I wake up slowly, the dream still foggy in my eyes. I must have lost consciousness after the river washed away the wraiths.
,Good morning, it's a lovely morning here in Rivendell. It's 10:00 in the morning on October 24th, if you want to know." I hear a voice saying and I don't recognize it, so I sit up a little to look who belongs to the voice.
,Gandalf?!" I say, surprised.
,Yes, I am here. And you're lucky to be here too. A few more hours and you would have been beyond our aid. We almost lost you to the shadows, but you have some strength in you, Becahir." He smiles warmly at me and now I look around the room.
,Wait, I don't know this room. Where am I?"
,You are in your aunt's old room. When she was little this was her bedroom." Gandalf tells me.
,I never have seen Arwen's room."
,Don't get used to it, Becahir." Gandalf looks at me.
,What happened, Gandalf? Why didn't you meet me?" I ask him.
,Oh, I'm sorry Becahir." Gandalf sighs. ,I was delayed." I can see Gandalf recalling a memory and it's not a good memory.
,What is it, Gandalf?" I ask. He comes back from his memory and looks at me.
,It's nothing." He says, unconvincingly. I'm about to ask further when Faramir burst into the room.
,Becahir!" He runs in, grabbing my hand.
,Faramir barely left your side." Gandalf says and Faramir sits next to me on the bed.
,We were worried about you, Becahir." Faramir says to me.
,Because of Elrond, your shoulder is beginning to heal." Gandalf gestures to Elrond, now entering the room. Milo, Hugo, and Firiel come in after Elrond and rush towards me to hug me.
,Welcome home, Becahir."
,Thank you, grandfather."
,Grandfather?" Hugo looks from me to Lord Elrond and we both nod.
,My father was his son."
,You're a princess." I nod.
,I am but I don't want to be. I want to be a traveler, that's why people call me strider."
,You're so cool!" Now my grandfather turns towards Faramir.
,Welcome to Rivendell, Faramir Took." He smiles at the hobbit and he nods. Elrond beckons Gandalf to him and they leave, conversing quietly to each other.
I recover soon and eventually, after eight days of rest, I'm able to get out of bed and walk around. I see Milo and Hugo running around laughing. I walk around, admiring how beautiful Rivendell is. I haven't been here in four years, because I came to Bree from Mirkwood. As I turn a corner, I see a familiar elf climbing the stairs.
,Arwen!" I run up to her and jump into her arms.
,Beca, how are you?" She's one of the few people who can call me 'Beca'.
,I'm fine now, thank you for bringing me home."
,You're welcome. It was so scary, we almost lost you Beca. Please, don't be a hero a lot." I laugh and then look at her, slightly confused.
,I'm happy you're back in Rivendell, but why exactly are you here? I thought you invited us over in Gondor?"
,The ring is more important."
,So you know about Faramir and the ring?" Arwen nods. ,Are you here alone?"
,No, Aragorn came with me." I roll my eyes. ,We heard about the ringwraiths and came here to protect everyone we love, but mostly Eldarion." I nod and I take a step towards some flowers. ,Father summoned everyone to come here to his council." I look up at my aunt now and then over the square.
,Everyone?" Now Arwen smirks.
,Legolas, Poldolas, and Chloelas are almost here, but first, we need to go to Elrond and Gandalf." I nod and follow Arwen to another room, where Elrond and Gandalf already talking.
,We can ask no more of Faramir." I hear Gandalf saying and they notice Arwen and me but continue.
,Gandalf, the eye is moving. Sauron's forces are in the east. His eye is on Rivendell and Gondor. Saruman has betrayed us twenty years ago, so our list of allies is thin."
,His treachery runs deeper than you know. Saruman has crossed orcs with goblin men. Nobody is looking at Isengard but there's the greatest threat right now. He's breeding a new army of Uruk-hai in the caverns of Isengard. An army that can move in sunlight and cover great distances at speed. Saruman is coming for the ring."
,This evil can not be concealed by the power of Elves. Gandalf, we don't have the strength to fight Mordor and Isengard. Not anymore, we all feel our ages."
,That's why we need Becahir, Chloelas, Faramir, and the others to do it for us." I startle. They want me to join Chloe and the rest on this quest what probably leads to our death? ,They brought the ring safely to Rivendell."
,The ring can not stay here. It couldn't stay here twenty-four years ago and it can not stay here now. I won't put my people into danger."
,The ring won't stay here. We need to trust on Eldarion for this quest. Our hope lies with men once again." I laugh sarcastically.
,Men?" I say and they turn their heads to me. ,Men are weak. The race of men failed the first time and they failed over the years. The blood of Númenor is all but spent, its pride and dignity forgotten. It's because of men that the ring survived all these years."
,Beca!" Arwen says and I look at her.
,Sorry aunt Arwen, but it's true. Lord Elrond was there three thousand and twenty years ago when Isildur took the ring. He was there when the strength of men failed the first time. He led Isildur into the heart of Mount Doom, where the ring was forced. It's the only place the ring can be destroyed. It should have ended that day, but evil was allowed to endure! Isildur kept the ring and the line of kings was broken. Frodo Baggins got another chance but was too weak to stand on his feet. Aragorn promised to help him, but he didn't. He just betrayed Legolas. There's no strength left in the world of Men. They are scattered and divided."
,Men are not divided. Aragorn has ordered it out in Gondor. He restored everything that was destroyed." Arwen defends her husband. I want to react but can't because other warriors arrive. First, two humans on horses arrive, by the looks of them strong young man and then Legolas arrives. He looks at me and gives me a nod, which I gladly return. Then my eyes find the one I missed for four months. She gets off of her horse and looks around for a moment. I remember the way she loves Rivendell.
,Chloe!" I shout and the moment her eyes find mine, I turn away from the balcony and run off some stairs until I'm at the main entrance. I keep on running and throw myself into her arms. Chloe holds me tight and I can hear her whimpering, so I rub her back in comfort. When we part again, we lay our foreheads against each other and look into each other's eyes.
,I've missed you so much!" I hear her say, her voice cracking a little bit.
,It's okay, we're together now again." I take her hand and bring her with me to the bridge. Somewhere we can be alone.
,Renech i lu i erui govannen? ( Do you remember when we first met? )."
,Nauthannem i ned ol reniannen. ( I thought I had strayed into a dream )." Chloe reaches up and gently touches the hair at my temples.
,Gwenin in enniath... U-arnech in naeth i si celich. ( Four years have passed... you did not have the care you carry now )." Chloe looks into my eyes. ,Renech i beth i pennen? ( Do you remember what I told you? )." She reaches for my hand.
,You said you'd bind yourself to me."
,And to that I hold. I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone." Chloe grabs my hand and places something in it. I look down and see that there's a gold necklace in my hand. A gold necklace with a golden arrow, just like Chloe has on her neck but then hers is silver. ,I choose a life with you." I look into her eyes.
,You can not give me this." I tell her and want to give it back to her but she shakes her head.
,It is mine to give whom I will, just like my heart." Chloe closes my fingers around the jewel and then closes the distance between us. The kiss is lovely, slow, and sweet but full of passion. ,I love you, Beca."
,I love you too, Chloe." And then I can't resist myself. I take her hand in mine, while the other is still close around the necklace and take her with me to my bedroom. Inside we start kissing again and that quickly turns into a long night of making love to each other.