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Tauriel wiggled her toes against the lush grass, a sigh of utter relief and joy escaping her as she stared up at the stars. She dare not slip away from Mirkwood too often, else she’d draw the attention of her lord, but every so often, she couldn’t stay away any longer; she had to feel the moonlight upon her skin, hear the song of the stars on the wind.
DONG
And occasionally the end-of-work bell echoing out of Erebor. She sighed again and turned her head to look past Dale to the dwarven kingdom that had made this part of Middle Earth so prosperous for so long. She wondered, sometimes, in the darkest reaches of the night and during her most boring lessons what it was like within the mountain. She’d heard from the guards among Thranduil’s entourage that it was cold, with sharp angles, dark stone, and garish gold. That the mountain itself seemed to rumble all around them with the heavy steps of the dwarves and their deep, harsh, secret language. She didn’t entirely believed them that it was a horrible place, but she wasn’t likely to be allowed to accompany her lord for many years, if not decades. She’d just have to wait and work hard to make her way up the ranks.
*
It’s been many long, hard years, but Tauriel’s finally earned her position as Captain of the Guard. It is the night before King Thranduil is due to visit Erebor for Prince Thorin’s coronation and wedding. She stood at the edge of Mirkwood, looking towards their destination.
Rumour has traveled even as far as Rivendell that Prince Thorin’s intended is a child of Yavanna, a hobbit. She doesn’t know how the hobbit came to be this far east and north, nor how he managed to get to Erebor without the elves of Mirkwood knowing, for the shortest path from the West to Erebor is through Mirkwood, a dangerous undertaking without a guide. Perhaps the halfling was on one of the trade wagons that passes through monthly?
She gave a mental shrug and finally tore her absent gaze away from Erebor to what had brought her out of Mirkwood on the eve of such an important trip. The stars. She moved further away from the woods, until her view of the sky was unhindered by branches or trees. Finally, she sprawled out on the grass, her hair fanning about her on the ground. She’ll have to brush it well before her duties tomorrow, but the extra work is worth it to feel the starlight on her face again for the first time in months.
She’s been so busy with her new duties that she hasn’t had time to come out here as often as she’d like. The trip to Erebor will take a couple days, at least, most of them outside the shelter of the trees, but her focus will be on protecting her lord and his son, not on the stars above. No, it’s best to enjoy them while she can before time and duty drawn her in again.
Her eyes slip closed as she breathes in the night air. She’s nearly asleep when a noise reaches her ears: a soft ruffling of leaves. She listened closely, but the noise didn’t come again. She shook her head. ‘Probably just a bird,' she thought, losing herself in the starlight again.
Long moments passed before the noise came again and her eyes snapped open. ‘Not a bird. A larger animal, perhaps?' She lay very still, reluctant to alert who or whatever was in the trees to her attention.
More rustling sounded, then a sharp snap and an alarmed cry had her on her feet, dashing to the trees. Her sharp eyes caught sight of a darker figure falling through the branches and she ran faster, reaching the trees just in time to catch whomever had fallen.
The person’s breath whooshed out of them and they lay in her arms for a long moment, catching their breath again before shaking their tangled brown hair out of their eyes. “Thank—,” they started to say, then broke off when their brown eyes met Tauriel’s. He blinked at her slowly then rapidly and shook his head. “Thanks for the catch. I’m usually a much better climber than that.”
"You’re welcome," Tauriel replied softly. "I’ve never known a dwarf to climb trees."
"You’ve not met many dwarrows then," he answered. "We’re quite good climbers. How d’you think we get so far down the mountain?"
"Lifts?" she suggested, frowning.
He paused for a moment then nodded. “Well, aye, those, too. Some places can’t be reached by lift, though. All a well-trained dwarrow really needs is a sturdy pair of boots.” He swung one leg up to show off metal-capped boots. “And steady hands.” He held his hands up and flexed his, somewhat dirty, fingers.
"A strong stomach, too, perhaps?" she wondered, thinking of the tall mountain reaching to the sky.
He made a face. “Dwarrow stomachs are as strong as iron,” he boasted. “Heights don’t matter much to us, so long as there’s solid rock to catch us.”
"To crush your bones, you mean," Tauriel countered.
He shrugged. “Dwarrows come from stone, to stone we go when Mahal calls us home, if that is our end, it is Mahal’s will.”
"Mahal?" she asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
"Aye. You might know him better as Aulë," he supplied.
She nodded in understanding. “Yes.”
They stared at each other in silence. She knew she ought to look away, but something about this strange dwarf drew her in.
"Ah, d’you mind setting me down now?" he finally asked, breaking the silence.
She jumped and blushed before letting him slide to the ground. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly.
"S’alright," he assured her as he brushed his hands over his trousers. "I’m Kili, by the way."
"Tauriel," she supplied at his curious look. They stood there awkwardly for a moment before Tauriel said, "If you don’t mind me asking, what is a dwarf doing so far from the mountain? Especially with the crown prince’s coronation in a week."
Kili’s dark gaze turned to the mountain. “I felt kind of lost, to be honest. There’s so much fuss going on with-with Prince Thorin’s coronation and wedding.” He looked down at his boots scuffing at the roots. “It felt like they’d all forgotten me.”
"Who?" she wondered.
"My mother, my brother, my uncle, my friends," he answered with a small shrug.
"You could come with—" she started then broke off. King Thranduil coming to Erebor with a dwarf in tow was maybe not the best idea, she thought. She knew there was no love lost between King Thranduil and the dwarves of Erebor, though for what reason she knew not. Arriving with a dwarf was a recipe for disaster.
A smile flashed across his grubby face and he reached up to pat her fidgeting hands. “Don’t worry about me. I got this far on my own, I’m sure I can get back just fine. Besides, dwarrows are built for endurance. I’m certain I could reach Erebor before a party of elves.”
"Oh can you?" she inquired, grinning at the hint of a challenge in Kili’s voice.
He nodded firmly. “I can and I’ll even make a wager with you. If I reach the mountain before you and your elven friends, you have to drink… three tankards of the moonshine Master Baggins brought with him all the way from the Shire.”
”Master Baggins?” Tauriel inquired, surprised.
Kili grinned. “Prince Thorin already has two heirs, thanks to his sister,” he explained. “All those years of being particular about his partners paid off and he’s marrying his One.”
"His One?"
He frowned up at her. “Are you just going to keep repeating what I say?”
"I’m sorry," she replied. "I’ve not spent much time around dwarves."
"Dwarrows," he countered then shrugged. "Every dwarrow has One person in all of Middle Earth who is their perfect match. More often than not, their one is another dwarrow, but some are from the other races."
"How did Prince Thorin even meet Master… Baggins?" she wondered.
"Ah-ah-ah," he admonished. "Can’t go sharing all my stories now, else I won’t have any to tell you while you enjoy Bi-aggins’s moonshine."
Tauriel smiled, enjoying Kili’s slightly cocky attitude. “You’re that sure you’ll win?”
"I know I will," he stated, planting is feet and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Just for the sake of propriety, what happens if I win?" she asked.
He blinked up at her for a long moment. “Well— I…” he trailed off, stumped.
"Judging by the fact that it’s a forfeit," she began, beginning to pace around Kili. "I imagine Master Baggins’s moonshine isn’t to be trifled with. So, if I win, you have to sample Master Baggins’s moonshine.” Her grin widened when Kili’s face turned a little green about the edges. “Again.”
"How did you—?" he gaped up at her.
"Lucky guess," she replied with a nonchalant shrug.
He huffed, but a smile lingered at the corners of his mouth. “To make it fair, I’ll be waiting near the path from Mirkwood to Erebor. You won’t be able to see me, but I’ll let you know I’ve started by hooting twice like a brown owl and once like a barn owl.”
She stared at him. “How in Arda do you know what those birds sound like?”
"Not my first time sneaking out of the mountain," he replied before turning and running into the trees.
She stared after him for a moment before huffing a soft laugh and shaking her head ruefully. It was time she was abed, anyway. She had a couple long weeks ahead of her.
*
As promised, just as Tauriel’s horse cleared the trees, she heard three bird calls, though none of them could even be remotely related to owls. She stifled a laugh and rode on.
*
She didn’t see any sign of Kili as they passed through the gates of Erebor. Her gaze searched the crowds of dwarves—dwarrows— that stood waiting for them, but she still did not see him. A sense of triumph swelling within her, she followed her lord through the halls of Erebor to the long bridge to the throne.
Her breath caught in her throat at the long drop and she resolutely kept her gaze forward as they walked. The rest of the guard had been left behind at the end of the bridge, with only Tauriel and Legolas flanking King Thranduil. Even her sharp eyes could barely make out five figures arrayed around the occupied throne.
Her gaze wavered to the edge for but a moment and her stomach dropped. She swallowed hard and shifted her eyes to the back of Thranduil’s head, focusing on counting her steps until he came to halt, Legolas and Tauriel stopping with him.
"Hail King Thrain," Thranduil intoned, dipping his head in an abbreviated bow. She glanced at Legolas and copied his deeper bow. "I offer my congratulations to your son, Prince Thorin, on his coming coronation and nuptials." She and Legolas straightened and her eyes caught on the dwarrow standing just to the right of the throne.
A strong figure of a dwarrow stood beside the king, a coronet upon his brow, his back straight, his pale eyes cold. He dipped his head to Thranduil and extended a hand to the person standing beside him. “My intended, Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. Bilbo, this is King Thranduil of Mirkwood.”
Thranduil bowed again, slightly deeper this time, and Tauriel hid her wince with her own bow. “An honor, Master Baggins. It has been many long years since I’ve seen a hobbit this far east.”
An uneasy smile graced Master Baggins’s face. “And you are not likely to see any others for many more years,” he replied.
A soft laugh barely shook Thranduil’s shoulders. “Indeed.”
"May I also present, my sister, Dis, and my nephews and heirs, Fili and Kili, sons of Vili," Prince Thorin intoned.
Tauriel’s heart stuttered in her chest as she followed Prince Thorin’s gesture to the three dwarrows standing on the other side of the throne. Just at King Thrain’s left hand stood a female dwarrow not much different from Thorin, though her hair was the color of spun gold. The dwarrow just beside her had her golden hair, but shared hardly any other features. The dwarrow beside him was too familiar by half. Especially the impish, cocky look in his eyes when he met her gaze.
‘Oh no.’
*
“What were you thinking?” Thranduil demanded half an hour later in their quarters. He paced before her as she stood just inside the door, staring blankly at the wall, barely registering what he was saying.
The heir of Erebor. She’d been flirting with the heir of Erebor. Oh, Eru save her. Not that she thought he took it as such, but for her, it was flirting.
“Not bowing to the princes of Erebor, it’s a disgrace, Tauriel,” Thranduil fumed. “I knew it was too early for you to be on such an important visit.”
Tauriel tore her gaze away from the wall to meet her lord’s piercing eyes. “I am ready for this, my king,” she assured him. “I was just taken by surprise. I’d met Prince Kili before, but I didn’t know his position within the mountain. I didn’t expect to see him standing beside the king. I will perform the rest of my duties to the best of my abilities.”
He stared at her long enough for Tauriel to almost start fidgeting before turning away in a swirl of fabric. “Very well,” he acquiesced. “The captain of the Ereborean guard is expecting you.” He dismissed her with a flick of his hand.
“My king,” she murmured, bowing slightly before turning and slipping out into the corridor. She paused for a moment to let out a relieved breath. That could have gone so much worse.
“I’m sorry,” Kili said from down the corridor.
She turned away from the door to regard him. His clothes were much finer than what he’d been wearing when they met. A coronet circled his brow, the pale gold metal and deep blue gems making his dark eyes shine, despite the apology in them. “You’re lucky it would be too much fuss for me to be sent back to Mirkwood. Despite that gaff, King Thranduil knows I’m the best guard he has, aside from Legolas, and Legolas will be too occupied with his own duties as the prince to be his guard.”
“I am sorry,” Kili repeated, edging closer.
Tauriel sighed, her shoulder slumping. “You could have at least warned me.”
“And say what?” he asked sadly. “’By the by, I’m an heir of Erebor.’”
“Yes,” she answered. “Something more than what you did tell me, which was nothing at all.”
“I guess I thought you’d figure it out,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “Not many dwarrows have access to Bilbo’s moonshine.”
“I’ve never been here before, Kili,” she pointed out. “How was I to know that?”
“You’re right,” he agreed as he glanced up at her through his eyelashes. “Besides, how was I to know you’d be here? You didn’t exactly give your own full title.” They stared at each other before Kili sighed as he straightened, squaring his shoulders. “Let’s start over again.” He gave a flourishing bow. “I’m Kili, son of Dis, daughter of Thrain, at your service. I’m a prince of Erebor and second in line to the throne.”
She stifled a laugh and offered her own bow. “I’m Tauriel, captain of King Thranduil’s guard.” She paused a moment, then added, “At your service.”
They both straightened, laughing. “Come on,” Kili said, jerking his head towards the path into the main part of the mountain. “I’m actually here for a reason. Master Dwalin needed a runner and I volunteered.”
“Who’s Master Dwalin?” Tauriel asked as she fell into step beside Kili.
“Captain of the guard,” he answered, striding along the corridor. “I’ll be sitting in on your meeting with him, then we’re both free for the evening. Ol’ Thrandy’ll be safe as mithril, for the time being. I believe I owe you some samples of Bilbo’s moonshine.”
Even as Tauriel groaned, a laugh was also escaping. One thing she knew for certain, this trip to Erebor certainly wouldn’t be boring.