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Arwen attended the court with the other woman, they ate breakfast together but before long, her delicate elvish senses picked up that gaze, and she raised her eyes to look around. In a perfect imitation of her father one thin eyebrow slid up in questioning and a small smile took her lips.
Tauriel walked down the middle of the room and bowed respectfully, speaking in heavily accented common, she spoke with her calm clarity and assuredness. "Might I join you?" she asked as she raised from her bow.
"Of course" Abaesa and Arwen said together, then looked at each other with matching smiles.
Tauriel sailed up the rest of the way and took a seat stiffly at the end of the group, her green eyes locked on Arwen.
One of the other ladies grabbed her by her arm "Why do you do your hair like that? It's so plain" she said, head tilted to the side.
"It denotes my rank" Tauriel replied, simply.
"Right...you're a shield maiden." one of the other young ladies said, with an affected air about her, as if she didn't fully approve.
"I am a Captain" Tauriel said in reply.
Arwen clapped her hands "What are we doing today?" she asked gently.
Abaesa sighed heavily and shrugged "Well...we could go riding, or walking, or we could read together" she said, looking indifferent.
"We could go swimming!" one of the other young ladies said, excitedly.
"Oh, yes, we could" Abaesa said excitedly, "but let's remember our modesty, after all, we're ladies" she said and leapt to her feet.
Tauriel looked at her and lifted both her brows, shaking her head.
The first woman, who'd asked her about her hairstyle, "Why the disapproval captain?" she asked, sipping her drink, with a blatant look in her eyes.
Tauriel's jaw tightened and she reared her proud chin "It is not the elvish way to do things"
"Oh, I know" Abaesa said patting her thin shoulder "But if we were to go full elvish on them, the boys would be distracted and get beaten up, or cut up or something, so we try to maintain some base level of modesty." she said patting her shoulder again.
"This is a man's world, after all" Maryn, the ever questioning woman said, looking at Tauriel with a hard stare.
Tauriel stared right back and rose gracefully to her feet. "Yes, I suppose it is."
Arwen, who had stayed carefully silent, wished that Abaesa wasn't so oblivious to the politicking that went on around her constantly.
She stood to her feet and caught Tauriel's eye, an apology on her thin face.
Tauriel managed to flash her a stern nod as they all filed out of the room.
Down at the little river where they travelled with a small guard to swim, they all wore white muslin gowns and tried to swim, in a rocky river with them on. They more just sat in the water and weaved hair decorations from the once beautifully growing wild flowers. They didn't really enjoy the experience but were obviously making a spectacle of themselves to the men who stood on horseback nearby.
Arwen sat herself under a nearby tree and sang quietly to herself. Tauriel, perched carefully on a rock nearby, joined her song in her deeper voice, and the music soon wafted over the other women.
Abaesa and 3 of the other six women came to sit nearer by, listening to the song with rapture. "You're singing too fast" Abaesa proclaimed with a laugh in her voice.
Arwen smiled and closed her eyes as she leaned against the tree when the song came to an end. "Sorry" she threw out offhand and wrapped her arms around herself.
Tauriel narrowed her eyes, the winds had picked up and she imagined she saw all of the women shivering. "Aren't you cold?" Maryn asked as they all worked to put their elegant dresses back on over their wet things, showing off as much or as little as they wanted to the guardsmen.
Tauriel shook her head "I am not" she said plainly.
Arwen stood to her feet "I grow frail at this time of year" Arwen whispered quietly.
Tauriel came immediately to stand next to her, speaking in a hushed voice she asked with worry glowing in her green eyes. "Do you hear it?" she asked desperately.
"No. No." she said, shaking her head "I can just feel the cold racking the air and taking control ever so slowly." she said.
"This is around the time that..." But Abaesa smacked the young daughter of the chief councilor.
"Don't even say that" she said sharply, she knew how quiet and pensive her dear Eldarion got around this time of year as well.
Arwen smiled and rose to her feet "It's alright Abaesa, we all know what happened around this time of year" Tauriel left her hand on Arwen's shoulder and opened her mouth to speak but then looked directly into the woods.
Wishing she had both blade and bow with her she grabbed the reins of the captain of their guard. "There is something in the woods" she said, pulling his boot knife she disappeared completely into the trees.
"Half you men take these ladies back to the citadel-immediately. The rest with me" he said and took off, trying to pursue the elf.
Arwen pressed her hand to her lips and took two steps forward "My lady queen, you must come, quickly" he said as each man scooped a girl onto his horse and they charged back to the stone tower that would protect them.
Hours passed by and Eldarion appeared, Abaesa ran to him immediately, as all the women were scared and longing for their husbands. His careful grey eyes took in the scene before him and shook his head tucking his usually boisterous wife to his side. "Mama-what has happened?" he asked.
Jerked back to the present a worried Arwen stood tall and capable as she spun around. "Tauriel heard something of ill ilk stirring in the woods while we were swimming" she replied gently.
Eldarion pressed a kiss to Abaesa's head and turned to the guards who hadn't left their posts. "What is being done about this?"
"The elf and several of the guards pursued whatever it was and have been missing for most of the afternoon"
Arwen blanked out of the conversation and began to pace worriedly, out of her mind with worry. It brought her right back to the great war and the exhaustion and fear she'd felt when Aragorn had run with the 9.
She never wanted to feel this and her hands clutched her heart as she felt stabs of worry and pain once again. She sunk to her seat and dropped her face to her hands.
Maryn noticed and pursed her lips together, saying nothing.
Eldarion left, and returned armed and armoured and ready for battle "I am taking a contigent of men and we will find them and eliminate the threat" he said and brushed his gloved fingers down Abaesa's worried face.
"Please be careful" she whispered, her manner definitively subdued as worry wrote itself across her own face.
Arwen twisted to her feet, her companion and her son, she could barely stand it "Eldarion" she said, in a soft voice so twisted with emotion that he broke down and took a step to touch her cheek as well. "All will be well" he said strongly and turned on his heel to march out of the hall.
Just as Tauriel strode in, a streak of dirt across one cheek and a calm expression on her face. "The threat was small and has been taken care of, sire" she said, immediately coming to a stop and bowing deeply with respect as she saw him.
"Well then...I suppose I got dressed for nothing. Thank you Tauriel" he said, the last sentence in her native tongue.
He turned once again to leave the room "I expect a briefing before the end of the day" he said and patted her on the shoulder as he walked away.
Arwen wanted to throw herself in Tauriel's arms and kiss the dirt away, but she saw two problems, she had no idea how that would be accepted, and the dirt wasn't dirt, it was a quickly raising wound.
"Tauriel" she said, concern flaring in her eyes she couldn't help herself as she rushed forward and hovered two fingers over the wound.
"It is nothing" she said with a shake of her head, eyes locked on Arwen's. Arwen gulped, feeling the heat between them she felt very much on the brink of kissing her again, she even licked her lips in preparation.
But reality crashed in on them and both turned as the other women rushed in "what was it? How did you hurt yourself?" they chorused at once.
Maryn grabbed Arwen by her elbow while the others crashed in on Tauriel. "A word? My Lady Queen?" she hissed through her teeth.
"I know you are only a half elf, and that you were married to a liberal man of the world. But there's something you need to know" she said.
Arwen's brows knit together and she shook her head "I think she cares for you, as a man would care for a woman. And your little attentions are not helping it. Let her turn her love somewhere else, she cares for you but she is saddened by it. That is a good sign, let her go, send her away. Just an extended guard run. You can find someone else to shower you with affection and attention, a man, there are many who could fill your husbands place" she said seriously.
Arwen's mouth fell open and she felt ire fill her blood, anger and disgust boiled in her veins and her hands clutched into fists, but she kept her cool. Though a hard tone crept into her voice. "What do you mean saddened?" she asked, carefully.
"Clearly she wants you to return her affections. And you do not, you share everything that she wants but she knows she can't move towards you, because of your affections for your long passed husband. But you cannot be alone forever, send her away and turn your forever to someone else"
Arwen wasn't sure what to think or what to feel, she was furious that Maryn would be so bold with her, but she was also finding it problematic the words coming out of her mouth. Was Tauriel really saddened by their relationship? Where could that sadness stem from? What could she do to fix it?
She took a deep breath and pulled her arm from Maryn's grasp. "Thank you for your thoughts, but I can manage my personal life on my own." she moved to turn away but Maryn grabbed her slender wrist in a sharp fingers grasp, the stones from the rings on her fingers bit into Arwen's pale flesh and her eyes widened with pain.
"As my husband advises your son, I advise you. Stay. Away. From. The. Elf" she hissed, trying to be intimidating.
Energy flushed through Arwen's body and she lifted her eyes to glare at the woman with real ire in her usually sweet grey eyes. She pulled her arm away sharply, ignoring the scratch from those rings that drew blood along her fore arm.
"You will leave me be. I will make my own decisions based on my own judgements. If I wanted your advice Maryn, I would ask for it. I do not need your council, I have many years beyond your youth and can see things from quite a different place, thank you very much" she said with all the decorum she could muster, then turned and all but ran out of the hall.
Tauriel noticed and blinked twice, she longed to run after her but settled for a long, hard stare at the woman who had called attention to their blossoming relationship.
Maryn stared right back at her, arms folding across her chest in disapproval.
Tauriel left the room with only a few terse words of parting and then headed off to tidy her appearance and prepare her report for the king, waiting for the night to come, so that she could check up on her lady queen without the prying eyes of the women that only thought they knew their half-elven queen.