I watched her from above every day.

I watched the careful, natural grace in which she walked. I watched her fiery red hair billow and catch the sun. I watched her aim, with a precision I myself had never been able to master, and shoot, the arrow cutting clean through whichever target she chose.

The rune stone had felt heavy on my chest when they placed it there. A promise I hadn't been able to keep to my mother, to myself. A promise that should belong to the red haired elf who now grieved, wept and cried, for someone who was gone, someone who had changed her life in a whirlwind few days. 

A dwarf prince, with black hair and a young, reckless mind. Me.

I didn't know where I was. I was everywhere and I was nowhere. I was high and I was low. Death, it seemed, was merely a veil for the other side, the side that was identical to the living but entirely different. And it left a gaping hole in my lung.

Maybe I was invisible to her. Was I? I recall being there with her the other day when she brought down that spider. I was there when she visited my mother; there they both sat, weeping in each other's arms. I was right there with them, stroking my mother's hair and holding my lover's hands in my own.

I would try and let her know, somehow. That I wasn't gone. I was still here. I was still with her.

She breathes, she lives. I breathe, I live.

What is dead never dies. I will always be with you, Tauriel. Always.

~~~~~~~~~

I sheathed my dagger, and wiped my brow, panting a little. The spiders today were like all the others - cunning, proud, ruthless and deadly. And I, in return, was the same. Today there was just a multitude of them, and I felt my bones tire earlier than they usually did.

"Good work today, brethren," I said to my guards. They too were cleaning and sheathing their weapons. I looked up to the sky to see it starting to turn pink. "We head back to the castle. Come."

We traipsed back to the castle, thankfully encountering no spiders along the way. When I reached my cottage, I dumped my weapons on the wooden chest by my bed, and poured warm water into a tub for a bath. I took off my armour and boots and tunic, and then sank into the inviting water, letting it soak and cleanse every part of my body.

I stared up at the ceiling, waving my hands through the water. Since the visit to the Blue Mountains, orders had been flooding in; patrols had been doubled and threats had been raised. The spiders had tripled in size and number, and had edged their nest even closer to the kingdom. The enemy was testing our every hand, it seemed. Whoever the enemy was.

Thranduil had barely been seen around lately, off doing some secret kingly business. He hadn't been around, but his orders had, specially signed to me every day in the mail. Distractions. Chores. As if he knew my mind needed sidetracking.

Sighing, I brought my hands to my face, letting water drip down my cheeks and back into the tub. It was true, I had been distracting myself from my own thoughts - from Dis's words, and the grief we shared. I needed to focus right now. I had a kingdom - a world - to protect.

Despite this, I couldn't help shutting my eyes, and letting my thoughts wander. Wondering, dreaming, thinking.

I wondered what we would have done after, Kili and I, had he...lived. I wondered what we would have said, to each other, the war having been won, and Thorin crowned King of Erebor. I wondered what Thorin would have said about our relationship. I wondered if he would have even allowed it - his heir and nephew, in love with a Woodland Elf. I wondered, if, the Dwarvish and Elvish kings would have made peace...for us.

A love that could heal a two hundred year old rift. Imagine that.

I smiled and lifted myself out of the tub. Quickly drying my hair and putting on my clothes, I opened the door to my bedroom to see someone had placed a message on my bed.

The words on the note sent me running to the castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I ran and ran until I saw him. 

The Elf with the golden hair and the soft brows, the blue eyes and the accurate aim. I ran right to him - my best friend. I ran and saw a man I did not know next to him, clad in black ranger's clothing, with gentle green eyes. I ran and saw the look in his eyes, surprised, familiar, gentler than the last time I had seen him.

As soon as I reached him, I did the strangest thing imaginable. 

I embraced Legolas Greenleaf, and surprised myself as I smiled properly for the first time in months.

"Mellon-iaur nin, Tauriel," Legolas said, genuine surprise in his voice.

I didn't realise how much I missed him until I heard his voice, that voice that was just an echo in my memory. I missed him, my old friend of hundreds of years.

"It has been so long, mellon," I said, parting from him and standing in front of him, assessing him. He stood differently than he used to. Everything that used to be sharp about him was now softer, as if what he had witnessed had domesticated him. But he still had that wildness in his eyes that I adored.

Still slightly baffled by my welcome, he gestured to the man next to him. "Tauriel, this is Estel from Rivendell," he said. 

The man offered his hand. I shook it. "Pleasure to meet you, my lady," he said in a rugged voice. 

I looked at him again with a second eye. He may be named simply, but I could tell he wasn't all that he seemed. "No need for such formalities, Estel," I said. "Come. You must be tired after such a long journey."

I signalled a maid to give them rooms, and then they disappeared down the hall, Legolas offering me a small, apprehensive wave. I waved back, then headed outside for some fresh air.

I had almost choked at the sight of him. The last time I had seen him was at Ravenhill, battling for his life as I battled for mine. It was painful seeing that face, the face which had disappeared from my mind for so long. He looked so...different. His features were the same, but his demeanour was different. He held himself differently; not so harshly with his shoulders squared like he used to. He was an entirely different person. Just like me.

I shivered in the cool evening air. Maybe I could be like that one day. Wipe away the slate and start anew. Keep the best bits and forget the rest.

Just as I was about to head inside, a warm breeze kissed the back of my neck, and the smell of pine and snow filled the air. I breathed the scent in, letting it fill my lungs, and then exhaled it out again. Beautiful, homely. The smell of...

I almost dropped to my knees as a voice, a voice that I had been so desperate to hear, whispered in my mind. Don't be afraid, my love, it said. 

Tears welled in my eyes. Was I going crazy? Was I mad? Hearing things? Was I finally off the edge?

All of those thoughts crumbled away as the voice spoke again in my head. Live for me. Don't waste your life away for me. Remember me. As a promise.

I let out a laugh as a tear escaped my eye, and sighed. I went back inside, wiping the tears off my face, but unable to wipe the smile. 

These were pieces I knew would break me if I tried to put them together, but this much I was certain:

The dead never die.

The voice in my mind was Kili.

Kili.

Hey! Wassup :D

Wow, it has been a while since I have updated this story. What has it been, like a year? XD

I kinda lost the plot with this story, which is why I hadn't updated in a while. I have no idea where it is going, and I want to make sure what I write and upload isn't just filler, so that's why I hesitate (procrastinate) writing it. But I thought today, I'd sit down and write something. Turned out pretty good :D

Thank you for reading, and I'll see you soon (next year probably haha)

residenthobbit49 :) <3