This piece of fanfiction was written because I wanted to explore some of the moments after the end of the battle in The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies. I don't own these characters and I may have made a few mistakes in Middle Earth lore as I'm more familiar with LOTR and The Hobbit than I am with the Silmarillion. There are some spoilers but I hope that if you're reading this you've at least seen the movies. And if you haven't seen the movies but have read the books, Tauriel is an elf who was a character created by Peter Jackson to presumably broaden the emotional stakes as well as to introduce a strong female presence.
It was real. The elven woman kept repeating the phrase over and over again within her mind. The dagger thrusting into her heart with each repetition. She was standing over his tomb. His brethren had invited her to come to the burial out of respect for him.
Surely Illuvatar had never intended such pain as He and the Eldar sung the worlds into being. In her heart of hearts she knew this was part of the song, begun at the creation of Arda. She knew Illuvatar had heard the disjointed melody of Melkor and had taught the Eldar to sing against it. At the end of Arda she would join in the singing of the new song, but until then how much more pain was in store?
Yet this pain was more real than so much else she had felt. Even the slaying of her parents by the hands of her disfigured and turned brethren, the orcs, had not hurt so profoundly.
She could hear the dwarves singing as they prepared to close the stone tomb. Fili's was the first because he was the older brother, but now it was Kili's turn. Thorin would be last allowing the great king to preside one more time over his nephews.
She held up a hand as the dwarves were moving closer. To her left stood Bilbo, the hobbit who had been the heart of the adventuring companions. She saw the tears in his eyes and knew they both shared this bond of grief for the friends they had known so briefly.
All present stopped momentarily as Tauriel strode forward with the elvish grace she was born into. Her tall figure easily leaned over the stone tomb. It was unfair for such a light as Kili to have departed and for his body to be enshrined in such a dark place. He, who had dreamed of walking among the stars, was to forever sleep outside of their pale and fair light.
She stroked his hair one last time and kissed his forehead. The harsh coldness of his face was still so foreign to her. She could not believe it, even though she had held him as the warmth left his cold body behind. The spices used on him were momentarily shrouding the scent of death. Her other hand pressed against the runestone. She had given the gift back into his palm initially after his breath was gone, but as his brethren came to collect his body she realized it would be wrong to bury him with it. Someone needed to return this last momento to the mother who waited for news of her boys.
She did not envy this woman. To lose a brother is unbearable but to lose both sons as well would be a tragedy none should endure. She felt a hand gently press against her arm and Bilbo's voice whispered, "Come along, it is time to say good-bye to the sleeping my lady."
The sleeping. No one knew what Illuvatar had in store for the children he had gifted with mortality. Many thought they awaited the final days in fellowship with their forefathers. But it was not the destiny of her kindred and these things were placed behind a shroud to them.
She looked through tears at the hobbit. This Bilbo had lost a friend as well. She had heard Mithrandir quietly saying to Thranduil that Bilbo and Thorin had been at peace with each other at the end. She spoke to him then as if addressing both Bilbo and Kili, "I have one last gift to impart." With this she pulled from her satchel a vial with water blessed by the stars themselves, she would not leave Kili alone to the darkness for all the ages of Middle Earth.
Speaking to those present she lifted it above her head and with a strength deeply rooted in her kind and in the love of Illuvatar, she proclaimed for all to hear, "In this vial is the light of our most dear stars" she paused for a moment as she allowed the light of her love to kindle the flame within and the elven magic responded in brilliance none present had seen since the elder days, "I give this to your prince so that his rest may be filled with the light and blessing of the stars and of the Eldar until Middle Earth ends and we sing the songs again. May we all meet once more by the light of Illuvatar."
She gently set the vial on his chest centered above his hands that would grasp his sword until Arda was no more. She allowed Bilbo to lead her back to the crowd, his eyes wet with tears but round with awe. He truly was an elf friend.
She stood then with Thranduil and Legolas, both had put aside their mistrust of the dwarves and instead chosen to give honor to these great warriors. There was a soft thud as the dwarves pulled the lid over the tomb and she felt her heart give a dull thud as well. Her sorrow might heal with time but she would live forever with the memory of this pain and Kili's brief light. He had kindled a love inside her which had long been cold.
Thorin's ceremony seemed to her to drag on both forever and all too shortly. She saw Bilbo walk up and whisper something about an acorn and promising to watch the tree grow, but her heart and her mind were in Kili's tomb. Once finished, the dwarves continued singing in their deep baritone. It was lovely, but in a harsher and earthier way than the songs of the elves. Even in mourning elvish songs were more light and fair than these other peoples of Middle Earth.
After the singing had concluded, the company of mourners were invited to a feast in the honor of the fallen comrades. A grand dinner in which ale was to be drunk and the tales of great deeds were to be recited. She would not attend. Tauriel respected this and found some joy in knowing Kili would not be forgotten but she could not bring herself to attend. Like the other elves, unused to this sort of display, she was preparing to leave. Perhaps both men and elf realized they would be outsiders, not fitting in to this intimate display of grief. She saw Bilbo approach. He always was one who sensed the thoughts present in the hearts of others. These hobbits were a fair, albeit odd, folk if they could ascertain and emphasize so well with the hearts of others.
"I'll miss him too my lady." He looked at her, obviously tired from the adventures he had been on of late, yet clothed finely. The dwarves had ensured he was cared for, as had the elves and the men. She had not seen so much done for such a small, humble person before. His innocence and kindness gave her hope for the world.
"How does one so small affect so many little one?" She asked, in genuine wonder.
"My lady, I have no idea. I only know what is right in my heart and I try to do it." He looked up at her, "And so far it has led me to some rather fantastic people."
Tauriel knelt down and wrapped her arms around the Halfling, "Never lose your heart Bilbo, no matter the temptation. We need more people in Middle Earth like you."
"Yes my lady." He embraced her back with his warm hug. The only gift he could give to an elf and, at this moment, the only gift that really mattered.
Tomorrow Tauriel would pick up the shards of her life. She would continue to fight against the shadow and await the bittersweet day of the journey to the undying realm. But right now, in this moment, her embrace of the Halfling reminded her there was still good in this world and even if Kili's light was no longer part of it, it was worth fighting for.