NOTE: this will be longer than the other chapters, a little over eight pages, and includes a picture. Hope you like it! The next chapter will be steamy! ;)

Chapter Twenty-one: The Choosing

Legolas convinced Síriel to return to the palace with him. She took with her some belongings before closing up the cottage, and Legolas' arm when he offered it, and they set off at a brisk pace to the palace.

"We will be using a secret passage." he told her.

"Am ma theled?" she asked.

He then informed her of the problem he was having with the maidens, and mentioned the group of four. Síriel's face clouded.

"It is as Celebrindal told you. They were Amorith, Forfirith, Giliath, and Elenath, the ones I attempted to befriend. They have such desire and lust for you. I am amazed they are not fighting each other." she said.

They entered the cave-palace through a side entrance hidden by a cluster of beech trees. Both were silent as they made their way, Legolas leading. When they emerged cautiously, they made a dash towards the King. He gave a startled cry as they appeared out of nowhere.

"Eru! Do not do that again!" he told them.

"At least we made it without being noticed." Legolas panted.

The three Elves' ears twitched at the sound of four voices.

"It is them!" Síriel hissed. "The four!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Thranduil slipped into a nearby doorway and beckoned them to follow him. It was not a room, but another passage. Síriel and Legolas followed him until they emerged before a pair of guards. They were near the private quarters. As the King approached, the guards moved swiftly aside to allow them to pass.

"Welcome, Síriel." Thranduil said.

She bowed to him.

"She will be spending the next few days here, adar. Her sire is gone to Lothlórien. And she will attend the feast." he said.

"That is very good to hear. Your stay with us will be very pleasant, I hope. Whatever you desire you shall receive." Thranduil said to Síriel.

Legolas took her to a guestroom, which lay next to his. There was a door that led from his chambers to hers, but he did not tell her this.

"Hodo mae." he told her, kissing her goodnight.

The following day she had her morning meal with Legolas in her room. He had come several times during the night and observed her.

"I accepted your invitation, but I do not have a suitable dress for the occasion. I did bring Gimli's gift, though." she said.

"Everything is taken care of. I will search for something for you to wear. Perhaps something of my mother's." he told her.

"I could not! It would bring memories to you and your sire."

"Avo 'osto." he smiled.

He rose to his feet reluctantly.

"I must be off. I have some things to take care of before I get prepared myself. I will send Celebrindal to help you prepare, for I hear that maidens take an entire day to dress." he told her.

He leaned over Síriel and kissed her forehead before leaving.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within half an hour, Celebrindal had arrived. She brought with her the dress she had made. Then she set about filling the large bathing tub with hot water, whereas Síriel stripped completely and stepped into it. She then surrendered herself to her friend, who spent the next few hours washing her body thoroughly with a rough cloth onto which she applied a special tonic that left her feeling skin silky smooth and smelling sweetly. Next, she attacked her hair, rubbing in an alarmingly vast amount of tonic. When she finished, it was late afternoon.

"You would think today is my wedding day." Síriel said to her.

"Now you must get dressed." Celebrindal told her.

"You speak as though it will take hours."

And it did. There were so many layers. First came the under-dress that hugged her body tightly, firming anything flabby, which in Síriel's case was pointless. Then there were the endless skirts. Her corset had to be adjusted so many times until Celebrindal was pleased. Wrinkles were smoothed away. By the time Síriel was dressed, she was quite annoyed.

"Do you have any jewelry?" Celebrindal asked, knowing of the gift.

Síriel gave her the box. Celebrindal carefully examined the jewelry momentarily before placing them onto her friend. At the end, she brought out the soft red shoes from Lake-town and bade her to wear them.

"You rival our Queen of old!" Celebrindal told her with delight.

Síriel had never once cared about how she looked, but now it was different. She caught sight of herself in a mirror and gasped.

"Oh, Celebrindal, mellonen!" she exclaimed, embracing her. "I do not know what to say! Do you think there is time for me to slip outside?"

Celebrindal nodded.

"Do not go far, though, and mind your dress." she called after her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Legolas was already dressed. He had met Celebrindal in the corridors and learned that Síriel was outside, most likely attempting to calm herself, Celebrindal told him. He went to search for her.

There was a small waterfall not far from the palace that Legolas often went to observe. As he made his way swiftly towards it, he heard the musical sound of the water falling from three arches. Birds were singing sweetly, and the sun filtered through the trees. He reached the waterfall to find Síriel standing with her back towards him. Her arms were uplifted as birds flew about her. She turned when she heard him, and he froze in his spot. If it were not for her copper-red hair, falling over her shoulders like a shining river, he would not have known her. The dark red dress hung from her shoulders, with a low neck, ending at the start of her cleavage. The edge was trimmed with gold. About her hips was a belted chain of gold. She wore the gift Gimli had given her. She was not her hard working river maiden self, but a beautiful elven lady.

She bowed low to him.

"Come…the feast is about to begin." he managed to say.

He offered her his arm, which she accepted.

As they walked, Síriel turned her head to observe Legolas' clothing. He was dressed in a robe, underneath which were a tunic and leggings, all of them the same color, a dark red like her own dress. His blond hair was plaited intricately in the back, and there was a golden circlet on his head. He was quite breathtakingly beautiful to behold.

"We are wearing the same color!" she said to him.

"Indeed. What a coincidence." Legolas smiled.

Her eyes narrowed as she spotted her shoes.

"Wait…I know those shoes." she said slowly. "And this dress…the material I bought in Lake-town, along with the shoes! Your clothing—the material is from Lake-town as well! Did you plan this, Legolas?"

"Plan? I did not plan it, Síriel." he told her impishly.

She laughed softly and shook her head at him.

"You are hard to predict." she told him.

They entered the palace and found the corridors filled with many Elves, dressed in their very best attire. Legolas, not wanting to draw his people's attention to himself and Síriel just yet, slipped unnoticed into a secret passageway, which led them directly to the Dining Hall. There they found Celebrindal, dressed in a lovely white gown. She nodded at Síriel.

"Celebrindal, take her to where my sire and I are going to sit. Draw no attention to yourself, Síriel, and no one will pay you any attention at all." he told her. "I must join my sire and greet the guests."

Celebrindal bowed to her Prince and led Síriel to the high table. There was a wooden divider placed before it.

"Havo dad (sit down)." Celebrindal told her. "Do not move."

Síriel took a seat and wondered what was happening. She heard the doors opening, and through a crack in the divider she managed to see Legolas and her King greeting their guests. All of them were dressed exceedingly well, and she noticed that the maidens kept casting glances at Legolas, as if trying to catch his attention. They were observing each other with rivalry in their eyes. Síriel could sense hostility in the air.

At last, all of the guests were present. The Hall's doors were closed, and Legolas and his sire returned to their table. The divider was moved, but still it concealed Síriel. She turned to question Legolas.

"What is happening?" she asked him.

Legolas merely smiled.

"Patience, Síriel, you will see." he told her, hardly moving his lips.

Then the Hall went silent as Thranduil rose to his feet. Síriel saw the Elves look at him, and she knew that something important was about to happen. Legolas slipped his hand over hers and squeezed it gently.

"I thank all of you for attending. Doubtless you have all been waiting for this day, the maidens most of all." Thranduil began with a chuckle. "Three thousand years ago this day, my son, your Prince, Legolas was born. Your Queen raised him until her death, by which at time he was of age. He completed his studies of languages and histories only to be trained as a warrior. From then onwards, he has spent most of his time away from the palace fighting the giant spiders that plague our kingdom, and he has returned from the Quest that has destroyed the One Ring of Sauron. His thoughts were always on fighting, until now."

The King paused quite dramatically, and Síriel felt the Elves who were gathered in the Hall take a collective breath.

"My people, it has come now, the time of The Choosing, when your Prince will choose the maiden he wishes to wed. No doubt you all hope to be her, and I can only express my well wishes. Legolas…"

Síriel sat frozen in her seat. So this was the reason Legolas had asked her to attend. It could not be real! How could he choose to spend the rest of his life with her, a mere half-elven river maiden who spends her days rafting to Lake-town alongside her sire? She was not noble!

Legolas saw the look on her face and smiled to himself. She was shocked and frightened. No doubt she thought him insane. But he was, he was insane from his love for her. He loved her because of who she was. He raised her carefully to her feet and led her past the divider to his sire. Legolas could feel her trembling as they faced the waiting Elves. He saw Celebrindal move silently behind them, ready if she was needed.

"I have chosen Síriel, daughter of Gil-celeb." Legolas said clearly.

The Hall was filled with the murmur of many voices as the Elves stared in disbelief. How could it be? Surely he was mad! The maidens were shocked. The Prince had chosen a common maiden, but she was not any common maiden, he had chosen the half-elven rafting maiden!

"You are all wondering, doubtless, at how I could have picked her. She is half-elven; she spends her days rafting to Lake-town. You may think me mad, but I shall tell you otherwise. Within Síriel, I found what all the other maidens here do not posses. She is not self-centered, she does not think of feasts, pretty gowns, and other petty matters. Her mind is beyond that level. When I first saw her, what struck me most about her were her eyes. Such beautiful eyes I have never seen, but they had a look in them that did not become her. It was a wounded look.

"We have been called the wisest and fairest of all the races of Middle-earth, but we do not live up to that honorable claim bestowed upon us. It pained me to learn the cause of her wounded look: she has been suffering from your tongues. You mock her because she is a half Elf. Do you think she was capable of choosing that? She was born from the love of an elven man and a mortal woman, and what other love can be as strong? Commonly, people of the other races come to us for advice and wisdom, but are we suited for this duty? How can we advise them, when amongst ourselves we bear hatred? We are no better than they are!

"I am not mad. My experience as one of those chosen to be of the Fellowship has taught me many things. Here is a most valuable lesson I have learned: even though there are differences, we are all people. I want you to understand this well. Look not at Síriel as a half-elven maiden, but as someone like you, with the same rights and feelings you have. For this reason I love her—because she is different." Legolas said.

Síriel could not help but look at Legolas in admiration. He had spoken about her passionately, defending his love for her with wisdom. She saw that even Thranduil was astounded at the speech Legolas had given. Celebrindal alone seemed not surprised. She was smiling to herself as she removed the divider in front of the high table. The Prince saw the Elves contemplating what they had just heard. Taking Síriel's arm in his, he led her back gracefully to their seats. She avoided his gaze.

"Mado a sogo uin mereth (eat and drink of the feast)!" Thranduil said a few moments later.

The Hall was filled with the sounds of the elven minstrels playing their soft music and the clinks of plates, goblets, and eating utensils as the Elves helped themselves to the grand feast. There was a look of pain and embarrassment on most of their faces. Their Prince's words were unexpected, but powerful and true. However, they soon forgot that as they ate their way steadily through the food and downed goblet after goblet of the special wine from Lake-town. They did not know he was quite wise. After the feast, they watched Legolas dance with Síriel. It was late at night when the feast ended, and Legolas led Síriel to her room.