Light and Shadows (Thranduil's story post BOTFA)

Fire within

As a warning: this chapter has erotic content that is a little bit more explicit than I usually write it. Just so you know. Also, this cover...Good Lord! Enjoy ;)

Also, a note that I believe is important for those who don't know the lore: when elves come close to the sea, they hear the call to sail to the Blessed Realm and they will forever live with this longing until they actually sail. So this is why Legolas seeing the sea and hearing the call is so important. It means he will strongly feel the urge to leave so, in a way, his ultimate fate is sealed. 

Weeks passed since the purge of the Northern lands and the return of the King and his host. It was a chilly autumn day and Tauriel was out on the training grounds, teaching the scouts how to fight along with the other captains. She was doing a demonstration with Aldon but, in truth, it was more like a friendly competition between them. Feren and Maldir were also there, watching, along with their scouts. They were using two long wooden sticks each, meant for training, moving them as if they were real elven blades.

'Rotate them around your body.', Tauriel was saying to Aldon, 'If you are surrounded, you can't just strike in one direction.'

She demonstrated by fluidly moving them around her, while Aldon was keeping his own dummy swords tightly. 

'Now, attack me.', she said.

Aldon did not wait for a second invite. He launched at her, but she avoided the blow. They engaged in what could have been a real fight if they had real elven blades, moving with agility and grace as if they were caught in a dance. The scouts watched their movements attentively and slightly fascinated, while Feren and Maldir had little smirks on their faces. Aldon was good at wielding swords, but it was clear that Tauriel had gone far ahead of him. The two-sword combat style was not a common fight style for wood elves, rather they had learned a few things over time from the Sindar lords. Tauriel however had learnt from the best swordsman in Middle-Earth: the King.

When she got bored of their demonstration, she decided it was time to level up a bit and she quickly disarmed Aldon, leaving him with only one wooden stick and pointing hers towards him. In real combat, she would have mortally wounded him. 

'It's not a fair competition anyway as you have been trained by the King himself.', Aldon said, accepting the defeat with a little sigh and throwing his wooden stick to the ground. 'Anyway, daggers are my speciality, not swords.'

'Yes, the King trained me hence why I am here to share what I learned.', Tauriel replied. 'We are here to learn from each other, are we not, captain? I too was only an expert in bow and daggers not long ago.'

Aldon stood still and quiet, his ego visibly wounded. Tauriel knew he had always been jealous of her because of her better fighting skills and because the King had favoured her above all others. He turned his head towards the other two captains. Maldir smiled at him, then looked at Tauriel with the same calm smile.

'You're good with swords, Tauriel. But let's see if you're up for a real challenge.', he said. 

Tauriel's heart started to beat faster with excitement. She had never believed herself to be on the same level as Maldir who was one of the best swordsmen in the Woodland Realm, the person who had trained thousands of scouts over time. 

Maldir approached her calmly.

'Real swords, just like in real combat.', he said, leaving the wooden sticks on the ground and taking his own two swords. 

Some of the scouts cheered in approval. Tauriel smiled and took her own two beautiful blades.

'Ready?', he asked.