"You are the most beautiful woman in the world," Legolas gasps from behind me as we stare at my reflection together.

"He's right you know," Dis murmurs from beside us as she wipes her eyes hastily. The three of us stand together in a small tent where I am being dressed and styled for my wedding. The fabric of the tent flutters slightly in the warm spring breeze and outside birds sing sweetly; it's the perfect day.

"My Kili is a lucky man," The dwarf woman continues, smiling at me and I watch the girl in the mirror smile back. She looks like me; but a more beautiful version, I am used to fighting and running, being one with the wild, not looking pretty in rich dresses, but I find myself enjoying it nonetheless.

My dress is of a soft white fabric, in keeping with wedding traditions; the neckline is decorated with ivory lace and scoops low to forms a v-shape above my breasts. The fabric smoothes down over my torso where it cinches at my waist in a band of lace which mimics the neckline. Beneath this it falls in waves to my feet and trails behind me on the ground like a carpet of white. My sleeves too are lace and end at my wrists where they trail to the floor.

My auburn hair is pinned back from my face and tied in an elaborate braided style, dotted with small emerald flowers which match the earrings Dis gave to me and the locket hanging from my neck. I look a true daughter of the forest, a woman fit to be a bride. My lips curl up at the thought and my eyes threaten to spill over with joyful tears.

"Oh, come here!" I extend my arms to Legolas and Dis who embrace me tightly and press kisses to my cheeks.

"Are you ready Tauriel?" Dis asks me and I nod.

"I've been ready ever since I met him," I smile and Dis grins, darting out the tent to alert the guests of my arrival. Legolas and I are left alone, our hands intertwined, fitting perfectly as they have always done.

"Are you nervous?" He whispers, stroking my face. I shake my head. "Good, I could not be happier for you," He leans our foreheads together for a moment while we breathe softly until we hear sweet music begin to play.

"That is our cue my lady," My friend smiles and I loop my arm through his as we step out of the tent and into the sunlight.

The music plays as Legolas and I sweep across the grass to where the ceremony will take place. I found it one afternoon when Kili was working and I was exploring, and it is perfect. Nestled into a crook of the mountain a cluster of trees grow against the rock and form a backdrop for a small clearing; a beautiful balance between mountain and forest. Today the place has been decorated for our wedding; the trees ripe with pink and white blossom are hung with tiny lanterns that will be lit when the sun goes down; a makeshift altar has been erected at the base of the mountain wall and pots overflowing with flower blossoms cover the space around it. Rows of seats have been hand carved by the dwarves to look like tree branches embossed with runes from both our languages; the aisle between the seats has been left natural, a walkway of soft grass. My heart skips as Legolas and I enter the clearing and see the mass of guests stood up eager for my arrival; representatives from the races of dwarves and elves are there with a few human men and women present too. All bear smiles and shining eyes at my presence, some of the dwarves even clap and cheer. But the most beautiful thing my eyes see is neither decorations nor guest, but the main waiting for me at the other end of the aisle.

Sunlight plays on Kili's dark hair and eyes and his lips widen into a crooked grin when he sees me. Even from a distance my eyes are trained to see the pink flush creeping beneath his beard and the tick of his pulse in his neck. He clasps his hand together in front of him patiently but he rocks slightly on the balls of his feet, letting his excitement slip through the professional facade. I watch Fili, who stands beside him also in royal dwarven attire, nudge his brother but I don't mind. Kili's childish excitement is just one of the many things I love about him.

The walk down the aisle feels like an eternity and I have to grip Legolas's arm tightly to keep from running straight into Kili's arms. When we reach the altar Legolas plants a kiss on my forehead and takes his seat. A dwarvish priest reads us the vows of both our races, the elvish ones he learnt especially for my benefit. I can barely pay attention to the words though, my focus consumed by Kili's chocolate brown eyes that draw me in with their warmth and compassion as they have done since the day I met him. We take each other's hands in front of the priest as he reads to us.

"The union of Kili, son of the line of Durin and Tauriel, daughter of the forest is bound through the reading of vows and the sharing of rings." Fili offers us each a golden ring, inscribed with traditional dwarvish patterns which we place on each other's fingers. My heart begins to beat faster and I feel hot tears pool in my eyes as Kili begins to say his vows.

"By the sun and stars, through happiness and sorrow, through life into death, I promise to cherish you with my body, mind and heart," I repeat them, my voice catching in the middle, causing me to giggle nervously.

"Do you promise to take each other for all of your days?" the old dwarf asks us with a smile behind his bushy beard.

"I do," Kili says, grinning.

"I do," I reply, brushing my eyes with the back of my hand.

"Then in the presence of the dwarf oaths and the elvish pledges, I pronounce you as one; man and wife!" The guests erupt into applause. "You may kiss your bride!"

Kili doesn't need to be told twice. His strong arms snake round my neck, pulling me down to him and meeting my lips with his in a mixture of smiles and tears and love. I would happily let this moment go on forever but a prominent cough from Fili sends me blushing and pulls us apart. From the rows of seats in front of us I hear Bofur blow his nose loudly and call out dramatically – "It's just so romantic!" Kili rolls his eyes at his friend and leads me back down the aisle and we show our guests the way to the feast.

Dwarves are renowned for their love of food, and it has become apparent that they have the culinary skills to match. Our guests are treated to a huge buffet table laden with enough food to supply hundreds – though that being said, one of our guests is Bombur. Once our plates are full Kili and I take our seats at the high table, along with Fili, Thorin, Dis, Legolas and Thranduil.

"Congratulations," Thorin says in his usual gruff voice but his eyes twinkle and a smile plays on his lips.

"Thank you," I reply and am surprised when he pulls me in for a rough hug. Dis decides to join in, then Fili and I find myself at the bottom of a dwarf pile. When I emerge I am more flustered than before.

"Hey, no bundling my wife!" Kili wraps his arms around me and kisses my cheek.

"Congratulations, both of you," Thranduil says politely and extends his hand to Kili before giving me a small squeeze. Legolas winks and smiles at me. When everyone has eaten their fill Fili stands and bangs on the table.

"As the best man, I would like to make a speech!" He is met by cheers and shakes his golden braids over his shoulder as he clears his throat in an exaggerated way. "I've known Kili since the day he was born. I was right there when he entered this world, naked and screaming," He pauses, "The same way he's been ever since! They passed him to me, this tiny wriggler of a baby and when I held him in my arms, he stopped crying and opened his eyes and smiled. I knew from that day that he would always be my baby brother to look after, the greatest gift I'd ever received, and I would always protect him. It's strange to look back on that day from here, now that my baby brother is all grown up and getting married! And to what a lovely girl. She's saved Kili and I more times than I can count and now she's saved his heart, I know that when I can no longer go on looking after him, she will take over, and do a great job of it. I have witnessed their love grow in the face of all adversities and never have I seen a love so pure since my own mother and father. I wish them all the happiness in the world and they are always welcome in my home and in my heart," Fili swallows and raises his glass to more cheers. "Oh and Kili, you'll always be my baby brother," He punches Kili on the arm before they embrace, slapping each other on the back and squeezing each other tightly. Fili takes his seat again but Kili remains standing, grinning at the cries of 'speech!' from our guests.

"First of all," He begins, "I would like to thank you all for coming! It couldn't have been as perfect a day without you all. But this is really for my love, my new wife, Tauriel." He takes my hand and bats his long eyelashes at me. "Since the day I met you I was entranced, you are beautiful and perfect in so many ways. In your looks, your mind, your soul. I want to explore everything there is to know about you, and share everything I know with you, and now I can, I can spend my whole life with you. I set out a year ago on a quest to reclaim my homeland, a quest for glory and for gold. Along the way I found something better, I found you. And a love stronger than I ever felt before. Today has been the happiest day of my life, but every day I share with you is the happiest of my life. You shine brighter than the stars and all the gold in the mountain. My beautiful wife, I love you." He stops and I have to blink away tears. Our guests 'awh' and clap as we embrace. His embrace is so comforting and usual to me now, his warmth keeps me steady, and I inhale his familiar scent as if it were the most wonderful perfume in the world.

The night passes by in a magical dance of starlight, blossoms and romance. Kili and I spend our evening being congratulated and greeted and thanked. We never let go of each other. And now we never have to.

A/N...The end! I can't believe I've actually finished this story! I've had so much fun writing it and it makes me so happy to know that people have enjoyed reading it. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, in particular to eclairestones and uesmanhattansocialite who have reviewed nearly all my chapters. This may be the end of this story, but I can't bear to leave Kiliel behind, so keep your eyes peeled for a sequel ;) Yours always – J x