To Live Again {Lord of the Rings/ThranduilXOC Fanfiction}

26. Kidnapping, Wine, & Elf Rituals!

The weeks have just slipped by to the rhythm of joyful expectation. For the most part, everything ticks by quite uneventfully, and I don't have to fret too much or fuss over any detail of the upcoming nuptials. Ollie has everything flowing like clockwork; her meticulous professionalism means that if I even try to have an opinion, she silences me with a patronizing look. This is usually followed by a statement that pokes fun at my young age and complete inexperience in life. I know she is my best friend, but sometimes I hate her.

There was an extremely funny incident a few weeks ago, when Ollie had mistakenly miscounted the ledgers and thought we would not have enough food for the guests. This just happened to be a very cruel, but nonetheless amusing joke by Thranduil and Tinuben. Thranduil got his hands on the ledgers, Tinuben fiddled the numbers, and poor Ollie was left with an extreme headache and several farm owners nearly losing their contracts. Thankfully, everyone can look back and laugh now. At the time, Oropher looked as if he was going to throttle his son, if Ollie didn't stab him first, at one point I feared for his life! Silly, impulsive, elf that he is. Honestly, if he isn't caught up in his duties or off patrolling, he is causing havoc. Well, I should revise that, we are causing havoc, because I have to admit, I love to be his accomplice.

Just last weekend, fueled by dutch courage and a more than willing elfling, we rigged out Raffyn's study, filling his desk drawers with compost and replacing the ink in his ink wells with berry juice. Legolas was very pleased with his handy work and delighted with his Adar's assistance in the whole matter, I was merely the lookout and I felt I fulfilled my duty very well indeed. Of course, Raffyn was horrified and we didn't mean to cause him the anxiety attack... Legolas didn't know the papers in the bottom drawer were actually personal reports for the King. Thankfully, Oropher found the whole incident hilarious and poor Raffyn's pleas for justice were laughed off.

In all fairness though, most of our pranks are pulled on each other, and any family time is spent just lounging around in our home or in the gardens and recently in the woods. My return to the woods since the orc attack was a nervous occasion, but it didn't take me long to settle myself. Thranduil also quite forcefully reminded me that these were his father's lands; no evil could enter without the border patrol or the highly skilled guard knowing about it. So all and all, things are just trundling along nicely, in fact things have been so laid back that the date of wedding feast has snuck up on me.

The actual celebration will be tomorrow evening, almost a year since our betrothal. Autumn is teetering on the edge of finality, but the forest is still ablaze with color, the perfect setting. I love this time of year, with all the wonderful sights and smells, and the woods are an artist's dream. If I had time, I would be out there painting it, but I do have a day job which I must attend to. So, I busy myself in the healing halls, drying out the rest of the harvest's yield of herbs and documenting my learning. Calanon even gave me my own study, filled with all my trinkets, potted plants, and books bursting with my images and scrawlings of the healing properties of the plants I know of.

Truthfully, this place has become my hideout in recent days. The visiting nobility have been arriving and I'm more than happy to stay out of the way until needs must. Also, nothing ever came of these pre-wedding festivities, but I am not convinced I have escaped unscathed... So, for my own safety, I remain hidden. Presently, I have my nose stuck in a journal of Calanon's, copying his findings into one of my own. Every time I hear raised voices or footsteps approaching my door, I practically melt into my chair and pray they pass by. Most of the time it is just Calanon, dropping by to alert me to the goings on of the outside world, on last word he told me the Imladris elves had arrived with a small representation from Lindon. Earlier in the week King Amdir and his son Amroth had arrived from the Lorien realm, apparently Lord Celeborn was in attendance, along with his wife the Lady Galadriel. I haven't met them just yet and I think I can wait. The thought of meeting the Lady Galadriel is enough to send me into shock. Mercifully, they all keep very much to themselves and I have avoided communal feasting with the excuse that I am undergoing dress fittings, and other such wedding related tasks, which isn't a lie, per say. So far, my absence has been forgiven and Oropher is quite happy to play along with the secrecy thing. He enjoys keeping his Noldorian neighbours in the dark about his son's chosen spouse, and the elleth he has deemed fit to give the title of princess.