Chapter 11
I'm such a fool. I'm such a fool. Tauriel lay staring at the night sky. She knew that it was The Feast of Starlight tonight; it was her favorite holiday of all. Legolas would probably be looking for her-
No, she thought. He has Eyela. He doesn't need you anymore.
It was almost hard to believe that so much in her life could have changed in two days, and with what? The arrival of a single elleth from Rivendell who carried affections for her best friend? That's what he was, of course-just a friend. She had never considered that she might have feelings for him...until now.
A hundred years was considered batting an eye in the life of an elf. But in two days, it seemed as though her life had been turned upside down. And she had just stood by and let it happen.
I should go inside, she thought. But what could she do? Where could she go?
Not knowing the answer to either question, Tauriel rose and slowly snuck into the palace. She did not want to be seen.
In her hurry to get to her living quarters, she decided to do a quick patrol through the dungeons. Then no elf could tell her she was being lazy, or not participating. I'm on duty.
She jogged past the Dwarves; many of them were sleeping. One, however, was not, and somehow it did not surprise her.
Kili thumbed a rune stone, his eyes blank and tired. She felt a slight twinge of remorse, standing there, looking at him, and her curiosity got the better of her.
"The stone in you hand. What is it?" She asked uncertainly.
His brown eyes narrowed at her. "It is a talisman. A powerful spell lies upon it. If any but a Dwarf reads the runes on this stone..." he paused, for effect. "They will be forever cursed!" He pointed the stone at her, as if warding her spirit away.
Tauriel recoiled, stung, and averted her gaze quickly. She was about to move on, but his voice stopped her.
"Or not."
He had started grinning. "Depending on what you believe. I think it's just a token." He laughed, and it was so infectious that she began smiling, too.
"A rune stone," he continued. "My mother gave it to me so that I would remember my promise."
Her heart leapt a little as she thought of her own mother, and the promises they used to make. "What promise?"
"That I would come back to her."
Oh. She longed to say something, but her words had abandoned her.
"She worries," he said, flipping the rune stone up with his thumb, and catching it again in his hand. "She thinks I'm reckless."
A small smile played on Tauriel's lips. "Are you?"
Kili launched the rune stone into the air again, winking at her. "Nah."
This time, however, he failed to catch it, and it fell through the bars. He reached for it, but Tauriel was quicker. She slapped her boot upon it, and gently picked it up before it could fall any further.
She looked at it in the light, and the sounds of the festivities could be heard from above them. There was shouting and laughing; the lords had probably had too much to drink.
"Sounds like quite the party they're having up there," Kili commented. She knew what he meant: Why aren't you up there with them?
She chose not to answer him. Instead she said, "It is Ehtele'mele The Feast of Starlight. All light is sacred to the Eldar. But what Wood Elves love best is the light of the stars."
"I always thought of it as a cold light," Kili mused, his face pressed close to the bars. "Remote...and far away."
She looked at him incredulously. "It is memory. Precious and pure."
She looked at the stone in her hand for a moment longer. "Like your promise." She offered it to him, and he grinned as he took it.
Tauriel could have left him, could have gone on, but their conversation seemed unfinished. He watched her with the same hopefulness that she felt within her heart.
"I have walked there, sometimes," she said excitedly. "Beyond the forest and up into the night. I have seen the world fall away. And the white light of forever fill the air..." She trailed off, smiling as she imagined the white moon echoing across the sky, filling her life with light and happiness.
"I saw a Fire Moon once."
She was so intrigued that she turned away from her memories of starlight.
"Red and gold it was. It filled the sky."
She sat down by him, nodding, so that he might tell her more. She had finally smiled again. She felt rejuvenated. Who would have thought that a Dwarf could help cure my loneliness?
He was a Dwarf, and yet...he felt like he had been her friend since the beginning.
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Legolas took a sip of wine. He had not bothered to change out of his armor; in it, he felt more comfortable. Besides, with that Dwarf in the dungeons, one never knew when he might try to make an escape.
Eyela sat to his left, watching him. He could feel her azure gaze, piercing through his armor.
"Eyela, why do you dislike Tauriel so much?"
She stiffened, as she always did when Tauriel was mentioned. "What are you talking about?"
"You and Tauriel are very wary of each other and I want to know why." He couldn't understand her reaction. She looked as though he had greatly insulted her by bringing up this topic. Maybe I did.
"I just can't believe that you spend so much time with a commoner like her," Eyela said, fingering the jewels around her neck. "You know her greatest desire is to be the Queen of Mirkwood and inherit your money and title, right?"
She would have offended him less by just slapping him.
"What did you say?" His voice was barely a whisper.
"Poor thing. She was just sitting in my bedroom going on and on about how she was simply friends with you so that she could become your queen. It's adorable really. She was talking about your money and title though...maybe that's all she's interested in?"
"Eyela-"
"She seems so set on marrying you and inheriting everything. I wonder what she meant by 'I'm not really friends with him for the sake of being friends'..."
The rest of her words blurred together. Legolas sat, dumbfounded for a moment. He felt as though he was underwater; everything sounded so far away.
He heard himself making some excuse to leave, and standing up. He could feel his father watching him, along with many of the other lords at the table but he didn't care. He had to get out.
It wasn't what Eyela had said that was bothering him, but rather that she felt the need to tell such lies about Tauriel in order to get her way. He knew this wasn't Eyela's normal behavior, and that she was probably jealous, but it hurt him that she would say something so absurd. It hurt him that such a jealous elleth was about to be his bride.
He had known Tauriel for over a thousand years. And he knew that such things were not in her nature. Why would Eyela say such a horrible thing?
"Was it big?"
Tauriel? So that's why she hadn't been at the feast; she was patrolling. But to whom was she talking?
"Oh, yes. Huge. I wish I could show you..."
Legolas froze in his tracks, halfway to the dungeons. He knew that voice. He quickly slipped behind a wall, trying his best to be quiet, and to get a view of Tauriel. He almost called out to her, but what he saw made his words stop halfway up his throat.
She was with him.
Legolas felt like he was choking. He couldn't breathe. Tauriel? With a-a-
Kili and Tauriel were discussing Fire Moons; Kili's face pressed close to the bars, Tauriel's musical laugh following his every sentence. It was obvious that they were enjoying themselves.
Legolas tried to slow his breathing. Dwarves and Elves did not interact. Call it what you will: disgusting, scandalous, taboo. But it was even more disturbing that a loyal warrior could be having such a... friendly conversation with one of those things.
An even more disturbing thought occurred to him just then: What will my father do if he finds out?
Tauriel was so wrapped up in Kili's story, that she did not notice Legolas watching them. Normally, her hearing and sight would've pointed him out at once; and in his shock, he was in no state to be quiet. But somehow, the Dwarf was more interesting than any events or people, her own people.
As the Dwarf's story went on, one of Tauriel's hands went to the bars. It traveled farther up until it reached Kili's. Their fingers brushed, and Legolas felt his heart snap.
He could only watch them for a moment before he turned away, his throat burning. He couldn't stand it anymore.
He ran back to his chambers, slamming the door behind him and bolting it. Given his behavior lately, it was probable that King Thranduil might want to pay a visit. But he was not in the mood, to say the least.
"You're back early."
He jumped; of course, Dalyor would have been in his bedroom, preparing for his arrival from the feast.
With his back to his friend, he said, "Yes. I was feeling rather tired, so I decided to retire early."
"I'll start your bath, then."
He nodded wordlessly, and began to take off his shoes, trying to mold his face into an impassive expression. Only then did his true exhaustion set in.
Needless to say, the last two days had been some of the most brutal of his life. He had not experienced this much stress in quite some time, let alone all of the conflicting emotions tangled about in his head. He had throbbing headache that did not seem to want to leave. He did not know what to feel, or what to think. For the first time, Legolas felt absolutely drained.
Dalyor seemed to sense this. From the bathroom, Legolas heard, "Whatever it is, my lord, I'm sure sleep will help you. You'll be able to take on the world with a fresh start tomorrow."
If only. But Legolas nodded gratefully. "Yes, I'm sure it will."
Dalyor approached him, carrying a towel and some soap. "You look terrible," he commented.
Legolas laughed lightly. He was sure that the stress he felt must have been reflected in his face. "Now is that the way to treat an elf who is getting betrothed tomorrow?"
He said it casually, but the actual meaning of his words took a moment to sink in. That's right, he thought. The betrothal is tomorrow.
Betrothal for Elves was not defined like it was for most other creatures. Once Legolas and Eyela were betrothed, they would wed in one year. Elves did not just carelessly throw away the betrothal rings, or anything of it. The only time a betrothal was cancelled was through one elf's death or if someone extreme forces them to. Ceremonies and feasts were given much thought in the Eldar, and turning your back on a betrothal was a most heinous taboo.
Legolas had forgotten all about his betrothal the next morning, and the very thought of it made his head spin.
Dalyor smiled. "Maybe not, but we better get you in the bath, or Lady Eyela may not want to stand next to you tomorrow!"
I wish. Out loud, he said, "You're the expert."
He climbed into bed that night, his head pounding with exhaustion, but sleep had never seemed farther away. He could not get the image of Tauriel and Kili out of his mind. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see them, exchanging happy, almost intimate glances. Opening them was no better; he could see his clothing for the betrothal that lay on a chair nearby.
He could not escape; both Eyela and Mirkwood depended on this marriage. As for Tauriel...he could not fathom how he would ever speak to her again.
He knew she was reckless, but this? This was disgusting. There were few things worse than having a relationship with a Dwarf.
Legolas sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his mind, so that he might actually sleep for once. This reminded him of a time when he was very, very small. The memory was obsolete in his head...
[Flashback]
Anona could hear screaming. She sat up straight in their bed, the starlight streaming through the open window.
It had not been a dream. Some elf sounded as though they were being strangled, their blood curdling wails echoing through the palace.
"Thranduil!" She shook her husband's shoulder, and he bolted awake as soon as she did so.
"What is it-"He stopped. He could hear it too.
"Legolas," was all he said before sweeping out of the room.
Anona and Thranduil ran down the halls, surprised to see that their son had not awakened anyone in the palace. They exchanged a quick look at Legolas's door before slipping inside.
Legolas was writhing in his sheets, covered in sweat, tears streaming down his cheeks. His crying sent shivers down her spine.
"No!" He was yelling. "Ada [father]! Nana [mother]! Don't leave me! Please don't go!"
In an instant, she was down beside him, stroking his hair, trying to wake him. "Legolas," she tried to keep her voice steady. "Legolas, we are here. Echuio [awaken]."
Her son did not stir. In fact, his screams only seemed to get louder. She threw a panicked look at Thranduil, who urged her on.
"Try again," he mouthed.
Legolas had these nightmares often. Each night, they would awaken him, and each night, it got harder and harder to calm him down. He was so young; she wondered what he could possibly see in these horrible visions.
"Legolas!" She tried again, louder this time, trying to hold him down as she spoke. "An ngell nîn [please]. It is not real. Wake up!"
His blue eyes, so like her husband's, flew open upon hearing her voice. He was shaking still, his breathing uneven. He had stopped writhing, and could not seem to comprehend the elves before him.
"Nana?" He croaked. He looked up at Thranduil, who had been watching from beside her.
"Yes, ion nin," he said gently. "Ada and Nana are here." He sat beside his son and pulled him into his arms. Anona continued stroking his flaxen hair.
Legolas began to sob wildly. He wrapped his arms around his father's neck, crying and crying. Thranduil looked at her for help, but she just shook her head.
They sat like that for many moments, until their son had calmed down, and his sobs had reduced to mere whimpers.
"No," Legolas whispered. "You were gone. You were bleeding, and-"
"Hush, melamin," Anona said softly. She took him from Thranduil's arms, and cradled him for a moment before tucking the blankets up to his chin.
"Everything is all right." She kissed his forehead. "Av -'osto [don't be afraid]."
"Goheno nin [forgive me]," Legolas said. "I wish he would not come to me every night."
At this, Thranduil and Anona exchanged glances. What did he mean?
Anona shook her head again, her eyes saying; "We'll discuss this later."
Thranduil placed a warm hand on his son's, and Anona took a moment to enjoy this. He was such a good father. She smiled, and placed her hand on his. Her little family was absolutely perfect.
"We'll stay right here, until you fall asleep. All right, ion nin?"
[End Flashback]
"All right, ion nin?" Anona's voice echoed in his head. The memory he had thought of was from before Kelda was born, and before his mother was attacked. He must have only been 300 years old, still an elfling. It had been a happier time, if not so often plagued by his nightmares of Sauron and Sarumann.
Thinking of his mother seemed to make him sadder than before. He sighed and sunk back down onto his back, his eyes trained on the ceiling, wondering why such thoughts were coming to him now.
His eyes fluttered shut, and he tried to imagine his father's face, before he became cold, before the accident. It was warm and happy, his eyes full of light. Why had his mother been attacked? Why had everything gone wrong?
Legolas lay like that for a long time, until he felt sleep overcoming him. It washed his world away in a blanket of darkness.
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A/N- One more chapter and then we're done! It's so fun writing in movieverse, but I love writing Dalyor and Legolas's friendship as well. I wrote the flashback in Anona's point of view to play with her character a bit. And there may or may not be a fanfic coming soon that's completely about her...mwahahaha. I watched The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies teaser trailer on Monday....HOLY CANNOLI. That's all I can say, other than the fact that I'm super excited to see it in December!!!!
Dedicated to @Wholockian221c, whose Legolas x Tauriel fanfiction is absolutely beautiful! The writing in it is so unbelievably gorgeous, so you guys should check it out! <3
Next chapter is, well...the betrothal! Are you scared? ;)
Please vote if you liked this one, and thanks so much for reading! You all are amazing :) <3