Left Behind - a Middle Earth imagine (from Instagram)

Left Behind

You stare at yourself in your mirror and pull the pins from your hair, letting your long locks fall to your shoulders. It feels so good to allow yourself to relax after a long day of being in the Royal Guard. You look down at your hand holding the sharp pins, and memories of gripping your sword for dear life during battle flashes through your mind, and the image of orc blood staining your skin. You shiver and drop the pins into a cup on your vanity, trying to shake the cold feeling of fighting from your body. The Elven army is camped just outside Laketown, since the Battle of the Five Armies just was fought the day before. Joyful celebration has been going on inside Erebor ever since the victory over Smaug and the Orcs. Everyone is thankful that the king's line wasn't wiped out, as was Azog the Defiler's plan. Although you've been training for battle since you were six, the reality of bringing mass death by your own hand is still unnerving. Suddenly you've come to the revelation that who you're killing off are still living, feeling people, and not just inanimate objects needing to be eliminated. You meet your own gaze in the mirror, and you remember gazing into the eyes of an orc as you drove your blade through his stomach. The stare that he gave you as he drew his final breath may haunt you forever.

The whirlwind of memories and emotions from the day enwraps you so deeply, that you're startled when there's a soft whisper from outside your tent. You quickly turn and stand, pulling your robe over your nightdress. "Who is it?" You call as you tie the belt around your waist.

"Its me." A familiar voice answers softly. "Is now an all right time to come in?"

You open your tent flaps to reveal an elf with long red hair and a sheepish smile. You smile back and open your door wider. "Anytime for you." Tauriel, although she outranks you and is technically your commander, you both grew up together and have been best friends for years. And though you trained together, you would easily admit that she is the better fighter, and was proud when she was promoted to Captain.

Tauriel walks into your room and sits down, giving you a huge smile once you close the door. "I have something to tell you."

You sit next to her, scooting close. "What is it?"

She smiles broadly, biting her lower lip before speaking. "Kili approached me today during the battle. He confessed his feelings for me, and he asked me to leave with him tomorrow morning!"

You gasp. "What?! Tauriel, that's wonderful... Are you going to go with him?"

Tauriel pauses, focusing on a spot on the wall. "I'm not entirely sure. I do love him Y/n. I love him more than I have ever loved anyone before. But to leave everyone I know? To leave my post as Captain, to leave my family, to leave you? I just don't know if I can do it." She turns back to you. "That's why-"

"-You've come to see me?" You finish her sentence for her. "Yes, I figured that much out already."

Tauriel sighs. "What do you suggest I do?"

You pause, carefully choosing each word in your head before speaking out loud. "Well, I think that he really does love you, if he's suggesting abandoning everything he came here for just to be with you. But I think he wants to run because he knows it's the only way you can truly be together. He cannot live with you here, and you cannot live with him in Erebor. But I think that this really shows what's in store for you both if you choose to accept his offer. Abandoning everything you once knew for each other."

She nods, her eyes growing apprehensive.

"But," you reach out and take your hand in yours, clasping it firmly. "Despite everything going against you, I love you, and I want you to be happy. So if, deep in your heart, you know that going with Kili will make you happy, then I want you to do it. I know its scary, I know its not a safe decision. But if you love him and want to be with him, you need to do this. You owe it to yourself to take a risk to be happy."