Piper fell asleep in her father's arms. Thranduil carried her into her bedroom and tucked her into bed. He watched her for a few moments. She seemed at peace, at least for a moment. Thranduil felt a heavy weight in his heart. He knew that his daughter would face many great challenges, one of which seemed to be approaching quickly. Piper would have to choose if she wanted to live a mortal life or an immortal one. In a year, the wizards would consider her as an adult. By the elves standards, she was barley a toddler. There was so little she knew about the elves. Thranduil was unsure of what path his daughter would take. She had never lived outside of Mirkwood or Hogwarts. Thranduil knew she lacked the knowledge to live in either world. Thranduil left his daughter to sleep.
Once again, he found himself pacing in his office. The words of Elrond's prophecy ran through his head. Elrond had predicted that Thranduil would be the father of a half-breed daughter, one who would bring great changes to Mirkwood. Elrond predicted that this child would lead an immortal life but would continue to travel to the world of the humans. The part that haunted Thranduil the most was when Elrond had predicted that his child must face death. Only then would she be able to bring a much needed change to Mirkwood, and to Middle Earth. Thranduil went to sleep many hours later. He got very little sleep. The few hours he slept were restless. In his 6000 years, he had never had nightmares but even the King of Elves must have a first time for everything. Thranduil woke up in the morning filled with fear from his dreams. He thought of when his daughter was a child and she woke up screaming from the dreams that came to her in the night. He wondered if Piper still had nightmares and if she woke up with the same fear Thranduil felt now.
Thranduil stood up and began preparing for his day. He ran through all of the duties he had to address during the day. Thranduil silently hoped that he would have time to see his daughter during the day. He knew that she would be in the library studying the history of Mirkwood, and of Middle Earth. Thranduil sighed and decided that he would ensure that his daughter ate dinner with him and Legolas.