Thank you, PrincessofRain…here's that next part you asked about!
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 11: A Talk with Aragorn
After the council was over, Elenion retired to the gardens alone. She found herself thinking of the elf from the hall, the same elf at the council. Legolas. He was sitting with the Mirkwood elves. She wondered who he was, how important he was, and what it was about his eyes that lingered in her thoughts. Only one other set of eyes did that to her. The more she had looked at him, the more she had found him compelling.
"Oh, that was just a dream," she said to herself with a sigh. She found a bench and sat down to think. The elf from the hall and from the council, this Legolas, as he was called could not be the one she suspected him to be. She sat alone in her thoughts, but was soon discovered. She looked up at the sound of steps and her eyes met with Aragorn's.
"I hope I'm not disturbing you," he said softly.
"I'm alone, Aragorn. There's nothing to disturb," she said with a laugh. He looked at the space beside her on the bench.
"Mind if I join you," he asked. Elenion scooted over and smacked her hand down on the bench.
"By all means, please," she smiled, but it was obvious her thoughts were still elsewhere. He joined her and studied her face for a second.
"Look at me," he said, and Elenion turned to face him. He sighed. "Your eyes are darkened today. You have too much on your mind, dear friend."
"That I do," she said, relieved that someone saw that and wanted to understand. It's unfair that you are not elf-kind, Aragorn," she joked with him. He laughed.
"Why is that, Elenion," he asked, eager to hear his friend's reasoning.
"You are too much like us," she laughed. He nodded and sighed.
"Like them, yes, but not like you, Elenion…you are rare," he said. Elenion smiled back at him.
"I know my story, Aragorn. I'm alone, the last of my kind. What makes you feel you aren't rare?" She turned to face him on the bench. "Are you not also the last of your kind," she asked and he looked away for a second.
"I never asked for that, Elenion," he stated. She smiled at him. "Aragorn, do you think I did? Life is life…You and I are similar whether you want to face it or not, Numenorean." He whipped around to look at her and sighed heavily.
"You do so well for being alone. I wish I had your strength," he confessed. Elenion put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm loved, Aragorn. Maybe not in the way that you and Arwen love each other, but my father loves me, and that is my strength. I do not know what I would do if I lost him," she sighed.
"Like Arwen and I," he said, as if something was on his mind. Elenion looked questioningly at him. "Love her I do, Elenion, but it is a dream and nothing more. Elrond pleads with me to end it." Elenion couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"End it? Do you want to do this, Aragorn," she asked almost persistently.
"No, but it would be best, for we are different and it isn't right of me to have her sacrifice her immortal life," he said, as if he really didn't have a choice about the entire situation. Elenion felt flustered.
"That would be her choice to make. Not yours, not Elrond's. You feel it's right by her for you to give her up to her people, while at the same time she feels it's only right by you for her to sacrifice eternity to live one lifetime with you. Aragorn, you love each other. Love may come many times in a lifetime, but your true love is only once. You give up on this now….you will regret it as long as you live." She sighed, not knowing what else to tell him. He seemed to have his mind made up.
"Think it over before you act, and talk to her about it. She deserves to know what her father feels and I know he hasn't told her. Just remember, a love like yours….is only once, Aragorn." She stood up from the bench, planning on walking away when Aragorn spoke behind her.
"You speak about something you don't understand, Elenion. You are not in my situation," he said, immediately realizing that his tone had sounded cruel when he had not meant for it to. She turned to face him and he stood up.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have worded it that way," he said softly. She put a hand up to his apology, gesturing him to be silent.
"No, Aragorn. You are right. I wouldn't understand……I'm in love with a dream that isn't real," she said sadly, and he looked at her, completely confused by what she meant. She looked up at him and smiled slightly, then turned to walk away. He didn't follow her or call after her at all, and she was relieved to find herself alone again.
The path was dark, but vision was no problem for Elenion. She had spent many long years in Nargothrond, which was an ancient place. Sacked and destroyed in the First Age of Middle Earth, Nargothrond was once inhabited by dwarves. At another time, elves had lived there. It's location was secret for a long time, but once it was discovered, all of the elves and dwarves were killed and it remained empty until the fairies had inhabited the dark halls. Their fate had apparently met the same doom, Elenion's mother being the only survivor known, that is, until Elenion was born. She had made the journey back to the ancient caves and lingered there in the darkness of Nargothrond, hoping to find any clues until her eyes completely adapted to the dark, and now, as soon as dusk fell, her eyes gave off a pale glow. It had been her reason for leaving Aragorn so swiftly. She never liked having to explain that quality. She found herself back at the spot where she had first met Boromir. She sat beside the spring again, reflecting on all the thoughts in her mind, staring at her reflection of lighter curly hair, long pointy ears and glowing eyes.