A week after their arrival, Elrond found himself alone with Galadriel and Celeborn. Arwen was taking Celebrían for a walk in the gardens she had used to care for, trying to entice her out of the chambers Celebrían had spent the past four days in, as her nightmares had taken a turn for the worse.
Now in his counsel chambers, Elrond and Celeborn both sat in stony silence while Galadriel paced silently and slowly around them, an anxious habit of hers.
Suddenly, she stopped and stared at Elrond.
"What?!" She gasped, aghast, and Elrond and Celeborn looked up in surprise.
"I did not...?" Elrond was certain he hadn't spoken aloud.
"I apologize; I did not mean to read your thoughts, but you hardly were hiding them." Really, her son-in-law should know by now to be more careful around her. Her startlingly blue eyes still pierced his, considering.
"Elrond fears this attack was no accident." Galadriel clarified to Celeborn, who had been looking between them and waiting for explanation. Her eyes still did not leave Elrond's, and beside him Celeborn tensed and drew a sharp breath, waiting for Elrond to finally speak.
"Celebrían was traveling with a sizable guard of fully capable elves and quite a number of warriors. The company was attacked in the evening before the sun had even fully set, which is unusual for orcs, no? It is not as if Celebrían can not defend herself in an attack as well as any of us can, yet she was unable to get away. This seems too planned; they knew who she was, it was her only taken from the company; the rest they left or slayed. They knew she would be rescued and they did little to prevent that from happening, while one would think they might. By the time Elladan and Elrohir found her she was hardly guarded but clearly still alive, and weak. They could have slain her easily, is that not an orc's wont? Yet they did not, they wanted us to find her still alive. Does that not seem like a targeted attack, with more aim than the random violence of orcs?" Elrond's voice was laced with anger now.
"You are right," Celeborn sighed wearily. "If I were willing to have thought to piece it together I may have reached the same conclusion. I do now." He paused and sighed again before continuing. "Our only child, and your beloved. If one wished to weaken or to warn, through the very core, both of the most powerful of the Elven realms remaining in Middle-earth with just one blow, what easier way to strike than this?"
"While remaining hidden and subtle." Galadriel finished for him. "Who do we know practicing in such fashion, and calling on orcs to do his bidding?"
She sank on the bench between them, her arms folded.
Neither responded, the answer was obvious. Sauron, the Dark Lord, vanished but not vanquished.
There was a long silence while the three of them each sank deep into their own thoughts.
"The damage is done." Galadriel said softly after a long while. "If this was part of a plan, it has happened, and we have failed miserably at this stage. If it was a warning, we have seen it too late. Far too late."
Neither had an answer for this, either, and silence returned.
"Do not tell her." Elrond pleaded suddenly, and they both turned quickly.
"Surely you realize that she will wonder it herself eventually." Celeborn raised an eyebrow.
"But not yet." Elrond looked down, weakly. "She has had enough to occupy her mind recently, this can not help. She will feel it is her fault; and only worry more about us."
They both nodded agreement after a moment and Elrond thanked them and rose, unable to focus on such thoughts any longer.
While Celebrían was still with Arwen, Elrond now went to find Erestor and Glorfindel, in case his attention was required with anything in Rivendell affairs. It would distract him well, at any rate. He thought to himself, now, how he much owed his friends for completely taking over all his work right now, and Celebrían's too, on top of the rest of their responsibilities, so that he could spend all his time with Celebrían.
They continued telling him that nothing required his attention, just trade agreements they could easily handle alone, but Elrond seriously doubted that they would have allowed him to do any work even if a war had suddenly been started or if Eru himself had come and knocked down the doors of the House.
When he did find them, however, they continued to express their worry about the twins, so Elrond left his advisors to find his sons.
Elrond found the pair out in the stables, returning from a ride.
"Adar!" Elrohir noticed him first, surprised to see his father out. "Has something happened?"
"No, fear not. May I have a word?" Elrond looked between his sons, who nodded and followed him out to where there were some benches outside.
Elrond twirled Vilya around his finger, trying to decide how to start.
"You are worried about us." Elrohir said flatly, starting for him.
"Yes." Elrond answered. "As are Glorfindel and Erestor, and your sister."
"We are fine." Elladan said almost shortly, or as shortly as he dared to be to his father.
"Really. Because you do not seem it." Elrond looked at him raising his eyebrows, before adding more softly, "and you do have much reason not to be."
Neither answered for a good few minutes. Elrond waited, his eyes boring into theirs.
"How could this have happened?" Elladan burst out, rising and turning away from them. "I know terrible things happen to good people but this! To Naneth? To you?"
"Is it true that she is thinking of leaving?" Elrohir asked more quietly. "Daernaneth told us."
Elrond watched Elladan for a moment before answering Elrohir. "Yes, it is true. But she has not yet decided for sure."
Elladan stood unmoving, facing away from them still, and Elrohir moved to comfort his father.
"There is no reason for why this has happened, or for why anything ever happens. Events in this world unfold as chance allows, and all we can do is accept what we must and deal with them the best we can." Elrond finally answered Elladan's outburst question.
"The only way I would like to deal with things is to go slay every orc in Middle-earth." Elladan turned back, his dark eyes flashing, and Elrohir tilted his head in agreement.
"As would I." Elrond smiled a little. "But your mother told me not to dwell on it, and she is right, so I say the same to you. It will help no one; revenge never does."
"It would help us." Elrohir said slowly, his eyes on his twin. "Maybe not you, but I think it may be something we need to do."
"Maybe you are right." Elrond said, eyeing them carefully. He said nothing of what he had just discussed with their grandparents, though he was sure they shared his theory, and that it was the main source of their new-found anger. "However your mother would not approve, and I plead you not to worry her. I also hope that you will give thought to my words: giving in to anger hurts you yourself much more than the pain you could inflict on any orc. If you must seek revenge, then I will not stop you, but I beg of you to take care not to let your temper control the rest of your life. You may hate orcs, but do not let that cause you to hate everything that is still good in this world."
Elladan sat back down next to his father and was silent for a few minutes.
"We will be careful not to let anger consume us, and we will heed your words." He said finally.
Elrond drew him closer and pressed his lips to the top of his head, like he would an elfling. "I am glad to hear it. Your mother still needs all of us. And your sister needs you, too."
"And you." Elrohir said gently.
"And me." Elrond said quietly after a pause, and they both embraced him.
"I am sorry we have been so distant Adar, we are here for you too, always." Elrohir said.
"Are you well, Adar?" Elladan asked him.
Elrond started to answer, but then Elladan cut him off.
"Do not try to lie like you always do. We will not believe you." Elrond actually smiled at that.
"Then no, I am not. I have lost too many already, and now your mother…" He trailed off.
The sad and sympathetic look Elladan gave him made Elrond instantly regret being honest.
"You will not lose us, Ada, I promise." Elrohir told him.
"We will put off slaying the entirety of the orc population until we make sure you are well." Elladan said, helpfully.
Elrond chuckled and shook his head.
"If there is anything we can do…." Elrohir offered.
"You will let us know?" Elladan finished for him.
"You have my word." Elrond nodded, and the three of them walked back to the house together. Elladan and Elrohir were now laughing slightly more like their usual selves, but in Elrond's heart the dread that things were yet to get worse remained.
~*~*~*
That night, Celebrían and Elrond had retired early and were alone in their chambers. Celebrían stood at the window looking out over Imladris, and Elrond had just finished changing out of his dinner robes and into less formal ones. He heard her sniffle slightly and, realizing she was crying, he was at her side in an instant. She leaned into his embrace, wrapping her arms around him, too. When her sobs quieted some, he asked her to talk to him.
"Elrond." She started, tears still trailing down her face, looking into the depths of his eyes. She could hardly bear to say what she had to say, but it needed to be said. "I know you knew I might make this decision, and I have. I must leave Middle-earth. I can not face the thought of leaving you, Elrohir and Elladan, Arwen... but even more I can not face the thought of staying here. Middle-earth holds too many horrors for me; I can not feel truly alive here again. I need a new start, even if I have to begin it without you." She cried harder now, unable to keep her eyes open and squeezing them shut.
Elrond pressed his lips to her forehead and then rested his own forehead against hers.
"I know." He said shakily, though his voice was still stronger than he felt. "I would give anything to have you stay. But I would give more see to you happy again, even if that means giving up you."
He would give anything to follow her, but he had responsibilities here he could not give up for anything. His children, for one, were not ready to leave, and he would not leave them alone. His responsibilities were to Imladris and to Middle-earth, and they were not over yet. His responsibilities to his heart would have to wait.
As his own tears began to fall, she buried her head against his chest as his warm tears fell into her hair.
"It is not forever. We will be reunited and happy in Valinor eventually. I promise." Once before she had promised never to leave him, though, she realized. Perhaps she should stop trying to make promises of the future. "I leave my heart in Imladris with you, while I send my mind and body off to heal."
"And I send my heart with you." He spoke past the lump in his throat.
After what Celebrían had suffered at the hands of the Orcs they hadn't had any romantic contact since she had returned, nothing beyond comforting hand-holding and hugs; he knew she could not bear to be touched right now. So when Celebrían took ahold of his face almost aggressively and caught his lips in hers, Elrond was surprised. He quickly returned it, holding her in a gentle embrace and kissing her passionately, knowing it could be one of their last. The kiss was long, and when it finally ended they spent awhile looking at each other silently, memorizing each other's familiar faces before they would not see each other for so long.
Elrond thought painfully of all the years they should have left in Middle-earth, everything they had left to do together; watching their children marry, everything left that was left to happen in Rivendell, centuries left of time he should have gotten to spend with her. It was unfair; was Elrond cursed to lose everyone he loved? His parents, his twin, and now Celebrían, the one he loved more than anything else in all of Middle-earth, with every bit of his soul. They had all left him. But still he could not bear to beg her to stay; he knew this was the way it had to be, and begging her to stay would only make things harder for her.
"I love you, Celebrían." Elrond said, his pain clear in his voice.
"I love you too." Celebrían echoed softly, stroking his cheek gently with her thumb, wishing she could soothe the anguish she saw deep in her husband's eyes. Though, even she did not guess the full extent of what he hid from her.
Eventually she led him to the bed, and they simply spent the night and long into the next morning laying close in each other's arms. Celebrían slept for a while, but Elrond slept not at all, wanting to be awake for every moment he could with her before she was gone.