A/N: Thank you all for the reviews, I love hearing from you my dear readers! And welcome to those who have just joined us through a binge read, we are now into season 2 ;) !

Time marched ever onward, as spring turned over to summer, bringing with it long hot days and warm nights in the city of Minas Tirith. The newly planted sapling of the White Tree had come to the city with Aragorn unannounced one day, and already was growing and flowering in the Court of the Fountain. The beginning of King Elessar's reign was proving to be a success, and yet there was still a feeling of missing something. There were whispers all through the city, but whispers they remained- who would rule by the Kings side? Who would be their queen? The Dúnedain all knew Aragorn waited for Lady Arwen- but would she come? Had she changed her mind and chosen to sail across the sea with her people? Regardless, Elladan and Elrohir were expected to return with news, and soon a guard was posted on the high walls, watching around the clock for any sign of travelers.

Alas, upon the evening of midsummer, the guards saw a company approaching from the North, nearing the Rammas Echor, the wall surrounding the Pelennor and Minas Tirith. The city had not been entirely unprepared for the arrival of such guests, nor for what it bode for their King. There could be no doubt that Arwen Undómiel, Evenstar of the elven people, had come to at last be with Aragorn son of Arathorn, as his queen.

The elves reached the main gate at dusk, and Daeril found herself lost of breath when she beheld the Lady Galadriel of the Golden Wood for the very first time. She had found the Evenstar to be fair beyond compare, but she had a match in her own grandmother. Even under the star and moonlight, the Lady of the Wood's hair shone like polished gold, and she glowed with a light and wisdom that rivaled any elf Daeril had ever met. Forcibly drawing her gaze away, she took stock of whom else road in the company: first came Elladan and Elrohir, with Glorfindel and Erestor and all of the household of Elrond, many familiar faces from Imladris. Behind Lady Galadriel and her husband Celeborn were many elves of Lothlórien, silver haired for the most part and no less beautiful than the elves of Rivendell. And lastly, Lord Elrond and Arwen Undómiel, riding side by side.

The party dismounted, and Lord Elrond came forward bearing the Scepter of Annúminas, which he passed unto King Elessar. And finally, after many years of waiting and uncertainty, he laid the hand of Arwen, Evenstar of the Elven people, in the hand of Aragorn, son of Arathorn, King of the Reunited Kingdom. They moved onward and upward into the High City, the crowd following.

Daeril busied herself with seeing to the visitors' horses. Many of the horses of Imladris she knew, and delighted in the reunion. Asfaloth, steed of Glorfindel, and Belroch, and Elladan's sweet Lossel who had borne her safely back from the battle when grievously wounded. The King's stables were massive, and easily housed all of the mounts and still there was room for more. With the help of two of the stable boys, who in her time in Minas Tirith seemed to worship the very ground she walked on, all were watered and hayed and would be settled until morning came.

"Daeril Rýndirien!" A voice called from the entrance of the stables.

Daeril looked to the source, and was more than a bit surprised to see Lord Glorfindel approach.

"Le suilannon, Glorfindel!" She greeted with a bow of her head.

"Le suilon. Gwannas lû and!" Glorfindel held something in his hand, and Daeril realized it was a letter or something of the sort. "I was pleased to hear you are alive and well, we did not know of the fate of any of you until we spoke with the Sons of Elrond. Ladrochan bid me deliver this letter to you."

Daeril took the sealed envelope, but did not open it.

"How is Ladrochan?"

"He is well! His stable is quite empty as of now, and he eagerly awaits our return."

"And Radir, is he here? I wish to thank him for the armor he procured for me... it more or less saved my life!"

"Alas, he remained in Imladris. I will be certain to pass along the message upon my return, if you do not come back first."

"I wish to, more than anything. I fear I must remain here longer, there is so much yet to be done in this city."

The next day came with it much hustle and bustle in the citadel, as the final preparations were made for the wedding of King Elessar and Arwen Undómiel. Daeril rode into the High City at first light, accompanied by Daenir and Thannor, to aid in whatever way possible. Daenir went to Aragorn, being his second in command of the rangers, leaving Thannor and Daeril to scope out the Merethrond to see what they could do- there would be a huge feast, on principle, and much had to be done. They had not done very much in the way of setting up before Daenir came running in, looking flustered.

"Daeril, please tell me you have something appropriate to wear for the wedding?"

Daeril laughed.

"If you think I traveled all this way and brought a gown with me, you are sadly mistaken, brother."

"You have nothing?" He looked panicked.

"What does it matter, I can blend in with all of you. I don't see Thannor getting himself prettied up."

"I'm pretty enough already." Thannor smirked.

"You are a lady of the Dúnedain, and as this is a formal occasion... you need to look like an actual lady."

"Can you just pretend she's a man?" Thannor suggested, unhelpfully.

Daenir sighed.

"Just come with me, I'm sure we can remedy this somehow."

The feast hall of the Merethrond was alive with voices of celebration that evening. King Elessar and Arwen Undómiel had finally been joined in marriage, after so many years of betrothal. None present could possibly fathom the time they spent in waiting and uncertainty.

Daeril found herself uneasy, although she sat with her kin, unaccustomed to so many people in an environment other than a battlefield. She felt nearly naked without her cloak and her armor, so exposed in a gown that did not belong to her. One of Galadriel's company, an elf maiden of incredible beauty and by some fortune similar build to the young ranger, had been delighted to outfit the girl in some of her finery. Daeril had to admit she felt quite lovely for once, but did not relish in the chiding comments from the other rangers.

When at last the dinner ended, more wine and ale was shared as tables were moved away to clear the floor for dancing. Quickly finishing her glass of wine, Daeril made to make an escape out one of the open side doors, but midway to her freedom found her way obstructed by a slightly tipsy Thannor.

"Do not leave, not yet. Come, dance with me."

"I have somewhere to be," She lied.

"One dance. I need you to make me look like a good catch."

"What?" She laughed. She followed his gaze across the room to where a group of Gondorian ladies stood whispering to one another. "Can you not ask one of them outright?"

"Enough questions."

Thannor whisked Daeril into the throng of the dancers, leading her almost expertly through the dance. He was graceful for a man of his size, and Daeril found herself smiling in spite of her reservations. Every time they turned past the ladies he had been eyeing, Daeril caught him giving looks in their direction.

"You are too obvious, Thannor." She warned.

"It is working, is it not?"

"That remains to be seen. I know not what your plan is."

"It goes as so. When the song ends, I will bow to you, and you will curtsy as is proper. I will bring you over to that table with the wine, which so happens to be right by them. By now they have seen my prowess at the dance, and will wish to dance with me."

Daeril's laughter nearly caused her to trip on the hem of the grey silk gown, and Thannor quickly spun her around to cover up her sudden outburst.

"That is quite the plan, my dear Thannor. I wish you the best of luck."

The song ended, as foreseen, and Thannor's scheme came into action. He took Daeril's arm on his, bringing her to the side table where he swiftly fetched her a glass of red wine, which she took eagerly. Daeril watched as he casually strode over to the women, and made his move. She was pleasantly surprised when one of them, a fair haired beauty, took his offer.

"Mae garnen!" She said aloud to herself.

"Talking to yourself, cousin?" Corudan had appeared at her side, a mug of ale half empty in his hand.

"Always, Corudan."

"Thannor found himself a woman?"

"Aye. I don't see you out there trying for any Gondorian girls."

"Indeed. You have been gone from home so long, you missed out on much. I married just before we left the North."

Daeril sputtered, mid drink.

"To whom? Why did you not tell me?!"

"Rimien. Hador's sister."

"I suppose congratulations are in order. Although I am deeply wounded that you would keep such secrets from me."

The two cousins shared a toast together, and when those glasses were drained, moved on to more drinks. They were introduced to many Lords and Ladies of Gondor, moving through the crowd as the night went on, until Daeril was separated from Corudan at last when she was asked for a dance by the halfling known as Pippin. She could not in good conscience turn down such a brave offering, and accompanied the much smaller man to the floor.

The song was much more uptempo than the last dance she had done, and if she had not been a few glasses deep in wine she did not know whether she would have had the spirit to dance as they did. The halfling was a far better dancer, but had her spinning and laughing right along with him.

"You are a fine dancer, Master Took!"

"Thank you! You are not so bad yourself!"

"You flatter me, my good sir!"

As the music slowed to a new song, Daeril was relieved that Pippin wished to return to drinking and accepted his offer for an ale. The dancing was aggravating her leg, and even though the pain was not too unbearable, she was pleased to finally sit down. She was quickly supplied with a mug of strong smelling brew, and reintroduced to the other occupants of the table, Pippin's constant companion, Merry, and Gimli the dwarf. She felt suddenly very tall in her present company.

"I would introduce you to my cousin Frodo, and to Sam, but they have been busy all night."

From where they sat they could see said hobbits sitting in a place of honor with Lord Elrond and Lady Galadriel. The king and queen were nowhere to be seen, and Daeril half wondered if they had traipsed away from their own party for some private time. The hobbits, Gimli, and the ranger shared a few more drinks and stories and much laughter as the night went on, and soon it was apparent that they were all fairly drunk. Not wanting to cause any undue attention to herself, Daeril bid them all goodnight, and leaving the merry trio to their singing and reminiscing, made a swift exit from the hall. It was not until she got out the door and to the steps outside that she realized just how inebriated she was.

Stumbling down the steps, she tried her best to maintain her composure lest someone see her behaving in an unbecoming manner. Ladies were not supposed to get drunk at parties, not even a royal wedding. This was not home in the North, where it didn't matter what gender you were, this was Gondor, and they were set in their ways of what was proper and what was not for women and for men in kind. It was already frowned upon that she was a ranger and a soldier, she did not need any more scandal than that. She walked past the citadel guards, smiling coquettishly as they let her pass, and made for the Prow of the Citadel.

The Prow was an excellent view of the Pelennor and the mountains beyond in daylight, but on most days strong winds made it an unappealing walk. This night was still, and no wind blew to deter Daeril from going all the way to the end. There was a bench there where one could sit, and if it was not occupied she planned to stay there until she sobered up enough to return to the party.

"Daeril, wait."

She stopped, turning around to face her new found company.

"Daenir."

"Are you alright?"

"I am fine. I may have had too much too drink."

Daenir shook his head, and came forward to grab her arm.

"In that case I do not feel you should be walking towards a long drop alone."

The siblings walked out to the tip of the Prow, finding the bench unoccupied, and took a seat. Daenir pulled out his pipe, lighting it with a flint and steel. They sat in comfortable silence for a time, Daeril with her elbows on her knees and head in her hands.

"There's something I wanted to talk to you about," Daenir said, finally breaking the silence.

"Yes?" Daeril had enough experience to know that the words could not bode well. She sat up, the dizziness having subsided a little.

"I spoke with Aragorn and Faramir this morning. I will be going North in three days time, making for Annúminas. King Elessar wishes to remake the kingdom in the North."

"Am I coming with you?"

"That is what I need to discuss with you. Your letter from Ladrochan presented you with one option, and if you wish to return to Imladris, you may. However, Prince Faramir has proposed another course."

Daenir took a long draw on his pipe, the pause making Daeril bristle under her skin.

"And that is? Stop stalling and tell me."

"Faramir will be will be establishing a household in Ithilien. He has need of rangers, and many hands to aid in purifying the land."

"There are many enemies there yet?"

"Some still remain. It will be years before there is total peace with the people's of the East. Orcs and foul creatures still prowl, even with no master to serve they still need food as all living things do."

"So I would become a ranger of the South? Have they no need for me in the North?"

"That is for you to decide. The easiest path would be to live in Imladris, and nobody would begrudge your choice to live a quiet life. The hard road lies in Ithilien. The North is a path of uncertainty, and we know not what lies in store for us upon the shores of Evendim. No matter where you go, sister, you can always come home."

If there were no long distances among the places she could go, she would pick all three, but she was only one person and it was a big, big world. She would need to think long and hard on what to do, and making these sorts of decisions on a mind addled by drink was not the best course of action. She stood, reeling a little, and held out her hand for Daenir.

"I will think on it, brother. But not now, for I fear it shall be some time before I am sober. Let us return to the party, I have grown hungry!"

The feast did not end until the early hours of the morning, when most had slipped away to sleep and some moved on to the many taverns that were in the city. City folk had held celebrations of the their own in every level, and it would be another couple days before the aftermath of such festivities were cleaned up. Daeril finally crawled into her bedroll in the light of dawn, head spinning from drinking and dancing, and contemplating what exactly she would be doing with her future. As the sun rose up above the mountains, glinting off the white stone of Minas Tirith, there was silence over the Pelennor, if only for a moment.

Le suilannon- I give greetings to you

Le suilon. Gwannas lû and - I greet you. It has been too long!

Mae garnen!- well done