Author's Note: You need not fear that the story is coming to an end. There's still a few chapters left for her childhood and perhaps more then a few if I am hit with inspiration. I am successfully finishing chapter 26 as we speak. Actually, I've given a great deal of thought about how to proceed. There are 3 options amongst which I could choose. 1. I could continue in this fashion and wait for the ideas to come. 2. I could put another "sequel" about her early days as a member of the guard. It would be rather short one considering I meant it as a grand closure of this first part, but it would permit me to write about Hobbit era and leave An Act of Kindness open for more chapters afterwards. When I say short, I mean 5 chapters the very most. 3. I could continue writing this and start Hobbit sequel immediately without describing Tauriel in her early days as a guard. This is not a great option because those few years will have plenty of connection with what happens afterwards. It would leave a "black hole" which would be hard to fill no matter how quick or slow I make progress. Again these are just thoughts, for now I am continuing in the same fashion, but if I progress to slowly, I might jump into the option number 2 eventually. Option 3 is rather defectual.

Thank you for your continued back. Enjoy the chapter 22 and don't forget to give me your thoughts about it.

Love,

ME

CHAPTER 22

The warm morning made them sweat before they reached the first turn. Sun shone proudly on the cloudless sky lighting their way. Their small company consisted of two elleths and four guards. They were all good spirited so the conversation flowed freely between the six. Gileth forbid them to use any formalities while they traveled so they quickly grew content speaking to her. The only visible difference between Tauriel and Gileth's escort was that Tauriel's guards were dressed in their dark green uniforms and Gileth's in black and silver.

All four guards congratulated little Tauriel on her sense of humor as soon as they were out of hearing range. They would be arriving at sundown so they had a lot of time to enjoy pleasures which light hearted company and good mood provided. Excellent traveling conditions made their spirits lift and Gileth was increasingly cheerful for the absence of her parents.

Tauriel often wished to ask her about their relationship, but Gileth never gave her the opportunity. It was probably better not to dig into private family matters seeing as her parents already despised her and she didn't wish to give them any additional motive to think ill of her. She was curious to meet her brother even though her friend assured her that he was pure kindness.

They made two short stops to take a bite and let their rides rest. Tauriel felt at ease speaking with the guards deciding to use their prolonged socializing to acquire some combat skills before her return to the palace. She already began missing the prince before the noon passed, but enjoyed the ride all the same. Her companion's constant chatter didn't leave her much time for letting her mind wander.

The first farms came into view before the sun started to go down. Tauriel took great pleasure in observing everything that was new making up her mind to take a lot of extended walks. "So is your brother a farmer as well?" Tauriel asked curiously.

"Yes, he owns a lot of land. My parents were not pleased, but he wouldn't make a good councilor or a fearsome warrior." Gileth replied as they passed through the farms with population becoming thicker with every passing hour. "He lives near the village." she added pointing to her left where a stone house with beautiful garden stood. It was larger than Tauriel expected, but Gileth's brother at least didn't have an extravagant taste.

When they stood on the road and the only thing separating them from the gardens was a small wooden fence; two proud looking yet friendly faces approached to greet them. Gileth dismounted without waiting for her help too eager to greet her brother. "Gwador." she exclaimed without any kind of ceremony. Tauriel had to remember that this was her family.

Her brother did not look surprised by such a greeting; he simply chuckled and tapped her back with affection. Tauriel came to stand two steps behind her friend uncertain of how to proceed while Gileth greeted her sister in law whose name she learned to be Leila.

"Brigolan this is my friend Tauriel." she lead her brother to greet his guest when they were done with their little reunion.

Her host observed her curiously. "Mae govannen Tauriel, im Brigolan. Le nathlam hi." he said after finishing his short examination.

Tauriel bowed her head in respect. "Saesa omentien lle Hir nin. Thank you for your gracious invitation." she replied remembering the right words to say.

"Sweet and polite, I like that. You should take a lesson or two from your friend sister." he smiled at her allowing his wife a short welcome before indicating the guards where they could rest and fussing about how thin Gileth was.

Brigolan took Tauriel to see her bedroom while his wife fussed over dinner and Gileth excused herself to go and change into a gown.

Tauriel found herself entranced by the size of her guest room thanking her host graciously. "Your guards are down the corridor, next door on your right. One call and they will be running in here like a thunder. Dinner will be in half an hour, make yourself comfortable." Brigolan informed her while she thanked him not really sure how to express proper gratitude for his kindness.

Gileth tried to persuade her friend into wearing a gown for supper, but Tauriel politely yet firmly declined that offer. I am a commoner and they better get used to it. She thought bitterly as she changed from her travelling clothes to a simple brown boots, pants and a red tunic with short sleeves. The atmosphere in the room was cheerful though Tauriel wished she could invite her guards to join them, but knew that would be incredibly impolite. First night in the unfamiliar room was peaceful enough apart from an occasional nightmare.

Gileth's brother gave them (or more accurately her) a tour of the estate after breakfast while Gileth tagged along enjoying the scenery. Brigolan indicated them where the stables were so Tauriel gave a short greeting to her handful mare who puffed in discontent for not being on the move.

Her host observed her gear curiously. "Where did you get those arrows little one?" he inquired voicing his inquiry out loud.

"They were a gift from the guards for my last birthday." she replied cheerfully not seeing anything wrong about the picture of elfling carrying weapons.

Brigolan raised an eyebrow, but gave no comment concerning her statement. "Do you know how to use them?" he continued the line of fire hardly surprised by anything anymore.

Her responsive blush only made him more curious. "Beleorn who is in charge of training new recruits for the royal guard is giving me lessons. He says that I am too unfocused, but I am getting better at hitting the target." she replied feeling quite embarrassed.

"Are you not a bit young to be trained in the guard still?" he asked surprised.

Tauriel sighed sadly at the truth of his claim. "I am no recruit. Beleorn merely volunteered to give me archery lessons because my father already started with them before he died." she replied wishing that the time would go by with greater speed so she could join her friend in combat.

"How old were you when your father placed a weapon in your hands for the first time?" he inquired further watching her with undisguised wonder. He never imagined an elfling as young as this one in a battle before.

Tauriel was tired of people telling her that she was too young to fight. "I was six when my father gave me a little wooden sword and started teaching me how to use it. Not long after that, he gifted me with a real sword matching my size." she replied with defiance in her voice challenging her host to give his opinion on her father's judgment, but Brigolan was merely curious.

Instead of hearing more criticizing of her father's behavior, she was invited to practice archery with Gileth whose face glowed at the proposition. His sister was more focused at the task at hand, but still completely inexperienced in the art of archery so her brother had to start from the very beginning.

Tauriel already knew all this so she limited herself to mimic her friend's positions. Her brother softly warned her when she was too rigid or too relaxed. He kept the lesson up until his wife called them inside for the afternoon meal. When the little elleth realized that her host had no intention to continue their practice for today, she politely excused herself to go wander the fields on her own.

They obliged her request, but warned her to stay close to the fields for her own safety. Tauriel enjoyed the warmth of the afternoon sun and kept her feet moving until the sun started to go down. She was met with a worried looking Leila at the door. "Thank the Valar, I was about to send your guards to look for you. Do you take this long walks when you're in the palace as well?" the elleth exhaled in relief.

"No, I am hardly inside when it is warm enough to stay out for any period of time. If I have studying to attend to, I take the book and climb on a tree to read it." little elleth smiled apologetically. Leila huffed as she led her inside to be greeted by her friend and her friend's brother who were already seated at the table.

When they were done with the meal, Tauriel saw her guards venture out for some fresh air and swiftly caught up on them. They were not planning to go anywhere, but found the elfling's company enjoyable so she stayed with them until one of them remembered to send her to sleep.

On their second day, Brigolan invited them to the village after the morning meal. Tauriel noticed that Leila preferred to stay inside the house; either because she had a lot of things to do or simply because someone had to stay and supervise the workers as they went by their everyday business.

The day in the village gave little elleth great pleasure. They stayed there from morning to dusk, eating in the local tavern. Gileth was familiar to most of them from her previous visits to her brother who was well known to the locals. Brigolan took a task to introduce his little guest to a few couples. Her initial fear of the possibility that he was looking for a family for her soon returned, but soon the elleth realized that these three couples had sons around her age.

Her anxiety was soon replaced with pleasure. The only elfling she ever met after her moving to the king's palace was Elethan and she preferred not to remember him. The first two young ellons were a little older than herself and not particularly cordials to her for being a girl. When she challenged them to a wrestling match they merely laughed at her, but she pinned one of them down with great swiftness so they stopped making fun of her and rather observed her in wonder.

She heard another chuckle from behind jerking around. It was another young ellon; not an elfling, but not far from one either. "How the mighty have fallen." he commented making Tauriel realize that he was laughing at her opponents and not at her.

When he caught her gaze, he approached them deliberately. His face even though representing his youth also showed some wisdom and patience. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ergolan and these two monkeys over there go by the names of Nerniel and Ildarion. You are not from around here?" he stated rather than asked.

Tauriel looked at him analyzing his features. "My name is Tauriel. I am visiting a friend's relative with my friend obviously." she replied with a hand on her chest in the usual formal greeting.

Ergolan raised an eyebrow, but greeted her in the same way. "Mae govannen Tauriel. Welcome to our lands. Would you like me to show you around?"He replied in the equal manner.

Her head nodded vigorously without a second thought. "Yes please." she replied with enthusiasm Ergolan did not often witness. He took her by the hand and showed her around the market place walking with deliberate slowness so she would have time to observe.

"How old are you?" little elleth asked without discomfort. She felt more at ease with him than with Gileths's family. Her hosts were very hospitable, but she couldn't help, but feel out of place,

Her companion had no trouble answering questions. "I am fourteen, but my birthday is in ten days. Your turn." he stated as they walked next to the bakery which sent mouthwatering scent in all directions. "Nine. Will you be celebrating it?" she replied curtly better at questioning than answering.

"There will be a small celebration. If you're still around here by that time, don't forget to drop by for a bite." he allowed grinning at her thirst for information.

"We plan to stay for two weeks, I'd be happy to join you, but I don't know how far is your home from my host's." she replied wondering how large and scattered this village was.

Ergolan looked thoughtful. "Who are you staying with?" he asked after a short thought.

"Lord Brigolan and his wife. They own a large estate on the outskirts." she explained without any real necessity for it.

He looked slightly surprised. "Everyone knows who they are around here. They are what we call elite of this land. Are you related to them?" he informed her.

"No, I am not nobility." she replied distracted.

"What are you then?" her companion asked her watching her thoughtful expression. He made a fair question. What was she?

She took in a sharp breath deciding to get it over with. "I am an orphan." she said defiantly calling back Beleorn's words of advice before they set off.

"I am sorry. Who are your parents?" he inquired not showing any bit of distaste at her dubious origin as Lady Gale once named it.

"My ada was the captain of the guard. He went by the name of Dehael." she replied proudly.

He hid his astonishment at this news. "I have heard of him. He was a fearsome warrior. What became of you when you lost your parents?" he continued unraveling this mystery which Tauriel was.

"Aran Thranduil and his son; well mostly his son are what could be called my guardians. I live in the palace." she replied with sadness in her voice. Now that she mentioned her friend, it was hard to press him into back of her mind. Legolas was like a drug that she needed to survive. Only the thought that this separation would be short gave her enough resolution to depart.

Ergolan's curiosity increased with every new thing she told him about herself. "Do they treat you well? I find some sindarian nobles rather prepotent." he voiced the second question not wishing to ask what initially came to his mind. He had a feeling that he should withhold that information.

"Ernil Legolas is my best friend; the Valar must have held me in their high favor when they placed him on my path when I needed him the most. Aran Thranduil is generous, but cold. It is his usual manner, but I grew very fond of him." Tauriel replied after a short deliberation. In truth, the king was not that cold to her, but she preferred for that to stay their little secret.

Their stroll continued while the young ellon forgot about their initial motive for starting this topic at all. The unresolved matter occurred to his mind as he lead her back to toward her host who just finished his conversation with a few locals and started to look around for his little guest.

"You are not very far from my home. It's in the village, but no more than an hour or two away. Why don't you drop by tomorrow around noon, I will introduce you to my mother. Also you are welcome to join us for a meal. Naneth will be pleased to meet you." Ergolan spoke before she had time to tell him goodbye for the day.

Tauriel was pleased for such a scheme; her host's house didn't feel very much to her taste. "That'd be great. I'll be here at noon tomorrow than." she smiled widely. Ergolan threw her back a grin and excused himself.

"Preoccupied?" Gileth asked with a risen eyebrow waiting for her with Brigolan when she came in front of them.

It was merely a curious observation. "A little bit perhaps." she allowed a small smile.

"So who is your new friend?" the elleth asked in her usual manner.

Friend? Were they already friends? They knew each other for about two hours. "His name is Ergolan, I don't know exactly who he is, we didn't cover that part yet." little elleth explained.

Her brother was the one that gave her an answer. "I know most of the locals. Ergolan is a good young ellon as any or at least I never heard anything ill about him. He lives with his mother; I don't know what happened to his father. He isn't peculiar in any way as far as I know." His words didn't give him credit in Tauriel's eyes. No offence was made, but clearly Ergolan wasn't a worthy company to keep in his opinion. It's probably his affection for his sister which made him invite her as a guest. Tauriel kept her opinion to herself without desire to be rude to Gileth's family for her friend's sake.

Suddenly, her tomorrow's plans became even more inviting. "I am invited tomorrow to his home for the afternoon meal and to meet his mother." she informed them rather than asked for their or anyone else's permission. Brigolan didn't seem to mind or care about it too much. Gileth was pleased that her friend would have something to give her pleasure and entertain her apart from herself from time to time.

Nothing interesting was said during their evening meal. The household always seemed to have enough food to feed an entire division of king Thranduil's guard placed on the dining table where rarely there were more than four people present. It was Tauriel's hope that so much food didn't go to waste. It was incredibly inconsiderate to throw away so much when so many people don't have anything to eat.

As the previous evening, she excused herself to go find her guards who were in their room speaking with Gileth's guards. They looked at her curiously as Alsidis tapped an empty cushion on his left for her to join them. They had a large parchment sprawled across a small table. It appeared to be a map, but it was hard to determine of which lands.

"Can you keep a secret pinmaethril?" Gwendor asked with a grin. When she nodded, he indicated her to the paper. She leaned in to get a better look.

"So what are we looking at?" she asked curiously trying to find a familiar place, but to no avail.

Alsidis finger pointed at a large line which represented a river. "This is river Anduin; are you familiar with it?" she shook her head knowing that she probably came across it sometime, but paid not much attention to roads and maps.

"It flows straight through the golden woods, home of our kin. Among all races, it is known by a different name." Tauriel nodded with information of all this. Legolas did speak to her about it.

"Lothlorien. Is it as beautiful as they say?" she asked trying to imagine it, but no one could ever picture it no matter how creative they were.

Alsidis smiled at her question. "No one here present has ever been there, but if you ever do; don't forget to share that knowledge with us." he chuckled, but Tauriel was back to studying the map now knowing what she was looking for.

"Anduin is long and unpredictable; it flows north to Fangorn and the plains of Rohan. That kingdom is home of the horse lords, the Rohirim. It is where they breed the horses with the purest blood. No cavalry can compete with theirs. It's what the stories say. The west shore is controlled by the race of men and orcs used to patrol the eastern. If you survive the passage through the deadly marshes, you will arrive to the black gates." Gwendor continued his story.

Little elleth widened her eyes. "Mordor; the lair of the dark lord. I can see why the discretion is needed here. You're not planning to pay a visit to these deadly marshes?" she asked studying their faces with fear when they didn't deny it at once.

A reply came from an unexpected side. "Personally, I think I'd like to take this adventure. I am not particularly fond of my current job. I am not fond of how Hiril Gale and Hir Brien treat those who by their opinion are beneath them and they have been even more difficult than per custom since Ernil Legolas relieved Hiril Gale of her healer duties.

Tauriel could understand better than most people the desire to see the world beyond her boarder's, but the mere mention of Mordor was not her idea of exploring; it was more of a death wish. "Perhaps Rivendall or Lothlorien would be more acceptable, but you have no business in that wasteland. It is probably filled with death and despair. There are so much more beautiful places to travel to. Believe me I know working with Hiril Gale is unbearable, but that idea is irrational as much as it is filled with peril. Why don't you apply for the Mirkwood guard if you detest what you do? Aran Thranduil could always use more warriors." she protested passionately only imagining what kind of danger they would walk into willingly and the image of their pale immobile faces almost made her shudder.

The all four of them looked at her surprised by her outburst. "No decision has been made little one, do not trouble yourself over it." Gileth's guard replied ending this discussion.

Alsidis knew telling this would not please anyone with at least a little bit of survival instinct. "How was your day pinmaethril?" Alsidis asked breaking the unpleasant silence.

Tauriel told them about Ergolan and her plans for tomorrow. "We will accompany you to the village, it is rather dull here. We'll take a walk while you go and meet your friend." they informed her of their intentions.

She looked thoughtful. "Alright, but under one condition. You won't be wearing your uniforms"

Gwendor and Alsidis gave her perplexed looks. "Everyone will know that you work for the king. I do not wish for anyone to come to a wrong assumption that I am royalty, nobility or anything of the sort." Tauriel elaborated watching their confused faces.

Alsidis looked at Gwendor who nodded for guidance. "You are as good as." Gwendor voiced his thought out loud only to receive a disapproving look from little elleth.

"I am still a sylvan as Hiril Gale most graciously reminded me. When I join the guard, I won't be any different from you so let's not imagine things that will never be." Tauriel replied rising from her seat to go to bed sensing four pairs of eyes watching her from behind as she closed the door. What she didn't realize is that four equally wide grins were on their faces.

Elven translation:

Gwador – Brother

Mae govannen Tauriel, im Brigolan. Le nathlam hi. - Well met Tauriel, I am Brigolan. You are welcome here.

Aran – King

Ernil – Prince

Hiril – Lady

Hir – Lord

Pinmaethril – Little (female) warrior

Saesa omentien lle Hir nin - Pleasure meeting you my lord.