Epilogue
Winter descended upon the realm of Mirkwood, bathing the trees in powdery finery and leveling the ground with blankets upon blankets of snow. This winter brought upon his shoulders a time of great expectation and happiness, for there was news about the palace that a child was to be born.
Arwen, the lastborn of the elven race, was to retain her distinction no longer. The parting of the elves from Middle Earth had married with the end of all births amongst the elven race. In Mirkwood however, there was much rejoicing as the time drew near for the crowned queen, Carandoliel, to bear her firstborn and only child. Silence filled the lands as the remaining elves from the forests of Lorien, their lord and mistress long since departed, and the few dwellers of Rivendell came to Mirkwood to witness the lastborn of their race come into the world. The news touched the kingdom of men, and Aragorn II along with his wife Arwen traveled from the far realm of Gondor to rejoice with the kingdom of elves.
The first snows of winter were sodden muddy with footprints and worrisome lines of pacing watchers. A clear night brought with it a gentle snowfall, and upon the morn the race of elves welcomed their lastborn, Nuinloss, a prince destined to inherit the last blood of the elves in Arda.
Carandoliel cried as she held him in her arms, his tiny fists reaching for a hold upon her fingers and his large blue eyes turned into crinkly smiles. She walked to the edge of her balcony, staring out at the virgin snow and cradling Nuinloss warmly against her chest. Tears of sadness and not of joy began to slide across her cheeks as she remembered one who would never see his son, never hear his laughter.
Suddenly, amidst the cold winter morning, a warm breeze passed over her and wrapped her tightly, seeming to almost hug her comfortingly.
"I know you are there…" she whispered the words to have them grasped by the warmth and carried away, heard by none save who she had been speaking with. "I love you so much…and I miss you terribly." Carandoliel turned her eyes to her now sleeping baby son, to Legolas' sleeping son. "He looks so much like you." The warmth ran across her cheeks, drying her tears and hugging Nuinloss as he rested into a calm sleep. As soon as it came…the wind left, taking with it its comfort and replacing it with the brisk morning wind rolling across the trees of Mirkwood. Carandoliel turned to reenter her bedchambers, catching one final glance at the snowy landscape as an unseen wind danced with the downy morning powder.
"Time will bring the summer again…" She whispered to Nuinloss, who had awoken again and turned his eyes towards the open window. "Time shall bring all things about in their own way…"
The End
*Author's Final Note:
This is the second draft of the ending I had planned for this story. I had originally intended to end this with the previous chapter, but I found that I wished to have better closure with Carandoliel and the aftermath of Araorë's betrayal. I can honestly say that this was meant to be my first tentative steps into the "mystery" genre…although I found it to be much harder than I originally thought. My scant characters left no room for conjecture as to whom the ultimate "bad guy" was. Oh well, better luck next time I guess! In any event, I hope you enjoyed this…I know that I truly enjoyed writing it- It has become one of my personal favorites. Thank you to all of my reviewers- you are all peaches and you are also my inspirations! :oD