Against all Odds {Middle-Earth fanfic}

Chapter Forty-Two

Tauriel walked to the couple's room and opened the door quietly. Seeing the couple there, held in each other's arm gave Tauriel a feeling of pity for these two assassins. She stood there for a few moments, awkwardly wondering if she should leave.

Thea noticed her and quickly wiped her tears, pulling away from Nikandros, "What do you want?" She asked sharply.

"Um..." Tauriel stuttered awkwardly for a moment before she composed herself and straightened, "The King just wanted to tell you that we are leaving tomorrow for Gondor." She said stiffly, "He also said that you shouldn't try to escape. Not that it would be a problem," she added, "It's just pointless and we don't want you getting injured anymore."

Thea's face hardened, "You think you are so much better than us, don't you?" She growled, "I could have easily beaten you, filthy elf." She stood up and clenched her fists tightly at her side.

Tauriel smiled and laughed, "Sure you could have beaten me." She smirked a little, tensing slightly in preparation.

Thea tried to take a deep breath to calm down, but it didn't work. Instead, she lunged towards Tauriel, her fist out.

Expecting this, Tauriel moved slightly to the side and grabbed Thea's wrist, twisting it behind her back.

"Thea, stop!" Nikandros yelled, "It's no use!"

Tauriel nodded in Nikandros' direction, "He's right." A hint of a smile was still playing at the corners of her mouth.

Thea yelped quietly when Tauriel wrenched her arm tightly and tried to pull away. However, still being unhealthy she couldn't. Instead, she swung her leg around and kicked her leg into the elleth's stomach, pushing her backward a couple of steps.

Tauriel grunted and accidentally let go of Thea's arm as she stumbled backwards. Tauriel was just about to lunge, when Nikandros stepped between the elf and human.

"Enough!" He commanded, anger in his eyes, "Both of you!"

Tauriel cocked her head, "And you have the authority to do that?" She smiled infuriatingly, "I don't think so."

Tauriel turned on her heels and left, with the parting words, "Assassin doesn't know how to fight properly." And closed the door behind herself.

Nikandros turned sharply to face Thea, "What were you thinking?" He asked angrily.

"I don't know..." Thea rubbed her eyes vigorously, "She just really annoys me!" She sank to the ground and looked down.

Nikandros sighed, "She could have hurt you badly. Thea," He continued, the anger gone from his voice now, "What if she had drawn her daggers and fought you with them?"

"I don't know!" Thea shouted, "I...didn't think of that."

"Thea." Nikandros rested a hand on her shoulder. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. Forgive me?"

She looked up at him and sighed, "No, I'm sorry. That was incredibly foolish of me. I don't know what came over me..."

Nikandros gave a small smile, "It's okay. She is a little aggravating."

Thea snorted, "A little?"

Nikandros laughed, "Well maybe a bit more than a little."

Thea just chuckled softly. She closed her eyes slowly, starting to feel tired once again. It seemed that her past ailments were catching up with her. Unknown to her, she began swaying, almost about to collapse.

Nikandros swiftly caught her and gently lowered her to the floor, "Thea, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." She smiled and relaxed on the smooth, wooden floor.