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         Lady Celebrían was beyond beautiful. When Elrond saw her entering the banquet hall for the feast, he was frozen to the spot. She was wearing her white dress, the one with floral embroidery along the top of the bodice and the hem, which complimented her olive skin well. Her silver hair was done up partially in intricate braids, and pulled back to reveal her face. The fire-light glimmered in her eyes. It was not until his uncle placed a hand on his shoulder that he came back to reality.

         “Go welcome her,” Eluréd said, smiling warmly.

         He nodded at his uncle and walked towards Celebrían, who had already noticed his presence.

         “Good evening, Lady Celebrían,” he said. “So glad you could join us for the feast.”

         She smiled brightly and he felt like he could explode from emotion. He took her hand in his, and it was warm and soft like nothing else. It sent a shock up his hand that filled his body and he was acutely aware of every inch of skin where they touched.

         “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Celebrían said, “From what Prince Eluréd has said, the feasts in Imladris are nothing short of exquisite.”

         “I fear my uncle may have overstated the quality of our food, especially when compared to that of Lothlórien,” Elrond said.

         “On the contrary, I believe he meant not just that the food was lovely, but also the company,” Celebrían said, looking up at him through her long lashes.

         Elrond’s heart skipped a beat.

         “Well, um, yes,” he stammered, “We always do our best to entertain our guests. The main goal of Rivendell is always to let people relax and be free of worries for a little while. Here, allow me to show you to your seat.”

         “Of course,” she said.

         As he led her back over to the table, he noticed that the seat he had meant to give her, which was two seats down from his spot at the head of the table, had been taken by Glorfindel. The spot that had been his, to Elrond’s left, was the only spot left open on that end of the table. He gave Glorfindel an inquisitive glance, but got only a sly smile in return. Moving his eyes to his uncle Eluréd, he saw a positively mischievous smirk that quickly morphed into one of faux innocence. Those two were scheming and he knew it.

—

         After the banquet, the party moved to the Hall of Fire. He decided he would not bore Lady Celebrían with any more small talk, so he went to sit down by himself and listen to the singers. He was just getting lost in Lindir’s ballad about niphredil in Doriath when Glorfindel came up to him.

         “My lord Elrond, you have to come quick!” Glorfindel said.

         Elrond looked around and noticed that Celebrían was nowhere to be seen.

         “This doesn’t have anything to do with getting me alone with Lady Celebrían, does it?” Elrond said.

         “Of course not, a swan got into the library. No one can coax it out!” Glorfindel motioned frantically in the direction of the library.

         Elrond got up and walked hastily out to the library, which was out the door and down a hallway to the left. Glorfindel followed behind him, matching him stride for stride.

         “What have you done to try and coax it out?” Elrond asked.

         “We… uh… tried corralling it out with our hands,” Glorfindel said.

         “No, no, that’s all wrong. You have to put a blanket over it, not so it cannot breathe, of course, and then carry it outside.”

         They were almost to the library.

         “In fact, bring me a blanket now,” Elrond continued, as he opened the door and walked into the library.

         But when he entered, the only living thing he saw inside was Lady Celebrían, looking as stunning as ever.

         “Lady Celebrían,” he said, “What a pleasant surprise to see you.”

         “Surprise?” she asked, “But Prince Eluréd said you wanted to speak with me in here,”

         Of course his uncle was in league with Glorfindel in this. Just then, the door was shut behind him, the doorknob shook and there was a click, before he could do anything.

         “Glorfindel!” Elrond said in an admonishing tone. “Did you lock us in?”

         He tried the knob, and it only rattled in his hand.

         “As your Lord, I demand you unlock the door this instant!”

         He heard nothing from the other side of the door, except Glorfindel’s breath. He reached out to Eluréd through ósanwe.

         “Uncle, let us out,” he said.

         But there was no response, only the feeling that his uncle was very pleased about something. Of course he was. Elrond hung his head and rested his forehead on the door, feeling like he could die of embarrassment.

         “I’m so sorry, Lady Celebrían,” Elrond said, “I don’t know why they’re behaving so poorly tonight. I’ll have to have a long talk with them when we get out.”

         “It’s okay,” Celebrían said. “It’s not too hard to pick a lock.”

         She walked over next to him, treading the ground silently but surely with her slippers, her silk dress fluttering and swishing around her large curves. Silver hair spilled like a cascade down her back as she pulled a few hairpins out of her intricate hairdo. It glittered like stars in the light. Elrond lifted his head from the door, and could do nothing but stare at her as she approached. Oh Elbereth, what was he going to do? He finally gained some self-awareness when she pressed her side against his to get in a better position to pick the lock, and moved slightly to accommodate her. His breath caught. He was engulfed with her smell, rosewater perfume, pine trees, and her own unique scent. It was overpowering and enchanting.

         Cel was so pensive as she moved the hairpins inside the lock. She was so close that Elrond could feel her soft breath across his cheek, the warmth of her body where their sides touched. His heart was pounding. He wondered if she noticed it, or if she was too focused on the lock. If she commented on it, perhaps he could say it was because of the stress of them being locked in a room? No, he should not lie. But he certainly could not tell the truth- Galadriel was his dear friend, and had been so good to him for so long. To be honest, he was afraid of what she would say if she found out how he felt about her only daughter. His thoughts were interrupted by the click of the lock opening.

         “There,” Cel said, smiling brightly as the sun. “Simple.”

         “That was fantastic! You did it so quickly, and so nimbly! Where did you learn that?”

         “My Ammë taught me.” She blushed deeply and averted her gaze for a moment.

         “I could have never done it. I was just thinking about how to escape through the window.”

         She giggled in response. It made his heart soar, and he smiled back at her. The air between them grew heavy. Her lips were so luscious, so full. He wanted nothing more than to press his against them and discover whatever it was they tasted like, but he had to be sensible. He had no idea if she felt the same. She probably did not, and the last thing he wanted to do was to be impertinent to the daughter of his good friend, while she was his guest. But, the next thing he knew, Cel was slowly leaning towards him.

         “Tell me if you want me to stop.” Her breath ghosted across his face.

         His whole body was taken over with a shiver.

         “Don’t stop,” he whispered quickly.

         She ghosted her lips over his for a moment, and pulled back slightly, so close and yet not close enough. He had to take a deep breath to retain his composure – it was almost too much to bear. She pressed a feather-light kiss to his lips, and it was like the jolt you got when you touched a metal doorknob in the fall or wintertime.

         “Please, don’t- don’t stop,” he sputtered. “Unless you want to, of course. I would completely understand if-”

         She grabbed the back of his head and pressed their lips together completely. It was like getting struck by lightning, but it felt good. Better than anything he had ever felt before in all his centuries of life – her lips were large and plush, and she tasted like baked apples and mulled wine. She had worked her hand under his circlet and his hair, and was massaging his scalp slowly with her hands. Rubbing her nails gently against his head in a rhythmic pattern. He wrapped his arms around her waist and felt like he could just melt into her and never want for anything ever again. They pulled apart. He chased her lips for a few moments before he realized what he was doing and pulled back as well. She giggled kindly, cupping his cheek with her hand. He just stood there dumbfounded.

         “I was so sure you didn’t love me back,” she said through a smile. “Was I completely mistaken?”

         “Yes,” Elrond responded. “Although I have to admit, I was also mistaken in thinking you didn’t love me.”

         This elicited more giggling from Cel.

         “We were both so foolish. But we figured it out in the end.”

         She moved her hand back to his hair and carded her hand through. He leaned into her touch. They moved in to kiss again, but there was a sudden, loud cheering that came from the hallway, which made them both jump.

         “Finally!” came Eluréd’s sonorous voice. Then more cheering.

         “We did it!” Glorfindel applauded.

         The two let go of each other and Elrond rolled his eyes. Opening the door, he almost hit his uncle and Glorfindel, because they were standing just on the other side. He looked at them in the way he did when he was tired of their antics, but it was still tinged with fondness and a little bit of thanks.

         “You’re welcome?” Eluréd ventured.

         “I feel if I say ‘thank you,’ you’ll never let me live it down,” Elrond responded.

         “It’s true,” Eluréd said, him and Glorfindel bursting into laughter.

         “Well, I will have a talk with you two later. Right now, I have other things to attend to.” Elrond took Celebrían’s hand and led her back to the Hall of Fire.