So Comes Snow After Fire

8.iv

It took more courage than Tauriel had expected to walk back into Erebor, knowing the mess she'd left between Kíli and Thorin. Indeed, she would not have chosen to come here alone, on her own behalf: she was accompanying Bard as his ally and captain of Dale's new ranged patrol. Hopefully, her position would soften Thorin's reception of her. Kíli, she trusted, would have done what he could to resolve the conflict, but she knew too much of the stubbornness and pride of kings to expect Thorin would rejoice at the sight of her. She could only hope that, given time, Thorin would recognize that she thought of Kíli's honor as well as her own feelings.

If she had been an object of curiosity during her stay in Erebor, she was even more so now. Everyone they passed on the way to the meeting room was staring at her, she thought. Ought she to have told Bard what had happened when she left?

She recognized some of the faces, but many where new. Tauriel tried to tell herself the attention was merely due to the presence of an elf in the mountain, but just as she passed through the cluster of dwarves outside the meeting room, she heard someone's hissed remark about "the young prince's lover." Her face burned; did they truly think she had so little respect for Kíli?

And then she was through the door, and Kíli himself met her eyes. Her stomach gave a small lurch, as if she had never truly seen him before this moment when she looked and knew she loved him. It was as if all he meant to her had suddenly thrilled through her heart, like the keen point of an arrow.

Kíli's face lit instantly with a smile which he struggled to hide after a few moments, and Tauriel looked away, afraid they must surely betray themselves to all present.

Thorin was welcoming Bard and his small entourage. As he spoke, the dwarf king glanced over at her; his expression was stern, but not—she thought—disgusted or angry, and Tauriel felt the beginning of hope take root.

"Your Majesty," Tauriel said, and bowed as politely and formally as if this were truly the first time she had been introduced to the king.

"Mistress Tauriel has charge of Dale's scouts," Bard said at her shoulder. "I invited her to speak to you about the ranged patrol she has organized."

Thorin nodded. "Very good."

Once the king was seated, the rest of them found places at the broad stone council table. As Bard and his men opened discussion regarding the reconstruction of Dale, Tauriel studied their hosts. Kíli and his brother sat at Thorin's right, as they usually did: Kíli, then, had not lost his uncle's favor because of her. The recognition came as a great relief. She did not want to be the cause of Kíli's disgrace, public or private.

Tauriel did not think she saw any particular coolness between the two brothers, though it was hard to guess their feelings in such a formal setting as this. Once, during a friendly digression in the discussion, Tauriel had caught Fíli watching her. She was not quite sure what to make of his thoughtful expression—she still did not know him well enough for that—though she supposed she would have known if he resented her: he had been too kind and honest to play games in his behavior towards her.

Kíli, she would have said, was ignoring her, except for the fact that his studied attention to everyone but her was itself a kind of attention. She knew that his acute consciousness of her presence was the very reason he did not seek her eye, and she was half afraid that if he did finally address her, she would crumble under such direct notice.

More of Thorin's kinsmen were seated around him. Daín, she thought, was once again keeping her at the edge of his vision, as if she might suddenly stand and threaten them all without any warning. He had done so for the first half of her winter stay; apparently she had earned his vigilance once more. Yet she could not remain annoyed with Thorin's irascible cousin after she caught Balin offering her a kindly smile when no one else was looking. The elderly dwarf's brother, Dwalin, was present, too, though his gaze had merely flicked over her once, as if confirming that she still met the measure he had already taken of her.

When arrangements for dwarvish aid in the rebuilding of Dale's stonework had been concluded to everyone's satisfaction, talk had turned to the subject of defense. Dale had its walls and Erebor its rampart and the watchtower on Ravenhill. Yet would it not be wise to keep watch further afield, so that no enemy might surprise them again, as had happened in the recent war?

Bard had directed the counsel's attention to Tauriel.

"Sire," she began, summoning her years of experience to hide her nervousness. Surely Thorin, like herself, was remembering their last awkward encounter. "I am experienced in watching the borders of a wide realm. I wish to run an organized patrol from the mountain's northern slopes to the lake's southern shores so that we may know who crosses these lands. As this range encompasses your kingdom, I ask your permission to patrol." Her confidence grew as she spoke; she was comfortable talking about her guardsman's duties. "I also offer you the right to appoint your own captain to the organization. He would, of course, be equal in rank to myself," she finished, successfully anticipating the objection she had seen on Daín's face.

"And whose interests do you represent here?" Thorin asked when she had finished.

His question did not surprise her. Tauriel answered readily, "This arrangement will protect all those in this part of Rhovanion: dwarves, men, and elves. But as patrol captain, I submit to the authority of Dale's council and to you. While Thranduil has entrusted me to represent the Greenwood among you, I do not answer to him in this matter. He benefits only so much as we all do who dwell near the mountain."

The king paused, considering. "The precaution is a good one," he said at last. "Even in my grandfather's day we never kept watch that far. Would that we had..."

Daín shifted in his seat. "You'd trust an elf with the keeping of your lands?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Tauriel saw Kíli stiffen, but it was Dwalin who unexpectedly took her part.

"I've seen Miss Tauriel in the field," he grumbled. "There's little that escapes her attention, 'n' we've that t' thank for our own lives."

Tauriel shot him a surprised glance, which he returned with a look of steady approval. Was he referring to her actions on Ravenhill, or had he also known she covered Kíli when he opened the river gate and allowed them to escape downstream?

"Tauriel has been most selfless in her service of Dale, and she cannot fail to serve all her allies as well," Bard noted gently.

Thorin acknowledged the lakeman's words with a slight nod. "She has certainly proved her worth in battle." He looked back to her. "We've begun restoration of the guard-tower atop Ravenhill. That should prove a strategic outpost. My nephew has already accepted authority there; I would name him as my choice of captain, though he may, of course, chose to appoint someone else."

Tauriel glanced at Fíli, expecting some sign of agreement in his face. Instead, she found him watching his brother.

"Aye, Your Majesty, I shall take it under advisement," Kíli answered Thorin. He looked to Tauriel, and she found herself unable to answer for the feeling that her heart had just leapt into her mouth.

Perhaps Kíli sensed her momentary inability to speak; at any rate, he added, "I'm going up tomorrow. Stop there on your way to Dale, and we can discuss how to utilize the fort within the patrol routes."

"Very well, Your Highness," Tauriel returned, finding her voice at last. "I look forward to hearing your suggestions."

After a brief pause during which Tauriel was sure everyone must be weighing her last shared glance with Kíli, Thorin said, "Well, unless there are any final suggestions, I would invite you all to dine; the meal must be ready now."

Glancing down over the table, Tauriel saw that Daín seemed to be boiling with some barely-contained objection. Yet apparently he was not going to protest making Kíli co-captain with his rumored elven lover in front of a counsel of outsiders, and so after a few moments' silence, Thorin rose, and everyone followed him.