A/N: Chapter edited on June 2, 2017. Next Chapter to be posted on Sunday June 4th, 2017.

I've hit major writers block, but I am in the process of writing the story. Let me know in the review section if you would prefer one section to be added at a time or all at once when it is completed.

If you notice any spelling, grammar, or language errors (Elvish included) please let me know. I do not have a beta and will be writing this myself. This is my first fan fiction that I have ever published and I do hope to do these characters justice. There will also be no romance between Tauriel and Kili within this story, so I guess you can classify it as an AU.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and plot lines belong to Tolkien and Peter Jackson. I am only writing this as I believe Tauriel's story deserves a better ending.

Chapter 1

It was a dark cloudy night, the horizon was illuminated by an ominous glowing light. The sounds of clanking armor and heavy footfalls could not be heard by the fearful Men, but the superior hearing of the Elves were able to pick up the menacing sounds from such a great distance. They could sense the evil presence advancing towards Helms Deep and prayed to Eru that both Man and Elf alike would make it through the coming battle, though the odds were not in their favor. The enemy was ten thousand strong. It was an army bred for a single purpose, to destroy the World of Men.

As the light came closer, the Mortal Soldiers were able to make out the distorted images of Orcs wearing the white hand of Saruman upon them. Some of the men began to tremble at the sight. Of the 300 Rohirrim, most were either farmers or stable boys. Not the mighty warriors you would expect to be defending the Walls of Helms Deep. But they had courage in their hearts and hope on their side, they would fight to the death to defend their kin in the caves below.

Upon the wall among the many archers stood a blonde boy of 12 summers, Éothain of Rohan. The boy looked at the massive army approaching and began to shake slightly. Tears slid down his pale battered face. Éothain thought he had seen devastation before in his homelands, but looking at the Orcs before him realized he was wrong. The Wild Men that had plagued his people and burned his village to the ground were nothing in comparison the the growling beasts that would inevitably bring about his death.

Éothain felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see the auburn haired Elleth next to him. Tauriel squeezed the boy's shoulder and gave him a reassuring glance. She had found the young one behind a stack of crates earlier in the evening crying. She had immediately felt the need to soothe his anguish, yet she hadn't even known its cause nor his name. Tauriel had asked the boy what was ailing him as he appeared uninjured, except for a few scratches on his face. Éothain had looked at the Elleth and told her that he feared the deaths of his younger sister and mother. The She-Elf had looked at the poor boy and told him not to fear for the lives of his family, that the powers of the Valar would watch over them whilst they took cover in the Glittering Caves.

At present the boy stood on the wall next too Tauriel and dried his eyes with the sleeve of his tunic. He would be brave for his family as Tauriel had told him earlier. If he had to face the coming darkness he was glad that it was beside the strong Elven warrior beside him. He took some slow deep breaths in and out to ground himself. He looked back ahead and kept his eyes above the enemy, looking up at the cloudy sky searching for the unseen starts above and began to think of the different constellations Tauriel had described to him earlier in order to maintain his composure. He would need all the strength he could muster if he was going to fight in the upcoming battle to defend his family below.

The redheaded She- Elf looked down at the boy next to her with a prideful smile on her face. In the few hours that she had known this human, she had grown fond of him. She would watch him as one of her fellow warriors in arms, aide him when she could. "He is so brave for one so young," Tauriel thought to herself. In fact he reminded her of a blonde elfling that she had known long ago, who also longed to fight to protect those he loved. Her friend had been at her side during the decades of training it took to join the forest patrols. On their first patrol in Mirkwood, then Greenwood the Great, Tauriel and her friend had both longed to prove themselves and to protect their people. This human boy Éothain had that same look of determination and love in his eyes, that her mellon had in his own so many centuries ago. She wasn't sure if it was that the boy was so much like her childhood friend or his age that drew her to protect him, but she would stand by him through this night at his side. If she could not be with those she loved, she would die defending these people next to someone she felt a connection to.

She turned her eyes slightly to the right to look at an odd sight down the wall, where a Dwarf stood amongst Elven warriors. It was almost comical to see the vertically challenged male jump up and down to get a better view of the enemy below, but the poor fellow was unable to look for more than a few seconds at a time. Tauriel giggled to herself at the scene for a moment until her breathe caught in her throat. Next to the Dwarf stood a fair Elf, but not just any Elf.

"Legolas."

Tauriel froze for a moment to look at her childhood mellon. He looked exactly the same as he had nearly 60 years ago when she had last seen him at the Battle of Five armies near the Lonely Mountain of Erebor. She had remembered the look of betrayal in his eyes as she grieved for the life of her new found friend Kili, who had been slaughtered by Bolg in his attempts to save her. Although stricken with grief, Tauriel had hear him approach and caught a glimpse of his figure where Legolas stood froze looking upon them. Thinking back to such a sorrowful moment in her immortal life, Tauriel began to wonder when exactly their friendship had fallen apart. Her heart clenched in her chest while she stared at the Elf down the wall. What would he do if he saw me now? Would he see me as an enemy? Or would he see the lost friend that missed his company? Only time would tell. Time they did not have with the coming battle ahead.

Tauriel removed her eyes from her former companion and forced herself to look at the approaching army. She would put all thoughts of her old friend behind. It was not the time or place to be thinking of old relations. Any hopes of reacquainting herself with Legolas would have to wait until later. There was evil upon them and she had to be at her best if she hoped to survive the night.