Firstly, thank you to all my reviewrs! I think this is a perfect oppurtunity for me to update as I've reached my first century of reviews!!! Yay! Individual comments follow at the bottom of the page.
Anyways, on with the story...... I hope this'll explain a little bit more about the past two chapters, though it'll really be chapter 14 that holds all the information you need.............
Dedicated once again to Sunshine, for shining so brightly!!!
Chapter 13
He had been hearing the soft voices on and off for what seemed like an eternity. Sometimes they were loud, sometimes quiet, but they were always the same words.
"Na tulca. Tulin anlyë. Alalyë autan. Tulin..." {Be strong. I am coming for you. Do not leave me. I am coming... }
And then whenever he crossed the border into darkness, the Evenstar was there infront of his eyes, brighter than it had ever been. And he would hear the words "Hold on" over and over, until they became an insane echo in the furthest reaches of his mind.
Rising out of the black, there was usually the warmth and the brightness, and the soft voice once more. And so it went on, one endless circle, with neither escape nor relief. Time stretched out infront of him, never beginning, never ending.
And it was when he was once again plunged into shadow for what seemed the thousandth time that he saw it, and in that moment he understood. All the millions of pinpricks in the dark were not stars, as he'd presumed - they were souls. Every single one of them. Young hobbits, Gondorian soldiers, milennia-old Elves. Each and every being in Middle Earth was lain out in front of his eyes. And as he looked closer, he could see some vanish, disappear, never to shine again. Death had come and extinguished their lights, their tiny mark on the world. There would be hundreds, thousands, millions more stars, but never the same one twice. Once they were gone, that was it. The end.
And when he looked to the heavens once more, the Evenstar caught his eye. It still shone brightly, but something was happening to it. He watched, transfixed, as it pulsated, shrinking and then swelling again to twice its normal size. The voice had come back, and this time it was more urgent. "Hold on," it said, "Hold on. She is coming. She is coming. Hold on." It had become his mantra, so typical like the rest of his entity. He turned his attention back to the Evenstar. It was stationary now, its light gently radiating out towards all the souls nearest to it.
Then it was gone. Where once was a light, purest of them all, was just the blackness of an empty eternity. But as he looked closer, he found he was mistaken. Where the Evenstar has been, there were now two stars, bound by a thread of silver light. As he watched, this thread became thicker, stronger, and the two souls grew, feeding off each other, using each other to reach a compromise of strength. With every bit they grew, he felt the darkness fading slightly, something dragging him away from his subconscious. And when both the intertwined stars became of size similar to what the Evenstar had been, the light took him and he saw no more.
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Arwen felt movement as the person she was leaning on stirred. She looked up blearily from what had been a deep sleep after hours of meditation and prayers.
When she realised what was happening, she cried with relief and delight. "Adar! Adar, come here! He's awake! He came back to me..."
Her eyes had only ever left his face in prayer or sleep. Her heart had never left. She kissed him and smiled through her tears as he slowly opened his eyes. "Estel," she wept, " you're here. I knew you wouldn't leave me." He tried to speak but she placed a finger over his lips. "Don't speak. It's alright, everything's okay. You came back to me. You came back......"
And she held him and rocked him like a small child, crying with love and sorrow, happiness and guilt. And when her father tried to get her to sleep she refused, saying that Estel needed her strength more than she did.
"Tulin a anlyë," she whispered as he slept. "Tulin a arr lisslye." {I came for you, my love. I came and you held on.}
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Thanks go to:
ME132 - well, who ever sticks to the rules??! lol! thank you!
LaLa - daydreaming is a good thing, especially about totally sexy ones......... Hehehe!! Cheers me duck, glad you liked!!!
Valia-Elf - no i dont think he'll be angry.................. if you can figure out what this chapters about, he'll have no reason what-so-ever to be angry with her........... thats if you can figure it out!! and i am keeping going! thanx!
shiva-dragon - thanks your review was so lovely! Im actually updating really fast and surprising myself!!! With the past chapters, its been about an update a fortnight, so im quite proud of myself for working so hard!!! :D
The True Evenstar - no! please no! If you used your kitchen knife we would never get to find out what going to happen!!! (ps. the whole point was to confused you........ it worked! Hehehe im just evil like that!)
i love aragorn - no he's not dead!! Yay! I know i almost worried myself there for a while!!
Quacjen - Im happy you like it, and also happy cos you brought the grand total up to 100 reviews!!! Thank you!
Also thanks to people who I haven't mentionned who've reviewed other chapters.......
Evenstar dreams - well, I'm glad you could make it! (about time too.... how long was it since i first told you about my fic......... 3 years??!! lol!) Thanks darlin', luv u!!!
Milli - aww thanks!
Danni - nice to see you too! and im glad you like it! we really need to talk, its been ages, watch out for my text/email.........!!!