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


CHAPTER 23


Arwen wandered alone through the stone halls within the King's House of Minas Tirith. It was the twenty-eighth, only a day after the memorial.

Stopping in the upper halls after several minutes of walking here and there, she eyed a door to her left. It was the door leading to a room she remembered that Landailyn occupied. Who right now, was just the person she wanted to see.

"Landy?" She knocked lightly; the door was ajar and she peaked around it slowly.

The seemingly small form of the Silvan female Elf sat on the bed with her legs drawn closely up to her stomach and chest, her chin resting on her right knee. She had come into her room to rest from her volunteer work not ten minutes before from outside the House on the Citadel and would soon be going back out.

Arwen hadn't even realized her eyes had been closed, until after she had already called her name and Landailyn's eyes had shot open. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"To startle me?" Landailyn shook her head, blonde strands falling loosely over her shoulders. "You didn't. Please, come in."

The soon-to-be queen of Gondor smiled lightly, accepting and stepping inside the guestroom.

"Is something bothering you, Arwen?" asked Landailyn, brows furrowed, as the younger girl came closer to sit with her. Then she realized something too; that that just might have been a rather dense question on her part.

Hesitating, not sure if she should tell, Arwen looked her friend in the eye. Should she tell Landailyn of the dream she'd had of Thalawen? Would Landailyn become jealous, that Thalawen had come to her sister and not her new best friend?

Putting all that aside, seeing it as unnecessary, Arwen decided to tell of the dream. "Thalawen came to me while I was asleep, two days past."

An audible gasp was heard from the army captain beside her.

"What did she look like? Did she say anything? Where is she? Is she all right?" rushed Landailyn.

Holding up a hand to ebb the stream of questions, Arwen shook her head. "She is normal, she looks as she always has; fair, towering...beautiful." The last was said softly, only a murmur. "But cold, so cold." Shaking her head again, Arwen looked down to her feet and the floor beneath. "When I asked where her body was, she would not say. I have a very good suspicion it is no longer in one piece, but I really don't think she wanted to tell me that it was true at the time. And she said she would still look after me...now and forever."

"But is she all right?" asked Landailyn.

She nodded slowly. "Yes." A silent tear formed. "'I am free' were her exact words." She paused. "This was Saruman's doing, I know it. Thala even suspected him."

Landailyn knew this just as well. She had seen the markings of the White Hand upon the Uruk-hai, though there had been very few.

As much as any of them would see revenge on Saruman for this, anyone could tell he still had quite the number in his minions, and they could not risk the lives of others out of their own grief to try to bring him down.

Try as she might, Arwen would have to let her sister go, until she could be reunited with her in the next life. Everyone would have to let her go, even though some would never be seeing the Halls of Mandos.

Looking about the room distractedly, Arwen clutched the teardrop amethyst necklace that hung about her neck. She'd never had the chance to give it to Thalawen, so it forever had a home on her person. Changing the subject, she spoke aloud once more. "We have postponed the wedding," She said, going back to staring down at the wooden flooring, now sounding utterly emotionless. "I am not sure what later date we will have it." Her eyes seemed anxious and suddenly turned back up to Landailyn's concerned face. "Will you still come?"

"Of course I will. I would not miss it for anything. You will just have to let me know ahead in a letter, so that I can make it down here in time."

Arwen actually smiled; her first true smile in almost two weeks.

Landailyn smiled in return. Making a mental note that she would need to remember to bring what she had bought in the market for their wedding present. "But Arwen, I want to let you know now that I plan to leave here day after tomorrow..." She trailed off, watching the princess closely; who tried not to show any obvious sign of the emotions inside her at hearing this. "I'm not going home right away though. I'm making my way to your house first...I think Ezril should be set free."

Arwen nodded only once in approval of her friend's decision. "So you will tell my father and brothers...?"

"Yes, I've already spoken to Aragorn." Landailyn's smile was still faintly showing. She could read in Arwen's deep blue eyes that she didn't want her to leave, but she had to and would try to spend more time with the princess than she had been, before these last couple days were up.


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Late into the morning of the last day of the month, Landailyn stepped down quietly into the great dominant hall of the large House. Her help with the city's damages and wounded people was not so needed as it had been and it was time she set out for the Elven refuge in the north.

Nearing a table by the doors, she double-checked to make sure she had packed the most important item. There it was at the bottom, Thalawen's journal.

"What are you doing?"

She set her bag down, sighing. He had approached her silently and she hadn't sensed him once again, her mind on several other things at once. "I'm leaving today."

Legolas' eyes widened. He knew the day would come when she would need to leave and his thoughts over the fact that she would be going alone on at least a month and a half trip, alarmed him to no end and his feelings warned against it, as though they were telling him something was going to happen to endanger her. But most of all he simply didn't want to be apart from her; he was afraid to be. "Then I will go with you. It would..."

"Legolas, please."

He stopped, but did not stray from her gaze.

"I will send word when I arrive in Rivendell and again when I return home. But I must go, Lord Elrond and the twins deserve to know what has happened and I must take Ezril back to his home. I will make as much haste as all possible, but you, my prince, are still needed here."

He chose to linger in silence. It was hard, but he gave up, seeing her point and merely held out his arms.

"Please, do not worry about me." She whispered, stepping into his embrace.

He nodded against her shoulder, but asking him to do that was like asking him to stop breathing. He would be worried until word came about her safe arrivals at both destinations.

"You wouldn't think about leaving without saying goodbye, would you?"

The blonde Elves let go of one another and rounded to find Aragorn and Arwen gaining the spot they stood, near the tall entry way.

"Of course not, my lord, why ever would you think that?"

Aragorn smiled. "I've had long to learn that you Elves can be quite unpredictable. And are you sure I cannot spare you a horse?"

Landailyn shook her head at the offer. "Thank you, but I'm sure."

"That I knew you were going to say."

"Oh really?" She grinned, her pack being slung over her right shoulder and across her chest.

Accompanying her outside toward the tunnel way, she stopped at its entrance to face her friends one last time. "Tell the rest for me that I shall see them again at the wedding."

"We will," Arwen said, coming forward to enfold her in a long hug. "Im meleth lle." [I love you.] She whispered, her voice and words soft in her friend's ear. She too did not want Landailyn to leave so soon, but was only glad that she would be the one telling her father and brothers of the loss. She really did not know what she would do if she lost Landailyn too and prayed the Valar would watch over her. "Travel safely."

The moisture of tears forming threatened to blur Landailyn's vision. "Thank you. I love you too, Arwen."

Giving Aragorn and then Legolas another hug, she said a final farewell and started countless steps downward seven levels for the Great Gates, passing many buildings, mainly the stables, the Houses of Healing and the Old Guesthouse.

Passing the tunnel's entrance, the three strode slowly toward the embrasure. Here one could see high out over the circular city, where they would observe the lone traveler until she was out of their sights, at least Legolas', who was set to stay at the high opening the whole time. At the bottom and through the gates, they watched her stay straight east on the path to the Anduin.

The Dunadan stepped up next to the male Elf, for once going almost unaware by him. "She'll be alright, my friend." Aragorn touched an understanding hand to Legolas' left shoulder blade.

"I only pray you're right, Human." The prince turned a faint smile of mirth on the man beside him.


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At last, Landailyn was entering the location she had set out from her home for over four months before; fortunate enough to have had no ill dilemmas on her chosen path.

Imladris. She loved it here and wished she had visited more often when Aragorn and Arwen still lived beneath the roof of the Last Homely House. She wondered briefly if perhaps she might then have met Thalawen sooner as well.

Her wonderings brought to mind the main reason why she was here. A reason she was certainly not looking forward to telling about.

From a window on the second floor of the House of Elrond, a female twice her age had seen her coming from afar in the east and now went down to properly greet their guest.

"Melna!" Landailyn brightened from her thoughts at the sight of the elder maidservant standing on the front steps.

"It is good to see you, my lady!" She called. "Many years has it been since you visited last."

"I know. I have wanted to, but have been so consumed with daily matters at home."

Melna nodded with a warm smile, resting a hand upon the girl's shoulder as she lightly climbed the porch steps with her. "Very understandable. I'm just glad the three of you finally made it safe to Gondor. But...what of Lady Thalawen? Was she not supposed to return unlike her sister?" The older Elf looked behind them as if searching for her.

Landailyn's mouth gaped as she ceased the motion of her walk, quickly searching for something besides the truth. "She was. Melna, could you please find..."

"Landailyn?!" Erupted a duet of similar voices into the small entrance.

Mid sentence, she looked above to her right to see the twins racing down an iron railed staircase.

"What are you doing here?" Elladan asked for why she had left the southern land of Men so soon, only to have come west to their home when hers lay far in the east.

Before explaining anything, she turned back to the waiting maid, finishing her earlier request. "Could you please find Lord Elrond for me?"

"Yes, of course." Melna replied, going on her way to an enclosed hallway down the center of the House.

Her attention back on the brothers, Landailyn noticed their concerned eyes were huge with both brows raised.

"What's going on?" Elrohir tried again.

"It should wait for your father."

The two knew it must have been important to have to involve their father, besides easily hearing the tense tone her lowered voice held.

"Lady Landailyn? Lord Elrond is waiting in the Hall of Fire." Melna informed her from another stair landing, this time to the left.

"Thank you, Melna." She called up, glancing at the twin Elves as she passed them, as if telling them they could follow.

But the two needed no sort of prodding; they wanted to know what this was all for and weren't about to miss out.


TBC ...

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mirkwood-elf-2931 :
Sorry this chapter took longer again like the others had been...but Thala and I didn't seen each other all last week cuz' she was busy with school stuff and then I spent the weekend at my friend Beth's house in Oklahoma! And she gave me my own side of her room! LOL She moved an extra bed of hers in there and bought the new RotK Legolas and Aragorn posters and put them up for me! I had my camera with me cuz' we were going to a Christmas parade the next night, so I took a pic of it all! ;)
Anyway, the rest of the chapters to the end will be as fast as they were before! And by the way, has anyone gotten any snow? We just got our first snow of the year last night and it ended up being about 6 inches!