Title: The End Has Come.

Author: B-witched83uk )

Rating: PG

Warning: Get ready for some heavy duty father son angst.

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: Lariren-Shadow, thanks for the help with my other fic.

Beta: The Last Evenstar. A great friend and a great editor.

Archive: , Any others please ask.

Feedback: I would absolutely love some because yes I am a praise junky.

A/N: This takes place about a year after the last chapter. I think a quick recap is in order.

1. Galadwen is dying.

2. Ithiliwen has already died.

3. Gwydion has been having strange dreams and has gone to Mirkwood after Estelai tried to seduce him.

4. Elladan and Elrohir have spoken and arranged to meet and talk.

Enjoy. x

Part two

Prologue 2

The nine months following Gwydion's departure had seen the fiercest winter for many years. The heart of the weather had greatly matched the mood of the kingdom.

Ithiliwen had become known as The Queen Who Never Was, greatly adored and deeply missed by all of Gondor.

Aragorn had grown older. He felt it in his bones, the approaching of his final winter. He neither feared nor tried to escape his impending death, he simply made sure to spend every last moment with those he loved. Although Arwen's pleasant manor had not darkened, thus seeming unchanged on the outside, her eyes were always saddened as she waited to accept the doom of men.

The harsh winter had forced Elladan to wait in Minas Tirith, delaying his inevitable venture to Rivendell. He often far-spoke with his twin, yet never on the subject closest to their hearts. He knew not whether he were ready to make such a choice and was secretly thankful for the winter's force. Yet, he knew, as he had always known, that sooner or later he would have to face his brother, and in so doing, face his own fate.

The dark shadows under Eldarion's eyes quenched what ever light was left there. His face was solemn and cloaked in shadow, removing any hint of the man he was when he had her love. His days were spent sparing, training and building up his skills. He spent hours pouring over old texts and volumes, learning as much as he could. He had nothing left in his life worth waking for other than the memory of his dead wife's dreams. He would see Middle-earth as great as it could be, he would carry on his father's work until the Valar saw fit to let him die and join his beloved Ithiliwen once more.

Estelai had slowly watched her father become more and more of a recluse, his days and nights merging. She had never felt more alone. Her mother had passed, her father was lost, her sister was in Rohan, finding it easier to cope living with her mother's family, and her dearest friend and closest love had left her.

She found herself thinking of Gwydion every minute of the day. She not only missed their talks and ways, but she deeply missed his arms, the feel of him holding her tightly.

She did not know what she felt, she just knew that she could not bear to lose him. She couldn't let him punish himself any longer over feelings beyond his control. Once Gwydion was back, things would be better. She would talk to him and make him see that it mattered not to her, that she would let him love her from a distance so long as he promised not to leave again. She could not return his love, nor be with him in the way that he would like, but she needed him desperately. She needed his friendship.

Mirkwood was a ghost town, an empty space where none now walked. Alone with his thoughts and the surrounding woodland, Gwydion had been forced to deal with his heart's ache. He thought on it until his head hurt and his eyes closed from lack of sleep. He loved Estelai with every ounce of his soul. It was this love for her that would make him strong enough to bury his desires, out of sight but never out of mind.

He had left at a time when he knew she needed him, but that night she had come to him with a ploy to seduce him, to redirect her fears, he had known that had he stayed any longer his resolve would have weakened and he would have given in to the burning temptation of Estelai's flesh. She needed time apart from him as much as he needed time apart from her.

Now that winter had passed, and spring once more came, albeit still icy cold, he risked the weathers of Middle-earth to return home. To try and make everything all right again. If pretence was what was needed then he could play along. He could be there for her and act as though he were able to breath every time he looked in to her eyes. After all, he had spent most of his life acting, pretending.

Pretending not to love her.

Chapter 14

He watched her from behind, standing alone by the riverside, her golden hair blowing in the breeze. He noticed that her arms were bare and shivering gently.

He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths before finally moving closer to her. He knew it would be wise to cough or speak, to alert her to his presence, yet he found himself unable to do so. It seemed as though only his feet would work, moving closer and closer, his Elven stealth silencing his every step.

He found himself standing right behind her, her floral hair intoxicating his senses.

He meant to call her name, to have her turn around, but all he could do was let his arms slid softly around her waist, pulling her close to his body, which had ached desperately for her closeness.

Estelai gasped and turned round in the intruding arms, only to find herself face to face with her cousin, with her Gwydion.

Instantly tears spilled from her eyes as she looked at the face she had seen in every dream for as long as she could remember. "Oh, Gwydion, I knew you would come back." She let her head rest against his chest, nuzzling in to his soft tunic.

"Of course I came back, cugu tithin. I will always come back."

Estelai lifted her head to look up at him, a look of hurt and fear in her midnight blue eyes. "You left me. You didn't even say goodbye, you just left me."

Gwydion winced at her tone, as though he had been gutted. He had thought only of himself when he had left that day, too afraid to see her again. "I am sorry, I have no excuse for leaving the way I did. I just could not stay, you have to understand. I needed to think, to make things clearer for me."

Estelai looked intently in to his eyes. "And are they clear now? Do you know now what to do that is for the best?" she asked hopefully. She suddenly realised that the last time they saw one another was the night she had gone to his room, asking him to take her, thus taking the pain. A flush of embarrassment and shame flooded her cheeks and she pushed herself out of his arms gently, remembering the feel of her effects on his body under the touch of her hand.

"I have thought, and I have felt, and I know now-"

"I have missed you greatly, Gwydion." Estelai didn't know where his speech was headed, but she wanted to gain control of it desperately. "Please just tell me that we are friends once again, just tell me that things can go back to the way they once were."

Gwydion looked into her depths of fear and nodded slowly. He was willing to pretend if that was what she needed. He smiled warmly and brushed a hand over her cheek, which was still warm from her earlier flush. "We are still friends, cugu tithin. There is nothing that would please me more greatly."

Estelai let out a nervous laugh and flung her arms around her cousin, holding him tightly. She let herself enjoy the feel of his warm chest and arms without shame, knowing that despite all their pretences, things would not be as before.

She had touched him intimately, and she had liked it. But she knew it was wrong, which only seemed to fuel the flame.

Before Gwydion's departure he had known that his mother was ill; he had known that she wasn't herself at all. Perhaps he had been too wrapped up in his own thoughts and worries to notice how ill she really was, for now she seemed to be diminishing before his very eyes. She was still beautiful and still enchanting, and most who looked upon he could not see any difference. But Gwydion, her only child, could see into her eyes and into her soul.

He held her hand tightly over his chest, refusing to let tears fall in front of her. "Why did you not tell me before I left? Why did you not tell me how bad it had gotten?" He sat beside her on his bed.

She smiled at him warmly, stroking his hand with her thumb. "Because you needed to leave. You needed your journey to help your thoughts." She had felt a little better recently, although she needed much rest. She had not yet told her son she was dying. She refused to ruin their short time left together by having him saddened.

Deciding to change the subject, Galadwen took her hand from her son's beating heart and let it rest on her leg. "Did you sort through your thoughts? Are you any better for it?"

Gwydion smiled, and Galadwen instantly recognised the insincerity of it. "Yes, Naneth, all is well again. I am sorry for being preoccupied last year, and I am sorry for my constant bad mood, but it is over now."

She smiled nonetheless, deciding it was better not to try and force the course of his mood out of him. "I am glad to have you home, iôn nín. Do not worry about me, I will heal now you are here." Galadwen was better at hiding her emotions then her son, and he smiled softly, believing his mother's words and finding comfort in them.

It hadn't taken Gwydion long to once again find his sorrow. Estelai had constantly been trying to get him to walk with her or take a meal with her, which he occasionally did, living temporarily in a waking nightmare. Most of the time he was able to find excuses not to be alone with her, something he desperately hoped she hadn't picked up on. He knew his bad mood wasn't very well hidden, so it came as no great shock to him when his father insisted they go for a walk.

A walk was always their code whenever a father-son talk was needed. So far they had discussed politics, the weather and the lack of game this year. Legolas was very patient, it came with four thousand years' experience. He could walk all day and not tire, simply waiting for his son to confide in him.

"Yes, the birds seem to be nesting in the western gardens this year." Legolas nodded in agreement, pretending to look up at the birdless trees in the northern gardens.

"If you were to venture into the surrounding forests, you will surely find some deer this time of year." Gwydion's brain was screaming, What do I care about deer or birds when my heart is broken?

Legolas glanced quickly at his only child. "There are some nice blooms this year, also, in Arwen's gardens. Have you seen them?"

"Yes, the roses are just starting to wither now."

"So how long have you been in love with her?"

Gwydion turned, wide-eyed, at his father. "What?"

"I believe your Elven ears must have heard me, Gwydion." He smiled gently. So it was a woman after all. He wondered who it could possibly be that had caused such pain for his son. He had hoped that on his return from Mirkwood he would have gotten over her, but it seemed she meant more to him then Legolas had given her credit for.

"How…when…how can you know? Did she tell you? Ada, you must believe me when I tell you I had no intention of ever-"

"Gwydion, who are you talking about?" Legolas smooth features frowned, he had never heard his son ramble before in his life.

Gwydion's face softened a little, the fear slowly leaving. Perhaps his father didn't know his shameful secret after all. "Who are you talking about?" he countered.

"Well, I know the hurt of love when I see it. I see it in your eyes, iôn nín. So who is this she you speak of?"

Gwydion looked down at the ground, desperately wishing he could turn back time. "Forget it, I cannot discus her with you."

Legolas looked at his son, he felt hurt by that last statement. "You used to say you could always tell me anything."

"I cannot tell you this." Gwydion knew his words must hurt his father, but how could he possibly tell Legolas of his feelings when his feeling felt so wrong?

"If you would but tell me her name-"

Gwydion felt himself grow angry. Why was his father pushing this? Surely if he knew the truth of his feelings. his father would disown him. "I asked you to leave it be."

"And all I ask is to see the hurt leave my child's face." Legolas' heart ached for his boy, he could see how much it pained Galadwen also.

Gwydion stopped dead and turned to face his father. "I am no longer a child."

"You will always be my child." The men stood face to face, the tension growing by the minute.

"This is none of your business. You cannot just become interested in my life when it suites you," Gwydion spat, willing to attack if need be, so long as Legolas left it alone.

Those words hurt more then a blade to the heart. "I have always been interested in your life, Gwydion."

"Will you please just leave it be? Why are you pushing this?"

Legolas' voice was raised, his speaking was fast, purposely trying to push his son into snapping, into telling him of his pain, so that he might be able to help. "What are you so afraid of? I know what it is to love that which you cannot have. It hurts, it kills."

"I am not dying."

"No, but you are not living."

"I asked you to leave it be." Gwydion unconsciously raised his hands, ready to physically push his father away if need be.

"And I asked you what you are so afraid of."

"I fear nothing," he shouted at the top of his lungs, making any birds that were nested near by fly away at once.

"To fear nothing is to love nothing. I don't believe you." Legolas wondered how far he could push his son without pushing him over the edge.

"I'm warning you not to push me." It was as though they could read each other's minds.

"Tell me how it feels when you look at her, knowing you will never have her."

Gwydion drew his sword and screamed at his father. "I told you to leave it!"

"Will that make you feel better? Will that help you work things out? Take it out on me, Gwydion, use me to vent your pain." He too drew his sword and began circling with his son. If this was what it took for him to open up to him, then so be it.

Tears were falling from Gwydion's eyes as he lunged at his father. Legolas knew that this was probably what he needed, to let it all out, to feel strong once more.

Every forceful strike Gwydion made, Legolas intercepted with his sword.. The cold metal clanked together and echoed through the grounds.

"Love is like a fire, is it not? It burns and leaves you scarred with nothing but ash to hold onto." Legolas knew what he was talking about. He had loved Galadwen for years before he was finally able to call her his.

"Stop talking and fight. Stop blocking me. Why are you on the defence? I need you to fight back." His voice was shaking with anger and pain, and his blows became more hurried and desperate. He did not want to hurt his father, he merely needed to let out his shame.

Legolas took his cue and began making use of his four thousand years' worth of skill. He ducked a blow and thrust his sword up, only to have it blocked by Gwydion. The father and son continued to duel, locked in a circle of hurt and fear.

When Legolas spun round and slashed his sword at his son, he assumed Gwydion would intercept his blow. Instead, Gwydion hissed in pain as his father's sword nicked the skin on his arm.

Legolas instantly let his sword drop to the floor with a loud clang, and went over to his son to make sure he was all right. Gwydion, feeling spent, yet strangely better then he had in a long time, allowed his father to lift up his shirt sleeve.

"Gwydion." Legolas' voice drew his gaze to the wound on his arm. The wound was nothing spectacular, no great injury, nothing that would not heal in a day or so. What was spectacular was the silver, glowing light that emitted from the wound. It was like a thousand minuscule fireflies dancing through his blood. Both men could do nothing but stare in shock and wonder as the wound began to heal itself. Before their very eyes, the skin rippled back together, leaving only a faint red mark.

"I think the father-son talk can wait for now." Legolas looked into Gwydion's eyes, which were as wide as the moon. "It would seem we have more pressing issues."

TBC

Queen Arwen: I'm not killing anyone for a while, you can relax again.

Lariren-Shadow: Glad your leg is better. See Gwydion came back, he couldn't stay away from her could he.

Terreis: I'm glad you like Galadwen and Legolas' relationship, I love writing them. You know, I had Greek tragedy in mind when writing Gwydion/Estelai. I have never held a person's sanity in my hands before, one or two readers have claimed I held their lives, but a persons sanity is much more fun to mess with.

Cerridwen-Evereven: Glad you liked the ending. I tried to have a nice rest, but everyone yelled at me to post the next chapter soon.

Starlight63: Don't worry about Gwydion and Estelai too much, I'll take good care of them.

Viviana: Don't worry, fluff is coming, I need to do a little ground work first, but fluff is definitely coming.