The wind breezing through the leaves is brisk, but refreshing, and Tauriel closes her eyes while inhaling deeply.
I've missed this, she thinks. The open woods, the fresh air… the feeling of freedom that comes when you step outside the kingdom gates.
Despite the forest being dangerous and sickly, no longer the lush green paradise of the past, it is as Tauriel has always known it, and she considers it part of home.
"This way," she whispers, hearing the cracking of a branch off in the distance.
She signals the other members of her patrol, and they start out, stealthily weaving through the twisted roots and branches.
It was a lot easier than she was anticipating going back to work and taking charge.
There are four soldiers in addition to herself in Tauriel's new patrol: Grond, Echtel, Magol, and Thanben. She's vaguely familiar of them in the fact that she's worked with them before on occasion, but she wouldn't go as far as saying she really knows them.
Thanben and Magol are twins, identical in their dark hair and eyes. Brother and sister born into a family that has always served as soldiers for the kingdom. They are much older than Tauriel, but like her they are orphans. Their father died in battle over a thousand years ago, and their mother wasted away from her loss.
From just observing them during this first patrol, Tauriel can already see they have a close bond. The brother, Thanben, rarely speaks, yet somehow Magol knows exactly what he wants or needs and she communicates for him.
Echtel, Tauriel suspects, will drive her insane before their first week together is done. He's a bit of card, always cracking jokes or making snarky comments. Which, in general she would not mind, but when they are trying to navigate silently through the overgrown underbrush it is a different story.
She had wanted to risk giving their position away by backhanding him after he made some remark about Ents dying out because "all the ladies need a good hedge trimming." The fact that he has the exact same shade of hair as Legolas does nothing to ease her annoyance.
Then there is Grond.
He is quite peculiar, she must admit.
To begin with, he is probably the largest elf Tauriel has ever seen. Not height wise, though he is tall, but his width and bulk. Grond is strangely muscular for an elf. Then there is the fact that he doesn't wear his sandy brown hair in braids, or down at all for that matter. He wears it up in a messy bun.
Despite his size, and overall gruff appearance, Grond is a quiet speaker. His soft completely non-intimidating voice seems so strange coming out of his mouth. That is when he actually speaks. He's not as quiet as Thanben, but he still rarely interacts with the other members of the group.
Suddenly there is another loud cracking noise just beyond the next copse of trees. Tauriel holds her hand up and draws the company to a halt, listening.
They are trying to track a trail back to a suspected spider nest, just outside the normal patrol borders. As much as she had wanted to set out immediately to explore the new areas open to her, Tauriel decided to do the logical thing and slowly work on expanding outward, clearing threats as they go.
The prominent sound of pincers clacking makes the hair on the back of her neck stand up, but it drives Echtel into action.
He darts past her, ignoring Tauriel's halt, and dives through the thicket of branches in front of them.
Growling in frustration, but unable to let him mount an attack alone, Tauriel signals the remaining three to join Echtel.
They charge forward to find six spiders awaiting them in a small, web coated, clearing.
The company divides, each tackling their own spider, while simultaneously trying to avoid getting stuck in the sticky web.
Tauriel dispatches her spider easily enough, driving her blade into the beast's maw when it hisses at her. Turning around she finds her patrol members are all handling themselves effectively.
All except for Echtel.
He misstepped and his foot is caught in the web. The sixth and last remaining spider is descending on him while he remains completely unaware.
Sighing, Tauriel draws her bow and lets an arrow fly. It soars right over Echtel's shoulder pulling his attention to the beast just as it collapses next to him.
"Thanks," he says, tossing her a wink.
"What were you thinking?" she demands, marching across the clearing towards him.
"What?"
"You disobeyed my order and foolishly charged in!"
"And we handled it. What's the big deal?" he shrugs, still attempting to free his foot.
"The big deal? How about the fact that we were tracking those spiders back to the nest!"
Instead of responding, Echtel just gestures the clearing.
"Take a look around!" Tauriel tells him, waving her arms. "This is not a nest. It is a food cache. A trap. This was a rest stop along their way back to the actual nest. You've possibly cost us another day or two. Now we'll have to find another trail, because they certainly won't use this one again."
"Alright, I'm sorry," he apologizes, not looking at all concerned.
"Disobey a direct order again and you'll be off my patrol and stuck in the palace guarding the King's wine cellar."
Mistakes will not be tolerated, she rationalizes to herself. Mistakes get people killed.
"Captain, over here."
It's Grond, calling her to the opposite side of the clearing.
"I think I found another path leading away from here, different from the one we followed in," he says.
"Good work," she praises, patting his shoulder. "Let's move out."
"Can I get some help over here?" Echtel calls, pointing to his web covered foot.
"Figure it out yourself," Tauriel says, turning away, "that's what you prefer anyway."
They press on, with Grond leading the way as the most experienced tracker.
The air around them grows colder as the light begins to dim, and Tauriel knows they should turn back soon, but a stubborn part of her doesn't want to return on her first day back with nothing to show but a half dozen dead spiders.
If the others have any concerns about calling it a day, they keep it them to themselves, focusing only on moving forward.
Dusk is upon them when they finally find something, though its is something none of them could anticipate.
"Oh my," Tauriel whispers, looking around in shock.
X
"Someone is missing," Thranduil states, scanning his council room.
"It's Tauriel, your Majesty," Dagon tells him. "Her patrol hasn't yet returned."
Of course he knew Tauriel was the one missing, however Thranduil was trying to pass off his worry as casually as possible.
"Let's continue without her," he says. "I'll deal with her tardiness later. Dagon, any news from your rounds?"
"We found some Orc tracks cutting through the western corner of the kingdom. They traveled on our land for about two leagues before cutting back over the western border. I estimate a group of five, maybe six."
Thranduil frowns and makes a note, then spreads out a map and has Dagon mark his findings.
"Captain Liel?" the King asks the woman to Dagon's left. "What did you find?"
"Nothing, your Majesty. My patrol rechecked the recently cleared nests to be sure no spiders moved back in, and we found them still deserted."
"Good, good," he says, making another note.
They continue on, going around the room in order, all the guards relaying their findings. Most have found nothing new, or out of the ordinary, and Thranduil starts to hope the worst is behind them.
A few mention finding rogue spiders here and there, and only one other person found any signs of orcs.
The most troubling aspect of the evening is that at no point during the meeting does Tauriel arrive.
Thranduil tries to ignore the niggling sense something is wrong, and pushes aside the urge to send out a search party.
She probably got carried away with her new freedom outside the normal patrol borders.
After everyone has a chance to discuss their patrols, Thranduil thanks them for their hard work and dedication before dismissing them.
He holds Dagon back to strategize any changes they may want to make to the paths they patrol. About ten minutes into their revisions Tauriel bursts into the room, wide-eyed and short of breathe.
"Forgive my lateness, my King," she asks, giving a small bow.
"I'll leave you two alone," Dagon offers, clearly biting his tongue.
"No, Captain," Tauriel says, holding up her hand to stop him. "You'll want to hear this."
"Go on," Thranduil encourages, looking her over for signs of injury and reassuring himself she looks fine.
"My patrol and I spent the day tracking a spider's nest just over the border. One of my soldiers got a little eager and attacked the spiders we were tracking—"
"Echtel," Captain Dagon supplies, and Tauriel nods.
"Indeed," she says, annoyed. "We were however able to pick up the trail and it led us to the largest spider nest I have ever seen. There were a hundred of them at least… most likely more."
"We should send you back out with reinforcements first thing tomorrow morning," Thranduil suggests. "I'm assuming you didn't attempt to take out a nest that size with just five of you."
"That's the thing, my King. They were already dead."
Thranduil frowns, positive he must have misheard her.
"Dead? Hundreds of spiders, outside the border… dead?"
Dagon looks just as surprised as he feels, and moves to look over the map they had been marking.
"None of our groups have been that far," the Captain says, tracing a finger over the map, "and certainly someone would have mentioned taking out that large of a nest."
"It wasn't us," Tauriel tells them. "It was Orcs. I found this."
She holds out her hand and Thranduil approaches her to inspect the small shard resting on her palm.
He wraps his fingers around her wrist to hold her hand steady as he inspects the item, and hears her sharp intake of breath at his touch. When he glances up to meet her gaze she looks away.
"It's a broken arrowhead," he says. "Definitely of Orcish origin."
"Orcs?" Dagon asks. "To kill that many spiders… that would have to be an unprecedented group of survivors. Could you tell how many?"
"No, the tracks were too muddled from the fighting," Tauriel answers.
"Show me where this was on the map," Thranduil requests.
She hesitates, and Thranduil realizes he's still holding Tauriel's wrist. Feeling sheepish he releases her.
Tauriel takes them through everything she saw and noticed, marking the map as she goes.
When she finishes all three fall into silence.
"A group large enough to do that kind of damage can only mean one thing," Dagon whispers.
"The Orcs have a new leader," Thranduil finishes.
X
Shortly after the new revelation, Captain Dagon excuses himself. He leaves to go double the night patrols, wanting security upped as much as possible with an enormous band of Orcs potentially on their doorstep.
Tauriel is left alone with Thranduil, and tries to find a way to take her leave. Until she figures out what is going on inside of her own mind, she's not sure she should be around the King on her own.
"I… I should—"
"Tauriel," Thranduil interrupts, "please allow me to apologize for last night. I did not wish to make you feel uncomfortable. I'm not sure what came over me."
"No need to apologize, my King. I've pushed the whole incident from my mind," she lies.
"I heard about what happened in the hall last night."
She grimaces, hoping he won't have to punish Arradon.
"Arradon told me about the terrible things Lord Haewon said to you. I'm so sorry."
"That's not your fault," Tauriel insists. "He's a cruel, hateful, man."
"Nevertheless—"
"He did mention something I didn't understand," she interrupts, her curiosity getting the best of her. "He mentioned something about lost jewels… and suggested you, um, sent me to get them from the dwarves."
He turns away from her, but just before he does Tauriel swears she sees a flash of pain in his eyes.
"I'm sorry," she says. "I shouldn't have asked. You don't have to answer."
"They belonged to my late wife," he says, voice soft and head bowed.
Leave it… just leave it…
"How did the dwarves come into possession of them?"
Was that really necessary? she asks herself.
"I gave them to the dwarves," Thranduil tells her, turning back to face her once more. "She was wearing them, white gems of pure starlight, when she died. The jewels survived, though the setting did not. I sent them to Erebor to be reset."
"And then the dragon came and took the mountain?"
"Smaug came later. Thrór summoned me when the necklace was completed; it was only when I arrived and he showed me the piece that he named his price. In exchange for crafting the necklace he demanded to keep it as payment for his work."
Tauriel's heart swells in sympathy.
"That is terrible. How could he do that?"
"It was the dragon sickness, he was already taken by it by then. It was not long after that the dragon came."
"And the jewels were lost to you," she says sadly.
"Until now. The halfling, Bilbo, returned them to me."
Thranduil reaches a hand inside his robe and pulls out the most stunning necklace she has ever seen. The gems seem to be pulsing, giving off their own light.
"Beautiful," Tauriel murmurs, in total awe.
"Yes," he says simply, but when she finally looks up at him, and away from the jewels, she sees the King is not staring at the necklace.
Her stomach flips, but it isn't an entirely unpleasant sensation.
Knock knock.
"Your Majesty," an aide opens the door and strides purposefully in.
Tauriel jumps back a few inches, feeling unexplainably guilty, and Thranduil is quick to tuck the necklace away.
"Yes, Nimmon?" he asks the aide, not taking his eyes off of Tauriel.
"Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to inform you that councilwoman Neleth is here to see you."
The King blinks slowly and sighs, looking to his aide.
"Tell her I'll be with her momentarily."
"I should be going," Tauriel says. "It was a long day, and I've got another one tomorrow, so…"
"Yes, of course. Rest yourself, eat, and be safe tomorrow."
"I will, thank you. Good evening, my King."
"Goodnight, Captain."
Tauriel lets herself out and sighs once in the hallway.
"Are you back to work then?"
Approaching her is the golden haired councilwoman who took the floor from Lord Haewon during Tauriel's trial.
"Yes," she replies. "Lady Neleth, isn't it?"
"Yes, yes. Glad to see you are feeling well. I always feel better knowing those who protect us are in the best shape."
"Thank you," Tauriel smiles politely.
"Well, I won't keep you, dear. I'm just on my way to speak with the King. We have some… catching up to do after last night," the councilwoman giggles.
It takes willpower for Tauriel to prevent her smile from turning into a sneer.
"Good evening," she says, and takes her leave, heading straight for her room.
After last night… what does that mean?
Do you really care?
Well, no… why—why would I?
When she gets to her bedchambers, Arodeth is there waiting for her.
"How was it? How are you? You're back much later than I was expecting? Are you hungry?" the maid pelts her with questions one after another.
"Take a breath, woman," Tauriel laughs. "Have you eaten yet?"
"Not yet, no."
"Alright. I am going to go take a bath. Why don't you grab dinner for two and I'll tell you everything while we eat?"
Arodeth smiles and agrees, leaving Tauriel to get cleaned up. She makes it a quick bath, knowing she's in for a lot of questions and wanting to try to get more rest than she did the previous night.
Sure enough, as they eat Arodeth hardly gives Tauriel a chance to chew between answers.
She wants to know about whom Tauriel is working with, if she ran into any trouble out there, if she feels like she is fully recovered… and on and on.
Luckily, by the time they reach dessert, a glazed seed cake, Arodeth seems to have dried up her well of questions, which gives Tauriel a chance to ask a few of her own.
"Arodeth?" she starts, staring at her lap shyly. "Do you think how long you know— or knew— someone affects how much you can love them?"
"Oh, well… I think there are many different kinds of love. Love at first sight, love that is built over many years, love that exists when two souls recognize themselves in one another, and many, many others. I don't think how much you can love someone can be so trivially measured. It's something only you can know and judge."
"Is it possible to love someone, and miss them, but still find yourself yearning for another? Does that mean you don't or didn't love the first?"
Arodeth scoots across the bed, closer to Tauriel, and pulls the redhead's head down to rest on her shoulder.
"Dear, the heart is a fickle thing, often with terrible timing. Do not feel guilty for feeling. Personally, I believe love is infinite, ever expanding, and there is always enough to go around."
"Thank you."
Tauriel leaves her head resting on the other woman's shoulder, grateful she has someone to talk to. She is still confused, but the guilt that had been gnawing on the edge of her mind eases a bit.
X
"Lady Neleth, how may I help you this evening?"
Thranduil is still standing in front of his desk when the councilwoman enters, and she sidles up right beside him.
"Firstly, I just wanted to tell you how much fun I had last night," she says.
"It was quite an enjoyable evening, wasn't it?"
He slips around behind his desk and takes a seat, causing her to frown.
"Secondly, the Council has received news that Lord Elrond is travelling this way. He should be arriving in Mirkwood in about two weeks time."
"Really? I wonder what brings him this way."
"I heard he's coming to speak to the King of Dale, and the new King Under the Mountain."
"Ah, yes, I suppose I should have expected that," Thranduil admits. "We should have a welcome dinner for them."
"That was another reason I came to you! I thought perhaps we could plan it… together."
"Oh, that won't be necessary. I trust your judgment, Lady Neleth. I'm sure you are more than capable to handle this on your own."
"Thank you for your confidence, my King," she tells him, sounding disappointed.
"Let me know what you come up with."
Neleth brightens back up at this.
"Yes, of course! Goodnight, your Majesty."
When she leaves, Thranduil groans loudly and decides he is really going to have to be more cautious in the future when selecting dance partners.
Author's Note: Thank you for all the kind words on the last chapter. After having such a difficult time getting it where I wanted it, the feedback made it all worthwhile.