Hello all you beautiful people!

A huge, huge thank you to my lovely reviewers! You guys rock and really give me the motivation to write. I appreciate the time you take to write me a little note. It's super encouraging, seriously.

As for this chapter, I'm afraid it's not as exciting as the previous one. Sorry! But some necessary things happen in this chapter. Gotta keep the drama going after all!

Thanks for reading and as always, I don't own anything! I'm basically living in a van down by the river! (JOKES, guys, jokes)

-ChoupetteLagerfeld

—

When Kerrianne and Haldir walked into the large open-air pavilion together later that night, more than a few heads turned in their direction. While they made no indication that they were together (Were they together? Kerrianne wondered, in a haze), it seemed that word had travelled of their spending the whole day together. Kerrianne blushed but kept her head held high as Haldir led her a table that already seated his brothers. His hand pressed gently but firmly into her lower back as he guided her and Kerrianne knew no one missed that detail. She was proud to be beside Haldir but was not a fan of all the stares that followed their every move.

"How are you this evening, Kerri?" Rumil immediately asked with a smirk as she and Haldir settled at the table and helped themselves to the food.

"Fine. How are you?" Kerrianne tried to sound as nonchalant as possible as she filled her bowl with some sort of veggie soup. She'd quickly adjusted to the elves' mostly vegetarian diet but damn she missed some homemade chicken noodle!

"Not nearly as good as the two of you, I can assure you," Rumil smirked as Kerrianne's cheeks heated but she didn't bat an eye as she turned to Orophin and inquired about his day. He, being much a more mature and courteous elf than his younger brother, quickly picked up the conversation. Haldir glared over Kerrianne's head at his younger brother, who just shrugged with a guilty grin as if to say 'You can't blame for having fun, right?' (Of course Haldir could and frequently did blame anyone under his charge for having fun).

"I see the rumor mill has already started," Haldir murmured quietly to Rumil, glad that Orophin was distracting Kerrianne at the moment.

"It has never stopped where you are concerned, dear brother," Rumil grinned again as he shoveled food into his mouth. Despite every elf having an innate grace, Rumil somehow still managed to look like any young man in his 20's with an appetite. It was a true feat to deny such natural elegance. Haldir frowned at his brother, knowing that what he said was true. Save for Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn, he was just about as high-profile as elves got in Lothlorien. There was bound to be some whispering about himself and the newcomer (especially since Kerrianne was mortal. It was practically a scandal, if he was being honest with himself).

"You will have to tread lightly, brother. Kerrianne and this situation should be handled with the utmost respect and finesse," Rumil said lowly, in a rare moment of absolute seriousness. Haldir's eyebrows rose at his brother's tone.

"I'm aware," He answered, a bit haughtily. "I think I can handle my own private life, little brother," Haldir growled, offended that Rumil would think him anything less than respectful of Kerrianne.

"Well at least you admit a private life exists!" Rumil laughed loudly as he slapped Haldir on the back in one of those "manly congratulatory" gestures that seemed to cross space and time. Kerrianne wondered what the two had been discussing as Rumil excused himself from the table and swaggered out of the pavilion, looking quite pleased.

"What was that all about?" Kerrianne asked Haldir.

"Nothing. Just my brother being himself," Haldir answered cryptically as he dropped a quick, chaste kiss to her forehead. It was over and done with before she even knew it was happening but Kerrianne's jaw dropped anyway. It was one thing to rendezvous in the woods but it was entirely something else to so openly show affection in public.

"Eat up. Tomorrow we have another adventure. Meet me at the training grounds after your midday meal," He ordered, smiling at Kerrianne's still-shocked face. He strode away from the table to clear his dirty bowl, laughing inwardly at Kerrianne's expression. He loved how honest she was with her feelings. He had never met someone more expressive and easy to read.

"Haldir!" Kerrianne stood from the table and called after him. His head was not the only one to turn as she called across the pavilion. His brow rose in question and Kerrianne's stomach flipped a little at the expression. Was it possible he knew what that did to her? Because the clenching in her thighs was getting pretty hard to ignore, dammit.

"What are we doing tomorrow?" She called, with a smile, hoping to embarrass him a just a little by being so loud and brazen. To her shock and slight glee he merely smirked suggestively and told her:

"Wait and see, mortal," Then he strode away, his long hair swishing behind him. Her knees felt weak so Kerrianne lowered herself back into her seat with a small thump. She glanced up to see a sea of faces, most with looks of beguile and interest, staring back at her. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she turned once more towards Orophin, who had watched the entire exchange in amused silence.

"Good luck," He intoned as he rose from his seat, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder that she supposed was meant to be reassuring. It was not.

—

"I wouldn't pay her any mind," Ferruel said softly to Kerrianne the next morning as they were, once again, doing their washing in the river along with a few other elves. For the entire morning, Kerrianne had been on the receiving end of a quite a few glares and thinly veiled comments from some of the ellith. The lovely Anariel in particular had been throwing some scathing looks her way.

"I don't see what the big deal is. It's not like I'm trying to steal anyone's man," Kerrianne grumbled, scrubbing her tunic so hard that Ferruel had to stop her from wearing a hole through it. Though, she was curious about the whole Anariel/Haldir thing. Just a few weeks ago, Anariel had been in charge of Haldir's laundry (which, according to the elves, was very telling). She wanted to know what had happened between them but had so far been too shy to ask Haldir. She figured it was a non-issue if he was showing interest in herself. Haldir didn't strike Kerrianne as the type of guy to two-time someone, after all.

"It can be…. difficult to see an ellon with a human woman. It's unusual to be sure and the elves are not known for embracing change," Ferruel responded kindly.

"Whatever. It's not like Haldir and I are married. I wish everyone would just settle down. He and I can do whatever we want; we're both adults. It's our choice and no one else's." Kerrianne snapped, tossing another garment in the river with a slap and soaping it up. When Ferruel didn't respond, she looked up to see her friend frowning.

"What?"

"Well, it's just that it has been some time since Haldir has openly courted anyone. In fact, I cannot myself remember a time when he was with just one elleth," Ferruel paused in thought.

"Great, just what I wanted to hear," Kerrianne muttered. Suddenly she was not looking forward to seeing Haldir later. Her good mood had been ruined by the curious glances and downright rudeness of some of the elves.

"I apologize. You misunderstand me. What I meant to say is that Haldir has never shown anyone the kind of affection he showed you yesterday," Kerrianne paused, letting what Ferruel said sink in.

"But all he did was kiss my forehead! It's not like we fucked right in front of everyone," Ferruel blushed at Kerrianne's language, to her immense amusement.

"Still, such behavior from Haldir is cause for conversation. He would not show his interest in you so openly unless he was serious. Kerrianne, Haldir is not the kind of ellon to flirt for no reason. Everyone knows this and with you being a human, it is inevitable that there will be talk," Ferruel was patient in explaining the situation to her but Kerrianne was still losing her patience.

"I just wish everyone would mind their own business," She snarled, her cheeks heating once more as she caught Anariel and her friends whispering amongst themselves again.

"We elves pretend to be above such things but the truth is we love idle talk as much as anyone else," Ferruel smiled, putting Kerrianne a little bit at ease.

"Sometimes it's like I never left home," Kerrianne let herself smile back as she tried to relax. She'd dealt with way bigger bitches back home and if the elves wanted to be petty, they'd better bring it because Kerrianne could hold her own.

—-

Kerrianne paused in hanging her laundry when she heard a knock on her talan door. She sighed as she walked back across her balcony (or flet, as the elves called it) and through the small main room to answer the door. She hoped she wasn't late to meet Haldir. She supposed she may have lost track of time as she was hanging her clothes. She'd been thinking about what Ferruel had said and implied. She wondered just how serious Haldir was taking their new relationship. And she wondered how she seriously she wanted him to take it. Her thoughts were a mess. When she swung open the door and met the eyes of a stranger, all her jumbled thoughts left her brain.

"Yes?" Kerrianne asked the elleth, noting that she was one of several that she'd seen with Anariel. The pretty elleth merely studied her for a moment before responding.

"I really don't see it," The elleth responded with a sign. She dragged her pretty blonde hair back over her shoulder.

"See what?" Kerrianne asked through gritted teeth. She had an inkling where this conversation was going.

"I simply don't see why Haldir should prefer you to Anariel," The elf answered, a satisfied smirk upon her lovely face when Kerrianne stared blankly back at her.

"I have no idea either. I'll be sure to ask him when I see him later," Kerrianne replied, her tone implying she'd be doing more than "seeing him." The elleth glared back at her. "And you can tell Anariel to do her own dirty work next time. If she wants information or to intimidate me, she should have probably sent some more worthy of my time,"

"Don't come around here bothering me again, bitch," Kerrianne slammed her door closed with a satisfying smack. She thought she'd handled that pretty well but she was positively seething inside. Fuck those bitches if they thought they could intimidate her! After all, she'd been the one to survive American high school. She listened as the elleth on the other side of her door gave a frustrated huff before presumably leaving (even when angry, the elves didn't stomp anywhere).

It was times like these that she particularly missed being home among her human friends. They would definitely have had some ideas on how to deal with Anariel and her stupid friends. As it was, she supposed she'd have to negotiate the elvish social system on her own. It was not something she was particularly looking forward to.