“My lady.....Lady Adlanniel?” A voice came urgently into her ear as a hand shook her shoulder gently. Blinking, Adlanniel awoke once more. She had not realised that she had fallen into slumber once again. Her eyes stung from how much she had cried earlier, and the breath in her lungs felt heavy with sorrow.

Gwendalyn's eyes were filled with worry.

“What is it Gwendalyn?” Adlanniel asked her wearily.

“My lady, I have been informed that we are to travel to your home in Imladris today!”

“Indeed....” Adlanniel replied reluctantly.

“I do not understand....”

“You do not need to.” Adlanniel sighed as she stood from her bed and walked over to her open chest that she had already started to pack.

Gwendalyn looked to her confused, somewhat surprised that her lady had dismissed her so easily on the matter. “Please, my lady, what has happened?”

“I disobeyed the king.” Adlanniel replied simply. Gwendalyn's eyes widened in shock and she gasped inwardly.

“Now Gwendalyn....” Adlanniel began before the maiden could press further with any more questions.

“I require two large flasks of Dorwinion wine. I wish to gift them to my family.”

“A noble gift indeed...” Gwendalyn began, yet her voice was hesitant.

“Can I trust you to acquire it for me?” Adlanniel pushed her.

“Of course hiril vuin....but...”

“Now off you go.” Adlanniel dismissed her quickly. Gwendalyn, nodding nervously went quickly to the door.

“And Gwendalyn?” Adlanniel called to her.

“Yes, hiril vuin?” The young maiden replied uneasily.

“Hurry back. I believe we have to make our journey soon and thus we need to finish packing.”

“Yes, my lady.” And with that Gwendalyn made her way once more out into the halls.

Walking slowly to her desk, Adlanniel traced her lithe fingers across the little carven chest that sat upon it, contained within were the letters of her beloved Prince Legolas.

“I will be with you again soon my love, regardless of what your father says.” She whispered softly, her heart suddenly feeling bitter towards the king for sending her away. She knew that he had the right intentions and that what he had said to her was true, but she too could not allow one of them to die. The thought was simply unacceptable.

Knowing that Gwedalyn would not be too much longer, Adlanniel began to ready the items she needed for her getaway and hid them beneath all of her courtly attire within her large travelling chest. She hid the small blue vial of the sleeping herbs in a small pouch which she kept on her person. Just as she slid the pouch beneath the folds of her dress there was a light tap at the door.

"You may enter." She called as her heart swelled, secretly hoping that the king had come to visit her, to perhaps apologise for his curtness and tell her that she did not have to leave after all.

Alas it were not he, for her maid servant Gwendalyn re-entered the room.

"You look disappointed to see me..." The young elleth began, her voice dropping and sullen as she placed the flasks of wine onto the table near her lady.

"Oh, that I am not!" Adlanniel replied warmly, feeling a slight guilt at having made her friend feel that way. Walking over to the shorter elleth, Adlanniel wrapped her arms around her and embraced her tightly, something that surprised the young maid.

"I was just wishing that we did not have to leave the halls..."

Gwendalyn looked up to her lady then, her violet eyes glistened with curiosity.

"Pray tell me why are we being sent to Imladris so suddenly, hiril vuin?" She asked, still confused about the matter.

"I told you Gwendalyn, I disobeyed the king. This is my punishment...to return to my home until Legolas returns..." Adlanniel replied as she gently let go of the young maid and walked back to her table where the flasks of wine lay.

"Please tell me, hiril vuin. What did you do? I know that the king adores you like his own daughter and would never send you away for something that I am sure is so petty...." She pushed.

Adlanniel looked over her shoulder back at Gwendalyn, her emerald eyes saddened. She let out a deep sigh as she turned back around to face her. She knew she should tell Gwendalyn what she was planning...she was her trusted friend and lady-in-waiting after all.

"What I have done is beyond petty..." Adlanniel began as she moved slowly to sit on the edge of her bed, smoothing her hand over the creases of sheets where both her and her king had made passionate love the eve before. Remembering how sensual and loving he had been with her then sent a longing shiver down her spine. She wanted him again....she wanted more. Adlanniel contemplated then about telling Gwendalyn the entire truth, but she knew that doing so would end up disastrous and so refrained from doing so. Oh yet how she longed to tell someone of their little affair...tell someone in order to release some of the guilt which was choking her heart. Yet she knew she could not for doing so would only cause more pain and hurt. And so Adlanniel only detailed to her of her original plan to sneak into the army to travel to the camp with them only for Thranduil to have caught on to her train of thought and thus send her away for her own safety. Gwendalyn was left even more surprised when Adlanniel detailed to her the graphic and horrific dream.

"Now do you understand why I must go?" Adlanniel asked, her voice pleading as Gwendalyn still stared at her in a stupor.

"I...I don't know what to make of it..." Gwendalyn began, her voice full of worry.

"As you said that the king said to you, you have your future children to take priority of and to care for. That I agree with completely. But I also agree that we cannot allow one of them to be slain regardless....what if it were the king himself? What if it were...." Her voice choked at the thought. "What if it were Legolas?"

"That is my greatest fear..." Adlanniel said solemnly. "You know I could not live if he were slain, even if I were to birth our children...I would be a mere husk...a shadow of my former self..."

"And I cannot allow that to happen!" Gwendalyn added as she took her lady by the hands to gaze desperately into her eyes.

"Allow me to aid you, hiril vuin, whatever your plan is allow me to assist! I will do anything for you!"

Adlanniel smiled warmly and fondly at her younger friend. Gwendalyn was truly loyal, she thought.

Opening her cloak slightly to reveal the pouch that contained the Valerian sleeping herbs, Adlanniel showed it to her maid.

"I planned on drugging you all into a deep and restful slumber using these herbs and that wine...." She began as she cocked her head slightly in the direction of the two flasks.

"Of course I would not have left you all vulnerable to danger. I was planning to cast a concealment spell that would last until the sleep and grogginess of it had worn away. Yet by then I would have fled far away."

"Then allow me to assist you in reaching the camp. You are with child after all, I could not live with myself if any harm were to come to you." Gwendalyn begged.

Smiling once more, Adlanniel pushed the small tuft of auburn hair that hung about the adolescent's face.

"I am afraid I cannot allow you to assist me this time, my dear friend." Adlanniel began gently, Gwendalyn looking to her confused and surprised.

"For I will most certainly be found out eventually once I enter the camp and if you are found there with me.....I am afraid that nothing will stop the Elvenking's wrath. His fury will know no bounds if he knows I had assistance."

"But what about you?" Gwendalyn continued in protest, knowing that her lady too would undoubtedly meet punishment in the end.

"I will be fine, dear Gwendalyn. The king would dare not harm me or punish severely me knowing that I carry his son's children. And Legolas will not allow his father to send me away so quickly...I am hoping..."

Gwendalyn furrowed her brow slightly then; what if the prince did force his love to return home? But then, it was doubtful...or so they thought.

"Well...." Gwendalyn began, sounding a little hesitant. "I hope you do not plan to drug me now...."

This made Adlanniel laugh out loud and she cherished the innocence that had been in her friend's voice then.

"No, my dear Gwendalyn, I would not dare to!" Adlanniel chuckled.

"But I do hope that you look over our other friends, the guards being sent with us, when they fall into slumber. For unlike you, they will not dare disobey the king." Her last sentence was slightly teasing which made the young elleth fidget uncomfortably.

"But when they awaken..." Adlanniel began more seriously. "Make sure you act that you were drugged too, for if you do not they will certainly know you were in on the plan."

"Indeed..." Gwendalyn shuddered. "I am sure my brother would come back from the Halls of Mandos to whip me if he found out I aided in drugging his guards..."

Again Adlanniel began to chuckle. "I am sure he would not. Idhrenion would never dare come between the prince and I despite the consequences. Your brother, in fact, had aided us on a few of our endeavours..." She grinned then, almost slyly which made the young maid stare at her once more surprised.

"Oh did he?" She asked, now intensely curious.

"Indeed. Yet I will not go into detail for I do not wish to tarnish your innocence." Adlanniel teased sweetly. With those words the two ellith burst into a fit of innocent and girlish giggles.

Suddenly came a knock at the door. Gwendalyn, looking to her lady uneasily, went over to answer it.

"Aran nîn!" She gasped. Thranduil raised an eyebrow at her curious surprise at his presence.

"Why are you so surprised to see me here?" He asked her suspiciously.

"Uh..." She stuttered, but the words would not come out and she broke into a cold sweat.

Sighing, obviously impatient with her, the king glared at her sternly which made the poor elleth shrink back against the door.

"I wish to speak with the Lady Adlanniel privately." He ordered her, putting emphasis on the last word.

Looking back over her shoulder to her lady, Adlanniel gave a slight nod to allow her leave.

Giving a nervous curtsey to her king she went to slip by him, however he caught her tightly by her arm. The icy glare he gave her then made every ounce of her body freeze over like a statue in fright. He burrowed his stare deep into her violet eyes, he knew his suspicion of her then had reason. He tried to read it from her but all he he could see was the terror in her eyes which shielded any hint of a what she may have been secretly plotting. With that he let her go and motioned with his head for her to leave. She did so with great haste.

"Why did you do that to her?" Adlanniel questioned him angrily as he closed the door behind him. "Why must you be so insufferable to everyone around you?"

He raised his eyebrows at her now, but he was not surprised by her tone. Regardless he did not want to hear it.

"Do not speak to me in that tone Adlanniel!"

"Do not give me that air in my chambers!" She bit back. Thranduil's eyes shot open at her rudeness.

"Your chambers?" He scorned her. "These are my halls and you are a mere guest here!"

"A mere guest?" She hissed, furious that he would diminish her title in such a way.

"Is that all I am to you? A mere guest?" Her cheeks had reddened then in anger, her eyes ablaze in fury.

"With the way you are behaving I would not dare to call you a lady! You are undeserving of it and I am glad to have such a rude and impudent harlot out of my halls!"

Here eyes widened in shock and disbelief that he would refer to her as such.

"How could you say such harsh words to me?" She shouted at him then, her eyes beginning to sting with tears of hurt. Why had he come to her chambers just to be cruel to her?

Was he truly so infuriated with her to hurt her in such a manner?

"After all we have gone through...After what has occurred between us? You would belittle me like that? Are you not the same?" Her body was now shaking in a blind fury.

"You are a tyrant!" She continued to scream at him. "You do not deserve anything! If you are the one who falls on the battlefield then so be it! I will not be there to heal you and I will not mourn your loss!"

Those last few words she screeched at him felt like a kick to the gut. Yet all he could do was stare at her mortified with his deep cerulean eyes, unable to speak, unable to react. Did she truly mean what she had said? Perhaps, he thought then, he did deserve that yet it hurt nevertheless.

Her demeanour became one of instant regret as she bit her bottom lip guiltily. Despite the cruel words he had said to her, she believed that he did not deserve what she had just said to him. How could she allow her stubborn anger to make her say such horrid things? The mere thought of it churned in her stomach and sickened her. Yet all she could do was stare back at him.

"Thranduil...I did not mean..." But before she could continue he had taken her harshly by the shoulders and had her pinned against the vanity dresser.

"Is that what you want?" He growled at her, his eyes as grey as a storm.

"Do you truly wish it?" He pushed her harder against the wood beneath her, making her wince from the sudden pain.

"N...no...I did not mean it...of course I did not mean it!" She sobbed helplessly as his grip on her tightened ever still.

"I was angered...you called me a harlot...but I did not mean what I said to you...I did not mean it!"

Before she could continue he had her hitched upon the dresser with her legs wrapped around his waist. Leaning in to her he brushed his lips against her ear gently yet seductively.

"I did not mean what I had said either." And before she could answer he had her mouth in a deep and lavish lock with his own.

It only took a few moments for the attire that impeded them to be strewn about the room as they made sultry and savage love.

So steamy was their passion that the mirror behind them fogged a misty white as they rode each other on the mahogany dresser.

Burrowing their faces into each other's hair they groaned as they both reached their zenith together, his hot liquid fire filling her entirely, making her burn intensely.

"I hope we have gotten this little spat out of our system." Thranduil breathed heavily into her ear.

"As long as you do not say any more cruel words to me." She replied as she nuzzled soft kisses onto his neck.

"As long as you do not disobey me again." He replied almost gently, yet with a tone of superiority in his voice.

"I will try not to..." She giggled, her mind still full of feathery thoughts of what had just occurred. She had almost forgotten her anger and the plot she had in place to disobey him once again.

"Good." He said slyly as he turned her onto her stomach, being careful however not to press her too hard against the table. However he did not do to her what she was expecting, rather instead he landed a quick yet rather sharp slap across her bare backside which made her shriek in surprise.

"Aran nîn!" She gasped in shock, yet before she could try to struggle he landed another slap, just as hard, if not harder than the first. It brought burning tears to her eyes. She tried to struggle from his grasp but he landed another slap, and another and another, spanking her like a naughty child. Indeed, perhaps she was.

She could not remember the last time she had been spanked or punished in such a manner. It had not been at the hands of her father, not entirely at least, rather it had been at the hands of Glorfindel. One time during their young, tender years she and her dear brother Elrohir, the more mischievous twin, had dared to steal his horse from the stables to go for a joy ride. It did not end well for either of them for neither could sit properly for the better part of a week after the whipping the Golden Haired Warrior had given them.

Yet though it was sharply painful, she could not help but feel a strange arousal at Thranduil's punishment of her, and perhaps he knew that. No, he most definitely knew that.

"You will not try to not disobey me Adlanniel." His tone was strict then. "You will not at all!" And with that he pulled her to her feet, making her stumble back into him from the still stinging pain that caused her legs to turn into water. He caught her easily enough, and planted a kiss upon her cheek, almost as if to tease her and assert his superiority and dominion over her.

"For the Valar save you if you do..." He warned her. Somehow he knew that she was still up to something, but he was sending her back to her father so what use could any plot of hers be now?

"Have you readied all of your things for the journey?" He asked her sternly as he picked his effects up from the floor and re-dressed himself.

"Yes, Aran nîn. All of my things are ready."

"Very good." He nodded, satisfied. Noticing the sad look now upon her face, he walked back to her and stroked her cheek gently.

"I will miss you..." He admitted honestly and with sadness in his voice.

"Then do not send me away..." She began softly as she embraced him, feeling a sudden sense of helplessness overwhelm her.

He sighed deeply. "What choice have you left me, my dear?" He asked her gently as he returned her embrace in kind.

"One of you will fall...I know this..." Her voice was low as she struggled to hold back new tears.

"And as I told you, I would rather have one of us fall than to risk you and the gwanûn." He kissed her softly on the crown of her head.

"Do not try to argue further about this with me Adlanniel. I have already sent word to your father."

"I know...." She sniffed. "I just cannot bare the thought of not being able to see you, or Legolas or the others again. And what if this is our last time together?"

"If it is, then it is my dear. Life must go on." He replied gently, yet with a slight hint of reluctance in his voice.

"When are you leaving?" She asked him then.

"On the morrow when the dawn breaks."

"And it will take you two days to arrive at the camp?"

"Well, given good weather it should only take us a day and a half. Why do you ask?" He questioned her then with slight suspicion.

"I just wish for you to arrive safely." She replied innocently.

"I will make sure that Legolas writes to you when we arrive." His voice was once again gentle and reassuring to her.

"Will you write to me?" She asked him, her eyes pleading.

"If I did it may be suspicious. Regardless, I will try to. Now I will meet you in the courtyard shortly. I will have servants come here to collect your belongings soon so make sure you and your handmaiden are ready."

Adlanniel nodded, though somewhat reluctantly. "Yes, aran nîn." She replied solemnly.

Almost the entire palace had turned out in the brightly lit courtyard to bid her and her escort farewell.

An armoured carriage had been prepared for both her and her maiden, and a small cart to carry their effects and supplies for the journey. All of the Eldar present bowed to her and her royal companion as they made their way to the carriage. Adlanniel was gripping the king's arm tightly as he lead her along, Gwendalyn following slowly behind them. As their escort of heavily armed soldiers prepared themselves, Thranduil gently lifted Adlanniel into the carriage. The demeanour of both was a sombre one.

"Safe journey, my dear." He said to her gently as he kissed her affectionately on the hand.

"And you on the morrow aran nîn. May the Valar protect you and my beloved prince. May the Valar protect all of you and prove my vision wrong."

Thranduil frowned slightly, he knew that often the premonitions of Elves proved to be in fact correct.

"I will do what I can to keep them all out of harms way."

"And yourself, of course." She pressured him as she leant out of the carriage door to plant a small kiss on his cheek, making it appear as a daughterly kiss to a father. Though in fact she desired greatly to kiss him with much more fervor.

"Of course." He smiled to her reassuringly. "We will see each other again soon, I promise you that."

"Do not make promises you can not keep..."

Sighing, Thranduil leant up to give her a soft kiss on her forehead before turning away from her before she, or he for that matter, could say any more to each other. It would just make their farewell ever more painful and difficult, he had thought.

"Take good care of her." He had turned to Gwendalyn then as she approached the carriage, and seeing the sadness in his eyes her heart softened for her king.

"Of course I will, aran nîn."

Adlanniel could not help but weep after the king had given the head of the escort the order to depart. Her eyes did not once leave his as their small procession made their way out of the courtyard. It was not until he was out of sight that she burst out crying. Gwendalyn immediately moved to sit beside her lady, embracing her tightly and sympathetically as she did.

"It will be alright, hiril vuin. You will see Legolas and the king soon enough."

"But to what end..." She sobbed, then feeling a deep churning guilt within her stomach; A guilt that felt so terrible she considered giving up on her little scheme. She would yet again betray and disobey her king that had trusted her to finally do as she was told. Despite the intentions behind her betrayal, she felt severely remorseful at the notion of it. She felt the guilt bite into her more so when she realised that she would soon see the prince again, and though this overjoyed her beyond reason, she continued to deeply pine for his father. How would she ever fix this terrible dilemma?

Elvish - English

elleth = Elven Maiden (Female Elf)

ellith = plural form of elleth

hiril vuin = My lady

Aran nîn = My king

gwanûn = twins