THE FORGOTTEN

Beach Day

Author's note: The chapter in which – Lothril realizes Legolas has seen her half naked before and Glorfindel tries his hand at photography. …So I'm gonna put up a fluff alert for this chapter. This chapter definitely has some fluffy romantic moments!

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She hadn't really supposed that she would manage a beach day with just Legolas, so it wasn't at all surprising, shocking, or even unwelcome when everyone else invited themselves along, including Grandma Sue, but she claimed she had no interest in swimming at all and only wanted to sit on the beach and read a book. A bit of discussion later, it was decided that they would all meet at the beach around two or three in the afternoon and then picnic dinner at the beach, sunset bonfire, and back home. Sue said she would drive over and they could put all the supplies in her truck so they didn't have to carry it all through the woods.

Before bed, Lothril took the clothes out of the dryer and folded everything and brought her new swimsuit upstairs so she could try it on. She stood in front of the mirror on the back of her bedroom door and surveyed herself. If she was being honest, she thought she looked pretty good. It wasn't crazy revealing, didn't feel like it would go anywhere as she swam, and it showed off her scar nicely. Sue loaned her a cover up to wear to the beach which was basically a long sheer white robe with blue around the edges and small diamonds polka dotting it. It would do, and quite nicely.

The next morning Lothril woke up with a very summertime feeling. That lazy, carefree feeling that has nothing to do and doesn't want anything to do. Really, this was the first time in thirteen months that she didn't have some huge task looming over her. It was also a rare and golden opportunity to be responsibility free… that reminded her of Renee… Lothril had seen 'Back to the Future III' and she had had a notion back in Lothlórien to pull a Doc Brown and send her something in the future from the past. She was fairly certain if she hadn't had her elvish stuff, her parents would have been much slower to believe her. She just had a funny feeling that Renee might need something to help prove her story. Probably not to her parents, but maybe a prospective husband, because really – hiding the fact one went to Middle-earth and lived in Caras Galadhon and befriended the Fellowship is a rather large secret to be keeping from the love of ones life. She quickly dressed and ran downstairs and found Sue and Legolas sitting on a freshly scrubbed back porch, each with a cup of coffee.

"Good morning, sleepy head!" Grandma Sue greeted. "I've got coffee in the pot and you can make some tea if you want it."

"Actually, what I want is some stationary. Do you have any?" Lothril asked.

"Sure, in the living room in my side table. Who are you writing?" Sue asked.

"A friend in Indiana. Have you ever seen 'Back to the Future III'?" Lothril asked.

"Yeah, I have."

"Remember how Doc Brown sent Marty that note via Western Union?"

"Yeah."

"I'm going to do that for my friend Renee."

Grandma Sue looked at her with a raised brow and said, "I take it there's a story here, but I'll ask about it later."

"Thanks," Lothril said. "Oh, do you have a camera I can borrow?"

"I have all my old camera equipment upstairs. Why?" Sue asked.

"I want to send her a picture to help prove things," Lothril answered.

"Perfect! I've got something like six pictures left on the roll and I just hate to waste them," Sue said. "I'll go get my stuff and meet you back here."

Sue scurried inside and upstairs as Lothril went back inside and grabbed the stationary, a pen, and a hardback book to write on. She came back onto the porch and sat down beside Legolas. "Anything you want to say to Renee?" Lothril asked.

"Give her my deepest thanks for her part in helping you create my ring," he replied.

Lothril nodded as wrote out her note and Legolas' thanks. As she wrote, Sue came back downstairs with her camera hanging around her neck and a camera bag slung over her shoulder.

As soon as Lothril was done writing Grandma Sue asked, "What would you like pictures of and where?"

"Legolas and I. I want our ears clearly visible to help prove we are elves," Lothril answered.

"Anything else?" Sue asked.

"Nothing comes to mind," Lothril said.

"I've actually got eleven pictures left on this role, so what do you say we get a couple pictures of you both, a picture of the three of us, and then a couple of us with the guys?" Sue suggested.

"That sounds great!" Lothril said. "I'm trying to put together a picture book before I leave to bring with me."

"If that's the case, I'll get more film when I drop this off and I'll make sure you've got pictures of everybody and everything. I've even got the negatives still of some old pictures of your dad and your grandparents, if you want some of those pictures," she offered.

Lothril smiled wide. "That would be great! Thank you!"

"You're welcome, sweetie! Alright, with the light this morning, let's go out in the yard there and I'll get a snap of you for your friend," Sue said.

Sue posed them in a way she thought would show off their ears and still get their faces clearly visible too. She supposed they could always send a slightly larger picture if they wanted. After that she went back inside and got her tripod and had the three of them sit on the porch stairs and she used a remote to snap a couple pictures.

After pictures, they had a nice light breakfast, the twins and Glorfindel came over to pick through the debris from the fire and pull out any armor or weapons that needed melted down and anything else that might need to be more burned, Sue snapped a couple candid shots and then a posed one of just the three of them and then one with all "her Elves", and then Elladan gave Legolas the extra pair of swim trunks they had. Fittingly, they were green, but with blue flames going up the side, which he thought was an odd design choice, but this world was strange he didn't even try to make sense of certain things.

Once all that was done, the twins and Glorfindel went back to their house to get things around for the picnic and Lothril and Legolas decided they wanted to get to the beach a little before the others, so they quickly got ready, asked Sue how to get there through the woods, and then set off immediately after lunch.

"Are you not wearing your swimming things to the lake?" Legolas asked as she came downstairs in jean shorts and a t-shirt.

"I have my suit on underneath. I just have no interest of hiking through the woods in a swimsuit and a flimsy cover up," she replied. "Do you want to put your sweatshirt in my bag?" she asked, holding open her tote bag.

"Yes, thank you," he said as he gingerly set in his folded sweatshirt and then proceeded to take the bag from her. "Shall we go?"

"Let's and quickly!" she replied.

With that he took her hand and they went off into the woods at a brisk walk. Usually, Legolas was one to meander and explore the flora and fauna, but he was very interested to see a lake that looked like the sea, and especially one that seemed to hold Lothril's heart so. After all, did she not say it was on the shores of that lake that her longing was first stirred?

Being but a half mile away, it took them very little time to get there. The first glimpse was a mere glimmer through the trees at the top of a hill, then as they got closer, glimpses of water and sand, and then they reached the bottom of a hill and came out of the trees to sandy dirt mixed with long grass that faded into a quiet and empty stretch of sugar sand with a big, wide lake beyond with foot high waves crashing on the shore.

"Here it is!" Lothril said with a grin. "The waves aren't as crazy as sea waves today, but they're crashing rather pleasantly, don't you think?"

He nodded. "It is strange. It is like a sea, but not. The pull is stronger here than under bough, but it feels different than it did in Lebennin." He looked at her and said, "I see why you wanted so badly to return here."

"Shall we lay out our beach blanket?" she asked, placing a hand on his arm to draw his attention back.

He looked back at her again and smiled, "Yes, let us do that and enjoy our solitude." They picked a spot on the beach and he set down the tote bag and she held onto his sweatshirt while he pulled out the blanket. While he was distracted, she hastily took off her t-shirt and shorts then stuffed everything back in the bag and headed down towards the water. He stood up and saw her standing knee deep in the water. He pulled off his shirt and then went down to join her.

"I like this on you. You should bring it back with you to Middle-earth," Legolas said as he slid an arm around her waist. Sweet Elbereth, did her soft skin feel marvelous against his hand!

"I imagine this would be a bit scandalous. Or would this be for your eyes only?" Lothril replied, turning towards him a little and reflexively glancing at him only to stop and take a thorough inventory. Hadn't she thought his arms looked sculpted of marble? It only made sense the rest of him would too. He looked like Michelangelo's David, just with a slightly longer torso and in living color.

"Scandalous? Not particularly. I have seen many ellith wearing similar clothing while swimming. Some wear more, but it is largely preference and comfort. Though nothing cut quite that way, but we do not have fabric that stretches like that either so that may be the biggest difference," he replied. "Lothril, you are not breathing."

"Good sweet Mike, you're gorgeous!" she blurted out, sounding like she had just come up for air.

"Thank you for noticing," Legolas said, unsure if he wanted to laugh or blush.

Suddenly she blushed and covered her mouth with her hand.

"It is fine, melethril, I am glad to know you think so. You are free to make whatever statements or observations you wish. We are betrothed, after all," he said with a smile pulling gently at the corners of his mouth.

"I- it… I didn't mean to be so tactless," she stammered, trying to master her feelings of embarrassment.

"Tactless or not, it is nice to hear your opinion of me," Legolas replied encouragingly. "And in return I shall give you my opinion of you," he leaned down so he could whisper in her ear, "You have a lovely figure and I delight to see it."

"I knew I should have gotten a one piece," she muttered.

"You could have, but you seem to be forgetting I have seen this all before," he replied.

She stared at him in wide eyed surprise, but then realized he was right. "Oh, you have, haven't you… I suppose I ought to have been more careful while working on my tan in Minas Tirith."

"Why? What difference would it make?" he asked, looking terribly amused.

"I would hate to cause you to lust or be tempted to forget yourself," she answered in a tone that was close to casual, but had that small little edge of latent guilt to it.

"Being a human must be strange," he replied. "I cannot imagine being driven to lust or temptation just because I saw your legs or bare torso."

"Umm…" Lothril started.

Legolas laughed, "I already love you and I already desire you. You cannot tempt me to want you more just by showing some skin. You will see when the others get here. The twins are more defined than I am and Glorfindel is twice as muscular, but you will not care because you do not want any of them. They could stand before you naked and you would not care."

"I can't wait until I get fully used to being an elf," she said.

"You already are and you do not notice it," Legolas said with a smile. "There were dozens of times while we were camping in Cormallen that half-naked human men walked past you in naught but their trousers as they returned from bathing in the river and you never so much as blinked, and I dare say a few them were at least as muscular as I am, and if the chatter of the women in the camp is any indication, many of them were very handsome. Did you even notice?"

"I remember seeing them, but I did not even think about their looks or the fact they were barely dressed. They were just there and that was just camp," she replied.

"But all the women in the camp noticed. The washer women, the serving maids, the women that came down to help from the city for Frodo and Sam's awakening – they all noticed," he said.

"How do you know they noticed?" Lothril asked with knit brows.

"First rule of living with servants – the servants know everything because they are everywhere and they are invisible. If you want the latest news, gossip, or scandal – pay attention to the servants when they chat with each other, especially in a camp. And if you get close to one or two of your servants, they will tell you everything you want to know," Legolas answered. "The servant women in the camp in Ithilien noticed handsome soldiers. Particularly the Dúnedain."

"Oh," Lothril said, thinking it over. "But then if you…" She trailed off, lost in her own thoughts.

"Ask your question aloud and you may answer it for yourself or else I will give you the answer that eludes you," Legolas said.

"But then, if you are not driven to desire because you see me, well, like this, then – Ooooh… it all makes sense now…"

Legolas smiled, "And that is because…?"

"You do not desire me because you see me dressed like this, you loved me first which brought forth desire which you allow by will. It is how you could see my bare stomach and back after the battle and not fight feelings of desire the entire time because at the time you set it aside to focus on healing me. Though, not sure how that explains you not writing sonnets to me about my legs when you saw me tanning on the balcony, but anyway, now that we are betrothed, you are allowing your desire more than you did before because now it is appropriate, right? So in reality, it would not matter how much or how little I was wearing, your desire for me will remain constant because your will is keeping things in check… I think… am I right?"

"Yes, more or less. I would amend it though – my desire for you grows constantly, for you are always doing things that cause me to love you more, and I will not check that for anything. However, I will have no untoward thoughts or actions towards you or about you because I also respect you and our traditions, and so on that score, it does not matter how much or how little you are wearing because I will only allow my thoughts to go so far. I want to marry you, I want to make love to you, but I will not marry until tradition has been satisfied, and I will not let my thoughts wander yet to our marriage bed. We are too far out and it is not time. As we draw closer though, that time will come and in due course we will speak to each other of those things with desire and intent in our hearts and it will be quite fitting for us to do so. But all in all, you are on the right track. And the only reason you did not get sonnets from me about your shapely legs is because I am saving that for later. You are not ready yet for such verses."

"Wait, but doesn't that contradict…?"

"Not at all, because I would only be commenting on the beauty of them but you are not ready for such compliments."

She looked like she wanted to protest for a moment, but then her face relaxed into a shamefaced smile and she said, "Well, that's true enough. But wait, one more thing I am not sure I understand – the other night in the family room."

"What about it?"

"That was kind of …" the word Lothril wanted to use was 'steamy' but somehow that didn't seem like something that would translate well into his elven brain, and for the life of her she couldn't think of another way to put it.

"Loving?" he suggested.

"Well, 'passionate' I think is a little closer to what I'm thinking," she replied.

He looked at her with that evaluating look he would get when trying to assess her fighting skills. "Before we are wed, you and I are having a very long conversation about our expectations for our wedding night."

"Oookay…" she said slowly, very unsure why he just made that statement but not wanting to go into it just then, "but the other night – it was kind of passionate."

"In the loosest definition of the word, but I am not sure why you are bringing it up," Legolas said.

"How does that line up with your no 'untoward thoughts or actions' towards me?" Lothril asked.

"Did you think any of it untoward?" he asked in reply.

"Well, it certainly set my heart racing," she replied.

"That does not make a thing inappropriate though. Did I touch you or kiss you anywhere you thought inappropriate or in a way you thought wrong or you did not like?"

"No," she answered. "You basically just kissed my lips and neck and I only remember your hands on my arms, my waist, and my back. Oh, and in my hair a little."

"I did not touch you in any place I would not touch you in public, nor will I unless there are extenuating circumstances, like you having a six or seven inch gash from an orc blade and a back covering bruise from a troll. The only real difference between last night and any other time we have been together is that you actually allowed yourself to express your feelings for me a little. Once you relaxed and began to unwind, you began allowing yourself to feel and express those feelings. Otherwise, all we did was hold each other, play with each other's hair a little, I kissed your neck some, and we fell asleep in each other's arms. That is all."

"Good, because after the embarrassment from Elladan catching us asleep wore off, I've been rather enjoying those memories," she said as she leaned her head on his bare shoulder.

"As you should, because I have been also," he said with a smile. He loved feeling her against his side... "Hold – I have gotten so used to you being my student I explained all that when I simply should have asked this – how do you feel seeing me dressed like this?"

She stared out at the water and turned the most delicate shade of pink. "Well, I… I am afraid I might be a bit different from you in that I…um… I hadn't really considered your looks past your face before you got here and wore a t-shirt for the first time and that got me a bit curious what you might look like but-uh, in a more idle kinda way I suppose. Seeing you like this though… this is a whole new world of feelings I hadn't even sorta considered before. I-um… I definitely desired you before but more in a mind and fëa kinda way. I um… I think I have officially begun desiring your hröa also. At least in a substantial way."

The poor thing – she looked like she was torn between feeling shy and embarrassed, and passionately desirous. He drew her to himself and wrapped her in his arms and said softly in her ear, "I am glad to hear it, melethril nin. And it is certainly not different for I feel the same way. The only difference is that I have for months and you are but lately. This is a normal and healthy and proper desire. You ought to desire your betrothed mind, body, and spirit. I certainly desire you in such ways."

"So, random question, is that about what you wear to go swimming back home?" she asked, changing the subject before she could blush any brighter pink.

"These are longer and looser than what I usually wear, but comparable," he answered, letting her change the subject. "That is," he brought his mouth down next to her ear and whispered, "if I am not swimming naked."

"Legolas!"

"Tell me you have never done so," he said skeptically.

She was about to answer with a loud 'absolutely not!' and a semi-insulted look on her face when her face froze and she suddenly blushed. "Well… I did once. And I nearly regretted it."

"Oh? Pray tell!" Legolas said with raised brows and an impish grin.

She frowned. "Oooh! You! It was after that first day I met with Elrond, right after we arrived in Rivendell. Remember you told me to go outside and wander around so I could sort out the library shoved in my head? Well, I wandered out through that garden you found me in and back to some pretty little waterfall that falls into a round pool that only gets to about five feet deep. It was a warm day and I felt like a swim and I seemed so very alone, so I decided to risk a little skinny dipping."

"Did you get caught?" he asked, sounding very amused.

"Nearly. I was swimming for but a few minutes when I decided I was probably pressing my luck and decided to get out. No sooner did I swim to the edge of the pool when I heard voices off in the distance, so I darted out, threw on my clothes, and then calmly walked away until I reached the trees and then I bolted and got myself lost," she answered.

Legolas laughed. "Oh Lothril! You needn't have worried. Even if you had been seen, no one would have batted an eye. They probably would have heard you or seen you from a distance and diverted their path. Even if they did not notice you until it was too late, it is doubtful they would have cared as long as you kept low in the water. I know which pool you speak of. The current is strong enough that the surface is always rippled and you cannot see below the surface very well. You would have been quite fine."

"No, I would have died of embarrassment. But in any event, it has put me off of skinny dipping," she replied, turning red. "And dare I ask when or why you swim naked?"

"We have a private pool in the palace. It is off limits to everyone but Ada and myself, unless we personally invite someone to join us. You of course, shall be permitted to use it as much as you like and whenever you like," Legolas explained. "So to put your mind at ease, half the kingdom has not seen me naked because that is the only place I ever swim so. I rather hope once we are married, you will reconsider it."

"That is good to know," she said. "And maybe."

"I thought you might find it reassuring," he said with a grin. He paused then said, "I am surprised you did not try to hide your scar at all."

"I'm rather proud of it, to be perfectly honest. It is my first and hopefully last battle scar, it is the first time I tried to heal myself, and it is the first time you saw my bare torso and you were nothing but perfect through the whole thing," she replied.

"I must say, I find your back more attractive without massive rainbow colored bruises upon it," he said.

"I should think so," she chuckled. She pulled him close to herself and gave him a series of kisses.

"You are feeling affectionate today," Legolas commented with a grin.

"And why not? This is the first time in over a year I haven't had something huge, unknown, and either deadly or depressing hanging over my head. In fact, let me say a few things I haven't been able to say – First, I am sorry I have been so distant and crazy this last month or so. I was ill prepared for coming home and dealing with the riot of emotions that brought. Being home was the best and worst simultaneously. I love my family dearly, but the weight of the differences between Eldar and Edain became painfully clear to me and it was very hard to deal with. My change to Eldar was a natural progression so I didn't notice it. Being thrown back though into the world of Men, this world of Men, threw everything into sharp contrast and – I have been a mess this last month and that you have been so patient and sweet to me is a testament to your good character. Second, I-"

"Hold a moment," Legolas interrupted in a quiet voice, "I want to tell you that I saw those differences possibly faster than you did and I understand. You nearly returned to how you were before that tea party in your room in Rivendell, but not quite as bad. I have seen you fighting it though and trying to maintain the growth you had in Middle-earth and the progress you made in trying to deal with your past. You have not been a mess. A bit tightly wound, but not a mess, as evidenced by you almost returning to normal overnight now that all the pressure is gone. Now, you had a second thing to say?"

"You are the best, you know that?" she said with a smile as she drew his head down to hers so she could kiss him. "Second, I love you. I love you so much that I want to express it openly."

"Then please do so!" Legolas cried.

She laughed a little then said, "Yes, but I also know I am betrothed to a crowned prince and that there must certainly be rules about these things and I would prefer to make a favorable impression upon the good elves of the Woodland Realm."

"When you return Ada and I will teach you court etiquette, but mostly it involves knowing whom you need to bow to or not and how to address them; and I shall give you a hint – only Ada and myself will outrank you when we are wed. As for proper expressions of affection between the crowned prince and his betrothed, it is whatever I want because I am the crowned prince and none but my father can say anything and he generally has very little to say about my conduct except to tell nosy lords to mind their own business," he said with a roguish grin. "However, generally speaking, our behavior around others has been quite acceptable. The only addition worth mentioning is that you are allowed to kiss me in front of others more than you do. Anything else is, I think, fairly natural to your sense of propriety and sensibility."

"So I do not have to keep a step behind you or keep distance between us or anything like that?"

"Certainly not! And that would be more court etiquette anyway. When the Silvan elves made grandfather king, they told him it was their custom that the wives of the clan leaders would do such and I am told that grandfather was furious that they dare tell another benn** to treat his hervess as anything less than his equal. Nan-ada was his wife and queen and the king's equal in all things, except legally he was made king and she only became queen by extension, so he was given the deciding vote if their opinions on a matter were at odds. Generally, she happily deferred to Ada-da though because she often said she had no desire to rule, only to help. Ada-da often called Nan-ada his heart," Legolas replied.

"That is very sweet," Lothril said with a smile. "Did that carry over with your father and mother?"

Legolas nodded. "Very much so. Much of what I do now is what Nane used to do. Nane is an excellent administrator and very good at reading others. You however, need only be as involved in things as you wish to be, if at all. There is no requirement for you do anything if you do not want to. But here we are talking politics when we have a whole beach to ourselves, the sun is high and warm, and the lake inviting. Unless you have something else you wish to say, I vote we enjoy ourselves."

"One more thing for now," she said.

"What is that?"

"Catch me if you can!" she yelled as she sped off down the beach, laughing as she went.

Legolas laughed and chased after her as she raced down the secluded stretch of beach. She certainly wasn't running at full speed, but she did manage to dodge him when she unexpectedly turned towards the water and began running along the wet sand, waves splashing against her as they rolled in. He pursued and caught her as she tripped on a piece of driftwood a wave brought in at just the wrong moment, both of them tumbling into the shallow waves with a cry.

"Are you hurt?" Legolas asked with laughter in his voice.

"I might have a bruised shin later, but that is all. Stupid driftwood," she answered with a grin.

"Good, I am glad to hear it," he said standing up. He picked her up and carried her over his shoulder deeper into the water.

"What are you doing? Put me down!" she demanded.

"As you wish," he said and flung her off his shoulder into the water with a huge splash.

The moment she surfaced in the hip high water she cried, "You punk! Get back here and take your medicine like a man!"

As he swam out to deeper water he turned onto his back and called back, "I am an elf, not a man, and I do not need any medicine!"

Laughing and trying desperately to be annoyed at him and his snark as she began swimming after him. He stopped swimming just beyond his depth and tread water and let her catch up to him.

"You have caught me, now what shall you do with me?" Legolas challenged.

She laughed, "I have no idea. I've never taken a prisoner before. What does one do with a prisoner?"

"Depends on what it is," Legolas replied with a grin. "If it is a gaggle of dwarves, you throw them in the dungeon and give them three meals a day and wait until either their stubbornness breaks or a hobbit effects their escape. If it is an orc you torture it with fresh air, sunshine, and anything wholesome, then you question it, and then you kill it."

"What about if you capture an elven prince?" she asked.

He shook his head and clucked him tongue. "They are the worst sort. I am afraid the only thing to be done with captured elven princes is to torture them with sweet words and sweeter kisses and if they offer any resistance there is little choice but to grow violent and hold them in your arms while you torture them."

"Sounds terrible, but if that is what is to be done with captured elven princes, then I shall need you to come with me," she said, admirably, but not completely, suppressing her smile.

"I refuse. As a captured prince, I refuse to come peacefully," he said, arching a brow and sounding remarkably like the sassy crowned prince of the Woodland Realm. "And what shall you do about it?"

"You leave me little choice," she said as she swam up to him and put her arms around his neck and kissed him. He tread water and moved forward just enough so he could touch bottom and keep their heads above water as the waves rolled in before he wrapped her in his arms. "Will you now come with me willingly?" she asked at length, trying to catch her breath.

"Lead on, my captor," he said before plying her with a series of kisses.

She pulled away and took his hand and drew him back up to the shore and onto the large beach blanket where she began the slow process of torturing her captive with sweet words and sweeter kisses as she sought to tell him all the things she had long felt; and she decided where words failed, ósanwe could help make up the difference because then she could convey more vague ideas or her feelings.

"Are you sufficiently tortured?" she teased after a good long while.

"Quite. I am now ready to tell you anything you wish to know," he answered as he stared up at her smiling face.

"Do you love me?"

"I do love you."

"How much?"

"More than the stars, more than my kingdom, more than my life. I would endure this world for you, if you chose it. I would abdicate my claim to the throne if you asked it. I would lay down my very life for you if you were threatened. I have waited nearly two ages to find you, and if you need it, if you ask it, I will wait for you two more," he answered very seriously.

"If I asked you to wed me this minute, would you?"

"No," he answered without a moment of hesitation. "You are not ready, and neither am I. We need a chance to grow together without bow and sword between us. This month here will be a much needed respite for both of us, and except when your family is here, I plan on very selfishly keeping you to myself as much as possible. Whenever you come to join me in the Woodland Realm, I am going to take several months off from most of my duties and spend those days with you. After we are wed, I am taking a whole year with little to no responsibilities so I may spend time getting to know my new wife."

"Truly, I am glad you said that," she replied as she lay down next to him again, staring up at the clear blue sky. "And I am excited at the thought of growing together with you and getting to know you as both my betrothed and my husband."

"That is what these days are for," he said with a smile. "And I intend to enjoy them. Any more questions, my captor?" he asked as he leaned up on his elbow and began peppering her with kisses.

"Kissing again!" came an exasperated voice back near the trees.

"Come back in ten minutes," Lothril called over.

"We would rather come pester you," Elladan teased.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you," Lothril said before she reached up to Legolas, who was lying half on his side, and pulled him down so she could kiss him. He nearly lost his balance and had to throw out his other hand on the other side of her to keep from falling on top of her. She did not let up at all though and held his face gently in place with little intention of letting him go.

She expected some smart comment or them to tease her. What she got instead were cheers and a cheery sounding honk-honk from Grandma Sue as she pulled up in her truck.

After several seconds, she let go of Legolas who sat up and smiled. He would have said something to her, but he was very certain she felt his thoughts. Sometimes her odd gift was a gift to both of them.

"Gwathel! I did not think you had it in you," Elladan teased. "I am proud of you. That rivaled anything we ever caught Arwen and Aragorn doing. But Arwen was always so careful."

"I believe the word you want, brother, is sneaky," Elrohir corrected. "Never inappropriate, but very, very sneaky. I think she was under some notion that if Elladan and I saw her we would tease her and Aragorn mercilessly."

"And you wouldn't have?" Lothril said, raising a brow.

"Certainly not. Aragorn had no qualms about using his full force even in friendly, brotherly brawls. He supposed as we heal so quickly and things that would be a serious injury for a Man are much less severe for an Elf, that he could do whatever he wanted because we would recover. And though he has an excellent sense of humor, he would only tolerate so much brotherly teasing when it came to him and Arwen," Elrohir explained as he set down the picnic supplies he carried.

"And he has a haymaker like a battering ram," Elladan said as he plopped down onto the blanket next to her and pulled off his t-shirt before he stuffed it into a rather elvish looking pack.

She looked at Elladan without a shirt. Legolas was quite correct in his observation, Elladan was more defined than Legolas was, and seeing Glorfindel in a t-shirt and shorts made it pretty obvious he was definitely more muscular. She turned her gaze back out to the lake and mused briefly. They were all three freaking hot and ripped and… she found she could well appreciate their looks, their form, even the melodic sounds of their voices as they chatted and there wasn't a trace of lust, desire, or anything like it to be found. She loved them all as family and friends and that was all. She could appreciate their fair forms with as much enthusiasm as she could a beautiful sunset or a lovely flower, but no temptation to lust.

She looked at Legolas and said, "You were right on all counts."

"Of course," he replied.

"Alright," Sue said as she came up, toting a beach towel and a book. "Which one is wearing what colored shorts?"

"I am Elladan," he said.

"Elladan in blue and white shorts, Elrohir in orange. Got it," Sue said. "Can you set the chair down right here on the edge, Glorfindel?"

"Certainly Sue," Glorfindel said with a smile. He set down the beach chair and opened it up for her and then began setting up the beach umbrella behind it.

"Thank you, dear," Sue said, with a pat on his shoulder.

"You are very welcome," Glorfindel said before he sat down.

"You sure picked a gorgeous day for the beach, Jen!" Grandma Sue said as she settled in. "Clear blue sky, light breeze off the lake, perfect temperature – absolutely perfect day for this."

"It is a gorgeous day," she agreed.

"Oh, Elrohir," Sue said, looking over at the other twin, "can you hand me that dark grey bag you have slung on your shoulder?"

"Yes, here you go," he said as he handed it to her. "What is in there anyway?"

She unzipped the bag and held up her camera. "This! I was something of a freelance photographer for years."

"Are you sure you want to risk your nice camera at the beach?" Lothril said, looking a bit concerned.

"Oh sure! You guys aren't about to be throwing sand around, the breeze is light, and this isn't my most expensive camera, though it's a pretty darn nice one. Picked it up at a St. Vinnie's ages and ages ago for a song. Came with the case and a couple lenses. Anyway, this is always the camera I bring if I want good pictures but don't want to risk my expensive cameras," Grandma Sue explained.

"What are you hoping to take pictures of?" Glorfindel asked.

"Oh, just the day. You don't mind me, I'll just be snapping here and there," she said. "But I do want a picture of all of you. Why don't you all go stand in front of the water and I'll take a picture or two," she said. They all obliged and after Sue did some minor posing of the group, she waited until the sailboat she noticed drifted into frame and then snapped a couple pictures. "Thanks guys. That'll look great!"

The better part of the afternoon was spent with everyone splitting their time between the water and the shore. Sue enjoyed her book, but she found more often than not, she was surreptitiously watching the Elves from behind her sunglasses. What a strange sort of world Middle-earth must be. Beautiful Elves with fair voices, hideous orcs with nightmarish roaring and snarling… she didn't want to live there, but she was glad she got to meet some Elves. Somehow, the last few days felt like they made her whole life a little richer just because she knew they were in it. Even if she only knew them briefly. She watched Legolas and Jen. Even when they weren't directly doing things together, it was like they always knew exactly where the other was. There was no looking around to see where the other went, it was always just a direct turn of attention towards the other. Sometimes she had to remind herself that they weren't married yet. Not that they were all over each other, though she had certainly seen that kiss when she pulled up, but that they acted so at comfortably together and seemed so relaxed. She hadn't missed Jen's distractedness and that she had been a little tense the last few days, but now that everything was done and set, she just seemed so much more at ease.

"Are you enjoying your book?" Glorfindel asked as he came and sat down beside Sue and began drying himself off.

"Yeah, it's one I've read before, but I find those are the best sort of beach reads. Ones where you can let your mind drift between the book and the shore," Sue said with a smile.

Glorfindel nodded thoughtfully. "I can see that."

"You know, I know I've known you for two years, but now that I know you're an Elf, I almost feel like I need to start over," Sue said.

Glorfindel gave a chuckle. "I suppose you might at that. What would you like to know?"

"Are you married?"

Glorfindel shook his head. "No. I never had a particular interest in it in my first youth, and then in my second I suppose I was too focused on returning to Middle-earth and affecting things there that I simply never bothered."

"First and second youth?" Sue asked, sounding very confused.

Glorfindel stared out at the lake for a moment then said, "Yes, I died in a battle with an exceedingly evil creature called a balrog. They are creatures of shadow and flame and are fallen Ainur. I believe the word you would use is 'demon'. Anyway, I killed it and it dragged me down to my death with it. My fëa, or soul was reborn shortly thereafter. Or at least, shortly as Elves reckon it. I imagine you would think it a long time, but that is another discussion."

"Can you explain the 'reborn' thing a little?" Sue said.

"Elves are not supposed to die. We are supposed to live until the world ends and in the body we were first born in. However, if we are killed or die of grief our bodies may die, but our souls live on. We then have two choices – to go to the Halls of Mandos where our deeds will be judged and we will either be reborn eventually or else we remain spirits there either by judgement or by choice, or we can wander the world as bodiless souls. That is never a good idea. If we are reborn, we are reborn as ourselves. In time, usually around the time we reach full maturity, we begin to remember our past life and then resume our lives where we left them. More or less," Glorfindel explained.

"Do you look the same this time as last time?" Sue asked.

Glorfindel chuckled, "Exactly the same. Our souls bond with our bodies and to some extent shape them the older we get. So as I grew up the second time, my soul gradually shaped my body to look the same, minus a few scars."

"You Elves are strange creatures, you know that?" Sue said teasingly.

"No stranger than you humans. You try to jam hundreds of years of living into eighty years. I have read some of the biographies in the library at the house – some of you humans manage to accomplish things in fifty years that take Elves hundreds, if not thousands of years to accomplish. It is amazing to me that you ever find time to enjoy yourselves," Glorfindel replied.

"Life is but a vapor," Sue quoted, "And when your whole life is gone in a blink, you find you really want to live it to the fullest. I know you're older than me… twice… but I'm telling you, Glorfindel, yesterday I was twenty and getting married. Then I blinked and my children were grown, then I blinked again and found myself sixty-four years old at a beach with five Elves. But then some days alone in that house feel like ten years."

Glorfindel looked almost sober at that statement. "Then time runs the same for us all, but you have so much less of it. That is how it seems to us also. We blink and a hundred years go by, yet there are moments that seem to last centuries. Take those two," he said with a smile and nodding his head towards Legolas and Lothril. "I can promise you, this day shall last undimmed in their memories until the breaking of the world and it shall be one of their most cherished memories. Today they can finally begin growing together without a war between them. I taught swordplay to Lothril in Rivendell and met her shortly after she arrived in Middle-earth, and I can promise you, her relationship with Legolas thus far has been with a sword or a bow in their hands. Now they can set them both aside and hold each other. In that regard, today is worthy of celebration."

"Glad I decided to bring some wine," Sue said with a smile. "Though technically Jen is too young."

"You humans are very strange with some of your rules, but that is your affair," Glorfindel said dismissively.

Sue laughed, "Well I won't argue that! So what do you do when you are not fighting things?"

"After this, I think I am permanently retired from fighting things, so I think I shall go back to Valinor and plant an orchard. I had one in Rivendell I helped tend and I rather enjoyed it and I wish to get back to it. However, if we are staying through the Fourth of July, I shall be taking some black cherries back with me and trying to raise a couple black cherry trees. But we shall see how it goes. My home in Valinor has a clime not terribly different from this one, so I expect they shall do fairly well."

"Tell you what, why don't I bring you guys to my winery. We've got all kinds of stuff we grow up there including black cherry trees, and you can help yourself to whatever you like with my compliments," Sue said.

"Thank you! That is very generous of you!" Glorfindel said.

"Oh you're welcome! Least I can do," Sue said with a smile. Something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She quickly dropped her sunglasses and picked up her camera from around her neck and pointed it towards the twins who were splashing water at each other like a couple of kids and laughing their heads off. She snapped a couple pictures then searched for Legolas and Lothril. They were a little ways off from the twins and building a sand castle with a moat just on the edge of where the waves were lapping. "Those two are adorable," Sue muttered as she snapped a couple pictures of them.

"They have been like that since the beginning," Glorfindel said. "The first time I saw them I thought they looked like a matched set."

"They do," Sue agreed. She watched as the twins went over to the lovers and began helping them expand their sand kingdom. Sue picked up her camera and snapped another picture.

"How hard is it to take a picture?" Glorfindel asked.

"Not hard at all. Just point and click. The trick is getting everything in the picture that you want in it, and leaving out everything you don't, and getting the settings just right so it captures everything how you see it. Here," she said as she took the camera from around her neck and handed it to him. "Give it a whirl. Pick something you want to take a picture of, adjust the lens by turning it left or right until it looks like how you want it to," she said as she showed him how to adjust the lens, "and then snap the picture by pressing this button here," she said. "And since this is an old camera, you wind the film after by moving this lever left to right, but don't do it now because I already did it."

Glorfindel nodded and looked through the view finder and began adjusting the lens as he pointed the camera towards the others. He found the zoom and zeroed in on Legolas' face as he was the one almost directly facing him. As soon as it looked in focus, he snapped the picture and then asked Sue to show him how to wind the film. He lowered the camera and spotted a ship far out on the water, but when he lifted the camera, he realized there was no way he could see it even though he was certain he was looking in the right place. "It is a shame this does not see as far as I do. There is a large ship out there, but the camera cannot see it very well."

"Where?" Sue said, looking.

"On the horizon. It is red and I can see two men walking down the deck of it. It is a huge ship. They look as if they are hardly moving," Glorfindel said as he handed the camera back to her.

She held it up and looked through the viewfinder. "Oh, it must be that dark blurry line I see," Sue said.

Glorfindel laughed, "That would be it."

After a while, sandcastles were made and then destroyed, a bonfire was lit and fish that the twins and Glorfindel had caught and cleaned that morning were cooked, and after a delightful fish dinner, marshmallows were roasted as the sun began to set.

"It's been years since I've had a bonfire on the beach," Sue said.

"And why is that?" Elrohir asked.

"When you get to be my age, your friends are more interested in playing Euchre* in an air conditioned house than trying to light a bonfire on a beach," Sue said.

"I am not so sure about that. When I was your age, I was very much interested in summer bonfires, staying awake all night and watching the stars, and singing till dawn," Elrohir said.

Sue laughed, "I keep forgetting you're older than me!"

"Much older than you," Elladan said.

"Much, much older," Legolas added.

"Much older than you twice," Glorfindel joked.

"Well, I can't say I don't understand my friends though. This cool air makes the arthritis in my hands worse, but it's worth it," Sue said.

"Arthritis? You are too young to have arthritis," Elrohir said.

"Tell that to my aching knuckles," Sue said with a half frown.

"Let me see your hands," Elrohir said as he moved so he could kneel in front of her. He took one hand between his and it felt to Sue like he was gently massaging it, then he took the other and did the same, singing all the while. She didn't really notice though because Elladan struck up a conversation with her. When he was done, Elrohir quietly let go and moved back to where he was, joining in on the conversation.

The sunset that day was brilliant as the glowing orange sun sank into the water that was now glass bottle green with orange crested waves. The sky was a bold, glowing rainbow that faded into a deep indigo that was slowly becoming strewn with stars. The conversation began to quiet and revolve around the sunset and the beautiful colors and as the last rays of the sun began fading on the horizon, the Elves began to sing of stars.

The umbrella long put back in the truck, Sue leaned back in her chair and watched as the stars began to appear overhead, almost as if the song of the Elves was making them appear. Off in the distance along the shore, a lighthouse could be seen blinking, and far out on the lake were the lights of a freighter.

After the song ended Elrohir said, "We should have a Midsummer celebration at our house this year."

"We should," Glorfindel agreed. "And we would very much like to invite you to it, Sue."

"Oh yeah, you mentioned that before. What do you do for Midsummer?" she asked.

"With only six of us, it will be mostly singing, drinking, eating, and dancing with some music and stories," Elladan said. "To have a proper Midsummer, you really want at least a dozen so you can have a quartet playing while the others dance, but we shall make due with six."

"What would you do if you were back home?" Sue asked.

"The same," Elrohir answered, "but with a fair amount of merry making, stories, and games and things folded in, and it would last from Midsummer's Eve to Midsummer night or the dawn after."

"Sounds fun!" Sue said. "I'd love to join you! Is that what you do in Mirkwood too, Legolas?"

"More or less. We live on a river though and sometimes we go to the near end of Long Lake to celebrate, so there is usually also boating and swimming with our celebrations," Legolas answered.

"Maybe then we should have a Silvan Midsummer," Elladan said with a grin.

"For that you would need several dozen more elves, lights in the trees, and a lot of open air cooking," Legolas said.

"We can certainly manage the lights in the trees and open air cooking, but our number is stuck at six," Elladan said.

"And more's the pity," Legolas said then he looked at Lothril and said, "Next year you shall have your first proper Midsummer."

"That is true! You have not a proper Midsummer yet!" Elrohir cried. "Oh, then we must do our best to give our sister a taste of what she has missed!"

"I might not know elvish, but I know mischief when I hear it," Sue said with her best mom look, but with a smile teasing her mouth.

The elves all laughed and Glorfindel said, "I would not say mischief, but there is certainly scheming. Elrohir just realized this is Lothril's first Midsummer that shall not be consumed with marriage celebrations."

"Actually, this is my first elvish holiday. Unless we are going to count the hunter moon feast, which seemed a bit more universal as the dwarves and hobbits all seemed to be right at home," Lothril said.

"That does not count," Elrohir said.

"Not at all," Legolas said.

"Alas that we cannot do more than we already have planned," Elrohir said regretfully.

"It is what it is," Lothril said. "I'm sure I'll get to celebrate it all sooner or later."

Sue yawned and said, "Well, party or not, I'm going to head home. Load up whatever you don't want to carry back and I'll take off."

They all began gathering up everything except the beach blanket, and loaded it all into the back of Sue's truck and after telling Legolas and Lothril where her spare key was hidden, she hopped in the truck and headed home.

The elves stayed a while longer, singing songs of stars until at last the fire burned out.

"I think it time we return to the house," Elrohir said as he stood up and brushed the sand off his shorts. He was now wearing a dark blue sweat shirt that was apparently left in the house by Sam Johnson – or else Elrohir had become a fan of Indian Motorcycles in the last two years.

"I think I shall take a walk along the shore before heading back," Glorfindel said as he put on a red zip hoodie over his t-shirt. "Good night, Legolas, Lothril."

"Good night!" the both replied.

"How much longer do you two suppose you shall stay out here?" Elladan asked.

"I want to do a little star gazing," Lothril said.

"Then you may want this," he said as he handed her the rolled up blanket he had been using as a pillow the last hour or so. "And be sure to look up at the sky every so often."

Lothril shook her head, bid the twins good night, and just like that she and Legolas were alone on the beach, under a clear Michigan night sky.

Legolas drew closer to Lothril and lay down beside her and said, "Tell me, what constellations can be seen in your night sky?"

"I wish I knew them better. I know the names of several that I cannot always find, but I'll tell you what I know," she replied as she settled down beside him. She pointed out Orion, the big and little dippers, the north star, and one or two other constellations she could find, and she told him what bits of mythology she could remember connected to them.

"What is that ribbon of stars that cuts through the sky?" Legolas asked.

"We call it the Milky Way. It's the galaxy we live in," she answered.

"What is a galaxy?" he asked.

"Okay, so the earth – the whole thing is called a planet. And the sun is the star we are closest too. The earth revolves around the sun along with eight other planets*** called a solar system. This solar system is in a vastly larger collection of stars and planets called a galaxy and our Milky Way galaxy is but one of an unknown number of galaxies in the universe," she explained.

He looked up in wide eyed wonderment and pondered what she told him. "Then, is Middle-earth another planet or solar system or galaxy?"

"Not as I understand it. As I understand it, it is another world altogether," Lothril answered.

"That our dreams transcended worlds, that we have found each other, that I have gone to another world… It is all too marvelous for me to comprehend! All this while I have thought this all a great and unheard of undertaking of the Valar, but now I think I understand things better. I think the Name has done this thing. That He should arrange such events and it lead to my own happiness… I am humbled and blessed beyond anything I deserve," Legolas said reverently.

"Me too. So many times over," Lothril said quietly.

His hand found hers and they watched the stars wheel overhead for some time and listened to the night song of the lake and the wind in the trees.

"Shall we head back?" she said at length.

"Yes, I think it time we do so," he replied. They shook out the blankets, folded them up, made sure nothing was left behind and then headed back through the woods.

A/N: *Euchre: (yoo-ker. It's a card game.)

**In case you forgot, "benn" can mean husband or man (as in male, not race of Men) depending on context. In this particular case, it means both.

***Pluto didn't lose planet status until 2006. In 2004, it was still very much a planet. And so it remains in my heart.