AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
By : mirkwood-elf-2931 & Thala


CHAPTER 20


"Arwen?"

"My love!" The Elf princess watched as the worn man stepped into the ground room of the White Tower. Running to meet him half way and finding that he fared well with no injury, she hugged him. But when she pulled away, she could see in the gray eyes she stared into that the retreating forces Faramir had reported to her held no joy over him. "What is wrong? How are the others?"

He looked away. How could he tell her what he knew would break her heart? "Arwen, come here."

No one else was around. Eowyn had taken leave with Faramir, and Merry and Pippin had slipped out to find Frodo and Sam, who the Steward had lost in the midst of the fighting. But Arwen kept to Aragorn's wishes this time, and stayed where it was safe, no matter how much she had hated it.

Leading her up to the Steward's throne, he sat her down on it and knelt in front of her, placing his hands in hers and gripping them tightly. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came. Aragorn sighed slightly, resting his forehead down on her knees so that she could not see the hurt on his face.

"Please, what is it?" She begged for him to just be out with it. To release this obviously painful news, whatever it was. When he did not answer, she began to fear the worst. "Aragorn, what about the others?" She realized this must be about not answering her earlier question and now put it more firmly. "How did they fare?"

"Arwen, I cannot think of how to tell you this in an easier way..."

"Tell me what?"

"It's Thala, she...Legolas tells me that...she was killed in the battle." He let out the latter words quickly and quietly, looking down when he said this, but lifting his gaze back up, he found her staring unbelieving at him. As if her eyes were calling him an outright liar.

But she knew deep down that Aragorn would never lie to her or go ahead and tell her something he didn't even know was for sure, especially over the subject it was.

"What? No. No, it's not true. S-she cannot..." It had been a whole ten minutes since the battling had stopped and Arwen was in total shock of what had been the results at its end. It was as if her mind refused to believe the message her ears had sent it and she was verbally trying to argue with herself otherwise.

The few who knew all wanted to refuse this, but reality had given them a taste of how cruel fate could be, even foreseen fate, as they would soon know it and they had no choice, but to accept it.

Somehow, Arwen could feel now that a part of her heart had been torn away. "She is truly gone...?" This came out so low that Aragorn wondered if he would have even heard had he not been so near or if the question had been for him or asked simply to her own heart. Either way, she must have answered herself, for the tears began to roll heavily down her pale cheeks.

The king remained idle in front of her, for the moment leaving her be. To see what he and others had already, but he was ready and willing to do anything for her if she needed him.

"No…NO!"

Her cries were afflictive to those who heard them, paining Aragorn's heart to its every last measure. But they did not last, as her voice suddenly quieted, though the tears fell just as quickly as before.

"I want to see her." She stated, blinking many times to see the man before her more clearly. "Where is she? Take me to her, please!"

"Arwen, I...I don't know where she is."

"You said that," She sucked in a deep breath so she could continue speaking. "Legolas saw her. Perhaps he could tell us!"

"Alright," He stood, taking her left hand and elbow into his own two hands to help her up. "We will go to him."

Ignoring the part of her that seemed to have left, Arwen was trying to believe that once she got to Thalawen maybe they could still save her. She couldn't help but believe it, it was all she had to hold on to. Her sister could not be dead.


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Legolas continued to hold Landailyn for as long as she needed. Or rather, more like he needed. But after a while he pulled her back slightly. She did not raise her head at first, but he gave her time and soon she looked up into eyes that held an equivalent hue to her own.

"I'm sorry..." Her words were Elvish.

Her apology baffled the prince. "For what?"

"This," She gestured toward her face and turned it to the side away from his view. Even if she was not usually ashamed in front of him, it was rare that she was so open about her feelings to anyone, only ever having broken down in front of her parents as a young girl, this was new to her and she wasn't sure she wanted him to be the one to see her this way.

"No," He said firmly. "I will not let..." But his sentence was cut short with the distracting sound of footsteps from behind.

Landailyn rose quickly to see Aragorn and Arwen appear in the doorway. Arwen looked much like she knew she herself only could. Soaked, red-rimmed eyes and flushed tear stained cheeks. The two women stared at one another, slightly panting, for what seemed like forever to the Human, but only a few seconds to the Elves.

"Legolas," Arwen said suddenly, taking a few slow steps inward, as the prince finally stood up beside Landailyn. "Where is she?"

The male Silvan Elf looked down, not sure what to say.

"Please!" Arwen's always soft voice had raised, not to be heard, but to be demanding out of fear. "Please, Legolas!" She broke away from Aragorn, running up to him, grabbing tightly onto the short sleeves of his forest green jerkin. "You have to tell me!"

Legolas stared sadly down into the princess' darker blue eyes, shaking his head.

"But you saw her!"

"Arwen, you know I would tell you if I could..."

"What...what do you mean?" She breathed; the air passing inward and outward from her was shaky.

Legolas closed his eyes for little more than a few seconds, as though he were trying to see what had happened, to remember it so he could tell them. But it was a sight he was never going to forget. "Her body was taken from me...in the clutches of a Nazgul's Fell Beast. But before that..." He quickly added, not wanting to get Arwen's hopes up. "She had been in front of me, I felt from her back...two Orcish arrows."

Arwen stared up at him in horror, and the prince wished he could have put the description in a more gentle way. But how does one tell a friend about the death of someone they loved, gentle or not, without the explanation hurting them further?

The young Half-Elf turned away. She couldn't breathe; there was nothing she could do, nothing anyone could do now. Her sister was just gone and that was it. Five steps later, down she went, falling to the floor.

"Arwen!" Landailyn cried, rushing to the princess' side, joined soon by Aragorn and Legolas.

"She's just fainted, it will be alright." Aragorn assured, checking her over himself, before calling for the maidservants to take her up to their room and put her in bed. Telling them he would be up soon, they watched as the women carried Arwen up the stairs. "Legolas, what happened to your hand?" Aragorn had turned back to the two Wood-Elves.

Legolas held it up, merely glancing at it with unconcern. "Arrow." He slightly shrugged the word.

"Just an arrow wound?" He replied, shaking his head and wishing his friends would take their injuries more seriously. "Come on," He placed his grip upon the prince's shoulder leading him toward the south wing of the House, only to stop half way. "Landailyn," He had noticed she hadn't even moved.

Snapping out of her seeming trance, she looked across the distance at him. "I...I'm fine. Please, tend to his hand."

Aragorn nodded solemnly, knowing she was telling the truth, as he could see nothing wrong with her physically, and continued out of the room with the prince.

Quickly descending to the second floor, she first had to know if Arwen was still all right, and five minutes afterward, she was standing in the middle of the guestroom that her friend had occupied. Never would she forget the last conversation she and Thalawen had shared in this very place. She had been angry with her friend, a friend she knew now she would never see again. After all she, Thalawen, and Arwen had gone through, saving one another from the clutches of death, why had it ended like this? She would never even be able to tell Thalawen how sorry she now was.

But more importantly, she thought, she would not forget all the good conversations they had ever had alone.

And now she knew why Thalawen had been so jumpy. She had known they were in danger; she had foreseen it. Landailyn felt horrible for shouting at Thalawen for being so protective and on guard when she had had only the right to do so; when she had only been protecting the man they both loved.

She took a deep breath, swallowing hard and backed up to sit heavily down on the bed. But instead of softness she felt, something stiff lie beneath her. Jumping up, she turned to see what sort of object she had sat on.

Near the middle of the bed, almost completely hidden by the sheets, there lay an age-old brown, leather bound book. Pulling back the sheet, she estimated it almost a foot length ways and half a foot wide; the cover appeared worn and the page edges jagged.

Very carefully she lifted it, afraid that if she handled it too much it would simply fall apart. Wondering how old it really was, she pulled the cover open and read the first entry; shocked at its date. Though it was not the year that caused her surprise, it was the day, for it was the very same.

Seventeenth of August, 258 of the Third Age

A snotty little brat, that is what Lady Arwen is, and damn my soul to Morgoth if my grandmother expects me to befriend that wretch of a child.

Chuckling, Landailyn turned to the very last page, curious to see what last event Thalawen had written of.

Seventeenth of August, 3019 of the Third Age

Blood. It comes from deep within, deep below the skin, the flesh of my bones. I know it comes from my person, me alone. How can I tell the others of what I see? How can I explain the inevitable death of one of their friends? How could I possibly tell Arwen?

My sister, Arwen. So fair, so lovely. I was blessed in this life with family such as her. Even after my demise, I vow to protect her, now and forever. May she live a long and joyous life, may I relive mine through her future.

Ah, the blood comes to me again. Whenever I close my eyes to sleep, even to blink; instead of black, it is the deep red of life. Should I tell the others? No, they are unable to save me, this I know it is either Legolas dies or I take his place. If I told they would surely try to interfere and I cannot take the chance that they may be hurt. Given the choice of Legolas or I, it is Legolas who must survive.

I pray to Illuvatar that Arwen never finds this book. I also pray to Mandos that my spirit will travel safely to his halls.

Reading these Elvish written words, the last thoughts of her friend, left Landailyn staring at the back page a long while. Slowly, she closed it, blinking. If these indeed were Thalawen's last wishes, then Landailyn would make sure Arwen would never even know of this book. Legolas either, who felt bad enough as it was.

She would take it with her when she left, for all three of them, but she didn't feel right to keep it herself, and there was only one person she could think of to give it to.

Lord Elrond.

Her mission set in her mind, to take leave for Rivendell as soon as she could, she blew out the candles in the room and went back to her own.


TBC ...

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mirkwood-elf-2931 :
All who wanted to see the twins again, there you go, cuz' Landy is going to Rivendell! And since we already had this all planned out, it's weird that you guys have been saying things in your reviews that happens to be what's to come! And thank you all very much for not hating us! LOL! We really are sorry for not giving Thalawen a guy and then killing her! We know you guys liked her, and we liked writing about her, so that's why we're trying to come up with a childhood story for she and Arwen! And yes, her death does work out since Arwen is staying and will die too, she will be able to be with her sister again spiritually.