One week. One whole week Tauriel had been stuck in the healer's place. The other week she had been barley conscious. This was the first time Sanatore had allowed Tauriel to leave and go outside, fretting about Tauriel's safety the entire time. It's like no one ever gets hurt, Tauriel thought, annoyed. Though she couldn't help but smile at the fact that Angeli was going to court. She'll get what she deserves. She was making her way to Long lake to meet Legolas, he had seemed very nervous when he asked to meet her there. More nervous then Tauriel had ever seen him.
Earlier...
Legolas walked into the healer's place and sat down next to Tauriel.
"When is Sanatore letting you out of here?" Legolas asked, clasping and unclasping his hands over and over again in a repeated motion.
"Um...I think she said I was free to go this after-noon," Tauriel told him, cocking her head in confusion.
Legloas slowly nodded, and Tauriel noticed beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"My prince? What's wrong?" Tauriel asked.
"What? Oh, nothing," Legolas said hurriedly, "just...meet me there as soon as you get out."
Tauriel nodded, bewildered, and with that Legolas left the room.
What was that about? Tauriel wondered.
Legolas stood on the bank of Long lake, his hands were trembling. In them was a beautiful violet. Sighing, he sat down, his thoughts scattered all over the place. What will Tauriel's reaction be? What if she isn't ready? He wondered.
Earlier, in Thranduil's throne room...
"Are you sure about this?" Thranduil inquired, looking at his son with a different attitude.
"Yes?...No...I don't know...I just feel like it's time," Legolas stammered, taken aback by his father's question.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with Angeli, would it?" Thranduil asked softly, walking up to Legolas.
"No...maybe just a bit," Legolas admitted, "I almost lost Tauriel, I want to make sure I can be there for her so that this doesn't happen again."
"And of Angeli?"
"What do you mean?"Legolas asked.
"How do you think she's going to react when she finds out about it?" Thranduil asked.
"If all turns out well, Angeli will be sentenced to death or kept in the dungeons for the rest of her life. She won't dare bug us."
At this, Thranduil actually laughed.
"You think bars will stop Angeli? Taking out the guards and breaking out of the dungeons are child's play to her. Legolas, she is too far gone to care about anyone, and once she breaks free, there will be no stopping her. All she wants is you."
"Then we just have to make sure she doesn't make it," Legolas whispered softly.
"Angeli is very good at persuading people to do what she wants," Thranduil warned, "But if you really want this, then I say go for it. Just know it won't be an easy task."
"I know," Legolas nodded, "but I love Tauriel, and I really want to do this."
Thranduil nodded, and what was that look in his eyes? Understanding.
"Then I shall support you through this," he said somberly.
Legolas looked up, surprised. He had thought Thranduil would be the most opposed to what he wanted to do. Instead of saying this though, he said something more kind.
"Thank you father," he murmured, hugging Thranduil briefly before heading towards Long lake.
Present...
"Legolas?"
The prince jumped at he sound of his name, and dragging himself out of his memories, he turned around and saw Tauriel walking up to him.
"Are you okay? You look as if you've seen a hoard of orcs!" Tauriel continued, walking closer.
"What?Er...I'm fine," Legolas replied quickly, hiding the violet behind his back.
"You say one thing, but your pale face says another," Tauriel pointed out.
"I guess I'm just a bit nervous," Legolas sighed.
"I know, seeing Angeli go to court must be hard," Tauriel murmured.
"She's not the Angeli I used to know," Legolas muttered, then he hesitantly added, "and that's not what I'm nervous about."
"Oh?" Tauriel replied, raising a brow, "then do enlighten me on what you're nervous about."
"You really want to know?"
"Of course!"
Legolas sighed, it was now or never. Besides, the truth will set me free, right? Legolas thought. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out the violet from behind his back.
"You do know what this means, right?" Legolas whispered softly, holding the violet in front of Tauriel.
Tauriel knew exactly what it meant. Marriage? So soon? Of course, I always wanted to marry Legolas, but I didn't think he was this serious...
"It's okay if you're not ready," Legolas murmured, sensing her hesitation, "I just want to be with you, wether that means being your husband, or not."
Once again, Tauriel didn't say anything. If I become the princess of Mirkwood, I might not be able to continue being the chief of guards, I would move into the palace, and it would be a lot of responsibility. Staring deep into Legolas's eyes, Tauriel couldn't help but ask herself, am I ready for this? Will I really give up half of my life for this elf? She continued looking at Legolas for some time, and all the while he waited patiently. Finally, she knew what her decision was.
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Two days later, it was time for Angeli's trial. She walked calmly, with guards surrounding her on all sides. Calmly, until she saw Legolas and Tauriel.
"Legolas! Tauriel!" She shouted, pushing through the mass of guards with much difficulty, until she finally stood in front of the pair. As she approached, Tauriel shrunk closer to Legolas, as if she expected Angeli to try and kill her right then and there.
"Tauriel, I'm sorry for what I put you and Legolas through," she said hurriedly, as a bunch of angry guards starting rushing towards her.
"Sorry doesn't cut it," Tauriel whispered, not moving.
I've really affected them, Angeli realized.
"It's time to go!" An angry guard told Angeli, pulling her arm. Just as Angeli was about to turn around and snap at the guard, she noticed a beautiful violet attached to Tauriel's shirt. Angeli let out a small gasp of shock.
"Y-You two are...betrothed?!" Angeli gasped.
Tauriel refused to look at Angeli, and instead studied the ground self consciously. Legolas, on the other hand, looked up at Angeli with unmasked pride.
"Yes. What's it to you?" He responded, a hint of a challenge in his voice.
Angeli was taken aback by his tone, and the guard took his opportunity to drag her back to the other guards, Florescat among their ranks. The auburn haired elleth took one look at the blonde princess, then continued staring ahead.
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"All rise!" An elf with coal black hair and green eyes demanded.
The elves around him stood up. Angeli's trial was about to begin. She'll finally get what she deserves, Legolas thought, glancing at Thranduil, who stood beside him on the right. The two shared a father-son smile. Angeli was going to be proven guilty, weather she liked it or not. Tauriel reached for Legolas's hand and gripped it tightly, reminding him of how scared she was. Legolas looked to the left and met her green eyes, he then squeezed her hand reassuringly. Since their betrothal, Thranduil, Legolas, Tauriel, and even Florescat, had practiced what they were going to say and how they were going to say it, just to make sure that Angeli would loose the case.
"Today we read case 107. Tauriel, please approach the stand and explain what happened."
Trembling, Tauriel let go of Legolas's hand and did as she was told.
"Now Tauriel, is it true this young elleth tried to kill you?" The judge asked.
"Y-yes sir, she tried to kill both my fiancé and I."
"And your fiancé would be...?"
"Prince Legolas," Tauriel stated firmly, pausing while gasps of shock and anger rippled through the crowd. Legolas fought back a smile, she was doing exactly what they had planned.
"Thank you Tauriel, you may sit down. Angeli, do you have anything to say about Tauriel's claims?"
Before the princess could respond, an elf that sat beside her, stood up.
"I am Angeli's lawyer, and I disagree with Tauriel's claims," he announced, narrowing his brown eyes.
A big round of discontent "boo"'s erupted from the audience.
"Quiet down everyone! Silence in the courtroom!" The judge shouted, tapping his gavel on the hard wood.
"What exactly are you disagreeing with?" He demanded.
"Judge Iudex, Tauriel has no prove that my client ever harmed her or the prince," the lawyer explained, pointing a hand accusingly at Tauriel.
"Actually, she does!"
The crowd all turned to the doorway to see Sanatore walking into the room, a stack of papers held in her hands.
"Sanatore, what are you doing here?" Judge Iudex asked.
"I am here to prove that Tauriel was in my care for 2 weeks; here are the documents that I wrote in everyday that Tauriel was with me. If you read them, I clearly stated Tauriel's condition and put the date above every page," Sanatore explained, passing the documents to Judge Iudex.
The judge took the papers from her and studied them for a while.
"Well , this certainly is compelling evidence," he said at last.
"Oh please," the lawyer scoffed, "she could have easily made these yesterday and faked the date."
"You have a reasonable point," Judge Iudex said slowly, "Tauriel, do you have any witnesses?"
No you twit, I only have Thranduil, Legolas, Florescat, Sanatore, and Galadriel to prove I was injured! Tauriel thought sarcastically, but she held her tongue and summoned Florescat to come up to the stand.
"So Florescat, is it true that you were on Tauriel's border patrol the day she got injured?" Iudex demanded.
"Yes, it is."
"And you saw with your own eyes that Angeli attacked Tauriel?"
"No, only Legolas saw Tauriel get hurt. All I do know is that I saw her and Legolas in the healer's den and she looked like she was about to die."
"Explain what happened that day."
And so Florescat told the judge every excruciating detail of the day, all leading up to her seeing Tauriel in the healer's place. I will not bore you with what she said, but rest assured, it was boring. Finally, she was finished her story. She carefully walked back to her seat.
"Wait. That's your best friend, correct?" the lawyer asked.
"Yes. Why?" Tauriel replied.
"See? Her best friend is just covering for her!" He exclaimed.
Tauriel resisted the urge to cover her face in her hands. This elf was stubborn, almost as much as his client, but then again, so was the prince.
The trial lasted for what seemed like eternity. Both Thranduil and Legolas were called to the stand, and for both of them Angeli's lawyer came up with excuses and reasons for them to lie.
"The prince is just saying this because this is his fiancé." He had said.
"Thranduil is just agreeing because it's his son's fiancé," he had told the judge.
For every witness there was an excuse, and the crowd was shocked at the nerve of this elf. How dare he accuse the king and prince of lying! Tauriel was getting fed up, Legolas, however, knew there was one more hope. Wether things would go as planned, was a different story.
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Galadriel was getting very uncomfortable in court, she knew very well that her daughter was lying through her teeth, but at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to say anything. It was becoming increasingly harder to keep quiet, though, for she was very much aware that Tauriel wasn't winning the case. In fact, no one was, and Galadriel couldn't help but feel that she needed to say something. After all, who would object to her claims? She was no friend of Tauriel's, and Angeli was her daughter.
"Okay, I think it's time for our jury to-"
"No, I have something to say!" Galadriel told him, standing up and walking forward. She couldn't stand lying anymore.
"Galadriel? What is it?" Iudex demanded.
"M-my daughter is lying!" She burst out.
"What on middle-earth are you talking about?"
"I know Angeli hurt Tauriel and Legolas," Galadriel stated bluntly.
"Explain," the judge demanded.
"I know Angeli hurt them because she stole my ring to do it."
Shocked gasps erupted from the room.
"B-but why? She's your daughter!"
"She did it because she really wants Legolas," Galadriel murmured softly.
"She did not!" Angeli's ever annoying lawyer shouted.
"Then answer me this, why would I lie about my own daughter stealing something as big as the Ring of Light?" Galadriel murmured, and with that said, she went back to her seat.
"Well, I think it is now long past time for the jury to make their decision," judge Iudex mumbled, "let us give them a few moments to reach their conclusion."
"Has the jury made their decision?" Judge Iudex asked.
From the upper right corner of the room, in a box of 12 or so elves, a red haired elf stood up.
"Yes. We find Angeli guilty," the elf declared slowly.
At that moment Thranduil, Legolas, and Tauriel all let out a sigh of relive. They had won, and Legolas's last hope had come through.
"Normally your sentence would be life in the dungeons, but considering the fact that you attempted to kill the prince and his fiancé, the sentence is more severe," Iudex explained.
"I'm sorry Angeli, but you are sentenced to death."
To be continued...
Yes, I know this chapter is a big game changer, but I hope that's okay. The Hobbit is out today! Yay! And even though The Hobbit will be out, I will still write this story, even though it isn't how the movie will go. Until next time-Mallowbloom