Daughter of the Forest

Prologue

   The cloudless night shone bright as a silver-haired elf made his way towards the elegantly carved drawer in the corner of his chambers. He breathed a sigh, a light sound full of grief, love, and acceptance, remembering a lost love.
   With a creak of unuse, a dusty box was retrieved and opened. A circlet and necklace of overwhelming beauty lay inside.
   The circlet was a delicate thing, with gentle curves of carefully crafted leaves and white gems studding the circumference. A large sapphire sat in the center, which the Elf-King removed, and in its place went a polished emerald.
   The necklace was made of silver tendrils that looked like lace, and it sparkled like the stars above.
   Another sigh of content escaped the king. He closed the box with gentle fingers and wrapped in with veridian silk. A note was tied to the package and set on a countertop.
   Thranduil gazed at the stars up above. For a split second, he thought he saw her, her brilliant smile, her defiant eyes.
   "Are you happy with me, my love?" Thranduil whispered into the night sky. "Have I made the right choice?"
   Something inside him told him yes.
~2 Years Ago~
   "Do not give him hope where there is none..." Thranduil carefully watched his Captain's face, searching for any hint of surprise. There was none but regret. For a second, Thranduil felt a surge of shame, but he quickly pushed it down. Emotions were not something he had dared to feel since her...
   Tauriel bowed respectfully before dashing out of the room. Thranduil stared after her tears dripping and her fiery hair disappearing around the corner, before crumpling on the floor, holding in sobs of his own. He had done what was right, he told himself, although Thranduil felt like he was splitting in two. All his heart could tell him was that he was coward for keeping his favored elleth away from his son just to "spare his son's pain."
Little did he know that just around the bend, another elf's heart was cracking just as brokenly as his.
   Thranduil had always regretted the sorrow he had caused his beloved son and Captain. So when Legolas had insisted for Tauriel, and no elleth else, Thranduil breathed a sigh of relief.
   Now, the Elf-King reveled in the gentle sounds of the night. You have done well, the owl's hoots seem to say. They will be happy, comforts the trickling brook filled with lilies.
   Yes, Thranduil thought. They will be happy. And that's all the matters to me.
   Somewhere beyond the training grounds, a small spider was frightened away by a happy, joyous laugh that echoed through the darkness and pierced with light.