Disclaimer: As in other chapters, Tolkien owns everything you don't recognise from the books.

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The congregation in the hall was impressive, and the three groups of elves were easily distinguishable from each other, the Imladris elves more than the others with their dark hair, but all so very fair. Galwyn felt rather overwhelmed. Even though she had lived among elves for six years, and attended many feasts and gatherings, she didn't think she had ever seen so many together at one time. The rangers were also present, standing in a group together. The only females in the room seemed to be those from Imladris, but there were still many, all currently engaged in conversations with various elves and men. As she entered with Elrohir, many eyes turned to look in her direction, and their curious gaze became more questioning as they realised that she, too, was not an elf. She hung her head in self-consciousness, and it was not until Elrohir led her over to her seat that she looked up again. Standing in front of her was the wizard Gandalf and she smiled in pleasure at seeing him, although his presence was a painful reminder of the reason why so many elves were gathered there. He sat beside her, and told her all he knew of Elrond's health, and the trouble and evil that was brewing in Dol Guldur. Elrohir, having already heard it, merely stood beside them, listening vaguely, paying more attention to Galwyn than anything else. Elladan entered the hall as he watched, flanked by the two younger princes of Mirkwood, Lysandil and Daromir. Elrohir, who had not seen the princes for many years, excused himself and went over to greet them, embracing them warmly. Haldir came in next, and he was drawn into the group of friends, all talking animatedly about anything other than the reason they were all there. After a moment, another figure joined the group, and Galwyn was pleasantly surprised to see it was Estel, whom she had met on numerous occasions. She liked him very much, and knew as much of his past as he did, indeed, had often counselled him, for although there were several years between them, he often found the presence of a mortal woman comforting, for it was something he had not experienced since the death of his mother.

As Gandalf went over to speak to someone else, Galwyn was left alone at the table and she watched the group of the twins, Estel, Haldir and two other blond elves who looked like they might have been twins as well. Elladan appeared to be gesturing at her to come over, and so she did so, rather self-consciously. The introductions were made, and she found herself subjected to the friendly gazes of the two princes. Up close, she could see that, while very similar in appearance, there were differences between them, while Elladan and Elrohir were completely alike. They were also both captivatingly fair, with hair the colour of spun gold and eyes of the deepest blue she had ever seen. Indeed, they could have easily rivalled Arwen herself in beauty. But, as though she was immune to it, she found herself unaffected by their beauty. She smiled back at them, and allowed herself to be engaged in their animated conversation, but all the while her eyes sought out the dark hair of Elrohir. When the guests were called to the meal, she found herself sitting, much to the envy she was sure, of just about every maiden in the room, between the younger prince, Daromir, and Elladan. Lysandil sat opposite her, and Elrohir was next to him, opposite his brother. Gandalf sat with Celeborn at the head of the table, directing the proceedings, which were to be the last night of revelry for many of the guests for a long time. She spent the meal in conversation with Daromir, and found him to be a very lively elf, obviously a lot younger than many of them there, and obviously very proud of the responsibility that had been lent to him. He told her all about his homeland, Mirkwood, where she had never been, and answered her questions with detailed answers. Galwyn felt herself carried along in the current of his enthusiasm and began to enjoy herself, almost forgetting the reason she was in Imladris. She was oblivious; also, to the strange looks Elrohir was sending across the table at her. When the meal ended, she accepted Daromir's offer for the first dance, and found that he was a very good dancer, not that she had ever come across an elf who was particularly bad, but it was still a pleasure to dance with him, and she began to forget the questioning and jealous looks that targeted her from around the hall.

From where he was standing with his brother, Elrohir looked at the dancing couple with carefully controlled jealousy.

"They make an attractive couple, don't they?"

"What?" Elladan asked curiously.

"She is so dark, with her tanned skin and black hair, and Daromir is so pale and golden. They are very pleasing to look at, do you not think?"

"I think someone is getting a bit jealous."

"Don't patronise me, Elladan, you are about two hours older than me."

"I'm not. I just think that you need to tell her how you feel, or you will just end up getting hurt again."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing, except that you need to make a move." He watched as Daromir, laughing and smiling, whirled his partner around the room. "Before someone else does." Elrohir raised an eyebrow, but did not comment, his eyes never leaving the raven-haired girl in the ivory dress.

After dancing many times with the Daromir, who seemed to have an endless supply of energy, Galwyn excused herself and went outside onto the balcony. There were some steps that led down to the gardens, and she went down them, carefully picking up the hem of her gown so that it would not get dirty on the ground. She noticed a long stone seat underneath a white blossom tree, and she made her way over to it, the sounds form the hall becoming more faint. As she sat down, the scent of the tree hit her and she sighed in pleasure, drinking it in. A gust of wind sang through the tree and several petals dropped down onto her. Being in Imladris again was bringing back so many fond memories, and it saddened her deeply to think of how cruelly its master, Elrond, had been treated, and how there was an evil spreading that threatened the beauty that surrounded her. The moon, which had been hidden behind a cloud, broke through, and its light bathed all in its glow with a silvery hue. She almost laughed out loud in pleasure, but was suddenly alerted to the fact she was not alone by a slight movement behind her. She stood up and spun round, finding herself, for the second time that evening, face to face with Elrohir. He looked shocked to see her, and stopped in his tracks.

"Galwyn! I was not expecting to find you here. I am sorry, I will go." He made as if to leave, but stopped when he heard her speak.

"Please! Don't go. I was just having a break from the dancing and getting a breath of fresh air." He smiled and gestured towards the seat.

"May I?"

"Of course, be my guest." He sat down on the seat beside her, and for several moments, neither spoke, just happy to be in the other's company, admiring the beauty of the surroundings. Out of the corners of her eyes she could see that he too had been bathed in silver, so that his skin almost matched the colour of his eyes. She wondered if the moon had touched her, too, with its silvery fingers and painted her the same colour. Slowly, she turned round to face him, and found he was looking at her, his eyes boring into hers. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. He closed his eyes and sighed, and she wondered what he was thinking. He repeated the process again and this time, he did speak.

"Galwyn, I…there's something…I…" He stopped immediately as he heard the sound of voices not far away and they both turned to look in the direction of the of the sounds. But the proprietors were not visible, and they looked back at each other with a smile. But the voices came again, louder and clearer this time, and they very quickly wiped the smiles off their faces.

"Elbereth! Did you see that woman?" That was a female voice, and one Elrohir recognised immediately as that of Asriel. He took Galwyn's hand and stood up.

"Come, let us leave. You don't want to hear this." She looked up at him and her eyes flashed darkly. She did not move, and Elrohir made to go and find the owner's of the voices and stop them. But her voice held him still.

"Don't move."

"Who does she think she is? A human no less! Dancing with the prince of Mirkwood! It is a mockery, that is for sure."

"Indeed. She was seated at the head table as well. Did you see that?" This voice was male, and unfamiliar to Elrohir.

"Yes, I did. What were the Lords thinking when they put her there? It's one thing having the rangers there, we know what they do, but her?"

"Maybe she has some purpose being here, something we do not know? "

"A mortal woman with a purpose? When did you last see one of those?" The voice laughed cruelly, and the other person joined in. "She has no place here." It finished darkly.

That was the last straw for Galwyn, and, her eyes already pricking with tears, she stood up and began to run towards the woods at the bottom of the hill. Elrohir ran after her and took hold of her arm, his heart breaking as he saw the tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"Galwyn, don't do this! Don't listen to them! They are wrong!"

"Just let me go, Elrohir! Please, just let me go…" There was desperation in her voice, and he could do nothing but let her go, his own eyes threatening to shed tears as he remembered his own words in their argument. He walked slowly back to the seat and sat down heavily, his head in his hands. He was no better then them. He stood up, and began to run down to the bottom of the hill, not knowing what he was going to say, only knowing that he had to find her.              

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When she had got away from Elrohir, Galwyn had just run, run deep into the woods without a backward glance. Once deep inside, she had transformed into a bird, and flown up into one of the trees, before transforming back into her own form, leaning against the trunk of the tree in a tight ball, sobbing into her knees. How cruel and dismissive those voices had been, but she had known even as she heard them, as she knew now, that what they had said had been the truth. She had no place amongst elves, let alone with their lords and princes. She was a mortal; she had no parents. And she knew, most deeply and hurtfully of all, that she had no chance with the one person she cared about.

It did not take Elrohir long to find her path, for he had been taught tracking by the Dúnedain, the best there were, and in her haste, she had not exactly cared about leaving tracks. But all of a sudden, the tracks stopped, and Elrohir looked about himself to see where she could have possibly gone. He heard a slight noise from above, and looked up, suddenly seeing her from between the gaps in the leaves. She hadn't seen him yet, and he waited a moment before calling out to her, his voice soft so as not to startle her.

"Galwyn? Please come down." He heard an immediate movement between the branches, and knew she was looking down for him.

"No. I can't."

"Neither can you stay up there forever." There was no answer to this, so he continued. "Please, Galwyn?"

"Why?"

"Because you are angry, and hurt, and not safe up there."

"I'm not angry. They were speaking the truth; I can't argue with it."

"The truth? How can you say that?"

"Because that's what it is. I am no more worthy to be among you than one of the men who caused this in the first place."

"How can you say that? When you yourself were the one who first refuted it?"

"I was wrong. You were right all along." Elrohir flinched at her words, but did not know what to say in return.

"If I was right, then why would I be so concerned about you right now?" He asked heatedly, and was answered with silence. Suddenly, he heard a movement behind him, and spun round to find her standing behind him, her eyes red, and her cheeks flushed with a mixture of emotions. She looked more vulnerable and heart-achingly beautiful than he had ever seen her, the moonlight playing on her hair and shining on the streaks of tears on her face. She spoke quietly, and resignedly.

"I don't know."

His eyes shone with an expression of relief and he closed the gap between them until it was only a few feet.

"They weren't speaking the truth, Galwyn."

"How do you know that?"

"Because if they were, then why would I be here?" He looked her in the eyes, and found the hurt there, shining back at him. "And if they were, then I certainly wouldn't do this." He stepped forward and took her face between his hands, his eyes searching hers, before he bent his head to hers and brushed his lips over hers. He could feel her body tense up in shock, and she stepped back immediately, her eyes full of confusion.

"What…what are you doing?"

"What do you think?"

"But…"

"No buts, Galwyn. I've wanted to do that for some time now."

"You have?"

"Yes."

"But…" He raised an eyebrow and she let out a shaky laugh, looking down at the ground. He reached out and raised her chin so that she was looking at him, and was shocked to see her cheeks shining with fresh tears.

"Why are you crying?" She did not answer for a moment, but just stood there. Slowly, she took a deep breath in, and looked up at him.

"Because I've wanted you to do that for some time now." She whispered, her eyes never leaving his. He smiled shakily, and lowered his face to hers again, resting his forehead against hers to look into her eyes that were now shining with joy, like his own he knew. After what felt like an eternity, their lips met again, and this time they clung to each other, not wanting to let go, their lips colliding gently at first, then with more force as the kiss deepened.

It was some time before they broke apart, their breathing short and shallow as they looked at each other, tender smiles on their faces, each hardly daring to believe what had just happened. Elrohir held out a hand to her, and she took it, their fingers instantly twining together on contact. She took a deep breath and nodded, and together, they made their way back up to the hall, where the dancing was still going strong.

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Elladan, who had been looking for his brother, smiled broadly as he saw him come in, then stop and reach out a hand behind him, his eyes shining. The older twin stood up to see whom it was he was coaxing into the hall. He was not surprised, and deeply happy to see it was, indeed Galwyn, and he softly congratulated his brother under his breath. A figure came to stand beside him, and looking over, he saw it was Celeborn, also wearing a broad smile, and looking in the same direction as he was. The silver haired elf watched the pair for a moment, seeing the joy shining in their eyes.

"I wondered how long it would take them." He said to the dark-haired elf beside him who laughed wryly.

"Well, you know Elrohir. He's not exactly one for rushing into things, is he?" They both smiled as they watched the younger twin dancing with the raven-haired woman.

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A/N:  So there you go, together at last! It's odd, because I wasn't even intending to have romance in this fic, but it just evolved that way, and I'm having fun writing it, so who gives a s**t? And as it happens, the whole romance thing is going to be an important factor later on, so don't think I'm deliberately delving into the realms of Mary-Sue!