My Kili, Mellon Nin

Staying The Night

Tauriel collapsed against a birch tree. She had been carrying and caring for Kili all day. The sun had set and the darkness had engulfed them a long time ago. Kili'a wound was significantly better, although it was nowhere near  fully healed. Kili still had not awoken from his stupor. Tauriel was half thankful that he hadn't awoken and hopeful that he would wake up soon. The weight of the Dwarf prince was wearing on the she-elf's muscles.
During the day, Tauriel had finally figured out a destination for the two of them to travel. Although the place was only of myth, Tauriel had to believe that he existed and would be there. Either way, it would be a safe place for the two of them.
Something rustled near her hiding place. It had been a couple hours since she had decided to spend the night underneath the big birch. It was not the lithe steps of an approaching elf, nor the dainty steps of a wild animal slowly investigating the unusual travellers. The things approached with no reserve. By the sound of it, they were headed right towards them. Tauriel soundlessly pulled her blades from their sheaths. She stood over the unconscious dwarf, ready to protect him from anything.
The first Orc appeared from a bush not seven feet from Tauriel. She crouched and stayed out of sight while the pack of them passes. There were maybe eight in all.  The one at the front held a torch to lead the group through the dark woods. Tauriel sneakily slipped out of the brush and made their numbers dwindle down to three before she was discovered. She swung at the Orc closest to her and made contact... With his metal helmet. It wasn't exactly a helmet. The sharp metal pieces were literally embedded into the orc's head. Tauriel backed up and attempted to fight off the vile creatures. She swung, parried and dodged the blades of her three attackers. Finally her sword found the neck of one of the orcs. That left two. The were so enraged by the loss of their torch bearer that their strikes became more powerful, but that left them more vulnerable. Soon it was just one on one. Tauriel still had to slay the metal head. She parried and blocked the strokes of it's sword and delt wounds to the ugly being. That's when a dagger whizzed by her ear. It deftly clanged off of the metal pieces and fell to the ground. It distracted the Orc long enough for Tauriel to end him. The red headed elf looked over to where the dagger had come from. Kili was supporting himself solely on the tree she had left him beside. Tauriel picked up the short blade and sprinted swiftly over to him. He smiled weakly before his knees buckled. Luckily, Tauriel had been close enough to catch him before he hit the ground. She smiled as she gently set the dwarf down on the ground.
"T...Tauriel?" Kili whispered as he lifted a hand to rest it on her cheek.
"Yes, my love. You are safe now," Tauriel assured, "rest now. We have a long day of travelling ahead of us." The dwarf caressed the elf's cheek with his thumb and let his eyes close in a peaceful sleep. Tauriel made sure that he was comfortable before starting to clean her blades from the wretched black blood of the Orc creatures. She started to wonder if Kili would be strong enough to walk tomorrow, or even if he would be awake the next day. It wouldn't matter anyways. Either way, she was going to be travelling tomorrow.
Tauriel slept minimally. Every little sound made her reach for her blades. And every time, it was just some little animal scurrying or scuttling around. Her arm stung from were an Orc had landed a strike. Tauriel had healed it, but hadn't really payed attention to it until she was sitting and listening to the quietness of the forest.
A silvery white fox slinked towards the two strangers. She had been hunting when she came across the duo. Being a curious juvenile, she cautiously sniffed at the air and stared at the female. She had seen some creatures like that one walking a while ago. But none of them had had a stubbier creature with them. One had even rode an elk, but they had all been the same creatures travelling in that pack. The fox padded over to the stubby one and sniffed at his clothing. The female had seen her, and the little animal could sense the tenseness of the female. The fox looked up and the two had a staring contest. The fox gave first, looking away anxiously. She yawned and padded off.
When the dawn finally came, Tauriel repeated her morning ritual and picked up Kili to carry him. He had not stirred, probably still fatigued from throwing the dagger and standing last night after being out due to blood loss and elvish magic. The duo took off to the west. Tauriel hoped that they would reach the misty mountains soon. From there it would either be easier or harder. There was no way of truly knowing. The she-elf's senses were on full alert when the trees started to dissipate until the ground was flat. They had stumbled into a farmer's field.
After an hour of trekking through the crop, a small cottage became easy to see. Tauriel cautiously crept towards it. Maybe the people inside could help them... Somehow... But what could they do? They could possibly let the poor elf get a proper rest.
As the two neared the house, barking was audible from anywhere and everywhere. Tauriel did not let their cries rattle her and she approached the front door.
The owner of the house had heard his dogs signal to him that a stranger was on his property. He watched from the window as the figure apes red in his line of view. The creature was too slim for an Orc, but it was carrying something. The farmer left the safety of his house and stood on the porch, holding his trusty hunting bow in one hand and leaning on the guardrail with the other. Some cows called to each other and the dogs trotted over and stood in front of their master, waiting for the cue on what to do.
Tauriel noticed the man standing out front and steeled her nerves. He would not hurt Kili. Not while she could still protect him. The dogs had stopped barking and stood before the man. The she elf held the dwarf closer to her and took a deep breath.
"Who are ye an what are ye doin' on my property?" The farmer questioned Tauriel.
"My name is..." Tauriel stopped, wondering if she should tell him her real name, "my name is Tauriel. And I seemed to have wandered onto your land from the forest." She had decided to trust him. "I am just looking for a place to rest for a night. I can pay."
The man was still suspicious, and who wouldn't be? An elf just showed up from the Mirkwood forest fully equipped to go into battle and was now asking if she could pay to rest. One of the younger dogs went up to the elf and sniffed her. He wagged his tail and nudged Kili's limp hand, wanting to be petted. The rest of the dogs left the porch to smell the newcomers. The dogs wagged their tails, and the farmer gave. If the dogs liked her, she couldn't be that bad. His dogs had never steered him wrong before. Why would they now?
Tauriel had been led upstairs to a small bedroom. She set Kili down on the bed,  put her extra baggage and weapons down on the ground and descended the stairs to talk to the homeowner about payment.
Tauriel gave the man five gold coins and helped around the farm for the rest of the day. There were horses, chickens, ox and cows in separate paddocks. There was a small garden that miscellaneous vegetables and fruits were growing. Tauriel and the farmer, who the elf found out was named Challethin picked ripe foods, and tended to the animals. At the end of the day, they both returned to the small two story log house. Tauriel placed her basket of edible plant pieces on the table before running into the room that she had left Kili. She was relieved that he was still laying on the bed and breathing. She curled up beside him and allowed her mind to drift off into sleep.
The dogs bayed some time in the night. Their urgent barks awoke the sleeping elf. She grabbed her weapons and peered out the window. Five orcs were boldly walking across the field. The dogs stood near the house, trying to alert the occupants to the impending doom.
Tauriel rushed downstairs and was met by Challethin. He looked puzzled as he peered out into the night.
"Call back your dogs. I will take care of the cause of their distress," Tauriel informed as she brushed past him and out to the porch. Challethin whistled and the canines retreated back to the house. The nimble ex-guard of Mirkwood scaled the posts of the railing and stood defiantly on the roof. She took aim at the Orc in the front of the pack. Her aim held true and she lodged an arrow in the head of the creature. The remaining four bellowed in outrage and started running for the house. Tauriel notched another arrow, but concluded that she wouldn't hit anything without any after effect to the farmer and his property. The pointy eared elf took a running start and leapt off of the roof, taking her swords into hand as she rushed the advancing orcs. An arrow whizzed past her ear from her attackers as she neared the hideous beasts. She struck down the closest one and he tumbled to the ground. She sliced at the others, but soon found herself surrounded. They all lowered their weapons to finish her. They all charged the female. At the last moment, Tauriel vaulted over an Orc. One impaled another in the gut, the other received an arrow to the head. One threw an ax that stuck in the skull of the Orc across from him. The last Orc, whom had thrown the ax, had somehow dodged the blade of the last Orc. He picked it up and threw it at Tauriel. Somehow he threw the blade weak enough that the tip of it only sliced her ankle. Tauriel gasped at the pain and threw her own sword at the remaining Orc before collapsing. Challethin sprinted over to the downed elf. He made sure that all of the orcs were slayed before checking on the elf. She had already started to heal herself. Challethin helped the elf to her feet and let her use him as support to hobble over to the log house. She sat down on one of the dinning chairs as the farmer got clean water and a towel for the elf.
" I coulda ridded them by myself, ya know?" He lectured as he passed her the supplies.
"As a guest on your home, I am obligated to care for the keeper," Tauriel responded flatly as she cleaned her ankle.
"And ye didn't have ta tell me ta call in my dogs," Challethin went on as his hand found one of his dogs. Tauriel smiled back at him and winced at the cut. It wasn't as bad as it was before, but it was still bad. Not as bad as Kili's puncture, but regardlessly bad.
"But I guess I owe ye a thank ye for takin' care of those bloody monsters..." Challethin admitted sheepishly.
"Again, you are allowing us to rest at your own home for the night. No thank you is required," Tauriel assured and smiled at the farmer.
"Wait... There are two of ye?" The man asked bewildered. And Tauriel giggled with a nod.
"My... Friend was injured in battle, and we are traveling now," Tauriel informed and focused on her wound. Challethin nodded and walked away. Tauriel finishes with her ankle and returned to the room she shared with Kili. She would fetch her arrow back tomorrow morning.
That night, other than the Orc attack, was the most peaceful and helpful rest that Tauriel had had in a while. She stretched in the early morning light and pecked Kili on the cheek before venturing downstairs. She limped slightly due to her injured ankle, but mostly ignored the numb pain. The farming man was nowhere to be found downstairs, so Tauriel walked outside to grab her expended arrow. She could probably reuse that shot, and maybe salvage some other shots from the orcs. When she walked off of the porch, she saw a flicker of silvery fur, but brushed it off as one of the dogs. She reached the bodies of the slain orcs and picked up several arrows that could be cleaned and used. Then she found the body of the Orc she had taken down with her bow. She pulled the arrow from its body and looked over the sickening creature's body before promptly turning and leaving to return to the house. The dogs were all over near the barn that Challethin had milked cows in the day before, so Tauriel inferred that the farmer was located there. The elf climbed the stairs and sat on the bed she had shared with Kili last night and cleaned all of her found arrows along with her swords. She didn't know when she would be able to clean anything next. Everything from now to when they found a shelter would be unpredictable.
Once Tauriel was satisfied with her work, she put everything away, except for her swords and went to look for Challethin. She found him in the barn milking a cow. She stood and watched him until he finished. He stood up and took his pail over to the doors. Tauriel followed him.
"What price would you take for two of your horses?" The red head asked while looking at the equine.
"Maybe something like 30 gold," the farmer scoffed. They had entered the house. He set down the pail, and Tauriel set down 30 gold coins. The farmer scoffed and shook his head.
"And I am guessing you want halters and saddles?" The farmer questioned. Tauriel set down two more coins and nodded. The farmer shook his head and walked back outside. He grabbed two halters and walked over to the horses. There were stocky horses and slim horses. Two specific horses caught Tauriel's eye. One was a shorter chestnut mare. From what Tauriel had seen, she was fast. The other was a dapple grey stallion. He was also quite light footed. Tauriel pointed them out and Challethin nodded before haltering the two and bringing them out of the pasture. Tauriel smiled and petted the neck of the stallion.
Two hours later, Tauriel and Challethin had both horses tacked up and ready to go. The mare had been tied to the saddle of the stallion because Kili had yet to wake up. Tauriel had hoisted him up into the saddle of the dapple grey before climbing up behind him. Challethin had given her some fresh vegetables as a parting gift and wished them well. Kili leaned against Tauriel's chest as she rode. The mare had no trouble keeping up with the stallion and they made good time, going farther than ever in the couple hours they had had of daylight. Now they just had to make it over the misty mountains and find the person that may not actually exist.