Legolas and Tauriel: What I Did For Love

10: She Left

A/N: Just one thing. If you don't know where Dorwinion is, look it up. But I'm warning you, there are a lot of different explanations. :)

[Legolas POV]

I spent the next hour after the trial trying to cool off. It didn't help much, but it did a little. I decided I needed to talk to the king. There was a small chance that he hadn't absolutely gone crazy enough to go against his own law. So I headed to his rooms where he was sure to be.

His rooms were in what was sort of the 'royal quarters'. My rooms were right next to his. Right across the hall, in fact.

I knocked and at his command entered. When I entered I just stood there with my arms crossed, glaring.

My father sighed. "Legolas, I know what you're thinking. But she was guilty. You're lucky I didn't have her executed on the spot. And I had her banished instead for you, by the way."

"Guilty? You know as well as I do that she wasn't. And you couldn't prove it! You had one witness! Only one! And you just showed to your entire kingdom that you would break your own laws just because you unjustly hate someone. Last I checked, only selfish kings did that."

"Enough!" the king shouted, his icy eyes tried to pierce holes through me.

"You once treated Tauriel like a daughter," I said, keeping my voice low and controlled. "And now what do you do? You turn around and stab her in the back. And why? Because she loves me and I love her!"

Thranduil's fists clenched and I could see the muscles on his neck working. "You don't know what real love feels like."

"Don't I? It sure felt like I did when I felt the agony of seeing her alone in a cell, starving to death because of the insolent cruelty of your ignorant secretary."

"That's not all there is to love."

"I know that. But I wouldn't have felt agony if love wasn't there."

"Infatuation, Legolas. It will soon wear off and leave you feeling very embarrassed that you're making such a fuss over this."

I narrowed my eyes. "We'll see about that." I turned to leave.

"I forbid you to follow her tomorrow," said the king. "And just to let you know, Worril isn't my secretary anymore. He's the new Captain of the Guard."

I stopped dead. "What? That man has almost no military experience."

My father waved a hand in dismissal. "He has enough."

With one last volcanic look, I left. Now I knew for sure my father had gone mad. Worril as Captain of the Guard? Mirkwood wouldn't last a week with him in that position.

Unfortunately for Worril, I ran into him almost immediately after my conversation with my father. We locked eyes and Worril smiled a lizard-like smile. My temper snapped and, grabbing him by the throat, and pinned him to the wall.

"You'd better watch your back," I said. Not the smartest thing to say, considering his new rank, but I couldn't help myself.

His lips parted in that grotesque grin again. "You wouldn't dare touch me. I'm one of the king's favorites."

That wasn't strictly true. He knew as well as I did that if I got angry enough I wouldn't care who's favorite he was. I wouldn't hesitate.

"You do anything else and I'll make sure you pay." My eyes bored into his and though the smile stayed on his face, fear had crept into his eyes.

I held his gaze for a moment more before letting him go abruptly. He fell forward, landing in a heap, his hair moving and revealing his ears which were always covered in some way.