The Ranger And The Prince.

Going Home.

Perhaps, one day, when the children were older, they would have adventures of their own but that wouldn't likely be for years to come.

***

For centuries, me and Legolas watched our precious children grow.

Gemstone was probably the most troublesome of the three due to the unfortunate fact she seemed to have inherited my stubbornness and Legolas' sass. A bad combination indeed.

She spent most of her time training with the Royal Guard and showing up most of the soldiers there. Her weapons of choice was a broadsword and throwing daggers. She would often ignore any safety advice her superiors would give her, and she would run off into the woods on her own to fight spiders. I wanted to say I was mad at her for doing that but honestly, I do the exact same thing and I don't want to be called a hypocrite.

Though of course, Legolas scolded her for putting herself in danger. Legolas loved his family more than life itself. He didn't like telling her off but he would be damned if Gemstone got herself injured of killed out there out of sheer incompetence.

Amethyst was lucky enough not to inherit any dangerous combinations of our personalities. He was a skilled warrior, no doubt about that, and to my delight he preferred an axe as his weapon of choice. However, he wasn't as fool hardy as his older sister, he had been fortunate enough to have an eye for diplomacy and etiquette, just like Legolas and Thranduil.

Amethyst was usually seen helping around the city, whether that was patrolling with the Royal Guard or sorting out disputes with the Mirkwood nobility. At least I knew that Mirkwood would be in safe hands in the future.

Jewel was the most curious of our children. She had a mixture of blonde hair and a sort of hazelnut brown or a dark orange. She had Legolas' eyes though, which sparkled in the light. Though she was also a great fighter, her weapon of choice was a bow, she was more secluded than her brother and sister.

She was always coming to me and Legolas with a new quirky fun fact of the day she had read in the library that day. Legolas was always protective of 'his little Jewel' because she was just so sweet. She always remembered her courtesies and barely every raised her voice.

Maybe Legolas had a soft spot for her because she was probably the only member of the family who didn't shout at him all the time.

She stayed mostly to the library or in her personal study. Jewel loved knowledge and I had no doubt she had probably read half of Mirkwood's library already. When she wasn't reading, she was painting, sewing or playing a musical instrument. It baffles me how she was able to master so much of the arts like I had not. She definitely was the most cultured of our family.

Perhaps one or both of my blood parents were from Rivendell. That would explain her hazelnut hair and her pride in cultural pastimes.

***

To say that the relations between the Elves and Dwarves had improved would have been an understatement.

Ever since the King Dáin had given back the white gems, Thranduil slowly lost his hatred for the dwarves. Then of course, I was now widely accepted in Mirkwood, after all, I was their Princess. Then when Gimli came to stay with us, he was accepted as well.

We now had a working trade with most of the dwarven settlements. I couldn't help but feel pride whenever I saw the Elves and Dwarves be civil to each other. At least my own children didn't grow up hating Dwarves.

I often wondered what my father would think of the change I had helped provoke. I found myself overcome by nostalgia for my childhood home.

Legolas knew how much I loved the Mines of Moria, even after nearly three millennia, I still remembered its vast hall. Legolas had only seen it's ruins but what he did see of the city, he had no doubt that in it's prime, it would've been a wonder to behold, and it was.