A Walk Among Trees

Chapter 1: The Return

Arwen impatiently paced up and down the hall. "What is keeping him?" she wondered out loud. "Be patient, my Arwen, be patient. He will arrive, just give him time." Arwen looked into the caring eyes of her father, Elrond. "I know. But you have no idea how hard it is to be patient when your fiance is arriving after so long!" "I will admit that I don't," replied Elrond. "But I do know that he won't forget about you, Arwen. He loves you too much to do that." She sighed. It had been so long since she had seen Aragorn. For yes, she was engaged to Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and bearer of the Sword That Was Broken. He had gone on a quest with four hobbits, an elf, a man, a dwarf, and a wizard. The last time she had seen him was at the Council of Elrond, when the fate of the Ring was decided, and she could not attend that, as it was supposed to be secret, but, like all secrets, it was not. Arwen slowly lowered herself into a chair, and began to imagine the marrige. There would be harpers playing a soft tune in the background, and the room would be decorated with sea-blue and shimmering silver. Her wedding dress would trail behind her, but the trail would not be too long. The dress would be a creamy-white color, and would rustle gently as she walked. She had just started to imagine what Aragorn would wear, when horsehooves could be heard from outside the gates. "Aragorn is here! Aragorn is here!" Arwen sprang from the chair, and ran to the entrance. Her father held her back from running to the gates. "You don't want your fiance to see you in a ripped dress, do you? For surely if you keep running at that speed, you will be trampled by the horses." Eldrond smiled warmly as he looked down on his daughter, with an eager expression on her face, waiting for her love. "Oh, Father!" she laughed. "Even a lady as eager as I would be careful not to fall onto the ground upon meeting her fiance!" Arwen went on, but was careful not to be hurt. As the Company drew closer to the entrance, she noticed that there were only eight proud travelers upon horses. "Who is missing?" Arwen found herself asking. "Boromir," replied the slightly gruff voice of Gandalf. "He was killed by a terrible creature worse than an Orc, my lady." "Oh dear!" Arwen muttered quietly. "Oh how dreadful! Well, I suppose he is in a better place." "I am sure he is, milady," Gandalf replied. "But now is not the time to talk of such sorrows. Your husband-to-be is here, and I am sure both of you are dying to meet each other again for the first time in a long time." Aragorn got off his horse, and walked slowly to Arwen. "It has been far too long, my lady. Let us walk among the trees, and discuss what has happened whilst each of us have been away from each other." He gently took her hand, and together they walked the grounds of Rivendell, with all of their happinesses completed.

Chapter 2: Strange Happenings

As Arwen and Aragorn wandered around the grounds, Arwen asked a question that she had meant to ask ever since Aragorn proposed. "Aragorn, for you to marry me, either I must become mortal, or you must become elf. Which will you choose?" Aragorn sighed. "It is terrible that we must make this choice. But, I am willing to become elf for you, my Evenstar." Arwen smiled. "Thank you. I, too, dreaded having to make this choice. But I am..." She stopped mid-sentence. "What is it? You are so pale, what is the matter?" Aragorn looked worried as Arwen continued to grow paler. "I have just...I...I have just seen my mother." Arwen became even paler. "But wasn't she tortured to death by the Orcs?" Aragon asked, puzzled. But his question was not answered, as Arwen had fainted, and was lying on the ground, motionless. Aragorn carefully picked her up, and carried her to her father, who then took her to her room. A welcome feast was held, and everyone attended. Everyone, that is, but Aragorn. He was too worried about Arwen. He stayed by her bedside. When she eventually came to, once she had got her bearings, Aragorn pulled her into a tight hug. "Leth morthert nil faithil" Arwen said, puzzled. "Ol northel len fefjik?" replied Aragorn. "My mother was killed," Arwen translated. "Then how did you see her?" Aragorn replied, in the common tounge. He knew that something was worrying Arwen, because she only spoke Elvish when something caused her worry. "Come, we will miss the feast!" she added, sitting up in her bed. Arwen gently steped out of her bed, and Aragorn held her hand, to steady her, and also to comfort her. When they reached the dining hall, they discovered that the others had started well before them. "Please, do tuck in! Do not let lateness be a reason for not eating," Elrond greeted with wide, welcoming arms. The two latecomers bowed their heads as a sign of thanks, then sat down. After the feast, Arwen had news and presents. "Everyone, welcome. Welcome to Elrond's house in Rivendell. I am sure most of you have been here before, but wecome anyway. I have an announcement. Before all of you leave, I am to be married. In fact, I am to be married to someone who is with us right now. My fiance, and husband-to-be is Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and bearer of the Sword That Was Broken. I hope that you will all attend. I also have welcoming presents!" She began handing out small gifts. Legolas recieved a quiver of arrows that would never miss the target, Gimli was given a blade cover for his axe with intricate designs scored into the supple leather, Merry and Pippin both got small knives with the same pattern winding around the sharpest part of the knife. Sam recieved a gardening set, with many plants that were available only in Rivendell, and Frodo was given an imitation gold ring that looked almost like the ring he destroyed, only instead of the terrible lettering, it had a poem written in the common tounge inscribed around the inside of the ring. She was just handing Aragorn his present, a beautifully and carefully made tunic, when Arwen dropped it to the ground, and stared into, what seemed to be, thin air. Aragorn rushed to her side immediately."Your mother?" he asked, in a gentle, comforting voice. "Yes," she replied, distantly. "Yes, it was. But how?" "I think you should sleep, to think things through," Aragorn suggested. Arwen nodded, and Aragorn carried her up to her room, as she was still weak from when she fainted the first time, and the weakness had hit her again, full blow. She climbed into bed, and instantly fell asleep, but her dreams were full of visions of her mother.