Legolas and Tauriel: What I Did For Love

1: Childhood

Author's Note: Any elvish in this book is probably not gonna be accurate. I don't claim to know how to speak it. I'll just be putting words I know into sentences. They're probably not going to be structured right. If you know how the sentence should be written, feel free to leave a comment with the correct sentence.

Also, this book is set 773 years(or almost cause this is set in October and it won't be officially 773 years til January) before the War of the Ring.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that can be found in The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit (movies or books). Any characters not found in either of those I do own, however. Please do not steal them.

Year 2,245, Third Age

Tauriel gazed out over the canopy of the forest. The colors of the autumn leaves blended together into a beautiful work of art. From her perch atop one of her favorite trees, Tauriel had an excellent view.  She breathed in the crisp October air. Everything was perfect today. The wind gently pushed against her face, picking up her long red hair and stretching it out far behind her. In all of her 2,158 years, she had never grown used to seeing the forest in all its glory. Every time she saw it she found herself as entranced as the last.

Far away she heard a horn call, faint, but clear as spring water. She sighed and slipped off of her branch and began to descend the tree. That was the fifteen-minute warning before the great front gates of the palace were closed. She could still get in easily by a side door by evading the guards, or by climbing one of the trees and jumping onto a balcony somewhere, but she was a member of the 167th company and every day, at sunset, just after the great gates were closed, the 167th would line up for inspection. To be late would mean punishment and Tauriel knew better than to anger Captain Talidar. She had worked too hard to gain the position she was in to risk losing it. Even if that position was merely a simple soldier.

She entered the palace through one of the lower doors and made her way to her room nearby. Entering it, she unslung her bow and knives and sat down on the bed. She carefully inspected her weapons making sure the knives and arrows were razor sharp and everything was polished smooth. Finished with this, she arranged her armor, only a light leather chest guard and vambraces, picked up her weapons and walked to the 2nd courtyard.

It wasn't really much of a courtyard, more like a huge room on the second level of the palace. On the level above the dungeons and below the soldier's quarters. It was used for military purposes because it was on the same level as the armory and all the training facilities.

After the inspection, Tauriel made her way back to her room. As she was ascending the staircase to the next floor, she heard her name shouted from far above.

"Tauriel!"

She looked up and grinned. Prince Legolas stood on one of the balconies, five levels above her. She waved and gestured with her hand toward the hallway leading to her room. Legolas nodded and disappeared from view. Tauriel continued to her room. Not long after she got there, Legolas arrived, panting, at her door.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you run all the way down?"

"Yeah," he said breathlessly. He plopped down on a chair.

Tauriel rolled her eyes and laughed. "What did you call me for?"

"The sky is so clear tonight, I was wondering if you wanted to watch for shooting stars."

Tauriel glanced at the clock on her bedside table. "I have second watch at the north gate at ten so I'll have to be back by then."

"It's only seven now. We have plenty of time." Legolas stood up and held the door open. "Shall we?"