Idril is laughing at my dumbfounded expression. "We are holding a festival in a few days for your arrival. To have the blessing of Lord Ulmo is a great honor. My father wants to formally welcome you to the city and give everyone a chance to meet you both. I must teach you to dance as plenty of the elves will ask for a dance at the festival."

I stare at Idril in shock. An entire festival with everyone coming to meet me and Tuor gives me anxiety already. Idril notices and takes my hand. "I'm sure it is overwhelming but you will be alright. I will try to stay by your side most of the night. I'm sure Voronwë will help you as well. You will have to dance with elves who ask as it would be rude to turn them down during your first festival. I will have a dance session tomorrow or the next day. The festival won't be for three days as my father needed time to get everything ready but the whole city is excited."

I gulp at her words. Dancing with every elf that asks is going to make the night go long. While I enjoy a good party, I'm sure this one is going to be different. She squeezes my hand and I focus back on her.

"It will be alright. Just focus on enjoying the city for now and push the festival to the side. I will let you know tomorrow morning what the plans are for the next few days. I'm sure some of the elves won't ask you as they cannot speak the common tongue."

I nod and sigh a little. I will worry about the festival later. For now, I want to focus on seeing the city today. I glance over to see Aerel is almost finished cutting her stack of fabrics. I figured before we leave I need to ask Idril some delicate questions.

"I need to know some things but I'm a little nervous to ask," I gulp.

Idril just raises her eyebrows at me "ask, I will answer if I can."

"First, what do females here do about their monthly. I have nothing with me and I'm sure mine is going to start soon," I question.

Idril smiles good-natured at me "we have some special fabric that absorbs the flow. We can add it to the pile of clothes you are getting. We have special undergarments that help the fabric stay in place. We usually wash the folded fabric in the bathwater after our morning baths and leave them to dry over the tub. The water is still warm and helps clean them. Usually, each female washes their own as we don't want to burden the handmaidens. After a few months, you can request new ones."

I let out a breath. That doesn't sound too bad. Now for the real tricky question. "Alright, that's fine. It is actually better than what I was expecting. The last question I have pertains to elvish marriages. Elemmakai implied that elves give each other pleasure but I need to know how far that goes. I don't think I will get there with Voronwë any time soon, but while we are here I'd like to know as it has been on my mind recently."

Idril was blushing now and said "that sounds like something Elemmakai would say. He is also a notorious flirt. Elves who are courting and even some elves who are not courting engage in a sexual moment together. Mainly for release and to get closer to their courting partner before the bonding. Sometimes that is also when elves realize that they don't really love each other enough to bond. I have been told that as long as elves do not have a full bonding where a man enters a woman then the rest is fine. I have heard of many elves using their hands and mouths but I have not experienced it so I wouldn't truly know."

She shifts a little and I can see she is uncomfortable with the questioning. "Thank you for answering. I get it now, but I have to be sure that if something happens I don't end up married too early."

"May I ask you a question in return?"

I nod and she shifts again in her seat and whispers "I have heard that human men and women bond all the time even without marriage. You spoke of your previous courtship ending because of him being unfaithful. Does that happen in human cities? Are humans not faithful to each other?"

"I'm not sure about this world, but in my world, it happens. Plenty of people get married and then separate later and some are unfaithful, both men and women. Some stay married for years and never stray. I think it depends on the person. I think it happens here but is probably not common. Tuor would know more, but I doubt you want to ask him. If you are worried about him, I wouldn't be. He was raised by elves so he knows what marriage means to them. I'm sure he wouldn't do anything to ruin a marriage or a woman's reputation."

She visibly relaxes now and says "thank you for answering. I was worried about getting to know Tuor more as I didn't want to get hurt. He seems like an honorable man and Lord Ulmo picked him for a reason. I shall get to know him better and not worry about what people say of human men and women."

I smile at her and we both sit in comfortable silence lost in our own thoughts. Aerel calls me up to the stone and takes my measurements all around my body. The process takes the longest as she takes multiple measurements everywhere. She finally speaks to me after she is done measuring.

"I have sketches of some common dresses that I want you to see. With your proportions, some might not work well but I can alter or fix anything. While I write down all of your measurements and finish up you can pick out the styles you like with the princess," she says as she hands me a bound paper stack.

I take it and step off the platform and sit next to Idril. The booklet is detailed sketches of different styles of dresses. There must be 50 or so, so we flip through them marking the ones I like. A lot are designed for very thin and tall women, so I discard a lot of them.

I tend to pick either fit and flare dresses or draped flowing dresses. There are a few other styles that might work so I save those and have a few made just for some variety. Towards the back of the booklet are a few tunic styles and I pick all three to have made. They are not much different except for button-down or slip-over and short or long tunics. There is only one style of breeches which are just like leggings.

"I have picked out enough fabrics and colors that go well with your skin tone. I won't adorn the dresses with gems or and jewels but they are going to be made with fine material. I won't be able to do the usual cuts for elves as you are built differently but I have plenty of ideas. I will send everything to your room in a few days. If you need anything else after, feel free to come back," she says.

She bids us to leave and to let her work in peace. Idril and I head back to the table for lunch. We are the only ones here so we sit down and chat about lighter topics until the boys arrive.