Thranduil found Harune hanging fresh curtains over the windows in the family room. As he pulled up a chair and took a curtain out of Harune's arm to hang up, Harune glanced at him. "I take it you have said all your helloes?"

Thranduil pulled the curtain rod through the lilac curtains and nodded. "Yes, though I wish Ailunai was here."

"When you begin to learn your passion, as Ailunai is doing, nothing else matters," Harune said. He stepped off his chair and slid it back to the table. "But she sent you a letter." He held up a light green envelope.

Thranduil finished with his curtain and jumped down. He slid his chair back to its place and opened the envelope. Five words were on the piece of paper inside, but the five words made him smile. Am coming home. Love, Ailunai.

"Ailunai is coming home," Thranduil said. "Ada, do you know of any good orphanages? It is possible for there to be good orphanages?"

"There is a place not far from here called Briar Ridge," Harune answered. "It is a nice place. Why?"

Thranduil related Jailil's stories. "Jailil wants to convince the healing ward to send future . . . abandoned elflings to a good place instead of any old place with an opening. I thought maybe if Briar Ridge was big enough, it could be a better home for future waifs than most other orphanages."

"It is kind of you to think so, Thranduil, and no doubt true, but expansions cost gold and Briar Ridge is run by a single woman and her father's inheritance."

"I am sure donations are accepted," Thranduil said. "There is a gala ball this evening in my honor."

Harune raised his eyebrows. "What do you have in mind?"

"Tickets!" Thranduil said. "Now you must excuse me; I must greet Ailunai."

Thranduil trod a quick path to the kitchen gardens. The beds showed no signs of life yet since it was early spring. He met Ailunai in the dell past the herb patch and found her sitting on the stone bench he had not sat on since last spring. He sat down beside her.

Dressed in green with her gold hair tied in a braid, Ailunai made a pretty picture when she smiled at him. "I knew you would know where to find me."

"Are you enjoying your work?"

Ailunai flung out her arms and her swallow-tailed sleeves swept the bench. "It is beautiful! The trees and I communicate without touch and I can feel the whole forest dying and being reborn around me. If I concentrate deeply enough, I can begin to travel through Mirkwood through the eyes of the trees."

Interrupted by the clamoring of Jailil, Hyrondal, and Nimrethil, Thranduil sat up straight.

"I hear you disobey official orders at an astounding rate," Ailunai said to Hyrondal.

Hyrondal flushed. "Thrice only and, in my defense, I made the right choice every time."

Nimrethil, bundled in a coat with fur exploding at her wrists and neck, shivered. "Let us not linger in this miserable chill when hot tea is waiting inside."

Ailunai rose and her wool cloak swept the grass as she followed Nimrethil, Hyrondal, and Jailil into the kitchens. She held Thranduil's hand until they sat down at a clean table near the brick ovens. Nimrethil hung up her coat and clattered cups, saucers, milk, sugar, and spoons onto a tray.

"I love your coat," Ailunai told Nimrethil, as she poured tea and handed round cookies.

Nimrethil smiled proudly and waved her hand. "Ah, I am able to afford some of the finer things in life now."

"I hear there is a gala ball tonight," Ailunai said, turning to Thranduil with her teacup in hand.

Thranduil wrinkled his nose. "Oropher wishes to officially welcome me home and introduce me to someone."

"Oo," said Nimrethil. "It will be a lady."

Thranduil scowled at her. "Be quiet, Nimrethil! It is not as if you sold hundreds of cookies for that coat of yours; no doubt it was from a—"

"An admirer," Nimrethil snapped. She sniffed.

Thranduil snorted. "I should like to say that Jailil brought to my attention the severe shortcomings of the healing ward when it comes to—to unwanted elflings. Ada told me of an orphanage called Briar Ridge not far from here that would happily receive and treat well any future orphans if only it was a wee bit bigger. Therefore, I propose we ticket the upcoming gala ball and donate all proceeds to Briar Ridge."

"You cannot charge an entry fee without at least offering entertainment!" Ailunai exclaimed. She tapped the side of her cup with her fingernail. "I have an idea, but I fear we will not have time to practice."

"You know," Nimrethil said. "Us poor servants want to welcome you home as well, Thranduil."

"Then let us have a ball down here," Thranduil said. "In the kitchens. I promise to come."

A slow smile decorated Nimrethil's face. "I will arrange it."

"Bring your coat admirer," Hyrondal told her.

"It is good of you to lend a hand in my troubles," Jailil said.

"That is what friends are for," Thranduil replied. "Besides, as Prince, I need to help drive change."

"What is your entertainment plan, Ailunai?" Hyrondal asked.

"We will perform a tree dance," Ailunai said.

"Nonsense!" Nimrethil cried. "I do not know the trees!"

"You all know the trees," Ailunai replied. "Hyrondal, you know the forest through the sword, while you know the trees through the plants you use to heal, Jailil. you know the ground through the food you cook, Nimrethil, and you, Thranduil, know the trees because they are as much your family as Harune. We will tap into your energy and put on a dance to rival the valar!"

"Now this," said Thranduil, "Is starting to sound like fun."

Come evening, Thranduil perused the empty ballroom, glad there were windows as he walked the marble floor along the floor-length glass and admired the frost clinging to the grass outside and the icicles hanging from the naked trees.

Tapered candles lit this ballroom and a low trestle table stood study under its load of platters and jugs. Thranduil sniffed the wine before he went up to his room to change.

Harune had laid out a green silk tunic and black leather boots. Thranduil resisted the urge to braid his blond hair and instead combed it smooth before he plaited two thin braids and used them to wrap around his head. He stared at himself in his wardrobe mirror as he set his silver circlet on his head. He stood so confidently, shoulders back and eyes ahead. Impossible to see his pounding heart.

Thranduil straightened the cloth around his shoulders and stepped out into the hall. Harune was waiting for him, a peaceful image in a rusty brown robe with swallow-tailed sleeves.

The ballroom was now alive with noise when Thranduil and Harune approached the archway leading in. The doors were closed and Hyrondal and Jailil stood guard, opening the door only when gold coins were dropped into their hands.

"Almost everyone on the guest list has arrived," Hyrondal told Thranduil. "We missed the chance to ticket Oropher, but he was already inside when we set up."

Jailil let out a breath. "We have dealt with some stubborn nobility too! Five gold coins is practically nothing to them and yet all we get is fuss."

Thranduil dropped ten coins into Hyrondal's hand. "Well, I am fair and pay my entrance fee despite not wanting to attend this event. Join us when the last guests have arrived."

Harune lingered two steps behind as Thranduil strode into the ballroom to expectant fanfare. Silk skirts and boots parted for him as Thranduil joined Oropher and Natelle and bowed to them.

"We feared you would be late," Natelle remarked. Her red dress rustled as she turned to the young woman at her side. "Thranduil, meet Lady Marseille Enchante."

"Enchanted," Thranduil replied, as he bowed over her pale hand. But he was far from it; with her painted lips and glittering eyelids most of her beauty was lost, and she was a doll in a layered blue and white beaded dress, her tiny feet in heeled slippers.

Oropher beckoned to Thranduil and drew him aside. "If I may have a word? I do not approve of ticketing."

"Perhaps not," Thranduil replied. "But surely you are proud of me for coming up with yet another way to take money from our people."

Oropher's head reared back. "I do not care for your implications! In our society, tickets are a vulgarity."

Thranduil dipped his head. "It is more of an entry fee, my king."

"Even worse!" Oropher snapped. "You will apologize to this ballroom immediately." He swept his black and gold mantle over his elbows and strode away, his loose hair bouncing against his back.

Hyrondal and Jailil drifted to Thranduil's side. "The last guests have arrived. Nimrethil and Ailunai are waiting."

Thranduil walked to stand in front of a window. Jailil tapped a wineglass to silence the room.

"Ladies," Thranduil said. "And gentlemen. No doubt you are wondering at the slightly unorthodox entry fee you were charged. Please, let your minds be at rest knowing your kind contributions will feed and clothe any number of orphans; orphans who are far less fortunate than yourselves. Your contributions will be remembered. As a small thank you, my friends and I extend our gratitude by way of this dance."

Ailunai and Nimrethil stepped to Thranduil's side. Ailunai began the dance with her arms above her head, swaying as a snake might sway from the bottom down. The ruffled hem of her dress swung at her ankles.

Thranduil, Jailil, Nimrethil, and Hyrondal took up the dance on by one, mirroring Ailunai's movement until she broke into a slow arabesque. With the trees visible through the window behind her, Ailunai shifted her form to fit their profiles and, slowly, the trees began to move their shadows with her.

Icicles pattered to the ground as the trees swayed with the dance of the five elves, spreading their silvered branches to match the tendrils of Ailunai's hair and the point of all ten hands.

Ailunai moved light on her feet, pattering her footsteps, jerking forward, falling back. In the silence, she was the sun, the everything, until she bowed low and tossed her head as she drew her shoulders up. Outside, the trees bent low to follow her lead before snapping straight up.

Ailunai stopped breathless. Polite applause greeted her.

"Beautiful!" she cried. "I have never been able to move so many trees on my own."

The sudden outburst of piano music offset Thranduil's beating heart and caused his connection with the tree roots in his feet to fade. His smile faded a little.

Ailunai pressed Thranduil's hand. "You have duties now, Thranduil. We will be outside." She slipped away with her friends and Thranduil stood alone.

As the floor cleared, Thranduil approached Marseille and offered her his hand. She smiled at him and moved out onto the floor, her head and shoulders thrown back. Slowly the floor filled as more couples joined in the dance.

"Tell me," Marseille said, "Do you enjoy hunting?"

"I shall soon join the hunt," Thranduil answered, as he twirled her around.

"And riding?"

"I love riding," Thranduil said. "The forest is full of secrets waiting to be found."

"We must ride together sometime," Marseille said.

"We must," Thranduil said. Near the archway, he handed her off as the dancers switched partners, but he slipped out of the circle and left the ballroom. His friends waited for him at the nearest door into the servants' passages.

Thranduil offered his arms to Ailunai and Nimrethil and they strolled down toward the kitchens. The kitchens were warm and a blast of jolly music; elves were jigging and screaming with laughter over tall tales and warm cider. A cry went up as Thranduil entered.

"We must do the tree dance again," Ailunai said, and giggled.

"She stole a pitcher of wine," Hyrondal said to Thranduil.

"Never!" Thranduil exclaimed.

"It was punch," Ailunai said, and stuck her tongue out at Hyrondal.

"Definitely," Hyrondal teased. "Punch."

NOTICE: There will be no update to My Prince next week. Instead cue a holiday special: A Nin Chronicles Yule

Thank you all so much for reading! Our tree is up and festive preparations in the making. We even got a small shower of snow.

Share your thoughts, suggestions, feelings . . . all comments are deeply appreciated!