Chapter 1

It was late afternoon when Turi closed her book and smiled contently, leaning back from her desk. She yawned and ran her fingers through her long blonde hair. This was the second book she'd polished off this week, whilst on duty. Ha! Life was good. Life was calm.

It'd now been 6 months since the assassination debacle, and ethuil - spring had finally decided to make its way back into the elven forest. No one had been bothering her following the upheaval of last summer, and that was ok by Turi. 

Little did she know she was at the start of the most stressful month of her life.

The office of internal surveys had returned to its usual placidness, and Turi had gleefully reverted to her tea-and-book routine. Yep, leaf tea, biscuits, and books. That was it. No more running for cover, kicking in doors, or mad dashes in pursuit of not-quite-so-guilty suspects. None of that stress thank you very much.

Turi found she could easily bear the relative isolation that working at internal surveys meant. Yet something was off.

As her eyes came to rest on the empty desk facing hers, she felt a pang of sadness. Her former partner Taryan still hadn't been replaced. While she could handle working by herself, she actually did miss her older partner and his crazy stories.

At once, adrenaline shot through her spine as she heard an urgent knock on the door.

Without waiting for a reply, the impressive figure of Thranduil, king of the Greenwood elves strode in. He cast a striking presence as ever, his burgundy red robes waving behind him, his crowned head held high.

Turi caught her breath and found herself mesmerized for a couple of seconds. The king's presence and good looks seemed to have that effect on her. Her legs felt weak as she looked at his face, his lips, and penetrating blue eyes. There was still a lot of tension in their relationship that hadn't been resolved. 

For her part, she just couldn't stop the flush of emotions that seemed to engulf her every time she saw him.

As he seemed to be taking in the emptiness of the office, Turi couldn't help but let her gaze wander admiringly over his features. His strong jawline and aquiline nose were framed by beautiful flaxen hair. Thranduil wasn't just handsome, he looked otherworldly.

Not so long ago they'd been close, maybe too close for his comfort, Turi thought sadly. But since then their 'relationship' had failed to lift off. Now the distance was palpable.

Turi involuntarily shrugged. She'd been nothing but a clueless youngster who'd had to do a lot of growing up in a short time, she told herself. Probably he'd realized she was just too immature. She bit her lip and looked at her feet.

'Turi' Thranduil started with a confident smile. 'Êl síla erin lû e-govaned vîn – a star shines on the hour of our meeting.' Turi's head jerked up, a glimmer in her eyes. At least he had addressed her affectionately rather than in an official manner.

'I've some good news for you' he continued. Turi managed an uncertain smile.

'The council has approved your promotion to be the head of internal surveys.' Turi's smile faded slightly as she looked around the empty office. 'Ha' she managed. 'Thank you my lord for the ... good news?'

'Yes well' he hesitated, noticing her confusion as his gaze followed hers around the emptiness of the office. 'The other good news is that internal surveys will receive two additional staff members. From today onwards. They are a bit young perhaps, but you can guide them.' His voice trailed off as he caught himself staring at her.

Inwardly, the great king found it hard to focus around this pretty younger elf. But it was more than her beauty that had bewitched him so many months ago. Her kind and down to earth nature, her drive for professionalism and true loyalty were endearing. But more than that, she was intelligent, energetic, and had committed to him without giving it a second thought. But then, they'd never crossed that bridge.

Once upon a time he'd been very swayed by her presence, enamoured even. But he'd worked hard to put that behind him. His responsibilities were not something he could forego for his own personal pleasure, or even, dare he admit, for love.

She looked at him quizzically, as if guessing at his inner turmoil. 'Good news, again' she said, trying to fake an enthused smile.

Turi wanted nothing more but to reach out to him, ask what had happened between them, or better, why nothing had. And above all she wanted to tell him how she truly felt. Hanging her head, she realized how silly she'd risk of sounding.

Pouring her heart out did seem like a strangely appealing course of action, but she realized the chance of being successful in winning his heart this way was as likely as explaining the intricacies of elven poetry to a dwarf. She took a deep breath, and held her tongue.

'Congratulations' Thranduil said curtly, looking down at her with as neutral a face as he could manage. He added 'The new recruits will be here before sundown. Na lû e-govaned vîn – until next we meet' before turning on his heels and leaving.

He managed to steel one last look at her big hazel eyes and freckled nose. She looked so beautiful yet so fragile in the big empty office. His heart went out to her, and he wanted to touch and kiss her. But then he didn't. Thranduil, the great elven king left her standing there, none the wiser of his thoughts, but feeling happy to have briefly seen her.

New colleagues would be ok, Turi thought as she plopped down in her chair again. Strange though, she reflected, that the king himself had to come all the way down to the office to deliver this news. She afforded herself a small smile.

In that same moment she puckered up the courage to go after Thranduil. She'd rather be impulsive than pining for lost love. He'd come to her first, after all.

She rushed out of the door, determined not to let him get far. But the king was nowhere in sight, so Turi rushed off in the direction of the central walkway that lead to the palace.

As she was running along, the ornate residences and office buildings she was passing only vaguely registered with her. Lost in thought, she almost bumped into a female elf going the other way.

Suddenly, she was stopped in her tracks by a loud WOOSH sound.