Legolas approached the elves guarding the entrance to the Woodland Realm.

"Holo in ennyn! Tiro i defnin hain na ganed en-Aran."

{"Close the gate! Keep it sealed by order of the King."

As he turned to walk away, one of the guards called out, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Man os Tauriel?"

{"What about Tauriel?"

"Man os sen?" Legolas enquired, uncertain of what the guard meant.

{"What about her?"

The guard took a step toward Legolas sheepishly, "Edevín eb enedhor na gû a megil. En ú-nandollen."

{"She went into the forest armed with her bow and blade. She has not returned."

As Legolas walked toward the gate, the guard raised his hand to gesture out toward the forest.

A nervous chill manifested inside Legolas's heart. He knew the king would not be as gracious about the situation as he was.

***

While I was mulling over my decision, my ears pricked up at the sound of delicate footfalls, it was a pleasant change from the thundering feet of dwarves. At least there was one benefit to my predicament.

"Ferui!" Legolas hissed, "uta de, sinome." he thrust out a hand to help me up.

{"Quickly! Get up, here."

"Ias naa lye gwa-ien?" I asked. I wasn't exactly planning this to be my escape.

{"Where are we going?"

"Dha n'uma lû danhir" Legolas tugged on my arm, pulling me out of my cell and down the winding paths and down into the deep.

{"There is no time to lose."

This time, I did not end up in the cellar, instead, Legolas had led me to a storage room of sorts.

"This is where we store all the old weapons, none will be missed," I didn't like what he was suggesting, "Take anything."

I scanned over all of the rusty metal and damp leather in the hopes of finding the warm glint of familiarity before settling on a simple "No." There was nothing here I could want.

"Rhaich!" He swore exasperatedly, "What are you doing?" He demanded.

"I am not going anywhere without my own weapons." These swords hadn't seen a grindstone in centuries. I would have been more effective with a branch.

"Varda's stars! You are irritating." He didn't move.

I planned to be as stubborn as possible whether he liked it or not. I stood in place, not moving, and stared straight into his eyes until he broke. Throwing his arms up, he stormed out of the room. Slightly more pleased, I stayed put, worried that any sound would give me away. Then a few minutes later he returned fully kitted out with his own armour and weapons. In his arms were my sword and ashen bow and also a set of light armour. It was worn but still effective. After pulling the light armour over my clothes, I sheathed my sword and was ready for whatever was next.

"lava lye auta." He turned to leave once more, and I followed.

{"Let's go."

We climbed up the maze of roots and platforms until we reached the surface level of the kingdom, there was a giant towering set of doors which blocked out all light from the other side. I recognised this as the entrance to Mirkwood.

"Panta i' ando!" Legolas commanded as we strode down the hall.

{"Open the Gate!"

A guard emerged from the darkness "nan' ed' i' aran naia..."

{But by the king's order..."

"Lle will panta i' ando ten' amin ar' sina edhel. ta naa i' aran naia." Legolas interrupted sternly. I shot a glance at him, was this a lie?

{"You will open the gate for me and this elf, it is the king's command."

"Athon, amin heru" the guard answered.

{Yes, my lord."

The other guard stepped forward, "Amin thel- tog lle roch, amin heru."

{"I will fetch your horse, my lord."

"tog er ten' he' eithro." Legolas nodded in gesture, towards me.

{"Bring one for her too."

We were then escorted out of the gate before being shut out.

"I have my own horse." I pointed out, "I can call him."

"He won't find you here," a hint of smugness coloured his voice, "That forest is a labyrinth, if you had not already figured that out."

Score 1 to prince pompous.

"What are you planning my lord?" The smallest hint of sarcasm coloured my words. I wasn't sure what could have changed his mind so easily.

"You may address me as Legolas," He was beginning to trust me then, "Tauriel has disobeyed and is unlikely to be able to return."

"But what role do we play in this?"

"We are simply going to convince her to return before it is too late." His iron clad resolve faltered slightly as he spoke. That was a lie then. He didn't require me to return his guard captain. I somehow felt that he was also lying to himself.

"Very well." I would find out eventually. Best to quit while you are ahead I suppose.

We mounted our horses and cantered off towards the river.

***

Some time had passed and we had returned to the river's edge and had begun to follow it out of Mirkwood. The twisted roots and airtight leaf coverage seemed to soften into what I assumed was it's old, more welcoming self. Soft orange and golden leaves floated and drifted in the light breeze, reflecting and contrasting the brilliant blue of the stream to our left.

Soon after, the sun fell behind the forest once more so we set up camp. I untacked the horses and bedded them down while Legolas fetched wood to burn for a small fire.

Drawing words from Legolas was more difficult than bleeding a stone and I had become impatient. More so than the last time. At the very least, I deserved a better explanation.

"Where will we find her anyway?" It's not like she left a note.

"She will be pursuing the orcs which will in turn lead her to the dwarven company," I elected to ignore his sour tone, "If we follow the trail, we will catch up to her."

"She is on foot," I stated in agreement.

He nodded and completed my reasoning, "and we are on horseback."

This pursuit felt too fleeting. Why go against the king and risk your own life to track down Tauriel? And to make things worse, free me? The task was easy enough. My assistance wasn't necessary. The king may have excused Legolas' rescue attempt but not his prison break. There was more at work here, and Legolas wouldn't tell me.

***

We progressed on foot, letting the horses rest.

"Lle naa legol." I murmured to myself.

{"You are running away"

He paused in his step for a mere moment and carried on.

"Man uma lle thel-?" so he was prepared to humour me for once.

{"What do you mean?"

"Lle avo thel- dadwen-" I chose my words carefully.

{"You don't intend to return"

"Lle pol- tíras," Cryptic was a new aspect of his personality that I hadn't encountered before.

{"You could be right,"

"Amman?" I had to know.

"Amin avo malia ten' ereb ai' ner." I could sense the conversation had reached its end.

{"I don't care for isolation anymore."

***

The tension between us had not fully lifted but, instead, had settled to a more manageable level. Legolas' words echoed over and over in my mind. Does this mean he wants to help? Or does he simply yearn for freedom. Either way I would accept the assistance.

Too busy contemplating my companion's motives, I had not noticed the scene before us. Animal corpses were strewn across the rocks, they must have been fresh for they didn't have a pungent stench about them. We dismounted and scouted ahead on foot.

Perched on a rock, searching the horizon was who I assumed to be Tauriel, I followed her eyeline, there was a set of structures in the middle of a lake far into the distance, the company must be headed there. Towering over it from the other side of the lake was a mountain. Magnificent and astonishing. The misty mountain. It was so close. They were almost home. I felt my lips curl up into a smile for the first time in weeks. I failed to recall the last time I smiled. But it wasn't a pure smile; sadness shone out from my eyes. It was almost over. My adventure was almost complete. I had to get a better view of my destination.

I raised my leg to step forward only to be obstructed by Legolas, bow drawn, aiming at his guard captain vigilantly. I thought they were allies.

Tauriel whipped around, drawing her bow as she turned. The rank of guard captain was certainly earned. She relaxed slightly at the sight of a familiar face, "Ingannen le Orch." Her eyes scanned Legolas before settling upon me she tensed slightly.

{"I thought you were an Orc."

Legolas responded calmly, "Cí Orch im, dangen le."

{"If I were an Orc, you would be dead."

He lowered his bow but Tauriel remained on guard, with piercing blue eyes.

"Tauriel, you cannot hunt thirty orcs on your own." Legolas tried to convince her but she was cunning.

"But I'm not on my own." She smirked devilishly.

His frown softened and he smiled "You knew I would come."

Tauriel finally relaxed and lowered her bow. I relaxed my stance too although I hadn't realised how tense I had become.

"The king is angry, Tauriel. For 600 years, my father has protected you, favoured you. You defied his orders; you betrayed his trust," Legolas tried, again, to convince her, "Dandolo na nin... e gohenatha."

{"Come back with me...he will forgive you."

I didn't understand. I thought he didn't plan on returning. He wasn't lying, was he?

"Ú-'ohenathon. Cí dadwenithon, ú-'ohenathon im." Tauriel persisted, "The king has never let orc-filth from our lands, yet he would let this orc-pack cross our borders and kill our prisoners."

{"But I will not. If I go back, I will not forgive myself."

"It is not our fight." His voice wavered.

I stood silent, in thought. Was my fate also to be determined here? Sudden realisation dawned on me, if they did return, I would also have to. I couldn't go back, I was so close to freedom. What could I say to tip the balance here?

I looked up to Tauriel for help, she ignored my plea. I was not her concern; I deduced quickly. Luckily for me, I was conveniently affected by her agenda. She wanted to leave, and I knew that Legolas wouldn't part from her easily. I simply had to help Tauriel to convince Legolas to leave.

"It is our fight. It will not end here. With every victory, this evil will grow." Tauriel was determined, "If your father has his way, we will do nothing. We will hide within our walls, live our lives away from the light, and let darkness descend. Are we not part of this world?"

"You told me you were tired of isolation," I grasped at straws, "I know that is what you truly feel."

Legolas didn't move, he still wore a conflicted frown.

"Tell me, mellon, when did we let evil become stronger than us?" Even Tauriel's words were not enough to win him over, I tried again.

"Are we not to help those in need of it?" I felt the cold, isolated dungeon close in on my mind, "You cannot hide forever, that is not living." My words quivered.

with nothing left to say, we stood in agonising silence as Legolas thought it over. Time was running out and I had to reach the dwarves. I had made a promise to Gandalf and I had failed to keep it so far. I would redeem myself. I was determined.

"Very well." Legolas finally spoke, "There is no returning from this point." He sounded defeated. It didn't seem right. One might have expected Legolas to feel liberated, perhaps clear of conscience at the very least. But he stood there, head hung low, eyes closed. It was not right and wrong to him; it was the lesser of two evils.

"Then we must depart," Tauriel didn't seem to notice. Perhaps she was too wrapped up in her own plights.

"One small problem," I started, "there are three of us, and two horses." One of us would have to share. I didn't feel entirely comfortable with that notion. It didn't take much to figure out the formation; Tauriel and Legolas would share, they trusted each other more than me. This would leave me on my own. I calculated the advantage in my head, if I was on a horse to myself, I would have the chance to slip from their grasps and re-join the company.

Unfortunately, I was too deep in thought to notice that they had decided without me.

"Tauriel will have Duin," Legolas gestured to the horse I had been riding, "We shall share Eryneth."

I was puzzled, why were we sharing?

He read my mind like an open book, "I still can't trust you."

Well, there goes my escape plan.

Speaking of plans, "What is the plan?" I felt left out, "We can't just storm in and expect to be met with a welcome embrace."

"No," Tauriel sounded offended, "We will simply watch from afar until our chance comes and we will rid this world of that Orch saw"

{"Orc filth"

Perhaps I would uphold Gandalf's request after all.

~*~

Hi! I know it's been a while. Just a few things to read here.

I'm posting this at 2am (yikes)

I wasn't actually very happy with this chapter but I think I've made you wait too long already so I will just fix it as I go.

I can't promise that I will be regularly posting from this point. I am almost 18 years old so this isn't my biggest priority anymore :( Also I have a job now as well as sixth form so I'm really busy.

I would like to think that my writing has improved but I don't really think much has changed.

Anyway I love to read your comments and stuff so please don't be shy! Let me know what you think of this story so far!