The Hobbit: Lessrien Ancalimë

Chapter Seven

Kili

Lessrien is asleep with her head in my lap, curled up as small as she can. I have an arm over her and the rune stone my mother gave me in the other hand. I toss it up and catch it as Tauriel passes by the cell.

"That stone in your hand, what is it?" She asks, keeping her voice low.

"It is a talisman. A powerful spell lies upon it. If any but a dwarf reads the runes on this stone, they will be forever cursed." I hold the stone out towards her and she takes a step back then begins to walk away. "Or not, depending on whether or not you believe that kind of thing. It's just a token." I explain, slightly amused. Lessrien groans and moves but she does not wake. I run my fingers through her curls and she relaxes. "A runestone. My mother gave it to me so I'd remember my promise."

"What promise?" Tauriel asks. I can't tell if she's genuinely curious or if she's getting some kind of information. I'd like to believe she's genuinely curious...there's enough prejudice with uncle around.

"That I will come back to her." It's not the only promise I made to her though, I look down at Lessrien as I think about this. "She worries. She thinks I'm reckless."

"Are you?" Tauriel asks.

"Nah." I smile and throw the stone up but I miss it when I go to catch it. It rolls out of the cell but Tauriel stops it with her foot before it can roll off the edge. I watch her pick it up and inspect it.

Laughter floats down from the upper levels. "Sounds like quite the party you're having up there."

"It is Mereth-en-Gilith, the Feast of Starlight." She explains, stepping away from the cell. "All light is sacred to the Eldar, but Wood Elves love best the light of the stars."

"I always thought it was a cold light, remote and far away." I never heard Lessrien talk about this but once again I'm reminding myself that she was a child and those memories haunt her. She only just described her homeland to me, after twelve years.

"It is memory, precious and pure. Like your promise." Tauriel smiles and hands the stone back to me. "I am surprised the young High Queen hasn't told you about it."

I look down at the mop of ebony curls, fast asleep in my lap. "She doesn't talk about her homeland or her kin very much. She was six years old when her father and her people were betrayed and destroyed. She had just found out her father had been killed in battle when her home was attacked soon after. She was hidden in a chamber that was protected by an ancient magic, but that spell also suspended her time...she's technically only 18 years old." I trust Tauriel enough to tell her this. I also think Lessrien deserves to be connected to more of her kin other than Lord Elrond, King Thranduil and his son.

"She seems to trust you, quite a lot actually." Tauriel observes as she sits down. I smile as I play with a small ringlet in Lessrien's hair.

"I will never take that for granted. She has been through so much...too much if you ask me. And to betray her trust would just put her in more pain, I would never forgive myself if I did that." I saw the pain in her eyes in the throne room...

"Losing people is easier than watching them become something they promised they'd never be."

"You care for her a great deal." Tauriel smiles. "As she does you." I look at her, curiously. "I see it in the way she looks at you. It's also obvious in how protective she is of you and how she will not allow herself to be separated from you. She argued with King Thranduil and her father in order to stay with you." Tauriel points out.

"Your bond with her is a strong one." Prince Legolas appears behind her. I pull Lessrien closer to me, she mumbles but still doesn't wake up. "I have never seen anyone talk to my father they way High Queen Lessrien did."