Her laughter broke the silence. The noise echoed around them, crazed and manic with a hint of desperation. The of someone completely and utterly broken. It made his stomach twist itself into knots, because he knew that he could never pull her back out of the darkness she was wallowing in.
He wasn't sure if her unhinged laughter was better or worse than her tortured screams. Recently, he had found that in the beginning, she dreamt of his death. Over and over. Waking with Kili's name on her tongue, sometimes screaming it until she was hoarse. Other elves had often left her alone when she had woken like this, allowing her to get it out of her system.
Even when they attempted to approach her on these nights, she would never answer. Preferring to be alone in the dark. He knew how compelling the draw of the darkness was all too well. Along with the agonising pain of losing the one you love. Which is perhaps why he was the only one she ever let close.
Or maybe she knew he wouldn't tell he pointless lies about how it gets better.
Whatever the reason, his visits were few and far between. As a King he had duties to his people he could not forsake. Not just to sit in a dark room with a fading Elleth. No matter how much he wanted to, he had to give everything he had to his people.
At least, giving everything to his subjects left nothing for his own darkness to call him with. It dimmed the clarity of it.
Her laughter broke the silence, and he saw her slip away a little bit more.