Daughter of Starlight

Chapter Fourteen: Defying the King

Another chapter in Legolas's POV! Who else is excited? I hope you guys like it :)))

The elven prince watched the she-elf approach the evidence of the orcs' latest killing spree of the local fauna in the forest. As she stood on the edge of the rocks, looking over the lakeshore and beyond to the town on the lake, he approached her. Her attentive hearing took notice of him before he could take another step, and she turned on him with her bow, armed with an arrow ready to shoot into his heart. Out of instinct, he did likewise.

When Tauriel's eyes landed upon Legolas, she allowed an ever so slightly amused smirk to curl her lips.

"I thought you were an orc," she spoke.

"If I were an orc," Legolas said as they both lowered their bows. "You would be dead."

She turned away from him as he continued to speak, studying the lake and its surroundings closely.

"Tauriel, you cannot hunt thirty orcs on your own," Legolas told her, drawing her from her concentrated gaze.

"But I'm not on my own," she said, a knowing smile on her face.

"You knew I would come," said the prince, realizing her clever ploy.

Tauriel smiled again. Not apologetically, but almost smugly, and Legolas didn't mind. Thranduil, however, did.

"The king is angry, Tauriel," Legolas reported, stepping closer to her while dodging puddles of blood and scraps of gnawed flesh and bones. "For six hundred years my father has protected you, favored you."

Tauriel's amused expression turned defensive as Legolas's voice took on an accusing tone.

"You defied his orders. You betrayed his trust," he said. He then pleaded with her after a moment of enduring her almost hurt gaze. "Come back with me. He will forgive you."

"The same way he forgave Laerornien?" Tauriel suddenly demanded, silencing the prince. "And even if he did, I would never be able to forgive myself if I went back."

"Tauriel," Legolas tried to speak, but the she-elf would not permit it.

"First the king throws his own daughter in the dungeons like a criminal, only to have her escape with the dwarf company. Then he allows orcs to cross our borders and kill our prisoners, allowing a battle to take place that not only takes away our prisoners, but our friend, as well."

"It is not our fight," Legolas said, referring to the issue of the orcs.

"It is our fight," Tauriel insisted. "With every victory this evil will grow. And what about your sister?"

"What about her?"

"Do not act like you don't care," she chastised him. "You and I both know she doesn't deserve what happened to her."

Legolas had no response for the she-elf, for he knew she was right.

"If your father has his way, we will do nothing," Tauriel continued. "We will hide within our walls, live our lives away from the light, and let darkness descend."

Legolas met Tauriel's grim gaze as she asked, "Are we not part of this world? Tell me, Mellon. When did we allow evil to become stronger than us?"

Legolas bowed his head, gazing at the rocks beneath him before looking at Tauriel again. He had made his decision. "Fine. I will go with you."

Tauriel smiled in triumph. The two elves then began their trek towards the long bridge they had spotted about half a mile away, one that connected the lakeshore to the town that seemed to float atop the water so far away.

"How do you know what happened to Laerornien?" Legolas asked Tauriel. "Did she tell you?"

"No," the she-elf said.

"You guessed." The prince's words were not a question.

"Unlike you, Legolas, I did not need to be invited into understanding," Tauriel said. "Think about it. The day Laerornien disappeared was the same day the Gems were discovered to be stolen. As soon as word spread that she was gone as well, I knew something did not fit. Laerornien would never just abruptly leave on her own accord. No, she left because she had to. Why?"

Legolas didn't reply. He knew Tauriel knew the answer.

"She is the one who took the Gems," Tauriel said. "But I have no doubt in my mind that she was convinced she was doing the right thing when she took them. If I know your sister at all, that is exactly the case."