AN - nearly over now! I'm already thinking of ideas for a sequel, if you
all want one that is...
"Your hospitality is superb, my friend." Gandalf said to Aragorn. "And the food leaves little else to be desired." Aragorn smiled. They sat at a table groaning under the weight of all the food it bore.
"Thank you." Aragorn said, but his attention was not on Gandalf.
"Does something trouble you?" Gandalf asked.
"No." Aragorn replied, then shook his head and turned to Gandalf. "Yes. For some reason I have this strange feeling in my soul. I have a feeling there are still some orcs in Middle-earth, and not too far from us."
"Oh?" Gandalf raised his eyebrows, of course knowing that there were orcs near the great mountains to the north, but Aragorn had not remembered any of the events leading up to the reincarnation of Arwen. "And where does your heart tell you these orcs are?" He asked.
"Near to Mirkwood, I fear." Aragorn said. "I have been trying to speak to Legolas all evening, trying to talk to him and ask if his father can send out some soldiers to search, however Legolas seems otherwise preoccupied."
They looked over to where Legolas stood, not far from where Arwen was talking to Anánia, and rocking Eldarion.
"It would seem that Legolas is attracted to that elf." Aragorn mused.
"He certainly should be, after their escapades." Gandalf said, forgetting himself for a moment.
"What escapades?" Aragorn asked curiously. "Do they know each other?"
"No." Gandalf said sadly. "They have never spoken before." 'So much the pity.' He thought. 'Why should true love be lost now, there must be some way that we can make them remember what happened between them? I can not allow Legolas to loose his one true love.'
"You look very pretty Anánia." Arwen said, smiling at the young elf. "A certain Prince can hardly keep his eyes off you!" She spoke knowingly.
Anánia blushed and replied in a hushed voice. "I do not know him, and we have never spoken. Yet I feel an urge to go and speak with him like I would speak to an old friend."
"You should give in to your urges." Arwen said mystically. Eldarion began to murmur in her arms and his face began twisting into a grimace. "Oh please don't cry now Eldarion." She begged, then looked at Anánia curiously. "Here." She said, handing Eldarion to Anánia.
Anánia was surprised when Arwen trust her baby into her arms. But as soon as Eldarion looked up at Anánia's face he quietened, and lay peacefully in her arms. She looked down at him in surprise.
"He seems to like you." Arwen smiled. "I thought he would know your arms."
"I don't understand." Anánia said.
Arwen looked around at the room, it was late and the guests were leaving. "There is much to be said." She spoke quietly. "This can not remain a secret, I want you all to know."
With that she rushed off and whispered something in Gandalf's ear. Anánia was left holding the baby, literally.
"Um...Good evening." Came a voice form behind her. She turned around to be faced with the prince of Mirkwood himself.
"Good evening." She replied, meeting his eyes.
"Might I ask your name?" Legolas asked.
"Anánia." She said, trying to hold her hand out, but gave up as it meant juggling Eldarion in her arms, and she was nervous about holding the Prince of Gondor.
"I am Legolas." He said. "I wanted to come and talk to you, but I could not explain why. Have we met before?"
Before Anánia could reply Arwen was at her side.
"There is much to be spoken." She said, taking Eldarion from Anánia. "Come with me."
She led them, and a few other guests into a small room concealed by a wall hanging. Once they were all assembled there, Arwen turned to face them all. Four hobbits, a dwarf, two elves, a winged man and a wizard, as well as her husband.
"There is a story to be told." She said. "You will not believe it, but Gandalf will verify that everything I say is true. It all begins when I died..."
For three hours they sat and listened to Arwen and Gandalf recount their adventures that "had not" happened. At the end they stood and stared at each other, and suddenly everything seemed to fit into place.
"Does this make any sense?' Gandalf asked.
"More than sense." Gimli said. "I know it is true. It certainly explains why I suddenly felt the urge to search the misty mountains near Mirkwood for something that I didn't know I was looking for."
"You promised Astor you would find him." Gandalf smiled. "And you did, didn't you?"
"He rescued me only a few days ago." Astor said. "And took me to Lothlorien to be healed. I wondered why I felt so attached to the little man, like I trusted him. I would not normally trust such a being, especially when I was injured."
Gandalf smiled. "If you all think back, you may find that you have felt a certain sense of deja vu over the past few weeks. Maybe something that you have said, or done, that has made you stop and wonder where it has been said before."
"That's how you knew, Sam." Frodo said suddenly. "Gandalf, when Sam and I travelled here he suggested a path that did not cross a road, and when I asked him why he said it was because he knew I was scared of travelling on the road. But I had never told anyone that."
"But you did Mr Frodo." Sam said. "You told me on our quest to bring Arwen back to life, and I remembered that part."
"You will never remember all that happened to you." Gandalf said sadly. "However little memories and images may return to you at times, consciously or in dreams."
"We felt we had to tell you." Arwen said. "And thank you for all you have done. It is only fair that you should know. And now I hope that you will all accept what has come to pass and live your lives well, bearing it in mind."
The company filed out of the room.
"So you are scared of the road Frodo?" Merry asked. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who avoids walking on roads now."
"I hate roads too." Pippin admitted. "But I was afraid you would all mock me if I told you. Do you think there is any food left?' The hobbits ran over to the table, chatting excitedly about the adventure that they did, yet did not have.
"So old friend." Gimli said, looking up at the towering birdman. "You promised me a trip to your home country, I would very much like to see it."
"And I would like to see your world, Gimli." Astor said. "And it seems that now I owe you my life twice over, for you have assisted in saving my life twice."
Legolas and Anánia didn't look each other in the eye for a time; they walked side by side not saying a word for a while.
"I thought I knew you from somewhere." Legolas said.
"Oh yes," Anánia agreed quickly, glad that the silence was broken. "I knew too."
Silence again.
"You look very pretty." Legolas said.
"You too." Anánia said quickly. "I mean, not pretty, but..." She stopped and looked at Legolas. "I can't believe how awkward this is!"
"I know!" He agreed. "Especially as according to Gandalf we..." he stopped, not wanting to say that they had apparently slept together.
An awkward silence fell.
"I feel like I barely know you." Anánia said finally, looking at Legolas with an unreadable expression in her eyes. "And yet I feel that at this moment, all I want is to know you better." She blushed, feeling that she had been too forward in her words.
"I feel the same." Legolas sighed.
"Then let us talk." She said brightly. "We can walk in the moonlight and talk."
"And then when we have got to know each other a little better," Legolas continued. "We can decide whether we want what has happened in the past to be true, or forget about it and move on, saying it never happened."
"I believe it happened." She said quietly.
Legolas looked at her with his soulful blue eyes. "Me too." He whispered, gently kissing her in the moonlight, and instantly they knew that they had found their place.
"I can not believe I let you die." Aragorn sighed, sitting on the edge of his bed and watching Arwen put Eldarion into the cot beside her.
"You saved me though." She said, sitting next to him and taking his hand in hers.
"Did I truly reject Eldarion?" Aragorn asked, tears welling up in his eyes. "I would never do that to him Arwen, I swear that I love him."
"I don't question it for a moment." She replied, kissing him lightly. Today you promised to love him and protect him, and I know you will honour your promise."
He smiled and kissed her back.
"One day we shall be parted." She said. "but that day is far in the future, and we will be old and grey, with our children attending to us as we take our last peaceful breath and join the thousands before us."
"Children?" Aragorn asked, looking at Arwen. She was illuminated by the moonlight, and looked serene and radiant.
"Well, why shouldn't Eldarion have a little brother or sister?" She asked, kissing Aragorn's hand and falling backwards onto the feather bed. He followed her and began to cover her with kisses, his hands gently caressing her body.
They rose and fell together, united as one. Flying so high they almost touched the heavens, and then falling back until the very fires of hell almost burned their bodies.
Gandalf smiled as he looked back at Gondor from his palace on Shadowfax. It was time for him to leave. He had left the hobbits eating at the table, and Astor and Gimli planning their adventures in the hallway. He had glimpsed Legolas and Anánia, becoming 'reacquainted' with each other. And something told him that he knew where Aragorn and Arwen were.
"All is as it is meant to be Shadowfax." He whispered kindly in the night. "We will return to Gondor soon, or maybe visit Legolas and his lady in Mirkwood. But now I feel that the mountains beckon us, do you agree?"
The stallion whinnied and reared before turning and galloping away from the lights of Gondor, a white ghost moving through the midnight landscape. When they found him gone in the morning they would not mourn, for they knew he would return, as he always did. He did not always accept invitations, and sometimes turned up unexpected, but he would always return, and until then they would live their lives as normal. Well, as normal as can be expected!
The End
AN – Thank you all so much for being a part of this project, it really did turn into an epic! Congratulations to Ciel-Undomiel, the 300th reviewer (also first class rambler and a very loyal reviewer!) If anyone has an ideas for plots etc they would like me to write, please submit them in a review or email me at boozylozziehotmail.com
Final Response to Reviews (It is so sad, I am going to miss you all so much!)
Dragonfly – thanks for that information, I thought they had more children, but couldn't remember how many.
Lilwhitelighter – once I get an idea for a sequel I will post it, and hope to see all of my favourite reviewers back again!
Deana – I have no ideas for a sequel as yet, but I do plan to write one eventually.
Butterfly-elf – I would like to do a fiction about Legolas, but I think I would get bored of writing about Anánia, she is nothing special.
Viviana – I will get a sequel out when I can, I promise!
Valia-elf – glad you liked it!
Mariette – no! that wasn't the last chapter! This is the last chapter!
The True Evenstar – Leggy and Anánia together, as you requested! Thanks for being such a wonderful reviewer, I hope to be producing some more stuff for you to review soon!
Lindahoyland – I am glad you liked this! Hope to see your name around soon!
Ringmarciel – the christening was meant to be a mirror image of the funeral, what would have happened if Arwen hadn't died, if that makes sense. Compare the two chapters to get a clearer picture though! Thanks for all your reviews over the past months!
Emily – glad you liked it!
Terreis – thanks go to tolkien for leaving the other children of Arwen and Aragorn as a mystery, and something for me to write about! Thanks for that information. See you around the site I hope!
Julia – I was thinking either something about Eldarion growing up or something about Avion. Maybe I will mix the two...Thanks for the suggestions!
Ciel-Undomiel – Your last review of this story approaches, please make it a good one! Thanks for all your rambles over the past few months, they have really kept me entertained. And I'm glad I have made you start to like Legolas, hopefully I can continue that in a sequel!
Curly curlz – voila! One revelation, and a nice comfortable end to the story. I wouldn't want to leave it hanging, because that is just cruel and you would probably come and tar and feather me for it!
Cerridwen – I plan to write a sequel, don't know when though! Thanks for all your reviews!
Theblondeineverknew – thanks for your review, shame you came in near the end. Oh well, thanks for the information about Arwen's daughters too!
AN – thanks everybody. Review please. Suggestions for sequels welcome. Bye for now!
"Your hospitality is superb, my friend." Gandalf said to Aragorn. "And the food leaves little else to be desired." Aragorn smiled. They sat at a table groaning under the weight of all the food it bore.
"Thank you." Aragorn said, but his attention was not on Gandalf.
"Does something trouble you?" Gandalf asked.
"No." Aragorn replied, then shook his head and turned to Gandalf. "Yes. For some reason I have this strange feeling in my soul. I have a feeling there are still some orcs in Middle-earth, and not too far from us."
"Oh?" Gandalf raised his eyebrows, of course knowing that there were orcs near the great mountains to the north, but Aragorn had not remembered any of the events leading up to the reincarnation of Arwen. "And where does your heart tell you these orcs are?" He asked.
"Near to Mirkwood, I fear." Aragorn said. "I have been trying to speak to Legolas all evening, trying to talk to him and ask if his father can send out some soldiers to search, however Legolas seems otherwise preoccupied."
They looked over to where Legolas stood, not far from where Arwen was talking to Anánia, and rocking Eldarion.
"It would seem that Legolas is attracted to that elf." Aragorn mused.
"He certainly should be, after their escapades." Gandalf said, forgetting himself for a moment.
"What escapades?" Aragorn asked curiously. "Do they know each other?"
"No." Gandalf said sadly. "They have never spoken before." 'So much the pity.' He thought. 'Why should true love be lost now, there must be some way that we can make them remember what happened between them? I can not allow Legolas to loose his one true love.'
"You look very pretty Anánia." Arwen said, smiling at the young elf. "A certain Prince can hardly keep his eyes off you!" She spoke knowingly.
Anánia blushed and replied in a hushed voice. "I do not know him, and we have never spoken. Yet I feel an urge to go and speak with him like I would speak to an old friend."
"You should give in to your urges." Arwen said mystically. Eldarion began to murmur in her arms and his face began twisting into a grimace. "Oh please don't cry now Eldarion." She begged, then looked at Anánia curiously. "Here." She said, handing Eldarion to Anánia.
Anánia was surprised when Arwen trust her baby into her arms. But as soon as Eldarion looked up at Anánia's face he quietened, and lay peacefully in her arms. She looked down at him in surprise.
"He seems to like you." Arwen smiled. "I thought he would know your arms."
"I don't understand." Anánia said.
Arwen looked around at the room, it was late and the guests were leaving. "There is much to be said." She spoke quietly. "This can not remain a secret, I want you all to know."
With that she rushed off and whispered something in Gandalf's ear. Anánia was left holding the baby, literally.
"Um...Good evening." Came a voice form behind her. She turned around to be faced with the prince of Mirkwood himself.
"Good evening." She replied, meeting his eyes.
"Might I ask your name?" Legolas asked.
"Anánia." She said, trying to hold her hand out, but gave up as it meant juggling Eldarion in her arms, and she was nervous about holding the Prince of Gondor.
"I am Legolas." He said. "I wanted to come and talk to you, but I could not explain why. Have we met before?"
Before Anánia could reply Arwen was at her side.
"There is much to be spoken." She said, taking Eldarion from Anánia. "Come with me."
She led them, and a few other guests into a small room concealed by a wall hanging. Once they were all assembled there, Arwen turned to face them all. Four hobbits, a dwarf, two elves, a winged man and a wizard, as well as her husband.
"There is a story to be told." She said. "You will not believe it, but Gandalf will verify that everything I say is true. It all begins when I died..."
For three hours they sat and listened to Arwen and Gandalf recount their adventures that "had not" happened. At the end they stood and stared at each other, and suddenly everything seemed to fit into place.
"Does this make any sense?' Gandalf asked.
"More than sense." Gimli said. "I know it is true. It certainly explains why I suddenly felt the urge to search the misty mountains near Mirkwood for something that I didn't know I was looking for."
"You promised Astor you would find him." Gandalf smiled. "And you did, didn't you?"
"He rescued me only a few days ago." Astor said. "And took me to Lothlorien to be healed. I wondered why I felt so attached to the little man, like I trusted him. I would not normally trust such a being, especially when I was injured."
Gandalf smiled. "If you all think back, you may find that you have felt a certain sense of deja vu over the past few weeks. Maybe something that you have said, or done, that has made you stop and wonder where it has been said before."
"That's how you knew, Sam." Frodo said suddenly. "Gandalf, when Sam and I travelled here he suggested a path that did not cross a road, and when I asked him why he said it was because he knew I was scared of travelling on the road. But I had never told anyone that."
"But you did Mr Frodo." Sam said. "You told me on our quest to bring Arwen back to life, and I remembered that part."
"You will never remember all that happened to you." Gandalf said sadly. "However little memories and images may return to you at times, consciously or in dreams."
"We felt we had to tell you." Arwen said. "And thank you for all you have done. It is only fair that you should know. And now I hope that you will all accept what has come to pass and live your lives well, bearing it in mind."
The company filed out of the room.
"So you are scared of the road Frodo?" Merry asked. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who avoids walking on roads now."
"I hate roads too." Pippin admitted. "But I was afraid you would all mock me if I told you. Do you think there is any food left?' The hobbits ran over to the table, chatting excitedly about the adventure that they did, yet did not have.
"So old friend." Gimli said, looking up at the towering birdman. "You promised me a trip to your home country, I would very much like to see it."
"And I would like to see your world, Gimli." Astor said. "And it seems that now I owe you my life twice over, for you have assisted in saving my life twice."
Legolas and Anánia didn't look each other in the eye for a time; they walked side by side not saying a word for a while.
"I thought I knew you from somewhere." Legolas said.
"Oh yes," Anánia agreed quickly, glad that the silence was broken. "I knew too."
Silence again.
"You look very pretty." Legolas said.
"You too." Anánia said quickly. "I mean, not pretty, but..." She stopped and looked at Legolas. "I can't believe how awkward this is!"
"I know!" He agreed. "Especially as according to Gandalf we..." he stopped, not wanting to say that they had apparently slept together.
An awkward silence fell.
"I feel like I barely know you." Anánia said finally, looking at Legolas with an unreadable expression in her eyes. "And yet I feel that at this moment, all I want is to know you better." She blushed, feeling that she had been too forward in her words.
"I feel the same." Legolas sighed.
"Then let us talk." She said brightly. "We can walk in the moonlight and talk."
"And then when we have got to know each other a little better," Legolas continued. "We can decide whether we want what has happened in the past to be true, or forget about it and move on, saying it never happened."
"I believe it happened." She said quietly.
Legolas looked at her with his soulful blue eyes. "Me too." He whispered, gently kissing her in the moonlight, and instantly they knew that they had found their place.
"I can not believe I let you die." Aragorn sighed, sitting on the edge of his bed and watching Arwen put Eldarion into the cot beside her.
"You saved me though." She said, sitting next to him and taking his hand in hers.
"Did I truly reject Eldarion?" Aragorn asked, tears welling up in his eyes. "I would never do that to him Arwen, I swear that I love him."
"I don't question it for a moment." She replied, kissing him lightly. Today you promised to love him and protect him, and I know you will honour your promise."
He smiled and kissed her back.
"One day we shall be parted." She said. "but that day is far in the future, and we will be old and grey, with our children attending to us as we take our last peaceful breath and join the thousands before us."
"Children?" Aragorn asked, looking at Arwen. She was illuminated by the moonlight, and looked serene and radiant.
"Well, why shouldn't Eldarion have a little brother or sister?" She asked, kissing Aragorn's hand and falling backwards onto the feather bed. He followed her and began to cover her with kisses, his hands gently caressing her body.
They rose and fell together, united as one. Flying so high they almost touched the heavens, and then falling back until the very fires of hell almost burned their bodies.
Gandalf smiled as he looked back at Gondor from his palace on Shadowfax. It was time for him to leave. He had left the hobbits eating at the table, and Astor and Gimli planning their adventures in the hallway. He had glimpsed Legolas and Anánia, becoming 'reacquainted' with each other. And something told him that he knew where Aragorn and Arwen were.
"All is as it is meant to be Shadowfax." He whispered kindly in the night. "We will return to Gondor soon, or maybe visit Legolas and his lady in Mirkwood. But now I feel that the mountains beckon us, do you agree?"
The stallion whinnied and reared before turning and galloping away from the lights of Gondor, a white ghost moving through the midnight landscape. When they found him gone in the morning they would not mourn, for they knew he would return, as he always did. He did not always accept invitations, and sometimes turned up unexpected, but he would always return, and until then they would live their lives as normal. Well, as normal as can be expected!
The End
AN – Thank you all so much for being a part of this project, it really did turn into an epic! Congratulations to Ciel-Undomiel, the 300th reviewer (also first class rambler and a very loyal reviewer!) If anyone has an ideas for plots etc they would like me to write, please submit them in a review or email me at boozylozziehotmail.com
Final Response to Reviews (It is so sad, I am going to miss you all so much!)
Dragonfly – thanks for that information, I thought they had more children, but couldn't remember how many.
Lilwhitelighter – once I get an idea for a sequel I will post it, and hope to see all of my favourite reviewers back again!
Deana – I have no ideas for a sequel as yet, but I do plan to write one eventually.
Butterfly-elf – I would like to do a fiction about Legolas, but I think I would get bored of writing about Anánia, she is nothing special.
Viviana – I will get a sequel out when I can, I promise!
Valia-elf – glad you liked it!
Mariette – no! that wasn't the last chapter! This is the last chapter!
The True Evenstar – Leggy and Anánia together, as you requested! Thanks for being such a wonderful reviewer, I hope to be producing some more stuff for you to review soon!
Lindahoyland – I am glad you liked this! Hope to see your name around soon!
Ringmarciel – the christening was meant to be a mirror image of the funeral, what would have happened if Arwen hadn't died, if that makes sense. Compare the two chapters to get a clearer picture though! Thanks for all your reviews over the past months!
Emily – glad you liked it!
Terreis – thanks go to tolkien for leaving the other children of Arwen and Aragorn as a mystery, and something for me to write about! Thanks for that information. See you around the site I hope!
Julia – I was thinking either something about Eldarion growing up or something about Avion. Maybe I will mix the two...Thanks for the suggestions!
Ciel-Undomiel – Your last review of this story approaches, please make it a good one! Thanks for all your rambles over the past few months, they have really kept me entertained. And I'm glad I have made you start to like Legolas, hopefully I can continue that in a sequel!
Curly curlz – voila! One revelation, and a nice comfortable end to the story. I wouldn't want to leave it hanging, because that is just cruel and you would probably come and tar and feather me for it!
Cerridwen – I plan to write a sequel, don't know when though! Thanks for all your reviews!
Theblondeineverknew – thanks for your review, shame you came in near the end. Oh well, thanks for the information about Arwen's daughters too!
AN – thanks everybody. Review please. Suggestions for sequels welcome. Bye for now!