Legolas and Tauriel the dream

The young ranger

Legolas POV
Legolas arrived at Rivendell. Lord Elrond was there, along with a young Man, who appeared no more than twenty. Legolas had been to Rivendell many times with Tauriel.
"Hir nin Elrond." Legolas said, bowing respectfully to the lord of Rivendell.
"Legolas Greenleaf son of Thranduil. What brings you here?" Elrond asked him.
"I seek Strider. The son of Arathorn." Legolas told him.
Elrond and the young Man exchanged a significant look. "Estel, reveal yourself to him. He means no harm."
"I am Aragorn. I have only just learnt this. Estel is the name given to me by Elrond when I joined his household. I was but a child then." Estel said to him. "I am going to join the Rangers and learn their skill. My father was named Arathorn." Legolas looked the young man over. He was quite young. If he was who he said he was, then Legolas had come to the right place.
"I shall join you." Legolas said. He remembered Tauriel's words. I shall come with you, she had said. He had turned her down.
"I leave tomorrow." Aragorn said to him. "You have come from Mirkwood. That is a long journey. You must rest."

The next day, Aragorn and Legolas headed north.
"Why would a Prince of Mirkwood leave?" Aragorn asked as they traveled on their horses.
Legolas was silent for a moment, considering what to tell his new friend. To tell him of matters of the heart was yet too hard.
"Ada can spare me for a while. I'm not the heir. That is my brother Elrias. I need time to clear my head." Legolas told Aragorn. "There were many things my father never told me." Legolas said, looking out ahead of them.
"Elrond kept secrets from me also." Aragorn said. "He never told me of his daughter Arwen or of my true father. Yet Elrond is still a father to me." He looked at Legolas. "However, I get the feeling it was about more than simply your father."
Legolas sighed. "You may well be an elf for how well you read me. There was an elleth in Mirkwood. She was the captain of my father's guard. I thought she may have loved me." Legolas told him. "And then there were the dwarves we took prisoner. She by all appearances fell in love with one of them. And then he died, fell in battle protecting her. I couldn't stay in Mirkwood anymore." The memories of the battle of five armies flashed through his head.

Young Aragorn was silent. Legolas had the feeling Aragorn had never been through anything like that. He was quite young. Legolas decided to change the subject.

"What happened to Arathorn?" Legolas asked him.

Aragorn shushed him, looking around. Legolas did the same. He could sense something moving toward them. Whether it was friend or foe, he did not know. But he had his bow with him. He could shoot whatever it was that moved toward him if it came down to that.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Legolas called out, unafraid. He notched an arrow to his bow.

A ranger wearing full armor and armed to the teeth came out of the trees. "What business do an elf and a young man have in this part of the wood?" He asked Legolas.

"I seek the Dunedain." Aragorn declared boldly. He was shaking slightly. Legolas wasn't sure the boy was ready to be a ranger yet.

"The Dunedain? Who might you be, young Man?" The Ranger asked.

Two elves came out behind him. "Estel? What are you doing here?" One of the elves demanded. "You are too young to be out here."

"Elrohir. Elladon." Aragorn said, grinning. "I have found the rangers after all." He turned to the ranger. "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn."

"Legolas Greenleaf? What are you doing so far from Mirkwood?" Elrohir asked, looking at the Elven Prince. Legolas knew Elrond's twin sons from the many times he'd visited Rivendell. The two had sought revenge for the death of their mother by orcs some years earlier. They had joined the rangers too.

"I am settling my mind." Legolas replied.

"I heard about the battle of the five armies." Elladon said to Legolas. "Your father lost many soldiers that day. I am sorry for the loss."

Legolas shook his head. "There is much on my mind aside from all that." He replied. He and Aragorn were led to the ranger camp.