The city was so quiet I could have sworn time had stopped, if it werent for the solitary black flag that had flickered in the wind above the palace roof. A few hours ago that flag sent horror surging through every inch of me; now I just sit by my window, watching it dance in the evening breeze. The gloomy herald of King Elessars death.
We had all known it was coming for days, but none of us dared to speak of it. My siblings were more than happy to keep all their feelings locked up. Eldarion would just sit there with his nose in a book, pretending to read, when I knew all he was thinking about was Father. My sisters would chitter-chatter nervously amongst themselves, breaking of into awkward silences every so often. I, on the other hand, was desperate to speak about Ada. But I darent. They'd just look down their noses at me and tell me to hush, saying my young mind neednt worry about such things. To them I was still the little baby, always there to ptronize whenever the need my arise, even though I'll be eighteen years old next spring.
As for my mother...she just sits and stares. Head bowed slightly, hands folded neatly on her lap. She'll sit for hours, hardly moving a muscle, gazing into space. Caught in a memory of long ago, when she and my father were newly-wed and the Doom of Men held no threat yet. It pained me above all else to see her like that. She just looked so...lost.
It was with my mother I had always felt the most connected to. I loved my father dearly, as I did my brother and sisters (even if they did treat me like a baby), but I always felt most at ease with my mother. I remember when I was young, my sisters would tease me and make me cry. Seeing this, my mother would scoop me up in her arms and hold me ever so tightly, her long dark hair tickling my face, and Id breath in the soft scent of spring that seemed to radiate from her. With her gentle, calming hands she'd wipe the tears from my cheeks, and whisper a lullaby in my ear until I drifted off to sleep. Even when I grew to old to lie in her arms she would still give me great big cuddles whenever she saw me, her eyes shining with joy.
Now her eyes just shone with tears.
Then the news we had secretly feared came this morning. King Elessar had chosen to retire to his chamber, where he awaited his children to come and say their final farewells. For the first time in days Eldarion finally put down the book he had been pretending to reading. For the first time in days my sisters finally fell silent. For the first time in days, Lady Arwen Evenstar mustered the will to stand. Clad in black, we went forth, a most sombre procession, to our fathers chamber. Each of us went in turn, Eldarion first. When he came out with the crown in his hands, we knew this was surely the end.
My turn came second to last, before my mother. Heavy of heart, I shuffled through the door. Inside was dimly lit, with candles burning in the brackets above the bed, casting shadows on the wall. For a second my mind had wandered back to a game my mother and I had played in my days of youth. We'd lit a candle and, using our hands, had projected various picutres onto the wall. Birds, deer, flowers. My mind lingered on this memory for a second, before snapping back to the present. Upon the bed lay my father, propped up by many pillows. He looked terribly tired, his aged face framed by his silvery-grey hair. With a faint smile, he gestured me to sit on the ornately carved chair beside him.
"Must you leave, Ada?" I whispered, perching on the edge of the seat and taking his hand. He simply smiled, his eyes glittering in the faint light. His face may have aged greatly over the years, but his eyes had remained unchanged, still filled with the same endless knowledge and the occasional twinkle of mirth. Too think I'd never see those comforting eyes again set a lump in my throat. "My time here has ended," he murmured, patting my hand affecionately, "I am weary of the world"
Swallowing back the tears, I gently brushed the strands of silver hair from his face, tucking them carefully behind his ear. A thousand questions were buzzing around in my head like startled butterflies, all fighting to be said, but no words came. I felt the hot trickle of a tear upon my cheek. I hadnt even realized I was crying.
"Look after your mother for me," my father said, his brave smile beginning to falter, " in the coming days she'll need you more than ever."
I nodded, wiping away the tears that lingered still on my cheeks. Leaning over, I kissed his forehead and whispered a broken 'Farewell', throat aching. Pain stabbed my heart with every step I took to the door. Not daring to look back, I stepped outside, closing the door softly behind me.
The next half an hour was agony. It seemed like mother had been in the room for an eternity. My siblings and I sat nervously, unable to speak, eyes locked on the tall, oak door. At last, it creaked open. There stood the Lady Arwen, her cheeks stained with numberless tears. It broke my heart to see her crying so bitterly. My sisters were wailing beside me. Eldarion was shaking, white as a sheet. My eyes were dry. I had to be strong. The words my father had said to me floated through my blank mind.
italic "Look after your mother...in the coming days she'll need you more than ever"
I ran to my mothers side. She looked so frail and lost. Our roles now reversed, I took her in my arms, holding her tightly whilst she wept into my shoulder. She clung to me as if I was a lifeline in the dark, ghostly world she had suddenly been thrown into. All she had known for so long now lay in shattered pieces about her. Death had always seemed the bitterest of fates, but to witness the death of the one whom you love above all else was indeed harshest of them all. How could someone continue to live on when their one true love was beyond their reach? They couldnt. She couldnt.
I could see it all in her eyes. Beyond the sheen of unshed tears, I read what she could not bear to say. She was leaving.
I look out of my window. The city is sleeping, wrapped in the night-time silence. Beyond the city gates, I can see a white horse, gleaming like a star against the sheet of darkness. The rider is cloaked against the harsh chill of night. I watch until she is gone beyond my sight. So leaves the only person I ever truly trusted. She goes in safe knowledge that, at long last, her youngest daughter has finally blossomed. I've finally grown. Today I lost both my mother and father. It would be wrong to say I'll never see them again. I will. One day.
One day.