* FADE / AWAY.

❛ I believe his QUALM lies in the sentiment of his prince lowering himself so PUBLICLY. Lest it wavers no POLITICAL favor. But I will happily do precisely that and MORE if it is to be in your benefit, my dearest lady. ❜

- bilbo  //  burglar. 

𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐁𝐎'𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐍, though he would have been a fool to miss the way that the hobbit was looking at him. brows furrow deeper, attempting to understand what was causing such strife, yet the draw of the gold around them was enough to catch his attention once more. the king blinks at bilbo’s words, uncomprehending. gaze flickers to the outstretched hand, & with no small degree of confusion, he watches as the other hesitates once again. 

    ❝ the battle has been won, bilbo, ❞ he replies after a moment, still appearing perplexed at the sight of his companion remaining so uncertain. why did he linger with such doubts? the mountain was theirs, & all of its bounty within. surely that was cause for some modicum of celebration…

    ❝ where would we go? ❞ words are spoken in his own mild-mannered hesitation; his mild reels at the notion of stepping from the treasury, though someone within also craved those quiet moments alone. he appears as if he’s considering the offer, yet the dark shroud that encompassed him remained with steel chains around his limbs. ❝ the mountain… ❞ his voice trails off uncertainly.

            𝐈𝐓  𝐈𝐒  𝐍𝐎𝐓  𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓  𝐎𝐍  𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐁𝐎   ,    the  way  thorin  cannot  hold  his  gaze   .   it  is  a  draw  that  goes  beyond  greed   ––––    𝐈𝐓  𝐈𝐒  𝐀  𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐆𝐔𝐄  𝐔𝐏𝐎𝐍  𝐇𝐈𝐒  𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃   .   the  hobbit  had  heard  murmurings  of  such  things  in  the  presence  of  the  dwarves  while  thorin  remained  occupied   ,   though  he  had  never  imagined  it  would  come  to  fruition   ,   especially  not  so  quickly   .   𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐍  𝐎𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃  𝐇𝐀𝐒  𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐃  and  bilbo  baggins  is  undoubtedly   ,   irrefutably  worried   . 

            ❝   the  battle  for  erebor   ,   yes   ,   ❞   he  concedes   ,  ❝   but  there  still  remains  a  danger  we  would  be  foolish  to  ignore   ,   ❞   though  he  isn’t  confident  his  words  will  be  enough  to  open  the  dwarven  king’s  eyes   .   bilbo  shifts  his  stance   ,   trying  to  block  as  much  of  thorin’s  sight  of  the  treasure  hoard  as  he  possibly  could  given  his  rather  small  stature   .   𝘈  𝘍𝘌𝘌𝘉𝘓𝘌  𝘈𝘛𝘛𝘌𝘔𝘗𝘛   ,   given  that  this  sickness  goes  beyond  a  hypnotic  visual  trance   .  

❛ Perhaps, I see in her similarities. I TOO have eclipsed upon the light of those serve me… ❜ His son but one example. Who possessed all the makings of a TRUE AND HONEST king. Favored by his people. Yet Thranduil wore his pride in silence. Ever cold and COMMANDING of his young prince. He only hopes Legolas will not judge him too CRUELY for his demeanor.

He allows silence to pass between them, with nothing but the distant echo of the night owls who hoo’ed in the trees above, the last of the forest guardians in its sickness. For WINGED BEASTS knew NAUGHT of  r o o t s  to this place. Free to come and go at their leisure. There were times ( infrequent and FLEETING ) where he envied their freedom.

Lightfooted elven steps pass through thick brambles, and dense wood. Much of which has rotted and withered. Perhaps Tauriel is more accustomed to the sight than he, for he did not often stray too far, lest it be upon the safety of the ELVEN PATH. And it still saddened him to see the effect of that which resided in DOL GULDUR.

It is many a mile before Thranduil halts, gazing into an open clearing which gleamed in the faint filtering of starlight above. The leaves below were black and ashen. The old stump of a tree empty and hollow. It no longer possessed the LUSTER of an old greenwood, but Thranduil steps inside its homage, and casts his gaze upward if only to forget they were surrounded by DECAY.

❛ …There is still beauty here. It is…merely, difficult to see. At times. In the night. Whilst darkness shrouds all that is clear. This is where I come to regain clarity… ❜

            𝐈𝐓  𝐈𝐒  𝐀  𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍  she  does  not  think  he  means  to  𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦  𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩  𝘩𝘦𝘳  𝘴𝘰  𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘭𝘺   ,   nor  does  tauriel  believe  he  seeks  a  response  from  her   ,   whether  it  is  in  his  defence  or  otherwise  .   she  bows  her  head  slightly  in  acknowledgement   ,   though  she  yearns  to  speak  her  mind   ,   to  tell  her  king  that  he  has  not  done  anything  that  would  deter  𝐭𝐡𝐞  𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬  𝐨𝐟  𝐭𝐡𝐞  𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝  𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐦   .  

            the  path  through  these  woods  (  𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐇  𝐏𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐃  𝐀𝐍𝐃  𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃  𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄  )  are  as  familiar  to  the  captain  as  the  back  of  her  own  hand   .   each  root  that  would  dare  trip  a  creature  less  agile  than  that  of  the  elves   ,   she  maneuvers  around  and  over  without  faltering   .   where  the  forest  has  begun  it’s  gradual  decay   ,   tauriel  mourns  𝙏𝙃𝙀  𝙃𝙊𝙈𝙀  𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙏  𝙎𝙃𝙊𝙐𝙇𝘿  𝙃𝘼𝙑𝙀  𝘽𝙀𝙀𝙉     –––   and  yet   ,   𝒊𝒕  𝒊𝒔  𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆  𝒂𝒍𝒍  𝒕𝒉𝒆  𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆   . 

            tauriel  comes  to  rest  a  few  paces  behind  thranduil   ,   allowing  him  the  moment  to  take  in  the  sight  of  this  spot  she  understands  is  as  DEAR  TO  HIM  as  her  ventures  beyond  the  forest  were  to  her   (  though  secret   ,   they  shall  remain   )   .   it  is  only  when  the  elven  king  speaks  that  tauriel  steps  past  him  into  the  clearing   ,   face  turned  up  towards  the  starlight  that  reaches  the  forest  floor   ,   unbidden  and  unobstructed  by  rotting  flora  and  mangled  wood   .  

            𝐈𝐓  𝐈𝐒  𝐀  𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐋  𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆   ,      to  live  forever  and  spend  an  existence  filled  with  𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀  𝗮𝗻𝗱  𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳   .   she  has  suffered  her  fair  share   ,   but  legolas  had  been  ever  constant   .   he  holds  a  place  in  her  heart  no  other  creature  on  this  earth  does   (   not  even  kili   ,   though  she  reckons  he  had  come  close  in  his  own  way   )   ,   a  place  in  her  heart  that  threatens  to  hollow  out  and  remain  as  barren  as  the  rest  of  her  has  become   .  

            and  she  expects  him  to  send  her  away   ,   to  refuse  her  of  this  last 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄  𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀   .   she  asks  too  much  of  him   ,   𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔  𝒉𝒊𝒔  𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕  𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕  𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆  𝒊𝒏  𝒊𝒕’𝒔  𝒐𝒘𝒏  𝒘𝒂𝒚   ,   should  the  king  be  accurate  in  his  observations   .   he  does  not  owe  it  to  her  to  comfort  her  and  spare  her  the  impending  grief  his  departure  will  elicit   ,   but  tauriel  may  not  survive  it  if  he  does   .  

            soundless  sobs  that  have  wracked  her  lungs  since  the  moment  the  orc’s  spike  had  plunged  into  kili’s  heart  H  A  L  T   ,   offering  the  silence  she  needs  to  make  his  words  her  only  focus   .   swollen  eyes  lift   ,   searching  clear  blues   .   ‘ 𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙴  𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷  𝙼𝙴  ’  ,      oh  how  she  has  longed  for  him  to  say  it   ,   though  now  that  the  words  linger  in  the  air  between  them   ,   her  heart  breaks  anew   .   mirkwood  is  all  she  has  known   ,   knows  naught  of  the  world  beyond   (   𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄  𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐒  𝐒𝐇𝐄  𝐇𝐀𝐒  𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐃  𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄  𝐇𝐄𝐑  𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓   )   .   how  can  she  follow  her  heart  if  her  heart  does  not  know  what  it  seeks   ?  

❛     𝐈 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐊 𝐈'𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌 𝐀𝐋𝐋.    ❜