Obligations and Fluff, a Lauriel Fanfic

Chapter 12

Sleep never found me; I was tired but my body refused. My thoughts swirled and anxiety welled up in my chest for the next day to come.

Tauriel POV

When I approached the training grounds they were vacant, the sun hardly peeping up from behind the gargantuan mountains. I started practising some old fighting techniques, glad I was alone. I grabbed some old daggers and set them in a defensive position, holding it until I felt fully satisfied with the arc my arm was maintaining. Impatient as ever, I skipped most of the defensive positions out of pure boredom and moved onto more "exciting" offensive moves. I was tired and my muscles ached from the day before, bruises apparent as ever but I pulled through, determined to maintain the level of skill I had once achieved. Before fatigue had fully crept into my movements, poisoning them with weariness and all the different layers of lethargy my dagger, wielded by me was thrown into the air and met in the air with a familiar clash of blades. I instinctively knocked the blade out of the air and pressed my dagger to their throat, examining them for signs of friend or foe. Caught up in my movements when I finally had them pinned, finally, in my grasp, I recognized the blonde-haired, fair-faced elf I had inconsequentially nailed on the ground.

"Legolas." I breathed quietly.

"Do you do that to all the people who come to check on you at the crack of dawn?" He asked jokingly, standing up and brushing the dirt off of his fine, silk robes.

"I am sorry, friend. I did not realize it was you," I said apologetically, wincing at my own words and how they came out.

"No worries. These days you can never be too careful," He said, a hint of sadness leaking into his words; subtle lines filled with worry surfacing on his usually serene face.

"Shall we spar?" I asked, my voice lacking all enthusiasm. I knew I was far too lethargic to spar well and beating Legolas would be another challenge of an entirely different level of energy and prowess.

"No. I should think not when we have all these guards to train," He said, a hint of falsehood in his voice. I, dismissing my initial beliefs-- partly thanks to the indifference fatigue favoured me with, decided not to call him out on the fact that the training area remained uninhibited and would probably remain so until the sun had made some sort of attempt at an arc in the sky. I took it gratefully, unsure how tired I must have looked.

"I think what you mean to say is all of these guards that I will train," I said defensively, wishing to hold onto the last strands of independence for as long as possible.

"Fine." He said, giving me a snooty look. I let out a small laugh and he rewarded me with a beautiful smile, his eyes glinting with merriment. I slowly went over the various areas of technique we would perfect and the different weapons we would handle and for how long we would touch on the specific instrument. Legolas made small head movements, nodding when he agreed with my sleep-deprived ways, only commenting when something was so far off he couldn't help but wince at my lethargic, halfhearted attempts at planning how I would train the young guards. "Are you alright?" He finally asked.

"Of course." I snapped at him, cringing at how harsh my voice had sounded. "Sorry," I said apologetically. "It has been a long morning," I said exasperated.

"If you need to take a break or rest I can always take over. It's only your first day back," He said earnestly, bouts of worry flashing on his flawless features.

"Thank you for your concern, my friend," I said my face softening. "But, as you said it is only my first day back. I can manage till the second." I replied, not trying to hide the growing persistence in my voice, I refused to let fatigue win this war. He

did not look convinced, nor did the look of concern on his face disappear but I stubbornly trudged along with the instruction.

The Guard did not start filing into the training grounds until the sun was well up in the sky, burning our necks and backs.

"Well, I certainly hope you all had an adequate amount of beauty sleep," Legolas said loudly to the guards, letting out a small chuckle.

"What he means to say." I elbowed him hard in the ribs. "Is that you are all late. I know that I have been gone and I am sure that my absence has not gone unnoticed. But that does not excuse any untoward behaviour towards me or anyone else. You are all expected to be here at first light, no later," I said commanding all the attention the small group had to offer. I didn't care that I had been gone for weeks. That remained totally irrelevant to the matter. "You said that you were to remain loyal to me. Now, what I ask of you is not difficult nor is it arduous. Arrive on time!" I continued, exasperated. The guards looked slightly shocked by my outburst, but it seemed relatively effective considering their faces shone with guilt, backs straightening, necks hanging with shame.

"Now let us train!" I said, my spirits rising at my words.

It was my first back and though elves rarely have trouble maintaining any set of skills my prowess wavered. My hands quickly grew accustomed to shooting a bow and even when not at my peak I was easily-- excluding Legolas--  the best and most experienced there. The training session was gruelling and much to my distaste easy for Legolas.

The sun was past its peak and the day was coming to a close, forcing me to end the training. I motioned Legolas to come over, an idea surfaced in my mind. Legolas looked at me quizzically but obliged, the question in his gaze unwavering.

"What is it Tauriel?' he asked, confused.

"The day is coming to a close. We have to let them go," I stated.

"Mmm-hmmm," Legolas said, staring at me dubiously.

"There is still light. What say, you and I had an archery contest?' I asked.

"Ahh," he said. "You just want to get me back from yesterday's spar." He said stating the obvious,

"Yes," I agreed. " But does it really matter? I know you long to go into the woods. I do too, so why not?"

"You are wrong my friend. Your intentions are corrupt and it is of utmost importance." 

I stifled a groan. He cut me off. 

"As tempting as your offer sounds, I must respectfully decline. As I age my responsibilities do too. I am expected to be at the banquet tonight."  Regret laced into his words. I forgot about the banquet tonight, and honestly, I forgot that he was a prince and he was required to go to the awful things.

"Come with me." He offered earnestly. Now it was my turn to be confused.

"I am the captain of the guards. I am not expected to attend such fancy banquets."

"That is not a reason not to go." He countered, a light smile playing on his lips.

" It is every reason and a thousand reasons combined into one. I refuse to stand in a room, silently getting judged because I am unfit or unworthy to be there! I may be a lowly silvan elleth, I have grown accustomed to hearing the demoralizing term but I don't need a thousand people reminding me of how little significance I bring to this society of elves!" I screamed, the volume in my voice rising unintentionally. My cheeks flushed red and I felt so embarrassed for my outburst. I refused to look at Legolas and turned on my heel, not caring to see if he would follow me.