A/N- I can't wait to finish The Two Towers so I can have some real changes in the story! Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed (especially to Mme. K. for your especially enthusiastic review :0) ) And, if there's any liberties I need to take with the time factors in this fic- I'm taking them! I really don't want to count the days from the time the Fellowship left Lórien to the time they come to Rohan or Minas Terith, so don't be on my back about that. Names, as always, belong to J.R.R. Tolkien. Also, this is AU, and I said that in the beginning of chapter one (if "Summary- AU. What if Galadriel had another daughter?" doesn't say AU, then I don't know what does. So you people can stop saying that I didn't say it was AU, okay??? Okay. On to the story!
~Chapter Nine
Throughout the day, more news trickled through to my chamber at the top of the tree. I learned that it was official that I was to marry a Man, either a warrior from Minas Terith or one of the Riders of Rohan. The feeling of dread grew in my stomach as the plans became finalized. Control of my own life was slipping through my fingers.
I thought for a moment that I could run away. I could steal from the city in the dead of night and live in the forest. I could watch the wood with the eye of a hawk to make sure that Legolas did not come or go. Then I realized that my mother might see me in the Mirror and watch me, commands the Mirror to show me to her, and I would never escape. As long as I was under the eye of the Mirror I could always be captured and brought home. This squashed every beginning of a plan that formed in my mind after that.
I wondered why I was still under my father's control. To the Elves, I was still a child, and bound to the will of my parents, but to Men or Halflings I was past old age. I wondered what it would be like to have a normal life, come away from the palace and go through the rest of my life a simple woman, with a cottage in the wood, living out my days with Legolas and maybe a few children too. Every morning I'd walk to the stream and take a bath, and then I would go back home and wake the children and Legolas and make them breakfast. They'd go out to play and Legolas would go out with his bow and bring home some rabbits, and maybe a deer. We'd talk at the table for a little while until the children came back, and we'd smile at them and tell them stories and songs of days past.
What would my life be like if the Ring had never existed? I thought about this for a while until I realized that I was submerging myself in a lake of false hopes and 'what ifs' that could only lead to disaster on my part. I pulled myself away from the window as Elanor walked into my room.
"Niphredil," she said, sitting on the edge of my bed. "Come, sit. I must talk to you." I went and sat next to my sister. She sighed and folded her hands in her lap. "I know that you must be scared now, sister. I was too before I married Elrond, and look- now we are happy and have a beautiful daughter."
"Arwen," I said, smiling. Although technically I was Arwen's aunt, I was more like her friend or even her sister. Usually when Elanor came to visit us here, she brought Arwen along even though Elrond had to stay in Rivendell. We would sit and talk about things, usually boys and horses and pretty things of that nature. I wondered if Arwen was in love because that, she had never confessed.
"But, sister," Elanor continued, "Do not be afraid. Love can come after marriage. Did you know that my marriage to Elrond was arranged? And now we are very happy." She shifted in her seat. "Do not be afraid." She repeated, patting my hand. "Don't worry." Her green eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Niphredil," she said, throwing her arms around me in a sisterly embrace. "I'm so happy for you, and I promise that you will be happy."
"But men die!" I said into my sister's shoulder. "I will be a widow within a century."
Elanor drew away from me and looked at me for a while, her lips pressed together. She sighed. "That, Niphredil, I cannot help you with, since I am not a widow and most likely never will be, being married to an Elf." She smiled reassuringly at me and shook her head at the same time. "Your love for this man will never die, though, till the end of your days, if they ever come. But do not be afraid. You shall prevail."
"Thank you, Elanor," I said, smiling tightly. My sister got up from the bed and left the room, still smiling back at me. I fell back onto the bed, covering my eyes with my hands.
"Niphredil?" A voice said.
"What is it?" I asked, not taking my hands off my eyes.
"Your father wishes to speak to you."
~~~
"You shall leave for Rohan immediately."
"Why?" I asked. "Have you found me a husband there?"
"Maybe," my father said, looking frustrated. "Our time is short. The Shadow grows. Alliances must be made while we have time. There is going to be battles, I wager. We need strong forces, help from the Men, as we can be slain in battle along with them. It is a new Last Alliance," he murmured, not knowing that I could hear him. "I will go with you, to choose a husband for you. Your maid will be coming too. Tell her to pack everything, for you will be staying there."
I felt like I was going to vomit. My mother met my pleading eyes from where she stood behind my father's throne. She shook her head slightly. My heart danced wildly in my chest. "I don't want to leave," I whispered. My father did not hear me.
~~~
Emyn, my maid, packed my clothes silently as I paced around the room, wringing my hands. A paper fell to the floor as I brushed past my bed. When I saw what it was I burst into tears. Emyn, stupid thing that she was, assumed that they were happy tears and smiled at me as she folded my cloak. I unfolded the wrinkled paper and gazed at it.
When the cold of winter comes
Starless night will cover day
In the veiling of the sun
We will walk in bitter rain
But in dreams
I still hear your name
And in dreams
We will meet again
When the seas and mountains fall
And we come to end of days
In the dark I hear a call
Calling me there
I will go there
And back again
My tears fell onto the paper, causing dark spots to appear and grow on the parchment. I wiped them off my cheeks hastily. The ink caught on the water and spread, causing spider web patterns to appear. Emyn left the room, closing the door behind her with a firm click. I collapsed onto the bed, thinking of Legolas. The thought of his kind eyes caused me to weep even more. As I sobbed, I tucked the paper into my bag, so I could look at it when I went to Rohan. Then I curled up on my bed and wept, thinking of the love I wouldn't be able to have for a century.