Tauriel crept quietly out of the palace and into the shadows of the forest. She carried two knives that she had "borrowed" from the armoury.

She had found them a few weeks after she had arrived in the palace, they had been dull and no one seemed to have missed them, so she saw nothing wrong with her using them.

Although she wasn't supposed to be using them, she was a healer and had no reason to be training or learning how to use a weapon.

Tauriel had her reasons though, and most of them revolved around her hatred for orcs.

Tauriel gripped her knives tighter as her thoughts drifted back to that one night.

The night her life changed forever....

She lay against the trunk of a tree, multiple cuts and bruises covered her arms and face.

She was cold, and continued to bleed from her wounds.
She was dying...

She was barely aware of a figure kneeling in front of her, calling out to her in a soft voice.

"Are you alright? Can you hear me?"
She couldn't answer, she was too weak.
"We are bringing you somewhere safe. You don't have to be afraid, what is your name?"

Her name....
She could barely remember anything....
What was her name?

It came to her slowly as she was lifted up gently by the elves of Mirkwood.

"Tauriel."
She whispered hoarsely.
"My name is Tauriel."

That had been all she remembered. Feren had been the one to assume that orcs had been responsible for her injuries and that was what Tauriel believed.

Why she couldn't remember anything remained a mystery. She remembered being attacked, and someone trying to help her, but that was it.

Tauriel had awoken in the forest alone and severly injured. It had been a miracle that she had been found by Feren and his guard.

Since no one had come searching for her Thranduil had allowed her to stay in the palace. She had shown a talent for healing and he had placed her under the care of Arianel.

Even though she was becoming an accomplished healer, she couldn't rest knowing that there was a chance that orcs had murdered her family.

I had to have had one....
A mother and a father, maybe even a brother or sister.

Had one of them been trying to save her from the orcs? Had they been killed trying?

With those thoughts constantly present in her mind Tauriel had harbored a deep hatred for all orcs. One that ran deeper than that of the other elves.

Once she had acquired her knives she began sneaking off into the forest to train with them. As soon as she was ready she would go off to hunt and kill any orc she came across.

That was what fueled her fire, her desire for revenge. Orcs had taken her away from a family she didn't even remember, a family who had probably loved her enough to give their lives for her.

I promise I will not let your deaths be for nothing.

Tauriel entered the clearing she came to every night and drew her knives. She had been watching the guards train for months and copied what she learned on her own.

She positioned herself in the way she had seen the guards do it and swung her knives through the air.

Spinning and twisting her body she practiced attacking and defending herself from any foes who would attack her.

Her hair whipped around her like dancing flames, her movements were quick and graceful just like the other elves.

"You are weak."
The sudden statement made Tauriel drop her knives in shock. She whipped around and searched for the source of the voice.

"Who's there?"
She called out nervously.
A silver figure dropped gracefully out of a tree and onto the grass.

His feet made no sound as he landed and walked towards her.
Tauriel's mouth dropped open in shock as she found herself once again face to face with the prince.

"You are weak."
He repeated his statement as his blue eyes drifted towards the knives she had dropped.

"Do enjoy sneaking up on people?"
She snapped as she retrieved the fallen knives.
"What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be in the palace instead of following me into the forest?"

"Following you? Milady I have been here since the sun set earlier today. In fact I should be asking you; what are you doing here alone in the middle of the night with two stolen knives?"

Tauriel's face turned pale at his words.
"How do you know that they are stolen?"
"Because they are the same ones I used to train with when I was young."

Can this day get any worse?
Here you are once again disrespecting the prince and now you have stolen his knives.

"Why are you teaching yourself how to fight?"
The prince asked tilting his head slightly to the side.
"That is none of your concern."
Tauriel snapped.

What is wrong with you? Can't you learn to control yourself?

"It is my concern. Considering that you are too weak to last long against a single orc. A wounded one at that."

Tauriel glared at the prince, not caring whether he was one or not.

"Do you have anything better to do than insult me?"
"I do, I should be helping you instead of wasting your time talking."

Tauriel couldn't believe her ears. Had he just said that he was going to help her?

"I can take one look at you and decide that you are not a threat to me."
The prince suddenly drew two knives from their sheeth on his back and positioned himself in a defensive crouch.

Tauriel copied his movements and crouched the same way, with her knives pointed up and ready to attack.

The two elves slowly began to circle; moonlight shone down on them creating the illusion that the two elves were glowing.

"I can also tell that you are young, inexperienced, and of course weak."
The prince continued, annoying Tauriel even more than she already was with his behavior.

"I could easily kill you without wasting a heartbeat."
The prince locked eyes with Tauriel, his blue eyes burned into her green ones.

Without warning he sprang at her, Tauriel just managed to spring out of the way before he could strike her with his knives.

"That was good."
He commented resuming his crouch.
"Your opponet will always be looking for strengths and weaknesses and you should do the same."

The prince began circling her again and she followed suit. It seemed as if they were performing a dance, their movements were silent and graceful, neither one of them made any sound as they stepped lightly on the grass.

"You may be weak but you are also fast, and agile. Use that to your advantage. Now tell me what you can about me. What are my strengths and weaknesses?"

Tauriel studied him closely, she also thought about his recent attack and how he had moved against her.

"You are older than I am, and far more experienced."
She began.
"You are also stronger and have better weapons than I do."

The prince nodded his approval.
"Use that knowledge to aid you in your attacks. How can you beat someone who is stronger and more experienced than you?"

Before Tauriel could even consider thinking about how she could do that the prince attacked again. She managed to spin out of the way once again, only this time the prince didn't stop his attack.

He continued to swing his knives at her and she continued to dodge, spin, and leap out of the way every single time.

The prince finally stopped his attacks and Tauriel paused to catch her breath.

"Normally you should have been attacking me by now."
Tauriel listened for any sign of mockery in his voice but found none.

"Sometimes you will not be able to stand against your opponet and will have to flee. There is no shame in running from someone you cannot fight alone."

Tauriel arched an eyebrow skeptically as the prince gave her a new challenge.

"Try to reach that tree behind me. Remember, some enemies will not be interested in allowing their opponet to run. You will have to rely on your speed and agility to escape."

Tauriel assesed the prince's movements. They were almost cat-like as he mimicked her footsteps while she paced back and forth.

If I try to go around him he will surely be able to catch me. He said I needed to rely on my speed and agility, but why not the element of surprise?

Tauriel gripped her knives and ran to the left, just like she had expected the prince ran to block her.

Instead of trying to dodge the prince she ran right into him, nearly knocking him off balance.

He was startled but recovered just in time to try and grab her, but she easily spun out of his arms and ran towards the tree he had pointed out.

She quickly scaled the tree and perched herself onto the lowest branch, which hung a good ten feet off the ground.

Tauriel panted as she caught her breath. Her heart was racing in excitement at what she had just done.

I did it! I actually did it!

"Impressive."
The prince said sheething his knives.
"Although next time I would not recommend dropping your weaons as you climb to safety. You would have nothing to defens yourself with should you be caught."

Tauriel's face turned red in embarassment as the prince retrieved her- well, his knives from the ground.

He gripped them both tightly in one hand and skillfully climbed up the tree and settled himself on the branch next to Tauriel.

She felt a bit uncomfortable being that close to the king's son and refused to meet his gaze.

"You learn fast. With enough training you will become part of the Forest Guard in no time at all."

Tauriel whipped her head around to face him as her eyes widened in surprise.

"What makes you think that I want to join the Forest Gaurd?"
"The fact that you are out here training yourself how to fight."

Right...

The prince smiled slightly in amusement.
"It is not common that elleths are a part of the Forest Guard, and there is nothing against it either. But why do you train by yourself instead of the other elves?"

Tauriel sighed as her mind raced to come up with an answer. She didn't want to lie to him, after all he had been kind enough to help her, and he was the prince.

"I am not training to join the Guard."
She said simply.
"I am learning how to fight so that I can kill orcs."

Tauriel glanced at the prince, searching his gaze and waiting for him to make a caustic remark at her reason, yet all she found were curious, saphire eyes looking back at her.

There was something else in his eyes, but Tauriel could not name what it was. Instead she continued explaining her need to be able to fight.

"Orcs killed my family and took me away from my home. They beat me and left me for dead in this forest. It was only because of the grace of your father that I am here now."

"He took me in and allowed me to stay but the other elves treat me as an outsider. I am not one of them and I never will be. Once I learn how to fight I will leave this place and hunt down every orc I can find."

Tauriel finished and narrowed her eyes at the prince. Waiting for him to laugh or judge her for her thoughts and plans.

Instead all she got were five simple words:
"I know how you feel."
That had been the last thing Tauriel had expected to hear from him.

That was when she truly studied his eyes, the curiosity from earlier was gone and she now recognized what it was that she had seen before.

Reflected in his eyes was sadness, deep and heartbreaking grief was stored inside of him and he had kept it hidden all this time from his people and his father.

So why did he reveal it now? And to her of all people?

"Orcs are responsible for my brother's death, and my mother's."
The prince's voice was edged with sorrow, and Tauriel felt as if her own heart would break listening to it.

"I do not remember anything about my mother. The orcs took her away from me and I never had the chance to know what it was like to have a mother to look after me and care for me."

"And my brother was all I had, my father ignored me after my mother died and my brother looked after me. He protected me and watched over me, and his love for me cost him his life."

The prince turned away from her and looked up at the moon.
"I miss him."
He whispered, his voice choked with grief as he closed his eyes and hung his head.

Without thinking about it Tauriel placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. He tensed at her touch, and then relaxed.

They remained that way for what seemed like hours to Tauriel. Finally the prince opened his eyes and turned towards Tauriel.

"Thank you."
He said softly.
Tauriel nodded and removed her hand. The two elves returned to sitting in silence, watching as the moon slowly made its journey across the sky.

It wasn't until the first signs of dawn approaching that one of them spoke again.

"We should return to the palace before my father realizes that we are gone."

Tauriel had almost forgotten about the king and followed the prince as he leapt out of the tree.

They walked side by side in silence. Both of them thinking about what the other had told them.

We have more in common than I realized.

Tauriel glanced at the prince as he walked. Everything about him reminded her of the king. His golden hair, the way he walked, and his eyes.

Except the king's eyes were hard and cold, like ice. The prince's were cold too, but softer.

Before they reached the palace the prince stopped and handed Tauriel the knives she had dropped.

"Keep them. They can be yours now."
Tauriel tried to keep her hands from shaking as she took them.
"Are you sure?"
"I have no need for them anymore. They are yours, take them to the smiths and ask them to sharpen the blades for you. If anyone questions you tell them that I gave them to you as a gift."

"Why would you give me these for a gift?"
"It is my way of welcoming you to your new home."

With that the prince turned and headed towards the palace. Before he could disappear inside she called out, "Tauriel!"

The prince stopped and faced her in confusion.
"I never told you my name, it is Tauriel."

The prince smiled.
"Legolas."
He turned once again and entered the palace, leaving Tauriel standing alone with the knives he had given her.

"Legolas."
She whispered the name to herself as she watched him vanish from her sight.

She carried the name in her heart as she walked as if in a dream back to the palace.

Legolas...