"I am certain if you speak with Galadriel, your quarrel could be resolved," Elrond told Anniel from his usual spot at the desk in the vast library, where he was writing another endless paper for the King on his political struggles in Middle Earth.
It took a full minute for Anniel to marshal composure and choose her words. "There is no quarrel to speak of between Lady Galadriel and myself."
Elrond expected a denial.
During her time in Caras Galadhon Anniel and Galadriel were lovers, and their affair most likely included Celeborn as well. The facts did not bother Elrond, and as much as her current odd behavior perplexed him, looking back he was relieved Anniel had come to him with some intimate knowledge under her belt. Her confidence in sexual acts went far in easing Elrond's early doubts about starting or maintaining a relationship with an elleth not even five hundred years old.
Anniel knew her mind, heart and body; Elrond put his trust in her and she guided their path.
"I enjoy your company, Anniel, but it is clear to me you seek refuge in the King's Archives with me, rather than going about your days in our new home as a beautiful, talented young Elda should."
His lover looked up from her book, wide eyed and wearing the startled look of a mouse who found itself unexpectedly backed into a corner.
Putting down his quill and sliding back the heavy oak chair, he went to her and took her small, soft hand in his own, noting the coolness of her skin. The library was cold, and Anniel was more sensitive to low temperatures than most Eldar, especially when she was stressed or upset. "Tell me, my love. I seem to have developed something of a reputation for working diplomatic miracles in Valinor. Assisting you is infinitely more interesting than spilling my private thoughts onto this parchment today."
What he didn't expect was for her eyes to well with tears, and when her lower lip quivered, Elrond regretted pushing her, because it appeared to be far more serious than he first thought. He wiped the first tear away with his knuckles, tenderly. "Has she hurt you in some way, Anniel? Is that why you are avoiding her?"
Anniel's teeth bit into her lower lip. After a slight hesitation, she shook her head, making her golden ringlets bounce against her shoulders. "My Lady has been nothing but kind since we arrived here in her father's house."
"But..." Elrond prompted her, very gently.
"I still love her."
Elrond nodded, because he had no reason to believe she would feel otherwise. He patted her hand, consolingly. "I have seen the way you look at her, and the tenderness you feel is clear to me."
Anniel's head lowered, "It is so hard..."
"What is, love?" Elrond asked. To give her a chance to marshal her thoughts, or her courage, he added, "One thing I have learned of Galadriel is that avoiding her does not work out well for those who try it. She can make her displeasure known from a distance, or she will turn up in the place where you least expect her."
"I did not realize when we sailed from the Grey Havens we would live under a King's roof. And that Galadriel would be here, too," His lover sighed, heavily.
Elrond nodded, "Go on, Anniel... You can tell me anything. My love for you bears no conditions, and I am the last person who would pass judgement in matters of the heart."
"We were lovers," Anniel explained. "Before I came to Rivendell, to your bed, I was intimate with the Lord and Lady. They were my first lovers. Before they favored me with their atttentions, I had never even been kissed."
"Haldir told me something to that effect, and to be honest, I tried not to think too hard on it," Elrond confessed. "Did your relationship end badly?"
Anniel snorted. "They sent me to you, knowing full well I would fall in love with you. I do not know if it is possible to end a relationship and consider it a good end. Our parting of ways was... Abrupt." Anniel's eyes welled with fresh tears. "Between one day and the next, Galadriel came to me and told me I must make a journey and the very next day I was on the back of a horse to Imladris."
"Did Galadriel tell you of the contents of her vision?"
"No." Anniel's voice had an edge of bitterness to it. "She said only that my path must diverge from theirs, but they would never stop loving me and if I needed them, I was welcome to return or send word and they would come to me."
Elrond considered this.
For Galadriel to use the word love, the affair was far more serious than Elrond imagined.
Galadriel loved her husband, her daughter, and precious few others achieved such a sentiment from the reserved Lady who had seen many people live and die since her birth under the light of the Two Trees. "Galadriel does love you, Anniel. While I was observing the way you look at her, I was also keenly aware of the way she looks at you."
"I am to be your wife. I want to be your wife," Anniel stated, firmly and decisively. She offered him a watery smile. "But, I find myself jealous of her handmaidens and admirers. Her servants despise me. They think I broke her heart." Her voice broke. "And yet, it is she who broke mine."
The Lord of Imladris winced, "Servants are often a nuisance, Anniel. They carry tales as easily as they breathe in a palace such as this." He kissed the back of her hand. "What has brought you into hiding?"
"Please, Elrond, do not make me say the words."
His lips quirked, because he knew he had her to the heart of the matter, at last. "Tell me."
"If I had known Galadriel still had such power over my heart, and... My traitorous body, I do not believe I would have set foot on that ship. I would have stayed on in Middle Earth rather than subject myself to this torture day after day."
His eyes widened, and then to both their surprise he found himself chuckling softly, "I see."
"Is that all you have to say? You see? I do not think you see anything at all, my Lord, or you would not find my predicament amusing."
Elrond took his lover's hands and tugged her up from her chair to pull her into a long hug. Then, he pressed a kiss to her cheek, "Anniel, I want to be your husband, not your jailor. If you wish to love and be loved by Galadriel, I have no objection to you sharing her bed."
Anniel hugged him hard around the ribs and whispered, "I knew you would not object to my sharing passion with another, but how can I selfishly revisit the time I had with Galadriel in Caras Galadhon, when you have your own past love you wish to recapture with Celebrian?"
Stunned, Elrond opened his mouth and closed it several times before he could find something intelligent to say. "Anniel, what are you saying?"
"You have a wife here. You should be trying to reconcile with her, but because of me, you are not."
"You are to be my wife. I love you."
Anniel eyed him, "You are not the only one who can make observations, my Lord. I have seen moments when Celebrian laughs and your love for her shines from you."
Elrond sighed, heavily, "What would you have me do?"
"I have thought on this for the six months we have lived in Valinor, and I honestly believe we can share you as sister-wives. It is sometimes done in the Woodland Realm when two elleth fancy the same ellon."
Feeling dizzy at the prospect of having the woman he lost and the woman he found to help him bear that loss, Elrond sat down hard in the chair Anniel had only just vacated and put his head in his hands. "This could become... Complicated. I would never do something which would open you up to pain or regret. You are my future, Anniel. I had to learn over the centuries to exist without Celebrian, but I cannot live without you."
"I found it grew easier by the year to live without my Lord and Lady in Caras Galadhon," Anniel confessed. "But seeing Galadriel every day has made me understand my heart never truly let her go."
Elrond debated asking the question he'd withheld for so long. In the end, he gave in and asked, "How long were you lovers with them?"
Anniel made a face. "I should have told you before, but I was afraid."
"Don't be afraid. Tell me, so there are no secrets between us."
"Our first night together was with Anniel was at Midsummer," Galadriel's voice carried to them moments before she rounded the corner and came into view. "Anniel shared our bed every night until the first day of Spring."
Elrond blinked at her in shock and dawning horror. "Nearly a year? You took her to your marriage bed for most of a year and then sent her away?!" His tone grew more outraged and angry with each word.
"You know nothing of the events which lead to such a painful decision, Elrond."
The pain on Anniel's face broke his heart. "You certainly did not volunteer any information," Elrond chastised Galadriel. "Was a fragile woman-child no longer to your taste?"
The look Galadriel pinned him with was murderous, and her control over her temper was perilous at best. "Celeborn and I got up early on the first day of Spring to make an offering to the Valar, we asked to be allowed to make Anniel our wife." This time it was her expression which showed anguish. She turned to Anniel and sank to her knees at the younger woman's feet, "We love you, Anniel. More today than years ago, as our love never ceased to continue to grow. If it had been our selfish choice, you would never have left Caras Galadhon, and never have journeyed to Rivendell or met Elrond."
"What did the Valar say to you?" Anniel asked her, in a small, broken voice.
Galadriel sighed, as close to weeping as Elrond had ever seen her. "Varda told us we had to let you go, for your own good. Celeborn and I were but the first step on your journey, and to make you our wife then would result in devastating consequences for you, for Elrond, and for us." She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, impatiently. "I saw your children with Elrond and I knew I could not keep such a blessing from either of you. We could not tell you of the love you would find in Rivendell." And to Elrond, she added, "And we dare not tell you just how much Anniel meant to us and how we grieved her absence every single day from our lives and our bed. You would never have allowed yourself to fall under her spell."
Anniel sniffled, "I love you, too."
"I hoped love survived in your heart for me," Galadriel's lips pinched into a thin line. "But, you have been avoiding me."
"It hurts to be near you when I want you so much, and I cannot help but feel shame, for my thoughts are betraying Elrond's patience and love for me."
Galadriel's expression softened with such tremendous tenderness, it was hard to witness and not be moved to tears. "I am so sorry to cause you pain, Anniel. What can I do? Do you want me to go? I will leave if you ask it of me."
Elrond was stunned. Utterly speechless. "I do not think..."
"This is between Anniel and myself," Galadriel cut him off. "I have made myself live without you before, sweet one, but I never gave up hope for a chance to make amends. You deserve to be loved by the one who will make you happy."
Anniel looked from one love to the other, frowning. When she didn't say anything, Galadriel returned to her feet gracefully and turned to go, but before she had taken two steps, Anniel called out to her, "Wait. No. This is your home. Your family is here. Celebrian is here. If someone must go, let it be me."
Her offer broke Elrond's heart, and he understood, now, why she ran away from her true feelings rather than confront them.
How were they going to sort this out to anyone's satisfaction?
"Neither of you needs to go anywhere," Elrond told them sternly. "To my mind, fate has kept you apart long enough."
To Galadriel, he said, "I wish you had seen fit to mention this before we sailed, as we cannot hold any meaningful dialogue without Celeborn's input as well. Anniel wants me to reconcile with Celebrian. And Anniel is right, it is only fair to afford you the same chance with her. Any way I can see this working is going to create such a scandal, it may get us all tossed out of the King's good graces."