Daughter of Stars of Earth

Chapter Six-Him

"He was a guard in Lothlorien." My mind reaches back and can recall his face as if I'd just seen him yesterday. Pale skin, sharp features, hair a reddish-brown with a smile to rival the sun. "We were around each other more often than not and quickly became friends. After friendship, it was easy to find love. A powerful, pure love." My heart stings and I swallow my sadness so that I may continue. "He was fierce and sharp-witted. Never one to miss an opportunity to make me laugh or tease me. And kind. Ceaselessly kind and good-hearted. Enough so to coax me out of my hard shell." His eyebrows raise at that and I smile. "Ah, yes I was not always so easy and open, King. I was a princess, prim and proper and cold. Able to strike at one's weakness with a single look. Not so different from yourself now." His eyes narrow, but I simply smile.

"He changed all that. I'd strike at his most sensitive parts and he'd only laugh or strike back. He taught me what it is to not take life as seriously as I had been. How to laugh at myself." I shoot the king a look and I believe he's close to rolling his eyes. "We had a little more than two thousand years together." It still wasn't enough. Still too little time spent together. And nothing to show for it but my memories. That and the ring on my left index finger. Made by Aelrindel himself, it is very simple. Silver distressed and maneuvered into a tiny branch cradling a leaf made from the finest green emerald. My fingers glance over the ring before I look back to the king.

"And then?" He leaves it open for my interpretation. I sober. I had told so few the story, but it feels right to continue.

"And then there was a battle in the village beyond our borders. We had been walking through the forest and were closest. With his good heart, he did not hesitate to go and I did not hesitate to follow." I can still smell the burning of the houses and feel the slick of blood under my bare feet. "An orc pack had descended and was ripping the people to shreds. We entered the fray." It was supposed to be easy. It should've been. Thranduil's eyes are steady on mine as I continue.

"We fought back to back as we had done many times, but there was a second wave. Exhausted, we fought on. I was taking on three at once and faltered when he fell out of my sight. My sword was knocked from my hands and I fell. The orc raised his weapon to strike and I just barely moved in time for it to sink into my shoulder. I cried out and then he was there." I remember my joy in the moment. My life was spared and my love was safe. "He bent over me. Placed a hand upon my cheek."

My hand lifts and rests where his was as my eyes shut. I can almost imagine it is his for a moment. Oh, the hope that filled me. The relief. "Then a spear pierced through his side, plunging so far that the tip entered my stomach as well." My eyes open to look at the king. I no longer wish to be in my own mind. I no longer wish to see my memories. My hand falls from my face and rests on my stomach instead.

"I took a dagger from him and sank it into the orc's head, but it was too late. It fell backward and I barely managed to keep the spear from sinking further into me. I..." I take a breath to compose myself and I believe I see compassion in the king's eyes. True or not, the thought helps me continue. "I slid from under him and removed the spear. The orcs were dead. We were both bleeding. I removed my belt and wrapped it around his chest, just barely having the energy to drag him to the edge of the forest before collapsing myself. My wounds were too grievous to continue and neither of us knew enough healing to soothe the other. I laid beside him and he held me. When the light drifted from him, I did not waver. I did not leave him."

My teeth grit together as the memory of him comes back to me. His arm holding me tight to him with his other hand pressed to my wound. My hands cradling his face and staining it with blood, so much blood. I swallow and take a breath before continuing. "We were found afterward. I know not when. He had already gone and that was all that is of consequence." I end and tears stain my dark cheeks. My fingers wipe them away as I breathe deeply. "My apologies, Thranduil." I bid and note the slight sparkle of tears in the blue depths of his eyes.