Mirkwood (Thranduil and Tauriel post-BOTFA)

Eternal waters

Note: I have always envisioned Thranduil and Tauriel leaving together to Valinor sometime during the 4th Age (as I mentioned in the previous chapter, here they all sail to Valinor, not Eressea)

I think them sailing West is quite bittersweet and nostalgic, with a lot of deep emotions underneath so I linked this song as it's haunting and ethereal. 

An elven ship was gently floating on the shining water, close to the shore. On it, Thranduil's tall figure cloaked in silver was visible, as well as Tauriel's red hair flowing next to him. A small company of wood elves was also on board with them. 

'Milord?' asked one of them.

Thranduil gave them permission to depart.

The ship was now sailing well on the calm sea that was shining bright silver and gold in the afternoon sun. The skies were clear and blue like the water. Some wood elves kept turning their heads towards the lands that were fading away in the distance, the lands of Middle-Earth that they were leaving forever. Tauriel's head turned as well eventually and watched the shore fade away from view. She stayed a few moments with her eyes lost in the distance then turned towards Thranduil. 

Thranduil was looking ahead, his head tall and looking statuesque in the powerful afternoon glow. Tauriel glanced at him and then came close, standing right next to him, now also looking ahead at the seemingly infinite water that touched the sky somewhere on the horizon. They both looked in silence with their hair flowing in the wind.

Thranduil's pearly blond hair was even more luminous than usual. Tauriel turned her head gently towards him. His body and clothes seemed to emanate light in a way that she had never seen before. She looked at her hands and she also saw an aura of light tracing the shape of her body. She looked at Thranduil and he looked back at her smiling. The sky itself seemed much brighter as if the sun was not falling, but the light was becoming stronger and soon it seemed like they were surrounded by a portal of light. 

'Are you scared?' he asked her with a deep soothing voice.

'A little', she admitted.

He took her smaller hand into his own, holding it lovingly and they both held hands all the way to Valinor. 

As they kept sailing, the heaviness in Thranduil's heart lifted like some kind of ancient burden. He suddenly felt as he hadn't felt in millennia: younger, untainted by grief, liberated. He beheld the shining waves that were gently washing over the edges of their ship. A new beginning awaited him and Tauriel. It was not the end. They would have so many more new positive experiences in a place that held no tragic memories for either of them and this made him hold no regrets. He thought of the trees, rivers and lands he had left behind as well as the memories that these held. These memories brought them together and forged who they were. They would always be a part of him and Tauriel and of their legacy. But a new life awaited them. A life where his son was, where his people were, where their time would never run out and their love would not be tainted. 

As she held his hand, Tauriel's last drop of doubts disappeared and a new feeling of excitement took over. She was finally getting close to the stars, she thought, and the light around them was shining brighter than ever. She understood what Thranduil already knew. She could already see and taste the starlight and she did not want to turn back. As her head kept turning towards Thranduil and looking at his proud profile and luminous body, she thought to herself for the first time that he was indeed the most beautiful star she had ever seen and would ever get to see. She smiled to herself. She always had this star next to her. He was now just taking her home. 

The end. 

Yaay it's finally complete! I really hope you have enjoyed my 'post-Hobbit' fanfic.

Thank you all who have followed my story while I was writing it, you have encouraged me to continue and finish it. I started out writing it for myself (mainly because I loved the pairing and it got me out of my depression) and I'm so glad to have shared it with you guys. 

Update: If you have enjoyed this fic, you might also want to check out my second Thranduil fanfic, Light and Shadows