A/N: Disclaimer: Any content you recognize is property of J.R.R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson.

Long corridors and even longer strides were nothing to an elf, but Nanaiel had not the legs of an elf but those of a dwarf, as the guards who held firm to her arms well knew. Keeping pace with her captors was no small task, her uncle's guards' elf legs were quite a bit longer and they took longer paces, leaving her to stumble and hop to keep up. If only she had made those last few feet, she would've been free, for the first time in many a year. Though she knew not where to go, maybe Rivendell as Lord Elrond was kind from what she remembered from visits with her mother. But those visits were many years ago, her mother was gone along with her father. For forty years she lived with her uncle, though he disliked her he felt a duty to his sister, and her cousin, one of the only two in all the kingdom who didn't just tolerated her but actually liked her.

Now she was kicking herself for getting caught. She will be brought to her uncle for punishment. Her uncle was not overly cruel nor was he loving or kind to her. If not for her heritage or the circumstances of her mother's death, she often held hope that her uncle would've loved her like he should. But she usually pulled herself from such thoughts, the past cannot be changed not with even the most amount of wishing.

She stumbled at the sudden stop when they reached one of the many doors leading to the throne room. The guards gave her a moment to collect herself, as it was not proper for a lady, especially Princess Nanelien's daughter, to be presented to the king looking as if drug through the halls, no matter that she was, quite literally, drug through the halls. Once she was properly straightened the guards pushed the doors open and thus proceeded to, again, practically drag her before the king.

"My King," the guards greeted as they kneeled before the throne. "We found her sneaking through the grounds. She was almost to the main door when she was spotted. She seemed to have planned to exit when the scouting party had come back."

From behind her, Nanaiel heard the doors to the throne room click open again. There was no doubt it was the scouting party coming back to show what they've achieved. What she didn't expect was to hear mumbles that were certainly not elvish. Before she could turn to see to her suspicion, she was addressed by her uncle, King Thranduil.

"Princess Nanaiel, why have you been roaming the grounds without an escort or permission? I thought I expressed that I did not want you leaving these halls," King Thranduil stated, his voice filled with lightly veiled distain. "For your protection of course." The princess wondered briefly if her mother was regarded with the same tone after the marriage to her father. Then the king's words caught her attention.

"My protection? I have no need to be confined to these halls like a prisoner for my protection. I am capable of protecting myself, with weapon and word. Other's opinions are worth nothing to me and spiders are but a nuisance," she replied, her tone indignant. She raised her head, looking into the eyes of her king and uncle. Vaguely, she wondered where Legolas was, he was usually to the right of his father. "Unless I am confined for a different reason, I do not see why I should not be allowed outside. Perhaps you think your subjects will talk. That they will speak ill of the unwanted princess. Of how she is not full elf. How her father was a dwarf and that her mother, the beautiful princess may her soul rest in Valar, wasn't in her right mind. Isn't that what you fear? Your subject's distain, which you clearly share, for the young, unwanted princess who is too much like her father though her looks are that of her mother. With the exception of her hair and eyes of course."

The king's eyes were hard by the end of her speech. Behind her, someone cleared their throat. Nanaiel turned, catching sight of the scouting party, led by Legolas and Tauriel. She flashed them a small, which they returned, before catching a glimpse of what or who they brought in. Her eyes went wide. Dwarfs. She hadn't seen any since her father's death. How many were there? Her attention was called back before she could count.

"You will keep your attention with me while I am speaking to you. For your blatant disregard for the rules I have set for you protection," Thranduil shot her a pointed if not irritated look. "You will be confined to your room for a year."

"A year! Do you forget that I age differently? I do not have the life span of an elf," She blanched at the thought.

"If you did not ignore my rules I would not need to punish you," the king stated. "And if you did leave, where would you go? Taking into account you were not killed before leaving the forest."

"I would go to Rivendell, I remember Lord Elrond to be welcoming. Or maybe I would travel all the way to Ered Luin, Father and I once visited when I was young. Surely they would accept me if I needed to leave," She snapped.

"You think your father's family will be accepting of you? They would never accept you or your heritage. You are lucky you are my sister's daughter," He hissed, bright eyes turned dark while glaring at Nanaiel. If the king thought she would back down by that he was wrong.

"They would accept me more than I have been accepted here. Dwarfs favor kin over gold and over propriety," Nanaiel argued.

"And how did you come by this knowledge? You have been misled. Dwarfs are stubborn and greedy creatures whose love of gold outweighs everything," Thranduil snapped back, straightening on his throne. "Take her to her rooms. She will stay there for a decade. You may look like my sister but you do her memory dishonor for I know she did not raise you to be ignorant and disrespectful."

Nanaiel's eyes filled quickly at the thought of dishonoring her mother, not even the thought of wasting ten years of her life in a room hurt her so. She struggled against her tears, willing them to not fall, she would not give him the satisfaction of breaking her so publicly, there was no doubt he had seen the dwarfs. The last thing she wanted to do was dishonor either of her parents. But she knew deep inside both her parents would have been proud of how she had stood up for herself and how she only wished to be free. She raised her head then pushed to her feet. Staring the king in the eyes, her own red and watery, she responded.

"Both my parents would have been proud of me. Not just for standing up for myself to you, but for seeking freedom from wrongful imprisonment. You'd do well to remember not to speak for my mother as you do not have the right to her voice or her thoughts. The only one who has that right is me, as Nanaiel daughter of Nanelien, Princess of Mirkwood, and Nalin, son of Fundin, Dwarf of Erebor," She declared, straightening her shoulders and turning to exit the throne room. She passed the scouting party and dwarf prisoners. Nanaiel quickly studied the dwarfs, all of those she could see seem stunned.

With her guards shadowing her, Nanaiel made her way back to her room. Turning quickly, she slammed and locked the door, almost smashing her guards' noses. They may keep her from leaving her room but they will not keep her from having the privacy inside of it. And inside of her rooms she finally let the tears fall. She prayed to the Valar and Mahal that both of her parents did not think ill of her for her words and that she was right in her actions. She also prayed they were happy and were not separated upon death. Then she thought back on her parents lives, how they met.


Eighty-nine years after the fall of Erebor to the dragon Smaug, a young dwarf at the age of 85, who went by the name Nalin, stumbled along the path of the Greenwood, realm of the elves. His stumbling was caused by lack of food and water as he had been walking through the forest for a week now. He suspected he had come down with a fever though he couldn't be sure, he was mighty dizzy for walking in a straight line. He finally collapsed a few steps later, his mind going dark.

Nanelien had been gifted the small cottage she resided in for her coming of age by her parents, the king and queen. The two of them along with four trusted guards who were sworn to secrecy were the only others who knew the location of her cottage other than her. Not even her brother, heir to the throne then now king, knew. Her brother always tried to know everything she did and sometimes followed her, it was a small relief to have her own space outside of the palace. Even now he was not permitted to know, despite his status as king, her will was law on the subject until the time she deemed different.

She had gone out to find herbs and such when she stumbled upon a dwarf. Not a conscious traveling dwarf, but an unconscious one who seemed to be sick. 'What is a dwarf doing in the forest?' she wondered. 'Maybe he is passing through probably coming from the Iron Hills'. The princess knew well the tension between elves and dwarfs, especially after her brother refused to help on the day the dragon took Erebor.

'Surely he'll die out here. I cannot have that on my conscience,' she decided, slowly lifting his body from the ground and returning to her cottage. Once there, she laid him in the second room then went to collect supplied to fight the fever and food for when it broke. After doing everything she could, she sat and waited.

The day after the dwarf's fever broke. He opened his eyes to find himself in a very large bed in a room obviously not belonging to a dwarf. He pushed himself up, starting when the door opened to reveal an elven woman. The woman had flowing blonde hair and crystalline blue eyes, her slight figure and pale skin made her an unearthly beauty. She gave him a small smile and slowly walked towards him, setting the tray of food and water down on the bed stand.

"I'm glad to see you're awake. You had a high fever. I suspect you haven't eaten or had water in a few days. I found you a little ways off the trail, unconscious," Nanelien stated. Now that the dwarf was awake she could see his eyes, what a charming green they were. They were vivid against the pitch black of his hair and beard, and quite impressive the beard was. She had seen many a dwarf in her four-thousand years but none ever caught her attention like this. None had seemed this handsome.

"Thank you for helping me, as it seems it was no easy task. But, if you do not mind, I would like to know the name of my lovely host," Nalin expressed, returning her smile. By dwarvish standards the elf would not be very attractive, she was too slight, did not have any facial hair, and most likely was a very quiet being. But to Nalin, her hair shone like gold and her eyes like crystals. Her build gave way to an athletic tone, so she probably used some weapon of sorts.

"My name is Nanelien. I… I am the Princess of Greenwood, sister to King Thranduil," she replied hesitantly, not knowing if the dwarf would have an adverse reaction to her relation to the king. "You are very welcome to my help. It would weigh on my mind if I had left you to die. But I must asked your name in return."

"A princess? I am very lucky indeed to have met one as beautiful and kind as you. I am Nalin, son of Fundin, at your service," He confessed. "If I may be as bold as to ask why you are so far out in the forest and where we are as it does not seem to be the palace Healing Halls or the dungeons."

"We are in my personal cottage. Not many know of its location with the exception of a few guards and myself. Not even the king knows, though I know it irritates him," she responded with a wry smile. She gathered all her healing supplies. "Eat before it goes cold. Once you regain your strength, I will lead you to the edge of the forest in the direction you are traveling, if you wish. I would not mind company for a while if you are not in a hurry and wish to stay a few days."

"I think a few days rest would you me good. Ered Luin is rather far. I thank you again for your hospitality and offer, I think it would be wise to be led by someone who has knowledge of this forest," He commented. They smiled again, she left the room and he began to eat.

Her mother's kindness and father's loving heart brought them together. He stayed longer than he intended and began to realize he did not wish to go. They had grown fond of each other and as he thought of packing he also found his reason to stay.

Dwarfs and elves have a few thing in common. One is that they only love once. Dwarfs call that significant other their One. Elves do not have a name for it but they feel just as strongly. Her parents had found that in each other. Neither of their families were very accepting, King Thranduil was only pacified by his sister proving it was not a trick, as the dwarf had no use for elven royalty, and Nalin's family; his father and his mother, and Balin and Dwalin, his brothers, thought it to be an elven curse until she had sent them her own letter, though Nalin had no idea what was inside it. His wife to be seemed to have a calming effect on those around her. They were married within the year. But, despite allowing their marriage, there was still a great deal of tension and hostility between the king and Nalin, and later the distain the king held for their half-breed daughter.

Two years after, their daughter had been born. Nanaiel, she was named, Nana to the dwarfs as –iel was a bit too elvish for a daughter of Mahal. As she grew it was evident she grew like a dwarf but look much like her mother. Her face and build were that of her mother, thin features and an athletic build that toned as she learned weapons from her father; her hair and eyes the green and black of her father. Her ears were a bit in between as they were rounded enough to pass as dwarven but had a small point. Though she was her mother's daughter in appearance, she was her father's child. She aged as a dwarfling would. Her mother was a bit sad to see her daughter would not be immortal but was happy she would outlive Nalin and herself.

They went undisturbed and happy for forty years. Nanelien and Nanaiel had been training in a clearing when the spiders appeared. From the trees above they descended, in an instant Nanelien had her daughter tugged behind her. They were too far from the cottage to call for Nalin but not too far for her daughter to run and get help. She turned to Nanaiel and told her to run for father. Run and don't look back. She tried to persuade her mother to let her fight but her mother refused. Nanaiel gave in and ran.

She burst through the door crying for her father to help. He listen and asked where her mother was. In the clearing, was the answer he received. He shot off after telling her to stay put. Nanaiel waited and waited. She watched out the window until she saw her father coming back, he seemed to be carrying mother. She knew her mother was gone and would not be coming back. She also knew her father would follow soon after. They had both told her the joys of finding the One and the sorrows of it. If one was to die the other would soon follow as it was too painful to live without the other after so long together. She was of age for a dwarf but not by elven standards. She also knew she needed to inform the king, her father was in no shape to travel to the closest guard. So off she went. When her father did fade and leave her, she was brought to the palace as she was not of elven maturity yet, wouldn't be for sixty years, at her hundredth year. That is how she lost them.


Nanaiel wiped the tears from her face, she missed them something fierce. Now that there were other dwarfs in Mirkwood, thought probably imprisoned in the dungeons, she could try to find if her family was alive. But she would need help getting down there, and there were only two who would help.

Legolas, her cousin, and Tauriel, the captain of the guard, who were her closest and only friends in this prison they called a palace, would be the ones to help her see the dwarfs even if she couldn't break them out, though she really wished she could. She needed them to agree if she were to succeed. All she had to do was wait for her chance.

It came two days later when Tauriel and Legolas relieved the guards and entered her room. Nanaiel looked up from her book of Khuzdul. Her father had finished her lessons in Khuzdul and Iglishmêk a few years before she came of age, and she was determined to keep the language fresh in her mind. She gestured for her friends to make themselves comfortable while she made tea. It had started as her mother and aunt taking tea in their rooms in the afternoons but Legolas and Nanaiel had continued it in memory of their mothers. They had asked Tauriel to join them after finding she had lost her parents as well. She reentered the room and took to serving them all.

"I'm glad you decided to visit me at the same time. I have a favor to ask of you both," She stated returning to her chair with her own cup. "I wish to go down to see the dwarfs." They had taken a sip as she had explained, both coughing on their tea. She folded her hands around her cup and took a sip. Her eyes flicked between the two.

"Why would you wish to go down there?" Tauriel demanded. "

"To ask if any of my family in Ered Luin lives. I am not asking for keys I'm asking for time and a way in," She explained, fidgeting with her cup but keeping eye contact with Tauriel.

"If King Thranduil gains knowledge of you going down there we will all find ourselves imprisoned, this time down in the cells," Tauriel scolded.

"I know every passage in this palace. My only hindrance is guards. I beg of you. If I find family I will be able to leave. This is my only hope of finding a way to happiness. I just wish to talk," She begged.

"Cousin, you will be the end of me," Legolas sighed, glancing at Tauriel, who nodded. "In a week's time we will come for you. If the king finds us you will not be the only one with punishment." He turned to leave, Tauriel trailing behind him. "I hope you find what you're looking for. I do not wish for you to be trapped here. It should be home not a prison."

"Thank you, my friends. I wish you luck and hope I can someday feel at home here," she replied. She rose and embraced them both briefly.


A few hours later, they left to see to their duties. After seeing them out, Nanaiel searched through her closet for the few tunics and trousers she kept, finding a usable combination and a dark blue cloak to use while sneaking around. Training with knives in a dress was difficult, in a tunic and trousers she had easy access to all of her arsenal. They were also ideal for not being recognized as the princess but as a young elf going to lessons.

Behind her tunics, she kept all of her weapons wrapped into a cloth. She had been taught with many different weapons in her youth. From duel swords to archery, her parents had playfully teased each other that she would choose a weapon fitting one race. They were both quite pleased that she had taken to knives and daggers as they were a neutral choice. They were a bit surprised by how many she wished to carry. From throwing knives to two long daggers, she had enough to prepare an army.

She carried throwing knives two in each boot; five strapped to each thigh, high enough to be cover by a tunic; one strapped to each wrist; four hidden in the pins holding her hair in its high clip; two daggers placed parallel on her lower back; and, to her mother's relief, a bow and quiver strung across her back.

She collected all the things she would need at the end of the week. Every hidden weapon she owned would be placed on her person, the others such as her bow and long daggers would be too bulky and would not due for sneaking.

Sitting back down, she began to read again hoping to pass the time quickly. The week could not end quickly enough.

A/N: So this is the first chapter of my first published fic. I hope to update weekly or bimonthly if possible. I'm a Senior in high school, so please be kind if I am late on any updates. I plan to have around 15 chapters. Thank you for reading and please review.