My name is Tauriel, and I am the Captain of the guard.

Life wasn't handed to me on a silver platter like all the other elves. I was abandoned at an early age by my mother. After that I was put into foster care with an elf named Ianthe. I really should not complain, she treated me decently well for the money she had. That is, when she had the time to.

I was left alone for most of my life, and I learned to fend for myself. Most of my life was spent in the woods beside my house. I often had to defend myself against spiders, though they were not as large as the ones I deal with now.

"Tauriel!" Legolas rips me out of my thoughts and I stand to face him.

He looks angry "Yes?" My response sounds annoyed, an emotion that I probably should not have shown to the prince of Mirkwood.

Legolas glares at me and I wring my hands behind my back "I have been calling you, it is time to go"

I nod and follow him through the entrance to Thranduil's palace. "Are there more spiders?"

Legolas nods "More than usual. Their numbers seem to be increasing"

His pace is fast, and I struggle to keep up with him as we walk through the forest. "Do you have any Idea why?"

Legolas shakes his head "No" he says "It's almost as if-"He abruptly stops, making me trip over him and fall. Luckily, he catches me by my wrist and shoves me back up.

"What is it" I whisper. He motions for me to be silent.

I listen closely. Nothing sound out of place-

My head snaps up at the sound of leaves crunching and I draw my bow.

Legolas does the same, though we are unsure what to aim at. The sound stops and we stand motionless for some time.

Suddenly, a swarm of spiders emerge from behind the trees. I manage to kill a few of them, but there are too many.

I look to Legolas; he is struggling to keep the spiders at bay. I run towards him to help him. Working together, we defeat the spiders in minutes.

I look around and spot a few stray spiders; they are running, or whatever you wish to call that clumsy gait, away farther into the forest. I knit my eyebrows together "Why did they retreat?" I ask

Legolas shrugs, even though the question wasn't really aimed at him "They are gone now, that is all that matters"

I scoff "All that matters? They will be back soon, in larger numbers!" I am getting frustrated "If we do not kill them all, they will kill us!"

Legolas points a warning finger at me "It is not your place to disagree with me" He says angrily "You are the captain of the guard, and I am the prince"

I once again remember my place in the kingdom of Mirkwood. I slowly follow him back to the palace, deciding not to say anything since I knew I was in trouble already for speaking against the prince.

Halfway through the forest, Legolas stops and turns to face me "Tauriel, it was not right for me to say that, you- TAURIEL BEHIND YOU!"

I gasp as the pain hits me. I slowly turn my head and glace at my shoulder. There was an arrow in it.

It hurt more than usual. Since I had been shot in the arm before, I knew what it felt like. But this, this was horrible. My blood poured out more and I could feel something traveling through my veins. I gasp as the realization hits me.

Poison. It was a poison arrow.

I collapse on the forest floor, clutching my arm as if it would help. My vision starts to blur

"Aubrey! Aubrey! Come play with me! Come play with me!"

"Voices" I think "I must be dying"

I completely black out for a second. And then something shows

Two young girls are running through a field. One with brown hair, and the other, who looked considerably younger than the other, had red hair and freckles. They laugh as they chase each other around the field.

I stand there, fascinated by the girls. Their clothes look odd, though, they both are wearing some blue pants that come down to their knees.

The younger one stops at the edge of a forest and gives it a strange look. I walk closer to her and kneel so I can watch what happens next.

"Steph" I hear the older one say "What are you doing?" her voice is trembling

The younger one ignores her and starts to walk into the woods

"Stephanie!" The older one screams "We're not allowed in there!"

There is a look of pure terror on the older one's face as the younger one approaches an old tree. The younger one takes a deep breath and touches the tree.

My eyes fly open. Her hand went through it. It went through the tree

The younger girl looks scared, but nonetheless takes a step closer to the tree.

"Stephanie stop! You're scaring me!" The older girl's voice is dripping with fear and I couldn't agree more with her. Something about this was so familiar "STOP!"

The younger one ignores her again, but this time she steps through the tree. I gasp

"STEPHANIE NOOOOOOO" I feel my world spiraling again as the scene faces away

"Tauriel WAKE UP!" Light floods my vision as I open my eyes. I blink several times and try to recognize my surroundings.

I am in a bed, and Legolas is sitting on a chair by me.

I shake my head "This isn't real" I say

Legolas looks confused "What do you mean?"

"I-I'm not dead? How am I still here? Wasn't that a poison arrow?" That vision seemed so real, I thought for sure I was dead

Legolas smiles and pats my shoulder, making me wince in pain "You should stop asking questions, Tauriel, and rest" He leaves and I lay back in bed

Maybe he's right, you should get some rest

I shake my head. I am to restless to even attempt at getting some sleep, but it was worth a try.

I slowly calm myself, and I drift off to sleep with voices in my head.

"Stephanie Please! Come Back!"