Hi! I, as a die-hard Tolkien fan, felt very annoyed when Tauriel was brought to the story. It only lasted until I saw the incredible dyinamic between her and Kili. Their love story was not necessary, but felt so refreshing and beautiful. Even with an inevitably devastating end, the development of their feelings for one another was really well written and well played.

Kiliel haters, get the hell outta here! :D

This will be my take on their story.

Warning - character death. I guess you all know already what's going to happen... Nevertheless, they deserved to be happy so I'll give them a chance.

Enjoy and please, take a moment of your time to review!

Chapter 1 – From the shadows to the light

I will save you.

She could hear her own voice in her head while she was running down the river bank. Sharp rocks tainted with orc blood and bodies. Even unarmed, even hurt, even on the run, they managed to kill quite a lot of them. The dwarves would not have survived without their help, but their bravery and skill were admirable nevertheless.

But she could not think of the others. There was only one that mattered. The black haired archer, as the filthy orc called him earlier. For he had a Morgul shaft in his thigh. For he had a fill of deadly poison in his veins.

I will save you.

Once again she repeated her own promise, this time out loud. She would save him. She only had to reach him in time, before the shadows took him away, forever robbing his soul of rest in the Halls of Mahal.

Legolas caught up with her. She knew he would follow. King's words echoed in her mind and she knew him to be right.

"It is not our fight."

She looked him in the eyes, deep into his blue eyes that reminded her of his father. "It is our fight." She exhaled slowly, returning her gaze to the lake. "With every victory, this evil will grow. Tell me, mellon, when did we let evil become stronger than us?"

They understood each other and Tauriel had known he would have followed her even without those words. But she needed to voice them. She needed to give herself another reason for defying her King. She needed to give herself another reason aside from the warmth spreading through her chest every time she remembered his deep voice or dark eyes. She had lived for six hundred years but she had never felt more alive.

They reached Esgaroth just in time to stop the orcs from slaughtering innocent children and the remainder of dwarves. When she entered the wooden house, she saw him laying on the bed in the corner, his skin gray and cold with sweat. Shadows were slowly claiming hir soul but still he managed to lift his broken body and kill the orc behind her. With an excruciating cry of pain, he fell onto the floor. Her eyes were fixed on his, deep dark brown spark of life in them slowly vanishing into the realms of the unknown.

Legolas, her Prince, called for her. They had protected each other's life before in battle and he needed her by his side again.

But she could not move. She could not move for his pain seared through her own body. For a mere second she wondered what was happening to her. Probably a stray orc caught her in the moment of weakness and pierced her chest with a blade. But no, her flesh was not wounded. It was her soul that kept screaming with pain.

Her head snapped to the left and she breathed out with relief. Athelas. Athelas. The blessed plant would help her to reach her own light and share it with his soul.

A very shocked dwarf before her stood frozen, wondering out loud what she was going to do. She looked at him with a gleam of hope.

"I am going to save him."

A blonde-haired dwarf and another, older one lifted him onto the table. But he could not lay still. Burning pain ripping through his body and soul made him scream. Every touch hurt him. She knew that because she could feel it too. She caught the blonde one, Fili, she remembered, staring at her with a silent plea in his eyes.

With Athelas in hands, she started a prayer learned long ago. An ancient chant of her people.

Overwhelming power of her words removed the shadows concealing his soul. The pain subdued and he looked at her in disbelief. Still chanting the healing words, she reached for him, pulling him away from the darkness. His soul obliged to her will with ease, trusting her. He closed his eyes and passed into the unconsciousness.

The prayer had left her weak. But she smiled at his sleeping form. Her sigh of relief and overwhelming gratefulness to the Valar revealed something to her, something that could no longer be hidden.

She loved him.

Ever since she was a little girl, Tauriel had suffered. Her family was taken away from her while she was just an elfling. The king graciously took her under his own care, but she was never loved. She had never felt complete. She had never been happy. Up until the moment just few nights ago. Until she met the dwarven Prince who stole her heart.

He was reckless and daring, so full of life. But at the same time so innocent and gentle. Her breath was taken away by his playfulness. She told him of her love for stars and found him enchanted by her words. Never before had she shared her love for the white light of forever filling the skies above the forest.

He told her of the bright moon following his path near Ered Luin. No one knew it, but the young dwarf loved the stars. He loved their light, even if they were cold and far away. But she made them timeless. She took interest in his story of the moon and sat beside him. Only the bars divided their bodies.

"I wish I could have shown you." Their eyes met and she couldn't help but wish for it too. They continued talking far into the night. The celebration above them was slowly becoming louder and louder, but they were lost in their own private world. He told her of their quest and the dangers they had already passed. There was not a note of bragging in his voice when he told her of their escape from the goblin tunnels or their encounter with Azog the Defiler. Tauriel was impressed, but found it even more endaring. Kili, his name was, obviously loved his uncle and brother with his very soul and would gladly give his own life to protect theirs. He was brave and his bravery was sometimes reckless, but his soul was pure.

She caught herself bearing her soul to the dwarf. Telling him of her childhood and her life in Mirkwood. Of her wishes and dreams of freedom. Their soft laughter echoed through the stone halls.

"Tauriel." His silent plea brought her back. He was very pale and very weak, but alive...and seeing him alive brought a smile to her face. "Lay still."

"You cannot be her. She is far away... She is far, far away from me. She walks in starlight in another world." She gasped for air. She could hear her own heartbeat growing louder. His expression changed, sadness overtaking him. "It was just a dream."

She wanted to touch his face, to tell him she was really there with him only to realize that he was not wrong. It was a dream. It was not meant to be. She was an elf and he a dwarf. A royal dwarf from an elf-hating family. It was and ever will be just a dream.

With great care he touched her hand. She willingly intertwined her fingers with his. Warmth started spreading through the rest of her from that small part of her body connected to his.

"Do you think she could have loved me?"

Yes.

She didn't voice her answer for he was lost to the realms of dreams. Exhaustion overtook him and he succumbed to sleep but his hand never left hers. She was frozen in her place, a young dwarf all but admitting his love to her and asking for hers in return took her breath away.

Yes.

Fili lifting his brother from the table thus breaking the bond between them made her lose her balance. She grabbed the edge of the table only a moment before she hit the hard wooden floor.

"My lady." The young dwarf's hands were around her shoulders now. "Come. You too need to rest."

The world was spinning around her when she got back onto her feet. Without a second thought, she placed her tired body next to the sleeping form of Kili on the bed.

Near him, she felt secure.

Near him, she felt alive.