I'm almost reluctant to admit that Gelya has been right so far. About going out, I mean—not about Thranduil. She couldn't be more wrong about him and I.

However, what she was right about was that going out into the gardens with her would make me a great deal happier. And although I had my doubts at first, we have managed to avoid encountering anyone unpleasant. I have kept this to myself, but I am utterly relieved that Thranduil was in that meeting. If we had come across him, I don't know what would have happened.

Gelya is in the middle of a huge story about her brother-in-law, when she stops abruptly, narrowing her eyes at the horizon. The sun lies low in a burning sky, glimmering through the gaps in the rustling trees. 'Oh my... look how late it is!'

'How long does that mean we've been here for?' I ask, dreading the answer.

'Well, we had lunch at around midday, came to this spot about three hours later...' Gelya bites her lip. 'We've been here for about two hours.'

'And the meeting was supposed to finish when?' My voice strains in anticipation.

'Sundown at the latest. Which means it will surely be done by now,' she replies. We exchange glances, both hoping that the other has some sort of plan. Yet neither of us had expected for us to stay out this long, meaning our only hope is to keep our heads down until we make it back to my room.

'Well then...' I breathe, 'we'll just have to be quick and quiet. Which will be hard, considering you still have to help me walk.'

'Oh, about that,' Gelya interjects, 'I thought you could try and walk unsupported tomorrow, since you've been needing less and less help of late.'

My mouth curves up into a grin at the prospect. 'That sounds amazing. You don't understand how much I've been longing to walk since the day I got here. I cannot describe how grateful I am to you for helping me.'

'It wasn't all me, was it?' My friend smirks slightly.

A lump promptly rises in my throat. She's right—it was Thranduil who helped me to my own two feet for the first time—and then wrapped his lips around mine and made me feel on fire inside. What were we thinking at the time? Oh, stop it. This is the first time in hours I've let myself think about him again.

'No, it wasn't,' I finally answer, before swiftly changing the subject, 'we should go back inside now.'

'Alright,' Gelya says, sounding relatively serious but with the smirk still lingering on her youthful face. I roll my eyes and she giggles. Only when I shoot her a fake glare does she proceed to help me up off the elegant bench, surrounded by a seemingly infinite ocean of niphredil.

As we make our way back across the gardens bathed in the sun's dusky glow, where the white niphredil appears a soft gold colour, and once again into the halls of the kingdom, I put progressively less weight on Gelya. I'm becoming more confident to hold myself by the second, but not yet confident enough to let go of her completely.

No one so far. No Avadhil, no Avalor, no Tavalon... no Thranduil. It seems luck is on our side.

Until, that is, Gelya opens the door to my room, and my heart leaps into my mouth.

'Hello, Elena.'

Avalor looks up with a malicious grin from where he's sprawled casually on my bed.  To my horror, his shirt is unbuttoned, revealing a set of toned muscles gleaming in the light of the setting sun. 

'Avalor...' I say in a warning tone as the ellon's grin widens, 'this is my private chamber.  I'd appreciate it if you could leave.'

'Oh, I don't think that will be necessary,' he drawls, standing up and letting his broad frame silhouette against the orange glow streaming in through my window.  'What a lovely friend you have here, Elena.  I have seen her before, but I don't seem to know her name.  Why don't you introduce me?'

I glance over at Gelya, whose teeth have once again sunk into her lip.  Her eyes haven't left Avalor's shining torso.  The ellon smirks as he notices where her gaze lies; if I'm honest, he would be rather handsome if he didn't have such a malevolent look in his eyes.

'This is Gelya.  Now, please exit my chamber,' I say coldly.  Avalor removes his gaze from my friend and locks it on my eyes.

'How am I to do that if you are standing in the doorway?'  He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.  'I have a better idea,' he adds, striding towards us.

I stand my ground.  Gelya, whose arm is still around my shoulder, bows her head meekly. 

At this, Avalor lets out a low cackle.  'What a polite little Silvan.  You could perhaps learn some manners from her, êl tithen.  Now, Gelya—it was Gelya, was it not?  Please remove yourself from our company.'

Speechless at this ellon's audacity, I can only make a small noise of protest as Gelya, clearly fearing the consequences of arguing with a Sindar lord, lets go of me.  After making sure I'm standing balanced, my best friend slips away into the corridor.  My initial thought is to be angry with her, but then I realise she was only trying to protect her loved ones; if she disobeyed a lord, she would lose her job and therefore lose the money that she said was the only way her whole family could be fed.  Besides, I needed to do this alone.

Avalor, looking immensely pleased with himself, pushes the door closed after her.  'It's just you and I now, êl tithen.'

'Stop calling me that,' I sigh in exasperation, 'and in case you have forgotten, you have no right to be in here.  I'm under the protection of King Thranduil.'

He cackles again.  'Don't lie to me.'

'I'm not lying.'

'Oh, yes you are,' he persists, leaning against the wall to put himself between me and the door, 'everyone knows that you aren't Thranduil's little favourite anymore. So, seeing as your King isn't going to protect you, you are quite vulnerable, my darling.'

'I am not your darling, Avalor. I am no one's darling. And I don't need him to protect me.'

'It's clear you do, otherwise my last attempt to get you would have succeeded. But I'm not letting anything stop me this time,' Avalor growls, catching me off guard and latching his hands onto my waist.

'Get away from me!' I hiss, wincing as his fingers fondle with the fabric of my dress and pinch the skin underneath.  I try my hardest to push him away, but he's a great deal stronger than me and he knows it.

'Don't try and keep me out,' he murmurs, his arms snaking around my back and sending shivers pulsating across my skin.  He doesn't bat an eyelid when I repeatedly slam my hands onto his shining chest in a feeble attempt to be free of him. 

Cackling wildly, Avalor scoops me up in his arms and hurls me sideways onto my bed.  Jets of pain shoot through my wounded leg and my face crumples in agony, but I don't let myself cry out.  I may be physically weaker than him—I just need to be stronger inside.

While I struggle to sit myself up, the lustful ellon ferociously rips off his shirt and leaps onto the bed beside me. I back against the headboard and use it to sit up before he can knock me down, praying that somehow I could sink backwards into it. Avalor shakes his glossy sheet of ebony hair over one shoulder, looking intently up and down my body before leaning right towards me, reaching out to grip the headboard and trap me between his muscular arms.

This is it. This is what happens when Stars come down to earth. People from all walks of life are driven almost mad with desire from their presence. My heart begins to thunder, but I know I can get rid of him. I'm a Star, am I not? I just need to use that to my advantage.

'You are a disgrace to elfkind,' I say firmly, awaiting Avalor's reaction.

He stops abruptly, raising his black eyebrows. 'You can't talk! You're not even a real elf!' he retorts.

I quickly place one hand on Avalor's chest to prevent him from leaning any further forward. 'Yes, I know that. I'm a Star. But I know elves. I know what they're like, and I know what they should be like. I watched the Valar create them, and I watched as many of them strayed from goodness and became greedy and selfish. I saw the first elves awaken at Cuiviénen, and what was the first thing they did? They looked at the Stars. They looked at me. You have no power over me.'

Taking us both by surprise, a blinding burst of light comes pouring out of the hand on Avalor's chest. My head jerks back and smacks against the headboard, but the light keeps coming, becoming less and less like light and more like a physical force...

'Argh!' Avalor is suddenly thrown back across the room, slamming forcefully against the wall opposite me and sliding down to the floor. The stream of light, or whatever it was, disappears as quickly as it had arrived. Avalor, his eyes wide with terror, scrambles to his feet and hurtles towards the door. The last glance he casts back at me is one of true fear, and the last one he receives from me is one of utter confusion.

I'm completely out of things to say. I'm out of explanations. As Avalor slams the door behind him and I hear his hurrying footsteps echoing along the corridor, I take a second to inspect my hand. There's nothing out of the ordinary on it, and it feels perfectly normal. However, it surely wasn't a coincidence that a strange force had decided to appear at that moment, was it?

At least I managed to save myself by using this power, even if I didn't know I had it. Wait... power? I don't believe it. 'It's probably more powerful than it thinks itself to be...' Was Dream Sauron trying to tell me something? Perhaps he was. It's just another thing for me to muse about in my long hours of recovery. All I know is that Avalor won't be back anytime soon. Whether he decides to spread the news of my strange power, well, that's something I cannot predict. I can only hope he keeps his mouth shut. It would be for his own good.

I also cannot tell if the power is going to turn up again. Despite it saving me from being touched by Avalor, I'd much prefer if it left me alone until I asked for it.

***

Elvish:
Êl tithen = little star