1. Especially pants
The head of the Guard, Liholesia, slammed the door to the prison, locked the last prisoner and approached the prince who was waiting for her. Legolas had an excellent ear, and he understood perfectly why the redheaded guard now had a serious, straightforward and embarrassed look. A cheeky dwarf boy. He should have been punished for his daring tongue, but Legolas did not interfere. Tauriel, if she wished, could stand up for herself. She was never timid before either the king or the prince, but now she avoided meeting him with her eyes. Tauriel made sense without showing the guards that the prisoner had managed to get her. Legolas knew the redhead's temper too well and saw more than anyone else.
The expression and gestures told a lot of things. Taurielle almost snapped, but when she met her friend, she realized she smiled cunningly, and teased him back, noticing that the sassy prisoner was taller than the other little ones. She was so confident that her heart unwittingly stabbed.
- But as ugly as the others," Legolas remarked.
Relaxing her shoulders, Taurielle smiled barely noticeably and headed down the steep stairs to give orders to the guards who were coming in for the night. She seemed much nicer like that. Legolas had never felt anger or annoyance before if one of the soldiers touched the feast of his sister's hand, passing her the cup, or called her to dance in a circle. They were all friends and comrades-in-arms, and no one ever crossed the line, touching the link between them. But now the strings of an unknown thread are definitely stretched, and something has changed.
Legolas turned his back on the young dwarf in prison, and the young dwarf, despised by contempt, snapped and walked away from the bars, hiding in the dark.
- Elros! - The prince turned to the late guard who was coming down from the top tier. Especially pants.
2. Her privilege
- I don't think you're gonna let your son... get engaged... with a simple... A forest elf.
Every word was hard to come by. Tauriel made herself say that without turning around and seeing the king. A few beats of her heart ago, she couldn't even imagine that she would say one of them, so far away and it didn't seem to be about her.
She was waiting for an answer. "Ada[1]... - The word is stuck in my throat," "Get angry, smile, let me know you're teasing me, and I'm talking nonsense! Having lived half an era, can we hope for comfort in replacing the cruel words, like a child? And yet, Tauriel wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, even if he heard a rebuke for an assumption similar to a child's "you don't love me".
- You're right, and I won't let you," Thranduil concluded quietly behind her back. - Don't give him hope when it's gone.
He seemed incredibly distant to Tauriel. It was as if he was standing in the shining sunlight falling from the light windows of the throne room, and it was on the lower tier, in the darkest corner, wherein the darkness and dampness of mossy stones ran streams Forest River. It was as forested as it was.
The king stood with his back to her, showing that the audience was over, and Tauriel took a step towards the door, feeling that her legs were barely audible. "Am I nothing? - I wanted to throw it in his face - "Didn't you not let my son become my friend and mentor? You accustomed us to the idea of equality! You are all I have left!
- I have one more assignment for you. - Her voice was stopped by Lord Liholesya's voice. Tauriel turned around.
- Go to the dungeons, release the warriors and see what it's like for our "guests". They will not be able, to be honest with each other when they are guarded. But the sweet maiden, even a warrior, is unlikely to cause them suspicion. They'll have a lot to discuss tonight, won't they? - Trandyl smiled at her.
- I don't understand what dwarves are talking about in their own words," Taurielle said dryly.
- And you make sure the conversation is in the language you know," he said, "Find the right words. You know how to notice the best in the person you're talking to.
You'd think he was even praising her. Slightly bowed his head, and, as before, a little mockingly looking straight into the eyes, knowing that it will snap on his order to fight and now.
- Is there anything else, Lord? - Tauriel swallowed, suppressing a painful throat cramp. The role of the spies couldn't humiliate her more than the "true place" just mentioned.
- That's enough," Thranduil replied, "now you can go.