Disclaimer: I own nothing, I tell you, nothing!
A/N: A plotbunny sunk its really sharp teeth into my leg and refused to let go. So, if you do not like it, blame the plotbunny! Apologies for any OOC-ness. And many thanks to my beta Bella for not only correcting it, but staying up until 2 AM talking to me. Not many can do that, you know. It's hard for some reason…
The Coming of the Evenstar
The moon was but a small sliver in the sky and the stars were shining brightly. All was silent in Imladris; not one insect was chirping. The air was still, no winds were blowing; it was as if the area was awaiting the arrival of something, or someone for that matter. In one of the chambers that overlooked the other mountain, beneath it the ravine, surrounded by trees; through the balcony and the soft, transparent tapestry was the bed of Elrond Peredhil and his wife, Celebrían. They were both asleep, with her lying on her side and him lying behind her, with one hand on her stomach. Then, the lady's eyes were abruptly cleared of sleep and she gasped softly into the night.
The air was silent once again, save for her fast breathing. She turned her head and shook her husband slightly and he blinked. His eyes met hers. "What is it, meleth?"
"It is time."
His eyes widened, "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Then her hand went quickly to her stomach again as she winced, then starting to breath in and out very slowly.
"I will go fetch the midwife," he said, and got out of the bed.
"Hurry, hervenn, the baby is waiting."
* * *
Elladan and Elrohir walked quickly to their parents' chamber. That morning at breakfast, the seats of Elrond and Celebrian had been empty and the Elves in the house had been chattering merrily amongst themselves, as if they knew something that the twins did not. It was unnerving them to not know exactly what was going on.
"What do you think is wrong?" asked Elrohir.
"I do not know, perhaps something is wrong with naneth," suggested Elladan. They were almost there when they were halted by Glorfindel.
"And where do you think you two are going?"
"We are worried about naneth. Is she all right?"
"Is the baby here already?"
The Elf smiled, nodding, "She is fine. Your father and the midwife are in the chamber with her right now. If all goes well, you two will get a new brother or sister tonight."
The twin looked at him, then at each other in surprise. Then silence followed as they stretched their hearing to see if they could hear anything going on in the chamber. Their mother was not screaming as they thought she would be, for was it not true that giving birth was extremely painful? Yet, they heard nothing.
"Is there anything we can do?" asked Elladan, eager for an excuse to come into the room.
"Maybe we can bring food; adar and naneth have not had breakfast yet."
Glorfindel shook his head, "No, just wait. Your mother will need all her energy for the task at hand. Whatever that is needed, others will bring to her. It would not do for you two to be interrupting," he said sternly. "When the baby comes, I will send for you."
"Fine," said the both of them.
Glorfindel watched as the two went into the gardens, though they were looking back towards the direction of the door, trying to see if anything was happening or if anyone would be coming out.
* * *
The morning sunlight shone through the window and the birds had mysteriously stopped singing, as if they too were waiting for the new arrival. Elrond was sitting on a chair beside the bed, wiping the sweat that had begun to form on Celebrían's brow. She was breathing slowly, in and out.
"Are you faring well?" he asked her.
She turned to smile weakly, "Of course, I have done this before and last time, it had been two. This is nothing," she winced as she felt the baby kick, hard. He or she was getting restless.
"Let us hope that this one will not take as long as the last two." He smiled in remembrance of it; she had been in labor for two days before their sons had finally decided to come out. To him, it had seemed they were too comfortable inside their mother's womb. And now, he and his wife both had trouble trying to keep the two close and out of trouble.
"Nay, I can feel this one. She is trying to get out as quickly as possible." The baby kicked her again, but softly this time, as if she was apologetic for kicking her mother so hard.
"How can you tell it is going to be a girl?"
"I can feel it," she said simply. Then, she stiffened. "Elrond, I think she is ready now…"
* * *
"What do you think the baby is going to be?" asked Elrohir, as the two young Elves were climbing the biggest tree in the garden, an ancient willow. They were at that age when they were to considered adults. But sometimes, it was better to be able to act like an elfling again. And standing, pacing, and waiting did not strike them as being a good way to pass the time. He grabbed hold of the lowest branch and pulled himself after his brother.
"I hope it is male," replied Elladan, grabbing onto the next branch. He had not done this for a long while, and it felt amazing to be able to enjoy this incredibly simple task. Who knows what their mother was going through while trying to accomplish her task.
"So do I," agreed Elrohir, following his brother. He was not as fast a climber as his older brother but still fast, nonetheless.
"We can teach him how to spar."
"And steal from the kitchens for us." When the Elven chefs had not been looking, the brothers would often sneak into the kitchens and steal some desserts or snacks. Of course, they were no longer elflings. Still though, it would be great to be able to teach their new little brother (if they had one) the art of stealing food.
"And play pranks on Uncle Glorfindel." It had been one of their favorite pastimes, though they always got in trouble for it. That was half the fun though.
"He will probably get out of trouble more than we will," suggested Elrohir. They would always get admonished by adar; it was not like it's their fault all the time then. Other times, it was Legolas, whenever he visited. Then again, no one ever blamed him as much since he was a guest and very much younger than them.
"Then we can blame him for everything," said Elladan smiling, sitting down at his favorite spot in the tree. Elrohir joined him there. This was usually where they had played tricks on various members of the house, and no one would ever notice them there. Alas, from here, they could not see their parents' chamber. Waiting was in no ways entertaining.
* * *
Elrond could feel his wife's hurt through her tight hold on his hand; her grip was painful and had to be small compared to what she must have been feeling. Drops of sweat were scattered about her face and he gently wiped it away. Her hair was matted to her forehead and he brushed that away also. He looked outside, the rays of dusk were shining through the drapes, giving way to night. They had been inside this room for the whole day, and had not yet eaten anything. Where his wife had gotten so much energy, he did not know. She did not cry, but merely, her brows would constrict with each push and relaxed after, only to constrict again. It was too painful for her to cry
The gentle voice of the midwife counted to ten, "Push, my lady," she said, sitting at the end of the bed. Celebrían's squeezed her eyes shut and pushed with all her strength; the baby was near, she could feel her. Then, the midwife's eyes widened.
Celebrían saw this. "What is happening?" Her grip on Elrond's hand loosened.
"I see a head of dark hair," she said, smiling. "Just a few more pushes my lady."
The grip on Elrond's hand tightened, followed by long, drawn out breaths. Another push, the baby's head was in the midwife's hands as she coaxed Celebrían to continue. Then, as the minutes slowly passed, the shoulders followed suit. Then, after another series of pushes…
Celebrían gasped at the sight, a tear rolling down her cheek. A cry rang throughout the house.
* * *
The stars had come out and the insects were chirping, they sounded eccentric, as if they were gossiping. Tonight, there was no moon, but the stars were shining brighter than normal to the usual observer. Among them, one star shone the brightest of all, Eärendil.
The two brothers were walking to dinner after a long day of anxious waiting when they stopped in their tracks. "Did you hear that?" Asked Elladan.
Elrohir nodded.
They took off running to their parents' chamber, not something that they would often do anymore, causing a number of Elves to jump out of their way. They got to the door and knocked. "Come in," said the voice of Elrond. The two walked slowly in to see Celebrían on the bed with Elrond by her side. And in her arms, wrapped in a cotton blanket of lavender and sleeping, laid a very small elven baby girl. She had dark hair and grey eyes of her father and her mother's fair, ivory skin. The twins looked at the little baby in wonder, she was so beautiful.
"It is a girl," said the two of them simultaneously, it was a rare thing to hear now and their voices sounded a bit disappointed.
"Do you not want a girl?" asked Celebrían.
"No, we like her…" said Elrohir.
"But you would prefer to have a brother to continue your legacy of mischief," said Elrond, his voice stern but his eyes joyful.
"No, that's not what we were thinking. At least, I was not thinking that…"
"What is her name?" asked Elladan, trying to change the subject.
"Her name is Arwen," answered Celebrían. Everything was then silent, as all were looking at the newest member of the family.
* * *
Word had been brought to Galadriel and Celeborn in Lothlórian of the new addition to the family. They had, for the first time in many years, left their home in Caras Galadhon and traveled to Imladris to visit their new grandchild. They arrived on horseback one afternoon at dusk and were led into the new nursery. It was a small and simple room, with light blue drapes and there were toys and gifts filling the space, from close friends.
"She is beautiful," said Celeborn, looking at his sleeping granddaughter. "Though I would have liked her to inherit her mother's silver hair." Celebrían smiled, and Elrond looked as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
Galadriel bent over and picked up the little elven baby; she really was beautiful. From the moment she held her, she knew of the mysterious but great fate that was in store for her granddaughter. Galadriel closed her eyes, with the child still in her arms.
The room around the two disappeared and they were outside. She hugged the baby closer to her and looked at the vision laid before her. There was a hill, covered by elanor and niphredils. She recognized the place immediately as Cerin Amroth, but knew that it was different, older. The mallorn trees in the distance were slowly dieing, they were fading away. But how could that be? Then, a lone figure wrapped in a cloak walked up onto the hill, her footsteps slow. She stopped at the top, and stood there still, letting the wind blow at her dress and her dark hair. Then, she let down her hood and her face was that of great beauty. It was almost as if Galadriel was looking at Lúthien. But she could sense that it was not Lúthien. The woman's eyes were grey and there was no light in them, they showed of deep sorrow and grief. Then, a tear rolled down the maiden's cheek as she laid herself down upon the grass. She closed her eyes as if going into deep sleep but Galadriel sensed that she was not merely asleep, but something else…
The little girl in Galadriel's arms stirred and they were in the room again. She looked down and saw the eyes of her granddaughter looking at her; they were grey. Then, she understood.
"What did you see?" asked Celebrían, her eyes worried, the looks of a mother wanting to know what was in store for her child.
"I can not say," she said, "Except that she will have Lúthien's beauty."
Both Celebrían and Elrond seemed joyful with this news and were contented knowing just that. She would not tell them the second part, for it would be no use to try and change what had already been set, and that would ruin such a joyful occasion. No, it would have to wait for another time. Galadriel looked at the baby in her arms, "A high fate awaits you, my little Undómiel," she whispered. The star of Eärendil shone brightly outside.
The End…for now
*
hervenn – husband
meleth – love
adar – father
naneth – mother
A/N: Got any comments, good or bad, just click on that little box down there…please. Once again, apologies for any OOC-ness, it was the plotbunnies I tell you!