A Forgotten Friendship: A Middle Earth Fan Fiction

Terrors in the Night

The ground was soft and yielded under the damp travelers's footfalls. An early morning cloud burst had surprised the duo and coated the forest in a thick curtain of moisture. The sun had emerged and the trees now seemed alive with the twinkling of water droplets that caught the light and threw it back in sparkles of color. The forest itself had grown thick and dense, underbrush consuming the ground. Tree limbs were heavy with precipitation and dropped water on the already soaked pair. The hot sun reached through the dense canopy and turned the trapped moisture into a thick, unpleasant steam.

Legolas pointed ahead. "Look!" he called to Tauriel, who was walking behind. "A break in the trees. We're almost to a clearing."

Tauriel sped up, anxious to escape the sweltering humidity, passing Legoals at a run.

As she came to the opening Tauriel paused for a moment. The sapphire blue sky shone above her, the rich hue only broken by an occasional cloud. Tauriel breathed in deeply. The air was cooler and a small breeze blew through the tops of the trees high above.

As her lungs expanded she closed her eyes in relief, only to have them fly open again at a faint prick. She looked down at a faint line that was making its way down her forearm: blood. She inhaled quickly in surprise, causing her collarbone to burst open in a blossoming of color.

She looked over at Legolas who was only now stepping foot into the large expanse.

The air... something was wrong with the air! Holding her breath she tried to motion to him to do the same. She turned around, trying to remember which way was out, but her head was beginning to cloud. Her vision was hazy and her mind seemed overloaded and overrun with confusion and bewilderment.

She turned back around in time to see Legolas's hand jerk to his head, pulling away stained and sticky.

The air that had seemed so sweet and tantalizing before now turned to stone in her lungs.

She stumbled towards Legolas, the sickening breeze stale in her burning chest. She tripped at his feet. She needed air she-she gasped sharply, blood running in scarlet trails down her face, from a deep gash in her temple. She looked up, desperate to get out of the dreaded Eden even if it meant going back the way they came.

She forced herself to look up at Legolas. But something was wrong. He stood frozen, unmoving and breathing heavily, his eyes staring blankly ahead. Blood was everywhere, his face, hands, the ground surrounding him. Tauriel's eyes widened in shock, scrambling to her feet. She shook his shoulders urgently. He wasn't responding... Why wasn't he responding?! She shook him harder, mentally screaming at him to move, to run, that she wasn't going to leave him. But still, those glassy eyes. His blood, already Tauriel seemed to be covered in it up to her elbows and ruby droplets fell on her leather boots.

She gave in once more, a ragged breath fighting to keep the sob, that was starting to echo through her being, at bay. Everything seemed too bright, too loud, confusion swept over her like a deep fog, and still she clutched onto him, watching the life leave his glassy blue eyes and sliding down to grasp his hands and kneel at the ground. Her eyes squeezed shut, silent tears pooling at the edges, she breathed deeply, giving in... Breathing in... The darkness grew around her vision.... Just... Keep... Breathi-

Tauriel awoke to a loud clap of thunder. Her breathing was fast and her pulse raced. A shiver overtook her body, the damp clinging to her like a leech. A quick look over her shoulder helped to calm her pounding heart. There he was, next to her, Legolas. One arm curled over her head and the other was held to his chest, rising and falling in strong steady breaths. She scooted back into him, feeling his warmth spread over her and banish the chill of terror that had sunk into her bones; she sighed in relief. Under the rocky overhanging they were safe from the downpour that now roared through the forest. Under his shielding arm she was safe from the downpour that now roared through her mind. Tauriel forced her breaths to become uniform, matching them with the sleeping figure beside her. She closed her eyes, shutting out the darkness and listening... Listening to the drip, drip, drip sound of rain pattering against the stone entrance of the small cave.

Another clap of thunder echoed through the forest, near and powerful, booming like a great war drum.

They were now only four days out from Rivendell. They had travelled long and hard over much land and through many hardships and they were finally coming upon their destination.

Tauriel shifted uncomfortably on the cold hard stone that was their bed. She finally turned over to face Legolas and put her head on his chest, the steady beat of his heart, his living, pulsing, loving heart.

With a sigh of contentment, Tauriel slowly fell back into a grey dreamless haze where all that existed was the dull pounding of her lover's heart.