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Legolas pushed the doors of the throne hall open, his eyes finding his father, who was pacing the length of the hall, arms folded behind him.
"Ah, Legolas, just the elf I wanted to see." He unfolded his arms from behind his back, turning to look at his son.
"As you know, the lower levels have been looted twice in the last moon, and that is unacceptable. I want you to find the people responsible and bring them to me so they can be punished accordingly." The king's eyes flashed coldly while he spoke, the fury towards the attackers clear in his eyes.
"Of course." Legolas gave a short bow, pleased. He had been patrolling around the kingdom for months now, wanting something different, and this was the perfect opportunity. He wasn't happy that the kingdom was being looted, but he was happy that he had been chosen to stop it.
- -
Legolas had been in the forest most of the day, trying to track the thieves. He had decided to start alone, as it was easier to be hidden when you were alone. He would ask a patrol of guards to help him when he had located the thieves. As he trudged through the forest, what annoyed him was that the group of thieves were more skilled than he wanted to give them credit for. They managed to hide their footprints, even when walking in the soft forest ground, which usually held them well. He caught whiffs of them here and there, a scrap of fabric stuck into a bramble bush, and a footprint that they had missed when hiding them, but if he didn't know the thieves were out there, he wouldn't have known they existed.
He was almost ready to give up, the sun having set moments ago, when movement caught his eye from the corner of his eye. Someone was running through the trees, their steps almost drowning in the rustle of the forest. Legolas hurried to follow, making sure to keep his distance to avoid being spotted.
Anger was welling inside of him. How dare she steal from his kingdom?
He was almost close enough to tackle and restrain you when you disappeared from his line of sight. He grits his teeth but kept walking towards the spot where he had seen you last. He suspected that you had reached the lair, and judging by the yellowish glow of a fire, he had to be close. He heard voices, muffled by the distance, and he huffed. Of course, you had accomplices. Perfect.
But when he peeked from behind a tree, he didn't see you in the midst of the other thieves, you were nowhere to be found. The group of men were rowdy, Legolas could smell the wine they were drinking from where he was sitting. They were boasting to each other with their loot, and Legolas tightened his hold on his bow but forced himself not to interject. There were eight of them, and even as highly trained as he was, he knew the fight would not end in his favor.
When a strife started between two of the men, causing them to abandon their bags of loot on the ground, Legolas' eyes caught you again. You slipped out of the bushes that skirted the outline of the clearing. You slowly inched towards the abandoned bags, keeping your eye tightly on the men to spy the slightest hint that they might be turning around. When they showed no signs of turning, you stepped into the outline of the campfire. You quickly bent down and swiped a few objects from the top, a pair of golden earrings and a small silvery bracelet, careful not to make noise. Legolas watched with a furrowed brow as you tucked them into your pockets, but stayed to move one of the goblets into another bag before you retreated back to your hiding place. You slipped back into the bushes before the group could notice, but Legolas could see the faint ghost of your form still sitting in the bushes, waiting for your next opportunity.
The group fell asleep shortly after the strife had been solved, and Legolas watched you make off with quite a few more objects before you took off. He stood up silently and took off after you, wanting to demand what was going on. It was clear that you were not part of them, if you were, you'd have no reason to steal, but there was something more going o,n and he wanted to find out what. It could help him find the thieves faster when they change their base of operations.
Legolas' eyes caught you walking slowly in the forest, mindful of your surroundings, but not mindful enough. Taking a deep breath, Legolas gathered himself and launched himself at you. The attack came as a complete suprise for you, and you fell to the ground. It wasn't hard for him to wrestle you so that he could control you easily, and he pressed the blade of the dagger onto your throat. You didn't freeze with fright as he had expected you to. Instead, your eyes lit up with fight, and your jaw clenched.
"Why are you working with the people who have been raiding my kingdom?" Legolas asked sternly.
"I am not working with them, I have been trying to stop them." You hissed, trying to throw his weight off of you.
"Then why haven't you?" Legolas growled, easing his hold on you but not letting you up yet.
"I am guessing from the same reason you chose not to attach them tonight. Because they overpower me, eight to one." Your eyes held a knowing, teasing look.
Legolas couldn't help but the small flush of red that rose to his cheeks. You had known all along that he had been following you. You had made him, no matter how difficult he had been, and that was not easy. Legolas hated to admit it, but he was slightly impressed.
"W-Why did you let me follow you?" He asked, confused. A smile appeared on your lips, and you turned your eyes toward the camp, now having seized your struggles.
"I knew you are after the gold that they stole from the kingdom, and I knew that the only way you would believe that I am not in league with them was to show you." Your answer was simple, and Legolas nodded, shifting his weight to let you up.
"If I let you up, do you promise not to run?"
"Cross my heart." And you did as you promised, dusting off your clothes and hoisting your bag higher on your shoulder.
"So, what now?"
After some persuasion, you agreed to follow Legolas into the kingdom of Mirkwood. He assured you that he would let you keep the gold after he heard why you were stealing it in the first place. You and your mother ran an orphanage in the nearby town, and money was tight. You couldn't bear to see the children go hungry, so you turned to thievery. You weren't proud of it or didn't like doing it, but it was better than the alternative, letting the children starve.
Thranduil was not pleased with his son's decision to let you keep the gold, to put it lightly.
"They are our heirlooms, Legolas. I thought you would care more about your kingdom than this!" Thranduil's voice boomed in the throne hall, and Legolas couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes.
"Of course. I spent most of the day searching for the culprits and then following them to find their lair because I don't care about this kingdom. Not to mention, I found someone who can help us stop it for good. Yes, I did agree with them to let them keep the gold, but she has a good reason to keep it. Better than it just collecting dust in our reserves." Legolas didn't prevent the snarky tone from entering his voice. He was exhausted, damp with dew from the forest, and bruised after wrestling you to the ground.
"Very well." Thranduil sighed, but Legolas could see he was still not thrilled about how things had gone, and he knew that this would not be the last time he heard about this.
"Invite her in and close the door after you when you step out." It was an order disguised as a direction, something his father had perfected over the years, and Legolas rolled his eyes again after he had turned this back to him. He opened the door and gestured for you to come inside, giving you a faint smile, trying to calm the nerves that were clearly visible on your face. The door swung shut behind you, and Legolas set to pacing the hall, nervous and trying to catch words of the conversation here and there to try and get a picture of what was going on on the other side of the doors.
- - -
The sun was just about to rise again when Legolas escorted you out of your kingdom. The conversation (even though it had felt more like an interrogation to you) had taken most of the night, but you had managed to convince him of the fact that you were not in league with the thieves. After that, the conversation (interrogation) relaxed slightly, and you were able to give them all the hiding places of the thieves you knew, as well as a little insight into their group, like who was the leader, which was the most skilled fighter, and where to look for their hidden loot, and so on. As the doors of the kingdom slid shut behind you, you turned to him, a tired smile on your face.
"See you later, Prince Legolas." Your voice was teasing as you winked at him, hoisting your bag onto your back. You leaned up onto your toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"I'll see you. Or not." You took off into the underbrush with a laugh before he could react anymore. Legolas let his fingers brush the spot where your lips had touched and made a mental note to find the town you were living in and go and see you sometime. You were too interesting just to forget about and move on with his life.