The trek down from Ered Luin was quick and soon, the party stood looking over the vast fields of Forlindon. Elladan was looking intently to the south of where they stood, straining his eyes in the gloom of an approaching storm and dusk. After a few minutes he pointed into the distance at a small black outline.

"There, Forlond…"

It was good that he had spotted the city for a fog rolled in not much later and cut off their view almost completely. So, with horses tied saddle to saddle and Elladan at the lead, the group set out across the hazy field, praying that they would outrun the rain promised.

Celebrían was hoping also to outrun her husband's exhaustion as she could see him beginning to slump in his saddle.

Forlond welcomed the visitors from Imladris with open arms, good food and dry beds for which the entire party was very thankful. Glorfindel and Erestor took the twins along with Arwen to partake of the famous Forlond cuisine while the Lord and lady settled into their quarters for the night, claiming that they were not hungry.

Elrond watched Celebrían walk alongside him the entire way to their room, finding that the dim light which came through the windows mad her hair give off a light of it's own. He smiled when he thought about how much stronger she seemed from when he had first met her. In the boundaries of Lorien, of Caras Galadhon, she had seemed shy and timid. Like a human lady in waiting, so much different from her parents, from the strength of the Lady Galadriel and the Lord Celeborn.

A stifled sound akin to a giggle escaped Elrond as they reached their room and Celebrían looked to her husband with curiosity. He had been thinking of an incident that occurred not long after he had first journeyed to Lorien, not long after he had fallen in love with the most stunning creature in middle earth.

"What?" She asked curiously, seeing Elrond take a seat upon their bed, place his head in his hand and outright laugh.

After a while, he stopped laughing enough to answer, "The Lothlorien kidnapping," and he burst out laughing again. Celebrían came to sit down next to him before she too joined in his laughing, leaning her head against his shoulder.

That which they were laughing about was something which had caused much panic throughout the great forest of Lothlorien. The daughter of the Lord and Lady had apparently gone missing without a trace. In truth, Elrond had come to her room in secret during the night and asked for her accompaniment on a ride. He had said nothing about a destination or a time when they might return, just asked for her hand and whisked her out of her room, out of Caras Galadhon, out of the forest she called home.

Celebrían held onto Elrond as they galloped along the stretch of the misty mountains for what seemed ages to her. When finally he halted his steed, Elrond dismounted and helped Celebrían down. It was there, under the shadow of the mountain range with a setting sun behind them, that they shared their first kiss. Of course, Celeborn had nearly killed him when he returned her home but Elrond had been to happy to care.

Celebrían laughed for a while longer as gradually, Elrond slipped his arms about her and drew her body closer to his. All laughs escaping her ceased when her husband pressed his lips to hers and held them. She was tempted to just let him continue, to pursue this kiss as far as to make love to him...but caring for someone allows reason to hold you down tightly.

Pulling away from his grasps, Celebrían looked Elrond in the eyes. "We can't."

Elrond smiled devilishly and moved to kiss her. "I do not see why not-."

"You've overworked yourself as it is...I will do nothing to worsen your condition." She replied, pushing him back. Elrond looked at her indignantly.

"If your suggesting that I'm to weak to make love to you then I must assure you that my body has not weakened to that degree yet...and plead that you kill me before it does."

Celebrían smiled as her husband did and leaned her head close to his. "Tomorrow morning, before Anar has even shown itself..."

The couple smiled before sharing one last kiss and preparing for bed.

~*~

"'Tis a sad fate to hear ones own heart begin to slow. Sadder is it to hear ones lover's heart begin to beat its last beats....

I will take him soon and crush a part of her in doing so...but it cannot be avoided, he made his choice and I will not share in his guilt."

~*~

His voice, strong and certain, seemed unchanged even though she thought it must. But he wasn't. He was a perfect picture from close to three thousand years ago, walking with his head held high and his laugh, his laugh! The perfect picture of a King content with life.

"You know little one, it will all end, everything we've worked for, if someone does not take his place...as he took theirs." He said knowingly, looking at her keenly from his seat atop a stone. She looked out behind him to see Imladris only it wasn't the Imladris she called home. It was ruined and the stream which ran directly down through it flowed no more.

More than that, from where they were, a vast expanse of land stretched out to the misty mountains and beyond. The land was scarred with patches of charred grassland and beyond that, where the forest of Lorien was normally visible on the horizon, a bare skeleton of a once proud forest stood.

Celebrían could only stare for a moment before turning her attention back to the King seated before her who looked at her as though he was trying to discern something.

"Ereinion..."

He shook his head. "Even you must have felt something wrong about this all...." When she only looked at him, he smiled and looked to the horizon where the dead forest stood. "They're going to die...when they storm the forest...hundreds of beasts, hundreds of elves. Your parents...your mother...they'll hold her down and make him watch...before they slit their throats."

Celebrían's mouth went dry. He said it so matter-of-factly...what would happen to her home, her family. But when he turned back to her, his face was stone cold and dead serious as he arose and grabbed her by the arms.

"There's a chance left yet..."

She looked at him with hope. "To save him?"

For the first time in their odd little exchange, Gil-galad put on a face she recalled with great fondness. A smile that was more with his eyes than anything else, one which he used when delivering bad news.

"Tithen min...there is no way to save him. The only...the only reason I am here...is to bring news to you of what will come, I was sent."

She looked at the ground between them for a second before looking back at his face. "Sent by who?"

The odd, otherworldly smile came back to his face. "By the one who will take him."

In an instant, the entire world was engulfed with fire as she awoke, covered in sweat and shaking.

Celebrían kicked off the covers quickly, feeling restricted by the damp coverings. As she allowed her breathing to even out, she looked at the form next to her which stirred the covers ever so gently as his chest rose and fell beneath the covers.

Looking out the window, Celebrían saw the darkness begin to lighten and turned to her husband. Elrond stirred ever so slightly when his wife laid her lips upon his shoulder and when she didn't remove them, he turned to look at her with bleary eyes.

Ignoring whatever pain was in her heart from the recently gained knowledge of his fate, Celebrían kissed him fully as she slowly moved atop him. Elrond smiled mid-kiss as he rolled over and wrapped his arms around her.

She felt his tongue sliding down from her neck to her chest as his hands massaged her flesh but she barely responded to it in her mind even though her body ached. Her mind was focused on something, something she wouldn't have thought of unless the dream hadn't shocked her so.

Body pulsing with desire, her mind paid close attention to what her ears picked up. Apart from the steadily increasing rate of Elrond's breathing along with her own, the river, the breathing of those in the rooms as far as ten doors down, apart from all those things...there were two 'thrums' which she listened to intently. One, strong and beating hard, was her own. The other, low and weak...was Elrond's. But it wasn't the beats themselves that she was interested in. it was the rate.

Dipping her head into Elrond's shoulder as they joined one another in body, Celebrían let a tear slip down her face despite the ecstasy of the moment.

The beats of the heart so close to her own...were slowing ever so slightly.

Elrond, feeling particularly invigorated by the mornings events, walked down the pale green marble halls, attempting to adjust his braids while whistling a tune he remembered from ages ago.

But his feet and his throat seemed to stop working when he turned a corner and saw a figure standing by a window a few feet away, looking out at the mists that floated as a blanket over the land. His cloak was a grey-green and it covered almost all of his rather tall body save for his head but the outline of armor was visible beneath it. His staff, or spear rather, bore his weight as he leaned upon it but Elrond suspected that he didn't need to, never had he been in the presence of something that gave off an air of such strength.

All his thoughts ceased when the figure turned and looked at him through the slits of his vaguely elven helmet. No eyes were visible, just the sight of distinctly dark brown skin where the dim light was permitted to touch it.

Elrond thought he would fall to his knees when the figure, now obviously male, sighed heavily and returned his gaze to the grounds...let alone when it spoke.

"I never thought I would have to take one like this..."

"Elrond?"

Spinning around and clutching the wall for balance, he nearly fell over when Celebrían turned the corner and bumped into him. She immediately wrapped her arms around him when she noticed he was shaking.

"What's wrong, meleth nin?" she spoke quietly as she brushed aside his hair from his forehead and felt the sweat lingering there.

Elrond looked at her as though she had gone insane and turned to look behind him. There was no figure, no air of strength, just the hall and the window and the drifting fog.

He breathed deeply and tried to convince himself that it was hunger, causing him to see things which just weren't there....it almost worked.

~*~

Anar-The sun

Tithin min-Little one

Meleth nin-My love

~*~

Ok, I think it's safe to say that the muse has returned in full force:D

Inspirational thanks goes to the Teaparty for the song 'Angels', Tonic for the song 'you wanted more' and Jimmy Eat World for the song 'sweetness'...these three combined helped to churn this little chappie out^-^