The cool summer breeze swept by, combing through the long fiery strands of Tauriel's hair as she sat peacefully under the old oak tree, basking in the warm glow of the late afternoon sun. She closed her eyes, enjoying the perfect weather while absently playing with the dark curly strands of hair splayed on her lap. Her lips curled up in amusement. "What a picture this must make." An elf, a former Captain of the Guard, sitting under a tree on the outskirts of Erebor, with a dwarf, a son of Durin nonetheless, lying next to her with his head on her lap, flower crowns atop both their heads. Both were drinking in the warmth and light of the sun, a rare treat for ones who are encased in dark, cold and high stone walls for days on end. As much as Erebor was magnificent, having been restored to its former glory, Tauriel was still an elf and nothing would ever change the fact that she thrived on the lights of the sky and being surrounded by nature. Being away too long from these things always made her feel sick. Kíli had managed to see through her somehow when she first came to stay and had not been out for weeks, even when she did not as much utter anything about feeling ill or wanting to go out. From then on, he'd always make a point to take a day off his royal duties that came with being a prince, to take her out hunting or for a nice little picnic in the nearby woods. This was one such day, similar in every sense to those days out before, but something about Kíli was off. Worry tugged at her heart, pushing her to question him.

"Kíli, is something wrong?", Tauriel opened her eyes to look at the dwarf lying on her lap.

"Oh, no, no, no. Nothing, nothing is wrong! Nothing at all! What could possibly be wrong on a fine day like this? What made you think that?" He babbled, smiling sheepishly at her.

"Well...for one, you're babbling and you only do that when you're hiding something. And two, you haven't spoken much since we left the mountain, you've been fidgeting and playing with your fingers. Don't try to fool me love, you're as transparent to me as I am to you. Please, can you tell me what's bothering you?" She looked at him, concern evident in her emerald orbs.

The dark haired prince slowly sat up from his position with his head down as his hand reached into his pocket, fumbling for something. He held the item in his palm, fingers closed tightly around it, not allowing the ginger headed elf even the smallest glimpse of what it was. He kept his head down, sneaking a sideways glance at her. Tauriel almost laughed when she caught him glancing from the side instead of looking at her the way he usually did. Did he look almost...nervous? His shoulders were tensed and he averted his eyes from her, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. The reckless archer who risked getting attacked by orcs just so he could pull the lever of Mirkwood's river gate for his company to escape, the same dwarf who had been bold enough to ask her to go with him to Erebor before the battle of the five armies, the prince who didn't fear death when he risked his life to save his kin and her from Bolg in the battle.

He...was nervous?

She struggled to contain her mirth and felt almost tempted to tease him for the uncharacteristic behaviour when he spoke up.

"Tauriel, can I...that is may I," he stammered, not daring to look at her full in the face. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, he tried again, "Tauriel, may I braid your hair?"

It was such an innocent sounding question, yet the elleth knew what significance the act of braiding held for her dwarven love. She had learnt in her days spent among the dwarves in Erebor that braiding was only done by family, or in another case, between lovers. It was regarded as an act of intimacy, a sign of affection.

She smiled fondly at him, tipping his head up with her hand so that he met her gaze.

"Of course you may, meleth nîn." she answered before kissing him lightly on the cheek.

His face lit up, wiping away any trace of hesitation and nervousness he had moments before. Kíli immediately jumped up and excitedly scurried behind Tauriel to begin decorating her hair with his braids. As the rest of the afternoon sauntered by, the sun, the old oak tree and the gentle breeze watched on as the dwarf prince twisted and turned the silky auburn hair of the Silvan elf.

Night came soon after Kíli had finished his masterpiece that adorned Tauriel's head. Tauriel chuckled as she picked at the last of her dinner when she remembered how flustered Kíli was when she wanted to admire his work. At the mention of doing so he had violently objected and begged her not to look at it or touch it.

"I'll explain tonight, I promise!", he sputtered hurriedly, "Meet me tonight after dinner, at the same place we went last time to watch the stars. But before that, please don't let anyone see your braids and don't touch them! Promise me that?"

To keep her word to her beloved dwarf, she had her dinner sent to her quarters that night instead of joining the rest of the dwarves like she usually did at the dining hall. Being an elf living in a mountain full of dwarves, her ability to move without making a sound had its advantages that night as she snuck around the corridors, careful not to bump into anyone from the moment she and Kíli parted till before they met up again.

"Just what is he planning? He's been sneaking around lately and seems to be hiding something from me." Not that anything he ever hid from her was bad...

As she climbed up the steps to their new personal hideout, her mind registered a difference in the lights of the night sky. At this time of the night, the moon was usually glowing softly, a pale milky yellow that seemed less brilliant than the starlight she so loved, but beautiful all the same. As she turned her head to face the moon, she realised it was-

"A firemoon." She said breathlessly as her eyes widened, stunned by the beauty of a red moon tinted with gold that glowed with a light so flaming bright, it looked like it was set ablaze, burning brightly against the jet black sky. It seemed to bathe the world in a warm comforting glow that reminded Tauriel of the forges in Erebor or the roaring fire in the fireplace of Bilbo's home when she had gone with Kíli and Fíli to visit him at the Shire. She continued staring in awe at the crimson orb that hung high up in the sky until a voice broke her from her thoughts and she let out a breath she didn't realise she'd even been holding.

"Beautiful isn't it?", Kíli smiled warmly at her. "I've always wanted to show you one ever since the topic came up in Mirkwood. Guessing from your reaction, I assume it didn't disappoint?" he asked cheekily, smirking and looking very pleased with himself.

"It was more beautiful than I ever imagined it to be, thank you for sharing this with me, meleth nîn." She replied, walking over to him to place a chaste kiss on his lips. "Was this the reason you asked me to meet you here?" shooting him a curious look as she changed the topic back to why they were there in the first place. "I believe you still owe me an explanation as to why you were so uptight and secretive of the braids in my hair, don't you?", raising her eyebrows at him.

"Yes, well..." he turned away, rubbing the back of his neck.

Tauriel sat down and tugged at his arm, motioning for him to sit beside her before he began saying anything.

"Remember how I told you the last time we were here, that our shared memories adorn the night sky every night in the form of your beloved stars?", he sighed as he began. " Even if I am beginning to understand your love for them, I still hold my argument that stars always seem so remote and far away, so out of reach, so unobtainable. They're so elusive, only appearing at night and whatnot. Seeing as you love them so much though, I wanted you to be able to be near them all the time, and I feel that living in Erebor deprives you of so many things, so I did the best I could and made these for you." he continued as he opened his palm to reveal a few shimmering white beads that sparkled brilliantly in the surrounding darkness. The beads seemed to contain starlight itself, glowing with a pure white light and twinkling almost magically. Tauriel gasped in awe as she stared at them. "These are what I braided into your hair earlier today. I know they can never compare to real stars but you'll be able to keep them with you all the time, so that even when the sun is out you'll still be able to have starlight with you." he explained, flashing her a roughish grin. "I just wanted you to be the first one to see them in your hair."

As he looked at the red-headed she-elf, he became alarmed to see her teary-eyed and sniffling slightly.

"What's wrong my love? If you don't like them I can take them out of your hair. Please don't cry." Kíli looked on worriedly at her.

"No! No! Don't take them out!", she whipped her hair away from Kíli's hands. "I love them. They're beautiful." she choked out, finally looking at what Kíli had done with her hair, caressing the delicate and intricate design he weaved in. Kíli sat quietly and gazed at her, eyes full of hopeless adoration for her as he watched her admire his handiwork, her tears slowly drying up.
"Actually, I do have another reason for asking you out here tonight..." Kíli said slowly as he got up. Getting down on one knee in front of his elven love, he pulled out a ring, the centerpiece being an iridescent gem, similar to the runestone he once carried with him during the quest to reclaim Erebor. The stone that bore his promise. A promise to return. Now being used in a ring for the elven maiden he loved, he had intended for it to bear the meaning of his promise to her. Made mainly of mithril to signify their eternal love, the ring was fashioned to look like curling vines, along with intricate designs of leaves and tiny green jewels that reflected the emerald of Tauriel's eyes.
She gaped at him, confusion and surprise flashed across her features before understanding dawned upon her, as she gaped at the dwarf kneeling before her, his hand outstretched towards her, holding up the ring.

" Tauriel amrâlimê, although we've not been together for very long, I've known since the moment we first met, you were special. I've never met anyone like you in all the time I've spent travelling around Middle-Earth. You're the most beautiful creature I've ever laid eyes on. You're brave, strong, smart, passionate. I love everything about you, especially your flaws. How you're not afraid to defend what you believe is right, how your beautiful smile that could light up a whole room. How you always beat me in everything. How you are as reckless as I am, even when you're the one constantly saving my arse. Since meeting you, I cannot imagine a day without you by my side. I'm no poet and for the life of me, can't use flowery words like elves. I'm sorry that I'm mortal and can't spend all of your days with you. But, I love you with every beat of my heart, every fibre of my being, every fragment of my soul. I'll love you till the end of my days to make up for the short lifetime we have together, if you'll have me. I know I'm asking a lot from you and you deserve more than I can give you. But this ring represents my promise to you. My promise to take care of you, to protect you and to love you and you only, for the rest of my life. I chose tonight to ask you so that the stars and the firemoon would bear witness to the words I say. It will be difficult, but I'm ready to face anything with you. You've saved me time and time again. With you by my side, I feel like I can do anything. I've even defied death twice now! You make me feel alive, Tauriel. It is said that love is forever, your forever is all that I need. Meleth nîn, please stay forever with me."

Tears were streaming down both cheeks of the ginger-headed elf by now. She struggled to regain her composure as she hastily wiped her eyes with her sleeves to no avail. Her tears were like rivers flowing freely down her face. They would not stop no matter how she tried to control them. Touched beyond words by his sincerity, since nobody ever told her just how much she meant to them, she lifted her head to meet Kíli's expectant gaze and soft smile. A muffled sob escaped her throat as she looked at the sweet dwarf in front of her and wondered just what she did to deserve him. Through her vision blurred by tears, she could see Kíli smiling tenderly, patiently waiting for her to calm down before he gently brushed away the tears from her face. As he dried her eyes with his sleeve, she nodded her head vigorously, not trusting her voice.

Kíli stopped abruptly in the middle of drying her eyes to meet her gaze. Not daring to hope for anything, he waited till she found her voice.

"Yes, yes, yes! Yes Kíli!" She finally managed to choke out, throwing her arms around his neck, bringing him in for a tight embrace.

Kíli returned the embrace in full force once his mind registered her answer, a silly grin plastered over his face, before pulling away to look at her. "Even if it means you have to continue living away from the things you love? And suffer the criticizes of my people?" Kíli asked her uncertainly, his smile faltering slightly.

In response, she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his in a passionate kiss that said everything.
"I'd rather spend a lifetime with you, than face all the ages of the world alone." said Tauriel softly, as she rested her forehead against his and stared into the pair of chocolate brown eyes she'd come to know so well. "Besides, I'll always have the person I love the most by my side."
Slipping the ring onto her finger at last, Kíli looked back lovingly at his bride-to-be. The smile he graced her with next was so dazzling, it could have rivaled the brightness of the sun. She felt giddy with happiness, hardly believing what had just happened. In that moment, the only thing that mattered to each of them was the other person's presence, everything else was soon forgotten in their euphoria of starting a brand new chapter of their life together as they shared another blissful kiss under the scarlet hues of the sky.

Sindarin translations:

elleth- she-elf

meleth nîn- my love

Khuzdul:

amrâlimê-my love