You were flabbergasted. You simply couldn't believe what was transpiring right in front of your eyes. First, the king was mad at you, and now he sat there as if nothing had happened.

You looked down at your book, unsure of what to do or say. You couldn't help but fidget with your fingers, his stare never breaking away from your form.

"Well?" He spoke, breaking the silence.

You looked up to see him, hesitating before speaking, "What would you like to know?"

He pondered for a moment, "Start by telling me why you are so fond of this tale."

Thranduil himself couldn't understand why he was there. He wanted to push you away, but something drew him to you. He simply decided it had been because of his lack of communication with other elves aside from important matters for years on end.

You contemplated leaving for a brief moment, but then you did as he asked. You pushed aside your anger and told him how you had come to discover the tale and why it was one of your favorite books.

You were unsure of how much time had transpired, for when you looked up to look out a window, it was already dark. Did he not have places to be? Important matters to tend to?

You were surprised about how he had listened intently to your story. You were nervous at first; but after a while, your nervousness had slowly dissipated, and talking to him felt relatively easy.

"It is late." You informed, closing your book. He sat straight and looked out the window.

"Indeed it is." He stood up, eyes never leaving yours. "Thank you for the talk. We should do it again."

You looked up at him, bemused.

"Why, if I may ask?"

Thranduil paused, thinking to himself, and then looked at you before speaking, "I like being around you. Unlike others, you seem different; more friendly. And besides, I would like to hear more about your favorite stories."

"It would be my pleasure." You stood up and bowed.

After that, he smiled at you and started towards the big doors. You stood there, holding your book to your stomach. You could feel your heart fluttering inside your chest and just to think that you would be talking with him even more made your stomach do flips.

Had life finally started feeling compassion for you? You were unsure, but what you did know was that you couldn't be any happier. Suddenly, your troubles regarding Legolas felt long-forgotten.

After putting the book away, you made your way to your chambers, a smile on your face. You couldn't wait to meet with Thranduil again.

A week later
*************

As expected, you had met with Thranduil again. Not once nor twice but many times. During your second meeting, you told him more about your favorite tale and then proceeded to tell him more about your favorite books. By the end of the week, the both of you had become closer, although you wanted it to be more than that.

Thranduil was happier. He had missed your smile so much that seeing you smile now was giving him life. He had wondered why this was happening to him for the umpteenth time, but he would always ignore it, thinking of it as some sort of distraction.

Whatever it was that he had felt the day he snapped at you was becoming stronger, unable to be stopped. This, in effect, scared him. The reason behind this fear was that he had already lost his wife, and who could guarantee that the same wouldn't happen again? And besides, you were younger than him. Perhaps you wanted to be with someone younger—someone like his son, as he had already seen before by the way you interacted with Legolas. He was certain you felt something for his son, and it pained him.

You hadn't been any different. While you were more than happy to be around him, you felt sad when you realized that he was probably being nice just because he felt bad for yelling at you. Or because your father had saved his life and felt like he owed you something. Perhaps he wanted to be a father figure, and that possibility weirded you out.

He still loved his wife, you had thought. Everyone knew it. And if that weren't to be the case anymore, why would he be with you when he could be with one of those elleths of high standing?

You sat in your usual place. You were certain Thranduil wouldn't join you today, for he wasn't there yet, and it was well past your meeting time. In addition to that, something that really bothered you was that you had expected him to greet you better every time you crossed paths with him, but nothing had changed.

You sat in silence, quail in hand as you stared at a blank piece of paper on the table. Before you knew it, a few tears were sliding down your cheeks. You felt forlorn knowing that the king would never love you.

"Why is this happening to me?" You said out loud, face buried in your hands as more tears flowed freely.

You were so deep in your emotions that you didn't even hear Thranduil come in, taking his usual spot next to you.

"Y/N." He said just above a whisper, leaning closer to you.

You looked up at him, surprised. You proceeded to wipe away your tears and quickly crumbled the paper you had written your emotions in. You were not expecting him, so you had allowed yourself to set your emotions loose.

"My king." You nodded respectfully.

"What is the matter? Are you hurt?" He spoke with worry.

"No, I am alright."

"That is most certainly not true." He said sternly. "You are lying. Go on, you can tell me."

You didn't want to tell him. But then you decided you would. You would get it off your chest, and then you would flee back to Rivendell, for you wouldn't be able to live here with the embarrassment.

"What is -"

"I am in love!" You snapped, standing up from your chair. "But the feeling is not mutual. That is my problem!"

You quickly stormed off. Thranduil was left flabbergasted before standing and following right after you.

"Y/N!" He managed to stop you before you exited the library. Luckily, no one else was there, or else they would be questioning everything; from your sobbing, to the king sitting there with a random elf.

Thranduil felt a pang in his chest. You were already in love with someone else, and that someone was probably his son. But he pushed the feeling away. He figured Legolas had told you he didn't feel the same way towards you, being that Thranduil himself had seen the way his son looked at Tauriel.

"I apologize in my son's name." He looked to the floor, letting go of your arm.

"What?" You asked, frowning.

He was about to elaborate when you interrupted him.

"No! You do not understand!" You turned to close the doors, emitting a loud noise before it dissipated, a total silence taking its place.

You stared at him momentarily before finally confessing your life-long secret.

"I love you." You said just above a whisper. You felt your shoulders slump as you felt a heavy weight leave them. "I love you, and I have always loved you!"

Thranduil stood there, unable to speak.