A/N: Chapter 2 Sorry for the long wait I just didn't have the time to update.

I hope you enjoy the chapter and leave a review, a simple "I liked it" makes my day.

It was late in the night when Celebrian heard the sound of horses in the distance; the elves were returning from seven years of war, the endless war fought against Mordor and the evil lord Sauron.
She quickly got dressed and ran to the yard to meet her parents who were greeting the arriving elves. When she got there, she was horrified: Less than half of the elves who left seven years ago stood there now and most of them were wounded. Their faces were drawn and everyone had despair written in their eyes. If the whole thing wasn't bad enough as it was already, Gil-galad. The High king of the Noldor was nowhere to be seen. She took a closer look at their faces and studied their emotions. Nearly everyone was looking at the ground. Then it dawned on Celebrian: Gil-galad had fallen, along with so many other brave elves. But where was his herald, Elrond Peredhel? The Half-elf who had saved her and her family's life, the one who always was calm and seemed to have everything in control no matter how bad the situation was.
Erestor was leading the troops and he also looked sad. Galadriel, her mother, seemed to have gathered as much as Celebrian had and looked with concern in her eyes at Erestor:
"Erestor, please tell me where are Gil-galad and Elrond? Please don't tell me that we have lost both of them!"
Erestor closed his eyes before we answered.
"We lost king Gil-galad shortly before our victory, we nearly lost Glorfindel but Elrond found the herb which worked as an antidote against the poison. But unfortunately, Elrond got badly wounded when he was searching for that herb. He is dying and there is nothing we can do against it, we have come here to request your help, lady Galadriel."
Galadriel nodded and thought about her next words:
"Bring Elrond in the Healing Chambers, Celebrian and I will have a look at his wounds. My advisor will find you spaces where you can put up your tents because unfortunately we don't have enough quarters for all of you."
To say that Celebrian was in shock was an understatement. She had always thought that Elrond was indestructible and immortal in a way no one else was, he had never been wounded or hurt in any way before. She and her mother went to a healing room to prepare everything for Elrond.
Soon he was carried into the room, he looked terrible; beats of sweat were on his forehead and the bandage around his upper body was soaked through with fresh blood. He was unconscious although sometimes he seemed to wake up and opened his eyes to reveal the unfocused and glassy eyes, his breathing was ragged and he seemed to be in a lot of pain.
When Celebrian searched for the light of his soul, she only saw a dim flicker and she could feel his despair.
Galadriel pushed her daughter aside to have a look at Elrond herself. She removed the bandages to reveal the gaping wound on his chest, the long scratch at his side and she also spotted two broken rips, which luckily didn't penetrate the lungs. Besides that, Elrond was terribly thin and many parts of his body were covered in bruises.
She sighed and began working on the long cut, cleaning it first and then stitching it, the scratch was dealt with too, she cleaned it, luckily it didn't need any stitches. The two broken rips where set back in their original position, she was happy for Elrond that he was unconscious during all of that, it would have been a really painful process otherwise.
Days had passed and Elrond's health hadn't improved a bit. Celebrian sat at his side and wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead away with a cool cloth. She was worrying about him. She was in love with Elrond and although it wasn't her place to sit where she was sitting at the moment, she couldn't help herself but do it. She loved Elrond dearly and although or because he would never love her, she sat at his side and hoped for his love.
No one else was sitting here, maybe because she spent most of her time at his side or because he had very few friends left.
Erestor came twice a day to check on him and Glorfindel wanted to come but because he was still wounded, the healers wouldn't let him go.
Elrond was going to have a hard time recovering from his wounds, not only because they were severe and because he had just enough energy to live, but he also had to fight the emotional pain of the loss of Gil-galad and so many other Elves.
She sighed, Elrond nearly died under their care and she knew that if he didn't find a purpose of living, a sense in life, something to hope in, he would give up and his soul would wander to Mandos.
So many Elves had already died, Celebrian wanted to do everything in her power to at least save Elrond's life. She wasn't the best healer in Lothlorien although her healing skills weren't bad. That was why she was allowed to stay at his side all day and look after him. If something happened to him, she would be there and look after him.
She reached out with her mind to his soul again and she felt him acknowledging her.
She felt despair and sadness in his mind, it was like the darkness of Mordor hat settled in his mind.
She felt him trying to push her out of his mind but she refused and tried to chase some of the darkness in his mind away to give her room to speak to him, to encourage him to continue living.
After a while she felt him giving in, even recognizing her and she felt that some of the darkness was leaving his mind.
She now also sensed confusion and just the slightest trace of hope.
"Elrond, Elrond please don't give in. Don't fall in despair and disappear into the darkness. I'm here, I care for you, don't leave me, please."
Shortly after she said that, she was distracted by something in the room and she broke the connection.

The only thing Elrond felt or saw was darkness. He didn't feel the horrible pain any more, didn't hear any of the pain filled screams any more or see the terrifying battlefield. He only had darkness in front of his eyes.
The darkness was cooling and calming although it reminded him of death and how unloved he felt. Gil-galad loved him as a father would love his son, Erestor loved him as a best friend would, but Celebrian, who he fell in love with, so many years ago, would never love him. She was too beautiful, too pure, and too perfect for a scarred and shattered soul like him.
He suddenly felt a presence entering his mind and fearing that it was an enemy, he tried to push it out. After a long time, he grew exhausted and gave in and was surprised: The presence didn't cause a darker darkness in his mind, no it brought light, and it was pure and beautiful, like Celebrian.
He was more surprised and confused when he heard her voice, she was telling him not to give into the darkness, to stay alive but the only words that really gave him hope were:
"I'm here, I care for you, don't leave me, please."
No, he wouldn't leave her; he would continue living for her, even if that meant to live millennia with a broken heart.

tbc