"So in this moment, I pronounce these Elves husband and wife. May your marriage be wreathed with happiness, and may your eternal lives endure whatever trials and tribulations Fate may place upon your road. Cuio mae! Veleth mae! A no i brestanneth anirach tirad vi amar!"
Meiou beamed happily at the King of Gondor, and she got a smile in return. She turned to head to her right, just as a pair of hands raised her silver veil off her face.
As the fabric lifted, the handsome, smiling face of the Mirkwood prince greeted her vision. She grinned, visibly happy in their union. Legolas grinned at her too, and with a jovial voice and a small shrug, he indicated the audience, "I guess I can kiss the bride now, can I?"
She didn't get the chance to answer, mainly because she was still smiling and that Legolas already bent down to give her the kiss she had been longing for.
The cheers of the people and the Elves of Ithilien deafened them, but they were happy. As they turned to face the city as husband and wife, Meiou could not resist but look at the throng of people.
The first people she saw was her parents, beaming with happiness, and both had tears in their eyes. She blew a soft kiss to them, and they sent her one of their own. She couldn't help but smile at her mother's youthful glow and her father's softer and kinder features.
Beside them were the two rulers of Ithilien, Faramir and Eowyn. She could see that they were grinning at them from ear to ear, clapping exuberantly. Meiou made eye contact with Eowyn, and she winked and made a mime of drinking something. She laughed and nodded.
Gimli sat beside Eowyn, his dwarven kin a few seats behind him. He laughed at them as he clapped, wiping a few tears of joy from his eyes. She smiled at him and blew him a kiss also, in which he mimed catching it in mid-air and slapping it on his face. She laughed again as she waved.
Slowly, lest she would step on her own train, Meiou went down the stairs to her friends and family. The moment her foot laid on the last step, a voice behind her whispered closely to her ear, "Your dress is wonderful, Lady Meiou."
She turned around to see the round face of Eomer, smiling greatly at her. She embraced him for a moment before saying, "I am glad you are here."
"And I am glad you are wearing Eowyn's dress." He remarked, looking down at her from head to toe. "Although I do not believe I have seen this train before."
"My ingenuity." They both looked to see Eowyn standing before Meiou, holding a small bouquet of flowers in her hand. "She told me before how much she loved the dress. I have been sewing the dress ever since she left for Mirkwood."
Beside her, Legolas laughed, "You should have been an Elf, Eowyn… your Foresight would certainly outmatch that of Elrond's."
Both Meiou and Eowyn laughed, and soon Gimli thrust himself towards his two friends, knocking the others around their knees.
"Sir Gimli!" Meiou exclaimed, and she bent down and kissed the dwarf on his forehead, "I am glad you made it."
Gimli blushed scarlet from Meiou's kiss, but he simply explained, "The door for Minas Tirith finished early. We brought the it here slowly, as we had enough time." He laughed suddenly, "We would've seen you earlier, Lady Meiou, but we fear that Legolas'…" He smirked suddenly, "obsession kept you from us."
Meiou laughed as she hugged her husband, who hugged her back with such ferocity that it made her dizzy with happiness. "Obsession isn't so bad, is it?"
The dwarf laughed again, "I guess it isn't."
"Enough talk." Aragorn said, he and Arwen came up behind them. "To the dining hall! Our conversations can be discussed there!" All of them laughed in accordance to the King of Gondors' wishes, and all of them trooped towards the doors of the castle.
But before they reached the door, a small voice came from somewhere around Meiou and Legolas' knees. They both looked down, and Meiou's face softened at the sight.
Just around their knees were the three of the four hobbits of the Shire, garbed obviously in their best frocks. One of them, a chubby one, whom Meiou had learned to be a Ringbearer named Samwise Gamgee, wore a fine coat of Elven gray and a brooch of Lothlorien with his Hobbiton trousers, shirt and vest. Beside him, his seemingly mischievous face grinning up at them, Peregrin Took wore his Gondor armor, a token given to him by Faramir during his days of being a Guard of the Citadel of Minas Tirith. And lastly, Meriadock Brandybuck, smiling up at Meiou with awe in his face, wore an overcoat with the emblem of Rohan, a kingly gift given to him by Eomer for his services as the Esquire of Rohan for the late King Theoden.
"Ah! Finally!" Pippin piped up the moment Legolas stopped greeting them with handshakes, "You've married! We've been waiting a long time for this."
"Have you?" Legolas' head cocked to the side as he gazed at him friends.
"Why, certainly!" Sam nodded, "Mister Frodo has been thinking of what's to become of you. He's been thinking about marrying to, just to settle down. But he wasn't able to… if you know what I'm saying…"
Sam's face glazed with sadness for a while, and Meiou knew that his sadness was caused by Frodo's abrupt leaving to the Undying Lands. She bowed down a bit and placed a gentle hand on Sam's shoulder. She smiled as the scarred hobbit looked at her, "I was not able to meet Frodo the Nine-fingered Ringbearer, but if he was here, I would've told him what I will tell you now…"
"Which is?" Pippin inquired.
"I will take care of Legolas, I will take care of him as a wife, as a woman and as a friend. I will bring him happiness in his life, to make up for everything he has endured." She smiled at the three, "You have nothing to worry about, my dear brave hobbits."
The three smiled and blushed, and it was Merry who finally spoke. "You comfort us with your words, Lady Meiou." And to Meiou's surprise, he suddenly blushed scarlet, "Legolas is very lucky to have married such a gentle, beautiful lady like you."
In her peripheral vision, Meiou saw Legolas beam with pride and blush at the compliment. She bent down and kissed the three hobbits at their foreheads, making Merry blush a bit more. She smiled at them, "I believe it is I who is lucky, to having met three of the bravest creatures that ever walked Ennorath…"
The three beamed at her proudly, and they bowed down low before them as they made their way into the castle. Meiou was about to follow them, when Legolas' arm snaked around her waist and pulled her towards one of the pillars.
Legolas smiled at her, as his arms snaked around her waist, "You mean what you say to them, woman, or else I shall…"
Meiou raised her chin up defiantly, but her mischievous grin defied her look of rebellion, "You shall what, sir? What dire punishment shall you bestow on me for breaking my vow of marriage to you?"
He grinned as he leaned forward threateningly, "Or else you shall be for ever tied to my bed."
Her face suddenly looked frightened. But a minute later, she grinned and said, "Well… that sounds like a very enjoying punishment. Would you like to 'punish' me later? After the marriage feast?"
Legolas laughed loudly. But as he looked down at Meiou again, he couldn't help but admire her again. He raised a hand to caress her hair under the veil when a thought came.
She says she's not beautiful, but now that I have her and married her, I feel as if not a single thing in Ennorath could ever surpass her beauty…
"Legolas?"
He snapped out of his reverie and smiled at her. He lowered his lips on hers, quieting her, before grinning at her again and nodding towards the dining hall.
"Come on, let's get this wedding feast over with so I can 'punish' you already."
The End - !
