Daughter of Starlight

Chapter Thirty Seven: A Daughter Lost

Okay, so, I lied. I'm sorry! But this is definitely the last chapter before I begin the actual battle of the five armies. I'm excited because this chapter is with Thranduil and Gandalf! I love writing these chapters so much :) I thought this was needed to kind of set the scene for the next chapters. I hope you like it!

"Why does she fight?" the elven king asked the grey wizard when he entered the tent. The conversation with his daughter had gone in a completely different direction than the one he had meant it to, and now he was overwhelmed by the amount emotion she had brought upon him.

The Dragon Slayer was right. She was here, and for the same reason as him. Why hadn't he seen it before? Why had it never occurred to him that the gems were what drew her here as they had drawn him, only for reasons so much more righteous than his own?

Gandalf sighed as he looked upon Thranduil, observing the inner struggle displayed on his deceptively blank face. The elven king sat before the small table, staring at the parchments but seeing nothing.

"All I asked was that she stay here," Thranduil said. "But she is as defiant as the day that she left."

Gandalf had to suppress a contemptuous glare at Thranduil's insensitive word choice.

"Quite frankly, I'm not surprised by Laerornien's reaction," he said, and the king's icy gaze turned to meet his.

"And how exactly did she react?" he demanded of the wizard.

"Well, naturally, she has disregarded everything you told her and wants to go back to the mountain," Gandalf told him as he stepped forward and observed the maps and other documents on the table. "She wishes to fight with her friends."

"The dwarves are not her friends," Thranduil spat as he stood up. "They care for nothing except for the Arkenstone. They're going to get her killed."

Gandalf gave Thranduil an odd look, as though he was surprised at him.

"Earlier today you had no care for Laerornien's wellbeing," Gandalf said. Not in a criticizing tone, more like one of confusion. "And now you insist that she stay out of the way of danger."

"What would you have me do then?" Thranduil demanded. "Allow her to return to the mountain?"

"No," Gandalf said immediately. "Even I don't want her there."

"Then tell me, Gandalf, why do you feel you have the right to question the affairs between me and my daughter?"

"Because she no longer feels she is your daughter," Gandalf replied, giving Thranduil a dead stare full of contempt. The elven king returned the stare unwaveringly but silence was his only reply to Gandalf's statement.

"You asked why she fights your attempt to keep her safe, and that is your answer," Gandalf told Thranduil. "Need I remind you that you banished her, abandoning her completely and disowning her as your daughter. What kind of impression do you think that leaves on a young elleth such as her?"

Thranduil did not reply to the wizard's question, even though he knew the answer. Instead the elven king remained silent, taking in the wizard's words and internalizing the guilt and regret they brought with them. He didn't reveal the effect they had on him, though. He kept his expression carefully emotionless.

Gandalf sighed and took a step towards the opening in the tent facing the Lonely Mountain.

"You came to reclaim a treasure to which you hold great value," he said as he turned his gaze to the gates of Erebor. "And yet the treasure that should be most precious to you lies asleep in a tent much closer to you than the jewels in that mountain."

Gandalf turned back to Thranduil. "By now I hope you realize your situation has risen above such petty things as a chest of gems. This is about your relationship with your daughter, which you have managed to sever completely."

Thranduil appeared to be ignoring the wizard, but Gandalf knew that he was listening, and he stepped closer to the table to deliberately catch the elven king's gaze.

"This is your last chance, Thranduil," he said. "You don't have any need for those gems. Leave this place and take Laerornien with you before she disappears again."

"What makes you think she will leave?" Thranduil asked him.

"What makes you think she will not?" Gandalf countered. "What do you possibly think will stop her from returning to those who have done what you failed to do?"

"You're not in any position to criticize, Mithrandir," Thranduil said coldly.

"No, I am not, but from where I stand I can see the truth. Whatever criticism I can give will not change your mind. But know this, Thranduil: if at daybreak you discover that tent to be empty, you should not be surprised to find that your daughter has chosen her mother's path."

Gandalf finally turned away from Thranduil and went to exit the tent, but he stopped and turned back to say one more thing.

"I think it's high time that you admit something very important to yourself, Thranduil," he said softly. "Tonight you noticed that she has become a lonely girl, independent of you and anyone else, and that it because when she was your daughter, you didn't notice."

Gandalf exited the tent after those words. Thranduil, whose temper began to flare, went to follow him, but Feren stopped him before he could get more than a few feet.

"Your Majesty--"

"What is it?" Thranduil snapped.

"It's the princess, my king," Feren told him. "She's gone."