Kingsfoil [Thranduil] LOTR

Bonus Scene & Announcement

Dear Readers,
Don't worry! I'm still writing the latest chapter of Kingsfoil, but it's proving to be quite the challenge and it's not quite finished.

BUT in the meantime, please enjoy this bonus scene in which Thaliniel and Narylfiel have 'girl talk'...

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Before supper, Thaliniel and Narylfiel sat together in Thaliniel's suite of rooms she shared with Legolas. The former was absent, as he had taken another extended shift with the Forest Guard, which troubled Thaliniel, though she tried to make light of her worry whenever Narylfiel asked. Narylfiel recently returned from the border herself, and she enjoyed spending evenings with her sister like this, just the two of them.

Right now, Thaliniel sat on her knees behind her sister, brushing her hair out with long firm strokes. Narylfiel cringed as her sister hit a snarl, but she knew better than to complain.

"Hold still, Narylfiel," Thaliniel told her, "I want to try a new braiding pattern."

Narylfiel held still but made a face. Thaliniel was forever finding new braiding designs and experimenting on her. She suggested once that her sister practice on Legolas instead, but Thaliniel only rolled her eyes and told her that her hair was longer and more suited toward braiding. Plus, they both knew Legolas would never sit still long enough.

Narylfiel half-suspected that these long braiding sessions were actually a covert attempt on Thaliniel's part to squeeze her for information, to pry while she was a captive audience.

Thaliniel parted her hair and began separating strands for her new braiding attempt, her fingers carefully plaiting and smoothing.

"So, I heard Aelidur went with your group to the southern borders this time," Thaliniel mentioned casually.

Narylfiel stiffened. "He did."

Thaliniel's fingers paused. "He is very handsome, Narylfiel. Don't you think so?"

"Yes, he is..." Narylfiel reluctantly agreed.

Thaliniel resumed her braiding. "I heard from a reliable source that he was very attentive to you."

Narylfiel's mouth tightened into a thin line. That Melui! She must have told her sister. She was beginning to think the pair of them were in cahoots against her.

"Well, was he?" Thaliniel prompted her with a little tug on the end of her hair.

Narylfiel sighed. "He was, Thaliniel. Aelidur is nice. He's just not..." Narylfiel let her voice trail away, leaving her sentence unfinished.

"He's not what?" Thaliniel asked, her voice suspicious.

Narylfiel cleared her throat. "Not tall enough. I am actually a little taller, Thaliniel."

Her sister let out an exasperated huff while she tied off the end of the braid, and Narylfiel turned around to face her.

"I'm not you, Thaliniel," she told her gently. "You have already captured the finest husband in the kingdom."

Her sister smiled softly then. "And I would have the same for you, Narylfiel, the same happiness. Thranduil mentioned—"

Narylfiel interrupted her, "Thranduil? What did he say?"

Thaliniel gave her sister a look, the if-you-would-only-let-me look. Narylfiel knew it well and shut her mouth.

"Thranduil worried since our father sailed, you did not have a parent to speak to suitors on your behalf, or offer any kind of a dowry—"

Narylfiel flushed then. She did not want or need Thranduil speaking to suitors on her behalf! The very idea was both mortifying and painful, but of course, she could hardly say any of these things to her sister. Instead she reached for her sister's hand and squeezed it. "The king as always is too generous," she told Thaliniel carefully, "but I would rather you act on my behalf as my guardian—" Narylfiel ducked her head for a second as she struggled with finding the right words before she raised her eyes to Thaliniel's. "You've always been there for me, more like a mother than anything else I've known."

Narylfiel smiled softly at her older sister whose eyes were bright and a little watery too as she lifted a flower bud from the vase on her nightstand and tucked it behind Narylfiel's ear. "I would be honored," Thaliniel said.

"I feel like I don't tell you enough, Thaliniel, what you meant to me. I really don't need a suitor to be happy. You and Legolas? You're all the family I need right now."

Thaliniel pulled her into her arms for a hug and then held her at arm's length. "And don't forget about Thranduil!" she reminded her. "He cares for you deeply.

"No, of course not," Narylfiel said wryly. "He is quite impossible to forget." And as always, her traitorous little heart turned over at the mention of him. It would be so much simpler if she could have easily reciprocated Aelidur's advances, if she had been able to welcome his courtship gladly, but he—and every other would-be suitor—only paled in comparison to the depth of her regard for the Elvenking. She never could forget him, and that was the problem.

"Is anything wrong?" Thaliniel asked as she stood up and returned her hairbrush to her dressing table.

Narylfiel instantly produced a bright smile. "No, no," she laughed. "Let's go down to dinner. I hear they're having roast." She slid off the bed and slipped her feet into her shoes.

Thaliniel narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. "Are you sure, Narylfiel? You can tell me, you know, if something bothers you."

But Narylfiel only wrapped her arm around her sister's waist and pulled her toward the door. "Come on, sister! Roast. We don't want to walk in late."

"All right," she agreed albeit reluctantly, and Narylfiel breathed a little easier. She certainly did not want to talk any more about suitors, courtship, and least of all, Thranduil. As understanding as Thaliniel was, Narylfiel knew she would not understand about her deep, unrequited feelings for Legolas' father.

Informing her older sister about how she was hopelessly, irrevocably in love with Thranduil was one conversation Narylfiel planned on avoiding...forever, if she could help it!

. - . - .
Announcement:
I have recently been inspired by elvenprincesscher to post Building Ithilien, my first ever Legolas fanfiction. It's completely finished, and I'll be posting chapters for it over the course of this summer until it's completely uploaded.
It's an epic Legolas Adventure/Romance, and I hope y'all will give it some love! 💕

Shhh! Don't tell Thranduil, but it's my favorite story I've written...