Just before I start, I'll just say that I have been ill this week-end. I got bored, so wrote. So apologies if this chapter is rubbish. My brain wasn't really functioning properly as it was poorly.

Bloody flu…

Woo, Xmas is almost here! I'm giving out all my pressies at school tomorrow. Gonna be well fun. Might update again before Xmas, but I'm not sure. But if I don't…

HAVE A GREAT CRIMBO EVERYBODY!!!!

Faerlain

Elerrina – I hate being rushed. And having time to yourself is great! You sound far too busy for my liking! I really hope this doesn't turn out too predictable. Fingers crossed! Thanks for reviewing.

Antiquiya – I always take the reviews seriously. I appreciate what people have to say about my fiction. And long reviews are great! Sorry this reply is rather short; I don't have a lot of time. But thank you so much for reviewing. Hope the rest of the story goes ok for you.

Rayame325 – Yeh, poor Leggy! Thanks for reviewing.

Ms. Unknown – Good and sweet? Great combo! Thanks for reviewing.

Pando, Hero and Athena – Cool name! Or is it names? Are there three of you? Hope I updated quick enough. Thanks for reviewing.

DaydreamingTurtle – Hmm, I wonder! Master and Commander is great! Billy Boyd was in it! I love him! Thanks for reviewing.

Tiara Shin – More bouncing! Crazy gal. Where do you find all the energy? Not the pea soup AGAIN! Both wave. I can't take much time on relying tonight. Hope you're both well. We're fine. Wink, wink nudge, nudges. Thanks for reviewing.

Orlando's Hot Chick – Yay! Goody gumdrops! Thanks for reviewing.

Vera-Sabe – Woooooow, loooooooong review! Gapes. Ta very much! And all those compliments were just…whoosh! Was like having a huge dose of caffeine! Yeah, Author Alert! And Faves! Does happy little jig. And I have taken into contemplation your Legolas/Anaróre thing. Doesn't mean I'm gonna take any notice of ya though!! Teehee…

Thanks for reviewing sweety.

Chapter 4: Determination.

"Naneth…"

"No arguments. And it suits you Anaróre."

"No it doesn't. I look…feminine."

Brithil laughed. "Darling, you are a young lady after all. "

"Yes, but I don't have to look like one!"

"Look, just stand up straight. You've got to wear it, so you might as well get used to the fact."

"But the feast doesn't start for at least two hours."

"It takes a girl time to get ready. I'm going to make you look absolutely stunning. Now, take the dress off."

"But you just said…!"

"I know what I said, but you need to wash your hair. And we don't want the dress getting wet. Go on, go and wash your hair."

Anaróre sighed and stomped through to the bathroom. Her mother was far too fussy for her liking. She eased the dress off over her head, and proceeded to wash her hair.

"And do it properly Anaróre!" she heard her mother call through from the other room.

Ten minutes later, she re-emerged, a towel wrapped round her head, and the dress slung over one arm. Brithil sighed and took it off her, smoothing out the (to Anaróre's eyes), almost invisible creases.

"Now, let's get you looking absolutely stunning for the feast," Brithil smiled, sitting her daughter down and started rubbing her hair dry with the towel.

"I just want to go back to bed."

"Legolas, it is not that bad."

"But I'm…tired!"

Aragorn raised an eyebrow. "You? Tired? I don't think so." He laughed.

Legolas sighed and swirled the dark liquid around in his goblet. "I just…I don't want to be here."

"The ladies will start arriving soon. Then you'll think differently."

"I don't think so somehow. I've never liked these dinner and dance things."

"You've clearly never been to a Lothlórien dinner and dance. You'll enjoy it, I promise."

Legolas just snorted in disagreement, and carried on watching the wine churn about in the goblet. "Too much like home," he muttered under his breath.

There were several tables set out in the huge clearing in the centre of Lothlórien. All were covered with white cloths, and laid with cutlery and dishes filled with food. The Fellowship had an entire table to themselves, but Legolas would probably go and sit with some other Elves later on.

But the women were yet to arrive. All the males were ready and waiting. Legolas could see Haldir and his brothers, as well as Lord Celeborn and a number of others he recognised.

The clearing suddenly went very quiet. Legolas looked up, and saw the first women entering. And he had to admit; they had done a pretty good job of making themselves look good for the male part of the gathering.

But he was not interested. He purely wanted to be alone. The food and drink was bound to be nice, the music lovely, but he was just not in the mood. He looked back at the wine.

"Legolas, look!" Aragorn nudged him. Legolas sighed and looked up. His jaw nearly hit the floor.

Anaróre, her mother, and Andúnë had just entered in a crowd. Yet they stood out all by themselves. All three of them looked striking. But he could not keep his eyes off of Anaróre.

She looked so…different. More feminine. Her light blonde hair was wavy, falling right down to her waist. He hadn't even known it was that long. She wore a light blue dress, cut low at the neck, with wide ended sleeves. It was adorned with darker blue lace leaves, scattered all over the material. She wore a necklace, and he could see it was in the shape of a mallorn leaf, and a tiny crystal glittered in one corner. She was barefoot, and kept her head slightly bowed.

"Shut your mouth Legolas, you look like a goldfish."

He turned and gave Aragorn the evilest glare he could manage. Aragorn just laughed. "You're staring. It's rude to stare at a lady."

"Can you blame me?"

Aragorn looked over at Anaróre. "No, I can't say that I can. She looks incredible." He grinned and turned back to the Prince. "And she's all yours."

"No, I never…"

"It's so obvious Legolas! You're in love." He added the last bit in a whisper.

"I am not in love."

"You are! That's so sweet."

"I am not in love!" He punched the Ranger on the shoulder.

Aragorn just punched him straight back. "I can see little love hearts fluttering about all over the place…"

"Shut up!"

"Get some red roses, ladies love red roses…"

"Aragorn…"

"Not forgetting white wine. Many prefer it to red."

"Aragorn, I'm warning you…"

"And jewellery. The ladies can't resist a man who gives them jewellery…"

"Shut it!" He gave Aragorn a teasing backhand around the face.

Aragorn hit Legolas' leg in return. "Sorry Legolas, but its so much fun!"

"What, mocking me?"

"No, just seeing you in love. You're getting all soft and soppy. I thought you hadn't threatened Gimli a lot lately…"

"Aragorn, listen to me." He turned and fixed his gaze upon the man beside him. "I. Am. Not. In. Love. With anyone. I like Anaróre, but not in that way. Ok?"

Aragorn scowled and sat back against the back of his chair, crossing his arms. "Fine. But I like teasing you! You don't get as angry as the twins!"

"Well, there are two of them."

"True." He was silent for a moment, watching Anaróre talk to Haldir.

"I still think you love her."

"Aragorn!"

"There are so many people!"

"Don't worry Ana. We'll be fine."

"'Dúnë, I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"I don't know!"

The two of them laughed. Andúnë passed her friend a goblet of wine. "Drink this, and relax."

"How do you expect me to relax? You know how self-conscious I am."

"Ana, you look amazing, trust me. Your mother has done a great job."

"For once."

They laughed again. "Seriously Ana, don't get so wound up. I've already seen a few people looking at you."

"Probably in surprise and utter shock."

"No, with interest."

"Yes, interested in why I am wearing a dress!"

"No! Ana, you seriously need help." She grinned. "You should wear a dress more often it suits you."

"But you know what I'm like," she whined.

Andúnë nodded. "That I do." She looked around. "There, go and see Haldir. He won't tease you."

"I'm perfectly fine here with you thank you very much."

"Yes, but I'm going to go and talk to Amdir. Have fun Anaróre." She started to walk away.

"Andúnë, don't you dare leave me! 'Dúnë, that's not fair!"

Her friend didn't reply, just started talking to her cousin.

Anaróre swore under her breath. There was nothing else for it. She would have to walk through the crowd, over to Haldir's table. She took a deep breath, swallowed the rest of her drink, and eased her way through the multitude of people.

She could feel eyes watching her as she made her way along. She ignored everyone's gaze, and fixed her own eyes on Haldir's back, determined to reach his table before someone caught up with her.

"Anaróre."

She turned at her name. She smiled gently at the Prince. "Evening Legolas."

Legolas smiled back, and swallowed. Why did he all of a sudden feel nervous? "Come and sit with us if you wish. I saw Andúnë desert you earlier, and wondered if you fancied some different company from the usual crowd."

"Yes, the evil little…" She scowled at her friend's back, then turned back to him, smiling. "I would like that very much. Thank you."

"No problem." He held out his arm to her. "Come, we are just over here."

"Who is 'we'?" she asked as they walked through the crowd.

"The Fellowship. We got given our own table. Aragorn is trying to get as many maidens as he can to sit with us, to 'make up the room'. He just wants to look popular."

She laughed. "That's understandable. He obviously needs some more friends. Perhaps he does not have many?"

Legolas laughed. "No, he's been stuck with us for too long." They reached the table, and Legolas let her sit down. He sat beside her. "Everyone, this is Anaróre. You might remember her."

"Aye, I remember the young lassie," Gimli said gruffly from behind his goblet. He raised it to her. "Good evening to you Miss."

"Evening Master Gimli."

"Anaróre!"

She grinned at the two Hobbits. "Merry, Pippin."

They slid down out of their seats and hurried over to her. "You're eating with us tonight?" Merry asked.

"Yes, is that ok?"

"That's brilliant!" Pippin exclaimed, the grin running from one side of his small face to the other.

"Sit next to me," she told him, pulling the chair out. He jumped up, and Merry sat on his other side. She turned, smiling to Legolas. He gave her a questioning look. "I met them yesterday whilst walking. We talked for quite a while."

"I see." He leaned forward to talk to Pippin. "When were you two left alone then?"

"Yesterday morning. You had disappeared somewhere, Aragorn and Boromir were practising their sword skills with Gimli watching, and Frodo and Sam had gone off for a walk. We were stuck with each other." Merry screwed his nose up in a way that Anaróre found extremely adorable. "Not that we minded. We found Lady Anaróre anyway and talked with her all morning."

"And then I met you in the afternoon," she said to him.

He sat back and picked up his goblet again, swirling the liquid round. Aragorn, without even turning away from his conversation with Boromir, grabbed it out of his grasp and placed it just out of his reach. Legolas punched his back, and Aragorn hit him on the leg.

"Don't start all that again laddie," Gimli warned the Elf, grinning through his bushy beard.

Legolas raised his eyebrow. Anaróre had noticed he tended to do that a lot. "What do you mean, 'start all that again'?"

"You know very well what I mean. I was watching you two earlier."

"I…"

"No, no arguments laddie. Watching you spin that goblet round was making the rest of us feel quite dizzy."

Legolas just stared at the Dwarf for a moment, then sighed, defeated. "Fine."

Anaróre had watched the entire exchange with curiosity. Something was up, and she wanted to know what. Legolas didn't seem very… happy. Rather forlorn and tired.

"Legolas," she said softly, placing her hand over one on his. "Is something the matter?"

He shook his head. "No, don't worry. I'm just…"

"Tired?"

He nodded. "I don't know what has come over me these past couple of days."

"Don't worry about it. After a few days good rest, you'll be back to your normal self."

He stared at the table for a moment, then looked up at her. "You're probably right. Look; let's forget all that happened yesterday. Let's have fun tonight." He looked her up and down, and Anaróre suddenly felt very awkward again. "You look…amazing by the way."

"You think so?" Her cheeks were growing warm.

He nodded. "Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful."

"Don't say it too loud. People might hear." She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"There's no need to be embarrassed Anaróre. It's only the truth."

"But it's a dress!"

"A very nice dress too I might add." He grinned, and Anaróre felt slightly better. "You'll be dancing with me later."

"I don't know, I…"

"Yes, you will. No excuses. After some food and drink, we'll be first out on that floor."
"You dare!"

He laughed. "Ok then, maybe not first. Second?"

She playfully slapped his arm.

Well there you have it. Next chapter should be up pretty soon cos the school hols begin on Friday! YES!!!!!

Ah hem... Regains composure and dignity.

Faerlain