Sorry it took so long, I had a lot of school work, and I also didn't get much encouragement (more reviewsfaster chapters). It's finally here though!

RebbyEowyn: Everything's going to work out for the best, don't worry. However, when it comes to someone like me, you never know which one is best: happy endings, or more angst…

Alachofra: I see your point. I believe that the reason her left arm was broken was because it was opposite the Witch King's sword arm, therefore, it was the first thing he hit. It would have been in his best interest to break her sword arm, so that she couldn't fight, but since it would have been harder for him to do so, he broke her shield arm instead. Just my belief. Thanks for all your compliments!

Vor Tirla Laime: It does sound heartless, but maybe that's what we are…

EllowynTinuviel: As always, you got me writing again. Thank you for the review!

This is a review that a friend of mine sent me through e-mail, and asked that I put it on the website for her: "I am a good friend of this author and her work expresses more then what she writes. She truly puts herself into the story and it is that quality that draws you in. Five stars (or should that be seven stars to match the seven stones?) to milady!"

This chapter is dedicated to XxEvenStarxX for asking me to write this, and Omara Eldu for encouraging that idea (though she doesn't remember doing so).

Someone To Catch My Tears

Part Six: Arwen

I walked through the misty valley of Rivendell. The brightest grass I've ever seen bent gently beneath my bare feet. The cold wind whipped my dress around my legs, almost making me wish I had brought a cloak on this late night walk, but it wasn't quite enough to make me truly rue my decision not to.

I saw someone up ahead. The figure was facing away from me, and was broader and taller than most elves. Elves, for all their reputation of being tall and slender, were really rather short. It was merely our grace that produced that illusion.

I walked quicker. What man would dare walk in Rivendell? There were few who even knew where it was. Surely it was a ranger. I remembered the small knife I kept in my boot. Like the cloak, this was almost enough to make me wish I had brought my boot, but not enough. I could handle this. He was a mere mortal. I could use my powers to bend his mind to my will if the need be, though surely it would not.

I approached the man as he turned towards me. I had to gasp.

"Ar…Aragorn?" I stammered.

"Arwen…" was his whispered reply.

Joy washed over me, as I threw myself into his arms. "Oh Estel! I've missed you! But wait, what happened? Is Mordor defeated?"

He paused, and then said. "No, not yet. Come, walk with me awhile. I'll tell everything in good time.:

I obeyed, though I longed to hear it now. I was just happy to be back in Rivendell next to Estel. I never wished to leave again. But then, if Estel was to leave again, I didn't know if I could handle it any longer.

But he soon made me forget my sorrows of him always leaving. I felt like we were back in Lothlorien, after so much distress. We frolicked through the valley, laughing, talking, running, walking, singing, and any other form of expressing our joy at seeing each other and our carelessness about others good night sleep.

I didn't think it would ever end. I knew that it had to, but any time that thought dared to cross my mind it was shoved aside before it reached my conscious mind. I absolutely refused to be brought down by such thoughts.

Suddenly, Estel stopped running. I had been chasing him across the valley. Estel was never one to give up easily, so I was surprised when he didn't just wait till I finally caught up to him. But then I saw the river was behind him. Though I knew that he could have easily crossed the river, and probably without sacrificing much in terms of my catching him, I realized that now he wanted to talk.

I plopped down on the grass in the least graceful way I could manage. Sometimes I felt that I made Estel uncomfortable by my Elvishness. I tried very hard to be human, but that also disturbed him greatly. Frankly, it disturbed me as well.

He tumbled down next to me, laying flat on his back, staring up at the shrouded stars. I realized again that it was rather chilly, but I cared less now than I ever did. I lay down next to Estel, and looked up at the stars. Suddenly, I found myself looking at my love, for he had sat up and was looking down at me now.

He smiled in that sweet way of his that always made me want to kiss him. But nobody was here now, so kiss him I did.

I was surprised that he pulled away so quickly, almost regretfully. After, he just lay back now next to me, and we did not speak for some time.

Suddenly, he bust out, "but it will be. The men are there now. Rohan and Gondor have united. We can beat down the enemy. Frodo and Sam have not been heard from, but we know that they will make it. The last news we received is that they were headed towards Cirith Ungol Kirith Ungol. They should be in Mordor now, even to Orodruin. Come back with me."

"What?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

"Return with me," he said gently, sitting up and taking my hands in his. "I have missed you so. I cannot leave and know that I will never see you again."

I was confused. "Estel, of what do you speak?"

"You left me! You are sailing to the Grey Havens now! I am in Mordor, and I will not live through this battle if I know that you will pass forever from my life!" he cried.

"But I'm here now, Estel! I'm here now! I love you. I can only do what I can do. Please, my love, don't die. I love you. I'm here now! You can see me, feel me. I love you!"

"You aren't here, Arwen. I'm here. You're gone already. You must come back I beg you. I love you. I don't even know who she is. How can I love her like I loved you for all those years. I've loved you for all those years…"

"Who is she?" I asked, again confused.

"Arwen…"

I woke up, breathing heavily.

I looked around me, and realized that I was, indeed, on a boat for the Grey Havens. I realized that maybe I wasn't ready to go. Perhaps I should return and try again to live the life of mortals.

But I was too frightened. It wasn't the life for me. I thought about the times when I would have to stand there, all of those humans staring at me as though I was something that was wrought in the depths of Orodruin. But I wasn't! I had my own life! I could not stand there and wait for something that could never happen forever.

I believed him when he said that he would win the war. Perhaps he would. But I couldn't win it for him. He was going to be King of Gondor. He had always placed his hopes in the dream that someday we would be together, and he neglected to think that he would have to be a different person then. I would not be his wife; I would be his Queen. I could not sacrifice who I was for him. I hoped fervently that he would not sacrifice who he could be for me. He could be the king, but if he ever learned that I left him because of his destiny, then he would forsake it. I knew that much. No, Aragorn needed to have faith in who he was before I ever told him.

Would I ever be able to tell him? I could not go to him. It would shake him too deeply. Could I explain to him through a dream? Would he understand? No, I decided. If he was to understand, it was not my place to make him. I was no longer a part of his life. I had seen love, I had seen happiness. But it was not my love and happiness. I would diminish into the West, till I became nothing more than a dubious legend remembered only by the Royal Bloodline of Gondor. This was my fate. I would accept it.

I no longer wanted the fate I had been promised so many years before. I was tired. I didn't want to toil any longer in the land of Men. For, as my father predicted, it was but the land of Men. There was no longer any need for Elves. We had our own destiny elsewhere, and there was nothing to keep us in Arda.

Nothing but love and friendship, a dangerous part of my mind whispered. It was this voice I had followed almost to the point of self-extinction. I had been willing to give up everything that I held dear, for everything that he had to carry. I knew in my heart that Estel would rather wander the woods of the world, or better yet remain forever in Rivendell with me, but he also understood that this was his destiny.

Sometimes the only way that two people can be together is the only thing that is keeping them apart.

This is not my destiny. I was meant for different things. I was not supposed to live in the royal bedchamber of Minas Anor, spending my days staring into the West. It would be better to be among my own people, in a place where I was look upon with sympathy rather than blankness, and stare off into the East. I would rather be unhappy with my choice of unhappiness, then unhappy with my choice of happiness.

I went up onto the deck. I walked over to a sailor and asked, "How long until we reach the Havens?"

"Not long, milady, not long," he replied. He had a friendly smile; I liked him immediately. I sat down on a bench nearby. I wanted to stay out in the sea air. It was refreshing after my…nightmare? Vision? Amazing dream? I didn't even know how I felt about my one love coming to me in a dream! What had happened to me?

"You're the Evenstar, are you not?" the sailor asked.

"I am."

"The Lady of Rivendell?"

"I am."

"The one who fell in love with a mortal."

This time, it was not a question. He stated it softly, almost to himself. But it was not to himself. It was to me. He was asking me an entire lifetime (you don't want to know how long that can be) of questions. How to respond? I could stay silent, but I was tired of staying silent. I had a voice, but I so rarely found the strength to use it. What was the use? I was but an elf-woman who fell in love with a mortal. No one would care. They would merely say either that all my problems are my own fault, or they are the fault of the mortal. He contaminated me in some bizarre, never fully explained or thought out way.

I bust out crying my entire story. I told him how we met, how he called me Tinuviel, the wonder in his eyes, the adoration. I told him about how we met again in Lorien, and spent the most glorious moments of my life, of our lives, there together. I told him how Estel then came to Rivendell with the hobbits, how they left on another mission, how I lost hope even though I knew that there was still some left, how I didn't want to wait any longer, so I fled. Finally, I told him about my dream the night before.

I could have easily blamed it all on my father, saying that he had torn us apart, and that I longed to go back to my love, and I almost did. But then the voice of reason reached my mind's surface. "You could." It said. I could have gone to Aragorn. I knew he would become king eventually, he had been preparing for this, deep down, if now on the surface, for eighty-eight years now. Eighty-eight. So young, yet so old.

When I finished my tale, the sailor said nothing. I wondered if he had heard me. I wondered if he didn't exist, and I had just imagined him there. Everyone else must think I'm crazy. But no, he was still there wasn't he?

I cleared my throat.

He didn't respond.

"Sir, did I burden you with my tale? I'm sorry. I did not mean to…"

"Why do you think these things, milady? First of all, what matter is it to you if you burden me? I asked for it. Albeit, subtly, nonetheless. I asked for it, and you answered me. Second of all, what makes you think you have burdened me? I have said nothing to make you think such a thing," he finally said.

"Exactly, you said nothing at all!"

"What would you have liked me to say, milady? I could have given you advice, but you've already made your decision, and you must live with the consequences. There's no advice I, only a sailor, could grant you. I could have comforted you, but then you wouldn't have liked me very much would you have? You don't want someone to tell you it will all be all right, because it won't. You'll have a lot of adjusting to do. Then maybe it will be okay, but you'll always this will always put you into misery. I could have told you that you made the right decision, but you didn't. I could have told you that you made the wrong decision, but you didn't. I cannot lie, milady. It does not come easily to me like it does to some. None of the words I listed would have been the right thing to do. Therefore, I did nothing at all."

He had a point. And it was a brilliant point. I loved his freedom. He was not chained to any stone. He did not have to worry about anything. A Sea Bird flew overhead, crying as it did so. He was like that Sea Bird, as he imitated its call. He didn't need anything but exactly what he had. No hard decisions. No complications. Oh, why was it I who always did things like fall in love with mortals!

"I'm sorry, sir, but I've blurted out my entire story, and you have not even shared your name."

He smiled. It was a slow smile. Slow to come, and even slower to go. I liked it.

"Perhaps you shall find out someday," he said.

"I'm sorry but…"

"Why do you apologize for everything? You didn't say anything wrong. Logically, neither did I, but if it was either of us it would have been I."

I looked down at my feet. I almost apologized for apologizing, but then I thought better of it. But, after a second's hesitation, I thought better of that as well. "I'm sorry…"

He looked at me carefully, trying to see if I was really dumb, or if I was teasing him. His smile started. I smiled back. It grew. I laughed. He laughed with me.

It was one of the greatest moments of my life. I recognize that I above wrote that my time with Aragorn in Lorien was the greatest moment of my life, and it was. This sailor was in no way replacing him. It was different. This was laughing after a period of sever sorrow. You may be thinking that I was falling in love with him, and maybe I was. But that was not really a consideration at that point. I had to wait until I could be sure. For now, any love I might enter would merely be a rebound situation. I did not want that. Besides, I had plenty of time to fall in love and mourn for the loss of my old love. It wasn't like I was going to die very soon.

"So what is your name?" I asked, after our laughter subsided.

"I thought I already answered that."

"You failed to. You said that I would find out someday."

"And someday you will."

"Is today someday?"

"Every day is someday. If there was a designated day to be someday, then we wouldn't have to say someday would we? We would just say 'Sunday' or 'Thursday' or 'Monday' or 'Wednesday' or 'Tuesday' or 'Saturday' or 'Friday.'"

I thought for a moment, and then I realized that he had included all the days of the week, just in a very odd order. He was truly one of the most interesting people I had yet met.

"What is this someday?"

"Do I know?"

"You know when you want to tell me."

"Milady, until the time is right, I shall not know when I will tell you. That is the great thing about living life by the moment. I might tell you two seconds from now…" he paused, "Or I might not. And as you can see I chose the not. I might do anything at any given moment, and then do the exact opposite and contradiction the next. There are no rules when you live without rules."

"But isn't that a rule? That there are no rules?" I couldn't believe that I was allowing myself to be caught up in this riddle of his. This was exactly what he wanted me to say, and I had surrendered to him. How foolish was I?

But I was rewarded; he smiled.

"But if I want there to be rules, then there will be rules. Therefore, the rule of no rules is non-existent."

"But if you want there to be rules, then you don't live without rules!"

He smiled and shook his head. "Perhaps it is too mighty a philosophy for a mere lady. Perhaps one truly must live before one can understand what I say."

I became indignant, but I hid it well. He saw it anyhow. He just shook his head and turned away. I realized after he had walked off that he had diverted me from my original question: what was his name.

I thought about him for the rest of the voyage, mostly to divert my mind from other people. I had once told Aragorn that there were four men who meant something to me. My father, my brothers, and him. I told him this in response to his doubt about the truth of my feelings. These were the same four men I was desperate not to think about. Yet, was that true still? Were they the only meaningful men to me? Perhaps, and then perhaps not. I could only wait and see. If Fate lead me to love and happiness, I would embrace that destiny with all my heart. If it left me to the fate I had allotted for myself, I would accept that to, as it was what I had anticipated when I made my final choice.

I pondered my future. Would I ever see any of them again? Ought I hope against hope that I might see Estel again? It was a painful thought but I didn't know the answer.

I found myself crying, and now there was no one to comfort me. My one comfort had been driven off, either by duty, or by becoming bored with my sorrow. Which one it was, I couldn't know. I could not blame him for either, so it didn't matter much which. Yet, I still wanted to know.

Before I knew it, we had docked. I looked behind me as I walked towards the ramp down to shore, searching for the sailor who had been so kind. I thought I had found him, going up to the crows nest, but then he turned, and I didn't think it was him. I faced in front of me again, and started to get off the ship. Suddenly I turned, I had an idea.

I strode over to the sailor who was ensuring that everyone got off well, and I said, "There is a sailor on this ship, and I want to know who he is. He was coiling rope over there earlier today…"

The sailor gave a knowing grin. "Aye, he's the nicest elf aboard. His name is Oirin."

I smiled in return, and then got off the ship.

Remember Forever. It was his name. But who was to be remembered?