Legolas gracefully twirled her in a gentle waltz, each and every one of his steps completely flawless, making her have to concentrate in order to follow. She could see Elrohir and Tadion sitting not to far from them, the latter laughing heartedly at whatever it was the younger twin was saying. Her insides felt as if they had been tied in a knot out of nerves as her eyes searched for Elladan through the crowd.

"What do you think the King is telling Elladan?" She asked her brother as he led her among the dancing couples. Legolas let out a laugh, his infinite blue eyes looking at hers amusedly.

"I do not have the faintest idea." He admitted, the lightness of his tone doing nothing to make her feel less anxious.

"Elladan will be fine, Rëa." He seemed to be able to read her thoughts inside her eyes, for he smiled at her reassuringly. "It is not as if Ada will lock him in the cellars to prevent him from going anywhere close to you."

"Can he do that?" Her eyes widened at the possibility, although she knew her brother was simply playing with her. She knew the Elvenking would not even think of doing such a thing.

Legolas laughed again, his eyes seeming to tease her as he twirled her around once more. He shook his head lightly at her and she could not help but smile. She caught sight of Tadion joining in the waltz, flawlessly leading a fair looking dark haired lady who looked as if she could not believe her luck. She tried her best to suppress a chuckle at the lady who seemed to be having the time of her life as she danced with the Prince of Mirkwood.

Her eyes searched again through the room, watching over the crowds of elves walking around, or simply sitting and conversing with one another as the music softly played in the joyful air. She noticed Arahaelon and Lossenel sitting on a table somewhat to the back of the room, talking softly.

As if he had felt her staring at him, the Crown Princes' impenetrable green eyes turned in her direction, catching hers in that deep and powerful emerald stare. He smiled at her as he stared, one hand softly waving in her direction, the movement so faint and effortless. She smiled in return, looking away after that, embarrassed to have been caught staring.

She chose instead to focus her eyes on the younger twins' handsome figure as he made his way to where Lossenel sat. She saw Elrohir offer his hand to her, and the snowy Princess accepted it with a light laugh, saying something to Arahaelon before allowing Elrohir to lead to the dance floor.

She risked another look at the Crown Prince, letting out a breath as she found he was no longer gazing in her direction. He looked incredibly royal, everything about him seemed flawless and serene, his face perfectly relaxed. She saw his unreadable emerald eyes sweep through the dancing elves, but he made no attempt to move from his peaceful spot, casually overlooking the hall. Some seconds later a tall blond elf came to take the seat Lossenel had recently vacated, and Arahaelon turned to look in his direction, easily starting another conversation.

"Does he not dance?" She nodded in the direction of the Crown Prince, her eyes falling once again on Legolas' infinite blue ones.

"Who? Arahaelon?" He said as he turned his face in the direction she had indicated. She nodded her head as a response, Elrohir and Lossenel twirling past her peripheral vision.

"Yes, of course he does." Legolas' voice sounded casual, as if the subject was of little importance. "I would say he is the best dancer out of us."

She turned her eyes to glance at the Crown Prince once again, only to find him still talking calmly with the blond elf she did not know. Arahaelon smiled softly as he spoke, his impenetrable eyes coated with their usual serene lightness, polite and elegant, without letting any single emotion or thought break through the sealed emerald surface. His expression remained as mysterious as ever, but she could make out that he had no intention in joining the dance.

She was about to let the subject go when she caught sight of the Crown Prince suddenly rising to his feet, the blond elf who had been talking with him following his example, bowing his head respectfully as he easily found another group of elves to talk to. Her eyes remained fixed on Arahaelon as he gracefully turned around, his emerald green robes swirling elegantly around him as he slipped out of the hall unnoticed.

"He is leaving?" She whispered to Legolas, unable to hide her curiosity. Her brother's head turned around once again, catching sight of the Crown Prince as he silently disappeared out the doors.

"Let him be." His voice was low, more serious than before as his eyes stared deeply into hers, seeming to debate whether or not to continue speaking.

"He is injured. I do not think he wanted you to know." He said at last, his voice lowering in volume. Her eyes widened involuntarily, unable to hide her astonishment at the unexpected news, but Legolas interrupted her before she could even open her mouth to say anything.

"It is nothing serious. It happened early this morning, while you were still asleep. A spider attacked him as his guards as they patrolled the forest. He moved fast enough so the spider did not really bite him and only managed a long cut. The amount of venom that made it into the wound was minimal."

"Is h-

"He is fine." Legolas added before she could even finish her question, the honesty in his eyes making her fully believe his words. "He has been cared for, and there is nothing to worry about, but spider venom can sting badly. He had a mild fever this afternoon, as was to be expected, but it already passed. I honestly was surprised that he came to the feast at all"

Her eyes involuntarily turned to the large pairs of doors through which the Crown Prince's elegant figure had disappeared. He had looked incredibly fine, and she was sure that none of the thousands of elves in the feast had noticed anything was wrong with their Prince.

"Then why did he come?" She asked lowly, not really believing that the Crown Prince had been forced to attend the feast if he did not feel like going.

"I can guess many reasons for that." Legolas shrugged as he spoke, gracefully twirling her among the dancing couples. "He is the Crown Prince, and our people were expecting to see him tonight. Ada told him that he was excused if he did not want to come, but I know Arahaelon did not want to let anyone down."

She nodded her head silently, processing his words. She knew nothing about her oldest brother. She could not see trough his impenetrable eyes and perfectly peaceful expression, no matter how hard she tried. He seemed so distant, rarely addressing her at all, and she did not know what to say to him.

"The reason he told Lossenel, however, was a different one." Her eyes turned to meet Legolas' infinite blue ones as he spoke again. "He said that he did not want to miss our first winter's solstice with you."

The words downed heavily on her, wishing that even if for only a minute, she could gather the courage to simply say something to the Crown Prince. He was an enigma to her, liquid emotions hidden behind the unbreakable hard surface of his emerald green eyes, so close to her, and yet so unreachable.

Her thoughts were quickly deviated as she saw Elrohir lightly touching Legolas' shoulder, silently asking to dance with her. Her brother smiled to her before letting the younger twin take over. She let Elrohir lead her through the floor, as expertly and flawlessly as Legolas, his silver eyes sparkling with mischief, identical to those of his twin.

"There is a group of young elves placing bets on which of them will have the courage to ask you to dance first." His voice openly teased her as his mocking eyes mirrored his wide grin. "Elladan will not be very happy."

She laughed at his teasing eyes, enjoying the calming presence of the younger twin. Her eyes quickly scanned the halls for the hundredth time, but she found no sing of Elladan.

"I too would love to know what exactly is King Thranduil telling Dan." Her eyes immediately fell on his sparkling silver ones as he easily read her thoughts. The mocking grin was still in his face, making it impossible for her not to smile.

"I thought you would know." She admitted to him. "I was going to ask you that."

"Do you really think Elladan would let me into his mind right now?" He chuckled as he spoke, one dark eyebrow raised in bewilderment. She could not help but laugh in return. At least Elrohir did not seem worried.

"So are you dancing with me in order to prevent any of those elves you mentioned to do so until Elladan returns?" It was her turn to tease him, her smile widening as his grin reappeared on his handsome face.

"Do you think me capable of that, Rina?" His silver eyes looked shocked, purely innocent and with the best intentions, yet the faint gleam in their depths and his mischievous grin told otherwise. "Can I not simply enjoy a dance with my sister out of pure pleasure?"

She laughed in return, shaking her head lightly at him. Of course he would be making fun of her because of the number of siblings she now had and still did not know very well. Typical Elrohir.

"I am not your sister." She said between chuckles, unable to contain her smile at his teasing silver eyes and wide grin. His grin only widened at her words, eyes sparkling with more mischief than before.

"Yet." He whispered lowly, his eyes sparkling more vividly than she had ever seen them, his mischievous grin mirrored in his deep grey irises.

She opened her mouth to ask what he had meant, but forgot immediately as her eyes spotted Elladan reappearing in the halls. His eyes instantly found hers, liquid silver irises looking as deep and bright as ever. She could not see anything different in his expression as he smiled at her, quickly making his way through the groups of elves, eyes never leaving hers. She had hardly even noticed that Elrohir had stopped dancing, looking at her with a mocking grin as he saw his twin approaching.

"My turn." Elladan addressed his mirror image with an equal grin, taking her hand as Elrohir stepped away.

His endless silver eyes stared into hers again as he started to softly lead her in a graceful waltz. She could not take herself to look away from his eyes, deeply enjoying the simple act of dancing with him.

"What happened?" She asked, trying her best to hide her anxiety from showing in her voice, although she knew perfectly well that he could feel it through their bond. "What did the King tell you?"

Elladan let out a soft musical laugh, and she guessed that things could not have gone that bad if he was here dancing with her. She felt his hand that rested on her waist gently pulling her closer, the movement perfectly going unnoticed by the rest of the dancing elves.

"Let us simply say that King Thranduil does not like me now as much as he used to" She laughed lightly at his words, knowing that he would not explain further.

"Rina, why do you keep calling him 'the King'?" Elladan's gorgeous silver eyes looked at her questioningly, his voice low and soft. "He is your father."

She looked guiltily at her feet, her eyes suddenly interested in the intricate silver patterns of her pale rose dress. She shrugged lightly as a response, following Elladan as he swayed her around the polished marble floor. He danced so gracefully, her steps easily following his, as if her body had been synchronized with his, feeling peaceful and secure in his arms.

"I know it might not feel that way, but it never will if you do not at least try to think of him as your father." She looked up at the sweet sound of Elladan's low voice, letting herself free fall into pools of liquid silver. He looked at her deeply, gently, so honest and comforting that she could not look away. "You certainly are his daughter. He just made that very clear."

"I know." She breathed out as only reply, letting her head fall slightly.

"Do not feel bad!" She heard Elladan exclaim softly, his tone forgetting all of its previous seriousness as the hand on her waist gave her a tiny tickle. She jumped slightly in return, laughing involuntarily as she threw him a look. "That is much better. I have just been life threatened in multiple very creative ways, so I want to see you smiling."

She could not help but laugh, loosing herself in his endless silver eyes as he smiled at her. His eyes were so deep, so loving, that she wanted for the moment to last eternally. Out of the corner of her eyes she caught sight of the Elvenking speaking with a group of elves some feet away.

"Was he very angry?" Her voice betrayed more of her worry than she had wanted to. To her surprise, his gleaming silver eyes softened, his face peaceful and serious as he smiled at her faintly.

"No." His voice was lower, deeper, all signs of mockery and playfulness gone from it. "It was not anger what I saw on his face."

The joyful waltz came to an end, some of the elves leaving the dance floor before another piece started playing. Elladan led her away, both of them sitting on the table in which Lossenel, Legolas, Tadion and Elrohir currently sat. She noticed that some of the families had already started exchanging gifts, elves walked around the large space, handing finely wrapped presents in all different sizes.

She smiled widely at the sight. The elflings eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement, all of them having received at least one present. Nearly every table in the overly large hall was topped with presents. She had never seen this many gifts in her entire life. A table in one corner of the room was already piled up with unopened gifts, elves placing even more on it.

"Looks like there will be a lot of unwrapping to do tonight." Commented Legolas with a full smile as he nodded in the direction of said table.

"You are such an elfling." Tadion laughed as he spoke and Legolas turned to glare at him, his smile still on his face.

"Besides" Continued Tadion "the majority of those gifts are for Almarëa, not for you. I already checked."

"You are such an elfling, Tadion." She could not help but laugh as Lossenel joined in the conversation, throwing Tadion a look as she spoke.

"For me?" She asked Tadion as she raised one questioning eyebrow. "Who could be sending me gifts? I do not know anyone here." She chuckled as she spoke, her eyes still awed at the enchanting sight of elves walking around while handing presents to each other.

"True." Tadion said, his clear blue eyes staring at her as he smiled. "But that does not mean that nobody knows who you are. It is a welcoming gesture."

She did not know if she should laugh at his words or not. It felt so unreal. She had received only one gift a year, and it had been from her mother in the occasion of her birthday. For her, a welcoming gesture was a smile or some words, maybe even offering some tea, but never gifts. Besides, she did not even know from who the gifts were, she knew next to no one in this place. She could not help but feel slightly guilty at that fact. She did not have gifts to give in return. Being the younguest Princess of Mirwood was proving to be far more different from being Elerrina than she had thought.

"I do not have gifts to give." She confessed silently to Tadion, who merely smiled wider at her. She only had one gift to give that night, and she was not even sure if it was considered a gift for it had never really been hers. Could giving someone something that was already theirs be considered a present?

"You do not need to." Tadion chuckled softly as he spoke, his clear blue eyes making her feel tranquil. "We give a present to every family from all of us."

"Come, let us go find Ada."Lossenel said as she rose to her feet, Legolas and Tadion imitating her.

She accepted Tadion's hand as he pulled her to her feet before turning to face Elladan. She found his sparkling silver eyes staring into hers, a gorgeous smile lightening his handsome face.

"You have still not told me when can I open my present?" She whispered at him with a smile as her siblings made their way towards the Elvenking, Legolas standing a couple of feet away, patiently waiting for her before joining his siblings.

Elladan grinned at her, taking her hand in his and squeezing it gently before letting it go.

"Not yet." Was his simple reply, his eyes seeming to mock her. She let out a light chuckle before turning to join Legolas.

Her brother flashed her one is his flawless smiles as he led her towards the large table at which the rest of her family now sat. The Elvenking's ice blue eyes met hers as she sat down, a smile on his fair face. He looked so incredibly royal in this elegant setting, sitting so serene and regal as all the other elves continued to roam about the halls, giving gifts away or dancing to the gentle music. She saw the King's narrowed eyes overlook her and the rest of her siblings, then turning to quickly scan the large halls before falling on Lossenel.

"Where is Arahaelon?" The King asked softly, his brow furrowing slightly.

"He retired." Lossenel informed plainly, and the Elvenking nodded his head in understanding before turning his gaze to look at Legolas.

"Could you have someone take his gifts to his rooms?" Legolas smiled at his father and nodded his head before rising from his seat and walking towards one of the servants who passed nearby.

She let her eyes scan the room, only to find many pairs of curious eyes attentively observing their table. She guessed that watching the royal family exchange their gifts seemed to be an interesting thing for many of the elves in the feast. Legolas returned some seconds later, silently lowering himself on his seat.

"Well, Arahaelon is not here, therefore, Lossenel, my daughter, you start?" The Elvenking elegantly motioned to the small pile of presents that rested on the table. Confusion took over her for a moment, and she turned her head around to look at the other table upon which remained the presents that Tadion and Legolas had said were for her family. Then why were some other presents here?

"Start what?" She mutterd quietly to Legolas, who smiled widely at her before answering.

"Handing the gifts." He explained in the same quiet tone.

"You pick a gift from the pile and read the name on the card, then you hand it to that person." She heard Tadion jump into the conversation, a handsome smile on his relaxed face as his clear blue eyes stared at her. "If you pick your own gift you have to open all of yours last out of politeness, so try not to pick yours."

She could not contain a smile, the strange tradition making her heart fill with a joy she had never felt before. Everything felt so surreal to her. She had been noticing the entire night the comfortable way in which her siblings spoke to each other, how they openly joked with one another or simply took turns in opening gifts. She had never had a large family, and yet she had never expected that the simple fact of sitting in this table waiting for names to be called could make her smile this much.

She could see other tables doing the same, families or groups of friends calling names from a central pile of presents. It seemed that after handing gifts to other families, every family would sit and hand gifts within themselves in this same routine.

She let her eyes fall on the small pile of gifts again as the snowy Princess extended her arms to grab one of the smallest presents in her pale hands. She saw the King leaning back on his throne-like chair, silently drinking from his wine as the feast continued all around them, other families also exchanging their gifts. Suddenly she understood that the difference between these gifts and the ones on the other table was that these ones were from the King to his family.

Many eyes watched attentively from other tables, but she tried to ignore them, focusing instead on Lossenel as she carefully read the name written on the gift she had chosen.

"Legolas." The Princess read out loud before handing the gift to her younger brother, the latter grinning widely as he immediately untied the delicate golden ribbon. She could not really see what was inside, but Legolas seemed very happy with whatever it was he had received.

Tadion then reached out to pick a gift from the pile, and she understood that they were going in order of age, meaning that she would be the last to pick. Although, by the number of gifts on the table she could tell that they would go on for various rounds.

"Legolas." He read out loud almost reluctantly, handing the gift to its rightful owner. Legolas' musical chuckles echoed through the air, merging with the joyful chatter and sweet music.

Then it was Legolas' turn to pick, and she watched as he grabbed one with a large silver ribbon. She saw him look at the written name before his eyes lifted to meet the King's equal pair of infinite blue eyes.

"It is for Arahaelon." He said as he handed the unopened present to the Elvenking, who nodded his head before motioning for his son to pick another one. Legolas then chose another present form the table, this time for Lossenel, the stunning Princess smiling widely as she accepted her gift.

It was now her turn to pick and she felt all four pairs of eyes turn in her direction expectantly. She could not contain a light laugh as Tadion silently pointed to himself, clear blue eyes gleaming with their usual carefreeness as he meant for her to pick a gift that was for him.

She let her eyes fall on the pile of presents, picking a tiny one from the center. She let her eyes travel to the fine handwriting on the card attached to the gift, a wave of relief washing over her as she noticed that the name had been written in the common tongue. Part of her had dreaded that she would not be able to read the name. However, when she saw the name that was written on the present she nearly wanted to laugh. She lifted her eyes to find the four pairs of expecting eyes staring at her.

"Almarëa."

Instantly, Tadion burst into laughter, Lossenel joining in.

"What part of trying not to pick your own name did you not understand?" Legolas teased her as he too let out a chorus of chuckles.

She glared at him as best as she could, staring at the gift that she now was not allowed to open. She heard some distant chuckles echoing in the hall, and she found some of the elves that had been watching silently laughing at the family scene. By the number of curious eyes watching, she suddenly had the feeling that interactions between the King of Mirkwood and his family were not a thing usually seen openly.

Several minutes later, she found herself staring at three unopened gifts in front of her, each of her siblings having received an equal number, only that they had already opened theirs.

"There are no more presents, Almarëa." Tadion said within chuckles as his clear blue looked at hers playfully. "You may finally open yours." She smiled at her brother, letting out a single chuckle.

"I…have one more gift." She said quietly, not wanting for the observing elves to hear her as she turned her eyes to meet the Elvenking's powerful ice blue ones.

She heard her siblings go quiet as they heard her words, and she could almost feel their eyes looking at her in confusion, but she avoided their stares, trying to ignore them as she concentrated on the Elvenking's attentive eyes.

"I do not really know if it can be called a gift, since it is not really mine to give." She muttered as she took out the tiny wrapped present she had been carrying in silence for the entire night.

Silently, she extended the gift towards the King, who raised a single fine eyebrow, staring at her cautiously. Slowly, almost hesitantly, the Elvenking reached out to take the present from her hand, ice blue eyes looking puzzled, his expression unreadable.

She watched in silence as the King slowly unwrapped the gift, seeming to take his time. To her despair, the curious elves that had been observing their table had noticed the new gift, and were now attentively watching their King.

Finally, the Elvenking gently lifted the top of the small box containing the present, his ice blue eyes looking at the interior. She saw him sit straighter, his smile vanishing, his expression an unreadable mask, like a petrified fine statue as his eyes remained fixed on the pin and chain holding the missing pearl that she knew were inside the tiny box. He did not say anything. He did not move.

Her heart started to race inside her chest as she felt a wave of fear invade her body, suddenly having second thoughts about handing her gift at all. More curious eyes had turned to look at the King at his lack of reaction, his breathing the only sign that he was alive…

Here is chapter 10! I hope you like it! I will try to post the next chapter as soon as possible! Please let me know what you think!

Thanks again to those of you who reviewed my latest chapter: Martine9295, Mj, Mary, Paperlanterns86, wonderpanda10, Danda225, Jibril-Kadamon, xX-MissyMoo-Xx, ForbiddenShadow0, AnnaComena, BigFanOfYou, Coco99, AmazingWriter123, and booklover1598. I seriously cannot tell you how much your reviews mean to me.

Love,

Elena