"I can't," Thranduil whispers.

The emotions rush back to him.

He should be angry at her.

He has a son!

The visions of his first meeting of Tor-Hùrion flash back to him and he curses.

He should have realised earlier. He should have realised that underneath the fire in the young ellon's eyes, the silence of the storm lay there.

He should have recognized his own blood coursing through his son's veins. But he didn't.

He cannot fathom the importance of the revelation. He has a son.

He has a another son.

He turns slowly to Tauriel and looks at her.

She's watching him with big green eyes, afraid and searching for answers.

Thranduil remembers those exact eyes some decades ago. Then they carried another kind of emotion.

Love.

He remembers the Feast of Isilme in that particular year. In its essence, Mereth Nuin Giliath is for the elves to have a feast to celebrate the starlight. Because the Mirkwood elves, having not seen the Light of the Trees, they love the light of the stars the best. It has been their constant companion in this world for millennias.

But for him, the day meant another year of being parted from his dear wife.

He could have been happy, if he would ever see her in Undying lands, if he finally decided to sail there.

But no, he never even had that chance; Istil had died in the hands of the Witch-king – her body and soul never reaching for the Halls of Mandos, trapped in the evil of the Sauron.

So, in the end of all things, he would never meet his soul mate again, even if he wanted to.

And the Feast of Starlight for him was the remembrance day of his wife's death.

From that particular celebration, he remembers being extra bitter and harsh with people around him.

It was the thousandth of year of Istil's death. He had been alone for a thousand of years and he needed to forget his pain. So the only thing he could do was to drink and try to be merry for the sake of his people.

He was not sure how or why Tauriel had crossed his path in the halls of his palace, but they had ended up talking and walking together towards his rooms.

Deep inside him, he knew that Tauriel loved him.

But he also knew that Legolas was in love with Tauriel as well. Not a good idea for his son, but in this moment, he hoped that maybe she was in love with him too, so he would not get hurt in the end.

But in his mind, he had always been sure that the way Tauriel loved him was purely platonical love, a love of a respect and admiration.

Walking with her in the vast halls of the realm, he caught her looking at him and he saw the same look in her eyes he had been missing for a thousand of years. He saw the look of real love in her eyes. In that tiny moment, he knew that it was the real kind of love that one elf could have towards another elf. Real, hard, passionate romantic love.

And in his wine-induced haze he made a decision.

He had been alone for too long and he found himself physically needing her company.

He kissed her in the middle of the halls. Savoured her lips against his, the touch of her fingers on his neck. For one night, he decided to forget everything and allow himself to feel.

One thing lead to another and the morning sun found them tangled in the bed together.

And it was alarming for Thranduil, because he had done it because of emptiness of the heart, not because he had loved her.

He regretted his decision ever since.

He had ruined her chances to be happy, he had ruined her. Because in essence, elves just don't fall in love fast nor do they stop loving. Elves can die of a broken heart and he really didn't want to break the poor young soul that Tauriel was to him.

When he had tried to explain himself in the morning, Tauriel had stormed out from his room with tears in her eyes.

He had broken her.

One way or another.

After their encounter, Tauriel had buried herself to her duties as a Captain of the Guard, barely seeing the king and always on patrol. She was ingoring him as much as she could.

Legolas had seen the shift in her behaviour and was asking Thranduil to do something about it. But the king didn't know how or what he could do to mend the broken heart of the young elf.

Soon enough, the patrol found the dwarves in the forest and Thranduil was forced to confront Tauriel in his chambers.

He saw her restlessness and hurt in her eyes.

He was mad at himself and angry at her that she had woken up some feelings inside him, that were laying dormant for a thousand of years.

Words were exchanged and soon he felt the consequences of his actions.

She was gone, escaped.

In pursuit of a retched dwarf.

Had she gotten over of her love that fast and fell for the damned dwarf? Was this really love she was feeling towards him?

What did she know of love?

And of course, Legolas had followed her, as he always did.

In the following days, he felt the hole in her heart widen once more.

He missed Legolas and he missed Tauriel even more.

Without even realizing it, his heart had started to sing whenever Tauriel was close to him and looking at him. He hadn't noticed the melody of his heartstrings until it was too late. He found himself falling in love with her, but she was gone.

The death of the fire-breathing serpent was a good excuse for Thranduil to arm his forces and start the trip towards the Lonely Mountain. He wished that Tauriel and Legolas would be there and he could convince them both to come home.

But instead he was greeted with death and destruction.

In the midst of the battle, Tauriel had turned against him, accusing him of the lack of love in him.

He wanted to laugh in her face then and there. Because it was ironic, coming in the mouth of the one he was falling in love with. Instead, his anger got the best of him and he had broken her bow and accused her of knowing nothing of the world.

And too soon, she was gone and so was his son.

In his days of emotional constipation, he had managed to frighten away everybody who had ever loved him.

When he was walking up the stairs of Ravenhill, after the battle, he was sure he would find Tauriel in there and somehow maybe manage to talk her and Legolas to come and return to the halls of the Mirkwood.

But what he saw in there made him realise that it was too late. Legolas had felt the burn of rejection and needed to get out of there. And Tharnduil let his son go, knowing that he very well may not return to him again.

When he reached to the ruins, he found Tauriel crying over the body of the dead dwarf.

The vision of her sadness, the pain she was in, it reminded him too much of his own pain and he couldn't just turn away from her.

He had lived through the thousand years of mourning; he would have done everything in his power to shield Tauriel from it. But yet, there she was, her heart crying out for the dead dwarf.

He realised then, that maybe it wasn't real love he had seen in her eyes during that faithful night. Maybe she really loved the dwarf and not him?

Whatever the case was, he knew that he didn't want to lose her again. It didn't matter to him anymore if the love for him was real or not.

All that he knew was that he had strong feelings towards the mourning elf and he wanted to do anything to make her better.

He was too tired of being angry and bitter, it was time to be better and it was time to be open to the world beyond his realm. Tauriel had been right, she was always right. He had shielded himself away from the world and now, he saw that the world needed him. He could not stay in the darkness of his caves anymore.

He left Tauriel for a moment, to let her mourn Kili in peace. When he returned to escort her back to Dale, he couldn't find her anywhere. His heart contracted in pain when he realized she had escaped. Once again, he had lost the person who had loved him.

He ordered his army to search everywhere close to Dale and Erebor, but there was nothing. No trace of her. It was as if she vanished into thin air.

And now, all those years later, the one who opened his heart to the world again, was standing in front of him.

He could see the love she still had for him underneath the layers of fear and anger.

He wasn't going to give her up now, just when she had returned to him. She could not leave him again, not if he could do anything about it.

"I cannot let you go again." He whispers again, his teeth pressed together, holding back the storm of emotions inside him.

Tauriel fixes her eyes on him.

"As I said, Thranduil, you have no power over me anymore." Her voice is shaking. "I can decide my own fate."

"Tauriel," he breathes out heavily, his eyes pleading. "You misunderstand me."

Tauriel shakes her head, but before she can say anything, Thranduil stops her. He feels the anger and in him to fade and suddenly he feels calm. "I have lost everybody in my life. First my father, then my love Istil. Legolas and you. Everybody whom I have ever loved has left me. I cannot let you leave again, not anymore, Tauriel."

For a moment, Tauriel looks at him in surprise and then laughs at his words.

"You don't love me, Thranduil," she shakes head, "No, you made that really clear to me."

The anger returns to him with a fresh wave and he growls in frustration. Before he can formulate a protest in his head, Tauriel continues.

"You are just saying this, so your son would stay here. Is that it?"

Thranduil shakes his head silently but Tauriel is not really seeing him or hearing anything he is saying.

She continues. "You must understand he is old enough to make his own decisions."

"Far," Thranduil growls out. "You do not hear me, Tauriel."

Tauriel steps closer to him and squints her eyes in anger. "I do not need to. I know you, King of Mirkwood, I know that you do not care about anybody but yourself."

All the feelings he had been holding back rush back to him with a tidal wave. He does the only thing he can really do.

He grabs the hold of her shoulder and pulls her into his embrace.

Tauriel's protests get lost into his mouth as he is kissing her lips with an abandon. She tries to fight with him first, but soon she seems to give up and melts into his kiss.

He savours the taste of her. It has been too long since he felt like this.

The fact that Tauriel is in his arms makes his soul vibrate in utter satisfaction. He has been longing to do that for decades and nothing in the world could stop him now.

He needs her like elves need the light of the stars.

He needs her like Beren needed Lùthien.

He just cannot let her go.

He brings his hand to back of her neck as the other one sneaks to the small of her back.

He needs her closer.

By shifting the angle of their embrace, he thrusts his tongue to her mouth. The action is met with approval and Tauriel lets loose a sigh. Thranduil deepens the kiss and he is sure he can see stars around them, even if his eyes are closed. The fire of Tauriel burns brightly inside him. He will never let it fade.

Suddenly there is a knocking sound nearby and reluctantly Thranduil parts from Tauriel and looks at the direction where the sound came from.

Tor-Hùrion is on the doorway, watching the both of them in utter surprise.

"Naneth?"