C7
"And just where have you been?" Mithrandir looked up from the pile of supplies he was looking down at next to the camp fire as she slipped as silently back into camp as she had left a couple of hours earlier just before dawn had risen. Tauriel dropped the pack she was carrying and then knelt beside him.
"I have been scouting our path and then stopped at the way station. There is no patrol there nor do dark creatures seem to lurking near our path." She dug in the pack pulling out fresh rations that she had taken and handing them to the wizard. There was smoke cured bacon, salted ham and venison, two wheels of hard cheese, lembas bread, a bag of fine ground flour, a small bag of salt and one of sugar as well as a bag of the rich green tea preferred by her fellow wood elves while out of the comforts of their kingdom. She had also restocked the supply of arrows that both her and Aranel needed as well as grain for the horses. "Did you worry I had gone off into hiding again?"
"So you admit you were hiding?"
"Healing is not hiding. All you would have had to do was ask The Lady and she would have told you exactly where I was and what I was doing." She raised her eyebrows. "Why were you looking for me?"
"King Thranduil will not mind you raiding his supply stations?" The wizard asked picking up the sealed package with the bacon in it as well as the knife they had been using to prepare their meals with. Clearly ignoring her question.
"I'll let the quartermaster know what I took when we arrive at the palace." She shrugged. She was not going to worry about the rations she had taken, the way stations were socked in case of need as well as for a patrol's ease. As far as the wizard went she figured that he would break his silence when he was good and ready.
"Your reception in the halls of your King does not concern you?" Arenal moved next to them from where she had been tending to the horses and ponies with the elder of their dwarven companions that had yet to speak to each other since their disagreement the night before.
"He has sent for me. If it is just to imprison me than I shall accept it but the nature of my King, while oftentimes fickle, is not purposefully malicious." She replied splitting the arrows and handing them to her friend who counted them and started to inspect the fletching while Mithrandir cut slices of the bacon that he set to frying.
"I don't know about that, Fili still talks about being thrown into King Thranduil's cells." Sada wondered over, a dripping but full water skin slung over one shoulder.
"It was my Prince and I that put them there." Tauriel couldn't help but smile. "Dwalin was like a rabid creature attacking the bars of his cell, the others were yelling and cursing us and poor young Sídhon kept finding blades on Fili no matter how many times he searched him." All of her companions managed at the very least to chuckle at that.
"I still don't think he ever goes anywhere with less than half a dozen blades on him." Sada was smiling and Tauriel couldn't help but hope that they had come to a turning point in their relationship where at least they could be friendly toward one another.
"And after seeing all of this, Kili turned to me and asked if I was going to search his trousers, after all he could have anything hidden down them." Tauriel shook her head, the smile never leaving her face as Aranel looked at her somewhat aghast.
"To which you answered?" The younger elleth put her arrows down next to her, taking the water skin and filling a small pot which she put directly over their fire.
"Or nothing."
"I bet Kili loved that!" Sada threw back her head and laughed at her reply. "Always the flirt that dwarrow. All the lasses in Ered Lund loved him a little, I think, dwarf or human didn't seem to matter. He could smile at you in such a way that made you feel attractive and a little scandalized all at once."
"His Da was the same." Tauriel couldn't help but stiffen at the sound of the Princess' voice and she wasn't the only one, Sada positively scowled at the campfire in front of her. "Kalin was an accomplished warrior, an incorrigible flirt and I couldn't believe it when he turned his attentions to me. He was killed when his sons were young. I like to think he would have been proud of them."
"He would have been." Mithrandir nodded his head once as though his word on the matter was final. Tauriel watched him turn over the bacon he was frying as their little company fell once more into an uneasy silence.
"It will only take us another couple of days to reach the halls of my King. There you should be able to expect food, rest and the gathering of an escort to take you the rest of the way to Erebor." She broke the silence some time later as Aranel was pouring a lightly sweetened tea into mugs and the wizard was passing around bread stuffed with cheese and bacon.
"You will take us no further?" Sada asked.
"My King will make the best possible arrangements for your continued safety that may or may not include me." She shrugged. If she had her way, she wouldn't go any further. She was not any more eager to set foot in the stone halls she had been cast out of all those years ago than she was to traverse the ground between Taur-nu-Fuin and Erebor.
"You could always ask him." Aranel gave a shrug.
"Such things may be done in Imladris but not in Taur-nu-Fuin. King Thranduil's will is absolute and unquestioned." Tauriel shook her head. "The truth is I would be unlikely to find a warm welcome in Erebor nor am I sure if I wish to go back to that place. It will be difficult enough being back in the halls of my King."
"You do not wish to go back to The Mountain?" Dis looked at her skeptically.
"I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees the land surrounding Erebor as the place where I saw great tragedy unfold." She found herself rebuking Erebor's Princess before she could stop her tongue. The wizard looked at her sharply. She blushed and looked down at the campfire, feeling herself more than a little reprimanded.
"You will find things much changed in Mirkwood as well as Erebor and Dale!" Gandalf snapped. "If you wish your escort to stay as it is Lady Firebeard I suggest that you do the asking and convince King Thranduil of it."
"For now we still have to make it safely to the halls of King Thranduil." Dis shook her head. "The trees here make me uneasy."
"They are old friends and already they are greeting us." Tauriel closed her eyes for a moment a smile gracing her face. "The danger which has chased us thus far cannot continue its pursuit here and while the paths through the wood can be dangerous to those uninvited with Mithrandir and myself with you the forest itself will not cause any confusion."
"Two more days of travel?" Aranel asked as she tidied away their supplies and stood dusting her hands on her thighs.
"Depending on how fast we travel. From my King's halls to the gates of Erebor only two more leisurely day or one day of hard riding." She confirmed.
"Then it is best we are once again traveling." Dis stood up, brushing the crumbs of their late breakfast from her skirts. "I'll start saddling the horses."
"No need to tighten the girths. Today we will spend on foot until we get to the main throughway." Tauriel stated as she too stood, brushing away the crumbs and dirt that had accumulated on her uniform. It felt a little strange to look down and see the clothes that had once been part of her everyday life. A life that seemed like it belonged to someone else.
"On foot?" Sada looked over at her.
"The wood has changed since last I was here, by all accounts less physical dangers lurk but we are a half a day's walk from the main thoroughfare and the path I will take you on is narrow." She explained.
"Then on foot we shall go." Mithrandir nodded.
In less than thirty minutes their little camp was cleaned away with little trace that they had been there. The small company moved in single file the way they had up in the mountain passes along the narrow trail that Tauriel confidently led them along. If Sada had been asked her opinion she would have questioned that it was actually a path but this was the forest that the elder elleth had grown up in so questioning her seemed ridiculous. Aranel however was seeing a new confidence that she hadn't seen before in her friend, she stood taller under these trees, her movement was more fluid and relaxed. She was back in her element and it showed.
As an elfling child Tauriel had lived on the edge of these woods with her parents, played under the branches of the trees and in the waters that flowed under therm. After her parents' deaths and her indoctrination into the royal household she had trained where once she had played under the watchful eyes of her elders. She had spent long hours tracking, hunting and defending in the forest and just as many hours breathing the breath of the trees, listening to birdsong and the hundreds other sounds of life that were prevalent around her.
One slender fingered hand reached out as she walked, the tips brushing against the trunks of trees as she walked silently by. A light breeze lifted the hair from her neck and a small smile graced her lips. Soon she would be home and made welcome or not by those she had once cared for and served she at least would know that the forest around her was pleased by her return.
"What are the halls of Taur-nu-Fuin like?" Aranel asked.
"Grandiose." Mithrandir responded at the same time as Dis answered.
"Repressive!" Was the snarled one word answer the Princess of Erebor gave.
"They are both of those things and much more." The laugh that left Tauriel's lips was genuine and light catching her companion's attention immediately. Laughter had been rare in her life and while she knew it shocked Aranel in particular to hear her, she also couldn't deny how it lifted her spirit to do so once more. She thought that the closer she got to the places where once she had shared time with her meleth e-gûr nîn that she would find it harder to continue forward but instead she found there was a lightness in spirit that her homecoming was bringing.
She launched into a description of the dwelling of her King. The way the great caverns had been created to resemble the forests that grew outside it, the great pillars carved as trees and vines. How green things grew and flourished despite the fact that they were cut off from the direct light of the sun and how even though it was a cavern, it was a living, breathing space full of light and air. She spoke of the great receiving hall of her King with its tall imposing throne and the way that King Thranduil would sit upon it when important guests would arrive or how he would use the space to intimidate those who displeased him. She told them about the spacious apartments, the many balconies, ramparts and towers that provided a place to step out under the stars and yet were undetectable to unwanted and unknowing eyes.
As they walked she reminisced about grand celebrations, long hours of training and patrolling. Without interruption she did her best to paint a picture of the individuals that lived within the palace walls, the important Lord's and advisors, the different warriors within the guard, the gentle and intelligent seneschal, the loud and uptight quartermaster, the sharp tongued head of the healing halls as well as her proud and unyielding King.
Tauriel continued her quiet commentary through the short afternoon as she led them closer to the place she described. Then she stopped dead in her tracks, her words drifting to silence. Each member of their party drew their weapons, Tauriel and Aranel nocked and drew back their bows, Mithrandir drew his sword as Dis pulled out a long curved blade and two axes appeared in Sada's hands. The forest around them was still and silent. The birds had ceased their chatter as abruptly as the older elleth, the horses were stood still as statues alert to their surroundings and the air had stilled as though the very trees had forgotten how to breathe.
"Gwaedhon, step out and make your intentions known." Tauriel stated clearly as she looked sharply to her left swinging her bow around and taking aim as she did so.
A tall dark haired ellon materialized from the forest perfectly in the sights of Tauriel's arrow. Around him in an arrow shaped formation appeared eleven other elves in full uniform with their hands near their sheathed weapons. These were the Captain's guard and she knew everyone by name and by skill. These were her own elite, handpicked and trained by herself and Prince Legolas for the last two centuries to provide leadership for the warriors of Taur-nu-Fuin. If King Thranduil had sent them for her, then his plans for her were indeed less than welcoming.
"You slink back into the Great Wood bringing your dishonor back into these lands, you do not get to question one who has always put their King and Kingdom before all else." Gwaedhon looked down his nose at her and then past her toward the dwarves in her charge. "Still giving loyalty to those outside your charge I see. King Thranduil will not be impressed."
"My King has sent for me and I have answered his call. Those I have escorted are our King's allies and he will not be best pleased with you if you impede their safe return home." Tauriel didn't use the same condescending tone that he did. Instead she took a breath and exercised all that patients that Uiron had shown in raising her.
"I see no allies here, only dwarves and a bringer of ill council." Gwaedhon sneered as his eyes slid past her to look over her companions.
"Also an emissary of Imladris." Aranel said coldly. "Think carefully before you judge those in front of you." The warning had hard grey eyes turning away from the former Captain of the Guard and to the dark haired elleth of Rivendell.
"The King has sent us to bring you to him." Tauriel recognized Elarinya as the golden haired beauty stepped forward a faint smile touching the corners of her lips. "He has been anticipating your return. Please return with us without incident."
"I escort not only Mithrandir and an emissary from Imladris but also the Princess Dis of Erebor and the Lady Sada Firebeard of Ered Luin, there will be no incident so long as they are treated with the respect their station deserves." She answered, not yet lowering her bow as she gave her old friend the majority of her attention.
"On my honor it shall be so." Elarinya bowed softly and Gwaedhon hissed.
"You overstep." He snapped and directed his ire toward one of his own for the first time.
"This was my mission set forth by my King, it is my duty to see that it is carried out with due haste and priority." All hints of friendliness left the elleth's face. "Will you lay down your arms?" She turned back to her former Captain.
"Aranel." Tauriel nodded and turned to her friend. She handed her both her bow and her daggers.
"Tauriel?" Sada questioned as she stepped toward the waiting guards.
"Do as Mithrandir and Elarinya say, you will be taken to the halls of my King and your passage home will be arranged from there." She smiled at her.
"And you?" Dis asked.
"I'll be waiting for you there." She answered as she was quickly surrounded by Gwaedhon and six of the other guards.
"I'm coming with you." Aranel attached herself to the company glaring at Gwaedhon as he gave her a quick assessing glare.
"We will enquire after you when we arrive." Mithrandir put his sword away with a frown on his face.
"Until then." Tauriel nodded and followed the guards along a different path into the forest.
Aranel was unsurprised to find herself led along hidden pathways through the forest nor was she surprised at the much quicker pace they were alive to travel without gear, animals and the slower pace of others to slow them down. The path led them from the forest floor into the branches of trees which had seemed to develop into a hidden aerial highway. There was no discussion, they all moved at a synchronized pace that she had to be careful not to miss the steps of. Through the trees, across paths on the forest floor and even through a couple of passageways under the earth they ran through the afternoon and well into the evening although the passage of time seemed to slow at times beneath the canopy above them.
Around Imladris there were similar trails and pathways through the mountains and plains that the inhabitants and patrols used to move quickly and efficiently through the area. She had grown up playing in the caverns below the halls and had spent much of her early years of patrol watching the entrances and exits of those same paths. The trails through Taur-nu-Fuin felt more organic somehow, like the trees had chosen to grow together and the ground split of its own accord a feeling that she made a note to ask Tauriel about at a later date. For now her friend seemed occupied by more than just the path and pace, her facial features had been schooled into a cold mask that held no emotion and every muscle was strung tight like she was anticipating foul play at any moment. With the way that Gwaedhon had behaved so far, she didn't blame her, he seemed angry and vindictive unlike the other guard captains she had met and that made him unpredictable.
They ran for another hour after dark, until the path changed from packed dirt to polished paving and the trees melted away to reveal a set of small but ornately carved doors. The two guards there looked at them with somewhat startled expressions as they changed from a run to a brisk walk but said nothing as they opened the doors to allow entry.
"Somehow I do not believe that these are the main gates." Aranel commented coolly to the former guard captain.
"They aren't." Tauriel confirmed but said no more as they were led through a number of passages and down a few flights of stairs to a narrow cavern that seemed to go down without ceasing and that was lined with many cells next to the narrow walkway. The tension was back in the set of her friend's shoulders and she could suddenly feel a palpable tension among the guards escorting them along with a smugness that was evident in the face of their commander.
"You shall await the King's pleasure here." Gwaedhon opened a cell door and addressed Tauriel who stiffly moved into the confined space without argument. "Lady Aranel, Sídhon shall escort you to a guest chamber where you shall be catered to until morning when a meeting with King Thranduil can be arranged." His tone was no less haughty when he turned his attention to her.
"I shall stay here until you have made me known to your King, Lord Elrond would not be pleased to know that I abandoned one that he highly values to a prison cell among antagonists." She slipped through the door before she could be stopped and glared at him. "Rest assured Captain, your deeds shall be well known in Imladris."
"This is not Imladris." Gwaedhon sneered and slammed the door shut. "To your duties!" He snapped at the remainder of the Captain's guards before sweeping away, the others following behind him casting infuriatingly apologetic glances over their shoulders at the two imprisoned elleth.
"That was not one of your brighter moments, although I appreciate the loyalty." Tauriel addressed her as she moved to the stone bench that ran the length of the cell and sat, her fingers curling around the edge.
"I believe my Lord Elrond used the word impulsive when first describing my character to you." She shrugged as she leaned against the locked cell door. "This is where you imprisoned your dwarf isn't it?"
"Pardon?" The look she was given was sharp.
"Gwaedhon is a jealous and vindictive soul, why else would he pass over two dozen perfectly good cells to deposit you in this one?" She answered not put off by expression on the older elleth's face.
"Yes, this is where I imprisoned Kili." She confirmed with a sigh. "He sat where I sit now as we spoke about the lives we had lived so far. He told me off the world in which he traveled, the spenders that he had seen both natural and made by the peoples of middle earth." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply of the air around them. "He thinks he punishes me, he just allows me to remember more clearly and for that I am grateful."
"How long do you think he means to keep us here?" Aranel stopped pacing the cell as she had been for the last hour and leaned one more against the bars.
"Gwaedhon or my King?" Tauriel didn't bother opening her eyes from where she sat in the same position on the bench as she had been in since they were brought to the cell.
"One or the other or both."
"Gwaedhon will make us wait as long as it takes for Gandalf and the others to arrive. As for my King, that depends on the purpose that he had for me from the beginning." She answered. "Come and sit and rest. When King Thranduil hears that you are an emissary with news from Imladris you will not be kept here waiting. You must keep a sharp mind if you are to speak with the king."
"Did Lord Elrond ever tell you that I was well known for being impatient?" She grumbled taking the seat next to her friend.
"More than once." The response was backed with a smile.