"I have been here some hours," Tauriel replied, composing herself. She thought that might have been the case, anyway; she wasn't sure how time moved, now. It was slippery in her grasp.

"What is this place?" she asked. "I've never seen nor heard of its like before." And how could he have been here for a year, when she had seen him today, had been at his side since they left Esgaroth?