Work Text:
There were giggles coming from behind the curtain.
As she looked around the room surreptitiously, she realized that only a few had heard them. Bilbo, the halfling, seem to be shooting glares at the blue drapery. Balin, the Dwarf King's advisor with the long white beard, seemed also distracted by the noises. At her side, Legolas twitched every time another round of giggles started. Everyone else seemed oblivious.
Tauriel nudged the prince's foot with her boot and raised an eyebrow. He frowned slightly and shook his head once. Not a danger, just an annoyance it seemed.
The meeting was dragging on as the dwarven king and the elven king argued over hunting laws across borders. Bard, the dragon slayer and now king of Dale, looked like he was about to fall asleep into his cup of tea. The hour was getting late, and the man was obviously overworked.
The giggles started again and Tauriel decided to see just who was having fun at this horrendously boring meeting. As she rose from her seat, she quietly communicated her intentions to Legolas and padded over to the curtain. She slowly moved the curtain aside and poked her head in the little recessed alcove before slipping inside.
"Ah! Tauriel! Would you like to join us? We are having a tea party!"
Tilda waved excitedly as Kili shushed her.
"Don't be so loud or we'll have to invite everyone and no one wants grumpy Uncle Thorin or Thranduil to ruin our fun!" He whispered as he winked at the elf. "Come join us, Caption. Our current topic is whether or not King Prettyhair will ever marry King Dragonslayer." He gestured to the little carved figurines that had all been given little crowns and swords.
"I don't want to think about my Da having sex," Bain mumbled from his corner where he was apparently attempting to fall asleep.
Sigrid made a face as well as she turned from her conversation with Fili.
"Now I'm thinking about it. I really would rather not be thinking about it."
"I think King Dragonslayer would be much happier married to King Prettyhair." Tilda continued oblivious to her siblings newfound disgust. "And King Prettyhair would smile more instead of looking so sad and angry at King Grumpypants all the time."
Tauriel sat in the space next to Kili and gladly took a cup of tea.
"Don't drink it. It's almost pure sugar." Kili whispered in her ear as she started to take a sip. But it was too late. The elf blinked several times before swallowing and nodding to Tilda.
"Thank you for the tea."
"You're very welcome!" the young girl beamed. "Oh! Lady Tauriel! Do you know why the elven king is always sad?"
She looked around at the children and dwarves that were suddenly silent and waiting for her answer. She frowned.
"I believe it is because his wife has sailed and he remained here with his people. I have not seen him smile in many years."
"She died?" The young girl asked. The elf shook her head.
"No. Elves do not pass away in the same way men do with age our illness. It is true we may die in battle, of deep grief, or of a contrived illness from poison, but some of us grow weary of this land and wish to return to the land of our forbearers where there is no pain or suffering or death. This is what Legolas' mother did and Lord Elrond's wife as well. Many feel that the time of the elves is ending and more leave for the western shores. Those who are left behind sometimes long for those who have left. It is so with my king."
She looked up to see a teary eyed Sigrid gripping Fili's hand tightly and the two brothers looked pained at the thought of being separated from their kin.
"So elves are like dwarves and only love once?" Kili asked softly. Tauriel nodded slowly.
"It is very rare that any elf love more than one during their lifetime. There have been some tales of twins falling in love with the same lover, but twins are very rare among my people. We give our heart once and we either leave these shores or die of grief if our spouse dies before us."
"Well, this is certainly a depressing conversation." They all looked up startled as Bilbo slipped inside the curtain. "The meeting has been put on hold because Bard fell asleep and spilled tea all over Thranduil and half of the treaty papers. We'll have to start over tomorrow."
Now that they were listening they could hear much more noise as many people were moving around and talking.
"What were you doing in here this whole time?" He asked looking around at the group as he opened up the curtain and helped the women to their feet.
"Having a tea party and planning a wedding!" Tilda exclaimed loudly holding up her dolls. "King Dragonslayer and King Prettyhair are going to have the prettiest wedding with flowers and music and dancing and a cake! And an archery tournament so Kili can show off his talents. And gifts for everyone!" Everyone in the room stared at the little girl as she made her little wooden dolls dance around through the air. Then they looked at Bard and Thranduil who were both turning bright red. "And then Fili and Sigrid will get married and Kili and Tauriel! And we'll have even more parties!"
Everyone turned to look at the two princes who had gone very pale at this pronouncement.
"And we'll need to find someone for prince Leogolas to marry as well, so he won't be lonely!"
Legolas looked like he was about to burst from holding in his laughter and Thranduil just placed his head in his hands and sighed.
"Legolas won't be marrying anyone soon," the elven king muttered.
"I've got a cousin," Kili said without thinking before he slammed his hands over his mouth.
"You think MY Gimli would ever marry an elf?!" Gloin yelled from across the room. From there it was pandemonium.
Tauriel watched as a red headed dwarf yelled and chased after Legolas and Bard and Thranduil got into a fierce argument over Tilda's doll-naming abilities. Kili and Fili were being lectured by their uncle and his cousins.
Bilbo stood next to her, an island of calm in a roiling sea of chaos, drinking from a delicate tea cup.
"It is good to see everyone enjoying themselves," he commented as he finished his tea.
Tauriel looked around and saw little smiles here and there and noticed the feeling of lightness that had settled over the room. She smiled softly as Kili's eyes meet hers from across the room.
"Yes, it is," she replied, holding onto the promise stone in her pocket. It was indeed.