For a long moment, far longer than was necessary for the young woman to have made her way to her chambers, Legolas looked in the direction she had gone. Eventually he smiled faintly and tilted his head back to look at the stars, but closed his eyes, letting in a memory that had threatened to blind his sight since the woman had leapt upon a rock in front of him, breathing a little quickly for a moment as she watched the sun drop down to sleep.

His head was tilted back, his eyes searching the stars eagerly for something to ease his heart, his pain.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" a little voice asked suddenly from the area of his knee.

He glanced down to see the little girl Elrond had taken in. She was sitting on one of the small stones, her head tilted all the way back, trying to find something worth looking at with a small child's concentrated intensity. He smiled gently at the child. "The stars."

"Oh," she wrinkled her nose. "They're up there every night."

"Yes. But haven't you noticed that they move?"

She blinked in surprise and looked up again, her mouth dropping open as if she couldn't keep it closed while holding her head at such an angle. "They do?"

"Yes." He smiled again to see her watching them so determinedly.

"I think they're stuck tonight," she finally declared, getting a surprised burst of laughter from him.

"They change through the seasons, little one, and only slowly through a single night. If you marked one now, with a tree branch or something, and then came back later, you would find it had moved."

"Really?" she asked, squinting her eyes to look up again.

"Really," he agreed, grinning as she began looking for a star. "That one. How do I mark it?"

He motioned for her to stand with her back to the mountainside. "You have to remember exactly where you're standing."

"Okay," she agreed, a slight frown between her light brows as she concentrated on imprinting the place into her memory.

"Now, which star did you want?"

"I've lost it," she complained, looking up again. She heaved a sigh and started to sit down.

"Then shall I pick one for you?" he asked softly, scanning the night.

"You'll pick one I can't see," she pouted.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you'd think I could see it. My eyes aren't like yours," she protested.

He grinned again and sat down so their heads were about even. He tilted his back as she had, looking for a star near a branch. "How about that one?" he asked, pointing up at it.

She blinked and looked for a long moment. "Okay," she agreed. "Now what?"

"See how that dead branch seems to point at it?"

"Uh-huh."

"Come back sometime and see if it still does, or if the star has moved."

"What if another star is there? How will I know?"

He blinked in surprise. "Good point. All right, can you see the two little stars just above it?"

"Are you sure that's two?"

"Look harder."

She squinted again, crinkling her nose. She nearly fell forward with the effort, so he rested his hand on her stomach, holding her gently against the rock. "Okay, I see 'em," she murmured after a moment which was just short enough he believed she could see them, rather than had given up and decided to humor him.

"Well, when you check next time, look for your star, then for those two little ones. They'll be in the same place relating to your star, but all three will have moved."

She turned wide eyes to him, flecks of gold in the hazel depths. "Really?"

He smiled. "Really."

She grinned and looked back at her star, before rolling her eyes as a call came up from the valley. "I have to go."

"Why don't I walk you back, milady?"

She giggled and accepted his hand, curtsying a little awkwardly in her petite leggings. She skipped along beside him, content at the rather slow pace he had set.

"Lunian!" a sharp voice called. "Where are you, child?"

"Here I am!" she laughed, dropping his hand when they got in sight of the calling elf.

Elrohir swept her up into his arms, holding her head against his chest before kissing her crown. "Where were you?"

"Egola and I were waiting for the stars to get unstuck." She squirmed against the tight embrace and was slowly shifted to Elrohir's hip.

He tucked her hair behind her ear with his free hand. "You were, huh?"

"Yep," she agreed, before yawning. All her energy seemed to escape as she opened her mouth, for her head fell against Elrohir's shoulder, her eyes closing as her body went limp.

Elrohir closed his eyes and kissed her crown again, tenderly stroking her hair, which still retained a hint of baby curl. There was a slight sheen to his eyes when he looked up at Legolas. "Thank you for walking her back. She doesn't understand that she isn't invincible."

"She will, someday."

Elrohir's eyes darkened suddenly. "I hope so." After a long moment he lifted his eyes to Legolas's once more. "Good night, my friend." Before Legolas could reply, Elrohir turned back. "Waiting for the stars to get unstuck?" he questioned, humor lightening the question.

"I told her the stars moved, and she wanted proof. She may try to leave to check on her star sometime tonight."

Elrohir nodded. "Then I shall keep watch beside her. Will she know how to get there?"

"I assumed she followed me. You know the place, though."

Elrohir smiled sadly. "Still looking for a little peace, my friend?"

"Aren't we all?"

The next morning she had come running to him, jumping into his arms as she excitedly told him her star had moved. He settled her on his hip and listened to her story, feeling part of his heart melt, given away to the exuberant little girl. It had only worried him a little, for though he knew she would one day die, loving children, no matter their future, was something hard for him for any elf to deny.

She was a child no longer, and he didn't know anything about her.

Except maybe why she came to this particular place in Rivendell to watch the sun set and to see the stars.