Chapter 20
Longer Than Forevermore
The day of the wedding arrived and the whole city as well as travelers from far and wide came to witness this blessed event. The city was eager with excitement. All who attended knew it would be a day they would never forget.
As the time for the ceremony approached, all the women, maidservants, and female hobbits helped Arwen prepare to marry her Prince. As she dressed into her beautiful gown, the scars that had befallen her during her great trials were revealed to them.
"Where are all your scars from, Arwen?" Goldie asked. Goldie knew Arwen had scars, but she had only seen a few of them before that day.
"Some are from the whips of the orcs," Arwen replied, "which were filled with the flames of Mount Doom. Some are from the Warg that attacked me during the Battle of Minas Tirith. Here's the one from the touch that burned my arm on Weathertop. And this one is from the arrow that pierced my ankle in Moria."
"Wait, is that…" Rosie hesitated as she noticed part of the scar in Arwen's side from under her corset.
Arwen took Rosie's hand and placed it on the scar. "This one is from Ashtakh's blade."
Rosie was silent for a moment, then she asked, "Did it hurt?"
"More than can be described in any tongue of this world," Arwen answered, "but if enduring such torment prevents others from enduring the same, I would endure it a thousand times over."
Arwen could tell Rosie was getting a little chocked up, so she took Rosie's hand and said, "It's alright, Rosie. I'm alright."
"I know you are," Rosie replied as she held back her tears, "and I'm so grateful that you came back to me, and that you are marrying a man you loves you as much as you deserve."
Arwen smiled and picked Rosie up in an embrace of friendship and gratitude. They laughed as Arwen set her down.
"Eldarion is fortunate to have you for his bride," Belthil told Arwen, having witnessed her tender heart toward her friend.
"I am fortunate to have him for my husband, and now you as my sister."
Belthil grabbed Arwen's hand and said, "You have always been my sister, Arwen. And will be forevermore."
Arwen smiled and embraced Belthil too.
When Arwen was finally ready, she was more beautiful than anyone could have imagined. She sparkled every way she turned as the brightest stars on a moonless night, and she smiled as radiantly as the sun. Legolas was waiting to escort her. He bowed when she entered, then held out his hand to her.
"Cormamin lindua ele lle,"1 he told her, "Vanimle sila tira, Arwen"2
"Diola lle, Legolas,"3 she said with an embrace.
Legolas handed her a bouquet of elanor and niphredil. When she saw the flowers, she remembered the cries of peace of those from ages past, the cries she fulfilled through her sacrifice. She buried her nose in the beautiful flowers and felt as though her breath was stolen by their sweet fragrance. She smiled at Legolas with much gratitude.
"Your father's heart would be full of great joy if he could see you today."
"But Ada is here. He is here in spirit, just as he has always been. I know that now."
They smiled at each other as Legolas extended his arm to her. He motioned to the guards to open the doors.
When the doors opened, everyone was still and everything was peaceful. All the people were in awe of the beautiful women in front of them. She was no longer the timid child they once hated. She was a woman with all the grace of a princess and the beauty of the rarest kind.
She began to walk down the aisle with the Gamgee girls carrying her train. She looked up and saw Belthil and Queen Arwen standing to the left of Belethor, who was to marry them. Rosie and Goldie would join them in standing in Arwen's honor. On Belethor's right, Eldarion stood with Aldamir, his father the King, Sam, and young Faramir by his side. Everyone saw the glow in Eldarion's eyes as he stared in wonder, tears in his eyes, his breath stolen by her beauty. He breathed in joyful tears to his father, "Ada, en! Nae naa nin Dis!"4
She blushed in humility at the joy of her soon to be husband.
And so, under the White Tree of Gondor, the very spot where they died for each other, Lord Belethor bound to each other Eldarion Telcontar, son of King Elessar of Gondor and Arwen Baggins, daughter of Frodo Baggins, in marriage. It was a beautiful wedding, with the grandeur of royalty, but the sense of simplicity her people enjoyed. Samwise gave Arwen to Eldarion on her father's behalf. The most touching part of the ceremony was the giving of their vows, which they made for each other. As they began their vows, their eyes began to fill with tears of joy and gratitude for the person before them. Many of those who witnessed these vows also had tears in their eyes as they listened to their sincere words.
"Arwen, you are the most beautiful, most courageous, and the wisest person I have ever known. All of this was demonstrated by the sacrifice you made for those that did not deserve it, which affirmed above all else my love for you. I love the beauty of your heart, the heart that compelled you to die for my sake…"
At this moment, the prince had to pause to regain his composure, as the tears in his eyes and the emotions in his heart made him choke on his words. After a moment, he continued.
"I meant it when I told you that you are a princess worth dying for, and that you are worthy of the price I paid. You have been the one thing in my life that is ever-near to me, regardless of how far apart we have been. Therefore, I vow unto you that I will take the part of my nature meant for me, and I will fill it with you. Your joy and your pain, your difficulties and triumphs, and your failures and successes, will be mine as well. No matter where your life's journey takes you, I will be with you. May this covenant we make today be the greater than any covenant this world has ever known. Never shall our souls or our love be parted from each other. Im Meleth Le, Nin Dis."5
"Eldarion, you are the best person I have ever known, a man of most noble character. You are kind, fair, and wise, which was demonstrated in the sacrifice you made for your people. Through it all, I do not know how you were able to see past what others could not. I am humbled you chose me to be your wife, but I still cannot fathom the extent of the love you have for me, a love that compelled you to give your life in ransom for mine…"
At this moment, she had to pause as well, for her emotions choked her words. After a moment, she continued.
"We have been through everything together, even death itself, and our love has surpassed it all. Therefore, I declare to you this day that I will be forever yours, even if I am not in your presence. I will also take the part of my nature that is set on my desires, and fill them with yours. I will be with you through every high and every low of your spirit, and I will see you through the storms and trials of your life, even when I'm not with you in person. May this covenant we make to each other today hold fast, even throughout all the Ages of this world. Today, I give you my heart, so that it may be eternally joined to yours. Im Meleth Le, Nin Herves."6
Belethor smiled brightly as he said, "With the authority given me by King Elessar of Gondor, I declare you to be husband and wife. Eldarion, you may now kiss your bride."
As Eldarion looked upon his bride, her radiant smile and tears of joy melted his heart. They kissed tenderly and the crowd cheered. They embraced long and hard for all the humbling words they had just said for each other.
After this, the King silenced the crowd. He had brought to her a circlet of silver and motioned for her to kneel.
"Many you know this noble woman as Arwen Palin," Elessar began. "I declare that name be forgotten from this day forward," he continued to speak as he set the circlet on her head, "From now on, remember her as Arwen Belthil, which means royal maiden of divine radiance, and she will be forever remembered as a daughter of the White City, and more importantly, my daughter as the wife of my son."
She stood up, and he continued, "Arwen Belthil is the one prophesied to come for many an Age. She is the one who destroyed Mordor, the one who will reign over all Middle-earth from the Lands of the Immortal, and the one meant to bring in the Age of Peace in its due time. She deserves our greatest respect and allegiance."
The King knelt before her, and the rest of the crowd shortly followed. It was a moment that was unlike any other in Arwen's life, the reversal of the betrayal of the people on the day of her death. She was almost as awe-stricken as she was after Eldarion's first confession of love for her. She stood for a long moment in silence, amazed at where her life had led her, to see the King himself and her husband bowing before her. She felt cold bumps tingle all over her body in the awe of the moment. She smiled as she helped the King to his feet and embraced him with great joy in their hearts.
"I have always loved you as a daughter, and now you are. I know your father is very proud of you today. Bless you, my child." He kissed her forehead and smiled proudly at her.
Arwen motioned for the crowd to be silent and began, "I know a month ago, none of us could have imagined any of the things that have come to pass: a prince falling in love with a hobbit, their love compelling them to die for each other, their resurrections from the dead, and a hobbit becoming a woman and the wife of a future King. I know that I never could have imagined myself standing before you today. But through it all, I know I would not be where I am if it was not for the love of the man who gave himself up for me." She looked at him with tears of joy in her eyes as she said, "I also gave myself for him, and my heart will forever be his."
Eldarion smiled at his bride and embraced her as the audience cheered. He kissed her, picked her up, and carried her back down the aisle to the palace, both laughing joyfully. The people continued to cheer as they threw petals in the air.
After this, a great feast was held in the King's banquet hall. After the meal, the guests were given a chance to give the Prince and Princess well wishes. There were several who bid her apology for their past treatment of her and their disdain for her kind. Arwen was very patient, forgiving, and understanding as many gave long-winded apologies. She forgave every single one. The most memorable of these was a soldier of Gondor who could not contain his emotions as he apologized. He was about Eldarion's age, but had a careworn look beyond his years. He had been wounded in the Battle of Minas Tirith, for his arm was still bandaged and his face had a few small scars.
"I should never have hurt you the way I did and I am truly sorry, Princess. I hope someday you will be able to forgive me for all I have done against you," he said with his head bowed, unable to look them in the eyes.
"All is forgiven you sir, but I don't know what you are talking about. How did you offend me?"
Without a word and without looking up, he extended his good hand in a fist and opened his hand to reveal an old hair ribbon that had been ripped in half, but was now awkwardly mended.
"Hallas?!" Arwen and Eldarion said in unison.
He nodded. "All these years I have been tormented within about my misdeeds toward both of you, and this ribbon simply served as a reminder of all my transgressions. None of my friends ever saw fault in what we did until it was too late, for I alone lived through the Battle of Minas Tirith. When I heard of your fate, I feared that I would be tormented by these regrets for the rest of my life. I am so sorry!"
He began to cry, burying his face in his hands. This shocked them both, for he was once a boy as heartless as an orc. But they also knew a heart like his needed to be shown forgiveness more than any other. Arwen was moved to tears to see his heart had genuinely changed. Arwen stood up, help Hallas to his feet, and embraced the wounded soldier.
"All has been forgiven you, my friend."
"Thank you, Arwen," he said hardly able to speak in his tears, "Thank you."
Eldarion was moved by his wife's forgiveness and compassion. He also went to embrace Hallas, but Hallas stopped, looked at the Prince's face, and tucked Eldarion's hair behind his right ear to reveal the scar that Hallas had left when they were still young boys.
"Eldarion, when I gave you this scar, I said you did not truly care about Arwen. But I have never been so wrong in my entire life! I now know that the depth of the love you have for her is unmatched. I was wrong for the way I hurt you, and I am truly sorry. Will you forgive me, my Prince?"
"Of course, my friend."
Eldarion embraced a man who he once thought he could never forgive. After a moment, Arwen embraced Hallas a second time, still incredibly moved by his change of heart. Arwen looked over and saw Belthil was standing nearby, smiling at the powerful scene of reconciliation. Belthil's words of wisdom from all those years ago were echoing in Arwen's mind: You never know how time may transform the hardest of hearts.
Another event of rare occurrence happened during the wedding feast. Early in the evening, as many of the guests were visiting with each other, there was a special meeting of two people with the same name.
"Lord Faramir?" Pippin noticed his old friend and said, "It's wonderful to see you!"
"The same for you, Master Took. Tell me, is this your son?"
"Aye, it is."
"He looks a lot like you. What's your name, my lad?"
"Faramir Took, my lord."
Lord Faramir was surprised and flattered. "Pippin, you named your son for me?
"Aye, indeed. You are a noble man who defends his people well. I could not think of a better namesake for my son."
"Is it common for your kin to name their children in this way?"
"Well, yes. We all did. I named my son after you. Merry named his daughter after your wife, Lady Eowyn. Sam named a few of his sons after Frodo, Merry, and myself. And Frodo named his daughter after Queen Arwen. It's our way of honoring those who changed our lives for the better."
"Then I am truly blessed to be chosen for such an honor, Master Took. Your son will grow up to be a fine lad, just like you. Many blessings to you, Faramir Took."
"And to you, my lord. Thank you,"
Faramir bowed, and did so without falling on his head. His father put a hand on his son's shoulder in pride.
The banquet continued with dancing and songs. Merry, Pippin, and his son Faramir danced on the tables, just like they did back at the Green Dragon tavern in Hobbiton, and everyone cheered and applauded. They played music much like that of Hobbiton and the hobbits taught the people some of the dances their kin-folk loved. It was quite an astounding sight to see Men and Hobbits dancing together in unity, with much joy and laughter. It brought Arwen great joy to see her people uniting, and she knew it was only the beginning.
Then, they had dances to the tender, romantic songs of Silmarien's harp and Gleowyn's lute. Eldarion and Arwen danced together in a graceful way before all the people, holding the crowd spell-bound by their pose. They did not even know how they danced the way they did, but it was like this dance had always been upon their hearts. After the song had ended, the crowd applauded for the Prince and the new Princess.
After this dance, Eldarion and Arwen decided to sneak away from the celebration to be alone. It took them a while, but they finally escaped the palace, retreating to the garden of the outer wall. When they finally got outside, they laughed at their efforts to leave the party, because they were almost stopped several times. They walked under the archway of flowers as they held hands. They stared at each other in the light of the moon. Everything around them was so still and peaceful.
Arwen said, "You know, we had many adventures in this garden as children, but I don't think I ever could have pictured the day when we found each other here after we arose from death. I definitely never would have imagined this: us being married, and standing here in the light of the moon."
Eldarion smiled, almost bashfully, and confessed, "I did."
"You did? Have you really been in love with me that long?"
"Yes I have, Arwen. I have been in love with you longer than I can recall, and I will continue to love you, now and forevermore."
"You will really love me forevermore, Eldarion? Until the end of time?"
"Arwen, the love I have for you will endure beyond time."
"How did I get to be so blessed?"
"I was just thinking the same thing."
They kissed and then looked back at each other.
"I love you, Eldarion Telcontar."
"And I love you, Arwen Belthil."
They continued to kiss each other tenderly under the archway of flowers in the light of the moon. This moment could not have been more perfect.
1 My heart sings to see thee
2 Your beauty shines bright
3 Thank you
4 Father, look! It is my bride!
5 I love you, my bride
6 I love you, my husband