Elrond had gathered everyone back inside the palace. The ground was covered in a foot of black snow, making any travel out of the kingdom impossible. "This is not good Lord Elrond. How long do you think this Black Snow will last?" Lord Celeborn asked.
"I do not know. I have never seen anything like this." Lord Elrond replied.
"My Lord Elrond" Lindir hurried over, "The Prince's horse has just returned. The Prince was nowhere to be found."
Elrond shared a worried look with Celeborn. "We must search for him. He could be in danger." He walked quickly to where everyone else congregated.
"Prince Legolas is missing." He announced. "His horse has returned without him. We need volunteers to go and search for him."
"I will go." Tauriel stood, "As the Captain of the Guard, it is my duty to protect our Prince."
"I send three of my men to help." Thorin said after Bilbo discretely elbowed him. He motioned for Dwalin, Kili, and Fili to stand.
Lord Elrond nodded, "I wish you luck on your journey, may your way stay clear."
The group nodded and left to prepare.
Dain walked to the front gate with small note. Once outside, he whistled and a raven gracefully landed on his outstretched hand. "You know where to take this." Dain whispered as he attached the note to the bird's leg. He quickly sent it off and returned inside before anyone noticed him.
(Spring)(Summer)(Fall)(Winter)
In the land of Mordor, a raven landed next to a large, pale orc. The Orc was covered in many scars, scratches that divided his face and body. He snatched the note and read it. He turned to his soldiers and smirked, "It seems we have an Elf to catch."
(Spring)(Summer)(Fall)(Winter)
It was morning and the sun had just risen. Thranduil slowly opened his eyes to find two young blue eyes staring at him curiously. When the young girl saw that he was awake, she smiled brightly. "Hi Mr. Thran!"
"Hello?" Thranduil slowly sat up and looked around. They had made him a small cot in their front room; nowhere near as comfortable as his own bed, but not the worst he has slept on. Bard had also given him some clothing, itchier than he was used to, but manageable.
"My name is Tilda, remember?" The small girl asked.
"I do." He smiled. It had been many years since he was around a child, he missed the beautiful innocence that came with them.
"You have really pretty hair Mr. Thran." Tilda smiled shyly.
"As do you Lady Tilda. The color of rich earth."
She blushed happily, "Can I braid your hair?"
Thranduil smiled, "Only if I am allowed to do the same."
She squealed and pulled him over to a small bench where he sat down while she sat behind him on the table. Tilda was very careful when braiding Thranduil's hair; she made sure not to pull it and to make it as neat as she could. When she was done, it was a simple braid but Thranduil loved it all the same.
Bard entered the room and froze at the picture he saw. Tilda was sitting on the bench with Thranduil behind her, the Elf was pulling her hair into an intricate plait. "Good morning" Bard greeted.
"Da look! Isn't my hair pretty?" Tilda bounced.
"It's very pretty my darling." He smiled and hugged her tightly. "A beautiful braid for a beautiful girl." He kissed her making her giggle. He turned to Thranduil, "You are very talented."
"It is something my people take pride in." Thranduil replied.
Bard nodded and went into the kitchen to start breakfast. "You will be helping Sigrid around the house. You can't go outside, I'm afraid your ears will gain some attention." Bard chuckled.
Thranduil nodded.
By the time Bard was finished making breakfast, Sigrid and Bain had come out and sat around the table. Thranduil was surprised when he saw the lack of food on the table. There only seemed to be bread and fish. He knew that Lake-town wasn't as well off as his own kingdom, but this seemed a little extreme.
"Do the Elves not pay you enough for trade?" Thranduil asked.
Bard grimaced, "I'm sure they do. However, the Master keeps most of it for himself. He's a greedy man who loves gold and will not share it with his hungry citizens."
"The Elves don't exactly help either." Bain muttered.
"Bain!" Bard scolded.
"What? It's true. They could have helped us, but we haven't seen them." Bain said.
"Thran, we mean no offense" Bard quickly said when he saw the Elf's guilty look.
"It is no offense. I guess I never realized the impact we had on the outside world when we decided to close our borders."
"We should be able to handle our own problems. It shouldn't be the responsibility of the Elves to solve our problems." Sigrid said.
"I like you Thran." Tilda hugged him tightly, sticking her tongue out at Bain.
"I like you too Lady Tilda." Thranduil wrapped his arms around the girl and smiled.
(Spring)(Summer)(Fall)(Winter)
There was too much snow to take horses, so the group of three Dwarves and an Elf made their way through the forest on foot. "Bloody Elf, had to curse us. We have to travel on foot to find him and his sorry son." Dwalin complained.
Tauriel quickly turned to the Dwarf and hissed, "You should keep your mouth shut Dwarf. Your kind's large mouths are what got us in this mess in the first place."
Before Dwalin could retort with something vulgar, Kili pushed between them. "I think we should get out of this forest before dark. Aren't there creatures in here that are dangerous?"
A tense moment passed between everyone before Tauriel finally turned her attention to Kili. "Spiders, we should keep moving." Without another word, she continued her brisk pace.
Kili and Fili shared a look before the two brothers split, Kili going ahead with Tauriel while Fili stayed a few paces back with Dwalin.
"I-I'm sorry about all of this." Kili said once he caught up with Tauriel. She barely acknowledged him, but he continued anyway, "Dain had no right speaking of your Queen like that. I'm sure she was a wonderful Elf."
Tauriel slowed down and turned to Kili with misty eyes, "She was. And so is our King."
Kili smiled and Tauriel returned it.
A moment passed and Tauriel shook herself, turning back to the road and walking away.
(Spring)(Summer)(Fall)(Winter)
While Bard and Bain were at work, Thranduil helped the girls clean the house. Thranduil had little to no experience doing house work, much to the bemusement of Sigrid and Tilda.
"What do Elves do with their days?" Sigrid asked, watching Thranduil struggle beating dusty blankets.
"Nothing like this I assure you. We train, we learn. It's true that there are servants who must do things like this, but I was not a servant." Thranduil grunted as he shook out the large blanket outside. He wore his hair in a way that covered his ears as to not draw any attention.
"Well, I hope you don't find all of this demeaning." Sigrid said.
Thranduil chuckled lightly, "I assure you Lady Sigrid. I do not mind getting my hands dirty. When I was younger, I loved exploring the forest. I felt so at home there."
"What happened?"
Thranduil sighed, "My parents didn't like it. They thought I had more important things to be spending my time doing. As I grew older, I stopped going outside. I lost my connection with the forest and now it's almost silent."
"I'm sure it's still there." Sigrid assured, "It's probably just deep inside you, waiting for you to find it again."
Thranduil smiled at the young woman, "So wise, for one so young."
Sigrid blushed, "Da says I get it from Mother."
"And where is your mother? I don't think I've met her." Thranduil asked.
"She died while giving birth to Tilda." Sigrid replied softly.
Thranduil stopped what he was doing and turned to her. "My condolences. I lost my wife a long time ago to battle."
"What was she like?"
"Beautiful and full of life. She was a skilled fighter, but a gentle soul." Thranduil smiled.
"She sounds like a lovely person. Did she love nature as much as you?"
"She did not. At least no more than any other Elf."
Sigrid nodded and they both returned to work.