Element of the Heart - A Lord of the Rings/Legolas Fanfiction

Chapter 6: Homebound

Two years later...

"Aragorn, on the roof!" Legolas whipped out his largest arrow and shot two orcs, one behind the other.
A band of orcs had surprised one of the isolated villages in the North Downs, an large area north of Bree that had no king to rule it. Until now, Legolas and Aragorn had been traveling to search whether or not the rumors of roaming orcs were true.
Now, Aragorn jumped onto the roof. He stabbed the orc in the gut, whipped around to behead another, and kicked a third that was beginning to climb. It fell to the ground, where one man speared it with a pitchfork, finishing the job. Aragorn fumed at the unfairness of it all. These people had no time to prepare for an attack. Word of an orc raid had reached their ears moments before the monsters came.
Out of the corner of his eye, Legolas spotted a man who stood out from the rest in the village. Black and tan clothing covered everything except for his kohl-lined eyes, which were fixed on a standing horse nearby. Gripped in his fist was the arm of a young girl who squirmed and kicked futilely. Legolas glared at him. Traitor. He let loose a white arrow that implanted itself between the man's eyes.
Aragorn parried a blow from another man in the same dark and tan clothing and sliced his arm off. He stabbed him in the chest. After beheading another orc, he looked around.
Legolas also scanned the village. That was the last one.
Once the villagers realized they won the battle, they cheered. Legolas nodded towards them. "You fought well. Help the wounded first before attending to your homes." He turned to see what Aragorn thought.  
"Since when do men fight with orcs?" Aragorn shouted. The villagers mumbled and shrugged. They didn't care. What mattered was that they were safe.
Aragorn stomped away in disgust.
Legolas followed. "Aragorn, those men were from Mordor."
Aragorn paused. "Are you certain?"
Legolas nodded, looking south east, the direction of Mordor. "Adar spoke of a rising evil in the east. Even now, it spreads far enough to touch the people of the north."
Aragorn was silent for a moment. "Legolas, if this evil is spreading, we must learn more."
Legolas knew what he was implying. His father, King Thranduil of Mirkwood, could give them answers. He had debated for months whether he ought to return. After years of being gone, he did not know what to expect from Tauriel or his father. But the world could not wait forever. He closed his eyes and nodded. It is time.
                 __________

Arwen watched the duel. Evangeline and Lord Daurion exchanged lightning fast blows. They struck and parried with full strength and without hesitation. Most of Rivendell could hear the clash of their swords. Like true masters of the elven art, they didn't grunt or shout, but both elf and earthborn were sweating like men.
Daurion lunged towards Evangeline's unguarded neck, but she blocked with her left sword and struck at his hip with her right. He flicked his wrist in a C- strike, forcing her sword away from him. He attacked from above, but Evangeline's left sword prevented him from splitting her head in two. She quickly brought up her right blade to pin his sword and break it from his grasp. She smiled triumphantly when she heard the cling of metal, hitting the stone floor twenty feet away. 
"Your technique was perfect this time, but your fighting would be useless." Daurion gasped.
Evangeline's smile faded. "I do not understand. I performed the maneuvers just as you have told me."
"Thand (I agree). But you are too structured, you fail to...to..." He looked around exasperated, unable to find the right way to explain.
"Lord Daurion, what am I missing?"
Daurion shook his head. "Never mind. You are dismissed for a noon break."
Lord Elrond, who had been watching unnoticed, walked up to them. "Lord Daurion, you have my thanks. Come, Evangeline."
Evangeline sheathed her swords. This will probably be a history lesson.
"Daurion, will you lend me your sword?" Elrond asked. Lord Daurion looked just as surprised as Evangeline, but he handed his sword to Elrond.
Elrond stepped into the center of the courtyard. "Evangeline, draw your blades!"
She hesitated. Elrond was always there to watch her train. He occasionally offered advice, but he never, ever, picked up a blade in her sight.
"Come, Evangeline. Surely an old elf like me cannot hurt such a young, spirited warrior!"
Though Elrond looked perfectly serious, Evangeline could hear the smile in his words. Her face brightened. "Old or not, may I prove to be a worthy opponent." She launched her attack and a shower of blows followed.
Lord Daurion watched in silence. Since he was always her opponent, he had never really seen her fight. Elrond had never dueled with an elf in training before, except when he occasionally helping his daughter practice. As Elrond tested Evangeline through every technique she had been taught, Daurion's judgement turned from skeptical to awe. She far exceeds all whom I have taught.
Elrond used all of Daurion's favorite strikes and comebacks, and Evangeline blocked every one of them. But then, Elrond changed his stance to one that Evangeline had never seen before. He feinted towards her head with all of his unearthly speed, which she blocked with both swords.  Before she blinked, Elrond tapped her leg with his blade.
Evangeline felt her face burn. How could I have let my guard down? Instead of waiting for her surrender, Elrond moved on, pushing for the duel to continue. Evangeline turned her attention to less attacking and more of blocking Elrond's multiplying blows. Her arms were growing tired, but he did not soften his strikes. Finally, he knocked both blades away. Evangeline fell to her knees, gasping for breath.
Lord Daurion felt a sliver of pride. Never have I seen an orc, man, or elf stand that long against him. Evangeline had learned everything he had to teach. There was nothing more he could do.
Elrond lowered himself to face Evangeline. "You fought well."
Evangeline looked up and saw in Elrond what she never saw in Daurion. He approves of me. I lost, but he approves of me.
Elrond spoke sincerely. "You are fast, but you are too focused on technique and certain situations. Learn to bend and adjust. Read the intentions of your opponent. The sooner you do so, the sooner you will focus your fight directly against him. You will bring him down."
Evangeline memorized his words, but they did not stop her frustration. How can I read minds? How can I predict movements I have never seen before?  
Elrond sensed her anger. "Go freshen yourself for dinner. I will take care of your swords," he said gently.
Nodding her thanks, Evangeline went to the nearest pool at the end of a small waterfall. Under her command, a sphere of water rose from the pool. Following the direction of her hand, it rolled over the skin on her arms and neck, removing dirt and thin traces of blood from her cuts. Her bruises were soothed as the cold water came into contact with them. Evangeline sighed until she heard a rustling of leaves.
Arwen stood behind her, her blue eyes looking past Evangeline's outward expressions.  "Why are you afraid, nésa (sister)?" She sat down on a white marble bench, her eyes never leaving Evangeline, who seated herself next to her.
"Every time I feel that I have learned it all, Daurion reminds me that I am not ready." She tucked a waist-long strand of black hair behind her ear. "The matter is that I know he is right. There is something missing in my fight."
"There is nothing more he can teach you. If you are to learn, it will not be here in Rivendell."
Evangeline stood up. "I understand, though I am not sure when that time will come." At least I know now that my strength lies with the swords, not with the bow.
Thankfully, Daurion had allowed her to drop the common elven weapon altogether. There was something that felt so unnatural about the structure of a bow that Evangeline was not able to improve past shooting a target thirty to forty feet away. Even then, she had to take at least half a minute to focus her aim, control her breathing, and adjust her body and strength to the bow. She would die if a battle required her to use a bow, and she knew it. However, if someone gave her a dagger, she would hit the target the moment she spotted it. Dagger-throwing was not an elven art, but she practiced it anyway with the dagger she had received from the elves in Lothlorien. Daggers could not go as far as arrows. They were not as powerful as spears. But they were fast.
Calming herself, Evangeline summoned a streak of water, watching as the sunlight filtered through it and slightly reflected off its surface. Once she ran it over her the last of her cuts and bruises, she dropped it back into the pool.
"Have you been able to summon any larger ones since the last time?" Arwen stood up and begin to walk towards the hall, motioning for Evangeline to walk along with her.
Evangeline walked alongside Arwen and shook her head. The farthest progress she had with water was pulling out two ten-foot streams at the same time. They might bash an orc or bruise an elf quite badly, but unless I am expected to drown the enemy one at a time, my element is not of much use.
"You have grown quiet throughout the years. Adar has noticed as well, and just as I do, he worries."
Evangeline looked to her right, away from Arwen.
Arwen stopped in her tracks. "If there is anything you wish to say, Evangeline, anything that troubles you, may no one but the Valar stop you from speaking now."
Had anyone else besides Arwen or Elrond approached Evangeline with this question, they would have received silence and an intuitive stare from the earthborn that would have left them feeling as if she were delving into their minds. Arwen stood should-to-shoulder with Evangeline, who was not looking at her. Instead, she seemed to be looking at the foothills, the trees, and the dozens of crystal falls.
"I do not wish to leave my home or my family."