A/N:

I would just like to reiterate my previous disclaimer that I by no means own any characters, scenes, or ideas that are exclusively from Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit, my only intention is to share my own ideas on how things would play out between these characters but have no intention to sell this to anyone.

I would like to thank everyone who has either followed, favorited, or commented on this story. You guys honestly have no idea how much that encourages me and honestly it's just a real kickass feeling to know that you guys like what I'm writing so yeah…thanks!

Also I'll be headed back to college here in the next week so my goal is to give you guys a chapter every week and I'm going to try my hardest to fulfill that, but I'm asking you all to be patient and not lose interest. Sometimes, though as unfortunate as it is, life can get in the way of creativity.

Please enjoy your next chapter! XX TB

Chapter Three

"What could have possibly driven those to into this dark tree infested hell?" Gimli's gruff voice echoed throughout the forest. The air was dense and smelled like mold and wet dirt. The ground underneath was damp, fallen leaves rustled underfoot as the three stepped over uprooted and gnarled tree roots. They towered over head, the canopy a vast blanket of molted greens and yellows, it shrouded the travelers casting everything in a dim veil of darkness. As Legolas stood amongst them, the tree tops seemingly reaching for the sky he felt almost childlike in presence of the ancient trunks. Legolas jumped from root to root, doing his best not to disturb the forest around him, his movements almost silent. The dwarf, however, was much less delicate. His short thick legs snapping twigs and rustling bushes as they carried his stocky body deeper into the forest. Legolas paused for a moment scanning the darkness for any signs of the hobbits…or for anyone else who may be lurking in the shadows. Placing the palm of his hand flat against the rough bark of a large oak. He closed his eyes, letting the breath ease from his lungs in a soft sigh as he turned to listen to the heart beat of the forest. And for a moment the stillness swallowed him whole, giving a small sense of reprieve in the midst of the chaos over the past several days.

Just as he took another deep breath it was cut short by the cold bite of steel as it found itself beneath his chin, pressing itself thirstily against his throat. Through the surprise in the briefest of moments he caught a hint of a familiar flower like scent in the air that made his heart drop into his stomach.

"If I had been an orc, you'd be dead by now." A gentle voice whispered in his ear, the warmth of their breath tickled his ear. The knife disappeared but Legolas couldn't seem to reclaim his breath.

"Oi!" Gimli shouted, raising his axe, he rushed towards Legolas. Aragorn, alerted by Gimli's shout came running out from amongst the trees.

"Peace, Master Dwarf, I mean you no harm." The melodious voice filled Legolas' ears and seemed to play tricks with his mind, digging up memories and feelings that he thought he had buried deep into his past. The voice gave Legolas' friends pause, they looked to each other unsure of what to make of the situation. He turned around, half hoping that he was wrong about who he thought this surprise visitor was, but there was a part of him that hoped he was right. She drew forward from the darkness, and though he face was streaked with dirt and sweat, her hair wind whipped, and clothes travel worn she still had a sort of ethereal beauty about her that stole Legolas' breath and made his mouth run dry.

"Tauriel?" he whispered, not trusting to believe what he was seeing with his own two eyes. For a moment there was nothing but silence between the four of them as she drew closer. The way that she looked at him it was almost with utter indifference, her eyes hard as stone as they looked at him, cutting to the core. She held her head aloft, chin raised in a sense of pride that was all too familiar for Legolas, he had to push aside his feelings, and the anger that rose with her nonchalance. She walked past Legolas with barely a second look and straight to Aragorn.

"You are the ranger of the north, the one called Aragorn, are you not?" She asked though addressing him directly she was careful to keep her tone respectful, if she was nothing else Tauriel was always tactful, she found that that was the best way to get what she wanted. Aragorn's eyes turned to Legolas, blue met brown for the briefest of moments before turning back to the she elf that stood before him.

"I am." He nodded lowering his sword to his side but not placing it back into its sheath this yet, his mistrust was probably what had kept him alive all this time.

"I need to speak with Gandalf, I have an urgent message from Lord Elrond." As she spoke her hand rose to her throat, resting at a spot at the base of her throat for only a moment before she dropped it to her side once more. The entire action was in one fluid motion that would have seemed inconsequential to anyone else, but Legolas knew Tauriel and he knew that she never did anything without purpose. Whatever she had to say to Gandalf, was truly something important, but there was nothing that could be done, Gandalf was gone. There was a heavy silence that fell over them, Aragorn lowered his eyes, clearing his throat as he searched for the correct words. Gimli lowered his head, grief morphing his body into a crumbled shell, his anguish still fresh. Legolas never knew that someone with such a hard and callous exterior could feel these emotions with such fervor, it was astounding.

"Please, we are running out of time. Where is Mithrandir?" she asked, turning to each of them in turn, the urgency shown in her eyes.

"Gandalf…he…we…" Gimli tried to explain, struggling to find the words to convey such a disheartening message but he faltered, unable to put it into words. All of the sudden there was moving in the forest amongst them, a presence that Legolas could sense that was slightly familiar.

"Aragorn there is something out there!" Legolas hissed in elven tongue, Tauriel's head shot up, searching the distance for any sign of danger, and in her eyes Legolas saw something that he had never seen before: fear. She turned towards him and their eyes met for a moment and in that moment they saw each other plainly, without the armor meant to keep each other out, without the pain or thoughts of the past that they used as walls to protect themselves; for a moment it was almost as though nothing had changed. Tauriel must have been thinking or feeling something similar because like a switch being flipped, her eyes hardened and the vulnerability in her face and body langue disappeared into the rigidness that she had grown so accustomed to, it was almost second nature. Drawing her blades she nodded to him stiffly before following behind Aragorn slowly.

"The white wizard," Aragorn whispered to them, his hands tightening on the hilt of his sword, the presence was palpable as in encroached on the four of them, there was no where for them to run their only option was to fight in hopes of defeating him before he killed them. "Do not let him speak or he will curse us." And before he had even finished his sentence they struck. Turning around they were blinded by a white light that seemed to be almost like a sun, squinting against the brightness Legolas loosed his arrow, the bow string giving a loud twang as it was shot. The figure silhouetted against the bright light waved its hand and the arrow shattered, not even hitting its mark. Gimli's axe was deflected in much of the same way, while the blades in Aragorn and Tauriel's hands glowed like fire, burning their palms until they had no choice but to throw them down. The four of them stood before this light bathed enemy completely unarmed and left to their assailant's mercy. Legolas shielded his eyes with an upturned arm as a deep voice rumbled through the dark woods, for a moment Legolas half expected the earth beneath him to begin to tremble with the force of the strangers voice.

"You are in the search of two young hobbits." Legolas felt a chill run through his body, it was like someone had tossed a large bucket of water onto him, drenching him in the chill.

"Where are they?" Aragorn demanded fiercely, his teeth bared in anger. There was a small rolling laugh that swelled, the sound reminding Legolas of thunder during a ferocious storm.

"They came by this place, and left not too long after you arrived, but they ran into someone that they did not expect to meet." Legolas stiffened at these words, was it true? Had they really missed the hobbits by nothing but sheer moments, were they too late once again to save them? "Does that comfort?" there was no condescendence or irony in his voice, but rather undeniable sincerity, could this really be the Sarumon that they had come to know?

"Who are you?" Aragorn demanded still trying to shield his eyes from the brightness of the wizard's aura. There was a breath a calmness in which it seemed as if the world had stopped for a moment and then the bright harshness of the light faded. It was drawn back into the being that stood so tall before them all, revealing a smiling face that was all too familiar to the weary travelers: Gandalf. Legolas was shocked and left dumbfounded without the ability to express in words the turbulent sea of emotions that threatened to drown his mind in the confusion.

"This cannot be real." He vaguely heard Aragorn's awestruck whisper. Legolas couldn't find the will to tear his gaze away from the long lost wizard. Though he still had the same age withered face and sharp, clear, gray eyes, but he had changed. The once tired man was gone, refilled with a renewed sense of vitality and purpose, it radiated from him in the same way warmth seeps from the sun overhead. He was Gandalf and yet at the same moment he wasn't.

"Gandalf!" Gimli exclaimed, his face bursting into a joyful smile. The Wizard's brow furrowed into deep caverns of confusion and for a moment it almost seemed as though he didn't recognize his own name. The white cloak hanging from his shoulders billowed in the wind slightly as he paused.

"Gandalf..." He murmured, the sound of the name hanging on his tongue, Legolas could see in his face his mind working hard to recall his life, and in the moment it sparked in his eyes and his smile broadened. "That was my name once, Gandalf the grey, yes, but now I am known as Gandalf the white."

Gandalf led them through the woods, explaining as they went about how what happened after he fell from the broken bridge. Tauriel stuck close to his side. Ever watchful Legolas saw that there was a hesitancy as she stepped with her right, her shoulder dropping lower than normal. She turned just the slightest to her left and that's when he saw it, just the slightest glimpse of crimson. It stained the cloth of her tunic spanning from her shoulder blade to the base of her neck. Though the stain looked to be old, concern filled his mind none the less. Closing the distance he gently laid a hand on Tauriel's shoulder. She flinched violently beneath his touch, hissing in pain as she recoiled away from his touch. Legolas withdrew his own hand, his fingers covered in fresh blood, Tauriel's blood.

"Tauriel your shoulder…you're hurt." He spoke quietly, his voice full of shock, looking up from his bloodied hand. He peered into her ashen face, a pale sheen of sweat glistening on her brow in the light of the forest. No matter how hard her emerald eyes shone she could not mask the pain that glowed behind them. She straightened up, flexing her shoulders there was only a flicker of pain, a grimace that was gone in the same instant that it had come.

"It is none of your concern Legolas, I am fine." She said with that same irritating stiffness in her voice that did nothing but inflame Legolas' temper. Her distant manner vexed him beyond all reason. Hi lips tightened in an angry line and his fist clenched, smearing her blood across his palm and for a moment he lost his nonchalant demeanor. For the briefest measure of time he displayed his irritation and frustration for all the world to see, an action that was so out of character for him. Just as quickly as the emotion came, it left, leaving no one but Tauriel any wiser to his transgression. After seeing the change, Tauriel softened, just slightly. The coldness in her gaze chipped away to show a glimmer of warmth that Legolas had once known so well. She raised he good arm and placed the palm against his shoulder, the unexpected contact was like a bolt of lightning racing straight for Legolas' heart.

"Trust, trust that I am in much better shape than…" She stepped herself and grief filled her face as she bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "My injuries are not a serious as they could have been, I am alright for now." She finished, something in her voice had changed almost as though she had become unhinged in the short span of time that they conversed.

"Tauriel, what happened?" Legolas' piercing eyes searched her face, but she turned away from him. She was hiding something, holding back a truth that she was so desperately trying to keep hidden. There was something that she didn't want to acknowledge, something that she couldn't. "Tauriel!" He hissed grabbing the tops of her shoulders tightly, he gave her a small little shake in an effort to get her to look at him. Her eyes widened in shock and he thought he could see tears pooling in the corners of them, but she blinked them away just as quickly. He released her and she looked at him with an expression that he couldn't place and then she bowed.

"Forgive me my prince," She whispered with an inclined head, "Excuse me." And without another word she turned and walked away, not looking back at where she left him standing there alone, feeling more lost than ship without its heading.

Thanks so much for all of your interest, comments, and patience guys! Here's your chapter and I sincerely hope you enjoy it! I've been trying my hardest to write as much as possible and I'm sorry that it is probably going to be slow going what with the semester starting once more. Stick with me and I promise you won't be disappointed! :)

Love ya guys, XX TB