Title: The End Has Come.

Author: B-witched83uk (bwitched83ukaol.com)

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Gondor's royal family have their final adventure together.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings. The whole of Middle-earth belongs to Tolkien.

Dedication: If the angle's wings are broken, can she ever learn to fly again?

A/N: Estelai is the oldest daughter of Eldarion and Ithiliwen, second in line for the throne after her father. Answers to reviews are at the bottom of the page.

Chapter two

The dreaded feast

Estelai wrapped her shawl tighter about her shoulders, shivering gently from the evening breeze. Her silken gold locks hung loosely, with no ornament or braid, whipping in the wind. Her twilight blue eyes, so like her mother's, were reflecting the ripened moon.

Beside her, she heard her cousin's sigh, a whisper into the wind. Turning to face him, she smiled at the unreadable look upon his face.

"The summer has turned, a chill is in the air." Gwydion felt a great weight in his heart. He knew not why he felt saddened, just that he did. Perhaps it was the autumn they now found themselves in, the time of year when mother earth said good-bye to her dying children. "The summer has passed, only a slight warmth remains." He turned to face her and felt instantly lightened by her smile. Estelai looked so much like their grandmother. She had Arwen's every feature, except that her hair was golden.

Estelai took in his sullen features. "My heart is grieved to see you so sad, pen-mell.

Will you not tell me your woes so I might attempt to sooth them?"

Gwydion sighed again, his sleek dark hair pulled back into a braid, resting just above the hallow of his back. His face was so like that of Legolas, his father, yet his hair was his mother's.

"Do not worry for me, cugu tithin. The night is cold, we should go back inside."

little dove

Gwydion moved to return to the hall, where yet another grand feast was being held, but his cousin's fair hand stopped him.

She gave him such a look of sadness that he would not share his fears with her, it made him hurt even more.

"It is a sad time. The last of the Elves are going. My kin in Mirkwood have left. I feel as though the farewells are not over, I feel as though everyone will leave me." Estelai was the only person he would let see him this way, afraid and vulnerable. He was usually composed, a sturdy warrior with an ice-cold persona.

She did not look at him as any less of a man, or Elf, for voicing his fears. She simply smiled at him and held his hand in hers. "Gwydion, I can not take your fears with my words, but I can promise you something. I promise you that I will never leave you." She leant forward and kissed Gwydion's forehead gently, causing him to smile.

He returned her smile and held out his arm for her to take. "As much as I prefer to stand out here with you, and talk the night away, I am afraid we have already been missed."

Estelai took his arm and nodded, not looking forward at all to the noise inside. "Very well, let us face this peril together."

Gwydion laughed and led her back to the hall. "Do you think they would be suss if we were to both come down with a headache?" They were both well known for their shared hatred of parties and socialising.

"It would work for me, but not for you, seeing as you are such a appalling liar."

"Then how would I get out of it?" He nodded to the guard at the door as they entered the decked-out hall.

"I am afraid there is no way out for you, pen-mell. You have never known a day of sickness in your life; it would be too much of a coincidence for you to fall ill now." Both royals rolled their eyes as they took in the view of dancing couples and roaring laughter.

"Is this how you would spend your evening? Concocting reasons not to spend time with your kin? It is a family day, and you will both stay and have a good time…even if I have to force you." Galadwen mockingly scowled at her son and niece.

They both treated her to their most charming smiles, before moving to the end of the room, behind the food tables.

"And what about you? Are you enjoying yourself, meleth nin?" Legolas wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and pulled her tightly against his chest.

Galadwen smiled, breathing in his woodland scent, and stroked her hands over the tops of his. "I am fine. A little tired, perhaps. I was thinking about our son, how handsome he is." She turned in her husband's arms and kissed him quickly on the lips. "How like his father he is."

She giggled as he grabbed her hand and started dragging her in to the kitchen quarters, out of sight. "Why, Legolas, how very forceful you have become. If it were not for your pointed ears, I would swear you were a man."

He silenced her little jibe with a deep kiss, crushing her slender body against his own.

The stars in the sky seemed dimmer to Ithiliwen as of late. She wondered if it was the stars, or just her eyes, that no longer seemed to shine as bright. She smiled sadly out of the window, her long, greying gold hair blowing in the evening breeze.

"You will catch a cold, love." Eldarion came to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. They had both decided to miss the feast, wishing to be alone in the quiet world of their chambers.

To Eldarion, Ithiliwen was still beautiful. She didn't look her age, except for the slight grey mixed in with the blond. Her skin was as soft as ever, and her smiles still made all his worries evaporate.

"I wanted to breath the fresh air. It tastes different at this time of year." She leaned back in to her husband's embrace. Eldarion, having been blessed with long life, still looked no more then forty years of age. His wife looked a youthful sixty instead of the seventy that she was.

"Eldarion, there are things we need to discus, things we cannot put off any longer." She felt his body tense behind her. Quite frankly, this if-we-don't-talk-about-it-then-it-isn't-really-happening attitude of his was starting to make her a little angry.

"Why do we not go to bed and talk in the morning?" He began to move from the window, taking her hand with him.

Ithiliwen turned round and made him face her. "I am an old woman." Her voice sounded tired, as though she were tired of pretending.

"You are no older then I." Eldarion's voice was filled with denial, causing her to frown and cross her arms over her chest.

"Damn it, Eldarion, do you think that if you close your eyes and stick your fingers in your ears it will make it any less true?" Her voice was shaking, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and refuse to ever let her go.

"Estelai and Elwing are full grown now; they are on their way to finding their own paths. I do not worry about them; what will become of them when I am gone. I trust that we did right by them in every situation." She stepped forward until there was no more distance between them. Resting her hands on his hips, she smiled at him gently. "I worry about you. You are utterly helpless without me. You can't ever find your own boots, and you completely forget to eat supper most evenings."

Eldarion smiled a little. He knew what was expected of him. Whenever their conversations grew serious, a jibing banter always broke out between the two. "I can find my own boots perfectly well, woman, it is you with your tidying everything away. How is a man supposed to find things when they are not where he left them?"

Ithiliwen walked over to the bed, pulling down the covers, revealing a crisp white sheet underneath. "I would not need to tidy so often if you learnt that everything has a place, a home. You seem to think that everything you own lives in the middle of the floor."

"At least then I know where everything is."

"Yes, you find what you are looking for when you trip over it. A sound locating system, my love," she scoffed gently, and rolled her eyes.

Eldarion lay down in the bed, and held out his arms for Ithiliwen.

She lay down beside him and snuggled into his arms. "Besides, if I did not tidy your mess the serving girls would have to, and I would not wish your mess on anyone."

"You forget that the serving girls are too afraid to come up here anymore since you decided to match-make them with anyone you could think of." He chuckled gently at the innocent look she was trying to pull off.

"Is there something wrong with wishing to see people happy and in love?"

Eldarion smiled at his wife and placed a kiss upon her nose. "No, my love, there is nothing wrong with that at all."

The evening had dragged on for Estelai. She was seated beside her younger sister, Elwing, at the head table, listening to the stories of two young captains. The eldest one, with dark blond hair and handsome features, was sharing a tale of war with the Princesses, clearly attempting to impress them both.

Estelai, ever the lady, smiled and feigned deep interest.

"This scar on my lip is from the claw of a Warg, full grown at that." The captain leaned in closer for Estelai to examine his war wound; or, as she thought of it, a tiny scratch.

"My dear captain, how brave you are to fight for your King and country. You hold my family's gratitude." She smiled sweetly and pushed her golden hair over her shoulder.

The young captain continued to talk, this time addressing Elwing. Estelai was no longer listening to her companions. She had spotted Gwydion on the dance floor, dancing with some young maiden. Estelai smiled affectionately as she watched the dancing couple move with grace. He was an Elf's son for sure. She found herself studying his face, which the dark hair escaped from his braid had fallen in to. He had sapphire-blue eyes, snow-white skin and a full red mouth, clearly inherited from their grandmother.

She compared her cousin to the captain in front of her. Whereas the captain was handsome in a rugged and masculine way, Gwydion was…well, there was no word for what he was, other then beautiful. Gwydion was truly beautiful. That was not to say he was not also masculine. Gwydion was a trained warrior, he had learnt the bow from Legolas and the sword form Aragorn. When she embraced him, she often felt the finally toned muscles move under his skin.

Her smile deepened as Gwydion twirled the young lady, making both their hair fan out.

"My lady?" Estelai turned sharply to look at the captain, watching her with slight worry. "My lady, are you well?"

Estelai blushed slightly, cursing herself for being rude and not listening to their guests. "I think it is perhaps a head ache." She decided it was better to lie than say, 'Your conversation bored me, so I took to watching the dancing couples.'

"Can I fetch you something? A glass of water, perhaps?" She decided that the captain was a good man, a kind man, and it made her smile.

"No, thank you, but I do think I will excuse myself and return to my chambers." She stood up, and so did the two men, bowing slightly to her.

TBC

Calime Canos: I'm afraid it really is my last fic, I'm sure I'll find another way to write, but I feel that my LOTR days has run its curse. If you mean Gwydion's name then no it isn't Elvish. Gwydion was actually the name of a man in Celtic mythology, I just thought it sounded fitting for the name of Galadwen's son.

The Converted: I have already finished my part of When Two Worlds Collide, and I'm not sure what's happening with mine and Jenny's, we kind of just forgot about it. Forever is a long time, and I never say never, but I really don't think I will write again. Thank you so much for the praise, it means a lot to me. x

The Last Evenstar: Thanks for all your help Petal, and for the constructive criticism in you editor's notes. I took in everything you said and made some changes. Have a great birthday. x

Viviana: I'm sorry, this will be a nice long one though so I'm not leaving you all without a parting gift.

EbonyBeach: Wow tears already huh, and no one even died yet…I mean not that they do…I'll shut up, don't want to give too much away.

Sareh: Wow, good guess. You were kind of right about the dream in guessing one of them right. You're the only one who guessed who he was, your not supposed to figure it out until near the end, I guess I'll give up now lol.

ILuvCarbyFuzz: I didn't exactly stick to a time line cos I had to make it all fit, so Aragorn is like 208, but cos of his Nú menorean blood he would look about 70ish I'm guessing. Thank you for your review and the 10 others I got from you this week, I'm glad you like my fics, I hope this one wont disappoint.

Thank you Starlight63, Cerridwen-Evereven, ThePrincess04 and Lariren-Shadow for your reviews, I'm glad you liked the first chapter.