A/N: Well, here it is - the final chapter of this story. I have one more Chronicle ready to post (in the next few days) and I'm presently working on an Elboron story that will be fairly long (probably at least 3 chapters, depending on how it turns out).

Chapter 3

The Spring Festival was in full swing. The first night of the street festival portion was always loud and rambunctious, and few saw their beds before the wee hours of morning, though they often regretted it when they had to rise early to begin the day.

Dariel had not felt up to venturing into town for the activities, so Elfwine and Freawine had gone together, wandering about as they enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. The pair even tried their hand at a few games and did some dancing. After more than an hour, Elfwine was considering returning home, having promised his wife he would not stay out late. But first, there was one more thing he needed to do.

It did not take long to locate Feladyrne. He was seated with his friend Dengel and several other riders, enjoying some ale after a warm session of energetic dancing. Elfwine and Freawine watched the group for a moment from the shadows, then each collected a tankard of ale and moved toward the table to join them. Freawine and Dengel served in the same eored, so the association was not unusual, and they were greeted heartily.

"Talking of women, I expect?" Freawine asked, taking a swallow of ale, and the men chuckled in admission.

"What man does not think, and speak, of women?" Elfwine said, rhetorically. He paused, then added, "But I am glad men of the Riddermark have honor, and respect, for women."

His comment drew all eyes to him, and he continued, "Do you know, my friend Eldarion tells me there are men in Gondor who will seek to take liberties with young ladies, and then brag of their successes. And, should she reject their advances, they will lie, and claim what never occurred, thus sullying her reputation and good name." His eyes flicked to Feladyrne, and Elfwine held the man's gaze briefly. Then, glancing down, he lifted his mug and took a swallow before commenting, "I am glad men of Rohan are not like that. Should I ever hear of someone doing such a thing to a woman of my acquaintance, I fear I could not hold my temper in seeking retribution on her behalf." Again his eyes met Feladyrne's, pointedly, and the other man clearly took his meaning.

Finishing his drink as the others murmured agreement with his sentiment, Elfwine rose. "Well, my friends, I should get home to my wife. Enjoy your evening."

Freawine drained his mug and stood also. "I will go with you. It has been a long day."

With that, the two departed. Only Feladyrne seemed to have noticed where Elfwine's comments were directed, for which he was relieved. He had bragged a time or two about his conquests, and had considered claiming such with Tamwen, to spite her for the failed outcome. However, bloodying Caffola's nose was one thing; raising the ire of the royal family entirely another. All things considered, he thought he'd just as soon forget he ever met Tamwen.

xxxx

At breakfast the next morning, Lothiriel eyed Caffola as she handed him a basket of bread. "How long are you here for, dearest?"

Caffola took the basket, selecting a slice of bread, and then passing it on to Theodwyn. "Byldan has given me a fortnight, so well over a week yet," he answered.

"Good," Lothiriel smiled. "We can announce your betrothal today and you can be wed before you depart. We will have to press a bit, but that should give you some time alone with your new bride before you must return to work."

Caffola blushed at her words. It still seemed strange to think of himself with a wife, and yet it also sounded very good in his ears. "You do not need to go to any trouble on my account," he assured the queen. "A simple ceremony is all that is needed."

"Nonsense!" Lothiriel responded, as Elfwine snickered down at his plate. He well knew his mother would never settle for 'simple' where one of her 'children' was concerned. "You are like my own son, and you shall be married in a manner befitting such. Of course you will want Byldan and Halmeth to come. Is there anyone else from the Folde that you particularly wish to invite?" she queried.

Caffola shook his head, trying to hide his pleasure at her sentiments about him. With embarrassment, he admitted, "I am friendly with the other workers, but we are not close." He glanced at Elfwine and added quietly, "Elfwine is my closest friend."

Now Elfwine chuckled and gave him a knowing look. "Someone you rarely see is your closest friend? That is only because you spend more time befriending your horses than other people! Indeed, I am amazed you were able to notice Tamwen since her mane and tail are not the sort you are used to appreciating in a female!" he teased.

Again Caffola blushed in embarrassment, well aware of how true Elfwine's words were, but he knew the teasing was good-natured and he grinned guiltily. "It is your fault," he retorted. "You drew my attention to Tamwen's fine conformation!"

While the family laughed, Elfwine shook his head. "Not so! You had noticed before I said a word. I merely made the introductions!"

Just then, Tamwen entered to see if there was anything the family needed, and Caffola beamed warmly at her. She tried to conceal a blush as she attended to her duties.

After assuring the girl they were not in want, Lothiriel eyed her speculatively, then announced, "I believe, Tamwen, that I must release you from service at Meduseld immediately."

Tamwen's eyes went wide in dismay, wondering what she had done to cause the queen's displeasure, but Lothiriel smiled warmly at her, adding, "With so little time to prepare, you shall need every moment to ready yourself for your wedding. You will, of course, receive the full month's wages anyway. Have Durucwen see me after our meal and I will discuss this further with her."

Tamwen was staring at the queen, in shock at her words, though clearly none of the royal family seemed surprised by this declaration, and Caffola was looking quite pleased about it. Catching the girl's expression, Lothiriel assured her, "Dearest, do not be alarmed by this. You are marrying a young man who is as a son to me, which means you will be like a member of our family very soon. You must allow me to treat you accordingly!"

The family was grinning at her befuddled countenance, but Caffola quietly urged, "Go and tell your mother, beloved. I will see you shortly in the Hall."

Nodding agreement, Tamwen moved out the door in a daze. It had never occurred to her that in accepting Caffola she would be finding a place amongst the royals. While she had known of their close association, it had never dawned on her that such would be extended to her as well.

"Thank you," Caffola sincerely told the queen, after Tamwen was gone.

Lothiriel smiled at him as she buttered some bread. "Not at all, dearest. I meant what I said. Now, then, as your 'mother', would you have me plan this wedding for you?"

Fighting to suppress tears of gratitude, Caffola merely nodded. To speak just now was beyond him.

xx

If Tamwen had been stunned by the queen's announcement, Durucwen was even more so. She had known that Caffola was a close friend to the royals, but she had never quite realized the depth of the relationship they had with the boy. Clearly, she and her husband should have given him more credit when they were pressing their daughter to accept another.

Later that morning, there was an announcement on the steps of Meduseld of the betrothal. A small crowd had gathered as word had spread that the king would be making a statement. The family stood surrounding Caffola and Tamwen, and Elfwine made it a point to stand next to his friend, with an arm around his shoulders, as a reminder to all of his close connection to the young man. He had spotted Feladyrne hovering on the edge of the assembly, and he did not want him forgetting their little conversation of the previous night, or be tempted to disrupt the proceedings.

However, Feladyrne was not at all inclined to make trouble. In fact, he was trying to keep as much out of sight as possible. He had gotten one brief glimpse of Leofwine, and the threatening look on the man's face made it very clear he should give Tamwen's father a wide berth.

Leofwine had been mortified and embarrassed to discover the young man he and his wife had been pressing their daughter to associate with was of such poor character. He had always taken pride in his good judgement, and to have his error made so publicly known left a bitter taste in his mouth. Since Feladyrne had been prevented from actually doing anything untoward to his daughter, he couldn't feel justified in beating the young man to within a hair of his life, but that didn't mean he couldn't breathe down his neck and make him worry on that point. And Leofwine intended to make very sure his character was voiced around to protect other men's daughters from falling victim to this predator.

It would take a while for Leofwine to overcome his embarrassment and warm up to Caffola, but he was grateful the young man had been there and prevented a scandal. Clearly he was more worthwhile than Leofwine had thought, and it was a relief that he still wished to marry Tamwen after recent events.

The wedding was set for a sennight later, and once the well-wishers had dispersed, Lothiriel led the couple and Durucwen to her sitting room to discuss the particulars of the event. Most of Tamwen's friends were those who worked at Meduseld, so Lothiriel instructed Durucwen to hire temporary workers for the wedding festivities, so that the friends could participate in the celebration.

The next order of business was a dress, and since Tamwen had nothing suitable that she felt strongly about wearing, the queen took her to her own wardrobe. They eventually chose one of hers that appealed to the girl, despite Tamwen's protests that she could not accept such a gift. As Tamwen was quite a bit shorter than Lothiriel, they needed to get to work altering it to fit her, and Tamwen eagerly undertook the task so that she would have a personal hand in her wedding dress.

Elfwine, meanwhile, had taken Caffola into town to acquire a new outfit of clothing suitable to the occasion. He had considered sharing something of this own, but Caffola was of a much slighter build than he, and reworking something to fit him would have taken considerable work. Besides, he thought the young man deserved new clothes with which to start his new life.

Meduseld was a study in hustle and bustle for the next week. Lothiriel was having a wonderful time arranging decorations and food for the event, and finding reason after reason to make small gifts to each half of the couple. When her own children married, they would be well gifted from a great many sources, but these two either had no family or only those of meager means. She delighted in the opportunity to be generous with her resources to make the day extra special for them, and to outwardly show her great love for Caffola.

For his part, Caffola had always known the family considered him one of their own, but this outpouring of effort on his behalf was still overwhelming. He had never even considered such a possibility when he had been making plans to ask Tamwen to marry him, but he realized he should have known they would not treat him any less than if one of the king's children was marrying.

xx

The morning of the wedding dawned clear and bright. Byldan and Halmeth had arrived the previous afternoon, and they had spent a delightful evening over supper with the betrothed couple and the royals. Between Lothiriel and Halmeth, Caffola was well mothered the rest of the evening and the morning of his wedding, and both had a fine time telling Tamwen affectionate tales about her soon-to-be-husband, something Caffola was not quite sure he appreciated.

Despite his confidence in his love for Tamwen, Caffola was more nervous than he had expected as the day passed. Elfwine took him out for a lengthy ride to distract him for a time, and Eothain, who was riding escort, kept both entertained with his droll commentary on married life. As both knew that the big man doted on his wife, neither took his wry comments very seriously, but they enjoyed listening all the same.

And then it was time for the wedding. Caffola stood fretfully with Elfwine and the king, awaiting his bride's arrival, and he was rendered speechless at the sight of her. They had not let him see the gown she would be wearing, and it suited her wonderfully, fitting to perfection. All he could do was stand and beam adoringly at her as she drew near.

Most of the ceremony did not register in Caffola's mind, all his attention being focused on Tamwen gazing lovingly up at him, but Elfwine nudged him at the appropriate times to give his response as things proceeded. And then she was his and he kissed her fervently. As they broke apart, he wrapped her in his embrace and pressed his cheek to the top of her head, stifling the tears of joy that wanted to take him.

The queen stepped to their side, then, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Congratulations, my son," she whispered, then added to Tamwen, "and welcome to the family, dearest."

THE END

9/15/06 – 10/6/06