A/N: Well this is my first Drabble for the 100 Drabble Challenge. XD I hope you like it, because I enjoyed writing it! Thanks to NirCele for getting me into this! She's amazing! And this is really fun! Thanks to my wonderful Beta Reader BlackShaftedArrow! I love her so much!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

This takes place on a Christmas Eve in the Woodland Realm, though I know Christmas isn't until December. But I felt like writing it. So enjoy!

1st Drabble

"Fire"

"So Elladan reaches for his sword, still shaking like a leaf—" The young Peredhel reached dramatically for where his sword would have been, mimicking the terrified motions of his older brother as best he could. "And at this point, we're all fervently hoping that he just realizes what's happening and backs off—" A ripple of laughter passed through the small group of listeners, Elladan turning red while he buried his face in his hands. Elrohir took the action as one of encouragement and went on, eyeing his twin slyly.

"I wonder what it's like?"

Elrond turned his head from watching the small group of storytellers, a thoughtful smile on his face. He glanced back at the speaker. "What?" He asked, slightly confused as to why his friend sounded so solemn. Thranduil shrugged dismissively, as if to say the question wasn't important and took a small sip of wine, rolling it around in his mouth carelessly. The Elven King then glanced around the large, decorated dining room, blue eyes studying every light and bough of holly as if it would disappear. He seemed rather sad, almost depressed.

Elrond frowned, shifting in his chair to look at the blonde king, a curious gleam in his silver eyes. Why would Thranduil be so sad on this merry day, especially after he had been so happy a few moments ago? Well, he could think of reasons why, he just didn't understand them.

The half elf bit his lip in thought, silver eyes turning to stare at Celebrian, who was chatting merrily with some friends. She obviously hadn't noticed the king's change in mood, otherwise she would have said something. So he turned back to the Elven King to ask again. He smiled as he could still hear his youngest son's story, but was only partly registering it. The twins were only in their teens, but they still had many stories to tell, even though they had nothing to do with war. More like silly pranks and tales of terrorizing their siblings.

"What?" Elrond asked again, wondering what had gotten into his friend. Thranduil turned and sighed, placing his goblet on the table, a few inches from a candle. He obviously didn't want to keep it to himself, otherwise he would never have relented so easily.

"To have been born in peaceful times—or at least more peaceful than the Second Age—to never have grown up with a shadow lingering outside your door." Thranduil explained heavily, eyes watching their children closely. Elrond nodded slowly in sudden understanding. But instead of frowning and becoming silent, he smiled at his friend. There was no reason they should dwell on the past. There was no reason the shadows of that age should come back to haunt them now.

"It was probably amazing." As he said this, the table jerked noisily, causing the table and it's contents to rattle and some things to fall over. Elrohir had dodged a backhand from his brother and was now trying to duck beneath the table. The half elf laughed, not really paying attention and glanced back to where his wife stood, wondering if she knew what was going on.

Beside him, the wood elf sighed in deep thought, an eyebrow raised. But the king had to agree with the Peredhel. So as Thranduil's blue eyes moved across the well decorated table once again—though this time he wasn't unsettled—he studied the center pieces closely, admiring their beauty. There were red and green dyed candles surrounded by Evergreen and holly berries. Oh, and the table was on fire.

Wait, what?

A/N: So, what'd you think? I tried staying within the 500 word limit, but the story just wouldn't be tamed! Bad little One-Shot, bad! Please leave a review!