Thin threads of sunlight pierced through the dense autumn canopy of Mirkwood as a young auburn haired elf stood at the cusp of the woodland. She had lived all her life in the woodland realm and knew Mirkwood better than she knew herself at times. From foothills of the Grey Mountain in the north to the river Anduin to the south, she had every detail committed to memory. There was little in the woodlands that escaped her keen observation. To some, her vast knowledge of the elven territories may have seemed trivial, but to her it was all she had to occupy herself from boredom. After six hundred years, she longed for adventure or excitement or at the very least a change from the daily routine. She did not know exactly what she wanted but she knew she longed for something more. She tried not to think about feelings of longing; she thought it childish to pine over silly dreams. Instead, She thought it better bury such feelings and deny their existence. After all, why should she let her otherwise happy life be disrupted by silly fancies or outlandish dreams? She shook her head at such nonsense and stepped gracefully onto the forest floor, barely disturbing a discarded leaf or unfurling fern as she traversed through the foliage and into the forest.

It was autumn in the Mirkwood. Many trees were bare and the remaining leaves had turned copper and bronze and gave off a golden hue as though the forest was ablaze. Underneath the flame coloured canopy the slender elf made her way through the dense forest. She walked without aim or destination; she simply walked for the pleasure of being alone amongst nature. All around her leaves of copper, gold and bronze pirouetted from the canopy above and landed before her leather clad feet. It will be winter soon, she thought to herself as she looked up towards them. High above, sunlight escaped through thin cracks amongst the leaves. She held out her hand to see the dappled light and shadows make a dappled pattern on her creamy skin. She smiled as she gazed upon it and turned her hand to see the pattern move. That's when she heard the crunching coiling of a taut bow string and the snap of its release.

She caught the arrow before she even realised it was whistling through the air towards her. She held it where she caught it and turned her head to look at it. It was at eye level but good six inches away from her face, hardly as though it intended to harm her, and came from above in the canopy. Without looking, and in one swift movement, she reached for her own bow, turned and fired the arrow back towards the direction it came from. The arrow disappeared into the golden leaves behind the figure of a male elf, causing a flurry of blue butterflies to panic and flutter around him.

'You're getting tardy, Tauriel. You didn't even hear me approach' He called down; a bright smile was spread wide across his face as he uttered a soft and friendly laugh.

'Surely you can aim better than that, Legolas' she replied with a demure smile.

For a moment, they stood smiling and gazing upon each other. He looked down upon the lovely auburn haired elf standing amongst the falling autumn leaves and felt a warmth sweep across him. In that instance, His affection grew even more. Tauriel… He thought, willing himself to speak but did not want to ruin the moment. She looked up and saw her childhood companion standing sliver haired amongst a swirling mass of sapphire butterflies ready to seek out mischief once again. But we are no longer children…a voice in her head reminded her. The thought saddened her and made her smile fade. Legolas gracefully descended down from the branches of the oak tree to join her on the ground and gallantly offered her his arm. The gesture restored her smile but she hesitated to take his arm.

'Am I not allowed to join you on your adventures? Are you much too grand for my company now?' Legolas teased, holding his arm for her to take. Tauriel raised a playful eyebrow at his comment about her being "too grand".

'Are you forgetting that the feast of Starlight is tonight? Surely, your father is expecting you to have some hand in the preparations. But here you are in the woods, neglecting your duties again.' She teasingly chided, taking his arm. She felt his arm tense under her touch and his expression change from playful to almost un-nerved. The change happened in an instant, so quickly that she questioned whether it had happened at all.

'My father is unlikely to notice my absence for an afternoon. Where's the harm? Come on, Tauriel. Let's go on an adventure.' He said energetically, leading them through the falling leaves and deeper into the Mirkwood. Tauriel humored his enthusiasm let herself be led. After all, where was the harm?

Author's Note: My first fanfic in FOREVER! It's a bit short, granted, but I always prefer a short intro chapter just to get the ball rolling. The story is going to follow the movie plot but is going to take massive liberties and add extra bits. But so far, what do you think? Hopefully you guys will like it but comment or flame as you wish.