Broken Souls

A Fear

The flame flickered. From the gentle evening breeze entering the chambers through the balcony, it gave little warmth to the room as Thranduil sat at his desk, watching the fire move like a dance atop the wax. The study lay empty and silent aside from the King's breath that teased the flame every time he exhaled.

He still pondered over his meeting with Kiera that morning. She was a brave soul to stand up against him in such away, and he shouldn't let her get away with it. But something was hiding behind those aqua blue eyes and he wanted to find out what. She intrigued him. He loathed that she had injured Legolas, that she hadn't told him about this fury-driven ego, who could fire an arrow so deadly. It gave him all the more reason to doubt her trust and consider banishment before she did more damage.

But he couldn't give her all the blame, and neither did he feel it was the right choice to send her away. He had asked Legolas to provoke her and therefore he was the reason for his son's injury. There was more to it than just a simple woman who thought she could do or say what she wanted. He sensed that she could be careless and mock him out of anger, but she was still mindful. She was smart and thought before she spoke.

Thranduil let out a grunt, getting up from his seat in a graceful swing that caused the candle to go out as he strolled past his desk, tired of constantly having Kiera on his mind. She puzzled him. But he would solve her, yes, he would. Eventually, the pieces would fit. He was sure of it and he had patience to wait for it.

Meanwhile, not very far from the Royal Wing, Kiera was watching as her own candle flame was ignited and burning right before her eyes. She felt the rapid thud of her heart beating in her chest at the proximity of the fire, but she ignored it.

She often did this: tested her fears. It helped overcome them and allowed her to better cast them aside when she needed to keep focused or, in other words, keep her cool.

Hesitantly, she took in a deep breath and held up her hand just beside the flame, feeling the heat embracing her fingertips. She bit her lip, waiting. It was just fire. Just one flame on a candle, bringing nothing but light. It wouldn't hurt her if she was fast, as long as she didn't keep her hand in the tinted blaze.

Kiera quickly let her hand brush across the flame, not even feeling it touch her. She had done this countless of times, yet the first time was still the hardest.

She sighed, repeating the motion back and forth, until she in the end let her fingers sway with the flame, drawing them around and through as it licked along the fingertips like a dance. Despite it being one of her fears, when she overcame the first part, it would always help later on and it was rather calming to watch. She felt no pain, only the soft heat. It was but her smothered hand from the ashy fire that was left behind as an echo of what she had done.

What did she want to challenge this night? It was calm. She hadn't heard from the King since the morning and no servant had summoned her to be anywhere after she had gone to her room. Perhaps he was already asleep or sat in his study with his own arrogant self. Or maybe he still sat slung on his throne to order more of his subjects. Kiera doubted it. What she knew of him, he would most likely have retired for the night.

She wondered how grand rooms he must have had, considering just her own and how beautiful the rest of the realm was – she had only seen the study, and that was already large in itself. She knew, as there were depths in the king's cavernous halls, there were also heights. During earlier explorations, she had discovered caves not far from the cellars with ponds and minor waterfalls emerging from the rocks. Meanwhile, she had also discovered cliffs in the tops of the mountains, corridors expanding to wide openings, serving a view of Mirkwood and whatever could be seen in the horizon.