Hello again!
The events of this fic occur after All Will Be Well. Bard and his family are staying in Erebor as work on rebuilding Dale begins, as it is not yet in a state in which people could stay there and their house in Lake-town was destroyed.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Hobbit.
Tauriel didn't mean to eavesdrop when she passed the room where Bard and his children were temporarily staying, but in her defense, Bard and Sigrid were being exceptionally loud.
"Why not?" Sigrid yelled angrily as Tauriel slowed her walk slightly, curious. "Is it because I'm a woman? Or because you still wish to treat me as a child?"
"Sigrid, please," Bard pleaded tiredly. "I understand that you wish to learn to fight with Bard, but these are his lessons, not yours."
"And when will I receive mine?" Sigrid countered. "Just because I am female does not mean I am unable to learn to defend myself."
"Sigrid-" Bard protested, but Tauriel could hear angry footsteps, then Sigrid opened the door, stomped out, and slammed it behind her.
"What is it that so upsets you so, young one?" Tauriel asked as Sigrid leaned against the wall, looking furious.
"Lady Tauriel!" she cried in shock, whirling around. Tauriel shook her head.
"I am no lady. Please, call me but Tauriel. What is troubling you, child?"
"Bain is to learn how to fight," Sigrid replied, a degree of bitterness to her tone. "And although I am his elder sister, I am not to join him."
"Your father does not wish for you to learn with Bain?" Tauriel asked. Sigrid pursed her lips.
"I do not believe my father wishes me to learn at all," she corrected. "I am no less capable than my brother, but due to my gender, I believe my father feels he must treat me as weaker."
"A trap far too many men fall into," Tauriel sighed. She quickly calculated how much spare time she had and how long it would before Dale would be rebuilt enough for Sigrid and her family to leave Erebor. "Do you wish to learn, regardless?"
"More than anything, but how?" Sigrid replied, frowning. "My father will not teach me, and I would not wish to burden anyone else."
"I will teach you, if you will have me," Tauriel replied, inclining her head slightly. "I do not think you will be a burden."
"You would teach me?" Sigrid asked, her eyes wide. "I… Would you truly? I wish so badly to learn."
"I would be honored," Tauriel replied, smiling slightly. "Have you anything but skirts?"
"No, but I can tailor an old pair of my father's trousers to fit me," Sigrid replied, looking eager. Tauriel nodded.
"For today, however, a skirt will do," she declared. "Before you can fight with a sword, you must learn to hold one."
"Are we to start now?" Sigrid asked, looking surprised. Tauriel shrugged one shoulder.
"Is there a better time than the present?" she countered. Sigrid beamed.
"Not at all," she replied, her excitement practically shining out of her skin. Tauriel smiled back as she led her down the halls to the practice room. "Are we to work here?" Sigrid asked curiously. "I had thought the lessons to be a bit more secretive."
"You must choose a sword," Tauriel explained. "It will not be missed, and if it is, I shall claim I took it. But yes, your lessons will be more of a secret, and no, we will not train here."
"Where are we to train, then?" Sigrid asked excitedly. Tauriel shook her head.
"One thing at a time, Sigrid. First, we must find your sword."
"How am I to choose one?" Sigrid asked, frowning. "I don't even know how to properly hold one."
Tauriel smiled. "That, child, is what I plan to teach you."
"Where were you today?" Kíli asked as he pressed kisses to Tauriel's bare shoulder. "I did not see your loveliness nearly as often as I normally do, and I felt the loss keenly."
"Flatterer," Tauriel murmured with a smile, rolling over to capture Kíli's next kiss with her lips. "I was with Sigrid. She wishes to learn to fight."
"Why does she not train with Bain, then?" Kíli asked curiously. "I saw him earlier, with Dwalin. I'm sure an extra student wouldn't be too great a hardship."
"Bard will not allow it," Tauriel replied, shaking her head. "He will only train his son, not his daughter."
"Do elves have similar views to Men in this foolishness?" Kíli asked with a sigh. "Among dwarrows, men are more often the ones who fight, but women are taught as well. There are so few of them, so we teach them to protect themselves."
"It is much the same among the elves," Tauriel replied. "A female elf can learn to fight alongside male elves, but not all choose to do so."
"Dwarrows are not given a choice," Kíli mused. "All dwarrow children learn to fight, even if they have no plans to do so later in life. It is a matter of being able to defend yourself."
"And yet, among Men, many seem to consider the females too weak to learn," Tauriel sighed. "I admit, I would not think it of Bard had Sigrid herself not told me. But I am an elf, and I see no logic in this foolishness. So long as Sigrid wishes for me to teach her, I shall."
"And a more excellent instructor could not be found," Kíli added, taking Tauriel's hand and pressing a kiss to the center of her palm. She laughed.
"I do not necessarily agree, but I will teach her so long as she wishes," she replied. "But you mustn't tell anyone. Sigrid does not wish for the news to reach her father."
"I will not tell a soul," Kíli promised. "Now, tell me, Tauriel, are we to speak of Sigrid all night?"
"Have you something else you wish to do?" Tauriel countered, arching an eyebrow. Kíli grinned.
"Perhaps I do," he replied, leaning over to kiss Tauriel properly. She laughed against his lips.
"You ought to tell me what it is, then," she replied. Kíli pressed his body flush against hers, a wicked grin on his face.
"I think you can guess."
"Oh!" Sigrid cried as Tauriel sent her crashing to the ground for the fourth time that session. Tauriel set her sword aside and helped Sigrid to her feet.
"You are improving," she complimented. "You can hold your own for much longer now than you could before."
"This is far more difficult than I had thought it would be," Sigrid admitted.
"Of course it is," a new voice stated. Sigrid whirled around in surprise, but Tauriel recognized the voice; it was Lady Dís. "Why in Mahal's name would you ask an elf to teach you how to fight? Elves rely on their swiftness and flexibility, which no Man has. If you wish to learn to fight, you are best off asking one of your own kind."
"Lady Dís, this is Sigrid, daughter of Bard, and I am training her in secret," Tauriel replied, inclining her head slightly in Dís' direction. Sigrid tried her best to curtsey while wearing pants. "Her father does not wish for her to learn to fight, but Sigrid asked me if I would teach her anyway."
"The son of Bard is in lessons with Dwalin as we speak," Dís replied, frowning. "Why are you not with him, Sigrid?"
"Because my father thinks me weaker because I am a girl," Sigrid replied bluntly. Dís arched an eyebrow. "Tauriel has agreed that she shall train me, as my brother is being trained."
"Tauriel can help you, but I stand by what I said before," Dís warned. "She is an elf, and thus fights differently than any of the race of Men. Your style of fighting is closer to that of a dwarrow." Dís picked up Sigrid's sword from where it had fallen to the ground. She passed it over. "I shall help you as well."
"You will?" Sigrid asked, looking amazed.
"Are you sure you have the time, my lady?" Tauriel added. Dís smirked.
"What, Tauriel, afraid of the competition?" she asked. Tauriel was abruptly aware of just how similar Dís was to her younger son. "I have the time, I assure you. If you wish for me to aid in your learning, Sigrid, I shall."
Sigrid shot a glance at Tauriel, who nodded. "I would be honored, my lady," she replied. Dís smiled.
"Well then, it seems we have some work to do. I shall retrieve my sword. And Sigrid, do not think this will make things easier for you. I can guarantee you that I will be just as hard a teacher as Tauriel."
"I would ask for nothing less," Sigrid replied. Dís smirked slightly as she left to get her sword.
"That was surprising," Tauriel remarked. Sigrid looked at her.
"Do you think Lady Dís will be of help?" she asked. Tauriel nodded.
"I am certain of it," she replied. "You have seen Fíli and Kíli fight, yes? Who do you think helped to train them?"
"Truly?" Sigrid gasped, shocked. "Their mother?" Tauriel nodded. "Why is it that only Men see women to be too weak to fight?"
"Some foolishness of your kind," Tauriel replied, shrugging one shoulder. "Shall we return to your practice? We may be able to spar again before Lady Dís returns." Sigrid grinned and held up her sword.
"And how could I refuse such an offer?" she asked, lunging forward with a delighted laugh. Tauriel countered with a clash of metal and their dance began again.
"What do you think of Sigrid's progress?" Dís asked Tauriel as they walked together after one of Sigrid's practice sparring sessions. They had continued and were now happening in even quicker frequency; each night, Kíli voiced his displeasure at how little of Tauriel he saw during the day.
"I find her to be progressing at a very satisfactory rate," Tauriel replied. Dís nodded.
"I'm proud of her as well. But she ought to be learning alongside her brother, not in the shadows with us. Her father ought to know that she is as strong as any man, if not stronger."
"I agree," Tauriel replied. "But how are we to do that? I fear that, if we speak to Bard on Sigrid's behalf, he will not listen. I do not think he would take kindly to us usurping his authority as the head of his family."
"Then Sigrid should tell him," Dís replied, shrugging. "She ought to say it anyway. We cannot fight all her battles for her."
"He does not seem especially inclined to listen, judging by his previous actions," Tauriel countered. Dís' smile was eerily reminiscent of Kíli's.
"Then she ought to show him instead," she replied. Tauriel's lip twitched into a smile of her own when she realized what Dís meant.
"You are very clever," she complimented. Dís laughed.
"Of course I am! Where did you think Kíli got it from?"
"Speaking of me?" Kíli asked suddenly as he jumped nimbly from a ledge where he'd been sitting, unnoticed by either Tauriel or Dís. "Mother, Uncle Thorin was asking where you were, but he's not in the best mood, so I'm not sure how much you wish to go to him. And Tauriel, I was hoping we might spend some time together today, as you have been distracted by other duties of late."
Tauriel felt a rush of guilt. "I apologize, my love," she told Kíli, who smiled and took her hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it.
"You need not," he replied. "I know what you've been doing is important, and I would not ask you to stop while you are needed. But I do miss you, and I had wondered if we might lunch together."
"Nothing would give me more pleasure," Tauriel replied, smiling as she took Kíli's hand in her own and squeezed it gently. "Lady Dís, can you excuse me?"
"I'm practically your mother-in-law at this point, Tauriel," Dís said with amusement in her voice. "You needn't be so formal. Have fun, you two. I ought to find Thorin."
"Good luck," Kíli told his mother cheerfully, dragging Tauriel down the path. She laughed as she ran after him.
"You have missed me, haven't you?" she said, smiling. "Where do you plan for us to eat?"
"The little garden," Kíli replied, slowing slightly. "The one on the crags of the mountain. Where we spent our anniversary, remember?"
"Fondly," Tauriel replied, leaning down and kissing Kíli's lips. "Shall we go, then?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Kíli replied with a laugh, tugging Tauriel down a winding hall as she laughed in return.
Tauriel watched from the doorway, hidden in shadows, as Sigrid and her father dueled with their swords, smiling as Sigrid twisted her sword in a distinctly elfish way and disarmed Bard with a flick of her wrist.
"Do you still think I ought not learn to fight?" Sigrid asked as she flicked her sword up to Bard's throat. He stared at her for a moment, then began to laugh, accepting the hand she offered to help him to his feet.
"I have been shown the error of my ways in preventing you from learning," he replied, shaking his head fondly. "Who has been teaching you?"
"I have," Tauriel stated, stepping out of the shadows. Sigrid looked at her in surprise.
"And I," Dís added, strolling in through the other door. Tauriel hadn't known she was there; she wondered how much she'd seen. "Your daughter is very skilled in the art of swordfighting, Lord Bard. You ought to be proud."
"I am," Bard replied, wrapping an arm around Sigrid's shoulders. "Do you wish to train with your brother, Sigrid?"
"It is all I have wanted," Sigrid replied, smiling shyly at her father. Bard chuckled.
"Bain will dislike it, as you exceed him in skill, but some competition would be good for him. You have my blessing to learn alongside him."
"Thank you," Sigrid squealed, hugging her father tightly. "And thank you, Tauriel, and Lady Dís. I could never have done this without you."
"We are proud of you," Dís said, smiling.
"Who would not be?" Tauriel added. Sigrid ran to them, hugging Dís first, then Tauriel.
"Haven't you a lesson to attend?" Bard asked with a laugh. "Bain begins training with Dwalin in a few minutes. You should join him."
"Thank you, Father." Sigrid gave her father one last hug before running out of the room, her sword at her waist.
"I feel I ought to apologize to you as well," Bard said, turning to Tauriel and Dís. "I ought to have known better than to think so little of my daughter, and I should not have put her into a position where she had to burden either of you."
"Training your daughter was no burden," Dís replied. "She is a wonderful girl, Bard. You ought to be very proud."
"That I am," Bard replied with a smile, picking up his sword from where it had fell when Sigrid disarmed him. "Who taught her that disarming move?"
"I did," Tauriel replied. Bard laughed.
"Then I am happy we fight on the same side."
"As am I," Tauriel replied dryly. Bard inclined his head and left the room.
"Well, all's well that ends well, I suppose," Dís remarked. "I'm sure Kíli will wish to know what happened, and I'm sure he'd rather hear it from you than I."
"I shall tell him, then," Tauriel replied inclining her head.
And so she did.
Sigrid's combat with misogyny here is inspired in part by Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings. The idea that dwarves and elves do not have the same ideas about women is an assumption, given that dwarf women are said to be similar to the men and that female elf warriors clearly exist.