Lithorniel came to check on Katie just before bed that night. To her surprise, Katie regarded her with a sly smile. "Imagine, keeping the news to yourself like that," she said.
Lithorniel looked at her quizzically.
"You didn't tell me you were betrothed!" Katie exclaimed.
Lithorniel blushed prettily and held up her right hand to display the silver ring on her index finger. "To Glawar. Who told you?" she asked, sitting down beside Katie before the fire.
"Elrohir," Katie answered. "He said your houses met?"
Lithorniel nodded. "It is the custom of our people to bring together our two houses in order to announce a betrothal. They witness the exchanging of betrothal rings." She frowned for a moment. "It was a joyous occasion, but for the absence of Gúrvel."
Katie nodded; she remembered that Gúrvel was the name of Glawar's older brother, who had killed himself during Dorlarth's uprising.
"Glawar and I knew each other when we were young, of course, but we never spent very much time together," Lithorniel continued. "But since he came to serve Lord Elrond we saw more of each other." She smiled shyly. "Our parents were not averse to the match, and so we plighted troth." Seeing that Katie was listening with interest, she proceeded to explain about Elvish marriage customs.
"Most Eldar marry, just as most humans do," she began. "Usually we marry soon after we turn fifty, that being the age at which we are generally full-grown, although for some they do not reach their full stature until a hundred."
Katie raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Elrohir did tell me that a hundred-year-old elf was considered a young adult," she conceded. "It's hard for me to imagine."
"I'm sure it must be," Lithorniel said understandingly.
"How old are you and Glawar? If you don't mind me asking."
"Not at all. I am sixty-five, and Glawar is seventy-two."
Katie whistled between her teeth. "You're about the same age as my grandma, then," she said, shaking her head. "Anyway, go on."
"The betrothal must stand for at least a year, and generally for longer," Lithorniel continued. "It is a form, really: betrothals among elves are rarely ever revoked. We know our own minds." She smiled merrily. "If it is revoked, the two parties publicly melt down their rings and they are never used for betrothal again. Once the betrothal has stood for at least a year, Glawar and I will decide on the day of the wedding.
"Our two houses will meet again, and have a feast. Afterwards, my mother and Glawar's father will join our hands and bless us. Then we will give back the silver rings to one another and exchange gold ones instead. And it is also our custom that my mother will give a jewel on a chain to Glawar and that his father will give a similar gift to me. How is the marriage custom among your own people? For I am sure it differs from that of the Men here."
"Well, where I'm from, marriage is primarily a legal definition," Katie said. "Two people who want to get married can do so in front of a public official, like a judge. But some people want the ceremony to be held in a church. They seat the bride's family and friends on the left and the groom's on the right, and the groom waits at the front of the church with the minister. Then the groom's particular friends, the groomsmen, process down the aisle with the bride's particular friends, the bridesmaids. The groom's best friend is usually the "best man" and the bride's best friend, the "maid of honor"—or "matron of honor" if she's married. They sometimes also have a young boy be the "ring bearer" and a young girl be the "flower girl".
"Finally, the bride processes up the aisle, escorted by her father, who then "gives her away" to the groom. Then the minister goes through the ceremony, culminating in the exchanging of gold rings, and then the couple kisses. After the ceremony, everyone gets together and has the feast. And that has its own little customs—the bride dances with her father and the groom with his mother, and the bride and groom dance together, and they cut the wedding cake together and feed one another a piece of it, or they entwine their arms and drink wine with their arms linked… Sometimes people will clink their silverware against their glasses or stomp their feet, and that's a signal that they want to see the bride and groom kiss." Lithorniel smiled at that. "It's also usually a tradition for the best man and the maid of honor to each give a speech and toast the bride and groom. At the end of the feast, the bride throws her bouquet over her shoulder, and they say that the woman who catches it will be the next to be married. They also used to have a tradition where the groom tossed the bride's garter over his shoulder to the men, and then the man that caught it had to put the garter on the woman who caught the bouquet, but that's rarely done anymore.
"Finally, the bride and groom leave the reception, and as they go, the guests line up on either side of them and toss rice on them."
"What is rice?" Lithorniel asked, puzzled.
"Oh, I guess you don't have it here. It's a kind of grain. It's supposed to symbolize plenty," Katie answered, then concluded, "but every wedding's different. People tend to pick and choose which traditions they want to do, and so every wedding ends up being unique."
Lithorniel nodded, smiling. "I rather like hearing about all those traditions; they are quite interesting. I believe hobbit weddings are rather like the weddings you are describing."
"Hobbits?" Katie asked. "Are those the Halflings?"
Lithorniel nodded. "Charming little people," she commented, rising. "It is late, and I mustn't keep you up any longer. Good night!"
000
"The High Elves are those that went to Valinor," Katie recited carefully. "The Vanyar, or the "Fair Elves" or "Light Elves" were the first host to go to Valinor, and stayed there. Their king, Ingwë, is High King of the elves and lives on Taniquetil beneath the halls of Manwë."
Erestor nodded, pleased. "Go on."
"The Noldor, or "Deep Elves" all went to Valinor, but some came back to Middle-earth. Most of the elves of Rivendell are Noldorin.
"The Teleri, or "Third Clan" was the biggest group. The Falmari went to Aman and lived in Alqualondë by the sea. The Sindar, or "Grey Elves" stayed in Beleriand under the rule of Thingol, and are considered Elves of the Twilight. Some of them stayed under Círdan the Shipwright by the shore, and they were the Falathrim. The Nandor started for Valinor, but turned back and followed Lenwë, and the elves of Lothlórien and Wood-elves Mirkwood are Nandorin and Silvan—the Silvan elves did pretty much the same thing. Some of the Nandor became the Laiquendi, or the "Green Elves" of Ossiriand."
"Very good!" Erestor exclaimed. "You are coming along well."
Katie heaved a huge sigh and leaned back in her chair. "I hope I can still remember all of that tomorrow," she said pessimistically. "All those little subdivisions drive me crazy—and I'm still not sure I understand the difference between the Nandor and the Silvan elves."
"Well, let us concentrate on something else for awhile, then," Erestor conceded. "Can you remember the names of the Valar from two days ago?"
Katie frowned and stared at the ceiling in thought. "Manwë, King of the Valar, who rules over the winds and air. His spouse, Varda, who put the stars in the sky. Ulmo, the Lord of Waters; Yavanna, the Giver of Fruits; her spouse, Aulë the Smith. Nienna, who has pity; Oromë the Huntsman; and Mandos or Námo, the Doomsman of the Valar. Those are the Aratar, or eight greatest Valar. Then there's Yavanna's sister Vána Ever-young, the spouse of Oromë, and the flowers open and birds sing at her coming." Katie paused and smiled. "I think she's my favorite." Erestor smiled back in encouragement, and Katie continued. "Irmo, or Lórien, brother of Nienna and Mandos, and his spouse Estë the Gentle. Mandos' spouse Vairë, who weaves stories." Katie paused and frowned again. "Who am I missing?"
"Tulkas, the strongest of the Valar, and his spouse Nessa, the sister of Oromë. She delights in dancing on the green lawns of Valimar."
Katie grinned again. "Ooh! I like her, too."
Erestor smiled at her enthusiasm. "Now, do you know where the Valar came from?" Katie shook her head and leaned forward, giving the elf her full attention. She had always enjoyed a good story at home, and the stories of the elves were always more than good—even those among them that weren't considered good story-tellers were better than most people at it. Katie assumed (with a private smile) that it must be all the centuries of practice.
"The Valar are a division of the Ainur, who are the offspring of the thoughts of Ilúvatar. There's also a division called the Maiar, which serve the Valar. And some of the Maiar came to Middle-earth. These are the Istari, or Wizards."
"Wizards!" Katie exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "We have stories about them where I'm from. How many are there?"
"Just five: Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast, Alatar and Pallando. Saruman the White is the chief of the order, and is great in knowledge. He lives in Orthanc tower in Isengard just outside Rohan. Gandalf the Grey, whom we call Mithrandir, wanders widely across Middle-earth, learning about its people. He associates not only with elves and men, but with dwarves and hobbits, and he is very wise. Radagast the Brown lives in Rhosgobel on the borders of Mirkwood and is very close to the animals. Alatar and Pallando are the blue wizards, and they traveled far into the east and—well, they were never heard from again. We do not know what success they may have had."
"Have you met the other three?" Katie asked, curious. "What are they like?"
"Mithrandir is wonderful," a voice spoke up from the doorway. Katie jumped and turned. It was Elrohir. "He visits here sometimes. Saruman is very… great in knowledge," he said tactfully, "and Radagast is the most gentle fellow you could ever hope to meet."
"And you just scared the spit out of me," Katie said dryly. "Erestor, didn't he startle you?"
"Oh no," Erestor said calmly, "I heard him coming."
Elrohir laughed at the face Katie made at her tutor. "Come, it is time for dinner."
As Katie and Erestor rose and joined him in the hall, Katie said wistfully, "I wish I could meet a real wizard."
"Perhaps you will someday," Erestor said. "After all, you have certainly met elves!"
"Yes, and they all seem determined to give me a coronary," Katie muttered.
AN: Hope this chapter wasn't too boring for you. The action should pick up again presently…
I thought it was interesting that at Elvish weddings, the feast comes before the ceremony, and in our weddings, it's the other way around. All information of Elvish wedding customs comes from "The Laws and Customs Among the Eldar" from Morgoth's Ring: The Later Silmarillion. It's a very interesting read. (I have the text of it on my computer, and if you'd like to read it, let me know and I'll email it to you.) An interesting point to mention: if you read The Fellowship of the Ring, Galadriel gives Aragorn a green stone on a chain. Since Arwen's mother, Celebrían (who is Galadriel's daughter, if you haven't picked that up yet) was in Aman, Galadriel stood in for her, and the stone on a chain was Aragorn's wedding gift.
Most of the information on the kindreds of the elves and the Valar comes from The Encyclopedia of Arda; the link is on my profile.
lunelwe: Actually it was Katie/elves and Katie/Elrohir in particular. You're not likely to see too much of the second kind of "bonding" in this fic; the elves wouldn't stand for it. :)
Ravens Destiny: I've heard that album's good. Right now I just want to buy The Phantom of the Opera. —swoons— "It will make you want to hit Elladan." Well, now that you mention it… The action is going to pick up a bit in the next couple of chapters… :) Oh for heaven's sake, don't burn one of my reviewers! Oh, you're just going to burn Mary Sue? Carry on, then. (And don't worry, Darkened Dreams, even the writer of "Don't Panic" mentioned someone once dying Glorfindel's hair green.)
Eleniel of the Stars: Hate to be nosy, but any particular reason she gave you that name? Just curious!. :)
Laer4572: Glad to see someone wondering what Katie's purpose is in Middle-earth this time…
Thanks also to IwishChan, Fk306, Hermione at Heart and Doredhiel!
Please review and stay tuned…