Return to Me - Kili and Tauriel one-shots

The Firemoon Falls

A Kiliel one-shot. Takes place during the Battle of Five Armies aftermath. Written as if Bolg and Azog do not exist, and therefore Tauriel never saw Kili die. Originally published on AO3 by, what a surprise, me, under MagicalElvenPotatocat, so no need to worry about copyright infringement. 

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The trumpets blare and drums sound, the echoes ringing across the battlefield. Not long ago, these plains were filled with noise-- the clanging of swords against shields, arrows whirring past, the crunching of bones, and the shrieks of dying creatures. Now an eerie silence haunted the land, as if the world was holding its breath. 

The dwarves of Erebor have won the battle, but at what cost? Dwarves, men, elves, orcs, and beasts lay dead or dying, the dirt underfoot stained red and black. 

Tauriel would never forget that sight. 

Her friends, her kin, lying side by side with long-sworn enemies, both sides all sharing the same fate. 

But where is the young dwarf prince?

The elf hurried through the field, stepping over the bodies of friend and foe alike, her boots stained with blood and mud. The air was bitingly cold, chilling her fingers to the bone. Her joints ached from the fight, but she could barely think past the fear and dread in her chest. Nevertheless she marched on, strands of her fiery hair blowing across her face in the bitter breeze. 

"Kili!" She yelled. No answer. 

The red-haired elf whipped her head around frantically now, searching desperately. 

Hope, hope-- I must keep hope, she told herself. She began to turn over the bodies of any dwarf she came across, hoping to catch a glimpse of Kili's dark hair spilling down his shoulders, or that smirking face full of joy and innocence.  Even if he were dead, it is better than never knowing. Her heart pounded as she ran. 

Tauriel called his name over and over, her plea ringing through the battlefield and echoing off the mocking mountain like a taunt. 

The elf fell to her knees in despair. She looked down at her blood-smeared hands, shaking. 

"Kili..." she breathed. 

"..."

"Tauriel...?"

At first she thought she had imagined it. 

"Tauriel," called a weak voice to her left.

She turned her head. There lay Kili, his shattered sword in his hand, his bloodstained armor rent and slashed, and an arrow protruding from his chest. A small, snaking, stream of blood -his blood- trailed away from his body. 

Tauriel crawled over to him, panting the dwarf's name. She kneeled beside him and frantically pressed her hands to his chest in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but in vain. 

"T...Tauriel..." Kili grabbed her bloodied hand with a grunt. "It's...no use..." he whispered.

Tauriel blinked, feeling a warm tear slide down her cheek. She hiccuped. He was right. 

She clenched her teeth and bowed her head, her eyes welling up again with tears. 

"You...once asked if a girl, who walks in starlight in in another world, loved you," Tauriel confided. "...and I think I can say, she did, Kili...she did--" her voice broke off with a sob welling up in her throat. 

The elf bent towards him, holding out her hand. She cupped Kili's cheek and wiped the dirt off with her thumb. Sliding her hand to the side of his head, she ran her fingers down his blood-matted locks. She pulled her hand away and wiped away her tears, then rested her hands in her lap.

After a moment, Kili reached forward and took up Tauriel's hand with a squeeze. She looked back down at the dwarf, and for a moment, time did not exist. The dwarf stared up at her with that huge mischievous grin of his, and Tauriel was instantly reminded of the Kili she had first met in Mirkwood. She gave him a slight smile. Tauriel could have gazed into his warm brown eyes for the rest of her immortal life. 

Tauriel was jolted out of her fantasy when she felt Kili's cold grip on her hand loosen. She looked into his unseeing eyes and found no sparkle of life. 

"Kili?" 

"..."

"Kili!" 

"NO! Kili! No..." 

Her voice cracked and broke into sobs. She leaned forward, tears streaming down her face and onto her neck. 

"Kili..." she pleaded his name, like a beg for help, to whatever god cared to listen. She lifted her hand to his eyes and closed them.

May his soul find its way.

Tauriel gingerly lifted Kili's body and slid her legs behind him, holding him close. There was no warmth, no love, no evidence of the fun-loving man she once adored. She closed her eyes and gripped him tightly against her chest, as if she could bring him back by never letting him go. The elf wept as she rocked back and forth, cradling Kili's lifeless body. 

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Having spent all of her tears, Tauriel laid the dwarf back down onto the dirt. The elf paused for a moment, then reached into the folds of her emerald-green tunic and pulled out the runestone Kili had given her. She remembered that day by the lake, the sound of waves lapping at the shore and the distant crackling of fire. Tauriel ran her thumb over the runes inscribed on the labradorite stone. She moved around the stone in her palm, watching it catch the light of the setting sun. 

She looked up to the sky, at the faint stars beginning to emerge. The elf sat and watched the sunset, flooding the night with yellows and oranges. She turned her head and looked to the east, over the mountains. Tauriel gripped the stone tightly in her hand as her breath caught in her throat. A bright red moon was rising over the mountains, casting a fiery glow across the land. 

And genuinely, for the first time in years, Tauriel smiled.

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Oof, sorry 'bout that, guys. I wrote this back in like, 2015, and I decided to edit it and post it here. Sorry! Or should I say, you're welcome?