This chapter is a bit longer, and we are switching over to the lovely land of Lothlorien.
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Seeing
Elrond, son of Eärendil and Elwing, Keeper of Vilya the Ring of Sapphire, former Herald of the High King Gil-Galad, and Lord of Rivendell found himself impatiently pacing back and forth in his room in Lothlorien like a frustrated child, waiting for something. He didn't even know what it was, but that something had been bothering him since leaving Rivendell and it was driving him mad! //I blame Galadriel. She was the one who sent for me, saying it was an emergency. And when I arrive, I find that she has no idea what the emergency is, just that there will be one and that I have to be here for it! If I didn't love Celebrían so much, I would wash my hands of this family!//
"Lord Elrond?" He tried not to jump at the soft voice. Turning, he found himself face to face with Lady Galadriel, and incredibly glad he had been guarding his thoughts. It would not be good to have his clairvoyant mother-in-law 'accidentally' discerning his mental comments. "Lord Elrond, if you would accompany me, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have."
Elrond frowned. "The only question I have is what this emergency is, and you said. . . "
"I said that I did not know what the emergency was and that I would have to look into the Mirror. I have done so, but it only showed blurred figures and I cannot discern what was happening. I believe it will take our combined effort to focus the picture. My husband will join us as well." With that, Galadriel turned and left, slowing only to make sure Elrond was following.
The two elves descended from the heights of Caras Galadhon to Galadriel's Garden where she kept her Mirror from which she saw past, present, and future. Though Elrond had always felt uneasy about the Mirror, he knew that with the waning of the Power of their Rings the only way to quench his curiosity would be to help his mother-in-law. Already at the Mirror was the stern Lord of Lothlorien, Celeborn. A mighty elf lord of Doriath, Celeborn was not only the father of Elrond's wife, but also a kinsman of Elrond's grandmother, Nimloth. If having the stern elf as a father-in-law wasn't hard enough, having him as an elder kinsman could be downright intimidating at times. "My lord Celeborn."
Celeborn acknowledged the younger elf with a nod. "Thank you for coming Lord Elrond," he said in a voice that amplified the regalness of his appearance.
Galadriel moved quietly, filling the mirror with water from the silver fountain nearby. Standing next to the Mirror, she motioned for Elrond to stand beside her. After a pause of reluctance he did, Celeborn standing behind them. Galadriel spoke in a quiet, yet mystically powerful voice. "Elrond, this will work best if you look into the Mirror as I try to sharpen the image with Nenya. Celeborn will make sure the Rings' power does not overtake us." Elrond shuddered mentally at the thought. It he or Galadriel got too far pulled into the visions of the Mirror, the results could be devastating even with the Mirror's waning powers.
With a stoic calmness he did not truly feel, Elrond leaned over slightly and stared into the silver basin. It did not take long for the elf lord's image to dissipate and the visions to appear. Elrond felt himself drawn into the images, dark figures walking through cobble streets. Distantly, he felt a surge of power that must have come from Nenya, Galadriel's Ring. The figures sharpened into real people, Men dressed in black mourning garb. Elrond recognized the city as Minas Tirith and he felt uneasy. For the whole city to be in mourning meant either the end of a war or the death of a city hero. He watched as women wept in the streets and men sometimes stopped their work to glance sadly at the banner on top of the Tower of Ecthelion. Instead of the usual emblem of the King, a black banner fluttered in the breeze with a large white star surrounded by several smaller stars. Elrond fought his rising panic. The large star could only mean that someone loved dearly by the people of Gondor was dead. Who could be dearer then his own son, Estel, who was their king?
Calm yourself, son of Eärendil. Do not pull yourself into your grief.
Lord Elrond took a deep breath, running Galadriel's words through his mind as a barrier against his fear. //It is only a vision. It may not come to pass. It may not even be Estel.// The vision changed and Elrond found himself on the outskirts of an unfamiliar village in what seemed to be Gondor. There were signs of a recent orc attack, but the vision did not let him see the extent of the damage. Instead it took the elf lord to a tent, dark as a night in Mordor. He heard a woman sobbing inside, sobs that turned into screams of denial. The tent opened and two men dragged the screaming woman away. Then, just as suddenly as the sobs turned to screams, the woman collapsed to the ground. One of the men gathered her into his arms as she wept. The other man glared tearfully at the heavens, as if blaming the stars and the moon for his grief. With a horrible start, Elrond recognized the man as his son, Estel. //No.// The elf lord felt dread overwhelming him as he watched the woman, Éowyn, sobbing in her brother's arms. The realization that only one thing could cause this distress struck Elrond's heart like lightning. //NO!// Pulling himself deeper into the vision, Elrond ran into the tent, stopping by the lone cot inside. The elf lord felt his heart begin to break as he looked down on the motionless figure on the bed. The pale, lifeless face of his younger foster son stood out against the dark blankets. //No, Tir, please no!// He collapsed next to Faramir, gathering the Man's limp hand in his own.
As the grief of his loss seemed to drown him, Elrond felt a strange tugging sensation, like someone was trying to pull him away. He fought it, trying to stay with his son.
Lord Elrond, you must pull back. You are falling into the vision.
The Lord of Rivendell recognized the voice, vaguely, but did not answer. He could not answer, not with Tir lying dead before him.
Elrond, come back now! You are pulling both of us in, you must remove yourself!
The voice held a hint of desperation. Elrond felt the pulling growing more insistent, but still he hesitated. He could not leave Tir, not like this.
He is not dead yet, it is only an image of what is to come. We must leave the vision at once, Elrond, or we will not return.
Celeborn watched in concealed anxiety as his wife and son-in-law sought the future. Though not as gifted as Galadriel in foresight, he felt ill at ease with what they were doing. That was why he had insisted on being there, to watch for the trouble that sometimes occurred when the Mirror was used. Celeborn frowned as he saw Elrond grab hold of the pedestal on which the Mirror stood. The younger elf's hands were white from gripping the hard stone and the emotion that played on his face worried his elder kinsman. Stepping closer, Celeborn recognized a look of concern on Galadriel's face, concern that soon turned to fear. Instantly Celeborn realized that they were being drawn into the vision. Grabbing his wife's shoulder, Celeborn shook her, trying to bring her out of her trance to no avail. The Sindar lord held back his fear and turned to his son-in-law. "Elrond. Elrond!" The elf didn't respond at all and Celeborn was dismayed to see tears welling in Elrond's deep, gray eyes.
The Lord of Lothlorien growled in frustration. //Thank you so much, Celebrimbor. These Rings of yours were such a good idea.// As it was, both Vilya and Nenya were pulsating blue and white light, respectively. The light reflected off the Mirror and suddenly an idea formed in Celeborn's mind. Stepping closer to the Mirror, Celeborn hesitated a moment. What he was about to do was extremely dangerous, both for himself and the two elves connected to the vision. A pained gasp from Galadriel threw all doubts from his mind. Gritting his teeth, Celeborn shoved his right hand into the Mirror, splashing the water from the basin and shattering the control it held on Elrond and Galadriel's minds. The force of the disruption threw all three of the elves backward onto the grass.
Galadriel clutched her head against the throbbing pain that ran through it. Being torn thus from a vision left one feeling as if they had had too many drinks the night before. A hand touched her shoulder, and she looked over at her husband. Celeborn's eyes were full of concern for her, and Galadriel smiled slightly to reassure him that she was all right. But quickly, both turned their concern on Elrond who still held his head in his hands. Not really caring that she was the great Lady of Lothlorien, Galadriel crawled over and placed her hand on the back of his neck as she had done many times to comfort her daughter and then her grandchildren. "It may not come to pass, Elrond. The future is ever-changing, he may yet be saved."
Elrond looked up at the elder elf, his eyes wrought with grief. To Galadriel he seemed almost a child again with all those that he loved lost to him. The brief glimpse into the past ended as Elrond collected himself, hiding behind the expressionless mask that hid his pain, and stood shakily. "I leave for Gondor immediately," he stated firmly, his voice not betraying the quaking in his soul.
Celeborn helped his wife to her feet. When he was sure she could stand on her own, he strode forward and gripped his son-in-law's arm. "You must wait until you have regained your strength. You are in no condition to go anywhere, Elrond. Sauron may be defeated, but the road to Gondor still has its dangers. Weakened as you are, you would not survive an attack."
"I do not care! I am not going to sit here and do nothing when my son is in danger!"
Galadriel placed a light hand on the younger elf's shoulder. "Elrond, the vision showed the full moon. Ithil reaches his peak in four days, there is not enough time for you to reach him."
"I leave immediately!" Elrond's eyes blazed. No one was going to keep him from his son, not even the Lady of the Wood.
"At least. . . " Celeborn's words were halted as Elrond tore out of their grasp and stormed away, though it was obvious to the elf lord's keen eyes that it was taking nearly all of the younger elf's strength to do so.
"Let him go." Galadriel's soft voice stopped Celeborn from following. He glanced at his wife, an eyebrow raised in question. "Where that young one is concerned, subtlety is more useful than force." The shrewd yet sad look in Galadriel's eyes stopped him from saying anything. Unfortunately her sharp eyes soon turned to him. "Let me see your hand." She demanded calmly.
Celeborn tried to hide his right hand behind his back. "I don't know what you are talking about."
Galadriel smiled. "It does not take far-sight to realize how you broke the connection with the vision, now let me see before I call Haldir and his brothers to force you."
With a sigh, Celeborn held out his hand. It was red and blistered, the skin on his palm striped raw. "It doesn't hurt very. . . " he hissed in pain as Galadriel gently touched it.
"Indeed. Come, we must see to this." The Lord and Lady of Lothlorien made their way slowly to their room, Galadriel leaning heavily on her husband's left side, Celeborn cradling his right arm against his chest. They stopped only once for Galadriel to give Haldir an assignment before they entered their own room.
There Galadriel briskly went to work on her husband's hand. It would heal quickly on its own, but she wanted to clean it to guard against infection. She spoke sternly to Celeborn as she wrapped the wound, but with centuries as her husband Celeborn was able to detect a slight tremor in her voice. "It was very foolish to interrupt the vision like that. If something had gone wrong it would not have been just Elrond and I that died, but you as well. It would have been better had you let me try to pull us back."
"That did not seem to be working well."
Galadriel looked away from her husband's clear blue eyes. "Yes, but I do not want to risk losing you."
Celeborn lifted her chin so that she had to look at him. "I would risk anything for my laurelin. My life would not matter if you were not in it."
Galadriel was shocked to find that tears were filling her eyes. The exhaustion that had been threatening to overcome her broke down her hardened exterior. Wrapping her arms around her husband, Galadriel started crying softly. "Oh Celeborn, I can't imagine living without you." She thought of Éowyn in the vision, losing the love of her life, and hugged Celeborn tighter.
The Lord of Lothlorien held his wife close. "You will not have to. I will always be here. I promise." Slowly Galadriel's tears subsided and she found herself falling asleep. Celeborn gathered her into his arms and laid her on their bed. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I love you, my wife."
"Love you too." She murmured, half asleep already.
Celeborn walked towards the door before pausing and turning around. "Galadriel?"
"Hmm?"
"What did you tell Haldir to do to Elrond?"
Galadriel opened one eye and sighed. "I did what was necessary. Though I doubt Elrond will ever forgive me."
Elrond stumbled around his room, packing haphazardly. His only thought was to get to Gondor as quickly as possible, hopefully in time to stop the vision from coming to pass. In his heart he knew that something had already happened, but the stubbornness of his human ancestors kept him on his weary feet. //Please Elbereth, let me be in time. He is not suppose to die, not yet.// He could not lose his son, he would not!
"Lord Elrond?"
He turned to the doorway where a tall, blonde elf stood. It was Haldir, a border guard of Lothlorien. "May I help you?" Elrond asked, not concealing his irritation at the interruption. Every moment mattered.
Haldir held out a goblet of wine. "My Lady asked me to bring this to you. She said you would need refreshment before you left."
Had Elrond not been so fatigued he probably would have been more suspicious. As it was, he found that he was extremely thirsty and quickly accepted the wine. He drank half of it before setting it down on a table. Frowning, Elrond realized that Haldir was still there. "You may go . . . " The room started to spin and the elf lord's legs gave out from under him. He felt Haldir catch him before he hit the floor. "What?" As the world darkened, Elrond recognized the slightly sour taste in the wine. //She drugged me! No, you can't do this, I have to get to my son!// Unconsciousness took him, his world floating into the darkness of sleep. Elrond could only cry out in his mind, anger boiling against the elf who wouldn't let him help his child.
In her own room, Galadriel clutched her pillow as she heard Elrond's mental pleas and curses. //Forgive me, young one. It is the only way.// As she remembered the horrible time when her own child had been in mortal peril, Galadriel wept for the son in anguish and the father helpless to stop it.
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For those of you who don't know, Celebrimbor was the elf who forged the Rings of Power. This intelligent Noldor had a little help from this innocent ol' guy named Sauron. Only the Elven Rings were untainted by Sauron because Celebrimbor actually did something smart and hid them from the Dark Lord. Unfortunately, the Elven Rings were still under control of the One Ring and when it was destroyed, the power of the Elven Rings faded and thus the time of the elves came to an end. Stupid Celebrimbor. *Elladen growls in agreement*
I hope you don't mind how I portrayed Celeborn and Galadriel's relationship. It seems silly to me that they would be just as aloof with each other as they were with the Fellowship. Also, Celeborn does not hide behind Galadriel's skirts, he is a powerful elf lord and Elladen gets to eat anyone who says otherwise. (jk, but I am very protective of my elves and their reputations) That's just my two cents (actually it's probably more like a dollar, but you know what I mean). If you have any other questions, ask in your review and I'll answer them.
Additional author's note: Celeborn calls Galadriel laurelin as a pet name. It is the name of the golden tree of Valinor and would fit her. Anyway, back to Faramir in the next chapter, but I needed to get the elves in here somewhere. Merry Christmas!