Into That Good Night

Mereth Nuin Giliath

Dearest Readers,

I have to admit, this was a hard chapter to write. There were a lot of things going on, and I wanted to makes sure I did enough justice to the characters as I could in first person pov. However, this only sparked my desire to create a spinoff for the Thranduil/Alma interactions going on, and of course I started going off on tangents that are completely unusable for this story- so I suppose I'll have to give them one of their own.

One of these days, I hope.

Please let me know about what you think of the newest developments! Welcome to the feast, and be ready to throw hands because we all know what happens whenever Persie shows up at a feast.

Shit's gonna go down.

XOXO Ally Layne.

---

It wasn't surprising at all when there was a knock on the door, and a female elf was standing there with a large garment box, only to ask for the Lady Almarian.

Alma immediately blushed and accepted the gift, taking it into her arms and walking over to the chaise she had been lounging on. The elf immediately excused herself, leaving the rest of us alone, staring widely at Alma. She wasn't able to hide her smile when she pulled at the ribbon holding the box shut, only to be met with a penned message.

She picked it up and read the written words, only to blush even more.

"Who's it from?" I asked, and Arwen smiled at me knowingly.

"It is from the Elvenking, of course," she said, before directing her smile toward Alma. "Is that correct?"

Alma grinned widely. "Yes, you are correct. He had this commissioned for me for Mereth Nuin Giliath, and asked that he be the one to escort me this evening..." she looked back down at the note again. "And he asked that he be my first and last dance of the evening."

Even Arwen's eyes widened at this insinuation. "He asked for your first and last dance?"

Varis let out a low chuckle. "You must have him completely wrapped around your finger, mellon nin."

She let out a small bout of quiet laughter, placing a hand to her lips as her eyes kept reading the note over and over again. "He must care for me more than I thought he would."

Arwen nodded. "He's courting you, mellon nin."

I blinked. "Is that what all of this means?"

Varis raised a brow. "Were you not courted by Lord Glorfindel?"

Alma snickered. "She had no idea what was going on most of the time, Varis. Persie did not recognize any of the customs when he attempted to woo her."

My mouth dropped. "What?"

Arwen sighed. "When a gentleman asks for the first dance of a Lady, the intent to get to know her and show that he would like to pursue her interests is there, and when a gentleman asks for the last dance of a Lady, he is basically pledging for courtship." She looked off into a distant memory. "It is quite romantic."

I looked over at Alma with a knowing grin. "It sounds like you landed yourself a King."

Varis waved her hand. "Yeah good for her, but show us the dress he commissioned, Alma, I would like to see if this Elvenking of yours has any taste."

Alma's eyes gleamed as she pulled back the wrapping to see the dress. "Oh, Eru..."

Arwen stood up and walked over to where Alma was standing and placed a hand on her back. "This is stunning, mellon, but not so much as you. You will put everyone to shame in this gown."