Thank you, Enelya, for your review of my first chapter. The things you made me aware of, I already knew, but thank you regardless. I believe that fan fiction is an outlet for the imagination, and not to be taken seriously. Sorry if you don't agree with me in any way, but the story of Elenion remains my own, and my reasons for writing the things I have remain that as well. I simply wanted to take a route I have not yet seen. It is after all, just a story, simply to be enjoyed by those who will enjoy it. Thank you again for reading!
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 8: Time with Arwen
Elenion followed Elrond and Arwen up the path and completely out of the gardens where they had found her conversing with Boromir. They eventually came to a stop in Elrond's quarters.
"I see you have met one of the men planning to attend our council," Elrond asked curiously. Elenion nodded.
"Yes. Boromir, he said his name was…he's from Gondor." Elrond looked interested, and as though he knew something Elenion did not. Arwen simply stood aside, quietly.
"Was it not good for me to go off on my own like that," she asked Elrond after a few moments of silence, wondering what was going through his mind. He turned and looked at her with curiosity.
"In Rivendell, you can do as you please," he stated simply, as if that answer was supposed to make perfect sense. She studied him for a moment, wondering just what he was keeping to himself. Arwen interrupted her thoughts.
"I need to tell you something," she whispered to her after approaching her. Arwen turned to her father. "Are you done, father?" He simply nodded. Arwen grabbed Elenion's hand and pulled her outside with her and back down to the gardens. Elenion stopped only when Arwen had stopped and found a place.
"Is everything alright, Arwen," she asked, feeling the news had to be urgent.
"Yes, it's fine. I just had to get you out of there. His questioning can be pressuring sometimes," Arwen said with a smile. Elenion laughed and sat by her friend.
"True friend as always, Arwen." Arwen smiled in return.
"We are star-crossed friends. The stars of Undomiel and Telumendil linger in the sky together, just as we linger here together. That will always be, Elenion. It is our fate." Arwen said with a twinkle in her deep blue eyes. Elenion smiled back at her. Their friendship was one of the most stable things in her life.
"Undomiel and Telumendil will last forever," she said back to Arwen. Arwen smiled back at her this time.
"I'm so glad to have you in my life, Elenion. You and my father and Aragorn make up my life. If I lose one, I am incomplete-" Elenion interrupted her.
"That is not true, Arwen. You need nobody to make you whole. You take away any of us, and you are still Arwen…you still have yourself." Arwen shook her head and laughed.
"I wish I could be more like you, Elenion. I wish I were like that, but I am not. You are the one that needs no one. Others are like accessories with you, Elenion. Add them on, take them away, you are still strong. Take away from me and I am weak."
Elenion hated hearing these words from her friend. "Arwen, don't say things you shouldn't mean." Arwen simply laughed. "I only speak the truth, Elenion." Elenion sighed. Once Arwen had her mind made up, there was no going back. Arwen had been completely wrong though. Elenion couldn't lose someone that easily. If she ever lost her father or Arwen, she felt as though she would absolutely die. She had gone through so much worry with just thinking he was missing earlier in the day. She didn't have it in her to tell her friend that she was nothing like she appeared to be. Arwen continued talking, breaking her thoughts.
"I can't wait until the time comes for you to find a love, as I have found in Aragorn. I have to wonder who will be so deserving of your heart….and your brilliant mind," Arwen said, smiling at Elenion. Elenion smiled in return.
"I fear that day will never come for me. I think to make a life with someone, you have to understand yourself and know who you are," she sighed, deep in thought, then continued. "I'm nowhere near that point yet," Elenion said under her breath.
Arwen smiled sympathetically at Elenion. "You will find it. What you are looking for, what you need to know…..it will come to you, in time." Arwen stood up. "Come. Walk with me for a while."
Elenion stood up from where they had been conversing and joined Arwen along a path in the woods. They talked of Aragorn, of their futures, but all the while, Elenion's mind drifted back to Frodo Baggins and his burden. Her misunderstanding of herself made her heart weary, and in a way she felt she understood just a fraction of what the ring would do to Frodo. She feared for him. She also feared for Boromir beyond her understanding. Something in his eyes gave her a warning in her heart. She felt somehow connected to the Gondorian, and wanted to understand why. Everything would resolve itself in time, she knew that. But just how much time did she have with the people involved in her life?