Legolas wants to walk into a wall.

When he returns from his quest to protect the Ring, he finds someone new by his father Thranduil’s side—you. Thranduil says that he rescued you from the Orcs and brought you back to Mirkwood. Legolas assumes his father sees you as a foster daughter.

That is, until one day when he happened to pass by and saw you two kiss. That made Legolas realize… perhaps this isn’t quite the paternal relationship he thought it was.

Thranduil has been single for several centuries, and Legolas eventually comes to terms with it. After the initial shock wears off, he treats you with the same courtesy as before—though he is acutely aware that you may very well become his… uh, stepmother?

Legolas takes you for walks in the forest and teaches you to draw a bow. As the two of you spend more time together, he finds his heart inexplicably quickening whenever you’re near. His gaze lingers a little too long on your face, the delicate curves of your lips when you smile. Perhaps it’s simply because he hasn’t spent time with a girl for a long while.

…However, the realization only fully strikes him when he catches himself feeling jealous as he watches you laugh with his father. That faint sting in his chest finally forces Legolas to confront the truth—he might be developing feelings for you. His father’s lover.

He must be out of his mind.

This is scandalous by so many standards. There’s a forbidden thrill to it, but it’s hardly comforting. For the next few days, the morally upright prince barely sleeps.

And when you visit his room to check on him, you find Legolas staring intensely at the wall, seemingly giving serious consideration to ramming his head against it.