THE FORGOTTEN

Maer Athan Berdh ad Sent

Better Homes and Gardens

Author's note: The chapter in which – Lothril decides to redecorate her room and look at some pictures. … this is a little bit of a bridge chapter in that I'm using it to bridge a gap between two major events but I'm also using it to set up some stuff that is coming up and give a little more insight into how the Woodland Realm functions. Also of note: Fluff in the back half of the chapter, but it's sort of... different... You'll see.

After breakfast the morning following enderi Legolas informed her that they had several options for how they could go about shopping for redecorating her room. They could either summon merchants, craftsmen, and artisans to her chambers and she could design things with them and then they deliver them sometime later, they could go visit those merchants who, come to find out, had shop in a mix of locations in and out of the palace, or if she was wanting more of an adventure, they could go all the way to Dale. She decided against a multi-day trip to Dale and instead to go visiting merchants and craftsmen.

"In that case, you shall need to change into something a little more ostentatious," he informed her.

"Must I really?" she groaned, clearly joking.

He smiled and said, "Yeah, really," in a thick Michigan accent just to tease her. "And for a very practical reason, may I add. As we do not have television or photographs here, we are known by our trappings when we go out."

She nodded and said, "Fair enough. I suppose that's probably how it was back in the day too. I will go tell Estelneth to make me look like an almost princess."

Legolas gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, "Tell her to make you look like a full princess. I want to show you off and make vain nobles jealous."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head but said, "As you wish," and sauntered off to her room.

He quickly made his way to his room and hastily dressed. He was more than a little eager to see her looking like a princess, and he knew she would say as much to Estelneth, and probably with that 'oh he's so silly' look on her face, and he knew full well Estelneth would more than rise to the challenge because she always loved dressing up his mother. As soon as he finished changing he hastily donned a golden circlet, certain rings, and then pinned the moss agate brooch from her father and mother onto his orange tunic where it could be seen under his green robe.

"Estelneth!" she called the minute she reached her rooms, to have said elf appear immediately, "I am going out and the prince of the realm wishes for me to look like a princess." She shook her head and rolled her eyes ever so slightly with a small smile tugging on one corner of her mouth. "What do we have that will make me look like a princess?"

Lothril could have sworn Estelneth's eyes started gleaming.

"What are you going to do when you go out?" Estelneth asked.

"Shopping. I want to redecorate my rooms," Lothril answered.

Now she was convinced Estelneth's eyes really were gleaming with sheer glee.

"We have a few things," she smiled as she whisked into the closet. "This is new from Filegon just this morning." She pulled out a rich red velvet and mottled orange dress, all trimmed and belted with gold leaves. The dress looked like it was turning autumn colors as much as the trees themselves were. It shimmered slightly in the lights in the closet and Lothril suspected there were metallic threads woven in that she'd see once she got outside. "And this just arrived this morning with a set of gold jewelry that will look very well with this dress arrived for you from the prince."

"Oh, did it," Lothril said, sounding utterly unsurprised and suddenly realizing that was why he hadn't kissed her on the lips once all morning. Estelneth pulled it out and showed it to her. "It's gorgeous, but will it look nice with my silver jewelry?" Lothril asked.

"Your star ring should be worn whether it matches or not, but yes, it shall look nice. It is all perfect for autumn!" Estelneth said, sounding quite pleased. She quickly changed Lothril and then whisked her over to the vanity where she put on her new necklace.

Lothril studied the new necklace in the mirror, the chain of which was made of tiny golden leaves and its pendent was a swirling vine with a single bloom of lothil surrounded by white gems which gave the impression it was surrounded by stars. There was also a jewel for her hair which matched the necklace, the pin of which was fashioned to look like an arrow. There was also a golden ring whose gem was fashioned to look like a lothil surrounded by leaves.

"Why do I get the feeling this set of jewelry and this dress were all commissioned by the prince," Lothril said half to herself and sounding suspicious.

"I do not know, but I would not be surprised to learn it was so," Estelneth said.

Lothril tried sliding the flowery ring onto a couple different fingers before she decided it fit her left hand ring finger best. Then she opened up her jewelry box and slid on her star onto her right hand ring finger and held out her hands to examine how they looked. The lothil ring looked nice neighboring her moss agate ring, and of course her star always looked nice next to her betrothal ring. She took off her agate necklace and carefully set it in the jewelry box. She'd wear that with the dress another day.

Estelneth helped her into the new dress which fit her perfectly of course, and Lothril took a quick twirl in the mirror before she let Estelneth do some fancy looking set of braids in her hair which of course were done solely to accentuate the jewel Legolas had given her. As soon as she was done, Lothril thanked Estelneth and then fetched the notebook she had left on her nightstand to review all the things she wanted to change and then went to wait in the antechamber.

He hastened to her room and knocked and was greeted by one of the servants who quickly bowed and announced him to Lothril who was sitting on her couch with a notebook and pencil and then promptly disappeared. Even sitting there she looked like a vision of autumn. She hastily stood and he had to keep himself focused on their outing or else he was going to steal her away to some lonely corner and then they would never accomplish anything.

"Are you ready to head out?" Legolas asked.

"Yes, I just need my cloak," she said.

The servant who had answered the door now reappeared holding a cloak that matched the dress. Filegon was going to get something as a thank you for making a matching cloak. He hadn't asked for one, but it completed the look perfectly!

"Oh, thank you, Díllothwen," Lothril said as the servant helped her into her cloak and then immediately bowed and left. "You, oh Prince of the realm, look nice."

"As do you, oh Lady of Rivendell," he replied with a smile. "Do you have any ideas of what you wish to do to your rooms?" he asked, eyeing her notebook.

"Oh yes! Last night before bed I began jotting down a list of things I want to change room by room," she answered.

"May I see?" he asked.

"If you like," she answered as she opened the notebook to the ribbon marked page.

He took it and frowned a little. The page was written in a mix of Elvish and English, and he couldn't read the English. "I thought as much."

"What?"

"I could read English while I was in your old world, but I cannot read it now. At the time I thought it strange because I knew I did not know the characters. It seems it must have been some grace of the Valar or something that permitted it there," he answered.

She nodded. "I have suspected all along my ability to understand the Common Tongue was something along those lines. I was half waiting to lose it when I returned, but I guess it is permanent. I can't read it though. I caught Frodo writing down bits and pieces of Merry and Pippin's stories and I could not read anything he didn't write in Elvish."

"What then does your English list say?" he asked.

"Mostly things I don't know the elvish words for – curtains and rugs for all the rooms, bath mats, new fender and screen for the fireplace in the antechamber, stuff like that."

He nodded. "Where would you like to start?"

"Furthest away thing and work our way back," she answered.

With that they headed out towards the stables, picking up a small guard on the way.

"Legolas, I can't ride sidesaddle," Lothril said quietly as it became apparent they were indeed heading to the stables.

"That is just as well because we do not have a saddle for you to ride sideways on," he answered quietly with a grin.

"Are you looking to repeat our meeting? Because this skirt is fairly full, but I'm not sure it's full enough to ride on horseback," she replied in a harsh whisper.

"Then it is probably for the best we are not riding on horseback," he whispered in return and kissed her temple.

As they drew near there came around the corner a pair of very handsome glossy coated blue roans with black manes and tails were pulling a small carriage that his father had told him to use.

"If you have ever wondered why elves have such a mysterious and fantastic reputation amongst the mortals, this is why," Lothril said, pointing to the horse and carriage coming out of the carriage house. "You have a horse that looks like it is made of twilight and starlight and a carriage that looks like it was grown in an enchanted garden!"

"Brenion is quite proud of his roans, and I assure you, the carriage was not grown, it was built for those odd occasions when Nane wished to go to Dale or to the shops like we are. Ada always joked it was a means of not spending the treasury because they would only purchase as much as could fit in here with them," Legolas replied.

"So you're saying this is very old?" Lothril said as it rolled up in front of them.

Legolas smiled. "Only to you lothil nin."

It had roughly eighteen inches of ground clearance at the door. The sides in the front were shallow up by the driver who sat on a bench with a low back, the sides growing taller as it went back towards where they would sit on a wide seat with a higher upholstered back. The shape of the thing looked like a giant fiddlehead, the doors were right before the giant elaborately carved curly end and it was painted to look like a green fiddlehead with glints and highlights of silver.

The carriage had barely stopped when the driver hopped down and quickly opened the door with the cleverly disguised silver handle and a little step folded down for them. Legolas helped her in then got in himself and Lothril sat down on the surprisingly comfortable seat.

The driver shut the door and immediately climbed back into his seat and with instruction from Legolas on where to head first, they headed off, guards riding ahead and behind.

"You are pink," Legolas commented with ósanwe.

"I feel like a parade float. Just add balloons."

"You will see in a little bit this is not perhaps as strange as you think it is," he replied.

She arched a brow at him but kept her thoughts to herself.

They headed east along the river for a while and Lothril kept asking questions about what different things were and the general layout of things. He was pleased to no end that she seemed to have such a decided interest in their kingdom. She could have chosen not to care at all, knowing they were moving to Ithilien not too long from now, but instead she wanted to know about things and understand them. After a time, the conversation drifted a little until they were talking about upcoming feasts and holidays and when the celebration of their betrothal with his family was going to be and when he was thinking of throwing that party so she could meet his friends, and so forth. Somewhere in that conversation they left the palace grounds and went on along the river a little further until they turned left and after a mile or so came to a town surrounded by a tall stone wall with gates that were wide open and welcoming.

They rode in with a salute from the gatekeepers and they saw a town woven into the trees. There were buildings on the ground and in the trees, peeking out almost everywhere. Being woven into the trees and the red oaks being thinner here and reaching almost completely turned, everything was russet, gold, and brown and their fiddlehead carriage looked perfectly in place as the silver reflected the colors around them. The road was hard packed dirt still, but inside the town the road was bordered by stone sidewalks that were about four inches higher than the road.

Legolas watched Lothril's face as they entered into the town to see her reaction to it. It was very different from Edoras or Minas Tirith and even Caras Galadhon and he wondered what she made of it.

"What in the world…" Lothril said as she looked around. "It's like… it's like… I mean, it's a town! It's a real town with a main street and side streets… just very, very elvish and half in the trees."

"It very much is," Legolas said with a smile. "Welcome to the town of Celonost, the chief town of the Maenashrim tribe. They are led by Lord Gwilithon whom you will meet next week." He leaned in and added quietly in her ear, "And with whom Ada and I are friends and are rather fond, though we have to be careful not to show partiality." He settled back again and said, "They are known for boasting many skilled craftsmen and artisans and merchants and the better part of them either live here or near here."

"So how do these tribes work? If you're born into the crafty clan you have to be crafty, if you're born into the blacksmith clan, you have to work a smithy?" Lothril asked, staring casually at a passing carriage which had a pair of ladies in it that were talking and when they passed by them, nodded very politely and put their hands over their hearts, as they couldn't bow very effectively.

"One does not have to do or not do anything. However, what generally happens is that as elflings reach majority they begin learning a trade from their kin and stay with it until or unless they find something else they prefer. But many are content to continue in the same trade or something similar to it for a very long time," Legolas answered. "But there have been many elves that have done something else or married into a different tribe and so things have spilled over a bit."

Lothril nodded. "I see. So where are we headed in the fine town of Celonost?"

"The far side of it where one of the best carpet makers in the kingdom has his shop, then we shall work our way back and through your list," he said with a smile.

"Sounds like a solid plan. Alright, another question – should I assume anyone else riding around town in a carriage is probably some sort of title holder?"

He gave a little nod. "Yes, most of them nobility of one sort or another. Earlier those two ellith that bowed to us as they passed were Lord Gwilithon's wife and daughter. The four in that carriage ahead are two lords and their wives, and coming out of that shop there are two courtiers – I think the one is a brother of one of the lords and the other is the lord's daughter. She is one of the ones that was thrown into my path more than once in hopes I would marry her."

"Why didn't you?" Lothril asked. She was certainly pretty enough and given how she was talking to the shop keeper, she seemed nice enough.

"She was not you," Legolas said with a smile. "Also, she was in love with that shop keeper. He is now her husband."

And as if on cue, she kissed the shop keeper and then walked off with her uncle.

"Ah, I see. Is it usual to have a gob of nobility and almost nobility wandering around Celonost on a given day of the week?" Lothril asked.

"It is not uncommon. Celenost is one of our larger towns and with how close it is to the river and the palace, it is well positioned to be a favorite with nobles inclined to shop. And with your introduction to court being but a few days away, everyone will be looking for things for that," he answered.

"So I literally picked the worst time to go shopping to redecorate my rooms," Lothril said, half to herself.

Legolas laughed. "Nay, the best! Now you are allowing the townsfolk to see you as well and they can gloat to the nobles and courtiers who are not here today that they saw the prince's betrothed before she was introduced to court. It shall give them bragging rights for weeks and vex the pettier members of court."

"Oh well, if I can give someone bragging rights and vex a petty noble then it is all worthwhile," Lothril said sarcastically.

Legolas kissed her cheek. "That is the spirit I want to see! Now, do you remember my rules for shopping?"

"No looking at prices and only get what I really want?"

"Exactly. And it is especially true here. Get anything and everything that you want," he said.

He was glad he had taken her shopping in Minas Tirith, especially after seeing how shopping went in her old world. As it was, all he had to do was point her in the direction of the shop and she was able to navigate the whole business fairly confidently by herself. He was quite proud of her. It also made her look competent in front of the shop keepers and other patrons, which largely consisted of courtiers and nobility but also some of the townsfolk who were both shopping and gawking at the elleth that would soon be their princess. And of course, she looked simply stunning as she gracefully danced around the shops glittering subtly in mottled autumn sunlight. Given the way she did not look completely self-conscious he guessed she didn't hear the quiet compliments and comments that followed her in and out of shops and up and down the streets.

As she chose out things, he noticed a pattern developing in the kinds of colors and patterns and motifs she was gravitating towards. Thankfully, he had been quite correct with his guesses on what to get for their bedspread and the weaver had very subtly made sure she confirmed that Lothril liked what the prince ordered before giving the prince a nod as soon as Lothril wasn't looking. He had to remember to add a little something extra as a thank you to her. However, there were a couple things he would need to revise and quickly.

Once they exhausted her list of things they could get in Celonost (and she even got a few things that were not on her list that she liked) and were significantly more crowded in the carriage, despite having several things being sent ahead or delivered upon completion; there were still a few items left on her list, and so they headed back in the general direction of the palace.

"The palace grounds really are quite extensive, aren't they?" Lothril commented as they reached the edge of them.

"They are and with a purpose. I imagine when the forest was under attack this past spring, the better part of our people were inside the palace grounds. I know many were inside the palace seeking safety and refuge. We fit as many as we can within the palace and then the rest within the walls. Elflings and mothers would have been prioritized inside the palace, everyone else arranged as needed. As well, Celenost and one or two other larger towns with reasonable defenses would have been taking in neighbors from smaller towns," he explained.

She nodded. "I suppose that explains why certain parts of the palace almost seem empty."

"Nowhere is empty, but it has been understood since we built the place that if times of trouble occur, even we would share our living space to make room for others. Most of the lords live within the palace and have very generous apartments, but if trouble comes, they have to share with others. I have been informed while the forest was under attack, our family largely vacated their own rooms and lived in mine and yours. Even Ada said he had an assortment of younger nieces and nephews sleeping in his rooms," Legolas said.

"Seriously? It looked like nothing was touched since the minute I left," Lothril said wide eyed.

Legolas smiled. "That is because the servants are very good."

They began skirting around the edge and heading towards the river until they reached what could easily be mistaken for a small village, which is almost what it was. It was on some rockier ground near the river where the trees were thinner and the river easily reachable. The tiny village seemed to be set up with two residential streets and closest to the river all the businesses – a grist mill, smiths of all varieties, glass blower, and anything else that could either be powered by water or else might catch fire and need to be put out before starting a forest fire.

They stopped in front of one of the metal smiths where Lothril was able to look at some examples of his work and then picked what she wanted for a new fender and screen for her fireplace and he gave her an estimate of when it would be done. Come to find out, he also made metal wall sconces and his brother was the glass blower next door, so she chose a design she liked and after a quick confab with the glass blower brother, she told them she would get back to them with how many she was going to replace, but she knew it was at least seven. With that, her shopping was complete.

"I cannot believe we managed all that in a day," Lothril said as they rode back towards the palace.

Legolas smiled. "There was no reason for it to take longer, as you knew what you wanted."

"I can't believe I knew what I wanted either," she replied with a laugh. "I do hope I like how it all looks together. I don't have quite the head for this stuff like Mom does."

"I think it shall look very nice," Legolas said. "And if you are unhappy with something, you can get something else."

She frowned. "I would hate to waste everyone's time and money. I'll make it work."

Legolas shook his head but let it drop. One of these days he was going to show her the treasury and the handful of gold coins this all cost. Her redecorating spree only cost about a third of what he generally carried in his purse to Dale for casual spending cash. But regardless, they would see how it turned out and then go from there. The carriage stopped at the palace gate and a string of servants were there to meet them and carry things up to Lothril's room. "Shall you now spend the rest of the day redecorating?" Legolas asked as they wound their way up the huge main staircase.

"Depends, will you help me?" she asked.

"What would the servants think to see the prince moving furniture in his betrothed's room?" Legolas teased.

"Oh, I don't know. Perhaps you shouldn't help," she said thoughtfully.

Legolas chuckled. "I was teasing, melethril. They shall think naught of it. I would be happy to help you redecorate."

"Well, if you are sure…"

He gave a slight little smile. "I am certain," he replied. He, who was secretly in the middle of rearranging his garden and renovating his rooms for her was not about to pass up on an opportunity to see his soon-to-be wife redecorate her own space. Thank Elbereth, thus far it seemed most of what she picked out today was right in line with colors and designs he had picked for their bedspread! And that he had remembered to mention it was a surprise when he ordered it.

They reached her rooms to find everything she had bought in the anteroom being neatly stacked along with the things that were sent ahead under the supervising gaze of Estelneth.

"Estelneth, I want to start redecorating right away. Can you summon a couple servants to help us?" Lothril said.

"Certainly, milady," Estelneth said and gave a quick evaluating stare at the parcels and did some quick guesswork on what they would be doing and how many would be ideal to help before hurrying off.

Lothril draped her cloak on the back of the couch and immediately began sorting things by which room they were destined for. Legolas immediately began helping her sort and very soon they were joined by Estelneth and another servant who promptly began removing things to the respective rooms.

Lothril stood up straight and surveyed the remaining things with her hands on her hips and twitching her lips side to side as she thought before taking a deep breath and saying, "Well, let's begin in here. It has the least amount of stuff ready for it yet, but I am eager to swap out all these dark colors."

Legolas nodded. "Then here is where we shall start."

They began untying and opening bundles and rolls as Estelneth and the other servant returned. Lothril, it seemed, could be quite the commander when she had a clear vision of what she wanted done and Legolas observed this with no small degree of amusement as she began directing the three of them on what she wanted done and in what order. It took very little time to swap out the old dark green and brown wall hangings and curtains with ones that were the color of misty waterfalls and green moss and across the top of each hanging she draped a very autumnal looking swag. Her idea, as she explained it, was to have more or less permanent hangings but then every season swap out the swag across the top. Legolas had enthusiastically endorsed this idea as he immediately saw he could easily incorporate it into their room and as soon as she left her rooms on their wedding day. Once the hangings were swapped out, the four of them began moving the furniture one piece or set at a time and rolling up the old rug before laying down the new one and then moving on to the next. As the pile of old stuff began to grow, Estelneth called for a few more servants to have them remove the old things and told them to return to keep clearing out things.

After a little over an hour, Lothril stood back by the door leading to the hall and surveyed the room. "This looks so much better already and I do not even have the throw blanket for the couch, the rug, or the new fender and screen!"

"It does look much better," Legolas agreed. "But now the furniture itself seems dark and heavy.

"A little," she agreed as she stared at the dark green upholstery and dark stained wood. "Which is why I got the throw blankets. I don't know if I feel like the bother of reupholstering them though. Especially since I will be out in a year. Just seems like a waste of effort. And it's not horrendously out of place, it's just a bit dark."

Just then there was a knock at the door, and she, being the ever practical one, turned around and answered the door herself before Estelneth could so much as utter, "milady".

"Oh, Thranduil, come in," Lothril said casually, standing aside.

Thranduil strolled in as he said, "I heard you had returned from shopping and I wanted to see what you purchased. And I see you already have a good deal of it in place."

"Well, just for this room. I decided to start here even though I'll have to wait for a few things to get made. Though that's going to be true of every room," she replied. "What do you think?" she asked almost reflexively.

"I think it looks very nice and brightens up things quite a bit," he complimented. "And it shall all look much better once you get rid of the dark furniture."

"Well, actually I was just going to leave it as I am only going to be in these rooms a year…" she started.

Legolas, Estelneth, and the other servant all got very funny looks on their faces as she started speaking and each looked like they were trying very hard not to laugh, especially as Thranduil turned his gaze back to her with raised brows.

"You were going to leave it?" he asked, sounding borderline incredulous. "Absolutely not. It looks dreadful now that the other dark colors are gone."

"I wouldn't say 'dreadful' per se-" she tried to protest.

"Do you like how it looks with the rest of the room now?" he asked.

"Well no…"

"Then it is dreadful," he repeated definitively. "I will have a furniture maker summoned here tomorrow after breakfast so we can get something in here that matches." He looked back at the dark couch and amended, "Tonight if possible."

"If you insist, then fine, but I honestly haven't given any thought to replacing furniture," Lothril said.

"You can always leave it up to his discretion. Or Legolas' if you prefer. I am sure he has a few ideas," Thranduil said, tossing his son a very casual glance.

Legolas didn't miss the mischievous gleam in his eyes though. Lothril did, it seemed, as she mostly just raised her brows and shrugged a little and replied, "I suppose so."

Thranduil sent a thought to his son. "How much did she spend on her rooms today?"

"Seven or eight gold pieces, but that will about double when some of what she ordered is completed. She has no idea how our money works so I believe she genuinely purchased whatever she wanted without a thought to price," Legolas answered.

"I give her full compliments for making it look so much nicer for so very little, but please tell me the things she is waiting on are more elaborate. I do not want the servants thinking I curtailed her spending," Thranduil replied.

"They are. And I will push for some more elaborate upholstery for the furniture and new pieces that I can move into our rooms later. I know her tastes now for these things and I do not think it shall take much goading," Legolas answered.

"Good!" Thranduil replied. "And remind her if she thinks of anything else she wants, it is hers." He turned to Lothril and said aloud, "Why not summon more servants to do things so you can think about what you would like to do about furniture?"

"I might at that," she replied.

"Very good," Thranduil said approvingly then gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I shall see you at dinner?"

"Yes, I think so," she replied. "Estelneth, please summon a couple more servants so I can sit and think a little."

Thranduil smiled and made his departure with a parting glance at his son.

As soon as the door shut she said, "Until the others get here, let's start in on the bedroom."

The servants showed up very promptly however and commander Lothril laid out her plan of attack and then she slumped down on the edge of her bed and motioned absentmindedly for Legolas to join her even as the servants began taking down and replacing curtains.

"What do I do about furniture?" she asked.

"Get all new," Legolas answered.

"Seriously?"

"Of course! Then we can move the better part of it into our rooms after we are wed. I am due to replace a number of pieces anyway. This is your chance to have the look you have always wanted," he said.

"Well, I want you to like it too," she said.

"Meleth nin, I have had thousands of years having my way with how my room looks. Now it is your turn. Besides, I like your taste in things. I am certain I shall enjoy whatever you choose," he replied.

She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder for a moment before she straightened herself up and said with ósanwe, "I do not know what I want. I just know I do not care for how dark it is stained and how dark the colors are with this stuff."

"If naught else then, you can have everything re-stained and reupholstered," he replied.

"I suppose."

"You suppose? What would you change?"

"I liked some of the stuff in Rivendell, but I like the more tree and vine look like in Lothlórien, but I want the colors more along the lines of what I have picked out today. Perhaps a little darker or bolder, but only by a shade or two."

"Melethel nin, we can certainly order that. I will make sure I am here so I can help you describe it better. But by all means, replace all your furniture to look thus! It will look very fair," he replied.

"Milady, we have finished in here. Shall we move now into the library?" Estelneth asked, not realizing they were having a conversation at all.

"Oh, yes," Lothril said, springing up to go give her a new set of directions.

Legolas stood and looked about the room. It was really only half done or less, as she only found curtains and a single rug, and two or three lamps she liked and she was going to have to wait a while for the bedspread, wall sconces, and the other rugs and of course, the new furniture. Still, it was already beginning to look more like her. Especially the bright pops of autumnal color contrasting so with the soft earthy colors of the cave and the tree and water colors of the curtains she had picked. While she waited though, he decided some autumnal bouquets would help things along.

"Well, it is sure looking better in here, if I do say so myself," Lothril said as she reentered her bedroom.

"I quite agree," Legolas said.

"Is it tacky if I wear the same outfit to dinner that I wore out?" Lothril asked.

Legolas smiled, "Not at all."

"Oh good!" Lothril said.

At dinner, Thranduil informed her that the furniture maker would be stopping by her rooms after dinner, so she and Legolas returned to her rooms and played a couple games of checkers while they waited. All of which she lost. The furniture maker showed up fairly quickly though, sparing Lothril a fourth loss in a row, and between herself and Legolas they managed to get across what she was looking for in design as well as colors. After a few very quick sketches, they agreed he had the idea of what she was going for and he gave a rough time frame she could expect to have her new furniture arrive and that was that.

As soon as the furniture maker left Lothril looked at Legolas and said, "Alright, I confess – I honestly figured living here as a princess was going to be a slight step backwards but mostly sideways from the life I was used to in my old world. I was so, so painfully wrong. Shopping is a hundred times easier here as a princess than it was back in Michigan."

Legolas laughed. "There are a few benefits to being an elven princess!"

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It was now the day before Lothril's official introduction to court and she, Legolas, and Thranduil had been spending the past few days going over court etiquette with her. It did not take Thranduil long to see how it was Lothril mastered as much as she did as quickly as she did with Elrond. She was a fairly quick study, but it seemed she had some base knowledge she was able to easily build upon. That evening after supper and after music with his family and after the two of them taking two hours to say goodnight and Legolas reminding her that her introduction to court was in the morning, but not to worry much about it, she got herself ready for bed and then crawled in with the small lamp on her nightstand lit so she could look over the sketches Filegon had sent up to her.

She opened the folder and her eyes went wider and she raised a brow. Filegon didn't really think she would look like that in that did he? The sketched version of her was wearing a long elegant nightgown and the way it was hanging suggested something very thin and flimsy. And the way the slit on the side was, it looked like it went up to her hip, and the way the neckline was, it almost looked like it was halter top except she realized the long flowing sleeves were attached, just the shoulders were cut out, and the deep plunging V neck… the words 'easy access' came to mind and she was uncomfortably excited by that thought. The overall look was something ethereal and innocently seductive. What's more, she could almost imagine herself wearing that… but surely it wouldn't look that good on her… right? She read the note in the margin. This would be a year round nightgown.

She gingerly turned to the next page where she was greeted by a sketch of Legolas she was very much not braced for. When Filegon had mentioned ellyn wear haib irui as well as ellith, she had internally cringed because anything she had ever seen back home that had been theoretically "sexy" men's wear had made her cringe uncontrollably, laugh until her sides hurt, or else it was a tuxedo. This was most certainly NOT some Fabio flowy shirt nonsense or a tuxedo. What it was, was making her warm and thinking maybe she should open a window. It was, so far as she could tell, a robe and a rather thin one. She did notice a pair of pants or leggings underneath, but no shirt. And it didn't close up very high… and her imagination pretty easily put that outfit on Legolas and she quickly turned the page hoping to find another sketch of herself.

She did. Clearly Filegon was easing her into the realm of elven lingerie… This little number was cut perfectly sensibly, like the better part of the dresses in her wardrobe, though unlike them it was short sleeved. It even had some lovely trim, she deemed. It was also completely sheer and she had a sneaking suspicion nothing was worn underneath as she didn't think elves had spandex body suits. She read the note on the side: Intended to be paired with a thin robe. Aah, well that would explain things. Also a nope.

The next page was a sketch of Legolas again and in a tunic that somewhat resembled a formal outer tunic, but in a softer, more flexible material, shorter, and nothing over top or underneath. Oh, and it did not close up as high as his tunics usually did. At first glance she didn't think she would care for it much, but the longer she looked and the more she thought about it… Since when did such a low fire throw off such heat?

She turned the page and saw something almost familiar. The notes for this one were: This would be more for cold weather as these caves can get drafty in winter. It looked like a thicker fabric, maybe a velvet, with a very, very low square neck, large bell sleeves, a subtle kerchief hem that only came to round about the knees, and the front panel had slits on either side of it that went up very, very high. He didn't draw it, but she was fairly certain she would be in danger of falling out of the top of that neckline. It reminded her sharply of something she had fiddled around with back in Michigan with some left over velvet from a cloak she had made. Except that never did get finished…

And now Filegon was done catering to her prudish sensibilities. The next page was another one of her and the garment was quite short. This was one where he actually bothered to a back and front sketch. It had slits that went up nearly to her waist on the sides. The shoulders were essentially just a ribbon and the neck scooped down quite low. The whole thing seemed to be trimmed with lace. Delicate, flimsy, teasing lace. Especially the back and sides. Those thin ribbon shoulders were connected in the back by a bridge of lace that gracefully arched down her sides to essentially frame her back before arching back again to gently swoop low across her hips to the other side. She wasn't sure if she liked it or if she thought it a bit too sexual. The moment the thought went through her head she paused and blinked… these were literally outfits to have sex in with her husband. How on earth could they be too sexual?! No, no… that was the wrong word. The real problem is that it wasn't her taste or her aesthetic. It was too overt. The other two she liked because yes, they were revealing, but they were also subtle in a way. She was very sure she would be comfortable in the first and third one. This one, not so much… at least not yet… well, maaaaybee… her mind started playing through a handful of scenarios where she might darn well prefer something like that… tease him a little no matter which side he saw her from… him reaching around her and-

Knock! Knock!

"AAHH!" she screamed as she nearly jumped off the bed from a sitting position. "Who is it?"

"Legolas. Are you well?" came his voice through the door.

She quickly shuffled the pictures back into place as she shut the folder and slipped it into the top drawer of her nightstand as she called "Come in."

He came in wearing a tunic and leggings and it looked like the under layers of what he had been wearing earlier. "Are you fine? I suddenly got a strange feeling you were very agitated or something like."

"Oh, like the first morning of enderi?" she asked.

He nodded.

"We get weirder by the day, you know that? But no, I am fine. Whatever comes through that odd bond we have going seems to come through muddled. I am not agitated in the slightest," she answered, sounding and looking perfectly at ease.

"Then why did you scream when I knocked?" he asked.

"You startled me! I'm not exactly used to getting visitors this time of night when I'm in bed, you know," she answered.

"As long as you are well… are you sure you were not agitated or something like? It was very strong," Legolas asked again.

"I am sure. I am quite fine," she answered with a smile.

He came over and sat beside her on the bed and kissed her forehead. "As long as you are well." He took her hand in his and gave her fingers a kiss only to notice she had dark smudges on them.

"Were you drawing?" he asked.

"No, I was not."

"This is from a charcoal pencil," Legolas said with a raised brow as he looked at her.

"I am sure I have no idea what Filegon uses. He gave me a few sketches to look over for some future outfits," she answered.

He nodded. "Would you like a second opinion on them?"

She turned pink. "I'm not sure… well… I suppose it would only make sense in a way… Crawl up here."

He got up onto the bed beside her as she pulled the folder out of her nightstand.

"So, may I just say, I am very glad Filegon was there right after I showed up and knows everything, otherwise he would probably think I am an idiot. The same day we designed my swimsuit he mentioned that I should be thinking of ideas for my haib irui and I had no idea what that meant, but we sorted it out quickly and he said ellyn wear it too, which is not really a thing where I grew up, so he offered to make a few sketches for me to give me a few ideas. That's what these are," she said and opened the folder.

"Yes, you should certainly wear that," he said as soon as he saw the first picture.

"You say that now, but somehow I doubt I would look that good in it," she said dryly.

"No, you will look almost exactly like that. He will always draw and design to your build," he replied.

"Oh come now! Since when do I look like that? This sketch makes me look like some tall statuesque elven goddess," she protested with a dismissive shake of her head.

"I swear I am going to have to stand you naked in front of a mirror yet," he sighed. "Meleth, you have looked like a tall statuesque elven goddess since you woke up in Lothlórien. And you started looking like one the first morning you woke up here with those beautiful elven ears."

"Thank you for the compliment, but I remain skeptical. I imagine it would wind up looking like I was wearing a bedsheet," she replied.

"No, you will not, but simultaneously I have no issue with you only wearing a bedsheet," he grinned and leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.

"Oh, ha-ha."

"Do you like it though?" he asked.

"Yes, actually. Quite a bit. I am just skeptical it will actually look good on me."

"It will. But come, let us see what else Filegon drew for you," Legolas said.

"Well, the next one would be for you for me, I suppose," she said before she carefully turned the page to reveal the sketch of him. "What do you think?"

"I think I basically have this already," Legolas said with a grin. "Though I can see why he would have included it if he is trying to give you a general idea." Suddenly that agitated feeling started rolling off of her in waves, but oddly, with no more or less intensity than it had when he was in his room. "There it is again! You feeling agitated! It is not agitation, is it?" He looked at her and saw she was a little flushed looking. "You like it. I think you are aroused!"

"Way to go, Columbo! You figured it out," she said deadpanned.

"And you are uncomfortable with it."

"Really, however and why ever you are feeling only certain of my emotions, it is coming through decidedly warped. I am not, in fact, uncomfortable with it," she tartly replied.

Legolas chuckled and said, "It was not that I felt you were uncomfortable, it was your face and the fact you called me Columbo that told me. You only ever get sarcastic like that when you are annoyed that I am right."

"I do not!" she protested.

"You most certainly do, but it is fine with me for I find it adorable. For a peredhel that can scare hardened soldiers and could cut me down in battle, your annoyance looks like an angry kitten," he teased.

She started to examine her fingernails and said, "I could grow fangs and claws you know, if I had a mind. Don't tempt me, ellonig (little elf boy)."

He kissed his angry kitten on the cheek then said, "Show me what else he has drawn."

She turned the page and expected another immediate approval, but instead he studied it for a minute before saying, "To be perfectly honest, I think I would prefer the inverse of what he is thinking; a sheer robe over an opaque dress, but not one like that. At least not for your haib irui."

She stared at him for a second and blinked. "Really?!"

He shook his head slightly. "This is frustrating because yes, I could see everything but I could not touch it without the hassle of taking you out of the dress. If I am going to go through that much bother, I would just as soon have you in a regular dress."

She stared at it for a second with her head tilted a little. "I can see that. The next one is another for you for me; do you want to skip it?"

"Certainly not! I want to learn what you think about whatever it is," he said as he reached over and gingerly turned the page and only glanced at it before studying her face which started pinking again right around the tips of her ears and ever so slightly her cheeks.

"Alright, I will just flat out admit it – I ended up liking this more than I thought I would at first glance. Particularly that slightly open collar," she said, turning slightly pinker as she spoke.

"Oh truly? Should I start wearing my collars more open like that?" Legolas asked, but a hint of a tease in his voice.

"Only if you want to drive me insane," she answered.

"Noted," he said. "What is the next one?"

As she was distracted he undid the four buttons on his tunic.

"I like that one. Quite a bit. It reminds me of that half-finished one you had hanging in your closet," he said. "It is a pity you never finished it."

"You went through my closet?!" she asked incredulously, snapping her head to look at him.

"Certainly not! You left the door open one morning and I happened to notice it as I listened to your music," he answered.

"Oh, well, it did remind me of that too, but – you jerk! Why?! Why are you torturing me like this?" she asked, staring at the open tunic.

The grin he gave in reply was absolutely wicked. "Because I like seeing you like this almost as much as I like seeing you be confident and assertive, save this both attractive and fun."

Without so much as glancing at it she snapped the folder shut and gently tossed it to the foot of her bed. "Oh, do you?" she asked, her voice sounding borderline dangerous as she got out from the blankets. "You think this is fun?" She started kissing him with those strong, heady kisses of hers as she slid her hands around his neck and buried one in his hair and with the other the started tracing down from his neck to the bottom button and back again. "Well?" she demanded, pulling back so she could stare him in the face with a raised brow.

"Very fun," he answered with a lopsided smile before pulling her in for more.

After a while they both had to come up for air and Lothril took the opportunity to ask, "Would you like to see the rest? I only made it so far as the next one, so after that we will both be seeing them for the first time together."

"Truly? Oh that is an exciting prospect I cannot pass up," Legolas answered, looking absolutely mischievous.

She fetched the discarded folder and settled back again under her blankets. "Let's see… where were we?" she mumbled to herself as she carefully turned the pages.

"There," Legolas said, seeing a very short skimpy little nightgown with high slits and only thin ribbon for shoulder straps. "What do you think about it?"

"No, you first. What do you think? Truly," she insisted, still looking a little flushed.

He looked at it again. "I would certainly enjoy you in this, but if you are uncomfortable with it, I will survive the deprivation. What do you think about it?"

She didn't answer right away because for the life of her she couldn't figure out how on earth to put it. "I would wear it," she said at length.

"This is why I ask first," he replied with a frown. "I do not want you forcing yourself to do or wear anything you do not truly wish to just for my sake."

"No, no… that's not why I would wear it," she answered, shaking her head and making an odd face.

"Hmm, but I do not think you are aroused by the idea because I feel nothing," Legolas said, studying her face and growing increasingly confused by whatever their bond was.

"Really?" she asked, sounding very surprised.

He nodded. "Really and truly."

She got that knit browed, heavy concentration look she would get when she was sorting out something complicated. It was a look Elrond was very familiar with, Legolas slightly less so, but he still recognized it. "AHA! It's not a strange bond thing – it's ósanwe! From the beginning I have had all too easy a time a sharing my mind with you, and arousal is very much my thoughts towards you. And at breakfast the other day I was feeling lost and useless, yes, but it was because you had a job to do and I had nothing and I was honestly a little jealous you had a ritual or tradition of sorts and I had nothing. I was thinking of myself, but my thoughts were still revolving around you. But just now… well," she balked a little and her ears turned red and her face dark pink and she forced out, "I was intentionally closing off my thoughts about why I would wear it so I wouldn't think about it and my thoughts wouldn't head that direction. Because my thoughts were basically closed off, I wasn't thinking about me or you so there was nothing for you to feel… despite the fact, well, uh, I'm sort of insanely aroused by the thought of it. So basically, the dim feelings you are getting are basically like the edge of my feelings because I'm accidentally sharing them, not intentionally… but yeah, it's ósanwe."

"You truly have an astounding gift for ósanwe. Before I met you I had no idea one could share dreams or images or sounds or smells and you have shown me how very little I have developed my skill in it," Legolas said, sounding almost astounded.

"To be fair, it's probably my maia blood that makes it so prodigious. But simultaneously, it makes it very difficult to keep in check at times… obviously. That was one of the things I worked on with both Elrond and Galadriel – keeping it in check," she replied. "But anyway, now that I have thoroughly distracted us from the task at hand…"

Lothril turned the page and there was another sketch of Legolas. She stared at it for a second or two and then quietly turned the page.

"Hold! What do you think of that?" Legolas asked, putting his hand on her arm.

"I think I could have saved Filegon a few hours sewing if I had just smuggled a t-shirt and lounge pants back here. Which I almost did you know. You in a shirt that tight will be the death of me," she said and turned the page. Could elves get heart palpitations? Because she was fairly certain she was thanks to that last picture and this… She was also fairly certain the first few words that came to mind would have gotten her mouth washed out with soap back home.

"Breathe, Lothril," Legolas teased. "It is only a drawing. Though I take it you like it."

She all but gasped for and said, "I don't know what it is, but I never thought twice about old pictures of guys in shorts like that, but the thought of you in them…" She began blushing furiously. "All I want to do is see you in them so I can take them off."

"Good! That is the entire point of everything in here – to enjoy seeing each other in those things just to take them off. Although, I am taking you in two of those earlier outfits at least once on our honeymoon," he said.

"So brazen," she said with a shake of her head and trying not to smile.

"Decidedly!" he grinned. "And rightly so!" He leaned over and kissed her.

She turned the page and before she could turn it all the way she saw what the sketch was and immediately dark pink and wide eyed and looked at Legolas and asked, "Is it entirely appropriate we are doing this?"

"So far as I know, there is nothing that says it is not. Why do you ask?"

She let him see the picture and he raised a brow.

"What would it take for you to wear that?" he asked.

"A very serious head injury."

He burst into laughter and barely choked out, "I cannot imagine you in that for anything! It is almost absurd!"

"It's just… just… tacky. I didn't think that was even possible for elves, but it is. It's tacky," she frowned with a scrunched up face. "What do you suppose it is supposed to be made of?"

"It looks like some sort of fur in this drawing, but there is so little of it… I reckon something either the size of a small fox would be enough, and there would be fur leftover. I cannot imagine…" he paused. "I take that back, I can imagine who would like this and I very much wish I had not."

Lothril clapped her hands to her ears. "Don't tell me, I don't want to know!"

"You most certainly do not," he agreed and then quickly reached over and turned the page.

"You know, this is kind of fun," Lothril said, looking at the new sketch which was decidedly less tacky than its predecessor.

"It is fun. It almost reminds me of us reading together in bed at your parents' house," he said. "And I would happily wear that."

"It is basically a long tunic, so I don't see why you wouldn't. Simultaneously, though I wouldn't have any issue with you wearing this, it doesn't exactly thrill me either. It looks comfy. However, if you usually just wear a pair of pants to bed, that is going to make me a very happy elleth," she commented.

"I will assuredly keep to my usual bed clothes, however, your reactions to a few these were too good for me to not wear them at least on occasion," he replied.

She grinned. "Last one," Lothril said as she turned to the last page. She stared at the picture and did not say a word, turn a color, or even make a face. She did shift a little though like she was uncomfortable. "I am very sorry, but it is much easier if I am not trying so hard to keep my feelings in check."

Suddenly that agitated feeling came off of her in waves but now it was fully colored with arousal.

"If you like it that much, you should tell him you want him to make it for you," Legolas said. "I certainly approve of it."

"You do?" she asked, sounding very nearly shocked.

"What is not to like? It would nicely display your curves by showing off the most enticing bits of skin, and in the right fabric, how it would move could be utterly bewitching," he said. "I think making love to you in that dress would be very fun. With how it is and our rules what they are, mîbed nûr would be fun in this, but that would be inappropriate to wear before we are married."

"I do really like it," she said quietly. After a second though she snorted a laugh and said, "Display my curves… I have all of one curve and I'm sitting on it."

Legolas shook his head. "I am going to make a sculpture of you so you can get an honest look at yourself, for clearly mirrors have failed you. Melethril, you have many curves, all of them alluring. In the meantime, put this at the top along with everything else you like and put the rest in the back and when you go over it with Filegon tell him you want this one especially."

She nodded.

"By the way," Legolas said, leaning in a little towards her, "You need not apologize for sharing your feelings with me accidentally. Now that we know why, I do hope you feel free share your feelings with me more and intentionally. I shall certainly endeavor to reciprocate."

She smiled, "Then I shall not apologize and I will share them intentionally. Just hopefully not while you're in the middle of getting ready for bed."

He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Well now, as we have finished going through those sketches and now I know you feeling agitated like that means you are aroused so greatly you cannot keep your enthusiasm contained from me, I suppose I should take my leave and go to bed."

"You're really enjoying knowing what turns me on, aren't you?"

"I cannot tell you how incredibly happy it makes me!" He crawled off the bed and said, "Good night, meleth nin," and then gave her a soft goodnight kiss.

"Good night, Legolas!"

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Author's note: Because the ratings system on here is ambiguous and a bit open to interpretation, I'm finding it interesting trying to edit this down so it's solidly "T". I don't necessarily think this story is "M" though, and hitherto, about 98% of this story has been perfectly "T" appropriate, but I'm approaching scenes in chapters where I'm sitting here going hmm... Is this T or M on this site? This is technically a rewrite, and this go around I am trying to write this story to be exactly what I want it to be and I'm also posting it on another site where I can leave the rating blank just so I don't have to sit around thinking of the lines of rating demarcation and I'm able to post the story I want it to be. So if some of this seems a bit edited and censored here, it's because it is because I've been on this site for a stupidly long time and I haven't gotten in trouble yet and I'm looking to keep it that way. However, if you are interested in the unedited version (which isn't going to be anything lemon or smut, but perhaps not "T" either), PM me and I'll tell you where and how to find it. Because this whole last scene... I'm sitting here wondering whether this is still T or if I'm pushing the boundaries.