CHAPTER 8

Days passed alike, it was both beauty and the curse of their immortal life. Only very young elves still admired every change of season. The temperature was dropping with each day, somebody equipped Tauriel's wardrobe with warm yet comfortable clothes. Legolas tried to keep track of his little friend with tried being the key word, but the restless elleth could not stay in one place for long.

That wasn't completely true. She could sit calmly through all the lessons he could give her. She was devouring his every word with same eagerness she had during her wanderings. No matter how much he told her, she always had more questions. Her eyes sparkled with special interest when history was concerned. Many elflings despised history; even the prince himself learned to appreciate it when he was much older. When he would give her a book, she would wander out in the forest and read it on high branches of trees under the light of the sun.

Even when reading, it was hard to keep her indoors. If she could not be found, they always knew to look around in the trees. At least she stayed close to the palace when she was alone, many creatures lurked in dark corners of the forest.

Sometimes Legolas was gone for days when they would spot a spider's nest in the far corners of the woods. Captain was usually with him so both her friends were gone. First time he was away, Tauriel decided to amuse herself in the stables. Her first thought was to find her white friend who was eager for company always. She petted his nostrils and fed him while the horse puffed in contentment.

When her fury friend finally decided that he had enough attention for today, Tauriel looked around for another amusement. All horses looked alike when she passed them so it was hard to pinpoint any in particular to gift him with some special attention. In the furthermost, most secluded part of the stables she found something unexpected. Her eyes were wide with disbelief. "Is that an elk?" she heard herself ask out loud though there was no one in here apart from herself or so she thought.

"It most certainly is." replied a familiar voice from behind. She blinked and turned around facing no other then her king.

"Hir nin, goheno nin I did not see you there." she said with a slight bow still in deep contemplation about why an elk would live in the stables like a horse.

The king just dismissed her apologies with his hand. "I see you have found my friend here." he said tapping a beautiful animal which stood there and seemed content to be petted like a horse.

"He is yours?" asked Tauriel looking at it with undisguised wonder.

Thranduil paid a little more attention to her voice than usual. "Yes. Legolas brought him from the woods when he was no more than a fawn. We had previously killed his mother during our hunting trip and my son didn't allow the hunters to harm this one so we brought him here and he grew to be a fine riding steed." he replied watching the little elleth process this information.

"What's it like, riding an elk I mean? Is it like riding a horse?" Tauriel asked forgetting about her uneasiness around the cold king while her curiousness prevailed.

"I don't know, I never tried to compare the two. It is similar I guess." he replied calling the elleth to come closer with his hand.

She obliged without hesitation and raised an arm stroking her newfound friend. "Is that something I might get to experience?" she asked while the eager elk licked her nose. She giggled with joy placing both arms around his strong neck.

"Maybe I will take you one day, but not before this snow melts down." he replied coldly, he was always cold and expressionless, but not as frightening as Tauriel thought before today.

"Hannon le." she replied yawning into elk's neck. This gesture did not go unnoticed by the cold king so he approached and took her hand.

"You can play with him whenever you wish, but now is the time for little elflings to go to bed." he said leading her out the stables and back into the palace.

Tauriel just waved goodbye to her elk friend and came along knowing better than to quarrel with the king. "What happens when you wake a bear from his winter sleep?" the question came easy enough while the cold king looked ahead as they walked.

Amazing, no matter how tired this elfling was, she never stopped asking questions. "I wouldn't advise you to test that theory unless you have a death wish." he replied curtly, but Tauriel was not dissuaded so easily.

"Have you ever thought about finding a mate for your elk?" she asked the next thing that popped to her little mind.

He looked at her half-annoyed and half curious. "No, I did not plan to keep him in the first place, but Legolas was an elfling so I didn't say no and he resulted useful and swift." he replied expressionless when they reached Tauriel's room.

"In you go, posto vae." he spoke before she could voice another question.

"Hannon le Hir nin." she replied surprising him when she stood on her tiptoes and placed a short kiss onto his cheek. She was gone long before he realized what happened.

He just shook his head and proceeded to his chambers trying unsuccessfully to banish that image from his mind, but to no avail.

The next day was almost entirely used to befriend the pretty elk; Tauriel would ask her friend why he didn't ever tell her that there was an elk inhabiting his stables. Only time when she left her furry companion was for her silent meal with the king. Neither of them seemed incline to speak, but this time the elleth felt more at ease. His son should be back in the evening, he had been missed even though his absence was not longer than two days.

Before the sun set on the horizon, Tauriel was already peeking outside for any sign of her friends. It was too freezing to sit there for long, but she enveloped herself in her cloak and sat on the lowest step of the stairs with her back resting on the stone fence. Sun went down and the moon came out, but not even the starlight could calm her restless spirit.

Many hours passed, but still she sat there. Guards changed shifts and those who were off duty started going to their beds, but the half-sleeping elleth still held her ground. She willed herself to keep her eyes open, but the exhaustion was kicking in. King Thranduil also made his way to his bedchamber and almost passed by without noticing her, but he turned around once he heard her silent breathing.

"Still awake little one?" he asked standing before her not really expecting her to rise. She was resting her head on her knees half incoherent.

"He said he would be back tonight. Must stay awake." she mumbled for herself barely acknowledging that there was someone with her in this cold corridor.

The king just sighed and lifted her into his embrace. Her hands unconsciously wrapped around his neck and her feet were around his waist while his skilled hands supported her weight. "The hour is late, come along little one. You may see my son when he returns." he chanted while she rested her head on his left shoulder already asleep.

It was a long time since he carried someone like this in his embrace. He stroked silky chestnut red hair while making his way to her bedchamber.

He knew that she was asleep, but she kept a firm grip on him. It took some effort to release her hands from his neck to place her to bed. He removed her shoes and drew a blanket from underneath her.

Once he covered her sleeping form, he sat by her for a while. She was restless even when not awake. He wondered what nightmares tormented her mind, but didn't have a hard time to guess. He suddenly realized that this could have been his son if he had decided to follow his wife to the halls of Mandos. That thought made him grateful that Legolas gave him strength to stay on this world. This little girl was not so fortunate, he contemplated what would a loss of parents mean to someone so little.

A fresh wave of grief hit him, not for his friend, but for his daughter. She had his eyes; it was like Dehael watching him through her face. In order to stop such troubling thoughts, he made his way out of her room.

Elven translation:

Mellon – Friend

Hir nin – My lord

Posto vae – Rest well

A/N: smiles the answer to your question is yes, this will eventually evolve into their romance though that won't happen before the sequel. This first part of the story is about Tauriel's childhood, her gradually developing bond with the prince and the king and her very early adulthood. I won't forward anything else because that would ruin the surprise. I will only tell you that the first sequel will follow the Hobbit era with my variations naturally. Thank you for reading and keep reviewing. Enjoy this new chapter. 3