The next part of the story arrives! Legolas this time. Dialogue is not accurate, so my apologies in advance.

I returned to Rivendell feeling dejected and disappointed in myself. Aragorn seemed to be too busy to pay me any attention, and no one inquired after Tauriel. I could not believe that Aragorn had forgotten one of his friends, and that no one else seemed to bother. For many days I watched Elen Dome. Every day there was no sign of hurt on the horse, for which I was glad. I didn't want to see any harm come to Elen Dome, since the horse showed all of Tauriel's hurts as well.

"My lord Legolas?" one of the Rivendell elves asked. "Lord Aragorn requests your presence at the Council immediately." I nodded. I shouldered my bow and took the long, green Council robe from the closet. The room had been provided by Elrond. I sheathed my knives and walked to the place where the meeting would take place.

Many dwarfs were there. I immediately disliked them, but then remembered how Tauriel accepted all of them, in the end. Could they really be as bad as my father taught me? I knew that sometimes, my father was wrong. He constantly drilled into me that Sylvan elves were lazy, arrogant, and untrustworthy. Then Tauriel came to Mirkwood, and even he had to readjust his thoughts on their race of elves. There was also Aragorn, and Boromir from Gondor. I sat down in front of the other elves who came.

"Welcome, friends." Elrond said. "I have summoned you to discuss the fate of the One Ring. Gandalf approached me about how it has come into the possession of Frodo of the Shire, relative of Bilbo Baggins. The servants of Sauron have gained information regarding the Ring and had sent the Nine to the Shire to find Frodo. Luckily, they had set out for Bree by then." I narrowed my eyes. I knew that Elrond had left out the part about the Nine capturing Tauriel. Then again, he was not familiar with my father's captain of the guard.

"The journey is not yet over." I said finally. "They will track the ring, and as long as they have information, they will be able to pry more out of other people. We cannot just leave it here. Rivendell would be in great danger."

"What else is there to do? Take it to a remote mountain and place guards over it? He would still find it, or kill whoever killed it before it even reached the mountain." Gandalf interrupted.

"The eagles could take it." suggested a redheaded dwarf. No, not redheaded. Tauriel was a redhead. This dwarf was more... rust colored. "Hide it in their nests and never let it be seen again until we have dealt with the dark lord."

"No." Boromir said. "It is a gift. We must use it to fight this battle against Sauron!" He emphasized his words with a raised fist. "It was made to give the wearer power. Why not keep it and destroy his armies with its great power?"

"That's it!" Aragorn exclaimed. "Destroy it. Throw it into the fires of Mount Doom and banish it from the world."

"You cannot simply walk into Mordor and toss the Ring in!" Boromir shouted.

"You do not know who you are speaking to! He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn." I said, standing up. Boromir spoke to Aragorn as if he was a lowly Ranger, but what I knew was very different. Aragorn was destined to lead Gondor as the new King. I would not tolerate it, even if I was angry at him for forgetting Tauriel.

"But who would take it?" Elrond asked. Everyone rose at once, bickering like schoolchildren. The dwarf seemed to think he could do it with brute force. I thought otherwise. I was correct about dwarves. They were thickheaded and idiotic. Even I knew that the Ring would have to be taken into Mordor by stealth.

"I will take it!" Frodo shouted, springing up from behind a plant. Frodo. The hobbit that Tauriel was captured for. The one that my best friend could die for. I would not let him go alone, but I would not do it unless other people would help. I wanted to leave mid-quest and find Tauriel, and bring her home. Heal her heart, and then her mind. Then tell her what I really considered her as. What I really felt.

"And I will help!" Aragorn announced. I bowed my head.

"You have my bow." I told Frodo. The dwarf immediately narrowed his eyebrows.

"And MY ax!" he exclaimed loudly, ruining the moment.

"Gondor will see it done." Boromir added. Gandalf put his hand on Frodo's shoulder. The other three hobbits rushed in, too, and I knew that this would be no small affair. There was a slim chance that we would not achieve this by stealth.

I was in for a surprise when I reentered the stable to saddle Elen Dome. I was taking her with me. I wanted to monitor Tauriel's horse and keep it safe, and Elen Dome was very swift. But if Tauriel was hurt badly, Elen Dome would be useless. I would still defend the horse, because I knew that Tauriel's pain if she returned would be horrible to witness.

"Legolas?" the hobbit called Merry asked. "How did your horse get wounded?" He motioned to where I was about to put the saddle blanket on. I did a double take and realized that Elen Dome had a small, dark wound, about the size of a knife.

"It's not my horse." I said carefully. My heart was racing. Tauriel had been hurt. I wasn't sure how badly, but it was probably a knife in the back... somewhere she was fighting for her life, and I had not gone after her.

"Then why are you stealing it?" Merry demanded.

"I'm not stealing the horse!" I protested. "It is my friend's." Merry eyed me suspiciously. I could tell that he didn't believe me. That was probably true. I was saddling a horse that wasn't mine, and it had a wound on the back that I could not explain. To him, wouldn't explain.

"So if I find this 'friend' and bring them the horse, then they will say that they gave you permission to ride it places?" Merry asked.

"I'm taking care of it for her." I told him. "When she comes back, I'll return it." Merry glared at me. I stroked the mane of Elen Dome and sighed.

"Look, master hobbit, elvish horses are a matter that you would not understand. I suggest you stay out of it before you get confused." I said harshly. I knew the hobbit had done nothing to deserve my anger, but I was scared for Tauriel.

"I can keep up." insisted Merry."

"Prove to me that you can and then I'll tell you." I replied. I began to lead Elen Dome out of the stables and Merry jogged after me.

"Please, I want to know. I was only curious. I didn't want to offend you, Legolas." he pleaded. I turned back around and sighed. I knew that sometimes it was easier to share hurts with someone, but I had not been planning on sharing my concerns with a hobbit. At the same time, I knew that Tauriel would not allow me to hold prejudices against race. She had taught me more than she realized about our land and the people in it.

"My friend is named Tauriel." I told him. "She was the redheaded elf in Bree." Merry nodded. I watched him for any signs of recognition.

"The elf that gave you that bracelet." Merry said, motioning toward Tauriel's gift that I wore on my wrist. I raised my eyebrows.

"How did you know?" I asked him. I knew it was too dark for a hobbit to see in that room, and I had been sure that we were being quiet. And yet Merry guessed correctly, and I needed to know why. Perhaps I should give hobbits more credit in the future.

"It's the same color as her hair." he answered. "I thought that you were pledged to each other." My heart clenched. No, we weren't. I wished it were true, but Tauriel had always seemed so distant that I had never asked her.

"We're friends, nothing more." I said.

"I'm sorry for interrupting. Please continue." Merry finally said. I took a deep breath. I was about to open my heart toward a hobbit I barely knew. I didn't know if he would betray me to Aragorn or the dwarf. Even the other hobbits. But I decided that I trusted the small halfling.

"Tauriel was sent to bring Frodo to the Rivendell border. While she was riding, the Nine approached. This horse was scared. It reared and threw Tauriel off. I was close enough to grab Frodo before he was taken by the Nine. When I looked back, she had been pulled onto a horse and all of them raced away. I delivered Frodo and rode after them until Weathertop."

"I thought she had made it." Merry said. "Frodo was here. I just thought that she was somewhere else, doing other things."

"No. She was taken by the Nine, and she has not yet returned." I answered. I looked closer at the wound on Elen Dome. It was relatively clean, which was good. Merry watched me in silence, and then he finally spoke.

"You still haven't explained the horse." he said.

"Elven horses have a bond toward their owner, and vice versa. If the horse is injured, the elf feels it, and they feel hurt emotionally. If the elf is injured, the horse will get the same wound in around the same place. When the elf heals, the horse will, too." I explained as simply as possibly. Merry absorbed the facts thoughtfully.

"So that wound is not the horse's? It's Tauriel's?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I am so very sorry, Legolas. I hope that she comes back to you soon." Merry told me. He seemed sincere. I did not regret telling him about Tauriel. It was a relief to share the burden with someone.

Is the horse thing too confusing?