"Emeralds." Lossenel finally made up her mind. "Definitely emeralds."

She almost sighed in relief, except that the absurd amount of emerald jewelry that she could now see displayed over the vanity only let her know that her older sister would easily take another hour to pick a specific item. Still, part of her could not help but gaze in wonder at the jewels, so many, so detailed, so beautiful. In a past life she would not have even dreamed of owning even the plainest of them, and yet to the snowy Princess they were mainly an everyday item to wear.

There were rings, with delicate bands in both silver and gold, some with double intertwining bands, other with a plain emerald displayed in the center. There were bracelets, so many bracelets, their emeralds cut in all sorts of shapes, rounded, squared, long and narrow, some adorned by tiny pearls. She saw a thick golden band that by the looks of it she would need to slide per hand inside it in order to wear it, for she could not find a clasp. She tried to guess how much it would weight on her wrist. And there were necklaces too, in nearly every shade of the precious stone, from the palest of green to ones so deep and dark they almost looked black.

"You should change that dress as well." Her sister's voice made her look up from the jewels, searching for her eyes over the tall mirror but finding that Lossenel was already waltzing away, headed to an overly large wardrobe at the other end of the room.

"Why?" She added quickly, not able to hide the slight horror she now felt running through her. "What is wrong with this dress?"

"There is nothing wrong with it." Her sister replied sweetly, her hands rummaging through the line of hanging dresses inside the wardrobe. It looked like a rainbow of fabrics. "But you always wear the same colors."

"Those are the dresses I was given…." She defended herself, pushing herself from the chair that had been her prison for hours and carefully walking towards the Princess. She crossed her arms over her chair, as though feeling that the tighter she did it the more unlikely it was for her sister to manage to get her off the comfortable dress she was wearing.

"I know." Lossenel answered without turning, letting her know that it was something she intended to quickly and surely ask someone to fix immediately. Her green-blue eyes remained too busy looking through the fabrics of long skirts.

"Here." Her older sister finally turned around, the movement so gracefully it could have been a dance. On her hand she held up what she could see was a long extremely dark violet dress, and the delighted way in which her sister's eyes were looking at her made he suddenly want to run away and hide.

"I like my dress." She tried, crossing her arms even tighter, if such a thing was possible.

"Almarëa." A raised eyebrow. And she begrudgingly her arms, feeling oddly like a child being told off by a parent.

Minutes later, and partially against her will, she found herself inside the dark violet dress, her sister still working on the many tiny silver buttons at the back. The dress was lighter than it looked, and oddly enough it fit her perfectly. It was a little long at the bottom, with Lossenel being about half an inch taller than she was, but nobody would notice it. To her surprise, she found that the interior lining of the dress was a pale rose-like pink, contrasting sharply with the dark exterior fabric. It was stunning, she could not deny it, watching the soft pink color peek out of the long sleeves, which opened at her elbows and trailed all the way to the floor.

"Yes," Lossenel was nodding to herself once again, this time incrusting something on her long golden hair, but she could not see what it was. "Yes, this one goes perfectly with that color."

"What are you-

"Stop," A hand slapped softly back at her fingers, which she had lifted in order to feel what it was exactly that her sister was tying on her braids, interrupting her mid-sentence. "You will move it."

She let out what felt like the thousandth exasperated sigh in the past thirty minutes, allowing her sister to continue to place things on her hair, and then to tie the clasps of a long delicate necklace around her neck. As soon as the Princess' hands retreated from her figure, she moved to stand in front of the mirror, half scared of what she would find there, but her reflection was flawless.

Yet, she felt slightly ridiculous, feeling too dressed up, wearing too many jewels, even though she could see she was still wearing far less that Lossenel herself was, as though her sister had been cautious to keep it simple for her sake. She felt ready to attend a feast, not to walk through the Palace's halls on an ordinary day. She noticed that what her sister had been trying to her braids were several emerald hair pins, the pales ones there was. They were shaped like silver flowers, with many delicate petals opening up towards the sky, the pale green gems on their centers.

"You look beautiful." Lossenel complimented, offering her a gorgeous pearly white smile through the mirror.

"Stand straighter." Her sister's cold finger pushed at the middle of her back, instinctively making her square her shoulders like she never had before. "Chin up." The same finger pushed below her chin, lifting it until she seemed satisfied.

At first she was annoyed, about to protest at her sister's nagging corrections, but suddenly stopped herself, another thought crossing her mind. Lossenel was not doing to annoy her, to simply point out all the things she was doing wrong. No. Her sister, perhaps the very first time someone had done since her arrival at the Palace, was teaching her. And it was not history, or numbers, or any other obvious thing that would require a tutor, but the most basic, almost unnoticeable things that she now knew were very consciously part of the role Lossenel was expecting to play every day. She was teaching her how to act her part.

"Do not let them see you hesitate." Her sister's soft voice whispered in her ear, silently confirming her own thoughts.

And with that her the snowy Princess stepped back, waiting patiently. She swallowed once, taking one last look at her flawless reflection in the mirror before turning on her heels, nodding her head. And with that she once found Lossenel's delicate arm laced with hers, stepping down the long familiar corridor, down many steps and secluded hallways, into a whole wing of the Palace she only now realized she had never stepped foot inside before.

They climbed a wide, short staircase, only perhaps six or eight steps at most, reaching what was evidently a wide spacious receiving hall. There was a door, standing imposingly in front of them, tall, carved with many figures of branches and leaves and flowers. Lossenel led her inside, and the first thing she noticed was that he room was bright. It was like she had stepped outside.

There were at least five balconies, each of them so wide that they looked more like floating semicircles of stone that protruded from the room, defying gravity. The room was large, that was for certain. It was larger than she had been expecting, although she told herself that she should not be so surprised. It looked like a sitting room that had been scaled up to a massive proportion, and instead of one or two sets of couches and armchairs there were at least ten, distributed in groups around the room. There were tables too, round and wooden, their polished surfaces reflecting the intricate ceiling above, each with at the least eight or ten chairs to it. Close to the entrance, by one side of the door was the longest stone counter she had ever seen, sticking out of the equally stone wall as rebellious as the balconies. On its top there too many silver trays to count, each filled with a different arrangement of pastries. There were strawberry tarts, small and round; perfect tiny squares on honey bread, which were piled up in a perfect pyramid; lemon cakes, tall and cylindrical looking; chocolate pudding inside tiny glass bowls; fruits sliced over at least three or four trays; cheeses, of every kind and shape….

"Your Highness!" There was chorus of delighted melodic voices the second they stepped into the room, her eyes catching the blur of a couple of ladies graciously approaching in quick steps, their eyes evidently focused on Lossenel.

Next to her, her sister seemed to have transformed without her even noticing, suddenly looking taller, more beautiful, if such a thing was possible. Each of her movements was overly graceful, more so than she naturally was, granting that perfect smile of hers at the ladies that now surrounded them with a polite, curt nod of the head as greeting.

She imitated her, feeling foolish, yet suddenly too aware of all the small corrections Lossenel had given her inside her chambers only minutes ago, suddenly aware of the angle of her chin and how straight her back was.

They stepped through the room, Lossenel's arm still laced with hers, guiding her.

"Your Highness, Your Highness." A couple of ladies who sat on the couch nearest the entrance greeted, their voices polite and gracious, but lacking the evident excitement that the first group of ladies had had. They looked, even though she could not tell how she knew, for their faces were as ageless as any elven face. But it was perhaps something in their eyes, in the wisdom and years she could see reflected on them. They were not interested in following the young Princesses around, resuming their peaceful conversation the second they had walked past them.

They were finely dressed too, she noticed. Every lady in the room was, their dresses all in exquisite fabrics, and all of them wearing at least one item of jewelry. She felt odd, watched, studied, as though she had unwittingly stepped onto a stage.

The first group of ladies that had met them at the door, six she counted, were still following them, and even though she wanted to turn her head and take a look at them, she held herself back. There was another group of ladies, sitting around one of the many tables in the room, closest to the second balcony, all the delicate glass doors that led to it closed tightly to keep out the drumming rain. They greeted them too, with smiles and many glances, but they did not follow them. She studied them though, too curious, for the first realizing that perhaps selfishly on her part she had never once wondered about any of the other ladies she knew resided at the Palace. One was saying softly in that beautiful music like language she did not understand, her golden curls nearly reaching her waist. Another had hair that was almost a reddish hue, the other jet black and pin-straight with rare brown eyes.

There was one she recognized, her heart soaring in relief at seeing one familiar face, sitting at the same table with the other ladies, but her face was hiding behind a book, lost in its words. Indilene's hazel lifted to meet them as they passed, and she saw a kind, small smile on her lips as greeting before the lady turned her attention back to her book. She wanted to go to her, feeling safe at the prospect of talking with someone who was not a complete stranger to her, but Lossenel guided her past that table.

Finally, her sister stopped at another group of couches and armchairs, some distance across the room, and she followed her example as the snow Princess gracefully sat on the cushions. The ladies that had been following them did the same, all taking their seats as though they had their names written on them.

"Your Highness, we were half-expecting you would not join us until the winter." Said one of them, in a high-pitch voice, her eyes looking directly at Lossenel with a strange familiarity, letting her now that to these ladies the Princess' presence in that room was in no way new. A light laugh came from the others, the sound resembling singing.

"It was a tempting thought." Lossenel replied, with that same tone of familiarity, perhaps even friendship, and she watched, feeling awkward, as the soft laughter erupted again.

"Almarëa," Her sister said sweetly, her gentle green-blue eyes turning to hers momentarily before continuing, "These are Laeanna,"

Her sister motioned in the direction of the lady who had spoken, and she could easily imagine hers being the face that would appear illustrated in books whenever elves were described. She had a perfectly heart-shaped face, with a narrow and pointed chin. The lady's hair was golden, not unlike her own, flowing in waves down her back and shoulders, and her eyes were a beautiful pale silver. She was wearing a soft blue dress, the color of which reminded her of the early morning sky.

"…Alaessa,"

Lossenel continued, motioning this time to the lady sitting directly to Laeanna's left. She too was pretty, but not as obviously beautiful as Laeanna was. Her hair too was long, but it lacked any waves or curls, falling straight in silky curtain down her back, the color a soft brown. Her eyes were blue, large, and soft-looking, her face narrower, longer. The lady smiled at her widely, nodding her head once.

"…Valindra,"

The lady left of Alaesa inclined her head, her hair golden too, but lighter than Laeanna's, yet not quite silver. Her eyes were a strange color, an alluring blue so dark that it almost looked violet. She had sharp cheekbones, and a long thin and perfectly straight nose.

"...do not trust anything she says," Lossenel added with a smirk, causing the lady in question to let out a chorus of bell-like giggles in return, pretending to look scandalized. The short exchange left her a sour sad feeling on her stomach, for the first time reminded that these ladies knew her sister longer and better than she did.

"Adrya,….."Lossenel motioned now to the lady by Laeanna's right. "…and Lyra,.."

Twins. She did not need to ask to tell, surprised at her finding. She had not expected twins; they were rare among elves. Both ladies, sitting side by side, were almost perfectly identical with midnight dark hair that fell in waves down their backs. Their eyes were an equal mellow blue shade, drooping slightly at the corners, granting them a perpetual beautiful saddened look. Their eyebrows were thick, and dark, and they were both wearing pale rose dresses, although with a different design. She had missed which one was Adrya and which one was Lyra.

"…and Iriel."

The last lady too had dark hair, her eyes a stormy grey, matching the heavy rain clouds outside. She had a sharp, witty look about her, although not as sharp as Valindra.

"Your Highness.' Iriel greeted her with a soft inclination of the head, her smile holding an odd gleam and reminded her a little of Tadion. She returned the smile, not knowing what to do or say in the midst of all these finely dresses noble ladies whose eyes were all fixed on her. And for the first time she was glad that Lossenel had made her wear this dress and jewels, otherwise she would have looked ridiculously pain among the other ladies.

Lossenel on the other hand seemed to shine the brightest, a star amongst fireflies.

"Is it true the Spring Feast is still scheduled to go on as intended?" Valindra was the one to speak, her violet eyes turning to the platinum haired Princess. She was making an effort to try and remember all of the names, still not knowing what to make of any of the ladies that were so obviously Lossenel's circle. "I heard talking about that this morning, at the dining room."

"I am not sure." Lossenel answered, her voice easy, soft. "I have not asked."

"It would be odd, would it not?" Alaessa spoke this time, and she found that her voice sounded as silky as her light brown hair. "Having the feast everything that has happened…."

"That is precisely why I believe the feast has never been more needed than now." Interjected one of the twins, although she could not tell which.

"Still, you would need flowers, for the feast." Alaessa defended, gracefully crossing her legs one over the other. She had a point, even though she had no idea what the Spring Feast really was. There no flowers out in the forest…only burnt tree trunks and fallen branches, and she suddenly felt overly glad for the pouring rain outside.

"It could be without flowers this year." Iriel chimed in, only looking partially interested in the conversation.

"Spring Feast with no flowers?" Laeanna sked incredulously, her thin golden eyebrows rising high on her forehead, pale grey eyes looking amused. "I never thought I would hear that?"

"What would you put on your hair then?" One of the twins joined, her droopy blue eyes narrowing in puzzlement.

"Oh, I am sure you can think of something, Lyra." Iriel rolled her eyes, shrugging her delicate shoulders. Lyra. She made to remember that the twin closest to Laeanna was Lyra, and she noticed that the shape of her face was slightly rounder than that of her sister's.

"How is your brother, Lae?" The second twin, Adrya she now knew, asked, her sad-looking eyes turning to the golden haired lady.

"He is doing a lot better, thank the Valar." Laeanna smiled gently, waving an elegant hand in the air, sapphires twinkling at her wrist. "They let him out of the healing wing this morning."

"When are you going to introduce him to me?" Valindra added pointedly, smoothing the skirts of her pale pink dress.

"You do not want Daeron." Laeanna chuckled in return, nearly rolling her eyes. To her side, both of the twins giggled.

"You only say that because he is your brother." Valindra sighed, seeming to accept her short defeat.

"Of course she does." Lossenel was the one to speak this time, her soft melodic voice carrying easily over the room, and for a second she knew who they were talking about. "Daeron is handsome, even if Lae does not want anyone near him."

"He is just another nice looking ellon." Iriel spoke for the first time, waving her hand in the air looking absolutely bored with the topic. Without another word, the dark haired-lady rose to her feet, walking to what she noticed was a large golden harp by one of the many windows, some paces to their right.

"What about your brother, Your Highness?" Alaessa spoke softly, her narrow face fixed on Lossenel, eyes looking almost tragic. "We have all been so worried, praying for the Crown Prince's swift recovery."

"Thank you, Alaessa. Arahaelon is well as can be expected." She could see Lossenel smile softly at the lady in question, every move so graceful, her platinum hair reflecting the dull grey light of the day, like the moon on the dark sky. She did not miss the vague reply that her sister provided, enough to answer the lady's question yet not giving any information really.

Not too far from them a few clumsy notes started to sound through the room, coming from the harps strings.

"Do you know any songs, Princess Almarëa?" She heard Iriel calling from her place by the harp, and it felt strange to hear her name with the title before it. Suddenly all the lady's eyes were on her.

"I am afraid not." She answered, surprised at the steady and confident sound of her voice. She did not feel confident at all. "I am gifted with a talent for music."

That made the twins let out a round of light beautiful laughter, which somehow made her feel slightly more at ease.

"And neither are you, Iriel." Valindra called out teasingly, even though she could tell by the clumsy and awkward sound coming from the harp that the violet-eyed lady was right. "If you want music at least have the decency to ask someone who really can play the harp to do so."

"Please, Iriel, we would appreciate it." She was surprised to hear a new voice adding, coming from the nearby table where the other group of ladies was sitting. There was another chorus of laughter, Iriel throwing Valindra a glare but nonetheless retreating her fingers from the harp as the latter added a "Thank you, Salabel" to the golden haired lady who had spoken.

"Indi, please, would you?" Iriel called out to the nearby table, standing from the small stool and beckoning Indilene who had closed her book flatly at the mention of her name, hazel lifting to meet Iriel skeptically.

"You should learn to play, you know?" Indilene's voice carried softly, shaking her ashen head little but nonetheless complying to the request, placing the heavy book on the table before rising to her feet, crossing the room to the large golden harp.

"I do not really have the patience." Iriel chuckled happy to move back to the seat she had been occupying, by the twins.

A couple of the ladies who had been sitting at the other table had started to move, coming to join them at the armchairs and couches.

"You never have patience." She heard Lossenel replying, Iriel meeting her eyes with that teasing gleaming look that once again reminded her of Tadion.

"Will you sing, Your Highness?" One of the newly arrived ladies added, her brown eyes looking at Lossenel with joyful expectation, but her older sister shook her head quickly.

"No." A bell-like chuckle left her lips as she spoke, the amethysts sparkling on her braids. "No, not today."

The harp had started to play once more, but this time the sounds coming from it were a far cry from the awkward and tone-deaf notes it had been letting out before. For a second, she had to blink her eyes many times not to lose herself on the soft music, which floated flawlessly through the room, each note perfect, the harp sounding as though it was alive under Indilene's skilled fingers.

"Oh, that is such a sad song." Lyra sighed, her right hand going to her chest as though she could feel some invisible heart-ache there.

Indilene's fingers stopped, the notes dying out before she had the pleasure to finish listening to them, and she had the strange urge to strangle Lyra with her bare hands for making the melody come to an early end.

"What would you rather hear?" Indilene asked, even though one eyebrow rose high on her forehead.

"Perhaps a lighter tune." Alaessa said dreamily, as though she could hear music in her head that others could not. "Something we could dance to."

Indilene's hands started again, the new tune definitely lighter than the first one, the notes higher and coming faster, reminding her of chirping birds or leaping deer in the forest outside. But, as beautiful and perfect as this tune was, she found herself missing the oddly alluring sad notes that the first one had carried.

"Almarëa," Lossenel's voice called her attention once more, motioning to the three newly arrived ladies. "These are ladies Salabel, Nindwen and Lainel."

She nodded her head at the ladies in question, not really having picked up which was which, but she guessed she would find out later. The soft voices of Alaessa and Laeanna had started to rise up in song, following the tune coming from the harp with lyrics in that language she could not understand. Soon, other ladies started to join in, taking turns with the words, the melody so beautiful it made her think of the trees.

"I will go try and learn something from Indilene, would you mind if I do?" She asked her sister in a low voice, her eyes suddenly turning to where Indilene sat, by the harp, seizing her opportunity.

"Not at all!" Lossenel smiled at her, even though she could see the puzzlement in her eyes, as though wondering from where her sudden interest in music had come.

She rose from the couch, feeling the soft fabric of her long violet dress dripping down her legs and to the floor, making her way to the small stool by the harp. She was glad for the singing the ladies seemed immersed in dance the joyful aura a suddenly breaking the formal atmosphere the room had carried moments ago, the eyes no longer so focused on her or Lossenel.

She reached Indilene's side, whose eyes had lifted to meet hers questioningly, two ashen eyebrows rising high on her forehead. She pulled a nearby chair, lowering herself right next to the ash-haired lady, whose fingers had not stopped the joyful and jumpy melody.

"Do you know them all?" She found herself asking, nodding discreetly towards the ladies, her voice too low for anyone other than Indilene to be able to hear, and much less with the harp singing right next to them.

"Some better than others, but yes, to some degree I do know them all." Came the soft reply, voice as low as her own.

"What do you think of them?" She did not know why she was asking Indilene these questions, but she found that no matter how much she wanted to, she could not as Lossie at the moment, not with all the attention always focused on her sister, on what she did and who she talked to and what she said.

"I think," Indilene started, her voice always soft, always light and casual, "that it would be unfair for me to tell you my own opinion and influence your own before you have even had a chance to form one, Your Highness."

"You do not need to call me that, please." She added quickly, watching with incredible fascination as Indilene's fingers continued to move form string to string without missing a note, without even needing to see them. There was no need for titles, she felt ridiculous hearing them, especially when she knew that there was a ring hiding right now inside Arahaelon's bedchambers. Perhaps they would even be sisters soon…..that is if Arahaelon recovered….

"You only need to get to know them." Indilene sighed, her answer disappointingly vague. "The six ladies you were with are the Princess' ladies in waiting, handpicked for many reasons, including family lineage and such. Laeanna and Alaessa are fine decent ladies, I have not interacted with them much, but enough to know that. The twins I do not really know so there is nothing I can tell you there. Iriel is a laugh, and Valindra I would not trust with anything I would not want known by the entire realm in the next five minutes, although she means no evil."

"Thank you." She mouthed, finding those words of more help than she could let Indilene ever know. Lossenel's ladies in waiting. That explained why they followed the Princess wherever she went in that room. For a moment she wondered if Lossenel had had a word in picking them, or if it was only rank and lineage which dictated which ladies should be granted the honor. Would she also be forced to have ladies in waiting at some point? She dreaded the notion.

"Teach me to read." She suddenly said, her eyes looking straight into Indilene's hazel ones, the latter's eyebrows once again arching on her forehead.

"To read?"

"I mean, to read your language. I cannot understand it." She did not know from where the idea had come, but as soon as it had stroke she had known that Indilene was the right one to ask. Her siblings were always all so busy, something always had them running around, and both Elladan and Elrohir were too. Part of her heart ached at the thought of Elladan, knowing that he would no doubt teach her the second she asked, dropping whatever it was he was doing at the moment. But she did not want to bother him, and she did not want to feel like a child next to him, having her teach her things that were supposed to be so basic. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to exit this crowded room and run to his side, into his arms.

"You mean our language." Indilene corrected her, those soft and kind hazel eyes looking at her for a long moment. For the first time she noticed that there were no braids in her ash colored hair, the strands, always perfectly straight, falling loosely over her shoulders and down her back. The only jewels she wore were a delicate headband made of silver string and sapphires, and three or four bracelets on her right wrist.

"I will be happy to teach you." She nearly deflated in relief at the answer, half-way having feared that Indilene would say no to her, but the lady's eyes were still fixed on her, not letting go. "But I will ask something of you in return."

She narrowed her eyes, unable to hide the momentary confusion from showing on her face, but Indilene's gaze had suddenly turned serious, seeming to be pleading her with all of her strength, almost begging, and she knew what the lady wanted.

"Take me to him."

"I…"She started to say, feeling as if part of her had been suddenly brutally been pulled apart, but Indilene interrupted her before she could even think of a sentence.

"I know you will be able to think of a way." She wanted to look away, not able to bear the pain in those hazel eyes that begged her with such despair. "There has been no word on him, nobody knows anything, all I know is that he is not dead because that we would have already known."

"He sleeps now." She said, her voice barely more than a whisper, not finding it in her to tell the lady any of the horrible torturous pain that Arahaelon seemed to be constantly in, but it seemed that Indilene was able to read through her face. "He asked for you. Tadion told me. He wants to see you too."

She had a sour feeling her words had not helped, watching as Indilene's focus shifted for a long moment towards the strings of the harp, were her fingers still deflty moved, her expression unreadable. And suddenly the joyful light music seemed wrong, the lady's singing in the distance a kind of happiness she could no longer relate to.

"Is he dying?" The words felt like iced water thrown over her, her heart sinking like lead. Indilene's unyielding hazel eyes fixed hers once more, even though they looked torn, broken.

No!, she wanted to say, alarmed and frightened at the thought of that, but the word would not come. The truth was she had no idea. Not with what she had seen than morning, only hours ago.

"I do not now." Was all she was able to say, wishing that she could have reassured the lady, but she could not. Indilene looked away from her, her gaze focusing on the harp's strings for a long minute, but when her eyes returned to her they were once again strong, determined.

"We shall better start your lessons, then." She announced, a small smile appearing on the soft features of her face, even though it pained her to see that it did not reach her eyes.

Hi there! Here I leave you all chapter 68, I hope you like it and it gives you a pleasant time reading it! It is a little lighter than the others.

Thank you so much for your words on the last chapter to Kimerlee, Flower-Uchiha, GondorianElf, Amsim, mystarlight, pixlated-dreams, helenaxo, Tintcalad and artvandelay!

Love,

Elena