Everything was set in place and ready. The whole of the palace, inside and out, had been decorated in glowing flowers and strings of starlight lanterns. The ordinarily dramatic, darker reaches now glowed in silvery light while the lighter areas shone like small silver suns. The deep greens of the plants surrounding the courtyards had taken to shining in brighter hues with hints of the pale glow. Intermixed with the starlight lanterns were flowers of all hues ranging from pale gold of rich violet. Each and every one of the flowers glowed brilliantly of their hues and sent striking contrasts in the silver bathed halls. The three main fountains of Greenwood's halls flowed freely with rich, sweet wine and there were plenty of small, medium, and large tables adorned with a seemingly endless variety of foods. On a few of said tables were other drinks that seemed to glow blue and green along with strategically placed vials of starlight. In its ordinary state the place might have seemed closed off in some areas but now every inch of it seemed to flow into a seamless scene. From the farthest reaches of the outer courtyards to the very core of the lavish structure everything was connected. There were plush seats and a few that might have even been small beds scattered throughout. These resting places were cherry wood blended with sturdy oak and fragrant cedar and adorned with soft cushions and silk sheets and covers. Some were deep red while others were soft muted blues and every color in between. Soft lilting music drifted through the whole of the forest as the sun had set and day gave way to night. The whole of Greenwood seemed to be buzzing with life and energy. Even the day-dwelling forest creatures did not find sleep as they too began to gravitate toward the palace. The sun had set not even an hour ago and there were already many elves and animals enjoying the festivities.
Thranduil himself had been stolen away by a few servants who were fusing over making him look his best shortly after returning from the market. Likewise a few other fusing servants had tried to whisk Himelon away and just thinking about the way the raven haired elf jumped and tried to dodge them threatened to bring a soft laugh from the starlight haired King's lips. Thranduil had known that Himelon would not escape the fusing servants. When they set their mind to doing something they get it done. The starlight haired elf had learned that long ago and just stopped resisting. In truth the fusing servant still hadn't let Thranduil go just yet. A young elleth with shoulder-length pale brown hair was obsessing over how to best braid Thranduil's hair so that it looked best with his crown while an ellon with snowy hair that just touched the ground was continuing to present the starlight haired king with different outfits and then second guessing himself and insisting that Thranduil would like the next one even more. An amused smile slipped over Thranduil's face as he thought of two things. The first being how long it always took his father to attend festivals and how said father would always complain that the servants would detain him for a thousand years before finally deciding that his hair looked better braided than loose. The second was how he imagined Himelon would be reacting to all of the attention he was no doubt getting. Overall Thranduil found it amusing that the servants were so fussy in the first place. In truth he always thought he looked fine for whatever occasion but he never could bring himself to dismiss his servants when they were trying to help him get ready.
Meanwhile down the hall a pair of elleths with strawberry blonde hair had just managed to get Himelon out of the bath. For nearly an hour after returning from the market Himelon had been trying to tell the two women that he was fine and didn't need any help. They didn't seem to care and kept trying, ever so respectfully mind you, to convince the raven haired male to strip and let them help him bathe. After a good long while of resisting and blushing Himelon got the elleths to at least avert their gaze while he got into the bathing pool. They seemed to have little to no regard for the fact that Himelon was feeling ever more uncomfortable when they started cleaning him however. He was going to do it himself but they insisted. The two of them practically had to drag him out of the bathing pool so that he could be dressed and were trying to get the raven haired elf to stand still or sit down so that they could remove the towel he'd taken refuge behind and dress him properly. It was to this scene of Himelon resisting even the softest of touches from the elleths and hopping around like a frightened cat that Thranduil had walked in on. From outside of the door Thranduil had heard the rather forceful protests of the raven haired male accompanied by the gentle, pleading voices of the two servants trying to help his dress.
"Can you two at least turn around so I can put trousers on!" Himelon had exclaimed as he scuttled behind the main headboard of the large bed. He had tried hiding behind most other items in the room to no avail so all that was left was the bed. Seeing the two elleths trying ever so hard to remove Himelon from his hiding place succeeded in drawing a deep laughter from Thranduil. The result was all eyes being directed at the starlight haired king. The elleths knelt while Himelon turned several new shades of red before sinking further into his hiding place.
"You two should leave," the words had flowed fluidly from Thranduil's lips as cold water flows over polished stone, "The festivities have already begun." The two elleths promptly obeyed and Thranduil found himself gliding across the room and pulling the raven haired elf free from his hiding place. Gently he set the other male down on the bed and went to retrieve the bundle of clothing from the dresser on which it had been set.
"I can do it." the raven haired male objected and began to stand but was cut off by a wave of the Elven King's hand. Thranduil's movements were fluid and graceful as he tossed Himelon's black trousers over to him. The raven haired elf was grateful for the fabric and quickly slipped it on.
"A King shouldn't be dressing another," Himelon sighed as Thranduil began to unfold the long tunic that had been brought up from the tailor while the raven haired elf had been in the bath, "He should be dressed by someone." At least that's what Himelon had heard and observed. Elrond and Celeborn seemed to enjoy it while human rulers certainly insisted on it.
"Who do you think I just escaped from?" Thranduil's statement had been accented with a heart felt chuckle as he moved back across the room and motioned for the other to stand, "Since you didn't like the servants dressing you, I'm doing it." The gentle and sincere smile that worked its way across Thranduil's face as he helped Himelon get his left arm in the garment was contagious.
"They were women," the blush that worked its way across Himelon's face as he spoke only fueled the Elven King's smile, "It was embarrassing the way they were fussing and they were women! They should be dressing other women if they must do that." The raven haired elf's face had contorted into somewhat of a grimace as he felt a whole new wave of embarrassment wash over him.
"I will make certain to send males next time," Thranduil had smiled softly turning Himelon's face back to look at him as he secured a large sapphire clasp to hold the tunic shut, "All done. Now for the hair…" Himelon had looked confused and almost as if he were about to protest when Thranduil mentioned the hair. His hair was one thing Himelon was not about to let anyone touch. He didn't know what it was exactly but he hated other people doing his hair. Running fingers through it was fine if it was Thranduil but not styling it.
"Hair's off limits." The statement had been sharp and accentuated by Himelon moving sharply away from the starlight haired king, "I'll do it." Thranduil had tilted his head softly to the side but said nothing. Instead he watched the other skillfully section his hair off. No sooner had Himelon's hair been sectioned that he reached a hand out the window and began singing a soft sweet melody. Thranduil himself had been transfixed by the sound and fell even more into a state of awe when he saw wisps of moon and starlight weaving flawlessly into shining strands that had beaded gems within them collect in Himelon's hand. From there the raven haired elf had proceeded to weave them seamlessly into his hair. The overall effect was that bits of Himelon's hair were themselves made of starlight and moonlight.
"This one's for you," a small smile had worked its way over the raven haired elf's face as he approached the starlight haired king and attached a single woven strand of moonlight, with a glowing gem of starlight about the size of a large river stone on the end, around Thranduil's neck. Still blinking in disbelief Thranduil gently ran his fingers over the new found weight around his neck.
"It's perfect…" Thranduil had trailed off when his eyes found Himelon gently staring at him with something akin to amusement or contentment spread over his face. This was the first time since Thranduil had entered that the raven haired elf had gotten a good look at him. The Elven King was a regal as always. His rings were ever present and so was his crown. Where one might have expected braids to be Thranduil's hair hung straight but, much like his crown, was adorned with red berries and green leaves woven into it. His outfit was a single piece silver robe that trailed about a foot behind him and was embroidered with striking forest greens. It was held closed with his usual woven mithril broach and he wore no shoes. In addition now there was the pendant Himelon had just given him which hung perfectly just below the broach. From Himelon's particular angle the broach and pendent seemed to be one piece. In accent to the silver robe Thranduil had drape a piece of violet fabric around his shoulders that looped around his back so as to be better kept in place. The outfit as a whole seemed to make his icy blue eyes and creamy skin glow.
"You're perfect." the statement had slipped from Himelon's lips before his mind could register it. As soon as Himelon had heard his own words a deep blush spread like wildfire over his features and Himelon took to looking down and fidgeting with the mithril circlet on his head while muttering to himself about how stupid he was to say that out loud. Thranduil on the other hand looked oddly amused and pleased. He was used to people staring at him and even blatantly fantasizing about him but no one had ever called him perfect. Beautiful, majestic, or stunning yes. But not ever perfect. A slight blush tinted Thranduil's own cheeks at the compliment and his hands, seemingly of their own accord, moved gently and slowly to turn Himelon's face back to his own. As their eyes met and Thranduil saw a soft reflection of apprehension in the other male he realized what he was doing and with a soft, genuine smile he closed the gap and softly pressed his lips against Himelon's own. For a moment the raven haired elf went rigid and Thranduil feared he'd frightened the other but them Himelon slowly began to melt into Thranduil's embrace and gently, tentatively, kissed back. As the Elven King felt the raven haired males smaller, soft hands grab onto the back of his shoulders he would have been perfectly agreeable to go wherever the kiss may have led. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you may ask, as knock on the door is what broke the kiss. Letting a satisfied smile slip over his face Thranduil guided the other male out the door toward the festivities. No doubt people were wondering where they were. As suspected the knock belonged to an anxious servant who had come looking for Thranduil. Dismissing the servant Thranduil wrapped his arm securely around Himelon's waist and led the was down through the halls to the main chamber where most of the celebration was happening.