A/N: I have corrected the problem with the endnote in chapter 7 with Elrond's genealogy. Elrond and Elros were the grandsons of Beren and Luthien, not their sons. As always, please let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Chapter 17
The next morning, some of the Elves were slow to rise; others hadn't slept at all. Galadriel was nowhere to be found, and neither Elrond nor Celebrían knew where she might be when they finally got up. No one was overly concerned, but they were curious. Even Olórin was aware of the confusion. He had stayed close, though they couldn't see him, and he overheard the questions about her whereabouts. In the end, he was the first to find her when he decided to pay a visit to Melian.
Even in Valinor, Melian favored the form she'd worn in Middle Earth, as well as a physical dwelling, and when Olórin arrived, she and Galadriel were sitting over tea in the house's small kitchen. Reassuming the form he'd worn last night, he knocked on the door frame. Neither woman was surprised in the least to see him.
"Come in, Olórin," Melian said. She passed him a mug of tea. "We've been expecting you."
"Obviously." The feeling of conspiracy grew in his mind. It was obviously true that they'd expected him, because there was an extra cup of tea on the table, and it was freshly made—still too hot to drink.
"I take it you've seen Elewen?" Melian asked, her manner as casual as if she was asking about the weather. Galadriel looked at her in shock. Olórin fought to keep his face blank. In her mind, Melian chuckled. She'd been aware of the plan, but not the actual timing. It was Olórin's appearance that told all. He would have kept the form of an old wizard if not for Elewen's urging. Galadriel had simply been left out of the loop.
"Yes. I saw her last night. I left her with her parents."
Galadriel looked between the two of them in confusion. Melian smiled at her friend. "There was never any intention for Elewen to stay in Mandos, Galadriel. She was released last night. For now, though, I think you ought to head back. We will have plenty of time to chat. I expect the other Elves are curious what's happened to you."
"Celebrían was looking for you," Olórin added.
"Really? I'm surprised she's even awake," Galadriel said dryly, having recovered from her surprise. Celebrían and Elrond had disappeared from the celebration as early as they could without being rude. Galadriel was surprised they had slept at all.
After saying their goodbyes, Galadriel left the house to return to Celebrían's home, leaving the two Maia alone. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Melian didn't want to push Olórin to talk until he was ready. Olórin sipped on his tea, trying to decide what to say and how to say it. He knew Melian was aware of how he felt for Elewen. Finally, he asked, "Is this a conspiracy against me?"
Melian chuckled. "Not against you."
"What do the Valar think about this?" She would know what he meant.
"They approve."
"And what do you think?"
"I think you both deserve some happiness. The two of you have a bright future ahead of you."
"Thank you. It means a lot coming from you." He suspected Melian still grieved for Thingol.
Both fell silent for a moment, then they reminisced about the early days of Middle Earth, before the Elves awoke and before the Trees were created. Eventually, Olórin took his leave and slipped away.
Galadriel made her way back to Celebrían's house, where she found her daughter and Elrond sitting in the library.
"Mother! We've been wondering where you were." Celebrían said.
"I've been visiting Melian. I doubt you were overly worried." Galadriel suspected her daughter and son-in-law had only noticed her absence when the other Elves had mentioned it to them.
"No, but we did wonder." Celebrían replied smoothly.
"Have you seen Olórin?" Elrond asked.
"Yes. He was visiting with Melian when I
left. Why do you ask?"
"Elewen stopped by this
morning. She was released from Mandos
last night. I wondered if she had seen
him."
Galadriel looked over at her son-in-law. He must have known something about this before she did. "They met last night. I do not know the details." She wished she knew more. Like Elewen's parents, Galadriel had seen this relationship coming since their first days in Middle Earth, but apparently Elrond knew something more recent.
"I spoke to him on the ship on the way here." Elrond told her, not waiting for her to ask. "He told me that he was interested in her, but my impression was that he did not expect her to return his affections." Galadriel mulled this over. She would have to ask Melian about it.
Celebrían
looked from her mother to her husband, confused. She had known Gandalf in Middle Earth, but she'd never thought
much about him and Elewen. The whole
idea was strange, but the more she thought about it, the more it fit. Finally, she asked, "How long have the two
of you expected this to happen?"
"I don't know how long Elrond
has known about it, but I suspected it almost since we first came to Valinor,"
Galadriel told her. "I had not heard
about Melian and Thingol, so I did not expect it to actually happen, but I
often thought that had Olórin been an Elf and not a Maia, they might have
married. After I met Melian in Middle
Earth, I realized that it could happen—that an Elf might indeed marry a
Maia. Now, what remains is to be seen
is if they can finally admit it to themselves."
Elewen spent the day and the next night catching up with her family. She avoided Olórin, uncertain about their new relationship. The following morning, she went back to Celebrían's home to see her friends there. Galadriel and Elrond were out on some errand, so Celebrían and Elewen sat down to talk alone.
They made small talk for a while, and Celebrían debated with herself how to broach the subject of Elewen's relationship with Olórin. After a little small talk, Celebrían asked, "What was it like to return from Mandos?"
"It was a relief. It's strange how much you can miss having a physical form. When I first returned, I was a bit shaky, and it took a while before I got my balance quite right. It was good that I had a long walk back to adjust."
"Did you have to walk all the way alone?"
Elewen sighed in her mind. She knew were this was going. "No. I met Olórin on the road."
"It's always good to meet a friend. He's been rather quiet recently, but since you returned, it's been better. Elrond told me that he felt badly about what happened to you." Celbrían knew it was transparent, but she knew no other way to bring up the subject.
"When he said there was a conspiracy about us, I didn't know it was so widespread," Elewen muttered.
"We want you to be happy."
"If this was another Elf, I might even welcome your matchmaking, but Olórin isn't an Elf and only once before in all of history has a Maia married an Elf—and look how that ended."
"Why are you fighting it so much? He seems to care for you, so why is it a problem? Why does it matter that he's a Maia?"
Elewen looked up at her, trying to figure out how to respond. Celebrían was questioning something that had always been self-evident in her mind. Elewen had been drawn to Olórin from the first time she met him, but she'd written it off as a young woman's crush on a very powerful being. Now, the feelings remained, far more than a crush, but the reasoning remained. The Elves did not marry Maia! Why does it matter that he's a Maia? Clebrían had asked. Legolas had asked the same thing. Why did it matter?
The idea that it might not matter was too much for Elewen to take in then and there, and she changed the subject, setting the confusing thoughts aside for the time. After a while, she made an excuse and slipped away to mull over the question on her own. Unable to clarify her own thoughts, she made her way to Melian's home.
Melian greeted Elewen warmly and invited her in to a small study, where the two of them could sit and talk. "How have you been, Elewen?" Melian asked.
"It is good to be back. I'm afraid I'm a little more attached to my physical form than you or the other Maia might be." Elewen chuckled.
"Some of us don't mind it, but even I prefer to keep a physical form. After the years I spent in Doriath in this form, I became attached to it."
"Do you regret staying there for so long?"
"Regret it? Never. I regret that it ended so badly. I regret that there wasn't something more we could do to prevent the evils of the First Age, and all the death and misery over the Silmarils, but I certainly don't regret staying in the first place. I loved Thingol, and I was happy there with him."
Elewen considered this thoughtfully, but didn't respond. After a moment, Melian asked, "Does something with Olórin concern you?" The Maia knew that was why Elewen was here.
"The whole idea of a relationship with him seems so strange that I had never even considered it before he approached me in Middle Earth. Even now, it just doesn't seem reasonable that a Maia should fall in love with me."
"Why not?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why not, Elewen? Are you not worthy of his love? Is love confined to boundaries that exist only in our own minds? If I had believed that, I would never have married Thingol and I would have deprived myself of some of the best parts of my life. Don't make that mistake, Elewen. Don't turn away from love just because it comes in an unlikely form."
"I know you and my family and friends approve, but what of the Valar and the other Maia?"
"They approve. We all want both of you to be happy. Do you think he just happened to be on the same road as you? That you just happened to be released from Mandos the same day he arrived?"
Elewen knew as much, but it didn't make it less intidimating. "I'm scared," she whispered.
"I know. That is something I cannot help you with. You know Olórin—trust him and trust yourself." With that, Melian stood and led Elewen out of the house. "Go find him, Elewen," she urged. "Don't wait for fear to take hold of you again."