"King Bard is here, Lord Thranduil. Shall I show him and his guests in?"
Tauriel hears a shift of movement from the throne as Thranduil perks up a bit.
"Guests?" he asks.
There is a smile in Feren's voice when the other elf responds.
"He brought his children, Prince Bain and the Princesses Sigrid and Tilda."
Tauriel tries to keep her own expression to a little smile as Thranduil lets out a sigh.
"Very well, show them in."
The two kings had agreed to meet in person to discuss alliances, and because Bard's kingdom was still somewhat under construction, the two had agreed to meet in the woodland realm, with an elven guard to lead the man's way.
The addition of his children is new information, however, and Tauriel feels herself smiling at the thought of seeing Sigrid and Bain and little Tilda again.
Well, not seeing per se...
Her happiness dissipates somewhat at that thought, and Tauriel feels a little frown flicker across her face.
The children don't know she is blind. She hasn't seen them since the end of the battle.
Tauriel will have to explain again why she's been punished in such a manner - for betraying her people and her king. She'll have to ruin her image in the eyes of another group of friends.
"Why are you pouting, Tauriel?" Thranduil asks suddenly, startling her from her thoughts.
She is caught for a second between a quick defense of "I'm not pouting" and a casual deflection of "nothing, My Lord," and hesitates for a moment too long trying to pick which she's going to use.
"I've been assured that his children are quite well behaved. I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."
Oh, Tauriel knows that the archer's three children are little angels, but that's not exactly the issue, and so she simply nods to prevent further discussion.
Thranduil, however, is not fooled.
"Tauriel, whatever is the matter?"
Before she can pick the words to answer, the creak of the throne room doors being pushed open cuts her off.
"Lord Bard," Feren announces. "Accompanied by the Prince and Princesses of Dale."
"Your Majesty," a deep voice starts, and Tauriel takes a long second to place it as the bowman. "I am honored to be welcomed to your kingdom on this-"
He is cut off by a little gasp, however, and there is a sharp rustle of movement from the man's side.
"Lady Tauriel!" twin voices cry, and she only has a second to brace herself for impact before two decently-sized weights hit her at nearly a full run.
"Girls-" she hears Bard say in light exasperation, and Tauriel carefully wraps her arms around the two small forms that are clinging to her excitedly.
"Da, it's Lady Tauriel!" a young voice calls back, from about chest-height to her. Probably Tilda.
"Erm..." their father starts in mild confusion.
"You remember Lady Tauriel," the other one speaks up, and this one is definitely Sigrid. "Right, Da?"
The bowman shifts his weight a little nervously, and Tauriel can't help but tense as she hears Thranduil move as well.
"You all know each other?" her King asks.
Oh. Right. She'd never mentioned...
Tauriel swallows hard, scrambling for an explanation.
"We met. Briefly. In Laketown."
"She showed up with the blond elf and fought off a bunch of orcs that were trying to kill us!" Sigrid adds, a hint of awe in her voice.
"And she used elf magic to heal the young dwarf who got shot in the leg!" Tilda chimes in. "It was amazing!"
"And she helped get my sisters to safety when the dragon attacked," Bain finishes from back by his father's side, his voice getting a touch muffled as he turns. "We all owe her our lives."
"I see..."
Tauriel tries not to let her face flush at the dry humor in her king's tone, feeling his gaze on her as she busies herself with detangling the girls from around her.
Distraction. She needs a distraction.
"Come along, Tilda, Sigrid, Bain. Let's wait outside while your father is busy. I'll show you around the garden."
"Yes, good idea, Tauriel," Thranduil says, and she can hear the wicked smile in his tone. "Once we're done here we'll come find you four, and you and I can chat for a bit."
Tauriel nods absently, throwing her attention into trying to shoo the three children toward the gardens. This is made infinitely harder by the fact that she can't see them, and has to rely on the sound of their footsteps to guess at where they are, which one she is hearing, and how tall the child is. She does manage to land a hand on the crown of Tilda's head, and catches Bain's shoulder in the other on the second try, steering them in the right direction as they chatter up at her excitedly.
"She made quite the impression on them. The children adore her," she overhears Bard say to her king as she ushers the three through a side door into a short hallway. "Tilda wants to grow up to be an elf."
"Lady Tauriel," a voice asks at her shoulder before she can think too hard about Bard's words. This voice is more lowly pitched - Bain.
"Yes, child?"
"You never said you were King Thranduil's advisor."
"Not his advisor, per se," she explains, herding the three around a turn in the hall as best she can. "There are other elves far more old and wise than I who have that honor. I am merely his assistant."
"You still stand at his right side," the boy argues, a hint of awed respect in his tone that kills her inside because she is in no way deserving of such high regard.
Thankfully, she is saved from answering by another little turn that brings them to an open area in the courtyard that serves as Thranduil's garden.
Thankfully, she has learned her way about the palace far better than when she'd first come out here with Alassé and gotten herself lost. The change from taking visual directional cues to measuring distances in steps and the feel of the environment has taken a while to ingrain, but she is getting rather good at it.
As they move out into the gardens, she hears the children gasp in awe.
"Look at all the trees..." Sigrid says in wonder. "Everything here is so green!"
"Can we play Dodge the Orc?" Bain asks, turning in her grip to face her. "Please? We won't wander far!"
"Of course," Tauriel responds. "Just be careful."
"We will be!" the boy promises, slipping from her hold.
"Are you going to play with us?" Tilda asks.
Tauriel feels a little guilty as she shakes her head and hears the girl mutter "awwww" in disappointment.
"You three have fun," she says, waving them off before settling herself at the base of a small tree. "Be careful not to hurt the plants."
"We will!" Sigrid promises, and Tauriel smiles a little as she listens to the older two lay out the rules.
"I'll be the orc first," Bain says. "Tauriel's the prison. If I find you and tag you, you've got to wait by her. Last one caught is orc next round."
"And if we tap your head you have to kneel for the full five seconds before giving chase," Sigrid says. "Last time you kept getting up after four."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Fine. Full five seconds. I'll give you a count of twenty to hide."
"Thirty," Sigrid bargains. "New area."
"Fine, thirty then. Starting now! One, two, three, four-"
"Count slower!" Tilda squeals, and Tauriel smiles as Bain drags out the next few numbers overtop of the sound of the girls running away. Once they're out of earshot, however, he speeds up the count again.
"-twentyseventwentyeighttwentyniethirty! Here I come!"
There's a few seconds of suspenseful silence, broken only by Bain's clumsily sneaky footsteps, and then the boy shouts "gotcha!" and there is a squeal from Tilda, followed shortly by Sigrid's shout of "killed the orc" and Bain's frustrated and rushed count of five as he drops heavily to his knees in the underbrush.
Tauriel lets herself relax against the trunk of the tree with a smile, enjoying the sunshine as she listens to the children run around, crying out and laughing as they are nearly caught by one another.
Unsurprisingly, little Tilda is the first one out, and Tauriel looks up as she hears the girl trudging over with a muttered complaint about her brother cheating only a few short moments later.
"No luck this round?" she asks with a little smile.
"Bain's too fast, and he knows where I like to hide."
"Ah, that is unfortunate," Tauriel says pityingly, scooting over to make room for the girl and patting the ground at her side.
"Lady Tauriel?" Tilda asks, dropping to the grass with a little huff of breath.
"Yes, little one?"
"What's wrong with your eyes?"
And although she should have expected it, she is still taken completely by surprise at the girl's question.
"I..." she starts hesitantly, scrambling for a good way to explain her traitor's punishment without ruining the heroic image that the child has of her. "There was an...incident, after the battle. My eyes are this color now because I am blind."
The girl lets out a little gasp of horror.
"That's awful! You mean you can't even see me?"
Tauriel shakes her head, trying to ignore the ache in her throat. A moment later a pair of tiny arms wind around her as Tilda gives her a hug.
"That's a terrible thing to happen to someone so wonderful!"
Tauriel closes her eyes as a swell of emotions cinches her throat and makes her eyes water.
She's not wonderful. Not by a long shot. And she verymuch deserved her punishment.
But she can't seem to find her voice to correct the child.
Instead Tauriel reaches gently for the girl's head, stroking her fingers down through Tilda's lightly tangled hair.
"I'll be all right, little one," she finally manages. "Don't waste time worrying for me."
There is a yelp from Sigrid before Tilda can respond, and a second later the older two children are jogging back to their side, breathing hard.
"All right, Tilda, Sigrid's it," Bain pants. "You ready?"
The girl scrambles to her feet, and Tauriel listens to Bain and Tilda run off into the garden as Sigrid starts a count, giving them a good long while to hide before turning to go after them.
Tilda comes huffing back to Tauriel's side only a few minutes later, and the elf tries not to smile as the bowman's youngest child drops to the ground next to her once again.
"I hate when Sigrid's the orc," she mutters. "Bain doesn't even try to sneak up and tap her head so she won't catch me."
"Your sister usually tags your brother out so you can get away?" Tauriel asks, and the girl hums in agreement.
"Bain doesn't bother, he just runs. Sigrid usually tries to find him first, but I got unlucky."
Tauriel nods, listening for the other two children. They're both being quiet - Sigrid is a lot better at creeping around quietly than her brother - but Tauriel can still hear the soft sounds of them moving from further down the path.
Tilda shifts by her side, and Tauriel turns her attention back to the girl as Tilda clears her throat a little.
"Could you-...well..." the girl starts, hesitating for a second before taking a deep breath and letting it out as a sigh.
"Could I what?" Tauriel prompts gently.
"I suppose you can't braid my hair cause you can't see..." the girl mutters, her tone dejected.
And that simply isn't going to do.
"I managed to braid my own hair, didn't I?" Tauriel asks, a smile tugging at her lips. "I can't guarantee that it will be perfect, but I can certainly give it a try."
Tilda makes a little happy sound, and Tauriel startles a bit as the girl scrambles into her lap without warning. Chuckling, Tauriel runs her fingers over the girl's head, gathering her hair back and lining herself up as she starts to carefully separate out sections.
"Sigrid braids my hair fancy sometimes. Usually it's just a circlet braid like hers, but I like the elven braids better. They look so pretty," the girl chats absently as Tauriel begins to weave the strands together.
It's harder with Tilda's hair than her own. There are a few little knots that Tauriel has to tease out as she works, and the strands are more coarse than the silken hair that elves have. In addition, it feels like it has some shape to it, and Tauriel absently wonders if it's natural curl or merely from being crimped up in a bun all day as she finishes one braid and back-weaves the end to hold it in.
The second braid goes in much easier, and Tauriel is just finishing it up as Sigrid and Bain come back to them, out of breath.
"You in this round, Tilda?" Sigrid asks, and Tauriel nearly loses her hold on the braid as the girl shakes her head.
"I'm getting my hair braided!"
"Suit yourself," Bain says, and a second later he starts up a count as Sigrid scampers off.
Tauriel starts in on a third braid as Bain rushes through the numbers, and Tilda orders him to slow down, earning a groan from her brother and a chuckle from Tauriel. She finishes the third braid as Bain runs off to find his older sister, and starts in on a fourth braid, Tilda shifting impatiently in her lap.
Tauriel has decided to mimic her own hairstyle in the child's hair, as it's what she's most familiar with and least likely to mess up, and so once the smaller braids are woven she sets in on connecting them together in a larger weave down the back of the girl's head.
"Does it look good?" Tilda asks absently, and Tauriel has to resist a smile when she feels the girl stiffen in her hold a second later, stuttering an apology.
"It feels like I've done it properly," Tauriel answers, tying up the end with a long strand of grass that she plucks from nearby. "I'm afraid I don't have a mirror to let you see for yourself, however..."
"That's all right, Sigrid's heading our way, I'll ask her."
Sure enough, a moment later Tauriel can make out the soft footsteps of the bowman's children as they return to her side. Theirs are not the only set of footsteps that she hears, however, and Tauriel gets to her feet as Thranduil's voice says "ah, there you all are" from behind her.
"Da!" the children chorus almost in synch, and Tauriel bites back a grin as she hears the three rush eagerly to the bowman.
"Hello," Bard chuckles. "Did you have fun?"
"The garden is beautiful!" Sigrid breaths.
"So many trees!" Bain adds, his comment almost drowned out by Tilda asking how pretty her braids look.
"Your braids are lovely, dear. Did Lady Tauriel put them in for you?" Bard asks, grunting as he picks up his youngest. Her voice comes from the same height as his a second later.
"Yes, she did!"
"Did you thank her?"
Tauriel struggles to keep a straight face as Tilda makes a little sound in horror, realizing that she has not, and quickly calls out her thanks.
"You're very welcome, little one," Tauriel responds, hearing Thranduil shift a bit closer to her.
"Are you done with business, Da?" Sigrid asks, but surprisingly, it is Thranduil who answers.
"For the time being, we are finished. However, I would be most honored if you would all join me for dinner," Thranduil offers. "The journey back is long, and the forest can be treacherous as night. I would be more than happy to accommodate you until tomorrow, when the trip can be made fully in the daylight."
"We would be honored to join you," Bard replies, equally gracious, and Tauriel moves a pace closer to her king's side to make room as she hears another set of footsteps approach.
"I will have you shown to you to your rooms, so you may all freshen up before the meal," Thranduil says. "Feren, if you would?"
"Of course, My Lord."
Tauriel listens patiently as Feren leads the bowman and his children back inside, and can't help but tense a little as Thranduil slowly turns around to face her.
She focuses on brushing down her tunic for loose blades of grass.
"Met briefly in Laketown, was it?" her king says, a grin in his voice.
"Yes, My Lord."
"So am I to assume this is another of your escapades that I have yet to hear about?" Thranduil asks, amusement in his tone, and Tauriel ducks her head as she tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"It was nothing to tell of, my Lord. A little skirmish with orcs that continued into Dale. Legolas and I took care of it."
"And your dwarf was coincidentally staying with the bowman's family when you swept in to rescue them?"
Tauriel ducks her head lower to hide her flush.
Thranduil chuckles.
"And what of this miracle healing that they mentioned?"
"A stroke of luck, and Eru's blessing. Not that it did any good in the long run..." she adds, her voice going soft with sadness. Honestly, the whole thing seemed so dammed unfair. "I still don't understand why he would answer my plea to heal Kili only to let him be killed in battle barely a day later..."
Tauriel blinks in surprise as she feels Thranduil's finger curl beneath her chin, lifting her head up.
"Eru always does things for a reason," Thranduil soothes. "Perhaps the Valar answered your plea to save the dwarf so that he, in turn, could return the favor and save your life in battle."
"But why save me?" she whispers before she can think twice. It doesn't make sense. Kili was a prince. She...she is no one.
For a second there is silence, and then she feels Thranduil lean close.
"Perhaps it is because there are so many of us here that need you yet," he whispers against the shell of her ear, sweeping off back toward the palace before she can reply.
He doesn't slow down when she calls "My Lord?" after him in surprise, and Tauriel can only follow, a blush heating her cheeks and a little smile tugging at her lips.
Perhaps Eru had his reasons.
She will simply have to wait and see.
Author's Note: Apologies for the lack of updates, job searching it a bitch.