Tauriel saw what was happening, but she couldn't make herself move to stop it. The Orc had his knife poised over Kili's chest and was preparing his deathly strike when Tauriel was finally knocked out of her stupor. She painfully rose up and launched herself at the Orc, knife raised, just as he thrust his blade downwards.
She heard the sickening sound of bone being crunched and she feared the worst as she hit the ground on top of the Orc. For a moment, she held him against the ground as she risked a glance at Kili. The blade had hit him, but instead of striking his heart like she expected it to, it had only pierced his shoulder. She let out a quick sigh of relief and quickly swiped her knife against the Orc's throat.
She was off of him as soon as his body stopped twitching. She was now covered in blood and sweat and dirt, and had more than a few injuries of her own, but she turned her attention to Kili, who was conscious but was barely moving
She knelt by his side and stoked his cheek. She had been so close to losing him, but he was alive, "Kili," she said gently. She firmly grasped the hilt of the sword that was imbedded in his flesh and gave it a quick tug. Blood spurted out of his shoulder she pressed her hands against his wound to slow down the bleeding. Think, Tauriel. She had been a decent healer in the Mirkwood, but she didn't have any supplies nor the time to heal him here. She hastily ripped the hem off her dress and tied it around the wound as tightly as she could. It wasn't the best sling she'd ever made, but she hoped it would do the job until she could reach actual medical supplies. She let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding when he spoke.
"I thought I was dreaming of you," he murmured, "I thought I was not lucky enough to actually have you by my side"
She smiled as the tears began falling from her eyes, "I would never leave your side, Kili," she said affectionately. She glanced behind her. There were no enemies in sight, but she could not tell what was happening back at the mountain. They could be ambushed at any moment, "We must leave" she said.
"Leave?" Kili asked incredulously, his eyes snapping open "We can't leave,"
"We must, it isn't safe here."
"The battle isn't over, Tauriel, we must fight" he struggled to sit up, only to have a wave of pain knock him back down.
"You're injured" she said as calmly as she could, "I must get you to a healer."
"I can't," he said stubbornly. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell her this, but it seemed to be the only way to make her see, "I must avenge Fili" he said quietly
Her face softened at his confession. She knew better than anyone what it was like to lose your entire family at once, but that was no reason to get himself killed. She cringed when she saw that the makeshift bandage was already soaked through. He would surely bleed out if she didn't get them to safety. "Come, Kili," she sighed, "There will always be more Orcs to kill. You need to be treated"
"You don't understand. I must fight for my family's honor as well as my own" he insisted, anger creeping into his voice, "An elf could never understand"
She flinched back from his words. How could he say something so hateful? He'd said once that he didn't care that they were supposed to be enemies. How could he say such a thing after she'd been banished for loving him? "You think I'm not honorable," she said. It wasn't a question. She should have known it was too much to ask for a dwarf to respect an elf. This insult was just proving what she already knew.
Kili's eyes widened as he realized what he'd said to her. He ached to reach out and touch her, to apologize, but he could tell his advances would not be well received. He mentally chastised himself for his stupidity. She'd made it clear that the reason they could not be together was the differences between there people, but he had put her mind to ease. Now… he wasn't proving himself any different from the dwarves that hated her.
"Tauriel, I-"
"I know very well you meant it," she sighed. She stood up slowly and wiped the blood on her hands onto her pants, "I am leaving, Kili," she said, hoping her voice did not betray the sadness she felt, "Come with me, or go on your suicide mission, the choice is yours."
She turned around and walked back to Erebor, fighting against her urge to look back as her tears began to fall
