Tauriel glanced at Legolas through her peripheral vision as they hiked through the woods. With the stress of impeding danger and the emotions relating to the cave, it was the first time she had been nervous around him.

She had always thought of him as a brother, dependable and caring, and she had never kept anything from him except this. Her cave, and her past before she met him.

He had saved her life before he had even known who she was. He had given her a home in the Woodland Realm, a family. Tauriel appreciated all he did for her more than he knew, because he did not know how many years she had spent in that cave alone, worrying, and he did not know what it felt like to grow up without any company except her knives. That was about to change.

"L-Legolas? I need to tell you something."

Immediately his light blue eyes focused on her. "Of course, Tauriel."

She pursed her lips. "I-it's about my past. Before you met me."

"Do you want to stop?"

Tauriel shook her head. "We need to keep moving. I fear what will happen if we are too late."

She took a deep breath. "I do not remember my mother. My earliest memory is learning how to walk, alone. No parents, no siblings. It was in that cave. For a few years as a tiny elfling, Ada would spend the days with me, playing and teaching. He would put me to sleep, but in the nights, I knew he left. Once, I woke up after a nightmare, and no one was in the cave."

Legolas frowned, deeply concerned, but Tauriel pursed her lips and continued. "When I was old enough to take care of myself, Ada gave me my knives. He said they were my mother's, which she wanted me to have. He taught me a few things for a couple of weeks, but gradually, when I woke up in the morning he was gone. He would return in the evening to teach me more techniques for the knives, and tuck me in bed.

"While I waited for him, I practiced with my knives, and read. There was a cabinet full of lembas bread which I ate when I was hungry, and a river next to the cave from which I drank from, but I ate nothing else.

"Eventually his visits became rarer, until days went by without me seeing him. You say that I have a strong spirit. That spirit might have saved my life, for I often wanted t-to venture out of the cave, and face whatever may come my way, death or capture. Well, weeks went by without me seeing a soul. I looked at the pictures in my locket frequently, wondering if I would ever meet them again.

"It turned out I did. Ada came home one night, all cut up, bruised, and bloody. I was terrified, and even when he was cleaned up I refused to acknowledge him. He told me he was sorry for how I was forced to grow up, but told me it was the best option he had. H-he also told me that my brother, Valluen, was looking out for me though I didn't know it. I didn't believe him, until today, and in my heart I knew Valluen was out there somewhere, and I needed to find him.

"Anyways, Ada was gone the next the morning, and that was the last time I ever saw him, because as you know, he died in a war. I spent a few more weeks in the cave when the lembas bread started to run out, and I decided it was best for me to start out on my own, see where my path would lead me. I packed the remainder of the bread, some water, and a few of my things, like my knives and a map. I made it as far as Mirkwood, though it was then called the Greenwood, and that is where Roquen found me. After that, you know what happened."

"Hmm, Roquen, the corrupted ellon who spent part of Gilrael's captivity with her before she escaped from evil," Legolas recalled. "I had forgotten about him."

Tauriel pursed her lips. "You won't before long. Gilrael told me he's been elevated to the chief general of Mordor, which means he's the one commanding all the orcs and goblins right now. We'll face him soon."

Legolas nodded. "I hope not too soon. So, you think the main purpose of the clues is to find Valluen?"

Tauriel looked determinedly in front of her. "I don't think, I know."

"Then why didn't he ever reveal himself to you? Why did he never come to you?"

Tauriel exhaled. "I hope when we find him, he will explain. Look, the border."

They had reached the edge of Mirkwood.

A few hours later…

"We're very close. Do you see that hill?"

Legolas peered into the distance. "Yes, with the cliff and a couple boulders. Leads up to higher lands. Oh, and I see the stream."

Tauriel raised an eyebrow. "You have good sight. I can only see the hill."

Legolas smiled. "Benefits of being the best archer in Middle Earth."

"You don't know that!"

"I'll keep the title until someone proves me wrong."

Tauriel smiled back, then started running. "Last one to the cliff is-"

"The last one to the cliff."

And the Sinda took off, passing the elleth while she followed, laughing. This was one reason why she preferred Legolas' company over Gilrael's. The prince was cheerful and playful, while Gilrael was thoughtful at best, and solemn most of the time.

Legolas, of course, arrived at the hill first, waiting with a bored expression on his face as he stroked his bow.

"What took you so long?"

Tauriel punched his arm playfully. "Only a few seconds slower. For an archer, you run fast."

Legolas smiled, then grew serious as he scanned the cliff. "I see boulders and ledges, but no cave. How do you get in?"

Tauriel swiftly jumped onto a familiar rock. The many centuries that had gone by did little to change the path, and she was about to step forward when Legolas touched her arm, perched on an adjacent rock.

"Wait, let me go first. This ground is damp. There may be tracks."

Smart.

The Sinda stepped onto a ledge, and gave a cry. "These footprints match mine exactly!"

Tauriel followed behind, and frowned. It was as if Legolas had been there before.

"It must be Valluen! He was here!"

"And recently," Legolas added. "It rained two nights ago and it hasn't rained since. How do we get in?"

"Continue, and I'll show you."

The elves delicately followed the tiny path, until Tauriel pointed up. "There. We climb up the rocks, and slide that boulder away. Then we crawl inside."

She nimbly ascended, and pushed aside the medium sized boulder. It was not very heavy, and her elfling self could easily move it.

Tauriel crawled inside while Legolas followed, and she widened her eyes in surprise. It was as if she had never left.

The elleth stood as Legolas rolled the boulder back and took in the cave. "It's...huge. I didn't expect it to be this big."

Tauriel slowly turned around, gazing at everything. There was the bed, neatly made as usual. The shelves, filled to the brim with books. The cabinets, which she knew contained dishes and towels and blankets. The chest, with old maps and things from her parents. And the wooden table, with –

"A note, from Valluen, it seems," Legolas told her as he handed her the piece of paper.

Tauriel frowned, and took it. It was hurriedly written, and read:

Whatever you do, do not travel at night! It's very dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt. Stay here, until

The elleth looked up at Legolas. "So we're supposed to stay here until, when? Morning?"

The prince shrugged. "Seems like it. If you don't mind, of course," he quickly added. "This place might bring bad memories for you."

Tauriel smiled. "I will make good ones, with you. Come, I will show you some books, and these things in the chest."

So they sat on the bed and looked through the books. Night had fallen by the time they were finished, and Legolas said, "Is there a torch? Candle?"

Tauriel moved to a cabinet, where she pulled a lamp out. Legolas promptly lit it, and the light gave the cave a warm, cozy feeling.

The elleth sighed happily. "It feels very different with you here, Legolas. I don't know how to thank you for everything you've done for me."

The prince smiled. "Bringing people comfort and joy is a hobby of mine. Mind if I read this?"

He had brought out a bunch of papers from the chest, and Tauriel nodded. "I could never make any sense of it."

Legolas looked it over, frowning.

"What's wrong?"

The Sinda glanced at her. "It's in Black Speech. I can't understand it, but I can translate the letters into Sindarin. The names Azog and Valluen is repeated often."

"Azog?" Tauriel whispered. "What could he be doing with Valluen?"

Legolas looked through the papers. "I don't know. But whatever it is, it's long. Enough for a stack."

He arranged them into a neat pile, then placed it back into the chest. "We'll have to come back later and have Gilrael read through them. In the meantime, I'm going to read that book about Gundabad."

While Legolas read, Tauriel had plenty of time to think. Azog…and Valluen. Had her brother been captured by the pale orc? No, it couldn't be. How else could he have been to the cave so recently? Then was Valluen corrupted, somehow? Like Gilrael was, and Roquen? But that wouldn't explain his concern for her, and for the safety of Middle Earth.

You must heed this, to save the lives of many!

So was he under some sort of spell, maybe? Sometimes good and sometimes bad? Tauriel was almost certain. It would explain why he was eager to help her, and help as many people as he could. It would also explain why those papers talked about him and Azog, and why he couldn't show himself to her for fear of the orc finding out.

Tauriel sighed, and leaned in close to Legolas. "What are you doing?"

The Sinda was marking and circling letters, turning the book upside down and back again.

"It seems there's some sort of code here. Look. These lines and circles make a symbol. The letter 'I'."

Legolas frowned, and started frantically working. Tauriel watched him anxiously, and after a few minutes, the Sinda held up a piece of paper, on which he had scribbled, 'I am Azog.'

"The code I used was one that Gilrael taught me. She said it was a common one that orcs used to conceal their messages, only this one translated into Sindarin, not Black Speech."

Tauriel frowned. "T-that's Valluen's handwriting. The same from the papers in the chest, and the note on the table, and the note from so long ago."

Legolas glanced at her sharply. "The note! Do you have it?"

The elleth nodded, and handed it to him. "Hmm, it was signed, 'A.T.B.' I think I know what it means."

Tauriel widened her eyes. "You don't mean-"

"Azog, Tauriel's Brother," Legolas finished. "Azog the Defiler is your brother. Valluen."

A/N: Soooo. What do you think? I kept on noticing how Azog's piercing blue eyes are so similar to Legolas', and my imagination went wild. So yeah, Azog is Valluen, who is Tauriel's brother, and Tauriel is Legolas' cousin. Her father Luinil is Thranduil's little brother. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

If you would like to read the part where Tauriel meets Legolas for the first time, please take a look at my first book, The Elven Huntress.

Thanks for reading!