Hello all! I just finished reading The Hobbit recently and this little one shot came to mind after reading one of the final chapters. The part where Bard and Thranduil return the Arkenstone and Orcrist are taken from the book and parts that I kind of wish they had put in the movies.
Anyway, I don't own The Hobbit or any of its characters. They belong to the Tolkien Estate. Enjoy! – Woven
Thranduil did not know why he cared. He was not a friend to the deceased; he was not even on affable terms with him. Yet his heart was strangely moved when he heard the words, "Thorin, son of Thrain, King Under the Mountain is dead." Those words carried the weight of unfulfilled potential and the penetrating, reminding sting of mortality. It could have been Bard, a new king himself. It could have been him, immortality did not mean that he could not be slain.
He sensed the same sort of emotions in the new Lord of Dale. Shock, relief, thankfulness… all mingled with a twinge of sadness. Loss of life was no small thing, even when that death took place among a race that Thranduil hated. The sounds of grieving dwarves simultaneously grated on his nerves and moved him. They are loyal creatures to be sure, he thought.
He watched as Bard placed the Arkenstone in the cold, lifeless hands of Thorin. The grinding noise of rough-hewn stone kept his attention on the coffin as the top was moved into place. He waited as one by one the remaining members of Thorin's company removed themselves from the tomb into the eating hall. They would remember their King and soon crown a new one. Bard was the last one to leave him, sensing that there was unfinished business here for the Elven King.
Thranduil barely felt the tentative touch of Bard's hand on his arm, a small simple gesture full of understanding and devoid of judgment. For a while Thranduil stood there, gazing at the coffin that held the one that he once looked at as an enemy and for a while an ally of circumstance. He regarded the coffins of Thorin's two young nephews and felt pained that they barely got to know the home of their ancestors. With slow, deliberate steps he walked up to Thorin's grave. He pulled Orcrist from the pouch he had been carrying and placed it across the top of the coffin. Stepping back, he placed his hand over his heart and then moved it outwards—a final sign of grudging respect for the king who fell defending his mountain, his home.