Arwen
stood rooted to the spot, watching as the one she loved departed. She
struggled to restrain the tears which threatened to burst from the
depths of her being. Aragorn paused at the doorway and she watched as
he dipped his head to her in a sign of respect. Arwen fought herself
as she numbly did the same, the words he had spoken to her earlier
pounding in his mind, crushing her.
"It was a dream,
Arwen, nothing more."
She stifled a sob and gazed
pleadingly at Aragorn until at last he turned and left, leaving her
to go out into a world full of peril. Arwen felt a warm hand on her
shoulder and she turned to face her father, Elrond Peredhil, Lord of
Imladris. He stared into her eyes and knew what passed through her
mind, brows furrowing in pity. She opened her mouth to speak, but
closed it as no words came out. Elrond stooped and kissed her
forehead lightly, embracing his only daughter lovingly. She listened
as he exhaled a deep sigh of relief. Elrond closed his eyes, a sad
smile crossing his face. His cares were relieved, not by much, but by
some amount as the fellowship of the ring departed from his house.
The dread of the One Ring still hung in the air, but the overwhelming
presence had departed.
And Aragorn.
Aragorn, Son of
Arathorn, heir of the kings of Men, had left the safety of the elven
refuge to go to war for his kingdom. Elrond's eyes had watched that
morning, keen interest shining in them as Aragorn had attempted to
return the gift of the Evenstar, but had been refused. What his eyes
did not see his heart read in his daughters face, He winced as he
thought of the sadness he saw etched upon it, her eyes were dark and
deep, filled with unshed tears. He had not seen her this despairing
since the departure of her mother, his beloved Celebrian, many years
before.
Arwen stirred in his arms and moved away from him,
staring up at him with eyes filled with cold starlight. She broke
from his embrace and left, gliding across the courtyard until she
vanished from his sight. Elrond sighed and turned to walk back into
his house.
Time would heal her wounds.
Arwen slipped
through the halls of Imladris, finding her way to her chambers. She
had wandered in the gardens for many long hours, numbly drifting from
reality. No tears were left to cry, her eyes were dry now, though
long had she wept silently in a forlorn corner. She came to the end
of the hall and laid her hand on the ornate handle, fingering it a
moment before opening the door and slipping inside. Candles had been
lit and they sent a warm glow around the room, rich fabrics shining
faintly.
She made her way to her bed, lying down and staring
absentmindedly out the window, fingering the sill. Time fell through
her hands, grains of sand so fine she could not catch them. She
hardly ate or drank, and did not sleep nor rise, watching as the sun
rose and fell, once, twice. Her thoughts drifted far from the
peaceful valley she felt trapped within, searching far- off lands.
Few understood the melancholy state of the Undomiel, their Evenstar,
indeed none save Elrond knew in full.
At last there came a
knock on her door. Arwen did not move, nor rise to answer it, merely
laid still until it clicked open, sighing as she felt her brothers,
Elrohir and Elladan, enter the room. She shifted and sat up slowly,
looking at them with calm eyes, sorrowful and deep as the oceans,
filled with the knowledge and sorrow of many days and much loss. She
did not say a word, and Elrohir exchanged a questioning glance with
his brother before turning to his sister and speaking.
"Father
bids us send you word that the first of our people prepare to leave
for the Havens." Arwen listened with still cold, still eyes, her
face unreadable, letting the words drift through her mind. "Do
you wish to depart with them or linger here for a time?"
She
could only whisper under her breath, "a time. a breath, a year,
a life. eternity."
"Sister, are you well?"
Elladan asked, sitting beside her, "Three days have you lain in
sloth, hardly stirring from you bed, and the birds sing mournfully
that the Evenstar does not shine among her people."
"My
people." Arwen murmured, reaching to finger the tiara that lay
upon her windowsill, musing as she toyed with it, "The light of
the Evenstar does not wax or wane."
Elrohir joined them
on the bed, sitting on her other side and hugging her, "no, it
does not. It is unfailing, immortal."
"Immortal."
she said the word to herself, "but if Hope is taken from it, how
may it shine?"
The twins exchanged a knowing glance,
realization dawning upon them both. Elladan looked down at Arwen and
sighed, "Estel."
She cocked her head and shot him a
glance, "what did you say?"
"It is Estel, is it
not?" he stated, looking at her with sorrowful grey eyes as
understanding filled him, "What has happened,
Undomiel?"
Silence filled them room as Arwen looked into
her brother's eyes, tears forming in her own once more. She struggled
to speak, wishing to grieve in silence and yet wishing to confide in
someone of her torment. Seeing their expectant looks she bowed her
head and spoke, "I love him, brother," she whispered, the
words drifting in the silent room like some haunting echo, "I
love him."
The twins were stunned, and Elrohir could not
stop the words which fell from his lips, "And doom came on
Tinuviel that in his arms lay glistening." He immediately
glanced over at his little sister, feeling ashamed, and fearful of
her reaction. She turned and looked at him, but he saw that she
knew.
She knew the bitter price she would pay if ever she
joined hands to marry the one she loved. She must accept the
sorrowful parting with all those whom she loved, to never see her
mother again. She, Undomiel of her people, beloved daughter of the
Eldar, would taste the bitterness of the mortality she would bring
upon herself and the Sea between herself and all those she held dear
would be too wide to ever cross. They would be sundered forever.
She
looked at them, knowing what passed through their minds, "It
matters not, for he does not accept my love. He would not have me
give up my immortality as did Luthien. He has heard the songs and
tales of this house, and knows full well the elven grief of the loss
of Tinuviel, which shall never find an end. He would have me depart
to Valinor, and there dwell in peace until the ending of the world,
though his own heart breaks that he cannot be with me."
The
twins fell silent a moment before Elrohir spoke, "Will you leave
then, as Aragorn desires?"
"I will remain here in
Imladris, for a time." she bowed her head and turned to face the
window once more. It was raining, dark clouds swirled high above and
the drops they sent crashing to earth tacked rhythmically on her
pane. The storm of her heart raged so much fiercer. Elladan stood,
followed by Elrohir, and walked to the door, reluctant to leave their
grieving sister and yet unsure of what to say to ease her
pain.
Elladan stepped outside her chamber, but Elrohir paused
in the doorway, "You will find the strength to shine,
Arwen."
Arwen nodded slowly and he left. As the door
clicked shut after him she leaned against the window, pressing her
forehead to its cold surface.
"Haer o auth a nir a
naeth."
She ran her fingers along the glass, tracing
the streaks made by the never ending rain, "Ah Aragorn. you do
not understand; my heart is filled with grief and despair only when I
have no Hope. And a war rages within me now that I cannot dispel and
I find no peace. No peace or hope without you."
She lay
down, closing her eyes and whispering, "Estel nin,"
before she slipped at last into the realm of dreams.
"Estel."
Title: trust in this, our love Estel: Hope Imladris: Rivendell Undomiel: Evenstar
Away from war and grief and despair (Aragorn's word's to Arwen when he attempts to return the Evenstar) My hope
Notes:
The stars are especially beloved by the elves and Evenstar is the title given to the brightest. Thus, as Arwen was the fairest that walked the earth, she was given the title "Evenstar" or Undomiel, in her native tongue
Elladan and Elrohir are Arwen's older brothers. They have dark hair and grey eyes, and are identical twins.
Arwen is called Evenstar (Undomiel, in Elvish) and is descended from Beren and Luthien. Luthien was an elf, the fairest that ever walked the earth, and she gave up her immortality to wed Beren, a Man, and so it was that the elven kind lost her that they most loved.
Peredhil means Half-Elven. Elrond is the son of Elwing and Earendil, both of whom were half elf/ half mortal which chose to live as immortals. Elrond and his brother Elros were given the chance to live as men or elves; Elrond chose to live as an immortal, while Elros chose to live as a Man and died.
Estel was the name given to Aragorn when he dwelt in Rivendell, where his mother left him after his father was slain when the heir of the kings was still young. Estel, meaning "Hope" was raised as a foster son to Elrond, though did not meet Arwen until he was twenty, on account of the fact that she dwelt in Lothlorien for long periods of time, where her grandmother Galadriel dwelt.
Celebrian, the wife of Elrond and daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn of Lothlorien, departed over a thousand years previously. She had left after suffering for nearly a year since she was attacked by orcs traveling from Lothlorien to Rivendell.