When the beans were spilled, he had nothing in his mind but a blank space. Or perhaps it was the chaotic emotion, numbing his ration.

"What do you mean betrothed?!"

"It was a promise of Great Lord Oropher and Lord Glindaeron, Your Majesty. Long ago when you were too young to remember." Anglor answered with satisfaction.

Thranduil's world had been turned upside down that morning when the Woodland royal received a news of the princess and ambassador of Aerindel was coming for a visit. He remembered the kingdom's king, an handsome jolly elf who was a good friend of his father since Oropher had not yet come to this Realm. Through the late king, Thranduil knew many good things about king Glindaeron , however, the promise for their hands in marriage he did not.

King Thranduil did not want a Queen. He never thought of one day he would, truth to be told, as he found life for the last two hundred years good enough. Thranduil did not appreciate the idea of having a wife intrigued one bit and so he frowned at the picture. The princess was beautiful, he had heard, they said her hair was woven with sunlight and her eyes were the ocean; beautiful it was at the king's thought, but not tempting.

Thranduil instead thought of another black haired with distincive green eyes, the features which he adored the most whenever the elleth crossed his mind. He had not seen Faeryn for days now, the preparation for the royal visit had taken all of his time, considered the fact that their guests from Aerindel were required to receive the best welcome.

"My Lord, this marriage comes from a promise made by your father." Anyone could easily heard the scornful tone in Anglor's mock. Thranduil did not appreciate the comment, however he refused to express any kind of negative reaction towards the elf, being born to be a prince and raised as a king taught him better than that.

"We Silvan keep our promises, Anglor. Do not tell me what to do. Do not forget your place, Advisor." He said, flat and blunt; such the coldness the king spoke of his servant. "I will think about the matter. You shall be dismissed."

Thranduil left the luxurious chamber before the whispers roared. He felt resent in all of sudden; why hadn't father told him of this marriage, he thought. More than anyone, Oropher should had known about elves and this beautiful mutual emotion, they despised marriage without love! Besides, it was not that the two had met before, in name of Durin, Thranduil did not even know there was a princess! How could the Lords be so sure that he would feel something towards the Aerindel's elleth?

As Thranduil was still in daze and his mind wandered of to the chaotic thoughts, he did not notice another elf who was also made their abrupt turn by the corner, and as the result, the they both ran into each other.

The elf fell right to the cold ground, to be more specific, it was an elleth, a dark haired one.

"Faeryn?!" Surprised he was by their inadvertedly encounter, Thranduil felt a tide-like mixture of relief and anxiety rushed over him.

"Yes, it's me." The messy elleth groaned and tried to sit up; he reached out for both hands and Faeryn grabbed it, Thranduil frowned at the scratches all over her small, ivory hands.

"What happened? You look...-"

"I know. Don't mention it." Faeryn chuckled, he watched as the maiden elf started straightening her muddy dress. The more he watched, the more beautiful Faeryn became, Thranduil did not know how but she did, the fact confused him, however it was, after all, a long morning.

Faeryn's hair was a bird nest, there were smeared traces of mud on her face as if she had tried to wipe them off in a hurry. Thranduil absently touched her face, his fingers moved gently on the skin, brushing of the dry dirt in silence.

He wanted to tell her, however there was a part of him yelling no. Thranduil was not sure what made him hesitate, Faeryn's reaction or reality. He wondered what would she say, what advice would she give him. However, as much as he wondered, Thranduil felt more like he was hoping for something.

Faeryn was exceptionally beautiful that moment, her dark hair was midnight sky and her eyes were more beautiful than the stars. Thranduil liked that, he liked the midnight sky more than the sunlight and it was the stars he prefered, not the sea.

"Go get change, and those injuries must be taken care of instantly, Faeryn." Thranduil rushed.

"What happened, Thranduil? What is bothering you?" She suddenly asked, the question startled Thranduil since he did not expect it.

He stared down at her, baffled "What do you mean?".

"Don't you lie, Thranduil. Something happened to you, I can see it in your eyes."

"Nothing is wrong." He answered flatly despite knowing she would not buy it. He knew Faeryn long enough to understand that although the elleth was not good in hiding her emotions, she could read him like a book, look through him like a piece of crystal. Being such a sensitive elleth she was, especially to Thranduil himself.

"I hate it when people lie, Thranduil." Faeryn said disapprovingly. "I will be very disappointed if you lie."

Faeryn stared right into his blue eyes determinedly, her stubborn chin held straight and still, as the elleth waited patiently for the words.

Thranduil felt ridiculous as the fact was that he was a king, her king. He wasn't obliged to obey her demanding, and in so many levels it was wrong. But again, he thought of a life without someone who is bold, a life without Faeryn and her stubborness as she would know when to order a king around.

He fixed his eyes on hers. For a mere second, Thranduil's stomach flipped, his lips parted, however, only his shallow breaths could escape from the space. In the end, the Elven King managed the truth.

"I was betrothed."

The elleth stumbled away from him, "Oh. You were." So shock she was, the poor comment was the only thing she could think of. "I didn't know that." Faeryn laughed dryly, she refused to meet his eyes as she turned her gaze towards the wall.

"Faeryn, I-"

"Not a word, Thranduil. This is way too big for me." The elleth cut him off. She looked pained, however the look was only there for a second until it was sunk into the pure shock. Faeryn gave a grimace once in a while in the next period of silence.

Unlike the rest of the time when the two friends had gratefully enjoyed the peacful and comfortable silence they shared, this time it was different with their awkwardness kept lingering in the heavy air.

"Is this why you've been busy these days? They are coming, aren't they?" When Faeryn spoke, it was a soft melody that could ease any pain of him; Thranduil nodded stiffly, not sure if Faeryn saw it or not.

"What do you say?"

"What do you expect me to say, Thranduil? That you should just ignored this bloody arrangement? Or that I would love to have tea with our new Queen?" The words became a flood, Faeryn snapped with Thranduil's surprise; the questions were bitter but yet, emotional conflicted.

Thranduil had lost his train of thought. What he just saw was a very unstable Faeryn, whom he had not seen since that day two hundred years ago with Laebon, the elleth closed her eyes shut, realizing how sarcastic and cold her words had been.

"I'm sorry." He heard her whispers soft and tender. "I shouldn't have said that...".

"Why are you crying?" With one hand stroking the elleth's hair and another holding to her cheek, Thranduil felt Faeryn's warm tear trembling down from the corner of one eye.

Her little shoulders shivered to the reluctant sobs she gave. Thranduil froze at his stand; if there is anything he disliked the most were Faeryn's tears. He did not want her to cry, at that very moment, the king loathed himself for being the cause of her sadness.

"I- I don- don't know." Faeryn sobbed and furiously wiped away the wetness of her face. "I ju- just felt like cryin-...". And she took a deep breath into her shallow lungs. "I'll be alright."

"It's me who may or may not getting married." Thranduil furrowed his eyebrows and stated.

"That's the point, isn't it? I'm not happy with the idea." Faeryn said quietly.

And as she was unhappy, Thranduil was devasted. Although he did not show it, the royal elf found himself caught in a mess created by the parents. Being a king, he could have easily reject this marriage, however, because he was a king, Thranduil could not act for himself. There would be consequences in every decision he made, not only for the king but also his entire kingdom. To fail in ruling meant failing Oropher, and Thranduil could not bare the thought.

"Then what should I do, Faeryn?" Desperately, he asked for her words of wisdom. Faeryn gazed at Thranduil and in a moment, he thought he had seen something way beyond shock and sadness in her strange hazy green eyes.

"Why don't we wait and see...? I promise it will be alright."

Faeryn promised and gave him an encouraging smile, however it did not reach her pretty eyes. Thranduil flinched at a sudden squeeze on his shoulder, before he realized it was Faeryn, she had already disappeared into another hallway, leaving the Elven King with his emptiness.

She had never left like that, Thranduil thought, an uncomfortable sense of loss took over him while his eyes landed on the unoccuppied spot Faeryn had stood just then; and as the sound of the elleth's footsteps faded and fainted into the walls, he feared so would she be.