Welcome to Gaia! ::

Serenity smiled nervously at Beren as the two of them stood and made their way over to the front, where the various presentations had been made so far. There, Beren stood behind Serenity, holding one of her hands tightly for comfort and support, and he nodded for her to go ahead, encouraging her silently.

Taking a deep breath, Serenity complied.

"Good evening, everyone," she smiled at the gathering, trying to calm her nerves. "As Celebor said, it's already been quite a long day for all of us, and I know that if we talk for a long while, we're just going to put you all to sleep, so I'm going to try to make this as painless as possible."

She smiled, then continued.

"I can't ... claim to have been the best mother to any of my children," she admitted right away, "but I can at least say that I tried, and that I did what I thought was best for them. I know now that I was wrong, that I should never have let myself be scared off ... life had always been hard for me, right from my birth, and I determined, from the moment that I married, that I would not let my children have the same life of hardship that I had. When Elnara was born, when she was placed into my arms, I could see that she was very much like me ... but it was not until many years later that I realized just how much like me she was. I vowed to give my children the life, the childhood that I had never had ..."

She had to stop and swallow down a lump in her throat before she was able to continue.

"Elnara was my only girl child," she went on, "but she was by far the most feisty ... I daresay the most stubborn. She never let her brothers - or anyone for that matter - beat her in anything. She was always bright, eager to learn, always wanted to get to the bottom of things. There were times when she, like any child, was rebellious and needed to be set straight, but on the whole she was a good girl. But my disappearance marked not only a major disruption in her life, and that of all my children, but also the beginning of her sufferings."

Her eyes began to mist over, and Beren had to squeeze her hand gently before she could go on.

"Elnara," she said, a bit more softly now, "when I learned what you went through on my behalf, in search of the mother who had deserted you, I wept for you."

She turned her attention to the rest of the gathering. "And all of you know the hardships she faced trying to return here. The hardships of finding herself in a new world, a world so different from this one, the one in which she grew up ... but we also know that it was the changing point in her sufferings. It was there she met Lore."

She smiled once more, though her eyes remained misty.

"For the first time in decades," she said warmly, "Elnara was able to smile freely, smile because she couldn't help it, and not because she forced it. Her children helped her, I know, as did her adoptive family ... but what truly changed her life, what truly brought her the best happiness, was the love that she had found. I could see it the first time I met Lore, and I can see it just as clearly today. And now, after many - many years of waiting and expectation, here we all are, celebrating the union of Elnara and Lore."

She turned to face Lore and Elnara, her expression filled with joy.

"Lore," she beamed, "I welcome you to the Aldrich family. I know that you are the greatest blessing Elnara has ever received, and that you already bring her happiness that drowns out every bad memory she has. You already make us all proud, and it is our hope that you will enjoy being a member of this family as much as we love having you in it."

Elnara was smiling brightly, but she had a lump in her throat and she found herself quite unable to speak, her eyes misty as she looked over at Lore. Every word of her mother's speech had been true ... meeting Lore had indeed been the changing point in her life, and it had been he who had given her the strength and the courage to come back here and face her family once more, who had returned to her the power of trust, and who had filled her with the love she had always desired and searched for.

"Thank you," she mouthed to him, her voice still not working as a tear trickled down her cheek. She reached for his hands and squeezed both of them tightly.

Celebor rose to his feet, smiling broadly as his grandparents returned to their seats, holding up his hands once more for silence.

"Next we have Yuki," he nodded to Lore's best man; and then he went back to his own seat and put one hand on Aras's head. His daughter had fallen asleep a while back already and was sleeping on the table, using a rolled up napkin as a pillow.

Elnara couldn't help but laugh softly at the end of Yuki's speech. She had heard how much teasing Lore had endured for her sake, and she was glad at how well he took it all.

"And now they're going to have to get used to you taking more days off," she grinned mischievously at him, squeezing his hand tightly. "Right?"

"Absolutely," Elnara giggled, and she lifted Lore's hand to her mouth and kissed it lightly.

Celebor took the spotlight once more and cleared his throat, smiling widely.

"And last but not least," he announced, "Mom and Dad will finish off the evening. Afterwards the tables will be moved to the sides and the floor will be open for dancing, which Mom and Dad will lead us in, and then everyone is free to do as they wish."

He looked over at the queen for a moment to make sure that was it, then nodded.

Elnara squeezed Lore's hand again as she rose to her feet, tugging him along with her.

"Come on," she smiled softly at him. "Our turn."

Elnara smiled and stood close to Lore, reaching for one of his hands and holding it tightly for support. Then she looked out at their large family with their few friends who had also attended, took a deep breath, and began to speak.

"Hello, everyone," she smiled, feeling a little nervous for the first time that day. "I know we've all been cooped up in the same building for a while now ... a month at least for some of us - and I have to say, I'm glad that no one got sick of each other during that time."

She laughed softly and looked to Lore.

Elnara smiled warmly at Lore, then continued. "That said, we want to extend our thanks to everyone here ... Nako for marrying us, for housing all of us, feeding all of us, and generally putting up with us all ..."

She took another deep breath and went on. "Mother and Father, for doing your best to raise me, along with all of my brothers, and doing a fine job for as long as you were able ... Nako and Neko for taking over for them when they couldn't ..."

She looked to Lore to continue for her.