The Odyssey of the daughter of the forest

Chapter 3 :The Desolation of Smaug

Tauriel cut the Athelas leaves in a little receptacle, held by the little girl. On the same time, the dwarves carried Kili and put him on the table, on the center of the room.

Then she told to the dwarves to hold him strongly.

They tried to hold him so he could not move anymore but his leg hurt him so much that he was moving in all direction , screaming of pain. Tauriel hold his leg while she watched the injury. Her blood immediately ran cold. The entire area around the wound was black. She tried to not show her concern to the dwarves, in particular to one of them, the blond hair one, who was standing near Kili's head. They were all waiting for her finding, but she did not say it loudly. She had to be quick if she wanted to save him. So Tauriel began to pronounce the words that she had heard so many times Feriel say in her presence, when she was just a child, while she was pressing in her hands the precious leaves.

'' What grace is given to me, let it pass to him. Let him be spared. ''

Next, the red-hair elf put the green leaves on the dwarf's wound, while he was moving with more strength than before. The young girl came to help them the hold Kili and she asked her little sister to do the same thing.

'' Tilda ! ''

Tauriel repeated one more time her prayer to the Valar, louder.

'' What grace is given to me, let it pass to him. Let him be spared. ''

She repeated it again and again. She did not stop to press the Athelas leaves on the dwarf's wound. When she turned her head to Kili, she saw that he was looking at her, as she was herself a Valar and he was rambling incoherently. He had the pallid face, sweaty.

When she finished her prayers, she took a peace of cloth and wrapped the dwarf's leg with it.

'' Tauriel...'' she heard in her back.

She turned around, worry about the dwarf.

'' Still'', she told him.

''You can not be her. She is far away. She is far, far away from me. She walks in starlight, in another world. It was just a dream. ''

She starting to think that the dwarf was not himself when she felt his fingers tried to catch her in a desperate movement.

'' Do you think she could love me ?'' He asked her.

His question caught off guard. Did she love him ? Could she love him ? In reality, she did not love him. She appreciated as a friend, as someone you have to take care of. Then, her King's word came back to her. And Legolas ? Did he love her ? Yes. She saw his love for her in his eyes when he called her name before going after the orcs. And her, did she love him ? She had always considered him as a friend. But, perhaps he was more than just a friend today. Much more.

Her heart was racing , trying to separate real feelings and wrong one. Trying to separate love and friendship. However, she tried to find the right words to answer to the dwarf's question.

She was about to answer him when an earthquake shook the house. Everybody seemed to be afraid, because they did not know yet from where was coming the big noise. Some of Laketown's inhabitants were standing outside their house, looking at the lonely mountain. Tauriel got out to, to check what was going on. All around her, the people were fleeding the town in small ships, yelling and screaming in fear. What she saw after dissipated her doubts. A dark shape, in the air, was coming closer to the city. Smaug was out of the mountain.

Remembering the damage he had caused, she came back to the house. The only way to survive was to flee.

'' We have no time. We must leave'', she ordered.