Thranduil x Orc Reader: Beauty Tamed the Beast Pt6

Modern AU! Thranduil x Orc Reader

  Beauty Tamed the Beast: Part Six

Everything was dark and unforgiving; cold and cruel. But what else was to be expected from a world where everyone was out for himself alone?

It was late in hour, somewhere well past twelve in the morning, and from the dank corner of a murky living room within a dilapidated apartment, a child of seven huddled in anticipation. She had been in this position for more time than a young mind could comprehend, but she was unable to move from it. Her mother had specifically told her not to move or make a sound, and sensing her parent’s desperation, the girl had obeyed without question. It wasn’t often that her beautiful mama was stern with her, but when the woman was the child knew that it was serious. They had almost been caught earlier and now they were hiding in a condemned apartment building until it was safe to run once again.

As was to be expected, light and heat were nonexistent. The only illumination was the slight glimmer of the crescent moon flashing between the weathered cracks in the blinds. And the girl visibly shivered as she snuggled deeper into her mother’s side, wanting both warm and security as the minutes ticked by. When the child felt her parent’s familiar arm wrap around her small shoulders she burrowed further into her mother’s sweater that smelled of comfort and warmed vanilla sugar.

“Thank you, sweetie.”

The child looked up at her mother with confused eyes as she broke the silence for the first time in hours. “What?”

The woman of thirty-two smiled down at her daughter, though her eyes remained ever alert and sorrowful.

“Thank you for being so strong for me, cubby,” she clarified in a whisper, using the term of endearment lovingly. “I know I haven’t explained everything to you, but you’ve been so good and obedient and that has helped me so much.”

The child stared up at her beautiful mother for a long moment before she placed a hand to the adult’s cheek. “What’s happening, mama? Why are you so scared and why are we running away?”

The woman’s eyes flashed with old pain, the brilliant hazel green orbs showing a fear that was startling, before they returned to their normal comforting expression. “Because your father is trying to find us, sweetheart.”

“But you said he was gone and wouldn’t come back.”

“I thought he was, honey. . . But he found our old house so we had to leave.”

“We left so he can’t find us again?”

“Yes, sweetie. So you and I will be safe.”

The child was still for a moment before she asked, “How long before he goes away again?”

“I don’t know, (F/n),” the woman answered truthfully, as she brought her daughter closer to her side and wrapped the blanket they shared more snuggly around them. “But it will be a while. He won’t give up easily, so we’ll have to be smart and outwit him.”

“We can do it, mama. We can trick him. I know we can,” the seven year old said with certainty, making her mother smile again.

“Yes we can, little cub. He won’t catch us as long as we have each other.”

(F/n) hugged her mother tighter and whispered into her sweater contentedly, “And we’ll always have each other won’t we?”

“Forever and always, (nickname); because I love you.”

“I love you too, mama. Forever and always.”

* * * *

* * * *

(F/n) slowly let her (e/c) eyes close as the old flash of memory played before her wearied conscious. It had been several months since the faded, bittersweet moment had come back to taunt her, but now as it did, the ORC Chopper couldn’t help the ache in her chest or the unbidden tears that crept down the length of her pale cheek. It had almost been a lifetime since she had cuddled in the dark with her mother- but the emotion still remained as if it were only yesterday. Though her mother’s face was now blurry and her voice wasn’t always the same in the memory, the content of the flashes had never faltered, nor had the feeling of longing at the scent of warmed vanilla sugar and a soft hand at her cheek.

But it was the past, and the past was long since out of her reach.

With a steady hand the female assassin erased all traces of her tears and took several deep breaths to center herself. She counted down from 10 and vowed that when she reached 1 she would be calmer. With some difficulty the woman began her internal count down before she felt the familiar balms and external mask slip into place. Though the feelings would surely resurface at a later time she could keep them at bay long enough to make it worth her while. So she did; most willingly.

After another minute of refocusing herself, the Chopper reopened her indifferent eyes and brought herself back to the moment. It was two a.m. now and the ORC-ling had been awake for almost 48 hours straight.

No wonder I’m having trouble, she thought to herself as she moved to stand silently from the chair she had been inhabiting. I have to get some sleep. . . But only after I know my next play. If Greenwood doesn’t come back before three, I’ve got to go find him and all of this will have been a waste of time. . .

The Chopper let her eyes fall to her right as she glanced over to the now peaceful form of Kili. He had kept his word: their video deception had been finished sometime ago, and after watching it nearly 10 times to make sure that nothing was missing, the assassin could honestly say that he had done a spectacular job. If she hadn’t been one of the deceivers who had helped to create it, (F/n) never would have known that the murder was staged and shot in front of a green screen. Thranduil’s expressions had been perfect (it would appear that he was rather gifted at acting) and the blood and fire Kili had added to the original shots looked identical to the real thing. The kid should’ve been selling his services for the big bucks. He was talented enough.

As the woman had watched the final result over his shoulder, Kili had anxiously watched her reaction. Throughout the process, she had asked him to change or polish things- so the youth had expected more critiques. But (F/n) hadn’t been able to find anything that warranted a change, so the video had been officially finished. And like Kili had promised, it had been finished in record time.

“We’ve still got two hours before our window of time closes,” Kili had said as he cracked his hands and visibly slumped in his chair. “You want to catch a lie down before Thranduil comes back?”

(F/n) had assured him that she was fine (she never slept in a place that wasn’t familiar or protected) and told him that he should sleep after his good work. The compliment had made Kili beam at her (something that she would never grow accustomed to) before he decided to pull an ‘all-nighter’ with her. He had lasted for almost an hour, playing a strange video game (Plants vs. Zombies or so the title said) on his PC before he had fallen asleep on his keyboard.

Currently, (F/n) looked down at the snoring techie with a small smile of her own. Though she had only met him earlier that day, Kili was truly an infectious soul. Naturally happy and eager about everything that life seemed to offer him. It was both refreshing and sobering to the Chopper as she had watched and listened to him.  

I hope that he can keep that peace of mind for the remainder of his days. It would be a pity to have him lose it.

 The assassin reached a steady hand above him and gingerly moved the keyboard away from his head so he would be more comfortable. He stirred slightly, mumbling something incoherent before he once more began to snore and the assassin knew that he wouldn’t wake. At his feet the Border Collie Bilbo snuffled, looking at her with wide eyes before he placed his soft head upon his master’s lap.

(F/n) gave the canine an approving look. “Good dog,” she whispered before she turned away from them to exit the den. Though as her eyes focused on the doorway, she immediately stopped herself. For a time she merely stared at the figure that had caught her attention before she broke the silence.  

“How long have you been standing there,” she asked quietly.

From his place in the doorway Thorin Oaken stared at her with unreadable eyes. “Long enough.”

For a long moment the two assassins gazed at each other, (e/c) on steady green-blue before the larger of the two shifted to allow room for the other to pass by him. He gestured with one of his hands towards the hallway beyond the den in invitation.

“May I have a word?”

The Chopper was still for a breath before she dipped her head in agreement and moved to walk past him. Though the doorway wasn’t large, (F/n) had plenty of room to walk past her Guild Brother without touching him and she easily moved to stand behind him. The Oak, once she was through, soundlessly closed the door behind them and turned to walk down the hallway, back the way (F/n) had first come when she had entered Bag-End.

(F/n) followed him and soon they were standing in the living room, face to face.

“Sit.” Though it wasn’t phrased as a question, there was still a rough courtesy to the statement; but (F/n) merely shook her head.

“I’m fine.”

“48 hours without rest doesn’t sound fine to me, (F/n).” The large man’s eyes shone with humor, though he didn’t further reprimand her. Nor did he take a seat for himself.

Of course Thorin would have kept track of how long she’d been working. He always did when she had missions. Because more often than not, he was the one who would stay by her side until she finally collapsed from exhaustion. This strange ritual was usually a point for amusement between the two, but currently (F/n) couldn’t bare it. Not that now when everything had changed between herself and her surrogate brother and friend. He had lied to her. . . The one thing she had hoped he would never do. . .

“What did you want to speak to me about, Thorin?”

The large man looked at her calmly. “Have you no ideas?”

The female assassin’s mask was firmly in place as she stared him down with blank eyes. Though she cared deeply for the Oak, she also wasn’t about to let her guard down. Not after everything that had transpired that day. Not after all she had learned from her comrade.

“Tell me what you want. I’ll listen.”

Thorin sighed deeply before he met her gaze head on. Though he did so without hesitation, there was no challenge or attempt at dominance in his eyes.

“I am sorry. . . For not being the person you thought I was . . .  for lying to you.” He stopped to form the proper words as his dark graying hair fell around his face like a curtain. “I know your decisions will be based on facts, as always. So I won’t ask you for forgiveness, but merely the chance to explain my reasons.”

(F/n) nodded to him, signifying once again that she would listen, before the Oak moved to regale her.

“As you guessed on the phone, I’m an undercover officer. A Detective . . . Or rather I was. Five years ago, I went dark and was proclaimed dead by the state. Not long after I entered the Guild.”

“What made you go dark?”

Thorin’s face became pained for a brief second before the stern expression returned. It was obvious that his memories haunted him, and (F/n) couldn’t help the sympathy that welled in her chest at his expense.

“My wife and nephew were taken from me.” Was the soft reply.

The Chopper’s eyes showed her surprise. “Your wife . . . and nephew? Kili?”

“Kili’s brother. Fili,” Thorin clarified. “They were abducted along with a group of the other officer’s family members to make us back off on our busts in the area. We’d cracked down heavily in the South cities and they were intent on dishing out retribution for the inconvenience.”

Kili’s brother was taken . . . I misjudged him. . . He has had darkness in his life. . . The worst kind. . .

“What happened?”

For a time Thorin was silent, his hands clenched into fists at his sides as his eyes grew wet at the corners. (F/n) had never seen him so emotional before, and she quietly let him have ample time to answer. After a second he responded; all the while the unshed tears reigned themselves in and never fell from his eyes.

“We tried to find all those who had been taken. . .  But they found their own ways back. . .

“. . . I found Fili’s body, or what was left of it, and my wife’s wedding ring outside the station with a note. . .” The Oaken one was visibly shaking from what (F/n) assumed was both devastation and fury. “They had done unspeakable things . . .”

The Chopper waited for a minute before she asked quietly. “And what of your wife, Thorin?”

“I . . . I traced the note back to a sub-agency of ORC. . . They had sold her into the sex slave trade . . . they’d lost track of her.” His voice broke at the end and (F/n)’s eyes closed as she felt the absolute anguish that was radiating off of him. Though empathy wasn’t a normal emotion for her, (F/n) felt it now as she saw her brother falter. Never before had the Chopper seen the sturdy Oak crack, and as she now felt the heartbreak and anger of his past, the female assassin once more felt the last remains of her soul ache for him. It would seem that her heart would be resurrected no matter what she wished. Between Thranduil and his son, and her one and only friend who now stood beside her, she would be forced to feel.

“So you infiltrated ORC for revenge.” The Chopper inserted, to which the Oak nodded.

“And to find her.”

(F/n) looked at him. “You believe your wife is still alive? After five years of being in the trade?”

“I have to believe she is, (F/n),” was the quiet reply. “There is no other choice. . . Not for me.”

(F/n) now thought back on all the missions that Thorin had completed on ORC’s behalf, all the targets he had eliminated. . . He had turned his back on all he believed in order to save the person he loved. . . He had done it all for his family. Thorin had given everything to bring down ORC, and he had unwittingly made a friend along the way.

“Sauron is responsible for your nephew’s death and wife’s abduction.”

It wasn’t a question but Thorin nodded. “His organizations, his plans, his death sentence.”

(F/n) studied the man’s face closely looking for his micro-expressions. “I agreed to take this contract for my own reasons . . . that being said: do you really believe that we can do this?”

Though Thorin was almost always a solemn figure, his expression became even sterner as he nodded again. And as he did so his blue-green eyes flashed with conviction.

“. . . I do. . .”

(F/n) the Chopper watched her brother in arms for a long moment and knew that he was sincere as he answered. And though her earlier doubts weren’t completely wiped away, her bitterness at his betrayal was lessened to a dull thrum in the back of her mind and she found herself raising a hand to his forearm.

“If you believe it’s possible then I’ll stand by you, Thorin . . . .” Then she paused briefly before looking him dead in the eye. “But if you ever betray my trust again I will kill you.”

“I know you will,” Thorin said before he gave the Chopper a soft smile and reached out to pull her into a hug. Though the two weren’t cuddly people by any stretch, the contact was rather welcoming after all that had come to light. (F/n) wrapped her arms around her giant brother as far as they would go and sighed tiredly. Now after knowing Thorin’s reasoning for his lies, it was impossible not to understand him or have leniency . . . And in spite of being a seasoned assassin, the woman had been around enough targets to recognize his desperation. Family obviously meant everything to Thorin and for that she could not fault him.

Above her the Oak placed a chaste kiss to her forehead as he had done each time she’d had an especially dangerous contract before asking gruffly, “Truce?”

(F/n) pulled back to give him a barely perceptible smile of her own. “Yes, brother. . . Truce.”