Cundu Yet Elentari

~Chapter One~

With the fist call of the gray falcons, Aragorn parted himself from the soft covers of his bed. The room he saw before him was painted in a glorious golden tone and trimmed with impeccable ivory oak. Tall translucent doors at the south wall led to a balcony furnished with pure white. The stone rail was carved with precise, intricate designs that only elves could master.
Aragorn stared out from the balcony to the vast lands beyond the horizons; the mountains, valleys, and open terrain. He was now king over it all. Behind him, the lord of Gondor heard a quiet moan. Slowly, he turned to face his beloved bride, Arwen.
Even so early in the morning, Arwen Evenstar's pale, milky face held a soft, yet regal beauty. Her sea blue eyes shimmered under the waking sun's rays. Ever so delicately, Arwen tossed her long brown hair over her shoulders.
"You are awake early," her voice rolled like a trickling brook.
" I could not bear to remain in slumber at the prospect of my first full day of marriage to my youthful queen." His pink lips turned upward in a passionate smile.
" The day is so young," Arwen noted, rising from her bed with care, " We might take a walk together," she suggested.
Looking deep into her eyes, Aragorn mentally agreed. A loud tap upon the cherry wood door interrupted the stillness of the moment.
Furrowing his brow in question, Aragorn walked towards the north wall and cautiously cracked open the heavy door. There was Gimli, looking displeased.
"I do not care who is king around here," the dwarf rumbled, " But I am used to having breakfast on time." Gimli grinned jokingly. He shook his long beard out of the way.
" You are welcome to any food you should like, Gimli," Aragorn soothed, "But my wife is not ready to rise yet."
"Yes I am, my lord," Arwen stepped beside her husband, matching his height. She lovingly caressed his shoulder. Turning to look down at Gimli, Arwen sighed with a brief laugh.
"Since you seem fond of food, master dwarf, you are welcome to show us how dwarvish food is prepared. She tightened her shiny lips to keep from laughing at the dwarf's small, but warrior-like appearance.
Gimli paused to think, every once and a while letting out a deep grumble. Finally he tilted his neck high to stare into the plain, but expressive face of his companion. There was silence for a moment.
Then, "I accept, my friend," came Gimli in a low, fierce voice, "But may I ask you to part from your wife for a moment. I should be greatly honored if she would escort me to the kitchen and show me all the cooking utensils." With a chuckle that sounded like thunder, Gimli pulled himself to his full height and roughly grabbed Arwen's hand.
Wittingly, she followed, then craned her slender neck to glance upon Aragorn a last time. A simple smile told all.
" Until later, my love," Aragorn called after her in rapid elvish, reluctant to have lost her so early in the day.
" I will be thinking of you," Arwen replied in Quenya.
Gimli shook his head. He continued to pull Arwen along.
"I still don't know why you have to talk in a language I don't understand," he said with a furrowed brow.
Arwen was lead down the flight of mahogany stairs that were covered in a rich burgundy carpet. She marveled at her new home, graceful, yet filled with powerful woodworking.
The beige walls reminded Arwen of her room far away in Imladris. A melancholy tear found its way down her rosy cheeks. At this time, Rivendell would be empty. Though still beautiful, it remained only as a shadow of the fair elven race who once dwelled in it. A painful trauma of nostalgia reminded Arwen that her own parents were long gone across the grey havens, where they would remain immortal forever.
A piercing thought filled the young elf's mind. Had she made the right decision? If she could do it all over again, would she have chosen a human life or eternal youth in a perfect world?
Guiltily, Arwen threw these thoughts from her head. Picturing Aragorn's wise and handsome face, Arwen knew that she had made the right choice.