Jewel In The Palace(Lord Of The Rings Fanfiction)

The Sylphs

~~O~~

"Captain, we all know the borders are well-guarded, there's no way to go in." a man reported to Malbim.

"I know she's in there, we have to get her or our heads will be cut off." He sighed in frustration.

"Malbim." Another one called out to him.

"Maldek, what brings you here?" he asked.

"I think we are here for the same reason. Lord Gideon put a bounty on her head. We must pry her out of the forest." Maldek told him.

Together with his men, Maldek decided to approach the elves guarding the gate.

"Greetings. We are men from the eastern shores, and we bring a message to the king of this great forest." He exclaimed.

"What news do you have for our king?" an elf asked.

"We are looking for a thief. A woman stole something very precious to our lord. She has been living with us for a long time, until she committed a grave mistake and escaped. So now, we have been searching for her for days. A report from the men of Dale told us that they saw her running  towards this forest. I assume you might have seen her. Long dark-brown hair, fair skin and blue eyes. It would be easier if you allow us to enter your land so we can search further. If she is not here, then we will leave immediately. " Maldek proposed.

The elf answered. "We do not allow strangers wandering within our borders, we will send your message to our king first."

"You do not want a thief freely running around your kingdom, do you? Think about it." He shot back with a smirk.

"We have patrols day and night. Whether she is here or not, we will report everything to the king and he will decide on it." the elf guard said coldly.

"Fine."

The corsairs left, much to their dismay. However, Maldek was already thinking of getting inside in his own way.

While the elf guard stared at the leaving group, another one hurried to him and whispered in elvish.

"They are looking for the mortal, are they not?" he said.

"Yes. It is Mirialia they are searching for. I am sure of it." the elf guard said. "We must report this to the king."

~~O~~

Tauriel was looking for the Elvenking when she found him in the library. He was reading some of his father's writings when he noticed Tauriel standing at the door.

"Come in." He gestured to her.

"My lord, something bothers me." She started. "You once told me there were voices in Greenwood thousands of years ago. When your father died, the voices disappeared."

"What about it?" He said blankly.

"Yesterday, when we were in the forest, Mirialia heard whispers but she could not understand it. My lord, I heard it too but they are very faint in my ears." Tauriel said.

Thranduil immediately stared back at the young elf standing before him. He put down the writings he was reading. He stood up and circled slowly around the room.

"Whispers in the forest." he said thoughtfully. "They have returned."

"Who are back?" Tauriel said.

"The sylphs." Thranduil said in a low voice.

"Sylphs? Is that what they are called?" Tauriel reply in surprise.

Thranduil smirked. "They are very rare creatures, Tauriel. There are certain elves who can hear them. It has been a long time since I felt their presence here. They might have returned after the war."

"But how come she could hear it too?" Tauriel said.

"Where is she?" the Elvenking asked.

"She's spending her time with your elk." she replied.

Thranduil was now full of curiosity. He immediately walked out of the library, out of the palace and headed to the usual place where Arafael has always been brought to.

~~O~~

In that part of the forest, Mirialia was left alone with his mount. The guards were sent on an errand, so they left knowing the elk would not hurt her.

She hums a song and gently running her hand on Arafael's head, when she saw a familiar figure with a pointy crown heading down their spot. Mirialia quickly moved to her feet and nervously hid behind a tree for she knew who was coming. She did not quite figure out why she hid herself from the king. Thranduil approached Arafael and smiled as the elk bowed to him. Whispering in their own language, he gently touched its head. While Arafael strolled towards the stream, his stare was fixed at the tree where she was hiding.

"I know you're there." Thranduil said.

Hearing his deep voice, Mirialia trembled but remained silent.

"It is useless to hide from me." he added sharply.

Mirialia sighed nervously and crept out from behind the tree, she bowed and took a few steps forward. Thranduil came closer to her. Standing at six foot and five inches tall, her height did not even reach his shoulder. As he stood in front of her, his thoughts about what Tauriel witnessed kept on troubling him.

"There is something else about you."

Thranduil reached out to touch her chin but Mirialia closed her eyes and moved her face away. Seeing her frightened motion, the Elvenking lowered his hand and stared at her.

"You are used to male company, and yet you find me daunting." he uttered.
He turned his back, slowly walking away from her. "I am used to a company of men, but not with a company of a king." She felt the need to answer.

"Get use to it from now on." Thranduil shot back, still not facing her.

This time, she heard the whispers again. And it was getting much closer.

"No, not again." She nervously said in a low voice.

"You are hearing them." the Elvenking said, glancing at the sky.

The whispers continued on and on, close to her ears but she could still not understand it.

"No, please stop. Make it stop." she pleaded.

Before she realized it, Thranduil now stood inches from her. He put his hands on her ears and began to chant something in elvish. When he stopped, he removed his hands.

"You could not understand them, because you are not listening." he pointed out.

Mirialia looked up, meeting his gaze. "Do you hear them?" she asked, quietly.

"There were times." the king answered after a short pause. "It seems like the sylphs are not fond of me."

"Sylphs." Mirialia whispered.

As she said the word, she heard them again, but it was now clearer than before.

"Mirialia..." they whispered.

"I heard my name." she said.

"Mirialia..." she heard it again. "Someone is coming..."

~~O~~

Thank you for reading!