Disclaimer: I do not own the Thranduil, or The Hobbit nor have any affliation or links with any companies or persons who do. I am not making profit off of this writing. The story and all original characters are the only things I claim.

Author's Note: This story was written for the Thranduil Storybook project on tumblr for the "dailythranduilproject" blog. The original version is accompanied by images much like a picture book. Please go to my blog(s) or the dailythranduilproject blog to see them.

Belong

By MoonofMorrigan

Chapter One

"It is almost time for me to wake up. Come to me when the forest awakens!" he called.

Lisa had been having similar dreams, about the same forest, and the same man since she was a child. The forest was beautiful, if not lonely. Quiet and bound with a secret spell that she could not name, the trees were old, the plant life nearly so. The man, ethereally beautiful and not human, would always call to her. His hair was long, just touching his waist, shining as moonlight on snow, ears pointed like rose leaves, flawless pale skin, high cheekbones, a perfectly formed mouth that would smile with pink lips, the nose perfect though long, and finally the eyes - those ice blue eyes that seemed to peer into your very soul.

When she was a child she would only dream of him in the spring, summer and fall - never in winter. It was as if he slept then, awakening when the frost thawed. Her dreams would be spent with him walking among the ancient trees, and having flower wreaths put in her hair. There were others there… they were like him, but not. He shined brighter than they somehow, and the others seemed to do his bidding without a second thought.

When she became a teenager, and had discovered an interest in the opposite sex, it was as if he sensed it. He would not hold her hand so long. Each year of her teenage years the dreams of him became less until they were absent all together. She thought them completely gone until she was 25 and experienced her first true heart break. She had not had many love affairs, something she attributed to the looks she had grown into. Her features were pretty, but not showy. Her figure was not slim, chubby for lack of a better description. She was not loud or easy to make friends with. Awkward at best, and her friends were few, and had long been living their own lives. Her parents took little interest in her, favoring her older sister, who was the picture perfect figure and student. She learned to like her uniqueness, but her parents were not so impressed with it. So contact was very limited.

After her first heartbreak she did not sleep for a couple of days, eating was sparse. Finally, exhaustion claimed her, and the first of her dreams were dark and full of hateful images that would force her awake. Then after a month of such torment, for she remembered it clearly, on a sunny, cold, snow covered day, when she had left work to rest he came again. It was the first time he had ever appeared to her during the winter months.

He came to her as a mythical figure in the old stories, as if appearing out of nowhere in her dream, once more offering her his hand and chasing away the dark, faceless creatures trying to chase her down and choke her. She took it without question, and he led her deep into the bowels of the earth. Beneath tree and root, tuber and the cold of the winter. Down, down, down until finally light engulfed them by lanterns lit with some magic light.

He led her on further down hallways and pathways, hand in hers, giving her no pause to feel her pain or gape at what she would see. Finally he opened a set of ornate wooden doors and inside a bedroom that looked like a thing from a faerie story, with the forest canopy magically seen overhead, though no chill air or wind found it's way into the room. He led her to the bed and sat her down, leaving for a moment and offering her a goblet of wine the next. Then when the sweet wine hit her senses and the grief came back once more, he gathered her in his arms and she cried in his chest.

From that time on it mattered not what the season was, she would dream of him, and from that time period, at least to her feelings on the matter, their relationship had taken an erotic turn. As the years droned on the touches became less fleeting and more drawn out, and were in places that he had never tried to touch her before. However, he always remained "a gentleman" and never let his hands wander too far up her thighs. The lips he would brush on her cheeks, forehead, or neck would never claim her lips. Always he would speak softly, and end it was with a plea.

"Come to me. Be mine. No one will hurt you again."

Chapter Two

She would soon be thirty-four, and at times she felt ridiculous. For she felt that she was in love, but with a dream. The problem was she tried reality. It always hit her harder each time. Each man she would get into what she thought was a real relationship with and give a portion of her heart to would always leave and hurt her in the end. Two years ago she decided she was better off alone.

She had moved in the last year, and since then the dreams had become almost nightly, more urgent and more realistic than ever. It would leave her lost in a dream-like state until she stepped through the doors of her workplace. It wasn't until one night her car had broken down, and she was forced to take a train home that she seen it. A forest with a old trees, not just any, but the ones that looked like the ones in her dreams. Standing taller than all in what appeared to be the middle of the forest was an oak tree, it's branches just starting to form buds.

The whole week while her car was being fixed she took the train and wondered at it. Then last night came the plea: "It is almost time for me to wake up. Come to me when the forest awakens!"

His beautiful face had faded from her vision, his hands outstretched to her, into darkness leaving only the image of the huge oak tree in it's wake.

For the millionth time she did her best to shake it off as just a dream. But as the week pressed on the realism of it became overbearing.

Chapter Three

His hands wandered farther up the outer portion of her thighs as he pressed himself more tightly against her where she stood, wrapped in his arms, laying urgent kisses on his neck and collarbone, as his mouth did the same. His regal, fantasy-like attire was unhooked and exposing the flushed skin beneath. Her flemsy excuse of nightwear, a tank top and short shorts would allow him to touch her however he wished, with little in his way to guard her breasts or her private areas below. Suddenly, he pulled away, stepping back three steps as she let out a protest.

"Come to me. Make this a reality. The forest is awakening! Why do you delay?"

She felt as if she could break down in tears, even in her dreams. "Because it's not real!" she cried out, "No matter how much I want it to be, it's not! You're not real…"

His eyes narrowed at this and his shoulders set. "Are you so sure?"

Chapter Four

She held his eyes as she answered in a soft voice, "How can you be? You're just a dream. A dream I've conjured up to help spare me from doing something stupid in my loneliness. Just a dream…."

He cocked his head to the side and his jaw set. Anger was flashing in his eyes. It frightened her to some extent. He said nothing, but continued to stare her down.

Finally, she could take it no more, and looked away asking softly, "Aren't you?" She looked up at him at this, but he merely shook his head.

"If that is all you think me to be, then yes, that is what I am, and all I will ever be." His eyes lost the edge of anger in them as he continued to look upon her. She knew her face was betraying every emotion she was feeling at that moment. Hurt. Pain. Incomprehension. An odd hope that somehow, someway he was real.

"I don't understand." she finally replied taking a step forward and reaching out to him. He stepped back a pace, throwing his hand behind him, away from any purchase she main gain. A pain of regret and heartbreak shot through her at this. He had never done this before.

He looked her up and down, as if he was deciding something. His voice, though soft still held an edge to it as he spoke, "From the time you were a child I had chosen you. I had searched for centuries, waited, looking into the void until finally I found you. I always belived in you. I only wished you had believed in me."

With that he stepped back into the shadows and the room faded away, the forest following him. With that she awoke, and her heart felt heavy and her body sick. She called into work ill, and succumbed to a numb-state of grief. Tears were at the edge of her heart, but never found their way free. Something stirred in her and she felt lost. Only one question kept coming to her mind, silly as it seemed to her. Had she lost him, the one who had always been there for her and loved her despite all else, forever?

Chapter Five

The question had grown large in her mind by the time the night had fell. Her heart was still heavy as if on the edge of breaking, but holding on to some vain hope. Over the years she had researched her dreams. Attempted to find, in vain, a reference of some sort to what she had been experiencing. 'Dream-walking' was the closest she had ever heard someone describe it, but she found that hard to believe in. Hadn't her parents always told her dreams were nothing more than flashing images and feelings that our memory uses to process and get rid of the excess with? But no, this could not be such, against all reason that is what her instincts told her.

Before she had time to think better of it she spent the day seeking a solid answer from the only people who would believe her. People whose viewpoints and very religion centered around the earth and the such mystical things. They would look at her suspiciously when she tried to ask in person in the shops and places of business. She knew why. People often mocked their beliefs. Finally, when she was on the brink of giving up and the tears were about to release from their chains, she came upon a small spot on the edge of a wood. She could hear the train going by in the vast distance as the sun was beginning to set.

Lisa did not realise she had been sitting on the first step of someone's porch, hanging her head in her hands hopeless, and ready to give up, until a gentle voice spoke above her. "I will not ask why you are on my porch, for I can see you are about to weep."

She looked up, dazed and on the brink, seeing a tall, beautiful blond haired woman regarding her with blue eyes. Lisa merely nodded and stood. She ducked her head down as she offered her apology and began to turn to make her dismal way back to her apartment when the woman called out to her.

"Are you seeking answers or solitude? Or perhaps, both?"

Lisa turned back to her seeing the cocked head and raised eyebrows. There was no mockery in them. The woman gave her a hint of a smile and gestured for her to come inside. Again, following instinct more than logic she did as she was bid. Once inside she was offered a seat and a drink, then asked to unburden herself. At first she felt ridiculous, readying herself for the sure mockery or to be asked to be leave, but instead the woman listened intently and she did not scold her saying that she was in need of getting in touch with reality, mocking a way of life, or needed therapy as Lisa had been told not only throughout the day, but her whole life if she dared to disclose her dreams with anyone. Seeing she was taking her seriously, Lisa continued on until finally, the tears broke free and she sobbed into her hands as she related the dream from the night before.

There was silence for a long while as Lisa cried, then the lady spoke in consoling voice. "What is it that you want to do? Do you honestly think him to be a mere dream…?"

Chapter Six

The question caught Lisa off guard and she did a double take when she realized the lady was asking her not if she really thought he could be real, but the complete to mention, what did she want to do about it? The problem was, other than finding out if he was real, and if so, how to find him she just wanted to see him again - real or not. All of it selfish in it's own right, but it confused her emotional mind.

"What do you mean?" she inquired watching as the woman stood and poured her another glass of cordial. Oddly enough it was made from the same berry as the wine her dream lover always gave her only it was not alcoholic. She would surly be asleep in a drunken stupor by now if it was.

The woman inclined her head towards a window that looked out unto the woods beyond. "These woods are old. Very old. Full of many stories, and many secrets. People have gotten lost in there and never return if they do not know the paths." she said mysteriously. Then asked with inquiring voice, "You mentioned he is not… human. Do you not perhaps think that is the key to the problem? He took you deep into the earth. A secret fortress, but around you the forest was all around?"

Lisa nodded. It was all she could do.

The woman paced apparently thinking aloud as she did. "An old oak tree. The center of the forest. The waking of it." Something seemed to dawn on her at that moment as a look of realization came to her features. She looked pointedly at Lisa. "I can take you somewhere. I can show you where it may be. But if he has decided to cut you off, you can not go to him no matter how much you were to begin to believe."

"You honestly think him to be real?" Lisa stood, an incredulous look on her face.

"Why would he not be?" The woman gestured for her to follow and they made their way to her back door grabbing a flashlight and an honest to god lantern, pocketing a lighter for it along the way. "Follow me, and do not stray from the path I take. These woods can trick the eye of one who has not been raised in them."

The woman's words and even phrasing kept catching Lisa off guard, but she chose to leave it go. If it would settle her mind and heart, she would follow this person to the ends of the earth. As they made their way through the lady talked about the woods. And about the theory some had of them.

"A portion of these woods were cut down to make way for the railway and the housing development to the east. But here, in the south western portion they are left alone, and it thrives. There is something about these woods that either endears a person to come to them, or makes them flee out of unknown terror. Many believe they are guarded."

As she spoke Lisa looked around her, noticing that many of the things along the path felt familiar to her. As they went deeper in and the shadows of the night began to encroach upon them, the only real light being from the flashlight that the woman kept pointed forward ahead of them. She paused for a moment at her words and lit the lantern, handing it to Lisa, turned on her heel and continued on her way. Any other time Lisa would probably be scared out of her wits, but it was as she said, it was if the forest welcomed her and begged her to come further within - as if the deeper she went, the safer it would be.

At some point Lisa thought she had wondered into one of her dreams, for the path was one that she had taken within one, and she knew it's footing even without the woman's lead.

She continued her commentary as she walked, "People say there are spirits or at least some type of unseen guardians here. Elves if you will."

"Elves?" Lisa asked with a turn on her lips, seeing it returned with an amused look in the half light from the lady.

"Yes. Only not elves as most people would think of them. No, tall and beautiful, strong, immortal creatures who were the first children of a set of forgotten gods. Many left our lands and faded from memory and time. Others became one with this world, to guard and keep it." She stopped and regarded her silently for several moments.

Lisa felt slightly uncomfortable under the woman's gaze. She realized when the woman looked away, it was because her eyes seemed to do the same that the ethereal beauty of dreams did- peer straight into your heart and soul.

"I believe this man to be one of these, and this," she held the flashlight far ahead of her causing it's beam to cast upon the thick trunk of an ancient oak tree - the same tree from Lisa's dreams which made her gasp and lunge forward towards it, "I believe to be home of him. It is the heart of the forest, this tree. No woodcutter dare touch it for fear of bad luck."

Lisa barely heard these words for she had already came to it and began running her hand over the trunk's bark in shock and joy. The woman cleared her throat a couple moments later at seeing Lisa's attention was not on her and on the tree itself. She came to stand in front of Lisa, and whispered touching a hand to her chest, "Listen to this," she then touched her head, "not this. If you do that, you will find your way to him. He may come back. That is all I can say."

Lisa nodded and for a split second her attention was turned once again to the tree. She gazed upward at the volume of branches and buds forming about it. The moon was shining brightly through the branches upon her and it. A smile came to her face and she turned to look at her companion, but did a double take and literally spun around in a circle in confusion. The woman was gone.

Chapter Seven

She tried to write off the woman's sudden absence up to her just being fleet footed, and not having vanished into thin air, but given what she was doing and trying hard to believe a part of her believed that she had just vanished. She spent her time over the next couple of minutes looking for a way below. Some secret door to lead her below. Finding none she collapsed to the ground the green moss soft and wet under her hands, weary and heart sick, and feeling a bit stupid… trying to not think of the fact that she was possibly now lost in the woods at night.

Her head fell back against the oak's trunk and felt exhaustion overtake her. Against her better judgement, her mind screaming for her that she needed to stay awake, her body and heart telling her to sleep, she couldn't obey her logic and soon drifted off.

She opened her eyes still in the midst of the night, her head still on the tree trunk. However, when she opened her eyes she was confused. She seen herself leaning against the trunk, as if she was peering into a mirror. Her eye caught a movement at the side of the mirror image and stepping out from around the vast trunk was her love.

She stood quickly coming to the edge of the mirror. He gazed upon her with an expression she could not identify. She briefly looked behind her to see if he was there, behind her, but he was not. He was indeed standing in front of her, in front of mirror of her world and his own.

He spoke in an amazed voice, "You found me, and you came."

"Yes, forgive me please." she bowed her head in supplication.

"I forgive you." He held his hand out to her, "If you come with me you can never return. You, as does everything in my vast realm, will become mine… forever. Will you be willing to make that sacrifice?"

Thoughts of her friends, her parents, her sister made a fleeting pass through her thoughts, but oddly enough, the lure to stay there, was null.

"What will I be if I come with you? I do not wish to be a…. a whore."

He flinched at the word used, but an understanding smile came to his face and he held the outstretched hand out higher, "You will be no one's whore. You will be mine. My mate; my consort; my queen."

"Your queen?" she asked flustered. A queen?

He nodded, "If you take my hand you can not look back. You can never return. But I vow I will never break your heart. I will love you for all eternity. I will always be with you, and you with me. You will become one with me and this place."

She found herself inching forward, a sudden sense of danger forming in her mind, though her heart wanted her to reach out and pull forward. She swallowed hard and before she let her mind take over she reached out and felt her hand pass through the mirror grasping his own. He pulled her through, an icy chill running through her body as she passed through the mirror of her world, into his own. She bit down the urge to look behind her, and let him lead her to the side of the tree trunk, to a doorway that opened at his touch. He pulled her down into it's mouth torches lighting as he went. Once they were half way down the familiar staircase she heard the door close tightly shut. Not a second later he pulled her against him and for the first time claimed her lips in a hungry kiss.

When he pulled away, his hand tangled in the hair at the back of her neck, he whispered, "You are now mine, for you are now a part of this place."

He kissed her once again pushing her against the wall, "I am Thranduil, king of this domain, and all that you see and do not see is within my command, and after this night yours - my queen."

—

A few days later some hikers would find a pile of discarded clothes and a lantern whose wick was burned away. After the frost ended and the heat of summer wore on an unusual ivy vine was noted to have grown tightly about the trunk of the oak tree. An ivy vine kissed with pink on the edges of it's leaves, and it climbed high within - many noticing as if in a lover's tight embrace.