~Aerneth gets married but the experience is bittersweet. The newlyweds leave for their new home.~

oOo

Thranduil and his wife, by 狐狸大王a Fox.

Newlyweds

A dream coming true – there was no other way to describe the magic happening between them. This ellon, this glorious person that Aerneth had loved for so long, was finally becoming hers, hers alone. Nobody would be able to separate them again, they would be wife and husband for all eternity.

A thin strip of light came in through a crack in the window shutter, illuminating his face and bare shoulders, making him shine like one of the Valar. He reminded her of Ulmo and of the sea itself; strong and powerful, his voice deep and his eyes clear as water – eyes one could drown in. Tiny droplets of perspiration coated his body as he moved over her, his intense gaze never leaving hers, his sensual lips slightly parted.

She pulled down his face so she could kiss them. His hair tickled her chest and she moved it back behind his ear, stroking his smooth, white cheek and neck. "Say my name."

"Aerneth." His deep voice sent shivers through her body. "Aerneth." He sounded breathless and hoarse, and his gaze was turning inwards, becoming glazed. Somehow that made him even more mesmerising. Thranduil was losing his self-control because of her. It made her feel powerful.

A tremor went through him, and another, and then with a low groan he froze, his body tensing.

Lingering for a few heartbeats, he caught his breath before rolling off her. Then he bent down to kiss her, a featherlight brush over her lips.

When he pulled back, Aerneth's throat constricted at the overwhelming sadness she read in his eyes. It was painfully clear he regretted what they had done.

She did not want to see it. Gently pushing him down to lie beside her, she nestled back against his chest, feeling the warmth of his body behind her as he enveloped her. His strong arm held her close and he burrowed his nose into her hair.

She stroked his hand, touching his calloused palm and interlacing her fingers with his. He was finally hers. Her husband, her mate, joined before Eru with Varda as her witness. This was right, this was perfect and she refused to feel bad about it.

Soon she would move in with him in Doriath, not only for a summer this time, but indefinitely. She hoped she would fit in better than the last time. At least now, Thranduil would not mind having her around.

The thought of Doriath made her recall when she went there for the second time, shortly after she saw him in her water bowl and asked Uinen to save him from orcs. She had been almost scared out of her wits to meet him again, certain he would recognise her as the annoying elfling she had been and treat her with that slightly condescending kindness he had used to – like a well-meaning older brother. But thankfully her worries had come to naught. He had looked at her in a completely new way, a way that made her heart beat fast and her stomach flutter.

That time she took care not to repeat the mistake of her youth when her open adoration had scared him away. She guarded her deeper feelings, acting secure and unconcerned, and it worked better than expected. To see Thranduil at loss for words, saying awkward things, and gaze at her with desire! Their roles had been completely reversed.

The memory made her smile with fondness now. She pressed his hand and brought it to her lips, contemplating telling him how much she loved him. But no, this was a bad time, he was still so worried. "Your hand smells good," she said instead.

He did not reply, only pulled her in tighter in response to her words. She did not like his tendency to be silent, but knew from experience that trying to coerce him into saying what was on his mind would not work. Their distance relationship had proven that.

That relationship... Ouch. What a farce those hateful three years had been! Aerneth was certain now it was the distance that had ruined things between them, making Thranduil forget that he liked her.

It had started so well, with the romantic water calls, and the dirty talk... But all the while his refusal to end his courtship of Lúthien had hurt. She had tried to make excuses for him, but the more time passed, the harder it had become. Lúthien was so beautiful, and the king's daughter at that. Aerneth was terrified he would eventually choose her instead.

And then came that horrible, horrible day when he completely out of the blue had ended their relationship, breaking Aerneth's heart in a million pieces. She had lost him. He was her one, true love, and she had lost him to Lúthien.

She had not expected to meet Thranduil again, ever, so when she got the news of his arrival in Eglarest she could hardly believe her luck. Had the Valar granted her a second chance? If so, maybe, just maybe she could persuade him to take her back...

She was pathetically eager to see him, but at the same time terrified he would think her clingy again. Thus, she had gone to that lunch in a flutter of nerves, even forcing poor Galdor to go with her as support, trying to act unaffected while at the same time aching to just fall into Thranduil's arms and kiss him.

To Aerneth's surprise, he had seemed very different from how she expected. He had been looking at her in that way...

With a new hope awakening, she had realised getting him back might not be so hard after all. But just in case, she decided she would make him come to her this time, and apologise for hurting her. She did not want him to know how desperate she was! Well, so much for that determination... all he had had to do was look at her with his puppy eyes and her resolve dried up like a jellyfish in the sun.

In retrospect it was a bit frightening, the power he held over her. Did he realise it? No, she did not think he did, or he would have been less insecure around her when he first came here. Well, after this it would seem they were even, for clearly she must have some power over him too, seeing as she had managed to talk him into marrying her on the spot.

A disquieting thought struck her. Did Thranduil blame her? If he was having second thoughts, would he think it her fault he had agreed to it?

She knew whose fault it really was: his father's. If only he had been less stubborn and difficult they could have married in Menegroth when they arrived there, and Thranduil would not have to regret anything. But the flat, unyielding reply Oropher sent had proved that he would never have agreed to that, and she instinctively knew Thranduil would have been harder to persuade under the influence of that ellon. Their arguments before had shown how dependent he was, and how much he bothered about the other's opinion. He had not even been able to break up with Lúthien until the elleth did it herself!

No, waiting had never been an option. This was the only way, and with time, hopefully Thranduil and his parents would come to terms with it.

She heard him sigh behind her. It was not right that he should be unhappy, that he should feel they had hurried – as if courting for three years before the wedding was to rush things! Turning to face him, Aerneth decided it was time to give him something else to occupy his thoughts with.

oOo

"Here, I want you to have this." Falasiel placed a rolled up canvas and a bundle in Aerneth's hands. Opening them, she found her favourite painting and favourite clay figurine, both picturing a spotted harbor seal Aerneth had made friends with. She would miss the seals and all the other animals, and she would miss swimming. But most of all she would miss her mother.

"Thank you, Nana."

"Don't cry, little one, you can call me anytime, you know."

"I know." She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

Her father had also brought a gift, a silver box full of top quality pearls from the Isle of Balar. "You, son, have already received my most valued treasure," he said to Thranduil. "But your parents will get an extra mouth to feed, and more so with the arrival of grandchildren. These might come in handy."

Giving a valuable present to the family-in-law was a Doriath custom, which Círdan naturally knew about. Unlike in Eglarest, there were no empty homes in Menegroth where newlyweds could live, so instead the couples moved in with the bridegroom's family. To compensate for the extra expenses, the bride's parents gave them something of value to sell or trade if need arose.

Parting with her father was easier than with her mother, Círdan was a busy ellon who had always left Aerneth much to her own devices, trusting in her ability to take care of herself. With Falasiel it was different, it was like she needed looking after, someone who told her to eat and sleep. With Aerneth gone, who would do that?

When they were on their way a little while later, Aerneth felt hollow and empty from all the crying. She stroked the smooth neck of Nênlinna, her dun coloured mare, feeling the warmth of her body through the fabric of her riding dress.

"Look at all those hairs on your dress. You should use a saddle," said Thranduil.

"I don't mind."

"You need to take better care of your clothes," he chided, feigning seriousness.

"Yes Ada." She grinned weakly at him.

He chuckled and moved his chestnut stallion up to the front of the company. She knew he was trying to cheer her up, taking her mind off the painful separation from her family. She appreciated his effort, especially since he obviously still worried about meeting his parents – he covered his emotions with a mask of indifference, but he could not hide the look in his eyes.

Thranduil's initial gloominess after their wedding had thankfully subsided during the first few days afterwards, as he came to terms with the definiteness of what they had done, and perhaps Aerneth's parents' acceptance of him as her husband had helped too. Oh, her father had scolded them of course, both he and Nana had been disappointed that their daughter had not invited them to witness the exchanging of vows, but as they had expected the wedding to be held away from them anyway, their slight vexation had soon passed.

Oropher's reaction had been harder to assess. Thranduil had sent a bird to Doriath the morning after their wedding to convey the news, and received a swift reply later that day.

Received your message. Will talk more home. Oropher

No 'dear son' or 'with love' this time, which probably was a bad sign. But Oropher would have two weeks before they returned to come to terms with his son's decision; he would hopefully have cooled down by then.

So far, married life was very enjoyable. Today marked their first week as husband and wife, and what a week it had been! They had spent most of it getting to know one another. Well, at least getting to know each other's bodies; they had not actually talked very much. Who wanted to waste time talking when such an amazing alternative was available?

Thranduil was a thorough ellon. It was as if he had decided her body was a challenge, and the ability to please her a skill he was determined to master. With ready zeal he had studied and memorised her reactions to every new thing he tried.

For her own part, she would just do what she felt like and touch him where she wanted to, whether it was with her fingers or her lips. Thankfully he seemed to like almost anything she did, except tickling his knees. Of course, she would often tickle his knees. He was too good for her, really.

The upcoming days would be the first trial of their marriage, as the vicinity of the rest of the guards and the members of the trade delegation would make intimacy between the newlyweds impossible. How would they survive eight days of involuntary celibacy?

Aerneth cast a glance at the broad shoulders and waist long hair of her husband before her, feeling a twinge of longing. The stallion he rode was very interested in Nênlinna, so they could not even ride next to each other. If Aerneth ached so badly to have him close already now, how would she feel tonight? Tomorrow? The day after that?

She would be miserable.

With a deep sigh, Aerneth leaned down to hug Nênlinna, burying her face in her pale mane to avoid the temptation of watching Thranduil. It would be a long journey.

❈ ❦ ❈

A/N:
In the next chapter the real challenge begins... meeting the in-laws! 😱 And Aerneth's sadly won't be very good ones.

Image Credits:

Artwork by 狐狸大王a Fox, source: https://fox-king.lofter.com/post/43749c_7399c74