'You passed out in my arms, êl nín.'

Blinding light bores into my eyes, and I rub them absentmindedly before surveying my surroundings. I am inside an elaborate chamber fashioned within a tree, adorned with leaves and tiny lights glittering across the walls and ceiling. On the end of the bed I rest in, there is King Thranduil: dry, preened and clad in a new set of pristine silver robes. He flashes me his signature smirk.

'I am not your Star. I am not anyone's Star but my own,' I say firmly, wriggling into a sitting position. The thick duvet slides off me to reveal a gleaming white nightgown around my body, and Thranduil gives a small laugh at my expression of confusion.

'I had you changed out of your wet clothes and dried before going to bed. I would have done it myself but my maid insisted you would prefer to be changed by a female.' His smirk returns, and I immediately banish all irrational thoughts from my mind.

'For that I am grateful. Now where can I find a horse?  I mean to leave as soon as possible,' I say determinedly, attempting to wriggle further out from under the bedclothes.  Suddenly I am halted by a rush of pain shooting down my right leg, and I cry out as I realise I cannot move it.

'Ah... that may be a problem...' Thranduil begins uneasily, 'you fell off my elk halfway through the journey here.  It was a long drop, and you landed in a ditch full of hard rocks and did not wake... luckily I managed to get you back.' Of everything Thranduil has said to me so far, this has given him a slight edge of tension.

'Curse this weak elleth body!' I scowl, 'and curse you!  You said you would keep me safe, and what did you do?  You let me fall into a ditch!  Should you not have been holding me still while riding your precious elk, or was that too difficult?'

Thranduil, his expression harder than rock, breathes out slowly.  'You are too difficult, êl tithen.  The truth is you will be unable to walk for a week, and after that you will still need support.  The wound may not fully heal for several months.'

A boulder drops in the pit of my stomach.  Disbelievingly, I search Thranduil's stern eyes for a glimmer of hope, but there is none.  'Several... months...' I whisper, the dreadful truth sinking in like a poison.  I am to be stuck here, in Thranduil's kingdom, for several months?  It is a prospect too terrible for words. 

'The healers do not lie,' he says simply.

'What about my task?  How am I to fulfill it trapped in your halls?'

'I do not know what your task is, so I cannot help you there.  Just rest and hope recovery comes swiftly.'

'I will not REST while someone in this world needs a Star's help!' I cry, wrenching my injured leg out from under the duvet despite the immense pain.  It has been bandaged in several places, but patches of blood seep through still.

As he notices me trying to hoist myself up, Thranduil immediately rushes to my side and his strong arms ease me back into bed.  He shakes his head in a mixture of disbelief and exasperation before saying, 'unless you want to bleed to death, stay here until you are healed.  I am trying to help you.'

Accepting that while Thranduil is here I am not going anywhere, I sigh and pull the bedclothes back over my legs.  'Why are you of all people trying to help me?  Where are these healers you speak of?'

Despite my (somewhat poor) attempt to be rid of him, Thranduil sits himself back down on the end of my bed.  'My healers have other maladies to tend that are more challenging than yours.  I have appointed myself to your care; as I brought you into this kingdom by choice, your welfare is my responsibility, and do not assume that I have no skill in healing myself.'

He is resolute.  There is nothing I can do to change his mind.  'Fine.  Do what you will, as long as it means I am out of here in the shortest possible time.'

'I would calm yourself if I were you, êl tithen.  The shortest possible time is no short time.'

'If it means you will stop calling me êl tithen, you can know my real name now.'

He raises an eyebrow again.  'Oh, really?  What a privilege that would be!'  The sarcasm in his voice bites at me.  I tense up unintentionally.

'Elena.'  My attempt to stare Thranduil down is in vain; his gaze is a penetrating enigma which I long to break.  From above, I have watched this elf for the several millennia of his life, and yet now he makes me feel I know as little about him as a stranger would.  He does an exquisite job of hiding his feelings and his past, and I do believe I hold a slight advantage in a way—I don't think he knows I have watched him for so long.  He thinks I am a stranger, and therefore treats me like one.

When I remove my stare, Thranduil's expression softens to that which I remember from when he first saved me.  I cannot quite place what it is; I wouldn't say it is kind, for it is too cold and too distant.  Much like a Star.

'Your name is one of beauty,' he says softly, his eyes looking me over with a kind of longing.  Again, irrational thoughts flood into my mind, and I banish them with a pang of guilt.  Seduction is not an option.

'Thank you,' is all I can manage to say, and it comes out in a feeble half-whisper that I most certainly did not intend.

'Do my compliments bore you?' Thranduil laughs softly. 'I advise you to think of ways not be bored for the next few weeks. I have books that may pass the time.'

'Thank you again. It is company which I shall lack, but I care not for that. Hopefully your books shall take me to another world while I am here.'

'Why do you assume you will lack company? If I am to be your healer, most of my hours must be spent by your side.' The strange longing look returns to his face.

'You, my King, surely have duties to attend to. Why do you put yourself aside to help me?' I want to avoid mentioning that I have watched him, but there is a gnawing thought of how Thranduil is usually self-absorbed and relatively lazy—well, at least he was before the Battle of the Five Armies. Perhaps the departure of his son heightened his ability to care for others (even just a small amount, as he still allowed a sleeping Star to fall off a moving elk and injure her leg).

'I have already ensured my realm is rebuilding itself after the horrors of war. My only duty at the present time is returning you to normal health.'

'Very difficult to believe...' I mutter, before glancing out of the woven branch window. The sun seems high, and in its light I can make out the shapes of several elves relaxing out on a balcony. 'What time is it?' I ask, turning back to Thranduil.

'Just past midday. You must be hungry, and in case you didn't know that is an experience only felt by those with physical bodies,' he drawls, once again with biting sarcasm. I shoot him a glare, and he laughs. 'I brought some food here for you, along with some more medicine for your wounded leg.'

'In truth, I am grateful for your provisions for me, no matter what else I seem to say. Anyone who helps me so deserves far more thanks than I can give.' Thranduil seems taken aback by my sudden pleasantness, but he smiles. After a few seconds he reaches over to a table beside the door and presents me with a plate of sliced bread and salad, which I accept gratefully and begin to eat.  Looking up, I flash a quick smile to the King, and the corner of his mouth curves up slightly.

'The pleasure is all mine, since I have a Star in my company.  And, whether you take my word for it or not, my studies of your race have shown that a Star's path always tries to intertwine itself with the Star's task.  It will come to you, Elena.'  Thranduil rests his hand gently onto my wounded leg, and his touch is so soft I have no need to flinch.  He doesn't bring pain.  Only a strange sensation of warmth in my chest: safety.  Thranduil promised me safety, and safety he has given me. 

However, realising that the King still seems to be trying to seduce me, I deliberately clear my throat and he swiftly removes his hand.  He can stay with me all he likes but nothing—absolutely nothing—is going to stop me fulfilling my task.  It will be something of dire importance, and from what I've gathered, this realm is in no need of aid at all.  If I am to find my task, it is vital I leave this room as soon as possible, and preferably this entire kingdom.  Thranduil needs to get his priorities straight at the moment; the fate of many lives, far away from here, could be in his hands.

***

Elvish:
Êl nín = my star
Elleth = elf maiden
Êl tithen = little star