First Meeting
Chapter 6: The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend
Disclaimer: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy belongs to J. R. R. Tolkien. I'm writing this for fun, not money.
Author's Note: Some reviewers have asked me how old Legolas is in this fanfic. Although I didn't have a specific age in mind when I started writing it, he is very young, and therefore still rather naive, for an elf. I would say he is around 55, which if elves come of age at 50, would make him about 20 in human terms.
Tauriel moved silently through the trees. Not far ahead of her, was Daugron. Both were soldiers in the King's Guard, and had been chosen by their captain to protect the prince and arrest his abductor. So far, the Adan had been too alert for them to risk rescuing the prince, while still ensuring the man would be kept alive. Tauriel knew, however, that men needed sleep often. Soon, he would need to rest.
That was why she was not surprised when Daugron stopped and motioned for her to be still. She assumed that the human had decided to rest for the night. Then she recognised the familiar stench.
'Orcs,' she realised in surprised. It was rare for an orc party to roam this close to the stronghold. This was unexpected.
"We must fight them." She said. "We cannot allow the orcs to get near the prince."
It was a risk to leave the prince alone with the man. Yet, orcs were the bigger threat. Orcs slaughtered all that they met. The human, on the other hand, needed to keep Legoas alive, at least for the time being.
Together, Tauriel and Daugron headed in the direction of the orcs. Willing to fight to defend their prince, even to their deaths.
Legolas was getting worried. He had been aware of the two elves following him through the forest since he had left the stronghold. Now, he could hear them moving through the trees no longer. He knew that his warriors would not abandon him without cause. Yet, he could not imagine what would cause them to desert.
He did not fear the Adan walking behind him with a knife. Legolas had met others like him. The man was arrogant and cowardly. He feared to face justice for the wrongs he had committed so he had used deceit to escape his fate. He thought that by keeping Legolas hostage he would be able to leave the forest, unharmed. It would not work. Legolas knew his father would see that the man was caught and punished for this. So, he did not understand what had caused his guards' sudden absence.
'Orcs.'
The stench of orcs was unmistakable to Legolas' heightened elven senses.
He was not certain what to do. The Adan would not be able to use him as a hostage against orcs. He would be useless to the human. Most likely the human would run and leave him for the orcs. Or perhaps the man would simply kill him now that he and no use for him.
"Wait." The human called from behind him.
"There are orcs nearby." The man said quietly.
Legolas was surprised. He knew that men's senses were inferior to elves'. He had not expected the man to know of the orcs so quickly. He turned around to study the man, trying to determine what the human planed to do next. He saw that the human was also looking at him intently.
"They are too close for us to hope yo avoid them." The human said hesitantly. "It does not sound like they are many."
Legolas raised a brow skeptically. The Adan planed to fight the orcs himself?
"Humans and elves have allied against evil before. If I return your weapons will you fight beside me to defeat our common enemy?"
This man had tricked and humiliated him. Legolas' pride could not easily forget that. Moreover, he was not certain of the man's motive. He would have expected the man to flee like a coward, not fight the orcs. Perhaps he knew his chances of escaping retribution for his crimes were slim, and was only trying to gain Legolas' trust to defend him from the Elvenking's fury. Yet the man spoke truly. Despite human's many faults, they were not wholly evil. Orcs, on the hand, were irredeemable and the elves fought fiercely to rid the forest of the vile creatures. They were the real enemy.
Legolas knew that his word, once given, could not be broken. He could not harm a man that he had sworn to fight beside. He took a deep breath.
"Yes, I will." He said. He hoped that he would not regret his decision.
Author's Note:
Sorry for the long wait and short chapter. Hopefully when school's over I'll be able to write more often.
I don't like Tauriel or the movie version of the Hobbit. I only included her in this story so that I could kill her off. Sorry if any of you are Tauriel fans.