S T A R L I G H T

C H A P T E R 11

C H A P T E R 11 - Did you forget everything I will always remember? 

~Jewels she seeks~

Thorin was dragged from the confines of his fellow company, taken to the throne room where he helplessly watched her fall. She, who had only known them for a short time, had risked herself for their lives. Battled a king without hesitance. Elves were not normally friends of dwarves, but Mynë was no ordinary elf. She was different. She was a friend.

Thorin would be sure to thank her when he saw her once more. The King under the mountain would not forsake no one of nothing, he would not abandon his friend.

"The elleth you brought with you is healing well," Thranduil began, looking out at his domain and away from the would-be king. His hands grasped tightly behind his back, he was anxious, but there was no way he would ever convey it. That would be weakness.

"She is stronger than most," Thorin agreed, biting back his tongue and forcing himself not to begin a fight with the elven king.

"How did you come to meet such an elf?" The king questioned, nonchalantly, however, inside he was most eager to know.

"Simbelmynë was with a friend, one of the stops on our quest before we came to this forrest. She decided to come with us." He explained shortly. Was it because she was elven that made him so interested?

Thranduil finally looked back at the dwarf, "your friend has lost memory. Does she remember anything?"

"Why would the King of the Woodland realm care for a lowly elf?

His teeth gritted, "I believe she could have hailed from my realm. She could have a family here, waiting for her. You do not wish for her to be happy?"

Thorin thought on it. He was hesitant. Simbelmynë was a new friend, and he did not wish for fate to take her from him so soon. But he did wish her to be happy. "She mentioned a son," he answered, continuing, "that, and... silver and white, gems or jewels."

Thranduil's eyes widened. The white gems of Lasgalen... She remembered the jewels he had fashioned for her. The gems she only got to see but never wear, perhaps those were what could trigger something in her mind.

"She desires gems?" He quizzed aloud, "you, Thorin Oakenshield desire gems... There are gems in the mountain that I too desire... White gems of pure starlight. I offer you my help."

Thorin smiled, "I am listening."

"I will let you go, if you but return what is mine,"

"A favor for a favor," he acknowledged, "and what of Simbelmynë?

"Hopefully, the jewels which she seeks could be in the mountain as well."

Thorin scoffed, "I doubt you would let her free of your kingdom."

"I will do what is best for my own. You have my word, one King to another."

"Simbelmynë is not yours," he whispered under his breath, before looking up at the elf king through his brows, "I would not trust, Thranduil, the great King, to only his word. Till the end of all days be upon us!" Thranduil looked visibly taken aback by his words. The dwarf didn't lose his tone, continuing. "You, lack all honor! I have seen how you treat your friends! We came to you once, starving, homeless; seeking your help. But you turned your back! You, turned away from the suffering of my people and the inferno that destroyed us!"

His tone changed, speaking in his native tone. "May you die in dragon fire!" he seethed.

Thranduil's teeth gritted, memories flashing back in his mind.

"We have to go home." Asteraêa spoke clearly, her arms filled with cloth containing the most special thing in existence.

"We are, meleth nîn, this battle is going on long let than I thought. I am sorry, bain nîn," The King apologised to his wife, stepping closer until he stood right behind her, peering down at the bundle she held so close.

"This is no place for Legolas. He belongs in our home, where he is safe," Her eyes looked back at his, pleading with her gaze.

"I agree. But we can not leave our people here to perish. If you and our child were sent alone it would be too dangerous, as well. Our best odds are here," Thranduil explained, his arms wrapping around his beloved.

She sighed loudly, sadly, "you are right..."

"I promise he will be safe, I will not let any harm come to our green leaf," His fingers fell to the infants face, caressing the baby's brow softly.

"I know, but that does not head my worries. Nothing would hurt me more than him being harmed."

"Myself as well," He agreed, continuing, "Asteraêa, we are winning this war, it will be over in a matter of days, and then we can take our child home,"

"I can't wait to see him in the nursery,"

"I am sure he will be overjoyed to see it." He promised, his lips meeting her forehead, placing a lingering kiss above her brow.

"Well.. I have spent some years arranging everything in it. I would be quite heartbroken if it was not perfect by now," Asteraêa responded, fixing the blanket wrapped tightly around the babe.

"Half a century is not too long..."

"Oh, you are cruel," she joked, placing the small babe in the small bassinet, both new parents gazing down at their new son. His piercing blue eyes gazed back at the two, eyelids feeling heavier the more he blinked. Asteraêa peered lovingly at her child, the child her and her love had tried so hard to conceive. "Look at him, Thranduil. Was he not worth every second of trying? Every prayer to Valar? Every tear? He is more perfect than words could ever explain."

"He is everything we could possibly dream," he spoke, utterly mesmerised. His hands fell through her white, blonde locks lovingly, "thank you for this gift, my Queen."

She giggled, "you are most welcome, my King."

The two lovers took a moment to simply be in the moment, enjoying the company and the sight before them. Their little Legolas... Their green leaf...

Stuck in a battle field with a newborn was not how they expected to be in the first few moments of their child's life, but in this moment it was perfect. Oh, how unfortunate it is when moments are cut short.

The horn began to sound, the sounds of troops and soldiers became louder, hearing the yells and calls of their army. It got louder, frightening the baby  awake from his sleep. His mouth opened wide, tears filling his eyes quickly. His naneths arms wrapped around him quickly, holding him tightly to her chest.

"Thranduil, I have not heard that horn before. What is going on?" She asked, panicked, rocking the baby slightly in her arms.

Her husbands eyes stared behind his family, noticing the commotion through the open tent doors. That was the horn he had never hoped to hear again, it shook him to the core. His bright eyes flew back to his little family, his wife, his son.

"A dragon."

Thranduil's mind switched back into focus, his temper rising. "Do not talk to me of dragon fire! I know its wrath and ruin," He screeched, feeling his facade falling. "I have faced the great serpents of the North," Thranduil explained, feeling his scarred face finally be revealed to the dwarf. He could only wonder what scars his beloved lived with now. He stepped back, the King's face returning back to 'normal'.

"I warned your grandfather of what his greed would summon, but he would not listen," He advised, strutting up to his throne, "you are just like him."

The guards grabbed hold of the King under the mountain as he struggled.

"Stay here if you will, and rot. A hundred years is a mere blink in a life of an Elf," His own words only made him think more of his lost love, a hundred years was short, but the three thousand she had been gone from him. He swallowed his next words, "I'm patient. I can wait."

He could wait for the dwarves, he didn't care about them. But he couldn't wait for Asteraêa anymore, he wanted his wife back now.