Author's Note: Here it is, the last chapter of my first story here. Thanks to all who reviewed; you guys are great, and thanks to all future reviewers. As always, let me know what you think. Enjoy. (You may also note that I did add more to Chapter 4. It's still short but not as much as it was.)

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, needless to say.

"And to that choice I hold. I would rather share one lifetime with you than live all the ages of this world alone." --Arwen (Fellowship)

CHAPTER SIX

I touched my cheek. It was wet, for many tears were winding their way down my face. I was cold, icy except for a single question that still burned in my mind. Had I made the right choice, staying here on Middle Earth? Would I be happier in Valinor with the rest of my kin? My head cried for answers as my heart cried with grief. It had been nearly a season since Aragorn had left me here. When I reached these woods they were immersed in winter, which still reigned, but my eyes could see the slight changes that only the earliest approaches of spring could bring. And what would that spring bring for me? I did not know of yet.

Stroking my horse's sweet face, I then let him go; he wanted to return to his companions, not linger in this dying forest, however great his love for me was. Horses are creatures who love company and I had wrenched him from his own familiar sort. He gave me a gentle push as if to convey his sorrow at what I felt, but that did not overpower his instinct. I watched from the hill as his light feet raced through the trees until I could no longer hear them fall. I now was truly alone.

As sudden as a swift thunderstorm I fell into Seeing. I saw myself as though trough blurred glass, soft around the edges. I sat on a rock overlooking the ocean and sang a sad song; one of remorse and regret. I felt as Amroth must have when he hurled himself into the sea, unable to allow his ship to take him from his love. And as tears streamed down my face now, so did they in my vision. Perhaps even more bitter for not having loved and been loved. I saw myself rising and leaping from the rock, hurling myself into the roaring sea. My body lay crushed on the unforgiving jagged rocks below, rising and falling with each new swell. And there my Sight ended. If it was true I would never know.

I sat on the hill, on top of several mallorn leaves, hugging my knees to my chest and letting my tears soak into the plain dark green fabric of my dress. How long I sat there I do not know, but when I came from my stupor it was night. A pale gold crescent moon was low in the sky. It was nearly the dark of the moon I realised with a touch of irony. How many ways does all of nature find to mock me.

But as I sat there I felt that the moon was quietly telling me something that I had refused to see until this point. I had a choice even now: to close my eyes and heart from this significance or to open both and embrace it. And as I let my mind open it came through as clear as the singing of the Elves on a clear summer night in the meadows of my home. All things have a beginning, and all things have a middle, and all things must eventually come to an end. How it begins is not for our choosing but the middle, and even to a certain extent, the end, are ours to do with as we please. Aragorn chose his end; he decided to die with grace and dignity. Would I?

It was in this moment that I came to know why my old memories had been plaguing me so much. They also were trying to tell me something, which I had closed myself to in my desperate grief. Would I truly give up my life with Aragorn to nothing but memory? Would I turn back the spinning of time and have it all come to nothing and leave for Valinor without ever knowing love? And at last I knew the answer. I would not. I no longer would feel bitter, or angry with myself or Aragorn. This was my choice and I had to live and die by it. Whatever was now at the end, the middle had been more wondrous than I could ever have had imagined. I found love of such remarkable and breathtaking nature; the love of friends such as Faramir and Éowyn, the love of my husband, and the unconditional love of my children. Even though many of those whom I loved had passed beyond this world, I still carried their love within myself. No, I could not regret my decision, not for anything.

With this acceptance came calm, complete and absolute. I became aware suddenly of great exhaustion. I lay down on Cerin Amroth and gave in to the welcoming darkness. As my eyes shut, they fell upon a single golden blossom of elanor under a shining silver star.

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Arwen lay on the hill, her dark hair fanned about her in the soft grass. A lone mallorn leaf drifted slowly down from its tree and rested on her breast, which rose no more. And so concluded the life of the Evenstar.