Welcome to my new story! I decided to delete Those We Leave Behind because I was having a hard time writing it and I just had new ideas for other stories-which led to this. I plan for this to be a trilogy, centering around the Mirkwood elves (primarily Tauriel) about three centuries before the events of the Hobbit as the forest of Greenwood falls into darkness due to the evil leaking out from Dol Guldur.

That's about everything; enjoy the story!

Prologue

1000 years earlier

When in doubt, stick to the facts. Stick to what you know to be true. Believe in these things, no matter what happens next.

I am Tauriel, daughter of Faedolian. I am a daughter of Mirkwood.

I am alone.

My parents were killed in an orc raid four days ago and my home was destroyed. I have nowhere to go. I have been running ever since.

The young elfling pressed closer to the safety the pine tree's branches provided her. Branches cracked and strained overhead as the spider worked its way through the tree, scattering leaves and needles all around her. She held her breath as it paused right over her hiding place. It would see her. And if it saw her, she was as good as dead.

She rummaged in the small leather sack near her feet. She could still remember her mother pressing it into her hands, her face streaked with ash. "Run, my daughter. Run swift and strong. Do not stop for anything. You must keep going. You must escape." She should have protested harder, but everything in that moment was confusion and darkness and pain. The orcs had come. She could hear their war cries in the forest nearby. In seconds, they would be on her small house. She had always been brought up to be obedient and to do as she was told, so she had left without a word.

She had never imagined, even in her wildest nightmares, that her parents wouldn't be right behind her.

Her hands brushed a couple loaves of stale bread, a skin of fresh water, her notebook-a present for her seven hundredth birthday only a few months ago-and…a fishing knife. She drew it from the sack and ran her hand over the hand-carved metal blade. It wasn't much, but it could do more damage than a simple book. She crouched in readiness, waiting for the spider to make the next move.

The spider looked around stupidly, its large eyes swinging demurely from side to side. The elleth held her breath as its gaze passed over her. It hadn't seen her. She was safe.

Carefully, she began to inch away over the soft green needles, wincing every time she accidentally stepped on a twig. The small sounds seemed like thunder in the near-silent forest-but she wasn't followed. Finally, she realized that she'd left the spider's tree far in the distance. She stood to run. She could hear water flowing somewhere nearby. She wondered if she would be able to cross it. The closer you got to the King's halls, the less likely you were to encounter spiders and other unsavory characters, as these were the areas that received the most protection by the Woodland Guard.

Just then, a spider dropped down out of nowhere and landed directly in front of her, blocking her only escape route. It looked like something out of her worst nightmares-its large fangs were dripping with slime and its cold, dead eyes seemed to gleam with malice. She tried to remember what her father had told her about spiders-they have many weak spots-if you survive long enough to reach one of them. She brandished her knife. "Come and get me." she said defiantly, trying to slow the racing in her heart. She wasn't going down without a fight.

She lashed out and struck the spider hard on its left leg. Almost as quickly, she drew back and did the same thing again on the other side, trying to confuse it. However, the spider was much bigger than she was. Almost casually, it flicked her aside, leaving a nasty gash on her right arm. She landed on the ground hard, all the wind knocked out of her. The knife skittered into the foliage and out of sight. She was alone as the spider bore down on her, its eyes glinting with the prospect of its next meal. She wanted to close her eyes, but she kept them open. Surely her parents had greeted death full-on when it came for them. She had to honor their memory.

This was why she saw the figures dressed in yellows and blacks that seemed to drop out of nowhere like rain on an otherwise cloudless day. They worked swiftly and efficiently, killing the spider with a dagger to the neck. The spider died choking on its own saliva.

The elleth turned to her rescuers. They were wood-elves, as she was. One of them looked to be much older than her. He had long hair that blended in with the trees around him, as did his armor and tunic. In fact, except for his vivid green eyes, he seemed a part of the forest himself. The other elf appeared to be closer to her age, not more than a millennia old. His hair was a stark contrast to the older elf-it was yellow, and it almost seemed to glow in the dim light. "Are you hurt?" he asked her softly.

She massaged her injured arm, which she'd forgotten about in the excitement. "When it flicked me off…"

The dark haired elf examined the wound carefully. "You are lucky it is not deep. Spider poison can be deadly. As it is, you will experience discomfort for some days afterward, but you will suffer no permanent disabilities. Where are your parents?"

"They died, four days ago."

His eyes seemed to soften. "I am sorry. Have you any other relatives?"

She shook her head slowly.

The younger elf spoke now, eyeing her carefully. "I am Prince Legolas of the Woodland Realm, and this is Jarek. Come back to my home. Healers will tend your wound and find somewhere for you to stay."

She didn't respond. She couldn't.

"The forest is no place for you to be wondering alone and unsupervised. Please. We must treat the spider poison." He gently took her arm in his. The wound was already beginning to pulse, like a bruise.

"Are you really a prince?" she asked. She'd heard about the king of the realm and his son, of course, but she didn't understand why he would be here, of all places.

"Yes, I am. I am not supposed to be here, but the palace was especially boring today." he said, almost as if he could read her thoughts. He rolled his eyes jokingly and she had to bite back a smile. "Will you come with us?"

She hesitated. She didn't want to go someplace with elves she didn't know, but she couldn't possibly stay where she was. She didn't know the first thing about fighting spiders. Besides, maybe her parents had escaped the carnage somehow. Maybe the bodies she'd seen in the wreckage weren't actually theirs. Maybe they were looking for her. There'd be a better chance for them to find her at the palace. "Yes." She took his outstretched hand. His grip was tender but firm as he led her into the trees. Jarek stayed close behind them and acted as rearguard.

"What is your name?"

She swallowed hard. Just the facts. "Tauriel. My name is Tauriel. I am seven hundred and fifty six years old."

She didn't let go of Legolas's hand even as they entered the great front hall of the palace. Everything was new and different here-from the amber lamps hanging in sconces on the walls to the many elves wandering the halls and looking at her strangely. They all bowed to Legolas though.

After almost a half hour of wandering through endless corridors and crossing over endless bridges, they left the palace entirely and went through a small underground tunnel to another building. This building seemed to be more of a complex than a simple structure-dozens of tiny staircases and bridges wound upward around the trunks of three massive trees that grew into the forest canopy far above. However, the most striking thing for Tauriel was that the people inhabiting this place were all children-some of them even younger than her. The air was filled with their chatter as they went from one place to another. A few of them stopped to look at the new arrivals curiously, but most didn't give them a second thought.

"Welcome to the forest's training center for Guard members. It also doubles as a home for orphaned initiates." Jarek explained.

Tauriel found it hard to take it all in at once. This was where elves just like her, who had lost everything dear to them, could start over and train to become a part of the Guard. The Woodland Guard was renowned all over Middle Earth. No better or more disciplined fighting force could be found anywhere on the continent, from Esgaroth in the east to the Grey Havens in the west. "So this is where training starts?" she asked.

"Yes. Most elves start when they turn a millennia old, and they progress through the levels until they are inducted into the Guard or come of age-whichever happens to come first." Jarek gave her a small smile. "You will like it here, Tauriel. I grew up here myself."

Legolas practically dragged her over to a small room on the ground level, where an older elf was sitting behind a large desk, scribbling fiercely on a piece of paper. "I have a new initiate for you."

The elf ignored them. "All complaints go in the basket." she muttered, pointing to a small wicker basket nearby.

"No, it's not that. This is Tauriel."

She looked up, irritated. "What do you-" She broke off midsentence when she saw Legolas. "My prince. Please accept my most humble apologies. If I had known-"

Legolas's eyes narrowed slightly and Tauriel could tell he was more irritated than he was letting on. "This is Tauriel. She was found orphaned in the forest. She must go to the infirmary first, as she was stung by a spider about an hour ago. After that, she will need a bed, a hot meal, and new clothing. My father will want to see her sometime over the next couple of days, and she is to start training as soon as she is able." He spoke with a fluency that suggested he had made this monologue many times before.

"Yes, my prince. Right away." The elf smiled in an almost sickening way and stood up, shuffling through a few sheets of papers. "This way, Maeria."

"It's Tauriel-" Tauriel tried to correct her, but the elf seemed not to notice. She had already taken off across the crowded commons area.

"I will come back as soon as I can to see how you are settling in." Legolas spoke quickly for Tauriel's benefit, knowing her guide would not wait for long.

She nodded. "Thank you for saving me."

He shrugged. "I…understand how it feels, to lose a parent." He didn't elaborate. "Someday, you'll learn how to kill spiders singlehandedly. Then you won't need saving."

Tauriel smiled. She liked this new elf. In any case, he was nothing like she'd imagined a prince would be.

Just then, the elf who had led her away realized that Tauriel wasn't following and yelled at her to hurry up. "I have to go."

"Namarie."

"See you soon." Tauriel sprinted off across the smooth rock, cradling her arm. It was beginning to hurt. When she reached the base of one of trees and turned to go inside, she glanced back once to see if Jarek and Legolas had left. Jarek was gone, probably to report back to the king, but Legolas was still there. She waved to him once and went into the tree.

Tauriel's second meeting with Legolas happened the very next day, when she awoke to a stabbing pain in her arm that made her cry out. She tried to examine her wound, but she couldn't-it was wrapped in layers of fresh gauze that would stop the poison.

Next, she looked at her surroundings. She was in a small room that seemed to be made up of shades of white-the walls were white, the floor was white, and even the comfortable bed sheets she was lying on were made of white fabric. She could see the bag containing her few belongings across the room, stained by and covered with spider slime.

Just then, the infirmary door opened and Legolas came in. "How does your arm feel?" he asked.

"Sore."

"Good. That means the poison is gone." He said this knowledgeably, as if it happened all the time. Maybe it did, at least in this area.

"What happens?" she asked. She could barely remember the night before-the grouchy elf had dropped her off in the infirmary and two healers had set to work on her right away. They'd taken her into this very room and given her a strong tea that had put her right to sleep.

"The healers used herbs to drain the poison from your blood."

"I guess I understood that. I mean, what happens now?"

"You have to rest and make sure your arm heals properly."

She rolled her eyes. "I know! I'm talking about after that. Am I going to live at the Guard school?"

"If you want to. I've never heard of someone who wants to join the Guard just after they arrive, though. A lot of elves like you tend to go into research and study."

"But you don't get to kill orcs in research and study, do you?"

"Well, no. Not really." He looked at her curiously.

"I have to avenge my parents." she said simply.

"Oh. Were they killed by orcs?"

"Yes. There was a raid…no one saw it coming…" Don't think about it…Suppress the memories…

"You're lucky to be alive."

She toyed with the frayed ends of a blanket, rubbing them back and forth between her fingers. "I guess. I wish I were still with Adar and Naneth, though."

"Things would be a lot simpler. But you wouldn't have this chance to avenge their deaths. My father told me once that when life gives you a second chance, you should try to live it to the fullest. Sometimes that means going through tribulations."

She met his eyes for the first time. They were very blue, bluer than she'd known eyes could be.

"I understand that. I too have someone I must avenge." He held out a hand for her to shake. "If you want to, I'll help you train." he continued.

She shook his hand with her good one. "We can kill orcs together. Friends?"

"Friends."

Legolas left soon after, as the herbs that had been in Tauriel's tea were still working strongly and she was extremely drowsy. Tauriel used her good hand to pull up the duvet so it covered her wound. She was sad, of course. She still couldn't believe that only a week earlier she'd been woken up by her mother's familiar touch. She couldn't believe that she'd never feel that touch again. She was also excited though, once she got past the sadness. If she worked hard, she could be part of the Guard-and she'd just made friends with a prince!

Tauriel shook her head and tried to clear it. I will make them proud. I will work hard like Adar did and I will be a kind person like Naneth was. I will protect those who need protecting and I will become a member of the Guard.

I will never forgive and I will never forget. My parents will be avenged.

She knew from that moment forward that nothing in her life would be the same. She was ready for any challenges that she might face.

She would rise above them. She was sure of it.

Translations:

Elleth-female elf

Adar-father

Naneth-mother

Namarie-farewell

Review, follow, and favorite!