"If you're tired, we shall stop here and take some rest," Legolas frowned a bit, turning back to glance at his friend who had stayed a bit behind him. Once again, he noticed that she was limping and it looked like she lacked strength to move anywhere. Nevertheless, she did not seem to care much about it and followed him bravely, having not grimaced even once. That was one of the traits of hers that Legolas appreciated so much.

When the young elven prince came to a halt, the woman stopped as well, but only as soon as she had caught up with him. Then, she leant on his shoulder, regaining her balance. After a moment, a soft smile returned onto her face and once again Legolas could not help but observe an almost unnoticeable shadow in her eyes. Quite honestly, he was not sure what was the cause of it – it could be the death of the dwarf she loved...

...but maybe...

"No, we cannot stop here," answered Tauriel. "If we do, some orcs will find us, and there are to few of us to stop them from killing us. We need to find a shelter before the nightfall if we don't want to end up slayed."

She was right, and he knew it; however, somehow he did not like the idea of her walking any further, not in this state.

"You seem to be exhausted," he said softly, supporting her with his arm. There was so much gentleness in his eyes. Tauriel could remember him looking at her like that before, but right now, it was much softer than before.

Not responding to his words for now, the elven warrior looked to the side. She knew that Legolas had been jealous of Kili and the emotion that had bound the two of them and this jealousy had poisoned their relationship. After all, they had always been friends. Partners. Losing Legolas would be worse than losing a limb, and Tauriel could not let it happen. Now, though, after Kili's death, she wondered what was happening in her friend's mind. Did he still see a friend in her? Or was he still ready to stand up to his father who had once said that he would never let his son end up in a relationship with a mere wooden elf...?

The wound in her heart after losing the one she loved was still too new, and it still hurt way too much for her to allow Legolas to comfort her. Nevertheless, his presence alone was soothing; that was why she had decided to go with him.

"Should I carry you?" Legolas seemed to be worried about Tauriel's silence.

"I may be tired but I'm not a damsel in distress, my lord Legolas," she replied sharply. "I will not let you carry me."

A little smirk tugged on the corner of the young prince's lips. Of course she would not let him do that but he could not help but feel a bit amused by the way she replied to him. It reminded him of the good, old times when they could share every secret and be as free and careless as possible. Almost as if they were one person, just in two different bodies.

"Let us find some shelter. Whether you want it or not, you are exhausted and you need some rest. As your friend and captain, I cannot let you get anymore hurt," he decided and helped her climb onto one of the rocks.

Luckily for both of them, path behind the rock was less bumpy, and their route became much easier from now on. Legolas looked around. The forest, once beautiful and safe, had turned into something that scared even him. Him, the heir of these lands, a person who had grown up there. He had always thought he had known every little stone there, but it had changed since the evil had begun to regain its powers.

Before, he would not be afraid of staying just anywhere, but now, Tauriel was right. They needed to find a shelter if they wanted to be safe. He could not put her life at risk. As of late, the spiders had become more and more audacious, and they would not fear venturing deep into the forest, so far from Dol Guldur.

"Have you noticed something?" asked Tauriel, noticing Legolas' watchful gaze. Another light shadow rushed across his face, but then, he looked at his friend and shook his head.

"Nothing as of yet," he replied. "Though I cannot help the feeling that something is watching us."

"It would not be anything strange," Tauriel looked around and her hand rested on the handle of her dagger. "These days the whole forest is being watched... from everywhere. Strange creatures keep swarming in what was once a mainstay of all good."

"I know things have changed but it does not make me any calmer, on the contrary, I must think of every step we take... if it doesn't lead us straight into perdition."

Tauriel smiled.

"Since when have my lord Legolas become so pesimistic?" she asked. "Neither of us is afraid of fighting. If something attacks us, we will fight. And let me remind you that we have never lost any battle, being together."

Her words somehow eased the elf's mind and a smile returned onto his lips. Tauriel was much younger than him; there were times he could still remember when she had not been born yet. Dark times, full of fear and loss.

"I would rather avoid any fight as long as there's any other way out," he corrected himself. "We need lots of strength to reach our destination."

Tauriel's eyes seemed to darken a little as she looked away. The way ahead was still long and they could not be sure where exactly they were going. After all, they were supposed to look for a man that was famous of being able to disappear whenever he did not want to be found. He allowed others to find him only when he wanted it.

The same thought suddenly appeared in Legolas' mind, and he opened his mouth, fighting with himself.

"Listen, Tauriel," he spoke hesitantly, and she looked at him, frowning. "It is still not far, nothing is keeping you here if you –"

"No," she cut in. "I am not going back, Legolas. I promised you I will go with you, no matter where the path leads us. Even if meands we are never going back."

"Then let me lead you to Imladris!" he insisted. "Lord Elrond will help you heal. There is no-one like him..."

"I am going with you," she repeated. "Heading to Imladris means turning back. It could take us days, weeks, maybe even months. And while such a time is but a blink of an eye to us, the rest of Middleearth doesn't have this much time. It could be a matter of days, Legolas. The sooner we find him, the better."

Legolas sighed but did not reply to those words. While he admired her devotion, he could not help but worry about her well-being. He would not bear losing her; he had already lost too many of those he had loved. He did not want to lose her now.

"There's a little cavern nearby," he said after a longer while of silence, broken only by quiet chirps of few birds above their heads. "Let us stay there until the morning.

Tauriel nodded, not wanting to fight anymore, though she was very tempted to tell him she was not weary enough to really long for a rest. Like any elf, she liked walking in the night. Nevertheless, she was well aware of the fact that the night was also the time of the most dangerous of creatures. Neither of them wanted to meet them so soon on their way.

The cavern turned out to be empty and they could rest there for a while. After they had had a bite of lembas and some water, Legolas stood up. The woman looked at him, surprised.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Your wounds," he answered simply. "We should tend to them before it's too late. There must be some herbs around, so you just stay here, and I will be back in a moment."

He did not look at her, saying that. Without even one glance back, he stepped out of the cavern, leaving Tauriel alone.