Burning Embers

"Tonight is your big night, my friend." Keldir gave him a mischievous look. "Well...aside from your wedding night that is." He book out into laughter.

Legolas chuckled, "If you say so, captain. Whatever it is you have planned for tonight, I better be able to wake up early tomorrow as the guest will start arriving in the morning."

"Yes, yes, I know...appearances and all, Your Highness," he replied good-humoredly.

"What are we doing?"

"Do not worry your princely little head about it. Just spend the day with your elf-maiden and we will and come get you when it is time."

"Very well..." Legolas shrugged.

He had no idea what the captain and the rest of their friends were hiding up their sleeves. Friends from both parties decided to throw them a bachelor and bachelorette party four days before the wedding.

Since the guests were due to arrive the next day, they wanted to enjoy the night before so that their guests weren't disturbed by their merrymaking in the late hours of the night. Their friends told them to take a break and spend the day together before they were yanked apart so each group of friends could throw their own separate celebrations.

Reylien opened her front door and threw herself into his arms. Legolas caught her in time, laughing. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled. "I have missed you."

"So soon already?" he grinned. "I was just with you last night."

"Yes, but it was only because we needed to rehearse for the wedding. That does not count as spending time together since we were basically working."

"Yes, I suppose you are right."

"I know I am," Reylien replied with a smirk.

"Well, then...today I will make it up to you." He kissed her nose and took her hand to lead her to their first destination.

"Where are we headed?"

"Since we probably will not get another chance to spend the day together like this before the wedding, I thought that we could revisit our favorite places and talk about the memories each place had for us."

"That is a wonderful idea!" she beamed. "But every place reminds me of you..." He kissed her hand and smiled making her blush. Reylien still had her moments of shyness around the elf-prince, but not as much as she used to. She became more at ease around Legolas and didn't find him as intimidating as she did before. "Will you tell me the first place we are going to visit?"

"I would rather show you," he replied.

She agreed and let him lead her as he always did. The first place she thought they would go was somewhere in the forest, but Legolas didn't take them outside. Instead, he headed for the palace, making her even more curious as to where he was going to bring her. He stopped and turned to face her. Legolas smiled again and took a blindfold out of his pocket.

"What is that for?" she asked, examining the material.

"Trust me..." He placed the blindfold over her eyes and took her hand again. "We will walk slowly so you do not trip over anything."

"Very funny Legolas!" she said unhappily because she knows he was making fun of her clumsiness. The elf-maiden could hear Legolas quietly laughing to himself. He finally put her to a halt and heard him open a door. He gently pushed her inside and removed the blindfold. Reylien blinked a few times to get her focus back. "The Ballroom?" She turned to him confused.

"Yes. This is where we danced, at the Masquerade Ball. You were the only one who was able to capture my attention that night..." he reminded her.

Reylien's smile grew as she looked around the room. Legolas debated for a while whether or not to her there as it also reminded him of the mysterious elf-maiden he saw that disappeared before he was able to talk to her. But, he eventually dismissed the whole thing as his imagination running away with him.

The Ballroom was something Reylien never expected. She almost thought he was taking her to his chambers when she heard the door open. But they didn't climb any stairs so that couldn't have been the place. She blushed at her impure thoughts as Legolas was always a well-mannered elf to her. "You are very sweet, my prince."

"I try," he winked. "Now it is your turn. Pick a place that holds a memory for you."

"All right," she smiled and grabbed his hand, taking him outside.

"You are not going to blindfold me are you?" he chuckled.

She smirked at him. "I could, but I want to get there quickly. Care to run?" He smiled and started to jog. Soon, they were both running to the far end of the queen's garden.

"I should have known…" Legolas finally said. They stood on the small hill that overlooked the Great Maze. It was an obvious choice for her.

"This is one of the best memories I have. I had so much fun with you when you first brought me here and I truly felt like something had changed in me that day." She looked out into the distance with the same smile on her face.

"You have changed...and so have I." He caressed her hand.

Reylien moved her attention to Legolas and stared into his eyes. It wasn't something she often did as she was still trying to overcome her shyness. She took one of his hands and held it with both of hers and kissed it. "I promise I will make you happy, Legolas."

The prince took the same hand of his she had and cupped her chin with it, rubbing his thumb near her bottom lip. "I know you will, love," he whispered. "And I will do whatever I can to make you happy..." He held her closer and kissed her softly.

For the rest of the day, they thought of all the places they had been to and told each other what in particular made it special. Even the smallest of things such as flowers weren't ignored. The Woodland Elves were happy to see them laughing and smiling as they walked around outside and inside the Underground Kingdom. Time quickly passed and soon, their friends found them.

"There you two are!" Reylien's friend, Inah, exclaimed. The rest of the group was in tow behind her. Legolas and Reylien looked at each other with hidden smiles. "I am sorry, Prince Legolas, but Lady Reylien is now ours for the rest of the evening," she said smirking while dragging her friend by the arm.

Reylien was able to tug away a little to give the prince a quick kiss before she was taken away. The rest of the elf-maidens quietly giggled at her bold move.

"Take good care of her," he winked.

"And we will take good care of you!" Legolas felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and chuckled. "I am sure you will."

Keldir pushed him in the opposite road, waving farewell to the elf-maidens. Both he and Reylien looked back at each other as if to say, 'Good luck and have fun'. Legolas already knew he would have a good time with his friends and he hoped Reylien did as well with hers.

The elf-prince told her friend Inah earlier that day to try and get the elf-maiden out of her shell and loosen her up for the night. He also gave them permission to do whatever they pleased as Reylien should be allowed to do something mischievous at some point in her life. Inah was only too excited to obey his wishes.

The night quickly started off for Legolas. The captain took him toward the Eastern borders of their kingdom where a few elves travelled. There wasn't much there but a few fallen trees and boulders. A place where no one could really be ambushed because there were limited places to hide.

His captain and friends chose that area for Legolas's bachelor party so they could make as much noise as they wanted without ruining someone's peaceful night. However, the elves also brought their weapons along in case they received unwelcomed party crashers from outside their borders.

By the time Legolas and Keldir got there, his friends already had a bonfire with jugs of miruvor at their sides. Some of the elves were dancing as one of Legolas's friends by the name of Corrill played the elven flute. They all cheered when they saw the elf-prince.

"Where is Velhar?" Legolas asked. He looked around the crowd but didn't see the servant. After Le'ariel left for Rivendell, they still managed to become friends and Velhar even joined him and Keldir at the archery range when he was able to.

"He could not make it but to tell you congratulations," Keldir answered. "He had things to...attend to."

"Is he still taking care of…?"

"Yes..."

Legolas chuckled. "Who would have thought?"

Keldir started laughing softly. "Certainly not I..."

"Legolas, you son of a Dwarf! Are you just going to stand around or are you going to enjoy your last night of freedom with your friends?" Malos yelled, holding a jug of miruvor in the air. The others yelled in agreement.

Keldir shoved him closer to the circle they created around the fire and placed a small jug in his hands. "Do not tell me that Reylien has made you soft?" he teased. Legolas smirked and took a big swig of the elven liquor. More cheers follow immediately from the crowd.

The first goal of his friends was to embarrass him by listing all the elven females he had the pleasure of knowing in his bed. To make it worse, they had one of their elven artist friends sketch out drawings of the females.

Roars of laughter echo among the crowd, even Legolas, who felt the miruvor go to his head. After a story was told of each elf-maiden, her picture was thrown into the fire symbolizing she were now a thing of the past as the elf-prince's old ways were officially over.

The next picture that quieted the prince was Le'ariel's. Keldir watched him carefully to see his reaction. He forgot that a sketch was also made of her and thought it too late to take it out of the pile before their celebration. "Next up is…Le'ariel Goldenfig! One of the top servants and chambermaid Mirkwood has ever seen."

"Le'ariel was sweet...but feisty at times," Corrill said.

"You were just afraid of her because you knew she could beat your behind!" Gidzen laughed. A few of the other elves laughed with him as Legolas joined in to keep himself in good spirits…even with the lingering pain still in his heart.

"Legolas, what do you have to say about the servant?" Malos finally asked him.

They all looked at the prince for a response. He took another long swig of miruvor before responding. "She has a mean left hook." The silence was broken by another round of laughter at his answer.

"Throw the sketch into the fire and show us the next maiden!" Keldir hollered. The elves nodded in agreement once more. Malos did as they wished and showed the next picture. Legolas had a hard time concentrating after seeing the previous sketch. Luckily, they went off topic and reminisced about the last battle they had. "Are you all right?" the captain whispered while the others were distracted.

"Yes, I am fine," Legolas slowly nodded to assure him. "Thank you for that."

"Anytime, my friend."

It was a long night for Legolas. A few of the elves stumbled home while others crashed on the forest floor. Keldir used the end of the log sat on as a pillow for his head. Legolas could hear him quietly snoring. He sat himself on the ground and used the log as a backrest, absentmindedly throwing small pieces of twig into the fire that was now smaller than before. The flames would rise and then slowly die down and rise again when he threw more wood into its hot center.

Watching the dancing flames brought him back to the sketching of Le'ariel that was still vivid in his mind. The artist drew her smiling, almost laughing, with her dark locks blowing behind her, how many of the elves probably remember her, he figured.

They all loved her...minus some of the maidens due to their jealousy, of course. Remembering her picture burning in the flames was also as clear as day for him. Legolas imagined himself for a brief moment running toward the fire trying to save it. But what good would that have done him?

Legolas sighed and looked up at the star-filled night. The night grew later telling him that he needed to make sure he was at the front gates the following morning to receive their guests. His father and Lord Yulor would have his head if he didn't show up. He suddenly wondered about Reylien and how her night out with her friends was going. He was due to see her in a few hours and find out then.

"Keldir...wake up." Legolas shook his arm.

The captain groaned at his throbbing headache. "What time is it?"

"It is time for us to head back to the palace…unless you want to be yelled at by the king after you roll out of bed around noon tomorrow...or should I say, today."

Keldir quickly got to his feet and rubbed his temples. "What are we waiting for?" he said with a look of agony on his face from the effects of the elven liquor.

The captain kicked the boots of the other sleeping elves and told them it was time to head back to the palace. Slowly, one by one, they managed to get up and make their way back to the Underground Kingdom.

The prince was one of the last ones to leave as he put out the remaining bits of flame that held some of the memories of his past. "My burning embers..." he whispered to himself.

"Did you say something?" Keldir asked.

"No. Let us go, my friend." He threw his arm over Keldir's shoulders as he laughed while trying to control the throbbing in his head and the small hole in his heart.

Author's Note: I'm kind of proud of myself that I was able to use the story title in a chapter. Just thought I'd share. :) And I have no idea what wedding preparations are like for the elves and if they have anything similar to a bachelor/ette party!

Please continue to review. Thanks!