THIS IS IT! THIS IS THE VERY LAST CHAPTER!

Rathien and Hedregon left Galadriel feeling extremely off-balance. They followed Galadriel's instructions as she had given them, though. Once in Hedregon's Dreamworld, he dug a small hole in the earth and poured the elixir into it. It disappeared almost immediately, but left a massive crater where he had placed it, causing Hedregon and Rathien to need to leap back, away from it.

That was all that happened, although they watched for anything else. So the two went to sleep and to their troubled dreams. The next morning, the crater was filled with a glassy, silver-like water up to the brim.

"She told us to drink it," Hedregon said, nervously.

"I know," Rathien nodded, looking equally cautious.

"She said that . . . that even if one of us dies, we will always be able to be together in this place." Hedregon paused. "Does she really want us to do this?" he asked.

"She is always correct. She must have foreseen something. I . . . a while back, a few centuries ago, she told me that I would meet my death in battle. She has been trying to keep me from it ever since . . . this might mean something else."

"So what does this mean?" Hedregon was getting very anxious now.

"It could mean anything . . ." Rathien looked at him, and he realized.

"Shall we, though?" he said seriously, pointing to the pool.

Rathien thought, then nodded. Hedregon ventured first, cupping some of the silky liquid in his hands and bringing it to his lips. It tasted like . . . nothing, really. He would have thought it was air if he didn't look down into his hands and see that it had all gone because he had drunk it.

Rathien quizzed him on what it had tasted like, then had some herself. She seemed to be thinking that it was as strange as Hedregon had thought it was. So this was it, Hedregon assumed. They were now both immortal in his Dreamworld. Was that even possible? Hedregon had no idea, but he had to wonder . . . immortality did not feel much like much difference from mortality.

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The next time that Hedregon would enter Lórien would be one decade and one year later. He would be laughing and joking with Rathien as they walked past the massive trees and breathed in the sunlight. Their joy, however, would be short-lived.

Unongleal and Anna would run up to them, out of breath and Anna would be crying. Unongleal, as calmly as he could and sending Hedregon dirty looks out of the corner of his eye, would tell them that Galadriel needed to see them immediately and that they needed to be accompanied.

Rathien would turn to Lisiael and shake Unongleal, demanding to know what was going on, muttering threats under her breath. Unongleal would put his arms protectively around Lisiael and tell Hedregon that he should walk in the front, so that Lisiael would be safe. Anna would follow the procession, still refusing to speak and carrying her face in her hands. Lisiael would try to get out of Unongleal's grip without hurting him but would find it useless, so she would turn to Verianna and ask the same question: What is going on? Anna would be too upset to say anything.

Hedregon would, as naïve as he was, have no idea what was going on. He would oblige with Unongleal's orders and walk ahead of the group, feeling as though there was a spear pressed to his back. It would feel all too familiar.

When they would reach Galadriel, she would sit them down and carefully explain the position she was in. Celeborn would be sitting in the background again, crumpled into his chair, his grief consuming him. Galadriel would tell them how two boys had come into her woods and come to her, saying that they were looking for a Hedregon son of Denethor. As soon as Galadriel would say this, Hedregon would go white and Lisiael would turn to him, confused. Hedregon had never told Lisiael or Rathien about why he had to leave Minas Tirith.

Galadriel would repeat the story the boys gave her, how Hedregon had killed thirty-four people in Minas Tirith for no apparent reason. She would emphasize that she trusted Hedregon and that this was not necessarily true, but at the same time that she would have to take the proper precautions to ensure everyone's safety. Galadriel would tell Hedregon that she would allow him to chose someplace to stay the night, as it would be late, and for the boys in the morning to confer with him.

Hedregon, most grateful that Galadriel was so fair, would agree to this and Galadriel would add that Lisiael would be staying the night in Galadriel's chambers. Lisiael would be extremely annoyed by this but oblige and everyone would set off for bed.

Hedregon would choose to stay in his tree as he had when he had lived in Lórien and Galadriel would station two guards at the bottom of it. Lisiael would know one of them. Hedregon would step into an uneasy sleep and would wake quickly when he would hear commotion at the base of his tree.

He would look over the landing and see, to his great surprise, Gediwer and Rojwer fighting with the guards at the base of his tree. At first he would think that he was hallucinating, he would tell himself that Gediwer and Rojwer were dead, but he wouldn't get much of a chance to think. Gediwer and Rojwer would ruthlessly slay the guards at the base of Hedregon's tree and begin climbing the ladder, towards him.

Once the boys would reach the landing, they would bare their teeth and redraw their swords. With gleaming red eyes, they would come at Hedregon and he would back into a corner, uncomprehending and terrified.

"Look what you've done," Gediwer would snarl, pointing to the base of the tree where Galadriel's guards, now dead, would be lying.

Then both of their faces would break into sick, twisted smiles and they would leave Hedregon alone in the small room. He would panic, realize what had just been done to him, and then Hedregon would run away again, just as he had a dozen years ago. He would run, even though now it would be daybreak and even though everyone would be awake.

He would hide behind trees as guards ran past him. He would hear them whispering to one another about how Galadriel had sadly given them orders to shoot him on sight. And then Hedregon would hear one more rumor: that Galadriel's daughter was furious with her mother and that she had also run away.

Hedregon would smile, close his eyes, and he would before long be standing at the gates of his Dreamworld. Rathien would be there too, by the pool, drinking the water as if there was no tomorrow. Hedregon would go over to him, and she would startle him by being afraid. She would tell him that she hadn't believed that he had not killed thirty-four people until Unongleal had found the bodies of Hedregon's guards at the base of the tree.

Reeling into the entire story, Hedregon would try to explain, but Rathien would look wary to believe him. She would turn away and tell him that Anna had been one of the guards at the base of the tree. Hedregon would try to comfort her but she would step away from his arms, unsure.

Tears would be running down both of their faces, this would be the first time that they had not been comforted by the other's company. Hedregon would repeat over and over his innocence, and Rathien would nod, but Hedregon would be able to tell that she still was not entirely sure if he was telling the truth.

And then . . . and then, an arrow would shoot out of the dark. Hedregon's Dreamworld could not be entered by stealth, but being in it does not protect those who are from the fact that people outside of it can see them. The arrow would plant itself between Hedregon's shoulder blades. He would fall, slipping ever downwards. Rathien would cry out. She would forget about guilt or innocence and run to him. Rathien would hold him in her hand that she had given her immortality to him with. In those hands, Hedregon would die. He would look up into Rathien's eyes, wishing that he could think straight enough to tell Rathien some beautiful last words, like in all of his books, but his mind would fade. Rathien would be holding him as he was dying, and she would holding him when he was dead for hours later.

Hedregon's body would be brought back to Minas Tirith. A bit too late, Boromir had recognized the servant Ellie, Bevolen's sister. At Hedregon's burial, Ellie would admit that she saw the massacre and that it was not Hedregon. Lisiael would choke at this, remembering how she had not been able to believe Hedregon when he had told her that he was innocent.

Rathien would never again be Rathien. She would remain Lisiael until her death, and would not visit the Dreamworld in her consciousness. Hedregon would wait there for her, though. He would wait in the Dreamworld inside the gazebo every day and every night for her, but she would not come willingly; only in her dreams. Hedregon would reluctantly keep drinking the elixir, but wondering if existence at this point in his death was worth it. And every time Lisiael woke back up into the real, the living world, Hedregon would cry.

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Now, though, that was not important. Hedregon and Rathien did not know that it was going to happen, nor did they care, and that kept them considerably happy how they were: alive, young, and in love.

THE END

TEAR, YADDA YADDA YOU KNEW IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. WELL, THE END! PLEASE REVIEW. IF YOU AREN'T LOGGED ON EMAIL ME AT smilegirl716@hotmail.com AND JUST PUT SOMETHING LIKE "FANFIC" IN THE SUBJECT BOX. I'LL PROBABLY GET IT.