Camille sighed as she leaned slightly on the balcony railing, looking out onto the garden below her. She could see her husband there, attempting to teach their children to use a bow and arrow.
She smiled slightly. My children… There was Narwen, who was close to eighty years old in mortal years but was physically just eight years old, her daughter, who had inherited her brown hair but ended up with Legolas' blue eyes; and there was little Calen, her son, just fifty years by mortal measures but looked like an angelic five-year-old, with his father's blonde hair and her dark brown eyes.
She watched as Narwen, under her father's watchful gaze, pulled her miniature bow back, and focused on a target not that far away. The bowstring twanged as she loosed it, and the arrow sped from the bow to hit the target dead center.
Narwen cheered, and was rewarded with a kiss from her doting father. She turned towards the balcony, her blue eyes glowing as she lifted her arm to wave at her. ^Did you see that Mother?! I hit it in the center!^
^You did very well, Narwen! Very, very well!^ she responded from the balcony.
Legolas smiled at her as well, but it was more adoring than anything else. He lifted his arms to her as he approached the balcony. ^Come down, my love! Join us here!^
She laughed at him from her safe perch above. ^And why must I do that?^
^Because I am the King of Greenwood,^ Legolas answered playfully.
^Did you not tell me once before that the Queen of Greenwood should receive anything she should desire, even if she should command her King?^
Legolas' smile became wider, and, she noticed, just a little more seductive. ^Of course, my love, and I meant every word of that promise.^
She laughed. ^So you did. Very well then, you must catch me as I jump down from here.^
Legolas laughed again. They had played this very same game several years back, way before Camille had given birth to Narwen. ^It shall be as you wish, my love. Come down into my arms, sweet one!^
With that, Camille jumped down from the railing of the balcony, and landed in the safety of Legolas' arms. He kissed her quickly before setting her down on the grass of the lawn again.
Calen dashed over to her then, tugging at the hem of her dresses. ^Mother, there is a stranger over there…^
Camille immediately looked up, and noticed a ruggedly dressed man standing at the edge of the lawn. Raising an eyebrow, she approached the man. "Who are you, and what brings you here to Greenwood the Great?"
The man bowed respectfully. "I am a messenger from Gondor, my lady. I come seeking King Legolas of Greenwood, and his wife, Queen Eriol. I come bearing a message from Her Majesty Arwen, Queen of Gondor."
"I am Legolas," Legolas answered as he stepped up behind his wife, "and this is my Queen. What is this message you speak of?"
"Forgive me for my rudeness, Your Majesties," the messenger said as he bowed lower. He reached into his tunic, and brought out a large parchment envelope. "This is a message coming from Minas Tirith."
Camille took the letter slowly from the messenger's hand, but already she felt she knew what it was going to be about. Could it be…? She carefully removed the heavy gold seal that was imprinted on the envelope, and pulled out the letter. On it was written just three words, in a flowing and elegant Elvish that she immediately recognized as Arwen's handwriting: It is time.
A small tremor passed through her as she handed the letter to Legolas, who took one look at it, and understood immediately.
Camille turned to the messenger. "Thank you for delivering this message. We understand what it means."
The messenger nodded. "It was an honor, Your Majesties. Another messenger was sent to Rivendell, also carrying a letter from Her Majesty Arwen. It was addressed to Lord Elrohir and his wife, Lady Elisarien."
Legolas smiled gratefully. "We thank you for your services, sir. You may remain here in the palace for the night, if you so wish."
The messenger smiled gratefully, and bowed once more before leaving them alone. When he was finally out of earshot, Camille turned to Legolas. ^It seems that our time has come at last. Are you ready?^
Legolas sighed. ^Since I heard the call of the Sea I have always been ready.^ He knelt down so that he was at eye-level with Calen and Narwen, who were looking at the two of them intently. ^Now, listen to me very carefully, little ones. I want you to go to your rooms, and prepare for a long journey. We are going to Minas Tirith soon.^
Narwen smiled at the mention of Minas Tirith. ^We will see Uncle Aragorn and Aunt Arwen again?^
^Yes, we will, Narwen,^ Camille answered as she knelt down in front of her daughter. ^But first, we will wait for your Uncle Elrohir and Aunt Elisarien and Uncle Elladan and Uncle Merry and Uncle Pippin to come. Then we will all go together to Minas Tirith.^
Calen laughed enthusiastically. ^Oh, I cannot wait! That means Mirwen and Elmorion will come too!^
^Aye, that is right,^ Legolas replied. He stood up, and nudged them gently towards the palace. ^Now go to your rooms and prepare! They will be coming in a few days' time!^
The two little Elves nodded obediently, and scampered off into the palace of Greenwood, Calen daring his sister to a race by the time they stepped over the threshold.
Camille sighed, and shook her head. Sometimes I wonder if some of my hard-headedness rubbed off on the two of them. Her thoughts were banished almost immediately, however, when she felt Legolas' arm slide around her waist. A small smile curled on her lips as she glanced at her husband, who was busily trailing little kisses up and down the side of her throat. ^Well then, I thought that we should prepare for the journey?^
^We shall, but for now, there are a few places I would like to visit with you for the last time before we leave…^ He emphasized his statement by sucking a little harder on the flesh that covered the vein that ran along her neck.
Camille only rolled her eyes and followed Legolas willingly as he led her away to a more secluded part of the palace.
* * *
Eli dismounted quickly from Whitewing's back, and landed on the stone courtyard that stood before the Royal Palace of Greenwood the Great. She stared at it for a moment before turning to her daughter Mirwen, who rode on her own white pony just beside Whitewing. ^Come now Mirwen.^
The little Elf-girl, who was roughly seventy years old if she counted using human years, but was actually just seven years old physically, dismounted from the back of her pony with the same ease and grace of an experienced rider twice her age. She had inherited her father's lovely dark hair, but her eyes were the same hawk-like hazel that was Eli's physical trademark. ^Where are Narwen and Calen, Mother?^
^They are inside, waiting for us,^ Eli replied softly as she took Mirwen by the hand, and watched as Elrohir approached her, Elmorion trailing just behind him. Elmorion was but a mere twenty years younger than Mirwen; his hair was Eli's rippling cinnamon brown, but his eyes were Elrohir's silver-gray.
Eli smiled slightly as Elrohir reached for her free hand and brushed a gentle kiss over her lips. All these years, and he still cannot keep himself away from me…
^Brother, if you must do such things it might be wise not to do it in front of the children.^
Eli looked over Elrohir's shoulder to see Elladan looking at them, a mixture of annoyance and resignation on his face. She laughed lightly, and gently pushed her husband away from her. ^Elladan is right, husband. Restraint might be a wise thing when we have Mirwen and Elmorion around.^
Elrohir sighed, and stepped away from her, letting his hand linger upon hers for a moment before finally letting go. ^Aye, aye, I suppose you are right.^
Eli giggled, and gently bumped her hip against Elrohir's as she wandered past towards the entrance of the palace. She called to her children. ^Come along, Mirwen, Elmorion! I feel that your Aunt Eriol and Uncle Legolas will be more than pleased to see you.^
In the blink of an eye, the two little Elves were walking on either side of her, Mirwen on her right, Elmorion on her left. Just behind them walked Elrohir and Elladan. They wandered through the palace, knowing the layout of the place anyway, until they reached the private receiving room of the King and Queen of Greenwood. The door was open, and Eli could see Legolas and Camille looking at a few papers, while their children, Narwen and Calen, played around on the floor not that far away.
Upon sighting their playmates, Mirwen and Elmorion left her side, and went over to Narwen and Calen. Soon, all four were out in the sunny gardens, playing a vigorous game of tag. Of course, most Elves would have been surprised to see Narwen and Mirwen participating in such a game, but Eli and Camille would have it no other way. They raised their daughters to be independent and strong, and nothing and no one would convince them to do otherwise.
But for now, there was some greeting to be done. Eli grinned as she approached Camille, and hugged her. "Been a long time, Camille. How's everything going over here?"
Camille smiled back, and shrugged. "Oh, you know, the usual: tend to state affairs, watch the Two Terrors grow up…"
Legolas looked up at them then, a mock-hurt expression on his face. "They are not Two Terrors!"
Camille laughed. "Try keeping them together in a room for more than two hours, and watch as they begin the Fall of Armageddon! You can only talk like that because YOU'RE not the one who has to handle them all the time."
"I feel the same way," Eli replied with a roll of her eyes. She nodded towards the four playing Elf-children outside. "Elmorion throws the most horrid temper tantrums, and Mirwen…she's got the WORST mood swings I've ever had the privilege of knowing! And she's only SEVENTY YEARS OLD, for crying out loud! I didn't expect mood swings until she was around a hundred and fifty or so!"
Elrohir chuckled. "Well then, such moodiness did not come from MY side of the family."
"I do not think so," Elladan said with a bemused smile. "You very well know that Arwen and yourself are quite temperamental sometimes. That, I suppose, you got from Mother's side of the family."
Camille laughed. "What, then does that mean Lady Galadriel is temperamental? Now THAT is something I want to see!"
"It happens. Especially when she catches Grandfather drunk," Elrohir remarked.
Eli felt her eyebrow shoot up. Lord Celeborn? Drunk? "Wait a second, did you just say the words 'Grandfather' and 'drunk' in one sentence? Lord Celeborn and drunkenness just DO NOT mix."
"They do," Elladan answered with a nod. "It happens on occasion, but not often enough that the people of Lothlorien think it a normal occurrence. Aside from that, Grandmother attempts to hide Grandfather from the people when he is in such a state."
"Oh."
Just then, there was the pitter-patter of feet from the hall outside, and Eli smiled as she watched Merry and Pippin step into the receiving room. "Well, you got here pretty quickly."
Pippin grinned broadly at her, the smile still no different even after eighty years. "We happened to be in Minas Tirith, and getting to Ithilien from there was not difficult."
Legolas nodded slowly. "Aye, the roads have improved dramatically since the time of the War." He turned towards the window. "Many things have changed."
Eli sighed, and nodded. "True, many things HAVE changed." She smiled slightly as she looked at her companions. "And many things are going to change for US soon."
* * *
The Palace of Minas Tirith was quiet and somber, which was not usually the case since the end of the War of the Ring, and especially not during springtime.
But this particular springtime was different. The King Elessar, it was said, was about to lay down his life in the manner of the great Kings of the West, and his people were grieved to know about it. But the King claimed that he was weary of the world, and that it was his time to go where no living Men walked. It was not that the people disapproved of his heir – quite the contrary, since Eldarion was a strong warrior and a wise and just leader – but it was that they would sorely miss the presence of the King Elessar in their midst.
On the eve of the Spring Carnival, which was normally a time of merry revelry all around the Palace, the friends of King Elessar arrived from Ithilien: the King and Queen of Greenwood with their son and daughter; the Lords and Lady of Imladris, also with their children; the Perian Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took; and lastly, the Lord of the Glittering Caves.
The friends of the King were silent and somber-faced as the entered the chamber where the King lay. Long they stayed there, and it was rumored that they were taking final counsel with King Elessar, for it was a well-known fact to all that they were very good friends.
The friends of the King emerged from the chamber only at the dawn of the morning, and they seemed grimmer and sadder than they did when they entered. In their company went the Queen Arwen, and she spoke not to anyone, and hid her face from the people. After bidding a few final words to Eldarion and her daughters, she mounted a horse and left the City in the company of the friends of the King. Popular rumor claimed that she had decided to go with her brothers, the Lords of Imladris, to look upon their home one last time before she too took the journey her husband did.
And so it was that while the City of Minas Tirith grieved the loss of both King and Queen, a small group of riders arrived at the havens at the Mouths of Anduin, and boarded a gray ship with silver sails. Those in the havens watched as the wind filled the sails and billowed them out to their fullest span, and soon, the gray ship was out of sight, disappearing in the west in a flash of light as the sun glinted off the sails. That was the last that the mortal men of Middle-Earth saw of the Summoners and the Fellowship of the Ring.
* * *
Camille waited until they were fully out of sight from land, and turned to Glorfindel, who was standing at the helm. ^Is it safe?^
Glorfindel looked back towards land, his eyes squinting a little, and then he smiled, and nodded. ^Aye, it is safe. At this distance, even the Palantir would be useless without the help of an Istar.^
Camille grinned evilly. "Alright, if you say so!" She headed below deck, and knocked on the door there. "Hey Aragorn, rise and shine! There's no way they can catch a glimpse of you now, even with the Palantir!"
There was a bit of rustling and stumbling around inside, and at last, the door opened, revealing a rather haggard-looking Aragorn. He smiled slightly at her as he followed her up to the deck. "Are you certain they will not be able to see us?"
Celeborn walked up to them then, and there was a small smile on his face. "They will not. Even the power of the Palantir cannot extend this far out to sea."
Arwen approached them then, willingly sliding her arm into the crook of Aragorn's. "That is good, then. I do not think the people of Minas Tirith will appreciate the fact that their King still lives and is going where no other mortals are allowed to go."
Eli shrugged flippantly as she walked up to them, her hair fluttering in the sea breeze. "Well that's not our fault. Camille and I couldn't exactly extend our wishes to encompass everyone, you know. I don't think the Elves in Valinor would appreciate it if they were allowed to go. They had enough to deal with Earendil already!"
There was a frown on Elrohir's face then as he embraced his wife from behind. "Do not say such things of my grandfather, my love. You will be meeting him soon enough."
Camille just laughed as she walked away from them, heading towards the prow of the ship. There she found Calen, Mirwen, Narwen and Elmorion, once more playing a game of tag, under the watchful eyes of Elladan and Legolas.
Legolas smiled as she walked by, catching her hand in his and tugging her close. ^Stay with me a while…^
^Legolas, we can do this AFTER we get to Valinor,^ Camille answered flippantly as she pulled away from Legolas for a while, and stood at the prow of the ship. She looked straight ahead, waiting, watching…
At last, it seemed as though a mist was lifted from around them, and the sun shone down more brightly than before. Before them was a haven, with fleet upon fleet of white ships glistening like ivory in the sun. As the wind pushed them swiftly closer, she could see many Elven figures standing upon the wharf, waiting for them.
Calen, who had appeared at her side then, pointed, a large smile on his face. ^Mother, look! I can see Grandfather, and Great-grandmother, and Gandalf, and Uncle Frodo and Uncle Sam!^
Narwen laughed in delight. ^It is so beautiful! Are we going to stay here forever?^
Camille laughed as well, and nodded, taking the hands of her two children. ^Aye, little ones. We will stay there, in Valinor and be happy…forever.^
And so it was that the Summoners and the remainder of those who were involved in the War of the Ring passed into the West, never to be heard from again, until the world was changed.
~FIN~
AUTHOR'S NOTES: IT'S DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And although I know I should be celebrating because it's done, I feel kind of depressed. I've grown quite fond of Camille and Eli, and although the way I ended this WAS a happy ending, what with the whole gang still alive and well, I just feel like it was not enough. I REALLY am going to miss Camille and Eli sniffles. But hey, it was a fantastic journey with them, and I feel pretty good about it.
SEQUEL: There IS a possibility for a sequel. In fact, the idea has fully stewed, and it's just WAITING to be written, but I won't probably write it right away (hey, that rhymes ^_^). I will put up a few other stories before the sequel. But what is the sequel going to be about, you wonder? Okay, I'll tell you a little about it. You remember the part wherein Eli said goodbye to her sister Julie, and Julie wished she could go to Middle-Earth? Well, the sequel is all about that happening. And not just to Julie, but to Max as well. There's havoc once more in Middle-Earth, but the time of the Summoners is over and gone, and the Fellowship no longer exists. What happens if Max and Julie are brought into Middle-Earth (or Valinor, I'm still playing with the idea), and are made into the new Summoners? What if the evil is actually nothing like Sauron, but something higher, and more powerful…something along the lines of the Four Great Spirits themselves? And what if this Spirit had a Summoner of his own? The previous Summoners and the Fellowship, along with the new Summoners, are forced to return to Middle-Earth to deal with this new and powerful evil. Weird? You betcha! Hard to write? Definitely _. And if you're wondering about "romantic aspects", there's going to be quite a lot in here. Elladan is DEFINITELY in, and I am still toying between giving Glorfindel his own romance or throwing in Gil-galad (THAT was the influence of the people on the UCMEC mailing list, particularly Nemis ^_~). Anyway, keep an eye out for THIS little work when I post it up ^_^.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: I have MANY stories waiting in the wings, and I don't know which one to post. One of the likelier ones is probably "Daughters of Valinor", which is a little fic I am writing dedicated to the members of the UCMEC ML. Another one is "The Exiles", a crossover of one of my original fantasy stories with LOTR (and more than likely to become a Glorfindel romance, if things proceed the way I believe they will). Anyway, just watch out for these, people, especially "Daughters of Valinor"!