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


CHAPTER 22


"Please, Arwen, my love, try to rest." Aragorn smoothed the blanket around Arwen's form, and then sat next to her on the bed. "It has been difficult these past days, I know, we all miss her, but you need to sleep. I do not want to lose you as well." With that said he bent down and kissed her forehead. He could see the hurt in her swollen red eyes and felt a sharp pain in the left part of his chest. This was a hurt he could not tend to, he could not make it go away with his love, it would be in a part of her own heart that he would never be able to reach.

Another tiny tear somehow escaped her dust-dry eyes. "I just cannot believe she's gone, Aragorn." And another slipped through the barrier of lashes. Arwen's mind wandered to her eyes. How could anything pass through them now? They each felt as if they were filled to the brim with gravel. She'd thought she'd cried all the moisture from her body, but somehow there was still more to come, and she could no longer bear the burden of keeping them at bay when someone else was in the room with her. She'd reserved her mourning for when she was alone, in this dark room she shared with Aragorn. But she was weary of fighting her emotions. She needed to let go.

More tears fled down her face as she sat up and embraced the love of her heart. With that single touch, the dam was broken and the reservoir was let to drain.

Aragorn soothed, calmed, and appeased. Shedding a few tears of his own, he held his lover in his arms, and mourned for their lost friend.

At last, as time went by, Arwen's tears subsided. Finally, she'd cried herself to sleep.

Aragorn laid her back against the pillows, pulled the blanket up once more, and kissed Arwen on her cheek. "Sleep well, beloved." He backed silently from the room, closed the door softly behind him only to lean his back against it, to wipe at the moisture that still clung to his lashes. His head was cradled in his hands, even as Arwen took the trip in her dreams.


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Flowing turquoise fabric covered Arwen's lithe body. In the silent breeze, it drifted about her arms, up around her face, obscuring her vision. She hastily pushed it back down again, to see where she was. She knew this was not real, had never experienced anything such as this, but was curious as to what exactly "this" was.

Still pushing the annoying fabric away, she glanced up long enough to see the eyes of a person she knew, knew well enough to say these were the eyes of her sister. Quickly she looked away, down at her feet, at the dress that covered her, noticed the slight beadwork around the trim and bodice. Banishing the thought that the eyes belonged to her sister, she looked to her surroundings.

A gazebo of sorts, stationed up on a high cliff, trees, woods, the wild encircled them. She could hear the call of animals, owls hooting in the night that was not night, but was not day. Arwen noticed the sky then. It confused her. There were stars, a moon, the sky was dark, yet there was light as if the sun were up high in the clouds, yet there were no clouds. It was as bright here as if the Trees of Valinor stood stock still next to them. Alas, Telperion and Laurelin were not there at all.

Finally, brave enough to look to the left, she saw Thalawen standing where she had been before. Her dress was of white, the same style that Arwen wore; yet, the invisible hand of the wind did not play with hers. It was still as death, cold and white. This thought brought grief back into her eyes.

Thalawen, seeing the change of emotion, rushed forward, opened her mouth to speak. "Do not be sad, Arwen," she said slowly. Her words were unclear, as if she were speaking underwater. Arwen focused harder, tried to bring out the words in clarity. Her attempt was not in vain; Thalawen's words could be understood. "I never want you to be sad, little sister."

Arwen felt the cold touch of her sisters' hand on her arm, and it was all she could do not to throw her arms around her neck in turn. "You're so cold, Thala."

With a nod of Thalawen's head, "Yes, I know." She let go her hold on Arwen's arm. "I'm sorry."

This surprised Arwen, never had Thalawen apologized so quickly, especially when there was nothing to apologize for. "There is no need of your apology here and now, Thala."

The sight of Thalawen upset her. Looking anywhere but at her sister, she saw a little wooden bench carved into the gazebo. She took Thalawen's hand and led her there.

Thalawen sat, looked down at the hands in her lap, and noticed how white, almost transparent they were. She tried to hide them in the folds of her dress, ashamed of her appearance. No sooner had she stuffed them under her dress, almost sitting on them to hide them, Arwen pulled them into her own hands, holding them tight, warming them with her own heat. It was then she looked into her kin's eyes, able to hold back the tears that threatened.

"I need to know where you are, Thala, so that I can rescue your body," she pleaded, holding Thalawen's hands tight.

A grieved expression of her own passed over Thalawen's face, and once again, she looked down in her lap. Shaking her head, she continued to look down, unable to meet Arwen's gaze. "That is not possible. I cannot tell you where I am because in truth, I have no idea. I assume I'm with Saruman, but, as you well know, by now I will probably have had every limb torn from my body." She looked up. "There is no more that you can do for me."

Rage kindled in Arwen's eyes, made her body shake with it. "Are you telling me that you are lost from us forever?" Her voice was quiet as the grave.

A slight nod of Thalawen's head had Arwen up and pacing the wooden floor. "I will not take that as an answer from you, Thalawen. You know exactly where you are and I want you to tell me right this minute!"

"No."

"Now!" Arwen demanded.

Again, "No."

Falling to her knees before Thalawen, Arwen laid her head in her sister's lap, hugging her even as the side of her face became cold. Tears ran down her cheeks, soaked into Thalawen's cold dress. "Please! I need to lay you to rest!"

Tears of her own fell from Thalawen's cheeks, turning to ice on her skin. She hastily brushed the forming ice away before Arwen could see, ashamed once more. "No, Arwen. I am at peace. Leave my body where it is, it was only a vessel in life. I am free."

Arwen could not tell if it was the pounding in her head or some other phenomena that made Thalawen's voice unclear again. Suddenly she looked up to see that her vision was blurring, Thalawen was blurring. "No, Thala! Don't leave me!"

"I must, it is time for you to return to your own world." She stood, leaving Arwen sobbing on the floor. "I will watch over you, as I have always done."

In one last attempt to reach Thalawen, Arwen threw her hand out, trying to grab on to the folds of her sister's dress, but it vanished right through her own skin, and all became black.


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A day after her dream, a week and a half after Thalawen's passing, Arwen knew she was truly at peace.

The princess went to Aragorn about having a memorial for her. Perhaps it was her way of letting go of her dear sister at last. Thalawen may not be able to be with her physically in the living world, but she would never leave her heart.

So down she and ten others traveled to the long narrow banks of the Anduin. Arwen, Aragorn, Landailyn, Legolas, Eowyn, Faramir, Gimli, and the four little Hobbits.

The two Elven women, carrying a white lily each, stepped together from the lined up group to the rushing water's edge. Landailyn looked over at Arwen at the same time she did. Neither really noticed nor cared if anyone saw that a few droplets of tears escaped their eyes, but merely smiled faintly at one another.

Arwen looked back down, beginning to speak, Elvish words flowing from her mind to her mouth, a very old prayer among their race. In its final words, they tossed the flowers in the river watching the current take them further south.

To her surprise, a female voice filled the humid morning air with song. It was a song most proper for this event, for it spoke of the pain of a lost loved one.

Standing where he was, Legolas joined in perfect key to Landailyn's voice.

All within the Elves' presence harked to the sudden melody, detecting sadness even in the unfaltering words they could not decipher. Only one of the other eight understood every Elvish lyric and even he did not recognize ever having heard this song before. And all wondered to themselves right then what could have been more beautiful than the clear singing voices of the Firstborn.

Twice as many tears spilled down Arwen's pale cheeks. She would have sung with them, but could only cover her mouth with her hand, trying not to sob aloud, recalling the way her sister used to sing her favorite songs of old.

Thalawen Whitestar had always been a part of two of the eleven attending and had an eternal place embedded within their hearts. For the two singing, she had only more recently come into their lives and they were merely glad for the time they had known her and had grown to love her as much as their oldest friends of many years.


TBC ...

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mirkwood-elf-2931 :
There was Thalawen one last time in this story! Sorry, no more Faramir, Eowyn, Gimli or the Hobbits now after this either! But Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir are coming up!
Well I'm glad to hear you guys had good Thanksgivings! And I'm also glad cuz' Pirates of the Caribbean came out on DVD today! Can't wait to watch it again! ;) Oh yeah definitely, I love the RotK soundtrack and the TTT extended DVD! And hey, there's only 15 days after today (Dec 2nd) until the RotK comes out in theaters! Woohoo!