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You must have been the only elf in Imladris who wasn't excited about the upcoming celebration of the new year. It seemed everyone was preparing for the festivities, but you were dreading it. All it meant to you was another year alone. Of course you had friends, but you longed to have someone to be close to, to share these kind of celebrations with, and to love.
You were a romantic at heart and though you usually disguised that fact quite well, it was times like these when it was painfully obvious. You were sitting on the edge of your bed in your room, staring at the beautiful dress that had been selected for the occasion. You sighed and rose to put it on. It fit perfectly. You braided your hair into a simple but elegant style before making your way to the party.
When you arrived, you searched the crowd for familiar faces and sighed with relief when you spotted Lindir making his way through the crowd toward you. He was your best friend and you could just stay with him for the duration of the party.
“ Mae govannen, mellon nín ,” he greeted you with a smile. You smiled back, genuinely happy to see him. It had been a while since you had gotten to spend time with him since he’d been so busy assisting Elrond recently. You were looking forward to catching up with him tonight. Perhaps that would take your mind off of your previous anxieties.
Lindir offered you a glass of wine which you accepted, sipping at it slowly while you chatted. One glass turned into two and before you knew it, you were tipsy and giggling with Lindir, judging the unusual outfits of some of the non-elvish partygoers. You found you were actually enjoying yourself and you were starting to think it hadn’t been a waste of time to come to this party after all when you heard Lindir’s name being called from across the crowd. His brows knit together in a concerned expression before he turned to you.
“ Goheno nin ,” he said, looking sincerely upset for having to leave you.
“It’s alright, Lindir. Don’t worry about me; I’ll be alright.”
He frowned and promised he’d come back as quickly as possible. You nodded and watched him retreat into the crowd. With no one to talk to, you found a secluded balcony with a stone bench where you could sit and down the rest of your wine alone. It would be midnight soon; you could camp out here and avoid seeing all the couples together. You wouldn’t be in anyone’s way and no one would notice the tears welling in your eyes. Or so you thought.
“Are you alright?”
You had been so absorbed in your wine and your sadness that you hadn’t heard the ellon approach until he’d spoken. Your head whipped up, hastily wiping at your eyes, prepared to snap at whoever had intruded on your solitude but any cutting remarks instantly failed you, along with all other words.
The elf before you was gorgeous, even by elvish standards. He was tall with long waves of golden hair and he seemed so full of joy he was practically radiant with it. You stared at him for a moment with wide eyes before remembering your manners.
“L-lord Glorfindel, I-” you stammered. You never expected him to be talking to someone like you.
The smile he gave you was so bright and genuine that you instantly felt a bit better. “Just Glorfindel, if you don’t mind. Are you alright?” he asked again.
You nodded even though it was an obvious lie. He raised one eyebrow, clearly not believing you. You sighed, resigned to telling the truth.
“To be honest, not really,” you said.
“I thought not when I saw you leave the party. May I ask why you’re upset? Perhaps I can help.”
You laughed bitterly. “My best friend got pulled away to help with the party so I’m just...alone. And it hurts to see all these couples when I have no one.”
Glorfindel sat down next to you on the bench. “Not anymore, you’re not.” He leaned back on his hands, his head tipping down to look at you. Waves of golden hair slipped over his shoulder and brushed against your arm. You looked up at him and he smiled softly at you.
“ Damn his smile is infectious ,” you thought to yourself. You felt the corner of your mouth quirk up despite yourself. Your cheeks were warm and you could feel the heat spreading to the pointed tips of your ears.
“If you’re feeling a bit better, perhaps we can rejoin the party,” Glorfindel said.
“I think I’d like that,” you whispered, ducking your head a little trying to hide the smile that was growing with every moment spent in his company.
You both stood and Glorfindel offered you his arm which you gladly took. You couldn’t believe you were heading back to the party with quite possibly the most beautiful ellon in Middle-earth on your arm. Heads were turning to watch the two of you as he led you out of the pavilion and toward the open air platform that looked out over the valley where there were many people dancing.
The dark sky was glittering with stars and the waterfalls and rivers that plunged into the valley below shimmered with their ethereal light. Despite living in Rivendell all your life, you had never seen it quite like this.
“It’s beautiful,” you said in a voice so quiet you weren’t sure you’d actually said it aloud until you heard Glorfindel speak.
“Yes, it is. Not quite as beautiful as other views, though.”
You turned to look up at him and ask him where he had been that could have possibly been more beautiful than this but you hadn’t been expecting his ocean blue eyes to be fixed on you already. He seemed to have a true talent for taking your breath away. You couldn’t look away from him; it was as if you were hypnotized. He was so kind and beautiful you felt as if he must be a dream because surely this couldn’t be happening to you.
“It’s nearly midnight,” you whispered, your eyes still fixed on his. You could hear the crowd around you getting excited as the seconds ticked down toward a new year.
“Yes, it is,” he agreed. “I hope this new year will find you happier than the last.”
“I’m almost certain it will,” you breathed. You were vaguely aware that you were slowly leaning toward him.
“Happy New Year,” he said softly, his lips a mere hairsbreadth from your own before he closed that small gap and kissed you. One arm slipped around your waist and his other hand cupped your jaw as he tipped your face up to deepen the kiss. He tasted like vanilla and wine and you couldn’t get enough. Your arms wound their way around his neck as you pulled him closer, a curtain of gold hair falling around you both as he leaned down. You never wanted it to end but you were becoming lightheaded and you weren’t sure if it was from sheer joy or lack of air.
Glorfindel broke the kiss and rested his forehead against yours, grinning. He looked up over your shoulder and you turned to find Lindir smiling at you both from the edge of the pavilion. You smiled at him and then your smile turned to a confused frown as you whipped your head back to face Glorfindel.
“Did...did Lindir put you up to this?” you asked.
“I-” Glorfindel’s cheeks were tinged with pink. “I might have mentioned to Lindir that I was...a bit smitten with you and he might have...arranged a little emergency that he needed to attend to,” he admitted sheepishly.
You turned back to Lindir, unsure whether to be upset with him for intentionally abandoning you earlier or grateful for orchestrating the most perfect night you’d had in years. You decided it was a little of both but you settled on the latter.
“Give me one moment,” you said to Glorfindel, and you walked over to Lindir.
“ Hannon le ,” you said, pulling him into a tight hug. He seemed momentarily caught off guard as you were not usually physically affectionate with one another but he returned your embrace.
“You are most welcome, mellon nín ,” he said.