Thranduil gleamed at the dazzling pearls, glowing in the fallen darkness. Snow white gems were spread out on the floor, some stuck in small cracks in the floor of the Lonely Mountain. Blood stained the edge of his clothes and dirt reached up to his knees. A tiredness covered his usually awake mind and his senses. His eyelids grew heavier, but his hands trembled with desire. A desire too strong for him to challenge. So, here he was, nearing the stars on the bloodstained floor.

The bodies around him had all stopped breathing and laid still. The loss grieved him badly and sadness and grief choked him. Still he continued. The glimmering armours of the elfs, the dusty and brutal armour of the orcs and fallen elves were all around. A scent of iron, dirt and a foul smell of rotten flesh trickled up his nose and he swallowed down his food again. While he slowly tip-toed forward, a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Tauriels green dress swayed around her graceful feet. But it smelled as foul as the air around her. Her hair hanged tangled on her shoulders like a broken halo and her face was twisted into a grimace of pain and misery.

Thranduil stayed.

Her breath danced in the darkness and she trembled forward. Weakness had trapped her, while her mind kept tormenting her with thoughts too horrid to think. Her feet made their way to stand by his side. She licked her chapped lips and tried to water her mouth, without success.

Thranduil stayed.

With tears pearling in her eyes she leaned forward and shaking took one between her fingers. A tinging feeling spread in her hand and kept running up her arm. The dark made way for the light to reach her eyes, but only hers. The blonds eyes beside could not see it. Only the ones most fare, most brave and most bright could see the starlights reflection in the gems. She shook hard and pain shoot out from inside. The loss paralysed her and she fell to her knees. All the while, Thranduil stayed.

His mind touched the sore memory of a loss from long ago. A womans face appeared on his eyelids and he turned away in pain. His eyes could still not catch the light.

A growing uneasiness in his body made him tremble too, but afraid of showing weakness he spun around and marched out from the hall and into the night.

"Sire" she whispered when a glimmering light soared out from the perl. It trailed up her arm, over her wounds and a soft and cool sensation prickled her skin and her wounds healed. She shivered at the feeling - which felt like fingers, fingers pouring out hope and light to the ones who need. Therefore, when the rays of pure starlight reached the blond elf, he did not turn away. He felt how it went from the small of his back and into his gut. It swirled around the lump of uneasiness and imprisoned it in a cage of light.

Then he strayed lost, wounded and pained into the night, followed by a ray of light.