Author's Notes: I would like to thank all those that reviewed this story so far. I'm glad to see that many of you like it (which makes me keeping writing.... and even if a lot of you hated it I would still write it anyhow). This is my first long fic that I have written. I'm doing the best I can with it. I will confess that my grammar isn't A+ all the time...though I wish it were. I do run it through spell/grammar check on my computer...maybe I've got a faulty program or something, for the most part I catch the errors but sometimes some sneak by. I think there is also a concern that Lutheriel is a Mary Sue by some of you. I was hoping that she wouldn't be. I will strive harder to make her less Mary Sue (if that is possible).
I have ran chapters 15-18 through my spell/grammar check, so hopefully everything (or most everything was caught this time around...I hope). And I have added a completely new part to chapter 15 (A Letter Home). I felt that more could have been explained on Legolas's behalf, so I added the conversation that he had with King Thranduil before he left for Lorien. You may want to go back and read this because it might clear up a few things.
As always review or email me at arwen_evenstar20@hotmail.com: ~Namarie~ ((sorry for the very long A/N)).
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Those You Love
The Wedding
By Celebrian
Lutheriel sucked her a deep breath in as Lady Galadriel's maid, Uruviel, fixed her corset in the back. Today Lutheriel, daughter of King Thranduil of Mirkwood, was getting married to the snooty Haldir, March Warden of Lorien. The last couple of weeks had been a whirlwind of emotion. It all went by too quickly. "Am I doing the right thing? Of course I am...I've been through this conversation with myself about two thousand times. Yes, Lu, this is the right thing to do. Haldir loves you and you love him." She told herself yet once again. If she had this conversation with herself one more time she'd scream. No turning back, today was the day.
"Take a deep breath, m'lady." Uruviel spoke quietly as she pulled the lacing tighter.
"I am." Lutheriel said as she sucked her stomach in as tight as she could. "I thought Galadriel said she was going to have the dress fixed to my waist size?"
"She did. You just have to learn to hold yourself like a lady..." Uruviel muttered giving the laces another tug.
Lutheriel was in shock that a maid had spoken to her like that. "I do carry myself like a lady!" At least she thought she did. "What do you mean?" She asked, trying to take a deeper breath.
"Shoulders back, stomach in, chest out...stand like a lady. I've noticed you slouch quite a bit. Now I want you to take the deepest breath you've ever taken or you'll never get into that dress."
Lutheriel closed her eyes. She smiled a bit to herself. It was actually nice being talked to like that for once, instead of having everyone say 'Yes, m'lady.' 'As you wish, Princess.' To be talked to like any other person was a nice change. Lutheriel sucked a deep breath in and held it while Uruviel snapped back the corset lacing and tied it into a tight, snug bow.
"There. Now you will fit into that dress." Uruviel smiled as she turned Lutheriel around. She nodded her head and walked over to get the dress off the hanger.
Lutheriel made a whimpering noise. "I can't breathe..." In all her years she had never been laced up so tightly in her corset. "I'm not going to be able to sit down."
Uruviel chuckled lightly. "Then you won't sit, will you? Arms up." She ordered. Lutheriel put her arms up and Galadriel's maid slid the dress over her head. "Are you excited?"
"Of course." Lutheriel replied. "I'm nervous but excited. I hope Haldir just doesn't get cold feet and run off." For some reason she could picture Orophin coming up to her and saying that they couldn't find Haldir anywhere. She shook the scary thought from her head.
Uruviel gently buttoned the dress up in the back. "He wouldn't dare run off. Believe it or not Haldir as wanted to get married for a very long time. He's never came out and told me personally, but I could always see the longing looks of love in his eyes. He loves you, maybe more than any Elf male could love ever love a maiden." She finished latching the clasp in the back.
The whole time that Uruviel was fixing her dress in the back, Lutheriel had an ear to ear smile on her face. "Haldir loves me more than any Elf male could love a maiden..." She thought dreamily in her head. She snapped back to reality. "I doubt that. Thanks for making me feel good for a few moments though." She laughed. "Are you married, Uruviel?" She asked.
"Oh no. I've never had the time. With my sharp tongue I don't honestly know if someone could put up with me for long. I serve Lady Galadriel and that is good enough for me." She smiled as she began to tuck some white flowers into Lutheriel's brown hair.
"You sound like a certain elf that I'm marrying..." Lutheriel giggled. She sighed as she looked at her plain face in the mirror. "Haldir is so gorgeous...what does he want with me? Oh, stop it! You sound like a little child!" She scolded herself.
"You look beautiful, Princess. Don't worry about your looks. All brides are beautiful on their wedding day." Uruviel tucked one more flower into Lutheriel's hair. Then she stopped to admire her work. "So how is your brother?"
"Legolas is fine. I think he might actually be warming up to Haldir...unless it's all an act. Seriously, I think they might be on good terms. Or maybe Legolas just wants to please me by not picking a fight with him...Or maybe it's the other way around...I don't know. I do know that they are being cordial to each other...and that is good enough for me." Lutheriel smiled at herself in the mirror. "I love my hair. You do marvelous work, Uruviel."
"Thank you, m'lady. She looked outside towards the garden. She could see the busy Elves scurrying about, making sure everything was set for the wedding. "It's almost time..."
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"It's almost time, Haldir." Orophin warned. "You still aren't dressed are you?" Haldir had been behind the changing screen for the last twenty minutes. What was taking him so long? How hard was it to get dressed? He did it every morning, didn't he?
"Where is he?" Rúmil asked as she entered the room, with the crown of Celeborn.
"Oh he's still behind the screen..." Orophin said as he plopped down on the chair. "He hasn't said a word since I pushed him back there to get dressed."
"Maybe he's dead." Rúmil smirked to Orophin and then in a loud voice he yelled.
Orophin chuckled. "Oh that would be a shame...Poor Lutheriel, who will she look to for comfort?"
"Perhaps you Orophin." Rúmil said loudly. He waited for Haldir to knock down the screen and grab a hold of their necks. There was still silence. Rúmil and Orophin looked at each other and shrugged. Where was Haldir?"
"...I will kill you if you dare touch my wife..." A growling voice came from behind the screen.
Orophin smiled. "Guess he isn't dead after all." He stood up, walked over to the screen and knocked on it. "Hal, what are you doing back there? Are you dressed?"
"...Yes." Haldir's muffled voice came from behind the screen. "I refuse to come out dressed in this...this...whatever it is that I'm wearing..."
Rúmil smiled. "Please tell me you didn't mistakenly grab Lutheriel's dress..."
Haldir made as hissing noise and then stepped out from behind the screen. Rúmil and Orophin nodded. "What?" Haldir narrowed his eyes, as he waited the onslaught of laughter. "What have I put on wrong or didn't put on at all?"
"Your pants." Orophin laughed.
Haldir looked down only to see that his pants were in fact on. His eyes narrowed at his brothers. "Funny."
"Haldir, you look great." Rúmil smiled as he patted his brother on his shoulder. "Everything is on and where it is supposed to be.... Oh one thing..." He walked over and picked up the crown and placed it on his brother's head.
"I shouldn't wear this." Haldir said as he looked at himself in the mirror.
"Nonsense. Celeborn said to wear it and so you will." Orophin told his brother. He grinned evilly to himself. Orophin had always been the joker of the three brothers, and he took pleasure on picking on Haldir. Of course it was always just done in good fun and was never meant to hurt him. He stretched out in the chair and propped his feet up on the table. "So what will you and Lutheriel be doing tonight? Have you made room for her in your house? Did you have to get a bigger bed?"
Haldir gritted his teeth. "I know what you are trying to do. I will not tell you my intimate plans for my wife."
"Aww Haldir. We're brothers." Orophin pouted. "I don't want graphic details...no way. I just wanted to know if you had any romantic plans for tonight? I mean you really got to wow her on your first night together."
Rúmil nodded in agreement. "First nights are important. You can't tell me that you haven't thought about being with her like that, can you? If you can, then you have bigger problems then I thought you had." He snickered.
"Of course I have!" Haldir blurted out. He wasn't abnormal, what did his brothers take him for? Of course he was nervous on how to go about it all. He for a moment he thought about asking Rúmil for some pointers. "No. I will not ask for tips." He tossed the idea out of his head.
Orophin got up and patted his brother's back. "Trust me, you'll know what to do when the time comes. It's instinct."
"It's instinct so they say...it better be. I will not look like a fool on my wedding night." Haldir warned himself.
"Hal, we got to get out to the ceremony now..." Rúmil said as he and Orophin walked to the door. They stood there looking at Haldir. "Hal? You coming?"
Haldir's stomach turned. He sat there white knuckled and pale. "Coming? Do I have to?" Slowly he got up and walked over to join his brothers. They both wrapped an arm around him and together they walked out to the garden.
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Legolas fidgeted as he leaned up against one of the giant Mallorn trees. He trembled inside as he scratched bark off the side of the tree. His face was pale and tired; he barely got a wink of sleep the night before. Elves walked by looking at him strangely. "I'm not the one getting married, so why am I so nervous...because you sister is, that's why. Stop talking to yourself, Legolas." He scolded himself. A deep breath he drew in and closed his eyes maybe if he could just calm his nerves he'd be able to get through the ceremony without ripping his hair out. His thoughts drifted back to Haldir and their conversation that they had in Lord Celeborn's chamber last night. "There must have been somebody possessing my body yesterday...did I actually give my 'sworn enemy' a hug and tell him that I was happy he was marrying my little sister?" Legolas wished instead of giving Haldir a hug that he would have strangled him instead...or at least punched him a few times. Then his father's words filled his head.
"...I am happy for her. You can't protect her forever Legolas. She's not little anymore and she has a right to pick her mate. If Haldir is the one that she has picked, there is nothing we can do to stop it." His father's words echoed in his head. Legolas could only now hope that Lutheriel had picked the right mate. There was a loud clatter that shocked Legolas back into reality. His eyes darted over to two Elves who had just dropped a plate full of food on the floor. They yelled some unpleasant phrases at each other and then began to clean up the mess. Legolas shook his head. "What else is going to go wrong today?..."
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"You look lovely, My Queen." Lord Celeborn said to his wife as he gave her a hug. He smiled at her then gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Weddings have been happening more frequently, this is a good sign."
Galadriel nodded. "Weddings are always wonderful, My Husband." She agreed, walking over to the window and looking down to the garden. "Everything looks set. Perhaps we should get things under way..." Even though she seemed happy, her voice was distant.
Lord Celeborn could only wonder what was wrong. "My Lady, are you all right?" He asked his wife, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Galadriel spoke nothing for a few moments. She continued to look down to all the jovial Elves that were seating themselves in the garden. Everything seemed wonderful, even though they were not. "...I looked into my mirror last night..." She said barely over a whisper.
Just the tone of her voice sent chills up Celeborn's spine, knowing whatever she had seen was not for the better. He was afraid to even ask what it was that she saw. "What...what did you see?" He whispered.
"The same images that I have seen before. The Ring of Power, the Dark Lord, and the destruction of the world...." She paused and caught her breath. "The images seemed closer this time. These things will take place soon..." Her voice trailed off.
Celeborn nodded, not knowing really what to say to his wife. What could he say? "These will happen sooner than we expected then?"
"I can feel a storm approaching. It will happen very soon." She said lowly, her blue eyes seemed to flicker a neon glow and then faded to normal. She smiled. "We have a wedding to attend." She said taking her husbands arm and they walked out to the garden.
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All the Elves gathered around in the garden. The group wasn't many but there was a handful there. Some sat and some stood, but most all held a glass of water in their hand. The garden was decorated brilliantly with flowers of many colors and fresh picked Mallorn leaves hung like garland around an archway, where the ceremony would take place.
"Where is she?" Haldir's panicked voice called to his brothers as he stood under the arch.
Rúmil chuckled. "She'll be out in a few minutes Hal. Give her a few moments. The Lord and La-" He was about to say that even Celeborn and Galadriel where not even out yet, but they began to descend the stairs coming down to join everyone.
Haldir swallowed the lump in his throat and his eyes fixed on Galadriel. Her eyes told him that everything was going to be wonderful and that he should not worry one bit. That eased him a little but didn't comfort him a hundred percent. "Well I wish we could just get this over with..." He muttered, kicking at the ground with his boot.
Orophin glanced over to see Legolas leaning up against a tree. "You want to go talk to your brother in law?" He asked.
Haldir made a hissing noise. "I have nothing to say to that buffoon-"
"Whoa! Where did that come from?" Rúmil said with a look of sheer shock. "I thought everything was all patched up between you? Didn't you say that you and him talked last night?"
"We did." Haldir nodded. "Yes, we were cordial to each other but I was just being nice to him because I didn't really want to hear anymore of his incessant blabbering about how I should not marry his sister."
Orophin's mouth hung open as he listened to Haldir. "So you just played up the nice friendly attitude so that the two of you would get along? What if Legolas actually likes you now? Are you saying that you don't like him at all?"
Haldir shook his head. "No, I really do no-" He stopped mid sentence as his eyes froze on the beauty that began to come down the stairs. Soft music began to play and everyone watched in awe. Haldir's throat dried up and his knees wobbled slightly.
Lutheriel smiled as she carefully walked down the stairs. "Do not trip and tumble down these stairs..." She thought, making sure every step was taken with precaution. Her eyes locked on Haldir's pale face and she wanted to laugh. "My poor soon to be husband..." Finally she made it down to the last stair and began to walk to the archway where she and Haldir would be joined.
Legolas had stepped away from the tree and stood next to Rúmil and Orophin. He couldn't help but smile at his sister; she was truly the most beautiful bride he had ever seen. His eyes shifted to Haldir and they narrowed slightly for a moment before returning back to normal.
"She's lovely..." Rúmil said as he gazed upon the face of Lutheriel. He looked back at Legolas and smiled. His eyes shifted to Orophin who gave him a slight nod of the head. "Why is Haldir going to be so stubborn about Legolas? The Prince is a nice fellow.... I still can't get over the fact that my brother was pretending to like him...."
Haldir nearly fainted himself. He wasn't sure if it was the sight of his bride to be or if he was because he was so nervous, most likely it was both. He took a deep breath as he watched Lutheriel come to him. He smiled nervously as he took her delicate hand in his. Her eyes told him that she loved him very much. He only hoped that she could tell how much he loved her from his eyes.
Galadriel stood before the two Elves and smiled. "We are gathered here today for the joining of Lord Haldir, March Warden of Lorien and Lady Lutheriel, Princess of Mirkwood." She said in a clear voice as she looked. She looked back at Haldir and Lutheriel and nodded. "Do you, Haldir, take Lutheriel to have and to hold for all eternity?"
Haldir looked into Lutheriel's clear blue eyes and nodded. "I do."
"And do you, Lutheriel, take Haldir as your husband to cherish in all your days?" Galadriel asked.
Lutheriel smiled and a tear trickled down her face. This was they day that she had always dreamed of and now it was finally coming true. "I do..." She whispered, looking into Haldir's loving eyes.
Galadriel looked to Celeborn and he brought over a satin cream colored ribbon and placed it around the Haldir and Lutheriel's hand. He tied a tight knot in it. "This ribbon represents the bond between you. Your love can never be severed or broken as long as you remember that your partner is your eldar. As long as you keep that true to your hearts, you will spend all your years in eternal bliss." He smiled and nodded. "I hear now pronounce you husband and wife. May the Valar shine down upon you."
Haldir and Lutheriel leaned in and kissed each other softly for a moment. Their hands held tightly to each other. When they parted everyone cheered, applauded, and threw flower petals into the air. Lutheriel laughed and kissed her husband again. "I love you, Haldir..." She whispered.
Haldir couldn't believe how easy that was. Why was he expecting it to be a lot more difficult than that? "I love you to, my wife..." He grinned and kissed her nose; he didn't even care what people thought about him acting all lovey-dovey. "That wasn't so hard after all. I don't know why I was expecting the ceremony to be longer..." He said as he led her over to where Elves where dancing.
Lutheriel wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head on his chest as they began to slowly dance. "I don't care if it lasted only a second, I'm with you now and that's all that really matters." She whispered. Her eyes caught sight of her brother who was leaning up against a tree. He seemed to be a bit lonely and out of place. "Maybe we should go over and talk to Legolas?"
"As you wish, Princess." Haldir smiled, but inwardly he loathed the idea of going over there. It meant he'd have to play up his 'act' again. Haldir nodded and took her hand and they walked over to Legolas. "Hello, Prince."
Legolas nodded. "Congratulations, I hope your years to come will be blessed ones." He said trying to sound genuine about it, but couldn't help if there was just a hint of doubt in it. "Legolas, don't be rude. You like Haldir now, remember?" He thought as he gave them a half smile.
Lutheriel hugged her brother. "Will you stay a couple of days in Lorien?" She asked. She hoped that he would stay, she hated the idea of him traveling back to Mirkwood so soon.
"I can't...." Legolas shook his head. He caught sight of Haldir's pleased face when he said that he was leaving. "I promised father I'd travel back as soon as the ceremony was over."
Haldir tried not to smile but it was hard not too. "At least stay for some food?" He asked in a questioning tone. "We can't have you go back on an empty stomach."
"I have some lembas left over, I will be fine." Legolas nodded, noting Haldir's played up voice. "I should stay just irritate him..." He thought slyly.
Lutheriel kissed his cheek. "I'm so glad you came. Please tell father all about the day and how wonderful it was."
"I will. Now I really must be going." He smiled. "Keep in touch sister." With that he began to walk towards the path that led to the borders.
Lutheriel wiped a tear from her eye as she watched her brother go. "It feels weird not going with him..." She looked up at Haldir. "At least you are with me."
Haldir nodded. "I will be with you always." He said as they went back to mingle with the other Elves.
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For the rest of the afternoon and well into the night. Haldir and Lutheriel danced, ate, played a few wedding games, and talked with the other Elves. Rúmil and Orophin were both very pleased that their brother found his true love and wished nothing for the best for them in the coming years. The moon was hung high over the trees of Lorien and guest began to return to their flets for the evening.
Haldir couldn't help but feel very nervous. Soon he and his bride would return to his flet and spend their first night as a married couple. "Would you like some more cake?" He offered.
Lutheriel laughed. "No thank you. I've had my share of cake for a year!" She yawned, and looked into his eyes. "...Do you think we should return to your flet?" She asked.
"Uhhhh...would you like something more to drink?" He asked, picking up a flask of wine.
"No thank you." She said again. "Haldir, I really want to get out of this dress. It's.... Crushing me."
Haldir smirked. "It does seem like it would be uncomfortable." He stood up and took her hand. "If you wish that we returned to the flet for the evening then I will not deny you." He spoke with much boldness as he could muster up.
Lutheriel nodded, with a slight twinkle in her eye. They both thanked and bid their farewells to everyone. Haldir kissed Lutheriel's cheek and they walked off towards their flet. Lutheriel felt the nervousness in her but it made her excited at the same time. All the way home she had smile across her face as she anticipated what would come next.
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A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. The next chapter will be up sooner than this one.... I promise. ~Celebrian~
