She knew the day had come the moment she woke. The sun was beginning to peak the horizon, and it filled her with all the warmth in the world. She dressed quickly, tying up her hair and shoes, and she went to the kitchen to sneak some strawberries from the pantry. She slipped from the house silently while her siblings slept on.

   When she reached the gardens, no one appeared to be there. At least, Sigrid could not see anyone, until she looked, and spotted a length of flame beneath the magnolia tree. Tauriel was asleep beneath its branches.

   Sigrid approached quietly and knelt down, touching her hand to Tauriel’s shoulder. The Elf stirred, blinking her eyes in the coming light. She sat up, as though she had never been asleep at all. Even her hair was undisturbed, though she had lain among leaves and dirt and twigs.

   “You’re here,” said Sigrid, smiling at her.

   “I am sorry to have been gone all this time. I was only able to leave two days ago, but I had no horse for the journey,” Tauriel explained.

   “Don’t apologise. Here, are you hungry?” Sigrid offered the strawberries and Tauriel took one.

   They sat there, beneath the magnolia tree, watching the sunrise creep up over the line of the trees and smaller, distant mountains. Sigrid felt blessed to have company in the morning – company that wasn’t her siblings or her fussy servants. Tauriel was quiet and warm and Sigrid wanted them dearly to be good friends. She needed a friend.

   “Dale seems to have prospered over the years,” Tauriel said. “You must be very happy here.”

   Sigrid shrugged carefully. “It’s colder here than it was on the Lake. Summer doesn’t quite feel the same.”

   “It would be rather dreary if not for this garden,” Tauriel agreed. “You ought to see Mirkwood in the summertime. Trees bright green, and the rushing rivers.”

   She smiled, and Sigrid smiled too.

   “I would like to see your forest sometime,” she said. “This is the farthest I have ever travelled, and it really isn’t that far, is it?”

   “The world isn’t quite so wonderful. It might be better to stay in one place,” Tauriel said.

   “Have you been to many places?” asked Sigrid.

   “I only went as far as Lorien, once, as an envoy. Mirkwood is vast and it keeps us safe. It is world enough for me.”

   Tauriel sat back on her hands, taking in the rising sun on her face. Sigrid was curious to see freckles on her nose. She would never have expected an Elf to have such imperfections. But they weren’t imperfections; not on Tauriel.

   “I should go back. My absence will be noticed.”

   Sigrid felt her heart sink. “Is it so much trouble to come here?”

   Tauriel turned to look at her. “It is, but you asked it of me, and it is a great happiness to come here and see a different world for once.”

   “My world isn’t very interesting,” Sigrid mumbled. “While you were gone, all I did was learn how to stitch. I don’t even like stitching.”

   Tauriel laughed, and Sigrid was struck by the sound. She had never heard Tauriel laugh before.

   “I took scouts to attack the spider’s nest in Mirkwood. That is why I was away so long. We are still hunting down ones that escaped.”

   Sigrid wrinkled her nose. “Spiders?”

   “Big spiders,” said Tauriel seriously, her eyes widening. “They are our garden pests, if you like.”

   This time, it was Sigrid’s turn to laugh. “Wasn’t that very dangerous?”

   “I took the best with me,” Tauriel explained. “And we of Mirkwood have been killing the spiders for many years now. They don’t learn, so it is easier every time.”

   “But isn’t it scary? I loathe spiders. I really do,” said Sigrid.

   Tauriel frowned for a moment, considering the question as she chose another strawberry. “They aren’t scary. Sort of… disgusting. I have thrown away perfectly good armour because the blood doesn’t ever come out.”

   Sigrid paled. “Perhaps I might postpone my visit.”

   Tauriel smirked. “They keep to the south of the forest. If they ever come to bother is, they do not make it far.”

   “Doesn’t that get tiresome?” said Sigrid.

   “It did. Attacking the nest will hopefully have deterred them. No doubt any that escape will relocate, but they are dealt with for now. If you were to visit, now would be the best time.”

   “I doubt my father would let me,” said Sigrid despondently. “He worries.”

   Tauriel looked at Sigrid again, her bright eyes piercing and fierce. She appeared to be sizing Sigrid up.

   “He needn’t,” she said. “But, thinking on it now, I daresay you would not fare well among my people. They don’t approve of outsiders.”

   “That’s too bad,” said Sigrid. “I like Elves. I think you’re very fascinating.”

   “I have never thought much of humans,” said Tauriel bluntly. “But you alone have made me reconsider them.”

   Sigrid knew this was not meant as any sort of compliment or praise, but she blushed anyway. She felt honoured to be able to speak and sit with Tauriel, and be together in the gardens, rather than fleeing dragon fire and tempest. It brought more peace to her heart than she knew how to bear.

   “I will return,” Tauriel said, getting to her feet at last. “Hopefully my next visit will not take as long as this one did. The time makes the distance feel very far.”

   “I’ll be waiting for you,” Sigrid said.