Dear readers,

Thank you for following this story. Lauren's story is winding and complex and I hope you continue to stick with her.

-Edith

The entire family turned out to see Legolas off, as was expected for his royal stature. While the rulers of Lorien and Lord Elrond bade the Prince of Mirkwood formal salutations, Lauren's send-off was much more personal. She surprised her family by ignoring decorum - stepping into a tight hug with the Prince, followed by a kiss on both cheeks.

"Stay safe, Legolas" she said earnestly.

"I will see you soon. Don't forget what I said" Legolas subtly referenced his enduring loyalty. Lauren smiled softly as a mutual understanding passed between them. It took most of Haldir's iron will to contain his envy of Legolas' connection to Lauren. He had always felt protective of Lauren. Now, he acknowledged he felt a deep affection for her. He dared not indulge the thought he might love her, though somewhere deep down he knew that he had always loved her. The marchwarden knew that his feelings would never be realized if Lauren did not return them. He would never try to influence her feelings. She has never demonstrated any sign of romantic affection towards him. It was not in him to try to charm her. So for now, the soldier must focus on his duty to protect her.

Haldir felt strongly that Legolas was not right for Lauren, his personal feelings for her aside. Legolas was young and impulsive. Lauren would see that as spontaneous and fun. Legolas was also handsome, royal and charming. Most of Lauren's family privately acknowledged she needed someone steady and responsible to guide, nurture her. Unfortunately, that was not the type of companion Lauren was usually drawn to. Haldir knew she likely found him serious and boring. She was young, he knew. He would have to be patient.

On their walk back to the city, Lauren deliberately found her stride next to Ayla. The lady in waiting looked at her with surprise when she approached.

"My lady, can I help you with something?" Ayla said as she bowed.

"No, I – wanted to apologize" Lauren said haltingly. Ayla's face showed her surprise. From what she had heard, the younger Princess of the realm was not the type to apologize.

"The other day at the rose garden with George – I was very surprised to see you together. I reacted poorly. It was rude of me" Lauren continued.

"My lady –" Ayla began.

"It's Lauren, please"

"Lauren, I do not want to sow discord between you and your family. But my feelings for George, they are real. I care for him very much. I know it must have been a shock to you" Ayla explained.

"He cares about you too" Lauren responded. "He says he loves you" she added. Ayla's cheeks blushed.

"I love him too" Ayla said.

"He's going to give up everything, his whole life, to stay here with you" Lauren continued.

"I did not ask him to" Ayla interjected.

"I know, he is doing this because he loves you. Ayla, I grew up with him. He's like a brother to me. His sister is a sister to me. I want him to be happy. I didn't want him to forgo everything he has worked so hard for at home. But he and I, we've both known loss and I see now that he does not want to lose the love of his life" Lauren admitted. It was difficult to for her to accept George's decision, but to oppose him was selfish.

"I would never hurt him Lauren" Ayla vowed.

"I believe you wouldn't do that on purpose. But Ayla, I have to warn you. There will be people in my family who won't agree with this. His sister, Juliette, I'm sure will not be happy. They're very close. I'm sure you can imagine if your brother made such a decision" Lauren warned. Ayla nodded, grateful for the warning.

With that, Lauren left Ayla to attend to the Lady of the woods. As she walked towards the front of the procession, she passed George, who mouthed his thanks and gave her a quick peck on the cheeks. At the front of the procession, the Lord and Lady of Lothlorien conversed quietly with their son in law. Lauren swallowed hard before approaching them. Their conversation faded as she approached.

"Ada, Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel" she began. How does she address her grandparents – grandpa and granny did not seem appropriate she thought inwardly.

"We are your grandparents Luthien, you may dispense with the formality" Galadriel said, seemingly reading her thoughts.

"OK, thanks" Lauren replied uncertainly.
"Do you need something Luthien?" Lady Galadriel inquired, yielding the conversation to her. Galadriel already knew why Lauren was there, she tried to help her get started.

"I wanted to apologize for the feast. I realize now that it was very rude of me. We were just having some fun, but it was not the right way to act. I'm sorry if I hurt you" Lauren said calmly.

Elrond's eyebrows raised in surprise. His younger daughter's demeanor was quite uncharacteristic. Her grandparents maintained their usual calmness.

"Luthien, you may be an adult in your world, but here you are still so young. You have much to see and learn. No harm done, sweetling. But perhaps in the future, you ought to see that what you do impacts many others. You are carefree and that is a blessing of youth. But you also have to step into the duty of your position" Galadriel counselled wisely.

Lauren bit her lip and nodded. She was being told off by the Lady. Elrond, who had been silent on the whole matter since the feast, did not interject. He knew he had a soft spot for his youngest. She was also his most challenging child – the others had all inherited his calm, sense of duty and maturity. He had heard Celebrian had been a handful to raise, he saw now that his youngest had inherited her mother's temperament. He would have to discipline her at some point, he knew. But it was so hard for him to do so; the guilt of the past seemed to drown any criticism he could muster. He knew his other children suffered as a result – an impossible position for a parent. Today, he was happy to let Galadriel do the lecturing. When she finished and Lauren's eyes were downcast in guilt, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her brow. They had reached the city now, he whispered for her to enjoy the rest of her day and sent her off. As she left, Galadriel looked at Elrond.

"You cannot let her get away with everything, Elrond. You will have to discipline her on something sooner or later. If you continue to make exceptions for her, it will be unfair to your other children. Arwen already feels this" Galadriel counselled.

"I know" Elrond sighed.

"No one said it was an easy job Elrond. You cannot always be their friend. They cannot always have what they want" Celeborn added. Elrond had no objections.

Lauren spent her afternoon jogging the paths in the city. It was taking her mind off her family on Earth. She wondered what they were doing. She thought of what her father and brother had said when Michael told them where she was. She was sure they would be livid. Just then, she heard the sound of a child's laughter. It was full of pure joy that it could've only come from the innocent voice of a child. The joy was contagious, it spurred Lauren to head towards it to investigate.

Beyond some magnolia trees, Lauren saw that a girl, aged about 7 or 8 was the source of the happiness. She was running around, kicking a ball with an adult elf. The elfling squealed as the ellon picked her up and spun her around. Then, he slowed and pulled her into him. The girl threw her arms around the elf and hugged him tightly. "I love you" the girl said sweetly. In turn, the ellon placed a hand gently on her head and replied "I love you too sweetling." When he finally set her down, she immediately turned her attention to a ball that lay several feet away. "Teach me how to beat Kierran! He always wins!" she demanded.

"Sionia, your brother wins because he is taller and faster. You will achieve this one day" the adult explained.

The girl pouted. "Please, uncle."

The adult clearly could not say no to this adorable little girl, with curly blond hair and cherubic cheeks. He sighed and began showing her how to dribble. The game seemed similar to soccer, Lauren realized, as she watched them from behind. The ellon was patiently showing the child how to shoot on goal. Unfortunately, the girl was not coordinated enough to do it yet. Lauren smiled at the touching scene in front of her. She thought back to the many practices: fencing, soccer, ballet (to name just a few) that parents took her to over the years. At first, it was her mother who enthusiastically attended every practice, rehearsal and cheered loudly for her at every game and recital. After her mother was no longer able, her father and brother stepped into the role. At first, they were uncertain in a space usually dominated by mothers. Quickly, and Lauren was unsure how (to her embarrassment), they became the loudest attendees are her events.

She did not notice the errant ball until it hit her in the leg as she had been distracted in her reminiscence. Lauren looked up to see the little girl running towards her, following her ball.

"I'm sorry, Princess Luthien" she mumbled, very flustered.

"No worries –" Lauren hesitated.

"My name is Sionia!" the girl declared.

"Sionia, a beautiful name. You like to kick the ball?" Lauren asked, she wasn't sure they called it soccer on middle earth.

"Yes, but my uncle Haldir is a very good goalkeeper" the girl huffed.

At the mention of the marchwarden, Lauren's head snapped up. Sure enough, Haldir now stood at the goal. Lauren was tremendously surprised that the elf she had seen in the distance, so affectionate with Sionia, was Haldir. The stiff, boring marchwarden.

"Your uncle?" Lauren asked, gesturing to Haldir. She couldn't believe it.

"Yes, but I have two uncles" Sionia said proudly. "Uncle Haldir's older than Ada and Uncle Rumil is younger than Ada."

The girl had made it easy to deduce that Orophin was her father. Lauren knelt down to Sionia's height. "And who is your favorite uncle?" she asked conspiratorially.

"I can't decide! Maybe uncle Haldir because he always plays with me when I ask him to" came Sionia's simple answer. It surprised Lauren even more. Haldir, play with a child? Was she hallucinating?

"It looks like you need some help with the ball" Lauren remarked mischievously. "Maybe I can help you get a goal." The elfling nodded enthusiastically and Lauren whispered the plan to her. They both jogged back towards the goal. It was Haldir's turn to be surprised. His demeanor had been relaxed and playful when Lauren saw him with Sionia earlier. As she approached, his posture stiffened noticeably as he saw his niece accompanied by Lauren. I wonder why he's nervous to see me, Lauren thought to herself.

"Your niece tells me she's having trouble scoring, I thought I'd come help" Lauren said playfully.

Haldir's eyebrows raised slightly, "How?"

Suddenly, Lauren grabbed Haldir and held him as tightly as possible, keeping him immobile temporarily. "Sionia, NOW" she yelled.

The elfling, waiting for Lauren's command, began to sprint with the ball towards the goal. The marchwarden was initially taken by surprise when Lauren had tried to immobilize him. He quickly performed an escape maneuver by carefully knocking Lauren's feet from under her. With a yelp, Lauren tumbled to the ground, taking Haldir with her. For the second time, Lauren found herself on the ground, with Haldir right on top of her. Once again, his face was so close to her that she could feel the warmth of her breath. Unlike the first time, when he had quickly and awkwardly gotten up, Haldir very softly stroked an errant wisp of hair from her face.

Lauren could not help but deem his face handsome as she looked at it. In his eyes, Lauren saw emotion, though she was unsure of what it was. Not harshness or anger, Lauren was certain, because she had felt so at peace in his arms. His hand now cupped the back of her head, protecting it from the hard ground.

In that moment, Lauren was at lost for what to do. Luckily, the Sionia had arrived beside her.

"Princess Luthien, are you alright? You fell!" she exclaimed. The elfling seemed to snap both adults out of their speechlessness. Haldir quickly got up and helped Lauren to her feet. "Lauren, I am sorry. I only meant to free myself, I did not intend for you to fall" Haldir said apologetically. It was clear he had not meant any harm.

Lauren shook her head. "It's fine, after all, I started it" she grinned. Lauren focussed all of her attention on not addressing what just happened between the two of them. Just an innocent fall. She told herself. Nothing happened. Literally, nothing happened. Why was she thinking about being in his arms? She was clearly losing it, she decided.

"You scored!" Lauren said happily.

"Yes, thank you Princess Luthien" Sionia said as she launched herself into Lauren's arms. Lauren was knocked over, though her response was peals of laughter.

"Sionia! Get off the Princess this instant!" came an authoritative voice in the distance, the tone told Lauren it could've only belonged to the elfling's mother.

Soon, an adult elleth arrived and picked Sionia off of Lauren. "Princess, I am so sorry! My daughter, she can be enthusiastic at times. I hope she did not bother you" the mother was quite flustered.

"It's fine. It was my idea to help her score on Haldir. I had already fallen anyway" Lauren said.

Haldir jumped into the conversation. "Lauren, this is Lyari. Orophin's wife, my sister-in-law."

"Nice to meet you. Your daughter is lovely" Lauren said warmly.

"Thank you. She is a handful at times. Perhaps her uncle indulges her too much" Lyari joked. "Well I thank you for taking time for Sionia. I came to tell them dinner is ready and waiting. Would you like to join us?"

"I'd like that" Lauren said, before she could stop herself. Behind and unbeknownst to her, Haldir's face revealed delight- a rare appearance. This was noticed by his sister-in-law.

Sionia skipped the whole way back to the flet she called home with her parents and brother. Once in the door, she happily declared that the Princess of the realm would be gracing the family with her presence. Lauren rolled her eyes and Haldir let out a happy laugh at her reaction.

Haldir's laugh brought both of his brothers, who were waiting in the flet, to the foyer. So seldom did the eldest brother let out such carefree joy.

Lyari quickly ordered her children to clean up for dinner. Then, she expertly maneuvered her husband and Rumil into the kitchen to help her with dinner. This left Lauren and Haldir alone in the living room temporarily.

In the kitchen, Lyari explained in hushed tones, the scene she had witnessed. She had seen most of what had occurred on the field. The Princess playfully trying to hold Haldir in place so the elfling could score. Haldir, maneuvering out of the hold, inadvertently causing her to fall. The care her brother-in-law took to see that no injury befell her. The sweetness in his movements, pushing a lock of hair out of her face. She had never seen Haldir so gentle, so loving towards an elleth, Lyari relayed. When Lyari asked whether her husband and his youngest brother knew about the feelings of their elder brother, a knowing look passed between the brothers present in the kitchen.

"What?" Lyari asked. She was concerned. She had come to see Haldir as an older brother. He had been the foundation of the family after his parents were lost. Orophin and Rumil had always revered him, the oldest, the leader. He had seen to it that both his brothers were taken care of after their parents passed away. He made sure they ate, slept, were supported in their grief. When Orophin was away on patrol, he stepped in to be a father to their children. He checked in with Lyari frequently to make sure she wanted for nothing. She knew he did this for Rumil's wife and child as well. To Rumil, he provided guidance – assuming the role his father would've had if he were still alive. Lyari knew Haldir had given all of himself to his brothers and their families and usually had nothing left for himself. She had grown to love him as her own brother. She had desperately wanted him to find happiness. There was no one more deserving. She knew how deeply he wanted a family of his own. She frequently saw his joy when playing with his nieces and nephews, the briefest flashes of regret when one of his brothers embraced their wife and children. Lyari had encouraged Haldir to allow himself to find happiness, which he did not seem to contemplate after Luthien had been lost, unable to forgive himself for his perceived failures that fateful day.

Rumil cleared his throat. "Er, we believe Haldir has feelings for her."

Lyari's eyes narrowed at Rumil and her husband. "And how long have you two known this, without telling me?"

Orophin shifted uncomfortably "quite some time. Soon after she returned to middle earth, Rumil and I both sensed a shift in him. He would never admit this to us, of course."

"But Prince Legolas, at the mid-summer festival. It is rumored they are very close" Lyari interjected.

"Er yes, we know. Prince Legolas has been affectionate towards her. Haldir knows this too" Rumil added. Lyari smacked both brothers.

"When were you going to tell me this?" Lyari hissed. "Haldir may be strong on the outside, but his heart is tender. I do not want him to disappointed." She didn't want him to get hurt. Haldir's sister in law did not suffer fools; she was sensible and realistic. Royalty or not, Lauren would have to prove herself worthy of the marchwarden in Lyari's eyes.