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     A few hours had passed since Valadhiel and Thorin had had that talk in the garden, and Valadhiel was now in the bathroom of her room, getting herself bathed for the celebration being held that night. One could call it a going away party of sorts, and it wasn't a party that wouldn't last late into the night, since they all planned to get up by sunrise to start off on their journey once more.

     Elrond was the one who had suggested the going away party, and it wasn't for the Dwarves alone, but for Valadhiel. They had been planning on doing it sooner, but one of the elves bringing back some of the food and drink for a celebration had been attacked, so it had been delayed. Thankfully, the elf was alright, and his minor injuries had been tended to.

     Valadhiel was soon finished bathing, and once she'd dried off, she got herself dressed and got her hair brushed. For the celebration tonight, she was wearing a dark blue dress with golden lace on the hem and the end of the sleeves, and aside from the gold trim, there were golden flame patterns on the sleeve and on the back and front of the dress. There were holes for her wings to fit through, of course, and she once again wore her circlet. Her hair wasn't quite as simple this time, but had many braids in it. Two large braids went from the front of her head to the back, where they were then merged and held together by many other smaller braids, and she had another small braid on each side of her head. [1]

     Soon, she was ready for the celebration that was taking place. It was only noon, but many things were already planned. They would be having a delicious lunch, then there would be many desserts and beverages, and there would be some singing and dancing. However, not all the dancing was going to be ballroom style dancing. That would come later that evening, though not too late, of course.

     Valadhiel walked to her door and opened it, then she once again bumped into a familiar elf. She flinched, then she backed up and chuckled softly. "Sorry, Glandur." She apologized, then she grinned up at him. "We must stop bumping into each other like this, mellon nin."

     Glandur laughed softly before he nodded and held his arm out for her. "I do believe you're right. One of these days, one of us is going to get hurt." He teased, then began walking once she'd taken a hold of his arm. "You should see the ballroom. It is absolutely beautiful."

     "They already have the ballroom set up for this evening?" Valadhiel asked, looking up at the tall elf as she spoke.

     "Oh, yes. They've had it ready for a few days now, I've simply not been allowed to say anything about it up until this point." Glandur replied.

     "I suppose I'll get to see it this evening, then. Until then, if I am not mistaken, we'll be singing, dancing, eating, and having friendly competitions, aye?"

     Glandur nodded. "Yes. We were debating the competitions, but we thought that the dwarves might want some competitive games, so we planned some for their entertainment."

     Valadhiel smirked. "You make it sound as if you elves don't enjoy competition. You may be able to fool other races, Glandur, but you'll never be able to fool me."

     Glandur chuckled. "No, I suppose not. Fooling you is a difficult challenge, Lady Vala." He replied, looking at her a moment before he walked down the stairs with her.

     As the two chatted, they made their way through the building, then they came out onto the large balcony where the tables, chairs, and more had been set up. Here was where they would have their lunch, then they would most likely go downstairs to a larger area outside for any singing, dancing, and games.

     Meanwhile, Thorin, Bilbo, Gandalf, Elrond, and the other dwarves were already at the balcony. Gandalf sat on one side of Elrond, Thorin on the other, and Bilbo also sat at the table with them. It had seemed that Elrond had become fond of Bilbo's company, and the two were in the making of what could be a beautiful friendship. Now all they needed was for Valadhiel to get here, who would be sitting across from Bilbo and beside Thorin.

     He had been conversing with Elrond and Gandalf, though he fell silent when Elrond and Gandalf got to talking about something, though he didn't mind. He was keeping an eye out for Valadhiel.

     Thorin soon caught sight of something red out of the corner of his eye, so he quickly turned his head. There he saw Valadhiel, wearing a beautiful, flowing blue dress, and she was smiling and laughing with a blonde haired male elf, her arm linked with his arm. He suddenly grew hot inside, and he felt an odd sensation where his heart was.

     Once the two neared, Thorin stood up and pulled the chair next to him out for Valadhiel. When the two had stopped walking, he gave a curt nod of greeting to the blonde elf before he looked at Valadhiel, who smiled at him.

     "Thank you, Thorin." Valadhiel said, then she turned to the blonde elf and gave a brief yet graceful curtsy. "I'll see you later, Glandur." After Glandur had replied then left, Valadhiel took her seat, then again thanked Thorin when he even scooted the chair in for her.

     "Who was that?" Thorin asked after they'd gotten some food and were all talking and eating. At the moment, Gandalf and Elrond's attention was focused on Bilbo, who was speaking with the both of them, so he was able to speak to Vala without them hearing him.

     "His name is Glandur, and he's a very old friend of mine from Mirkwood." Valadhiel replied before she lifted her glass and took a sip of her water.

     "So, you two are close."

     "I suppose you could say that. Glandur and I have known each other for so long, and he's like an older brother to me."

     Thorin calmed down a little after hearing that this Glandur fellow was like an older brother to her. An older brother, nothing more. Then again, why did it matter to him? Why did it, and why should it?

     After the meal and dessert, the elves, Valadhiel, Bilbo, the dwarves, and Gandalf all made their way downstairs and out to a part of the yard where there would be singing, dancing, and games. Some of the young children were already dancing, the minstrels were playing their instruments and singing lively, and a few were already over at the archery course for some target practice.

     Valadhiel grabbed a bow when Elladan and Elrohir goaded her into going up against them, and Kili went over as well. Elladan and Valadhiel went first, and they ended up tying, then it was Kili against Elrohir. Surprisingly enough, Kili won that round.

     "Elrohir still shoots like a girl, I see." Valadhiel commented with a mischievous grin, earning a playful shove from the son of Elrond.

     "I still shoot better than you do." Elrohir replied, rolling his eyes but smiling in amusement.

     "Sorry, but Vala has always been the better archer." Elladan told Elrohir, laughing at the mock betrayed look his brother gave him afterwards.

     Thorin watched as the three goofed off, and he felt that strange feeling well up inside of him again. Whenever Valadhiel behaved all friendly and such towards men, he got that feeling. He definitely knew what it had to be now, but there was no way he would admit it. Not even to himself.

     After the archery course, they'd had an axe throwing competition, which the dwarves were excellent at, and they had knife throwing competitions. Thorin had gone up against Valadhiel for that one, and they'd gone two rounds. The first round he won, and the second round they'd tied. After the knife throwing had come sword dueling, and the last two for the sword fight had been Valadhiel and Elrond. Valadhiel had come close to almost beating the elf-lord, but in the end, he had won.

     After the festivities, it came time to go to the dining hall for their evening meal. Once more, Thorin, Valadhiel, Elrond, Gandalf, and Bilbo had sat together at the long table, and Kili and Fili even joined that time. After the meal and more desserts, they all made their way to the ballroom.

     Valadhiel's eyes widened when she first walked into the large room. Glandur had been right when he'd said that the place was beautiful. They had decorated it nicely, and the floors had clearly recently been polished, and the windows were squeaky clean. A few tables were set up with plenty of chairs, and at one end of the room was a small balcony for the minstrels and any of those who would be singing.

     Minstrels already played their instruments, and some were already dancing, while others stood elsewhere as they talked. The dwarves, of course, weren't dancing, and Valadhiel was sure that they didn't plan to, either.

     "May I have this dance?"

     Valadhiel turned with a smile when she heard her friend's voice, and she curtsied before him. "You may indeed, Glandur." She replied. When he extended his arm for her to take, she took it and followed him out onto the dance floor. She spotted Bilbo out there dancing when she got there, and she smiled and inwardly laughed when she saw that he was dancing with one of the elven children. It seemed that many of the children liked him.

     "Bilbo isn't the only one with a little dancing partner." Glandur commented when he noticed Valadhiel looking at him, then he stopped walking and turned to face her so they could begin dancing before he gestured to his right. "It appears that the elven girls have taken a liking to Balin, Bofur, Ori, Kili, and Fili."

     Valadhiel began to dance with Glandur as he spoke, and after he'd spoken, she looked to his right before she bit her lower lip to hold a laugh in. Sure enough, Balin, Bofur, Ori, Kili, and Fili were dancing with a young elven girl. "Now that is just adorable." She commented, then she smirked. "I wonder if an elven girl could convince even Dwalin to come dance with her." That would simply be hilarious.

     Meanwhile, Thorin was watching Valadhiel and Glandur dance. The two didn't stand close, but he still didn't like how close they were. She'd said he was like an older brother to her, but how did she know this Glandur felt the same? And what if she truly did like him? He didn't like it one bit.

     Bilbo walked over, the elf girl having left him to try and talk Dwalin into dancing with him. He noticed Thorin's expression, then he looked where he was looking- over at Valadhiel and Glandur. He looked at Thorin again. "You should go dance with her."

     Thorin looked over at Bilbo when he spoke, then he gave a humph and looked at Valadhiel and Glandur once more before he shook his head. "I don't think so. Those two seem to be having a nice time."

     "You like her, don't you?"

     Thorin looked at Bilbo when he was asked that, his heart skipping a beat. He certainly didn't want anyone, especially this halfling, to know what he thought of Valadhiel. "What would make you think that?"

     Bilbo gave Thorin a look that said 'do you really think I'm that stupid?'. "I've seen the way you look at her, Thorin. And I've seen the way that she looks at you." Seconds after he spoke, the elf girl came over and grabbed him by the hand, so he then followed after her so he could continue to dance.

     Thorin looked at Bilbo when he'd said that he had seen the way she had looked at him, and he then looked out at Valadhiel and Glandur yet again. It seemed that he wasn't alone when it came to how he felt about her. Was it possible? Did she really feel the same way about him? After a moment, he shook his head. There was no possible way they could be together. Then again, things had worked out for Nahor and Eleniel. Perhaps he would just have to wait and see where this road would take him.

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[1]: Valadhiel's hairstyle for the celebration