The next several days were difficult. Tauriel wished she had said less back then, in the cavern. Or maybe more? Had she had enough courage to solve the problem at that moment, it would be so much easier now. However, instead of continuing the conversation, she had pretended to be too tired to talk any longer; moreover, she had not let Legolas treat her wounds, reassuring him that she had done it already.

Since then, Legolas had not said even one word. He had not been cold towards her; nevertheless, it looked like he had abandoned the thought of being able to help his friend. As long as she did not desire his help, it would be simply pointless.

They had already left the woods and headed towards the mountains which loomed on the horizon. For some reason, they looked strangely mysterious and dangerous at the same time, even though both of the elves realised that the world on the west was probably way safer than Mirkwood. Those were strange lands to them, though; neither of them had actually gone that far by now. That was one of the reasons why they needed each other.

"There are goblins in these mountains," spoke Legolas, breaking the silence for the first time. "Lots of them. We need to be careful."

Tauriel turned her head to look at him. To be honest, she liked his profile, and although she would never admit it even to herself, many, many years before she had been in love with him. It was an affair that could never happen, though, since she knew his father would never agree to it. Besides, she was completely sure Legolas was definitely not interested in her. They were friends. Partners. Not lovers.

And yet, in his head she was a perfect candidate for an heir's wife. The queens of the Eldar were never delicate; while their faultless beauty could be deceiving, they had to know how to fight if they wanted to survive. And Tauriel... she had it all. Beauty, good heart, courage, will to live. And she was herself only with him; never had he felt this comfortable with anyone else. The longer he lived, the less he wanted anyone but Tauriel by his side.

But that was when she had met Kili. A dwarf! No wonder he had felt jealous; what elf would put a dwarf over a prince?

However cruel it could sound, Legolas realised that the fact that Kili had desired her as well had made him want her even more. At the same time his interest in her had been growing so strong that at some point it had become painful, and her interest in him had been slowly fading away. Yet he did not want to think that it was meant to be.

"Do not worry," replied Tauriel, trying not to smile. It worked better than she had expected; not even a shadow of a smile appeared on her face. "I do know how to fight with them." After a moment, she added, "I can even protect you."

For a while, Legolas thought that she was being serious; only when she allowed a smile to blossom on her lips did he realise it was nothing but a joke. It had been a long time since Tauriel had actually allowed herself to joke in his company, and he began feeling that his attempts to make her open up to him finally worked.

"I truly do hope it turns out to be unnecessary," he spoke with a chuckle. "Though it might surprise you, despite the fact I am a prince, I can fight."

Now, even Tauriel allowed herself to smile. At the same time, though, she felt a strange weight in her chest. It was as if she was betraying someone; she just was not sure whether she was betraying the memory of Kili, or Legolas, giving him fake hope for something he could never have. Because even if he managed to regain her affection, his father was still against this relationship, and it could never happen. Not without harming Legolas.

"Do you feel better now?" The prince mustered enough courage to ask the question he had been itching to ask for a couple of days. "I have packed the herbs in case something happened... but it seems you are no longer limping."

While she appreciated Legolas' concern, Tauriel could not help but feel at least disturbed by his question. It was still way too soon to talk about her health. And while she realised that the sooner she admitted she was not fine, the better for her, she did not want to appear as weak in his eyes.

"Legolas..." she started, but he stopped her with a short gesture of his hand.

"If you want to lie and tell me you are alright, don't," he demanded, but soon regretted the sharp tone of his voice. Sighing, he closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, forgive me. Yet I cannot help but feel worried about you..."

"You don't need to," she reassured him, feeling awful since she knew she was lying to him. And what for? Just to pretend she was stronger than she really was? Was it truly worth losing a friend? Was this price not too high?

The prince's hand found Tauriel's fingers and he intertwined them. To his surprise, she did not take her hand away, even though he could feel her tensing up. Nevertheless, she remained just as speechless as before.

"Stop pretending, Tauriel," he whispered. She should be used to his soft tone, however, it was probably the first time she could hear it being this soft. "If you did not want me to be by your side when you are in this state, you wouldn't have followed me."

It was embarrassing to realise he was probably right. No-one had forced her to join him; it had been her own choice. Moreover, he had been asking her several times to turn back, and she had refused so fiercely. Yes, she needed him exactly at this moment, when she was hurt and vulnerable, and weaker than ever.

Because if she could not be weak with him, there was no-one she could show this side of herself. Legolas was someone she could trust wholeheartedly; never would he hurt him. He would even sacrifice his own well-being if need be.

"Tauriel," he spoke again, and this name sounded like a caress.

"I trust you more than I've ever trusted anyone else," she answered after a moment, not wanting him to say anything else. While the tone of his voice was so pleasant, she was afraid of it getting too far. "This is why I need you right now. Yet even though I do need you, I could never allow you to think I am weaker than I really am."

"You underestimate me," he protested, shaking his head. "I know you perfectly well, Tauriel, and I am aware of what you are capable of. I would even dare say I know how strong you are much better than you know it."

His thumb gently caressed her knuckles, but this time Tauriel pulled her hand out of his grasp; his hand remained hung in mid-air.

"We should go." The woman's voice trembled slightly as she spoke. After all he had said she was not able to look up into his eyes. However, she could feel some burning in her heart, one she could not really define.

"I do not wish to hurt you, Tauriel."

Those words managed to coax her to glance up and their eyes met. It had been way too long since she had actually looked right into his eyes, not trying to hide anything from him. His sight was almost painfully honest, too, she could feel it, and it filled her with shame. Legolas, even though she had been pushing him away for so long, remained true to her.

No, he did not want to hurt her, of that she could be sure. She doubted he would actually be able to hurt her, even not intentionally.

"Then why won't you just let it go?" she asked quietly. "Insisting you keep hurting both of us!" Her breath grew heavy and she took a step. Legolas did not approach her, however, he kept his eyes upon her face. "You long for nothing but a shadow of a person I used to be! You long for an image in your head that is no longer real!"

"You are mistaken, Tauriel!" Legolas' voice got tougher, and for the first time, Tauriel actually was scared of him. "I long for nothing that is fake or unreal. The one I long for is standing right here, in front of me, and she has been never more real than she is now."

Those words caught her speechless. Her eyes glistened with tears; she had not even noticed when they had appeared.

"Tauriel," repeated Legolas, reaching for her hand once more.

"Let me go!" she demanded, but this time, he did not allow her to move away so easily. Actually, he pulled her close, trapping her within his embrace, despite her countless protests. He was not going to give up this time.

"I have been letting you go way too many times. Not anymore," he replied only before pressing a kiss to her lips.