Míriel was happy to have been able to borrow a gown for this day- the celebration of the victory they had succeeded with at the Hornburg. The preparations for the feast had begun as soon as the people of Rohan were back in Edoras again, and Míriel had spent the entire day cleaning herself up for it, so much that she had not spoken to her companions about her newly discovered identity.

The gown Éowyn borrowed her was beautiful, not perhaps quite was Míriel was used to, but still wonderful in its own way. It was a dress made of navy blue silk with white elements to it with exquisite embroidery in the back.

The feast began with a memorial for all those who fell in the battle, and they all had a drink for them - even though Míriel declined because she did not care for ale very much - and then the feast began. Míriel walked into the Golden Hall, where the party was held, by herself and could smell the odour of meat, ale, and Men. The hall was full of men and women rushing around, drinking, dancing, singing and enjoying themselves to their most ability. Míriel saw how Éowyn was speaking with Aragorn and then she gave him a beaker of ale. This reminded Míriel of the fact that she had to speak with Aragorn about Éowyn, and about Arwen. She wasn't stupid enough to not notice Éowyn's affection to Aragorn and it was awkward for Míriel to notice that Aragorn might care for her too.

"Ah, how lovely you look, Míriel."

Míriel turned and saw Gandalf standing there, smiling fondly toward her. Míriel smiled widely toward Gandalf and thought to herself that this was the perfect opportunity to speak to him of Ilmarë, that is about herself.

"Thank you," Míriel said and smiled. She grabbed his arm and started walking around with him to try to make him in a better mood. "Gandalf, I need your guidance. I believe that I have discovered by true name now."

"Oh?" Gandalf said and scowled. "How did you manage it?"

"Before Haldir, a guard for Lórien, passed away he called me Ilmarë," Míriel explained. "Then when Saruman captured me he called me the same thing, he said that Sauron and he had discovered it by looking into the Palantír. Saruman tried to convince me that I was put on Middle-Earth to serve the darkness, and of course I did not believe him but it made me wonder... Do you know this Ilmarë by any chance?"

Gandalf was smiling widely toward her and suddenly let her arm go, before bowing his head deeply. Confused, Míriel frowned as she glanced into Gandalf's eyes again.

"Ilmarë," Gandalf said with a happy smile. "If I had recognised you before I would have bowed before you sooner. You are the chief of all the Maiar alongside Eönwë, the banner-bearer of King Manwë. You, my lady, are the handmaiden of Queen Varda herself, the guarding spirit of the stars."

Míriel did not know how much more she could be shocked in her life, but this time was probably the most shocking. Not only was Míriel a Maia, but she was the chief of them all.

"How..." Míriel said and gulped. "How could this be? How can the chief of the Maiar end up here, without her memories?"

"I do not know," Gandalf said, still smiling. "But I assure you that we will find out, Ilmarë."

Míriel did not know if she felt comfortable with people calling her by this name yet; she was still Míriel in her heart. It would be hard to separate from the name that she had bore for 2000 years, the name her mother and father had given her. Or, her adoptive mother and father. Maiar were born of Erú Iluvatar, he was the only biological father she had.

Míriel glanced back and saw Legolas further down the hall and she instantly wanted to speak to him. If anyone could comfort her now it had to be him.

"Thank you for telling me, Gandalf" Míriel said and looked at the Wizard. "If you just excuse me..."

"Of course," he said and cleared his throat.

Míriel pressed his shoulder affectionately before hurrying away toward Legolas. He probably noticed her walking toward him because he turned to look at her. Their eyes locked and Míriel smiled as she felt him eyeing her. Legolas did not smile, though, which made her heart fall. They had barely spoken since the battle.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Míriel asked carefully.

"Yes," he said and nodded. "You look wonderful."

"Thank you," she said and smiled.

So did he. He had changed from his usual clothes to something more festive that was more appropriate for the occasion, and now he looked just like a real prince. The more Míriel thought about it though, the more she realised that Legolas managed to always look very handsome even if he wasn't dressed up like he was now. Even Gimli and Aragorn - who were always dirty and very unclean - had dressed up and taken well-deserved baths after months without it.

"I think I should go find Gimli," Legolas said and started walking, but Míriel was not letting him get away as quick as that. They walked together through the hall to find Gimli and of course, he was sitting close to the ale with other men, drinking and laughing. He was probably telling stories about their adventure to Lothlórien, Moria, Fangorn, and Caradhras and left out all the nagging and whining he caused them on their way. He tended to do that often.

"There you are!" Gimli said and laughed and Míriel could see in his eyes that he was clearly affected by the liquor already. "You want to join us drinking pointy ears?"

"You would be surprised how much liquor I can hold," Míriel said and sat down next to him, grinning. It was true, even if Míriel didn't like alcohol that much. If she had to choose, she would drink fine wine, but there was none of that around in Edoras. "I will politely decline your offer, but I am sure that Legolas would be just as good as I would have been." Legolas raised his eyebrows hesitantly but shrugged when Míriel gave him an encouraging smile.

"Well then, I challenge you Princeling!" Gimli said and stood up rapidly, but that didn't make him much taller than when he was sitting down. "Whoever can drink the most wins."

"I will be glad to be the judge," Éomer said and chuckled - he was not as full of his liquor as the other men. He smiled at Míriel and she smiled faintly back at him as well, because she knew this would be fun to see. Gimli was already very drunk, and Legolas didn't have any alcohol in his system yet. The Elf Prince was going to win, Míriel was sure of it but she didn't tell Gimli that.

"No pauses, no spills."

"And no regurgitation," Gimli said and had already grabbed his first goblet of ale to be ready.

"So it's a drinking game?" Legolas said and still looked a bit confused by this game that was not very common around elves. The thought of him, the serious and wise Elf, being drunk was quite amusing actually.

"Ay!" Some already drunk men said and laughed.

"Last one standing wins," Gimli said and laughed smugly - thinking he had this win already.

He started drinking quickly, spilling half of the ale over his beard, while Legolas sniffed the ale firstly and hesitantly took a little zip. He shrugged at the taste and started drinking it fully. They both drank quite much and Legolas had no trouble whatsoever to drink it just as Gimli. In fact, it did not seem to affect Legolas very easily. They both had a pile of empty ale mugs next to them after a few minutes, but Gimli's was slightly bigger. The Dwarf had started to get very affected by the liquor and had a hard time even swallowing the ale in his goblet without spilling more than half of it first.

"It's the Dwarves that go swimming, with little hairy women," he said and laughed after burping. Míriel chuckled and tried to withhold her laughing. Legolas suddenly stopped for a moment and stared confused at Míriel. He raised his hands and examined his fingers, he seemed very confused indeed.

"I feel something," he said thoughtfully and slightly unwitting. "A slight tingling in my fingers." Míriel smiled and started laughing at the horrid look on his face, this was hilarious. "I think it's affecting me."

"What did I say?" Gimli slurred and slammed the mug down on the table while pointing a finger at Legolas. "He can't hold his liquor..." His words died out, his eyes rolled back, he fell backwards and was knocked out in seconds. Legolas watched him with a smug smile on his face for he had won another game of the two friends'. Gimli had won the Battle of Helm's Deep, but it now turned out that Legolas could hold more alcohol than the Dwarf.

"Game over."

After the game, Míriel tried to get Legolas to come with her but he did not want to. He stayed behind with Éomer and some other men, so Míriel saw no reason to bother him anymore. She walked toward Gandalf who was watching Merry and Pippin dancing on the tables and singing a cheerful song.

"Oh, you can search far and wide,

You can drink the whole town dry.

You'll never find a beer so brown

But you'll never find a beer so brown

As the one we're drinking in our town.

You can kick your fancy ales.

You can drink 'em by the flagon.

But the only brew for the brave and true.

Comes from the Green Dragon!"

Míriel smiled at the two and saw that Pippin glanced at Gandalf numerous of times during his singing. She wondered why and what was going on between them - maybe it was all because of that pollentia Pippin found. Gandalf had given Pippin the same look when he grabbed it from the water and the Hobbit had been very reluctant to give it to Gandalf. It seemed like Pippin had thought of keeping it for himself. Míriel had a bad feeling about the pollentia, it seemed to only bring tension to the Fellowship.

"Are you alright?" Aragorn asked as he stepped in next to Míriel.

"Yes," she said and nodded slowly. "I just... I discovered my true name Aragorn and Gandalf has explained to me who I truly am. I need to tell someone else before I burst."

"Tell me," Aragorn said and seemed very excited.

Míriel explained it all to Aragorn who only grew more and more impressed as she spoke. Eventually, he let out a smile.

"It's wonderful, Míriel... or Ilmarë perhaps?" he asked.

"I still prefer Míriel," she admitted and sighed. "It will take a while to get used to the idea and I still wish to get all of my memories back before committing fully to being the chief of the Maiar."

"Understandably," Aragorn said.

Míriel smiled and was grateful for his words. Since she and Aragorn were alone, Míriel wanted to take her chances to go speak with Aragorn of something more private. He had been enjoying the feast with Éomer and more specifically, Éowyn. Míriel loved Éowyn like a sister and after everything the two had been through, but she could not stand by and watch as Aragorn seemed to move on from Arwen who was the one that Míriel cared the most about in the entire world.

"I wanted to speak with you about something else, Aragorn," Míriel said. Aragorn nodded slowly but could probably tell that Míriel was going to make him uncomfortable. "I would not speak to you about this, Aragorn, if I did not care for you, my cousin and for Éowyn. You must see that Éowyn has feelings for you, and I would hate for you to hurt her when she is such a kind and gentle girl. I do not want you to give her hope of anything happening between you if there is none. Because I know it can't, it will not be possible for as long as Arwen lives and breathes in the same air as you."

"I-" Aragorn tried to say but Míriel wasn't finished yet.

"And I know that we have already spoken of this, about what you told Arwen in Rivendell," Míriel continued and glared into his eyes. She just wanted to remind him of that and to make sure that Éowyn wouldn't go around thinking that Aragorn's heart was open. "It is hard for me to be in this position when I care for both of you, but I want you to be certain that Arwen will not give up, she will not listen to you or her father. She loves you too much, and I know you love her too."

"I do, Míriel," Aragorn said and nodded with a sigh. "But I only want what is best for her, and if we don't succeed in our mission, it will all be for nothing."

"If she believes we will, why will you not?" Míriel asked and frowned.

Aragorn did not answer her and Míriel had now said all that she wanted to say. Now it was up to Aragorn to do whatever he felt was best, and hopefully, he would be clear with his feelings toward Éowyn. Míriel did not want to hear if Aragorn felt something for the girl or not, so she did not ask him. Even if she wanted Éowyn to be with the man she loved, she couldn't help but want Aragorn with Arwen.

"Well, if we are done with this very uncomfortable conversation," said Aragorn and chuckled a little. Míriel smiled and nodded, she was happy to drop the subject and continue the celebration way into the night.

Míriel glanced in Legolas' direction and he was still standing by the drinking table with Éomer and Gimli, who had fortunately sobered up a bit. Their eyes locked but Legolas looked away quickly again. Míriel sighed and wondered what was wrong with him, or more what she could have done to make him upset with her.

"One more question..." Míriel said to Aragorn. "Do you know what's wrong with Legolas? It feels like he's been avoiding me all night."

Aragorn looked even more uncomfortable than he did when Míriel had spoken of Arwen, so Míriel knew it had to be something bad. She glared at him to make her speak, and eventually, Aragorn sighed in defeat.

"It may have slipped from Gimli's mouth that..." Aragorn hesitated and sighed. "That you were the one who cursed him all those years ago... I would assume that Legolas isn't very happy about it."

Míriel's heart dropped and she felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach. At first, she felt anger toward Gimli for telling Legolas about something she had strictly forbidden him to do, but she soon realised that it wasn't Gimli's fault. Legolas would have found out eventually, anyways and it was Míriel's own fault that she hadn't told him sooner. She thanked Aragorn quickly and hurried to Legolas' side to speak to him.

"Can we go outside?" Míriel asked carefully.

Legolas sighed but came with her reluctantly. As soon as she stepped outside and felt the fresh air onto her skin, Míriel turned to him with all of her thoughts bundled up in her mind. She tried to say something, but found herself unable to know where to start.

"So?" Legolas asked.

"I know that you know," Míriel breathed and gulped. "Aragorn told me that Gimli let it slip."

Legolas did not answer her at first and let his eyes graze everywhere else except on Míriel herself. Míriel was desperate to know what was on his mind and if he truly hated her now.

"Say something," Míriel begged him.

"What do you want me to say?" Legolas asked and his tone of voice indicated that he was mad. "You have been lying to me ever since we met, Míriel, and you've asked all of our companions to do the same for you! You are the reason that I cannot remember what happened eighty years ago! You did this to me." He showed her the deep, black scar that still ran clear from the back of this neck to underneath his ear.

Míriel frowned and looked at the scar with eyes filled with regret. Knowing that she was the reason for his pain and for hurting him was tearing her apart inside out.

"I am so sorry, Legolas," Míriel said quietly and glared down at the ground. "I didn't know how to tell you... I didn't want to upset you or make you hate me. When you first came to Rivendell I just wanted to enjoy the few days that I was going to spend with you, I had accepted that we would never be together ever again and that you were going to leave and live your life happily without knowing any of this. But then we ended up in this adventure together yet again, and I knew that I was going to see you every day, lie to you every day. It was a choice of either making this entire journey all about me and you or about what was really important. The Ring, and this war."

Legolas had turned to not look at her, even though he must have seen her reasons were valid. Míriel had of course known that it was wrong to lie to him, but what choice did she have? It was not easy to tell someone that one had cursed them.

"It wasn't on purpose?" Legolas asked.

"Of course it wasn't," Míriel said and sighed. "I would have never had hurt you. I was trying to save my friend and somehow the power rebounded and it hit you. It destroyed me."

"Míriel you are a danger to us all and I do not understand how Lord Elrond could have let you come with us," Legolas muttered, breaking Míriel's heart. "I do not know what is truth or what is lie anymore. All I know is that my father might have been right and that a dark sorceress indeed cursed me. You know as well as I do that dark Maiar are not unheard of. We are fighting two of them at this moment."

Without another word, Legolas walked back inside, leaving Míriel there. She sunk to the floor, crying out into her hands. After all that they had been through, their rocky starts and their growth into caring for each other, it had all been destroyed. It was her own fault; she should have told him the truth long ago. Now Legolas believed her to be a dark Maiar and he would never love her again.