(Thank you very much, DarkAngelofDreams, for your review! It was very encouraging and appreciated!)
The story of Elenion is based on the Lord of the Rings movies, directed by Peter Jackson. The characters, with the exception of Elenion, belong to J.R.R. Tolkien. Elenion is a character all my own. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 4: The arrival of Gandalf
After Elrond had declared that Frodo would be okay, Elenion finally felt at peace again in Rivendell. While waiting for the arrival of Aragorn and the other hobbits, she hardly left Frodo's bedside. Watching him sleep, she had began to see exactly what her father had always loved about hobbits. The tiny being in front of her had such a beautiful, pure, and brave soul. She had never fully understood the peacefulness of hobbits, and deeply strived to do so. Her whole life had been some kind of fight up to this point. A fight for inner understanding, a fight for peace. Her father was a peace loving soul as well, and in understanding Frodo, maybe she would understand herself better as well. She made up her mind then that she would stop at nothing to see Frodo's task go through, for she had learned what he carried with him, and even more about her own involvement…things that naturally, her father didn't include when coaxing her back to all she had been neglecting.
Sam entered the room immediately on the day of their safe passage into the sanctity of Rivendell. After a cheerful reunion with Frodo and an explanation from Elrond, Frodo was again fast asleep due to exhaustion, and Elenion was alone in the room with Sam.
"Mr. Frodo would appreciate you sitting with him…after all, you helped save his life," Sam offered as a thank you.
"I'm sure he does Sam, thank you," she said to the hobbit with a smile. He stared at her questioningly. She knew what he was thinking.
"If you have a question, you can ask it." She stated absentmindedly, immediately regretting doing so. Not everybody enjoyed having their thoughts read and made known of it. It was a skill she wished she didn't have. Sam took no offense to her actions, relieving her from her self-criticism.
"I was just wondering..is it really true, that you are Master Gandalf's--" "Yes." She said suddenly, cutting him off. Gandalf's name was the last she wanted to hear at the moment. With all of her strength, she had tried to draw up a vision of him, to know where he was, to bring herself comfort. Nothing had worked.
Sam shyly smiled at her. "I'm sorry to ask…I was just thinking that you look nothing alike.." This comment made Elenion break her concentration and laugh, an even more uncommon feeling for her. She smiled at Sam in appreciation of the compliment and stood up to excuse herself from the room.
"If he wakes up, promise to find me, Sam." She said, and after receiving promise from Sam, she exited the room. She walked out onto the terrace and looked around the span of Rivendell. Even as beautiful and peaceful as it was, her soul still managed to rest uneasily there. She would be an eternal guest in Rivendell, and never a resident. Her mind quickly drifted back to her dream. Maybe love would make her feel at home wherever she went. Maybe Arwen had been wrong. Maybe love would make her whole. At this thought, she laughed lightly to herself, knowing that Arwen had not been wrong. She quickly discarded any thoughts other than what was going on at the present. Maybe someday, she'd figure it all out, but right then wasn't the time.
A familiar voice soon interrupted her busy thoughts.
"Who do I see so consumed with worry that she feels as if there is no way out?" the deep raspy voice asked from behind her. She knew it immediately and was in the wizard's embrace before she could even respond vocally.
"That's better," he laughed as he pulled away and looked into her eyes, both of which flickered in the same excitement despite their different colors. She smiled at him, but he knew better. "Something troubles you, what is it?" he asked.
"Nothing, father," she tried to cover.
"Don't waste time bluffing, Elenion. You didn't even hear me coming, or sense it for that matter. Something stirs in your mind, I can see it through your eyes." Gandalf said, concerned for his daughter. She laughed at him.
"You know too much. It's good to have you back. What kept you?" she asked, quickly trying to change the topic.
"Not that easy, Elenion. You cannot avoid me." he smiled at her. She sighed.
"Okay, I'll tell you. It's the dreams I've been having..the visions. Something is trying to clue me in to something and there's no rest, no break from it. It rests inside my head even now, and I don't understand the message." Gandalf smiled at her.
"In time, melamin. You must be patient. These things make their presence known when it's meant to be known, and that's all you have to know to understand it." She smiled at him, finding even his riddles comforting. Yet she had a question for him.
"So, you can't explain these dreams, but you can explain my reason to be here now, right?" she said, looking at him for an explanation. He turned slowly away from her. "What do you mean?" he asked, trying to get out of it. Elenion ran around in front of him, blocking him as he tried to sneak away.
"Father! Dodge me all you want, but I deserve to know!" she smiled at him in exasperation. "Arwen is constantly hinting at things, and Elrond has been strange towards me…they all say they don't have the answers for me that you do, and after the incident on Weathertop with Aragorn and the hobbits, and now I realize Frodo is carrying that disastrous thing---"she took a breath, " it all winds down to the ring, doesn't it? Why am I bound to it's fate?" she half demanded to know, the other half curious as to why she could be of any help to anything or anybody when she couldn't even understand how to help herself. Gandalf smiled at her.
"I know it's frustrating, but you have to have patience or else you can't be of help to anybody," he said, basically reading her thoughts back to her just as she had done to Sam earlier. "Fate will do great by you, Elrond has seen it. It is only with knowledge that he looks upon you, not otherwise. Be patient, my girl…and trust me." He said, with a smile. Elenion had to stop for now, because he wouldn't answer anything else.
"I've just never been so confused. I've always known how to handle myself and now here I am, unable to even think straight because of all of these new revelations.." she trailed off. He put a hand on her shoulder.
"You'll figure yourself out…this I know." He said, smiling at her and making her feel the most comfortable that she had during her whole stay in Rivendell, awaiting his return. He continued talking.
"Because you are not entirely Elven, you have the ability to be confused and worry and have it not burden your spirit, but because you are Elven, the sense is doubly strong. Your worries cannot be your main focus, and that is fact. Let your fairy instincts guide you, and operate through the Maiar….only there will you find the most trusting guide…." his voice trailed off. She smiled at him.
"Things are okay now, since you are back. I just feel lost without you." she explained. He smiled, "That is also something you will have to overcome." She went to protest, but Sam ran out onto the terrace balcony, interrupting them.
"Mr. Frodo is awake, milady." Gandalf cleared his throat. "We are right behind you, Samwise." He turned and looked to Elenion while also walking away. With a single movement that said "follow me" , she followed her father into the hobbit's room. Surely now he would explain more.