15. Fated to Remain
Eleriel and Legolas' announcement delighted their friends and family. Since it was such wonderful, albeit predictable, news, the group was up into the early hours of the morning discussing Eleriel and Legolas' future life together. More specifically, the younger members of the group did; Elrond, Galadriel, Celeborn and Gandalf remained quiet, watching the happy younger people chat.
It came out that Aragorn and Gimli had had a bet going on. Gimli had bet that Eleriel and Legolas would be "back together," as he put it, before the War ended, and Aragorn had thought that it would take longer. Eleriel laughed as Gimli gleefully collected his money from the King of Men, and Legolas pretended to be disgruntled because his friends were making bets about his love life.
The next morning proved to be bright and beautiful. Aragorn and Arwen spent their time divided between the King's Hall with the other nobles of Gondor and the outdoor courtyards with their friends. It was a very pleasant day for Eleriel, and she felt that nothing could mar it.
Naturally, she was wrong.
It was in the evening when she and Legolas were lazing about Aragorn's study with Aragorn, Arwen and the twins. Gimli had grumbled about being tired, and the hobbits had also chosen to retire early.
The friends were talking quietly when there was a knock on the door. Aragorn called for the person to enter and all stood when Elrond came into the room. He had an extremely somber look upon his face and his four children tensed. They recognized that expression, although they had not seen it for awhile.
"I need to talk to Eleriel and Legolas," he said quietly. The two of them glanced at each other and moved to follow Elrond out of the office, but he gestured for them to sit. Slowly they did, and Arwen, Aragorn, Elladan and Elrohir followed their example. Elrond seated himself in an empty chair and remained silent. He seemed to be waiting.
The silence filled the room and Eleriel found herself very apprehensive. The room was large, because it was used as a meeting room as well as just an office, but for some reason all of the people in the room were sitting in a tight circle. The silence had nearly come to the point of being unbearable when there was a second knock on the door.
This time Galadriel stepped into the room, followed by Gandalf, Celeborn, and, to everyone's surprise, King Thranduil.
"Father!" Legolas leapt up from his chair and crossed the room quickly, embracing the King. "What are you doing here? The battle... in Mirkwood, I mean Eryn Lasgalen..." He was obviously overjoyed to see his father, and Eleriel remembered how worried Legolas had been about the battle in Mirkwood.
Thranduil, however, did not smile back at his son. He patted Legolas half-heartedly on the back. "We'll talk later. Sit down, son."
Legolas sat, as did Thranduil, and Eleriel's apprehension grew. Her grandparents and the wizard also found chairs for themselves, and when everyone had been seated, Galadriel surveyed the gathered people before turning to face Eleriel and Legolas, who were sitting side by side, gripping each others' hands. Eleriel could feel Legolas' worry.
"I must ask you all not to interrupt. What I have to say must be said, and it will be easiest if there are no interruptions. I will answer your questions later," Galadriel said. "The time of the elves has ended." Eleriel blinked. Her grandmother gathered everyone together to say that?
Galadriel, however, was not finished. Glancing quickly at Aragorn and Arwen, she said quietly, "within one, maybe two centuries there will be only a handful of elves remaining on Middle Earth, and soon after that, we will all be gone.
"I do not doubt Aragorn's capabilities as King; quite the contrary. I know he will be everything a King must be, and more." She did not look at Aragorn as she said this, instead keeping her eyes on Legolas and Eleriel. Continuing, Galadriel said, "but Aragorn is, after all, one man. Even with all of his wisest advisors and councilors, there won't be enough men to keep the spirit of Middle Earth intact.
"You see, there is knowledge held by the First-Born Children of Ilúvatar, and the Ainur, that has not been passed on to the mortal inhabitants of Middle Earth. But with the passing of the elves, someone must keep this knowledge alive on Middle Earth.
"The wisdom gained by the Elves from countless years spent here must be preserved, but that is not the chief thing that I speak of. It is the elves' natural intuitiveness that must be handed down; our ability to feel what is taking place around us. The natural healing abilities of the elves must also not be forgotten; not the herb-lore that the healers of Imladris use, not the special healing powers that Elrond and select others possess, but the inherent elven ability to sense what is wrong and fix it." Galadriel paused for a moment. "Am I making sense to you?"
Everyone in the room nodded, if somewhat hesitantly. Mollified, Galadriel continued. "Someone has to be here to make sure that these things are not lost. But there are other things that must be preserved as well..." She turned to look at Gandalf.
"Some of the power of the Ainur must also linger here," Gandalf said solemnly. "Not a lot. Just a very small amount. But the Istari are leaving or have already gone. Saruman is broken, Radagast will be returning over the sea within a matter of years, one of the blue wizards who came to Middle Earth has already returned to Aman and the other is lost to forces he could not control." With these grave words, Gandalf fell silent and Galadriel resumed talking.
"There are other things that must be preserved as well, but I will not weary you by listing all of them right now. But the point is they must, at all costs, be remembered. Now we have entered the age of Men, but there will still be a need for the knowledge of the Elves and Ainur. The Ainur grow more and more distant from Middle Earth as times progress... the Valar no longer walk in these lands. Ulmo remains in the sea and the others remain in Aman. And there will come a day when the elves will be needed again here on Middle Earth. Until that day comes, many years from now, someone will need to be here to watch over those who cannot do it for themselves." Galadriel looked intensely at Legolas and Eleriel.
Eleriel felt a dreadful knot growing in her stomach. She knew what her grandmother was going to say but she did not want to hear it.
"Many years ago, Lórien the Valar graced some of us here with a dream," Galadriel said.
"Irmo?" Eleriel gasped. Lórien, or Irmo, was the Valar whose domain was the world of Dreams and sleep.
Galadriel nodded. "I myself was given one of these dreams," she said, "as well as Celeborn, Elrond and Thranduil."
"What did he say?" Legolas asked quietly.
Galadriel looked sadly at Legolas. "I will tell you." Closing her eyes briefly, Galadriel started to speak.
"They shall be chosen from the Noble Houses of the Elves--love found, love lost will be the tale of their lives, for their fate is a bitter one. They will find love, but it will be taken from them-lost, seemingly forever. But if they can recover what they lost then they will have proven themselves worthy-worthy and able to bear their burden. They shall be fated to remain, while others depart. It shall be their task to guide the last days of the elves, and to assist the Men who shall rule, until the day of the fall of Men. If these two prove unable to bear this, then the ways of those who do not die-elves, Maiar and Valar-shall be forgotten and the spirit of Middle Earth shall forever be diminished."
There was a terrible silence. Eleriel stared at the people standing before her and Legolas gaped.
"What..." Eleriel finally managed to whisper.
"It means," said Gandalf, "that you are the ones needed for this."
"We knew this many many years ago," Elrond admitted. "Each of us had slightly different dreams."
Thranduil coughed. "I have a confession," he said quietly. "The Valar wanted to test you, so in my dream I was instructed to force you apart somehow. They saw this as the ultimate test, and Irmo did say that they wished whole-heartedly that it could have been done another way, but that there was no other way of testing whether you were truly strong enough for this." He paused. "Lissiel was only the means. That marriage did help Mirkwood in many ways, but that was not the original purpose behind it."
Legolas closed his eyes and Eleriel simply continued to stare.
Finally Celeborn said, "we've been trying to get you two back together for years, but you rather out-maneuvered us."
Eleriel nodded numbly. "But... if those words meant us..."
"It means that you will not leave Middle Earth," Elrond whispered. "Probably not for many thousands of years, if not until the end of Arda."
That was the final straw for Eleriel and Legolas. They stood and in one voice, they told their family and friends exactly what they thought of this.
"That's ridiculous!"
"How can we do something so huge as that?"
"You already have the knowledge and wisdom that is needed," Galadriel said calmly.
"And as for the Ainur..." said Gandalf. "You will be entrusted with an object that holds a tiny portion of our power."
"But Legolas has felt the Sea-longing!" Eleriel cried desperatly.
All eyes turned to Legolas. "This changes things," Elrond said quietly. "If he has, then he can't just ignore it. He'll have to follow the Sea longing someday..."
"...or it will kill him!" Eleriel said angrily.
"Calm down," Galadriel said gently. "We do not yet know exactly what this will mean."
Aragorn spoke for the first time. "I suggest that everyone here get some rest before any rash decisions are made. It seems that you are still weary from your journey, King Thranduil."
"I am," he admitted. "I left in great haste when I received Elrond's message concerning these two, and I only just arrived a little while ago."
"Very well," said Gandalf. "I am going to follow Aragorn's advice." Gandalf swept from the room and went to bed, and soon others in the room followed.
Eleriel and Legolas were the last to leave, but as she left the room, Arwen leaned over and whispered, "get some sleep. I am sure this will all work out eventually." Eleriel smiled wanly at her sister before walking from the room with Legolas.
She knew that she would not be sleeping that night. Sure enough, she tossed and turned in her bed for hours, waiting for the morning as the questions tumbled about in her head. Finally, as the sun was just about to peek over the horizon, Eleriel dropped into a troubled, worried sleep.