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Arwen opened her eyes to find herself in an empty room. For a moment she couldn't remember where she was. She thought, and then quickly everything came back to her. She was in her father's room. Legolas was gone. She was surprised at the tears that immediately came to her eyes. How could she have any tears left to cry?
The sun came out from behind a cloud, warming the room and shining on her face. She decided it was too bright and cheerful, and she got up to leave. Something caught her eye as she was opening the chamber door to leave. But no, it wasn't just one thing: it was the entire room that took her by surprise. She suddenly noticed that all her mother's things were still around. Her father had kept every last thing in tact. How sweet, but yet how sad. Must everyone in her family feel this pain?
She would have liked to stay in this room forever, but there voices down the hall, both she recognized. She closed her eyes, took in a breath, and opened the door. Arwen was strong, and now she would show it. Before she reached her father, she wiped away the last of her tears.
Lord Elrond and the blond elf he was speaking to both turned to see her when Arwen stepped out of the dark hallway. She tried to give a smile, but couldn't; the look on his face was just too much.
Arwen smiled at Legolas then looked up to the elf at the head of the table. His resemblance to the prince was undeniable. His hair was bright and golden, his eyes were a beautiful shade of blue, and in them there was always a shimmer of happiness. He was perhaps more serious than Legolas, but at the moment he was laughing. She had not known King Thranduil for very long but already the enormous love for his son was evident.
Arwen was shocked to see The Kings face. It was pale, and the light in his eyes seemed permanently dimmed. She opened her mouth to say something but no words came. What could she say? Perhaps he couldn't think of anything either, for no words came from his lips either. They could only look at each other, and recognized the pain both of them felt.
At long last Arwen took a few steps and put her arms around the king. He kindly put his arms around her too, and comforted her as a father. Finally she had found someone. She had found someone that felt the same pain she did. Tears came to her eyes and she buried her face in Thranduil's shoulder. Hadn't these tears stopped? This time when she cried, she did not try to stop them.
She pulled away, but the tears continued to come. "I loved your son." she whispered.
He nodded in understanding. "He loved you too Arwen, and he loves you still."
Elrond simply stood and watched the exchange between his daughter and The King, who had always been another father to her. They had both loved Legolas with every part of themselves, and now they both missed him that way. Perhaps inviting Thranduil to Rivendell so soon had not been wise, but he longed to see his daughter smile again.
The King spoke, "Please do not cry Lady Arwen, Legolas would not want you to feel this way."
Arwen looked at Thranduil again. No tears were in his eyes, but no joy was in them either. How did he find his strength to continue? She wiped her tears away, and suddenly she was overwhelmingly tired. The hall way was getting dark, and not from lack of sunlight. Someone was talking to her.
"…alright Arwen?"
It was The King. Somehow she managed to nod. The light had not returned to the hall, and the voices around her were getting dim. Her legs felt weak; she couldn't stand. Strong, safe arms caught her and began to carry her to her room. Her father followed close behind. No one spoke, for they could not think of a thing to say.
Arwen could only feel herself being lowered on to a bed, and someone covering her with many blankets. Still she felt very cold.
~*~
Elrond closed the door behind him, and now stood out in the hall with The King. He had always thought of Thranduil as the strong brave warrior he was. But now he watched as his friend leaned against the wall trying to hide the tears coming to his eyes. Elrond put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Now Thranduil had lost both his wife and his son, and Elrond admired him for carrying on.
"I can not believe that he is gone."
The sudden admission surprised him. Sighing he tried to think of something to say, but Thranduil continued on.
"I am sorry for the pain it has caused your daughter. Never have I seen her like this."
"I am sorry for it too Thranduil, but that is neither your fault of mine. Arwen's sadness will pass, and so will yours."
The King smiled at this and nodded. "Of course."
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AN- Ok, let me just make one thing very clear. Arwen and Thranduil are in absolutely no way involved romantically, nor will they ever be because that is just sick and wrong! They are just very close (father daughter way) because after all, she was going to marry his son.
An apology! In Arwen's section (at least) it switches from first person to third person a lot, and I'm really sorry if that is confusing. Hopefully it sounds ok and makes sense.
I have enough plans for at least two more chapters, but I hope I can come up with ideas for more. As for the issue of Arwen falling in love with Aragorn, I have no comment!