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"My Lady! My Lady!"

The voice of one of my lady's maids, Amara, roused me from getting lost in the daydreams that raced through my mind.

"Good morning, Amara." I laughed, lifting my gaze towards the young girl from my seated position on the garden floor.

"The king and queen sent me to retrieve you, my lady." She explained hurriedly. "It appears that you are late to your birthday celebration."

"I'm late?! I could have sworn it was scheduled for later in the day!" I stated, quickly standing and following Amara to my chambers to change for the celebration.

"It's four in the afternoon, My Lady."

I stopped in my tracks and turned my alarmed and slightly confused gaze towards the girl.

"Four in the afternoon? Exactly how long was I in the garden for?" I inquired as we continued into my room.

"About five hours, My Lady." Amara replied casually, as if that was a normal occurrence.

"I was reading for five hours?"

"Not the whole time, according to the gardener, you stopped reading about three hours in and then stared at nothing for the last two hours." The young blonde explained, as she placed the gorgeous blue dress over my chemise.

"Gracious, I really must stop daydreaming so much." I muttered quietly to myself, as the back of my dress was laced up tightly.

"Alright, slip on your shoes and then we'll start on your hair, My Lady." Amara said as she placed the elegantly beaded shoes at my feet.

Once that was done, I seated myself at the vanity and Amara started to pin some of my raven curls up into braids.

"Alright, finishing touch." She mumbled, gently placing the intricate silver circlet. The light blue opalite moonstones that decorated the circlet, shimmered brightly against the rays of the setting sun.

"You look beautiful, My Lady." Amara told me, an excited grin adorned on her face.

"You've done a wonderful job, Amara. Thank you for everything." I replied with a kind smile. She truly did have a gift.

"We should probably get going, before my father sends a search party." I chuckled, realizing just how late I must be.

"That's probably wise, My Lady." The young girl laughed with a nod of agreement.

.............

After being minimally scolded by Veleos for my severe tardiness, he motioned for the two footmen to open the doors to the ballroom.

"Wait here and I will announce you." He told me with a chuckle. "And please don't wonder off, Princess."

"No promises, Veleos." I teased with a grin, receiving only an eye roll in response.

Veleos entered the ballroom and gained everyone's attention, before loudly announcing my arrival.

"Introducing, Alyra Elronya Boroma, Daughter of Aragorn, the Heart and Hope of Rivendell, Crown Princess of Gondor." I saw Veleos step to the left of the doors and took that as my signal to enter.

Straightening my posture, I gracefully glided into the ballroom. I gave gracious nods and brief curtsies to both those greeted me and those who didn't, slowly making my way towards my parents.

"My apologies for my tardiness, time crept away from me." I apologized, greeting my mother and father with a deep curtsy.

"What was it this time? Hunting or reading?" Mother asked with a knowing smile gracing her kind features.

"Reading, sort of." I admitted with a small laugh. "Apparently, I took a two hour daydreaming break and didn't even realize."

"Two hours? I must say that is an impressive feat, Little One." My father laughed jovially.

"I'm as surprised as you are!" I agreed with a nod. "If you hadn't sent Amara after me, I'm afraid I would have missed the celebration entirely!"

"I had a feeling that would have been the case, my darling." Mother laughed, before glancing over my shoulder and seeing something.

Despite the commotion of the guests, my half elvish hearing picked up the sound of familiar footfalls. A wide grin spread across my lips as I spun around to face two of my favorite people.

"Uncle Gimli! Uncle Legolas!" I cheered, taking a moment to embrace the two. "I'm so glad you both made it! Was your journeys alright?"

"Just fine, lass! Even if there were any bumps in the road, nothin' would stop this ol' dwarf from seeing my favorite beardless little one turn seventeen!" Gimli exclaimed cheerfully, giving me another bear hug.

"We've been at every one of your birthdays since you were born. Why would now be any different, little star?" Legolas added, a kind smile gracing his barely aged face.

"It's not completely illogical, uncles. Anything can happen, the two of you have been telling me that since I could walk." I countered, my left brow raised in amusement.

"Birthdays are an exception, little star, you know this." The elf responded with a shrug.

"Birthday magic is always strong enough to bring friends and family together, lass." Gimli agreed, making Legolas give him an amused and slightly surprised smile.

"Wipe that damned smile off of yer gob, elf, before I smack it off ya! Just because ya had a point, don't mean yer always right!"

Father chuckled as we shared an equally amused grin. Mother simply smiled at the exchange, as Legolas didn't even try to contain his laughter.

"Good to know some things never change."

My smile widened as I noticed my brother and his wife approach from the left of Gimli.

"Henrik! Galvi!" I greeted happily, welcoming both with a hug and noticing Galvi's swollen stomach.

"You're pregnant!" I exclaimed in surprise, my eyes wide with an excited smile.

"I'm pregnant!" Galvi laughed, placing a hand on her stomach.

"Congratulations! This is absolutely wonderful news!" I cheered, embracing them both again.

"This is fantastic news!" Mother stated happily before subtly smacking Henrik upside the head. "You made your pregnant wife travel all the way to Gondor with how dangerous the roads have been lately?!"

"Within good reason! We both wanted to give Alyra her birthday present in person!" Henrik defended the decision, before turning his attention to me.

"Speaking of your present, baby sister." He said before pausing for dramatic effect, making me roll my blue eyes. "How would you like to be the godmother of your future niece or nephew?"

"Of course! I'd be more than honored!" I exclaimed gleefully, hugging them both once more. "This is the best birthday present in eternity! Thank you both so much for even considering me as an option!"

"Of course! There's none that we would trust more with our child than you, Alyra!" Galvi laughed, seemingly amused by my extreme excitement.

"Well, there's no beating that gift." Legolas chuckled, before teasing my brother. "Did you have to make us all look like amateurs, Henrik?"

We all laughed at the statement as the band started to play and the merriment began.