Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit. It belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson.

Special thanks to LadyWallace for reading over this for me.

The Art of Braiding

Part 3 Kiriel

The little red-haired child scrunched up her nose and pressed her face against the window. "When is Da coming?" she asked with a sigh.

"Soon, Kiri," Tauriel smiled as she tucked her fussing son to her breast for his breakfast. He was only two days old, but already a healthy eater.

"Da has been gone ever so long," Kiriel sighed dramatically. She turned to her mother and shoved her messy red locks behind her ears. "I miss him."

Tauriel felt her mouth quirk up at the corners. Kili and his daughter had shared a special bond from the moment she'd been born. The little imp had captured her da's heart with her very first cry. "He will be here soon, Kiri. Da only went to see Uncle Thorin."

At that moment, the front door opened and Kili stepped inside. "Da!" Kiriel threw herself at him and Kili tossed her up into the air. She crowed with laughter and begged, "Again! Again!"

Tauriel shifted her son to her shoulder for a burp and watched father and daughter play together as she arranged her clothing to cover herself. Kiri had her mother's red hair, but her dark eyes and her smile were all Kili. The child was a bit tall and slender for a dwarf, but she wore the height well.

"Mother, did you see me and Da?" the child asked happily.

"Aye, I did," Tauriel assured her.

Kili looked at his eldest with a critical eye. "Go get dressed and then I will braid your hair. Uncle Fili is coming to take you to breakfast with Grandmother Dis."

Kiri clapped her hands and raced to her bedroom full of excitement. Uncle Fili was one of her most favorite people and she loved having breakfast with her grandmother.

Kili turned to his wife, brushing a tender kiss to her lips. "Hello, love," he murmured. "Are you sure I cannot talk you into staying in bed another day?" He stroked a gentle hand over his son's head of dark hair before placing a kiss to the crown of the infant's head.

"Kili, I am fine," Tauriel assured him. "Our son is healthy and strong as am I."

"Fili and Mum wanted to make sure you had a bit more time to rest. That is why they will have Kiri this morning."

Little feet sounded in the hallway and Kili grinned as his daughter appeared before him. Her leggings were on, but twisted and she was still struggling to find one armhole of her tunic. Her free hand was grasping a comb and several hair clasps.

Kili soon had his daughter's clothing set right and then reached for the comb. "Your hair looks like birds have built a nest in it."

Kiri giggled. "Da!"

"No, really, I met someone once who had a nest on his head and birds lived in it," Kili reiterated as he sat in a chair and tugged his daughter to stand before him.

Kiri turned around to press a kiss to her father's cheek. "You are funny, Da."

Kili's eyes sparkled with mirth. "Turn around and let me braid your hair, Kiriel," he told his daughter. "Uncle Fili will be here soon."

"I hope Uncle Fee gives me a ride on his shoulders," Kiri told her da as she bounced with excitement.

"Not today, little princess," Kili told her. "Today you are wearing the braids of a true princess of the line of Durin. You must walk properly next to your uncle on the way to Grandmother's."

Kiriel went still in front of her father. "The braids of a princess?" she asked, turning to look at Kili with wide eyes.

"Aye," he smiled. "You are growing up. Your grandmother will be so proud when she sees you."

Tauriel met Kili's eyes and they shared a private look. It was hard to believe their daughter was old enough for this moment.

Kili's fingers deftly began to weave his daughter's hair into elegant braids that crisscrossed the back of her head. She didn't fidget, only handed him the clasps when he reached for them. "There," he smiled proudly, sitting back when he was done.

"It looks lovely, Kiri," Tauriel told her daughter proudly.

"Thank you, Mum," the child chirped, wiggling happily. A knock on the door made Kiri jump. "It's Uncle Fee!" She ran to answer it.

"I hope the braids will last until Mother sees them," Kili chuckled, casting a grin at his wife.

"I imagine you were much the same at her age. You still cannot keep your hair braided for more than half a moment," Tauriel told him cheekily.

Kili couldn't contain his laugh. "You are right love." He stood and slipped an arm around her slender waist, peering at his slumbering son.

"Unce Fee!" Kiriel shouted, throwing herself into Fili's arms.

The dwarf prince hoisted her onto his hip, his eyes widening when he caught sight of her braids. "Look at you, lass! I will feel mighty special walking by your side on the way to Grandmother's."

Kiri beamed as her uncle put her down. "I hope she likes my braids."

"She will," Fili assured her. He crossed the room to get a peek at his nephew. "I do believe he has already grown," he told the proud parents.

"Aye" Kili assured him. "He's a hungry little bugger."

"You look beautiful, Tauriel," Fili told the new mother, leaning up to press a kiss to his sister-in-law's cheek.

"Thank you, Fili," she smiled. Kili's brother had become a close friend and a brother to her as well.

"Now," the blonde dwarf prince said as he turned to Kiri, "are you ready, little princess?"

"Yes, Uncle Fee!" She slipped her small hand trustingly into his.

"We will be back in a few hours," Fili told his brother and Tauriel. "Get some rest."

"Bye, Da! Bye, Mum!" Kiri called as she skipped beside Fili out of the door. She had definitely inherited her father's boundless energy.

Kili took his wife's hand and led her to their bedroom. "Give me the small lad," he told her. "You get in bed and get a bit more rest until Kiri returns."

"Only if you join me," Tauriel told her husband as she kicked off her boots and stretched out on the bed.

Kili tucked their son into his cradle, put his boots beside his wife's, and joined her in bed. "I love you, Tauriel," he murmured into her neck as they curled together. "Thank you for our children."

Her fingers reached out to stroke through his tangled, dark tresses. "It took the two of us, my love," she chuckled with a slight yawn.

"Sleep, Tauriel," he told her. "Our son will soon wake and Kiri will be back before we know it."

"Mm," she hummed into his hair.

Kili smiled as her breathing began to even out. He had never dreamed such happiness existed until Tauriel had come into his life. Now their children made their little family complete. "I love you," he whispered once again before joining his wife in slumber.

The End