Part 7

Three months went by and Baradeth saw no more elves. Orcs and goblins she saw plenty of, but whatever interest Thranduil had shown in her must have diminished into nothing, for he did not try to visit her again. And why should he? She had threatened to kill him if he showed himself in her woods ever again.

It was after these three months, though, that someone who Baradeth had not considered stopping by decided to pay a visit.

Baradeth spotted the ellon as he was walking alone down the back trail to her home after she had gone hunting. With one deer slung over each shoulder, the elleth quietly and quickly snuck alongside the trail so she could follow the stranger and try to identify him. His dressing was familiar, as was the way he styled his hair, and the path he took was from Mirkwood. Had Thranduil sent one of his men to spy on her? Or was this one of the archers who had wanted to turn on the king just to get at Baradeth's throat?

As she got ahead of the ellon and peeked through the bushes at him, she realized who it was and her paranoid suspicions came to an end. She stepped out of the trees and onto the trail just behind him, calling his name as she did so.

Prince Legolas spun in place before he saw who it was and let an arrow fly from his bow.

The arrow whizzed through the short distance between the two elves and into the skinny thigh of the deer, sticking two inches into Baradeth's shoulder.

"It is nice to see you too, Legolas." The elleth said.

Legolas only gave himself the span of one breath before he had his weapon put away and was rushing over to her. The prince tried worrying over the wound, even though the elleth hadn't cried out or even flinched, and he couldn't seem to stop apologizing.

"Baradeth, I am so sorry, I did not mean to harm you. Are you alright? I am so sorry."

Baradeth only laughed and heaved the other deer off of her shoulder and onto his with no warning. Legolas buckled slightly under the weight of the animal and was curious as to how Baradeth had managed carrying two.

"How many times must you be reminded, young prince? I cannot be harmed."

Her hand pulled the arrow from both herself and the deer, wiped it off on the cloth covering her thigh, and plunked it back into Legolas's stash on his back.

"Although, you might want to consider who it is that you're shooting at before you fire next time. I imagine nothing good will come of killing somebody blindly."

Legolas nodded in agreement, looking disappointed in himself.

"Of course, you are right. I usually don't act as such, but…in these woods…"

She then began walking down the trail with the prince in tow, each sporting a dead deer, as if this were a daily routine.

"In the stead of my curse, you mean." Baradeth corrected. "The woods themselves have nothing to do with it, and are rather lovely without me in them. It is quite alright, Legolas; not your fault whatsoever. Now, if you wouldn't mind telling me, what is your business here?"

"I um," Legolas shifted and almost tripped in doing so, but quickly regain his balance, "I came to speak with you about my father."

Baradeth's expression saddened slightly and she solemnly nodded.

"King Thranduil…what of him?"

"Well, he was being rather unusual on the way home from the woods. He wouldn't stop barking at the servants and muttering to himself when he thought that nobody was paying attention. It lasted for a few days before he outright told me the truth of why we came to see you."

"You hadn't already known when he found me?" Baradeth asked in surprise.

"Not at all. At first I'd thought we'd come to kill you for your crimes, or at least apprehend you, but then we all started acting civil to one another and I ended up clueless as ever." Legolas grunted from his exertion, hoping that they were close to her home on the hill. When he continued, he made sure to keep his voice low. "Before I continue, I must ask; should I speak with the same caution that my father did?"

The prince's caution made the elleth grin to herself in amusement.

"No. The enemy was listening so carefully then because you had peeked their interest by bringing so many archers with you. Now that it is just you and I speaking, they aren't paying any attention whatsoever."

Legolas nodded and began speaking normally once more.

"I see…forgive me for asking, but how do they listen in?"

"They use my own ears against me; the enemy hears whatever I hear, if they decide to listen."

"Interesting. Anyways, after he explained everything, he asked for my thoughts on the situation. This is what really made me worry for him, since he never considers others when it comes to his decisions, and even less often does he question things he's already done."

"This comes as no shock to me." Chuckled Baradeth. "And what were your thoughts on our disagreement?"

"I believe that my father is too proud and stubborn to do anything other than what he wishes. He would have been fine with giving you the things that he had offered you, simply because he thought that you would take them. Whatever amount of gold or goods you could have asked for, he had already parted with, but you asked for his time instead, and that was something he wasn't expecting. There are many things that Thranduil does not like, and some of those things are to be caught off guard or asked to partake in laboring tasks."

"That is a shame for him then, isn't it?" Baradeth asked with attitude. "I suppose he'll just have to grow up and realize that being king doesn't give one the right to be pathetic."

Never had Legolas heard anyone speak about his father in such a manner without any repose, and it surprised him so much that he couldn't help but laugh. Baradeth glanced at the prince sideways and grinned proudly to herself.

"I don't suppose that you said all of this to your father?"

"Oh, no." Legolas said quickly with a look of fright at the prospect of doing do. "I'd just be a headless stump if I did."

"Goodness." Baradeth muttered with a frown. One should not think that murder was an option when it came to the reaction of their father.

"No, I told him that his actions were regrettable and that a different course of action would have bettered us all. Even that was a dangerous thing to say to someone like him, but thankfully it went well enough. He told me he wished that it all took place under other circumstances; that it'd have gone better without the guards and without me, that he should have seen you in a different light." Legolas looked at Baradeth beside him and smiled.

"This is a good thing, you know. Never before has he acted so. He wants to do right by you, and not just for the things he wants, but also because he wants to make a good impression. While it might be only an impression, he will still try to act like a better person, and in doing so could help him truly improve himself. At least, I hope so."

Legolas looked up ahead once more and sighed with relief to see that they were almost at the elleth's house. The prince was also surprised to see that it didn't look how it had when last he was here.

There was no archway made from Baradeth's fallen enemies, the effigies were gone, any limbs or chunks that had once laid about had been removed, and the blood had been washed away. Granted, the smell still lingered, and there were a few splatters here and there, but it all looked much more appealing than it once had.

There were three piles: one of naked burning bodies, another of clothed bodies yet to be set aflame, and the third was a pile of jewelry, weapons, clothing, armor, shoes, backpacks, dishes, books, and many other things that the dead must have been carried.

Legolas ogled at all of this openly, but Baradeth must not have seen him staring at everything for she simply continued speaking and moving right along the path.

"For that to happen he would have to see me again, and that is not something that I think he is willing to follow through with, regardless of how much he really wants to. I do not know him very well, but I think that Thranduil is someone who likes to make excuses for himself, yet accept none from others."

"This is usually true," Legolas admitted with a dazed tone while they crossed the bridge, "but not now, otherwise I would be home rather than here."

"What do you mean?"

"My father sent me here, Baradeth, to make a proposition of sorts."

"Is that so?" The elleth asked with no small degree of intrigued shock.

"Indeed it is. Before I continue, though, I must ask; what are we doing with these deer?"

They were stopped at the bottom of the hill, Legolas squinting against the weight on his back and Baradeth grinning at him.

"I am going to skin them and then cook the meat, as most people do with whatever game that they catch and kill."

"You'll cook them? For whom? Surely, you couldn't have known that I was coming."

Baradeth laughed and set the beast on the ground, watching as Legolas tried to do the same with little success. One of the hooves was stuck behind his head and mussing up his perfectly straight hair.

"If I'd known you were coming, Legolas, I would not need two deer to feed only you. No, these are for something else." Reaching behind his head and moving the limb with an embarrassing ease, Baradeth lifted the deer from the prince's shoulders and set it on the ground next to the other one.

"Come on inside, why don't you? I've still got that wine which you liked so much. I'm surprised you didn't drink it all in one go, honestly." The elleth walked the path up the hill with the prince in tow, secretly glad that he didn't ask what the deer really were for.

"You wouldn't happen to have any more of those wonderful sausages, would you?" He asked hopefully as he trekked behind Baradeth. "And maybe an egg or two?"

"Yes, young prince," Baradeth laughed, "I have plenty of food for you."

…

As Baradeth cooked, she urged Legolas to explain in further detail what sort of proposition Thranduil had for her. She briefly considered that many deals and offers were made whenever the elven king was involved.

The prince sat at the dining table and found himself happy that nothing inside Baradeth's home had changed regardless that almost everything outside had. It was still tidy and small as ever, filled with nice smells of earth and food, lit with tiny candles and an all-too-large fireplace. Legolas hadn't really thought on it too much before his visit, but he did find that he had become slightly fond of the elleth's house and was even glad that he could be there once more.

"My father regrets the things he's said to you—and rightfully so, since he was uncommonly nasty—and would like to make it up to you if he was given the chance to do so."

"And why should I give him the chance to redeem himself?" Baradeth asked as she fried some eggs over the fireplace.

This was not a question Legolas thought that the elleth would ask and he was slightly caught off guard. Baradeth began to twirl a spatula around as she spoke fervently by the fire.

"Thranduil had a rather valid point when he mentioned having more important things to attend to than the needs of some creature in a forest. That I expected for a king to drop everything he is doing just so he could help me was ridiculously stupid and equally regrettable. And what was even dumber of me," she said matter-of-factly, turning and point the spatula at Legolas, "was thinking that someone like him could ever learn to trust someone like me."

"And what does that mean; someone like him?" Legolas asked, slightly defensive. Baradeth rolled her eyes and turned back to her cooking, muttering to herself that of course the prince of Mirkwood wouldn't understand her meaning.

"I mean anyone of high status, or is treated as if they are of great importance. Posh, wealthy people, who have more power than they do knowledge, tend to be rather bitter and distrusting. They are used to their schedules—being woken up at a certain time, eating in a specific room, being around the same people day in and day out—and the moment something changes, all of their defenses are put up and they think of nothing but their own suspicion. I'm sure your father has had the same staff for decades now, the same warriors and same servants, and that is because he is weary of change."

Legolas frowned, feeling as if he were being accused of some bad personality trait.

"Do you think the same of me?"

Baradeth set a plate of steaming food before the prince, but this was the first time that he did not instantly dig in. She sighed, seeing she had offended Legolas, and sat across from him.

"When you first came here, you thought that the reason was to kill me or have me imprisoned. This is because it was what should normally be done with murderers, and you had comfort in this normalcy. The moment you found out that wasn't the case, however, and found yourself unsure of what was happening you became uneasy and wanted to kill me on the spot. Would you have been fearful and acted on impulse if you knew that I would be thrown in a jail cell or beheaded anyways, or would you have simply followed whatever orders your father gave you?

"You were lashing out and acting of your own will because you were unsettled and weary for the safety of yourself and others. Your father did the same thing when I asked for his time and assistance rather than his riches or power. Over the years, I've come to discover that many people who get what they want become terrified at the prospect of being denied what they ask for or given something undesirable. It is not just you and it is not just your father; all of Middle Earth is inhabited by people who do not do well with new, unexpected things, whether they have potential to be dangerous or not. Take the hobbits for example; I've not come across a single one in all of my years, cursed or otherwise, because they simply refuse to leave the protection of their tiny homes. It's rather amusing, really, for a whole species to be scared of its own shadow." Baradeth chuckled and sat back.

"I do not know if I like being compared to a hobbit…"

"You really shouldn't, little prince."

Legolas realized that the elleth was right, even though he didn't like it. To be so accommodated to having someone wait on him hand and foot was a bit embarrassing now that he thought on it. Had being treated so for all of his life only affected his first meeting with Baradeth, or had he acted out of fear of difference more than just this one time?

The prince did not bother to look back or reconsider it, but just assumed that it was so, and vowed to become less sensitive towards new and unexpected things. At least, he vowed to try and become less sensitive.

"I suppose that you are right, though," Legolas said as he took a bite of his meal, "that we royals are put off rather easily…but that's no excuse for my father. He's a king, he should be above all of that. I think that he understands this now, which is why he's offered to help you."

Baradeth went to repeat what she'd said earlier—that Thranduil had more important things to worry about—but Legolas quickly continued before she could say anything.

"He would not offer something so valuable as his time if he did not think it for a just cause. He has thought this through Baradeth, for weeks now, and has planned exactly what is to happen."

The elleth raised a disbelieving eyebrow and crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair.

"And what, exactly, does he think is to happen?"

Legolas quickly chewed and swallowed his next bite before putting his fork down to focus more on the conversation at hand. He wasn't that hungry anyways.

"A month from now my father will leave Mirkwood to be escorted to these woods by only myself and two other guards. He will bring only the clothes he wears and tell nobody but his royal advisor of his whereabouts. While he is gone for the ten days and ten nights requested by you, the royal advisor and myself will deal with the responsibilities of Mirkwood. Once the ten days are up, regardless of what happens, my father will gain whatever information it is you have to offer and come back to the kingdom."

The prince grinned proudly at Baradeth once he finished what he was saying. The elleth, though, was ready to put the smile off of his face with her next words.

"It is a nice plan, Legolas, and I give credit to your father for it; but things will not happen like that."

Legolas frowned deeply and jerked back in offense.

"Why not?"

"Because—" Baradeth paused and looked at the meal before the prince, "eat your food before it gets cold—because it is not what I need to happen for this to actually work."

"No?"

"No. I need Thranduil to trust me Legolas, and it can only begin if he is willing to rely on my terms. Don't worry though, they aren't too different from his. Two weeks from now, he will leave Mirkwood and be escorted by whomever he wants, but the escorts must go back once Thranduil is halfway down the path. I will meet him there once the escorts are gone to see if he really has brought only the clothes on his back, and then we will continue to my house from there. None will visit us and nothing will be left in the forest for Thranduil to later find.

"I've decided that for each day he stays with me he will be given any one single piece of information on Sauron he wishes. At the end of the ten days, regardless of what happens, I will make sure that he knows as much about the enemy as I do. He will be escorted by myself back to the halfway point, where he will meet with the same people whom walked with him on his way here. Nobody will know the truth of his whereabouts or why he is gone.

"If Thranduil breaks any of my conditions or is not here in exactly two weeks, then there is no deal. He will go back to Mirkwood without any news of the enemy and he will forget all about my existence. If he does not like my conditions, then tell him not to show, because I will not be negotiating whatsoever."

Legolas looked at Baradeth closely, trying to tell if there would be any possible way for her mind to be changed, but he saw that she would not be swayed in this. Taking a deep breath, the prince poked and prodded at his food before setting his fork down and shaking his head.

"I fear that this change of plans will upset my father."

"I do not doubt that it will, Legolas." Baradeth took the prince's empty plate and began washing it. She spoke to the prince over her shoulder, her tone calm and serious.

"It took Thranduil three months to collect himself when he was first upset by me; make sure your father knows that he can't afford to waste his time now."

Legolas nodded and stood, ready to start the walk back to Mirkwood.

"I will try to keep his head on his shoulders, but it has never been an easy thing to do. I must warn you though that if he does come and stay with you, he may not be kind to you. You said that you would be the only source of providence towards what he needed, and he will take full advantage of that. I would not be surprised if he treated you as one of his servants." The prince sounded shameful as he said this, but knew that it was true and that Baradeth deserved to be aware of it. It seemed that she already was, though, when she nodded her head.

"I understood what I was offering when I promised this to the king, Legolas, and if he comes to my aid, then I will hold to my word and do as needed to earn his trust. If that means waiting on him hand and foot, then so be it."

"I see…well, I thank you, Baradeth, for your hospitality. And I apologize greatly again for the…" he awkwardly gestured to his own shoulder before coughing guiltily. The elleth turned around with a grin and strode up to the prince.

"Anytime, Legolas. You are always welcome in my forest and in my home…but I warn you that you are the only elf I shall ever spare. It would do you well to remember that." She rested a kind hand on his shoulder and gave it a slight pat, opening the door for him and motioning him out.

"I bid you a safe travel home, prince Legolas."

"Thank you, Baradeth. I hope to see you in two weeks' time with my father in tow."

"As do I."

Legolas smiled and turned to leave, but paused as he looked out at the lawn in front of him, and hesitantly turned back to the elleth.

"Baradeth, why have you decided to remove the bodies from your backyard?"

The elleth leaned on one of the posts of her porch and crossed her arms.

"Because of something I mentioned to your father before he left. I had said that "I might be 'The Evil Creature in the Forest' to others, but to you, I will always be 'Baradeth the Keeper of a Quite Fine Home and Entertainer to Friends'." And a keeper of a quite fine home simply does not leave the dead on their lawn to collect dust and flies. Besides, I always thought that the effigies were just…a bit much, don't you agree?"

The prince's brow furrowed and his head shook just the slightest.

"You, Baradeth, are rather odd."

"I will take that as a compliment. Now go, before it gets too dark."

And with that, Legolas began his trek down the hill and back into the woods. His journey would be long and sweltering, for summer had just begun. Before the prince could disappear into the trees and out of Baradeth's sight, though, the elleth called out to him.

"And be sure to stay on your toes, prince Legolas; spiders have been visiting me more and more often."

Legolas paused at the edge of the forest and quickly scanned the area before him. There seemed to be a darkness moving in between the trees, twigs cracking here and there, and he wondered if he should have his bow at the ready.

"Of course there are spiders." He grumbled irritably, shifting the bow on his back. "Why wouldn't there be?"

…

Baradeth decided to spend the night sitting on her porch with an old pipe burning in her hand. The ebony sky was dotted with white lights and the large full moon, and staring up into it was all too similar to starting into a bottomless pit. Many elves find comfort in the night sky and even celebrated the stars. For Baradeth, though, darkness was just a reminder of Mordor and the vile caverns and caves within it.

The elleth did find herself wondering, though, if king Thranduil was looking up at the sky as well. What did the stars remind him of? Surely it was something poetic and noteworthy, for a king not dare miss an opportunity to seem more graceful and romanticized than any other. Especially not Thranduil. Baradeth chuckled at this thought and stood to go back into her home with the intent to bathe.

If the king really was to come to her and abide by her conditions, then it was sure that the ten days and nights spent together would be rather eventful. Better bedding would certainly be needed for the king, as would more running water for a toilet.

A stove would also be nice to use for cooking rather than a few pots and pans over a fireplace; it'd be faster too, and wouldn't it be just like a king to demand his food be in front of him before his tummy even rumbled? The palantíri needed to be hidden, as well, lest Thranduil find it and start snooping.

Clothes would need to be made, and more books found so he wouldn't become so bored as to constantly bother Baradeth. She would have to think of ways to earn his trust, but more importantly, ways to keep him happy and entertained.

Yes, there were many things Baradeth had to get ready if the king were to stay with her. If he didn't and all of her effort was for naught, well, then at least she would be ready for the next fool willing to consider her deal.

For only a fool would dare live in the presents of the monstrously cursed elleth what knows only of death and decay.

Only a fool would try to trust the dark creature what resides in the woods, befriended only by horrid creatures.

Only a fool would put their life in the hands of Baradeth.

End

AN: This story will be edited and possibly re-written from a better point of view. A sequel is in the making. Thank you all for reading and reviewing, it means a lot to know my writing isn't all for naught.