This chapter is for all the readers who are still with me even after all this time (sobs). We're at the thirtieth chapter, guys!


Thirteen: Oltha


The smell of the sea mixed with the humid air. Summer had always been her least favourite season. During the day, at least. The day burned the air, and stung her skin. It blinded her sight in a white light. But the summer night, she could not complain about. The wind blew from the waters, and she loved how clear the skies and stars seemed to become.

A seagull cried from above and she squinted as she looked up. The white bird looked like only a small shadow against the glow of the sun.

"Tauriel, tol," a she-elf with blue eyes called, causing Tauriel to tear her eyes away from the bird in flight to look over her shoulder. Bright waves of her orange-red hair seemed to glow as she gave the young girl a sharp look before disappearing into the shade of their home.

Tauriel ran after her, craving for the slight repose that their roof could offer. "Wait, nana!"

She pushed open the door, and ran quickly to the large table that occupied the room. It was taller than her, and carved from oak.

"Hurry," the she-elf urged. She smiled and beckoned for her to come closer. "Your ada finished it this morning."

Grinning, Tauriel stood on her toes, but she saw nothing on the table but a bulk covered by gray cloth. "What is it?"

"Open it."

Nodding, her fingers slowly pried the cloth to the sides. The blade that hid underneath reflected the glowing lights of their room. Even without pulling the sword out, she could see how the tiny etchings throbbed from the silver steel.

"Go on," the she-elf said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Tauriel pulled it from its covers. The hilt was gold and it bore no designs but seemed to meld perfectly into her hand. "It's so light," she whispered.

"That's because it's smaller than the other swords. A bigger one would have been unfit for you, tinu-nin," she bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"It's perfect," she grinned.

"Perfect for even today?"

Tauriel nodded. It was the day of her conception, and they had always blessed her with gifts, like the men did .

"Good. Your father spent weeks toiling on it, even ignoring the elder's orders," her mother smiled.

Tauriel turned the sword over, admiring how it caught the light, no matter from what angle. Gently, she placed it back down on the cloth. "But, why isn't he here?" she frowned, looking up at her mother.

"You know that he joined the guard," she looked away, but Tauriel could see her blue eyes soften. "The Queen is on her way. We could not have allowed her to travel the last miles without escort."

Tauriel nodded, looking down. Yet she could not help the feelings of betrayal and frustration within her.

"Galiana."

Tauriel and the she-elf both turned towards the door, surprised. A tall elf stood just outside their room. He had gray hair that looked almost silver, with eyes that matched. Even from afar, Tauriel was mesmerized by the gray of his irises. They were so light that at certain angles, they looked almost white.

He glanced at Tauriel and smiled pleasantly. "Tauriel," he called out, and then he caught sight of the sword. "That is a beautiful blade." The warmth of his voice made Tauriel momentarily forget the pain in her chest that had just seemed so prominent.

Tauriel bowed her head respectfully. "Thank you, elder."

He nodded in reply. "It seems that - I am afraid I have to steal your mother from you," his eyes softened. "But only for an hour," he added quickly. "We have something important to discuss."

Galiana gazed at her, with a raised brow, as if asking for her permission. Tauriel grinned as she nodded to her. Her mother had told her about the meeting two weeks before, as if afraid that Tauriel would take it badly if she needed to leave her as well, even as her father was already absent. Yet Tauriel understood. Her mother was part of the five elven-smiths who forged weapons that were to be sent to the other elf dwellings, and she often had to confer with the elder. "Of course," she smiled at the elder. "But only for an hour," she narrowed her eyes.

The elder laughed, a warm, deep laugh that filled the room. "Thank you," he inclined his head towards her.

Her mother gave her another kiss on the cheek, before walking towards the door. However, the elder did not move from where he stood. He gave her a final smile before turning around to leave. "We will see you later, daughter."

The dream fogged into her brain, and Tauriel awoke, her heart beating mercilessly. She struggled to open her eyes, but it was impossible given the weight of her eyelids. The dream seemed too real, seemed so clear, that she questioned whether it was actually a memory from her blurred past. But reason debated against it. For more than six hundred years, she had never had a glimpse of any of her family, and suddenly her memories now chose to haunt her?

There was a heaviness in her head that forced her to lean forwards. Thin rope pressed against her wrists. Her hands were tied before her. She saw nothing but the blackness of her closed eyes, but she knew that there was light around. Red, flickering light—fire, she decided, detecting wisps of smoke in the air. And she was slumped onto something cold and hard, rough to the skin. Stones pushed through her legs. She heard nothing around, but she could feel the vibrations through the floor and the rock that supported her back. These were unfamiliar grounds, she knew. And the knowledge only tempted her to keep her eyes shut.

Her last memory was of the near whisper on her ear. The deep, baritone voice of someone who knew they held her fate in their hands. Daughter, he had called her, but think as she might, she could not associate the words with anyone she met in her centuries of existence. Except...her heartbeat quickened as she realized the word he had mentioned was also in her dream. Was it possible that the whisper had awoken her memories? Could her dream really have been a picture of what was once the truth?

Could the she-elf, Galiana, really have been her mother?

She heard footsteps to her right. Heavy boots that crunched into sand and stones. There were three, maybe four of them. With more energy than she had deemed necessary, she fought to open her eyes, and finally they obeyed. Her surroundings danced in a blur of haze before the image finally focused. She had been right. There was nothing but black rocks around her, and she was left to lie on the floor. Shadows danced around her as the torches that hung on the wall flickered with the cold night. Yet as her brain settled and her thoughts arranged, she realized they were not walls. She was in enclosed in a small cavern, one that seemed deep in the mountains. Iron bars had been installed in the corner of the fissure, and she was caged behind them. She had little space to move, although the room past her prison was wide. On the other side, it narrowed into a tunnel. She could not see deep into it, as it was curved after a considerable length.

"A cave?" her hoarse voice asked in a whisper, the vibrations echoed of movements somewhere above, below, and to the sides. This was only a small facet deep in a mountain.

"It seems the lady is awake." A vaguely familiar voice reminded her why she had opened her eyes in the first place. The shadows emerged as they rounded the tunnel to her room. The voice was calm, and their footsteps quiet, but they echoed to her, loud to her ears. They stepped into the room and made straight towards her cell, stopping only a few feet from her. The old, rusting, iron bars stood between them, but she focused her attention on her visitors.

Two of them had dark brown hair, though in the yellow light of the caves, they looked almost black. The other, the small she-elf with a childlike face, had a lighter shade. But all of them had no braids and instead let their hair cascade straight into their backs. And their clothes—they wore the same black cloaks that she had seen Gobelion in, the same ones that had been worn by the elves that had attacked Legolas and her in the forest. Legolas. She looked hurriedly around her, but she was alone. Taking in a deep breath, she realized how amusing it was that even now she searched for the prince. Of course he would not be with her. She had been running to him when the attackers took her. Her mind said a quick prayer for his safety.

She glanced at the elves that stood outside her prison cell.

"Tauriel," said the elf who led them. The voice was the same as before. She must be the one who had spoken earlier. She had large eyes and a kind face. And her husky voice reminded Tauriel why she had sounded so familiar. She remembered the rocks and the stars she had managed to glimpse in the middle of her unconsciousness.

"Who are you?" she asked, venom clear in her voice.

The smaller she-elf gave a high-pitched laugh, and Tauriel recognized her as the other character she had listened to. "So it is true?" she looked at the others. "She does not remember?"

"It would seem so," said the elf who spoke first. She was the only one who did not look amused. Ever since they had arrived, her green eyes had not left Tauriel. "Not remember what?" she hissed, her voice still sounded weak.

The small she-elf grinned in obvious amusement. "It is amusing, isn't it?" she said to her companions.

"It will all become clear when the Captain speaks with you. He will explain everything. And we hope you join us without question, as it should be," said the green-eyed one. She walked closer to her cell, almost touching the bars. Tauriel shifted away, but the she-elf did nothing but stand there and watch her. Captain. This was not the first time they had mentioned such a person.

"You still have not answered my question. Who are you?" she narrowed her eyes at them.

To her surprise, the green-eyed elf answered almost immediately. "My name is Luindes," she said, even inclining her head in greeting. "And these are Nimriel and Dachon."

"Why have you brought me here?" she persisted.

"Well you see, my lady," said Nimriel in a clearly mocking tone. "We think it unfair to many that you continued to live the false life of yours," she smirked at Tauriel's clothes. "And we certainly did not bring you here," her eyes flashed. "I don't understand why he did it, but—,"

"Nimriel," Luindes' tone was sharp.

"Fine," Nimriel pursed her lips. "It does not matter now anyway. Everything will become clear when you remember, Tauriel," she said.

Tauriel frowned. Remember what? There was something in the way they said her name that hinted they had already said it before. "And the elves? The missing elves? I know you are the ones responsible. What have you done to them? What have you done to Gobelion?"

Dachon finally spoke, the disdain in his voice reflected the way he had been watching her. "Finally, you ask something interesting."

"Can we tell her?" Nimriel asked excitedly, her child-like voice rising even higher with excitement. Luindes gave an imperceptible nod.

"You see this?" Nimriel pulled an arrow from her quiver. "It has poison within. It paralyzes, numbing arms and a few other limbs. But that is not all. The poison rushes through the blood until it reaches your brain, thereby taking control of the system of its target. Do you understand?" she gave a small smile. "It overtakes one's consciousness and actions. Until one becomes nothing more than a puppet."

Tauriel glared at the arrow's point. She understood very well. They had long suspected that Gobelion's fits had been caused by poison. That much had been obvious. But then... "Why have none of our herbs worked? We detected the poison and eliminated it out of the system," she recalled Gobelion. "But their crazed states remained."

"Oh Tauriel," she smiled. "This is the kind of poison you cannot simply eliminate by herbs and medicine. It is astounding what his power can do. It will make you understand that there really is no other path for us, if we wish to find our true strength. We cannot rely on weapons like the men and dwarves do. If we want to retain our power in this world, we have to rise above what is done by the other races."

"Power?" Tauriel frowned at them. "We are not in this world to seek power. Power corrupts. Is that not one of the things we have learned, in the years we have stayed in Middle Earth?" she gave a sad smile. "We mock the men for their greed, yet here we are doing the same."

"The lady thinks she is noble and right, and she wishes to protect this mirage she has created in her mind," Dachon spoke again, a smirk on his lips. "Well, we shall see. You do not understand yet."

Tauriel spoke no more. She was frustrated and tired of being spoken to like a small child. Thousands of questions still raged in her mind, but she knew that she could not expect any more answers. However, they still stood outside her cell, and Luindes, in particular, stayed watching her.

A throbbing had begun in her mind as she tried to dissect the few sentences that they had dared tell her. They expected her to join them. In fact, it seemed as if that was the only reason they had brought her here. And they spoke to her like a reunited friend, as if they knew her. Yet she had not seen any of them before, nor had their names sounded familiar. And this power they spoke of... it was what had made her most anxious. She recalled again how Gobelion struggled with unknown beings inside his head, how he had laughed like a crazed one, seeing but not understanding.

"We will march out soon," Dachon spoke, after what seemed like minutes of silence. "You've had your wish of seeing her. It is time we move to the gates, and the Captain will be waiting to speak to you both."

Nimriel nodded. "He is right," they turned their backs on her, all except Luindes. Noticing this as well, Nimriel glanced at her. "Luindes, let us go. The guards will be coming soon." A clunking sound came from the tunnel they had emerged from. "Ah, they are here."

Luindes gave Tauriel one last look before following them.

Their footsteps faded, just as the clunking of the metal boots of her supposed guard grew louder. Tauriel relaxed for a moment, leaning her back on the hard surface of the cave's wall. But she tensed again when the sounds grew louder, and a smell filled the room.

"No," she whispered to herself, just as they emerged from the shadows of the tunnel. Her mind fought to reject it, but there was no denying the sharp teeth that emerged from the smirks they gave her. Their dark skin melted into the cave's darkness, like they were meant to be a part of the shadows. And when they spoke, spit flew from their mouth. "Orcs?" the question left her mouth.

The two orcs laughed at her, but gave no answer as they took their places on either ends of her prison bars. Unbelieving, Tauriel closed her eyes, wishing that she could go back to sleep. But she knew it was impossible with the heavy thoughts that filled her head, and the fact that elves were now working side by side with the orcs.

For hours, she kept her eyes closed, focusing on arranging the questions that jumbled with each other. Even when the orcs spoke in their dark tongue, or when they pushed a tray of food through the iron bars, she did not open her eyes.

It took much time until she finally pushed the questions back, and thought instead of what she would do now. She could not stay here. If Gobelion was any indication, she could not allow herself to be transformed into whatever the elves now were. And that was not all. She did not know how long it was since she disappeared, but it must be long enough for Legolas to now be searching for her. It was a far, fainting hope, but one she knew in her heart to be true. And she would not simply sit by and wait for him to arrive.

Her eyes snapped open, but there was no change in the scenery surrounding her. She struggled against the binds that held her but they did not loosen. Gazing wearily around, she also saw nothing that would be able to cut through the rough ties that dug into her skin. There were, however, numerous rocks that littered the ground. Rocks. She shifted in her seat, but the orcs paid her no mind.

Bending, she wrapped her fingers around a rock, one that was small enough for her to grip properly, but would leave one unconscious, if hit with impact against one's head. Hiding it in the shadow of her palm, she made her way slowly towards the tray of food set carelessly on the ground. It was a only few steps away from one of the orcs. She crawled towards it, and the nearer orc glanced her way. But his gaze did not even linger and he looked away just as quickly. They continued to converse in their brutish tongue, their harsh words echoing in the enclosure of the cave.

She neared the tray of food, but kept her focus on the orc. She bent beside what looked like half-cooked meat and cold soup, before springing as quickly as she was able, raising the rock in her hand and bringing it down with as much strength as she could muster on the unknowing orc. The crack of his skull reached her ear as he fell to the ground. There was a pause as the other orc stared at his companion and Tauriel hurriedly reached for the sword of her unconscious guard. Before the orc could react, Tauriel braced the sword against the bars with her foot, and brought her wrists down to the sharp metal. The bounds on her hands cut loose, and she reached for the hilt. The second orc stopped in his attempt to get closer to her, and as he turned away, she threw the weapon between the prison bars, and watched it dig into his back. The orc fell to the ground.

Wasting no time, she knelt again by the nearer orc, searching his belongings for the keys that would free her from her prison bars. She pulled the orc's body towards her, frowning at the odor that grew with the narrowing distance. Yet she ignored the smell and fumbled through the orc's clothes, waiting for the moment her hands would come in contact with the cold iron of keys. She found nothing. With a quick glimpse towards the other creature, it was clear that there were no keys in his possessions as well.

Before she could feel dismay over her failed attempt to escape, she heard a new set of footsteps nearing her prison. Her legs shook as she pushed herself to stand, and she took back the rock she had used to yield her guard unconscious. If only she had her bow with her, it would have been so easy to bring down any approaching adversaries. Yet all she had was the rock, and Tauriel held it firmly in her hand even as the shadow of her visitor grew and the footsteps louder.

She raised her arm just as the shadow turned to round the bend that would lead to her, but before she could throw it, the intruder spoke. "Tauriel?"

It was a voice of someone she knew, one who she had not seen for many years.

The torches illuminated his face, and his brown eyes softened as they caught sight of her. "Tauriel," his voice almost quavered, and she was sure she would not have heard it if the cave did not magnify his voice. It was the tenderness in his eyes and the worry in his face that led her to press herself against the bars, wishing she could reach out to her friend.

"You—what are you doing here?" were the words that escaped her lips, because she did not know how to tell him about the relief she now felt at his presence. Aegnir was alive, after all those years, he was alive. And now he had come for her. But there would be no escape. "Aegnir," she shook her head, trying to warn him not to come closer. To tell him to escape while her attempts were still unknown to the elves in black cloaks. "There is no key, I have searched his belongings, and I am quite sure the other one does not hold it as well. It must be with the others, the elves—I have spoken with them. You must escape before they—,"

"What's this?" Aegnir smiled, stepping over the dead orc. "I have never known you to be a worrier, Tauriel."

She frowned at his address, and was about to open her mouth to rebuke him, but he raised his hand, showing her a bunch of rusty iron keys. "There were two elven guards at the end of the tunnel, they held the key," he reached down for the lock, fitted the key and with a clink, and opened the gate that held her captive.

She pushed open the door, but before she could walk out any further, she felt his arms wrap around her, enveloping her. Her head pressed against his chest, and she listened to his fast heartbeat. His clothes smelled like old leaves and weathered dust, and she could see the tears that abounded it heavily. "It has been too long," he whispered. His mouth was close to her ear, and she stiffened at his actions.

But he did not let her go, and he said nothing more. Finally, she hugged him back, revelling in his warmth. "Too long," she agreed. "I have missed you, mellonin."

END OF CHAPTER


A/N: I do hope the chapter wasn't too bad. And we are now officially shifting to the AU Backstory of Tauriel! (Well, kinda.)

Oltha = dream

Please do review. I'd love to hear from everyone!

Love,
Vee