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     The next morning, Valadhiel was up bright and early. No matter what time she went to bed, she was normally always awake just before sunrise. It was a habit, and now her body seemed to have its very own alarm set in her brain that told her when it was time to get up.

     The elven dragon made her way to her closet and went through the dresses and outfits that were in there, looking for more simply outfits rather than long, flowing dresses. However, she thought that a long, flowing dress might be fun to wear. It could still be simple yet beautiful, after all.

     After finding a forest green colored dress, she pulled it out and looked it over. It wasn't the most simple gown in there, but it would do. It was a long dress, and fairly decent up top. It would most likely expose her shoulders and part of her back, though it would keep her chest covered, and that was all that mattered to her.

     Once she was dressed, she brushed her hair out, took a strand from each side, and braided it. She then braided a strand down the middle of her back, then she braided the three braids together to create one beautiful braid down the middle of her back. When she had looked in the looking glass and decided that her hair looked just right, she opened the doors to her balcony and looked out at the rising sun.

     The sun cast a shadow across the courtyard of Rivendell, though it illuminated other places, such as the mountains and the waterfalls. The fruit on some of the trees glistened with dew and sunlight, and as the sun rose, the dew on the grass sparkled.

     After watching as the sun began to brighten the place for about twenty minutes, Valadhiel turned and stepped back inside, her bare feet not making a sound. She grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows, walked to her door, opened it, then stepped out into the hallway. It was a beautiful, cool morning, and she wanted to go outside and play around just as she'd done when she lived in Rivendell.

     Valadhiel walked down the hall, then turned down another hall before she reached two flights of stairs. Both led to the same large room downstairs, so she walked down the stairs furthest from her, greeting a few of the other elves along the way. Once she was downstairs, she walked to the outside door before she walked outside.

     A cool breeze blew Valadhiel's hair back when she walked outside, and after she closed the door behind her and stepped to the side, she closed her eyes and allowed her other senses to take over. She breathed in the smells of the outdoors, and she listened closely to all the sounds, from the birds to the tree leaves, and she could even hear the grass when the breeze blew at times.

     After standing there for a moment, Valadhiel made her way down a stone path and into the gardens, looking at all of the beautiful flowers. She especially liked all of the roses in the gardens. She knew it was so typical for a woman to like roses, but she couldn't help it. They were her favorite. They were beautiful and delicate, yet they were adorned with thorns. It reminded her of herself; she was a woman, but she could defend herself.

     Valadhiel smiled as she gently brushed the top of a red rose, then she turned and walked over to one of the fountains. It was like a miniature waterfall, though the water fell into a little pool surrounded by stone blocks. It was shallow, so she often enjoyed lifting her dress to her knees and wading in it on hot summer afternoons. However, she enjoyed to do so on cool mornings as well at times.

     The elven maid looked into the water for a little while, trying to decide what she wanted to do. After a moment, she decided to just walk around in the cool, wet grass to a fruit tree. After doing so, she picked an apple and ate it, then she walked back over to the fountain and climbed onto the stones surrounding it. She walked around on it in a sort of balancing game, even though no one else was there to play with her.

     A sound came from her left, so she looked over, though she saw nothing. She furrowed her brow and looked to her right, then directly behind her, then directly in front of her, though she saw nothing. Perhaps it was an animal or a bird. So, she continued to walk around on the stones, then gasped when she was pushed from the side, shrieking in surprise when she fell into the cold water.

     Bilbo stood there as he laughed. "Sorry, Vala, but I'm not sorry. It was just perfect."

     Valadhiel gaped at Bilbo, then she laughed and splashed water at him before she got to her feet. "Bilbo Baggins! Never would I have taken you for a cheeky hobbit!" She exclaimed.

     Bilbo shrugged. "I have my moments." He replied, then he gasped when Valadhiel grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the cold water. "Hey!"

     "If you can dish it, you can take it." Valadhiel told him, smirking at him before she splashed him again.

     "What are you two doing?"

     Valadhiel looked over when she heard Dwalin to see that he, along with Bofur, Bifur, Balin, Kili, Fili, and Ori had walked over. She then looked at Bilbo in a feigned scolding sort of way. "This little guy sneaked up on me and pushed me into the water. Now I'm getting revenge."

     "You managed to sneak up on her without being heard?" Bofur immediately asked, looking at the hobbit in surprise.

      Bilbo shrugged. "Well, yes... it wasn't that difficult. She was distracted, and... and there are many other sounds out here." He splashed some more water at Valadhiel.

     Valadhiel raised her hands to her face, then she gave a grin before she used her good wing to place it over the fountain so that it dripped onto Bilbo's head, earning laughter from the dwarves.

     Kili smirked and, when the elf and hobbit were busy playfully bantering back and forth, he stepped forward and splashed water up into Valadhiel's face, causing her to gasp and whirl towards him.

     "Hey!" She exclaimed, then she narrowed her eyes when he took off. "That isn't going to save you, you know." She added before lifting a palm. She scooped up some water, formed it into a ball, and threw it at Kili as if it were a snowball. However, the cheeky youngster had hidden behind Fili, so Fili ended up getting splashed instead.

     "Leave me out of this!" He exclaimed, giving Kili a glare, though no one could have missed the look of amusement that spread out across his face.

     "What is going on here?"

     Valadhiel looked over when she heard Thorin speak, and she grinned at him. "Oh, nothing special." She replied, then she stepped up onto the stones again, her dress dripping as it clung to her. "Bilbo decided to sneak up on me and push me into the water. It became a water fight, and Kili of course had to join in." She looked at Kili with a feigned look of disappointment before she laughed melodiously.

     Thorin's heart skipped a beat when Valadhiel climbed up onto the stones and stood. Her wet dress clung to her frame, and she was wet from below the chest and down, though her face, hair, and arms had also gotten wet, and there were water droplets all over the top of her dress as well. He snapped himself out of his miniature trance before he chuckled. "I see."

     Valadhiel turned and offered Bilbo a hand out of the water. She helped him onto the stones and off onto the ground, then she sighed softly before she looked out over the trees and grass. "Isn't this morning so beautiful?"

     "Aye, lass, it certainly is." Bofur agreed, looking out at the grass and trees. "We may prefer mountains to such places, but none can deny the beauty of elvish lands."

     "It certainly is a beautiful morning." Thorin murmured, staring at Valadhiel. Her face was aglow with joy, and her wings, now spread out, sparkled with water and sunlight, making her look like some sort of angel.

     Bilbo looked over at Thorin when he heard him speak, then he smirked smugly when he noticed the look Thorin gave her. He quickly hid the look and looked away from the dwarf, however, not wanting to be caught. He would only anger Thorin if he were to comment on the fact that he liked her.

     Valadhiel looked over when she heard someone else call over to her, and she smiled when she saw Elrond and Lindir. She greeted them in the elvish tongue and waited for them to walk over before she gave a curtsy, though it was clumsy since water weighed her dress down.

     "I see that you have decided to keep this as part of your daily morning routine." Elrond teased her, eyes sparkling in amusement.

     "Well, I was pushed into the water this time. I didn't fall in, nor did I jump in." Valadhiel replied with a laugh, looking over at Bilbo with a radiant smile before she looked at Lord Elrond again.

     "Ah, now that is new." Lindir agreed in amusement.

     "We came to let you all know that breakfast will soon be ready." Elrond informed them all, then he looked at those who had gotten wet. "You may want to change into something else beforehand, however."

     "Thanks, Vala." Fili told the elf sarcastically, though he couldn't hide his amusement. He wasn't fond of the fact that he was wet, though he now had an excuse to sneak up on her one of these days and get her back.

     Valadhiel grinned at him, then she chuckled and watched as the majority of the dwarves left to either change out of their wet clothes or do something else while they waited for breakfast. "See you later, Bilbo." She told the halfling before he walked away, earning a smile and a nod in return. The two of them got along rather well, so they often hung out in the gardens.

     After they all left, she turned and looked at Thorin, who still stood nearby. She tilted her head and looked at him curiously. "Aren't you going with the others?"

     Thorin shrugged before he stepped closer, his hands in his coat pockets. "I could ask the same about you. Surely you're hungry without that lembas bread of yours."

     Valadhiel chuckled before nodding. "Yes, though I will go change and eat soon. Well, I will most likely dry myself off with my fire." She sat on the stones after turning, swinging her legs in the cool water.

     Thorin sat down with her after a moment before he looked at her curiously. "Speaking of which, how do you possess the ability to manipulate fire and water?"

     Valadhiel looked over at Thorin, then she looked up at the sky above her, then looked at the leaves rustling in the breeze. "I thought that they were ancient elven powers of sorts, though it doesn't seem that it is. So, I'm not really sure how I possess any of my abilities. I can manipulate ice, too, by the way."

     "Have you ever combined any elements?"

     "I have tried before, though I can only combine healing fire with certain elements, such as water, since water is cleansing." Valadhiel explained, raising one hand and forming a ball of her healing fire, then raising her other to lift a ball of water. "However, my healing abilities only work on minor wounds. If someone has a mortal wound... I am unable to do anything to help. Sometimes it is simply one's time to leave this world and pass on into the next."

     Thorin nodded. "No one can be all powerful." He commented, then he got to his feet. He ought not be out here for too long, or the other dwarves would ask questions meant to embarrass him or Valadhiel. Perhaps even both of them.

     "No, I suppose not." She replied with a soft sigh, then she smirked before she lifted one of her legs and pushed Thorin into the water below, laughing when he gasped and looked up at her in surprise. She grinned at him in response. "It's a wee bit cold at first, aye?"

     "I am fairly sure that you already knew that." Thorin commented, raising an eyebrow at the shifting elf.

     Valadhiel grinned at him. "Oh, I did indeed." She replied before offering him a hand out of the water. However, her grin was replaced with a look of surprise when she was pulled into the water once again, and this time she ended up getting the upper part of her dress wet as well.

     Thorin laughed at the look of surprise on the elf's face when she sat up in the water and looked at him, then he smirked and crossed his arms. "Don't tell me you were not expecting that, shifter."

     The shifter playfully rolled her eyes before chuckling a little. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting something like that. Perhaps from Kili or Fili, but you caught me completely off guard." She replied, then she got to her feet before wringing her dress out a little.

     Thorin splashed some water the elf's way. "Believe it or not, I do know how to have fun sometimes."

     "As in once a year?" Valadhiel teased him with a grin.

     In response, the dwarf walked up behind the elf and began to tickle her sides, causing her knees to buckle a little as she laughed and tried to push his arms away. He grinned when she couldn't escape him, however.

     "Thorin! Stop!" Valadhiel pleaded in between laughs, trying and failing to remove the dwarf's hands from her ribs.

     "Not the words I'm looking for." Thorin told her as he tickled her. "Try again."

     Valadhiel laughed and fell to her knees in the water, though Thorin went down with her. She tried to escape in that brief moment, though he quickly grabbed her wrist and began to tickle her side again. "Thorin! Please stop!"

     Thorin gave a thoughtful look. "Well, since you said please." He decided before he finally stopped tickling her, leaving the soaked elleth laughing a little and gasping for air.

     Valadhiel, after catching her breath, gave the dwarf a playful glare. "You may want to watch your back, Oakenshield. I'm good at getting my revenge."

     Thorin shook his head in feigned disappointment. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a typical dragon."

     Valadhiel chuckled before splashing the dwarven king, then she got to her feet once more and lifted her dress to her knees so she could climb onto the stones, then get back onto the grass so she could dry herself off with her fire. Then again, she had gotten a little mud on the dress, so she would most likely go and change.

     Thorin climbed out of the water after watching the elf, then he got down onto the grass and helped Valadhiel off of the stones after she had wrung her dress out a little. "Come on, go get changed so we can eat. I'll meet you in the dining hall."

     Valadhiel smiled at him and nodded in agreement. "I'll meet you there. Save a seat for me?"

     "Of course. You'll find it next to me."

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This is the dress that Valadhiel wore in this chapter.