Chapter 2, everyone!
Thanks to all readers, followers, favourites and reviewers! I really appreciate all your reviews; they're lovely and interesting to read and I'm glad you all like the story so far!
simo99: Thanks for reviewing! Since this story will be rather short, the Captain will not have the biggest of roles, but he is - as will be hinted and more explained in the last installment of this series - a rather important figure in Tauriel's upbringing.
guest: Thanks for reviewing! I will not write Legolas's p.o.v in this story at all, since it's Tauriel-focused, but I thank you for your suggestion. Hopefully, you'll find this chapter good enough even though it's not your idea :)
ClaraS: Thanks for reviewing! Yes, three chapters only. The new event will not be the following of "Change of Heart", but it will be featured in the last installment of this mini-series, which I will publish when this story is done. The new event takes place in this chapter and will hopefully be to your liking!
I do not own any characters or places; J.R.R Tolkien or Peter Jackson and Co do.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2
"Are you not going to do anything?"
Tauriel's voice was filled with disbelief and it reflected in her eyes together with disappointment. The King ignored her and she despised being ignored, especially when it was something important she needed to say.
The dragon had come down from the North earlier that day. The wind from its wings had bent the strong trees of Greenwood, but otherwise the dragon had left the elves' home untouched. It had its eyes set on another price.
Tauriel had accompanied King Thranduil to Erebor enough times to know that the King under the Mountain was acting a bit peculiar, obsessed with his gold and treasure. 'A sickness', people whispered, but Tauriel was more concerned about the dragon that had come and burned the city of the Men and the Mountain. The air in the forest had grown thick with ash and smoke. Had she been in charge, she would have ridden out immediately to their aid, but the King had not made any inclination that it was on his mind.
"Are you just going to remain here?" she asked with more passion to her voice than before.
The King was standing lazily and looked out through one of the tall windows. In his hand was a goblet of wine that had not left his hand since they had returned to the castle from the watchtower. Somehow, there always seemed to be liquor in the goblet even though the King's butler was nowhere to be seen at the moment. The King sipped his wine, but didn't look at her.
"The dragon is of no concern to us", he replied, sounding almost bored. "The dwarves brought this upon themselves. I warned Thrór of what would happen if he continued piling his gold and gems down those caverns of his. He did not listen. What is done is done."
Tauriel could hardly believe the words he spoke. Or the truth was, she could. She had always known that the King was stern and cold, but she had hoped that his better qualities would shine through.
"You cannot leave them to die!" Tauriel protested and her face showed alarm at the mere thought. "You cannot."
The King glanced at her dismissively. He took a sip of his wine.
"It is not my problem. I warned them, but they did not listen. Ignorance comes with a heavy price."
"How can you say that?" Tauriel wanted to know. "You sound so cold."
"Tauriel, the world is cruel. Save your pity for those who deserve it."
Tauriel was speechless. The way he spoke was cold and emotionless, much like he did not care for anything. She had met many elves of Greenwood, but King Thranduil was the one that she could not figure out. He had too many angles, too many shifting moods that made him hard to read. As a little elfling, she had respected him but as a woman grown, that respect had now been mingled with doubt and disagreement.
"You think they do not deserve my concern, my fear and my pity?" she wondered and her voice was dark, shaking ever so slightly with anger, an anger bubbling and burning as fierce and deadly as the dragon's fire. "You think they should die? Do you think that they should be left alone, watching their home and their families turn to ash? Should they be left to fend for themselves against the hardships of this world? Do you honestly believe that they deserve nothing?"
The King did not answer, but Tauriel was not done talking. She could not recall ever having felt this upset. Living in the castle had turned out to be much different from the forest. It was not as free and as meaningful. She had seen injustices in the forest, but nothing that was a cruel as the King's current behavior. He represented the life in the castle; the cultured games and power, the wildness that differed from that of the animals and trees of the forest. Tauriel had realized perhaps too late that a life shut inside the castle was not a life for her to live. Thinking back, she should have run away when they first had brought her there. She had tried, but Legolas had brought her back. He had been the only thing, the only person, she had not regretted and she had stayed for his sake and learnt the ways of court. She missed him fiercely, because he would have made his father see sense and he was the calm presence she needed, the company she would be glad to have.
"Shall we watch them fight for their lives? Shall we return to the watchtower, drinks in our hands and watch the smoke rise in the horizon and see the flames blazing?" She was pacing now, gesturing wildly with her hands, frustrated. "Will you deny them help and feast on their sorrow? What cruelty has befallen you to make you indifferent about…."
The King turned around to face her and she could glimpse something wild about his whole being, glimpsing what he was always so carefully trying to hide. It was a dangerous sight and the rest of her sentence died out before she could voice it.
"You should be very careful now, little one", the King hissed. "You know nothing, nothing!"
Tauriel's eyes darkened and she took a step closer to the King, a fierce expression upon her face.
"I believe I do", she said hotly. "I have seen more of your kingdom than you have and I've traveled with you through Dale and through Erebor. They are people just like us. You cannot leave them to die!"
The King's face was pale and contorted in a furious expression that looked frightening. His eyes flashed dangerously and the skin of his right side of his face seemed to crawl, shook. It looked like the cold façade he usually wore was about to fall apart.
"I will not risk the lives of my people for the sake of a greedy Mountain King", he all but spat out at her and his voice was composed, though anger leaked through it.
Tauriel narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. She lowered her voice, but did not leave the King with her eyes.
"Coward", she said and her voice was poison, disappointed and angry.
The King's eyes widened in surprise, otherwise he remained stoic. Tauriel did not budge, glaring at him with green eyes that were burning. Then, a muscle in the King's pale cheek twitched and his blue eyes turned nearly black with rage. With a couple of elegant strides he had moved past her. He opened the beautiful carved doors and called in a voice in control of emotions:
"Captain, escort Tauriel to the dungeons. I want her out of my sight this instant!"
Tauriel gaped at him, her face shocked. The King did not look at her when he returned to his position at the windows, taking a long gulp of wine in the process as if to calm his nerves. Before she could comprehend what was happening, the Captain was there, one hand on her shoulder, urging her outside the room. Tauriel snapped out of the moment of shock. She shrugged off the Captain's hand at was at the King's side within seconds. He refused to look at her and his eyes rested upon the green scenery of the forest. The wine had made his lips red like blood.
"How can you live with yourself?" she asked him in whisper, because her voice was shaking.
The King pretended not to notice her, but his shoulders tensed. Tauriel felt a cruel sort of satisfaction at the sight, knowing that she had gotten to him. She was not able to do anything else, for the Captain had now grabbed her firmly around the arm and was almost dragging her out of the room. Had she looked, Tauriel would have noticed that he looked disappointed at her acting, but she only had eyes for the King and he in turned treated her as if she was nothing.
Outside in the corridor were more guards waiting and their faces showed various expressions, but none of them shrunk away from their task. They closed in around her as if she was some dirty criminal. Tauriel couldn't understand how they could manage. Was she the only one that saw how wrong it was to leave the Men of Dale and the dwarves of Erebor at the mercy of a greedy, fire-breathing dragon?
They had managed to turn around the corridor when they came upon the Prince. Legolas stood frozen, blinking as if he was not quite sure of what he was seeing. Tauriel could not fault him for that. Then he snapped to his senses and was at her side within seconds. Through her anger and despair, she felt a warm feeling when he stood by her side so loyally.
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded to know and he sounded frightfully like his father at that moment. He turned his gaze towards the Captain. "Captain, release her at once!"
"I am afraid that I cannot do that", said the Captain after a brief moment of hesitation. "The King's orders, my Lord."
Legolas stood completely still, mouthing "The King's orders" as if he could not believe it. He looked at her and there was a promise in his eyes before he stormed off into the King's chambers. The door shut with an alarming 'thud'. The Captain gently tugged at her arm.
"Come along."
Despite the rage she felt, she let herself be led away, surrounded by plenty of guards that could have been used to help aid the dwarves and Men instead. She looked at the Captain with a hurt look. He had taught her, cared for her and raised her, yet he was leading her further underground.
"Why?" she asked bitterly.
His face was stoic, but his eyes shone with emotions Tauriel could not read.
"I told you once that I was following the orders from the King", said the Captain curtly, avoiding her burning gaze. "That is what I am doing now."
. . . .
Tauriel did not know how much time that had passed when Legolas showed up. He looked at her with sad, blue eyes and sat down at the stairs outside her cell. He was dressed for hunting, she noticed, but she stubbornly refused to acknowledge him with words.
"The King left with the army", said Legolas and Tauriel noticed how he did not say 'my father'. She wondered if it was on purpose, for her sake. "He left me in charge."
"And what will you do?" she asked, her voice calm.
Legolas sighed and ran a hand over his face and Tauriel realized how tired he looked.
"I would have let you out, but the King took the keys himself. I suppose he wants you to learn a lesson."
"It is he who should be taught a lesson", Tauriel replied and paced around the small area of the cell. "A lesson in kindness and love."
"He is doing his best", said Legolas in a mild tone and his eyes held a warning. "He always does."
Tauriel turned around so quickly that she almost got a whiplash in her neck. She frowned, not liking how he did not openly say his father was wrong. She gazed intensely at him, her eyes flickering across his face. There was no sign of a smile on his lips, nor any brightness in his eyes. Everything she had come to associate with her friend – everything that had separated him from the King – was gone and replaced by something else, a sharpness to his features. Tauriel let out a soft gasp, standing close to the bars and looked at Legolas.
"You agree with him", she said softly and felt her whole being sinking into a deep ocean of disappointment. She took a couple of steps back from the door. "You think we should do nothing."
"I think we should not act rashly", Legolas replied, giving her a pointedly look, but did not deny her words.
Tauriel shook her head, retreating further into her cell. Something was different now and she did not like it.
So, that was that! Any thoughts?
Next chapter will be up in 2015! I've also planned to write a third, short story following "Change of Heart" & "Free Spirit". It will be up after this story's done.
Thanks for reading & Happy New Year! :)