Once again, this chapter is like 100% fluff. But I couldn't help myself. All the characters needed a moment to have a break and I needed to write some cute scenes lol. The next chapter will finally get back to the actual plot Also i just realised that this will be my 3rd chapter in 3 days. Considering I went like two months with nothing this is like going from 0 to 100
All the preparations for the feast had been completed in plenty of time. So when the day finally arrived the only thing left to do was to get ourselves ready. I was currently in my rooms. They had been fixed up after a few days so I didn't have to keep stealing Legolas's bed. The room wasn't the same as it had been. Since all the wood had rotted none of the tables, chairs and drawers were the same. They were all shiny and new.
The fact that the room was different helped me a little. It meant that I could focus more on the here and now rather than reminiscing and thinking about all that I had missed.
Mum was with me, along with a couple of maids, to help us get ready. It felt like a lot of fuss for one party. Yet at the same time, I was having fun. It felt a little like a girls pamper day.
Emiel was the one styling my hair. Her hands were gentle as they braided intricate braids into my hair. I had already told her that the courting braid couldn't come out and she had obliged. She gave me a matching braid on the opposite side so that it was symmetrical. I looked up at her through the mirror. She had a smile stretched across her face.
"I assume this is a little easier than the last time you had to do my hair" I said to the reflection.
Emiel looked up and grinned at me through the mirror. "Oh exceptionally so your Highness. You no longer fight each brush stroke or refuse to sit still"
I giggled. I didn't particularly care about having my hair done when I was younger. Preferring to go back to playing. She must have had quite a handful trying to get me to look like a 'proper princess' when I was younger.
"Have you got your dress sorted for the feast?" I asked.
"She certainly has" came a voice from behind us. Lanneth, the other maid. Who was currently helping Mum into her dress. "Elion had one commissioned for her"
Emiel's face heated up as soon as the name was mentioned.
"Who's Elion?" I asked intrigued.
"No one your Highness," she said, shaking her head. "Just a friend"
"Must be a very good friend to have a dress made for you" I heard Mum say.
" he is your Majesty"
"Oh, those two have been dancing around each other for the past 100 years, your majesty" said Lanneth, seemingly loving the gossip. "And I think you are all done" she said, arranging the bottom of the dress.
It was a deep green colour. With a damask pattern sewn along the length of it. There were many skirts underneath it that helped it hold its shape.
"You look beautiful Mum" I said. And I meant it. She looked radiant.
"Thank you Leah," she said, smiling down at her dress. "It's been so long since I've had the chance to wear something like this. It feels good"
"Have you seen your dress, Princess?" asked Lanneth.
My dress had arrived earlier that day. However, it had been placed in the wardrobe and I was told that I wasn't allowed to see it yet.
"Not yet, Mum told me it would be a surprise"
Emiel finished placing the last braid, looking impressed with her work. "I'm all finished here. So you can go and take a look"
I appraised my hair in the mirror before I stood up. It was expertly done, with no hair out of place.
When I turned around, the dress had been taken out of the wardrobe. It now hung on the door so that I had full view of it. My mouth dropped open when I saw how pretty it was.
It was the same deep blue as Mum's was. Except this one had a pattern of stars sewn into the fabric. It reminded me of the night sky. The dress tied at the waist with an ornate belt before flaring out. The outer skirt was split in the middle to reveal a silver skirt underneath.
"It's beautiful" I whispered.
"I knew you'd like it" said Mum. She definitely had an eye for this kind of thing.
Mum and the maids helped me to put it on. Which was rather strange I will admit. I was a fully grown adult yet I needed someone else to help me dress. Though in all fairness it was a lot more complicated to get on than all the other dresses I'd had. It didn't fare well for when I would have to take it all off again. I'd probably end up falling asleep in it, stuck with one arm in one arm out.
When I was finally in it, they turned me to face the mirror. It was amazing and fit me perfectly. I lifted up the skirts and gave a little twirl. I actually felt like a princess in this dress. Which I guess was sort of the point.
"Oh your Highness it's perfect" Emiel clapped her hands.
"It just needs one more thing" said Mum, who made her way over to the table.
On it was an elegant box, with gilded edges. She opened the lid and reached inside. When she removed her hands they were filled with a silver circlet. A crown. It glinted in the light.
With the utmost care, she placed the crown onto my head. The braids were tied low enough so that they didn't get in the way.
"Perfect" said Mum, her eyes looking a little misty.
oOo
The feast wouldn't start until all of the royal family had arrived. Which meant that we had to make an entrance. Legolas and I went in first. We were arm in arm as we made our way through the large double doors. I smiled in wonder as I saw how pretty the decorations looked. Everything seemed to shine and glint in the light. Reminiscent of stars. People bowed or curtseyed as we passed them.
When I turned my head I saw that the dwarves were clustered together. Looking a little awkward at the fanfare. They had their own table to sit at, at least. A few of them were wearing new clothes while some were still as stubborn as ever. *cough* Dwalin *cough cough*.
I gave them a little wave. A few waved back at me.
My eyes searched through the group until I landed on the person I was searching for. Kili's mouth fell open. His eyes looked at me with astonishment. I smiled back at him, my cheeks feeling a little warm.
Legolas led us over to the royal table. He pulled my chair out for me in a very gentlemanly fashion.
Ada and Mum came in next. "Well one of them is gonna have to change" I whispered to myself, with a grin. Ada's robes were a similar style and colour to Mum's. Except his had trousers underneath. They looked rather good in their matching couple outfits.
Mum now had a crown balanced on her head too. It was similar to Ada's crown of Autumn flowers. Only I would describe it as softer. It wasn't as spiky.
They glided into the room with enough grace to make anyone jealous. Once Ada and Mum reached the table, Ada swept his gaze around the room. Then he lifted his goblet and said "Let the feast begin"
Food was served first before the party could really get underway. The food was delicious and I managed not to get anything down my new dress. It did take more effort than I cared to admit. I could swear that I was a gremlin in disguise at times.
Once everyone had finished all the plates were cleared. Though there was still a table of food for people to pick from throughout the night.
I found myself on a small stage, looking out into the crowd of people. My hands were worrying the edges of my dress. Nerves were catching up with me. Even though I'd sang in front of crowds before, this one felt different. I was determined not to slip up: I wanted it to be perfect.
The band to play the first few bars of the melody. On the harp, violin and the piano. They had picked up the song remarkably quickly.
I'm a phoenix in the water
A fish that's learned to fly
And I've always been a daughter
But feathers are meant for the sky
So I'm wishing, wishing further
For the excitement to arrive
It's just I'd rather be causing the chaos
Than laying at the sharp end of this knife
With every small disaster
I'll let the waters still
Take me away to some place real
'Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone
Is where you go when you're alone
Is where you go to rest your bones
It's not just where you lay your head
It's not just where you make your bed
As long as we're together, does it matter where we go?
Home, home, home, home
The song felt hopeful. About moving forward and finding a home. It felt like the perfect song to sing.
Everyone else seemed to agree too as I was met with rapturous applause once I'd finished.
The party went into full swing after that. With jaunty music to dance to and lots and lots of wine.
Legolas was the first person to ask me to dance and I happily obliged. Unluckily for him he got to receive the full brunt of my dancing skills. As I had no clue how to do the 'normal' dances i decided to teach him some of my own. Which included a lot of spinning. We were both laughing at the ridiculousness of it.
"Right now you go under my arm" I said, hold our joined arms in the air.
He raised his eyebrow at me. "Surely, you're the one that's supposed to go underneath"
"No, no it's definitely you" I grinned "It's..pasodoble" I said, pulling out whichever dance term came to mind first. I had in fact zero knowledge of what a pasodoble was. All I knew was that I'd heard it mentioned when I briefly watched an episode of Strictly Come Dancing.
"That's a made up word" Legolas laughed.
"No it's not, now go under my arm"
Legolas shook his head but gave in. Spinning underneath my arm. It was rather awkward as he was so much taller than me.
"Happy?"
"Very"
When we were sufficiently worn out we decided to have a break. I wandered over to the buffet table where a hobbit was nervously shoveling cheese into his mouth. My hand reached out for the jug of wine and I poured myself a cup. While looking at Bilbo out of the side of my eye. He was looking off into the corner of the dance floor. The part the dwarves had claimed for their own.
It had taken them a little bit to warm up but the dwarves couldn't deny their love of parties for very long. As long as there was plenty of alcohol and a good song they could make a good go of it. They were all dancing amongst themselves. As there was a discrepancy between males and females with dwarves they tended to disregard gender when they danced together. Why would you waste the opportunity to dance just because there wasn't enough female dance partners?
Bofur and Fili however had managed to find some females to dance with. They sauntered over to a couple of elleths with all the confidence in the world. Fili really laid it on thick with a bow and a kiss to their hand. The elleth looked at Fili curiously then shrugged her shoulders in a 'what the hell, I'll go for it' kind of way. Then she let him lead her onto the dance floor.
Her friend seemed less impressed but took Bofur's hand anyway.
Bilbo, however, was looking at one dwarf in particular. He stood away from all the revelry. Watching the festivities in a detached sort of way. Thorin stood nursing a drink, occasionally smiling and nodding at the members of the company.
"You look very nice Bilbo" I said, to let him know I was there.
He was wearing a tunic of royal blue (Durin blue you could say). It had gold accents around the collar and sleeves. "Oh, thank you." said Bilbo who looked down and pulled at his shirt. "Your mother picked this out for me actually. I found it in my room with a note. She said that the colours were perfect for me. It fits quite nicely too"
I gave a quick glance over to Mum who was dancing with Ada. I had a sneaking suspicion that she knew who favoured those colours. And it wasn't Bilbo.
Bilbo was back to shovelling food into his mouth.
"Are you okay Bilbo? you seem a bit nervous"
"What? yes I'm fine, perfectly fine" Bilbo babbled "It's just" Bilbo twitched his nose "Do you think Thorin seems a bit lonely over there?"
I looked back over to see Thorin in the same place he had been before. "He does a little" I said "Though I don't think it's for lack of trying on the dwarves part"
"Maybe they just weren't persuasive enough" Bilbo straightened himself up "He deserves to have a bit of fun every once in a while"
Then he turned to me, eyeing the cup in my hands. He reached out for it and I handed it over to him with no resistance. "What's in this?" he said staring into the cup. The liquid was a light yellow colour and smelled quite sweet.
"Some kind of honey wine I think"
"That'll do" he said before swiftly downing the contents. He slammed the cup down onto the table and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Then with no further preamble, he pushed himself away from the table and strode purposefully towards Thorin.
All his liquid courage seemed to fade away as soon as Thorin clocked eyes on him. Thorin smiled at Bilbo. Which consequently made the hobbit go bright red. He then appeared to be asking Thorin to dance. Though because of all the music I couldn't hear what was being said. At first Thorin appeared to shake his head. However, Bilbo was persistent. After only a little more persuasion I saw Thorin sigh and place his goblet down. Then he held his hand out for Bilbo to take.
"I can't believe that Bilbo actually managed to get my Uncle to dance" came a voice from my left.
"Kili" I said with a smile. I hadn't managed to actually speak with him yet.
My breath caught in my throat when I fully took him in. His hair was freshly washed and combed. It looked incredibly soft. The courting braid was fully on display. He also had some new clothes. A long tunic that cinched in at the waist with a silver belt. It was the same deep blue as my dress. Also on closer inspection I could see that it was even detailed with the same star pattern. The shirt was slightly open at the neck to reveal a silver shirt underneath.
All I could say was that he was one hot dwarf.
"Kili, you look incredible" I said, astonished
"Me?" he scoffed "Have you seen yourself Leah? You took my breath away when you walked in"
I felt my heart flutter.
"I assume it was my Mum that gave you the clothes"
"Yes, Ellen handed them to me a few days ago. She told me that you would like them" he said with a knowing smile.
Mum was correct as always.
Then Kili's eyes drew together "Wait am I still allowed to call her Ellen? I assume I've got to call her Queen now"
"No you can still call her Ellen when it's just us. But probably best not to call Mum by her first name when my Ada is around"
Ada didn't need further ammunition against Kili. I was still annoyed at him for scaring Kili. Mum apparently scolded him for it but I doubt it was very convincing. Neither of them could stay angry at the other for long. It was like they were having a honeymoon period again, where they could find no fault with the other.
"That sounds sensible" he nodded.
Then he smiled at me and turned his body to face me fully. Before bowing and extending his hand out towards me. "Would you do me the honour of dancing with me, Princess Leah?" His voice had a regal tone to it.
"Why of course, Prince Kili" I said, my tone equally grand, while I lay my hand into his.
Kili straightened back up, placing a ghost of a kiss onto the back of my hand. I felt my heart skip a beat.
Then he pulled me onto the dance floor. Right into the centre of the room. He held my right hand in his left and grabbed my waist with his other. He couldn't get too close to me though because my skirts wouldn't allow it. One of us would end up tripping over.
The music was slower than it had been before, which meant that we didn't have to set a quick pace. It suited me perfectly. "My dancing skills still haven't improved much since the last time we danced" I grinned.
"Well if you let me lead then we should be fine," he smiled back.
The people around us seemed to melt away. Kili was my only focus. I couldn't stop smiling at him. His grin didn't seem to leave his face either.
"I like the crown" Kili remarked "It makes you look very regal"
"I like it too" then I moved my eyebrows up and down. Shaking my head a little "Though it does feel a bit odd on my head"
"You'll probably get used to it"
We danced a few more steps. "Do you have a crown Kili? You are also a prince after all"
Kili pondered for a moment "Not really, we aren't a particularly rich kingdom. After Smaug attacked, our people had to work harder for everything. Crowns and such weren't high on the priority list."
The statement made a lot of sense and accurately described the dwarves suffering since smaug had attacked. It made me sad that they had struggled so much.
"Fili and I made our own once though"
"You did?" my heart warmed at the thought of them with their homemade crowns.
"Yes, we wound branches together and added bits of shiny metal we found around the home" He laughed "They were quite good actually, considering we were only 30 and 35"
"I think you would look good in a crown" I mused.
"Well, when this is all over you will have to help me pick one"
When it's all over.
It seemed so close yet so far away. All sorts could happen between now and then. In this moment, dancing with Kili, it was easy to forget that there were battles looming. People that needed saving. If I dwelled on those thoughts for too long I knew that I would start panicking.
Later. I shook my head. I would dwell on those thoughts later. For now, I was going to concentrate on what I had in front of me. A happy, healthy family and a partner that I loved with all my heart.
"I love you, Kili"
"I love you too, Leah" His voice contained such warmth.
His eyes were intense and he leaned forward. Looking very much like he wanted to kiss me. I leaned in too. It was like there was a magnetic attraction between the two of us.
Which was instantly shattered when Kili suddenly backed up half a step. With exceptionally wide eyes and a squeaking noise that he probably wouldn't admit that he had ever made. He was looking at something over my shoulder. Or rather someone.
"Mind if I cut in" Ada's deep voice sounded from behind me.
"No, no of course not" said Kili, with exceptional speed. Then he turned to me and with a bow of his head said "Thank you for the dance Leah" Then he turned tail and left with incredible speed.
I spun around to look up at Ada, raising my eyebrows questioningly. "You don't have to be so mean you know"
"I do not know what you are implying, I'm simply asking my daughter to dance" he shrugged with a nonchalant air.
"Yes, I'm sure that's all you were doing." I said, holding my arms out for him to take.
Ada took the lead and began to move us around in slow circles. "Your Naneth tells me that you are displeased with me"
"A little bit yes" I said, though my face wasn't too serious.
"I will not apologise for wanting to find out the type of person this Kili is" He said.
I raised my eyebrows a little. Starting off an apology with 'I will not apologise' didn't seem like the best route to go down.
Ada saw my look and smiled "However, I will admit that there were other methods that I should have pursued first. I should have informed you"
"Yes, that probably would have been better" I sighed "Did you find out what you wanted to know at least?"
"I did" explained Ada "From what I saw, his feelings for you are genuine. He cares about you deeply." He paused "The way he looks at you reminds me of the way that I look at your Naneth. So I at least know that he sees you for the brilliant person you are."
Then Ada grinned "He also stood up to me, which I found rather admirable. He was clearly terrified of me yet he stood his ground when you were involved."
"So, do you like him?"
"Like is a strong word"
"Ada" I groaned
"I do not dislike him. But if you ever tell anyone, I will deny it most ardently" Ada was looking over my shoulder.
I smiled, that felt like high praise coming from Ada. "Thank you, Ada".
Ada returned the smile before looking back over my shoulder. I saw his eyes turn icy. "You're glaring at him over my shoulder aren't you"
"Of course not, what kind of Adar would I be if I did that"
I just laughed and shook my head.
"I do still think you could have chosen someone taller"
"Not when I'm only this tall" I chuckled "Also, Kili is considered to be tall for a dwarf"
Ada's gave a deep laugh "Is he now?"
The song changed to something more uptempo. Ada tried to accomodate for it. My feet on the other hand did not. They got tangled up in one of my many skirts and I nearly tripped up. Ada was there to stop me from falling.
My cheeks heated. I hope no one saw that. Though they probably did considering we were in the middle of the room.
"I'm not very good at dancing" I admitted.
"Yes, I did see what you were trying to teach your brother earlier. Though dancing may be a strong word for it"
"Hey!" I wasn't really offended, however, because I knew what he said was true.
Ada just laughed. "you could always stand on my feet like you used to when you were younger." he offered
"I'm probably a bit too big for that now"
Ada's smile grew into something more thoughtful. "You are right." he looked at me, a mixture of happiness and sadness in his eyes "You have grown into a fine and beautiful elleth" he closed his eyes briefly before opening them back up "It pains me greatly that I was not there to see it happen"
I gave him a sad sort of smile "Oh you didn't miss much really" I said, trying to downplay it "Just a lot of crying and teenage mood swings"
"You sell yourself short tithin ven"
Ada using his old nickname for me gave me an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. Of all the love that he poured into it. Reminding me of how happy we were.
It also reminded me of what I had lost. All those years that I had spent thinking that I would never see him again. Never hear him call me his 'little one'.
But now we'd found him again. Through battles and orcs and death, we had made it here. And sometimes I felt so overwhelmed by that sheer fact.
I felt the telltale pricks of tears gathering at the corners of my eyes. My mouth formed a wobbly smile. "I'm so glad we found you Ada" my voice cracked.
"I'm glad too," he said, voice tight.
Then he drew me in for a hug and cradled my head to his chest.