Around a week later, Legolas had once again snuck from the palace walls; with some difficulty though. After his father had heard of his wandering off, he told the servant to stay by him at all times and to increase the security. But by his little elfling talents, he managed to escape into the Golden Forest (the name he'd given it) without sight or sound. He hoped that Tauriel would be in the tree where he last saw her, or this entire escape would've been for nothing. He told Tauriel that he would be back. He just hoped she didn't give up on waiting for the prince.
Upon entering into a familiar clearing, Legolas stopped and called up into the largest tree.
"Tauriel...Tauriel! Are you there?!"
An object flew from that very tree and struck his head. Laughing could be heard as he rubbed his head and glared into the leaves.
"Now what was that for?!" He demanded while Tauriel slipped into sight, still laughing.
"Revenge for throwing that rock at me." she answered between giggles. "Count your blessings; it could've been a rock." Legolas bent down and picked up a shiny red apple.
"Here's another one. I think the first one got bruised by your thick skull."
Legolas was ready this time, and caught the second apple that Tauriel launched at him. With his pride wounded, he bit into the apple, and neatly placed himself on the ground. Tauriel, who was swinging back and forth on a branch nearby, dropped beside Legolas and sat down. She removed another shiny apple from a leather satchel, and she too bit into it.
"So, you managed to sneak out again?"
"Yes." He answered taking another large bite.
"You would have thought that after the first time the Great Prince of Mirkwood escaped, they would've made some changes in the Guard."
"They did." he answered as he chewed. "Father was furious and demanded my assigned servant to be close to me no matter what the cost, and increased the security by nearly twice than normal. It was quite difficult but I managed to sneak away unseen and unheard."
"How in Middle-Earth did they miss an elfling with bright blonde exiting from a wall nearly as tall as the one that protects the realm?!"
"You're the one to talk Miss-I've-Got-Hair-As-Bright-As-Fire!"
"Yeah, but I'm trying to sneak in or out of any place."
Legolas racked his brains for a good comeback, but all that came out was: "You'd still be dead if Orcs got you." She was quite advanced in the art or conversation.
Seeing that she won this conversation, she smiled triumphantly and bit into her apple.
"Where did you get these?"
"I found them here in the forest. I come here regularly to pick them and sell them to the folk around here. The ones that don't sell, I bring them home to Grandmother. Grandmother makes delicious apple pie."
"Our cooks make delicious apple pie as well."
"Well you don't count! You've probably got the best cooks ever seen in this elven realm!"
"All is fair in game of life!" Legolas snickered.
Tauriel just shoved him, and crossed her arms.
"I still think that Grandmother cooks the best pie though..." She muttered under her breath.
"Alright, then we shall see who has the best pie! We'll meet here next week, same time." Legolas exclaimed getting up. Tauriel mimicked his action and she too, jumped to her feet.
"May the best pie win!" Legolas said, as he and Tauriel shook hands.
"Grandmother, I'm home!" Tauriel called into the simple elven house, as she pushed open the door.
"I'm in here, child."
Nienna was an elf-woman who was rumored to be older than the king himself. She had an ageless face with long chestnut-colored hair that reached down to her waist. Her eyes were a warm brown, and the wisdom of many years flowed from her lips. She had once been the head cook for the king, but after her son and daughter-in-law were slain in an Orc raid against Mirkwood when Tauriel was a mere infant of seven years. Nienna took it upon herself to raise her granddaughter, instead of letting the nursery and child-care servants do it. She left the king's services with her grandchild in her arms, to raise her in the nice peaceful realm outside the palace. There were no important figures of Mirkwood that didn't live in Thranduil's palace, so everyone was equal in everyone's eyes. That's how Tauriel was raised.
"Grandmother, do you think you can make some of your apple pie next week?" Tauriel questioned excitedly holding her leather satchel. "I even brought the apples!"
Nienna smiled at her grandchild.
She's so full of life and joy! She mused, as she lifted the satchel Tauriel and opened it, revealing dozens of the same shiny red apples, similar to the ones that she threw at Legolas.
"Hmmm...These apples are very ripe. You certainly picked them at the right time." Nienna said thoughtfully as she picked each apple from the satchel, and examined each apple with great care.
"The Golden Forest's full of them! I can get more if you'd like!"
"Well, I won't need any more apples; you've already collected more than I need. You however, can go to the shop and buy the ingredients."
"Okay!"
Nienna handed Tauriel a small dark-green bag with a few silver and bronze coins. All she saw when she turned her head, was a streak of red-hair, racing out the door.
~Meanwhile at the palace...~
Legolas traveled through the endless corridors that he called "home". The smells of rich food and exotic spices wafer up his nose, indicating he was close to the kitchen. Opening a rather large wooden door, he was met with his face being engulfed with steam. After throwing his arm over his face, he blinked a couple of times, adjusting his sight to the steam-filled kitchen. Most of the cooks were moving back and forth, too busy to notice the young prince. As he avoided the stampeding slender bodies of full-grown elves, his eyes finally fell on a familiar face; Amras, was the Head Cook for the Mirkwood realm and nearly all of his time in the steam-engulfed kitchen. He knew of Amras, because of the close friendship he had with his servant. It was, in fact, the short trips that his servant made to the kitchen for a short conversation with his best friend that Legolas escaped from sight.
Legolas dodged bodies and dashed up to Amras, who was adding a fragrant spice to something at looked like pheasant.
"My prince!"
There was no missing the surprise in Amras' voice. He had a right to be. When he was dragged down the kitchen, he often tugged at his friend's sleeve, complaining that he was bored. When his friend ignored him, or placed a hand on his shoulder as a gesture to stop, Legolas would huff and run for the exit. To go play the with servants' kin or to pester his already-busy father perhaps.
"What can I do for you?"
Legolas stared at him with his ocean-blue eyes.
"Do you suppose you can make an apple-pie? Do you think it could be ready by this time next week?"
What an interesting request. Rare it was when royalty itself came down to request something be made. Normally, requests were made and carried by servants. The prince could've sent a servant, but instead, chose to come do so himself.
"Is there a special occasion?" Amras asked, picking up a bowl, and stirred in contents.
"Urrmmmm..." Legolas racked his head for a decent reason. After all, you just couldn't say "I'm sneaking out of the castle so I can win a competition with an elleth from the town." So he settled for this: "I'm surprising my father. And you better not tell anyone! Or else!"
Amras almost chuckled at the elfling prince's attempt to threaten. With that, Legolas stalked out from the kitchen.
"Was that the prince?" One of the cook's questioned Amras.
"It indeed was. He just demanded an apple pie be made to surprise the king."
"But sir, I was under the impression that the king despised that form of pie."
"And so was I."
Bored. It was a common emotion that an energized elfling felt, but, however, had no outlet. She was once contented with swing and jumping on the trees, or practicing with the twin-blades that was given to her by her grandmother, once her father's.
But now, swinging on the trees or practicing were nothing compared to the entertainment and laughs that being with Legolas brought. Sighing, she took one of the daggers, and threw it. It struck the dead center of the large trunk-just where she was aiming at. Grandmother always told her she was as gifted with the blades just as her father was. It had now became Tauriel's desire to purchase an elven sword and bow with the money she got from selling apples; it was rumored that the king paid well for members of the Guard. Once she became a member, she would move her and Grandmother from the small stone hut and into a real house.
Wedging the blade free, she slid it back into its sheath, and began walking in a direction she never went. As she continued walking, the forest was growing thinner and thinner, until she smacked into a giant stone wall. Stumbling back while holding her now injured nose, she stared upward, looking to the top. Then letting her eyes travel back down, she noticed deep creases in the wall; possibly created by the many foes that tried to scale the walls during the times of war in the first and second ages.
Tauriel loved to climb things. Grandmother had told her that she was scaling the shelves in the kitchen before she could walk. It was the main reason why she wore leggings underneath her dresses. She despised dresses and the feminine attire, but was generally led to criticism if women and girls wore anything less. She simply had to deal with it.
Her attention slipped to the tree that had grown near the wall, as tall, if not, taller than the wall itself. It was a considerable amount of distance from the wall, but not enough, that she wouldn't be able to see on the inside. She'd always wondered what the inside of the castle walls that separated the "royalty" from the "commoners". As she imagined herself climbing to the top of the tree, her hand unconsciously reached up and grabbed the lowest branch, hoisting herself into the air. Soon her hands were grasping branches, as she began scaling the tree. She felt like she was in some sort of trance until she reached the top. The sun's rays were warm and the air was fresh, as if it were newly made. She laughed with joy as she saw butterflies of all kinds fly about the tops of the trees, almost forgetting why she climbed the tree in the first place. Her cat-like reflexes quickly, but gently snatched a passing butterfly. She stared at it in awe, as its rainbow wings reflected the suns light, as if it were stain glass. Throwing her hands, in the air, she released the fragile thing to fly away with its friends, before she dove beneath the branches and leaves. Scrambling to as far as she could to the second-highest branch (the highest put her in plain sight), she laid her eyes inside the palace wall for the first time.
The Gardens had a wide variety of flowers and fruit trees, and lawns were clipped but by far the most impressive thing in the entire palace gardens was the palace itself. Tauriel would tell it was carved and made from white stone and wood, and in the afternoon sun, it gave the illusion that it glowed-Tauriel then froze, for it was then she began to hear voices from down below. Not daring to move, she froze in place, not wanting to get caught.
"Is there anything you want my king?"
She quickly found the elves conversing. One had chestnut-colored hair, of similar color to her grandmother's and the other, the much taller one, had bright blonde hair only recognizable on Legolas. Despite not seeing him before, Tauriel automatically knew who he was.
The king...!
She couldn't make out the details but his appearance consisted of a silver robe, with a crown of branches and leaves, that could've defeated her hair in redness; a high achievement.
"Legolas, do not wander far from me."
"Yes, father."
"Legolas..." she said in a faint whisper, as the blonde-haired carbon copy of the king quickly dashed to his father's side. It was said that the kings fought in many battles, and his senses were as sharp, as a wild creature in the woods, avoiding a predator. Not wanting to have the king fix his gaze upon her, and revealing her current location, she didn't dare move.
"Is there anything you would like, my king?" the chestnut-haired servant asked.
"Yes, there is, actually. I see an elf. An elf with hair as red as the leaves on my crown up in that tree." He said pointing.
Legolas, Thranduil noticed, had responded when he said "hair as red as the leaves on my crown".
"My son, do you know anything of the figure with the red-hair?"
"No one, father."
Meanwhile up in that tree, Tauriel didn't bother to see if the king was referring to her or not. She slid down the trunk as fast as it was humanly-or elfly possible. she ran back into her forest without looking back.
It was nearly suppertime when Tauriel burst through her house door, sweating, panting, and a look to terror frozen on her face.
"Goodness sakes Tauriel! Where on Middle-Earth were you?! I was about to order a search-party!"
Her grandmother abandoned her cooking and ran to check to see if the reckless girl called her "granddaughter" was alright.
"You appear to be shaken up. What has happened?" Nienna asked, satisfied that there were no injuries on the child.
"Nothing, Grandmother. I was just running and playing in the Golden Forest. Nothing more."
Tauriel however, was one of the easiest elves in the entire Mirkwood realm to read, her emotions were clearly written in those beautiful green eyes.
"Child, I know you are not telling me everything." Nienna said in a warm, but stern tone.
Tauriel stared at the ground.
"Tauriel..."
"Ummm...I walked in a direction I never went before..." Tauriel began uncertainly. "As I walked...I bumped into a large gray wall; you know, the wall that protects the palace..."
Nienna's brown eyes widened, hoping she wasn't going to say what she thought she was going to say.
"There was this really big tree by the wall, close enough to see on the inside, far enough so that no one couldn't enter. I don't know exactly what happened, but it felt like I was in a trance, and I began climbing the tree. It was fun." She added the last part.
Nienna smiled. Good, so the guards didn't capture her, thinking she was a spy.
"Well, I went to the very top! Did you know that butterflies rest on the leaves at the very top? I caught one, and she was beautiful! Wings like stain glass." Tauriel smiled as she recalled the memory.
"Anyways, I didn't want anyone to see me, so I dove beneath the leaves and watched from a branch what was going on inside the palace walls. The branch was concealed by thick leaves and branches; or so I thought."
Nienna didn't like where this was going.
"The king and prince were outside, near the wall, with a servant with chestnut-hair like yours. Perhaps it was the sun, but without looking in my direction but pointing to the tree I was watching from, he says: "There is an elf. An elf with hair as red as the leaves on my crown." Or something along those lines. That was when I slid down the tree as fast as I could and ran."
Nienna wore a horrified expression.
"Tauriel! I did not raise you to act so foolishly! There is not telling if the king will search for you or not! For now on, you must not dwell along the wall, nor anywhere near it. In fact, you are only allowed to go into the Clearing and that is it."
"Yes, Grandmother..."
"Now, go and get cleaned up for supper."