The fire swirled around me, trapping me in a wall of red heat. I looked around frantically for Tauriel, Nana, Ada, anything. But the fire filled my view, practically blinding me.

"MERIEL! TAURIEL!" my father cried out. I heard a crash, and he spoke no more.

"ADA!!!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face.

Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled through the flames. Looking closer, I saw the determined face of my mother. Before I knew it, I was out on the safety of the grass, Tauriel beside me.

Nana looked down on us with tears in her eyes. "I love you, my stars" she whispered. And with that, our small cottage collapsed.

"NANA!!!" Tauriel and I shouted at the same time. But all we could do was watch as the flames climbed into the air. And yet, I was mesmerized by it.

I heard leaves rustling, and abruptly Tauriel and I were surrounded by elves. One of them gently picked me up, his eyes full of concern. And that was the last thing I saw before the world went black.

***

I awoke with a gasp, startling Thalion. He had fallen asleep in the chair he was in, and I must have drifted off soon after.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine" I said, my voice shaking slightly.

"Was it the dream again?"

I nodded. Ever since my parents had died in the fire, I'd had the same dream over and over again.

Tauriel and I only been around 5 in a human's eyes when it had happened. After the fire, we were taken in and raised in the heart of Mirkwood. Thranduil had become somewhat of a distant father or uncle to us, and Feredir was as caring and protective to us as any mother could be, if not more so. And Lancaeron had been a brother to me, but as I grew older, he became something more...

But the dream still haunted me, refusing to go away. Yet somehow, fire still fascinated me, drawing me closer each time...

Thalion looked at me, concern swirling in his eyes. "Princess Meriel?"

"I'm fine, I really am" I tried to smile reassuringly. "And please, don't call me that. I'm not a princess just yet. Besides, it sounds far too formal."

He smiled. "As you wish, Princess Meriel" he answered, earning himself a light slap on his arm.

I soon decided to take a walk through the forest, leaving Thalion behind with his papers. As I walked, I found myself looking beside me, expecting Lancaeron to be there. Five more days, I told myself. Five more days.

Soon, I found myself walking to an all-too familiar place. A beam of light shone down on the small purple flowers that grew there, and the air was still and quiet. But I remembered when it had been dark and filled with chaos, and the flowers had been alight with an ever-burning flame. But the flowers had grown back, the remains of the cottage fading into the earth. The only evidence to suggest that it had ever happened were the two stones bearing the names of my parents.

Gently, I knelt down, running my finger over the engravings. It had been so many years, yet I still remembered it as if it had happened yesterday.

I sat down against a tree, shedding a single tear. Another tear followed, than another, and another...

I stayed there for a while and wept silently, all the time longing for Lancaeron to be there. I hated suffering alone, but there was no one around to see me. And so I cried, letting all my sorrows and worries flow out.

A/N: Credit to Gallifreyanhobbit because it kinda came out like the dream from her book Strong Enough (which is an amazing book, so READ IT NOW OR DIE) (I'm serious) (WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE GO READ IT)