When the king first assigned her to watch over the mortal woman, Tauriel’s irritation was nearly as sharp as her blade. She had imagined patrols, quiet hours on the forest’s edge, the usual vigilance. Instead, she found herself trailing behind someone who treated the world as a playground—curious, fearless, utterly unbound by the rules Tauriel lived by.

She had bristled at the thought of spending time indoors, away from the scent of pine and earth, away from the steady pulse of the woodland. But now, here she was, sitting cross-legged on a soft bed far softer than any training mat, the weight of her armor gone, replaced by stillness she wasn’t used to.

The mortal sat nearby, calm and focused, pulling out a deck of cards unlike anything Tauriel had seen. Thin rectangles, edges worn and decorated with strange images. She watched with quiet suspicion as the woman shuffled the deck and spread the cards in a small fan.

Tauriel didn’t know what this was. A game? A ritual? A kind of spell? The uncertainty made her fingers twitch, half reaching out, half recoiling.

The woman smiled gently but didn’t speak, only motioning for Tauriel to sit closer.

Tauriel shifted, glancing down at the cards. She noted how unlike the serious scrolls and tomes of Rivendell or the tactical maps of Mirkwood these were. There was something playful about them—something human.

She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

And then she noticed her nails—bare, rough from her duties, yet painted a soft shade of lilac, the color still fresh from the careful hands that had adorned them earlier that day. She looked at her fingers as if seeing them for the first time, surprised by the softness they now held. A faint flush warmed her cheeks.

No elf had ever done this for her. No friend had ever bothered.

The mortal’s presence felt different—open, warm, uncomplicated. Not bound by courtly expectations or the burdens of endless years. It was a comfort Tauriel hadn’t known she needed.

She leaned forward, curiosity winning over hesitation.

Her voice was quiet, almost hesitant.

“What are these cards?”