The whole crowd followed Farothwen and Glorohtar to the feast hall, everyone in high spirits. When Farothwen turned to see everyone, she laughed when she saw the joyful faces of the Elves. Their beauty and happiness warmed her heart. At last she had helped give back what they had helped give her.

Everyone filed into the feast hall, Farothwen, Glorohtar and their party seated at the high table that overlooked the hall, in the seats that were normally reserved for the Lord and Lady. Farothwen, Glorohtar and Beleglor had never sat at this table before, feeling very out of place as they did so. Farothwen gently ran her hand over the beautifully carved chair that usually belonged to Celebrían, feeling very honoured indeed to be sitting in her place.

Seated on Glorohtar's end of the table of eight, Elrond stood, prompting all present to do the same. He cleared his throat.

'Now is not the time for lengthy speeches and lays,' he said, 'for tonight belongs to all of us in the celebration of these two people, whom we have come to know and love dearly. Now is the time to feast, drink, dance and be merry, for happy times such as these are becoming rare to us.' He raised his goblet. 'Hail Glorohtar and Farothwen! May their lives be filled with joy!'

'Hail!' the Elves cried, and all drank to them. Elrond then smiled and gestured to the long tables that filled the hall.

'Let the feast begin!'

Food was brought quickly to the tables, much to the delight of the Elves, for it was a long time since a feast of this scale was held. All manner of dishes was brought to them, including many meats, fruits, vegetables, salads, soups, and nuts, plus plenty of fine wine to go with it. The Elves merrily ate, their conversation and laughter filling the hall. Farothwen also ate, as she had not eaten all day and her nerves soon gave way to hunger. She had hoped Lord Elrond had not heard her stomach grumble as she knelt before him. She laughed at the thought as Glorohtar graciously carved a piece of venison for her.

'What are you laughing at?' he asked her with a twinkle in his eye.

She smiled at him. 'Nothing.'

He placed a hand on her cheek. 'You looked so beautiful today. I'm so proud of you.' He gently kissed her. 'I love you so much, Farry.'

'I love you too, Glorohtar.' Farothwen took his hand. 'Thank you. For everything.'

He rewarded her with a slight smile, as handsome and gorgeous as he was when they first met, his blue eyes full of light and happiness, the silver circlet on his golden head making him look like a great Elf-prince. Although she loved him, Farothwen was in awe of him and still felt inferior.

'I would do it all again,' Glorohtar said in his gentle voice, 'as long as I had you by my side. I would do anything for you, and I hope that you'll always remember that.' He took her right hand, forever scarred by her torment in the Ered Hithaeglir, and kissed it. 'I will die for you.'

Tears appeared in her eyes. 'I know,' Farothwen whispered.

'My love, do not cry. There will be time for sadness, but it is not now. Be happy. This day is for us.' He wiped her tears and kissed her again. 'Come on,' he smiled, 'cheer up. If you do not dance by the end of the night, I shall be sorely disappointed.'

Farothwen laughed. 'I cannot dance, Glor.'

'How do you know? You've never even tried!'

'All right. I will dance tonight, just for you, even though I do not possess the style or grace of your people.'

Glorohtar leaned in and whispered in her ear. 'After a few glasses of wine, neither do they.'

Farothwen laughed loudly. This got Beleglor's attention as he was talking to Arwen, who was seated next to him. He looked to see her laughing, the happiest she had been for a while. She didn't see his huge smile nor the tears of pride in his eyes. Arwen smiled wisely. 'You should be proud, Master Beleglor. She is a fine woman, and you gave her the best possible start.'

'But she only blossomed with Glorohtar's love. I kept her sheltered all these years.'

'That was for her own good, you know that. But now she is grown and she has chosen her own fate. She is wild and free, as she should be. Let her go to live her own life.'

'I have, Lady Arwen. Her life is no longer in my hands. Her future lies with Glorohtar, dearer than son, and to whatever path they may take together. I can still see the day when she was but a baby, lying in my arms. She is not a child anymore.'

'You are still her father, no matter what happens. She will still need you.'

'As I will need her.'

The feast was starting to wind down, the tables almost clear. Everyone present was starting to slowly drift out to the main courtyard, and the musicians were preparing. The sun was setting on the western horizon, and the courtyard was decorated beautifully with strings of candles and garlands among the trees.

Farothwen turned to Glorohtar and smiled. 'I'm ready to take you up on your challenge.'

'I'm ready to see you.' He turned to Lord Elrond at the end of the table. 'My lord, may we have your leave to join the rest?'

'Of course, Glorohtar! We are ready to dance ourselves. All formality ends here. This is for you, go and dance!'

Glorohtar and Farothwen got up and bowed to the table, thanking them for their wedding, and then ran to join the party in full swing outside.

Celebrían watched them go, and turned to her daughter. 'I can only hope that you will be so happy, Arwen.'

'I do too, Nana. But I fear for them. I have a feeling that something will befall them.'

'Nothing will happen for many years yet, my dearest. Come, will you dance? I'm sure everyone is wondering if you can dance as well as your foremother.'

Arwen chuckled. 'I fear that many will be disappointed, but I will try.' She turned to Beleglor on her other side and stood.

'Master Beleglor, may I have this dance?' she asked, offering her hand. He smiled, kissed her hand, and stood.

'I would be honoured, Lady Undómiel.' He offered his arm and led her out of the hall as her family also stood to join the party.

The music was very fast and lively, and the Elves were dancing accordingly. Glorohtar was right: some of them were not as graceful as they may have been normally, but Farothwen was enjoying the sight as she danced next to Amarien and Tauriel, Glorohtar content to watch her from the sidelines. She danced with her arms in the air, twirling about occasionally, giving her husband a few sneaky looks as she did so. He laughed and applauded. Farothwen was so caught up in the music she didn't realise she was standing on her skirts. She took one step backwards and tripped, falling back, crying out. Luckily, the head of the Imladris Guard was there to catch her.

As she fell into the arms of Glorfindel, she could hear his melodious laugh. 'Ah, Mistress Farothwen, fancy seeing you here!'

She laughed as he placed her on her feet. 'Well, Master Glorfindel, trust this Adan to be the most ungraceful of all gathered here.'

'At least you are sober. Besides, I would not want to be responsible for you hitting your bottom for the second time today.'

Farothwen giggled. 'I was glad for that. I was so close to tears, a laugh was what I needed.'

'And yet you still cried.'

'What can I say, I'm a soft soul.'

Glorfindel smiled. 'Between you and me, I was glad I was wearing that helmet. I think nearly all of us were in tears.' He held his hand out as the music changed to a slightly slower song. 'May I have this dance?'

'Would you catch me again if I fell on you?'

He grinned. 'Of course.' He took her hand and before Farothwen knew it, she was swept up into an energetic dance that required all her energy just to keep up with Glorfindel as they moved as a part of a larger circle of dancers, mostly the younger Elves. Farothwen did not know the dance, but she learned quickly that it required a lot of spinning. Glorfindel spun her around twice and then let go, and Farothwen's hands were taken by Elladan as the maidens moved onto their new partners. Elladan laughed at her face as they danced, taking care to be slightly more gentle than the vigorous Glorfindel.

'You look ever so dizzy, Farothwen.'

'That's because I am!'

Thankfully, Farothwen was beginning to pick up the steps and she knew what to expect as Elladan spun her to meet Elrohir. He was even gentler with her than Elladan.

'You looked so beautiful, Farothwen. We're all so proud of you.'

'I have you to thank, Elrohir. If you did not hear me, I would have died.'

'It makes us all happy to see you in bliss. You will stay, won't you?'

Farothwen smiled as he spun her. 'Of course!'

She looked up to see that she had fallen into Glorohtar's arms. He was grinning.

'You passed the challenge admirably.'

'Good to hear!'

Glorohtar and Farothwen did not know the steps as well as the Rivendell Elves, so they occasionally bumped into Elrohir and Bainwen beside them, who did not mind a bit. As Glorohtar spun Farothwen to meet her next partner, the music stopped. All the Elves applauded the wonderful musicians. A slow song started up, and everyone was dancing, even the elder Elves. Glorohtar held Farothwen close and gently swayed to the music. Farothwen laid her head on his chest.

'At last we're finally here,' Glorohtar said, 'among our family and friends. The whole of Arda now knows how much I love you.'

Farothwen looked up at him and smiled. 'I'm so glad. We've waited so long and been through so much…'

Farothwen bowed her head, thinking of the torment both she and Glorohtar had suffered at the hands of Hirogaer, and Farothwen's torture in the mountains, the reminders of which would never go away. Glorohtar took Farothwen's scarred hand in his, his fingers interlacing with hers.

'Farothwen. Look at me.'

With his other hand he tilted her chin up to look at him. He cupped her face in his hands.

'I promise you that I will keep you safe. I promise you that I will not let you be hurt again in any way, and I would die to keep my promise. I would rather suffer a thousand hurts than see you cry out of sadness again. Smile for me, my love. Laugh and be happy.'

'I am happy, Glor. I am happier than you will ever know. But our path will be filled with sadness.'

'I know, but that will not come to pass for many years yet. Do not look to the future just yet. For now, it's just you and me and that is all I need.'

Glorohtar gently caressed Farothwen's cheek and she smiled. She looked so beautiful in that moment, in the light of the dusk, the stars and the candles, under the blossoming trees, the stone in her circlet, the same colour as her eyes, glittering, that he could not wait a moment longer. He kissed her deeply, passionately, his touch saying so much more than words ever could. She kissed him with just as much love and passion, the nimble fingers on her left hand gently running through his hair and delicately touching the pointed tips of his ears. It seemed like an eternity before their lips parted, and yet no one saw what had just happened. Silently, their arms resumed their place around each other, Farothwen's head on Glorohtar's chest. Farothwen giggled as she looked around at the slow dancing Elves.

Glorohtar smiled, looking down at her. 'What is it?'

Farothwen indicated with her eyes. 'Ada.'

Glorohtar looked over and grinned. Beleglor was dancing with the Lady Arwen, much in the same manner as Glorohtar and Farothwen, apart from the obvious height difference. Farothwen smiled. Her father looked to be genuinely happy for the first time in his life, and he looked ever so sweet dancing with Arwen.

Glorohtar's eye caught a couple over Farothwen's shoulder. 'Look at that,' he said.

Farothwen turned around and saw Celebrían and Elrond dancing together. They complemented each other so well, and were the perfect couple.

'No one can be more in love than they,' said Farothwen. 'Even after thousands of years of marriage.'

Glorohtar smiled. 'Be fair, my love. We have to condense thousands of years of love and marriage into a couple of hundred years.'

'Think we can do it?'

'Of course!'

The slow song finished, and everyone clapped. A lively song started, and many of the older Elves left to sit on the side, including Glorohtar, who farewelled Farothwen with a kiss. She danced beside Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen, while Glorfindel danced with a pretty blonde maiden nearby. Farothwen saw her father nearby.

'Ada! Dance with us!'

He smiled and shook his head. 'No, my dearest, I'll just sit this one out. I'm not a good dancer.'

'I beg to differ, Master Beleglor,' Arwen replied. 'Come!'

Elladan and Elrohir dragged Beleglor by his sleeves into their circle, Beleglor feigning reluctance. Farothwen spotted Elrond talking to Erestor.

'Master Elrond! Master Erestor! Come join us!'

Erestor smiled. 'I would be honoured, Mistress Farothwen.'

Elladan and Elrohir's jaws dropped. Erestor had never, ever danced or even attended any sort of party as long as they had walked this earth.

'W-why the sudden change of heart, Erestor?' stammered Elladan.

'Oh please, Elladan. Even the most stuffiest advisor has to let his hair down sometime,' Erestor replied as he danced rather well next to Arwen. Elladan and Elrohir had to admit, he had loosened up a bit ever since Arwen was born, out of his love for her.

Elrond politely shook his head. 'Not tonight, Farothwen, but thank you.'

'Oh, Ada! You haven't danced properly for ages!' Elrohir protested.

'I just danced with your mother.'

'That's not properly!' Elladan dragged Elrond into the circle. 'Loosen up! Have a night off! Have fun, Ada!'

'I am having fun, Elladan!' He sighed. 'Oh, all right, I will,' he grumbled. 'For Farothwen.'

'That's the spirit, Ada!' Elrohir cried as the pipe started up. He took Elladan's arms and both of them danced a wonderful jig in the middle of the circle, everyone else clapping to the beat and laughing in delight. When the song finished, there was a large applause as Elladan and Elrohir breathlessly bowed. Elrond clapped loudest and grinned widest.

'Who taught you that?' he asked.

Elladan grinned and looked over to someone to the side. 'Nana did.'

Elrond looked at his wife in surprise, who grinned back sheepishly. After nearly three thousand years together, she was still full of surprises.

That was the last song, as the moon was high and everyone was tired and needed to go to bed. Farothwen and Glorohtar stood at the top of the stairs and thanked everyone for coming as they headed past them towards their own beds. Everyone stopped to hug and kiss them and wish them luck, which was answered with a lot of smiles. At last, Elrond, Celebrían, Elladan, Elrohir, Arwen, Beleglor, Erestor and Glorfindel walked up the stairs. Farothwen embraced each one of them, thanking them profusely. She was met with smiles and hugs and kisses, as was Glorohtar.

Finally, they were left alone on the stairway.

'Farry,' Glorohtar said, 'I can honestly say that this has been the best day of my life.'

She smiled at him. 'Mine too. I hope we have many more happy days like this to come.'

'Maybe not, for today will be hard to beat.'

'I know, Glor.'

Glorohtar's hand slid around her waist. Farothwen turned her head and kissed him.

'I love you,' she said.

'I love you too. Come on,' he said, taking her hand, 'let's get to bed.'

They slowly walked up to their room, stopping to marvel at the beautiful night that was given to them, under the stars and moonlight. But finally, fatigue overtook beauty, and they retired to bed, blissful and peaceful at last.