Hey, everybody. How was your holiday weekend? Mine was crazy, fun, and scary! But it's good to be home.
Yes, Guest, I plan to have chapters that include Bard, and Bilbo, and other characters. Sorry that this is another Hobbit chapter already, but it is one of the only ones I actually have ready.
Guest, you asked for a chapter where Alasse gets stabbed or shot with an arrow. Don't worry, my friend. I have a chapter regarding that type of dilemma in the works! I can't wait to start sharing more chapters with Aragorn and Gimli, but at the moment, they are not completed yet.
And I promise, Guest, that I intend to finish my There IS a Beast Running Wild and Will You Take Me as I Am? Fanfics! Eventually.
Tauriel was fed up with her monarch's high and mighty attitude toward the little dwarfs, and the way he'd chosen to play safe and hide inside his palace rather than go to battle! It wasn't like him, and yet he had acted so calloused about the decision. After all, the Sindarin Elves were one of the swiftest armies in the Wood, and beyond! And he was not willing to spare them to help the helpless? No. Tauriel had had enough! If he wasn't going to step up and do the right thing, so be it. She would, and she didn't care if he had her executed for it.
Tauriel ran through the forests, to the edge of the Wood. She passed dead carcasses of both beast and man as she trolled along, their red blood discoloring the usually tranquil ponds and streams. The sight disgusted her. She gazed out toward Laketown, beyond the boundaries of the wood. Those people were in danger, and they would need protection!
Her keen elf ears picked up on something approaching! She slid her hand onto her bow, then speedily spun around and aimed it dangerously at the intruder, ready to kill him dead if necessary. She nearly laughed, feeling silly, and could not wipe a slight smirk of amusement from her face when she saw who it actually was.
"Im ind cin were an orch (I thought you were an Orc)." She said.
"If Im were an orch...cin would n- firn (If I were an Orc, you'd be dead)." Legolas said in triumph. Both archers lowered their bows. Tauriel shook her head. "Tauriel, you cannot hunt thirty Orcs on your own." Legolas told her as he approached.
"But I'm not on my own." She said sarcastically, cocking her head with a winning grin.
"You knew I would come." Legolas smiled warmly. She nodded. "The king is angry, Tauriel." Legolas spoke more unpleasantly as he stepped beside her. "For the passed 600 years my father has protected you, favored you. You defied his orders. You betrayed his trust! Tul- back with nin. Ho will dihen- cin (Come back with me. He will forgive you)."
Tauriel frowned deeply. "But Im will u-. If Im glenn- back, im will u- dihen- myself (But I will not. If I go back, I will not forgive myself)." She said stubbornly."The king has never let Orc filth roam our lands. Yet he would let this pack of Orc come through our borders and kill our prisoners."
"It is not our fight." Legolas tried to argue.
"It is our fight." Tauriel interjected, her voice thick with determination, and her face filled with discouragement. "It will not end here! With every victory, this evil will grow. If your father has his way, we will do nothing. We will hide within our walls, live our lives away from the light, and let darkness descend." She tried to let her words sink in. She knew it couldn't be easy for Legolas to face such brutal truth. The king was his father, after all! "Are we not part of this world?" She asked. Legolas said nothing. He remained stiff, gazing off into the distance, the great wrestling match inside his heart writhing in his mind. He looked so lost. "Tell me, Mellon: when did we let evil become stronger than us?" Tauriel asked him firmly.
Legolas finally moved! He sighed heavily. How he wanted her to be wrong! He wanted to prove her theory to be merely a matter of opinion. But, he'd seen for himself Thranduil's stern coldness leading to questionable actions ever since those dwarfs came. And truthfully, as warriors, was it not their job to look after those who could not defend themselves? That was what Thranduil had taught him and his sister since they were little elflings. Did his life's motto mean nothing to him now? "What are we waiting for?" Legolas asked quietly.
He and Tauriel both heard another presence nearby. Drawing their bows, they turned and aimed. Standing a ways off, equally preparing her weapon, was his younger sister. Alasse narrowed her eyes and smirked at them. "If you two think you can just run off to Laketown or anywhere else without being tracked, you are sorely mistaken!" Alasse teased. Tauriel grinned. Legolas frowned with concern as he lowered his bow and marched to her.
"You should not be here, Alasse!" He said seriously. "Father will be most displeased."
"I'm not letting you out of my sight, either of you!" Alasse replied. "If you are planning to cross the borders, you will need someone to watch your back." Legolas sighed and pulled her aside by the arm.
"Alasse, you must stay out of this." He said. "That's an order."
"I know what you're intending to do. Hence, I'm already in it, gwanur." Alasse said solemnly.
"You cannot come." Legolas shook his head.
"Why not?"
"I want you should be safe."
"Legolas..." Alasse spoke gravely. "Im confess, im am verui conflicted, gwanur (I confess, I am very conflicted, brother). Tauriel is right."
"What do you mean?" Legolas asked grimly.
"I would like nothing better than to prove her wrong, but I have found myself silently questioning Father's methods and motives of late. He has been good to us, you and I, all these years. But, I watched. Something changed-has changed-in him when Thorin Oakenshield arrived. Something has snapped, and it troubles me to not understand why or what."
Legolas hung his head. As badly as he wanted to deny it, he felt the exact same way. "You are very young, sister. And you cannot stand to see someone burdened with dark secrets." He smiled fondly. "It is what makes you such a great leader for our people."
"Im not know what na- ceri- (I don't know what to do)." Alasse said sadly. "He has been living in hate and bitterness toward the dwarfs for far too long. I do not want to distrust Father, Legolas! Truly, I don't. But...I am seeing a side of him that I've never noticed before, and it startles me. His manner is very uncertain right now one minute from the next, and you know what he is like when he is angered!"
"If we disobey him further, it will not bid well, I'm afraid."
"And I would not wish that for any of us, you or Tauriel. This quest you are to venture out on, what if you fail?"
"We will not fail, meld Mellon." Tauriel said confidently.
Legolas gripped Alasse's arms. "Alasse, I want you to go back and do your best to keep peace in the household. Leave this to us." He said.
"But why can't I come with you?" In all honesty, with her father's temper and newly colder attitude, she felt safer with her brother than with her dad! She felt that at least Legolas could be reasoned with!
"Baw. If er- o ammen na- n- punished, im'd rather ha were u- cin (No. If either one of us is to be punished, I'd rather it not be you). You need Father's protection, meld sister. Please." Legolas stared into her childish eyes.
"All right. Be careful!" Alasse told him.
"You best get back, before you are missed." Legolas warned her. She nodded and turned, but not without looking back to watch them. "Come, Tauriel. Let's hunt some Orc!" Legolas declared, feeling a surge of courage that had been bottled up lately.
Alasse raced back to the castle as quickly as she could. She hoped Thranduil had hardly noticed her absence and that he didn't have scouts searching for her! She strode up to the gate, but her own guards braced their spears in front of her, blocking her from entering. "Let nin ninn- (Let me enter)!" She demanded.
"Baw er enters ben golas I palace doors, except bui I aran plural erain or erein's conn- (No one enters the palace gates, except by the king's command)." One of the guards barked at her. To not obey their king meant losing their heads.
Alasse groaned, irritated. She couldn't believe it had come down to this. While she admired these centries' devotion to their jobs, this was rather ridiculous. "A maui im remind cin, I im am said aran plural erain or erein's -iel (And may I remind you, that I am the said king's daughter)." Alasse said coarsely. "He will wish to see me. Let...nin...tri (Let...me...through)." The reluctant guards removed their weapons. Alasse stiffly nodded to them and passing through the doors, entered the gate and made her way inside the winding, wooded palace. She quietly approached the throne where her father sat with his council. She fought to stay calm as she stood before him, her eyes on the floor. Thranduil was looking right at her, she could feel it!
"Alasse, where have you been?" Thranduil asked gruffly.
"I...I was scouting, Adar." Alasse said, not as calmly as she'd hoped.
"I see. Tell me, -iel, where have they gone?" Thranduil demanded.
"They?" Alasse repeated.
"You know whom I speak of." Thranduil fiddled with his large fingers, not even facing her. "Legolas has pursued the captain of the guard in order to redeem her. And now I ask again, daughter, where have they gone?"
"To chase out the Orcs." Alasse replied, tightly gripping her bow. "Please do not be angered, Father. Our country is on the brink of war." Thranduil smiled wryly.
"Of course I am not angered with you, meld iel-." He said in a condescending tone, as he rose to his feet and began his customary ritual of slowly encircling his audience for his dramatic lecture. "But you know the penalty for defying the king's orders." Alasse looked up at him anxiously. "Seeing as you had the good sense to return, I shall not suffer you to be detained. But I fear that Tauriel's inexperience is corrupting your company and becoming a dangerous influence. Do you understand what I refer to?" He asked lowly, close to her face.
"I think so." Alasse nodded.
"Feren!" Thranduil addressed one of his men.
"Sire?" Feren bowed.
"Follow your prince and the captain. And when you have found them, give them a message from me." Thranduil glowered.
"Then...send me!" Alasse offered.
"What?" Thranduil asked dryly.
"I...I believe I know where they are heading, Adar. I can deliver your message, and return before you've even realized I'm gone!" Alasse suggested eagerly. She was worried about Legolas and Tauriel, hoping they were safe. And now, she was even more worried for their fate now that her father was having them pursued!
"I forbid it." Thranduil said firmly. "I will not allow my only, precious daughter to subject ehrself to that kind of danger, on a mere whim."
"Father, if I may speak," Alasse gulped timidly, "the Orcs have never been allowed to just enter this Wood before. The world of Middle Earth is suffering. Isn't that the duty of kings, to try to ease suffering? I thought...I thought we were a part of this world too. Don't great kings stand up and lead, when all hope seems lost?" The room was dead silent. Alasse wished someone would say something! She expected a furious outburst, and wished he'd just get it over with.
"My darling Alasse," Thranduil smiled slyly, tilting her chin with his finger, "so young, so beautiful, and idealistic. Yet, so young and so inexperienced. Naïve. You shall trust my judgement, not that of your peer. Our kingdom is what matters. Remember that. All others, are all of small matter. You must forgive me. I see now that I have been too light, in allowing Tauriel to associate so closely with you. She must learn...that the king's word is the law."
Alasse's mind was reeling. What did that mean? Tauriel was only trying to do the right thing! Wasn't she? Maybe she was wrong, but...someone had to do something! If the king would not fight, then wouldn't the Orcs return? And what did he mean by she needed to learn? Alasse had a bad, sinking feeling. If Tauriel was found, what fate awaited her? Would the king have her imprisoned? Tortured? Executed? Demoted? What about Legolas? Would he share in the same punishment? Surely not! He was the king's son! But...at this moment, Alasse didn't know what to think!