A note to Dragonfly- yes that was a sort of break chapter away from her father and brother, and this chapter will not be so horrible as you may think. After all, Nenvír is two faced, so he must act happy and charitable with his people, while on the inside does not think that. In the next segment of chapters, where some rather huge things take place, there will be a good deal of evil Nenvír.

Chapter 14- Mithlond: Dances

Silaerín sighed heavily to herself, looking out upon the sea of party revelers in conversation and in the midst of dances. The ellyth were dressed in their finest gowns, the ellon in their finest brocade tunics. The few Elf-children in Mithlond ran about in between the dancers playing games of some sort. There was laughing and happy talking. Her father had been tame, and even somewhat friendly to the visiting family. Elladan and Elrohir were claimed by a gaggle of willing ellyth early in the evening, like she had known would happen, and Bainon had been sent forth to try to occupy her time. And, surprisingly enough, she found that Bainon was a decent ellon despite his influence from her father and brother to try to woo her. Any one who did not know the real story would have thought she and Bainon happily together, but only to those few astute people would they see the sad glances across the room between her and Elladan.

And her father was one of them.

"I see that Elladan is quite happy being thrown into that deluge of ellyth," said her father as he sat down beside her.

She turned to him and frowned, "Ada, I do not wish to speak right now."

He laughed, "You are angry that he is not dancing with you. I can sense that much, and all I can say is that I warned you."

Silaerín rolled her eyes and shook her head, looking toward Elladan who was laughing at something one of the ellyth had said, though it was easy to see that he was just doing it out of courtesy for the elleth rather than really finding it funny. She sighed, "I have spent my allotted time with Bainon this eve, Adar. Will you please allow me to do as I please for the rest of the evening?"

"You had no obligation to spend time with Bainon," he said, "but I am glad you found him agreeable. He is not even your love and he has taken time to sit and talk with you."

"Adar, Elladan is a guest, and people find him exotic because he is peredhil. That is the only reason why he is so occupied. I am sure it is not because of some attraction to those other ellyth," she replied.

He sighed and looked at her for a long while, "Enjoy it while it lasts this day, because if it is my choice, you will never see him again in this manner."

Silaerín chose then to block his words, and concentrate on the party at hand. It was a joyous occasion, upon any other account. However, she could not get past the fact that it felt as though a piece of her was fading. Even though this was meant to be a welcoming celebration, it had turned into a dual farewell party. Not only were Elladan and his family leaving, but her grandfather was to travel back with them for a large council of all the chief Eldar. She was to stay in Mithlond and remain at the mercy of her father and brother for who knew how long. In the back of her mind, she wished she had asked Elladan to stay with her, but it made no difference. It was his duty to attend to matters in Imladris as she was to tend to household matters here in Mithlond.

"My lady, I cannot stand to see you glower any longer," said the voice from beside her.

Silaerín looked to her side, finding her grandfather looking at her, "I am sorry, Iauradar."

"It is not the end of the world, though it may feel like it," he smiled slightly. "I will be back before you know it, and you will see Elladan much more."

"Not if Adar has anything to say on the matter," she harrumphed and looked down at the table in front of her.

Círdan chuckled lowly, and placed his fingers beneath her chin, raising her eyes to his. "This night is for you, pen neth. You should be out there dancing, not worrying about your father. Even your father has put on a slightly charitable mood for this night."

"I have noticed that," she sighed and glanced around the room, finding the Elladan was still encircled with ellyth. "But the one person I truly wish to dance with is preoccupied."

"Do you worry that he will find someone else he enjoys more than you?" Círdan questioned.

"Aye, I do," she nodded.

Círdan smiled almost in disbelief, "I can tell you now, pen neth, that there will never be another ellyth he cares more for than you."

"Grandfather, I know your abilities, but how could you possibly tell that?" she questioned.

"I was a young ellon once, Silaerín. You often forget that," he winked. "I know what I was like when I fell in love with your grandmother, and that is exactly the way Elladan acts."

Silaerín glanced toward Elladan again, to find his eyes on her, watching her with a thoughtful expression on his face. She sighed again, "I suppose you are right, but that still does not mean I will not worry."

"I would be worried if you did not worry," he said. "But it is important to keep a check on your jealousy, because that could end up being the driving force to tear you two apart. That is what your father is trying to create with Bainon."

"But Bainon is a decent ellon," Silaerín replied.

"Aye, but a gullible one," he said and sighed. "But a decent ellon, nonetheless. Personally, though, I would rather see Elladan in rule of the Havens if your father, brother and I leave before you."

"You speak as though we will bind," she said.

His eyes glittered, and she knew by that slight change that he was hiding something from her. However, he simply smiled and took a sip of his wine, "A grandfather can always hope, can he not?"

Silaerín laughed, "So I take it you approve of him and this relationship?"

"If I am willing to give the single ray of light in my life away to him, I would say so," Círdan replied. "He comes from an honorable house. But the only thing that really matters in the long run of life is if you two are in love."

"I do not know that yet," she said.

Círdan smiled, "Do not worry about that. It will happen eventually, but now it would be best for you fully immerse yourself in this evening and the few hours you have left with Elladan."

She looked out at the crowd, and could not find Elladan anywhere, "Where is he?"

Looking back at her grandfather, he stood up and looked down at her, "Honor me with a dance and I will get you to a door so that you may go find him."

Silaerín took his proffered hand and stood from her own seat. She followed beside him as he led her out onto the dancing floor. The Elves cleared a path, and a ring in the circle to watch this. They had not had a celebration of any sorts in a long while, and it was even more rare to see their mighty leader take to the floor for a dance, so it was a special treat for all. With a deep curtsy to her grandfather, he acknowledging it with a slight bow of his head, the music started and they were whisked into the dance by the moderate flow of the music supplied by the very fine minstrels. When the dance was through, they again bowed to each other amidst the applause of the other Elves.

And sure enough, she noticed she was close to a door when the dance ended. Círdan left her side with another quick smile in her direction to tend to the Elves now trying to get their attention. On her way to the door, however, Celebrían and Elrond appeared. She smiled as generously as she could manage, though she was angry at being stopped.

Celebrain laughed, "We will not keep you long, Silaerín. We only wished to say our farewells this eve, in such case that you cannot on the morrow."

Silaerín found this slightly odd, but she smiled again, "I am sorry, I was only trying to make a quick escape."

Both Celebrían and Elrond shared a knowing glance at each other. Elrond smiled at her, and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. "It was a joy to see you again, Silaerín. You have matured quite nicely."

"As it was a joy to have both of you here. I cannot thank you enough for this visit and breaking up the doldrums of Mithlond," she said.

"Remember that there is always a place for you in Imladris, and in our lives if you so wish it," Celebrían then pulled Silaerín in a close embrace. She whispered into Silaerín's ear, "Go easy on him, he is very nervous."

Celebrían backed away from her then, and Silaerín did not know what she should think about Celebrían's advice. What did she mean by going easy on him? What had Elladan planned that they knew about? Unable to think of anything else to say, Silaerín only smiled and said, "Thank you."

The couple then disappeared into the crowd, and she was left with Arwen and Elrohir standing in front of her. Elrohir took her hand and kissed the back of it before hugging her closely, "You will always be a sister to us, even though it is not by birth or yet by marriage."

Arwen smiled, "Tis true, mellon. Though I have just met you, I have known you for all of my life through my brothers' stories, and I am happy to now call you friend."

"Thank you, both, but could you please tell me what is going on?" Silaerín questioned. "Everyone is acting so oddly."

Elrohir laughed, "You will find out soon enough."

"That calms my nerves by no amount," she said. "But may I please go now to try to figure this mystery out?"

"Please, by all means, go," Elrohir laughed and pulled his sister out of the way.

Silaerín shook her head and walked out into the quite corridor. If she was correct in assuming what the others were insinuating, she did not know how she was going to handle this evening. It was a large step for them to take so quickly, and she was not sure she wanted it. In the beginning, she had wanted to delight in the carnal desire she felt for Elladan, but she had come to realize over the course of the last few days maybe that was not what they needed to worry about. But then again, she would do anything to spend an evening with Elladan.

She took a deep breath that only seemed to calm her nerves slightly as she walked along the winding corridors. She was on the second level by the time she found him standing out on a balcony, his head turned toward the clear night sky. As she drew closer, the sound of the merriment and music from below found her ears, and she noticed that his eyes were closed and a half smile played on his face as he listened to it. The moonlight gleamed off of the mithril circlet around head, and his dark hair seemed to draw in the starlight, giving him an impossibly ethereal glow. Taking another deep breath, she stepped out onto the balcony and slid her arms about his waist.

"Would you please tell me what you are up to that your entire family seems to know about and I do not?" she questioned.

Her approach and the feel of her arms going around him did not startle him. Elladan opened his eyes and looked down at her, leaning over to place a soft kiss on her brow, "My entire family knows because Elrohir has a rather large mouth."

"He is not so bad," she said. "Now for what I have heard, the prospects of this evening are unsettling me."

"What have you heard?" he asked.

"Your mother told me to go easy on you because you are very nervous," Silaerín said. "And to me, that could only mean one thing. Besides the knowing glances your mother and father passed between each other."

"Now I am embarrassed," he replied. "I cannot believe that even my parents could not keep their mouths shut on a matter I wished to discuss with you before everyone else knew about it."

Silaerín smiled, "Your parents are more overjoyed than anything, Elladan."

"I know they are, but this is a serious matter," he said, now taking and wrapping his arms about her body. "What say you, pen velui? I know there are many, many reasons why we should not even entertain this idea, but I cannot help but wonder when the next time we shall meet will be. This may be selfish and un-Elflike of me, but I cannot wait forever for this experience to be had, and I would rather have it with you, the elleth I care deeply for, than some elleth or woman who suits the whim of my fancy on a night I am severely inebriated."

She could not help but laugh at his reasoning, and she met his eyes. "How noble of you, Elladan."

He shot her a sour look, "You think I am selfish."

"You are, but no more selfish than I," she said. "I agree that we do not know when we shall meet again, but I do not see it as something to do just because you are leaving. I would rather it be solely because of a strong emotional tie you have me. You know that if we were to do this, that would mean we would forever be bonded by the experience, even though we may choose another?"

"I do know that, Silaerín," he said. "And that is why I wish it with you and no other."

Silaerín smiled and reached up to caress his cheek, "You do not have to persuade me, Elladan. I consented to this when we agreed to be open with each other, but I must ask that we go slowly. I have never done anything..."

Elladan looked down at her and smiled warmly, "We will learn together, then. I know very few things, so I cannot promise how pleasurable it will be for both of us."

"As long as you make it pleasurable for me, then we should be fine," she joked and kissed his cheek quickly. Silaerín pulled away from him and took his hand, leading him into the corridor, "In which chambers shall we be doing this?"

He did not reply, and easily moved in such a way that he had lifted her up and set her over his shoulder, "We shall see."

"Elladan, put me down," she laughed loudly as he started walking in the direction of her chambers. "How dare you carry a Lady of Mithlond around like she is some game animal you taking to the slaughter."

"Oh, I am sorry, my lady, are you offended?" he questioned, readjusting her so that his shoulder was not poking so horribly into her abdomen.

"Not offended, but this is certainly doing nothing for making feel like giving into your requests," she said, but then encountered the lovely firmness that was his behind, now pleasantly placed in her eyesight by the way she was hoisted over his shoulder. The way the muscles flexed and relaxed beneath his leggings enthralled her to no end, and she had a rather desperate urge to reach out and touch it, but restrained herself.

They rounded a corner, and Elladan remarked, "You have become awfully quiet. Have you found something to interest you, my lady?"

"I am only devising ways to get back at you," she replied, though she knew it sounded false.

"Just be thankful I did not blindfold you," Elladan chuckled and opened a door. He shut it behind them, pushing the privacy latch into place. She could tell they were in her chambers as he continued back into her sleeping chambers. He dropped her to ground carefully and turned to shut the door and latch that lock into place before turning back to her. Elladan smiled and pulled her against him, "I am sorry, that was my Edain blood at work."

She laughed teasingly, "I am sure it was that, and not just you trying to be odd."

"I swear it was," he replied, but did not allow her to speak as he plundered her lips in a passionate kiss to end all kisses.

Silaerín pulled away, out of breath, kissing him back shortly, saying, "The slight of propriety is now forgiven."

Elladan laughed, "If kissing you did that much, do you realize what I could accomplish by doing other things?"

"Shut your mouth and kiss me, Elladan," she commanded, wrapping her arms about his neck and entwined her fingers in his hair as she pulled down his lips to hers. During this next deep and meaningful kiss, she managed to locate the circlet in his hair and remove it without getting it tangled. After she had accomplished that, she set to work on his braids.

Elladan pulled his lips away from her and met her eyes, "Are you sure you have never done this before? You are going about undressing me pretty easily."

Silaerín giggled self-consciously and continued to undo his braids. "Is it so bad that I have thought often of this the past few days, and planned my attack if it should happen?"

"I suppose it is not," he said, and reached up to remove Silaerín's circlet. "Because I have planned it as well."

She brushed her lips across his lightly, "Are you sure you wish to do this?"

"If was not sure, I would not have even come this far," he said and looked down at her. They were held in silence as they gazed back and forth as each other, and then he sighed, "It seems to me that you are not sure about it and that is why you keep asking."

"My nervousness is the only thing that makes me unsure," she replied. "And I do not know why I should be nervous, because it is you I am with. You would never hurt me."

"Not intentionally," he said with a laugh, trying to make light of the fact that she was nervous. Silaerín did not know whether to be angry with him, or laugh along with him. Elladan then smiled softly, "Silaerín, I am nervous as well. I believe it is only natural to be."

She nodded her head, letting out a little chuckle that seemed to calm her down just enough, "You must think me so indecisive to want to do this and not do it."

Elladan said nothing and only pulled her to him, squeezing her closely. Just this feeling of being held within his embrace was enough to make her mind up for her. She rested her head against his shoulder and they stayed like this for some time before he said quietly, "Speak now, Silaerín, and we will not go ahead with this."

Silaerín removed her head from his shoulder and met his eyes, letting a small smile cross her features, before rising on her toes to reach his lips. That simple kiss led to many more, each growing more and more heated. Soon every last bit of apprehension was gone, especially as he started to run his strong hands down the contour of her body, and his lips moved lower on her neck. Surprisingly, she felt completely uninhibited at that moment, and she too began the exploration of his body, however impeded sufficiently by his clothes.

She felt the bodice of her gown loosening about her, and she barely made the connection that Elladan was working adeptly at untying and loosening the satin strings that crisscrossed the back of the gown. Slowly, he moved his hands up her back and carefully pulled away the shoulders of her gown, but made sure to leave the thin shift beneath in place. And suddenly, his lips left hers and he peered down at her for a moment before quickly picking her up in an effortless swoop and carrying her over to the bed.

Silaerín was confused when he did not place her on the bed, but instead set her back down on her feet, the back of her legs only touching the bed. Elladan laughed at her confused face, but said nothing as he took her hands in his, placing them at the collar of his tunic. She felt herself blush, knowing exactly what he wished her to do. With another giggle, she kissed him again, this time working at undoing the fastenings down his tunic. Luckily, it was exceptionally easy, even with her slightly quivering hands, and soon she was touching the warm flesh beneath. Her slender fingers traced along his collarbones, to the taut smooth skin of his chest, around to his muscular, wide shoulders and back. She had seen many, many nude Elves, especially those out wading in the bay and fishing, but never before had she seen such a specimen of athletic Elven perfection mixed with such strapping qualities of Men. Elladan was truly great among Elves and Men.

She smiled to herself, her hands gliding across the ridges of his abdomen. Elladan placed his fingers beneath her chin, and raised her eyes to his, saying, "What do you find so amusing, my lady?"

The deep, raspy timbre of his voice caught her off guard, but she enjoyed that, "I am only thinking about how you are great among both Elves and Men."

"Aye, that is how I shall go down in the histories of this world... as great because of my physical features," he replied.

"You are great in other ways, my lord," she replied kissing him. "And you shall prove yourself great in other areas, I am sure."

Elladan laughed, kissing her deeply. She let her hands drop to the ties on his leggings, brushing the obviousness of his arousal accidentally, causing him to suck in a sharp breath. His hands stopped hers, and he moved them back up around his shoulders. He began to lay her back on the bed, the soft mattress kissing her back and her head hitting the pillows. With great care, he settled himself partially atop her.

She was just getting used to the feeling of his weight over her, when her ears picked up the soft sounds of a doorknob rattling. Silaerín, now alerted, placed her hands on his chest and pushed him back.

"What is it?" he questioned, worriedly.

Silaerín did not reply and was answered from the outside of her antechamber with a displeased call.

"Silaerín!"

Iauradar- grandfather

Pen neth- young one

Adar- father

Mellon- friend

Pen velui- lovely one

Edain- Men