The Light of Valinor

Chapter 1

A sweet, golden light was shining upon the soft hills of Tol Eressea. The sky was coloured blue, with pink, yellow and orange clouds floating ethereally upon it, beyond which the stars were starting to be already visible, much bigger and brighter than seen on Earth. The hills were covered in soft, green grass, with majestic trees and small flowers. Here and there, habitations were seen, some smaller, some larger, all designed though with great taste and beauty, betraying even more than in Middle-Earth the other-worldly feel of the race of elves. There, on one of the soft hills, a singular elven habitation was placed, surrounded by beautiful gardens and, a little further away, by a small portion of woodland. 

It was a fairly large house, elegantly designed, with white walls, tall windows and massive wooden furniture. Inside, a beautiful elleth with bright red hair was placing garlands of leaves and berries inside a room, trying to fix them now to the upper corner of the window. A few pots of flowers were around her, making the room come alive. Tauriel looked just like a noble elven lady, dressed in a heavy velvet dress, a delicate bracelet falling around her wrist and her long hair elegantly tied in three thin braids to the back. 

A lot had changed, not only in Tauriel's appearance but her heart also, which was now settled and happy, though her fire would always burn bright and mischievous within. Watching her while lounging on a silk couch was Thranduil, a glass of wine in his hand, his eyes also beaming with his inner fire. He was wearing a long, elegant, silk robe of dark grey, loose to the chest, his silver hair falling straight as ever upon his shoulders, no crown upon his head.

He watched her with a little smile in the corner of his lips. Thranduil's heart had also changed. He had never believed that leaving Middle-Earth and his beloved Greenwood would bring so much positive change in his life but it had. He finally felt like a burden had fallen off his shoulders. He had believed that the horrors and all of his memories would haunt him forever yet he had not dreamt of them since they arrived in Valinor. He felt free, light and cleansed, as if Valinor itself had cleansed his soul. Also, strangely enough, for once in his life he found that he enjoyed not wearing a crown.

'I think they look good that way.', he said with a velvety, casual voice.

'Just a little more and I'm done.', Tauriel said, turning her gaze quickly towards him with a smile and then placing the garland a little higher.

She then went to the table and placed some more flower decorations that looked like she had crafted them herself as they were very similar to the seasonal decorations inside the Woodland Realm. 

'There, I finished.', she said slightly proud of herself.

She came towards the couch where Thranduil was lounging and took the glass of wine from his hand, placing it upon the nearby wooden stand. He watched her silently, as she squeezed herself next to him.

'Is my King satisfied now?', she asked with a playful smile on her lips.

'Yes.', he replied with a deep voice. 'And I am not a King anymore, Tauriel, as I keep on reminding everyone.'

'Old habits die hard.', she said, looking closely at him now with her golden-green eyes and touching his cheek with her fingers. 'I suppose now you are just mine. Nobody else to share you with.'

He smiled, pulling her more into his lap and whispering next to her lips:

'Finally.'

Their house was fairly isolated from the other elven settlements and this is how Thranduil had intended. They were surrounded by green hills and a small woodland reminding them of their kingdom in Middle-Earth. A beautiful garden was around it where Thranduil would often go to enjoy a cup of tea or wine, read old books about the history of Arda, magic and healing, that he never found the time to properly enjoy before, or write down his thoughts which often turned into small poems.