Dragon-of-the-north: You always make interesting points and it's great to read your reviews! Thanks for following the story :) As for Celeborn being over-joyful, the tension at that moment was rather unbearable and Pippin just happened to relieve it. All of them laughed, you see.

Mindelan: Thanks for reviewing! I hope you received my e-mail. If you would like me to continue notifying you, please tell me in your next review.

A/N: I am unsure of how Galadriel and Celeborn met, so I took some liberties concerning that point. In this story, they both passed over the sea to Middle-Earth and, while exploring Lothlorien, each encountered the other.

Aragorn ate thoughtfully, his attention focused more on Lord Celeborn than on the fare. The lord must be distraught indeed, his wife had been murdered, a partner lost for all eternity. Yet Celeborn sat chatting and jesting with the hobbits, seemingly unaffected by all that had come to pass. :I would not have expected this.:

Meanwhile, the hobbits, of whom I think it suffices to say were Merry and Pippin, were trying their utmost to keep Celeborn's mind off the murder, unaware of the thoughts prompted by their actions. In their own simple ways, they struggled to bury their own sorrow and channelled their energies into helping those who needed it most. Now they reached out to Celeborn, comforting him the best they could, the only way they knew how. Masking their distress lest it encourage negativity on his part, they joked and they laughed, glad of every response he made, every second his mind was diverted from the death. For this Celeborn was grateful. Yet the hobbits could not keep him in a perpetual state of forgetfulness. There were times, when they paused to eat or converse with other members of the fellowship, that his mind slipped, in complete disregard to his will, to places wither he wished not to visit. He drank deeply of the wine placed in front of him, then stared fixedly at the sparkling, clear liquid as he swilled it about.

* * *

They had sat, sipping of their goblets. The wine flowed pleasingly down Celeborn's throat, running a smooth course to induce refreshment. A warm, intoxicating sensation permeated his being and he stole a glance at the lady to see if she enjoyed the drink as much as he. Fate had it that she lifted her eyes to quiz him as well and their diffident gazes interlocked. Galadriel broke the awkward silence.

"Why have you brought me here?" The two were sitting on the grass of a small glade in the woods of Lothlorien. Smiling curiously and waiting for his answer, Galadriel ran her fingers through the waters of the small pool next to them, rippling the surface with her unconscious movement. Celeborn watched the spreading rings, astonished at how well they expressed his feelings. Once calm and self-affirmed, he had lived slightly aloof from the other elves. Not wholly understood, he had not cared to reveal what he hid beneath. Galadriel's coming had stirred the depths of those cold waters, touching emotions he never knew he possessed. She was his equal on every aspect, on par for every skill. Her intelligence charmed and piqued him, he yearned to probe deeper into the innermost recesses of her mind. He had learned to share and not only materially-wise, but emotionally. The two were closer than most, companionable even in silence. So a year had fled since Celeborn's first sighting of her among the trees.

Now he felt as he had on that day, clinging to a defined hope, yet clueless as to how to achieve it. Finally, he held up his glass.

"Galadriel, I know not how to say this and..and.. your loveliness only dizzies me into such euphoria that my mind is not my own." He stammered.:What is wrong with me?: he cursed silently. :That was not what I meant to say! Though it is true:

"Do be serious." Laughed Galadriel, "You will make me blush." In a sudden movement that surprised himself, even, Celeborn seized her by the arm, his fingers firmly, yet gently gripping her. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"T..that was what I meant to say." He drew back and released her arm. Drawing confidence from the fact that Galadriel did not seem utterly repulsed, he smoothed a wisp of wayward hair from her brow and murmured,

"Would you pledge your love to me?" Galadriel raised her eyes to his and there he read of all he had ever dreamed of. A single tear trickled down her cheek, making her answer all the more eloquent. As the sun set, closing the curtain on the blissful pair, they drank to their future, toasting their happiness for the first time as two bound as one.

* * *

"Lord Celeborn?" He looked down at the nudge at his elbow. Pippin's face gazed up at him, brimming with concern.

"Don't you think you're drinking over much?" Asked the hobbit. Across the table, Merry burst out laughing.

"You should talk, Pippin. I know your penchant for beers. Many a night you've been dancing on the tables, serenading us with another of your songs!" As Pippin hurried to efface his cousin's bluntness with an explanation, Celeborn chuckled heartily. With a mischievous glint in his eye, he turned to Merry and winked.

"Tell me more about those nights, Meriadoc."

"Gladly!" He started on a colourful history while Celeborn listened in absorption, both deaf to Pippin's vain protests.