The Same Woman

By Rose-Arwen-Padme

The Pain of Lying

A half hour later, a soft knock came to Arwen's door, and both Aragorn's and Arwen's head snapped in the direction the sound of the intrusion had come from.

As Aragorn searched for a place to hide, Arwen forced her voice to sound calm and placid as she called out, "Who is it?"

An elegant voice answered, "Your father wishes to speak with you. Are you proper for me to come in, daughter?"

Both the couple's eyes went wide. Elrond!

"Wait!" Arwen anxiously called. "Wait a moment, father! My garments are not in order yet," she lied. "Give me a moment to finish hastily!"

Aragorn hurried over to her, and his voice was low and quiet as he spoke, but despite the volume, apprehensiveness was very apparent in his voice. "Remember the plan, dear Arwen! He mustn't know I'm alive!"

Arwen wrung her hands frantically. "What do I say?! What do I tell him?!"

"Arwen? Are you alright in there?"

Aragorn firmly took her hands in his own, stopping her wild wringing of them. "Act as you would towards him had you not known I was alive. Talk with him as if I hadn't come back to you a short while ago!" He moved his hands to grip her face strongly. "Arwen, he must not know!"

She nodded her head nervously, but a sense of calm was coming to her with his sturdy words.

Aragorn decided to retreat to his first hiding place, the one just over the balcony. Arwen straightened her clothes—they had become slightly ruffled from being pressed hard up against Aragorn. Even as he had spent the last half hour telling her earnestly about his clever plan, he had held her tightly to him.

With a short glance to her left, Arwen saw that Aragorn was safely hidden.

Aragorn's dead. Your childhood friend has utterly betrayed you. Your own father wouldn't listen to you when you plead to him before this day to stop the wedding.

She positioned herself farthest from any of the fire-lamps. She didn't want her father to see the bruise on her cheek from Glir's punch. That would bring too many unwanted questions.

Her voice was a dead calm. "Enter."

The door creaked open, and her father emerged from behind it. He closed it behind him as he stepped forward.

He looked around the room, his eyes darting to the corners. "Is… was there anyone here with you? I thought I heard talking."

"No, nothing." She paused. "I am completely alone." He didn't miss the double meaning in her last comment.

They stood in the center of the room… the silence screaming in their ears.

He seemed to search for something to say. "You are… almost ready?"

She let her chin drop a little. "I will never be ready to betray Aragorn. I will never be ready to marry Glir."

"Within a short time he will be your husband. He respects you, you will owe the same to him."

Arwen wanted to step into the light and scream, Is this evidence of how much he respects me?!!

"To ask me to respect Glir is like asking me to respect an orc. Something so vile, so cruel, can never earn respect."

He raised his thin eyebrows. "He has my respect."

"Glir should know that our respect does not come hand-in-hand. Just because he has yours, does not mean that he has mine. He knows this."

"Yes, and I can see that it causes him agony."

Arwen resisted the urge to yell. Appearing emotionless through her monotone voice, she replied, "Well, you see some things about Glir, I see others about him."

Elrond took a few steps toward her. "Arwen, I did not come here to fight with you. I came to inform you that the ceremony is starting very soon." He tried to offer a smile. "The wedding can't start without the bride."

Aragorn's dead. Your childhood friend has utterly betrayed you. Your own father wouldn't listen to you when you plead to him before this day to stop the wedding.

Anger flashed in Arwen's eyes. She obviously didn't appreciate the joke. "I'm going through with this wedding, but this facade will never be a marriage. It is imprisonment!! Nothing more than that!!"

Elrond stepped back, hurt. He sighed deeply before replying, "Perhaps… your hostile attitude is just the jitters before the wedding.Much has been going on." Elrond closed his eyes and raised his hand to wipe his worrying brow. "You… you must miss your mother very much at a time like this, Arwen. A maiden getting married… her mother should be here, helping her get ready."

Aragorn's dead. Your childhood friend has utterly betrayed you. Your own father wouldn't listen to you when you plead to him before this day to stop the wedding.

"You killed me this day." Her gaze cut through him like a knife. "Remember that… father."

A frown of despair creased his features. "Arwen—"

"I wish to be alone."

"You ca—'

Her scream echoed off the stonewalls, "I wish to be alone!"

The silence that ensued tempted Arwen's acting resolve, as Elrond stared at her solemnly. His daughter had never raised his voice to him before.

Remember, Aragorn's dead. Your childhood friend has utterly betrayed you. Your own father wouldn't listen to you when you plead to him before this day to stop the wedding. Aragorn, Estel… dead.

Sudden tears threatened to boil over. "GET OUT!"

Elrond gazed at her for one more brief moment, and then turned swiftly. The door closed behind him with a soft click.

A strange look came over Arwen's face—Aragorn noticed it as he approached her. Concern was evident on every line of his face.

"Are you alright?" She suddenly blinked several times, as if coming out of a trance, and then nodded her head quickly. He paused for a moment before continuing. "I never knew you were such a good actress, Arwen. You had me almost believing you several times…. especially with those tears. They looked real."

A small gasp escaped her lips softly. Her voice was monotone. "They were real." Her lips trembled. "I-I just remembered what it felt like to know that you were dead. To feel so alone." Her sad eyes lifted to meet his. "The feeling is, after all, still very fresh in my memory."

Aragorn came forward to wrap his arms around Arwen.

She grasped him with painful tightness, throwing her face into his warm shoulder. "Glir has him wrapped around his little finger so tightly he doesn't even know it!" A short whimper of despair was torn from her.

Aragorn held her closely as she cried.