AUTHOR'S NOTE: So sorry about the mix-up, everyone! I would, apologize for the wait, too, but I needed an author's note for the next chapter. Even if you believe that you have already read this chapter, please double check because quite a bit of shifting around occurred and I beliee I may have added some to the end. Happy reading!

"Does he really think he can do that?" Kika asked once she and Legolas were back at Rilyien's flet.. "Can he do it?"

"Of course not," replied Legolas. "There was nothing binding about your betrothal except for the agreement between the two of you, and since you broke it off, there is nothing he can do. Even if he does have some kind of 'evidence' of a lawful pact between the two of you, Galadriel would never allow him to have you. In any case, you were betrothed to me before you even returned to Lothlorien, so any claim he makes can most likely be made by me as well."

"But nobody here Iknows/I that we were betrothed except for you and I, which would not be enough. Many people in Lorien knew that I was betrothed to Rumil." The reality that she may be spending eternity with the elf she hated more than any other was beginning to sink in. "Legolas, this cannot happen! I cannot live with him; without you! Perhaps I could leave now, before he has a chance to go to the Lord and Lady. We could go to Mirkwood, surely he would not go to the trouble to follow us there, would he?" Legolas enveloped her in a tight embrace.

"Do not worry, my love, I will not let him have you, I swear it. But we should not leave Lorien so suddenly. You have forgotten that Gimli is here and also knew of our betrothal, but I do not think the word of a dwarf would be trusted very well here. I will find out from the Lady if Rumil has brought his complaint to her, and if he has, I will send for my father. He knew of our betrothal and perhaps with a king here in person against him, even someone as daft as Rumil may have enough sense to back down." Kika's fears were still not completely quenched.

"But will he come? He did not want us to wed to begin with, and if he knows that someone else wishes to wed me it will be of no grievance to him at all." Legolas squeezed her again comfortingly.

"Remember that he thinks I am on a hunting trip. When he receives a message from Lothlorien from me asking him to come as quickly as possible without any explanation as to why I need him here, I am sure he will come if only out of pure curiosity. Once he gets here and I explain everything to him, including the fact that I will wed you with or without his blessing, I am sure he will be willing to help. He would rather see me wed to a Lady with his permission than wed to one without his blessing. On one hand, he would gain a daughter-in-law and possibly grandchildren; on the other hand he would lose his son and only heir." Kika gave him a half- hearted smile.

"I am sorry, I know I am only making things more difficult by questioning things, only I feel so helpless, like what is going to happen is already set up and there is nothing we can do about it. This has been played out many times before. elf and maiden fall in love, elf and maiden are separated because society cannot allow their union. What makes us any different?"

"What makes us different is the fact that we will not give up. I will fight for you until the end of time," he said as he reached up to touch her face. He leaned in for a kiss just before they heard an angry voice below.

"Legolas! Lad you better get down here, because if I have to come up there it will not go well with you, that I can promise you!" Legolas laughed and climbed down quickly, with Kika close behind. Gimli was standing at the bottom of the tree with his hands on his hips, red faced and obviously cross. "I have had to wander Lothlorien all day looking for you. trust me, it is not easy to take directions from people who speak nothing but blasted elvish. So now that I have finally found you, could you at least do me the courtesy of telling me what all has happened? You two could be wed by now, for all I know!" Kika tried to control her laughter at the irate dwarf, but Legolas laughed out loud.

"I apologize for my hasty exit last night, but I assure you that you will agree that I had just cause." He proceeded to tell Gimli all that had happened, from him rescuing Kika, to them discovering her nobility, and their latest encounter with Rumil.

~~~~~~~~~~

Kika glanced one last time in the mirror before joining Legolas below the flet. The maid who had brought the dress and did her hair had assured her many times that she looked dazzling, but she was not reassured until she saw her love awaiting her below, in a tunic the same pale yellow as her dress. Legolas could not help but smile when he saw her. She was all but radiating with beauty, and her love for him was evident in her sparkling eyes. He felt his heart swell with love as he offered the nervous maiden his arm.

"You will be fine," he said before she could even voice her fears. "I love you, everybody else will love you, and you will be fine." Kika smiled.

"I know. That you love me, I mean, but that does not mean that everyone else will." Legolas began to interrupt, but Kika continued. "I do not need them to love me, though. All I need is you. If I can get through tonight-"

"Which you will," Legolas interjected.

"Then we can return to Mirkwood," Kika finished. Legolas took the arm that he had been leading her with and placed it around her waist, bringing them to a stop as he pulled her to him. He kissed her forehead.

"You will be all right tonight, I promise. I will be by your side the very moment you need me."

"You always are," Kika replied with a smile as his lips descended on hers. When he finally pulled away, he noticed Kika was blushing.

"What?" he asked.

"They are staring," she whispered, and he followed her eyes to some elves who were heading in the same direction that they had been, most likely going to the banquet. Legolas grinned when he heard this, and took her into his arms once again.

"Let them stare!" he declared, loudly enough for them to hear. "I want all of Middle Earth to know how much I love you!" He kissed her again, ardently enough that she completely forgot that there was even anybody else there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kika was so nervous as she and Legolas neared the banquet hall she could hardly speak. She could easily see how much work had gone into decorating the area for tonight. The path to the hall was lined with candles that twinkled in the twilight. She could see as they entered that everybody in Lothlorien must have been invited, for she had never seen such a crowd in all her years.

"I did not realize that this would be such a large affair," she whispered to Legolas uneasily.

"And you are worth nothing less," he replied as they were approached by Orophin. He bowed low to Kika and Legolas before speaking.

"Lady Kikania, Prince Legolas," he addressed them properly. Kika sighed.

"Come now, Orophin, I will have to be dealing with enough 'Lady' business from everyone else; surely you can call me by my name?" Orophin smiled gratefully.

"Thank you. I mean nothing offensive by it, but it just seems weird calling you that."

"I know, it is weird to hear it as well."

"I do not want to dampen your spirits, especially tonight," Orophin said, "But you should probably know, I delivered your message to Rumil, and he was none too pleased about it. He stalked off before I could add my message to it," he grumbled. Kika nodded.

"Yes, I know. He came to. ah. speak with Legolas and myself yesterday."

"You mean he dared to come near you again?! I do not know what has happened to him, but I can assure you that I will put a stop to it!" This time it was Legolas who spoke.

"I tied, but it was no use. Threats will not work their way through his thick skull. He thinks that he has a lawful claim to Kika, and he will stop at nothing - including going straight to Lady Galadriel - to have her." Kika heaved a frustrated sigh.

"As if I am something to be had! I should have the right to choose!" Legolas placed a soothing hand on her back.

"And you do. Lady Galadriel will not make you wed anyone against your will."

"And I would kill my own brother before I allowed him to have you," Orophin added forcefully. Then he shook his head sadly. "If only." He stopped himself and glanced up at Kika, who nodded, as if to tell him that he should continue. "If only Haldir were here. Rumil would not have dared to do anything like this with our eldest brother around," he explained, for Legolas's benefit. "Evidently I am not enough of a deterrent. But he will not have you," he swore, looking to both Kika and Legolas, then to only Kika. "You deserve so much better. You deserve him," he said, nodding at Legolas. With that, he bowed once more before the two of them and turned into the crowd.

"How could such an honorable elf as him be related to someone as despicable as Rumil?" He shook his head, as if to clear it of all thoughts of their previous discussion. "Never mind all that. You should enjoy yourself tonight." They were soon approached by a servant.

"Prince Legolas, Lady Kikania. The Lady Galadriel requests you presence." They followed him out a side door and around to what would be the front of the room inside. Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn were there waiting for them.

"We thought that the prince should escort you in behind Lord Celeborn and I, as you are the guest of honor," Lady Galadriel explained. Kika nervously agreed, dreading walking into the banquet hall in front of everybody. Lord Celeborn gave her a reassuring smile before he turned to escort the Lady in. Kika fearfully accepted Legolas's arm as they walked in. As soon as they entered the room and Kika saw everybody looking at her, she felt faint. Legolas, sensing this, tightened his grip on her arm.

"This crowd is just a big, ugly orc, and your only weapon is your charm," he whispered. He chuckled inwardly, knowing that Gimli's war analogies were wearing off on him.

They finally made it to their seats, and Kika sat gratefully. The Lord and Lady both sat at the head, and they had discreetly motioned for Kika to sit to their right. Legolas had sat beside her. Just when Kika was about to relax, however, Lady Galadriel stood to speak.

"This banquet, as most of you already know, is being held in honor of Kikania." Kika blushed at the very mention of her name. Lady Galadriel continued, explaining to all the attendees how they were related, and Kika's status of heiress. As she neared the end, she asked Kika to stand. She did so, and so did Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn. "I am proud to have you as my heir," the Lady said. "And with all in attendance as witness, I pronounce that you henceforth shall be addressed as 'Lady Kikania'." Celeborn was handed the tiara that had been shown to Kika the day before and turned to her with it.

"We give you this tiara that belonged to your mother to wear as a sign of your status. We are confident that you will bear this rank with dignity and grace." Kika was unsure what to do at first, but she heard a voice in her head, distinctly Galadriel's, that instructed her to kneel. As she stood, she gratefully noted that nobody seemed to be looking to her for an acceptance speech. Legolas stood beside her and Kika realized that the Lady must have instructed him in his head as she had her.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to announce the betrothal of Lady Kikania to Prince Legolas of Mirkwood," said Lady Galadriel. "I wish them an eternity of happiness together." As all four of them sat there was applause.

As soon as they sat, servers seemed to appear out of nowhere with plates laden with food. As the night progressed, Kika and Legolas received their fair share of congratulations and good wishes. When the dancing began, Kika gladly took the opportunity to get out of the crowd and into Legolas's arms.

"Is it as terrible as you thought it would be?" he asked as he twirled her around.

"No," she replied truthfully. "But it will still be a relief when it is over."

"Well we do have an excuse to leave early, you know," Legolas said. "We are to travel back to Mirkwood tomorrow, are we not?" Kika sighed.

"I would love to, but you are forgetting something. Your father is on his way here, and Rumil is not quite done hassling us yet." Just as the words were out of her mouth, there was a commotion at the door. They stopped dancing and turned to see an irate King Thranduil standing in the doorway.

"Forgive the interruption," he said calmly, "But I need to speak with my son, please." All eyes immediately turned to Legolas, who, without hesitation, had begun leading Kika across the floor.