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The next morning Anthelísse roused herself from her reverie well before sunrise. Outside the window a pair of finches were chirruping softly, but otherwise quiet was all around. Even the slight wafting of the curtains at the window was ethereal and dreamlike. Anthelísse had almost forgotten how the shelter of the mountains could calm the air of an entire city. It reminded her of Nargothrond. She and Gil-Galad had left their sister Finduilas there with their father Orodreth, many long years ago.

Rolling over onto her side, Anthelísse watched the branch of the tree outside the balcony quiver with the movement of the little birds. That morning had been very much like this one. Her final parting from her elder sister came back to her and played in her mind's eye.

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" Be sure to watch out for Gil-Galad, yes?" Finduilas had said after kissing Anthelísse's cheek. Her golden hair had shone brighter than a dragon's hoard, reminding all of the name her betrothed Gwindor had given her; 'Faelivrin' or 'Gleam of the Sun in the Pools of Ivrin'.

With a smile, Anthelísse had glanced over to where their brother was bidding their father goodbye.

" I think more likely he'll be watching out for me. At least, that's what Adar is telling him."

Finduilas had rolled her eyes in that way which so entranced men both elf-kind and human alike. "Gil may be the eldest, but we both know that you are the smartest. And don't you forget it, little sister!"

" And what about you? Won't you miss us, alone here in the city with just Father for company? Hasn't Gwindor sent back word yet?"

Finduilas frowned slightly, but shrugged. "No, we have had no word yet. Perhaps it is best for a time, that I might finally get Father to myself." The princess of Nargothrond laughed. "Between the three of us and a city, Valar only know time alone with him is a precious commodity!"

" I will miss you, Finduilas." Anthelísse said. Having her handmaiden Aislinn accompanying her helped, but Anthelísse wished that her elder sister could join them in Gil-Galad's party too.

"And I you. You are off to see more of the world though, little sister, and maybe not having me constantly pecking at you will give you room to breathe at last." Stepping back, Finduilas threw Anthelísse a parting wink. "Just take care not to dally too long with any particularly handsome human men. They are fun for a time, but have a way of causing trouble."

" Pah!" Anthelísse exclaimed, waving Finduilas off and mounting the horse awaiting her. "Human men are far too hairy for my taste! Namárië !"

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It hadn't been but fifteen years after that when they had received word of the fall of Nargothrond to the forces of Morgoth. Gil-Galad had been beside himself at the death of their father and the capture of their sister. When the missive reached them of Finduilas's murder at the hands of her orc captors, Gil-Galad was nearly inconsolable. Anthelísse had written to their father's old friend Círdan, the shipwright of the Noldor who was at the time living on the Isle of Balar. The elder elf had invited the royal pair and their folk to come and stay with him for a time. The two siblings had rebuilt one another in their time on that island, and piece by piece had regained the will to fight against the rising tide of darkness.

After all the nights spent pouring out the stones of sorrow in their hearts to one another after the deaths of Orodreth and Finduilas, Anthelísse still couldn't really believe that there was now no Gil-Galad to comfort and confide in. She knew that Aislinn was only a matter of yards across the hall, and would come to her side if Anthelísse but spoke her name. There was something different about a brother though, something about an ellon that was vulnerable and stoic both at the same time.

Rising slowly, Anthelísse reached for her robe and draped it around her shoulders. The courtyard outside was starting to lighten; soon it would be dawn. Remembering that King Thranduil had promised to show her the city that morning, Anthelísse sat down at the vanity and started drawing a brush through her long hair.

She had already dressed in a simple yet elegant gown of pale lavender by the time Aislinn caught her in the act. Although they both knew very well that Anthelísse was more than capable of getting herself ready, Aislinn seemed to have taken a personal stake in making her lady look her best at all times lately.

"Honestly Aislinn, we're only just going for a walk about the city this morning, not attending a banquet." Anthelísse said rather tartly while her handmaiden tried to pick out the perfect jewels to go with her dress.

"Yes, but as Lady of the Noldor now you are an ambassador for our folk among these elves." Aislinn replied. "I still think the moonstone necklace suits that shade of purple far better than the plain silver."

A knock at the door interrupted Aislinn's session of playing 'Dress-Up Anthelísse'. Iminyë, one of her other handmaidens stood upon the threshold with a small grin playing at the corner of her lips.

"King Thranduil awaits your pleasure outside, my lady."

"Thank you Iminyë, please tell him I will be down shortly." Anthelísse said, closing the jewelry box before Aislinn could go searching for anything else. "If you try to put one more bauble on me I'm going to make you wear them instead."

"As you wish, my lady." Aislinn said with mock obedience. As Anthelísse rose and headed for the door the raven-haired elleth smirked. "Enjoy your walk, and the city. I want to know all about how it goes later!"

Anthelísse was still muttering about nosey servants when she descended the steps toward the front entrance of the guest quarters. When she saw the sight awaiting her there though, Aislinn's constant teasing went straight from her head.

The sun was only just beginning to rise, and Thranduil was silhouetted in the half-light as he stood beneath the eves of the ash tree outside. Anthelísse had seen the young king almost constantly for weeks as they traveled north after the Battle of Dagorlad, but never before like this. Here in the heart of Emyn Duir, with finches singing overhead and the sunrise making him look like the subject of a courtyard painting, Thranduil was poetry.

When he heard her approach and turned to look at her, Anthelísse felt the most curious feeling, like a cloud was rising within her chest. She had never really seen just how expressive Thranduil's face was, how his very spirit was clear for all to see. Or perhaps just for her to see. In all her thousands of years, Anthelísse had never known another moment like that upon seeing another person.

Seeing the bright, intense look in Anthelísse's eyes, Thranduil felt his own heart lift and soar. He had seen his father look at his mother like that, and could even give it a name; love. What he had been feeling even since he first opened his eyes after the battle and thought he saw the sun, now he knew that Anthelísse felt it too.

Then a woodpecker started rat-tat-tatting somewhere nearby, and the moment dissipated like a summer rain. For a moment neither said anything, but just stood looking at one another. Thranduil and Anthelísse both knew though that a bridge had been reached, and crossed.

"My lady, the city of Emyn Duir awaits." Thranduil said. Reaching out a hand to her, he smiled.

Slowly, like one dream-walking, Anthelísse descended the last few steps and placed her hand in his. "Shall we?" she asked, not for a second looking away.

For hours they walked, sometimes Thranduil narrating what they were seeing and the history of this place of that. Most of the time though they wandered the city in silence, content in the unspoken conversation between one spirit and another. Whenever elves stopped to bow and greet the king, Thranduil nodded and smiled, and Anthelísse smiled as well. It was as though they passed through the world within a bubble of their own making, a space in which there was only peace and one another.

By the time they reached the fountains of Emyn Duir, the sun was nearly halfway up the sky. Thranduil knew he was being missed at the palace, but did not care even in the slightest. Queen Nellas had ruled the city well enough in Oropher's absence, and could no doubt do just as well for a few more hours. For now, there was only the sparkling waters of the fountain and the gold of Anthelísse's hair. When she leaned over to trail her fingers across the surface of the water, Thranduil watched the ripples spread outward and outward and outward.

"I went to Mordor, into the very heart of darkness..." he said in wonder, sitting down on the lip of the fountain and gazing up at Anthelísse. "...and I returned with the radiant sun itself."

"I thought that the folk of the Woodland Realm most loved the light of the stars?" Anthelísse asked coyly, sitting down and reaching for Thranduil's hands. Running her thumbs across his knuckles, she marveled at the light but strong feel to them; like the bones of a raptor wrapped in the softest silk.

"Starlight is beautiful." Thranduil agreed. "But the sun gives warmth, gives life. I have seen its face now, and cannot look away."

"I am no Arien." Anthelísse said, naming the spirit who carried the golden lamp of the light of Laurelin across the sky each day. "Just the elf woman you see before you."

"And I am no Telperion." Replied Thranduil, the reflected diamond light of the fountain playing across his silver-blonde hair. "But I will follow you anywhere and everywhere all the same."

"It is lucky then that I followed you, for you are needed here."

"You are needed here just as badly, Anthelísse."

"Oh?"

"By me." Declared Thranduil. "When I awoke from the darkness, you brought me light and gave me the will to heal. My path was dark and hidden in the shadows of the unknown...will you brighten my way now?"

"I do not know the way forward either, Thranduil." Said Anthelísse, looking at him earnestly. "I am just as blind to the future as you."

Thranduil smiled slightly, squeezing her hands. "Then we will wander together. But at least with you, I do not wander in darkness."

Whatever irritation Queen Nellas might have had toward her son and his having made himself scarce for the entire morning faded when she saw him approaching the steps of the palace arm-in-arm with Lady Anthelísse. When she had greeted him the day before after his return from the south, Thranduil had been dimmed, gray, faded. Now with the Lady of the Noldor by his side, Thranduil glowed like sunlight.

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