All That Glitters
Prologue
Gandalf stared at the elf walking some distance ahead. He supposed he should have gotten used to it by now but the sense of jealousy never went away. Arwen fell into step next to him.
"Would it help if I said that Saruman used to dislike him too?" she asked. The party were strolling along the road out from Minas Tirith, leading their horses. They were in no particular hurry; in fact they didn't actually want to arrive at their destination at all.
"Not really, I don't dislike him, I just envy him," he said quietly. The beautiful new queen of Gondor smiled sadly.
"I envied her for a long time, maybe I still do, but I would not have changed anything, not seeing them now." Gandalf looked at her in surprise and was forced to rethink his judgement of the elf beside him. Arwen noticed his expression and laughed, something she had been doing a lot more often recently.
"I am not quite as selfish as you all seem to think." She smiled at his blush.
"Oh it is perfectly alright, I am selfish true enough, but I can see what is right. Part of the problem is the guilt of having those, unsavoury, emotions," she told him in a matter of fact way. Gandalf took a long hard look at her; he had often thought Arwen to be a spoilt girl with very little in the way of brains. Her sudden perception showed him just how little he knew her.
"I suppose, I just wish I had come to my senses a bit quicker," Gandalf said finally.
"She was lost to everyone else about two and a half thousand years ago Mithrandir," Arwen laughed. Gandalf's ice blue eyes opened wide in shock.
"That young?" he asked incredulously. Arwen laughed again, a high pearl from musical bells.
"Well, they did not know it then but yes, it has been a long time in the coming." Her voice softened as the elves they were watching broke out in rich laughter.
"Be happy for them Mithrandir, fate may not be finished with them yet," Arwen said sadly.
"Whatever more is there to do?" Gandalf asked.
"I think of the company here only they shall know." She sighed at the thought of her new found mortality.
"The enemy is gone, I can see no more danger," he said. Arwen's face darkened. Her voice rose and fell ominously.
"She will always walk apart, whether she wishes to or not that is her fate. You will leave, we all will, and she will be alone again." Her words stung him though he did not know why.
"Surely she has found peace with him?" he asked, almost afraid of what the suddenly wise Arwen would say next.
"Yes but he will never truly be at peace here, not anymore." With that the newly crowned Queen led her horse forward to the pair they had been discussing.
"Arwen! We thought you were determined to remain at the rear!" Legolas teased her good-heartedly.
"I do find you all so much more pleasant from behind," she laughed. The blond elf moved aside to make room for her.
"Ada looks worried," the third elf said, looking back.
"Who, yours or mine?" Arwen continued to joke.
"Both actually." Legolas frowned at the pair of wise fathers walking now side by side.
"Maybe they think it is going to rain," he said brightly. They laughed again, the sound of musical joy for all the company to hear.
"Deep thoughts old friend?" Elrond inquired as he took his daughter's place beside the old man.
"What's she like, Elrond?" Gandalf asked the half-elven lord.
"Intelligent, stubborn, fragile," he answered. Gandalf sighed.
"I missed so much of her growing up," the wizard half murmured.
"Then let me tell you what you should have seen," Elrond offered. Gandalf smiled at his friend in gratitude.
"We have a long way to go and I do not mind," the Lord of Imladris continued.
"Thank you my friend," Gandalf said.
"She told me once, in Rivendell, it was not a light hearted story." The white-haired man nodded sadly. Elrond was about to start the narrative when a shout from up front made them look up.
"Yarna!" Legolas and Arwen cried in alarm as the third elf, a thin dark-haired girl in green and brown ran out from the road into the surrounding fields. Crouched low amongst the wildflowers she waved her friends away. After a moment she straightened and laughed at them for their worried expressions. In her arms she carried a baby fox cub.
"Poor thing wandered too far, the den is just up ahead," she explained as she took her place back in the line. Her companions laughed and petted the tiny creature she was holding. The two elders smiled at the scene.
"Well, you were there at the start Gandalf, I think you can remember," Elrond said. He nodded and thought back to a chilly winter morning over three thousand years before.
Author's Note: This is going to be very AU but only a few non-canon characters. No Mary-Sues I promise. Warning to those who like Arwen: she's a selfish minx and I seriously twist her and Aragorn's relationship. Criticism is welcome, if you don't like it then tell me what's wrong as long as it's not the whole idea in general. I won't promise regular updates because I have a life and it takes precedence unfortunately. The disclaimer's at the bottom in this so here it is: I do not own Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit or any of the canon characters, they all belong to J.R.R. Tolkien and I'm not making any money from this. There, I won't repeat myself every chapter so don't sue, it's not mine.
Also this story is part of a challenge me and my friends set ourselves. Please take the time to read Lucinda Green's (Harry Potter), Harriate Slate's (Jane Eyre) and Oh Deer Oh Deer's (Doctor Who) stories all titled "All That Glitters" once they put them up.