Legolas took a deep breath as he broke into a clearing. Here, out of the thicket of trees, the air seemed to flow into your lungs like water. This was also the best place to witness the ending of the day.
"Miluiel! Quickly, you're missing it!"
His little girl sighed. "Ada it is the sunset. Not a lightning strike."
Legolas grinned. That's my girl. Here's me being the childishly excited one while she, the actual child is the logical reasoned one. He felt a presence beside him and looked down to see her, staring at the horizon. Legolas smiled again. Here was the childish wonder, marvelling at the oranges, yellow and reds, bleeding into the sky, alive like fire. He put an arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him. Neither of them breathed a word, simply standing together to bear witness to the day's ending. As the last ray of sun faded into the horizon Legolas sighed in contentment.
"Did you enjoy it tithen min?"
When he received no reply he looked down at Miluiel. She was simply wonderstruck. Legolas was reminded of his first sunset and the wonder he felt about watching the sun slip free of the world. He nudged her gently and she roused back to reality. "C'mon darling. As we walk back you can look at the stars."
together they took off back down the track form which they had come. Miluiel tried to look up into the sky but simply couldn't make them out.
"Ada, I can't see them!"
She looked so crestfallen. "Ada to the rescue I suppose" Legolas told her. He lifted her up onto his shoulders. She giggled in surprise and delight, clinging to the top of his head. They stopped often as they walked along, so Legolas could point out certain constellations and tell her stories. Never before had he had such an eager audience. She leaned against his head, listening raptly as he wove tales of the heavens to delight her.
"The stars are the children of Elbereth"
"The star queen" She breathed reverently.
Legolas smiled. "Indeed tithen min. The night sky is her province. She created the stars, first when Arda was created and then more when she collected the light of Teleperion, to make the brightest ones. They say she knows each of them by name and checks every night to see that none are missing."
"Tell me their names Ada"
"Well, that constellation there, the one in the shape of a sickle, is called Valacirca. And that there is Carnil or Mars in the tongue of men."
"And that one?" she pointed to a particularly bright one.
"Aaah. That one is Venus in the tongue of man. But that one, it is said, is not a star but a Silmaril, a large precious jewel. Like you little one."
She giggled. "I love the stars"
"All elves love the stars. We woke first under them and they were the first things our ancestors ever beheld. Oromë even called us "the people of the stars". That is what the name Eldar means."
He told her of the star of Earendil, the stars of Feanor, of Gondor and of Nimrodel. Soon she was leaning heavily on him, the gentle rhythm of her father's strides and the lilt of his voice lulling her to sleep. He looked up at his daughter and smiled. He pulled her off his shoulders, cradling her in the crook of his arms. She would sleep well tonight, under the watch of those hallowed lights. And so would he.