Disclaimer: Not mine, it is as simple as that.
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He was leaving now. Leaving all his children behind in this mortal world. Elladan, Elrohir, and Arwen he would get to see again. Elladan and Elrohir would sail over with Legolas once Estel die.... Once Estel departed from this world. Arwen, Estel planned to send over right months before he would himself depart. His youngest refused to allow Arwen to know death, knowing that she would still remain young once he died. For her only to die in her childhood home of a broken heart when he was laid to rest. Not that Arwen knew what Estel was planning.
"Namarie Ada, I will miss you." Arwen said sadly, her voice conveyed the grief that she was unable to speak. "Amine mela lle Ada. You will always be in my heart. Know that I am happy with what I am doing."
"Namarie Arwen Undomiel. Amine mela lle." Elrond said quietly as he brushed his hands through his daughter's hair like he had done when she had been little in a time so long ago. "And I know and understand."
Then Elrond just held his second youngest, his only daughter. Oh how it pained him to leave her here. And Elladan and Elrohir even if he was going to see them again. But his youngest was the one that pained him the most, knowing that he will not see his youngest until the end of the world, at the beginning of the second song of the Iluvater. And even that was not guarantee, for who knew what would happen to the immortal elves after the second song began.
"Namarie Ada" Came the chorus from Elladan and Elrohir. "We will see you."
"Are you sure you do not want to come now?" Elrond asked in one last desperate plea.
"Nay Ada..." Elladan started
"...We have a promise to our brother to keep." Elrohir finished for the two of them.
"You will be missed ninions by your mother and I."
"As will you Ada. By all four of your children." Elladan said quietly. Arwen, Estel, Elrohir all nodded.
"We will see you soon Ada." Elladan said when the words seemed to fail Elrohir. "Until then may our love reach you in the farthest of places." They backed away towards the hill.
Then it was Estel's turn to say good bye. He moved forward towards his father from the hill on which he had stood holding Arwen. "I will miss you Ada."
Elrond realized what Estel was doing; it was a game they did before Estel started out on one of his journeys. They had played it last before he had left on the quest of the fellowship. Now it was him who was going on a journey for which he would never return.
"Amine mela lle until the light of stars fade, until the sun darkens, until this and the next world ends." Elrond started quietly.
"Amine mela lle with every beat of my heart, throb of the earth, every song that passes ones lips. In my resting place and yours." Estel said finishing their promise.
"Until we meet again Ada: may there be laughter at good memories, happiness, and joy. May Eru bless you and protect you. May we one day met again on the road of life. Until then may the Valar and Eru hold you in the palm of their hands. And may you know how much I love you and cherish the fact that you are adar-nin...." He trailed off as the tears fell from his eyes. He grabbed his father and pulled him into an embrace.
"Estel: *May the road rise to meet you, May the winds always be at your back, may the sunshine warm upon your face, may the rains fall softly upon your fields, and until we meet again... may Eru hold you in the hollow of his hand. *" Elrond held on to his youngest son, murmuring into his hair. Elrond wished they could stay this way forever, yet forever would never be enough time for him to be with any of his children. This was goodbye forever as they refused to say good bye....
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That had been the last time he had seen his youngest son as he stood waving him off with his brothers and Arwen. That had been one hundred years ago...Yet he could remember every detail of each part of clothing each was wearing.
Arwen had been wearing an elegant dress of red with gold embroidery. Her long waist length raven hair was mostly loose except for a tiny braid woven around her head with a gold ribbon in the middle of it. Around her neck she wore the Evening Star once more now that Estel had returned to her. She was his precious jewel and the most beautiful thing along side her mother.
Elladan was wearing a dark blue tunic with dark green breeches, his hair pulled back into the traditional braids of the crown prince. Around his neck he wore his pendant symbolizing that he was Elladan, eldest son of Elrond.
Elrohir was wearing a dark green tunic with dark green breeches, his shoulder length ebony hair was unbound. His dark hair was a stark contrast against the mirthil that made up his pendent. His silver eyes spoke of the joy they would have together and the good memories they would share. His fair skin seemed even in the sunlight to cast a glow.
Estel wore simple traveling clothes that he had worn as a ranger, the only difference was the dark red shirt that he wore in place of his dark blue one. A mixture of elven and duneduin clothes. This image defined Estel, a part of both worlds, but never truly fitting into either. His ebony hair fell just past his shoulders, like the youngest twin caused a contrast against his pendant. His skin tanned gold from all his time in the sun.
Arwen was here in the Valinor, for Estel had kept his promise and sent her over four months before his "death". It seemed his youngest refused to die in Minas Tirith but was traveling to Imladris to die at home were he had spent so many countless hours practicing sword training and archery. Joked around with his brothers, teased Arwen, had discussion with himself over everything and nothing... oh the memories...
"You will see him soon." A young female voice said quietly, as a hand was laid on his shoulder. "Soon the time of separation will be over."
"What if he decides not to come? What will I do then? I do not think my heart will stand it." The sadness permeated from his voice.
The voice said calmly and firmly, "Le ion will come Elrond, in your heart you know this. He will not abandon his family. He loves you all too much to choose differently when he enters the Halls of Mandos. You know this, you have always known this in your heart of hearts."
"But what if…"
"It will not happen. Estel was meant to be le ion, his soul is one with his family's. All will be well, in one way or another. You must believe this, you must."
As suddenly as she had appeared, she disappeared. So quickly that Elrond only caught the sight of her raven hair dancing in the wind. She left Elrond alone with his thoughts and his memories. Both sad and happy, but they were just memories. Soon though he would see his sons, all three of them.
Elrond closed his eyes, calming himself and he began to believe it. For this one had not been wrong about the rings, why would she be wrong about this? Yes, soon he would see all three of his beloved sons. Soon….
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"Elladan, do not do this! This will only lead to more trouble, it is forbidden brother to do!" Estel exclaimed as Elladan bound him to the horse so he would not try to escape from the path they had chosen for him. Legolas mounted behind his best friend to keep him from falling off the horse, but he wisely kept out of this conversation.
Elladan just looked at his younger brother, "We are going to the Valinor and you are coming with us brother. We will not take no for an answer, we refuse to leave our brother behind."
Estel looked sadly at his brother; "You are going to have to Elladan! I am going to die! I am mortal and I am not your brother by birth, let alone blood." There was a curious sparkle in his brother's eyes. But he plowed ahead, saying seriously in a tone filled with sadness and misery. "I do not want you to get hurt because of me Elladan."
Elrohir was the one to speak this time, looking up at his brother from his position on the ground.
"Estel what we are doing is something that Legolas has been planning since you were eighty-seven years of age. We joined him when you sent Arwen to the Valinor. You always deny yourself happiness, so others can have happiness. So for once you are going to be the one that gets happiness. We are going home, brother, to where we belong with our family. Where you belong, brother of my heart and blood."
Elladan nodded in agreement. Estel just stared at his brothers as if they were crazy. He watched as they mounted their horses and began to ride. Legolas told their horse to go and they were off.
Estel looked back at his beloved Imladris, his home. He looked over the Last Homely house, knowing now he would never get to see it again or the waterfall. The constant flowing sound, a lullaby that often lulled him to sleep when the nightmares came or when he felt lonely or sad. Oh how badly he would miss it. He was approaching his death, Estel was not stupid nor naïve. Unlike his brothers he knew his body was going to die, that he would never get to see his family until the end of this world.
"Legolas?" Estel asked quietly when they had ridden so far that it seemed Imladris was nothing but a distant dream.
"Yes Estel?" Came the prince's soft voice from behind him.
"Why?" The question, one single word, was probably the most difficult question Legolas would ever have to answer.
"Because I could not leave you here, to allow you to pass from this world, to be separated from you for all eternity. You are the gwador I never had Estel, one amine mela (I love) very much. And for that I refuse to leave you behind, to let mortality take you away from me. If that means violating the ban, then so be it. Let the Valar punish me if need be, but I will not allow you to accept this fate."
"I long accepted this fate, Legolas. All mortals have too." Estel said gently, his sadness filled his voice and his tears from Legolas' passionate speech ran their course down his cheeks. "It was the gift given to the second race, to pass from this land and go to the one beyond the world's end. I am not one of the first born, no matter how much I wished I was for many years. As I do now, but I know reality gwador-nin. The difference is that I have estel (hope) that I will see all of you once more at the end of this world."
Legolas looked at the back of his best friend's head. "We bound you to us so the Valar would not be able to take you away from us. We sealed it with our blood, the blood of the first born. Elladan, Elrohir, and I will not allow you to depart from us Estel. But the Valar and Eru should know that family is not defined by blood or race, but by the love we feel for one another…" He trailed off when he heard Estel laughing cynically and crying.
"Legolas, you all could be signing your death warrant. Please I beg you, if you love me so much to combine our blood and bound us together. Release me, for the Valar surely will laugh at your acknowledging a mere man as le gwador." Estel managed to say when his hysterics allowed him too.
"You are more then a mere anything Estel." Came Elladan's voice from his right side. "You always have been more. You are our gwador, our tithen pen. And no matter how hard they try they will not rip us apart."
Elrohir picked up for his elder brother, dropping his horseback to where Estel's and Legolas' one was. "We know you want to see Ada again, Estel. And we will much sure you do, for we want you to see him again as well. Ada and you are very similar tithen gwador, so we know that both of you will be miserable without having your family complete. The difference is he will only be missing one person, while you will not have your entire family. I will not allow gwador nin to suffer because he was born of another race."
"But we would see each other again Elrohir, Elladan, Legolas. We will, when the world ends."
Elladan and Elrohir looked at one another. "You cling to that frail hope, for it is your name. That is good Estel, but we are not as sure that if we allow to die and pass over that we will see you again. No one knows if the eldar will even be part of the second song."
"You will see me again, gwadors nin. You will, you have to have estel." The youngest of the group, who looked to be the oldest said gently.
"Aye, we have to have Estel. So that is why we take him with us." Elladan said quietly, leaving no room for arguments.
Estel shook his head, he wasn't up for arguing. His head and parts of his body hurt, feeling as if they were on fire and to add to it he was exhausted.
"Lean your head against my shoulder Estel and sleep. Give your body what it needs." Legolas whispered softly. Estel complied and he was asleep in no time.
"So this is how it begins." Elladan said quietly with a touch of worry in his voice. "With the exhaustion and pain."
"That is what the book Grandmother left us said." Elrohir said just as quietly, he had spent hours pouring over that book. He wanted to know everything that would happen to his gwador, if they were to do this.
Legolas looked down at his best friend, looking for changes, seeing a few. "Does anyone else not think it to be a little suspicious that your grandmother left that book behind in the open where we could find it?"
The twins nodded, "Aye we do. We do indeed." They continued to ride the trail to the Grey Havens and towards home….
TBC
*- an Irish blessing is the blessing that Elrond gives to Estel.