Elvish translations

Adar – Father

Amin mela lle, hanar – I love you, brother

Mae govannen – Well met

Naneth - Mother

Khuz Dul translations

Adad – Father

Nadad(s) – Brother(s)

(P.S. The song Legolas and Marissa dances to is called 'I'm Gonna Love You' by Jennifer Love Hewitt - It's the song their parents danced to on their wedding day and just before their mum died.)

(P.P.S - In this fanfic, their mother is Lord Elrond's sister, by the way.)

Marissa had been in Thorin's company for about 2 hours now, and so far, he'd shown her where the private library reserved only for him and his family was, the kitchens, the healing rooms, the armoury—at her request and the entrance to the mines.

"There is so much to see here, I didn't realize…" she trailed off, glancing at him briefly. Her cheeks flushed and a look of embarrassment crossed her face.

"Didn't realize what?" the dwarf prince queried half-heartedly as his attention was drawn to a passing dwarf with brown hair and he nodded back at them as they bowed.

"It's silly, really, but I-I thought it would be a lot darker in this place," she admitted, taking note of the way he smirked at her statement before she quickly continued. "I was under the illusion that all dwarves were withdrawn and positively vicious when provoked, and that they hated the sunlight."

"Who told you that?" Thorin asked with a displeased frown.

"One of my old tutors… he did seem to have issues with dwarves though, so I don't find it all that surprising that he exaggerated quite a bit," she said in an attempt to soothe his irritation.

Thorin was silent, his lips spread in a firm line. He turned the corner sharply and Marissa had to increase her speed to catch up with him. She glanced down at him with concerned eyes.

"I apologise if I offended you, my lord. It wasn't my intention."

"Let us speak no more of it," he replied finally. "I have one more place to show you before I escort you back to your chambers."

"Okay," Marissa said softly and walked past him when he held a door open for her, ducking her head slightly so she wouldn't hit it off the top of the doorway. They walked along the path in silence until a small light appeared in the distance and grew brighter the closer they got to it. She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the glowing light until her eyes managed to adjust to the brightness. A few seconds later, she realized they were standing on a balcony that overlooked the city of Dale and the mountain below. She lifted her head and looked up, discovering they were near the top of the Lonely Mountain. "Thorin, this is incredible," she told him, grinning gleefully as she tipped her head back and the cold air caressed her face.

"I thought you might like it," he returned with a nod of his head. "I've heard from many a dwarf that your kind detest enclosed spaces and prefer the open. You can tell your kin that they are welcome to use this balcony whenever it pleases them."

Marissa dipped her head in thanks and tried to ignore the way her heart clenched painfully at his almost offensive use of the words 'your kind'. She reluctantly turned away from the view and trailed after him as he began the trek back towards her chambers.

As Marissa sat in a large, cushioned arm chair by the glass doors that led to her own personal balcony, she held a book on dwarven history on her lap with tense fingers. She could help thinking that Thorin was just like all the other dwarves who hated her race and he was only acting friendly because it was expected of him or because he would turn on her the first chance he got and embarrass her in front of everyone… she didn't know what to expect.

A sudden knock sounding at the door to her rooms had Marissa's head jerking up in surprise. She paused briefly before standing and making her way to the door—she opened the door to reveal a dwarrow-dam with long red hair and a neatly trimmed beard with braids running through it.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely, almost tripping over the skirt of her dress in her haste to move aside as the female dwarf barged in without invitation.

"I was sent to help you prepare for the feast," the dwarrow-dam explained as she set about preparing water for a bath.

"Oh, uh… I was just gonna do it myself," Marissa told the dwarf awkwardly.

"Don't be silly, lass. T'is my job to serve you," the red head returned, not really paying any attention to the elven princess. Marissa pursed her lips at the dwarf's stubbornness but stood back and allowed her to work without interruption.

As soon as the bath was prepared, the dwarrow-dam turned her back to allow Marissa to undress before climbing into the tub and pulling her knees to her chest.

"What's your name?" Marissa asked softly as the dwarf undid her braids one by one.

"Jara," she replied swiftly before telling Marissa to duck under the water to wet her hair. When Marissa resurfaced, Jara got to work on rubbing fruit-scented liquid into her long hair.

"How long have you served the king and his family?"

"About five years now, my lady," Jara answered politely. Marissa bobbed her head thoughtfully.

"What's it like working for them?" Marissa quickly closed her eyes as the dwarf started rinsing the soap from her hair.

"It's a good job to have. The royal family are a kind folk to work for," Jara admitted, a smile pulling at her lips as she caught sight of Marissa's curious expression. "Though, little Dis is a troublemaker if I ever did see one. She is as mischievous as her older brothers."

"I assume Dis is the only princess then?"

"Aye, my lady. It's Prince Thorin, then Prince Frerin and Princess Dis," Jara confirmed.

"You can call me Marissa, none of that 'princess' or 'my lady' rubbish," Marissa said, holding her arm out at Jara's request.

"If that's what you wish, my la—Marissa," Jara returned, correcting herself at the last minute. Marissa smiled in amusement before taking the cloth from the dwarf and washing the rest of herself as Jara left to get a towel and give her some privacy.

Marissa rinsed herself before she took the large towel from Jara and stood up, wrapping herself in it. She stepped out of the tub and followed Jara over to the small stool that sat in front of a white vanity table.

"Seeing as I've told you about the royal family, perhaps you could tell me about your kingdom?" Jara asked curiously.

"What would you like to know?" Marissa's voice was slightly shaky as the dwarf roughly towel dried her hair and her head jerked slightly from side to side.

"What's… what is the Elvenking like? I hear he is rather terrifying."

"My Adar? Terrifying?" Marissa chuckled in amusement. "He can be quite intense and make you feel about two feet tall but he is not terrifying. My father is a wonderful king, he always puts his kin first and they hold great respect and admiration for him as a result. In my eyes, there is no finer king."

"He sounds interesting," Jara replied, pulling a thin strand of hair from either side of Marissa's head and braiding them back before joining them together and tying them down at the back of her head with a small gold ribbon. The rest of her hair cascaded down her back and around her shoulders in loose, damp waves. The dwarf then went on to decorate Marissa's eyes with black and burgundy—the latter to match the dress she'd chosen to wear that night for the feast. Her dress was a deep burgundy with a thin, silver belt around the waist and the short, thick sleeves and neckline were made up of silver with tiny crystals spread throughout it and the long, flowing skirt was sure to brush the floor when she walked.

"I'm glad you think so," Marissa started after putting her dress on. She sat down again and started tying the ribbons from her slippers around her legs, "because you're about to meet him."

True to her word, a knock echoed from the door and Marissa bid her father entrance to her rooms. The Elvenking strode into the room with quick, graceful steps and came to an abrupt stop when he noticed the dwarf standing behind his daughter, weaving thin pieces of burgundy and gold ribbon into the braids on either side—and at the back—of her head.

"Hello, Adar," Marissa smiled up at him. The moment Jara stepped back, Thranduil had cupped his daughter's cheeks and dropped a swift kiss to her forehead.

"Are you ready to leave yet?" he queried lowly. Marissa glanced to Jara and the dwarf nodded with a smile before she bowed her head and left the room.

"Where is Legolas?" Marissa asked, curling her fingers around her father's arm as they walked at a leisurely pace towards the dining hall.

"He and Tauriel are already at the dining hall," Thranduil explained. Marissa looked up at him in surprise.

"Tauriel is attending the feast?"

"I gave her and the others permission to join in on the festivities—they've earned some time to enjoy themselves, do you not agree?"

"I think they'll be most pleased with you," she replied happily.

Thranduil returned her smile with a light one of his own before it slipped from his face as they made it to the dining hall and the guards opened the door for them. Inside, there were numerous amounts of dwarves and only a small selection of elves—a few elves from Rivendell and Lorien had also made the journey to Erebor and they were all in the corner, conversing away with her brother, Tauriel and their other guards.

Marissa and her father walked through the crowd of dwarves until they reached their own kin. Legolas abruptly ended his conversation with their mother's brother Elrond to greet his father and sister.

"Mari, you look beautiful," he commented, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"You don't look too bad yourself," Marissa grinned. Their father smirked at their banter before he moved away to talk to their uncle. "There are quite a lot of dwarves here," she pointed out as she looked around the room.

"I believe it's mainly nobles and friends of the King's family," Legolas replied, following her gaze.

"You know what I find interesting about them?" she asked and took his curious look as a sign to continue. "It's that the women have beards as well. The maid that helped me get ready had one with braids running through it—it was incredible." Legolas looked down at her in amusement and she crossed her arms over her chest. "What?" she asked defensively.

"Father was right, you really do have a strange fascination with them."

"They're an interesting people, what's not to be fascinated about?" she retorted sharply, ignoring the smile he sent her as she pouted at him.

"You better put that pout away, one of the dwarf princes is staring at you," Legolas said, his lips curving into an even bigger grin. Marissa's eyes widened and she turned her head quickly, discovering that her brother was telling the truth and Thorin was watching her and Legolas talk rather animatedly. "Why does he stare at you?"

"I have no clue… perhaps you should ask him?" she suggested with a grin.

"What a wonderful idea, I'll go right now." Marissa's eyes widened in panic and she latched onto her brother's arm when he went to walk away, pulling him back to her.

"Don't you dare!" she growled, hooking her arms around his waist from behind to hold him in place.

"Mari, get off. We're supposed to be the Prince and Princess of the Woodland Realm and you are making us look like village idiots," Legolas said firmly. Marissa smirked triumphantly and loosened her arms slightly, though she still held onto him and rested her forehead against the back of his shoulder.

"Amin mela lle, hanar," she whispered softly, voice muffled by his silver tunic.

"I love you too," he replied, sounding awfully touched as she released him and he turned to face her. "I think we should find our seats, it looks as though the feast is about to start."

Marissa nodded, grabbed his hand and guided him after the rest of the elves as they headed for the long table near the door.

After the feast had ended, and the tables had been cleared—and the dwarves had sent her and her kin irritated looks for only eating the chips and vegetables and leaving the meat—a dancing area had been set up in the middle of the hall with the tables pushed back to make room. A long time had passed since the feast started, which led Marissa to believe that it must be well into the morning on the next day.

Marissa remained at her table, a goblet of dorwinion wine clutched tightly between her hands as she watched the dwarves dance away, most of them already highly inebriated. Her father, brother and the others had gone for a walk before they would come back to re-join the festivities.

"How much have you had to drink?" Tauriel asked lightly in concern as Marissa swayed slightly in her seat.

"Not much… a cup… or five," she admitted sheepishly.

"Mari, you know how strong that wine is," the red haired elf sighed. Marissa shrugged, looking at her briefly before moving her eyes away.

"Everyone else is having fun, I might as well do the same." Marissa glanced around the room, her violet eyes trailing over the royal family before they came to a stop on a small female dwarfling sneaking away from her brothers the moment they looked away for a minute to talk to each other. A wide, amused smile settled on Marissa's lips as the little dwarf spotted her and Tauriel and began approaching them slowly, acting as though they would attack if she spooked them.

"Mae govannen," Marissa greeted gently, staring down at the dwarfling as she stopped in front of her. "What's your name?"

"Dis, daughter of Thrain. Princess under the Mountain," Dis replied, puffing her chest out as she dropped her shy act.

"Well, Dis it's an honour to meet you," Marissa stood up before lowering herself onto her knees on the stone floor so she was closer to Dis' height. "I am Princess Marissa of the Woodland Realm."

"You're a princess too?" Dis asked in amazement before she caught sight of Marissa's silver tiara. "You have a crown!"

Marissa's eyes flickered back to Tauriel as the other elf chuckled in amusement at the little dwarf's excitement before the red head excused herself to go and speak to Elrond's daughter Arwen. "Do you not have a crown too?" she asked as she turned back to Dis.

Dis suddenly looked crestfallen and her cheeks turned bright red. "I did… but I broke it. Adad is getting it fixed for me."

"Well, while you're waiting for it to get fixed, why don't you wear mine?" Marissa carefully removed her tiara and settled it on Dis' head—it was a little too big as the pearl on it rested between her eyes when it should've been in the middle of her forehead. "But you'll have to take very good care of it, it's precious to me."

"Really? I get to wear your crown?" Dis gasped, staring at Marissa with wide eyes.

"You sure do, but I'll need it back before I leave the mountain."

"Let's go show my brothers!" Dis cheered over the loud music and talking. She grabbed two of Marissa's fingers with her small hand and started pulling her towards the top table where the King and his son and grandsons sat, drinking and chatting quietly amongst themselves—none of them seemed to have realized Dis was gone until she clambered up onto the table and knelt in front of her grandfather. "Nadads! Adad!" Dis slammed her hands down on the table to get their attention.

The four male dwarves started and turned to look at her in surprise. Their reactions to the silver circlet on her head made Marissa giggle quietly—King Thror was frowning in confusion, wondering who his granddaughter had stolen it from, Thrain and Thorin were simply exasperated, making Marissa think that the little Princess often did things like this to get their attention and the other Prince, the one with golden hair beside Thorin rolled his eyes with a grin of amusement.

"Dis, whose tiara is that?" Thrain asked with a sigh.

"The pretty elf gave it to me," Dis chirped enthusiastically and pointed back at Marissa, who quickly hid her smile and curtsied as the dwarf lords' attention was drawn to her.

"Princess," King Thror greeted politely, a smile tugging at his mouth. "Is this true? Did you allow Dis to have your crown?"

"I told her she could wear it for the week, though I'd like it back before I leave," Marissa aimed the last part at Dis, reaching out and tickling under the dwarf's chin. Dis let out a high pitched laugh and jerked away from the elf. "Just don't let my Adar see, he'll skin me alive if he knows I gave you it."

"Why?" Dis asked curiously. Her family members seemed as curious as Dis was as their eyes remained glued to Marissa.

"Because," Marissa started, leaning in as though she was about to tell them a secret, "I'm just like you, I broke all my other ones and this is the last one. My Adar said if I break this one too, he'll ground me to my chambers and I'll never be allowed to leave."

Dis gasped in horror as her brothers, father and grandfather smiled in amusement. Marissa grinned, her eyes flickering quickly to Thorin and away again. The dwarf prince was wearing a royal blue tunic with black stitching and had two braids hanging down in front of his ears, held closed by two, large silver beads. He was also watching Marissa… again.

"Adad, can we keep her?" Dis begged her father. Marissa's eyes widened in surprise and she held a hand to her mouth to hold in a laugh.

"Dis, she's not a pet," Thrain sighed and sent the elven princess an apologetic look. "Besides, her family would miss her terribly, and she would miss them too."

Dis frowned, seemingly not satisfied with her father's answer as she turned to Marissa. "Can't you stay here in the mountain?"

"I'm afraid not, mellonamin. Elves were not made to reside within stone fortresses. But, if you grandfather allows it, perhaps I could visit every so often?" Marissa sent a hesitant glance towards the dwarf king. He sighed and nodded as soon as Dis turned and widened her eyes at him, pouting pitifully. "If you're ever in the vicinity of the Greenwoods, you are more than welcome to visit."

"Marissa! Tula sinome!" Legolas called from near the doorway. Marissa sighed but curtsied once again as she left the company of Dis and her family and made her way to her brother's side.

"What is it?" Legolas' lips curved up into a cruel smirk and he jerked his head towards the dance floor. Marissa, immediately understanding what he was suggesting, shook her head rapidly, her eyes widening. "No. No, definitely not. I refuse."

"I could get Adar over here and he could make you."

She letting out an aggravated sigh but forced herself to nod in bitter acceptance and allowed herself to be guided over to the dance floor. "Why do the Rivendell elves have their instruments out?"

"They were all too willing to play one of our favourite songs," Legolas replied calmly, smiling when a look of glee covered Marissa's face.

"Mother and father's song?" she gasped. Legolas nodded in confirmation.

The elves in the corner of the room spoke briefly to the dwarves that held instruments as well, telling them to play along when they got the hang of the tune and, it was to Marissa's surprise, when Arwen stepped up and started humming the tune of the song, letting everyone know she was about to start singing. Tears sprung to Marissa's eyes at the familiar tune. Legolas bowed at the waist and held a hand out to his sister. She curtsied and took his hand, allowing him to pull her closer so he could set his free hand on her waist as she set hers on his shoulder and then they were moving, waltzing around the dance floor with ease. Legolas twirled her around and pulled her back in as he met his father's gaze over her head.

Thranduil stared at his children in complete shock, his heart thudding loudly within his chest—he had no idea how they even knew remembered this song, they had only been 30 years old at the time, the equivalent of a small child of the race of man when he and his wife had danced to it in front of them.

"Does this song hold some semblance of importance to you, Elvenking?" Thror asked curiously as he came to stand beside the blonde elf.

"My wife and I danced to this song at our wedding… and just before she died," Thranduil replied quietly, losing himself in memories. "They were only young when they saw us dance, I was not aware they even remembered this song."

"It must mean a lot to them if they have remembered it after all this time," Thrain input as he too joined the conversation.

Thranduil nodded in agreement and was moving towards his children before he knew what he was doing. Legolas saw him approaching and he quickly twirled Marissa away from him and towards their father.

"Adar," she gasped as she collided with his chest. He smiled proudly down at her in response and picked up where Legolas left off, guiding her around with practiced ease.

"I did not know you remembered this," Thranduil told her softly as other elves joined them on the dance floor and after brief hesitation, so did a few dwarves, following Marissa and Thranduil's lead.

"Naneth had a music box made for me… with this song," she admitted, peeking up at him through her lashes.

"She never told me that… but neither did you."

"I-I didn't want to make you sad," she explained quietly, moving closer and resting her chin on his shoulder. "Talking about her makes you sad, so I just didn't tell you."

Thranduil nodded, placing his cheek on the side of her head as they swayed back and forth as the song slowly drifted to a stop. When the next tune started up, it was much livelier and had more dwarves crowding around them to dance.

"I think I'm going to take a walk before I retire for the night," she told him when they moved apart. Her father nodded and pressed a kiss to her hand before he released her.

"I'll have Haemir escort you to your rooms."

"No, don't disturb him, he's having fun right now," Marissa said, quickly shooting down his suggestion. "I can make my own way back. I will be fine, I promise."

Her father looked ready to argue, but Marissa was already half way across the room before he could even open his mouth to talk. He rolled his eyes but made no move to stop her, knowing that she'd just find a way to argue with him. He turned away and went off in search of his son, who had disappeared somewhere.

Sometime later, Marissa stood on the balcony that Thorin had shown her the previous day, with her arms resting on the cold marble. A cool breeze washing over her every few seconds had her completely relaxed with her eyes closed and her guard down—meaning she didn't hear the footsteps approaching her until it was too late.

"Did you not enjoy the feast?" the sudden voice asked, causing her to jump, tangling her feet in the skirt of her dress and would've caused her to pitch forward over the balcony, had it not been for the large hand that closed around her arm and pulled her back.

"Thorin, you scared me," she gasped, hand clasped against her chest. "Perhaps you should call out or something next time, give me a little warning."

"I did call out to you, you would've heard me had you not been day-dreaming," he replied, sounding incredibly amused.

"Oh… sorry," she said, flustered. She glanced at him through intrigued eyes. "Why are you here?"

"I saw you leave the feast without a guard, which is not a good decision. Even within the Mountain," he told her firmly. She blinked in surprise at the concern in his voice and found herself nodding to show she understood. "I also came to give you this back." He held out her circlet and she immediately went to protest, to tell him that she'd made a promise to Dis that the little dwarf could have it for the week. "Before you argue, my sister took it off to show her friends and the little terrors would have torn it apart had I not taken it from them."

"Well… thank you, my lord," Marissa returned, reaching out to take it from him. She was taken off guard as he suddenly pulled it back out of her reach and lifted it up to his eye level. "What are you doing?" she asked, laughter bubbling up in her chest.

"This is good craftsmanship," he said instead of answering her, "the pearl is a nice touch, it certainly fits well with the silver."

"Thank you," she replied, a hint of pride in her voice. "My naneth had it made for me."

"Naneth?" he repeated in confusion.

"Oh, sorry, it means mother in elvish," she explained with a smile. "I sometimes forget not everyone can understand my native tongue… which reminds me, what did your grandfather say about me, when I was introduced to you and your family?"

"That's private," Thorin rumbled, his voice taking on a gravelly note. She blinked in response to his sudden aggressiveness. He immediately looked ashamed at his reaction and he looked to her with an apology written on his face. "No one besides dwarves are allowed to know our language."

"Oh, well, I guess I can understand that," she said and leaned her back against the balcony. "Not many are allowed to know my language either, aside from those with the title 'Elf-friend'."

"Elf-friend?" he echoed with a frown.

"An Elf-friend is someone, usually among the race of man, who was given the title by elves for providing special aid to them or forming an alliance to benefit everyone. They're usually only given to those who elves deem worthy of such a title," Marissa paused before continuing, "Perhaps I will tell you more about it in the future, for now, I am going to retire for the night. Goodnight, Prince Thorin."

"Goodnight, Princess Marissa," he returned and watched as she walked down the hallway and disappeared around the corner before he turned back around and looked up at the sky, staring at the stars with tired eyes.