A/N: In the last chapter, Legolas and Maqueden got married and Thranduil figured out what was happening as he was walking Maqueden down the aisle. So now he's made Kyriana and Maqueden and Legolas all pile into his office to explain what in the world was going on.
And here is the chapter you've all waited so patiently for. And yes, you may all shoot me with peanuts and balls of tape. I had one reviewer who is going to shoot me with crunch berries. School starts in two days… (runs away from mob of angry reviewers)
"What is going on?" Thranduil asked harshly as he seated himself in a large, squashy chair in his office.
Legolas sighed and looked at the ground. Maqueden turned her head away from Thranduil's questioning glance and looked out the window. Kyriana cleared her throat and looked away uncomfortably.
"I'm not going to make you get a divorce." Thranduil spoke again, his tone gentler this time. "I just want to know what is going on!" He paused. "In fact, I think this match is better than the other. I just… wasn't going to force you to marry her because of your being best friends and all. It would have been… awkward, to say the least."
Kyriana laughed. Maqueden grinned and spoke quietly. "I… er…"
Thranduil laughed. "I know."
There was an awkward silence and Legolas cleared his throat, then spoke. "I'd… uh… I'd been trying to think of ways to get myself out of this wedding since the night you told me it was going to happen." He said sheepishly.
"So he came to me for help." Maqueden said. "And I gave him all my ideas, but none of them were good enough." She paused. "Actually, most of them were too crazy to even think about considering."
"I didn't really want to marry him either… My father forced me into this." Kyriana spoke shyly, suddenly afraid of Thranduil and what he would do. "So I joined them and started adding my ideas."
"I'd had a crush on Legolas for years… I lost count in the mid-thousands." Maqueden put in mildly. "And he…"
"I started having… romantic feelings for her." Legolas flushed bright red, trying not to show his embarrassment in front of his father. Elves were supposed to be calm and composed all the time, right? Well, not this elf. This elf was scared out of his wits.
"And about the time we all went to Gondor to see Astoldominien, they became… Romantically involved." Kyriana said quietly. "At that time we didn't realize we could get out of it using that piece of information."
"This whole thing was her idea." Legolas said. "And actually… It was before we all left… I sort of…" He paused, took a deep breath, and exploded into an explanation. "I started to like her and went to Alaklain for advice and it turns out that Maqueden went to Novancaion for advice and we bumped into each other on the stairs and I kissed her and she ran away so I followed her and then…" He laughed.
"By a month or so…" Maqueden chuckled and leaned on the window ledge. "We'd been back for… I don't know, a few weeks probably, when she got the idea that I should marry Legolas in her place and came and told Legolas. And that night he proposed to me and explained what was going on." Maqueden turned her eyes away from the window and back to the room.
"So we started planning the wedding all over again. That's why she had the thick veil… We didn't want people to know it was her until the last possible minute." Kyriana said. "We were afraid of what you would do if you knew… That's why you… ah… weren't informed of our little escapade."
Thranduil laughed. "I've got to hand it to you… this plan was brilliant!" He laughed again. "All right, all right. Go enjoy yourselves at the reception. We'll finish this discussion tomorrow."
The three rose to leave when Thranduil stopped them. "Legolas?"
"Yes, Ada?"
"You never did tell me where you were going for your honeymoon."
Legolas grinned. "Gondor."
Maqueden and Legolas grinned, then walked hand in hand out of the room, with Kyriana tagging along behind.
The reception was great. Elenna and Astoldominien were dancing, Allyiah and Novancaion were there, and even Artariel was there… hiding in a corner, of course, but the fact that she was out of her room made it even more spectacular.
Legolas and Maqueden shared the first dance, then watched as others joined in. Maqueden danced with Thranduil, the closest thing she had to a father, and Legolas stood by and watched.
Elenna approached Maqueden as she stood off to the side while Legolas was talking to some random guard. "Your Highness." She said, faking an accent and curtseying so low her nose touched her knees.
"Stop it, Elenna." Maqueden laughed. "You're still my sister. My being royalty doesn't change a thing."
"I know." Elenna sighed and leaned against the wall. "It's just… so different than it was a year ago. He was your best friend, not your lover…"
"He still is my best friend." Maqueden smiled. "No, wait, that's you. Legolas is one of my best friends… Him being my husband and all is just… a bonus." She sighed and leaned against the wall, next to Elenna. "Gods, I feel lucky."
"You are." Elenna smiled. "You're a random girl who happens to be the prince's best-friend-turned-lover. That doesn't happen every day, you know."
"I know." Maqueden smiled as Legolas disengaged himself from his conversation, then make his way towards her and Elenna.
"Good luck." Elenna whispered, then left Maqueden to go talk to Astoldominien.
"I'm tired." Maqueden said three hours later, when they were still partying.
"We can leave." He muttered, taking her hand.
"Lets." Maqueden grinned as she and Legolas slipped out the door. They paused at the entrance hall to let Thranduil know where they were going, then turned the corner and went straight to Legolas's room.
(A/N: This is still PG 13 rated… I don't do lemons… Too young to read, write, or see… Don't plan on reading, writing, or seeing any lemons… Really don't want to offend anyone… So you can keep reading if you were about to stop…)
"Legolas?" Maqueden asked once she emerged from the bathroom in her pajamas.
"Hmm?" He was, once again, unbraiding his hair. Maqueden stood behind him and worked on taking her hair down and out of the bun Kyriana had put it in.
"I love you." She whispered, her hair falling down. The humidity had caused it to curl and it now hung in little ringlets around her face. She reached for her hair tie and made to pull it back, but Legolas's hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"It looks good down." He smiled, kissing her gently. "Gods, I love you too." He whispered, wrapping her in an embrace. "So much."
A/N: Here ya go! One more chapter… And I'm DONE! And in the sequel… Is Legolas and Maqueden's first child, Kyriana's lover, and Elenna and Astoldominien's… uh… something! And who knows? Artariel might even find some cute Gondorian guard…
THANK YOU'S!!!
Xylem- you sound like my other half… Named Fred… Fred's strange. She thinks she can to a back flip with a double twist… Anyway, I know how painful knees can be. I hurt mine marching, but my mom and family went to the beach and took all the asprin with them… And I COULDN'T EVEN SIT DOWN!!! And my knee STILL hurts!
Aliana Archer- thanks! Yes… He will be mentioned in the sequel once or twice and there might even be real invisible spiders for him to deal with. : )
Elven-dreamer- thanks!
Lucy Loo- Yep. I start the 9th on the 9th! I'm a freshman! Low man (girl) on the totem pole! GO ME! (ducks from pillows) HA! YOU MISSED! (hit with lots of peanuts)
Geegi- thanks! I'll take that to mind…
MerenwenCarnesir- Hey… At least you have internet… My family left me at home while they went to the beach and the internet was down for five days… I stopped listening to stuff like Linkin Park and Avril Lavigne and started listening to stuff like Bach and Pachebel. Piano players from long ago. Just shows you what can happen to me when I am seperated from the internet for too long…
Manveri[reachforthesky]estel- (revives reviewer with good dose of peanuts) Yeah… I don't think it was written like it should have been… I'll probably go back and fix it… Yes, I read Artemis Fowl. Sorta… my brother got me hooked on it.
Prettyfoot- yeah… I know… but oh well… Math really isn't my thing…
The Green Maiden- oh well… You're not fighting me, you're fighting Fred, my alternate personality… Who has claimed gorgemous Orli for her own. Yes, Fred is a girl.
Lilly Anne Potter- oooo…kkk… Crunch Berries are cool, I guess… I got Lucky Charms thrown at me…
That's all folks!