The Ranger And The Prince.

Wedding Traditions.

It had been nearly three months since Thranduil and I had come to a mutual understanding and I had officially been courting Legolas. I knew that I was the subject of almost every gossip trail in Mirkwood, as the girl who managed to somehow ensnare their Prince.

I didn't like having all the attention but I suppose that's the price that comes with loving a Prince.

Thranduil seemed in better moods now, ever since I had returned his gems. Perhaps he would become more like the King I had met on my first trip to Mirkwood, kind and benevolent, not scornful as he had been before my return.

Legolas was attending some boring royal meeting nearly every other day. While he did that, I found myself a place at the royal guard training grounds. Many were fascinated by my use of an axe but I was used to it by now.

When Legolas wasn't doing his Princely duties, he would usually come and join me.

After the first month, me and Legolas had set up some sort of crash course through the forest. It wasn't for the newly trained guards, they had their own training course. This course was just for me and Legolas, for elite warriors.

It quickly turned into a competition, with us both competing over who could finish the course the fastest and who could score the most points.

The course ran for about a league north of the city, the part of the forest which was virtually untouched by the spiders. There were nearly thirty targets in total, all placed in impossibly difficult places. We would set out with a quiver of thirty arrows and our bows.

The course was great fun, now our favourite past time whenever we had an hour of two to spare. Sometimes we would change it up but it never got old.

On the forth month, we received a letter from Gondor, signed by the King himself and addressed to me and Legolas.

Naturally, we were excited when we read the wedding invitation. Aragorn wanted his closest friends to be with him when he and Arwen married. He doubted the Hobbits would make the journey, they had probably only just got back to their homes.

Now that things had cooled down, I suggested to Legolas that when we go to Minas Tirith, we meet up with Gimli and go our our travels like we planned.

Thranduil, in much better spirits, gave us leave. He knew that we likely would return for some time, maybe years. I couldn't wait to be on the road again, as much as I had enjoyed my long stay in Mirkwood, I was still a ranger at heart. I wondered how Aragorn - a fellow ranger - was coping with the change, and what a change it was. He used to be a ranger, now he is the King of Gondor.

We left that week, supplies packed and weapons stashed. I had taken a few scrolls from the great Library in Mirkwood, mostly ancient scripture written about the Glittering Caves and Fangorn Forest. I thought they might be worth a read since we were visiting them after the wedding.

I couldn't say I would be missing Thranduil, in fact, it felt good to be rid of him. Perhaps when we returned, things wouldn't be too awkward between us but for now, I was just looking forward to the trip at hand.

As for wedding gifts, both me and Legolas agreed that there wasn't enough nature in Minas Tirith. It was virtually void of all life and barely anything grew there. Legolas and I took saplings from the trees in the courtyard of Mirkwood, they wouldn't die and would blossom into beautiful trees which would liven up the White City.

We rode for a month towards Minas Tirith. Just as before, we spent most of that time talking about adventures we would like to take in the future, or we were sparring as usual.

It felt just like we were back in the fellowship, flirting and fighting.

When we saw the White City, we galloped faster, eager to see Aragorn again after so many months. As the gate opened and the portcullis lifted, we led our horse through the streets of stone.