A/N: Certain liberties have been taken with the fate of elves after death; in this tale, it is Arwen's love for Estel that keeps her in Middle Earth, as opposed to leaving for Mandos' Halls.
These Gilded Chains We Wear
It had been so long now, and she was only tired, so very tired, but not as afraid any more.
Arwen who had once been Queen sat perfectly still on the cold smooth rock, watching and waiting. For what, she did not know.
She could see all the forest, all that had once been golden and beautiful in the sunrise, but now the sun had set, and the Dreamflower had faded. And Arwen alone remained, seeking an escape that would not come.
For it had been here that she had fled to when her mother, the gentle Celebrían, had gone over the long distant seas.
And it had been here that she had first realized that none but the First Children of Ilúvatar could go to the Isles of the Valar; and Arwen Peredhil would not see her mother again.
And it had been here, in the woods of the Dreamflower, by the side of Galadriel, that Arwen had forsaken the Gift of Men and joined the Eldar, and bound herself by unbreakable ties of blood to the rings of Arda. She became still more radiant than before, and Galadriel gave to her a white jewel on a silver chain, the Evenstar, and it was her elven-blood.
And it had been once more in beautiful, fading Lothlórien that Arwen had first met Aragorn, and gave to him the Evenstar and her heart.
Elessar Telcontar wed Arwen Undómiel, and their days were full of happiness. But always, always she remembered the choice made in her blood, and she feared for when Elessar King tasted the bitter Gift of Men.
He grew old, and she remained forever young, and her heart ached to see him fade. And at last, her beloved made peace with Death, and greeted him as an old friend, and together they slipped easily from the rings of Arda.
She had loved him, and she had lived for him, and when he was gone, she did not desire life. She left the Shining City, and went to Lothlórien, and faded away as a star behind a cloud, and even as she faded, she hoped to join him once more.
But it was not to be, and Eru Ilúvatar had no pity on her. Her fëa was bound to Arda, and she did not leave it.
At first, she could not think through icy panic, sheer terror that she would never again see Estel. She faded away again and again, searching for the path to her love, and she could not find it.
Arwen wearied, and her spirit grew tired, and with the tiredness her fear dulled; not gone, but numbed a little.
But she did not think that she could live forever apart from him and all the world, and yet that was to be her fate. With Legolas and Gimli, Valinor had been take from the world - it was, and then it was not. And as ever, Arwen remained behind.
There was only the world, which moved on without her, and her bittersweet memories, and the briefest moments of rest.
Time had not softened her love, and if she thought of how she would not see Aragorn, or her mother, or any of the Eldar for eternity, she despaired.
There was only death, and rebirth, and death once more until the ending of the Ainulindalë itself, and there was no comfort for her.
She pulled back from the icy despair of her thoughts, and seemed to measure herself. And then she lay back, gazing into the sky which had darkened into night, and at the first stars that had come out.
Arwen who had once been Queen lay, awaiting death, and hoping against hope that she would see once more Elessar; but as the darkness closed over her, the silver chain against her throat seemed very heavy.