It was strange, whenever Tauriel thought of someone being stabbed she imagined them feeling unbearable pain.

Yet to her surprise she felt nothing as the sword went through her, only shock that it had happened.

She tried to focus on something, anything, but all she could see was white, and she could feel nothing.

Not the cold, the wind, or the blood that began to flow out of her.

There was nothing but silence, it was almost peaceful. She wanted to stay in this place, of warmth and light.

Oblivious to everything else around her, where she felt no pain.

Something poked the back of her mind, a sharp jab reminding her of what she would be leaving behind of she stayed.

Legolas....
I cannot leave him....

She forced herself to awake from her daze, pain suddenly spread throughout her body as she became aware of what had truly happened.

She had been stabbed; she was dying. What about Legolas? Where was he?

Tauriel struggled to turn her head, unaware of what was preventing her from doing so.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him. Standing in shock and grief as he watched her life slowly bleed out of her.

She knew she was fading, she couldn't hold on for much longer.

But she couldn't leave him like this, she needed to feel his arms around her one last time.

Hear his calm, strong voice tell her that he loved her, and kiss him so that he knew she loved him back.

She tried to speak, to tell him that she loved him, but she couldn't.

And the realization of it brought tears to her eyes.

She was leaving him, and there was nothing either of them could do about it.

Tauriel felt herself falling, but it seemed as if a decade had passed before she hit the cold ground.

She lay there with her eyes fixed on the sky, grey clouds covered the sun and snow flakes began to fall, landing on her face and hair.

She felt each one as it settled for only a moment, and then disappeared forever.

This was it, she could feel the life leaving her body. Her spirit would abandon her broken body and go to the Halls of Mandos, where she would remain until the breaking of the world.

But Legolas, she would be leaving him without even saying goodbye. She couldn't do that to him, she had to hold on.

Just for a little longer....

»»»»

Legolas had never known it possible for time to slow down, but it did.

The moment Bolg plunged his sword into Tauriel time had seemed to freeze as Legolas saw the bloodied tip of the sword emerge from Tauriel's back.

He couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't move.

He could only watch in horror as the one who meant more to him than anything else began to slowly bleed out in front of him.

Bolg slid the sword out of her, it glistened with blood as he held it up in his direction. Allowing him to see what he had done.

Legolas refused to look at the bloodied weapon, his eyes were locked onto Tauriel as Bolg still held her suspended in the air.

He could see her trying to move her head, but could only succeed and moving her eyes.

They were pained, grieving, the light that had been in them was dimming.

She opened her mouth, trying to tell him something, but couldn't.
Tears rolled down her face as Legolas' eyes began to fill with his own.

Bolg released his hold on her and Legolas watched as her body struck the ground.

He choked on a sob as she lay motionless on the bare rock, her breathing becoming slower and slower with each passing moment.

His eyes slowly turned from Tauriel and focused on Bolg. The orc was approaching him with his weapon raised, a single smirk from the monster was what snapped Legolas out of his grief.

Now there was only anger. He gripped the handles of his knives so hard that his knuckles turned white.

With tears and fire in his eyes he screamed in fury and charged at the orc.

Bolg raised his sword to meet Legolas' knives, and was startled as Legolas shoved him back with more strength than Bolg had ever seen before in an elf.

Soon the orc could do nothing but try and block Legolas' blows. The elf was hurricane, lashing out at Bolg with everything he had.

He slashed one knife across Bolg's arm, and the other was thrust into the orc's shoulder.

The beast roared as the knife became firmly lodged into its shoulder.

Legolas didn't give it time to recover as he continued pushing him back towards the edge of the cliff.

Bolg struggled to keep his balance, but all it took was a powerful kick to the orc's knees and a knife being thrown into his chest that brought the orc down.

Legolas shoved the creature off the edge of the cliff, its enraged roar echoing from the grey fog below.

Legolas searched for any sign of the orc but the snow blocked any view of what lay below. With nothing else to look for he turned away from the cliff and ran to Tauriel's side.

»»»»

"Tauriel!"
Legolas knelt beside her and gently lifted her into his arms.
"Legolas?"
Her voice was weak, and her skin was pale, but she was still alive.

"You will be alright, do you hear me?"
He held her close as he pressed his forehead against her hair.
"You will live, I will take care of you."

His body began to tremble as she tried to say something, but was too weak to say it.

"I love you Tauriel, please don't leave me. I need you."
Tauriel's breathing grew slower. Tears began to fall from Legolas' eyes.

He continued to hold her, assuring her that he was still there, that he wouldn't leave her.

"Legolas...."
He stifned at the weakness in her voice, it was as if she had been conserving all of her strength in order to ask one last request of him.
"Will you.... Sing.... For me...."

Legolas nodded as he gripped her hand. It was almost cold.
He cleared his throat and pushed his grief aside, if she wanted him to sing for her than he would.

You are not bound to loss and silence.

For you are not bound to the circles of this world.

All things must pass away.

All life is doomed to fade.

Sorrowing you must go....

Legolas stopped. Tauriel's hand had becoming as cold as stone, and she no longer breathed.

"Tauriel?"
He whispered her name, but there was no reply.
"Tauriel!"

She was gone, his fire, his light, was dead.

He cried out in grief as he held her body close to him. His world came crashing down around him, the one thing he'd had to live for was gone.

He had promised to keep her safe, to protect her from harm. He only got to know was real love was for less than a day.

And now it was gone, he would never love again. His heart had been broken.

He was unaware of someone coming up behind him, if he had turned around he would have seen him coming but he was oblivious to his surroundings.

Something grabbed him from behind and lifted him into the air. He had no time to react to what had happened as he was suddenly thrown onto the ground.

His head was spinning as a familiar figure loomed over him.

Bolg.