I slept little that night, and what little sleep I had was filled with dreams of fire. There was something… someone else, a bright face that I knew I had seen before, but couldn't ever remember.

When I finally woke up, my dreams were forgotten. A smile spread across my face. Today we left for Erebor. It was not yet dawn, and the sky was still dark. Lit lanterns brightened my room.

I leapt out of bed and stripped off my gown, which I had accidentally fallen asleep in. I changed quickly into a bright green dress and slipped on a pair of riding boots. I grabbed my bow off my dresser and threw open the door, running headlong into Legolas.

He had been waiting for me. He turned me around and walked me back into my room, closing the door behind us.

I turned around and faced him, shrugging his hand off my shoulder. "What do you think you are doing?" he asked, raising his eyebrow. His voice was laced in amusement, but I could not see what was funny.

I frowned. "I am going to Erebor," I retorted.

"You realize that you are going on a journey to visit a neighboring king, not fight a war?" he asked, now clearly entertained.

"Aye," I replied, eyeing him warily.

He gestured to my attire, and I frowned again. "As a princess, you should not travel with your bow—" he raised his voice as I opened my mouth to protest. "When going on a peaceful mission to visit another kingdom. There are guards for that, Sister."

I crossed my arms, aware that I was making a fool of myself but not really caring at this point. Anger towards my brother still simmered in my heart. "So?"

He strode to the door and opened it, allowing Tauriel to come into the room. I looked up in surprise. "Since she was such a help to you yesterday evening," he said, faint traces of sarcasm and amusement twisted in his voice, "I asked her to help you get ready for the journey. We depart at dawn." He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but closed it and left the room, closing the door sharply behind him.

The she-elf smiled apologetically at me before passing me a silver gown, which I placed on my bed. I had to admit, it was much more befitting than the green one, which—although it matched my eyes—was not something for royalty to wear amongst other royals. Tauriel helped me remove my quiver, and once I was dressed in the new gown, she helped fix my hair the way a princess was supposed too.

"What is the real reason Legolas asked you to help me?" I asked tirely. I was not dumb, despite what the older elves, such as my father, thought. Just because they are centuries older than I does not mean that I am not clever. I knew that my brother would not ask the captain of the guard to fix my hair unless he needed to get a message to me, or unless she herself had insisted on speaking to me.

"He didn't," she responded after a moment, twisting several strands of hair together into a small, intricate braid. "I asked to help you, although I admit, it was partially on his behalf."

I looked up at her reflection in the mirror, confused. "Why?"

"Your brother worries for you, princess," she sighed, twisting the braid around the base of my tiara. Her eyes were filled with pain unspeakable, and a lump filled my throat. "I wish you could see how much Legolas cares for you. Despite his harsh words with you, he does love you."

I looked down at my folded hands. I suddenly felt that if I didn't speak my mind, I would burst. "It is just… Legolas always tells me what to do, and he treats me like a child, and he tells Father on me!"

She paused in her braiding and looked at our reflection sadly. "That is what brothers do, Princess. They are over-protective, jealous, and sometimes they do tell you what to do. Often they will go to their parents if their siblings do not listen to them first. But all brothers have a place in their hearts for their little sisters, and Legolas is no exception. His heart is pure, my lady. He worries," she added after a long pause. She concentrated on braiding for a few moments as I pondered her words.

"Why?" I asked. I knew that often I was the problem, and I knew that my pride often got in the way, but I never thought that Legolas might be trying to protect me by going to our father.

"Princess, despite the fact that you are by no means an infant, you are, by both our own and by mortal standards, a child. I have walked this earth for fifty and four hundred years, and you have lived barely sixteen. Legolas is centuries older even than I, and is one of the wiser beings in our realm. You are too harsh on him; he only has your best interests at heart. So when you go off into the forest alone, he fears for you. He knows that you will not be a child forever, and he wants to make it so…"

"He wants me to remain a child?" I asked, more confused than before.

She looked pained, and refused to meet my eyes. "No. He wants you to make it out of childhood alive. If you continue acting rashly, chances are that you will not make it to your coming of age ceremony. He wishes only to protect you. When I was younger," she began taking a shuddering breath, "I was very much like you. My parents went missing when I was very young, and my brother spent much of his young adulthood caring for me." She paused. I watched her reflection, waiting for her to go on. Her hands were still, and several unfinished braids hung about my face. "I hated that he would watch me so closely, so one day I ran away. I was young, only a bit older than you are now, and I did not understand that all actions have consequences either. I became lost, and strayed into a strange part of the forest. I was ambushed by a group of orcs, and I would have died on the spot had my brother not been right behind me, tracking me. He heard my scream and came running, with no thought of the danger. He fought bravely," she whispered, bowing her head in shame and grief, "but he did not survive. I was hit by an orc dagger—" she lifted her shirt so that I could see the faint scar on her left hip, letting it drop as she continued her story, "And I would have died had the King and Queen not heard the sound of battle and rushed to see what was happening. They found me and took both my brother's body and I to the palace." She took a deep, shuddering breath and looked up at me with hazel eyes that sparkled with unshed tears. "I never have forgiven myself, princess. I pray that you would learn from my mistakes and not make the same ones I did."

I remained silent, processing this new information as the she-elf finished fixing my hair. I didn't know how to respond. I thought back to the night before, when Legolas had tried to comfort me, and I had run away. I remembered how when he tried to take me home, I ignored him. My father's anger was not my brother's fault. It was mine. "I'm very sorry, Tauriel," I whispered, reaching back and taking her hand. "It is just that… ever since my mother passed," I said quietly, "Legolas and I… we haven't—"

"Aeyera, are you ready?" Legolas called, knocking on my door. "We are preparing to depart."

Tauriel and I stood and faced each other, and I stood still as she straightened the tiara that had been braided into my hair. Her hand brushed my cheek, and I wondered if this was what it was like to have an older sister. "Remember what I have said," she whispered. She crossed to the door and opened it, coming face to face with my brother. She stepped out, nodded her head once to Legolas, and moved swiftly away.

I turned to him and ran towards him. "Aeyera, are you—" I cut him off with a hug, wrapping my arms around his waist, which was as high as I could reach. He stiffened in surprise.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," I mumbled, my words muffled in his chest. He bent down, and I released him, and then wrapped my arms around his neck as he pulled me close to him.

"It is alright," he said, his breathing tickling my ear. "I simply wish for you to be safe. I am sorry that I tell you what to do so often. Your actions worry me, and I do not want something tragic to happen to you."

I felt a wave of sorrow at the implication of his words. I want to keep you safe, since I couldn't save our mother. I couldn't bear to lose you too.

"I am sorry for yesterday as well," I told him. "I should not have run off, and I will not do so again."

He laughed softly. "I would not blame you if you did. I am sorry for last night as well. I should have protected you from Father better. I will promise you this, though." He pulled back and brushed away a stray hair from my face. "I will always, always protect you. Deal?"

I smiled at him, my heart swelling. "Deal."