Forest Sister

Thank you

 After the coronation, people went partying in the castle, which I avoided. Large crowds and noise weren't something I was used to. I went straight up to my room, changed my clothes, and undid the braids, placed the tiara on the table. When I felt comfortable again in my clothes, I threw myself on the bed.

There was a knock on the door.

I groaned as I sat up. "It's open!"

I was surprised to see four hobbits come inside. They all stood by the door as if they weren't sure what they should be doing. What were they doing here?

"We thought you might want some ale? Well, that was just me, not all of us," Pippin said, revealing a mug full of ale behind him. Seriously?

"No thank you. You can have that," I answered. Pippin smiled but didn't drink any.

"We wanted to say thank you," a dark-haired hobbit said. He was either Frodo or Sam. I decided it was Frodo because he looked like a Frodo.

"For what?" I said.

"For everything," Merry said.

"From what we've heard, you helped the Fellowship a lot. And well, I also wanted to see what you looked like. They said you were very pretty," a golden-haired hobbit, probably Sam, spoke fastly.

"You also saved my life," Pippin added. "And Mister Legolas and Strider's."

"Did I?" I said, frowning. To be honest, I couldn't remember who's lives I saved and didn't.

"Aragorn told us you were a truly noble elf," Frodo said.

"And also very scary," Pippin added. I laughed.

"Did he, now? Well, you can tell him that I said if he ever becomes a tyrant, he'll have a very scary she-elf to answer to," I said, and the hobbits smiled.

"You can say that yourself," Aragorn said, stepping out from behind the door. He was still wearing the costume, but the crown was gone.

"Were you there the whole time?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Maybe," he answered, smiling. "You'll find your daggers sharpened in the armory. Pippin did a splendid job of sharpening them."

"I forgot about that. I imagine you spent quite some time on them, Pippin," I said, smiling at him.

"They all helped, actually," Pippin responded, gesturing at the hobbits. "They wanted to help. I never forced them to help me."

"You have my gratitude," I said, nodding to the hobbits. They all smiled in return.

Suddenly Aragorn turned around and gestured at somebody to come inside. Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf showed themselves.

"What are you guys all doing here?" I asked as I got out of the bed. Gandalf closed the door behind him, and all of them stood in a line in front of me.

"Ok. What's going on?" I asked, looking at Gandalf. When he didn't answer, I looked at Legolas, demanding an answer.

"A proper thank you," Legolas said. "You deserve it, Taurieth."

Then they all bowed to me. I stood there, blinking, still not sure of what was going on.

"Did you guys eat something wrong?" I asked when they were finished with their 'thank you'.

"Not at all. The food's great here. Though they could use a bit more of some herbs and seasoning, not mention a new potato recipe," Sam answered immediately. "But the food's great."

Then Legolas walked towards me and we were standing face to face with each other. The others were looking at us.

"You okay?" I asked when I started to feel a teeny tiny bit uncomfortable under his long, long gaze. I was seriously starting to think whether they had all eaten something rotten.

"Never been better," he answered. And then suddenly, he leaned in and gently kissed my lips, holding my face in his hands. I was a little surprised but kissed him back. He stopped and looked at me, smiling. Then I realized we had kissed in front of the whole fellowship looking at us.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" I whispered, half laughing, as I buried my head in his chest.

"Probably," he whispered back.

There was a loud cheer from the hobbits, and I swear I heard Aragorn and Gandalf's voice in it.

"I knew there was something between those two pointy ears," Gimli grumbled, his voice breaking through the loud cheer. The hobbits burst out laughing, and soon, we were all laughing. Pippin accidentally hit Gimli too hard on the back, and soon, the hobbits and the dwarves were on the ground, trying to kill each other. I smiled fondly at the sight.

"Looks like you found your friends, Taurieth," Gandalf said, suddenly appearing beside me. I looked at him and then at the others who were on the ground, laughing out loud.

"Guess you were right, as always," I answered as I remembered what he had said to me at the very beginning of my journey. 'You will find a new home and friends. That I can promise you.'

"And the home?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. I smiled and looked at Legolas.

"Guess I can give it a try," I said, looking at Gandalf. He nodded and smiled, and patted me on the shoulder. Then he went to help Aragorn, who was getting tackled by the hobbits and Gimli for some reason. But soon, he was shouting at the hobbits to get off of his back.

I never thought of getting new friends and a new home as possible. Turns out, I was wrong. 100% wrong. Now, I couldn't imagine where I would be and what I would be doing if I hadn't joined them. Probably still at Fangorn Forest, with Vaile licking my face and Treebeard telling me stories. I would never have known that the world has changed if I stayed at Fangorn. I was glad I joined them. I was glad I met Aragorn, Gimli, Eowyn, Pippin, Merry, the brave hobbits, and Legolas. Every single one of them.

Legolas gently held my hand in his. I looked up at him.

"Thank you," I said, smiling.

"No problem," he answered, and leaned in for one more kiss.