Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry for the delay in this chapter. I've had a busy week – my work summer party, and then the glory that is a 2-day migraine. I do not wish that on my very worst enemy.

Fun fact of the day – Tolkien was born near where I live. There's a road called Tolkien Way and everything. I was listening to a video of him speaking Quenya and I swear I heard a Potteries twang, though I myself am Yorkshire born and Yorkshire bred... strong in't arm and thick in't head (or good in't bed, depending on how fruity you like your stereotypes)!

To make up for my atrocious lack of updates, have a monster! This chapter crosses a fairly large time-frame, so ranges from Litawen at 600 to around 1025.

I'd just like to take a moment to say thank you for all the amazing reviews, and I hope you enjoy this one too. I try to respond to you all one to one, but sod's law I'll miss someone accidentally so thank you, you bloody awesome lot.

Lots of love,

MM -x

Over a little more than an hour tension in the room seemed to ease, normal conversation flowing once more between the parties involved despite how awkwardly at first it had seemed. Mum had blushed and stuttered a little until both Tori and J had forced her into submission in what I was certain was a comedy routine. Finishing one another's sentences, one line joke after joke, and winding each other up so completely until J held her stomach with tears upon her cheeks and both my Uncles were rolling their eyes.

"I do have one question." Her tone was light but I saw Dad flinch, and I tried very hard not to mimic his expression as I contemplated what it was Mum thought and felt. He always had sensed her far more keenly than in a normal marriage, even than between my Aunts and their husbands, and so now I dreaded the question that would come next. "Whose idea was this little... encounter?"

"That would be mine." Maglor smiled; a full and charming expression that had her nose wrinkling as she debated what to do next – clearly she had thought the idea was not his.

"Ah. In that case, who agreed to it?"

Elrond, Celebrian and Elrohir all raised their hands together, Elrohir far more warily than his Father and Mother did. Mum's eyes fixed on my husband, narrowed for a moment as she scrutinised him, and then she turned her glare upon his parents in turn. The look was as black as the night and every single person it was directed at seemed to take a step backwards from it – the dragon had stirred, it seemed, and I was keen to be out of the path of its fire.

"Ooooh, she's channelling Thranduil. You're in so much trouble." Tori said with far too much glee.

"Oh Valar, but she is at that. Benny, you have spent too much time around my Father of late." Legolas reached out to pull my Aunt closer. "Ah, now, see how her eyes survey with little movement but for the angle of her chin?"

"I happen to like Thranduil, and well you know it." She tried to protest, earning only a snort.

"Sometimes, I wonder that you are the only one. You are one of the very few he likes in return; oft I have wondered what my Mother does see in him but even she has not the patience for his moods as you do." Legolas said, drily enough to generate an awkward laugh.

"Hey now, I was just saying..."

"Mum, do desist. No-one meant you any harm. I wish you had a little more faith in your own worth." I dared to say timidly, coming to stand behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist in a gesture of comfort that we had shared for many seasons. She tensed a little, but then eased back into my embrace as I pleaded with my eyes for Maglor go and speak to someone else for a moment, which he did with only an understanding nod. He bowed his head to her and she did the same before we had as private a moment as we could manage in a family such as our own.

"I love you, Mummy, now please calm down. You build things up in your mind to make them worse than they are. We are your family, not a threat." I spoke quietly in English in her ear.

"I don't like being manipulated." She answered back, her eyes still fixed on the elf who moved with ease and spoke confidently with all those in the room. He introduced himself to my Aunts, Amdiriel, and then my Dad whose eyes occasionally darted to us as he explained the mystery that was my Mum. Their shared laughter seemed to ease my soul but only served to exacerbate the stress of the lady in my arms.

"You aren't giving us much choice." I turned her so that she faced me instead of over-analysing each and every interaction. She looked a little guilty then, her green eyes downcast, and I hugged her to me again.

"It's so hard, Lita. These are... I can't explain. I still sometimes forget that this world is real, that it isn't the fantasy it was in my childhood. Seven hundred years later and I still can't shake that."

Ha – there it was at last. "I know it, but those people are now very real and right here before you. You cannot close yourself off from a life that would have you fully, whether you like it or not." I pressed a kiss to her cheek and stood back. "He's not too bad, you know." I nodded my head in the direction of the elf that was now in some in-depth conversation with Dad on whatever topic they had launched into, gesturing and nodding with ease.

"I know, but it was just so unexpected. If I look like I'm about to put my foot in my mouth again let me know, trouble. Did you honestly know about this?" She asked me, and I chewed the inside of my cheek for a brief moment before nodding shyly.

"I knew that they were going to, but I was not sure as to when until this evening. I'm sorry if it has caused any hurt." I said sincerely, and she rolled her eyes and laughed then, her lips touching my forehead in the same comforting gesture she had used since I was a babe.

"I know, trouble. How long do you think it will be before we terrify him?" She looked at her sisters who both shared equally devious expressions.

"And you call me trouble! That said, I fear it would take a rather large dose of your hijinks to stir any sort of reaction." I said fondly, stroking her dark waves until they were free from the loose bindings once more. My broken wrist remained yet cast, and needed to be recast once the swelling had subsided, but I had rather more freedom than in the older, thicker splints of my childhood.

"We'll see, and again I say – Bohemian Rhapsody." J answered and Mum finally appeared to give in to the demand that I didn't understand – the words were both familiar and unfamiliar to me in that I knew them, but not to what they referred.

"Okay, so I totally had Mum teach me it years and years ago but... it isn't exactly Elven, is it?" She looked vaguely amused as she disentangled herself from my embrace. I snapped my fingers, finally recalling where I had heard the phrase before.

"Ah, the elusive tune I have heard tell of, yet you have never performed it." I stated thoughtfully as she sat again at the instrument she insisted upon calling a piano and playing a few notes. I leaned upon the lid with both of my Aunts coming to stand beside me, and Tori took a sip of her wine with a grin.

"You've never heard anything like it." She promised me. "You've probably never heard your Mum sing like it, either."

"Wait, what? I thought I was just playing it." Mum protested, the notes jarring a little as she played something too quickly for me to truly hear.

"Your range is better, and you need more than two voices. We can sing the harmonies!" J looked far too pleased by the prospect and I saw Mum's eyes flick towards Dad nervously.

"If this all goes wrong, I'm holding you two completely responsible."

"You wanted to push the limits. Didn't Haldir like you singing this way?" Tori asked pointedly, and Mum's dark head bobbed in agreement. "I remember you said about that time in Gondor..." Mum waved a hand in front of her face in acquiescence.

"Fine, fine! Jesus, I've already said yes. This is a song from my past, Lita, but it's a time yet to come. It will sound all kinds of strange." She cleared her throat then quietly, and played a chord before meeting the eyes of her sisters in turn.

"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see..."

I was astonished. Astonished, baffled, and a little awed at the little scene that unfolded before us. I had often heard my family sing together – a little less recently as my Grandparents had gone to stay with other family of their own for a time – but never like this. Mum, her sisters... they sounded raw and full of a fierce energy. I listened to the words – it seemed to be a tale of a man condemned but I could not be entirely sure.

Ami came to stand beside me, her head tilted and her expression one of fascination as their harmonies weaved and jarred. Dad wore a slightly fleeting smile as his eyes danced across the room before returning back to his discussion with Glorfindel and Maglor – the latter elf pausing and turning his head curiously once more as he listened.

"So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye? So you think you can love me and leave me to die?" It was more like a shout now, and I felt a slight laugh in my throat as I was granted just a glimpse of the woman she had been as a mortal. Together they finished in a quieter phrase, wistful and dreamlike, and then Aunty Tori gave a whoop and reached out in that high-five gesture I had myself partaken in many times.

"That was so fun." J looked so remarkably pleased with herself for having broken my Mum down at last into singing from the future once again. "Oh, hello little one! Did you like that, hmm?" She asked her stomach. "Glorfindel, I think we have serious trouble incoming."

"What in the name of all that is good was that?" Lord Elrond looked quite genuinely shocked by the endeavour, and J stifled a giggle as she tried not to laugh outright at my equally perplexed Uncle.

"One would assume it was music yet to be written, and yet to be performed. Tell me, do you have a store of such songs and other pieces? I am certain there is much we can glean from these styles which otherwise would never reach these shores." Maglor had a light in his eyes I'd not seen before, and it came as a little of a shock he would be quite so accepting.

Mum looked at him with raised brows. "Really now?"

"I have already had an idea." He looked around, and then dragged a chair from a corner to sit next to Mum with a slight crease between his brows. "The part that interested me was the third of the four, before the reprise of the first theme. The sharpness intrigued me."

"I know, right? It's... crunchy. It's full of texture."

"An excellent descriptor. Imagine if it were slowed, if you change the key to a diminished... No, perhaps raise that but one step to create a little less of a jar." He gestured to the keys for her to play and she did so with drawn brows, before I heard her delighted and exhilarated cry.

"Yes!"

"Aaaaaand she's gone." J muttered as Mum began playing again, showing the chord shapes for Maglor to follow. "You'll regret this. Meddling with Benny ends up with her marrying him, and then her friendship with Osellë." My Aunt pointed to Dad with raised brows, and he looked mildly offended before the truth of the matter dawned on him completely. He cursed under his breath as Glorfindel patted his shoulder, and I shared a humoured look with Ami.

"... Damnation, she is correct. Once more, I think I have lost my wife to her madness." Dad sighed, rubbing his face with one hand.

"Just you wait until he hears her and Osellë get started. If that doesn't send him running, nothing will." J leaned against Uncle Glorfindel, his arm protecting the gentle swell of her abdomen.

"If the Valar have any humour about them, he shall join in and what little peace we have found will be utterly ruined forever." Dad spoke with a grumble.

"Ah, do not fret." Amdiriel leaned against me with her arm about my waist again, and I assumed the same position as Tori darted away to explain Mum's music to Elrond, Celebrian and my perplexed husband in turn. "I am certain they shall settle and become bored soon enough!" She said cheerfully.

Legolas, Glorfindel, J and Dad shared a measured look and then sighed as one. "...Will they not?" Ami looked doubtful then and I stated incredulously at my cousin.

"You have been away far too long, darling." I gave her a squeeze out of pity. "Mum never settles. I doubt she knows the meaning of the word."

xxxXxxx

"Litawen, have you seen Benny? Your Father, Grandfather, and Maglor have been looking for her all morning – we're worried about her."

I looked up from my text, a feeling of dread in the very pit of my stomach as I dipped my quill back into the pot of ink. "Come in, Grandmother." I gestured with one hand for the fair-headed elf to enter our little home, placing the tip of the quill down once more and copying the intricate letter-work. I had taken it upon myself to re-write some of the books that had been in our family for the last thousand or so years, improving them where I could. Some texts spread more widely were now made with presses, but as these were so personal I felt that they deserved the care and love that could only come from those of us who knew their meaning.

That afternoon I rewrote and edited the book of poetry and songs Mum had scribbled feverishly in Rivendell – some only in a light ink so they were now fading rather rapidly. It was quite the project, but I found it rather soothing and I could not wait until I could give it to her as a gift. I finished the intricate first letter with a flourish and then moved on to a series of simple letters as I spoke.

"She went for a run with Osellë in the young hours of the morning, and I suspect now she has gone into the mountains with Elrohir. Today is a difficult day for her – for both of them, as they remember Arwen." I said carefully, trying not to let the twinge of sadness affect the steadiness of my hand. "After, I suspect they shall spend a little time with Elrond and Celebrian."

Today marked one thousand years exactly since the passing of Queen Arwen. The years had flown in but a blink of an eye, but both my husband and my Mother struggled with the weight of missing her and in turn, missing Elladan who yet remained in Middle Earth watching and waiting. I had insisted they go together and sit with Gimli for a little while and Elrohir had agreed with only a light kiss to my temple, his fingers lightly grazing my cheek as he stared into my eyes. I felt his love and his sadness all in one fell swoop as it ravaged my heart, and so to distract myself I had turned once more to my writing project whilst he was away.

"Oh, damn." Grandmother winced and I looked up once more, my brows creasing. "Damn, damn, I didn't realise that it was today. I knew something was coming – we all knew, she can't really hide it, but I didn't think it would be so soon. I'll have to let them all know."

"Why, Grandmother?" I asked, placing the quill down and standing. "Would you like some tea?"

"Please, and thank you darling. Oh, it was nothing in truth. She's been more receptive of late to the idea of meeting a few others – some four hundred years after Maglor, but there you go." Her words were slightly dry and I felt a fleeting smile tease my lips. "We were hoping to introduce her to the latest in our band of merry misfits – Maglor's brother, recently returned."

I giggled a little at her phrasing, but then paused. "... Which one?" She blinked once or twice as if she didn't quite know what it was I was asking. I stared at her as if she was perhaps touched in the head whilst I poured steaming water over fresh mint leaves.

"The one he was at least speaking to." Grandmother snorted as I passed her a mug of fresh tea. "Maedhros."

I frowned, trying to remember which of the seven that brother was. "Oh! The one who was hung by his..."

"Yes, that one, though you'll be pleased to know the affliction didn't return when he came back to us. I think Benny will either like him or kill him – it could go either way, depending on if he chooses to wind her up. Or so Maglor thinks, anyway."

"I am glad for him. I so hated that he was bound to walk alone upon these shores, and it warms my heart that the Valar finally seek to forgive them at last." I said with feeling. "I cannot imagine what it would be to walk this world without my brothers, much as they infuriate me sometimes"

"Not all, and whilst the Valar may forgive them our people are not so kind." She leaned over the counter with her mug in her hands thoughtfully. "I love my daughter, truly I do, but sometimes I wonder about her judgement."

"Please, do not. She knows precisely what she is doing and who it is she allows into her heart and family." I reached out and took one of her hands. "Introduce me first, if you would like – let me test the waters. If he does not run from my worst, then he should be able to remain in Mum's company at least for a while. Though I would perhaps keep she and Osellë separated in his company until he is truly prepared for such."

Grandmother laughed, her green eyes so like my Mum's shining. "I might do just that. He happened across both Callon and Gelluion whilst they hunted with Maglor and Haldir. Your Father, of course, took it in his stride as he always does. I think the twins rather liked him."

"Yes, and then he proceeds to have a fit of hysteria as soon as all others have gone." I said fondly, thinking of the man who had raised me with the warmth in my heart that I always had. "And of course, the twins quite like everyone! I do not think that they have a truly hateful bone between them. Ah, but they are all rather strange men."

"To being strange – not a single one of us are any better." She raised her mug and I touched my own to hers with an amused nod – she seemed to know just how to raise my spirits when I was feeling low, as my Mother and Father did; as all my family did.

"True, that is true enough. To being strange!" I laughed. "Speaking of strange; have you seen my brothers? We were supposed to go for wine this evening and enjoy a little time together."

"They're shooting with Thúlië so far as I know."

"There is bravery, and then there is bravery." I grimaced. Thúlië was Glorfindel and J's second child, and she was even more of a handful than my brothers. She was truly like the wind, whipping through and creating a whirl about before passing on leaving only tousled, exhausted elves in her wake. Amdiriel and I had long since given up on trying to pin her down and instead ran wild with her before letting her pass on. It had reminded me of my younger years, fresh in the woods of Aman, and so I let myself enjoy her madness.

"I believe they are trying to wear her out." Her words were wry and I rolled my eyes.

"That woman cannot be worn out, Grandmother." I said fondly, putting my mug down. "It does seem that they are being released from the halls one brother at a time. I wonder if the Valar are testing the waters to see what befalls them?"

"Perhaps, perhaps." She put her own mug down and took my hands in hers. "Do not fret about tonight – enjoy some time with your brothers, and I shall explain as best I can why Benny is unavailable. Ah, I bloody wish she would tell us these things instead of remaining so stubbornly silent!"

"Hmm – I doubt it would ever happen, somehow. By the by, should you happen across him tell Dad to come and find us. You know what he's like when Mum gets like this." I gestured vaguely with a small sigh.

"He'll fuss, I know." Grandmother stood straight, stretching her arms hight above her. "She'll turn to him when she's ready – she always does. I'll tell him to find you; will you be at the ranges?"

"I shall, or we will head out to town along the beach. If any wish to accompany us they will be more than welcome!"

"I'll pass the message on." She reached out and pulled me around the counter into an embrace – Grandma Aurae, as I had called her in my youth, was the wise and comforting presence I sometimes craved and she knew the value of silence as well as the value of breaking it. I didn't see her now as often as I had, for they stayed more often than not with Thranduil over the mountains and Mum had long since moved into the house they once occupied.

"Gaelin misses you – you should come and stay with us over the mountains for a while. I know Thranduil would enjoy a little time with you and Benny, and so would the Lady if you venture out to the great gardens from time to time. Amdiriel and Elanor could show you around." She patted my cheek as she stood back and I nodded thoughtfully.

"I believe I shall, when next you go that way once more."

"Excellent!" She looked pleased, and I gave her a final hug before finding the bow and arrows I so adored, slinging them around me with practised ease. "I'll send your Father and Rumil your way, then. God knows where Osellë and Orophin are."

"Worrying about Mum, no doubt. No, bother to it all – everyone will come out tonight. We shall go to the tavern by the square and have a night together as a family. Find everyone and let them know. It has been far too long since we were all in town together and we should not miss an opportunity."

I felt my heart race at the idea; Tatharien, Thúlië and Amdiriel who I loved as sisters, Glorfindel and J, Legolas and Tori. My darling brothers, my Father and Rumil, Osellë and Orophin. With Elanor and my Grandparents who I now so rarely had the chance to truly spend time with, we would be a family full of love together again at last.

"What about Maedhros and Maglor?" Grandmother asked cautiously.

I paused, pursing my lips as I remembered my younger years and how the vile gossips had made me feel. Though they were thousands upon thousands of years older with more wisdom upon their brows than I could ever hope to understand, I knew that there was little truly worse upon these shores than the cruel words whispered in the dark. The looks as black as the night, the barely veiled disgust, and a desire simply to be left in peace that was ever stolen away.

"Well, they can make that decision for themselves. As you said, we are a merry band of misfits indeed but we are a band that loves each other with our entire beings." I stopped by the door, my hand resting on the frame as I turned back. "Though I would have them know this - they will always be welcome."

The words rang still in my ears as I strolled to the range, and a little distance away I climbed up through the trees and leapt silently from branch to branch – my accuracy as deadly as it was when I hunted. I came closer and closer to the ranges until I came to rest close to where they were truthfully playing more than having any serious lesson.

I watched from my position in the tree, faintly amused as Thúlië dashed from pillar to post as both Callon and Gelluion tried to hit the target she held high above her head. So far, only Gel was hitting the mark with any notion of success and even then it was rather truly hit-and-miss. I notched an arrow as she darted again, drawing back the bowstring, and as she finally came to pause for but a moment I let it fly. I gave a nod as it landed cleanly in the centre, and then as she jumped up and spun away again I let loose the second. I watched with pleasure as it split my first and she held the target in front of her with a light frown.

"Now, what is this?" Her back was turned away from me, just under the branch where I stood, and an idea took me along with a naughty smile. I sat and hooked my knees about the branch before swinging down backwards so that my head was level by hers, upside-down behind her.

"Boo!" I whispered in her ear as I let my bow fall to the floor for safety. She jumped forward, shrieking before pulling me down and tackling me to the floor. I pinned her arms firmly beneath me, amused that still after four hundred years she still seemed more like a child than a grown woman. "You cannot best me, little demon!"

"Ai, Lita, let me up." She struggled and I sat back with a grin, my hair a wild halo about me as she brushed herself off. "Oh, how I've missed you, my biggest cousin!" She exclaimed, reaching out to hug me.

"You have seen me only a few seasons ago, lovely one!" I teased her, reaching out to brush her fair locks from her face. Of all our cousins we looked the most alike in our features, but for her hair which maintained some sort of order in waves rather than riotous curls in a similar golden shade.

"Ah, but it is far too long still. Why are you here, Litawen?"

I looked up at my brothers from the floor and they shrugged. "Mum and Elrohir are having a difficult day today. It is a thousand years since Queen Arwen passed and the feel the loss still keenly."

"I imagine so. Oh, poor Benny." Thúlië fretted. I sat back with my legs crossed, my twin brothers flanking us at either side so that we formed a small circle. "And how fares Elrohir? I mean, he must be missing his brother too."

"He is. It will do them good to talk it all out together for they do share many memories together. It is always best for Mum to talk these things through before they blacken her heart and overwhelm her so completely."

"What she of course declines to say is that Elrorir is an excellent healer, and if Mum starts to throw a fit then he can ensure she rests." Callon supplied helpfully and both Thúlië and I reached out to flick his arm at the same time.

"Do not be crass." She scolded. "I do hope she is well. She is essential to the happiness of so many in our family, and I confess Mum and Dad worry for her sometimes."

"We will worry for many long years yet." Gel said quietly, drawing his knees up. "Only when Elladan returns and the enchantment is truly gone from her soul do we have any hope of the darkness that sometimes takes her finally receding. Even then, she has been through so much..."

We looked at each other for a while, and then I brushed an errant tear away from my face with a huff. "Oh, now this is far too maudlin for my liking! Now, let us have a little fun whilst we still have some light and then afterwards we shall all go into town and get marvellously drunk." I stood, pulling Thúlië to her feet and handing her the target, picking up my bow. "I asked Grandma Aurae to gather everyone."

"Fantastic! Now, do show your sorry brothers just how this is done."

Thúlië winked at me, and with a flash of a grin she shot off. "You heard her boys; do try to keep up!" I taunted them, beckoning with one finger as they both glared darkly, before I shot off into the trees.

For a little while I could hear their steps, but soon they became nothing to me as I stalked my prey. From high in the trees it was easier still, and I spotted the brightly painted target just a little before me. Thúlië and I had played this game when she was a child; she had little patience for swordplay or the bow but enjoyed the game of hiding and seeking, so we found ways to include her. So light on her feet was she that she made a perfect target, and soon she had a whole myriad of tricks and clever ruses to keep us upon our toes.

"Ha!" I hissed under my breath and without any further hesitation my arrow sought its mark. I felt a flutter and then the whip of an arrow by my cheek and a second landed only a hairsbreadth from my own. I turned to look behind me and saw Dad crouched, hidden in the leaves but for the quicksilver of his eyes. I gestured to him and he landed silently beside me, expression slightly tense.

"Are you well?" I kissed his cheek and his free hand came to ruffle my hair.

"I am, daughter, though I fear I am suddenly rather bested by my own child!" He said, a slight line between his brows as he frowned. "What a sorry state of affairs it is."

I nudged him playfully before spotting that Thúlië was on the move again. "Well then, how about a wager?"

"Not a single one of you can resist." Dad said drily, but I saw him pluck at the string of his bow thoughtfully. "The first to 10 arrows wins, and the loser must the victor wine all evening at your little get-together."

"You're coming then? Excellent – I hoped Grandma Aurae would find you. Alright then, a wager it is." I offered my hand and he shook it once, his eyes lighting again, but he barely had time to register it before I dropped to the forest floor. "I hope you have enough money spare, Daddy-dear." I called up with as much of a smirk as he could muster.

"I would not be so sure on your victory!" I heard him call after me as I sprang off in chase of Thúlië, a joyful cry upon my lips.

xxxXxxx

"Another bottle for myself and Thúlië I think." I raised my empty glass and Dad rolled his eyes, standing from the table where our party had amassed. Mum and Elrohir were still conspicuously absent, but we were determined to celebrate those who lived as well as those who were no longer with us.

Our evening had begun with a quiet toast to Arwen, Aragorn, and to Gimli too. So far it was our family – those directly related to us by blood or marriage – and it was a truly wonderful time as we all sat together. Even my Grandparents on my Father's side had joined us with curious expressions for a little while, before rolling their eyes fondly and leaving us to our boisterous antics.

"Twist, for goodness sake Litawen!" I turned back to Ami, Tath and Thúlië, dealing the cards with a slight blush. "Oh but you should have seen it, Lita veritably wiped the floor with poor Haldir."

"Oh, I think not! I was lucky."

"Shut up, Lita." Cal said fondly, kissing my cheek as he stood to go to the bar. "I shall arrange this round – who would like what?" He took orders as I dealt the next hand, looking at Tath who was considering her cards.

"Stick." She looked to Ami who nodded with slightly narrowed eyes.

"...Twist?" Thúlië asked, almost hesitantly and I raised a brow as I presented the card to her. "Ha!" She placed her cards down with an exaggerated flourish. "Twenty-one."

"Damnation, you are the luckiest woman alive." Amdiriel glared slightly at her sister, before she snapped her fingers as an idea came to her. "You should dance, my wildling. Mum would love to see you."

"I have not brought my shoes." She complained.

"Then go get them. I swear, you make everything such a drama my darling." I teased and she stood, her light dress swirling about her. "Bring some for Aunty J too – I know Glorfindel adores it so when she dances." I let my eyes wander to where they sat together with Rumil, Orophin, Legolas and Míresgalon, my once suitor and now Tatharien's love. They were finally to wed in the spring and it promised to be a joyous celebration.

"So, have you and Elrohir spoken of children yet?" Osellë asked me, Aunty Tori coming to sit by my other side. I shook my head, laughing as Thúlië span once in the middle of the floor before heading to the door.

"We still feel that the time is not quite right." I said with only a little blush.

"When the time is right, you'll know. There's no rush." Tori promised me. "Anyway, being childless is totally fun..." She began but stopped as we saw Thúlië run straight in to an elf wearing a deep blue cloak, the hood drawn to fight off the slight chill and dampness of the autumn air. She stumbled backwards but the tall elf caught her easily, lifting her small frame so that she stood straight again.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She bowed her head in a light curtsey which came so naturally to her. "I am not usually so clumsy; thank you." She offered the still-hooded elf an endearing and slightly bashful smile before stepping back and out of the door, her eyes lingering only a moment before she was gone.

"Ten coins say whoever that is, she's got quite the fancy for them." Ami whispered and I giggled.

"No, you know our Thúlië – she accidentally flirts with anyone, male or female. I think it was entirely unintended." I assured her, but both Tatharien and my Aunts looked unconvinced.

"Hmm, we'll see." Tori watched the door where her niece had left with a smirk before her expression lightened into one of welcoming. "Hey, Maglor! Over here!" She called above the din and the dark-haired elf I had come to adopt as another Uncle, and he waved her off with a smile.

"But a moment, Victoria!"

"Tori!" She shouted back and then sat down again. "One day, I swear down, he will learn to use my real name. Anyway, pass us those cards and I'll deal."

A few minutes later Dad and my brothers returned to us, but Maglor still lingered with the hooded elf in a darkened corner of the room. Grandma Aurae winked at me as my gaze strayed in her direction and my brows rose as Dad placed a glass of deep red wine before me.

"I thank you kindly." I toasted him and he rolled his eyes, hugging me with one arm.

"I suppose I can at least keep an eye on just how much you drink this way and ensure someone can carry you home if needs be." He said dramatically, pale hair still bound behind him in neat braids.

"I hear we have another companion." I spoke in English under my breath.

"Indeed. Skulking in a corner and not entirely sure what to do with himself around so boisterous a crowd, no doubt." He answered back, lifting the glass to his lips. "I am a little glad Benny is away this evening – I would not wish for them to meet when her heart is heavy. She would only pick a fight with him."

"Do you think so?" I began, but then glanced up as a slight shadow was cast over us.

"I am sure that one day I shall learn that tongue more thoroughly." I stood and reached out to Maglor in an embrace, slightly abashed for being caught gossiping.

"And one day I am certain I will remember my manners. How are you this evening? I was not certain you would come."

"Bernadette has chosen to adopt me as one of her own flock, I would be amiss not to. May I...?" He gestured to the seat that was free still where Thúlië had left it; I nodded with a smile and he sat as I did. "Thank you. Speaking of the very lady, where is she this evening?"

Father and I shared a dark look. "She is with my husband. Today they mourn the loss of someone very dear to them both one thousand years ago exactly, and one who is still yet gone from our number." I explained as gently as I could. "She was very close to Arwen once she became Queen of Gondor, and Elladan yet remains in Middle Earth or whatever has become of it. You have come to know Mum as well as any of us – she feels things very deeply and blames herself for much."

Maglor closed his eyes for a brief moment, and then took my hand from across the table. "I understand, and I am sorry. I did not know – I only saw Aurae briefly in passing this morning and she made no mention of it then for I did not have the time. There has been an addition to my family of late – you may have heard." He nodded towards my brothers who waved at him in greeting, and then to my Dad who nodded back with a smile.

"I say to you as I did before - perhaps it is best that he does not yet meet my wife. I saw her briefly before I came here and I know she goes to see Lord Elrond and the Lady Celebrian. I hope that she will vent some of her frustrations in the way only she can." Dad explained and Maglor nodded his agreement.

"Absolutely I she will feel better for pouring her soul into her music. Valar, child, you are so silent upon your feet!" Maglor cried with a hand flying to his heart; turning as Thúlië tapped him on the shoulder, approaching him as a spectre from behind with a wicked grin.

"Aye, and a great benefit it is! I remembered that I left a pair of my shoes at Benny's so I simply went there – it is so much nearer. That aside, what should I happen to find but a pair of Mum's own shoes there too? They are a little worn but still solid enough for a dance or three." She proceeded to lean on my Father with no ceremony to pull on her dancing slippers, flexing her feet back and forth once the ribbons were tied. "Thank you, Uncle." She pressed a kiss to his cheek as he rolled his eyes, watching on fondly as she went to my Aunt and presented her with the shoes gleefully.

"You would not think she is so mature as she is when one manages to get her to settle." Maglor observed as J rose on to the tips of her shoes in unison with her daughter with natural ease.

"As with Bernadette, I am not entirely sure she knows the meaning of the word." Dad said drily. "Are you absolutely certain that Maedhros wishes to be included in this madness? I would not hold it against him."

"My brother, as I did, feels such desolate loneliness in his rebirth. In our deaths the oath which took us faded away but in its place a great chasm has been left which only acceptance and love may hope to fill. We have no right to ask for it." He stopped, glancing over his shoulder at the elf swathed in the nondescript blue material with an expression of unity I knew all too well. "I know not if ever we shall truly receive it. Yet I would have him know what it feels like to be part of a family again, for we are too used to such bonds of love as you are to go without it. Bernadette.. she is a remarkable woman. I think that she will do him good."

"I think perhaps she will." Dad said, and then stood, offering me his hand. "Come then, trouble. If he can manage you, Thúlië, Tatharien and Amdiriel when you are united and drunk then he should just about manage your Mother."

"Such love do you hear in his voice." I said to Maglor who laughed outright as I stood. "I best him today shooting, and he is a terrible loser." I informed the other elf whose brows rose. He stood and watched as J and Thúlië danced together – I could see across the room the elf in the cloak tilted his head to see just how they danced, their laughter ringing truly as Thúlië twirled under her Mother's arm.

"I am not – you were already well ahead of me and I had barely a hope of catching up." Dad offered me his arm and I took it, my brothers appearing by my side. I took a deep breath, not letting my nerves get to me and instead put my most charming smile in place. Arm in arm with my Father I caught Thúlië by the waist and pulled her with me for a little more moral support.

Flanked by my family, most following curiously to see just what was happening. As I approached Maglor crouched beside him, no doubt explaining who we were, and with hesitant movements he finally lowered the hood which disguised the deep auburn hair which had been hidden before.

That wasn't the first thing I truly noticed; oh no. It was the fear and the sorrow in his eyes, as fathomless and grey as his brother's when I had very first met him. Cold, uncertain, and so very alone. Thousands of years in the care of Mandos had changed him, truly; I knew as surely as I drew breath. There was nothing else I could do

"Hello there, I'm Litawen." I held out my hand, forthright as always, my words filled with all the warmth I held in my heart.

"Are you, now?" His lips turned upwards at the corner as he took my hand in his firmly. "You have the hands of an archer; a most unusual occupation for a woman." He turned my palm over and then back again, lingering upon my fingertips.

"Do you shoot?" I asked, sitting opposite him with no invitation at all to do so – I had a feeling on just how I needed to handle this prickly Lord.

"A little."

"Good, then tomorrow you are welcome to join me, and try to best me. You shall see that I rank as well as any of the greatest elven archers you may ever meet." I took my hand back, examining my nails and hands thoughtfully as I felt the callouses that he must have noted.

"Better than Prince Legolas, and Captain Haldir who sired you?"

"Oh yes." I glanced up at my Father with bright eyes. "Would you like a drink? My Father lost our latest tournament and so is paying for all the wine I desire this evening."

There it was – his eyes lightened just a little and he laughed outright. "Well then, Lady Litawen, let us see if you hold your drink quite so well as you shoot. Maedhros at your service." He bowed his head to me and I did the same. "I shall spare Captain Haldir on this occasion for it seems we have quite the company. Excuse me!" He called to the lady who stood behind the bar, his expression changing from harsh to amiable in the blink of an eye. "A few bottles for the table, if you would be so very kind?"

His words had power, clearly a voice used to command and conjuring respect even before one knew precisely who he was. "Of course, my Lord." she bowed her head and then he turned back to me, his hand sweeping out to gesture at the family who stood behind me in droves.

"Now, one by one if you will. I see that there is an army of you here, and but only a few of you do I know by name. Let us start with the charming Lady who ran directly into me at the door!"

So, what do we think? Reviews, as always, are sincerely appreciated and mean the world to me :)