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.
Hey guys happy summer! Thanks so much for reading my latest chapter, from the sounds of it you guys really liked it. Don't worry everyone we won't be in Tauriel's dream world for much longer! I can't wait see what you guys think of what I have in store for Legolas and Tauriel next!
Chapter seven
The scene in front of Tauriel slowly came into focus. She realized that she had been laying down unconscious with her eyes opened, as she slowly came to she was back in the temples dark halls. She rose to her feet gingerly her mind an utter blank trying to recall how it was that she ended up there. Looking up she was standing in front of a closed door. Without warning her shoulder began to burn as though it was set aflame, she doubled over in pain, clutching at it desperately. As quickly as it came the pain dissipated, leaving her shivering on the cold stone floor. As Tauriel was gasping to reclaim her breath it down she tried to figure out how she made it back to the temple, and why was she alone?
"Legolas?" she called out but the only answer was her own distorted echo as it bounced off the cold stone walls of the temple corridors.
I am alone… her realization filled her with the familiar pang of disappointment. A chill was starting to bite at her limbs spreading in her like an infection; she shivered uncontrollably. Through the darkness a light sprung to life, shining through the cracks of the door before her. It was as if behind the door was a sun being held a bay, waiting to break free. The glow intensified, forcing Tauriel to throw her hands up in front of her eyes, shielding them from the painful brightness. She could hear voice coming from behind the door. They were too muffled to make out the words clearly, but Tauriel could have sworn she had heard her name spoken amongst the unintelligible murmurings. Unable to stave off her curiosity Tauriel pushed herself to her feet once more she reached out for the door. Grasping the hand with both hand s she tugged with all her might, the heavy wooden door gave way, peeling open with a loud heart stopping creek. Light spilled out blinding Tauriel almost entirely. She cried out in shock as she covered in face in an effort to save her eyes, the action throwing her off balance and she stumbled forward and without warning she was falling, tumbling head over heel into the sun filled abyss as the heavy door swung shut behind her.
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Tauriel had expected to be dead at this point, but then again this whole experience had been one whole expectation defying adventure and not one moment of it had made sense. Instead of death she could feel her mind growing foggy as she fell in slow motion, and as the fog deepened one solitary memory rose to the surface, crystal clear; the memory of the day she had left the Mirkwood for good. Just like that she was transposed back into the memory, only this time she wasn't merely observing, as she looked down at her own hands she realized they were solid and that she was meant to relive her memory.
Tauriel found herself in the familiar wooded areas of the woodland realm. She breathed in the deep musky scents of the woods around her, relishing the cool earthy taste in the back of her throat.
"Tauriel how long are you going to stand there and practice your breathing or are you going to help me get rid of these disgusting spiders?" a teasing voice jolted her out of her calm reprieve. Tauriel looked up with a smile, her hand tightening on her bow instinctively. Legolas stood beneath a towering live oak, looking at her with laughter in his eyes
"I'm coming." Tauriel called out and dashed off, following close behind Legolas as the two of them weaved their way through the densely packed trees effortlessly.
"How much further?" Legolas asked as he swung off a low hanging branch.
"Glandur said he had spotted the vermin just outside the east training field. He warned there were but a few." Tauriel replied, pushing her muscles to move her faster, keeping her in stride with Legolas.
"Do you think it wise we left the border patrol behind?" she asked looking to Legolas for his reaction, however he only offered a boisterous laugh.
"What, is it the thought of a few spiders that sends you quivering in fear my dear captain?" Legolas was rousing her, trying to encourage her to take the bait. Despite herself she rose to the occasion.
"You presume much my prince." She said with a haughty laugh as another leap brought her on Legolas' heels. The two came to a halt on a large branch that gave them a higher vantage point to survey the area. As Tauriel landed she over stepped, her foot slipping on the smoothness of the tree bark threatening to send her hurtling to the ground. Legolas' hand shot out like a snake striking its prey. His hand grabbed hold of hers and he pulled her with all his strength back towards him. Tauriel gasped as her stomach dropped and her falling direction was immediately altered, Tauriel fell into Legolas' strong chest. Tauriel stood there with her cheek pressed to Legolas' chest her ear against his beating heart; he smelled like the forest and her face flooded with warm blood. It only lasted for a moment, him holding her, but in that moment Tauriel could feel her face burn with a blatant blush, her brain forgot how to work her lungs catching the air in her throat and she could feel her tongue thicken in her mouth.
I think I would have fared better with the fall. Her stunned thought rang through her mind leaving her unable to move.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you." Legolas said in the same jovial voice that he had been using to tease her about being afraid and yet there was something unmistakably serious in his eyes as Tauriel looked up into them. She righted herself once more, untangling herself from Legolas' arms, her face still aflame with the revealing blush.
"Mark my words my prince, it will be I who does the rescuing." She whispered with a laugh of her own, she hoped that would be enough to obscure how flustered she had actually been. She was too busy looking down, fussing with her tunic that she didn't notice Legolas moving, didn't see him reach out for her. Her hand gently touched her cheek, cupping it. Tauriel froze at the touch, her eyes widened yet still she did not look at him.
His fingers moved towards her chin, they were cool, but not a clammy cold rather the cool of the earth beneath a forests canopy that has yet to be touched by the dappled sun. Their feeling gave her a thrill that ran down her spine. They went beneath her chin, those smooth cool fingers, and gently lifted her eyes to meet his. Legolas said nothing as her stared at her, his eyes searching her face as if to burn every detail into the folds of his memory.
"I think I could live with that." As he spoke he was closing the minuscule distance there was between them, breathing in her air, noses just barely touching.
"Legolas…what are you…" Tauriel could barely manage to get the words out, it was almost like the air was being sucked out of her lungs. His eyes were half lidded as he looked at her, the expression on his face was a mix of calm resolution and unsettled doubt, and it unnerved Tauriel.
"I can see the stars…they're reflected in your eyes. No not reflected, it's your eyes themselves. They're beautiful, you are beautiful Tauriel." He whispered leaning towards her, he took her face in both of his hands. Tauriel couldn't move, Legolas had never said those words to her before and it made her heart swell with joy but in the back of her mind there was a voice calling to her, whispering doubt into her ear.
"Legolas…your father…I…cant." Her objections were quiet and half-hearted but even so she had to voice them. They both knew all too well of the King's stance on blood mixing. Tauriel wasn't even sure what these feelings that Legolas was harboring for her, or even her own for him but she knew none of them could be realized, not so long as they had King Thranduil standing above them holding their freedoms over their heads.
"My father may have declared me heir to the throne but he cannot preside over the decisions of my heart. The King holds no sway here Tauriel, it is only you and it is only I who truly matter at this moment." His voice was smooth as the stones whose edges were worn away by the river's coursing waters. They sent chills down her spine and warmth into cheeks once more. She opened her mouth to speak again, his name already on her lips, but Legolas was once again too fast for her. He claimed those lips with his own, gently at first and then parting, molding to one and other in a tangle of hitched breath and surprise. This uninhibited display was foreign to the two usually reserved elves, the sensations were both exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. Though this forbidden thrill was only meant to last but mere moments.
Behind Tauriel's back a branch broke with what seemed like a deafening crack, the ambiance of the moment scattered in the same way a herd of deer scatter at the sound of an approaching predator. They pulled away from each other, hearts racing for more nefarious reasons. Another branch cracked in the forest's silence, but before Tauriel could turn and face the danger Legolas was pushing her out of the way and off of the branch. Tauriel gasped as her equilibrium was thrown off and her stomach dropped. Not expecting the fall her arms shot out instinctively, grasping and finding purchase on a sturdy limb she caught herself before she could fall far. Her arms shook with the effort but they did not fail her. She looked up at the sound of a sword being drawn. Legolas was a good ten or fifteen feet above her battling against a giant spider as it scuttled at an unnervingly fast pace towards him. The body of the creature was as long as she was tall and twice as wide, covered in coarse brown hair and exoskeleton. Its fangs were snapping and dripping with venom its many eyes were focused on Legolas, staring at him as if he were prey.
"Legolas!" Tauriel screamed for him as she struggled to pull herself onto the limb and stand, but before she could climb the ancient limbs to help she was over taken by an overgrown arachnid of her own. It came up from behind her, cowardly as it was. She unsheathed her blades as she fended off the monster, keeping its advances at bay with all her might. The spider made its move, lunging at her, once hairy leg with its sharp talon aimed for her heart. She side stepped the strike in a graceful twirl and in one swift fluid movement her blade cleaved the monsters head in two. She dashed for the nearest branch overhead, not waiting for the beast to cease with its quivering. She climbed quickly, the rough bark biting into her hands mercilessly, as she climbed she left behind bloody palm prints in her wake.
The she-elf reached the limb that she had fallen from, her arms struggling to hoist the rest of her body with them. She thought for sure she would lose what little hold she had and plunge right back towards the forest's floor but just as her arms were about to give a steel grip grasped her from under her elbows and hoisted her the rest of the way. Quickly and effortlessly as if it were nothing the helping hands placed her once again on the limb steadily with the nonchalance that had the gall to suggest there was no sense of urgency. It was Legolas' face that Tauriel was looking into, his hand still holding onto her arms but their grip had slackened to something gentle, almost comfortable. There was a small scratch above his eye, right along the sharp line of his eyebrow. It had bled profusely over his eye and down almost to the corner of his mouth. The river had already dried and with it keeping the eye shut with its flaky crust. Despite being bruised, dirty and bleeding his smile was still there and brighter than ever.
"Your eye." Tauriel murmured reaching towards the superficial wound, but Legolas grabbed her hand halfway.
"Nothing more than a scratch, besides you know how I love a challenge when I'm training. He was cocky and Tauriel knew that, that was dangerous for them, his over confidence was liable to get them hurt or worse…
More spiders were coming for them, they were surrounded by at least a dozen if not more.
"It must be a scouting party." Tauriel spoke keeping her voice low, their backs pressed together to cover one and other's blind spots and with that they struck as one. The fared and though their enemies were few they were fewer still and they were slowing with fatigue.
"Legolas, we can't keep this up." Tauriel yelled over the spider's squeals as she lobbed off one of its legs, seven more came for vengeance. "We need to get back to the patrol, now!" she cried out in pain as one of the legs took advantage of his distraction and sliced her deep just above her ribs. The wound bled slowly, soaking her side in sickeningly warm wetness. Tauriel pressed a few fingers to her wounded side and felt herself grow dizzy as she withdrew covered in her own blood.
"Damn." She murmured and looked up just in time to see one of the great beasts swing one of its many legs, hitting her full into the chest sending her soaring into the trunk of another tree. She collapsed on contact as she struggled to reclaim the air that had been knocked from her lungs.
"Tauriel, NO!" Legolas yelled sending his opponent running away in pain. He leapt from his branch landing at Tauriel's side as she quivered on all fours, coughing and sputtering in a manner most unbecoming way for a captain of the guard. He helped her to her feet, draping one of her arms around his shoulder while his other arm was around her waist, hand pressed against her wound to staunch the bleeding.
"We'll make for the Mirkwood's gate," he spoke quickly as they struggled back onto their feet. "Can you manage?" Tauriel was able to offer a nod, knowing that she didn't have a choice, she had to be able to manage with this wound or they would surely die. Together they leapt from branch to branch, Tauriel guiding them as Legolas defended them from the arachnids advances with one arm. After what seemed like ages, Tauriel growing dizzier with every step as she lost more and more precious blood, they were finally able to see the gates as they stood just ahead of them.
"Almost there." Legolas sighed, his breathing had become labored by the burden of carrying Tauriel. She looked at him with the same sense of relief but as she gazed at him she saw rapid movement to the right, just out of the corner of her eye. One of the spiders, larger than any she had ever seen before was charging straight at them full speed, fangs dripping. Legolas hadn't seen it because he'd been distracted as he tried signaling to the guards for help.
Too late. Tauriel thought and her body jumped into action.
"Legolas look out!" She screamed, slipping out from under his arm, she twisted around him like a snake so that she was in front of the spider, shielding Legolas' left side with her own body.
The monster hit her with all the force of a charging horse. Tauriel felt her body be thrown in the air, the weightlessness made it almost impossible to maneuver and the pain coursing through her body was almost unbearable. It wasn't the impact that caused her so much pain but instead the venom coursing through her body as the vile monster bit down on her arm. Tauriel's blade flashed like quick silver and the creature was decapitated in a blink of an eye and Tauriel was falling to the forest floor with the headless carcass. She didn't feel it when she hit the ground. Her head was foggy and it felt like sunbursts were popping just behind her eyes. The last thing she remembered coming into her clouding vision was of Legolas' face swimming into her vision. His mouth moving but his words were silent, lost in the stillness of the forest and the chaos in her now scattered mind.
"I told you I'd rescue you." She whispered so weakly that she wasn't even sure if Legolas had heard hear, but that didn't really matter to her now. Her view was darkening slowly and then there was nothing but inky, cold darkness.
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Tauriel woke to the late sunlight spilling over her face through the crisscrossed spacing of the countless bar e white-barked tree limbs that made up the infirmary's roof. Her sleep had been dreamless and left her feeling groggy and disoriented. Her eyes focused slowly and her arm gave a painful twinge. She looked down to find her left forearm had been tightly bandaged in clean white linen. Seeing her wound her memory caught up to her, bubbling to the surface like boiling water. The spiders! She sprung into a sitting position like she was waking from a nightmare, gasp and all. Caring hands rushed her, finding purchase on her shoulders, pushing her back, holding her down.
"Relax Captain." One voice cooed
"Breathe." Another interjected, soft hands petting at her face, gentle touches as they fussed over her.
"Where are the spiders...Legolas…how?" Tauriel's questions were as jumbled and disjointed as her thoughts.
"The spiders were destroyed."
"The prince was unharmed, you did your duty well, Captain." Another replied stiffly. The prince? Legolas! Tauriel thought realizing that she had addressed the crown prince so informally, if she had her wits about her, her face would have burned in shame.
"I leave for five minutes and miss all the excitement…how typical." A voice sounded at the door of the infirmary. Tauriel was not yet pressed so flat that she couldn't look and see who it was that had joined them. She stood in the door way: tall, fair and raven haired as sin.
"Faelwen." Her voice conveying all the relief that she couldn't put into words. Her sister crossed the infirmary in a handful of long legged, graceful strides. She took a seat on the edge of the bedside Tauriel's feet and shooed the healers away with a wave of her hand.
"Honestly Tauriel, when in all your wisdom and years did you become so incredibly foolish that you could reason a trip alone to a spiders den?" Faelwen's exasperated tone and the critical look in her eye almost had Tauriel convinced that it was she who was younger and Faelwen the elder of the siblings. Tauriel bristled at her sister's tone and rose onto her elbows.
"It wasn't a spiders den, we were ambushed by a patrol." She huffed in irritation, her tone sharp but her sister merely laughed, her hand reaching out and taking hold of Tauriel's shoulder.
"Peace my dear sister, I meant no offense, you had many of us worried that was all I was trying to say." She whispered and in her eyes shown with the concern that she had spoken of and Tauriel instantly regretted the manner in which she spoke to her sister. Tauriel lowered her eyes and the two sisters let a moment or two pass in silence between them and then Legolas' face flashed in her mind.
"What of Leg-" Tauriel caught herself this time, remembering her place, her station. "What of the prince? How does he fare? How long have I been laid up here?" She tried to mask her blunder with a flood of questions but Faelwen's raised eyebrow told Tauriel that her slip had not been lost on her sister. Faelwen saw much, being the younger sister of the Captain of the guard she had lived her life hidden within her sister shadow and it was there that she watched and it was there that she coveted all that she saw.
"Legolas is fine," Faelwen spoke his name in a low voice and for some reason hearing Faelwen say it sent a wave of jealousy surging through Tauriel, it made the hair on her arms stand up but she held her tongue and kept her face in careful repose as her sister spoke on. "He's been asking me of you since you've been here. You've been unconscious for three days, the venom moved quickly, it was a nasty piece of work. I took your spot as Legolas' sparring partner while you have been indisposed." Tauriel half wondered if her sister was saying these things to anger her on purpose.
You really are a fool aren't you? A jealous halfwit, she is your sister for goodness sakes, control yourself! Tauriel reprimanded herself quickly checking her temper. She was being foolish, no one knew of what had transpired between Legolas and her in the woods that day but them, and certainly no one knew of her feeling for the elven prince, not even he himself knew. And yet there was still a glimmer in Faelwen's eyes, subtle and hard and untrustworthy.
"You've been training with him?" she asked in a tone of indifference and watched her sister with a steady eye but Faelwen only offered a coy smile and a small nod.
"That's where I'm headed to now actually, in fact if I dally any longer he will be waiting one me, and we can't have the prince waiting on a Sylvan elf such as I." and with those words of parting she stood from Tauriel's bed side lithe and beautiful and for the briefest and most dreadful of moments Tauriel was overcome by her jealously, so much so that she wished that it was Faelwen who was in this bed and not her. However that moment passed just as quickly, leaving behind the vile taste of shame to cling on her tongue. She bade her sister and good evening and watched her go longing to be going with her instead of stuck in this infernal bed, rendered useless by the spiders potent venom. There was nothing for it, and having no other option Tauriel laid back on her cot and looked at the ceiling as the memory of the forbidden kiss she had shared with the prince replayed over and over in her mind until she finally drifted off into another dreamless sleep.
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Tauriel stayed three more nights in the infirmary, her mood only souring more with every passing hour, Legolas had not come to see her since she had woken and from what she could gather from the healers her sister had been her only visitor whilst she lay unconscious those three days prior.
What in the name of all the stars and suns could he be doing her thoughts had grown turbulent and full of anger, so much so that her sisters visits and the news that she brought with them (usually about Legolas, much to Tauriel's chagrin.) no longer brought her pleasure and she had asked her sister to refrain from coming to visit. The memory of Legolas' kiss had lost all of its magic and served only to torment and confuse Tauriel now. Why hasn't he come… With the sun rising on the third day Tauriel finally felt like herself again, having already managed the challenges of sitting up on her own, keeping her food down, and even standing without assistance. She was considered healed and as the sun rose on the third day so did she with every intention to leave. As she stood by her bed and began dressing herself, being careful of the still tender wound above her rib. She was bandage around her torso, her left arm, and both of her palms.
"I look ridiculous." She whispered to herself and she began to lace up her boots.
"Well you're finally right about something." A musical laugh sounded from behind her, sound only threatened to spoil Tauriel's mood further.
"I thought I told you not to come visit me here anymore Faelwen." Tauriel spoke through her gritted teeth, her voice was cool as ice.
"Don't flatter yourself sister, I am here on order, the King has requested your presence in the throne room." Tauriel's mouth dropped open in shock and she turned around but Faelwen was already making her leave, offering no other explanation nor word of farewell. Tauriel would have to mend that bridge after her meeting with the King. She quickly finished dressing, strapping on her blades and grabbing her bow and quiver she dashed off towards the throne room, her mind was racing with countless thoughts as she tried to think of a possible reason that the King would wish to see her. An uneasy feeling grew in the pit of her stomach as she drew closer to the throne room's door. Tauriel announced herself to the guards who were standing watch outside the closed doors and then she was led in by a cool composed Sylvan elf, whose dark looks matched his haughty disposition.
"The King will be with you shortly, wait here." The elf sneered at her and then turned on his heel, closing the door behind him with a definitive thud, leaving her alone standing before the empty throne of the King.
"Who is he to act so smug when his blood is no purer than my own, arrogant fool!" Tauriel muttered under her breath. She knew that she should be used to these snubs and slights by now, even from her own people, for some unknown reasons being a Sylvan elf was bad, being one and having not been born in the woodland realm was even worse. Before Tauriel could dwell any longer on the social injustices of the elven hierarchy she felt someone come up behind her making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
"You look like you have recovered well, Tauriel." The kings low yet airy voice sounded behind Tauriel and it took all she had not to visibly shiver.
"Your Majesty." Tauriel spoke in a respectful low tone as she turned to face the king. She kept her eyes averted respectfully as she slowly lowered herself into a deep curtsey. The King swept past her without so much as a nod of acknowledgement, his cloak trailing behind him brushed against her shoulder and she immediately moved out of its path. She did not turn back to the King until she finally heard him sit upon his throne, it was only then that she raised her eyes and looked upon her King. The imposing elven man sat tall in his living tree throne, his eyes were clear and sharp; they were the same color as Legolas' but Tauriel would find no glimmer of warmth here, not like the warmth that prevailed in his son's eyes and in his son's heart. The king was cut from a different cloth than the rest of them and he ensured that every elf under his control never forgot that. "You wished to see me my lord?" she stood in the middle of the throne room with her hands clasped behind her back and waited patiently.
"Yes," his whisper was loud and snake like, it gave Tauriel a chill. The King leaned forward, his hands clasped in front of his mouth as he placed his elbows on his knees. He looked at her as if her were trying to dissect her, flesh, muscle, and bone. "Your training, how is it coming along?" he asked suddenly, his face uncharacteristically concerned. The question caught her off guard, the king had not shown an interest in her personally since she was a child, her mind blanked for a moment.
"My lord?" she asked in clarification and the King grinned, but it was not a kind grin and it served to only make Tauriel feel that much more uneasy.
"Your training dear child," he spoke calmly as he stood from his throne in one swift fluid motion, his presence was as towering as his stature. "How has it been coming? I hear you have been indisposed for the last week, I hope that will not leave you…behind the others." The s's carried in the chambers in a snakelike hiss. His long legs carried him across his throne room's wooden floor until he stood in front of her.
"You need not worry my lord, on my honor I shall doubly my regiment to make up for me absence. My training is coming along fine, I am a fair fighter and shall defend my home with my life." She replied stiffly, despite the feeling of needing to defend her skills, Tauriel was shocked further to hear the tenor of King Thranduil's laughter fill the throne room.
"I have no doubt that you will perform most admirably, and from what I have heard you are far better than a fair fighter. Your instructors have nothing but rave reviews for your performance, you have surpassed even Legolas as top student." The pride in his voice was chipped, as if praising her came with its own conditions, despite that Tauriel still blushed at the compliment. "And of course there is the tale of the spiders. It was your act of selfless sacrifice that kept my son, your prince, from harm's way. Quite admirable indeed, especially when told by Legolas."
"Thank you my lord." She whispered bowing her head low, pleasure at the admiration of both the King and Legolas warmed her, the memory of what Legolas had told her in the forest once again made her burn in a different manner altogether.
"He seems to be quite taken with you," The King continued on but there was something in his voice, the sound was off, the tone chipped and immediately Tauriel stiffened as her instincts warned her of danger.
"I was unaware my lord," Tauriel chose her words very carefully, feeling as if she had fallen back into the spiders den, her guard was up and the threat was real. "But I assure you that I have given him no cause for such undeserved admiration." She was lying through her teeth, but growing up in the woodland realm had taught her to lie in the cleverest of ways.
"Underserved admiration?" the king was drawing closer to her, he towered over her but the way he held her eyes with his it never felt like he was anything but eye to eye with her. "Yes that seems to put it perfectly." He said evenly and brushed past her again, only this time he gesture to Tauriel for her to follow him, which she obeyed, she had no other choice. The King led her out onto the balcony of throne room that gave a perfect view of the training grounds and the plaza in which many of the elves in the woodland preferred to spend their time.
"I've always loved this view, when you are this high above everyone else, there is nothing that escapes your notice," his words held a double meaning within them and they weren't lost amongst Tauriel, their implication was clear. The King turned to Tauriel and offered another cold smile, gesture for her to draw close. "Come, see for yourself." Again Tauriel had no other choice but to obey. She came to the king's side. He placed his cold hands on her shoulder and moved her until she was standing in front of him and was looking over what seemed to be the entire woodland realm. The King pointed to his right and Tauriel could see that he was gesturing the training fields. She could see that there were a handful of guards training in pairs at the moment, at first Tauriel's eyes would have glanced right over them except for the fact that she spotted a certain pair training apart from the other, one with hair like starlight and the other black as night. Tauriel could feel her heart drop into her stomach and for a moment she was sure she was going to be sick. She fought herself for control, she fought to keep her emotions from giving themselves away to the King and she stood beneath his critical gaze.
"It would seem as if Legolas has been generous with his attentions to the less fortunate of our realm, wouldn't you agree?" The kind asked his voice level, calculating. Tauriel did not answer as she watched the two spar. Faelwen lunged at Legolas, he dodged and used her weight against her to throw her off balance. It was a move that she had taught him, seeing him use it on Faelwen made bile rise in her throat, but she couldn't for the life of her explain why. Legolas knocked her to the ground and pinned her there.
"An impressive move, it seems familiar though, I could have sworn I had seen it before…ah…yes at the Captain's challenge. That was your winning move you employed against Glandur to win yourself the position you hold now, was it not?" The king was enjoying this, for some unknown reason he was enjoying her pain, and what was even more unsettling was the fact that he knew the scene before her could cause her pain in the first place. All she could do was nod because she didn't trust herself enough to speak for fear her reposed countenance would break into a thousand pieces and leave her raw feelings exposed for the world to see.
"Of course I could never let my son pledge himself to someone as low as a Sylvan elf, even one as beautiful as your sister, though they do seem to have been getting quite close since your…accident. It will never last." The King was still standing behind her, his hands still on her shoulders, freezing her to the bone. She watched as the two began to laugh and Faelwen pushed the prince off of her. Legolas helped her up and the two began to leave the fields, walking together towards the plaza, heads close together as they fell into deep conversation. Suddenly the two stopped in their tracks, Faelwen facing Legolas, whatever it was that she was saying looked serious and then without warning she took Legolas' face in her hand and pressed her lips to his. Tauriel stared in shock, it felt like her world had fallen out from underneath her. She was paralyzed, she couldn't tear herself away from the picture of Legolas and Faelwen kiss, she felt her chest tighten and she could no longer breath, part of her didn't care. Tears pricked at Tauriel eyes and she turned herself away from the scene in front of her, she had seen enough. Tauriel turned and face the cold elven King, staring at him with all the resentment and hatred that she had been living with since she was a child. As the king looked upon her face his grin grew bolder for he knew that his message had been received and Tauriel knew that she hadn't fooled him even for a moment.
"Do make sure the next time you are on patrol with the prince you keep him a little farther from harms reach then the next time. It would be unfortunate for you and your position as Captain of the Guard if he were to get hurt while in your care." The King took a step back from Tauriel, he had won and now he was growing bored with playing with his food.
"Yes, your majesty." Tauriel spoke calmly but on the inside she was shaking with anger. Anger for the King, for her sister, but most of all for Legolas.
"You will be leading the patrol tonight, I want to be sure that those vile things are gone, for good this time. You will do well not to fail this time Tauriel." The warning was as subtle as a knife in the moonlight.
"Yes, your majesty, I understand." And with that Tauriel was dismissed. She fled from the throne room in the most dignified way that she could manage, being sure that the King did not see the tears that surfaced despite her best attempts and as the doors to the throne room closed she could feel the doors of her heart close as well.
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That evening Tauriel prepared for her patrol and was at the gates that lead out into the Mirkwood well before any of the others belonging to the patrol but she didn't mind. The time alone since her meeting with the king had been necessary, she only wished that she could remain alone now rather than lead another patrol. The scene that she had seen haunted her, it made her blood boil in rage and her heart break. She had been betrayed by the two that she had loved the most and it sickened her to her very core. Love? HA! You really are a simple fool aren't you, to think that even for a moment you were a special enough prize to capture the prince's affections! Her anger was relentless and did not stop at beating herself up as well.
"A fool indeed, but a fool no longer." Tauriel whispered the vow to herself and the sun began to fall and the moon took its place.
"Tauriel?" a familiar voice called out her name, but instead of the joy that it usually brought, its sound pumped ice in her veins. Tauriel turned stiffly, her gaze resting on Legolas who stood looking at her, his eyes bright with relief. "You're back!" his smile was like a dagger in her heart, how could he just stand there and smile at her like this, after what he'd done? Tauriel kept her face expressionless and her voice flat as she bowed her head.
"My prince." She greeted him just as any other sylvan elf and watched as his expression turned from joy to that of confusion.
"Tauriel, what's wrong?" He asked drawing closer, he reached out his hand and his fingers brushed against the top of her hand. They felt just as cold as his father's had, Tauriel recoiled as if she had been stung and Legolas' face fell. Before he could say another word the rest of the patrol, including Faelwen had shown up, giving Tauriel a valid excuse to pull away from the prince. Tauriel looked at Faelwen but she would not raise her eyes to meet hers. King Thranduil was cruel. She greeted the patrol and explained the objective of their mission: To find the rest of the spiders and to destroy them. The explanation was short and simple and just like that they were off, sprinting through the forest towards the location that Tauriel and Legolas had been ambushed.
Tauriel was at the head of the group, her mind focused on nothing but the task at hand. As she weaved through the trees the only thing she could see in her minds eyes were the countless bodies of spiders that would soon lay hewn at her feet. She kept up the break neck pace, out of the corner of her eye she could see Legolas was subtly making his way through the group so that he could be running next her. She knew that if she let him run beside her he would try to talk with her, she knew that he would search out an explanation for her behavior and she knew this newfound armor that she had procured would crack into a million tiny pieces. I won't let that happen, I won't let anyone get through this ever again. She pressed on leaving him behind and before long they were right where the needed to be. Tauriel raised her hand and the rest of the group came to halt behind her. There were signs all around them of spiders' presence, from the remnants of forgotten webs to the carcasses of discarded animals, sucked dry of all their fluids. With a few subtle gestures the spread out in a half circled and encroached on the area that they knew the spiders were occupying as their den. As Tauriel crept amongst the tree limbs she heard something come up from behind her. Tauriel's knife was out and pressed to the throat of Legolas before he had even realized it. His eyes widened and he raised his hands in surrender.
"It's me." He breathed but that didn't exactly encourage Tauriel to put away her blade.
"What are you doing here!" she hissed at him through her teeth as she placed her blade back in its sheath. She turned back around and kept searching for spiders, trying her best to ignore the throbbing in her heart.
"I'm here for you, what's going on? Why are you acting…different?" Legolas crept closer, still crouched he walked on the ball of his feet to keep himself from making any noise that could give the two away.
"We have a job to do, I have a job to do, now is not the time." She whispered back curtly but Legolas couldn't take no for an answer. He reached out and took hold of her arm, his grip was gentle, only meant to get attention but Tauriel shook it off violently. She would not let him take such liberties with her again!
"This is what I mean Tauriel, explain yourself. Why are you behaving in such a manner?" Legolas' eyes were serious now, his brow furrowed.
"Explain myself?" Tauriel was outraged and her voice rose in volume, she had forgotten to keep up her whisper. "What do you take me for prince Legolas? A doe-eyed elven maid that can be swept off her feet with shallow declaration. A fool incapable of seeing through the lies when they are thrust right in my face? Do not mock me my prince, I will not stand for it!" She warned, she felt dangerous, she could feel the anger rising and it unsettled her.
"I am not here to mock you, I am here to discover what it was that I did that offended you so, for I am lost in the fault that you take to heart now. Please Tauriel, what have I done." Tauriel had never seen Legolas look so utterly contrite as he did now, in all her childhood she had never seen a display like this from him but here he was begging her for and answer and yet she remained unmoved.
"I saw you." She whispered the three simple words and it looked as if the elven prince had been struck. The shock on his face frozen there, but before he could say anything else there was the sound of rustling leaves above them and suddenly something large and quite heavy was falling on top of them. It had been the elves taken by surprise. The spiders had laid in wait for them, camouflaging their bodies with the leaves of the trees around them, they stayed immobile until their prey was beneath them and in their grasp. A battle sprung up within a minutes time, elf against spider. As Tauriel slashed at one of the advancing spiders, taking another step backward due to the force of her enemies attack her back pressed up against Legolas' in the most sickening déjà vu Tauriel had ever experienced. This time however it was the spiders who were out matched and soon the elves had either driven them off or killed them. Though the battle was short it had been fierce and few had come out unscathed. Tauriel looked around at her company, her own wounds were minor, as she stared into the clearing and was satisfied both that no one was seriously hurt and that the spider threat had been dealt with she told her company to prepare to head back to the gate for treatment and celebration.
"Well fought all of you!" Tauriel commended "Take a moment to staunch you bleeding and catch your breath, we shall head back to the castle presently." Cheers went up and Tauriel turned away from them, seeking solitude once again. She drifted a little ways away from the company, and leaned against a tree just on the outskirts of the circle. Their mission had been accomplished easily enough which meant that soon she could be alone in her room away from the pain and confusion that being around Legolas and Faelwen brought her right now. She took a few deep breaths looking up into the sky and watching dark thunderheads as they rolled in rapidly, she was about to call out to her group when the sound of her name being spoken gave her pause.
"Tauriel?" she sighed in frustration and she turned once again to Legolas looking at him with her cold eyes once more. "Please let me explain. I believe you're mistaken I…" Legolas began once more but this time Tauriel didn't let him speak.
"I didn't mistake your absence in the infirmary, I didn't mistake your secretive behavior when you met with me, and I most certainly didn't mistake what I saw. I know my place Legolas, it belongs below you and everyone else of noble birth. There is no need to push me further into the ground with your lies and your games." Tauriel could feel the tears prick at her eyes again, she fought vehemently against them. Legolas still drew closer despite the venom in her words, his eyes never strayed from hers; Tauriel backed away from him, not wanting Legolas to touch her. "Leave me be Legolas, leave me!" She cried beating her fists against his chest as he closed the space between them and his arms were trying to encircle her into an embrace.
"I can't do that, I won't Tauriel, I won't leave you." He whispered pulling her resisting form into him. Thunder clapped overhead and lightning pierced the sky. Without warning a down pour of rain covered them in a blanket of water, just in time to mask Tauriel tears and they finally broke free.
"Release me, let go!" She cried out pushing and beating against him, but his arms were strong and they would not yield. "I hate you!" as soon as the words left her lips she was pitched to the ground unexpectedly. The two of them landed on the ground hard, Tauriel looked up to see spider, stinger poised to strike. She pulled her bow and loosed two arrows straight into the monsters skull. It was dead before it hit the ground and that's when Tauriel noticed that Legolas' grip had slackened. She looked down to see that she was covered in blood, but it was not she that was wounded. The blood was pooling out of a deep wound in Legolas chest. It was like a macabre geyser as the blood spurted from his chest. Tauriel gasped as she watched his face pale dramatically. Quickly she untied her cloak from around her neck, balling it in her hands she pressed the thick fabric against Legolas' chest to stop the bleeding.
"I told you." Legolas whispered, that stupid grin back on his face. Tauriel looked at him as more tears fell from her eyes and she pressed even harder against his wound, the blood was beginning to soak through the cloak. There was so much blood.
"Don't talk, you're going to be ok," She whispered not daring to look at him, she turned her head and screamed for the patrol. They weren't too far away, they would be able to hear her. They had to.
"I told you I would rescue you." His words stopped her in her tracks, a chill ran down her spine and Tauriel finally turned and looked at him. His eyes held hers and he smiled again, gently. His hand reached up and cupped her face, "I heard you." He whispered before losing consciousness, his hand falling away. Tauriel sat there looking at Legolas' unconscious form, luckily other hand took the cloak from her applying the pressure, carrying for him. She was hustled out of the way by the others and the endeavored to save their prince's life. No one noticed Tauriel as she rose to her feet and backed away from the scene. No one saw her disappear into the darkness of the rain drenched forest.
"Goodbye, Legolas." She whispered and no one heard her.
.
.
Legolas had been dozing in the chair next to Tauriel's bedside when he jolted awake. His head snapped up and he searched for whatever it was that had woken him but the room was as still as death. He sat there in silence as he tried to remember the dream he had been having before he had woken. His memory was fragmented, he recalled rain, lightning, and a disembodied voice although he couldn't remember the words that had been spoken. He was just about to settle back into sleep once more when he heard movement. Legolas froze, no one else was supposed to be moving in this room. An intruder! He thought, leaping from his chair in once silent motion and pulling his knife. He faced the door ready for anything, or at least that's what he thought.
"Legolas?" A soft voice breathed and Legolas thought his heart had stopped. Slowly he turned away from the door and back to the bed. His jaw dropped and his blade slipped from his hand, clattering to the ground. There she was, sitting in bed, her skin seeming to glow and her eyes bright with life.
"Tauriel," Legolas' whisper was soft, as if speaking her name aloud would shatter the illusion and he would wake to find that she was still asleep. He took a step towards her, and then another, and another until he fell to his knees at the edge of the bed. He could only stare at her, filled with relief even if it were all nothing more than a dream. Slowly he reached out his hand, reaching for her that was sitting softly on the bed. His fingertips touched the top of her hand and slowly he moved it forward until it had enveloped her whole hand, clutching it tightly within his own. It was only then that he was convinced this was no dream, she was awake. Truly and surely Tauriel had come back to him and as he gazed at her with what he could only imagine was a foolish yet relieved grin on his face, he could have sworn he saw a hint of relief at seeing him as well.
A/N:
Back again guys. I have gotten some of the best comments ever lately and to show my thanks I wanted to give you a chapter that was at least twice as long as usual. I hope you liked some more of the back story, the next chapter were back in the present time of the story and going to continue on. I look forward to your thoughts guys!
Thanks so much for staying with me!
XX TB
