Tear drops caused the ink on Legolas' letter to smear into an illegible mess, but Tauriel didn't think this was a letter she ever cared to read twice. It was hand delivered to her from Lothlórien, just that morning, by a personal messenger of Lady Galadriel.

"What does it say?" Thranduil asked, quietly.

"An army of Orcs has them, and the refugees of Rohan, trapped within the fortress at Helm's Deep." She lowered her head and sniffled, hands on her pregnant belly. "Lord Saruman the White has forsaken the light and now builds an army of a new type of Orc for Sauron. They bare the mark of a white hand."

A muscle in Thranduil's cheek twitched as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. "I have never welcomed Wizards meddling in the affairs of the Eldar. This is what we reap."

"Legolas says it is time. I must honor my promise to take the children to the Grey Havens. He..." She turned to lock eyes with the King, "He holds no hope for their survival against such a force as this one, ten thousand Orcs mass in the valley."

"Tauriel..."

The wood-elf turned wild, agonized eyes on her King. "If you make one single sound about leaving my son behind to raised as your heir, should Legolas die, I do not know what I will do, but it will involve blood being shed."

Thranduil winced, face losing all color. "No. I would never asked that of you, Tauriel. I would not separate the boy from his mother or his twin sister. Those two have never been apart from each other for more than a fortnight in their young lives."

"What if Legolas is wrong? If we abandon all hope, and sail without him, and Legolas yet lives?"

"I will be here for him, of course, but it will not be enough to keep him here. Legolas will follow you."

"And you, my Lord? Will you follow us, too?"

Thranduil shrugged. "I cannot say."

Tauriel sighed, "Lord Elrond sent his daughter Arwen and nearly everyone from Rivendell. The choice should be offered to all the Eldar, Wood-elves included, but I do not think I can stomach the idea of leaving you here, if you are to be alone. I know you too well, now, my Lord. You thrive on the chaos those children create."

He tossed his head, long silver hair falling back off his shoulders. "I need to know my family is where they will be safe every bit as much as Legolas does. Give us this, please, Tauriel. I have been alone before; It is endurable, if it means you live." The King's mouth pressed into a grim line of determination.

Tauriel hated it, but she nodded, "Yes, my Lord."

"Valar show me mercy, of all the battles of will we have had over the last sixty years, you choose this time to turn meek and accepting?"

To that, Tauriel snapped back at him, "I spent hundreds of years being meek and accepting of your orders, my Lord. It rang false once I discovered you are not as all knowing and infallible as I thought when I was younger."

Thranduil smiled and went to her. He knelt before her and placed his large hand gently over the bump where his second grandson rested. "Have I failed to mention how honored I am to have you in my family, Tauriel?"

She made a rude noise, and crossed her arms over her breasts. "That sort of pretty flattery from you should not work on me any longer, oh great King. I know what you want. Your vanity truly knows no bounds."

Thranduil's lips quirked. "I have no idea what you mean."

"Legolas and I discussed the possible choices for a name," Tauriel smirked at him. "We decided on Tharanden for our son."

His eyes widened, and then the King nodded, "It is a good name, Tauriel." Of course, it was, and she did want to honor Legolas' father for the way he embraced her and their children. He may have been a shattered vessel unable to hold love in the past, but anyone could see there was love in him, now.

Tauriel hugged him, as best she could from a chair, with a lump where her slender waist used to be.

Thranduil allowed her hug and then rested his good cheek against her belly, listening to the movements of the baby. Before long, he pulled back with a startled cry, "Ai!"

"What?"

"I think your son aimed an elbow at my head."

Tauriel bit her lip to keep from giggling, and nodded, "This child is very territorial over his space."

There was a chest on the table, and Tauriel gestured to it. "Could you bring me the chest, my Lord, there is something I would like you to see."

Thranduil stood and brought the chest to her. Tauriel opened it and pulled out a bundle wrapped in deep blue velvet. She handed it to him, her fingers lingering on his. "During our last trip to Dale, I had a long talk with King Bain. We spoke of many things and I explained to him the Age of the Eldar is at an end and all our people are being called home. I asked Bain to pass ownership of my vineyards to Tilda and her family. I made a similar trip, without Legolas, to Erebor. It took some convincing, but after a few mugs of ale, I was able to sell my estate to the King Under The Mountain... this is the price he gave me for it."

The King opened the fabric and his eyes met hers. The white gems of the Necklace of Lasgalen lay in his palm, and his hand trembled. "I do not know what to say."

"Say that when I have taken the children into the West, when Legolas feels the call of the sea, you will put aside your stubborn, arrogant pride and call for the ships to reunite all of our people in Valinor."

"Are you trying to bribe me, Tauriel?" The King asked, quietly.

"I am not above trying," she admitted. "It will be difficult to convince people to leave their homes, even in times of danger."

"These Halls have stood for thousands of years. New types of Orcs do not frighten me. They can be killed, and they will die if they threaten our lands."

Tauriel shook her head. "I learned a very important lesson in Dale, my Lord. A home is more than a Hall. Buildings can be knocked down by Ogres or burned to ash by Dragon-fire, but structures can be rebuilt. What cannot be replaced is our kin, our children and our friends."

Thranduil opened his mouth to say something, and Tauriel silenced him with a finger on his lips.

After a moment, he spoke anyway, "The lessons you learned in Dale will serve you well in the Undying Lands. You will need to make a place for yourself and the children, and... those who will go with you. I have no doubt you will make them a fine Queen."

"Oh, no. I want no crown. I cannot possibly be responsible for anyone else's family. I cannot do what you ask, it is too much. You will have to find someone else."

The King's lips quirked, "Bard. Dain. Bain. All said much the same, did they not? I did not want the crown when my father fell in battle, but there was no one else."

"Bard and Dain were not half way through a pregnancy. I am not the most reasonable person when I am pregnant, as you well know."

Thranduil didn't comment, but he did look amused by her observation.

"We will not have need of a ruler in Valinor."

The King quirked an eyebrow at her. "So you will settle in a strange land and make strangers organize, house and feed an influx of refugees from the Woodland realm who have no leader of their own to organize them and give voice to their welfare?"

Tauriel didn't like the idea much, but the parallels to the earliest days of resettling Dale were unmistakeable. "Why me?"

"Because the Woodland elves are your people, your kin, and they trust and respect you. They will follow where you lead them."

"What if I screw up? Or I am not up to the task?" She rubbed her belly more insistently, because the baby was responding to her emotions by his restlessness.

He smiled kindly at her. "Someone will happen along and point you in the right direction. First, they will likely do something to make you angry to get your attention. And there will be those who are bound to criticize either your action or your lack of action, no matter what you do."

"As I did to you," Tauriel admitted, more than a little ashamed.

"It would seem we have come full circle and the little bird that hopped out of my nest will soon fly away to feather a nest of her own."

Tauriel narrowed her eyes at him, "I will do this thing, because you ask it of me, but I won't name myself a Queen. Not while you live. You are our King no matter where we reside," she told him stubbornly. "There are other examples of leaders who wear no crown, Lords Celeborn and Elrond are just as respected without lofty titles."

The King smiled, "You are so stubborn, but such strength of will should serve you well. You must do what you feel is right, Tauriel."

Tauriel rested her head on his shoulder and wept. Thranduil stroked her hair and back, whispering words of comfort and encouragement. When the storm passed, he took her hand in his. "Come. It is time for you to make your first address."

"Now?"

"The hour grows late. People will need time to gather what they can. "

Tauriel drew a shaky breath and nodded.

Thranduil called for an emergency assembly of all who lived and worked within his Halls. An hour later he and Tauriel were standing together, hand in hand at the base of his thrown. Every available space, on every walkway, was filled with Eldar. He nodded to Tauriel, and gave her hand a supportive squeeze. "It is time."

The former Captain of his guard released his hand and stepped forward. Holding her head high, Tauriel addressed the people, "As many of you know, Prince Legolas was called to Rivendell to attend Council meeting called by Lord Elrond. At this meeting, our Prince volunteered to join a Fellowship which set out from Rivendell to take the One Ring of Sauron to Mordor." The collective gasp of the Elves made her pause. "If the One Ring is not cast into Mount Doom and unmade forever, Sauron's evil will eventually claim all of Middle Earth. No place will be safe from his forces, not even here."

Tauriel paused to let her words have time to register, before continuing, "I gave Legolas my word to take our children, and the new babe I am carrying, into the West, should it look as though his quest might fail. My heart is torn from me to say it, but the time for that journey has come. The Age of the Eldar is in twilight. Many of our cousins from Rivendell and Lothlórien have already taken ships from the Grey Havens to the safety of Valinor."

She had to take a minute and force back the urge to break down, again. It would do no good for the people to see how much this decision was tearing her soul into pieces. She needed them to make logical decisions based on facts and not emotion. "I go because it is what I vowed to my beloved husband. You have the choice to stay in the safety of the Elvenking's Halls, for as long as they survive, or to take a sea voyage West to a place none of us has ever been. We have all read the tales and know what they say as to what awaits us on the other side of the ocean, and I believe King Thranduil when he says we will be safe and at peace there."

Tauriel made eye contact with two ellith she knew were just as pregnant as she, "With each passing day, the power of the Darkness grows and more of Suraman's new, stronger Orcs are brought forth. Time is short. We must take only what we can carry on our backs, or pack horses, and trust the Valar will be merciful and see us safely settled in a new home. Carry word to every corner of the Woodland Realm, so all may have the choice set before them. I am no Queen, I am not even the Captain I once was, I speak only as a mother who is doing everything she can to see her children safe."

"Go and speak to your families," the King said, addressing them for the first time. "The choice is yours, but know this, I have complete faith you will be welcome in the Undying Lands. Tauriel has no desire to be your leader, so if there is one among you who thinks they are better than her, by all means, lead. Whether she likes it or not, Tauriel gained vast knowledge and experience from her time in Dale organizing people who have been left with only the clothes on their backs; she would never turn way from anyone who was cold or hungry or without a home."

He regarded her, solemnly. "Go. Take my grandchildren where they will never know war or death."

"I will, my Lord. You have my word."

"Alámenë, Tauriel," the King told her, in a voice that carried to all ears. "

Tauriel made the traditional gesture of respect to her King with her hand over her heart, also bowing her head, "Namárië, Melda tár. Na lû e-govaned vîn."

Alámenë - Go with our blessings

Savo 'lass a lalaith - Have joy and laughter

Namárië, Melda tár.- Farewell, beloved King

Na lû e-govaned vîn - Until next we meet