I just wanted to put a note in here apologizing for the originally incorrect elvish and to thank Mrs Huggins for pointing out my mistake. The site I used said Sindarin but I guess I shouldn't be so trusting of the internet. shrug Thanks again and thanks for the website recommendation! Let me know if I get it wrong again (why would anyone want to put something that's wrong into their story?)

I also would like to thank Shirty for help with elvish corrections and Linette for the helpful information about Rivendell. For some reason, I always thought of it as a city. Thank you for correcting me. Everything will be explained within another chapter or so (and don't worry, I would never try to break up Arwen and Aragorn. I hate it when people break apart couples that exist in the book, it just doesn't seem right. Simbelmynë's relationship with Aragorn is of a different sort).

"Simbelmynë, won't you join us at dinner tonight?"

"You know we hate to see you wander all alone."

"At least let one of us watch over you."

"Or tell us where you're going, so that we may find you, if need calls for such."

Simbelmynë's four elven guardians stood or sat around her room. They were attempting, once again, to force her into a social situation they all knew she would enjoy. Simbelmynë, however, had no mind for parties or noise that night. She sat on her windowsill, looking out over the great, starlit valley of Rivendell and half-listening to her friends.

"Please, Simbelmynë," appealed Alassë, the eldest of the four elves, "Don't keep yourself closed off from those who would help you. He promised that he would return and Aragorn, though he be but a man, would not break such a promise to you." She sat down next to Simbelmynë and gazed at her profile. The still young woman continued to stare out to the mountains, but her attention was caught. As of late, she had sorely missed her traveling companion and true friend, one of the only men she had ever gotten close to. She turned her face away from Alassë, trying to avoid her kind, hazel eyes, but came face to face with Nessa, her youngest guardian. Nessa stared deeply into Simbelmynë's face, green-grey eyes flickering with impatience. She was always one who preferred to be off at the parties, singing with the other elves, and had little tolerance for Simbelmynë's bouts of melancholy. Her ways were not meant to be unkind, but she had difficulty in understanding the human emotion of loss that her charge held in her heart.

Before Nessa could say anything, her cousin, Aredhel spoke in a soft, commanding voice from across the room. "Do not come tonight if you do not wish. We will make sure that food is brought to you so that you may not go hungry. If you desire to join us later, you may. Be safe and do not wander far."

"And please, Simbelmynë," chimed in Eärwen from the doorway, "Be well, and know that we are here if and when you wish to speak of the troubles in your mind." She smiled brightly and Simbelmynë turned to face her. A grateful smile painted itself upon her face.

"Thank you, my friends. I am sorry if I cause you any trouble. Please send my apologies to your host. I will be alright in the morning, but my heart is too heavy this night to endure the sweet merriment of your folk." Her eyes turned sadly from Eärwen to each of the others in turn. "I am very thankful that you have taken me in and that you put with my sometimes odd ways."

"My dear, it is no trouble at all," Alassë lulled as she stood up. She put a gentle hand on Simbelmynë's shoulder and announced, "My sisters, we should be off. I would not mind an early start to dinner. Goodnight, Simbelmynë. We shall see you in the morning." She kissed the girl's head and motioned for the others to leave the room. They bade farewell and goodnight to Simbelmynë and were quickly gone.

Simbelmynë remained at her windowsill for a while, staring out to the nearby mountains. Already, singing could be heard from all around. Rivendell was a wonderful place and a dream to live in. It was nearly impossible to feel lonely as there were always songs to be sung and tales to be told, and elves were quite fond of both. It was a pity that Simbelmynë took little enjoyment from any of the elves' activities. For one thing, she was still used to wandering and living on her own out in the forests of the world. Not to say that she preferred such a lifestyle of complete solitude, but she had not adjusted well to the sudden change of the bright elven refuge. She was a girl who had grown up early and was not used to others caring for her so much.

As the moon began to edge up over the mountaintops, Simbelmynë strapped her daggers to her waist and left her windowsill and her room. Taking a familiar path, she ended up on the bank of a small river. The soothing gurgle of a small waterfall could be heard, and the spray felt, just up the river. Simbelmynë sat against a slender tree trunk facing downstream. Her boots soon gleamed in the moons rays, speckled with a thin layer of mist. She watched the water flow quickly past her feet, carrying the occasional leaf or small twig. There she fell asleep, dreaming of riding a deep chestnut-brown horse over a wide plain of meadow-grass and wandering through forests just behind a tall, rugged ranger who she missed with a sore heart.

"Lû and gwannant,1 Simbelmynë." The suddenness of a female voice startled Simbelmynë out of her dreams into bleary-eyed wakefulness. She looked up, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. Above her stood the familiar face and dark hair of a delicate Rivendell beauty.

"Le gevedin na 'lass,2 Arwen," Simbelmynë smiled. "How do you fair this night and what brings you all the way out here, if I may ask?" Leaning heavily against the tree behind her, she stood up, straightening her skirt.

"I dreamt of you, standing alone under the shelter of a great tree, twisted and bent like an old man. With one hand, you clung to the tree as if for support, and with the other you clutched your heart. Your cheeks glistened with fresh tears. A cry of pain rang in my ears as I awoke and I knew I must come find you." Her lips curled into a sad smile. "I had a feeling that you would be here, alone." For a while the stood in silence, watching the moon rise above their heads or the water rush past their feet. Simbelmynë continued to lean against the tree behind her, trying to smooth over the creases in her dress. Arwen folded her hands and looked on in utter quiet. An audible sigh escaped her lips and she turned her eyes back to Simbelmynë.

"I think I know what is in your heart that causes you such misery."

Simbelmynë stared into Arwen's eyes as she began. "You would probably be right if you spoke your assumption. I feel foolish missing him so terribly. And then I think of the pain you must hold for his absence. It should be much greater than my own, and yet I am ever the more reclusive and downhearted." She laughed, embarrassed, and blushed in the blue glow of the night. Her hand went instinctively to her cheek, a habit for when she felt uneasy. Arwen shook her head and took a step closer to the young human.

"Do not be ashamed of your feelings. They are an important part of what makes a person who they are. Your feelings for Aragorn are a sign that you care about him. You miss him because he had to leave you here." She paused for a moment and touched the evenstar jewel upon her neck. "I do not imagine he did so merely to be rid of you. No, Simbelmynë, you must not believe that. In your heart, you must trust that he will return. It is the only way we may not despair." Simbelmynë turned away from Arwen, her face hidden in shadows. Her breath was short and her shoulders shivered in an attempt to control a well of tears. "My friend, do you not see? There is hope."

"I do not doubt that what you say is true, Arwen," Simbelmynë began, a deep tremor in her voice, "But the pain is no less for the knowledge that he is not here now."

Arwen was silent a moment, gaze set on the back of the shuddering girl standing before her. She appeared a child, lost and alone. Arwen longed to give her something to hold onto in place of loneliness.

"I know." These were the only two words that came to her, that seemed right. A tear slid down the regal elf's cheek as her own words bit into her. Simbelmynë could no longer restrain herself and threw herself into the warm embrace of her consoling friend. The two wept on each other's shoulders, glad to be alone no longer.

When they regained some of their former composure, the two women washed their faces with the clear river water and reentered the welcoming lights of the community, arm in arm. Many of the elves were still about their nighttime activities, filling the valley with the comforting hum of their songs.

Arwen led Simbelmynë back to her own quarters, offering her a bed for the night. Her guardians, the four elves, would not worry as she often disappeared for days at a time and always returned unharmed. As directed by Arwen, the girl climbed into what she did not know was the elf's own bed and drifted off quickly and soundlessly. Arwen only smiled and soon left to find her father, Lord Elrond.

"It has been a week and a day since Glorfindel was sent to find the hobbit who carries the ring." Arwen's words were quick, urgent and demanding once she found her father. She watched him with careful gaze. His features were unreadable, but she softened her words as she continued. "Please, Ada, tell me what you know. Have you seen nothing of how they fare?"

"My daughter, patience. The ringbearer and his companions have been found. They come nearer to the ford every day. That is all that I may tell for that is all I know." Elrond walked to his daughter and took her hands in his. A smile crept across his face, but his eyes remained somber. "Avo bresto,3 Arwen."

1 It has been too long (note: most if not all elvish used in this story will be Sindarin, the elvish used by the majority of elves in Middle Earth)

2 I am happy to meet you

3 Don't worry