Author's Note: Thank you for all of the reviews. I went back and edited the first chapter to fix some grammar errors so hopefully it looks better now. A good song to go along with this chapter is Perth by Bon Iver.

Sídhon (sîdh-on) Garavon (garaf-on)

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"Aeldes." a voice whispered on the wind. Her eyes opened slowly. She pressed a hand to her forehead. Had it been a dream? Her eyes scanned the room, she was in her room. Her hand moved to her side, there was no wound. No gash across the top of her hand. It was a bad nightmare. She got up slowly as if one quick move and the world would fall apart. She walked down stairs to see her mother and father standing in the kitchen talking and laughing as her sister sat on a chair sharpening her sword. As she went to greet them a loud crack echoed and everything changed to dark colors. Her sister stood sat there, arrows embedded in her ribs, blood covering her wounds. Her father and mother stood with blood covering their throats and blank looks on their faces. Aeldes went to scream but before she could she awoke with a gasp.

Her hands searched desperately for something to hold onto as her breaths came and went violently. She sat up looking around on to see elegant walls around her, a window let in the dark moon lit sky. She looked down to herself she was dressed in a white dress with no sleeves. Her side ached with some amount of pain, nothing compared to before. Her hand was no wrapped in a white cloth, some blood seeping through. She moved to get out of the bed her bare feet touching the cold ground. She stood up and found that there was another layer to the dress laying on a chest in front of the bed. She grabbed it gently touching the soft fabric. She slid the long sleeved garment over her arms it guarding her from the chill in the air.

A mirror on the wall caught her eye, she looked into it seeing her own reflection. The spot under her eyes were dark with exhaustion a large gash stretch across her forehead through her right eyebrow along with other flecks of scratches across her face. As she gazed into the mirror for a moment she saw a flash of her sister's face in the place of hers. Her sister's face was far worse off than hers. She gasped falling to the ground clutching her chest. Her hands moved to her face as thoughts flooded her mind. If she was stronger she could have fought them off with her sister. She could have saved her, if not for her parents she could have had her sister with her. It suddenly hit her how alone she was in the world. The guilt of her sister's death laid heavy on her.

The door creaked open and there stood the elf she had seen before. A concerned look passed over his face as he found her on the ground. He walked over to her side quickly. She found herself embarrassed that he walked in during her small breakdown.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine now." she said. That wasn't wholly true but she didn't want to talk about anything right now. He held his hand out to her and helped her to her feet.

"The king requested to see you." he told her. She felt herself grow tense. She had heard of the Elvenking Thranduil but she didn't know much about him. One thing she did know was that he was not like Elrond. She doubted he would warmly welcome her. "I'm Legolas by the way. May I ask your name?"

"Aeldes." she answered him. He lead her out of the room through the halls. She found herself thinking of many different scenarios that could happen. That merely increased her anxiety over the situation. Before she knew it they reached the large doors and Legolas lead her in. The room was large, her eyes immediately moved to the large throne in the room. Stairs lead up to the throne with large antler across it's back. In it sat Thranduil. His legs were crossed and his hands laid casually in his lap. His chin was held high and his gaze was sharp. As her and Legolas approached his gaze followed her closely. She couldn't help but feel tense like her chest was bound tightly. No matter how much she tried to breathe in she couldn't get enough air. They stood near the base of the throne as silence was in the air.

"What is your name?" he finally asked.

"Aeldes." she said trying to keep her voice from sounding too weak. There was a tense pause.

"Where do you come from?"

"I lived with my family not to far from here, in the forest." she replied.

"You're the daughter of Sídhon?"

"Yes." she wondered how Thranduil knew of her father but didn't feel brave enough to ask about it. Once again silence filled the room. She wondered if he was actually thinking of anything or if he was merely trying to make her grow uneasy.

"Why were you being chased by the Iaoch?" he questioned after the long silence.

"My father, he used to live in Rivendell. He hunted the Iaoch when Elrond sought to get rid of them. They have been hunting down the elves that hand nearly gotten rid of all of them." she explained. "I was running from them." her eyes left him and gazed off. "My parents were left behind, so was my sister." A part of her wanted to hold onto some sort of hope that she would return and find them in their home.

"You may stay here until you are well enough to leave. You can thank my son for that decision." he told her glancing towards Legolas. She wondered what would have happened if Legolas hadn't found her, perhaps she would have bleed out. A darker side of her wondered if that would have been the best thing that could happen to her.

"King Thranduil," the phrase sounded odd on her tongue, she had never spoken to royalty before and she was quite unsure how to do so. "If I may ask, I would like to check my home." she paused for a moment fighting off the tears that threatened her. "To see if there is anything left." or anyone a optimistic side of her added. She shoved the thought away if she expected something good out of the journey she would only be more crushed.

"Very well, tomorrow at dawn you may go. Legolas will get you in the morning." he answered.

"Thank you." she said with a nod of her head before turning to Legolas.

Legolas walked her back to her room before bidding her a goodnight. He had asked if she wanted any food but she couldn't think of eating in her state now. She laid in the comfort of the bed staring at the intricate walls of her room waiting for sleep to find her.

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It took a long time but eventually sleep had found her. Before she knew it she was woken by Legolas who brought her a outfit that was better for riding. He showed her down to the stables and brought out a light grey horse for her. He told her the horses name was Garavon. She was petting the horse when she noticed Thranduil enter the stables along with a good amount of soldiers. Rather than the more fancy robes he was wearing shorter robes along with pants and riding boots. An ellon working in the stable brought out a large elk to the Elvenking.

"You're going with us?" she asked in a surprised tone.

"I knew your father, he came to me when he first wanted to build the house in the forest. It's not within my kingdom's reach but he was polite. I'm going to pay my respects." he told her before mounting the elk. She didn't reply but rather did the same as him and mounted her horse. She found herself disappointed when Legolas didn't get on a horse but returned to the palace. She felt more tense with it being her and Thranduil and of course the other soldiers.

The rode out Thranduil leading the way, Aeldes kept behind him in the middle of the group of guards. She didn't feel like getting left behind or attacked by something. Once they reached the borders of Mirkwood Thranduil signalled her to lead the rest of the way. She rode next to him in silence leading the group. It was quite a while till they reached her house.

Before her the sight of her families once beautiful burnt to the ground. She got of the horse moving closer to the house. She stepped over the rubble that used to be the walls. In the center of the house three burnt bodies laid, she could barely make out what was left of them. She fell to her knees in the ashes of her previous home before letting out a loud sob. Her hands covering her face. She didn't even give thought to the group behind her.

Soft footsteps sounded behind her but she paid no attention to them until she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. She looked up with teary eyes only to see Thranduil standing there with some form of empathy on his face. She was taken aback when he knelled down next to her before enveloping her in his arms. The action had seemed so foreign to him. He was old, she wasn't sure how old but with age came not only wisdom but pain, despair, and loss. She had not heard of a Elvenqueen in Mirkwood in her life but he had a son. That was only one loss she knew of she could only imagine how much he had been through in his life. Despite being a rather stoic king he could understand loss and he was kind enough to provide some comfort to a young elf that had lost everything.

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Author's Note: I usually prefer to write more but this felt like a good place to end it. I wasn't exactly sure how to portray Legolas because I haven't seen Desolation of Smaug yet so I'm not sure how his personality is in the movie. I'm seeing it this Friday so I'll be able to incorporate it into the story more.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter :)