Quick disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they all belong to Tolkien.

Part I - How They Met

It had been a battle worthy of songs and tales, tales of the day the prince of Greenwood with only one soldier had defeated a fire-drake.

Under the command of Oropher, Thranduil led troops to the north of Greenwood, into the mountains, to slay a beast, but all perished that day, save only Thranduil himself and an elvish shieldmaiden. Great was the loss of the elven silvan army that day, and no song nor tale were ever sang nor told.

After the prince killed the beast, the shieldmaiden cut it's head, as a warning to any who dared to enter those woods unauthorized; for similar destiny awaited.

But the prince seemed as dead as the the fire-drake, for his flesh had been burned and he was now on the ground, and he could not see or stand. Besides being a skilled warrior, the shieldmaiden also knew some of the old healing spells, for her mother, and her mother before, had been healers.

"My lord, I beg of you, allow me to help." She said, kneeling next to his body, but the prince was prideful, and pushed her away, deciding it was time to leave.

But as he tried to stand, he fell to her feet; the pain of the fire of the dragon was almost too much to bare, mortal men would have perished from the pain alone. Quickly, the shieldmaiden lowered herself, as she drank water form a flask, then poured it down his face.

"The blood of the trees run in my veins, they shall now mend your flesh."

And as she spoke, Thranduil's muscles relaxed, and he sighed deeply, relieved, as the pain from the wound eased. He felt the soft touch of her fingertips on his cheek, and once again his face was whole and his vision recovered. A smile surfaced on her lips, and her dark brown eyes sparkled with gladness, and as he looked upon her, he felt enchanted by her beauty and skills.

"I will be forever thankful to you." Thranduil said, as she bowed and knelt in front of him, who now stood with his health fully recovered "For you not only assisted me as I slaughtered the beast, but you saved me, and you healed me, your prince. Wherever you may go, the royal elves of Greenwood will forever be debt with you. Please, would you tell me you name?"

"I am called Thenidiel, my lord. And I am truly honored. But do not thank before I have told you the full truth. Your vision is recovered, and your flesh is mend. But I'm afraid dragon fire hurts more than just the Hröa. Your Fëar might be wounded as well. And that I cannot heal."

"Will it surface?"

"I'm afraid so, my lord. Whenever your Fëar is unquiet, it migh surface." She said and bowed one more time "Forgive me now, for I am not worthy of such honors."

"Stand now, Thenidiel. For you have done great good today, but we must get back now." Thranduil spoke, and they both rode off on the same horse, for all other had been slaughtered by the fire-drake, but little was said on the way back.

Once Thranduil told his father about the great deeds Thenidiel had done, they named her captain of the guard, and she was honored with the title of Lady of Battles and Spells.

Oropher, the king, did not have to look twice to see there was something between his son and the shieldmaiden. Thranduil always made a point of greeting her when he saw her, and when they discussed the matters of the realms, he would make sure to sit next to her, always saying he was forever in debt and so very thankful for her deeds. But his father knew that was not all, because whenever she was near him, they would ignore everyone else; whatever they were saying was far more interesting than anything in the world. Oropher knew love when he saw it.

But word that his only son was singing to her, while she gracefully danced in the gardens of their realms, was never said. Or that they wrote songs about the woods and sang together, while running after each other, like the gleeful creatures elves are always described. The only word that came to Oropher was about their dancing, Thranduil and Thenidiel had danced together once.

"My dear Thenidiel, I do not wish to dance with anyone else, but you. I would like to make you my wife." Thranduil said, and he could swear at that moment her eyes were made of the purest starlight.

"Yes. Melin le, hîr nîn." She answered, as they danced under the falling leafs and flowers. She looked up and smiled "The trees are celebrating our happiness. I can hear them."

"Melin, Thenidiel, future queen of the woodland realm."