Chapter 9 everyone and it's a bit (not very though) longer than usual. I'd like to think that nobody mind.

Thanks as usual to anyone who support this story in some way and a special 'thanks' to those who leave a review. They're always so much fun to read and really encourage me to write more. So, thanks!

I do not own any characters (except a few Ocs' that occur now and then): J.R.R Tolkien or Peter Jackson and Co do.

Enjoy!


Chapter 9: Tauriel

Everything was still and it worried her. There was barely any life left in the forest now and she felt as if her home was slowly slipping out of her grasp. She didn't like it.

The trees now grew so that they could barely see the sky. It made her feel trapped and she hated it.

"Is it always this uneventful during the patrols?" Legolas's voice cut through the air as if he had been shouting and not whispering.

She shot him an annoyed glance and her fingers curled tighter around the handle of one of her knives. It felt safe. Legolas seemed to realize what he had said, because his mouth stretched into a thin line and he averted his eyes, muttering about how much better a calm patrol was than an eventful one. He had insisted on accompany her on her patrols after the spiders' attack a couple of months ago. He was the prince, so she couldn't deny him, but there was a part of her that found it ridiculous that he didn't trust her enough to keep herself safe. Then there always was the part that was glad for his company.

The elves moved quietly through the forest, eyes and ears alert. She signaled to Cúon to take a few guards with him and scout ahead. He nodded back, face grim and eyes flickering around as if he awaited an attack.

The air smelled peculiar, she thought as they moved deeper into the woods. Rotten, like something that dwelled in the darkest of places. She checked her knives once more and put a stray piece of hair behind her pointy ear.

That was when she heard it.

There was a sound of a broken twig and a murmuring, weak and wordlessly. Her mouth went dry and she stopped. The rest of the guards stopped as well and exchanged silent looks that spoke a language that was familiar after years patrolling the forest like nothing more than shadows. She saw the nets and she froze.

"Spiders!" she heard someone shout ahead of them.

"Close ranks!" she shouted back as she saw something huge move in the shadows and heard the rattle of many legs moving. "Do not let them touch you, they're poisonous!"

She let go of her knives and drew her bow. She could hear Legolas saying something behind her, arguing with a couple of guards who had suggested that the prince should be evacuated from the spot immediately. She whole-heartily agreed.

The first spider came from above, sinking down over them like a shadow. The elves moved away and the first arrow was released. It hit the spider's side and it cried out, a high-pitched sound that hurt her ears. It wobbled around on shaky legs and she watched as Rìnthel jumped up on it and with a swift motion of her blade cut of its head.

"You have to attack their heads or heart", the older warrior said and tossed her long, brown braid over her shoulder. "It's the most effective way to kill them."

"I thought you and the guards I gave to your command had finished the spiders off", she said with a bitter curl around her mouth. "Clearly I was mistaken."

"They're spiders, Captain", said Rìnthel as if it wasn't obvious. "They lay eggs in hundreds."

"Then we need to kill them at their nest."

Before Rìnthel could answer, Cúon and his group came back, running and jumping from tree to tree, closely followed by spiders the sizes of a large bear. She felt how all color left her face. She let an arrow fly without thinking, taking the lead as the spiders came closer. The rest of the guards followed and she prayed that they would all get out of there alive.

The spiders on the ground were rather easy to remove; they lacked the elves' grace and speed, which made the abominations clumsier and unorganized. It was when it started to climb spiders from the trees that it got difficult.

She let out a sigh and took out her knives. She threw one of them at a spider climbing down from a thick, slimy thread. It hit its target with a satisfying sound of something juicy being cut. The spider let out a shriek and as it fell down, she used it as a springboard and took a leap up into a tree. She cut down another spider and when a third came, she ducked just in time before an arrow nestled itself right between the spider's many eyes. Gasping, she looked down and saw Olchon give her an impish grin before firing another arrow at a spider in a different tree.

She jumped to another tree, landing a bit unsteady on the branch. A sharp elbow, nimble reflexes and some stabbing and cutting was enough to take down another two spiders. The elves were winning; there were yet to come another race like theirs; strong, fast and agile.

A flash of silver blond caught her eye. She looked down and saw Legolas battling one of the remaining spiders. It was a horrid creature; hairy legs and vicious eyes and clicking jaws, looking bigger than the others. Legolas's face was set in concentration and his eyes were hard as ice. He moved as gracefully as the rest of them, perhaps even a bit better. He handled his knives as if they were a part of him, a kind of extended arm. But being so engrossed with fighting the big spider, he didn't seem to be noticing another spider creeping up on him.

She did.

She crouched down like a cat, preparing to leap. In the back of her head she thought about how irritating insects were, seeming to never grow fewer, and that it was always one last enemy in battle that could manage to strike the deadly blow. Not that she was going to let that happen.

As Legolas took down his spider, she jumped. Legolas fell to the ground as she almost knocked into him. She straddled the spider and tried not to fall off as it trashed around. With a grim face, though not without some excited gleam in her eyes, she stuck her knife into the spider's head. It twitched and fell to the ground. She got off before it had touched the ground and she removed the knife, ignoring the blood that graced her clothes.

Legolas had got up from the ground and for a moment, both of them just stared at each other, neither of them finding the right words. Swallowing the storm of emotions that threatened to overcome her, she said in a controlled voice:

"You've got something there."

She reached out and strokes away a tiny speck of spider blood on his cheek. His eyes widened as her finger connected with his smooth skin. For a moment she was lost in blue before snapping out of it. She tried to smile at Legolas, but he had a look of uncertainness about him and she didn't know how to react to that. Looking at him curiously, she thought of saying something, but stopped. Instead she turned to face the guards. Even though her heart sung with joy and relief that Legolas was safe, she still had her duty to do. And that duty was to the Woodland Realm foremost.


The fighting scene was a bit hard to write, but I hope it turned out okay.

The next chapter should be up in a couple of days!