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You sighed deeply as you tried to separate yourself from Thranduil's torso, but he had other plans. He wrapped his arms around you tighter.
"Do you really have to leave to bed so soon? I can't persuade you to stay?" He spoke against the top of your head, and you sighed, pulling away so you could see his face.
"Unfortunately, no. I am tired after the early meeting this morning and I need to sleep, I'm sorry Thranduil." You had stopped calling him by his title years ago, you only called him your king when there were others around. He sighed and released you, and you stepped away from the embrace you had grown to love. You stared at each other, the unspoken kiss hanging in the air but you just smiled at him warmly, not ready to take the next step. What if he didn't feel the same?
"Goodnight, Thranduil." You wished and gave him the elven gesture for goodbye. He repeated it and spoke softly.
"Goodnight, Y/N." You exited the room and immediately sprinted towards the gates of the kingdom.
Panting, you ran across the woods, clutching your sword tightly. You glanced at the Sun and added more speed. It was almost sundown, and if you weren't at the edge of the forest at sundown, they would leave and your sister would pay the price of you now showing up. You could smell them before you saw them. Orcs. They were holding your sister hostage, and if you didn't deliver the information in time, they would hurt her. She was young barely at her early teens, so she didn't have the strength of a grown elf to recover from injuries.
"You are late, she-elf." The leader hissed, and you panted as you tried to even out your breath.
"There are two shipments leaving tomorrow. One at dawn and one when the Sun is in it's highest." There was actually three, but you always left one or two things that happened out as you did not want the kingdom to suffer anymore because of your actions.
"And patrols?" The orc hissed, and you sighed.
"One with twenty at sunup,-" Your words were cut off.
"What do we have here?" You hadn't been careful enough when coming here, and the patrol group had found you.
"We warned you, she-elf. She will suffer now." The leader of the orcs hissed, and you cried out in desperation as the elves began slaying the orcs.
"No! No, this wasn't me! Don't hurt her!" You screamed. You tried to join the fight, but you were pulled back by a guard.
One of the orcs had slipped past the guards, and you drew your bow to shoot it, but it was yanked away from you as were the rest of your weapons.
"No! No! They will kill her, please!" You cried out, fighting to get away from them, to run after the orc.
"Save your stories to the king." The leader of the guards hissed, and your heart grew cold. You and King Thranduil had become close over the years you had served him as the head counselor, so close even that rumors had been going around the kingdom for courtship, but it was just rumor. It was true that your and Thranduil's friendship was more like courtship at times, but neither of you had the courage to talk about it further. And even if you and Thranduil were friends, you still feared the treatment you would receive when you were brought before him.
"You. You betrayed me." Thranduil hissed, and you covered in front of his gaze. It wasn't the usual friendly one where his eyes twinkled, this was ice-cold and hatred was drawn into every inch of his face.
"I didn't want to, my lord, but they have my sister." You cried, and Legolas frowned. This didn't sound like any of the excuses he'd heard, your voice was truly desperate and you were crying.
"They will hurt her. They will kill her, they think that I brought the guards. Please..." You begged, but the king scoffed.
"Your sister is dead." He stated, and you shook your head rapidly.
"No, my lord, she is not. I lied, I didn't know what else to say, the orcs have her and they will hurt her." You tried to get into a more comfortable position as you were on your knees, but it was impossible as your hands were tied behind your back.
"I don't want to hear your excuses." The king hissed and gestured to the guards, who hauled you to your feet.
"We will see how your story changes after a century in prison. Take her away, don't bother being gentle." This caused you to stiffen and you fought against the grips of the guards, screaming desperately.
"Please. Please! They will hurt her! Please, I'll do anything." Thranduil just scoffed and he returned to the throne, but Tauriel and Legolas glanced at each other. What if you were telling the truth and the orcs were torturing your sister.
"Ada? Are you sure you don't want to send a patrol to check if she is telling the truth?" Legolas suggested carefully, and Thranduil shot him an angry look.
"No. She betrayed us, her word is not enough for me to send guards into peril." Legolas sighed and bowed slightly.
"Yes, my lord." He and Tauriel walked away and towards the dining hall.
They made their way down, and your pleas started to reach their ears as you rammed your body against the door, desperate. Legolas and Tauriel looked at each other.
"I think she is telling the truth. Y/N is a really nice woman and I know she loves my father, so why else would she tell the orcs anything?" Tauriel nodded.
"I think they tried to torture the knowledge out of her first, but didn't succeed and opted for a different strategy. Remember when she was missing for four days and then she turned up with all those wounds?" Tauriel asked, and Legolas nodded.
"There is more to this than just Y/N betraying us. Why would she betray us now when she and my father are coming so close? The whole kingdom, me included, has been waiting for them to announce their courtship." Now it was Tauriel's turn to nod.
"So we are going to find her sister?" Tauriel asked after a short moment of silence."
"That we are. You go ask Y/N if she knows where she is being held, and I'll go and see if any of the guards think that there's more to this as well." Tauriel nodded and took a step towards the dungeons.
"Don't worry, I'll do it discreetly so he won't find out," Legolas added when he saw Tauriel's nervous gaze.
Tauriel sneaked down to the dungeons, and she gasped when she saw you. You had grown together and your friendship was strong, and it pained her to see you in a state like this. Your shoulders and arms were bruised from ramming into the door, and there was a deep cut on your wrist as the guard's knife had "slipped" when he was cutting away your bonds, and you were holding your stomach from where the guards had kicked you.
"Y/N." She breathed, and you lifted your face to her. It wasn't much better. There was a cut under your eye and your eyes were red and puffy as you were still crying.
"Tauriel." You whispered, and your voice was hoarse from all the screaming.
"You have to believe me. They will kill her." You whispered, and she nodded.
"I believe you. Can you tell me where they are keeping her." A wave of relief washed over your body.
"It's the old abandoned caves under the mountains in the forest. Don't take the big tunnel, take the small one." You whispered, and she smiled.
"We'll go now, you try and stay strong." She squeezed your hands before pulling away and hurrying off to find Legolas.
- - - -
Legolas and Tauriel had found the hideout, but it was too late. They couldn't believe the cruelty of the way your sister had been killed. They still helped the other guards wrap her in a blanket and carry her out of the cave. After a day of the tiring journey, they neared the kingdom, Legolas decided to travel ahead and tell the news to his father beforehand, hoping he would understand. Tauriel joined him, not allowing the prince to go alone into the woods. Panting, they reached the front gates, and they stepped in after letting the guards know of the situation.
Thranduil was sitting on his throne when Legolas and Tauriel entered.
"What is it?" He asked, sounding almost bored. Legolas and Tauriel shared a glance and Legolas started to speak, as it was less likely for the king to punish him for disrespecting his rules compared to Tauriel.
"We went to look for Y/N's sister and we found the orc she was conversing with." He stated evenly, and Thranduil's gaze snapped into him
"I told you to stay out of it!" He hissed, but Legolas didn't let it get to him, and he took a deep breath as the news he was about to deliver were dark.
"We found her." Thranduil tensed at his son's words.
"We found her, Aelene. Y/N's sister. She was with the orcs." Thranduil closed his eyes for a moment as he processed the news that you had told the truth, and quilt filled his chest.
"Where is she now?" He asked, and looked at Legolas, who shook his head.
"She is with the guards that were with us, they are bringing her body back." Legolas' voice was even and quiet, and the quilt in Thranduil's chest tightened. "Body. Her body. If I had believed Y/N, the young elleth might still be alive."
"Leave me." He told Legolas and Tauriel, who bowed shortly and exited the room, leaving Thranduil alone.
After a while of wallowing, Thranduil rose from his throne and grabbed the keys of your cell from the hook on the wall. Someone had to tell you, and he felt obligated as he was the king. His heart pained as he thought of the kind little elleth that would never grow old or marry or have children, all because he was too blinded by his grief. Thranduil stepped down the last step of the stairs and quietly walked to your door. You were sleeping, leaning against the wall next to the door, and when Thranduil pushed the key into the lock, the clatter woke you up.
"My lord, what are you doing here?" You squeaked and tried to back away, but Thranduil grabbed your wrist gently and stopped you.
"I am so sorry, Y/N, I wish I had listened to you." He spoke quietly, and you stared at his teary eyes for a moment before you realized.
"No. No. She- No." You whispered and started crying.
"She can't be." You cried, and Thranduil sat down next to you and pulled you to his embrace.
"I am sorry, words cannot express how sorry I am." He spoke softly as you cried, and he noticed the bruises on your arms as well as the deep cut on your wrist, and his heart pained. He had caused this.
"I am so sorry that I allowed myself to be blinded by anger, Meleth (My love)." He whispered to you, and you tensed. It took Thranduil a moment to realize what he had said.
"Yes, I love you Y/N, so so much. I understand if you don't want me-" He was cut off by your lips on his.
"I forgive you, Thranduil, you thought I have betrayed you. I should have come to you sooner but I was just so scared." You sobbed, and wrapped your arms around his neck, not wanting him to go. He responded by pushing himself up, but just so he could stand up and pick you up into his lap.
He gently laid you onto your bed, and he slid his cloak off and wrapped it around your shivering form as he pulled you tightly to his chest, whispering how sorry he was and how much he loved you into your ear. It took you days to recover from the death of your sister, and months to recover as you realized that without Thranduil, she might still be alive. Yet, somehow, you found it inside you to forgive him, and Legolas was very pleased to hear about your courtship, six months.