Legolas watched his father as he studied the contents of Seren's pack. She had given it to Ceridwen for disposal but the healer brought it to the elvenking as requested so he could have a look at the things a human from that realm might have considered important. He was dressed in black trousers and a simple brown shirt, not yet fully prepared for the evening as he'd been interrupted by the arrival of the satchel.

He held up a small plastic tube for Legolas to see, a quizzical look on his face.

"Chapstick," he said helpfully. "It's a balm to protect one's lips from the winter cold."

Thranduil pulled the top off and sniffed the artificial strawberry scented substance and his nose wrinkled. He replaced the cap and set it down on the table. A hairbrush, tooth brush, gloves, needle and thread kit and a pile of sweets were already collected there.

"Father… The doorway to Earth closed with Seren still on our side of it. You said such passages close when whatever was lost through them and all things that had crossed since they opened had been returned or perished."

Thranduil didn't look up from the depths of the bag as he answered. "That is the nature of them, yes. I must revisit our scrolls. There are many questions that need answers. The phenomenon we saw from her must have a sensible explanation."

"I felt magic from her then," Legolas said. "I hadn't felt it before or since, but I know it was there in that moment."

Thranduil nodded his agreement. He'd felt it too. Seren's display had called into question the very nature of what she seemed to be. He would be lying if he claimed not to be intrigued and would be still further deluding himself if he claimed he wasn't interested in discovering if his kingdom might benefit from her secrets.

She was so weary now; that much he could see plainly. He would wait for a time when she was in better spirits to press for answers.

"She asked what she would do here," Thranduil said distractedly as he lifted a brown leather-bound book from the human's pack. It was clasped closed with a little brass buckle. "This doesn't look like something one would want to discard…"

He opened it and hand drawn pictures fanned before his gaze. His eyes widened and he stopped the pages, flipping back until he found what he was looking for. He gently ran his fingers down the center between the spread pages, pressing them open further. An image of Legolas and Tal, blades locked together as they stepped in predatory circles in the sun, was displayed before him.

Legolas leaned over the desk to look and his eyes widened. "We were sparring… She must have snuck up to the door to draw this. I never even knew she was there."

Thranduil studied the image, the construction of the window, the disc with numbers on the wall, a flat black box in a corner, weapons standing in a rack and a smaller picture of a black haired man.

"That's Bruce," Legolas said, pointing. "Tal had posters of him everywhere." Legolas began explaining the things his father wouldn't understand, relating a story of his time there with every object.

Then Thranduil turned to another page. This was just an image of Tal laughing. Another depicted an owl. Still others were of landscapes. He went back several pages and landed on another image of Legolas and his stomach lurched at the sight before him.

"This was my first night there," Legolas said, a bit spooked Seren had so realistically captured his injuries.

"You were so badly wounded…" Thranduil had to breathe slowly, the pain the image wrought threatening to take his breath away.

The image after that was filled with shadowy shapes, seen through a vaporous circle. "Orcs," Thranduil snarled.

"She saved me. If she hadn't been there, I would have frozen in the snow or wouldn't have been able to heal. She and Tal took me down from the mountain, gave me food and cleaned my wounds… They had no idea who I was but they cared for me."

"Why was she there? What would a human be doing out in the night, in the cold?"

Legolas smiled at his father's confusion. "She was painting. It is her greatest talent."

He turned the page again and found his son's scowling face. His hair was down and he looked mightily displeased. Thranduil smirked.

"The likeness she captures is remarkable."

Legolas looked again and laughed as he took the book and studied it. "I really hadn't wanted to do that but Seren convinced me it was for the best."

"To hide your ears."

Legolas smiled and flipped toward the back of the book. An image of Nuinethir fell open to him. The runner was sitting by a fire and Legolas recognized it as the first night he returned to Middle Earth. The following image showed more of those who surrounded the fire, including Legolas. After that, a sketch of Caireann was spread over the pages. She sat on her knees next to Haavelas, head bowed. The drawing stopped where strange splotches ruined the page.

Thranduil caressed the ruined area and then pulled his hand back, hurriedly flipping past the image but the next page was blank. All of the remaining pages were untouched.

"Strange," Legolas mused. "There are none of you. She captured everyone else… except you."

He looked at his father who simply tilted his head to one side and leaned back.

"She has a true hand for this," Thranduil said.

He was no exception to the elves' fierce love of the arts and he was pleasantly surprised to learn of Seren's gift. However, he also needed to consider what practical role she could participate in. He decided he would broach the subject with her this evening.

"Do you plan to say anything for Taliesin during the Time of Recollection?"

Legolas felt his surprise steal over his features at the abrupt change in topic. He had thought about it. "I wish to. I suppose I should ask Seren how she would feel about it."

Thranduil lifted his tunic from the chair he draped it over. It was deep green silk brocade with a satin brown lining and a gold leaf pattern on the outside. He pulled it onto his shoulders and worked the tiny hooks closed down the middle.

"You were friends with him. I fail to see what objection she might have. You have also neglected to offer her your condolences."

Legolas eye him suspiciously. "You seem a bit… concerned for her, more than I would have expected."

The king continued his preparations as he spoke. "Ordinarily the circumstances of one human wouldn't trouble me, but she is unique –"

The prince frowned. "Father, if you plan to use her…"

At that, Thranduil became stern. "I do not deny that I'm intrigued by the mystery surrounding her, Legolas." He paused, meeting his son's glare with his own and waited until Legolas lowered his gaze.

"I am also aware that she returned you to me and it cost her dearly. Do not think I am ungrateful for that."

"I'm sorry father," Legolas murmured, his head down. "I will take my leave. I have my own preparations to make for the evening."

He didn't wait for a reply and strode from the king's chambers in search of Ceridwen.

Seren gazed out to the crowd that gathered for the evening from behind a canvas flap. A wide white tent had been erected for the final steps in preparing the bodies for burial and elves bustled around her, fussing over every wrinkle in the deceased's clothes and placement of the many cloths on which they lay. They were all dressed in white and Tal was arranged on strips of white-silver and pale blue silk that decorated a wooden platform. The fact that the velvet dress Seren had been given matched wasn't lost on her.

Caireann was dressed in an orange-red satin, trimmed in gold which reflected the colors Haavelas lay upon. The blood kin of the other two, Miri and Ulvir, hadn't arrived yet but Seren thought she'd know them on sight because of the colors. That was probably the point.

When she and Caireann had made their way to the assembly in the trees, the elves had taken notice of her presence – much to her surprise. She had thought only a few would know who she was. Instead, every elf they passed stopped their conversation and placed a hand over their heart, bowing his or her head.

Many gazed upon her with sorrow. Some said a few words of regret or expressed thanks for returning the prince to them. The gratitude she was offered for Taliesin's sacrifice, for saving Thranduil's life, was the hardest to accept and by the time she made her way to a place at the center of the crowded circle where four graves had been dug, she felt the reality of Tal's death that much more keenly. It hurt like a newly struck wound, so she went to the tent under the guise of checking up on Tal.

It was much harder to deny her brother's fate with so many thanking her for it. To them, it was a joyous relief their king still lived. Her suffering, great as it was, couldn't compare to the cost that would have been incurred if her brother hadn't jumped in front of a bullet.

It hardly seemed fair. She couldn't be angry at Tal for being heroic and she couldn't blame Thranduil. She tried to hate herself for convincing Tal to go after the elves but it fell short because she knew not doing so would likely have led back to the very outcome his death had averted – or worse, all of the elves that had come to Earth would have been lost.

She could only accept that her brother was gone. He was one man and she was the only one who truly suffered his loss. It was a small price indeed.

The sound of several pairs of boots striking the ground shook her out of her thoughts and Seren looked up to see sixteen of Thranduil's guard headed her way. She backed away from the tent's opening and they filled the space, taking up position around each of the wooden platforms. There were polished short poles at each corner and the guards all stooped as one to grasp them and lifted the dead from the forest floor.

Caireann looked at Seren over Haavelas's body. "It's time."

The simple statement was like a ton of bricks being slammed into her stomach, forcing the air from her lungs. A panic began to creep up her spine but she managed to nod and walked stiffly to the back of Tal's palanquin.

Then she heard Thranduil's voice.

"My kin; it is a sad day when we must say farewell to anyone and today is such a day. We will lay four of our number to rest this day."

"Four?" Seren whispered to herself, confused.

Thranduil continued. "I say four because of the human who gave his life for mine. Had he lived, he would have been invited to remain among us and so I extend that invitation to him in death."

The king paused and Seren was grateful she was still within the tent as tears collected in her eyes.

When the king continued, he sounded slightly less composed. "I did not know Taliesin but I do know that he was a warrior. He took up our cause without hesitation, saving many of our kin as he did so. In the end he was betrayed by his own kind, by a cowardly act with a cowardly weapon intended for me. Taliesin Evans will be laid to rest here in this garden, to be honored and remembered as not just a friend but a hero to the elves."

Polite applause met the end of the king's words and soon he started again, this time speaking of Miri and Ulvir. There was less personal inflection of the praise the elvenking bestowed upon them but it was impressive still.

Then he spoke of Haavelas. Seren looked to Caireann and found her staring ahead at nothing while the words echoed to them. Front and center to Thranduil's regrets about the captain's death was that he'd doubted him and taken his disobedience personally.

Caireann's mouth quivered in a tight line and sometimes she lowered her head and blinked the tears from her lashes. Seren considered going over to her to embrace her but the first group of palanquin bearers suddenly left the tent.

"Where are the blood kin of Miri and Ulvir?" Seren whispered frantically.

Caireann looked at her quizzically. "They have none. They were the last of their families and never married."

Thranduil watched as the bodies of Miri and Ulvir came first and those who knew them formed a line to speak about them. What they lacked in family, they made up for in friends as dozens came forward to extoll their virtues. When the last had left the center of the circle, it was time for Haavelas to be brought out. Caireann declined to speak and instead wept silently while others paid homage to the fallen captain. Thranduil surprised her when he came over and apologized to Haavelas personally.

"He knew his duty, my lord," Caireann said.

Thranduil's eyes hardened a little. "Yes, he did. It was I who had forgotten."

He was beyond angry with himself for letting fear of Gundabad cripple him in his search for his own son and that a mere captain of the guard had shown more courage than he. The events with Smaug and the battle that had followed the dragon's death had cost them dearly. Five years later the kingdom was still too vulnerable and his fear of having that vulnerability exploited had clouded his judgment. Haavelas had been right to go to Gundabad.

Caireann blinked and nodded in acceptance of the king's admission. He returned to his place at the head of the clearing and Tal's bearers appeared from the tent, Seren following close behind.

Thranduil felt a faint lurch in his stomach when the procession came around a bend and headed straight toward him. He almost didn't recognize her. Her hair flowed around her in spiral waves, shining in the firelight and contrasting with the pink alabaster skin revealed by the collar-bone exposing neckline of her dress. The velvet was a shade of blue the color of a robin's egg and trimmed with white-silver lace that caught the light as she walked. A girdle of satin in the same pale silver hue was draped low around her waist, accentuating a physique toned by years of running over mountaintops.

Well, under the heavy clothes, leaves and dirt smudges, she is rather fair. For human… he thought to himself objectively. When she lifted her gaze to the crowd before her as she neared, his objectivity faltered and he turned away before thoughts that were not worth his time could take hold.

The four of his guard entered the circle and set Taliesin down next to the hole meant for him and stepped out of the clearing for Seren.

Silence reigned, smothering and hot and she felt as if the entire Greenwood was looking upon her, waiting for her to begin. She forced herself to breathe and started forward into the center of the circle. She couldn't look at Tal, though she wanted to, lest her barely held composure crumble. She couldn't look at Legolas because memories of laughing with him and Tal made her want to weep. The sight of Thranduil replayed that awful moment when Tal's chest bloomed with red.

So she looked at the scores of unfamiliar faces around her, waiting expectantly. She wasn't sure what they wanted her to say. She almost chose to decline this moment but Taliesin deserved to be remembered, by her most of all. She spotted Ceridwen in the crowd, who offered her an encouraging smile.

She gulped down the hitching in her breath and inhaled, making herself go still. "I'm thankful you're all here, even though you never knew my brother. I want his sacrifice remembered not as a rare case of spontaneous selflessness but rather, simply how Taliesin was…" She paused, choking a little on her words and swallowed.

"I just never thought that what made him an amazing brother and a good person would also be what took him from me." Saying it out loud made her voice waver and she breathed until it evened out again.

She looked at Thranduil then, whose eyes shone a little too bright and she smiled. "But I'm grateful his death has meaning. He died the way he lived: being the noblest fool I know." A few faint smiles met that statement.

"Taliesin has always been a hero to me. He never thought about the cost of his actions. He only thought of what he needed to do to make a real difference. He once said that meeting someone who was suffering in any way broke his heart." She smiled then, a memory worth sharing coming to her.

"One Christmas, he took the name tags off of his presents and gave them to another kid who had been stranded in our town when his father was injured and in the hospital. He would sneak food from our kitchen to a kid whose parents were too poor to buy much. The reason we started a garden was to help this family, but Taliesin was the one who thought of it. When our parents died, he gave up his personal ambitions and moved back home because he and I were the only family we had. I don't know how I would have made it through those times without him." Now he's the one who's gone. How will I get through this?

New tears welled in her eyes and she lowered her head for a moment to breathe. She inhaled; face hot and swallowing thickly as she continued.

"As a child I was sick for a long time and he was always there. He never wanted me to be alone and he never complained that I couldn't run and play or tumble and climb trees like he wanted to. He never said a word about me being too weak to do things for myself and having to do them for me. When I couldn't be at his martial skills tournament, he refused to go and said 'There's always next year. Seren might not have a next year and I don't want to miss a day.'"

Seren's voice had begun to crack and her lips trembled but she had stopped caring as she recounted the ways she remembered Tal best. "Every holiday and birthday, his wish – to Santa, to the Easter Bunny and to whatever fates that listened – was for me to be well again. He swore that if I got better, he would be the best brother to ever live. And he was..."

She had to stop. She couldn't breathe right and no amount of wiping at her eyes would dry them. She stared at the ground where Tal's body swam in her vision. "He was…"

She knelt in the dirt, heedless of the beautiful dress and kissed his brow. "You were the best brother, Taliesin; the very best."

She sat back on her bare feet and allowed a few sobs to escape and no one tried to fill the silence. A moment later she rose again and surveyed the sea of faces, some of whom discreetly wiped their own eyes. She felt there was more she should say but every sentence she thought of made it hard to breathe and tears would well in her gaze again.

Finally she settled on a simple "Thank you." And backed away, turning to face the trees. Her shoulders shook slightly while she cried softly.

Thranduil moved between her and the crowd to shield her from view and nodded to Legolas who assumed Seren's place.

For a long moment, he stood there and searched for what he could say. He began by smiling. It was a wide and joyful grin and everyone seemed unable to refuse returning it. Even Thranduil's features widened as he watched his son.

"I didn't know Taliesin for very long and yet, it feels as if I've lost a brother."

When she heard Legolas's words, Seren wiped her face dry once more and returned to the edge of the clearing, not far from Thranduil. She was aware of his gaze in a remote way but didn't acknowledge him. There were many such gazes upon her and the pity would be more than she could take.

Legolas saw her and smiled before continuing. "I know he would have belonged among us had he lived. He was easy to like and impossible not to admire. Many speak of always looking to better themselves but Tal lived it. He helped Seren take me in and was always ready to assist, regardless of how hard the task was."

Legolas glanced at Seren, wondering what she would think of his next words. "He was a loyal big brother and I often felt that kinship included me, a stranger with strange clothes and strange ears and a strange tale about where I'd come from."

At that, Seren smiled despite herself.

"I saw for myself the type of man Taliesin was many times during my days with him but never so much as when he saved my father. He acted to save a life without questioning it. His belief in what was right was an innate part of him and he was generous beyond measure. He was a treasured friend and I know I am richer for having known him at all. The regrets I have about his passing are too numerous to name and I would be honored to share his memory at any opportunity. Taliesin deserves to be remembered."

Seren blinked. Legolas invited people to discuss his grief? Who did that?

He walked over to one of the elves standing on the perimeter of the circle and took up one of two blades. It was white and silver like his old knives, one half of a matched set Seren realized when she looked back to its mate still held by the other elf. Then Legolas went to another who stood holding a folded bundle and flipped back the soft suede. He raised another blade and Seren immediately recognized the eagle's head pommel.

"This was a gift Taliesin gave me when my own weapons were lost to me." He held the golden blonde dagger high for a moment for all to see. "He said to me, that a warrior without a weapon was no warrior at all."

Seren swallowed and the tears she thought she'd finally beaten back began to roll silently down her cheeks again as Legolas knelt by Taliesin and placed the mismatched blades on either side of him. "May you pass through the halls of Mandos and find your eternal rest, my friend."

Legolas stood and when he looked at her, she smiled approvingly and he seemed to visibly relax. A slow tune played by harp and flute began to drift through the air and the hundreds of elves gathered into a long line that spiraled around a mound of loose earth standing amidst the trees in the rear of the clearing. Three other such mounds were also hidden around the clearing just inside the tree line.

The four royal guards assigned to Miri gathered the bright strips of cloth she lay on and lifted her from the wooden platform and lowered her into the ground. Ulvir's guards went next, followed by Haavelas and finally Taliesin. They were slow and methodical, sliding the satin between their hands and keeping their burden level until it rested on the floor at last.

The tune of the music changed and the line of elves moved. As they passed the first mound of earth, they scooped their cupped hands into it and wended their way through the trees to Miri's grave. The procession flowed gracefully around it and each elf dropped their cargo over the body and offered "Farewell Miri," before continuing back into the woods toward the next pile.

They did the same to Ulvir's grave as well but when they arrived at Haavelas's grave, they paused and looked to Caireann. She nodded and it was only then they repeated their well-wishing, leaving their handful of soil over the dead elf. As others followed, a nod was all Caireann could manage as she wept over Haavelas.

The line progressed to the mound of earth that belonged to Taliesin and Seren turned her head watching them. Ceridwen slipped up next to her, startling her.

"What are they doing?" Seren asked her, a little panicked as the first of the elves rounded back toward Tal's grave.

The healer smiled. "They will leave the soil over your brother regardless, but since they did not know him, if they wish to acknowledge him directly, they must ask for your approval."

The first of the elves stopped on the opposite of Tal's resting place, an expectant look on his face. Seren nodded, feeling somewhat numb. The man offered "Farewell Taliesin" and moved on.

Everyone that followed looked to her and waited for her to nod. Some offered thanks or simply said goodbye. These people, who had no affiliation to Taliesin, mourned that his life had ended. A handful of dirt didn't seem like much but hundreds of handfuls, every one of them given with an acknowledgement, soon filled the gap in the earth where Tal rested.

Seren felt keenly the desire to run and hide away as her emotions refused to remain checked. She breathed and wiped at her face and straightened her back.

Next to her, Thranduil spoke low and for her ears alone. "You are not expected to maintain your composure and no one will think less of you for mourning your brother."

She glared up at him. Maintaining composure was the last thing she'd call the past hour. Every moment, she was on the verge of coming undone and sometimes she slipped over that edge. 'Maintaining composure'? Ha! She turned to walk behind him but an arm shot out in front of her ribcage, barring her exit. It may as well have been made of steel.

"You must stop fighting your grief."

Seren's jaw clenched. The urge to crumple into the shoulder before her nearly overwhelmed her. The one thing she was missing was the kind of comfort only a close friend or family could offer. The one person who could have comforted her was the reason she needed it so badly but she was not about to water the king's collar.

Slowly she gripped his sleeve around the forearm and bicep and he stared at her quizzically.

"There is something I must do." She pressed her body weight into it and pushed, forcing him to step away.

Legolas gawked at her back, expecting his father's ire and more surprised when it didn't come and he instead, simply watched her go.

There was still some dirt where the mounds had been and Seren went first to Miri's and offered a farewell. She did the same for Ulvir but when she reached Haavelas, she waited in front of Caireann. The other woman blinked in surprise and slowly nodded. Seren knelt to the little hill of earth and patted her soil into it.

"I'm so sorry Haavelas. If only we had freed you sooner…" Tears welled in her eyes again and she patted the ground blindly. "But you did it; Legolas is home now. Rest well, my friend."

She stood, pretending not to notice she was being watched by the entirety of the elven kingdom, and continued to the remnants of Taliesin's mound and carried it to his grave.

Everyone watched as she knelt again and patted the dirt in her hands to the gentle slope covering Tal.

"You were the very best brother, Taliesin; the best brother that ever lived." Finally, sobs that she knew she'd never be able to stop began to rattle her. "And I'm here without you… it's not fair! You weren't ever supposed to leave me! But I know you'd be the first to tell me it couldn't have been any other way. A-a-n-nd I would hate that you'd be right, you big dumb hero! But you were never just my hero, were you? If those fates are listening, I hope they treat you like royalty. You more than fulfilled your promise… and I won't forget mine: to laugh, to love, to live… every chance I have."

Her head lowered as she cried steadily and she didn't immediately notice the shadows that fell over her. When Ceridwen knelt and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, she looked up and saw Caireann, Legolas and Thranduil all standing over the grave, their hands cupped around soil. She rose to her feet, her features slack in shock and she nodded slowly; first for Caireann who thanked Tal. Tears began again in her eyes when she told Haavelas to help him find his way home and Seren couldn't help joining her.

When Legolas paused, she nodded blindly and listened to him bid his friend farewell. Then it was Thranduil's turn, waiting for her to allow him to address Taliesin. She stared across the distance at him and the nod, when she finally gave it, was the heaviest of all.

Thranduil inhaled sharply and looked down. "I owe you the greatest of debts, Taliesin and my gratitude is immeasurable. Go swiftly on fair winds and may you take no burdens with you." He lowered his hands, tipping the soil from them to fall gently to the ground.

Seren breathed deep, still not beyond the urge to sob grossly and steadied herself. "You needn't worry about me anymore. Tal." She patted the dirt down on his grave. "Home is where you are, remember? So I am home."

Warmth suddenly spread through her hands and rose through her arms and Seren gasped. A feeling of fullness spread through the air and a warm breeze stirred, picking up speed until it swirled all around them. It blew through the trees, bringing a sweeter air than anyone could remember in a very long time. Leaf-litter was lifted and blown away. The deepest shadows appeared to shrink back and the moon above seemed to glow more brightly.

An awareness of the earth underneath her flooded Seren's mind and she felt it settled against her consciousness. Home…

As quickly as it started, it faded but the tug on Seren's mind remained and the landscape around her seemed suffused with color she hadn't noticed before. She gazed up as the breeze continued to carry away bits of grass, leaves and petals and felt a very real sense that it was Tal leaving.

"Goodbye Taliesin…"

Among the softly glowing trees of Lothlorien, Galadriel stopped mid-step and stared into forever. She wasn't often overcome with a vision, instead seeing most everything that was possible to see in her mirror. Those around her watched, curious as to what could have made their lady pause as she did. Not a single movement could be seen in her, save the slight rise of her breath but in her eyes a great sight began to gleam.

"Guardian of the Trees… defender of the white maiden… forsaken to the rage of kin…"

She gasped and disbelief settled on her features.

"My Lady?"

Celeborn came to her then and took her hands in his, concern etching his golden brow. Her eyes were unfathomable depths of blue as she gazed upon him. Of all the amazing sights she had seen in her years, this new vision she found impossible to believe. She dared not speak of it, not until her own eyes beheld the truth.

"I must go to the Greenwood."