Legolas and Tauriel: What I Did For Love

31: Meeting Again

[Tauriel POV]

There's nothing quite like the feeling of seeing the home you had longed for in front of you. Add to that the feeling of knowing who you would have to see almost every day inside that home and you'll get exactly how I was feeling as I sat on my horse, just outside Mirkwood forest.

To be sure, I still had days of travel left since the fortress was on the other side of the wood, but the minute I stepped inside, I would be home.

Home.

The word echoed in my mind and I savored it. Then I urged my horse forwards. I immediately felt the difference. The air was stuffier and the light was gloomy, yet I loved it. I laughed out loud and the guards that sat on the platform high in the trees, watching the entrance where the road entered the forest, stared at me. With a wave, I trotted off.

As I crossed the forest river, preparatory to entering the stables, I quivered with suppressed excitement. Inside, I was glad to find my old stall unoccupied and I made my horse comfortable inside. Finished with this, I proceeded to the throne room, carefully watching for certain a prince with blonde hair. Thankfully, there was no sign of him and I made it to the throne room without mishap.

I bowed low as I entered. Thranduil was overjoyed to see me.

"Tauriel!" He strode forward and gave me a huge hug.

"It's good to see you," I said.

"I hoped you'd come, but I wasn't sure if you would want to."

"Well, I didn't at first, but the more I thought about it, the less I could resist." I stopped and gazed about me. "I'd forgotten how beautiful it is here."

He smiled. "Yes." Then he leaned forward and said in a low voice, "You picked a good time to come. He is away for a few days, hunting down south. It'll give you a few days to adjust."

"Thanks," I answered. "It's almost as if you planned it that way."

I was so thankful over the next few days that Legolas was away. It was hard at first, living there, remembering all the places I used to go to and the things I did there, but I got used to it after a while. Thranduil tried to give me a room in the higher levels and, after she'd gotten over her initial joy of having me back, Neniel tried to make me accept. But higher levels meant a higher chance of seeing Legolas and that was the last thing I wanted. Besides, I was much more comfortable in my old room. It was cozy and familiar and, since Legolas had hardly ever been in my room, there were almost no memories of him there.

I resumed my duties almost immediately and boy were there a lot of them. Spider's nest had sprung up almost everywhere and to make matters worse, we had to be constantly on the lookout for rogue bands of orcs.

Nearly a week after I returned, I was standing in the center of the throne room, giving my report to the king. I had just finished when there was a slight commotion at the entrance where the long winding root-bridge connected to the platform. Turning, I saw the guards saluting the prince.

He was just about to greet his father when he saw me. "You!"

I started at him. "Me." Then, with a bow to him and the king, I brushed past him.

"What's she doing here?" I heard him ask Thranduil.

Pausing, I waited for his reply. "She's new."

"Obviously."

Thranduil sighed. "I heard while we were in Rivendell that she was an expert at the things I need her for."

"Need her for?"

"She's the new Captain of the Guard."

"The what? She's a nurse!"

I could hear the frustration in Thranduil's voice as he answered. "There's much more to her than that. Surely you've discovered that by now."

"Well, yes, but entrusting the safety of Mirkwood to her. You don't know her that well."

"She lived here once."

There was silence, then: "Here?"

"Legolas."

"Yes?"

"I know what I'm doing."

"Of course. I apologize." I heard the formality enter his voice. He was angry that his father did not explain more thoroughly but was unwilling to take it farther. He knew his temper would not hold and he wanted to avoid making a scene in front of the guards.

I heard footsteps coming towards me and I hurried away. I didn't need an encounter with him just now.

But I knew one was bound to happen sooner or later. Unfortunately, it happened sooner. He caught up to me one day, walking in the woods. I was near what had been our tree and I was very glad he hadn't found me in it. I didn't know if he remembered it or not but if he did, I wouldn't want to be caught sitting in what he considered to be his personal tree.

"Hey, don't you owe me an explanation?" he asked.

I tried to read his face but it was guarded. So I kept walking. "Do I?"

"Um, yeah. You just show up out of nowhere and my father won't give a satisfactory explanation. That means you're up."

"If your father chose not to tell you something, it is not for me to fill in the gap."

"When the something concerns you, you have a right to say it."

I was silent.

"I could order you to say," he said.

In a flash, I turned on him. "Since when did Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood, take advantage of his rank?"

[Legolas POV]

Startled, I held up my hands. "Hey, hey, sorry.  I meant it as a joke." Since when was she so touchy?  Then I almost laughed. It was a strange thing to think when I had only know her a few months in Rivendell.

"Listen," she answered. "I told you I was more than a nurse, right? That's all you need to know. Now, I'm the Captain of the Guard."

"Wait. My father said that you used to live here. Is this where that guy you were telling me about lives?"

She glared at me. "I would thank you not to mention that again.

Oops. Of course, that would be a painful subject. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."

She relaxed. "Thank you."

A horn sounded and she glanced at the sky in alarm. "Is it that late already? I need to go. I've got inspections to make." And she ran off.

I watched her as she went and she reminded me of... and the memory left. What had she reminded me of? I racked my brain for the next hour before finally laughing it off. It would come to me.