasted delicious, and you knew from the first bite you took that Haldir must have made it all himself. It had probably taken ages.
You loved the food your beloved made, but unfortunately you couldn't eat it that often because he always had to work.
"I am really surprised that you remember exactly which day we met. I have to admit that I remember the year but I could not have told you the day," you admitted.
Haldir laughed softly. "I could not either. Orophin still knew. He accompanied me here for the first time because he was finally old enough to learn how to handle a bow and arrow."
You remembered well. Both of Haldir's brothers had been quite young at the time and he had cared for them since the death of their parents. One of the reasons why you had practically helped raise them after you two had become close.
"Then I guess I will have to thank him later," you said playfully and winked at him.
Haldir shrugged his shoulders. "He only provided the date, but I was planning to come here with you anyway." Suddenly his voice became a little quieter, almost uncertain. "I wanted to ask you a really important question."
He swallowed and put his plate aside, then reached for your hand. "Meleth nîn, I- "
But something interrupted him. Just as he was about to get to the question you were dying to know, there was a rustling in a bush not far from you.
Haldir jumped up and stood protectively in front of you. He pulled a knife from his sleeve, which he always had there, whether he was working or not, so that he wouldn't be unarmed in an emergency.
"Who is there?" he asked loudly, his eyes fixed on the bush.
You held your breath.
Then two elves you knew all too well poked their blond heads out of the bush. Orophin and Rùmil.
"You did not ask her!" Rùmil said indignantly and grimaced. "Do you know how uncomfortable it is to hide in a bush? We were here a few minutes before you and now we haven't even seen the big moment."
Haldir put the knife away again and massaged his forehead. "You two really are- "
"Besides, I contributed more than just the date," Orophin said to you with a pompous look, "I also chose the picnic basket! I borrowed it from Lord Celeborn, you have no idea how many he has lying around because he goes on picnics with Lady Galadriel all the time!"
You could hardly stifle your giggles as relief washed over you. For a moment you thought you were going to have to fight an orc or a wild animal.
Orophin and Rumil now climed out from the undergrowth of the bush with some difficulty and went over to you.
"Some stupid root cut me." Rùmil cursed.
"Serves you right." Haldir grumbled, but you could see his eyes immediately moving up and down his brothers body to see if he was seriously injured. Since he apparently wasn't, Haldir gave him an angry look.
Since his brothers obviously realised that they couldn't simply talk their way out of it, they turned to you with a nervous smile. "You are happy to see us, right?"
You gave Haldir a sideways glance before grinning back. "I am always happy to see you. But there are sometimes very inopportune moments, you know?"
They blushed and nodded cautiously.
Haldir rubbed his face with the hand he had just used to massage his temple.
"We will talk about it later," he finally said, turning to his brothers. "Go now."
Slowly, he let himself sink back onto the picnic blanket.
"I am sorry." he whispered, "I do not know if you still- "
You put a hand on his arm and gently pressed your lips to his cheek. "I would love to hear your question."
"We have known each other for a hundred years now," he began nervously, placing his hand under your chin so that you could look each other in the eye. "Would you do me the honour of courting you?"
Excitement rose in you and it took a few seconds before you were even able to form an answer in your head.
You couldn't believe he had actually asked that! No wonder his brothers had made such a fuss.
Meanwhile, Haldir's face looked very strained and only now did you realise that you still hadn't answered him.
A broad grin spread across your face and you said in a voice trembling with excitement: "There is nothing I would enjoy more."
Haldir slowly pulled you close and together you snuggled up on the picnic blanket under the stars.
When it was already very late, you made your way back.
Haldir carried the basket while you tucked the rolled-up blanket under your arm.
At first he had insisted on carrying both, but when you said you couldn't possibly leave everything to your future husband, he blushed and gave you the picnic blanket.
When you arrived home, all you wanted to do was fall into bed, but when you opened the front door, Haldir's brothers came to meet you.
"Now you are breaking into our house too," he said, but you could tell from the grin on his lips that he didn't hold it against them.
His brothers also seemed to have noticed the grin and with an excited squeal they ran towards you with open arms. "She said yes!"
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alpaca-clouds · 4 months
Text
Something about the Astarion romance
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There is one thing about the Astarion romance, that I kinda feel like should be talked about a bit more.
Now, I am very much a lover of the Astarion romance. I just wanna hug that horriblem man. He definitely needs all the hugs you can give him. But...
We are all aware that the relationship - at least for now - is not a healthy one, right?
Like, no matter whether you let him ascend or not, the relationship is one of emotional dependency. Astarion is going to be emotionally dependent on the player character, no matter whether it is Tav, Durge or one of the other Origins.
Which is completely natural, mind you. Of course someone with his trauma will just latch onto the one person who makes him feel good emotionally and not let go. Duh. For someone that traumatized that is completely natural behavior.
It is this fact that drives him so much, when it comes to the Ascension Ritual. If you have played the game not romancing him, you might have noticed, that at least dialogue wise he is much easier convinced that maybe the ritual is a bad idea. Like, sure, the persuasion checks are still the same, but in the dialogue choices, when he goes: "Oh, all the power I could have." And you go: "I don't think that's a good idea." When you are a friend he is just going to go: "Hmm, I don't know. Maybe you are right." But if you are romancing him? Then he is going to be all: "I am doing it for us, my sweet!"
And I think the main reason behind this is, that this is the first time in a long while that he allows himself to really care about someone else and he is so fucking afraid that he is going to loose you. Thinking that Ascension would allow him to protect you. (Which of course does go south fairly quickly, if you let him ascend, because in that case he mistakes control for protection.)
But even if he does not ascend, he is still very emotionally dependent. And post-game it is going to take work for him to overcome this dependency. Because while his dependency as a vampire spawn is much less toxic compared to Ascended Astarion, it is not good. Especially not for him.
I see a lot of "How sad is it, that if you have a short-lived Tav (like a human, halfling or orc) Astarion will see him die rather soon, even if he gets healed?"
And I am like... Alright, here is my death positivity coming through. Sure, it is sad, but... if Astarion is not completely dependent on Tav/Durge/whoever... It is going to be alright. It is not going to be soul crushing. Like, even a short life well lived is worth more celebrating than mourning, right?
Just, you know... something to think about. Something to consider.
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emmyspov · 1 year
Text
Four times he wasn't sure + 1 time he was (Aragorn x Reader)
author's note: ahh, this is finally done! i started it last year but then uni and work got in the way so it took me until now to finish it. i'm super excited about this honestly, and i hope some of you will feel just as happy reading it. if enough people are interested, i have thought about writing a part two already, like "four times reader wasn't sure + 1 time they were" - what do you think? as always, i tried to keep reader's looks etc. really vague, if there is something you think can be adjusted to make it even more inclusive, please let me know!
warnings: english isn't my first language, mentions of blood, war, death, canon lotr fights, let me know if i forgot something :)
word count: 2.4 k (I think that's the longest fic i've written!)
gif by @dunderklumpen
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The first time
"What were you thinking, Strider?", you hissed as the man sat down next to you at the campfire.
"Going out there all by yourself, with no backup. What if a herd of orcs had found you, huh? What then?"
Aragorn could tell you were mad.
"You could have been killed!"
He wasn't even sure if that alone was enough to describe the intense emotions you were displaying right now.
"Darling, I-"
You cut him off. "I don't want to hear it, Aragron. This was dangerous. Something bad could have happened to you."
He hated this. He hated how your voice wavered, either with anger or fear or both. He wanted to see that pretty smile back on your face.
"I can take care of myself."
You took a deep breath. You knew he was right. After all, he was a Ranger from the north who's been riding through the wild all by himself for years, keeping others and himself safe.
Aragorn could tell that something had changed in your demeanor. The wild gesturing of your hands slowed down and your eyes had softened again.
"I know you can", you started as you fumbled around with your hands. "But... What I've been trying to say is that I worry. All the time, about everyone and everything. And when I realised that you were the only one gone from the group and out there without anyone who could help you in case of an attack, something inside me flipped. My worry for you was clouding any rational judgement."
You fell silent for a moment.
"You have the weight of the world on your shoulders, Aragorn. I'm sorry I raised my voice at you. I am just asking, begging you, please don't shut me out. Let me help you carry this weight. You don't have to be the lone ranger any longer. Allow me to take care of you. Let me in."
The crownless king was, quite literally, speechless. Your words had knocked the air out of his lungs.
Would your reaction have been the same if had been Legolas or Boromir who strayed away from the group? He wasn't sure. But then again, it didn't really matter. You cared about him. So much that you became sick with worry when the possibility of something bad happening to him arose.
The thought alone brought a smile to his face, making the skin crinkle around his eyes.
You would never get enough of that sight.
"I promise, I will try my very best to do exactly that", Aragon answered before he paused, thinking about whether he should make you an offer or not. He decided to take the risk. "Maybe, next time, you could accompany me."
Your eyes lit up and he knew he made the right decision. "I would love to."
His chest felt light.
The second time
You've always been someone who gave people their privacy. After all, you didn't want anyone to feel uncomfortable around you, but the way you saw Aragorn struggle right this moment made you second guess that decision.
He could feel your eyes on him. He knew you were watching him and yet, he didn't want to take the first step. He hated to be a burden which was exactly the reason why he wasn't going to ask you for help.
Maybe Legolas would assist him with applying the ointment on his back, or maybe- his train of thoughts came to a halt.
He promised you.
He promised he'd do his best to let you in, let you take care of him.
Instead of calling out your name, his eyes locked with yours and he silently pleaded you'd understand.
You did. Of course you did.
With just a few steps, you were standing next to the man, resulting in him letting out a sigh of relief.
His hair was wet from bathing in the lake closeby and the dirt that was usually decorating his face had also been washed away.
"Do you need any help?"
He's sure that he never heard a voice as sweet as yours, basically dripping with kindness.
He nodded. "If you don't mind."
A smile graced your features. "Not when it comes to you, my king."
You took the small container from Aragon's hand which was filled with ointment, made by Elrond to help heal wounds and relieve some pain.
You gestured for the ranger to sit down in front of you and he dropped to his knees without hesitation, his bare back to you.
You scooped up a bit of the tincture. "I apologise for my cold hands", you whispered before gently applying it to the ranger's skin.
He shuddered as soon as your fingers touched him and he tried to convince himself the goosebumps that arose on his skin were caused by the cold, not you.
You could feel Aragorn melt into your touch. His breath evened out and for a second, you even thought he had fallen asleep which was, truly, the only reason you started to trace over some old scars on his back, careful not to cause the ranger any pain.
"They don't hurt", he suddenly spoke and you flinched.
"I- My apologies, I didn’t... think, know- I-" You let out a huff of embarrassment, causing the crownless king to chuckle slightly.
A peaceful silence fell over you while you continued to rub the balm into Aragorn's shoulders and down his back, making sure to not only treat his more recent wounds.
"Where did you get this one", you carefully asked as you caressed a scar on his upper back.
And so, the ranger started to tell you the first story of many about life in the wilderness while you took care of him.
Both of you pretended not to notice when your lips brushed his skin every time he finished an anecdote of his life.
Even if that had been his last evening in middle earth, Aragorn would have been content. He got to spend it with you.
The third time
He didn't know how you did it. How you, despite of all the running, fighting and extreme weather conditions, managed to look absolutely breathtaking.
It was unfair, really.
Not that something as simple as one's looks impressed Aragorn, no.
It was just you he liked to look at because all he could think about were your beautiful brain and warm heart whenever his eyes fell on you.
It was his turn to stay up and keep watch of the fellowship's campsite, making sure they'd get through the night without an incident.
It was a calm night, there was no danger to be seen and although the crownless king stayed alert of their surroundings, he couldn't help but let his eyes drift to you every once in a while.
He was glad you were finally getting some well deserved rest after everything that has happened so far.
As if you could feel somebody watching you, you woke up. Keeping still, you checked the area around you without a single turn of your head.
Aragorn was keeping the night watch and you immediately felt a wave of calm wash over you. If he was sitting around so comfortably, you knew you could feel safe.
But then again, you also felt sorry for the ranger. Although he was running from his destiny, he had made it his mission to keep the whole fellowship safe and alive which was quite the heavy burden to carry.
You could see it, too. His tired eyes or the way at least one part of his body was always tense, ready to fight.
You let out a soft sigh and got up from your sleeping mat, quietly walking over to the man as you tried not to disturb the others.
"Y/N", he spoke softly, "Go back to sleep. You will need the rest."
Instead of answering, you plopped down next to him, his arm brushing yours.
"I can't lay down, pretending not to see you doubt yourself, even at night when everyone else entrusts you with everything they have. You think too much, Aragorn. Let that head of yours come to a rest."
Maybe it was the intimacy of the dark, but when you gestured for him to lay his head in your lap, he didn't fight it. Not for too long, anyway. There was some hesitation, but you looked too warm and too comfortable for him to miss out on this opportunity.
A sigh of relief left his lips as his head made contact with your thighs, the rest of his body turning into a ball.
A rare moment of vulnerability.
You were fighting your own urges for a while before finally letting your heart take over and bringing your fingers up to his head.
Carefully, you started to brush through the ranger's dark curls, removing any small knots along the way.
After a moment of fear that you might have overstepped his boundaries, your heart immediately felt lighter when you noticed him practically melting into your touch while he let out a relaxed groan.
"Does that feel good?"
Aragorn hummed and you smiled to yourself, deciding to go all in.
Your hands moved up his head, gently scratching his scalp for quite some time before massaging his temples.
You've never seen the ranger so blissed out.
Aragorn, on the other hand, couldn't remember the last time he felt so at peace. Your hands were like heaven in his hair and he wondered how they would feel holding his own hands in times of difficulty or against his cheeks while leaning in for a kiss.
He let himself indulge in those fantasies, not putting an end to them, despite the fact you weren't his.
When all this was over, he decided, he would ask you to stay with him.
The fourth time
The next time, there wasn't even hesitation. When you reunited with the man after the battle of Helm's Deep and saw him covered in blood - which wasn't his own, he assured you - you immediately pulled him aside, your hands cupping his face.
"Aragorn", you breathed and leaned your forehead against his.
"It is not over yet, Y/N", he replied as he took your hands, gently squeezing them.
"I feared for that, but let us celebrate this win. For now, let us take pride in the fact that evil did not win. There is still hope."
He grinned. "You are using my words against me, my darling."
"Someone has to", you mused, "otherwise you will never realise the power behind your words. And now sit down and let me clean your face before the blood dries completely."
He followed your instructions without any complaints.
You grabbed a bowl of water and a clean enough cloth and kneeled down in front of the king.
If it had been anyone else, you might have felt vulnerable or disrespected, but not in this situation.
You dipped the piece of fabric into the warm water before bringing it up to the king's face, gently wiping the blood off of his cheek.
His eyes were fixed on you. He wasn't sure how anyone could look so beautiful while being so focused. The urge to ease the tension between your eyebrows bubbled up in his chest and he desperately wanted to kiss that exact spot. But he couldn't. You weren't his and he still wasn't sure if you wanted to be.
Your voice interrupted his train of thoughts.
"Stop me if this is inappropriate, my king", you murmured after you had stood up and were now mere inches away from his face, brushing his hair back to clean his forehead.
He gulped, trying to ignore how nice you smelt, even during times of war and blood and how the use of his title didn't make him uncomfortable when you said it.
"No, this is nice", Aragorn finally replied and mentally scolded himself for sounding so unsure.
When you were done cleaning his face, you put the bowl down and turned back around to him.
"I can get you some more water if you wish to remove the blood from your chest."
He didn't want you to leave, but it would be selfish to ask you to stay when there were others who might need your assistance, so he shook his head.
"I am well enough, thank you for your help."
You tilted your head, eyes locking with his.
"You are too stubborn for your own good", you sighed. "Go and prepare what you have to, let us help the others, but tonight", you pointed at his chest, "tonight, we'll take a look at your torso."
Aragorn tried to surpress his smirk, failing miserably. "Yes, your majesty."
You rolled your eyes, a fond smile on your lips.
+1
The fight was over.
Aragorn wasn't sure how to feel when all he's ever really known was blood and war and his own swords clashing against the enemys' weapons.
But it was over.
The ring had been destroyed and by some miracle, most of the good ones had made it out alive, you included.
His heart felt suddenly very heavy as his eyes landed on your form, not knowing how you envisioned your future now that the quest had been completed.
Your eyes found his and without thinking, you ran over to the king, throwing your arms around his neck.
"We won, Aragorn", you whispered into his ear and hugged the man even tighter.
It was hard to ignore the happiness bubbling up in his chest as he felt your body against his and the joy in your voice in his ears.
"My darling", he whispered and your heart skipped a beat, "stay with me. Stay by my side and let us, together, create a world of peace for the people now and the generations that will follow."
You stared at him, not believing your own ears.
Aragorn understood your silence as reluctance and took a step back.
"It seems I have misunderstood the situation when I believed you wanted to be mine as well, I apologise for the-"
Your lips crashed against his.
"No, my king." You let out a breath of relief. "It was me who did not believe your heart could want me in that way. For as long as you want me, you will have me. I'm eternally yours."
This time it was Aragorn who pressed his lips against yours, making you lose your mind with a single gesture.
"Aye, took the lad long enough to make his move", Gimli said and looked up at the elf who eyed his new-found friend.
"I told you though. They would end up together eventually."
Just like destiny intended.
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spacebarbarianweird · 2 months
Text
Sleepy
Summary: Tiriel persuades Astarion to drink the sleeping potion.
Technically it's just Astarion being very sleepy and Tiriel taking advantage on that.
Pairing: Astarion x OC (Tiriel)
Tags: fluff, post-game, named Tav, established relationship.
Thanks @themadlu for beta-reading!
Read on AO3
Masterlist
Headcanons
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"Astarion!" Tiriel calls out for her vampire husband. "Are you there?"
The battle is over and Tiriel, feeling dizzy after taking at least two hits in the head, is looking around.
Two dead ogres. Three orcs. A gnoll that was too drunk to realize a raging barbarian wasn’t a good target to bite.
"Only my man can bite me," she pushes the body aside.
But Astarion is nowhere to be seen. He usually hides in the shadows protecting Tiriel from damage, but the moment it's over he comes back to her, hot with blood.
It's been like that for sixty years.
"Astarion!"
No response.
Maybe he's gone too far in the caves? But Astarion has a sharp hearing, he must have heard her.
She looks down and notices a bag probably stolen from an unfortunate victim. Tiriel kneels to open it and sees bottles filled with potion.
Three are broken and the fabric is soaked in a liquid of unknown properties.
And the fourth one...
Tiriel carefully takes it in her hands.
Angelic Sleep Potion!
The only potion that puts an elf to real sleep. It looks like molten gold and the bottle has two wings.
Then Tiriel sees him.
He stands in the middle of the field, silent and motionless. Tiriel can't see his face and she thinks he might be looking for something in the dark.
"Astarion, love!" She calls him. "Are you all right?"
No response again.
His armor is in rags, hair is covered in dry blood. He doesn't have any wounds – not anymore, at least, thanks to vampiric regeneration, but it seems he's received a lot of damage.
"Astarion?" Tiriel feels a knot in her stomach. There was a period when Astarion was such a mental wreck, she even doubted her devotion to him. But he got better with the years, setbacks became rare and now  Astarion sometimes even forgets he lived those awful centuries of slavery.
Astarion makes a grunting sound as if something has stabbed him, before collapsing on his knees.
And then he yells.
His voice echoes through the caves. His yells become cries and then he just sobs grabbing fistfuls of his hair.
Tiriel sits beside Astarion and caresses his back.
"I am here, love, I am here," she plants a kiss on the nape of his neck and only then he stops trembling.
"I am sorry," he mutters, finally collecting himself. "Just... too much..."
"I see, you received too much damage, huh? Come on, you need rest."
Astarion needs help to stand up and then he just leans on Tiriel, unable to move by himself.
"Just... I don't know... it was like a flood. The ogre hit me three or four times and I felt like I was going back to the dungeons, back to... whatever I was before..."
Tiriel tugs him closer.
It takes them the whole night to return back to Backford Crossing – a small town close to Luskan that became their home twenty years ago, after they'd left Daggerlake. It was nice to come back to the Sword Coast and besides Tiriel got her own adventuring guild. These are wild territories that are close to the Icewind Dale, and winters here are merciless.
Tiriel suspects many of her subordinates know too well Astarion is a vampire, but they are people who have a lot of secrets, too. Don't want to be interrogated about your questionable past in the Underdark? Don't try to learn if Astarion is a vampire or not. Besides, thanks to his age and satiation he perfectly imitates a mortal elf. Even his fangs aren't that visible.
By the time Tiriel closes the doors of their house, Astarion leans against the wall and she sees tears flowing down his cheeks.
"How bad was it?" She asks, helping him to undress.
"It broke my bones. As they mended in a moment, they were broken again. Cazador's favorite torture, " he manages to say.
It's the first time in decades since Astarion mentioned his master's name.
Astarion sits on the bed. He needs to meditate to recover but Tiriel knows he is afraid.
Trance will bring more horrors. Forcing him to relive his distant past.
Tiriel puts the potion on the bed table.
"I want you to drink it," she says. "I found it in the alchemist’s bag – its owner was eaten, I am afraid."
"No!" Astarion scutters aside, and Tiriel is afraid he will break the bottle. "I am not going to drink it!"
"Sleep will make you feel better! Trust me, non-elves renew themselves in sleep, it helps to forget horrors of the past day!"
"I am not a non-elf! My mind brings me horrors anyway and I know a lot about those uncontrolled, crazy dreams you have! No. Don't make me!"
Tiriel sighs, helping him to put off his trousers. Astarion is absolutely helpless and Tiriel has a funny flashback of undressing their daughter when she was little.
They look alike, Astarion and Alethaine. And Tiriel takes care of them both even when they are in their killing mood.
"Please, Astarion, don't be such a baby. It will make you feel better. You will just sleep."
"And what if I see nightmares?"
"You will wake up. And you will know they weren't real."
Astarion hesitates but then gets under the blanket and takes the bottle. 
"Tiriel."
"Hm?"
"I will do it, but so you know, darling, I do it only because you ask! And I have a condition."
"What is it?"
"You stay  here. All the time. Just don't go. I- I need you to be there when I am, in these...whatever."
"I am too tired to go anywhere. I will be here for you, don't worry," Tiriel kisses him and feels his hand on her back.
"You know, everyone who would see us would think we are supposed to grow tired of each other, not be these lovestruck fools we are.'' Tiriel giggles.
"You haven't gotten any colder, my darling, still as warm as you were when I drank your blood for the first time," he pulls away and opens the lid of the bottle.
"Hm, that first time when you drank my blood and then almost came in your pants?"
"Exactly that," he smiles while drinking the full bottle. His sight immediately gets sleepy. "And it wasn't nice of you to withhold the fact you saw me in the woods with no trousers on.''
Tiriel pushes Astarion down on the pillow, making him comfortable in the soft bed. He still needs a source of warmth and she plans to burn the fireplace and also sleep beside him for the whole day.
"My head is heavy," he complains.
"You are falling asleep, it happens to me every day. Sleep well."
"What do non-elves do when others... fall asleep...?" He closes his eyes allowing the potion to take control of his body.
"Leave them alone. Or sing them a lullaby."
"Can you...?" His tongue turns twisted.
Tiriel caresses his cheek and starts humming. She often sang this lullaby to Alethaine and there were a few months when the dhampir absolutely refused to go to sleep without hearing it. Though Alethaine is technically an elf, she still can’t meditate and sleeps like any non-elf, including her mother.
It's a song of a mother dragon who waits till her children hatch. She is ready to wait patiently for decades till it happens and before that, the little dragons can sleep comfortably in their eggs.
A pretty sad song if one thinks about it – because the dragon shall never see her children hatch, for she will be slayed by a warrior. Alethaine finally realized this after about four months, when she was five, burst into tears, and cried so loud Astarion heard it from the surface part of the town and they both spent the next few hours trying to cheer their daughter up. In the end, they all agreed Alethaine would grow up to slay dragon slayers and save little dragons – and with that, she finally agreed to go to bed.
Who knew Alethaine would have such a sensitive heart?
Tiriel caresses Astarion's cheek and sees he's asleep. She carefully undresses so as not to wake him up and gets under two thick blankets to preserve the heat.
Then, she hugs Astarion from behind pressing his back to her breasts and feels like falling asleep, too.
As she loses control of her thoughts Tiriel remembers the bite moment in every little detail. The fear that woke him up, a scared and embarrassed Astarion who appeared to be a vampire, begging  her to let him draw her blood. She pitied him – all thanks to the tadpole that showed her all the misery Astarion's life was.
Another wave of fear as she realized Astarion wasn’t stopping. Tiriel violently kicked him, forcing him to let her go. His attempt to show his honest gratitude. How he then went to the woods, she thought, to hunt for more.
Tiriel felt the call of nature sometime later and left the camp only to catch a glimpse of Astarion leaning against a tree without his trousers and doing very clear movements with his hand.
For some reason, it didn't disgust her – more like intrigued. The very idea that the vampire fed on her and got that aroused somehow made her feel much better about herself.
The sentient blood made Astarion's body function properly. It made him desire things. It made him want her. At first, as a means to an end. Later, as someone much more than just a partner and a donor.
Tiriel plants a kiss on his shoulder. It was sixty years ago. Six decades.
Her thoughts wander further, to the night on the clearance. Astarion was so beautiful in the moonlight she jumped on him wanting him to become her first one. He never disappointed her, but Astarion still resents their first night –  she can’t get into his head, but she knows his intentions and thoughts were far from pleasant that night.
It wasn't him. Not the real him. The real Astarion – the one buried deep under the trauma, violence, degeneration, torture, and rapes – woke up in the morning full of feelings he didn't know he could still have.
And Tiriel has loved this real person ever since.
Tiriel drifts away in her sleep still holding her husband in her arms.
Waking up is difficult – she's a heavy sleeper – and she realizes it's almost evening. She still feels too lazy and too comfortable to move.
Astarion is still in her arms.
She elbows up and sees that Astarion’s eyes are open. He is half-awake, in this dizzy state of mind when you can't make yourself get up, and time passes fast.
"Hello, darling," Tiriel kisses his lips as he answers her.
"Hmm," he mutters something and stretches his hands only to close his eyes.
She giggles. He is so much like Alethaine right now – their daughter is a heavy sleeper and Tiriel sometimes needs a lot of effort to make her get up.
But there was nothing sweeter than kissing a sleepy dhampir whose mind woke up but her will to fight didn't. So Tiriel would just smooch and hug Alethaine as much as possible before the dhampir finally got enough of that.
Tiriel starts kissing Astarion forcing him to murmur something. Then she hugs him, caressing his back and shoulders. She knows he is conscious but he has no strength and will to resist her.
And he is so beautiful.
Astarion's hair is messy. His body is relaxed, his mouth is half open and his face is a bit puffy.
"Such a sweet beautiful elf you are," she intertwines her fingers in his hair. "I am so lucky to have you."
He mutters something again and Tiriel kisses his neck. Then she traces it right to his jawline and puts two fingers on his lips.
Astarion’s eyelids get heavy again and he slips away back to dreams.
Well, it's his first time.
And when it's his first time he takes it fully.
Blood drinking? Tiriel almost died from blood loss. Sex with a loved person? She couldn't close her legs after that, and she had to take a bath to wash out the graveyard dirt. Freedom? Astarion stopped walking only when Tiriel was unable to go further without a rest. Marriage and relationship? Tiriel is the happiest woman in the world – when they lived in Daggerlake and raised their daughter other women would come to Tiriel half-joking about wanting to know where exactly she found Astarion. Fatherhood? Astarion spent every minute with Alethaine, making sure the dhampir was loved and protected.
When it's sunset, Tiriel comes to Astarion again and starts playing with his hair, waking him up.
"Hello darling," he mutters.
"Hello, my heart," she answers.
He sits up unable to focus his sight.
"Do you want food or a bath?" She asks.
"And what do you usually want after... such… a prolonged rest?"
Tiriel laughs.
"Usually I want to pee after being asleep for so long."
"My digestive system died with my heart and lungs."
"Well, then bath. I don’t know how it works for you, but no one can eat right after waking up"
"Aletaine can.'' He notices.
"Alethaine is a little half-undead monster I carried in my womb. For someone who is five feet tall and weighs eighty-eight pounds, she devours an ungodly amount of food. No wonder I felt so bad when I was pregnant."
"What did you expect?"Astarion stretches his arms and yawns. “You got pregnant by a vampire.”
"I didn't expect anything! You are the smart one, you were supposed to know!" Tiriel takes his hand and pulls him to the bathroom, turning on the pipe with hot water. "And now, I catch myself thinking, what if something bad happens to my daughter? And then, if something bad happened to her I wouldn't know that! Because who knows where she is right now! It makes me anxious and every time she comes back to us I want to lock her down and never let her go!"
Astarion submerges his legs into the water and smiles, baring his fangs. "Our daughter is a dhampir and a necromancer. Every dhampir we've met so far told us she is a very dangerous person to be enemies with."
Tiriel laughs adding some cold water to be able to withstand the heat. Then she gets inside too and takes the sponge to wash herself and Astarion.
"How was it?" she finally asks. "Your first sleep."
"It was nice, but I don't want to do this again. It was like being beaten with a heavy pillow and I couldn't get myself out of this slumber. It was nice and I feel much better but this is... still unnatural to me. Elves sleep only when drugged or severely beaten. Or when they are traumatized so much they can't trance anymore. And considering I still can, I don't want to know what elves are supposed to go through.”
"You are just a very strong person, Astarion, don't sell yourself too short.”
They spend hours in the bath, talking and washing and only then Tiriel finally makes herself get out –  someone needs to deliver news that the poor alchemist was killed by ogres.
"I will prepare you dinner," Astarion assures her – another skill he learned over the years, even though he can never say if what he makes is edible or not.
Tiriel tries to do everything quickly. Deliver the news, assign the task to beat the shit out of the ogre tribe to the newest members of the guild, and then come back home to whatever Astarion is making for her.
When she approaches her home, she catches the delicious smell and her body immediately responds by making her move faster.
She is fucking starving.
But once she opens the door she hears a loud laughter.
"Alethaine!" Tiriel gasps entering the kitchen.
The silver-curled dhampir smiles wide, baring her fangs.
"I am moving to Fireshear," she explains. "Decided to pay a visit on my way there. And to pick up my old books."
Tiriel hugs her daughter and can't resist rubbing her ear. Alethaine is so delicate and thin but there is a dark strength in her, the power of dhampirism and necromancy. The young woman leans in, allowing Tiriel to show her motherly love.
Astarion puts the plates in front of his wife and daughter. It seems like Alethaine has been at home for some time – she wears a black dress Astarion always insists on keeping ironed and clean in case his princess comes to stay.
"I told your mother not to worry about you," he smiles. "You know that you should stab first."
"Are you staying for long, kitten?"
"I was thinking about a month or two, and then I sail north."
"Maybe three?' Astarion suggests. "I don't think it really matters when you get to this hellishly cold place."
Tiriel smiles. Alethaine was born in Uktar, the last month of winter — and should she stay for three months, they can celebrate her fortieth birthday.
Alethaine makes a weird sound that substitutes "sigh" for her – the dhampir doesn't breathe, almost like a vampire.
"Rather generous offer, how can I say no," Alethaine chuckles.
**
"Wake up, kitten," Tiriel enters her daughter's room the next day. "You've slept for fifteen hours!"
Alethaine makes a disgruntled noise from a heap of blankets she’s buried herself in.
The room is uncomfortably hot due to the fireplace and Tiriel can't understand how it's possible to sleep in such a warm place.
Especially considering Alethaine doesn’t have a vampire to hug.
"Alethaine, time to get up," she pulls the blankets away. The dhampir immediately curls in the fetal position trying to keep warm.
Tiriel caresses her cheek and kisses her. Alethaine is seepy like a cat – absolutely unable to do anything against Tiriel.
Tiriel makes her sit up and then hugs her. The young dhampir tries to get back to bed but her mother is adamant - too much sleep is as bad as too little of it.
Finally, Alethaine puts her feet on the floor. Tiriel giggles seeing her bed hair – the always composed dhampir looks like a drunk dryad.
“I am waking up, mum,” she mutters. 
"So, how difficult was it?" Astarion asks, sitting on the front porch. The ledge protects him from the sunlight and allows the vampire to enjoy the day as much as possible.
"You know, that's kinda funny. She is almost forty – don't tell me she is a child by elven standards, you were a magistrate at her age – but I can't stop thinking that she hasn't changed much since she was four!"
"She didn't," Astarion smiles. "She is our baby princess and always will be. No matter how many armies of the dead she can resurrect."
Tiriel leans on astarion and receives a kiss.
She is happy.
No matter what the future holds for Tiriel the Barbarian, she will always be happy.
--
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fangirlstorycreator · 7 months
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Hello! 🖤 I have an ask, what do you think Thranduil would think of himself if he stumbled upon a precarious human who was injured and found himself falling in love with her? 🤌🏻 could you write something like that? 🙏🏼 maybe he drapes his amazing cloak around her when she panics over her predicament?? Thank you in advanced 🖤🖤
I am very happy to write a thranduil story for you! I hope you'll enjoy, it's my first time writing for him 😁
Your eyes were just starting to open as you felt the warm sun shine through the window, the night before you had stayed in a pub called The Prancing Pony, and the room you were staying in had a window right next to your bed. You sit up it bed and rub the sleepiness from your face, knowing another god damn day was about to start. You were a lone warrior who traveled all over middle earth, you had no home, no family and your bed was pretty much anywhere you could find at the end of the night. Weather that would be a bed like this one, or the forest floor on your travels, it's safe to say you much preferred the bed to the ground. You had stayed at the Prancing Pony many times before, as it was a good place inbetween travels where you could rest up and carry on with your days. You would travel across middle earth and help to rid villages of dangers, weather it be a monster, a band of orcs, or worse. It was just the norm for you now, and there didn't seem to be anything that would change that, not that you knew of at least.
You got dressed into your light armour then made your way downstairs to the man behind the bar, he offered you some food for the road after you paid him, and you accepted happily. Once you left The Prancing Pony, you walked over to the horse stables and collected your horse Thunder, aptly named because the first time you met him he was just a pony and he helped you out of a rather nasty thunderstorm. As you were walking Thunder down the path, a man ran up to you looking rather out of breath, and quite panicked. "Miss! Miss! I see you have weapons on your back! Are you a fighter?!" "Technically yes, I've slain orcs and monsters, and I can hold my own in a fight" "Really? Oh thank the gods! Please, I need your help" "What's wrong?" "It's my son! He ran away from home after an argument, spouting that he was the strongest in the family and he would prove it! He's ran away to Mirkwood forest" "Mirkwood? Why Mirkwood?" "He wanted to bring back the head of the monstrous spider! But I told him that there were too many and it would be suicide! Please, can you try to find him?......I....I know there is a chance he's already gone....if the worst has happened, please could you being his body back so we can bury him in our family plot?"
There was so much pain in his voice, like the thought of his son being dead was too hard to bare. "I will try to find him, and I will try to bring him back to you alive" "Oh thank you miss, I have many jems hear to pay you for your effort" "We can discuss payment once I'm back, until then, I should get going" "Thank you again my lady" "Oh-uh" For such a long time you haven't liked being referred to as a lady, your not a royal and you never act like a lady anyway, especially not the way you talk, act and fight. "Y/N is fine" And with that, you carried on out of the little village and headed towards Mirkwood. With Thunder being your horse, you were able to travel at great distances, within a short amount of time, you were able to pass by Last Bridge and Bruinen. It was night fall by the time you both reached the other side of the misty mountains, you were tempted to ask for shelter in Rivendel, but you weren't sure what kind of welcome you would receive. You had heard stories about the elves, and the ones at Rivendel seemed nice enough, but it was the ones in Mirkwood who most people spoke ill about. You had heard many stories, mostly to do with the history of Thorin Oakenshield and the King of Mirkwood. They had some kind of falling out and there was hatred on both sides, it may have been something to do with Smaug, the dragon who attacked Erabor.
According to witnesses, The Elf king did nothing to help the Dwarf king and his people after Smaug took their home, and that there were rumours that the same elf king captured them and kept them his dungeons when they tried to claim their home back. That's the bad side some people see, but there were others who pointed out that the Elf king helped in the battle of the five armies, although, apparently he was there already to take back something from Erabor. But again, he also lended aid to the people of Dale after the dragon attack, there were so many stories, you couldn't make heads or tales of it. This was running through your mind as you settled down for the night at the edge of the mountains, with you and Thunder warming up by the fire. You decided it was just better to avoid this King or any of his other elves when you were in there, it was going to be difficult enough having to find this young man, in Mirkwood of all places. People have gone mad or even died in that place, and you didn't want to be another one of those people who was whispered about when stories were told. After having something to eat, you drifted off to sleep, lying against Thunder as he leans close to the fire.
The next morning, you awoke from the sunrise and you grabbed something to eat from your backpack as you started getting ready to move again. Not forgetting to feed Thunder of course, he loves his crunchy apples, he couldn't get enough of them. Once you were both fed and ready, the journey started again, and it wasn't long at all before you reached the edge of Mirkwood, with this peculiar looking entrance, it looked very aged, but also like it had been hand carved by the finest eleven hands. You knew that taking Thunder in there was going to be dangerous, however, Thunder was a very stern horse indeed. Over the years, when you have tried to keep him away when your on a dangerous mission, he would find a way to join you, and wouldn't let you do it alone. You were stuck with him, there was no question. "You ready old friend?" He gave a positive winny noise, and it made you smile. Taking his reigns, you lead him through the entrance and into the forest, hoping that this whole situation would be over soon. You had only been in there for 10 minutes, and it was already feeling difficult to breath, let alone anything else.
The atmosphere had an almost misty feel to it, yet you could see fine, it was like your vision was trying to trick you. The air was heavy and you felt dissy due to what felt like lack of oxygen, but you kept going, looking for any sigh of that young man. Thunder stopped in his tracks, and was clipping his hoof against something on the ground, you climb down to look, and pick up a piece of fabric, and it had the same colour of the shirt the father was wearing, this must be from the young man you were suposed to find. You were clever not to shout for him, this forest could be hiding a whole host of dangers, including the very creatures this man came in hear to find in the first place. You weren't going to draw attention to yourself, so quietly you kept on moving, finding more and more pieces of this material as you followed. Until one piece had some blood on it "Oh god, I hope this is just from a little wound" You said to Thunder, that's when Thunder took a few steps back and looked a little scared, you stroked him to help calm him, and that's when you turn to see what he saw. Behind you in the trees were many cocooned bodies in spider webs, there had to be at least 30, and some of them you could see where long gone.
Skeletons haunted this feeding ground, but you weren't looking for skeletons, this man was hear recently. You left Thunder on the ground and climbed the tree, looking for this man, when out of the corner of your eye, you see a flash of colour, the sake colour as the pieces of material you've found. It was him, wrapped up in this spider web. You climbed over to him and sliced him down with your little blade, he slowly fell to the floor as you jumped back down. Again you use your blade to slice open the webbing, and your so thankful he is breathing. He start to stir, he mumbled with his eyes closed. "N-no mumma, I don't want a sweetroll-" "Hey! Wake up!" You say as you slap him in the face, making him jolt awake and sit up. "What the-How did I-Who are you?! Did you just slap me?!" "Yes I did! Your father sent me hear to find you because he's worried sick about you, why would you be so stupid to run off on your own into Mirkwood, in search of spiders, on PURPOSE?!" "I wanted to bring back the head of a spider to prove I was strong!" "Don't you think a better idea would be to NOT go and hunt a dangerous monster to prove your strength? And instead prove to be a better son? And not scare your father in the process? To the point where he thinks your dead?! You had no skill to do this alone!"
"Excume me! What makes think that?!" You look at him with and angry face, and point up to the spiders webs, and the webs around him. "Hello! You were going to die you moron!" "Alright alright point made" "Good, now, look behind my horse there, do you see that?" "It looks, like a thin wire rope" "It is, I tied it around a part of the entrance of this forest, we will follow it and get out of this place. Then! You will go straight home and apologise for acting like an idiot to your father!" "But-" "Do I make myself clear?!" "Fine! Yes you do" After giving him a stern look, he brushes the rest of the webs off himself as you seen if Thunder is ok, but something is wrong, you sence a presence, a bad one. You turn around and see not one, but three enormous spiders advancing down the tree towards you all.
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"Get out of hear now! Follow the wire!" "But what about you-" "Just get out now!" This man ran towards the wire, following it to the entrance of the forest as you ready your weapons. You shoot your cross bow at one spider hitting it straight in the eye and making it fall out of the tree to it's dead, still twitching. The other two run towards you, the swerve inbetween them and slice the leg of one, leaving it in pain and unable remove properly, that's where Thunder comes in.
He races over and starts attacking this wounded spider, kicking it in the body and face with his front and back legs, he has one hell of a kick on him, and he is destroying this spider. That leaves you to focus on the last one, that just so happens to be the biggest, and you notice it had many scars, it's seen battles, will it meet its fate in this one? It charges at you with lightening speed, knocking your weapon out of your hand and pins you up against the tree. Your holding it back by it's fangs, that are trying desperately to bite you, it's so hard keeping him away from your neck. So you kick the back of the tree, and reveal a blade that spikes out of your shoe, which you use to stab this spider in the throat, causing it to squeal and drop you due to the pain. You had no idea how high this spider was holding you, and you fell to the floor and felt a tremendous amount of pain, it was coming from your left arm, thankfully you were right handed, but you were still injured and weren't sure you were going to make it. You try attacking this spider again and again, getting a few injuries in, but it's too quick and to strong, and at one point, it grabs you and throws you against a tree, you feel something break but you don't know what. You fall to the floor in tears of agony, holding your ribs and struggling to breath, your bloodied and bruised, and Thunder is struggling with his own spider, he is unable to get to you. Your spider gets closer and closer to you, you have no way to move without pain, is this it? Were you about to be taken out by this spider?
It's within inches of you now, and you close your eyes as its about to strike at you with it fangs, when suddenly you don't feel anything from it. You just hear the sound of something shooting through the air, and when your eyes open you see an arrow has been shot into this spiders side, causing it to get angry, stand away from you and look for whoever shot it. Out of nowhere, about 15 elves jump out of the bushes and trees, and start attacking this giant spider, and the one that Thunder is struggling with too. The pain is too much and you collapse against the tree, trying desperately to hold in the tears and wishing for this pain to go away. The spider sees you and tries to strike at you again, when suddenly an incredibly tall man jumps out from behind you and stands infront, brandishing his blade to stop this monster. His sword slices one of it's fangs off like it was made of butter, and the spider retreats back in pain, allowing the other elves to attack it more. Your vision is getting harder to focus, the pain it too much, so it doesn't even cross your mind this Elf had knelt beside you to see if your ok, until you see his eyes. His piercing eyes, like sapphires and diamonds blended together in perfect balance.
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His hand rests against your cheek, but before you could say anything, you pass out and fall forward, but he catches you before you fall.
The elves had just killed both the spiders as this elf picks you up and holds you in his arms, being careful not move you to much incase it hurts you more. Thunder races over to your unconscious body, and looks panicked. "Do not worry....your rider will be alright with the help of my kin" Somehow, Thunder both understood him and believed him, but he still looked worried down at you. "We will bring them both back to the palace, make sure this magnificent horse is tended to.......I shall take this woman to the healers....let's go" Time seemed to feel so short when you felt yourself waking up again, was it all a bad dream? Did that fight really happen? Your eyes adjusted to the surroundings, but something was wrong, everything was different. You could see you were in a beautiful silk white bed, enormous for just one person, the walls and decorations were beautiful, cream and white in colour, with what looked like green leaves and ivy growing in and around the walls, making it look incredible. Your so busy wondering what happend and where you were, that when you try to sit up, a sharp pain hits you like a bolder. "Hhhsss! By the gods! What the hell?" You pull back the silk quilt, and pull up your shirt to see a bandage delicately wrapped around your ribs, did someone heal you? That's when it all starts flooding back. Saving that man, being attacked by spiders, and elves coming to sav-Elves! The elves of the Mirkwood forest! So that means....I'm in the Mirkwood palace?
You look at the rest of you, and you see that your left arm is in a cast, and you can feel some bruises on your face and chest, but no cuts. Did the Elves use their healing abilities to help you? And if so, why? You manage to sit up and on the edge of the bed, where you hear a knock at the door. "Hello?" "Good day my lady, my name is Elenwen, may I come in?" She seemed polite, was she the elf who helped me?" "Y-yes" The door opened and this very well presented elf maiden entered the room with a trey of fresh fruits, baked goods and fresh water. "Oh, my lady you should be resting. Why don't you lie back in bed?" "No it's alright, I'm fine" "I'm sorry but I don't belive that. Not after I witness King Thranduil using his healing gifts to help you, according to him, you had 2 broken ribs, a broken arm and many other injuries too" "I'm sorry, did you say King?" "Yes, King Thranduil, he and his hunting party were out in the forest and happened upon you in the spiders den. He brought you and your horse back for care and assistance, that was 3 days ago" "Thunder is ok? Oh thank the gods-woh woh woh wait a second! 3 days ago?! I've been unconscious for 3 days?!" "You were healing my lady, your broken bones are nearly healed thanks to the king, and another few days and you should be much better" "I didn't think elven healing could be that quick. Oh, and....there's no need to call me lady, my names Y/N" "Ok, it's a pleasure to know your name Y/N. Is there anything else I can get you or help you with?"
"That's very kind of you, but I've already taken up enough of your time and resources. I'll just take Thunder and be on my way" "Oh you can't possibly do that yet! Your still healing, and the forest is dangerous for someone in your condition" "I'm sure I'll manage, I don't want to be a disturbance hear, I'm not exactly someone of royalty standards, I'm just a commoner. I honestly don't know why the elves helped me in the first place" "Royal or not, you were in need of help, and we gave it too you. Besides, the king asked me to inform him once you had awoken, he wishes to speak to you" "Let me guess, he's going to scald me about being on his land and in his forest?" "Of course not, why would you think that?" "I just assumed it would be that" "I can assure you that is not the case, shall I bring him in now?" "I'll just go to him, I've been in this bed for the days, I need to get out of it" "But I-" "I'm not staying in this bed any longer" "Well, alright, fine. But I'll only bring you to the king if you eat something first, you need your strength" "I'm not hungry, I don't need it" "No food, you stay in bed. And that's final" She seemed adamant about that, and you were in no position the move her out of the way and leave by yourself. So you agreed and ate some food, it was some of the best you had even tasted, once Elenwen was happy with you, she helped you out of bed and walked with you through the palace. The further you moves the darker the whole place got, but only in light, not in mood.
It actualy felt quite pleasant in hear, the walkways were made of these beautiful wooden tree roots, like the whole palace was built in and under an enormous tree of some sorts. It was difficult for you to walk quickly, but Elenwen knew this and walked slowly for you too, she seemed very nice. A few minutes later, she walks you across the biggest of these wooden root bridges, where there are these little steps leading to what looks like a big circular area, and in that, was a giant throne. It too was made out of the same things you walked across, there were two guards in either side of the throne, but right at the top, sitting there, was a majestic looking elf. And it wasn't until he looked down at you, that you remember something else from the spider attack, the diamond and sapphire eyes, they were his.
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It's only then that the realisation hits you, the very same man who protected you, was the king! You and Elenwen stood at the foot of the throne, and Elenwen said "My king, the lady Y/N wished to approach you instead of in her bedroom quarters" The king can see your eyes roll when she says "Lady" again, you don't see it, but it actualy slightly amuses him.
"Guard, bring Y/N a chair" He does, and places it close to where you were. "Leave us, I wish to speak with Y/N alone" Both the guards and Elenwen leave the area, and now it's just you and the king. He walks down from his throne and stands just the right distance from you. "Please, take a seat" "That's kind, but I don't need one" "Don't need one?.....I'm suprised" You just shrug your shoulder, not knowing what to say. "So?.....might I ask, how you happend to be in the Mirkwood forest on your own?" "I was searching for someone" "And who might that be?" "A young man who had foolishly ran away to slay a spider, trying to prove his bravery and strength to his father" "I see, and did he get what he was seeking" "Nope, all he got was a smack in the face when I got him out of the spiders web, and a firm telling where to go because of his stupidity" This time you see it, a little smirk at the side of his face. "So, you saved this young man, and also smacked him in the face?" "If he hadn't have been acting like a wanna be spider hunter, he wouldn't have got himself into that mess. And because he nearly died from that, he needed a wake up call"
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"I see....I like that.....so? Is that what you were doing there too? Trying to prove something?" "What do you mean by that?" "You entered this forest on your own, knowing the dangers. Were you acting like a wanna be spider hunter" "I wasn't acting like anything, I am someone who will help others in danger. I am skilled in fighting and weaponry, and I offer my help to those that need it and ask for it. This was my first time going up against spiders, it didn't exactly shock ME that I didn't get very far with them" "You nearly died saving that young man" "So?" ".......why did you say that?" "Because I did, what are you getting at?" "I just find it interesting how a young woman like yourself, who puts herself in danger all the time will say (So?) When asked about her own safety?" "Have you seen the world we live in? Safety isn't exactly easy to find. All over middle earth every day there are villages who happen to be in the way of some orc bandits. Or bears will pillage peoples homes, or innocent soldiers or bystanders will die in wars, that have no need to be happening anyway. I'm just doing my job, I help people and care for my horse, there is nothing else. And it's a dangerous job I do, so if I happen to die, that that's just what happens" He looks at you with a serious face, but the is also concern there too.
"When me and my kin were out hunting 3 days ago, we saved you from those spiders. But you yourself must have noticed that one was much bigger that the others?" "Actualy I did, and it had scars over its body" "That was because it was the most dangerous of the spiders nest. You see...there is a creature that hides away in some unknown location, me and my kin have tried and failed to find it. It is the biggest and most terrifying of the spiders, and it's name is Shelob. During it's time it had birthed only 3 children, as the others were eaten by those 3. And that spider who you fought in the forest, just so happens to be one of those 3 children. It has been responsible for many deaths of all races, and everytime my kin have tried to hunt it down, they have either never been found, or have been eaten by this beast. This is why I wished to speak to you" "What do you mean?" "Many of my kin have fallen to this monster within seconds, and none have lived.....and yet....you were attacked by this beast, and two others along side it. What I want to know....is how you did it?" "I don't know what to tell you, I just fought back. I shot a cross bow bolt into the head of one before it got out of the tree, I sliced the leg off another and my horse Thunder was beating him off. And as for the big one....I just did what I could, it didn't help that half way through, my left arm had broken and I wasn't able to hold myself in a fight anymore. But I tried, and when it threw me against the tree, I had no chance"
"But you fought it and lived" "No, I fought it, nearly died and then you and your soldiers turned up. I just got lucky" "Don't downplay what happend and what you did" "Why do you care anyway? I don't even see why you helped heal me either, I came onto your land without permission. You should have just left me there after you killed the spiders, I could have got myself back out of the forest" Simpathy now shines in his eyes. "Your not used to receiving help are you?" You fall silent, it occurs to you that he's actualy right. You have no family, no friends, just Thunder. And the majority of interactions you have with people are when they want something from you. And the ones that don't, only chat to you once they have your money. You weren't good at accepting help, you didn't feel like you deserve it, that's why you just wanted to leave this place and get back to what your life was. "The silence says it all Y/N......tell me....why do you not like to be referred to as (Lady)?" "How did you know I don't like that?" "I know many things....and I also saw that little eye roll when Elenwen called you that...I'm guessing with that fierce personality of yours, you have already told her you don't wish to be called that?" "Yeh, I did. I'm sorry, fierce?" "You don't think the same?" "Of course I don't, why do you?"
"Isn't it obvious? You travel these lands on your own, as I have not seen any companion with you. You travel everywhere to do others bidding for coin, you fight and slay monsters, you face danger and you have a flare for standing your ground and being what you want to be. I'd say that's a fierce personality if ever I've seen one" Why is he being so nice? "So again I ask you....why do you not like being called a lady?" "I don't behave like one, so I don't want to be called that" You are firm and strong in your answer, and yet strangely, he seems to like this. He has a small smile on his lips, why? "I must say.....I am impressed" "With what?" "......You of course" "Ok, what do you want?" "I beg your pardon?" "I said what do you want? You wouldn't be saying this kind of thing if you didn't want something from me. So what is it? Coin? To throw me in your dungeon?" "Y/N......I'm sorry" "Huh? For what?" "Im sorry that an extraordinary woman like you thinks that everyone is an enemy. You must have been through so much to think that, I'm sorry if I have said or done something to make you feel unsafe in my presence. I do not have an ulterior motive, I do not wish to throw you in the dungeon or take coin from you. I was simply giving you a compliment, you do impress me" Well....this was unexpected, you honestly didn't know what to say in response.
He held his hand out to you and said "You are my guest hear Y/N, and it's a pleasure to meet you" You take his hand with yours, it's surprisingly big, but soft and welcoming. He brought it to his lips and kissed your hand gently, all while keeping piercing eye contact. "And as my guest, you will be given any luxury you wish, what ever you wish for, you shall have" "That's really not necessarily, I don't need anything" "I insist...." "Look, I think it's just better if I go, I wouldn't want to take up your space or resources" "This is a palace, and as king I have overflowing resources. I must insist you stay until you are in a better condition" "I'm fine" "Do correct me if I'm wrong, but you are struggling to stand as we speak, and I can't see a part of you that isn't hurt. Please..." He does have a point, I suppose staying until your better makes sence, and him and his people have been helpful. "Alright, just until I'm ok to travel" "Wonderful....now, will you allow me to give you a tour of my home?" "Really?" "Of course, your going to have to know where things are if your going to be staying hear for a while" "Ok, it makes sense" "If you care to walk with me, I shall show you the palace" He offered his arm to you, but you politely declined with your hand, he nodded, but he was making sure to keep an eye on you, you were still weak from the spider attack.
He walked you through the palace and showed you many rooms and areas, kitchen, dining areas, balconies, beautiful rooms and many many other places in the palace. But he saved the best for last, he finaly lead you outside to the back of the palace, there was an enormous hidden garden at the back, and it was filled with sweet smelling wild flowers, fruit trees, planting areas and stables for horses. That's where you see Thunder. "Thunder!" He hears your voice and winnied at the sight of you, he happily trotted over to you and you hugged his face as he was finaly back with you. "Thank you for looking after him" "Your welcome, he is a wonderful animal. One of the strongest I've seen, and I've seen many over the years" "Thunder is a great horse, he's always been there for me. Anytime he sences danger, he won't leave my side" "A loyal animal....just like my stag I had many years ago....he unfortunately died in the last battle I fought" "If I may ask, was that the battle of the five armies?" "That's correct....I was there to retrieve something of mine, and I was willing to fight for it. But when the orc and goblins attacked too, I had to change my objective" "I've heard stories about the army, but not from someone who had been in the thick of it" "I do not wish to discuss it anymore" "That's fine, I'm not going to force you" He gives you a small smile, and you do too.
Your suddenly over come with a dizzy feeling, and your ribs hurt too. It causes you to loose your balance and hold your rib with your good arm, and within the second that happened, Thranduil is holding your back with his strong hands. "Y/N, what's wrong?" "I'm fine, just a little dizzy that's all" You say as he helps you stand back up again, still keeping one of his hands on your back. "Your still healing, you need time to rest. Allow me to take you to a part of the gardens where you can sit and I will stay to keep you company" "You don't have to keep me company if you don't want to you know" "I am the king, I can do what I wish. Thunder can come with us if it pleases you?" "That would be nice, thanks" This time when Thranduil offers you his arm, you take it. You didn't want to fall from pain or dizziness infront of him, so you did take his arm just this time. He lead you and Thunder through the rest of the garden to this wonderful river in the middle of this garden, there were other horses who were walking around wherever they liked, and Thunder happily trotted over to meet them. There was a beautifully carved wooden bench next to you, and Thranduil helped you to sit down and get comfortable.
His servants were all over the palace and gardens, and he asked one to bring some drinks and fresh food for you both, once they did, you simply sat and watched Thunder enjoying himself, whilst also getting to know Thranduil too. It was just general chit chat, getting to know eachother and finding out things about eachother. Hobbies, favourite food, memories, things you've done, your background in fighting and what you want to do in the future. For a king, he was surprisingly easy to talk too, and he didn't talk down to you, he treated you like an equal. After a few hours, that felt more like minutes, Thranduil got more trustworthy with you, and told you about the situation from the battle of the five armies. "My goal was to help the people who had been pushed out of their home in Dale, brought them food and medical supplies....but I did have a more pressing matter in mind....you see...many years before this happened, the late Thorin Oakenshield was in possession of some of my treasure, and I was intending to get it back" "And that's why you brought an army with you?" "The army was....a precaution..." "A precaution? There were 14 of them" "Nevertheless....it seemed it was good that I brought them with me....once the battle had begun"
"And....did you get your treasure back?" "I did....once the battle field was cleared and all those who fell in battle were laid to rest, including the late king. His kin, Dale Ironfoot returned the gems to me after Oakenshields funeral...and I brought them back to my home where they belong" "This treasure must have meant a lot to you" "Yes...you could say that..." "I'd think they would be to bring an army with you" He ever so slightly chuckled and said "I can't disagree with you on that" After your time spent getting to know eachother, he walked you back with Thunder to the horses stables, as it was time for the dinner to be served, Thunder was going to be fed with the other horses too. Thranduil lead you into the dining room, where the table was laden with so many different and delicious smelling foods, it made you feel like hunger was puching your stomach. Thranduil helped you to sit beside him, and the servants were all there to serve you food and your choice of wine too. This was so strange for you to experience, you hadn't been waited on before, there was a part of you that wanted to help the servers take the used plates down to the kitchen and help with the cleaning. But when you tried to offer any help, Thranduil said you needed the rest, you were a guest in the palace, and the kitchen had plenty of other staff to help them, and they were all paid very well for their jobs. Maybe that was just the commoner in you, wanting to do your bit, but now that you think of it, most of the staff in hear looked like they had better health and more wealth than many lords and ladies you had met throughout middle earth.
Once you were both fed and the table was cleared, Thranduil offered to walk you around the outside of the palace to view the beauty of the night before taking you back to your room. You accepted and together you both walked outside and witnessed the plants, trees and wildlife glow almost with this magical blue aura, it was like being in a magical hideaway. "This place is even more beautiful outside" "I agree, I do tend to just sit out hear most evenings and observe it's unique beauty" "Your so lucky to live hear" "It's my birthright, I'm not sure luck is anything to do with it. I'm sure your home is just as impressive" "If I had I home I might have been able to describe it" ".......You?....Don't have a home?" "Nope" "But.....where do you live? How do you manage to keep going? Where do you even sleep?" "I don't live anywhere, I don't have a house of my own, I just sleep anywhere there is a space. Weather it be in a tavern, if I have the coin for it. Or if I don't have coin, I'll just sleep under the stars on a bed roll or something. I keep going taking any work I can, I don't get much coin, but I don't need it, all I need is food, a place to rest my head on a night, and Thunder. And I don't have to be rich to have those things" "I'm.....I'm sorry this has burdened you" "Burdened? Don't be silly, I'm not burdened. There are people out there who are in far worse positions that me, I'm grateful for what I have" "But....don't you wish you could have more?" "Of course I do, what person wouldn't. But in life, whatever we want can't just happen magically or form out of thin air. Maybe in the future if I save some coin, I could rent a room out of a shared home, or something that won't result in me sleeping under a tree. But it's not a big issue for me"
He chuckled again "What's funny?" "I just....find it amazing how you can be happy, with so little in your life. No home, and yet...hear you are...smiling" "Because it's not the end of the world" You both smile, and your also nearly to your room again. Thranduil stands with you outside your door and bids you a good night, once again kissing the back of your hand. "Y/N, do tell me....where is it you normally stay if you have the coin?" "Well, it's Bree. It's right in the middle of all the places I travel too, and it's the perfect point to stop during travels. I could stay there for a good few days before I'm off again" "That's very interesting to know.....well, I shall leave you to rest...good night Y/N" "Goodnight Thranduil"
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He gave you one last small smile, and walked back the way he came, presumably to go to bed himself. You enter your room and sit down on the bed, getting into some comfortable sleeping clothes, as you think about the whole day. You had just spent the day talking to and getting to know the king of the woodland elves, the KING! And after the stories you had heard about him, you now had your own, and a new perspective to think on. Despite him being a king, he was the first person to show you any kind of decency or respect, without wanting or needing something in return. It was a strange, yet welcoming thing to experience. You kept thinking about it as you drifted off to sleep, in the super soft bed that felt like you were sleeping on a cloud.
Staying in a palace for the next few days was so nice, and made a big change from being on horse back, or fighting to find a place to rest your head for the night. Thranduil had been so kind to you, helpful and really friendly. It seemed like he was coming out of this hardened shell, like he hadn't really had this kind of interaction with people for a long time. Yes he was surrounded by servants, but they were there to do a job, not to converse. You got the impression Thranduil was lonely, didn't he have any family? Children? Or a wife? It had been 3 days since you first arrived, and your bond with Thranduil was now close enough to call a genuine friendship, you both liked being around eachother, and got on like a house in fire. He was still reserved about many things, but that was understandable, you didn't pry into his personal affairs. You were finaly healed and were in fighting shape, and now you were ready to go back to that man in Bree to see if his son got back, and to collect your reward. You and Thranduil were sitting on a bench in the garden as the stars shone like diamonds in the sky, it was a warm evening and the air still had the scent of the warm pastries the kitchen staff had prepared for yours and Thranduils deserts that evening. As you sat, you both reflected on the bond you had struck, and the moments you had shared since forming this friendship.
"I can't believe I've been hear for nearly a week" "It's gone by quickly" "Absolutely, it will be nice to see Bree again though. And to see if that stupid son got back to his father in one piece" "If he didn't, are you planning to smack him again?" "Maybe....if he's not been an idiot" You both share a small laugh, and Thranduil keeps his smile, he didn't use to do that. If you were lucky you'd catch a glimpse of a smirk, but now, it was like he was a new man. "And don't forget, me and my kin will walk you through the forest to ensure you have safe passage" "That's kind of you, thank you. I won't lie...I'm a little nervous to go back out there again" "There is no need to be nervous, I will protect you with my life" "Your very kind" There is a comfortable silence as you watch the stars, when Thranduil says "Do you wish to return hear?" "Pardon?" "I mean....If you wish to return, you are more than welcome" "Is this your way of asking if I'll come back and visit you?" "........." "Thranduil...do you want me to visit you?" ".....That would.....be nice" "Then yes, when I close by, I'll come and visit" You could tell he was nervous about asking you that, but secretly you were happy he wanted you to come back, you were really going to miss him.
"I find....that I don't have anyone around to keep me company as of late. My son, Legolas he.....he is on his own path" "Don't you have anyone else hear with you? I wasn't sure if you were married either" "I was....a very long time ago.....you see, many years ago, I was betrothed by royal demand. Her name was Calathiel, she lived I'm Mithlond before travelling to Lothlórien, we were wed and we produced an heir, my son Legolas. But our marriage wasn't meant to be" "Oh?" "Whilst we were married and did what was expected of us, the love was only one sided. I did love her, and care for her a great deal. But alas, it was not reciprocated. There was a war that needed my help, and when I was gone, she ran from the palace....leaving Legolas behind. Once I found out, I came home and ordered everyone to find her....but it was too late. She was captured and tortured in Gundabad, she died there.....I have not spoken about her since" "Thranduil, I'm sorry that happened, I really am" "Worry not for me....this was the reason I took myself and my army to Erabor many years ago. They had the neclace and gems that belonged to my late wife, and I was there to take them back. They were all I had left of her, or so I thought. It wasn't until after the battle that I realised, my son....Legolas, he was.....I didn't need the gems, all I needed was him. But he chose to walk his own path, and now I have not seen him in many years"
He sounded heart broken by this, whatever happened between him and Legolas has scarred him. No wonder he seems lonely, he doesn't have anyone, you were glad you formed a bond with him, you both needed someone to be there for. "I'm sure Legolas is alright out there Thranduil, and I'm very sorry to hear about what happend to your wife. I would just like to say though...thank you for trusting me enough to tell me, I know this can't have been easy for you to say" "Thank you, your kind to say this" Thranduil had the most majestic voice that had such depth and command, and yet there was vulnerability there. You didn't hear that vulnerability with anyone else in the palace...just you. "It's late, I think you should get some rest. It's going to be a long day of travel for you if your going to Bree" "Yes your right, Thunder fell alseep ages ago, he'll be fine in the morning. I hope you sleep well Thranduil" "You too Y/N" Your just heading away from him, when you stop, think, then turn to him and say "Thranduil?" "Yes?" "Why don't you make me call you "king?" Or "your majesty" Like the others do in the palace?" He smiles and says "Many reasons, but my favourite.....I like hearing my name from those perfect lips of yours. It's like music" You had never blushed more than you had at that very moment, that was like poetry! You couldn't even speak, so you just give him a smile back, and head off upstairs to your room, still feeling the warmth in your cheeks as you go to sleep.
The next morning, you were dressed and ready to go back to Bree. Thranduil and you shared a breakfast as Thunder was being fed and readied for the trip, and once you had finished, you both headed down to the stables where there were 10 other elves waiting on horse back for you both. Thunder was rearing to go, and you gave him a cuddle before climbing onto his back. "Onwards" Thranduil declared, and into the forest you all went. According to him, the path they would take would only be a 20 minute walk to the exit of the forest, that was a relief to you. But there was something that was about to happen that you weren't expecting, something that would frighten you. You and the others were half way through the forest, when all the shadows and shapes of the forest were playing with your eyes. Your heart rate was creeping up at an alarming pace, sweat was forming on your brow, and your body and hands started to uncontrollably shake. Thunder could sence this about you, and stopped, allowing the others to see you were in distress. Thranduil stopped to see you looking as white as snow, shaking and struggling to breath properly, this instantly made him cause everyone to halt, and he was off his stag and by Thunders side within seconds. He was holding your hand, trying desperately to get your attention, but you were locked in this zone of panic, white noise and ringing filled your ears, but soon Thranduils voice was managing to break that.
"Y/N! Y/N take my hand! Let me help you down" You manage to hold his hand and he carefully takes you into his arms and helps you off of Thunder. "Keep watch all of you!" He demands as he helps you sit on a nearby tree root, your still shaking, and your body is full of adrenaline, you couldn't stop it. "Y/N! Look at me ok? Just look at my eyes" Finaly able to meet his gaze, his piercing blue and white gaze, his calm and steady words slowly eased you.
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He knew you needed something to ground you, to make you feel safe, so he drapes his beautiful golden cloak around your back and shoulders. It was so warm, and it smelled like him, like the earth after a rainstorm. "Let's take a deep breath in......and out, just like that. Let's keep doing that ok? In.....and out" He continues to do this with you for what felt like hours, even though it was more like minutes, he never leaves your side or let's go of your hand. It takes you a little while longer for the shaking to stop, the ringing to go and your body to finaly calm down again. You were left with this achey pain, like the aches you get from the flu, you knew this was because of your body going into over drive. But Thranduil refused to leave until you were back to normal again, no matter how long it took. He also made sure you had something to drink, that was very kind of him. "Alright, your pulse is back to normal now, how are you feeling?" "Better than I was. I'm sorry about that. I was just having flashbacks of the spider attack, and-"
"There is no need to apologise, it was a terrible thing to experience. Of course it's not going to be easy for you, your safe now" You took a deep breath and gave him a smile, he could see you were feeling better, but he still kept a keen eye on you. He helped you back onto Thunder, and you all carried on to the exit. He would stay close by with his stag to make sure you were ok, he was so protective. When you all finaly got to the edge of the forest, and walk under the same archway you entered before, it was the end of your time with Thranduil. You climbed off Thunder and Thranduil climbed off his stag, the rest of the elves stayed close to the entrance as you both took a moment to talk. "Are you sure your going to be alright travelling the rest of the way on your own?" "Yes I'm sure, I've made this journey hundreds of times" "I'm guessing it would be nice if you had a place of your own instead of sleeping rough for the rest of your days?" "Yes it would be nice, but like I've said before, it's something I'll just have to work for. It was....wonderful getting to know you Thranduil, and I would love to visit you again" "I would very much like that too.....meeting you....has changed me....in the best way. Your kind soul, your beauty....it's like being blessed with a fallen star. Pure, and unique....and the days I have spent with you have been a blessing"
And once again, he has made your heart skip, your cheeks blush, and has made beautiful poetry with just a simple sentence. "Thranduil....that's the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me. I don't know how to thank you for everything you've done for me" "There is nothing I want in return Y/N, your happiness and safety is more than I could ask for" You had no words, no idea how to show him how much you care about him. So instead, you lean up, rest your hand on his chest and press a kiss to his cheek. You wanted desperately to kiss his lips instead, but all of his soldiers were there. This time, it was the handsome king who was blushing. "When I'm close by, I'll come and see you again Thranduil" "And I will be waiting for you" One last smile and a wave was given as you climb back onto Thunder, and you gallop off in the direction of Bree. Thunder was very well fed and cared for by the elves, and being so, he was so much faster. He managed to ride into Bree within half the time of the last time you traveled, it was the late afternoon by the time you arrived back in Bree. Your priority now was to find the man who sent you to Mirkwood in the first place, and to find out if his son made it back too. It took about 10 minutes for you to walk through Bree, and see that man in a front garden, planting some vegetables. "Good day sir" "Oh! Oh it's you!" This man shouted in happiness as he ran to you and shook your hand. "Y/N I am so thankful you made it out of that dreadful place! My son told me what happened, and how he wasn't sure you made it or not" "So he got back in one piece then?" "Oh yes he did, with his tale between his legs!"
This just made you chuckle, and you can see behind the house, the same man who you saved, raking up cut grass. "He's serving his punishment, but all is forgiven from our falling out. May I ask, how did you manage to defeat those spiders" "Well I didn't really defeat them, I managed to kill 1, wound the other and the biggest one nearly killed me. But it was the woodland elves who saved me, if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be hear right now" "The woodland elves of Mirkwood? I've heard stories, but none from anyone who have actualy met them. They saved you?" "They did, and they are very nice people....it was a pleasure to meet them" "That's lovely to hear, and it's good to know your safe. Now! Let me pull these little beauties out" He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bag of gems. "Oh no that's alright, that's too much" "You are not leaving hear without adequate payment young lady" "What about just half the bag? A full bag seems too much" You....risked your life to save my child. I would give everything in my possession to have him home. You have done us a great honour, and you deserve every last one of these"
He puts the bag in your hand and holds it there for you, determined you keep them. "Your very kind" "The world needs more people like you, thank you for everything that you've done" He leaves to go back to his gardening, and you smile as you walk back to Thunder. "Looks like a nice cosy night in the stables for you old friend" you say giving him a pat on his side. You start to lead him through Bree, when a tall looking figure walks up to you, looking very pleased. "Good day Y/N" "Ummm? Hi? Have we met?" "Oh no we haven't yet, my apologies. My name is Fendin, it's a pleasure to meet you" "So? Can I help you with something?" "Oh yes indeed, if you'd like to follow me, I've been asked to show you something" He started walking in the opposite direction, you had no idea if this was a trap or someone trying to sell you something, but you could handle yourself against one....was he an elf? Still keeping a distance, you follow him and he leads you to this magnificent and beautiful house just towards the end of the street. It has it's own stables filled with everything you could need for a horse, and you could see through the windows of the house, luxury seating areas, a big comfortable bedroom, bathing room, living room and kitchenette.
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"Ok, Fendin. I'm confused, why have you shown me this house?" "Because this is your house" Huh?! "No no no, you definitely have the wrong person. I've never owned a house in my lifetime. The longest I've stayed inside a building was over night in a tavern. I haven't the coin to own a house" "He said you may act this way" "He? Who's he?" Fendin reached into his pocket and pulled out a sealed letter, he handed it to you before he started showing Thunder some attention. Wanting to know what was going on, you open the letter, and it read:
My dearest Y/N
I have sent my friend Fendin to show you around your new home. I have much coin and this home is my gift to you, you deserve a place to live, not just survive. I knew he would get the house ready before you would arive, and I hope he gives you the full tour. Your the most extraordinary woman I have ever known, and everything I told you before you left was the truth from the very depths of my heart. There is also a stable for Thunder to have a home too, he deserves it. I look forward to seeing you again....and maybe next time you can aim those beautiful lips of yours on another target? Enjoy your new home.
Thranduil
Thranduil bought you a house! He bought you and Thunder a house!....a home... "So, may I show you around the inside of the property Y/N? I would like to see if the colour scheme is to your liking" "Fenrin, no matter the colour, I am more than happy to see my new home" He smiled with glee as you let Thunder roam around his new and spacious stable, and Fenrin enters the house with you flowing. But just before you enter, you hover outside the door, holding the letter from Thranduil and looking up at the house. Thranduil had bought you a house, a place to call your own. For so long you have been looking for a home.....but maybe, just maybe.....a home isn't necessarily a house....sometimes a home....has a heartbeat....
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lathalea · 1 year
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Please, Fili x reader, Perfect proposal :) Thank you!
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Hiii @heilith 💚💚💚 I hope you still remember your ask for the Sweet and Spicy Bingo by @fellowshipofthefics :) I'm sorry it took me so long (real life happens), but here it is. I hope you'll like it!
Relationships: Fili x Reader
Rating: G
Warnings: none
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✨ Perfect Proposal ✨
Fíli looked into the mirror and gave his moustache a nervous tug. There was not even a single wrinkle on the festive clothes he wore, his hair was freshly braided and adorned with beads and yet his face seemed uncharacteristically pale. He swallowed. It was finally going to happen today, after so much waiting, after years of pining for you in secret, and—what was most important—after surviving the Quest. Now Erebor was reclaimed and he was finally able to speak of his feelings and ask you to marry him. Fíli dreamed of the moment when he would be allowed to call you his wife… if you agreed to his proposal, that is.
His stomach decided to tie itself into a knot and Fíli realized that he was even more terrified—no, warriors never got terrified!—he was even more nervous than before the Battle of Five Armies began. What was worse, at the very moment when he imagined your lovely face, your smile, and the way your soft lips parted, saying “yes”, every single word of his well-rehearsed speech seemed to have disappeared from his mind. 
Muttering a swearword under his breath, Fíli left his chambers. A breath of fresh air was all he needed to clear his head. He was a prince, after all, and he would act like one. He only needed to find his composure. There was still some time until he was going to meet you for dinner in the Royal Wing. Everything was prepared, the music, the atmosphere, the candles, the food... It just had to be perfect. He had to make it happen. But now, Fíli needed a few moments to himself, and he had to be quick about it. Hurriedly, he directed his steps towards one of the outer terraces of the Lonely Mountain. 
As he strode ahead, barely registering the surroundings, his mind focused on recalling the speech he was about to make, something thudded against his chest.
“Ouch!” a familiar voice reached his ears. Your voice.
“Gamzûna! What are you doing here?!” Fíli used the moniker you gained after one of the orc attacks during the Quest. It meant “fierce lady”. He looked straight into your eyes, smiling.
“I’m so very sorry, Fíli! I mean, I didn’t…” you started, trying to catch your breath. At that very moment you both realized something. You stood very, very close to Fíli, your hands placed against his hard chest, his arms wrapped around you. He must have instinctively embraced you at the very moment you bumped into him.
“It looks like you have been in a hurry,” he murmured with that alluring smile of his. His arms were still around you, holding you close. Fíli was not letting you go. You tried not to think of what would happen if someone saw you embracing in the middle of a public corridor, his face so close to yours.
“I was seeing Princess Dís and realized what time it was, and I wanted to be quick so that I wouldn’t be late for…” your voice trembled. “For the dinner you invited me to.”
“You are here and I am here too. It seems that we have plenty of time to reach the dining hall, don’t you think?” Fíli winked playfully. “By the way, you look stunning tonight.”
The smile you gave him in return was barely visible.
“Thank you. Since this is going to be our last evening together, I thought…” you cleared your throat, looking away and pulling at one of the intricate laces of your elegant bottle-green dress.
“What are you talking about, Gamzûna?! Last evening? Are you going somewhere?!” Fíli’s eyes widened. He was so close to telling you about everything he felt for you! That couldn’t be happening!
“It seems so,” you took a deep breath. You dreaded every single word of what you were about to say, but it needed to be done. There was that old saying, If you love someone, set them free–right?
“Please, tell me that you are joking! You can’t go!” Fíli protested. His embrace became even tighter.
“It will be for the best. You’ll see. Until today, I had hoped that tonight…” you tried not to sob and shook your head instead. “I like you, Fíli. I really do. And we grew closer during the Quest, all those evenings together, all the dangers we survived… I felt the bond between us was special. You were always so good to me, so caring. I don’t know when exactly I understood what I felt for you, but tonight I wanted to tell you… Well, it doesn’t matter now any more, does it? No, please, let me finish. Today at breakfast Balin say that you needed a wife now, someone worthy of you. And Bofur added this had to be someone who made you smile. Dwalin kept on saying how you admired women who were fearless warriors. And then Kili told me that a beautiful lady stole your heart a long time ago and that it was time you proposed to her. Ori even wanted to show me her picture but then Thorin told everyone to stop prattling. Fíli, it is time for me to return to my old life in the Blue Mountains. I will not stand in the way of your happiness, but I wanted to have this last evening with you. For old times’ sake.”
Fíli’s heart beat strong and fast under his tunic. His brow furrowed. His eyes searched your face in silence.
“I’m going to kill every single last of them!” He finally huffed.
Your jaw dropped. That was the last thing you expected him to say.
“Fíli…?”
“Yes. I’m going to strangle Balin! Then I’m going to cook Bofur in a stew! And I’ll throw Dwalin from the rampart!”
“Fíli! What are you talking about?!” 
“ I’ll feed every single one of them to the mountain trolls! And I’ll drop an avalanche right on the top of my brother’s stupid head! That lulkh! And Ori…”
“Please, Fíli! Could you at least let me go?”
“No! You are not going anywhere!” Sparks of anger glinted in his eyes as he covered your hands with his. His voice softened. “Gamzûna, will you tell me now what you wanted to tell me tonight? I would very much like to hear it.”
“There’s nothing I can tell you,” you whispered, avoiding his gaze. “You are supposed to marry that beautiful lady of yours, remember?” 
Fíli was now holding your hands in his. His skin was as warm as sun on midday. And his radiant smile was back on his lips, his moustache beads clinking as he tilted his head.
“Aye, it seems that the cat is out of the bag now,” he chuckled, making you frown. 
“What’s so funny?”
“Come. See for yourself,” he held your hand and pulled you gently after him, down the corridor. “There is a lady whom I want to marry. She makes me smile and she is one of the fiercest warriors I know. And she captured my heart on the day I met her. This is her.”
As he spoke, he turned you around until you faced one of the stone walls of the corridor. This particular wall was covered with a large mirror in a golden frame.
You were looking at your own reflection.
“What are you saying, Fíli?” your eyes met the reflection of his silver-blue gaze.
“I love you, Gamzûna,” he murmured, stepping to face you, his voice laced with tenderness. “Was that what you wanted to tell me too?”
“I’m afraid not,” you replied.
“Oh…” Fíli’s smile faded away.
Now it was your time to chuckle and hold his hands in yours. 
“I wanted to ask you whether you would do me the honour of becoming my husband, Fíli, son of Dís.”
“Gamzûna…” Slowly, reverently Fíli cradled your face with his palms as his lips hovered over yours. “You are perfect.”
“Does that mean ‘yes’?” you whispered, brushing your nose against his.
“Guess,” his hot breath fanned your skin a moment before your lips met but you already knew the answer.
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maximwtf · 2 years
Text
“I’ve got you.”
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                          Legolas x injured reader
part 2
words: 2284
google docs pages: 5
warnings: injury, mentions of blood, mentions of a wound, pain.
opening: The fellowship’s journey is distured by an orc attack. You get injured while fighting.
AN// Reader can be any gender! This has two of my ideas smushed together because I thought they wouldn’t make a long enough fanfic by themselves :”D! Also I have no idea how the athelas is used so I’m just guessing here. 
          “I’ve got you.”
The group had stopped moving for the night, and everyone was trying to find a good spot to rest on. A lot more walking would be done tomorrow, and all the rest that was possible to get was important. Though, it wasn’t nighttime yet, so as soon as you had placed down your small bag, your gaze started to follow Merry and Pippin. They had both been complaining about how hungry they were from early on this morning. Now both of them were collecting small sticks and some bigger branches so they could start a small fire. Gimli and Legolas were talking with Aragorn. 
You sat down on the ground, still keeping an eye on everyone. You had booked the first nightwatch turn for yourself, so you could just go to sleep after your time was up. You never really liked to be woken up in the middle of the night, only to be told to get up and take the watch post, so this was why everyone just let you take the first watch. 
Before you even knew it, the two hobbits had been able to start a fire and were trying to start making something the group could eat. You smiled a little at this. Most of the group had begun to gather around the warm fire. You stood up as well and joined the others, and by doing this you also joined Legolas and Gimli’s conversation about how many kills they had managed to get in their last battle. You had heard both of them shout out the kills they had gotten in the last fight, but little did they know, you had been counting your kills as well so you could surprise them.
The evening went on like that for a while. You had all eaten already and the fire was still up. The area had a lot of trees and there were a lot of sticks laying around because of that, so it was easy to keep the fire going. Of course you couldn’t add too much wood to it because it would attract too much attention. Aragorn and Legolas had dragged a couple of old logs near the fireplace to sit on as well, because the ground was a little cold. The upcoming night seemed right now to be very calm as you had hoped. 
Gimli stomped his foot a little on the ground and huffed. “Can the hobbits sing?” He asked, mostly turning to look at Merry and Pippin, since Frodo and Sam weren’t as close by. Merry poked Pippin a little with his elbow. “He can!” Merry then said, not giving his friend much time to answer for himself. “Great. We’ll have something to listen to.” Gimli replied. You turned to look at Pippin, showing him a little thumbs up so he would start. He seemed to have noticed that, because he picked up on the small beat Gimli had started and began to sing. Merry picked up on this as well, and sang some parts with his friend. You watched this happily, but sounds of footsteps got your attention. From the shadows of a tree, Boromir appeared with a few more sticks to keep the fire going for longer. He tilted his head a little at the song Pippin was singing, and laid down the sticks near the fire. “Someone should dance.” He commented in a half serious tone after he had sat down on one of the logs. “You could?” Aragorn suggested it mostly as a joke. “I am a warrior, I do not know any dances.” Boromir quickly replied, his gaze then falling on you. “But Y/n could.” Your eyes widened a little because of his comment. “What makes you think I know any dances?” You replied, tilting your head a little. “In that case, Legolas can assist you. A prince must know a dance or two.” Aragorn spoke up, nudging Legolas towards you while raising a brow. “Shall we try then?” You asked after a moment of thinking. Couldn’t be that hard to follow his steps. “Are you certain?” Legolas asked, a little surprised by your reply. You stood up and nodded. 
Legolas offered his hand to you and you took it. “Follow my lead.” He said and then began to lead you. He managed to move smoothly even with you, showing you how to do every step without making it look like you had no idea what you were doing. He spun you around, making you end up close to his face. You looked at his blue eyes, seeing a glimpse of excitement in them. He was looking at you as well, as he lifted you up by the waist and spun you both around one last time before putting you down. After that he bowed at you and smiled slightly. “Was that decent?” Legolas asked. You got a quiet applause from the group. The hobbits were especially excited about this and clapped their hands. 
It had started to get darker already, but not so that you couldn’t see anything. The group had started to quiet down a little, so it was easier to hear if anything was approaching. You were still sitting by the fire, Legolas sitting on the other log right next to you. “Can your elven ears hear anything?” You asked with a small smirk on your face. Legolas shook his head a little at your question. “I feel as if something is coming this way. I do not know how many.” He said, then turning to look at you. “How far are they?” You asked him. He didn’t have time to answer because you started to hear the steps as well and they weren’t far away. You looked behind Legolas, and saw orcs running straight at the group. “Shield the hobbits!” You shouted to the group as you stood up swiftly. 
You picked up your bow and as the others were gathering the hobbits, you shot a couple of the orcs while moving to shield them as well. You moved around the hobbits a little, shooting some of the orcs while doing so. They began to come so close that you had to ditch the bow and move on to your sword. You didn’t really like closeby combat but you could manage. While fighting off the orcs you could hear Legolas’ arrows go through the air and land a hit. You could also hear the other’s swords clash against the orcs weapons. The group had almost defeated all of the orcs but you had been separated from everyone. You were fighting off two at the same time, and one of them stretched out a bow and pointed it at you. You snarled at this a little, trying to take a step back, but you felt nothing behind you, just a breeze of cold air. The orcs had backed you up to a cliff. 
You pushed your sword through the other orc in front of you, but as that one fell the other one was able to release the bow at you. You tried to dodge it the best you could, but the arrow ended up hitting straight at your leg. You whined at this and stumbled on your feet. Your eyes had widened as you looked at the arrow that was coming out of your leg. 
You heard a familiar noise of an arrow flying through the air. The orc in front of you roared in pain and fell on their knees before another arrow hit them. The cliff under your feet shook a little at the fall, and that made you stumble off the cliff. You screamed out for anyone who might have been close. 
Before you were able to fall too far down, someone grabbed your wrist. “Got you.” A familiar voice said, and started to pull you up. You felt some sand and gravel fall on your face when you let out a deep breath you had been keeping in. After you had realised that Legolas had a good hold of you, you tried to start calming down. You had been sure that you’d fall all the way down but thankfully he had been close enough to hear you. Legolas pulled you up back on the ground, and quickly saw the arrow coming out of your leg. “You’re hurt.” He quickly said, and kneeled in front of you. “Just a little scratch compared to what could have happened, ay?” You tried to laugh a little as you began to stand up. “I’m not sure you’re going to be able to walk like that.” Legolas said and scooped you up in his arms. “You didn’t even let me try?” You huffed, hoping that no one saw you like this.
Legolas carried you to the fireplace that had sadly gone out while the fight. Boromir had thrown a couple of sticks back in, getting Merry and Pippin to try and start the fire again. By now it was quite dark and you couldn't see the forest anymore. Legolas sat you down on the ground and walked off to get Aragorn. You took short breaths as your gaze hit the stick coming from your leg. The sight made you snarl. You heard Aragorn come to you with Legolas. “We need to get that out and the wound shut. Legolas, can you get athelas?” He requested. You frowned at this because you had internally hoped that he would stay as emotional support. Legolas stayed quiet for a moment. “Yes. I’ll be right back.” He said and ran off to get the herb. You turned to look at Aragorn. “Whatever you’re planning on doing, wait until he comes back.” You asked him. He only hummed a little at this as he kneeled in front of you. “We’ll have to cut the arrow in half so it’s easier to pull out. Bite down on your cape.” He replied. “I told you to wait-” You whined before your mouth was blocked by the fabric of your cape. You bit down on it as hard as you could, preparing for the wave of pain that would come soon. Aragorn had taken a hold of the arrow, seemingly planning on cutting it halfway. “Legolas will be here soon.” Aragorn tried to comfort you as he snapped the arrow in half making you close your eyes shut and bite down harder on the piece of clothing. Aragorn threw the piece of wood away and made sure that you didn’t pass out. Before he was able to say anything Legolas had come back. Because of the darkness of the night he had only found a few athelas leaves, but Aragorn seemed to think that they were enough to ease the pain. 
You sighed as the first wave of pain had passed. From what you could see Legolas seemed worried? Seeing the reaction you had caused made you smirk a little even though you were in pain. “Legolas, you better hold my hand.” You asked him, trying to hide the fact that you were scared of the pain. You felt him carefully take a hold of your hand as Aragorn took the rest of the arrow’s stick in his hand. “Try to stay awake.” Was all you heard before he used all the force he could to take the arrow out in one go. The piece of cape in your mouth muffled your scream a little as you squeezed Legolas’ hand with the wave of pain. You arched your back as well because of the pain, but tried your best to keep your leg in place. Throwing your head back, you pressed yourself against the ground. Only good thing was that Aragorn seemed to have been able to take out the whole arrow, but now the place it had been in was pooling with blood. “Make sure they don’t pass out.” Aragorn told Legolas as he took out his knife and cut off a piece of his cape. He started to wrap it around the wound so it would stop the bleeding. 
Legolas held up your head on his lap, every now and then tapping his palm on your cheek to make sure that you were still awake. He took out the cloth from your mouth and brushed some hair out of your face. Your leg felt like it was pounding and you couldn’t make out what anyone was saying from behind the pain. “Legolas, give them the leaves.” Aragorn said while finishing putting on the wrap. Legolas took the leaves and put them near your mouth. “Chew on them, it eases the pain.” He said calmly. Aragorn stood up and looked at you two for a moment. “I’ll take the first watch.” He commented before walking away. Legolas lifted you up a little, leaning you against him. “You gave me a scare.” He commented. “Just a small one.” You tried to laugh after spitting out the leaves. “Indeed. Just a small one.” He replied before going quiet again. You only hummed as a reply before closing your eyes. “Thank you for saving me earlier.” You decided to say before sleep would overtake you. Legolas’ gaze moved to your face, but he didn’t say anything. He was internally very happy that you were alive, but he did worry. Worry of, if the arrow had had poison on it.
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a-world-of-whimsy-5 · 5 months
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Pairing: Elrond x Fem. Reader (second person POV)
Themes: Soft | Smut
Warnings: Kissing | Penetrative sex | Public sex | Sex in an unusual location | Cream pie
Word count: 1.7k words
Summary: Elrond goes in search of his companion, and is greeted with a ball of snow instead.
Rating: 🔥🔥| Minors DNI | 18+ | You are responsible for the media you consume.
Divider by @estrelinha-s
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Snow lay thick on the ground by the time Elrond and his warriors returned from the borders of Rivendell.
“Lindir!” He called out to his steward after he dismounted and gave over the reins of his horse to another elf. “Where has y/n gone off to this morning?”
Lindir, after having seen his lord and his men some distance away, left for the courtyard to wait for them. He bowed and offered Elrond a traditional welcome and said, “Lady y/n left for the woods just beyond the guest lodgings not long ago. You may find her by the pond, I think.”
“My thanks.” Elrond turned over his sword and gloves to Lindir and walked down the same paths you did. It was cold, but not unpleasantly so. His boots left little to no imprint on the snow, and the brazing winter air itself was invigorating. It carried with it the faint redolence of spruce and fir and pine. He sighed in contentment and turned to take a glimpse of his home. All of Rivendell looked different, like an enchanted keep in a wintery land.
“Melleth?” He cried and looked around. Of snow-covered trees and bushes, there were aplenty, but you were nowhere to be seen. “Where are you?”
Nothing but the wind answered him. “Melleth?” He shouted again. “What mischief are you up to now?”
A white ball flying in a perfect arc and exploding in a spray of snow and ice after hitting him on the back was all the answer he needed. Elrond smiled, and dusted the snow off of his cloak. Then another ball flew in from the same direction and hit him on the head with a soft thud. He turned to face the direction it came from, and crouched just as a third projectile came hurtling toward him.
Orcs are not the only things determined to test my patience. Elrond sighed, then smiled to himself and made his way down another path, resolute to catch you in the act.
There was nothing to be heard after that. No calls for you, no shouts, and no commands for you to show yourself. Elrond made no sound as he moved, and that put you on edge. He could be anywhere, and you would not know of his presence until he was right before you.
A hushed silence fell over the little copse you concealed yourself in. There were no animals moving about in the brush; they were sleeping in their little dens and caves for the whole of the winter. A bird sang, but there was no other sound beyond its sweet singing. Minutes passed, and still there was no sign of Elrond.
Where is he? You thought to yourself. Had Elrond returned to the main house and the Hall of Fire? Had he ridden out with his warriors again? Or was he out there, somewhere, biding his time until you revealed yourself?
Time drifted by as if in a dream. It grew colder and a little darker. And Elrond was nowhere to be seen. Thinking that he had returned to the halls, you left your hiding place behind an old oak tree and departed for home.
“And where do you think you are going?”
“Elrond!” You squealed, startled. Elrond had been right beside your little hiding place the entire time, waiting for you to appear. The smile that flashed across his face was smug and self-satisfied. “How did you know I was here?”
He tapped the side of his nose with his finger and said, “It was your fragrance that gave you away, meleth.”
You sniffed at your wrists and your hair. There was no scent to be found on your skin or your dress. “But I am wearing no perfume,” you said in protest.
“Twas not a perfume I smelled,” he smiled again. “It was the scent of you that gave you away.”
You flushed and looked away. Elrond laughed softly. “There is nothing to be ashamed of. Truly. I quite like the way you smell. Although,” he went on to add, “I do think it is highly unbecoming for the Lady of Imladris to throw balls of snow at unsuspecting elves.”
“Perhaps,” you muttered. Then you turned to face him, your eyes bright with curiosity. “You said you liked the way I smell. What else do you like about me?”
It was Elrond’s turn to flush, and not from embarrassment. “I see,” he commented. “You wish to know more about what I find desirable in you. Let me think. I quite enjoy your ability to find pleasure even in the simplest of things.”
“Such as throwing balls of snow at you?”
“Do not test me on that, melleth.”
“My pardons.”
He grinned, and walked toward you. “I also love seeing you like this: your cheeks all flushed from the cold, your hair all in a beautiful tangle, and this cloak is quite fetching on you. A pity it conceals so much. Or have I simply been away for too long, and anything appears alluring to me now?”
“Elrond!” You gasped in disbelief. Pale blue eyes lit up in amusement.
“I jest, melleth,” he said, coming even closer. “You are ravishing as always. Now, where was I?”
“You were speaking of my cloak,” you told him. Heat slowly bloomed in your cheeks when he reached out and undid the clasps of your cloak. “And how it concealed too much.”
“Indeed.” Skillful fingers unfastened each clasp one by one. The shock of cold air dancing over exposed skin left you tingling. Elrond delighted in this, for he had been away for far too long. He had missed watching such sensations flow through your body, and he found himself yearning to savor all of it again, here and now, even though the two of you were in the woods, and not within the privacy of your shared chambers.
“I relish watching you tremble beneath me,” he began, and drew your cloak away. “How you shiver when I run the flat of my hand over your belly. And your hair… I love how it flows around my fingers when I loosen your braids.”
He reached back and slowly loosened one braid, and another, and another. Your hair soon fell around your shoulders. Elrond was not done. His hand did indeed glide up your waist and onto your belly. It made you feel warm and feverish. You shuddered beneath him when that same hand pushed you back—back until he had you caged between him and the bark of a tree.
“We are out in the open,” you pointed out to him. “Someone could come upon us.”
“They will not,” Elrond assured you. “And we need not tarry needlessly. I have missed you, melleth. Let me have a taste of you, at least.”
He dipped his head and kissed the shell of your ear and the expanse of your throat. His arms slipped around your waist when yours twined around his neck.
“Just a taste?” Your blood was already roaring in your ears. Elrond lifted his gaze. His eyes were clouded with lust. “Or more than that?”
“More than that,” he echoed, “if possible. And like I said, we need not tarry needlessly.”
“I never took you for one who loves quickly,” you remarked. “But I do not mind this being the first instance you do so.”
His eyes gleamed wickedly. “Wonderful. Close your eyes, melleth. I will see to the rest.”
Elrond did indeed tend to it all, and so much more besides. His kisses drowned out your sighs and the soft moans that followed in their wake. He slipped an arm beneath your thighs and lifted you up, growling in your ear when he felt your legs wrap tight around his hips. He nearly crushed you to his armor when he kissed and kissed and kissed, and yet you barely felt the steel press against silk and bone and flesh. All your thoughts were consumed by him, by the strength in his arms and his back, and by the hot and sinful mouth that hammered away at any sense of restraint you had. 
“Elrond,” you sighed. Your hand slipped over his chest and down his belly, and beneath the silks underneath his armor. It was a trial, loosening the thin strips of cloth around his breeches, but you managed all the same. When you reached in and took him to hand, he nipped your throat.
“I see you are more than keen on me loving you quickly.” There was a sharp rip. Elrond removed his hand just long enough to move it between your thighs and tear at your small clothes. He touched you briefly, groaning against your neck when he found you already wet.
Elrond’s touch was as electrifying as his kisses. However, he did not continue with his ministrations for long. Another hunger rose to claim him, one that demanded to be satisfied. Elrond pressed his lips against yours, moaning in triumph when you guided his erection into the soft and welcomed grip of your body.
“I love this as well,” he gasped. “How you make me feel when you take me inside of you. Am I going too fast?”
“Given that we are exposed,” you countered and tightened your grip against his waist, his broad shoulders. “I would say you are not going fast enough.”
Elrond did not need to be told anything else. He set a tortuous pace, his armor now nearly cutting into your dress, while you clung to him like a burr. The discomfort of it all soon gave way to a bliss that slowly grew in your belly and spread until you saw nothing but a brilliant golden light flashing behind your eyes. Elrond shook when you sobbed against his shoulder and cried out his name. It was enough to unravel him, and with one last grunt, he spilled his seed inside of you.
Neither of you moved, even when an icy wind swept around the trees. Elrond continued to kiss you, this time with soft, quick kisses around your brow.
“We best return,” he said slowly, and more than a little reluctantly. He was shaking. His body was still caught in the aftermath of his release. “Lest Lindir or someone else comes in search of me. And the next time you wish to start a snowball fight, warn me first. I will be ready for you then.”
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tags: @victoria-styles
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bambamramfan · 4 months
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Scott Alexander just de-paywalled this piece, and I agreed enough with its perspectives and understanding of fantasy narratives that I wanted to make sure other people saw it.
But I disagreed enough that I wanted to spend a lot of time describing what it misses.
First off, he says "Each part of the fantasy universe has a load-bearing psychological function." Psychological, as a word, goes too far and is misleading here. Scott is entirely correct to look at these elements in functional terms: what do elves, and magic swords, and ancient civilizations DO to the narrative? And we find more enjoyable and memetic stories benefit from these functions, so we end up seeing them over and over again. But it's not a psychological need. It's not about the inner-workings of our mind, it's about the structure of stories that lets them flow well. It would be like saying that the fact that airlines list too-low ticket prices and recover it with hidden fees has a psychological basis, when it's more proximately caused by a broken market system.
For instance, one common fantasy trope Scott didn't mention, but is completely obvious, is the "disposable, unredeemable race or nation." Many fantasy stories have a large army that is either evil-in-essence, or immediately threatening, such that we have no moral qualm about seeing the heroes kill as many of them as possible. Why? Because it makes it a fun "tactical" game of how many soldiers can the "good guys" kill. That's a fun story! It's not because psychologically we want to dehumanize our enemies. It's because Gimli and Legolas's race for who can kill more orcs is a simple and narratively entertaining device.
Scott talked about Unsong in relation to this essay, and I really wonder if his reaction to that was "why Unsong doesn't do these things" or "Unsong leaned into these." Because well, Unsong has many of these tropes. The laptop with a talmudic AI on it is a macguffin. The angels are an ancient civilization. Etc.
Scott undersells just how rich the function of the ancient civilization is. He's correct that the ancients are a way to imbue the magic sword/whatever with non-reproducible power, but it's deeper than that. Many stories and ideologies are "prelapsarian" which means they describe an Edenic time "before the Fall" where everything was right and harmonious. Somehow they got corrupted and we now live in a fallen world where evil runs free. Our heroes, at least in part, want to return to that purity (even if in some aspects it is impossible.) That's what the ancient civilization is really: Eden.
I am stymied by the race question: why do fantasy stories keep going back to elves and dwarves, and sometimes halflings or goblins or dragons, but with extremely little diversity in the type of being we could share a world with. What necessary function do these specific races serve? There are several HALF descriptions that explain a little of this, but don't go the full way: 1. The most thoughtful fantasy authors see these humanoid races as standins for groups in human society, and think you should just write human-only fantasy to wrestle with those questions properly. 2. The people who are most interested in writing genuinely alien intelligences, just write science fiction. 3. Elves and Dwarves DO serve specific functions. Even though every different story has a twist on their elves and dwarves, they do all share some sort of class-identity. In short, Elves are french aristocrats, and Dwarves are semetic scottish. Elves are the groups higher on the class ladder, who are more beautiful, longer-lived, quieter, taller, and more tranquil and quieter (also more tragic.) Dwarves are the groups lower on the class ladder, who are rougher and more practical, more scientific or at least technologically-focused, and whose lives are more easily spent by the narrative. Most fantasy societies are gonna have a "higher class" and a "lower class" standin, and they might as well be Elves and Dwarves anyway. 4. Tolkien did not invent Elves, or Dwarves, or Halflings, or Dragons. But all of these are very old in mythology, and fantasy is much more interested in telling twists on 1000-year old stories, than it is about adding wholly new elements (if only because of what sells.)
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1000fiction · 8 months
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He hadn’t been your type originally. Even after several beers he still wasn’t. That’s just the way things were and he’d been okay with that, surprisingly. It wasn't often you came across someone who would buy you several drinks and still be civil after turning them down. That was usually the reason you into so many bar brawls, come to think of it. But he was nice, and funny, and that sensible part of you still kept quiet when he invited you to continue your night of fun, having already been kicked out the inn - you hadn’t meant to spill your drink down the front of the barmaid, and you were sure Sam hadn’t meant the lecherous comment about her chest either. 
You couldn’t turn down the chance to follow him to where ‘the wine flows like water’ and even now, as you stood in Misty Grove, you didn't quite regret it. Yet.
“You know, for someone who’s been downing drinks all night, I’m suddenly feeling quite sober.” The realisation that you had been taken to a plane of Oblivion hit you like a wave, made you feel vulnerable, exposed, and you felt prickles upon your skin like there was something crawling beneath it. “Why am I here, Sam?”
“Not completely sober I hope. I’ll be honest, I’m not the best decision-maker, but you? I can feel something in you, and I like it, I want to see where this goes.”
He moved to take your chin between his fingers, yet your movements were too quick, too coordinated (It would seem you were certainly sober now) and you snatched his wrist before he made contact.
“This doesn’t feel right Sam, I’m all for fun and games, but no lies.” 
The splitting grin looked foreign on his softer Breton features. There was light, and noise, a whirl of magic that nearly sucked you in. The grin fit this form perfectly.
Talons. Red talons that peaked blackened fingers took your chin and this time you let him.
“Sanguine” He chuckled low, the sound rattling in your bones.
“So glad you’re already familiar, tell me, am I a bit more your type now?” 
His bulk herded you toward the table, his thick frame slotting between your bare legs… Whenever that happened you weren’t sure, but your mind felt far too frazzled to attempt to make sense of anything that happened in a daedra’s realm.
“Easy dear, focus here, your minds changing things faster than even I can keep up with.” His clothes had gone too it would seem, the realisation that you’d wanted that to be the case suddenly brought clarity to the situation.
Sanguine, the daedric prince of hedonistic revelry, debauchery, and passionate indulges of darker natures was before you, letting you guide and shape his realm with each of your thoughts. 
“I’ve been watching you, you know, you turn your nose up at men, elves sometimes, orcs rarely, but you jump at the Argonians, the Khajit, there’s something about the… less common tastes that just get you riled, isn't there?” He stroked your nethers to prove a point, finding them hot and inviting. “You can indulge in your best-kept secrets, all in the safety of my naughty little grove, if that’s what you’d like. How does that sound?” He bent, nose pressing against the sensitive skin beneath your ear.
“I’d like…” A breath, deep and purposeful that filled your lungs, a poor attempt to quell the stirring in your belly. It wasn’t quite nauseating the way the world shifted, how you felt as though you were still lying upon the table, but it turns out you were upright, atop a demon, and your brain tossed to keep up with the change. “I’d like to have a bit of fun with you, I think.”
He practically purred as you sank onto his rigid, ribbed, cock. The blackened length sinking into your welcoming flesh. His fangs glinted in the foggy lantern light as he grinned.
“Oh my sweet champion I promise you,” He took your hips, elongated fingers groping at the flesh of your rear “This will be a night to remember.”
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ettelenethelien · 3 months
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Beleriand Dashboard Simulator • part 3
Part one, part two
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🔆 hador-lomin following
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1 722 notes
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♟️narrond following
wait, are @turin-deactivated4841207 and @outlaw-neithan-deactivated4880911 the same person as @mormegil?
⚔️ adanedhel
Not really my business to say, seeing as I'm neither of these, but people have reasons for changing blogs/names/URLs. If this was true and if I was that person I would be very annoyed at whoever posted such a thing for everyone to see.
#please take it down for general safety of people who might need it
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⚓ nenil-noriel
I am sick and tired of Gondolindhrim complaining they're bored. How about you try living here and fighting orcs for a while? I'd be glad to switch.
👤 house-of-the-mole following
I'll let you know we fought alongside everyone in the Nirnaeth.
⚓ nenil-noriel
Sure, do pat yourself on the back for doing the bare minimum.
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👰🏼‍♀️ celebrin following
Guess who got engaged today?!!! 💕💍🥰
#no one even got ordered to bring a Silmaril lol #so I dare say it went perfectly #!!! #can you tell I'm excited?
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🎼noldolanteyy following
thinking of changing my url (for pretty obvious reasons)
#doriath kinslaying
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🎼musiquendil-former-noldolanteyy following
No, really, this is the worst time ever to be a musician. I'm not pretending that the way he let us down is in any way worse than everything else Maglor Feanorion has done, but...
Can we separate art from the artist when the art itself is so interwined with the artist's deeds? Can we appreciate the noldolante itself ignoring that it was entirely a lie, regrets that apparently didn't stop him from committing the same evil over again?
But it is impossible to cut oneself away from all influence Maglor Feanorion has had on our music. And even keeping to the apolitical pieces, should we ignore the person of the artist? Does it help anything?
It's like the famous Fëanorian lamps debate all over again. Do we change the name since we're uncomfortable using it? Do we try to forget who was their creator - but is that even ethical, no matter what evil he wrought? Or is that maybe wrong? Maybe, if we use the lamps, we should be discomforted?
#I really don't know how to approach this
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👰🏼‍♀️celebrin following
So, we've arrived at the havens. I thank you all for the condolences, thoughts and prayers... I still don't know what to do from now on, but I guess maybe I can finally rest a bit. And mourn.
To all the people asking, yes, my husband and son are thankfully okay; this is the one silver lining. My son seems to have made a friend already...
#personal #gondolin
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🕊️queenelwing-unofficial
putting this under cut so I can delete this later, but please have a passionate rant about how a girl actually feels about receiving missives from the people who killed her parents.
read more
#honestly why do they presume I might want to actually meet with them #though tbh now that the anger's worn of I'm mostly afraid #and of course my husband *has* to be gone right now... #I'll probably delete all this tomorrow but I couldn't help myself
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