Hey everyone! I know it's been a few months since this story have been uploaded, but I have been struggling with what I had to write in this, and I wanted to wait until I knew it was as perfect as it could be before I put it up for you all to see. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope you continue to read xx

Review responses;

Tibblets – Thank you. And thank you for your patience, I hope you will stay with Caladwen and I through this journey xx

Dragonette8 – Thank you and you're welcome! I'll be fine, don't worry. I get down, but I get up again, aint nothing gunna keep me down!

Meeting New Friends

With Dis still holding the hands of Tauriel and I, Thorin leads the way down corridors and up a few staircases before stopping before a tall pair of double doors, which has intricate shapes and patterns carved out into the wood.

Thorin opens the doors for us, allowing us to enter first and I smile as I walk into see thousands of books lined up on shelves that take over half of the room. The other half holds a few tables and chairs, a few dwarves already sitting at them as they read and work quietly. There is also a roaring fire at the far end of the room, a couple of sofas surrounding it, offering readers a more comfortable setting.

Dis takes Tauriel and I to the fireplace and sits in the middle of one of the sofas, allowing us to sit on either side of her, Thorin sitting across from us.

"What's your home like?" Dis asks barely a second after we get comfortable.

I just smile at the impatience of children. "It is a beautiful place. The forest surrounds the palace, their leaves as green as emeralds in the summer and as orange as the setting sun in the fall and the snow glittering like diamonds in the winter sun."

Dis sighs dreamily. "It sounds magical!"

Tauriel chuckles. "I suppose it does."

"What do you do for fun?"

"We read, swim in the nearby river and spar with each other."

"You're in training?" Thorin asks, sounding surprised.

"We have both been training for many years. Both of us surpassing in our lessons, although my brother always seems to surpass us both in many times, to our annoyance." Tauriel and I share a grin at this.

Dis smiles at me. "You have a brother too?"

I nod with a smile. "I do. His name is Legolas and he is ten years older than I, but we're very close."

"Do you have any siblings, Lady Tauriel?" Thorin asks.

Tauriel shakes her head. "I don't have any by blood, but Caladwen and Legolas are as good as."

I smile having always known this.

"Like you and cousin Dwalin." Dis says to Thorin. "He's our cousin, but you see him as a brother."

Thorin nods with a smile. "That is true. Though you know he won't replace Frerin as that role."

I smile. "Your brother?"

He nods, grinning away. "Yes. He's the middle child, as I keep reminding him as often as I can."

I chuckle. "Oh, I bet you do. Legolas tends to remind me he's the oldest every second of the day. He soon pays for by it by a swift kick to his rear."

This makes the others laugh, Tauriel grinning as she has been witness to these assaults.

We spend the next hour or so talking with each other before Tauriel and I take our leave to get ready for the feast prepared for us that night. Thankfully, Thorin and Dis walk us to our chambers so we don't get lost, which I am grateful for. The mountain is a rather large place to get lost in. We say our goodbyes at the door and walk in to see father lounging in a chair while reading a book. He looks up and smiles as he sees us.

"'Quel andune. Did you two enjoy your walk?"

I nod. "We did, yes. We met with Thorin and his little sister, after his sister crashed into us that is. We went to the library and spent the afternoon talking."

He nods. "I am glad you had a good time. Now, go and get changed, we leave for the feast in a couple of hours."

Tauriel and I go to my room where we take turns to use the tub in the bathroom and proceed to dress in similar style dresses. Both ankle length with a respectable neckline and flowing see-through sleeves, but both were different colouring. Tauriel's is leaf green with darker green leaf patterns and spirals. Mine is sky blue with dark blue patterns, the blue almost as dark as Thorin's tunic he wore today. Tauriel sits me down at my dresser and helps me do my hair, which has two small braids, running along the side of the head and tied in a half up half down do. She then gently places a silver leaf circlet upon my head, the small blue jewel it carries resting against my forehead. I thank her and offer to do hers, but she declines and does two small braids, tying them off at the back of her head. Before leaving, I remember to put on my mother's necklace, with it being dwarven made, it seems appropriate to wear it now, more than I usually would.

We walk out into the lounge area and see father also ready, wearing silver robes and his wooden crown upon his head. He smiles and makes his way over to me.

"Lle maa vanima, iell nin."he then kisses my brow. "You look more and more like your mother every day."

I smile as he says this, always happy to hear this. "Le channon, adar."

I take his arm as we leave the chambers, a dwarf leading us through the halls, until we finally reach the grand hall, which is a vast hall, the ceiling must be fifty foot high, maybe more. The hall looks big enough to fit the entire mountain. About ten long tables we set around the hall, with one long table sitting at the head of them all, which I imagine would sit the Royal family.

The dwarf leading us, takes us to the head table where King Thror, Thrain, Thorin and Dis are already sitting with a few more dwarves around them, who I assume must be family and friends. Thror looks and smiles as we make our way over.

"King Thranduil, I am glad you could make it to the feast."

Father bows his head to the dwarf. "It would not bode so well if we did not come to a feast being held in our names, would it not?"

Thror chuckles. "That it would not, my friend. Please, sit."

Dis runs over to us and takes mine and Tarueil's hand. "Cal, Tauriel, come sit with me!"

We just smile as she pulls us to the table and gets me to sit in between her and a dwarrow with blond hair, blue eyes and the start of a beard growing.

"Am I being replaced now, sister dear? I am deeply offended!" the dwarf teases, a sparkle in his eyes.

Dis giggles at this. "I want to sit with my friends."

The dwarf smiles. "Fair enough." he then turns to Tauriel and I and bows at the waist. "Frerin, son of Thrain, at your service, My Ladies."

I smile as I curtsy to him. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Caladwen, daughter of King Thranduil. This is my very good friend, Tauriel of the Woodland Realm."

Tauriel bows her head to him. "Your Highness."

Frerin waves his hand dismissively. "Please, just call me Frerin. We don't use titles among friends here."

I smile and bow my head to him before taking my seat, my father sitting down the table next to Thrain, how is on the left of Thror, Thorin on his right next to his brother.

As the meal is served and Thror has finished his speech in welcoming us to his Kingdom, loud laughter and chatter rings all through the hall, which makes me smile to see everyone so happy. While talking, I am introduced to Balin and his younger brother, Dwalin, who I remember Thorin and Dis talking about this afternoon. Balin is an older dwarf, maybe in his hundreds, with grey hair and a full grey beard which forks out into two flicks at the end. Dwalin, around the same age as Thorin, maybe younger, slim but muscular. The upper half of his body looks to be all muscle. His head bald at the sides, his hair in the middle of his head and falling down his back. His beard and moustache wild and black, the same colour as his hair. I can tell this dwarf is training to be a warrior.

"So, Thorin tells us that you two lassies are in combat training?" Dwalin says to Tauriel and I.

I nod as I dab my mouth with my napkin. "We are. I have been training since I turned fifty a few hundred years ago. Tauriel, not long after me."

"How old are you both, if you don't mind me asking?" Frerin asks from next to me.

I smile. "I would normally say it is rude to ask a lady her age, but since you asked nicely. I am five hundred and twenty six. Tauriel is four years younger than me."

Dis looks between us both, with wide eyes. "You're so old!"

This comment makes Tauriel and I laugh while Thorin, and Thrain who also heard, reprimands her for being rude. I wave my hand dismissively, as I control my laughter.

"Peace, Your Highnesses, she does not offend us." I smile to Dis. "I imagine by your race, we would sound old. But, elves are immortal, and don't age like others do."

"Immortal?"

Tauriel nods. "That is right. We can live a long long life and we cannot get sick like other races can."

"Does that mean you live forever? You can't die?"

I look to her sadly. "Oh no. We can still die from fatal wounds or negative emotions."

"Negative emotions? What do you mean?" Frerin asks.

I glance at father for a moment, carefully thinking of how to word my next sentence. "Like, if we were to lose a loved one, such as a sibling or a spouse, in death, we do what is known as fading, where we will waste away and lose the will to live. Some elves can fight it, but others cannot."

After this grim conversation, chatter soon turns to happier times, which I am thankful for. Soon enough, the dwarves move the tables aside as kegs and barrels of ale and wine are brought out, and musicians set up their instruments and begin to play as dwarves get up to dance, Frerin and Dis being among them as they dance together. I smile as I watch them dance, thinking how adorable the look together, both of them reminding me of myself and Legolas when we first started dancing together. A clearing of the throat from behind pulls me from my thoughts. I turn and see Thorin standing there, his hand held out to me.

"May I have the pleasure of a dance, My Lady?"

I smile and bow my head as I place my hand into his. "That you may, My Lord."

He gives me a smile, his pearly white teeth showing through his beard and moustache as he gently closes his hand around my own, sending tingles all the way up my arm, making me shiver internally. I have never felt anything like that before, but I was intrigued to feel it again.

Thorin leads me through the crowd of dwarves and to the dance floor as we stand in lines, females on one side and the males on another. The couples bow and curtsey to each other before the music starts to play. I have never danced like this before, so I didn't know the steps, but soon picked it up from discreetly watching the other females. Clapping, stomping of the feet and the different spin and twirls. It may be a faster and more intricate than I am used, but I have never smiled as much as I am now.

The dance soon finishes and everyone applauds before slower music begins to play and Thorin takes me into a dance once again, a hand going around my back as he holds my left hand. I smile as place my right hand on his shoulder and allow him to lead me around the dance floor. Dur to my shortness, I am a head taller than Thorin but he does not seem to mind as he keeps his gaze on me.

"You are a wonderful dancer, Caladwen." Thorin comments.

I smile. "Well, I started dancing before I could even run, so I have had practice."

He looks surprised at this. "Really? I did not start learning until I was fifteen."

"Elves can learn to walk, talk and dance in the first years of their lives."

He grins. "That is impressive."

I give a slight shrug of the shoulders. "It is nothing much to us. It is how we live."

He smiles again before his face becomes grim. "I am sorry if my siblings saddened you by their questions earlier. Sometimes, they don't know when to stop."

I smile and shake my head. "An apology is not necessary. They were just curious, and I was happy to teach them what I knew."

He nods as we continue our dance.

For the rest of the night, I spend many turns on the dance floor with Thorin, Frerin, Balin and even Thrain and King Thror. I was especially surprised when Dwalin offered me a dance, but soon learnt that just like his brother, he is an exceptional dancer. Father even indulged me with a dance, which made me happy. I knew that since mother's passing, he has been living in shadow, but I loved the moments when we could be happy together as we were in that dance.

Even though I was in a new place, a Kingdom I have been dreaming of visiting for a long time, I have never felt more happy, comfortable or welcomed as I did that night.

Well, there we have it, Caladwen has met everyone. And yes, I know in the book Balin and Dwalin weren't there. Well, Balin was, but he was only a small child. But, with this part at least, I wanted to go with the movie and keep them both in there. I hope you still like it still. Please keep your lovely reviews coming and stay tuned for the next part. Xx

Translations;

Quel andune. - -good afternoon

Lle maa vanima, iell nin – you look beautiful, my daughter

Le channon, adar. - Thank you, father.