A Forgotten Friendship: A Middle Earth Fan Fiction

Confusion

Lover?

Tauriel awoke the following morning with a start.

The rain had stopped and had surrendered to the bright morning sunlight that was streaming in through the entrance of the overhang in dappled rays.

Lover.

The word mulled about in her mind for a moment.

That was what she had thought, right? Just before she fell asleep?

Tauriel pulled her hands off of Legolas's chest as quickly as if it were on fire. And her cheeks were, burning with color as embarrassment struck her. Thankfully he was still asleep.

Silently, Tauriel cursed her carelessness. But there was something that he had said, something that had caused the long buried hope in her heart to flare up, probably spurring her ridiculous actions.

"Tauriel," he had said one day as they stopped for a rest, "to me you shall always be more than a friend."

These last few weeks had been heaven and hell all rolled up into one. His constant companionship was a torture and a joy, something she herself could not understand at times, but those few simple words kept coming back. Back to haunt her with their meaning, their two faced mystery. He had said the words casually, a simple kindness shown to an especially good friend no doubt.

But something in Tauriel's heart begged for it to mean more. The feelings that had long been buried inside her heart were slowly being uncovered. He was her best friend, her greatest companion, and somehow that had ceased to be enough.

She stood up in the shallow cave and stretched as gracefully as a cat. The birds were singing loudly, their chorus sending the day into motion with brilliant fanfare.

The cheerfulness was welcome after finally breaking out of the darkness of Mirkwood. Now, after weeks of tedious and uneventful travel, they were only days outside of Rivendell. Having crossed the Great River (Anduin) they had only to follow the high pass through the mountains to reach the great Elven city.

After taking a minute to compose herself, Tauriel groped around in her bag a moment before grasping a small package of bread. She broke a piece off, set it aside for herself, and tossed the remaining lembas at the sleeping Legolas.

"Heads up!" she called with a smirk as she threw it.

His eyes flew open immediately and his hand shot out to grasp the hurdled object just before it hit his face.

"Nice try, mellon, but you'll have to do better than that," he told her with a smug smile.

"Maybe I just won't warn you next time," Tauriel retorted.

"Aw, where's the fun in that?"

"Seeing you get hit in the face?" she suggested. "It's not often the great Elven prince is caught off guard," she said sarcastically.

Legolas sat up with a yawn and punched her playfully, "You had better believe it!"

She rolled her eyes and they both ate their breakfast quickly. The satchels were quickly repacked and soon the duo was leaving the cave and stepping into the world beyond.

In front of them loomed the foreboding shape of the Misty Mountains, covered in the fog where whence their name came. The pass through the peaks could be reached by afternoon by following a straight course over the flat of land they stood on. Trees grew in sparse patches on the plain, but the forests had been left far behind.

As the pair began their journey the path seemed to narrow and trees seemed to materialize and hug the side of the road like the hedge surrounding the Old Forest of the shire, so far away.

Though few in number and shallow in depth, these lines of trees seemed as closely knit as a bolt of cloth, weaved together to form an inseparable barrier.

Everything was eerily quiet. The trees were not dark or gangly like those of Mirkwood, but the stillness in the air made them seem as strange as any.

Many miles dragged on, quiet and still, the world seeming to hold it's breath.

Without verbally agreeing, the two travelers began to run, not stopping until they finally reached a clearing at high noon.

Tauriel stepped into the space and gasped slightly.

This was it, the place from her dream! She looked down frantically, expecting some injury to appear on her fair skin in response to her intake of air.

To her relief, nothing appeared, but she was only able to bask in her good fortune for a moment before a yell from behind whirled her around.

"Orcs!"