The History Of Legolas – Thranduil and Almwen

Author’s Note: First off, The Lord of the Rings and all associated characters belong to Tolkien and his estate. I am not making any profit off of this story, save the enjoyment I had making it.



Thranduil, once again, found himself at another grand party of his father’s design, standing off to the side and looking on as the dignitaries of Greenwood the Great made fools of themselves on their wine and dancing. Of course, Thranduil never minded celebrations, but the magnificent festivities that his father devised always seemed frivolous and outrageous to him. The prince of Greenwood was an extremely serious character, whereas his father was not.

The gathering was held on one of the large balconies of the palace that was built into one of the mountains of Emyn Duir. Thranduil leaned against the wall near a door that lead into the ballroom where there were more elves debating political matters and whispering rumors of stirrings in the East.

The night was clear and cool, and if it weren’t for all of the lights around him, Thranduil could have been able to see the stars quite clearly if he were to look up. The breeze was blowing, and Thranduil breathed deeply the smell of pine that drifted on the wind.

He sighed and shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he looked on, wondering what he could be accomplishing if he could be in the library of the palace reading some of the scrolls there, or something of the sort. Just as he was debating with himself about staying at the party or leaving, a voice startled him.

“My, you are a gloomy looking elf,”

Thranduil looked to his left to see Almwen standing there, a teasing smile on her face. The prince smiled and bowed his head.

“Good evening, Lady Almwen.” He chuckled, dismissing her playful mockery.

“Good evening my lord.” She returned, joining him in leaning against the wall. “I assume that the festivities are not to your liking?”

“They would be to my liking if there were a point to them.” Thranduil remarked.

“A point?” Almwen asked.

“A cause, a reason to celebrate. I see none here. Save, perhaps, drinking and foolery.” Thranduil said, motioning towards his father, who was guffawing quiet loudly.

“It is not a bad thing to celebrate a wonderful life, Thranduil.” The ebon-haired maiden pointed out.

Thranduil chuckled and sighed. Once again, Almwen had hit the proverbial nail on the head. Ever since their truce, the pair had had many conversations, in most of which, Almwen had always seemed to upturn Thranduil’s thinking. The Silvan maiden had quite captured his curiosity.

“How is it that you are always right?” He asked.

“I’m just smarter than you, my lord.” Almwen joked.

“That must be it.” Thranduil laughed as he turned his face up to look at the stars. He grimaced.

“You’re still gloomy.” The elleth pointed out.

“I was just thinking that on a night such as this, it would be wonderful to see the stars in all their brilliance, but all of the lights here have made them dim.” The prince replied.

“Well then, we will just have to go some place where we can see them more clearly, then won’t we?” Almwen said, taking Thranduil’s hand and leading him towards the railing of the balcony.

“What are you doing?” the prince asked.

“Going to get a better look at the stars!” Almwen said, a certain amount of childishness in her voice as she sat down on the railing and swung herself around so she faced away from Thranduil. The drop down to solid ground was not far since the palace was built into the side of the mountain – the distance was only about three feet, and she planned on jumping down to leave the palace. She patted the railing and turned and smiled at Thranduil, calling him to join her without words.

The prince of Greenwood hesitated for a moment and looked back at the merry elves at the party, and then back at Almwen, who raised an eyebrow. Shaking any cautionary thoughts out of his head, Thranduil sat down on the railing with Almwen, who took his hand. And the two jumped.

The moment they hit the ground, for reasons unbeknownst to either of them, they decided to run. They ran off into the trees together, laughing as they searched for a clearing to stare at the stars through. Finally, they came across a large clearing in the trees and collapsed on the ground together, laughing and gasping for air.

The two looked up into the clear night sky and watched the blinking stars silently for a moment.

“That’s more like it.” Thranduil said, squeezing Almwen’s hand.

“They are so beautiful.” Almwen sighed, a twinkle in her dark eyes. Thranduil turned and looked at her.

Bathed in the pale light of the moon, he thought she was beautiful. Her fair face seemed to glow as it reflected the light that shone on it, and her long dark hair was as black as the night. For the first time, Thranduil was completely awestruck by her beauty.

Almwen noticed he was staring and she turned to look him straight in the eye.

“What are you staring at?” She asked, a laugh present in her voice.

“N…nothing.” Thranduil stuttered as he looked back up to the stars. Almwen held back her giggles as she noticed his cheeks turn a slightly pink color. She turned her face back to the sky.

“Isn’t it a beautiful night?” She sighed.

“Aye.” Thranduil replied.

A long silence passed in between them as they watched the stars flicker in the night sky. Thranduil sighed contentedly and shut his eyes, smelling the pine trees all around him. Their scent had become most comforting to him. For a moment, Thranduil wondered how the scent could be so near when the trees were at least ten feet away in each direction. And then he realized that it was not the trees that he was smelling, it was Almwen. Before he had a chance to think on it, she spoke.

“Did the stars shine this clearly in Doriath?” Almwen asked.

“Yes. Oftentimes I would go down to the banks of the River Aros and watch the moon travel across the sky and the sun as it rose. It was a wonderful thing to watch.”

“You could see the sun rise on the horizon?”

“From the river banks, yes. There were no trees near the banks of the Aros to obscure the view.”

“Often I have wondered what it would be like to watch the sun rise into the sky. I have never left this forest. I have never been able to watch the sun rise on the horizon. I should like to leave the forest sometime to see it.”

“Leave Greenwood?” Thranduil asked skeptically.

“Only for a time, for I love this forest and everything in it, but I would love to see the sun and moon rise on the horizon, and see the stars from a clear plain.” Almwen said dreamily.

“Perhaps someday we will ride to the River Running, east of here, and we can watch the sun rise.” Thranduil said, not thinking.

Almwen smiled and nudged herself closer to Thranduil so that her head was near his shoulder.

“I would like that very much, mellon nîn.” Almwen said softly as she closed her eyes, feeling at peace.

Thranduil looked to Almwen, and then up to the sky and smiled.

“It is a beautiful night.” He said quietly.