In the Ruins//Legolas

Chapter 13; Doing the Right Thing

Orcs were already swarming Dale when Durion rushed in. Immediately upon his arrival he beheaded two orcs chasing after a screaming woman.

"Gandalf!" Bilbo screams and Durion turns around in fear that the hobbit is in danger. He sighs as he sees him standing in relative safety at the wall. "It's Thorin!" Both Gandalf and Durion squint up where the hobbit is pointing. They see four mountain goats scaling the side of a mountain, each carrying one dwarf.

"And Fili, Kili and Dwalin. He's taking his best warriors!" Gandalf smiles as he sees that Thorin must have finally come to his senses.

"To do what?"

"To cut the head off the snake."

"Gandalf!" A new voice calls, being accompanied by clapping of hooves.

"Legolas... Legolas Greenleaf!" Gandalf smiles and glances at Durion, who stiffened upon hearing the prince's voice.

"There is a second army! Bolg leads a force of Gundabad orcs. They are almost upon us!"

"Gundabad...This was their plan all along. Azog engages our forces, then Bolg seeps in from the north."

"Wha...the north...where is the north, exactly?!"

"Ravenhill." Mumbles Durion and turns to look at the mountain side the dwarves were climbing.

"Ravenhill...Thorin is up there! And Fili and Kili- they're all up there!" Bilbo panics and Gandalf rushes over to a familiar face.

"My lord, dispatch this force to Ravenhill! The dwarves are about to be overrun. Thorin must be warned." Gandalf pleads Thranduil.

"By all means, warn him. I have spent enough Elvish blood in defense of this accursed land. No more!" Thranduil storms away and Durion feels anger bubble up inside him.

"You can't be serious!" He yells and runs after the king. Thranduil ignores him, but as he rounds a corner, he is stopped by Tauriel, standing in his way with tears in her eyes.

"You will go no further." She tells him in elvish. "You will not turn away, not this time!" Her voice shakes and Durion stands next to her, glaring daggers at the king.

"Get out of my way!" He shouts at them.

"The dwarves will be slaughtered!"

"Yes, they will die. Today, tomorrow, one year hence, a hundred years from now. What does it matter? They are mortal." The king slowly approaches them and they raise their weapons at the same time. Durion his sword and Tauriel her bow.

"And you think you're worth more because of it?! You, who hides in his dark, infested forest not caring for what goes behind your borders unless it serves you or your kingly ego! And do you dare to guess what happens when you need help the most? You will end up cold, dead and alone. With no one who loves you and no one to love." Durion hisses, white-knuckling the handle of his weapon.

"You think your life is worth more than theirs, while there is no love in it? There is no love in you!" Tauriel joins him and then Thranduil snaps. He swings his sword and cuts through Tauriel's bow. Durion's own sword flies from his hand and clatters to the ground a few steps away from them. Durion steps in front of Tauriel as the king goes to point his sword at her neck. The new cut on his collarbone starts bleeding under the tip of the weapon.

"What do you know of love?! Nothing! What you feel for that dwarf is not real! You think it is love?! Are you ready to die for it?!" The king shouts at Tauriel, looking back and forth between the two elves. Then, another sword lays upon Thranduil's and pushes it away from Durion's skin. The dark-haired elf releases a relieved breath.