Elrond's P.O.V.

My conscience started to come back to me, slowly, but surely. My extremely blurry vision started to come into focus, I could easily see my father Earendil once again give me a sympathetic smile,

"Can you stand? The first time is always the hardest." Earendil asked holding out his hand to me. I graciously took it. "My son, welcome to Valinor, the hall of the gods." He panned the room, while I gasped. The pillars were made from white marble with vines and flowers wrapped around, growing upwards. Twelve thrones made a horseshoe around the hall, each one held a symbol of the Valar and each seated a Valar.

"Elrond, son of Earendil, come forward so we may speak to thee." Commanded Manwe, King of the air and all that was in it.

"Go on Elrond." Earendil remarked, moving his arm in a sweeping motion that in the end pointed to the center to the horseshoe shaped ring. I swallowed hard before I walked slowly to the center of the horseshoe, I could feel all their eyes on me, their power seemed to radiate from each and everyone of them, which caused me to feel as if I had no right to be there.

"Manwe, King of the Valar, it is truly a honor." I submit to him, kneeling on one knee. Manwe stood,

"Arise, son of Earendil, we have much to speak of," He waved his hand, a motion that ultimately meant to stand. "Thou as well Earendil, come to the center, you must hear what we must tell." Earendil bowed and walked into the circle, no sign that he was nervous or intimidated by the Valar's power. Manwe once again sat in his throne, and with one motion of the hand he had all the Valar stand and bow to him, their king. As they started to walk,

"Ulmo, I bid thee to bring in Glorfindel Golden-Flower." Ulmo bowed deeply to Manwe and exited the room. The simple command made me think that I had never wondered where the golden-haired elda had gone. I felt guilty at the fact I had never looked, never even thought of the elf that always had my back.

"Now…" Manwe started, snapping my attention back to the present. "It has been brought to my attention that dragons of old are returning to thy lands, correct?"

"Indeed." Earendil answered for me, I was too focused on my own thoughts.

"Do you know of which I speak, Elrond Earendillion?" My attention was once again brought to the present,

"Indeed I do Manwe." I answered. Manwe looked as if he was ready to continue the conversation, yet the doors swung open, revealing Glorfindel and Ulmo,

"I have brought him as requested my king."

"Good good. Glorfindel, come to the center and join thy kin. Ulmo, you are excused." Glorfindel bowed low, walking to where we stood. Kin! We were not related, were we?

"Earendil, thou has not been present in the sky, correct?

"Indeed I have not."

"Have you checked Melkor's bindings?" My father did not look Manwe in the eyes.

"Nay." It was barely above a whisper; was it guilt, did he feel he did not do his job correctly? I wished I knew. I may never have known him well, but he always meant well. Could Melkor have escaped? The bindings were made by the Valar themselves, did the Valar doubt their own creation to have the ability to hold one of their own? Question after question appeared in my mind.

"I fear that he has slipped thy bindings, leaving to take the people that defeated him once; maybe he knows where thou lie. I would not and could not answer such a question."

"He is after Elrond and Earendil!?" Glorfindel yelped, the only sentence he had spoken since he came through the doors.

"Indeed, Earendil houses the Silmaril as well as the stars while Elrond controls the Bruinen, as well as he has a sought after elvish ring. These dragons I have seen were all allied to Melkor in the early ages, who says that they are not still? He could have an army already made to take Middle Earth, the Silmaril, as well as thou that stands before me." I felt dizzy- Melkor wanted to kill me! I was never worth much in those days; now the most feared Valar wanted to have my head!

"What would you have us do?" Earendil asked, stepping ever closer to the Valar.

"I would have thy son go with thee to the Void."

"What?" I exclaimed. Leave behind my friends and family to go to the Void! My kingdom, my children, would I ever get to go to Valinor to see my wife again? I felt sick, to become a watcher like my father! That would be more painful than staying in Middle Earth! "The-the-there must be another way!", I pleaded. If I had to, I would get on my knees and beg.

"This is the only way. Gather your things, say farewell, go to the Bruinen; Earendil will meet thee there."

"NO! I want to stay in Middle Earth. I will not become like him, a watcher. I may know extreme pain but that would be torture! My life in Rivendell is perfect, I need no more, I will fight dragon and balrog to stay where I belong."

"Thou does not belong there, thou belongs at thy sire's side."

"NO! I have free will! I have dreams, goals, and none of them can be found in the Void! I belong where I feel at home, where I feel needed, where I am accepted!" I was starting to get mad; I did not want to live with Earendil, watching people from a distance, unable to voice my opinion. Watching my children wonder where I was every night, as I did in my early days. How Manwe desired I to go the the Void in itself was suspicious.

"SILENCE!" Manwe roared, sending a frighteningly loud echo down the hall. "This is not a matter of thy opinion, Half-Elf, it is a matter of life or death. If thou stays thy shall find no peace; neither will the other inhabitants of Middle Earth. Blood will soak the ground, making the land slippery. There will be no more green grass, all that thou knows will be stained red, including thyself. People and cities will fall. If thou wishes for a chance to stay in Middle Earth it will only be answered when Melkor no longer thirsts for your blood, when he is brought back to the Void in chains. Only then will I allow thee to return to Middle Earth."

"That could be forever, I do not wish for my life to waste away in the Void, living alone for eternity. I cannot fight for the ones I love from the Void, nor can I save or help them when they need it most. I know of what you plead Manwe, for I am guilty of trying to force a decision on one who I loved, I tried to save her from a human fate but we can not control others decisions whether they are truly great or pure folly. I have had a share of all these problems, none were easy to overcome, it was not easy to let my dear Arwen go, but I can not stop true love nor can I make her decisions for her, she needed to know the weight of her own actions, I could not protect her forever, no matter how hard I wished. Such is the nature and way of the spirit. None can truly keep their curiosity at bay, you can not protect the spirit, for one day it shall turn upon you in a blind anger and rage, you can not keep what yearns to be free. Iron and chains can not hold or bind a man's will, that is the beauty of the human spirit, none can contain such a power that has such a longing to show its worth, to show the others they were wrong, no person can break that." I was choking back tears, I did not wish to leave, I loved this land so. The speech had brought up a touchy subject considering that my daughter had given up a life with me and her siblings forever for one lifetime with her lover.

"Thy will shows much of your heart and of what you loved and still love. Thou says that no man can be kept under someone else's will. I can not have thee return to Middle Earth yet, but I shall grant thee the power to return if need be. You speak wisely Elrond son of Earendil, much wiser than some of thy kin of the same age. May this not last, I will take my leave and so will you, but I hope that Melkor's retribution will be quickly executed." We all fell to our knees as he left, the great king of the Valar had spoken.