4 days earlier
"Keep up Horphen!" Tauriel called. They were on warm up drills for the morning. Tauriel was full of energy. Only a day left of this section training and then she could go home to Florien! They were going to be married in less than a months' time and she couldn't wait. Horphen was going to give her away to Florien. It only seemed fitting, as he was like a brother to her. The rest of her family were long since dead.
"Coming!" Horphen puffed.
He could not keep up with her today. This morning she was hyper. It was probably because there had been sightings of an orc army quite far to the east. 'Something fun' as Tauriel put it. Sure. She had been hoping to catch them before their section training ended, but it was unlikely.
Haldir stood next to Tauriel, arms folded.
"Nice of you to catch up." He said. Horphen rolled his eyes.
"Just because you don't have to do 30 laps doesn't mean you can take the piss out of me!"
"Actually, it does."
"Well, I'm a captain and I say you should both do another 30, so move it!" Tauriel ordered.
"I'm-" Tauriel slowly drew her knife.
"You would deny a Captain's orders?" He ran off.
Tauriel chuckled and climbed a tree so she could get a better view of the horizon. It was a pity. The orc army would be at least 20 leagues from them and so it was positively unlikely that they would encounter them.
Her sharp eyes widened in shock. The hill that was previously obscuring their view had been hiding the orc army. An hours' march at the most and they would be upon them. Adrenaline rushed through Tauriel, putting her on high alert.
Like lightening, Tauriel raced down the tree.
"Haldir! Horphen!" She shouted. The two stopped running. She made a signal, indicating that it was urgent.
"What is it?" Haldir asked.
"Orcs. Less than a half hours march over the hill. If we move quickly we can gain the upper ground of the hill. Haldir, summon your men, Horphen, ready your archers." They both nodded, looking extremely serious.
"Lighten up, they're only orcs! You'd think we were about to go to war!" They both smiled and ran off. Tauriel ran towards the mess tent. It was rowdy inside.
"Okay everyone!" They ignored her.
"Listen up!" No response. Usually her voice was loud, but today they all seemed to be deaf. Tauriel growled with annoyance and climbed onto one of the tables.
"OI! LISTEN UP!" All eyes were immediately on her. "Good. Brothers and sisters, though mostly brothers because you got the sisters pregnant. We are under attack! We need to move quickly. Get your weapons and find your section battle leader. We take the upper ground and kill the bastards before they can realise what happened." They roared in approval and quickly and efficiently moved. Tauriel smiled and hopped off the table.
She organised her group of men at the front. She would lead a full battle charge at the front, Haldir from the left and Horphen from the right. Then she would lead a smaller group amidst the battle around the back, whilst Haldir lead the front. Tauriel's group would charge them from behind, taking them by surprise.
They marched up to the top of the hill. The army was huge, they would be outnumbered at least seven to one. But that wasn't going to stop them. Tauriel stood at the helm of the troops, her sword glinting in the sun. The smell of rotting orc flesh filled her nostrils. Tauriel's sword lusted to cut orc flesh. She was ready to kill.
The black army stopped. They were in range. For a moment there was silence, as each army sized up the other. Tauriel bounced on the balls of her feet.
"Gurth gothrim Tel'Quessir*!" She cried. With a single resounding roar of approval, they charged.
Unable to contain her lust to kill any longer, Tauriel ran faster. She wanted to kill. Her sword sunk into the first of many orcs. The sound of metal cutting flesh could be heard everywhere. She slashed, hacked, swore, kicked and murdered.
Around her, the resounding cries of battle and death could be heard. She lifted her sword, now dripping with black orc blood. An arrow whizzed past her face, slicing her cheek open. The cut was deep enough to have nearly hit bone. Her eyes flashed with anger. She turned to an orc brandishing a bow.
Her helm and part of her armour was gone, for they had been fighting long and hard. Her hair was all over the place and her cape was in shreds. Despite all this, it was still truly terrifying when she charged at the orc who attempted to shoot her. Now it was personal.
She smashed its head with the butt of her sword and kicked it hard up the place where pain is guaranteed on a man. She slashed at his face and cut off its arms and legs in a single swipe. The mutilated hunk of flesh that was left of the orc choked and gargled blood. She pressed her boot onto its throat.
"Feel Death's icy claws take you and know that it was Tauriel who sent you to him." She spat and promptly turned and beheaded another orc.
Tauriel continued her deadly dance.
The ugliest and cruellest of all the orc among them was their leader. He had been watching this she-elf and decided it was time to put an end to this witches' reign. He slowly drew a throwing knife.
Behind her, Tauriel could hear the scraping of a knife being slowly drawn from its sheath. She turned and leapt back, out of the path of a throwing knife that imbedded itself into the back of another orc.
The leader growled in fury and drew his sword. He was going to kill her.
She charged him and they fought, their swords clashing louder than any others. It lasted long and was a tedious fight.
Tauriel's sword clattered to the floor.
She couldn't believe it. The bitch disarmed her. The ground was knocked out from beneath her. He kicked her in the nose with an iron boot.
"Die, she-elf." The orc spat. It lifted its ugly line of torture. It kicked dirt in her face. She rolled over and grabbed a nearby club that one of the orcs had dropped.
"I'm going to pound you until your anus and mouth reverse their functions!" She spat venomously and with her feet, she twisted the sword out of his hands. It landed right between her legs. The club went down once. And again. And again. And again. The orc's mangled nose spurted black blood. It lay twitching. She grabbed an axe from a nearby orc and buried it into his helm.
"Told you so." She said and ran off.
"Haldir!" she cried. It was time to end this. "Sii'!*" Her troops heard the signal and regrouped. They drew away from the battle and charged from behind. The orcs were confused and surprised by this sudden attack. Victory was theirs.
All but one orc had been slain. Everyone looked at Tauriel.
She held the final orc by the helm, in front of her. In a single, graceful movement, she slit its throat, allowing the black liquid to run onto her hand. They cheered for Tauriel, who had led them to victory once more.
Present Day
The next day, Tauriel awoke to a thumping at her door. Couldn't people just leave her alone?! Tauriel wanted to sink into the earth slowly. She was surrounded by shreds of the memories she had shared with Florien. She had been out on an army mission for two months and this is what she got to come home to. Life was truly charming.
"Tauriel!" Horphen was at the door. "Open up!" He called. She groaned and dragged herself to the door.
"Morning," he said brightly. Tauriel grunted in reply.
"What's wrong?" Before she could answer, he walked in. "Where's Florien?" Tauriel turned to face him.
"He's gone."
"This early? Where to?"
"No, Horphen I got rid of him. I walked in on him with another elleth."
Almost immediately, Horphen's face morphed into one of complete fury. He had always been extremely protective of Tauriel and so any likings he had for Florien were immediately gone.
"What?! But you two were going to be married next month!"
"I know."
"Where is he? I'll kill him! How dare he! That slimy, greasy bastard!"
"No doubt he's moved in with that other girl. Then when she's about to have the baby he'll leave and find someone else."
"The baby?!"
"She's pregnant." Tauriel was surprised by how unaffected she was by all of this. She felt empty. Tauriel rubbed the back of her hand. As she did, she felt cold metal press against her.
It was her engagement ring. It had been very beautifully crafted. Two pieces of pure silver had been knotted together to form a circlet, with a blue diamond wrought into the middle. She hadn't taken it off since the day she had been given it. Now she looked at it with regret. It had been a naïve decision, to agree. She felt so much older now.
Tauriel was not a full blooded elf. She was only halfelven, the shameful product of her mother's carelessness with a Gondorian soldier, as she had accidentally found out when she was a child. She had been raised an elf, therefore prolonging her life, but soon she would make her decision. Would she choose to become an elf or a woman?
Tauriel didn't know. In fact at that moment, she felt so lost she wasn't sure she would ever be found.
Someone was trying to wake her.
"Five more minutes Florien." She groaned.
"It's not Florien. It's Horphen. Remember? Tauriel, there's someone at the door."
"Tell them to go away, I'm sleeping."
"Army orders. Open up soldier." Tauriel groaned again and flopped out of bed. She snatched her dressing gown and pulled it on as she made her way to the front door of her talan.
With her hair looking like a rat's nest, piercing eyes half closed and styling a half on, half off dressing gown, she opened the door to her Captain Suiauthon.
"Tauriel." He looked at her with a single eyebrow raised. "I hope you are" he paused. Horphen came over.
"Sir," he saluted. The Captain's eyebrow rose further.
Was she not to be married three weeks from now to another?
"-Well rested. Tomorrow we move out. I am afraid that orc army you fought yesterday was but a fraction of a much larger army that has been sighted not far out to the east. They are headed straight for us. We must wipe them out before they arrive." Both of them saluted their Captain. He nodded to them and left.
"You don't think he knows do you?" Tauriel asked.
"About what?" Horphen seemed troubled about this recent news.
"Florien."
"No. I hope he didn't get the wrong idea from seeing me here though."
"It doesn't matter. He knows better than to put his nose where is doesn't belong. Thank you Horphen, for being there for me today and yesterday. I really appreciate it."
"Hey, that's what friends are for." He put his arms around her. "You know, I really meant it when I said I'll kill him."
"I know." Tauriel replied and frowned. The curse he had promised to place on her troubled her. At first she didn't believe he actually would, but what if he did? And what effect would it have?