runando ~ A Thranduil Story

Votes

When Thranduil awoke not more than four hours later, he found that the sheets he had made himself so comfortable in were now a tangled mess. He lay still for a few moments, slightly disoriented, trying to figure out where he was. It was only when Laineth moved slightly that he realized he was still in her bed. When he thought about it, they were much closer than when he last checked. Now, her back was against his chest. She was still fast asleep which was more than fair. He lay in silence, thinking about how to remove himself from the situation without waking her. Eventually, he ended up moving one limb at a time, ever so slowly. It must have taken him at least ten minutes just to unwind himself from the sheets.

Once he'd gotten up, he stretched, cracking too many joints in his body. Practically tiptoeing to the door, he paused to take a look back at Laineth. She looked so peaceful when she was sleeping. It was as if Eru had visited her in her sleep and unburdened her, knowing how pained she was. Thranduil could only wish that she would be as relaxed when she woke up, but that could only be a wish. He knew that as soon as she woke, she'd be calling for a glass of wine to ease her nerves.

Sighing, he opened the door with a slight creak, cringing as the noise got louder. He peaked out the door to make sure no one spotted him before hurriedly making his way into the hallway, gently closing the door behind him. Afterwards, he rushed back to his own room, hiding behind statues and columns every time someone else walked past. He made it back to his own room safely, breathing out a sigh of relief once he was behind his own door.

Laineth awoke only when someone knocked on her door. In a deep sleep, she didn't hear the first few times, so the knocks became louder. Eventually, she woke up, calling in a rough voice to come in. In entered an elleth, multiple dresses in hand.

"Apologies for waking you, your highness. Lady Issel advised me that you would probably desire a dress. She gave me multiple for you to choose from." The maiden said as Laineth sat upright. She yawned, moving her head from side to side to crack the joints in her neck.

"Leave them on the end of the bed. I'll put one on later." Laineth brushed the woman off.

The elleth stood there awkwardly, as if she had something else to say.

"What is it?" Laineth pushed.

"The vote takes place in an hour, your highness." The elleth informed her.

With a loud groan, Laineth threw herself from the bed. "Leave me." With that, the elleth scurried from the room, leaving Laineth in peace. "Send for Lady Issel!" She called after her.

Her eyes hurt. Right behind her eyeballs, a dulling ache. She rubbed them, ignoring the small pain. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't just avoid the vote. She would have to go, it'd be a hit to her reputation if she didn't turn up. Glorfindel would be mad at her as well, he'd been droning on about how important and significant this event is, even if she wasn't elected.

Dragging her feet, she moved around to the end of the bed to look at the dresses. Truth be told, she didn't like any of them. She'd never really been one to wear a lot of dresses. Back in the Greenwood, she'd tried her hardest to wear them to impress Thranduil's court, although looking back, it didn't really do much. Since her arrival in Lindon, she had no reason to dress up all prettily. She was a princess, no one questioned her judgement, especially considering her past and how easily she'd killed people.

Deciding that they wouldn't do, she headed over to her vanity to start on her hair. Hopefully, Issel would arrive shortly to help her, but in the meantime, she'd have to do it herself. Slowly but surely, she weaved her hair into a semi-neat plait. After ten minutes or so, the door creaked open. Expectantly, Laineth turned to greet Issel, but was surprised to see Fineth instead.