Dear readers,

Thank you for your continued feedback.

I am sorry for the delayed update since I was planning to post a chapter as a New Year's Eve present, but I had to make some "last minute" changes. I hope they were worth the wait.

Happy New Year and I extend you many good wishes for this year.

For those of you who celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar (or in other words 25th of december), I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

For those of you who celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar (january 7th - me included), I also wish you a Merry Christmas!

If among my readers is a fellow Serbian, I wish him/her a Happy Serbian New Year which is on january 13th!

I hope you had a good time for holidays and are not too drunk still to review my latest chapter.

Love,

ME

CHAPTER 25

When her eyes opened, it was barely even dawn and she sat on the floor leaning on a wall. Her wrists were in flames, but she refused to go to the healers and be fussed over again. Instead she took a refreshing bath and single-handedly cured her injuries though they would need time to heal. She took out her healing kit from a drawer and forcefully tied bandages across both of her hands and wrists.

She debated on whether to put the horn back around her neck, but decided against it out of spite. Traces of blood disappeared from the floor while she scrubbed them away herself. It was foolish of her to react in such a way. Nothing met her on the way to the stables and she made her best effort to avoid it. Her mare gave her little comfort, but she decided to ride out and see her friends from the nearby village. That would keep her occupied for the entire day.

The prince on the other hand did not sleep at all. He deliberated about going to see her, but resisted the urge to invade her space for the moment. His little friend seemed too furious to listen anyway. He tried to regret speaking to Gileth about her, but did not admit to himself that what he did was wrong so they were in an interphasse of the sort.

As much as it pained him, he did not truly expect to see her for breakfast. He had a hunting party to lead anyway so this wasn't the best time to get distracted. It was a small, but well coordinated group of hunters. They marched south then turned east when they reached the second gate. Forest grew thicker as they approached their destination. The leaves were poisonous green; this forest was polluted with darkness for a long time. His focus came back as they enclosed on the spider nest. Arrows flew in the span of few seconds. What was left of the pack was soon surrounded and dispatched with blades. Two guards went and destroyed their eggs with equal speed leaving them all dazed with the sudden taste of victory; one that seemed too easy.

They had missed their afternoon meals, but were too thrilled to care. The company stared at the dead creatures in surprise like they were expecting them to get back up and restart the fight. No one was used to such easy hunts and they had energy to spare. Their thrill turned into dread when they heard a lot of heavy footsteps in the distance. No elf moved making such noise.

The prince quickly issued an order to the captain to separate into two groups and pursue them from the branches. At least they had an element of surprise. Orcs resided in a small clearing lighting a fire to roast a few dead sheep on it. They must have stolen them from an innocent farmer and the best hope they had was that he or she survived such theft.

Laeorn quickly followed the prince's signs placing guards all around the clearing, but making sure to stay out of sight. Before those foolish creatures knew what was in store for them, twenty arrows flew from different directions stunning the half of their division in one blow. Elves swiftly descended from the branches and started picking them off manually; though some preferred a bow as their weapons of choice.

In barely a few minutes, the only thing remaining from the pack on the clearing were their remains. Half of the guards started gathering and burning them. "Ernil nin, I saw two of them flee toward the river bank. If we hurry they won't get far." the captain addressed him as he arrived from his side of the clearing. Legolas was fast to follow his counsel ordering those who weren't busy gathering corpses to come along.

Tauriel made her way back watching the smoke rise from the distance. They must have burned a nest only a little ago. When another set of flames started rising from a much shorter distance; she stood watching cautiously. Her ears picked on a strange sound disturbing the silence of the forest. No elf's feet made such a sound. She walked towing her mare along and could have easily outrun them back to safety, but before she reacted on that instinct; a small voice appeared in her head. Why? Why should I run? What am I afraid of?

Her resolve to run was quickly overpowered by a desire to fight back. As they approached, she could almost picture an orc or two of them. She raised the saddle and took out a long package which was hidden underneath. She swiftly released her father's blade from its cover. It was heavy, but she was used to its weight already.

Before those slow folks reached her, she was already prepared to kill something. It was a foolish move and if they haven't arrived separately, they would have out powered her with ease. However, when the first arrived, the second was a short distance behind. The orc snarled at her not being cautious enough because of her deceiving size. Tauriel waited for him to approach in an arm's length before teaching him a lecture of not underestimating her. Half of his arm holding his weapon fell on the ground with a shriek of agony. Little elleth knew speed was her best ally for she did not posses skills or strength to defend herself with her bare hands. She jumped to his right knowing that he could not grab her fast enough from that side. Her blade pierced through his armor before he turned around to grab her with his healthy arm. He was dead.

Tauriel barely had two seconds to celebrate her successful yet dangerous maneuver before the second orc charged from the forest in a great speed like he was being pursued by someone. This did not make her change her mind. The second orc almost committed the same mistake as his dead comrade on the floor. When he spotted the orc blood on her blade and the orc who was pierced by it, his pace slowed and he instinctively grabbed his own sword, but he was too late and too close. It was a risky thought to do this, but little elleth repositioned her sword and threw it toward the opening in the orc's armor. It was successful; he staggered to the ground while Tauriel ran as fast as her feet could carry her to take her blade out of his neck and pierce him through the chest. Her second blow turned out to be unnecessary, but she preferred not to take any chances.

Her father's sword was filled with its foul blood. She quickly cleaned the blade using the moss on the ground. It would have to suffice until she reached the palace. Only when she stabbed the blade into the ground for support while regaining her breath did she realize what she had done. Two bodies seemed to affirm that realization. Adrenaline subdued slowly and she was filled with mixture of pride and dread; the first overpowering the second.

Light footsteps indicated her of another presence, but these did not alarm her. They were familiar sound of her kin. This must be the hunting party I intercepted. I'm afraid there is not much left for them to do here. She thought watching her unsuspecting victims.

First one to come into view was the captain. I am definitely in trouble now. She thought keeping her calm posture while he widened his eyes. "Tauriel." he called breathless watching her with wide eyes.

The prince heard his exclamation and rushed fearing for the worst, but not expecting what he found. Yes this won't end well. Tauriel contemplated while deliberately walking to retrieve the cover from her sword from where she threw it on the grass. Legolas retrieved his voice when he watched a familiar sword being placed in its cover. "What happened? Did you?" he asked bewildered watching dead orcs with astonishment while many different emotions passed through his mind. The others arrived a minute later wearing identical expressions of disbelief on their faces.

"Kill them? Yes I did. I'm sorry if I stole your prey, but they were in my way." Tauriel replied with defiant fury sparkling from her eyes. She did not forget about being angry with him.

Legolas could not move for a long while. Tauriel didn't wish for his proximity anyway. "Do you wish me to burn them for you as well? I happen to be out of fire at the moment." she spoke when none of them said anything.

"You could have been killed. Do you understand that?" the prince finally spoke retrieving his voice for long enough to scold her, but little elleth was in no mood to be treated like an elfling.

"Yeah, so what else is new?" she replied tying her precious weapon back onto her restless mare. That gave her an excuse not to look at him or anyone else.

The prince ordered the troop back into the palace and spoke nothing until they were out of earshot. He took in a sharp breath before coming closer. "Have you been harmed?" he finally asked with concern wishing to determine that before losing his temper. He tried to touch her shoulder lightly, but she took a step back and shook it off.

"Do not touch me." her anger awoke along with her reflexes. He dropped his hand hiding the hurt for such a treatment.

"You are still angry with me I see." he commented with a sigh looking away from her.

Tauriel laughed with irony. "Do you know what you have in common with those two?" she asked as he refocused his attention to her. His eyes looked at her with caution. "They too underestimated me like you and now they are both dead. You're right they could have overpowered me easily if only they did not judge me by my size. Did you think I was throwing a fit last night and that all would be well when I slept it through? You betrayed my trust! I wonder if every soul living in the palace now knows my deepest fears. No, you know what I don't even wish to know. I release you from your duty toward me. You may do with your time whatever it is you did with it before I came." little elleth spoke defiantly, but her voice or her expression did not waver.

She climbed onto her mare's back swiftly leaving the prince to his thoughts. Something in her eyes and her posture made him stop in his intent to argue with her. Perhaps he simply saw that it was pointless to apologize or argue with her right now when she was so hostile.

Evening passed in almost complete silence. Tauriel cut her vegetables and did not strike with hunger today. Legolas and his father noticed her bandaged wrists, but none of them voiced any questions out loud. The king noticed the sudden hostility emanating from the little elleth and his son in return looked guilty, but also furious. He did not comment on the report his captain brought him about two dead orcs.

Tauriel excused herself addressing only the king while not sparing a glance to his son's direction. She knew that her fury was not entirely rational, but she felt betrayed so the rage would outlive at least one more night. The nightmares kept coming, but she found herself fighting back against the dark creatures from time to time although she rarely won that fight.

The prince knew it was foolish to speak to Gileth of all people about Tauriel, but she seemed to know things no one else knew and understand better than anyone. He found her in the healing wing not having a particular wish to go look for her in her parents' home.

Gileth noticed him immediately or more accurately, the expression on his face. "Good morning ernil nin. May I be of service?"The elleth asked leaving a few bandages she was carrying on top of the night table.

Legolas hardly knew how to answer that question. "If you planned on visiting Tauriel today; I wished to advise you against it." He formulated his warning like this, but Gileth looked at him curiously.

"It's not a counsel I would have expected. What troubles you?"She looked slightly confused, but hid it well.

The prince merely sighed in response. "She is on a war path against you and me. Let us not antagonize her until she is calm."

Gileth looked at him incredulously. "Is there a particular reason?"She asked incredibly annoyed about his reluctance to speak about something which clearly involved both of them,

"She believes that I betrayed her trust. When she became aware of the fact that we've been speaking about her; her fury was obvious." he explained wishing for someone to tell him that his actions were righteous.

The elleth sighed in understanding. "It is partly justified though she is this angry only because of the fact that you're involved. We should not have spoken about her at all; I simply let my feminine superiority get the best out of me. In fact; this private conversation is not the best idea if you seek her forgiveness." Gileth contemplated watching numerous emotions cross the prince's face.

Apparently, these were not the words he was looking for. Gileth would be gone with her parents to visit her brother again in a week and it was probably a bad idea to speak with the little elleth before then. This conclusion was not terribly optimistic, but it was the best they could come up with. They agreed on not speaking in private until Tauriel surrendered her white flag.

There was a little matter of Tauriel's lessons. It was hard to teach her when she barely spoke to him. She missed none of them, but asked no questions as she did usually. Taking notes suddenly became a time consuming job. The prince knew she paid attention, but she treated him no differently than a student treating her teacher. It was better than silence, but it was hard to resign to act like they were no more than that. No, the prince would not surrender now; this was just a stumble on the way and no more.

His principal preoccupation for the moment was her bandaged hands. They would cross into the back of his mind when they were out of his sight, but his worry never stopped. He would break this hostility soon before it got out of hand and became beyond repair. Tomorrow would be a new day and his mind would be able to work something out. He watched Tauriel walk out of the library with the same unyielding expression she wore during their entire class.

Leaving the unresolved issues for tomorrow resulted to be a very ill managed move. Morning might have brought new light, but it also brought something else. The prince was barely out of his bed when someone knocked forcefully on his door.

Once they were granted entrance; a worried looking captain walked inside. "I presume due to the hour and your troubled face that this is not purely a social call."Legolas rolled his eyes indirectly giving him permission to speak.

"Forgive the hour ernil nin, but I have urgent news, The orc pack we encountered yesterday was only a small part of the division that resides in our forests. We have looked for the farmer as you requested and by the grace of Valar, he is still alive. He informed us that a large division entered the boarders of our realm in secrecy. They are trying to arrive somewhere, but we're still in the dark about the location."Laeorn spoke in a little rush though he didn't seem terribly anxious about this report.

"Have you reported this to my father?"Legolas asked placing a finger on his chin as a sign of profound worry. News were never encouraging, but one could never get used to hearing troubling reports.

Captain nodded before he spoke. "I did. The king ordered me to assemble six divisions and prepare another two as a backup. You are to ride with him as soon as you're prepared. I am to remain here until he calls for backup if necessary. New recruits are coming in today or early tomorrow; I have to see them settled."He passed on the king's orders. When he was about to exit his room; the prince's voice detained him.

"Mellon." He spoke in a gentle voice which did not agree with the situation in hand.

Before he could voice his request; Laeorn already read his mind. "I will keep both eyes on her. If there is no remedy, I will give her archery lessons with the new recruits, but I'll keep her out of the woods until you return." he assured him while the prince simply thanked him silently. There was hardly anything to say about the matter.

There were three hundred elves stationed outside; king Thranduil was already on his elk. This weren't only the guards; the king ordered for the march of his armies as well; at least what they could encounter in such short notice. Father and son greeted each other without words and they marched ahead of the troop. Two generals and two commanders rode behind them. Generals were supreme authority for the solider divisions and commanders; in the absence of their captain; were in charge of the guard divisions. Assembled here in the courtyard was a small army of elves. Legolas made inquiries with his father about their approximate numbers, but those data were mere suppositions. After the king ordered their move; there was scarcely any time to speak with him.

There was nothing like impending danger to snap little Tauriel out of her raging phase. It hurt little elleth to speak or act the way she did the last couple of days, but something inside of her made her more rebellious than usual. Now that she pictured all sorts of perils her friend could face before she sees him again, the seriousness of her claims hit her harder than ever.

The squad pursued the orcs across the forest leaving none alive. Their divisions were scattered when they took out the largest group. It took more time to chase and find them than to actually fight them. Laeorn kept informing his little friend of the events as much as he dared to; sparing her of any unfortunate details which did not detain her from obtaining information elsewhere.

A week had passed and the king summoned the captain into battle which deprived Tauriel of a valuable source of information. Commander in charge; although kind in manners; did not have the time or the will to deal with an elfling. He did not particularly represent the attitude of informing someone so little of the king's movements so he simply kept an eye out for her with discretion.

It was hard to keep the little one inside, but the woods were dangerous at the present times so he persuaded her to stay inside and Beleorn gave him a hand; dedicating every free moment to her archery lessons even though fruitless. Tauriel was too distracted by concern to focus on her fighting skills. Another week had gone by before the divisions begun returning to the palace. Tauriel occasionally punished herself for being a spoiled brat by inflicting new injuries to her palms which barely had time to heal before she opened the wounds again.

She was deadly afraid for her friend's safety. His long absence was the living proof that something was terribly wrong. When she heard that a division came back from the hunt; she rushed down the stairs only to be freshly disappointed upon spotting not the prince; but the captain. Even though her expectations failed, she was still glad to see her friend who looked tired, but in good spirits.

At least now she had the certainty that the prince was alright and would be arriving soon. This eased some of her fueling anxiety. Laeorn walked off to find his commander leaving Tauriel by herself once again. As she made way back to her room; she heard risen voices arguing not far from where she was standing. Her curiosity got the better of her and she came closer to hear what the argument was about. The female voice was the dominant speaker. It didn't take Tauriel long to recognize it. Gale, Gileth's mother lead a heated argument with Laeorn.

It was mostly about Gileth joining the king's guard. Gale was scandalized that the captain openly claimed that he would be of assistance to her daughter if joining his ranks was her true ambition. Gale poured in all class of insults on his account, but Tauriel shook when her own name seemed to come on the order.

"That little snake poisoned my daughter's mind. If she wants to fight, I have no objections. Perhaps she will get herself killed and do us all a favor, but my daughter was not raised to be anyone's servant. Her parents did no favor to that little Sylvan scum! Why doesn't she simply join the two of them? The prince is better off without her anyway." were some of the words she used in reference to Tauriel's origin.

Tauriel distinctly heard Laeorn's not too polite reply to that offence, but her head was buzzing while she sneaked away not watching where she was going until she arrived in the entrance hall. Why lady Gale's words suddenly affected her so; she had no idea. Her whole body went numb while she tried to regain her senses. It took a couple of minutes, but eventually she trudged to her right toward the stables.

It was an instinct more than anything else. Her feet carried her to her mare without any conscious command from her brain. Little elleth moved fast and was out of the stables by the time Laeorn interrupted his conversation with the source of her distress and left her presence before she had time to reply. Ten minutes later he already searched every usual place Tauriel hung out at, but she was nowhere to be found.

The rest of the squad would be arriving soon. The prince would not appreciate his care. He ordered the commander to ask every guard stationed around the palace and anyone else who might have seen her. He was preparing to take off himself when the arrival of the king and the prince interrupted him in his intentions. He took a deep breath knowing that he would have to break the news as soon as possible.

He had to summon back his commander to report because he barely had time to speak to him upon his return. His report on everything apart on the missing elfling was enough to satisfy the king and he walked back to his chambers.

"I spoke to the stable boy hest. She rode out not long ago." commander reported as the king was out of sight. The prince was only a few steps away and it was impossible for him not to overhear their exchange. The captain sighed in worry.

"She has been behaving strange as of late." he muttered for himself only to remember Legolas standing a few feet away.

He could not delay this any longer. Before the prince could ask; he already had a ready answer. "I lost Tauriel. I saw her when I came back not half an hour ago. I left her right here and now I can't find her anywhere. Apparently, she rode out." he said in one breath.

An invisible force seemed to drive little elfling's will as her mare galloped through the gloomy and deterent confines of the mirkwood forest. Nothing, but dead silence and the scrape of hooves could be heard as the horse galloped with air current blowing directly towards its eyes. It was like the auburn animal knew precisely where its rider desired to go and obliged her wishes in a blur of successive tree trunks and menacing branches which seemed to defy Tauriel's immediate mood as they filled her eyes with bright colors of the current season.

No tear has been shed and no object has been broken, but the words themselves engraved into her mind forever and gave her the determination she lacked for a long time. With scarce occasions to take a glimpse at the sun through the occasional opening between the tree branches; she barely had an idea of what time it is. She finally arrived to her destination a few hours before dusk not bothering to consider how near would the night be upon her. The journey took barely half a day though she vividly remembered that she ran along these same paths for at least as twice as long when she last set eyes on this sight.

To her surprise, some of the walls and roof parts still held their shaky ground. Two wild and freezing winters did not succeed in the attempt of breaking what was left of the village she was born in. All was chaos and destruction, but it was still possible for her to distinguish the old shapes of her beloved home. She could almost believe that her friends were running between houses taled by a farmer whose apples they stole a few seconds before, the hours she spent in the forge with the blacksmith who was a good friend of her father's with endless patience when it came to answering Tauriel's endless questions. His wife was so simple yet elegant in her simplicity often inviting her to their house. She walked along the familiar paths not truly realizing that her feet were inconciously guiding her to the remnant of her old home.

A small secluded corner which offered her shelter from the wind and the open sky looked inviting. As she crossed from one room to another and ocassionly took a glimpse at a familiar object; she tried to picture her parents hoping against hope that proximity to where they had once lived; where they once had been a happy family would bring their faces back into focus, but it was in vain.

Only a few traces of the fact that they lived here once remained; a few insignificant yet dear proofs of the fact that she once had a loving family. Her mother's numerous broken vessels laid scattered along the floor with the unmistakable traces of the time they remained here. A beheaded doll once made for her by her naneth was a terrible sight. Tauriel never enjoyed playing with dolls, but to see it disfiguered in such a way was a heavy blow. She managed to light a fire using two old stones she found laying around upon closer look and decided to give her doll a proper funeral.

The night already fell when she was done with it and she sat in the corner which provided her with a shelter. Her mind was empty from all thoughts not contemplating on the dangers which lurked in the dark, not on the fact that she once more stopped eating, not on the fact that she was exhausted and not even on what would happen in the morning. She hug her arms around her knees and remained wide awake for the remaining of the night. Only destinguishable thoughts on her mind were about her family. She was half expecting them to walk straight inside the house and tell her that the past couple of years were only a misunderstanding. Not even Legolas crossed her mind as she was too absorbed the life as it once was. She returned to that moment in time when her life was peaceful and boring waiting for something to happen which would justify her impossible desires.

First rays of sunlight which broke through the broken windov were the ones which woke her up from her reverie. She got to her feet; ignoring the soreness in her back and the exhaustion of her mind. Her feet moved around again looking for something that wasn't there; that could never be there again. The gaze upon what was left of her central room which consisted of the kitchen, the dinning room and a small lounge brought back the memories of fire. Her drained mind initiated refocusing on her sad realitty; on the fact that past could not come back. It was like finding out that her loved ones were dead again. Why did she even bring herself into this position? They are gone. They have left ne. They are dead. she thought over and over again. Those words rang inside her mind reminding her.

The light footsteps aproaching did not bother her; in fact she couldn't hear them from the screams in her head. She sniffed realizing that silent tears made their way down her cheeks. She fell on her knees supporting her weight with one of her arms; the other one was over her mouth. The sound of footsteps came closer and closer, but Tauriel ignored them.

Legolas finally reached the door hearing before seeing the one he was looking for. When he entered inside, she was kneeling on the floor with her back turned. Has she heard him at all? He made his way to her a little wary. He had no desire to argue with her yet again. That desire appeared to be mutual even though little one made no indication of knowing that she was not alone any longer.

Her sniff in the dead silence was audible like a far echo. "Tauriel." he finally spoke realizing that his voice felt out of place when it rang through the remains of the empty house. He did not touch her; yet his voice made her talk back.

"They are dead." she finally choked out after a short while without looking at him or at any other direction. Her chin rose slightly, but apart from that; she made no change in her demenour. Those words made it final, irreversible.

Two gentle hands gave her silent comfort barely making contact with her skin. "I know." Legolas spoke in a form of a whisper while making circles on her right arm.

Tauriel felt anger like she never knew before. It wasn't pointed at anyone in particular; simply at her cruel fate. Her sudden outburst caught the young prince unprepared. "They are not supposed to be dead! It is unfair!" she started shouting in one moment; in the next she was punching the ground with on of her bandaged hands.

The prince's suspicions about the origin of bandages around Tauriel's hands were confirmed. It all happened so fast that Tauriel got a few nasty punches before his insticts started working again and he gripped her wrists with iron strength trying to pacify her making her attemps of freeing herself quite fruitless.

He somehow succeeded in turning her to face him. Someone else might have thought that she was simply throwing a fit, but the prince knew better. Tears of frustration streamed down her cheeks as she; quite vocally; tried to set herself free of his grasp, but he did not budge. It took a few minutes which passed like days for her attempts to die out while her reason came back.

She did not stop crying even when her movements ceased and she stopped fighting. "You're not allowed to attempt anything simmilar ever again. I forbid you to harm yourself." he finally spoke when she stopped resisting him altogether. He despised himself for using his commanding tone on her, but he needed to be certain that she wouldn't continue punching when he released her which he did very reluctantly. He tasted the atmosphere around her, but she showed no sign of thinking about dissobbeying him.

She sat on the ground encountering a wooden wall (or what was left of it anyway) to support her. His iron grip would probably leave a bruise, but she didn't feel the pain. At least she heard his voice. She hugged her knees with a mixture of emotions not daring to look up as she sniffed and sobbed while the inexhaustable stream of tears kept coming like a cascade down her face; now soaking her pants with salty water.

The prince limitted his actions to merely observing for a while trying to decide what to do. On the end; his actions were instinctual. He sat next to her caressing her silky auburn hair without truly encountering the right words. His gentle touch seemed to be having a positive effect on her. When he moved from her hair to her face; she relaxed enough to search for closer proximity. Legolas placed her in his lap and laid her head on his chest without ceremony. Her little fingers gripped his tunic while his ran soothing circles around her exposed cheek. He wasn't entirely certain why, but his voice started singing Elbereth's song. When he finished, his little friend had stopped crying and her breaths were even.

"Don't fall asleep Tinu nin. We have a long way back." he finally spoke kissing her on top of her head. She had an unusual smell of the forest and the blooming flowers and something which was hard to classify as anything, but starlight.

"I don't want to go." Tauriel mumbled barely audible into his tunic.

"Am man u-gerithon tinu nin?" the prince asked with a sigh.

"This is where I was born; I belong here." she spoke with a little more strength.

Legolas sighed audible. "You cannot stay here tinu nin. For better or for worse; your life is with me now. I will not lose you." he replied kissing her on the forehead before standing up. This was a terrible place for speaking. The midday was aproaching quickly. They would be caught by darkness already.

Tauriel walked beside him not showing any pleasure upon returning home. "How did you find me anyway?" she asked trying to redirect her thoughts somewhere else.

His blue eyes pierced her reproachingly. She almost shrank from fright. "You didn't make that easy I might add. It took me a few hours to work it out, but when Laeorn mentioned his brief exchange with hiril Gale, I had a hunch that you might have overheard it. You do have a habit to sneak around. It wasn't terribly difficult to come to this conclusion once I established that." he replied unamused.

Little elleth was a force of nature as the prince realized soon after they had safely rode into the stables. By the time it took him to give brief instruction to the stable boy about tending to their exhausted animals; her little form dissappeared. It was easy enough to catch up on her if the certain captain of the guard waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.

"She went upstairs. I assume she didn't see me; not an unlikely assumption considering the fact that she was staring at the floor." he informed him before the prince even opened his mouth to speak.

His responsive sigh was the only response the captain was able to receive before he watched him climb upstairs; persumably in pursuit of their little friend. This assumption was not far off since the prince only took a short detour to his room to drop his weapons (it was highly unlikely he would need them inside the palace) before walking deliberately to her room which was dark upon his arrival, but not empty.

Translations:

Ernil nin – My prince

Hest – Captain

Mellon – Friend

Hiril – Lady

Am man u-gerithon tinu nin? - Why not my little star?