THE FORGOTTEN
Hammad Best
Wedding Clothing
Author's note: The chapter in which – Lothril finally gets around to asking about wedding clothes. …Just so we're clear – I was really hungry when I wrote the breakfast scene and day dreaming of roasted tomatoes and onions with sausage and eggs... I adore roasted tomatoes and onions! Breakfast, lunch, dinner – always a win! So if you wind up being really hungry after this, I'm sorta sorry not sorry. But to help you with your new found tomato and onion jones – preheat your oven to 400F/200C, cut your tomato of choice to a manageable size for you, your mouth, and a fork and peel and quarter an onion of choice. Toss them on a baking sheet or in a casserole dish. Salt and pepper (can drizzle with olive or avocado oil or put on little slices of butter, but it's totally up to you!). Roast for 40-45 minutes and enjoy with basically anything. You are welcome, mellyn nin. You. Are. Welcome. …Also to be noted that Tolkien's descriptions of elven weddings is basically limited to what I described waaaay back in part 1 chapter 14. So may the records show, the bulk of the wedding tradition stuff hence forth is pure invention by me. The canonical details are sparse so I'm gonna have fun!
The day after their return found a servant in the servant's hallway arguing with Alphon.
"But Filegon was insistent I deliver my message first thing!" the servant argued.
"I do not care what Filegon said, standing orders are no servants or messengers in the mornings until rung for," Alphon said firmly.
"That is well and good, but I am not going to see the prince, I have been sent to fetch Lady Lothril and last I checked, you attend the prince, not the lady. Now excuse me, I have a job to do."
"And you can do it as soon as a servant is rung for and not before," Alphon insisted, barring the passage.
"What is going on here?" Estelneth said sternly, appearing from a side door with a cup and saucer in hand and looking cross.
"I have a message to deliver to Lady Lothril from Filegon. He said he wants it delivered first thing and Lord Alphon of the Passage here will not let me into milady's chambers to deliver it," the servant answered, shooting a very annoyed look at Alphon.
"And he is right to do so," Estelneth said. "No servants or messengers are permitted in her rooms until they are rung for."
The servant sighed and said, "Oh very well. But why does Alphon know the lady's wishes?"
"Because I attend a member of the royal family. Galion, Estelneth, Merion, and myself know all the general orders for all the royal family. Which is something you would do well to remember," Alphon said.
The servant frowned. "Then I suppose I am stuck waiting. When does she usually ring?"
"When she feels like it," Estelneth answered. "Care for some tea?"
"Might as well," the servant answered and followed Estelneth into the room she came out of which proved to be something like a lounge. There was a kitchen table and chairs, at which say a couple servants chitchatting, a small stove with a kettle on it, and a variety of things to eat laid out on a countertop. There was also a soft looking couch and a bookshelf and writing desk. Above the desk were a variety of bells hung and labeled so they knew who was ringing and from where. "Well, I can see why all of you royal attendants hold onto your positions as long as possible. This is properly nice! And thank you," he said, talking a proffered cup of tea from Estelneth.
"The trade off is odd hours and being on call," Alphon said.
"That would drive me mad. The hours are mad enough with Filegon especially around holidays," the servant said before taking a sip of tea.
A sweet toned bell rang out.
"You are in luck," Estelneth said as she said as she stood up, "that is her ladyship and she will still be in her rooms. You may come with me and wait in her antechamber." She turned to one of the other servants at the table and said, "Stand by, but I reckon you will not be needed for another half hour. I will ring if you are needed sooner."
She brought the servant to Lothril's antechamber then entered her bedroom and said, "Good morning milady."
"Good morning, Estelneth! How are you this morning?" Lothril asked, looking quite cheery.
"I am quite well, thank you," Estelneth answered.
"Anything going on today I need to know about?"
"As a matter of fact, there is a messenger from Filegon in your anteroom who would like to speak with you," Estelneth answered.
"Filegon? Oh, I wonder... I bet I know what about. I don't know what I want to wear today, but I don't want to keep anyone waiting... Estelneth, do you mind seeing what he wants? If it is Filegon wanting to meet with me, tell him I will as soon as after breakfast. If he's just looking for more dresses to alter, give him whatever is left on our list and tell him to have fun with them," Lothril said.
Estelneth nodded and went into the anteroom.
Meanwhile Lothril went into her closet and looked through her clothes. What does one wear to breakfast after such a morning? She took a deep breath and tried not to think about his lips on her neck, his words in her ears, or his arms around her. His words! The rest had been nice but his descriptions of her - if she wasn't careful she was going to become vain. And knowing he couldn't help his words and song enchanting her any more than hobbits could help having curly hair did nothing to dissipate the power of it. In fact, she was fairly certain it made it worse as merely thinking about it was making her warm bringing that wonderfully weird thrill low in her belly that always slowly spread all through her.
She shook her head a little to clear it then looked at her dresses. After spending ice fest looking like a glittering ice queen, she had half a mind to wear something ridiculously plain just to tweak her fashion conspirators, but then after that morning... She felt a bit like wearing something nice and a little teasing.
Her eyes alighted on the perfect compromise.
Estelneth came into the closet and said, "Filegon wishes to meet with you and I told the messenger after breakfast as you said."
"Thank you, Estelneth," Lothril said as she pulled out the dress she wanted to wear. "And I am thinking this dress today with that silver belt with the leaves on it."
"And your hair?"
"Mostly down with just a tiny bit pulled back and some in front of my ears," Lothril answered.
Roughly fifteen minutes later Lothril was ready and Legolas wasn't waiting for her. She smiled and decided she would wait for him outside his door. Quickly she arranged herself against the door frame so she was leaning on it casually. He opened the door and for a split second he was surprised before he kissed her, broke the kiss and looked at her, then pulled her into his room, kissing her and shutting the door behind her.
"If that is the sight I am to be greeted with each time I am a little slow getting ready, I shall learn to be always a little slower than you," he said before kissing her again.
"I knew you liked this dress, but goodness Legolas!" Lothril said as soon as he freed her lips. "And we are going to be late for breakfast."
"Ada will not care," he replied as he snaked his hands around her waist and kissed her again. "And it is this belt with this dress… the dress hugs you nicely but how this belt sits on your hips… And your hair like that! Do you have any idea how much I love this?"
"Yes, I do, because you keep kissing me," she answered with a pert little grin.
He chuckled. "I suppose then you do." He gave her a quick little peck and then said, "Let's go to breakfast."
As soon as they were all settled down to breakfast Thranduil asked, "Are there any plans for today?"
"Actually, yes. After breakfast Filegon wants to meet with me," Lothril answered as she reached for the salt and pepper.
"What about?" Legolas asked as he habitually spread jam on his toast.
"Not entirely sure," she answered slowly as she salted and peppered her eggs. "I have a suspicion, but the messenger did not say."
"Mind if I join you?" Legolas asked, taking the salt and pepper from her in turn.
She debated it quickly as she cut off a bite of sausage with her fork then said, "Oh, if you like. Last time we met he said he wanted to talk to me about wedding clothes, and I do want your opinion. Back home I would have surprised you, but as I reckon Filegon will want us to match, I might as well get your opinion too."
"Out of curiosity, what would you wear for your wedding if you were back there?" Thranduil asked before taking a bite of roasted tomato and onion on toast.
"A white dress is customary," Lothril answered. "At the moment, plain white satin, maybe some ruching or gathering is in fashion. I did not much care for them."
"No embroidery or lace?" he asked.
She paused her fork with sausage about halfway to mouth. "Maybe a little embroidery. Lace is out of fashion at the moment. My mom and my grandma though both wore satin and lace dresses," she answered. "If I were back there and did not find anything I liked, I would have worn my mom's dress. Maybe with a different veil though. Hers was a hat with a veil and I think I would have wanted something different with it." She quickly took a bite.
"We do not have a set color for weddings, so you are free to wear white if you wish," Thranduil said between bites of toast.
"Filegon told me as much," Lothril said after she swallowed. "I am not sure what I want though, but I will figure out something. I reckon if I find myself very stuck, I will simply tell Filegon to surprise me."
Thranduil chuckled as he brushed off his fingers and then reached for his tea cup. "That would certainly please him!"
"I imagine though Legolas has thoughts about it," Lothril said, looking over at Legolas for confirmation before taking a bite of roasted tomato.
"Indeed, I do and several of them," Legolas said as he set down his tea.
Thranduil looked over at his son and said pointedly, "And I trust several of them revolve around her opinions."
"Always!" Legolas replied with a smile.
"What did Lauríel wear for your wedding feast?" Lothril asked. She suddenly had a notion – what about toast with egg and tomato and onion on it?
Thranduil's face softened into a smile. "She wore blue and silver grey with golden mellyrn flowers embroidered on it."
She nodded as she began assembling egg on toast with roasted tomato and onion. "That sounds lovely. I remember you said you were invited to Elrond and Celebrían's wedding. Did you go?"
Thranduil nodded. "We did. She wore white and pale yellow with pale green niphredil and a belt of golden elanor."
"Hmm… that certainly gives me something to think about," Lothril said as she picked up her laden toast. She picked it up to take a bite and it proved to be a bit messier than she anticipated and grew wide eyed as she realized this was about to end catastrophically. "Aack! Tactical error!"
Legolas laughed and Thranduil shook his head and tsked as he watched everything slide off her toast and make a small mess all over her fingers and her plate.
"Goodness child, what manners!" Thranduil teased.
As she wiped off her fingers on a napkin she said dismissively, "Eh, it is just you two."
"You do recall I am the king," Thranduil quipped with a half grin.
"And he is a prince and I am half maia. Now that we have our pedigrees all sorted, would you mind filling this with tea?" she asked, sliding her tea cup towards him.
He chuckled and obliged.
-⸙ - ⸙-
"Good morning, milady… and Prince Legolas…?" Filegon greeted with a questioning look at Lothril.
"I decided I wanted his input as you mentioned talking about wedding clothes today," she answered flashing him a pointed look.
Filegon nodded. "Very understandable," he said and bid them sit then turned to his drafting table and grabbed his sketchbook, turning to a blank page and using a special clip he had made to hold the pages together while he drew. He came back and sat down in his customary seat with his back to the window to let the bright echuir sun illuminate the page. "Now, we have no strict traditions for wedding clothes, so if you wish to wear something traditional to where you are from, that is quite doable."
"I do not. Not at all," Lothril replied.
Filegon smiled. "Very well! Then let us talk colors and fabrics. What are you thinking?"
"I have no idea," she answered.
"Milady, I am starting to relish hearing that phrase from you," Filegon said and started to sketch. "Do you have any ideas about what you would like?"
Lothril looked a little sheepish as she replied, "No."
"Then let us go look at some things," Filegon said, standing. He led Lothril, with Legolas following, into another room.
Lothril gasped. It was like that shop in Minas Tirith but bigger with richer fabrics, laces, and trims. Dotted throughout the room were cutting and sewing tables, each with a garment in progress either on a dress form or on a table being worked on with a sketch of the outfit pinned to the wall or on a small easel on the edge of the table.
She started roaming around, getting a feel for what all was there and where. After a while she wandered back to Filegon and Legolas who had been watching her work her way around the room.
Filegon handed her a book. "This is a collection of dresses I have made for various ladies and the queen. If you like, you may look through it for ideas." He directed her over to an empty table where she sat and Legolas stood over her shoulder looking at them. She didn't say much as she flipped through the sketches, but did occasionally pause and then look around the room as if trying to find a fabric, then back to looking. Every so often she would ask Legolas what he thought or he would say if he thought something would like particularly nice on her, but that was all. Once she looked through all the sketches she thrummed her fingers on the table a couple of times before standing up, taking another quick tour of the fabrics then coming back to the waiting ellyn who had been watching her and were more than a little curious about what she was thinking.
"Now, do I have the word of both of you that my wedding dress can be whatever I want?" she asked.
"Whatever you want, meleth nin."
"Absolutely whatever you wish, milady."
She gave a smile. "And I shan't hear any complaints or protests?"
Filegon arched a brow at her but said, "You are going to try me, aren't you? But I shall bite my tongue."
"None. You can have whatever you want," Legolas repeated.
"Good! Now, you, oh prince, need to go out into the other room. I wanted your input, but I still want to surprise you a little bit," Lothril said with a smile as she gently shoved him out the door. "Ready to sketch, Filegon?"
"I am ready, milady."
"I want this dress," she said, spreading her skirt out.
"That dress?"
"In a different fabric, but yes," she answered.
"Lace up back?"
"Definitely yes."
"Same fitted sleeves?"
"Yes, but you know that cranberry dress how it has those fluttery long sleeves off the elbow?"
Filegon nodded as he sketched.
"I want those."
He nodded again and kept drawing.
"What about the neckline? Same?"
She nodded. "Yes, I think so."
"What colors and fabrics are you thinking?"
She frowned and fidgeted with her agate ring. "Still not sure."
Filegon paused his drawing and set down his pencil. "Milady, may I see your ring with the green and white stone?"
"Sure, here," she said and took it off and handed it to him.
"I have noticed you and the prince both have one," he said as he examined the ring.
"They are any early wedding gift from my mother and father." Her voice wavered at the end and she bit her lip at the end of the sentence and tried to keep from crying.
Filegon set down his sketchbook and leaned close to her and said quietly, "The door behind me leads out to the other room where Legolas is and the door to your left leads to my office where you can be alone if you wish."
She nodded and stood up and went to Filegon's office and as soon as she closed the door she sunk down into the nearest chair and took a deep breath which felt more like a shudder. Now that she was alone, the wave of grief began to pass. She took another deep breath and felt a little better and started looking around his office. It had a tall narrow window that let in the bulk of the light and Lothril reckoned by the slightly odd shape of it, that it was a natural cleft in the hill they put some glass in. His office was nice, comfortable, not terribly plush, and Lothril got a feeling he didn't spend much time in there. There was very little on his desk either practical or personal except for one large open book that looked like an accounting ledger and a pen and ink well. As she waited for the last remnants of her grief to pass, she thought about how kind it was of Filegon to offer his office to her. She could have gone out to Legolas, but she knew this was just one of those small waves of grief and that solitude was what she needed, not comfort. The grief passed, she stood up and headed back out to find Filegon still sitting in place and sketching away.
As soon as the door to his office opened he looked up and saw Lothril looking better and smiled. As soon as she drew close he stood and asked, "Shall we look at fabrics together?"
"Yes. So, I am thinking, I want something that is going to drape well. Obviously it needs to work with this sort of dress, but I want something that will lay well and move well during dancing. Still no ideas about color though," she answered.
"Oh, I was so very much hoping you would say that!" Filegon said as he handed back her ring. "By your leave, I would like to match your ring. I can weave in symbols of Lord Elrond and Prince Legolas also if you like."
She turned it over briefly in her mind. "Well… I think that would be nice. But can you manage it without me looking like I rolled on the forest floor?"
Filegon laughed. "Indeed milady, I believe we can!"
"Now…" she hemmed and hawed a second then said, "Can I have a word with you in your office?"
He gave a small nod. "Certainly."
He closed the door behind them and settled behind his desk.
"Here's the deal, Filegon," she said with a faint blush forming on her cheeks. "I have something in particular I want to wear under my dress."
"Oh?"
She nodded. "Arwen made it for me and… I have plans. Anyway, the only reason I am bringing this up is so you are mindful of it when picking fabric. It is a lovely violet color and looks like purple gossamer and mist. The neckline is rather wide and um, low, so if you are making essentially this dress, I should not have to worry much about it peeking out."
Filegon nodded. "I will keep that in mind. Let us go back out and if you can show me what color it is, I will use whatever fabric we have in that color as a test to make sure what I make is not too sheer. And I am very glad you told me because that does alter what I was thinking just a little. But only a little."
They went back out and Lothril went over to the purples and quickly found something a very similar shade to what Arwen made for her (which was a lovely silk that Lothril hinted she wouldn't mind something in the future being made out of it), and then Filegon asked what belt and things she wanted to wear with it. For that she poked her head out and summoned Legolas back.
"Ah, I see I am wanted again," he teased.
She raised a brow at him. "You have given me a small mountain of gifts and surprises. I get to give you one! Or at least partially surprise you. But as you are Prince Gifts-a-lot, I reckoned I ought to ask you if you had any belts, circlets, or jewelry you were hoping to have me wear for our wedding feast before I get too carried away with plans."
"No, I have no such designs, but Lord Elrond may," Legolas replied.
"I thought of that, but I supposed I ought to ask you first," Lothril said.
"While you are here, my prince, and we are speaking of wedding feast clothes, what are you thinking?" Filegon asked, turning to a new page.
"Hmm… Actually, I had been hoping to match Lothril to one degree or another, but as you, oh Lothril, are hoping to surprise me, I reckon that may not be possible," he replied.
"As long as you do not see my dress, you can match me, if that makes sense," Lothril answered. "I suppose Filegon is quite clever enough to make it work."
Filegon smiled as he started sketching, "Quite, milady."
"Now, I do have a couple questions," Lothril said. "Do brides here wear veils or anything like that?" she asked looking from Filegon to Legolas.
"A veil?" Filegon asked.
"No, they do not," Legolas answered. "But you could if you like."
"No, not particularly. Thinking about it, I suppose it wouldn't make much sense here with our weddings going how they do."
"None at all," Legolas agreed.
"Generally, the only traditions we have related to clothing is wearing things that are in some way representative of either where we are from or our family, be it colors, symbols, or heirlooms," Filegon said.
"Oh hold," Legolas said. "Lothril, what was that rhyme for that bridal tradition? 'Something old, something borrowed...'?"
"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue," she quoted. "But we don't-"
"New we shall have in the dress," Filegon said. "And I can very easily sneak in blue."
"And your betrothal ring is old," Legolas said.
"Then all we need is something borrowed!" Filegon declared with a smile.
"I will talk to my father about that if Lord Elrond does not bring anything that she can borrow," Legolas said with a smile.
"But really, it is just a silly old tradition. I am sure I cannot even guess why it started or what it meant," Lothril protested. Something about the look on her face made Legolas pause.
"Filegon, we will get back to you on that," Legolas said and took her hand.
Filegon nodded.
"Legolas Mell-eth," she caught herself about to use his private name in front of others and she wasn't sure if that was generally something that was generally fine nor his opinion on when or where she used it. "If you do not mind, I will send you away now so I can talk to Filegon without you."
He gave a small smile and a nod. "I will be in the drawing room until lunch." And with that he gave her a kiss and left.
As soon as he was gone she said, "So, what about that fabric you found?"
Filegon grinned. "Oh, Milady, I thought you would never ask! This way!" He led her out into the main room which was now empty. He set down his sketchbook on the drawing table and then drew her over to a table he had set up near the window.
On it were several five by five inch squares of fabric all dyed different colors, but three were out of place and stacked on each other under a note that read, "I have no idea what these are for, but I like this fabric in these colors. –Legolas"
"Well that's convenient!" Lothril said as she looked at the fabric swatches in question.
"Indeed," Filegon said. "But what do you think?"
"That he definitely does not guess the purpose or else he would have picked this dark blue. He bought a dress for me in Minas Tirith – did you see that one?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. It is a lovely garment!" Filegon answered.
"He thought so too as he sang about how I looked in it for weeks," Lothril said.
Filegon stared at the dark blue cloth a moment then asked, "Are you aware of our new moon tradition?"
"I am."
"What if I used this to make something for that?"
She thought about it a moment. "Wouldn't this be a bit dark though?" She looked over at him and he had a sneaky little smile. "You have an idea don't you."
"Oh yes."
"It involves silver thread, doesn't it."
"Silver thread, white gems, and silver trim," he answered, eyes glittering.
"And you want to use all that on something only two people are going to see?" Lothril asked incredulously.
"Absolutely!"
"Does the king know you want to use gems like that?" she asked.
Filegon laughed. "Oh Lady Lothril… you would blush if I told you what the king has permitted me to use for you two! And unless you want an education in haib irui, I suggest you do not ask until you are ready."
She stared at him for a moment, blinked and shook her head and said, "So back to the project at hand – yes, go for it, surprise me. In fact, Filegon, I am feeling a bit adventurous today – make that glittery dark blue new moon haib irui, and I know we talked about those two longer ones last time and I want both, so if there is enough fabric, make that off the shoulder one in this smoky blue-grey color and if you add any embellishments, think more along the lines of morning dew and mist off the water. And you have my full and free permission to have fun with that."
Filegon raised a brow. "Milady, you are spoiling me and we are making things for your wedding!"
"I know but my imagination for this is hazy at best. And while we are talking about my hazy imagination – you know that one I told you I really, really liked and turned bright pink while telling you? What if we did that in this green he said he liked with that one really delicate flowery lace I liked so well?"
Filegon unclipped the pages of his sketchbook and set it down on the table as he gingerly leafed back to the drawing in question. "This one?"
"That one."
"Show me what you are thinking," he said.
"What I am thinking, though whether or not it would work I am not sure, but basically every edge in lace, including at the seams. And lace around the neck," she said.
"What about the sleeves?"
"I have been thinking about that – what if we did them… I have no idea what you would call it," she said.
He handed her a pencil and she carefully did a quick sketch of what was essentially a shrug with the large, long sleeves.
"So, basically what if we remove the sleeves and make them a whole separate thing? And in lace," she said.
Filegon looked at the sketch with a raised brow. Hazy imagination? Somehow he was doubtful. "I will need to rework the back a little, but I think this will work. Now, we have two outfits sorted out, but I want you to start with at least five."
"Five?! Well, I suppose but that seems a bit much."
"The king suggested at least ten for each of you and the prince has already asked for eight for himself."
"Eight?! What is he having made?!"
Alright, maybe her imagination was a touch lacking in these things. Fair enough, she wasn't wed yet nor did she have Thranduil and Lauríel for parents. "You shall find out when he wears them for you," he said with a smile. "And I will happily entertain your input for him."
"Filegon, I have no ideas. None."
"Fortunately for you, the prince has a few. But over the next couple of weeks, give it a good deal of thought. If you still have no ideas, give me some general ideas and I will take it from there."
She nodded.
-⸙ - ⸙-
She found Legolas in the drawing room as he said. He was playing and singing a song on the harp she hadn't heard before. It was a rippling tune with a haunting sound. It reminded her foggy mornings in the hills. Quietly she came up to him and sat near him as he played. He kept singing but turned from singing to himself to singing to her. She loved watching him do things. For the life of her she didn't know what it was about watching him that was so captivating, but there she was, watching him and feeling like there was nothing else in the world she would rather do.
The song ended and she was almost sad that it had. "I could listen to you play and sing all day."
"I would love to and I may very well tomorrow," he replied, setting aside his harp.
"Why not today?" she asked, leaning onto his shoulder.
He threw an arm around her and replied, "Because today, melethel nin, as we are already thinking of our wedding, I want to talk to you about it."
"The actual act of wedding or the celebration thereof or…?"
"The actual act of wedding," he answered.
She nodded slowly. "What about it?"
"There are several things I want to make sure are thoroughly understood between us," he said.
"Several?!" she repeated.
"Several. I am certain Elrond has mentioned it to you, but after being in your world and hearing some of the things you were taught, I want to make it painfully clear - we do not believe in or condone the idea of obligatory love making. It is a mutual physical expression of our love, our passion, and our desire for each other. But if one or the other of us does not desire it in a given moment, then the loving thing to do is respect that and wait until another time."
"He did mention the mutual expression part, but it is a little bit of a relief to hear explicitly there isn't an obligation as such," she said.
"No, not 'as such', none at all. None," he said definitively.
"Well... What if I am not exactly in the mood, but I am not opposed to trying?" She asked in that slightly shy voice that was trying not to be.
"That is different, but only if you are genuinely interested in trying. I will not pressure you into it. And if at any point you decide you are done, we are done," he answered. "And I want you to tell me so."
She was quiet for a moment with that thoughtful little frown. "Hardly seems fair to you."
"And how fair would it be to you to keep going?" He countered.
"I don't mind-"
"Baw! Û pân! Allu! Han avaeth ad avon. (No, stop! Absolutely not! Never! That (is) rape and I will not.)" He said harshly.
She blinked and looked a bit disturbed at that.
"I am sorry for sounding so harsh but such a notion is wrong. You are not a tool to be used or a toy to be played with. You are my betrothed and soon to be my wife. You are and ought to be cherished, loved, guarded, and treasured." He took her hand in his. "You are upset."
"How warped am I?" She said aloud and half to herself.
"You are not warped, but your perspective has been. And again, I am glad I went with you because it gave me a better grasp of what your ideas are and why. And this is also why I wanted to start talking to you now about these things. I want you to enter our marriage with an understanding of what is expected of you, what you can expect from me, and how I see things," he said.
"And what is expected of me?" She asked, her voice laden with a mix of emotions she couldn't even name.
"That you love me as I love you, that you are open and honest with me in all things as I will be with you, and that everything you do, especially and particularly in our marriage bed, is done willingly, joyfully, and out of your own desire as will everything be that I do with you."
"That almost sounds pretty enough to be wedding vows," she commented, trying to ignore the confused swirl of emotions she couldn't name.
"Too bad we exchange blessings, not vows, or else perhaps we could have worked that in. As it stands though, our blessings are ancient and sacred and I would not alter a word of them," he said.
"Me neither," she replied.
"What are you feeling, meleth?"
"I don't know. I'll be fine. It will pass."
"Melethel, what did your adar tell you?"
She sighed. "To feel all of and let myself work through it."
He nodded. "Do you need me to leave for a little while?"
"I, well... If you don't mind."
"I will be next door in the art room," he said, giving her hand a squeeze before ghosting out of the room.
He closed the door behind himself and paused the for a moment with a sad sigh before gathering himself and going the short distance down the hall to the art room. Part of him wished she could let him help her, but he did understand. Sometimes one just has to work through certain things alone. She didn't ask him to leave very often.
He entered the art room and sat down at the drawing table and began to sketch. He had suggested she try drawing to work through these tangled emotions and to her credit she had tried but declared it did very little to help because she didn't know what to draw. He had drawn his way through the aftermath of being with the spiders. He had filled almost a whole book of hideous, dark drawings.
She though, hadn't quite worked out what out what she needed to do, but she had sheepishly confessed to him that talking out loud and sort of acting things out seemed to help, but that she couldn't bear the thought of doing it in front of anyone.
He could appreciate that. He certainly had holed up to draw and then once done gone through some pains to make sure the sketchbook wouldn't be found. He had thought about burning it but something had held him back.
He paused drawing and considered showing it to her. Yes, given he still had it, he decided he would at least explain it and offer to let her see it.
With that decision made, he turned his attention to the drawing at hand. It was of Verne's Beach and her standing in the water, facing the lake. He had had many beautiful, wonderful days with her, but that one was one he cherished. It was the first day they had together in peace.
Now that he thought about it, it was a day off many firsts. First time swimming together, first time he told her his habit of swimming naked; he chuckled at that memory. She had looked so scandalized and then confessed to doing it once herself. He had hinted to it, but he really was going to have to warn her before summer that elves, especially in their realm, have a habit of swimming whenever they wish, and unless it's a party or planned event, it's not uncommon for them to swim naked if they are alone when the mood strikes. It was not uncommon at all to be wandering up and down the river and see a pile of clothes on the bank and a naked elf swimming. The one and only reason he would leave on a little something is because he was the prince and it wasn't unheard of to have raftmen, tradesmen, and merchants come up the river from Esgaroth, Dale, and even Erebor.
He felt her mind brush against his and summon him back, but it was brief enough that he couldn't determine her mood.
He set down the pencil and returned to the drawing room to find her drinking tea. He sat down beside her and took her hand.
"You seem more settled," he said inquiringly.
"I am, I think."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
She took a drink then paused a moment before saying, "I am glad you decided to talk with me about this prior, because obviously I have some ideas still lodged in my head that are less than great. And as for that riot of emotions, I think I got bits of it untangled. This would all be easier if I didn't have my past and these bad ideas to contend with."
"Yes, after that set of sermons and some of the comments I overheard, I wanted to make very sure you understand our beliefs and practices. You do not owe me love making nor will I coerce it. Our general philosophy is, if we are loving and treating our spouse properly, we will naturally want to make love." He reached over with one hand and took a sip of tea then set it back down and held her hand between his again.
"That is a lovely thought," she said with a slight smile.
"It is also a lovely practice," he said, returning her smile. "Are we understanding and agreed then on this?"
She quickly gulped down her last little bit of tea. "Oh quite," she said.
"Good. Then there is a second thing I wish to clarify - our expectations when love making."
Her brows shot up slightly. "We have expectations when love making?"
"Yes - that we listen to each other, enjoy each other, and let the other know if we like what they are doing or not. I want you enjoying puith with me, not enduring it. If it is not pleasurable to experience, receive, or give then it does not need to be done. You endured her. I do not want you to endure me; I want you to enjoy me."
She got a funny little thrill when he said that last part.
"What?" He asked, noting the odd little look on her face.
"The thought of enjoying you," she answered with a shudder and a smile.
"Is it a thought you enjoy?" He asked, only allowing the barest hint of flirtatiousness into his voice.
She nodded. "Quite a bit."
"Good!" Legolas said and gave her a swift little kiss. "Now, to abruptly change topics, about that tradition from your old world I mentioned, I gather you do not want to do it?"
She shook her head. "No. Not really. It means nothing to me and is silly superstition," she answered. She looked down at her agate ring and added, "The gifts from my parents will be enough of my old life. I am an elf now and you are an elf and our wedding and marriage should be elven. There is enough ridiculousness from that life I am dragging into this one with me. I do not need to add things superfluously."
"As you wish, melethril."
"Oh, and while we are abruptly changing topics – Mellothon, I almost used that name accidentally in front of Filegon but then caught myself. Would it be rude if I did that? Do you have a preference?"
"As I have not given you any restrictions on when to use it, it would not have been rude. And I cannot say I have a particular preference. I love you openly and freely and no one has my permission to use it save you," he answered. "And that shall not change. Use it whenever you like. And by the by, I do love the fact you almost called me that while we were discussing wedding clothes."
"Out of sheer curiosity – what do wedding feasts generally look like here?" Lothril asked.
"More or less like any other high feast," Legolas answered.
"So like enderi or Turuhalmë?"
"Yes, more or less."
"How wildly ostentatious do you think your father will go?"
"Well, given we are expecting Lord Elrond, Lady Galadriel, Lord Celeborn, and our entire family, and that Ada likes to impress visiting dignitaries, I imagine he will raid his private wine collection and call for the gold and silver harps," Legolas answered.
"You know, it is moments like this where I am glad I am not the one to plan the wedding. Your father would probably be appalled with what I would pick," she said.
"If you were back home, what would you do for the wedding feast?"
"Feast? Feast nothing. I would have cake, coffee, and punch and have everyone home by a decent hour," she answered. "Though, if we danced, I suppose I would feel more obligated to have a dinner, but as we don't…"
"I am sorry dear, but cake, coffee, and punch would be the tiniest corner of the table, assuming I shared my coffee."
"Out of curiosity, do elven weddings do cake?"
"Yes, but not at all how you are used to. It is simply one dessert of several."
"Traditionally, do you and I get any say in what is served?"
"Yes. The entire wedding feast is a bit more of a collaborative effort than it was in your world, or so I gathered."
"And just how did you gather, oh elven prince?"
"When you left one morning the television was left on and I saw a show about choosing wedding dresses. When your mother came back from the store we discussed the tradition and how wedding planning looks there," he answered.
"Oooh! 'Say Yes to the Dress'," she commented.
"Yes, that was it. Did you ever see dresses on there that you liked?"
"I liked some of them, but not enough to want to wear it for my wedding. Or our wedding either, just in case you are surreptitiously trying to figure out what my dress will look like," she answered teasingly.
"I would not dream of it." He glanced out the window. "It is time for lunch, we ought to hurry."
"Hurry? Is something going on today at lunch?" she asked. "Oh, it isn't another family day this afternoon or something, is it?"
"You shall see," Legolas answered with a grin.
They arrived as lunch just as it was being served.
"We are just in time, I see," Legolas said with a smile as he sat in his customary spot beside his father.
"And only just," Thranduil answered.
"Watch out, Uncle – my cousin has that up to mischief smile of his!" Elior said with a half grin of his own.
Thranduil observed Legolas but before he could comment or question, lunch was served. He stared down at his plate and suddenly looked very confused.
"Tacos? Really Legolas?" Lothril asked with a raised brow.
He smiled. "It seemed like a good place to begin."
"Renee made pizza in Lothlórien. You couldn't start there?" Lothril replied in mild protest.
"This is from your old world?" Elior asked with a smile, knowing full well she was the queen of sidetracking conversations.
"How novel!" Linnrien exclaimed with a smile.
"How do you eat it?" Thranduil asked, examining the taco as it sat on his plate.
Lothril looked hers over to see how it was wrapped and as it looked like it wouldn't fall out and had the ends tucked in she answered, "Like this." She picked it up and took a bite. It wasn't anything one could call authentic as the spice pallet was a little different and lacked things like chili powder, but honestly, she wasn't sure if she didn't prefer this version. She hadn't been horribly fond of tacos back home.
Thranduil liked trying new things, but Elior had been right, Legolas had that mischievous elfling look. He carefully picked it up and took a bite and… this was…odd.
"What do you think, meleth?" Legolas asked.
The family around the table was still trying to figure out what they thought about it to varying degrees of approval and speculation about what was in it. At that question though, attention was turned to Lothril.
"I like it," she answered. "I am not certain it is terribly authentic as it is venison and not beef and the cheese is different, but over-all I like it and it is a decent representation of a taco. Actually, I think I like it better."
Thranduil raised a brow slightly. It wasn't bad… but the cheese in the middle… and everything altogether… Soup and stew was one thing, but having everything mixed together and wrapped up in a paper thin bread like thing? The texture was somewhat varied but not anything he was enthusiastic about. Obviously this was Legolas' idea and he still had that elfling up to mischief look, but as Lothril seemed to be enjoying it, he kept his mouth shut. And it was interesting. The rest of the present family was peppering her with questions about it.
"No, this is a pretty common dish," Lothril said in answer to a question from Linnrien.
"This is fun trying a dish from your world!" Elior said.
"It is kind of fun at that," Lothril answered with a smile.
"Well, I am glad you all are enjoying it because I brought back recipes for several more," Legolas informed with a smile.
"Such as?" Lothril asked, dreadfully curious.
"You shall have to wait and see like everyone else," he answered.
Thranduil considered that answer... It accounted for the mischievous grin, but somehow... Time would tell and he rather hoped tacos were not a particular favorite of his soon-to-be daughter. But to be fair, he had eaten much worse.
-⸙ - ⸙-
A/N: So… this is another one of those, not exactly what I intended chapters, but this is what the elves in my head told me to write, so write it I did. Folks, I'm not writing this story anymore. I haven't been for about seven years. I've been taking dictation. Oh, and as an aside - at some point I plan on going through and editing all the chapters to correct certain errors, add in little -⸙ - ⸙- scene breaks, and fix some little mistakes in the elvish. It will likely happen after I am done writing, if not posting, this. I just had to say something because it's been bothering me. haha!