Thank you so much for your great response to the last chapter! This is the last one, and I hope you like it.
3. Remember what I told you – this could set our hearts on fire
Tauriel rolled herself onto her side, laying her left hand onto Kíli's chest, and took in the features of his face. He had been through so much already. Only the stubble on his cheeks and chin reminded her that he was actually still a youth. Of course it was still more of a beard than any of her elven friends had, and she couldn't help being fascinated. Absent-mindedly she ran a finger over his jaw and grinned when his lips curled to a soft smile.
"Aren't dwarves supposed to have longer beards?" she teased him. She shrieked quietly when Kíli poked her in the ribs and looked at her with an offended expression on his face.
"Must you hurt my feelings like that?" he sighed, putting his hand to his heart in an overly dramatic gesture, which didn't help to stifle Tauriel's laughter. Kíli quickly became serious again. "It doesn't look very dwarvish, aye. But my attempts at growing a decent beard never ended well for me, it looks rather ridiculous, something my dear brother never forgets to remind me of." He grinned a little sourly, but Tauriel knew that if there was any person in the world he'd forgive mocking words, it would be Fíli. "And since a beard often gets in the way when pulling the bowstring, I decided I'd just leave it short. At least now every lass can swoon over my dashingly handsome face," he added with a cheeky grin which intensified when Tauriel punched him not too gently.
"Every lass? You're quite full of yourself, aren't you? Do you see me swooning?"
"You're not like the others," Kíli said, with unhidden admiration in his voice. There was something else which Tauriel couldn't quite determine.
Instead of commenting on it, she leaned over. Her lips found his, and without thinking she pulled him closer, allowing him to rest on top of her with her hips between his knees. His hair hung low and tickled her face. It made her shudder. Kíli retreated immediately, eyeing her questioningly, but she just smiled and pushed a strand of his hair behind his ear. The young dwarf bent his head and kissed her tenderly on the neck, just below her ear lobe, and his fingers entwined with hers as his lips continued their course down to her collarbone. Tauriel gasped quietly and closed her eyes. She could feel the heat building up in her body, and it was a feeling that was strange and yet seemed right. She had been with male elves before, but this was different.
Maybe it was the thrill of him being a dwarf, of doing something forbidden, and of the battle that was upon them. But most of all it was the intimate connection between them which she had first felt when his fingers had grazed hers ever so lightly when she'd returned his rune stone.
She cupped Kíli's face in her hands, and as their gazes locked Tauriel knew that he understood what she couldn't say. Above them the stars were twinkling, the air was clear and frosty, but none of that mattered to the two people on the ground. Dwarves and elves didn't feel the cold like humans did, and Tauriel thought that the warmth surrounding them was more than enough to make her feel comfortable anyway. She was breathing heavily now, again feeling for the metal claps with shaking fingers. This time Kíli didn't speak.
Her hands found their way underneath his shirt. His skin was radiating heat like a furnace, and through her fingertips it was transmitted onto her, causing the fire within to spark up. Kíli grabbed her wrist with his left hand and leaned down to kiss her again, and she kissed him back hungrily, moaning under her breath as his other hand came to rest on the neckline of her uniform. He undid the leather strings with ease, then stilled his hand and gazed deeply at her. Love and longing were both mirrored in his irises as he watched her with slightly parted lips.
"Mahal, you're perfect," he breathed.
His voice was raw and low, and it made Tauriel's heart beat faster to hear him speak to her as if she was the only one in the world to him. He kissed her again, more fiercely than before, and Tauriel moaned softly when he bit her lower lip accidentally. She could see Kíli smiling before he lowered his head and began to move down, his lips leaving a moist trail down her breastbone. It was cold where his lips had been and her skin was exposed to the cool winter air, but within seconds it was replaced by fiery heat as he gently kissed her breasts. The fire inside her was burning hotter than any forge, all her insides screaming for his touch. It was like nothing Tauriel had ever experienced, but it felt so right, and when Kíli pressed himself closer against her she knew that he felt just like her.
She moved her hands underneath his shirt, sensing his muscles moving beneath her fingers as he gave in to her pulling him closer. She raised her head a little and brought her lips up to his ear.
"We can't escape that war. And if we die tomorrow, we die. But first we'll live."
"But first we'll live," Kíli repeated softly.
She could feel the cool breeze on her skin for a moment, before the warmth of Kíli's body against hers took her breath away. She saw love and trust in his dark eyes as he moved closer, and she welcomed him inside of her as he found the source of the heat that made her heart explode. They moved together, and nothing mattered, not the quarrels of their people, not the cold or the moon or the stars. She could taste the thin sheen of sweat on his skin when she kissed the side of his neck, and she bit her lip in delight when he responded with a low, guttural sound as she ran a hand down his back. It was passionate and somehow primeval, but at the same time intimate and tender. Pure bliss it was, and Tauriel gave herself over to the rhythm of their two bodies entwined beneath the starlit sky, surrendering to the nothingness as the world around her fell away.
We should go to sleep now, you should stay the night
I'll be up to watch the world around us live and die
Somewhere the sun was already rising, but in the forest the light was still dim. The trees were mere silhouettes wrapped in grey, and the stars above were still blinking palely, as if they weren't ready yet to surrender to dawn.
Tauriel was curled against Kíli, both of them wrapped in his large coat, and he was stroking her arm with a smile on his face. His eyes were closed, his features relaxed, making Tauriel think that it was probably the closest he had gotten to rest in weeks. She, too, felt a bit of the weight that had dragged her down finally leaving her. It seemed as if the world itself had slowed down around them.
"Is it a dream?" Kíli suddenly wondered, opening his eyes and gazing upwards to the stars. "Part of me thinks it's a dream."
"Then we have the same dream," said Tauriel, smiling almost shyly at the young dwarf. "I only hope that I'll remember it when I wake up."
"I will always remember it," Kíli mumbled. "Everything. I will keep the memories in me. That's what dreams should always be, right?"
He spoke softly, but Tauriel felt cold all of a sudden. The reality of their bond came back with full force. There would never be another night like this. Even if they both survived the war that was about to come, there was no way for them to be together. They had known it all the time, but they had desperately denied it in their dream. For that was what it would always be. A dream.
A ray of light tickled her nose. The winter sun fought its way through the trees, relentlessly announcing the break of dawn. A horn sounded in the distance, and Tauriel shivered. Kíli had heard it, too, and eyed her questioningly.
"That was an elven horn," he stated.
"Yes."
They knew what it meant. Silently they got to their feet, slowly rearranging their clothes and gathering their weapons. They were stalling, Tauriel understood, trying in vain to prevent the inevitable.
They had said goodbye before. But this was different.
Kíli stood before her, a turmoil of emotions playing on his face, and Tauriel felt like she couldn't breathe. Simultaneously they stepped forwards, and then Kíli's arms were around her, pulling her close once again just like he had done beneath the stars.
She could feel her eyes prickling, and the wetness against her cheek that told her that she needn't be ashamed of these tears. This was a last goodbye, she understood with shocking clarity. One last time.
"Remember me," she whispered hoarsely, and Kíli nodded against the crook of her neck.
"How could I ever forget you? You saved me. You saved me so many times. I just wish I could stay and keep this dream in me."
Her throat was dry as her mouth crushed against his, kissing him with the despair of those who knew that their story was coming to an end. He kissed her back, one hand around her waist, the other on her neck, and so they stood, their arms wrapped around each other, holding on to each other until the horn sounded a second time in the distance.
None of them spoke. There were no more words to say, no more promises to make.
With trembling shoulders Tauriel turned around, blinking against the sun and listening to the light footsteps going quieter behind her, while her own feet mechanically found their way back to the tents. The road hadn't seemed so long when she had first walked it. When she reached the tents of the elves and men she hoped to go unnoticed by everyone and mingle in the crowd unseen. There were whispers around her, hushed voices and quiet conversations. She tried to shut them out, but then a word reached her ears. A shiver ran down her spine when she understood the meaning of the whispers.
The Arkenstone.
Suddenly a hand grabbed her shoulder. She cried out as she was brutally pulled around, then froze as she stared right into the cold eyes of her king.
"How dare you betray my trust like that?" he hissed, digging his fingers into her shoulder. "How dare you betray your kin? This is treason, Tauriel."
"What are you –"
"Shut up! Don't take me for a fool, for I am none. You betrayed me, Tauriel, for a dwarf!"
He roared the last word, and Tauriel fell against the cold ground when Thranduil pushed her away. She gasped, and from the corner of her eyes she saw Legolas, horror washing over his handsome face. Thranduil was looming above her, fury and hate mirrored in his piercing blue eyes. When he spoke his voice was like ice.
"There will be consequences. I would have you imprisoned immediately if you weren't the best warrior of my guard. But know this: when we meet the dwarves in battle, and I see you hesitate for just one blink of an eye..."
He left the warning unspoken, but it was enough to make Tauriel feel sick.
"Maybe it won't come to this, father," Legolas spoke suddenly. He glanced shortly at Tauriel, but then set his eyes on the king. "Maybe we can stop this madness after all."
"The Arkenstone, yes," Thranduil said slowly. "It was good fortune that brought the jewel into our hands. Thorin Oakenshield will be raging, I'm sure. Now all that matters is how much the stone is worth to him. I for myself know that I wouldn't want to be stuck inside that mountain with him once he finds out he has been betrayed."
The king and prince seemed to have forgotten about Tauriel. She was still on the ground, hurting limbs reminding her of what had just happened, but the pain was nothing compared to the fear that took hold of her heart. Kíli's words echoed in her ears, about Thorin's madness, about him hurting his kin, and the sheer thought of how he would react should he find out about his nephew's absence during the night made her choke.
What have we done?, she asked herself desperately, trying in vain to not cry in front of the elves around her. By the Valar, what have we done?
Now that we are close to death and close to finding truth
We might fall
We might fall
We might fall
A/N 1: Kíli's speech about that night being a dream was inspired by another wonderful song by Ryan Star, "Losing your memory". Remember the days, this is what dreams should always be. I just want to stay, I just want to keep this dream in me.
A/N 2: Any GoT fans here? Tauriel's "If we die, we die. But first we'll live." is a quote from George Martin's "A Storm of Swords". "You're mine," she whispered. "Mine, as I'm yours. And if we die, we die. All men must die, Jon Snow. But first, we'll live." (Ygritte to Jon)
A/N 3: The title is a line from a song by - tadaaa- Bryan Adams, "Before the night is over".
A/N 4: So this was my version of the events that lead to Tauriel being pushed to the ground by Thranduil as seen in the trailer. What do you think?