Inspired by the movie trilogies The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Kiss of the Forest

Part One

Chaos dances like a snake around me as I slaughter one orc after another, freeing their wretched heads from their miserable shoulders. The battle has been going on for quite some time, for the orcs' numbers are great, but we, the elves, are still driving them back.

It takes a while, but finally, all I see is corpse after corpse littering the battlefield.

"Victory is ours!" shouts Legolas, the elf prince, heir to the elf throne and son of King Thranduil.

Exhausted, we ride back to the palace, where King Thranduil is waiting anxiously for Legolas to lead us home, although he will never admit it. As we arrive at the palace, we're loaded with chores so we can get even stronger. After all, it's important that we know how to treat our armour and weapons. The better we know our materials and territory, the less we'll get wounded.

"Legolas, you and Tauriel can work together on cleaning everyone's weapons," orders King Thranduil, "And Tauriel," he sneers, turning to me, "Legolas has grown very fond of you. Do not give him hope where there is none. There's no way a lowly Silvan elf like you could possibly be good enough for my son, captain of the guard or not."

That jerk of a king can stuff his pain in the neck lowly attitude into an orc's face, then throw it and the orc in Mount Doom. Everything changes now that I know that Legolas likes me! I think, walking away and joining Legolas to clean everyone's weapons. I walk into the room where Legolas is seated and sit down next to him.

"I know you have feelings for me, Legolas," I pretend to accuse, looking at him.

"What? Who told you that?" he asks, his eyes flickering across to me, caught off guard.

"Your father. He said not to give you hope."

Legolas looks at me in the eyes, surprised. I look back and we locked eyes, neither of us moving a muscle as gaze fondly. I never noticed how gorgeous his eyes are. They're an emerald green, with just a hint of blue, and they sparkle like a thousand diamonds.

"You just disobeyed my father," he drawls softly.

"I don't care," I whisper.

"Oh, Tauriel," Legolas sighs. "You have no idea how much I want to be with you, but..."

"Legolas! Tauriel! Are you finished yet? What's taking so long?" the king, unaware that he cut his son off, demands impatiently.

"Sorry, father. We're almost done," Legolas replies, wiping his face of any emotion.

"Well, hurry up! On the battlefield, there is no time for pointless chit-chat!" the king scolds.

Neither of us replies and Legolas starts wiping down weapons faster than before. I follow suit after finding no emotion on his face. As we finish, both of us are silent as a grave, but I keep stealing glances at him.

"Good! Now, go relax," orders King Thranduil. I jump, not realising he's behind us. Sneaky.

"Yes, father," sighs Legolas, turning to me and rolling his drop dead gorgeous eyes, a little smile tugging the corners of his mouth upwards.

A nervous smile plays at the corners of my mouth, even though I'm confused by the sudden changes in his behaviour. One minute he's about to confess something, the next he has no emotion, and then he's warm again.

"What's going on between you two?" asks King Thranduil, switching glares between Legolas and me, "You know you can't marry her, Legolas. I won't allow it!"

Legolas shrugs and runs off. I swiftly catch up to him.

"Let's go to my chambers," declares Legolas. Seeing the shocked expression on my face, he adds, "I don't care if my father catches us. We're allowed to be together. Ever since my mother died, he's let me do nothing. It's about time I take a stand."

Together we sneak up to Legolas's chambers. Once both of us are in the room, he quietly shuts the door.

He sits on the bed and holds out a hand to me. I hesitate, and when he doesn't move and continues to sit patiently, I take it. His eyes shine in the starlight, which is beaming through the window. He pulls me in close and kisses me gently as if asking a question. I answer the question by falling into his embrace and kissing him back. The kiss is everything I ever dreamed of. For the first time, I truly feel at home.