I lay awake staring into nothingness. It was daylight once again. Day in and day out; I was right all those years ago when I said a century is but a blink of an eye to an elf. Now who had I said that to? I turned over in my bed and stretched. Thorin Oakenshield. Ah yes, it was Thorin. And it had happened a century before. But why was I thinking about it now? I have not thought about him or any of that in such a long time. I had not the gift of foresight so could not tell if my thought process actually meant something. Just as I was finished thinking that, there was a knock on my door.

"Breakfast my King." One of my servants called out.

I got up with a sigh and put a robe on. I walked slowly toward the door of my bed chamber and opened it. The servant bowed to me and I nodded at him and let him in. I did not need to tell him where to put the tray with the delectables as well as my favorite morning wine. This was a routine that had been gone over many a time. I knew he would let himself out as I went into my bathing chamber and stripped of all of my clothing. I got into the warm water and washed myself with a new profound vigilance.

My hair was longer than it had ever been and I had to admire it a bit in the mirror even though it was washed. I never braided it as that would look foolish on any King. Stepping out of my bath, I walked around nude for a while just letting the water drip off of my lean body as I flexed my arms to get some tension out of them. That was quite strange. I was not exerting myself at all. I would go for walks with the head of my guard Tauriel on occasion but not much else. Yet my limbs felt tense and uncomfortable. Perhaps later that afternoon I would request a full body massage.

I walked back into the room where my food tray was standing and partook in my meal and wine before I got dressed. My hair was completely dry by then; that was the beauty of elven hair, can get soaking wet and still dry in minutes. I almost always ate in the nude in the mornings as no one ever saw me and it satisfied some form of animalistic freedom inside my chest. I could be free of the invisible restraints that held me both inside my head and my soul. Those that I never spoke of and perhaps never would.

After getting dressed, I took one last look at myself and thought about asking Tauriel to go for a walk with me. Maybe that would help with the muscles. As I thought about her, the image of her face was as clear as day in my mind. The last century had aged her in ways, I had not expected and yet how could I not? She had suffered the same grief I had. She barely ever smiled; her eyes were sullen and sunken in. Sometimes when she did not think I was around, I still heard her weeping especially on the eve each year of the day the only man she ever truly loved was killed; Kili the dwarf relation to the Durin line and heir to the throne of Erebor. He and his older brother Fili were killed the same day as Thorin and the lonely mountain was forever abandoned.

Time may heal the wounds of humans but not elves. I doubt Tauriel will ever be the same again and I am partially to blame though I did get it right in the end; but only through the help of another. My mind lost in thought, I ascended my throne wearing my golden dress and burgundy shawl. Just then I heard voices outside and my thoughts came back to the present. Tauriel came walking swiftly in, bowing lightly, and meeting my gaze she said:

"There is a human on a steed outside the gate saying he has come to deliver a letter to the King but he will not give the letter to any of us; his instructions were explicitly to hand the letter to you directly, sire."

"Oh really? Well bring him in." I said, my curiosity outweighing my usual boredom. This was new. Humans never ventured this close to the Woodland Realm.

The human soldier that was let into the royal chamber leading his horse was wearing full armor and watched the elves distrustfully. The same could be said for the elves as they watched him suspiciously; though what could one human do against so many armed elves. When he saw me on my throne, he stopped and bowed. At least he knew his manners. I waved away the guard; surely, he had not come here to harm us.

"Speak human. Where do you come from and what brings you to these parts?" I said to him evenly never taking my eyes off him. But he did not seem intimidated at all; I was soon to learn why.

"I am a Gondorian soldier and courier and I was instructed to bring you this letter immediately." He produced a rolled up parchment from a safe place beneath his armor. If I was not mistaken I would say he had held it close to his chest and his heart which meant it was of the utmost importance.

"Gondor? It is secure?" I was surprised. That is when I recognized the design on his armor as being that of the White Tree of Minas Tirith.

"Yes, your majesty. Did you not hear? We won the War of the One Ring." The soldier said proudly. I had to take that in for a moment as my eyes refocused on the letter.

"The letter, you were instructed to hand directly to me?" I said quietly then.

"Yes, she was pretty explicit with her instructions to me."

"She?" I asked then lifting one eyebrow.

"Why yes; Princess Hedraliel Anorithilian of Rivendell and Lothlorien. She is the one who wrote the letter and by the way she sounded and just the look in your eyes and those of your guards, I take it you know each other well. So will you take the letter, sire as I must report back that I had delivered it upon her instructions?"

The soldier extended the letter toward me then. As soon as he said her name, I heard Tauriel gasp in shock of hearing it after a century; I too was taken aback but not that much. I had gotten off of my throne then and walked down and took the letter from the soldier. I nodded then to him and he bowed again and made a quick exit.

I held the parchment rolled up in my hand and contemplated reading it on my throne but then decided to take a walk to the garden and sit by the river. I knew whatever she had to say was very important. Also I did not want my guards to see my hands shaking. Tauriel had disappeared quietly to her quarters as this was yet another reminder of what she had lost. I let her go even though she did not ask permission to be dismissed. This was certainly not the time for formalities.

As I found a seat on the walkway in the garden by the river, I watched the sun shine brightly over the water going toward the west. Where had the whole day gone? I unrolled the parchment with shaky hands but could not read for a long moment so I just gazed at the water, briefly noticing the Gondorian soldier looking my way as he rode away at top speed; he was certainly in a hurry and that brought my eyes back to the letter. As I began to read her elegant elvish handwriting, I started remembering the brave young woman I met a century ago who refused to be intimidated by me and who my son had fallen so deeply in love with.

"With respect, King Thranduil I am writing this letter to you as I sit in the glorious fortress of Minas Tirith looking at the water as the moon sets and the sun rises. By the time you get and read this letter a lot more would have happened. The War for the One Ring has been won. There were many battles along the way and losses of loved ones near and dear to us all; many sacrifices were made to ensure the safety of Middle-Earth. You should be very proud of your son, he fought like the King he will one day be in the future. In fact, he does not know I am writing this letter to you. Barely anyone does. It was something I had foreseen and decided to take a chance upon. Today is a special day because something you foresaw without even really understanding it a century ago is coming true. You sent Legolas to find a Strider who was a Ranger and part of the Dunedain. Well today is Strider or Aragorn's son of Arathorn's coronation day; Today he becomes the rightful King of Gondor and the united lands of all men. It is also his wedding day though he does not know that yet. He fell in love with my cousin Arwen Lord Elrond's daughter even before the Battle of the Five Armies was fought and she gave up her immortality as she unlike myself is half-elven to be with him. She was supposed to sail away to Valinor but stayed so today will be two glorious ceremonies in one.

Now for the real reason I am writing, not just to give you the update of what our world has faced but because I believe everyone deserves closure and the chance to right wrongs. That and it just would not be the same without you so therefore, I am cordially inviting you to the wedding of your son Legolas to me, Hedraliel to be held two days from now in Rivendell. Again, Legolas does not know about this. And I understand your hesitation but you can believe me that you will be welcomed regardless of the fact that you did not help us fight nor win the war that would have swallowed your own kingdom whole had we lost. You do not need to tell me you do not think of it. I want to give both you and your son one last chance to talk things through. A gift that both of you need and want so badly. There are many unknowns to him and things that I know you want to finally get to say before you leave. I have foreseen you leaving Middle-Earth for Valinor with Tauriel as well. She too is invited to the wedding if she can. We would love for her to be there; however no pressure there as we recall the battle and her loss all too clearly. The memories of elves never fade even when you have made peace with them. I have learned that too through this war but live on because the memories of the ones I have lost can only be cherished if you pay them respect. I think you understand me now. I do hope you think on it for the sake of your son who loves you with every fiber of his being. I have seen it in his eyes for over 100 years. Fighting side by side with him in most of these battles, our love for each other has grown into something I cannot fully describe considering how close he came to losing me in the last battle; but that was my sacrifice to make. There is no need for a formal response. If you do decide to attend, your presence will be a sufficient enough answer for me. I do hope to see you as it will bring joy to both his and my heart. Regardless of your decision, I bless you with eternal peace forevermore.

Respectfully your soon to be extended kin,

Princess Hedraliel Anorithilian of Rivendell & Lothlorien".

As I sat there reading and re-reading the letter she had written. It sounded so much like her. Gracious to the end, to a fault even. She was giving me a chance to make things right with my son even though I felt I did not deserve to be in any of their presences. She was also right; I hid away from the greatest war that our land had ever faced, sending my son into battle. My fear produced a coward and that I will have to live with every day. So now I had to decide, do I go and face my greatest fears and make peace with my son or do I just accept her blessing and move into the next world with my fears and unfulfilled wishes always in the back of my mind as I have done for so long knowing my son would be well cared for?

I folded the letter carefully then, put it close to my heart just as the Gondorian soldier had done and went inside toward my chambers.

To be continued....