Tinwe woke the next morning and lay quietly for a moment, enjoying the warmth of her bed. She could feel the chill morning air on her face. However, she quickly noticed something was missing. Looking around, she noticed Legolas was not in the room, but she heard the soft shuffling of paper from the next room, indicating he was up and at his desk. Sitting up, she braved the cold air in order to get up and dress for the day. She chose a light blue gown and silver shoes. Running her fingers through her hair, Tinwe entered the study.

"Good morning, limimaer," Legolas said, looking up as she entered. "Are you ready to head down to breakfast?"

"As soon as you are," Tinwe said, walking over to stand next to him. "What are you working on?"

"I was just looking at your maps. We certainly have a long way to travel."

"But it is worth it," she said, kissing his cheek as he looked down at the series of maps in front of him. "Is there anything in particular that interests you, my lord?"

"I am curious exactly how long it took you to reach the woodlands in the far south the first time. You have them on a completely separate map so I am unclear as to the distance."

"It took over a month to reach the southern port from Dol Amroth, and I traveled for about five more inland to the villages of the forest people."

"So that is a year of just traveling there and back."

"Traveling east will take longer," Tinwe said, pulling out the map she had received from the nomads. "Unless we catch them on the western edge in early winter, we will have to travel some distance to find them."

"We can figure that out later," Legolas said, shuffling the maps to the side of his desk. "We shouldn't keep our friends waiting any longer. You slept in a bit longer than usual this morning."

"Excuse me for enjoying my sleep," Tinwe said walking past him towards the door. "Besides, I feel that you are partially to blame as well."

Legolas smiled and caught up to her as she strode out into the hallway. He took her arm put it through his, kissing her temple.

"Forgive me, my lady, for insulting you. I do not wish to face your wrath on so fine a morning."

"Ever the charming prince," Tinwe said, unable to keep the smile of her face. "You know I cannot be mad at you for more than a moment."

"I am glad to hear it," Legolas said, grinning.

Upon reaching the dining hall they found that all but Gimli had already arrived. Merry informed them that the dwarf was still sleeping off the wine.

"I suppose I should not be surprised to hear that," Legolas said, sitting down between Tinwe and Aragorn. "He will likely be asleep until lunch unless someone wishes to wake him."

"We are just glad you both arrived before we had to leave," Arwen said, looking down the table at Legolas and Tinwe. "We shall be departing as soon as we are done here."

"I am sorry you are not able to stay longer," Tinwe said, looking from Arwen to her brothers sitting across the table from her. "It has been wonderful to see you all again."

"Elladan and I may be back relatively soon, though with you both gone we will have to find some other excuse to visit."

"Why is that?" Legolas asked, looking at Elladan, who was smirking.

"Elohir has taken a fancy to one of the ladies in your father's court, Legolas," Elladan said, looking around at his brother. "He appeared quite smitten with her last night."

"Really?" Tinwe said, grinning widely at this news. "Which lady would that be?"

"Lady Aranosse," Elohir said, a wistful smile on his face.

"I am unfamiliar with her," Tinwe said, looking over at Legolas. "What do you know of her?"

"She is a lovely lady. Her father was the advisor I was speaking to last night when Elohir whisked you away."

"Is that so?" Tinwe said, returning her gaze to Elohir. "And to think you once told me that you only had eyes for me."

"Ah yes, but that was long before you met your prince and became unattainable."

"You make it sound like I am a piece of fruit dangling just out of reach," Tinwe said with a small laugh. "But anyway, I am happy for you. Perhaps you can talk to King Thranduil and he can find you an excuse to return for a while."

"I shall look into it," Elohir said.

Shortly afterward, Tinwe and Legolas bid farewell to King Aragorn, Arwen, Elladan and Elohir. Tinwe thanked them for visiting, and made sure to extend her appreciation to the men of Gondor who had travelled with their king.

After they left, Legolas and Tinwe began making their preparations to leave as well. They attempted to both prepare for their journey and entertain their guests, which was a significant challenge.

"Shall we go north first since it will be warming up into spring?" Legolas asked, interrupting Tinwe and Pippin's conversation. Tinwe was particularly interested in hearing about Sam's new baby girl, Elanor, and had been pressing the hobbits for news.

"I don't know," Tinwe said, looking around at him as he continued to pour over the maps, Gimli standing next to him, flipping through the sheets of paper. "I am starting to think we should accompany our friends west and visit Sam before we head north. We can go north from there and see the northern coastlines."

"I'm sure Sam would appreciate your visit," Pippin interjected.

"And it isn't too far out of the way either," Tinwe said, standing and going over to look at the maps as well. "It is always better to have more people in your party when you travel over the mountains, too."

"Well you are in charge, my lady," Legolas said with a smile. "We can go wherever you like."

They settled on making a large loop, starting with Hobbiton and then heading north before circling around into the eastern deserts and ending in the southern forests.

"We will be traveling over new roads that way," Tinwe said, rather enthusiastic about the whole idea. "I traveled by sea into the south, not by land. It will take longer that way, but it should be an interesting trip. The nomads will have trading partners that can help us along the way."

Any further discussion was interrupted by a knock at the door. Tinwe went and opened it, and found a grinning brown haired elf looking down at her.

Tinwe screamed, wrapping her arms around the newcomer, who picked her up by the waist and spun her around as she laughed. When he finally put her down, she had tears of joy in her eyes.

"When did you get here?!" she asked, beaming up at him. Her face then changed into a mock scowl, and she punched his arm. "And why weren't you here yesterday for my wedding?"

"I just got here, and I'm sorry I wasn't here for the wedding," he said, kissing her forehead. "But I had other things going on."

"What is more important than your sister's wedding?" she asked, crossing her arms and glaring up at him. Legolas, who had been watching the exchange with growing jealous, felt his whole body relax when she said this.

"My son's birth," he said, smiling down at her. The scowl disappeared from Tinwe's face instantly, and she hugged Angsul again.

"Congratulations! That is so exciting! Now I have a niece and a nephew!"

"I haven't had the opportunity to go see Norui yet, since naneth sent me here as soon as she saw me. I hope she looks more like Nahlrie then Glorothond."

"She does," Tinwe said laughing. "Oh, I am sorry, I should introduce you. These are my friends Merry, Pippin, and Gimli, and this is Legolas," she said, taking Legolas's arm as he came forward to greet Angsul, whom he had only met the once when Tinwe's family had dined with his so long ago. "Everyone, this is my brother Angsul."

"It is a pleasure to meet you at last," Legolas said, his arm around Tinwe. "Tinwe speaks of you often."

"The pleasure is all mine, Prince Legolas," Angsul replied. "To think that I am now related to royalty. I don't have to address you as 'princess' from now on, do I?"

"That would be incredibly odd if you did," Tinwe said, laughing. "How long are you here for?"

"Just a couple days. My wife consented to let me leave right after the baby was born, but she insisted I return home as quickly as possible."

"Well I'm glad you arrived when you did, because Legolas and I will be leaving soon for a whirlwind tour of Middle Earth."

"Still not content to sit still, hmm?" Angsul said, shaking his head. "You always were the black sheep of the family."

"Hey now, you were the odd one, not me," Tinwe countered. But she laughed, taking Angsul's arm and leading him further into the room. "We must make the most of your visit."

Tinwe spent most of the next two days with her brother, while Legolas kept preparing for their trip.

"So she gets to relax while you do all the work?" Gimli asked as he and Legolas sat in the kitchens, talking to the cooks about what Legolas wanted ready when they left at the end of the week. "Seems fair. I suppose you should expect it though, since you're married now."

"You're a bit cynical," Legolas said, looking down as Gimli looked hungrily at a platter with a wild boar on it pass nearby. "Tinwe hasn't seen her brother in centuries. She has a right to spend time with him while she can. Besides, we don't have that much packing to do that I need her help all the time."

"Yeah, well, it will only get worse for you, my friend. Wait until you return and settle down. She'll have you running all over the place doing things she doesn't want to do while sitting on the couch reading a book and drinking tea."

"Can you really see Tinwe doing any of that?" Legolas said, standing to leave as they finished their task. "I'll be hard pressed to get her to sit still long enough to read a book."

"Just wait until you have children," Gimli said, striding along next to Legolas. "Then everything will change."

"I don't think we will have to worry about that for a long time," Legolas said, glancing down at his friend. "Tinwe is not interested in children."

"Could have fooled me," Gimli replied. "She seemed very attached to that boy in Minas Tirith, and particularly thrilled when her brother announced his new son, not to mention her insistence on hearing about Master Gamgee's new daughter."

"That's different," Legolas said, but wondered if that was true. Tinwe said she didn't want children for a long time, but now that he thought about it, she did seem to have quite a maternal instinct already.

Tinwe was sad to see her brother leave, but didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it. Only a few days later, the group left Mirkwood for Hobbiton. Before they left, Thranduil made sure to give their journey his blessing.

"Be safe, and enjoy yourselves," he said, looking at both Legolas and Tinwe with a smile. "There is no need to hurry back, so make sure you do everything you want to on your journey."

"Thank you, my lord," Tinwe said, kissing his cheek and stepping back with a smile. "I am glad that we are able to part on friendly terms."

"As am I," Thranduil said, holding her hands in his. "Keep Legolas out of trouble, won't you?"

"I will," Tinwe said with a laugh, looking up at her husband.

It was a peaceful journey through Mirkwood and over the mountains to the Shire. They chose to bypass Imladris on the way, as Tinwe said she would be too sad to see it empty. Eventually, they reached Hobbiton, and the five travelers stopped outside the door of the Gamgee home.

"Coming!" came a voice from inside. It was Sam who opened the door, and he looked around at everyone, surprise and joy spreading across his face. "My dear friends! Come in, come in. I was not expecting all of you to visit."

"We couldn't very well leave on an extended journey without seeing your new daughter," Tinwe said, following Gimli inside. "Where is she?"

"Rosie's got her in the nursery. I'll go get them. Please, sit down." The travelers sat down around the fire as Sam hurried off, returning quickly, with a small hobbit babe in his arms and his wife in tow.

"Tinwe, Legolas, Gimli, this is Elanor," Sam said, beaming down at the baby that was looking around curiously with bright blue eyes. She already had a full head of golden hair like her mother.

"She is beautiful," Tinwe said, a look of bliss on her face, which Legolas did not fail to notice. "May I?" Sam gently placed Elanor in Tinwe's lap, and the elleth began speaking softly in elvish to the child while the rest of the group went on with their conversation.

"I do believe we must offer our congratulations on your recent wedding," Sam said, looking at Legolas since Tinwe was preoccupied. "I am sorry I could not attend. How was it?"

"It turned out wonderfully," Legolas said, glancing at Tinwe. "I wouldn't have changed anything if I could. We missed having you there."

"Well I am glad you were able to visit before you started traveling again," Sam said. "Where are you going to go?"

"We planned on heading north first, then going east to see Tinwe's friends in the desert before heading south," Legolas replied. "There is much to see."

They ate dinner at Sam's and stayed up late talking, though Rosie and Elanor went to bed early. The five guests left after midnight, Merry and Pippin saying farewell, though they would see Sam soon, while Gimli, Legolas, and Tinwe said a long goodbye, for they were unsure when they would next see the hobbits. The elves then bid Gimli farewell, as the dwarf was heading south while they turned north. They wanted to get out of Hobbiton before finding a place to camp for the night.

"Goodbye, my friend," Legolas said, smiling at Gimli. "We will come visit before we head back to Mirkwood at our journey's end."

"You better," Gimli said gruffly. "I can't imagine why you are doing this anyway, but you elves are strange."

"Goodbye Gimli," Tinwe said with a smile, before she and Legolas mounted their horses and started off to the north.

I apologize if this is a rather boring chapter. I'm getting close to the end and I'm trying to wrap up quickly because I have at least three other stories bouncing around my head that I'm trying to get down as well.