Part 9

Chloe felt the terrible rush of cold inside her body. For several moments it seemed that an icy fluid pulsed through her body. Then slowly, the coldness seeped out of her skin and a burning sensation coursed through her nerves. Soon she would scream from the pain and not understand, for standing in front of her was the greatest joy in her recollection.

Legolas allowed the jewels to slip out of his hands. Now on the halo between her breasts, the most magnificent gems lay. Gone was the dull glimmer that covered it when Lex gave them to her. The gems vied with the brilliance of the sun.

"Run!" came the shout from Lex.

Chloe looked back at the man she would not really call friend. Lex Luthor pulled himself up and knelt, then slowly staggered to his feet. She frowned at the stance that he took. He longer had the fluid movements of the billionaire. It almost appeared that Lex was brusque, medieval. She glanced at Legolas and read how comprehension dawned in his eyes.

Legolas took Chloe's arm and pulled her to stand behind him. He held out his slender arm in a gesture warding off the approaching man.

"Elboron," he said firmly, "Chiara nin herbess, nin meleth uluithiad."

Lex's eyes narrowed at Legolas. He held out his hand. "It's past, Elf. And there are so many things wrong with what you've said. She is not your wife."

Chloe's eyes widened. She clutched at Clark's shirt on Legolas. Lex Luthor had gone insane, to respond to another name. And then she wondered if she had not gone insane that deep inside she believed that she was indeed an unquenched love. When did she start understanding strange words?

"You should not have touched the Silmaril. Now it will all happen again. You can still stop it. Give them to me," Lex demanded.

"Let them come," Legolas responded. "I will not let her go."

Lex's tight face softened at the Elf's words. Slowly, he said, "You knew that the gems would call me back if you touched it. You knew that the last war would shatter this future world. You had all my respect before, Legolas. Why?"

Chloe noticed the change in Lex, yet another in the series of changes he had undergone since the morning. She stepped beside Legolas and looked at Lex. This was not the man who gave her the jewels this morning. This was the transformed Lex who stood up after the brilliance of the Silmarils threw him. Yet he did not have the shuttered expression that he had when he approached them. He seemed almost young, with a hero-worship no one found in Lex Luthor's face.

"Unending ages, Elboron," Legolas answered, "and immortality are a curse without her touch. Let this be my selfishness. I have given too much and taken too little, after all."

Chloe placed her hand on Legolas' shoulder. The Elf closed his over it and kissed her palm.

"You show your flaw," Lex told him.

Not taking his eyes off Chloe's, Legolas said, "Happily."

Lex nodded in understanding. "Then we fight."

Around them, the earth shook and the ground erupted. In a wide circle, fists punched open the soil until large muscular arms surfaced. Weaponless, two ancient warriors and one young woman watched the mercenaries climb up from underground. Their war cry bellowed through Smallville's peaceful air.

~~

She was swathed in black from head to foot. Chiara's gown was of trailing raven silk, unadorned by beads or jewels. The material stood in stark contrast to her pale skin. Unwilling to let the sun touch places that Legolas' lips had touched, Chiara fastened the black veil to her hair. The veil fell over her face and dragged on the castle floor.

Arwen sat on her bed, her eyes moist at the sight of her daughter. She had asked Chiara if she would be bed, and her daughter did not speak. Since the night that the long box on Chiara's bed arrived, her daughter had not spoken. Arwen's gaze flickered quickly to the golden contents.

Chiara turned away from the full-length mirror on her wall and walked over to Arwen. She knelt in front of the Elven woman and briefly laid her head on Arwen's lap. And then Chiara stood again and kissed her forehead through the black veil.

The silent movements broke Arwen's heart. Chiara's once vibrant eyes were dead. The young woman reached for the box on her bed and lifted the shorn long golden hair from its velvet bed.

Arwen remembered Gwador bursting through the doors bearing the box of Legolas' hair during dinner. Aragorn's face was mottled with anger and grief. Chiara stood up so quickly that her chair had toppled over. She ran to Aragorn's side and touched the strands. She had fallen to her knees. Arwen had taken her daughter to her bed and hummed to soothe her. When the next morning she woke, Chiara never spoke again.

Chiara clutched the lock to her cheek, almost as if it were his hand. And then she pressed a kiss on it and placed it back in the box. She covered the box almost carefully, then gently placed it on her bed again.

Chiara opened the door and walked silently out. Arwen followed behind her. Aragorn and Elboron waited outside, on top of the steps where Aragorn had been crowned king. Arwen saw her husband's face when their daughter appeared. He extended his hand to lead her to Elboron, as custom. Chiara walked past the king, unseeing.

The ceremony was grave and silent. The people still mourned their loss, and the mercenaries edged closer by the second. The tree of Numenor showered them with its white fragrant flowers. The flowers did not penetrate Chiara's veil. Elboron took Chiara in his arms and touched her veil to lift it. She quickly moved to hold it against herself.

Elboron quietly nodded and gave her the sealing kiss through the thin cloth. He faced the people with his new bride and announced, "My friends, this is my wife Chiara, Black Lady of Rohan."

The cheers were muted; the applause hesitant.

Aragorn embraced Elboron to welcome him into the family. He looked at his daughter, who averted her gaze. To the people, he said, "The blood oath is fulfilled with the joining of Gondor and Rohan. Now it is time to rally all our forces against the mercenaries. Light all beacons!"

And the cheers were loud and strong.