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The after party would take place in one of the grand Lothlórien halls. There would be a buffet style dinner with a performance. After that music would be played for those who wished to dance. Kíli thought it was all rather exciting. He had never been before but had always heard marvel stories from those who had. Several in his former politics class at university had been invited and had gushed about it for a week afterwards. He was glad his family was staying as well. The Durins had found company with Elrond and Celebrían and Fíli and Arild didn't mind getting to know Tauriel's friends more.

He smiled as he saw her interact with them, especially with Arwen and her brothers. While Tauriel stood out in both age and her looks with her flaming hair, wild green eyes, and freckled skin, they treated her as if she was their younger sibling. Thranduil and Elrond, being both part of the high elite society in Dale had often visited each other, and when their children were young and Thranduil's wife Lemaril had lived, they even went on holidays together to some faraway estates. It was during those visiting and trips that their children had gotten to know each other and became friends. It had been quite a shock when the Mirkwood couple adopted four-year-old Tauriel as part of the family. Arwen, who at the time was the youngest at seven-years-old was grateful at her arrival. She was glad she wasn't the only girl anymore, even though her loyal playmate Legolas was only a year older than her and had enjoyed her company. Being an only child he was glad to have someone to play with. After two blissful years, Lemaril died. Instead of travelling as a family, Thranduil would send Legolas and Tauriel over to Elrond and Celebrían so they would have a good time and he would be left in peace. Knowing their friend needed time to heal, the Rivendell Lord and Lady gladly took the young children under their wing.

Smiling broadly Kíli walked up to his girlfriend. He had changed into a more festive outfit, dark jeans and a navy dress shirt, with his hair tied back with an Ereborian clasp that his mother had given him. Reaching Tauriel, when threaded his arm through hers and she smiled back at him. She wore a short silver dress, with a tight bodice and a flowing skirt that reached her knees. Her hair hung loose, curling at the ends. He knew she would be part of the performance tonight, though she refused to tell him what it was. The buffet was about to start and he was hungry. Softly he started to drag her to their table that they shared with friends. She laughed, as they got closer to their seats.

"Did you want some attention, handsome?" she asked teasingly and he grunted in response.

"Yes, what's wrong with that?" He challenged. "I haven't spoken to you alone since our game."

"Oh dear, you make it sound as if we cannot be separated for more than an hour."

"It's been 4 hours and I can't wait for this dinner to be over." Tauriel raised her eyebrows.

"And why is…that?" But one look at his intense eyes on her gave her answer. Her cheeks turned scarlet.

"Oh…" was all she managed to say, "of course…" she mumbled and he grinned. Their deal, which had all been his idea. In fact thinking about it, Tauriel assumed he knew she'd win all along, or perhaps he'd lost intentionally. Their deal entailed the winner comforting the loser that night. Tauriel sighed. It wasn't that she minded it, just that, that was the only thing occupying his mind currently. But Kíli merely shrugged his shoulders.

"What? Can't a man want his lady?" He asked innocently and then mischief filled his eyes. "It's not my fault you look even more stunning without clothes or are amazing…" But Tauriel quickly clamped her hand over his mouth and the rest of his sentence came out muffled.

"What do you think you're doing?" She demanded, her voice higher as she looked around panicky, hoping no one heard what he said. She tried not to squeal when she felt his tongue ran over her hand. He grinned at her like someone young teenage boy who had just pranked a teacher.

"You're so cute when you get worked up." He told her plainly and she glared. Just then the buffet was opened and the couple walked to the tables.

"Thank god," Kíli said and smiled, "because I am ravenous!"

Tauriel wasn't sure he meant it in terms of food.

The rest of the dinner passed rather quickly. The food was delicious as always was the case. No one could ever complain about the great cuisine Lothlórien had to offer its guests.

At their table, the young adults chatted away. Lothíriel had joined their table and sat with her cousin Faramir. Since the death of Boromir, the cousins had closer than ever before, sharing their feelings and grief. Éowyn and Faramir had decided to postpone their wedding to the end of spring in the coming year. No one was yet in the mood nor shape for such a joyful affaire. While Éowyn and Boromir had never been close, they had tolerated each other and she didn't think it fair for him to not honour his untimely death, which had been a huge blow to Faramir as well as their father Denethor. They had received a strange call from Aragorn not long ago about a DNA test. Aragorn had been very vague about the whole matter, not giving away any details, not even to Arwen, which annoyed to raven greatly, since she could feel something was going on. But they trusted Aragorn as their good friend, and Faramir had agreed into sending over some of his DNA. Aragorn promised to give them a call again soon. The whole story had become to main topic of gossip at the table, with everyone offering their own opinions. Their conclusion was that is was very odd. Meanwhile Tauriel and Kíli relayed on the news of how Legolas and Gimli were doing. There were sighs of relieve when they heard the two men were doing well, although it appeared they hadn't met each other yet, which wasn't very surprising with the large amounts of people in Mordor, as well as them having completely different positions there.

Dinner drew to a close and a break was announced, during which guests would receive coffee and tea or a stronger drink. During that time, Tauriel and several others rose and went to a separate room to get ready for their yearly performance. Tauriel quickly scooped down to give Kíli a kiss, who wished her good luck. Elladan and Elrohir followed her.

There was a room behind the makeshift stage that they used to get dressed and warm up. Changing into her performance clothes, Tauriel moved to one of the mirrors to paint on some makeup. She put on her black tap shoes and took a deep breath. Unlike most years, she hadn't had that much time to practice. Between university and archery she could usually be found in the dance studio dancing. But with Kíli's arrival into her life, her ever pilling up school work and Legolas' departure to Mordor, she found time lacking. She just hoped now that everything would work out. It wasn't long before Galadriel popped her head in to tell them they could start.

In silent agreement Elladan and Tauriel looked at each other, it was now or never. Of course it wasn't much of a surprise, they, with several others would Riverdance every year, but she hoped Kíli would like it. It was very different to what he was used to. With her hands she smoothed away any wrinkles in the fabric of her short green dress that was stud with sparkling gems. Her hair was put into a tight half up, to keep it out of her face. The loose hair was coiled into tight ringlet curls, eating up its length, that would later be bouncing against her back and add a touch of drama to the dance.

Most dancers were from Mirkwood that lay in the Silvan County although Elladan and Elrohir participated as well. At times like these she missed Legolas, who usually was her partner instead of Elladan. The latter currently looked perfect as always, wearing tight black pants and a billowing white shirt that contrasted with his long inky hair that was tied up into a ponytail, with several strands framing his chiselled face.

Elrohir looked at great as his brother, wearing a black shirt instead of white, and the twins stood out with their dark locks against the brown, auburn and blonde of the other seven dancers. The two other girls wore black dresses. Gwilwileth had striking golden hair and Tuilin had rich brown curls that bounced as she moved. The five other men wear dressed like Elrohir, in full black. All ten dancers wore shoes with metal underneath that would create amazing sounds as they danced in unison. Elladan looked at the rest of them.

"Ready?" he asked and he was answered with several cheers. In unison they left the room and came onto the stage gaining a lot of applause already. While Tauriel and Elladan took centre stage, the rest hung back in the shadow, unseen by the audience. With a nod of his head, the music started and he and Tauriel began to dance.

The music started of soft and playful with high flowing notes. With clicking steps Tauriel danced around the stage, graceful like water, her hair twirling around her. Then drums came into the rhythm and Elladan started to dance his part, tapping faster and faster as if challenging the drums with his own feet. The pair danced together, kicking and flicking their feet and legs around, perfectly on beat. Tauriel felt a smile rise on her face. The music sped up further and the other dancers joined them. Tapping their way across the stage they all formed a straight line. With perfect synchronization they danced together, becoming one with the music. Their high kicks rose into the air and Kíli was in awe. He marvelled at how fast their legs were moving while their upper bodies remained completely straight. He saw Tauriel beam at him and he couldn't help but smile back as he felt pride fill his body. This amazing woman was his, she was his Tauriel and at that moment, seeing all those tall, lithe dancers dance their Riverdance, Kíli couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life by her side.

With a huge round of applause they finished. Kíli clapped until his hands were sore and he heard others whistle. All smiling brightly, chests rising rapidly due to exhaustion, the dancers on stage bowed, all holding hands. Then they quickly returned to the back room to change back into their party outfits. It didn't take long for Tauriel to reappear. Without a second thought about his family and friends being there, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her. Holding her face between his hands he smiled his charming and adorable smile.

"That, darling, was amazing!"

"Really? You truly think so!"

"Of course!"

"I am glad! I know it's so different from what you're used to."

"Only a fool wouldn't be impressed."

"And thank Valar you're not a fool." She grinned and kissed him.

Walking back to their table Tauriel and the others were showered with compliments.

"Amazing, as always!" Arwen told her friend and brothers. "It's a shame Legolas isn't here but Elladan filled his role adequately." She said and Elladan rolled his eyes.

"Thanks sis." He countered and Arwen laughed, throwing her arms around her oldest sibling, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

"I am just kidding, you did great too."

Éowyn and Faramir had gone to get everyone a drink. Tauriel happily took a glass of red wine from her. Looking at each other, the old and new friends toasted and eagerly sipped their long sought after drinks. In the mean time some of the empty tables were cleared so that a make shift dance floor appeared and music started softly playing in the background.

Sitting down to rest, Tauriel and Arild engaged in pleasant conversation. Arild wasn't a dancer but had enjoyed the performance immensely.

"I filmed some of it to show at home, my mum is a big fan of such dances, much to my dad's annoyance I am afraid. He and my brothers prefer ale over music." She told laughing.

"How many brothers do you have?"

"Four, all of them older."

"Wow!" Tauriel remarked, giving Fíli a look, who burst out laughing as well.

"Yes they didn't make it easy for me." The blond said, winking and his girlfriend huffed.

"Oh please, they were never really serious, you were just too much of a coward."

"Not serious? They threatened to do all sorts of things…" Fíli exclaimed and Kíli snickered, leaning in close to Tauriel to whisper.

"With his balls…" And Tauriel let out an ungraceful snort while Fíli glared at his younger brother.

"I heard that." But Kíli shrugged his shoulders.

"What? It's true. At one point it got so bad, he didn't come by their house for two weeks, and when he did find the courage, he dragged me along."

"Which pissed me of royally as you can imagine. There I thought I'd found myself some brave warrior, I was so disappointed." Arild said.

"You are lucky Kíli likes you," Fíli told her, "He can be very nasty to those who get on his wrong side." Tauriel raised an eyebrow and Kíli smirked, trying to look innocent.

"In my defence," he started, "all the other girls you'd brought home with you were complete airheads. Only after him for his inheritance and they would treat me like I was some baby. At least Arild and I were friends. We played in the same sandbox as kids." He explained as Tauriel laughed.

"Oh yes I remember that! We would build fort castles from the sand and defend it from intruders." Arild grinned.

"And who were the intruders?" Tauriel asked.

"Gimli and Ori…oh and at that time Fíli also. He was trying to act older and hang out with Bofur. Needless to say, it wasn't appreciated." Kíli said and the friends laughed.

"Alright, alright, enough stories." Fíli said and pushed the couple from their seats. "You two go dance. We'll judge." He said and put an arm around Arild. Laughing, Tauriel and Kíli did as they were told and hurried to the dance floor were several were already dancing.

Placing her hand in Kíli's a salsa started playing. Smiling, Kíli led her into the steps and soon they were effortlessly gliding over the dance floor. They saw Éowyn and Faramir awkwardly trying to flow the rhythm. Elrohir and his wife Elendiel were also dancing, and Tauriel happily saw Elladan and Arwen doing the same. She smiled when she saw Éomer talking to Lothíriel at the bar. They seemed to be getting along, though she didn't miss Lothíriel's eyes glancing longingly at the dancing couples. Unfortunately Éomer lacked all dancing skills like his sister and it was plain to see he hoped she wouldn't mind.

"How long will Thranduil be away?" Kíli asked, bringing her attention back to him.

"About a week. I was thinking, when he's back, you should come over. It's weird to think I've seen so much of your family already while you've barely seen mine. Besides, he's warming up to you." And Kíli laughed.

"I am glad to hear. Honestly I haven't minded not seeing much of them yet, not when I'd be eaten alive."

"Gosh, you're just as brave as your brother." Tauriel dryly remarked and he huffed.

"I am much more brave than he is!"

"Perhaps. Or just more reckless."

"Perhaps that too. But seriously I would like to meet him properly." The music changed into a bachata and they moved positions accordingly, dancing against each other.

"I was thinking about doing something fun this weekend." He said not long wards.

"Like what?"

"Well, perhaps, if you want, I'd like to see where you grew up. You've seen the Erebor neighbourhood, and I spend loads of time in Dale, but I've never been further than the Mirkwood gate." He said and was glad when she smiled.

"That sounds like a great idea. We could make a day of it. There are some great treks and hikes that we could do." Tauriel said and her eyes where shining with ideas. "It will be lovely." And with that Kíli leaned in for a kiss.

"I know it will be love."

In Mordor Aragorn was startled by a knock on his office door. Within seconds a nurse came in, holding a large envelope out for him.

"Here are the results for the tests you asked for."

"Thank you Thea, I appreciate it." Aragorn told her, taking it. As she left, closing the door, he felt his hands shake.

Carefully he opened the seal and got out the pieces of paper inside. Part of him was afraid to read its contents but the other side was screaming for him to know. His eyes skimmed the letters on the page. His hand found the telephone beside him.

It was time to call them.