"Elvish Dialogue"

**Chapter 41**

***Deirdre's POV***

"Father, I would like to introduce you to Deirdre." Legolas said as he presented me to his father. "The woman I intend to marry."

I watched as the smile that had graced Thranduil's face dropped. The older elf looked a lot like Legolas and looking at the two of them together it was obvious their relation. But now, instead of the smile that I was used to being on Legolas' face that had danced across his father's, now Thranduil looked stoic and cold. Fire burned in the eyes of the elf king.

Angry words in elvish burst from the kings mouth as he began ranting to Legolas, in a language that I only caught random words in.

"What are you thinking? That you can just marry the first mortal girl that you find? You are the Prince of Mirkwood. I thought I raised you to understand your responsibility." Thranduil exploded. "Do you not understand what it will be like when she dies!"

I stood there with my gaze fixed on the king as I tried to pick out any words that I knew. My eyes flashed wide when I heard the word "Die" in there. I quickly turned to look at Legolas, who looked as though he was going to murder his father. I was thankful that he hadn't reached for his weapons yet.

"Not only is it none of your business what will happen should Deirdre ever die. But it is not your business who I love!" Legolas returned, his voice coming out harsher that I ever really remember. I think the last time that I heard him like this was when we fought after I came back from Isenguard.

"Love? You think love will help you at all when she is old and crippled? When death comes to claim what you thought was yours?" Thranduil returned, raising his voice louder.

Slowly, I raised my hand as though I had a question. But it seemed that I was going to be ignored by the two arguing elves.

"Umm, I hate to interrupt." I began, causing both Legolas and his father to whip and around and look at me.

Legolas' face melted from that of anger as he looked at me, but his father still looked as furious if not more so than before.

"Why don't we all try and talk this out reasonably." I suggested to the elves. "In a language we all understand."

"Reasonably?" Thranduil said harshly, laughing at the word. "You expect me to be reasonable when talking to the mortal that is going to be the death of my son?"

His words shocked me slightly, as I tried to think what he was meaning. Suddenly, it clicked in my mind. He thought that I was going to die of old age and leave Legolas behind to grieve. I couldn't exactly blame him for this thought, as I wasn't entirely sure about what my own longevity was going to be like.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves as well as the slight anger that simmered beneath the surface of my mind from Thranduil's reaction to me, before I turned to Legolas with a small smile on my face.

"Would you mind if I talked to your father alone, love?" I requested, knowing that it wasn't fair for Legolas to have to be torn between his father and myself.

He nodded his head before pressing a kiss to my cheek and leaving the room. I turned back to face the elf king, who bore an expression of fury upon his face as he looked at me.

"King Thranduil, please believe me when I say that I understand how you are feeling." I began, trying to calm the elf as quickly as possible.

"And why would I believe that?" he questioned harshly. "Not only have I lost my wife, but now you will take my son from me as well?"

"I don't intend to take your son from you. I would never dream of hurting him." I told him, honesty leaking into my tone.

"Just because you don't intend for it to happen doesn't mean that it won't." Thranduil responded.

"How about I make a deal with you?" I offered, pausing until he nodded. "I will swear to you that I will do everything in my power to prevent Legolas from hurt. But should I fail, you are free to take him away into the west where I will be nothing more than a memory."

Thranduil paused for a moment, staring directly at me as though trying to see through me, before he responded. "Why would you make a deal like this?"

"Because I love your son, more than life itself. I would rather die a thousand deaths than cause him an ounce of pain." I replied without hesitation, my mind traveling back to my near death.

"We have an accord." Thranduil announced, nodding his head.

I gave a small smile to him, but I was somewhat confused that he had agreed without more of an argument. Still, I nodded my head in response.

Thranduil smiled and began walking towards the door that Legolas had left through, speaking as he made is way across the throne room. "I am sure that you and Legolas have quite a story to tell of the quest that you both took part in. I would be glad to hear what has occurred, for we have much to talk about."

I made a sound of acceptance, still somewhat reeling from the change in his demeanor. He had gone from the cold angry elf king, that I imagined was how he greeted the dwarves when they were captured on their quest to restore the treasure of the King under the mountain, to a happy elf father that it was hard to believe he had ever been cold towards me.

**Saffy's POV**

It had been over a year since I had come to Lothlorien and I was missing Di something fierce. We had had some correspondence since she had arrived in Mirkwood with Legolas, but it still wasn't the same as when we had spent most every moment of every day together. I was sitting in the talan that I shared with Nimiwen in Lothlorien while she was away on a border patrol. The power of Galadriel's ring was fading, and so it was more important than ever to have more elves watching out for danger along the borders of Lothlorien.

With a sigh of loneliness, I curled up on the stuffed chair in our living room with a book. It was an elvish to common translation guide, the closest thing to a dictionary that Nimiwen could find me. She had been trying to teach me Elvish since I had begun living in Lothlorien.

My labor was interrupted by a knock on the entrance to my talan. I set the book down on the chair and quickly moved to the door, opening it to find a messenger standing before me.

"A letter has arrived for you from Mirkwood, Lady Saffron." The messenger announced offering a letter out to me.

"Thank you." I responded taking it and nodding my head to him. With a smile the messenger departed, leaving me staring at the letter in my hands.

I slipped back inside, before settling down on the chair that I had previously occupied and opened the envelope.

Dear Saffy,

I hope that you are doing well. How is everything going with you and Nimiwen? I know that is has been far too long since last I wrote to you. But everything has been so very busy. To be perfectly frank, writing to you wasn't the entire point in sending this letter. So go ahead and look in the envelope now and read the other parchment before you finish this letter.

Curiosity filled me as I peered inside the envelope again to see that it held another piece of parchment, this one small enough that it had not needed to be folded to fit into the envelope. I pulled it out of the envelope and turned it over so that the writing on the paper was faced towards me.

Lady Saffron,

You are invited to attend the wedding of Prince Legolas Greenleaf Thranduillon and Lady Deirdre of the house of Roberts. We would be most honored should you choose to stay in the palace of Mirkwood for the summer months. The wedding will be held June the 21st at sunset in celebration of the beginning of summer. In hopes of your attendance,

The house of Mirkwood

My eyes widened as I finished reading the invitation. Deirdre was getting married. The shock filled me for a moment before a cheer erupted from my lips and I jumped up from my seat, spilling the letter and envelope on the floor before me, as I danced in joy that my best friend was getting married to her love. I spied on the floor the letter that I had been in the middle of reading before I read the wedding invitation. Picking it back up, I resumed reading where I had left off.

Are you done? Good. 'Cause there is still a lot that I still need to tell me. So it's obvious that I'm getting married. To Legolas! Sorry, had to get that out there. But since I'm getting married, then the next question should be the most obvious thing ever. Will you be my maid of honor? I really hope that you are nodding your head yes right now. I know that the invitation says for you to come for summer, but Legolas and I talked about it. And we were hoping that you, Nimiwen, and Gimli would maybe come in early spring. I could really use having someone who knows me so well around when it comes to the wedding planning. Besides, we need to get a dress made for you. So far the planning has been driving me insane. Why couldn't I just elope? Oh, yeah, I'm marrying a prince. Please say that you will be able to come. I have missed you so very much and honestly I think if I don't see you again soon the remainders of my sanity will be completely gone. And stop that thought about how I don't have any sanity left right now, because it is being driven out of me by flower arrangements. I can't wait to see you and have girl talk. I love you Saffy, you are my best friend and the keeper of my brain.

Love Di

A laugh breached my lips as I read the last of her letter. I read through the entire letter once more with a smile on my face before getting up from the chair and making my way out of my talan. Lothlorien was beautiful as fall began to change the leaves on the mallorn trees. As I walked through the forest I understood why it was called the golden wood, the bark of the trees was silver but the leaves were a golden hue which refracted the light of the sun beautifully. The talan that Nimiwen and I shared was on the southern border of the city of Caras Galadhon near to the gate. So I made my way towards the center of the elven city to where I knew Gimli's talan to be. It was nearer to both the ground and the lady of Lothlorien. Galadriel had granted it to Gimli so that he could speak with her on occasion as his love of her was well known throughout the realm. As I walked further into the city, the trees grew taller and one of the larger trees held the ladder leading to Gimli's talan. I climbed the twenty feet up until I reached his door, where I knocked gently but firmly enough that the dwarf could hear me.

"Ah, Saffron. I was wondering when I would see your face." Gimli roared as he opened the door and saw that it was me before him. "I assume that you got one of these letters from the happy couple as well."

"Indeed I did, Gimli." I replied, smiling at the dwarf.

"Well, come on in. No need to stand outside on this tree all day." He invited, stepping back to let me into his talan.

"Thank you, Gimli." I said as I entered.

"So I take it they want you to come in the early spring as well." Gimli began, causing me to nod in return.

"Yes, Di was telling me about how the wedding arrangements were driving her insane." I told him, earning a laugh.

"Aye, the lad said something similar. Only it was more to the effect of his lass always being busy with wedding preparations driving him insane." Gimli returned.

We both sat in his talan for the rest of the afternoon, talking about the upcoming nuptials of our companions.

**Deirdre's POV**

My nerves were frayed beyond belief. The months had flown by since Saffy had gotten here in a flurry of fittings and meetings and nowhere near enough time spent with my fiancé. Legolas and I had decided that we would wait to make love again until our wedding night. And because of that, we were both frustrated beyond belief. Not that the wedding preparations were helping at all. But it was all going to be better today. At least that was what I told myself.

It was my wedding day and I was not going to give in to any anxiety. It wasn't that I was nervous to marry Legolas; I was so happy that I was going to marry him. But I was quite nervous about the fact that I was going to be a princess of Mirkwood. So here I sat in my dressing room, fidgeting in front of the mirror as my maid Sorwen stood behind me fixing my hair. By the time that it had come to decide how to fix my hair, I was so tired of making decisions for the wedding that I left it entirely up to her. So she was now doing a romanticized version of the elven warrior braids.

As she was finishing up, she slipped a delicate circlet shaped to look like leaves upon my head. I looked in the mirror and was amazed to see how I looked. I really did seem to be a princess out of a fairytale with soft features and delicately pointed ears. It had taken this long, but finally I understood what Legolas had meant when he called me edhelai talien, little elf princess.

"There." She proclaimed, fixing one last stray hair before pulling her hands away proudly. "Beautiful."

"Thank you so much, Sorwen. I don't know what I would have done without you." I told her, smiling.

"You probably would have gone out to get married with twigs in your hair." She teased, recalling one of the times I had come back into the caves completely bedraggled with dirt smeared across my face with leaves and twigs stuck in my long hair.

"Hey, Di. Are you just about ready?" Saffy poked her head through the open doorway.

"I'm ready to go. What about you and the others?" I returned, rising from my seat and picking up my bouquet of flowers.

"All good to go." She replied.

With that I followed her out of my chamber and into the anteroom where the other bridesmaids were waiting. Each was dressed in a dress of the same style as the others, the only difference being the pastel color. Nimiwen was dressed in a green gown, Arwen in a purple, Eowyn in a pink, and Saffron was dressed in a light blue. My own dress was a creamy ivory color with hints of silver along the sleeves. Each of our dresses had a corseted bodice, emphasizing each small waist before flowing out gracefully from the hips and pooling down at the ground with a train. Each of the bridesmaids wore a simple silver circlet upon their heads.

The dressmakers had found it strange when I asked them to have all the dresses be the same as mine aside from color, but I wanted to follow an old tradition. It stated that the reason a bride had bridesmaids was that all would wear the same dress as the bride, so that should any attempt to curse the bride any magic used against her would be confused as to the target and the bride would be free from bad luck on her wedding day. It was something that my brother had told me about when we had helped my sister prepare for her wedding, and I had thought it was a sweet tradition.

The sounds of sweet music filled the air as Eowyn took her place as first in the procession. The doors leading into the garden where the ceremony was being held swung open and Eowyn slowly began walking down the carpeted aisle towards where Legolas stood with his groomsmen. To his left was Aragorn, his chosen best man. And then it continued down with Gimli, Oron, and Uron who were his best friends before he left for Rivendell.

Arwen followed Eowyn down the aisle, then Nimiwen, and finally Saffy was set to go. She turned to face me and gave me a reassuring hug before she turned and made her way down the aisle. She stood across from Aragorn and it was my turn to walk down the aisle. I slowly made my way through the doors, eyes focused solely on Legolas as he stood at the altar, his eyes locked on mine. A smile made its way to my face as I stared at him; his blonde hair was tied back in the usual warrior braids fashion and upon his head rested a crown of intertwining leaves. His tunic was silvery with tree branches stitched into the fabric. For once there were no weapons at his disposal and the sight seemed strange to me, even within the halls of the palace in Mirkwood he usually kept at least his daggers with him. His blue eyes bore into mine and I barely pulled my eyes away from his to notice his appearance.

I took my place across the altar from him, as Gandalf stood behind the pedestal to officiate the wedding.

"Lords and Ladies, today we have gathered to celebrate the love between Legolas and Deirdre. There is no doubt in the bond that they share with one another. Today they come before us to solidify the bond in matrimony to signify their desire to not only share the rest of their lives, but also their hearts and their souls." Gandalf proclaimed to the guests who watched the ceremony. "Please join hands."

I handed my bouquet off to Saffy before grasping hands with Legolas. I smiled at him through the film of water that filled my eyes. He smiled back at me and rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand in a comforting manner.

"Deirdre, what is it that you would ask of your husband for your marriage?" Gandalf asked me.

"May you never steal, lie, or cheat. But if you do steal, steal away all my sorrows. If you do lie, lie with me all the nights of our lives. And if you do cheat, cheat death because I couldn't bear to live a day without you by my side."

"Legolas, will you do what Deirdre has asked of you?" Gandalf turned to my elf.

"I will."

"What would you ask of your wife for your marriage?"

"Deirdre, may we pass away all our days unto the ending of the world together. I would ask that you share with me not only your joy and your achievements but also your fears and your pain. To give to me your love, and to in return take my love for you which I freely offer. May you never turn from me, or find solace in the arms of another when I could be the one that you run to. To love me, as I love you." Legolas said, looking me straight in the eyes.

Tears of joy cascaded down my cheeks slowly and I didn't have the power within me to hold them back any longer. I was nodding my head in response to him before Gandalf even got a chance to ask if I would do these things. I still answered yes, though.

"Deirdre, what vows do you have to offer your betrothed on your wedding day?" Gandalf asked, looking at me gently.

"Legolas, I have loved you forever it seems. I promise to you, that not a day shall pass where I do not tell you that I love you. Not an ounce of pain will I inflict upon you. Never will I lie or cheat. But will pass my days from now unto the ending of the world by your side. I promise to love you forever, and should ever we be separated know that my heart will always belong to you, and you alone."

"Legolas, what vows do you have to offer your betrothed on your wedding day?" Gandalf asked him.

"Deirdre, I have stood by your side and seen both your beauty and a side of you that terrifies me. I vow to you, that I will stay by you, through thick or thin. Through the good times and the bad. To always love and honor you. To protect you when I may, and let you fight for yourself when you must. To offer whatever aid it is that I can give and to heal any wounds you carry, physical or not." Legolas promised, eyes shining with severity as he looked at me.

"Legolas, do you promise to love, honor, and keep Deirdre as your bride unto the ending of the world?" Gandalf asked him.

"I do."

"Legolas, please place the ring you offer as a sign of your commitment to Deirdre upon her finger." Gandalf instructed and Legolas slipped a golden band upon my finger next to the jeweled betrothal ring that he had had made for me.

"Deirdre, do you promise to love, honor and keep Legolas as your husband unto the ending of the world?" the wizard asked me.

"I do."

"Please place the ring you offer as a sign of your commitment to Legolas upon his finger." Gandalf repeated, causing me to slip a plain golden band upon his finger as I smiled up at him.

Gandalf smiled as he picked up a length of rope from Lothlorien and wound it around our joined hands, fastening them together and tying a knot.

"May this rope be a symbol of the bond between you and hold throughout the long days of your marriage." Gandalf said, lowering his hands. "You may kiss the bride."

With those words said, Legolas and I both leaned forward and pressed our lips together in a passionate embrace which was pushing the lines of what was appropriate. When we broke apart we stared into one another's eyes, unaware of the raucous applause which filled the air around us.

I don't really remember most of the reception; I know that there was a lot of feasting and drinking. The hobbits who had come all the way from the Shire to attend danced on the table, while Gimli tried to coax the elvish groomsmen into a drinking contest, having not learned his lesson from the contest with Legolas back in Rohan. I know that there had been much laughter when my garter ended up in Gimli's face, making him turn red. My bouquet got tossed into the arms of Eowyn, whose eyes caught Faramir. They were already engaged, so it was fairly obvious that they were going to be wed soon.

At some point, Legolas and I removed the rope from our hands, ensuring that it was still knotted. As the moon reached its zenith, we quit the party and made our way to the suite that Legolas had prepared for our use. During the months of preparing for the wedding, we had both shared wedding lore about our different cultures, which is why when he picked me up outside of our suite, I laughed. I had explained to him how it was believed to be bad luck to enter a house with your left foot first, and so traditionally the groom carried the bride over the threshold to ensure that in her nervous state she would not step over the threshold with her left foot first and bring bad luck upon the home.

He carried me to the bed where he set me down and sat beside me. Hands brushing my hair gently back behind my ear as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to my own. I reached my hands forward, twining my hands into his hair brushing against the sensitive points of his ears. His hands travelled from my neck, sliding down to the back of my wedding gown and unfastening the ties that laced the back. It loosened around my body and I felt him slowly tug it away from my body, leaving my breasts contained only by the corset. My hands drifted down and began tugging at the bottom of his tunic, slowly inching it up towards his head.

My head fell back as a moan escaped my mouth, Legolas' lips trailed down my throat to the base of my neck and danced across my collar bone. His tunic came off quickly, leaving his bare chest exposed and I brought my lips to his flesh. He lifted me off the bed, securing me in his arms as he removed my gown from my body. His fingers pulled at the ties on my back, before removing the loosened corset from me. I shimmied the undergarments remaining about my waist down my body, while continuing to hold Legolas' lips to mine in a fiery kiss. He pulled back for a moment, looking down at me lying prone on the bed prone before him with lust burning in his deep blue eyes.

His lips crashed back to mine as I pulled him down upon me, allowing him to nestle between my thighs. He was hard against me, restrained only by the cloth of his leggings. A moan escaped my lips as I felt his lips travel across my chin and down me until he reached my breasts, taking one nipple into his mouth while palming the other breast in his hand. Gasping as I felt his ministrations, I ground my hips against his. He groaned before biting lightly down on my hardened bud, then moved to the other breast and giving it the same treatment. My fingers weaved into his hair, teasing the sensitive points as I continued to writhe beneath him in pleasure. I shut my eyes to block everything out but the feeling of Legolas against me, one of his hands made its way down my body before finding its way to the sensitive bundle of nerves.

I moaned out his name before bucking my hips up to meet his hand. I opened my eyes to look at my husband; he raised his head from my chest feeling my gaze upon him. A smirk crossed his face before he trailed kisses down my stomach to my center. His lips settled and earned him a loud gasp which turned into a moan. His tongue and fingers worked in unison as I gripped the bed sheets by my sides, feeling the tension in the pit of my stomach. The feeling climbed higher and higher until I hit the breaking point and shattered with pleasure.

A satisfied smirk spread across Legolas' face as he watched me come down from my high, my breath still ragged as I looked at him. His leggings were off a minute later and he was crashing his lips to mine with passion as he spread my legs and readied himself at my entrance. He released my mouth for a moment, staring straight into my eyes before he plunged into me entirely, filling me. A scream of pleasure rent from my lips as he entered and turned into a slur of gasps and moans as he continued to pump into me. His mutterings turned to elvish, incoherent to my mind which was riddled with ecstasy. I clung to him as he continued to fuck me senseless, our passion rough and needy from the lack of release for so long. My nails raked down his back, earning groans as he continued to push into me. Finally, as we both climbed higher and higher we both fell off the edge, capturing each other's ecstasy in a fierce kiss.

Legolas collapsed onto the bed next to me, sweat covering his flesh as I snuggled against him. He wrapped his arms around me, running his fingers through my hair and un-plaiting the braids which had decorated my head. I traced patterns on his bare chest with my fingers. A yawn escaped my lips.

"Go to sleep now, melethnin." Legolas whispered. "You are tired."
"I don't want to sleep." I replied. "I would much rather spend the night with my husband. Just lying in his arms."

"I promise I will be right here when you wake, melethnin." Legolas said, before pressing his lips to mine. "Now sleep, edhelai talien."

With those words, I slowly relaxed in his arms feeling my body slacken before allowing sleep to claim me.

***End Chapter 41***

There it is. By the way, the house of Roberts reference is her last name, Roberts is a last name that I found on a list of Scottish last names and I liked it. I know that the ceremony wasn't entirely traditional, but I thought it worked. And the music that I used while writing the wedding scene was Arwen and Aragorn by David Arkenstone, his entire Music Inspired by the Lord of the Rings CD is beautiful. Just to clarify, there will not be a sequel to this story. However, there is going to be the alternate reality of if Deirdre had been taken to Mordor and married Sauron.

Please read and review. I would love to know what you think.