A/N: I'm going back to uni in a few days and its amazing what knowing I am
going back to work does for my imagination. Anyway here's the next chapter.
Enjoy!
Chapter Thirteen: The Loss Of Friends
The next few weeks went by smoothly and Celebfaer did not have to stay in the house of healing another night. The healers only requested that she come back every day for an examination, but after a week or so she had improved greatly and soon she was able to stop seeing the healers and spend time with Rosa when she went there.
It was almost as if Rosa knew that Celebfaer was better, because as soon as Celebfaer got better and was no longer needed for check ups, Rosa's condition began to decline. Celebfaer's mind was still too weak for her to attempt to bring Rosa back, which saddened her, but she somehow understood that this had been the price. She wished it were not so, but she knew that Rosa had sacrificed herself for not only the Fairies, but for the sake of the child, Feanin. So every day Celebfaer spent at least an hour in the room where Rosa was kept, praying to the Valar, but knowing it was in vain.
But she could not spend every hour of the day grieving for her friend. She spent most of her hours playing with Feanin, or walking with Arwen and Aragorn. Gimli had left a week after Aragorn and Arwen had arrived, because he had felt a little uncomfortable in the presence of so many Elves. When Legolas was not busy, he would spend time with them all as well.
So the days passed by quite quickly, holding the same thing and the days seemed to merge into one. Aragorn and Arwen soon had to leave, because their son could not be allowed to take over the kingdom completely, until Aragorn was ready to pass it on to him.
Then before Celebfaer knew it another year had passed and Thranduil told Legolas that the time had come. He was going to leave Middle Earth and search for Valinor. And he would take the rest of the Elves that wanted to come with him, which turned out to be half of the kingdom.
It was a sad day when the day finally came for them to begin their travel to the Gray Havens. They were going to pass through Rivendell first to see Celeborn and then they were going to leave. But it was the last time that Thranduil would ever see his eldest son. Eran had decided to go with them, so it was a very sad day for Legolas.
As with tradition, the coronation ceremony of Legolas was conducted before they left. Legolas's father put the golden circlet on top of his sons head and tears were falling from his eyes. Legolas tried to control the tears, but Celebfaer knew that there was a sadness in his heart that she would never be able to make disappear. She could feel it through the bond, but also see it in the way that he stood. And when Thranduil placed the crown on her head, her thoughts were not on the responsibility of what lay ahead for her and Legolas in Eryn Lasgalen, but they were on the task that she herself had to do before another seven years had passed.
Then when the party that was leaving went down to the stables, Legolas stood above them, his crown on and his face hard, as though he did not want to show his real feelings.
"Brother, I shall miss you." Eran said and Legolas nodded then embraced him.
"And I shall miss you. May the Valar bless you with peace and happiness in Valinor." He said his voice hard, but breaking slightly and Celebfaer nodded.
"We shall miss you Eran. Feanin will miss you too much. I do not know if he will be able to cope with your passing very well." She said and Eran nodded.
"That is why I said my farewell last night. It is good that you did not allow him to see us off."
"It would have torn him apart." Legolas said sadly and Celebfaer nodded agreeing with her husband, then Eran smiled before he put his hand on Legolas' shoulder then he turned and mounted his horse.
Thranduil spent quite a while with Legolas, giving last minute instructions and generally trying to comprehend that he would quite possibly never see his eldest son again. Or his grandson. Eventually however, Eran beckoned to his father and he mounted as did the rest of the people that were leaving.
Then they rode away, and Legolas did not take his eyes off them until they were out of sight, then he turned and walked away, not looking at anyone and Celebfaer knew he needed to be left alone. She could feel what he was thinking and she knew to leave him. When he was ready he would come to her and she thought she knew where she would find him if she wanted to look.
So she went to take Feanin away from the maid that had kept him amused while Thranduil and Eran had left. Feanin was full of excitement, because he had been at the coronation and although he could not understand exactly what was happening, he knew something good had happened.
So they were playing around when suddenly Feanin got a serious look on his face.
"Rosa is going to die, isn't she Ma?" He said and Celebfaer looked at him for a few seconds before nodding slowly.
"She will. Very soon."
"Like Eran and Grandda?"
"No. They are going away. They will not come back, but they are not going to die."
"Then where are they going?"
"They are traveling from this land to another. A place where the Elves are allowed to dwell with the gods. It's a good place." She said and Feanin nodded, then came in and hugged her.
"Promise you will never leave Ma." He said and she paused slightly before answering.
"I'll never leave you Feanin. We share a bond, which is why you can feel me in your head. And I have a feeling we are yet to see what you inherited from me." She said, the last sentence was more for herself than for Feanin, but the boy took no notice.
"Ma? Where's Da?" He asked and she laughed.
"He is busy. Come let's go for a walk." She said picking him up and carrying him for a little while before she put him down and let him walk himself.
***************************************
Later that evening Celebfaer began to get worried. It was after dinner, and she had put Feanin to bed, but she had not seen Legolas since the farewell.
She knew he would turn up eventually, but she feared that if he didn't turn up soon, he might never return. Thranduil had told them that now that they were officially the king and queen they were entitled to take his own rooms, but Celebfaer had known, just as Legolas had known that they would keep their own rooms. It was Celebfaer's favourite room in the entire palace because of the way the sun hit it when it rose. Besides Legolas had told her that he would feel odd sleeping in the room that was his fathers, even if it was closer to the throne room and the study. Legolas liked the exercise and besides they had all that they needed up this end of the palace. They were close to their son and were rarely disturbed, except for important matters.
So Celebfaer was sitting at her desk, brushing her hair when she felt Legolas enter the room and stand behind her.
"Melamin, you are troubled." She said looking at him in the mirror, but he didn't answer. He didn't need to, she instantly stood up and they both walked towards each other, meeting in the middle of the room, where she took him in her arms and he started to weep.
"They're gone........" Legolas started, but Celebfaer silenced him with her finger, standing on tiptoes so that she could kiss him softly on the top of the head.
"Shhh....." She said softly. "Let it out melamin." She added and he did.
She had no idea how long she held him for, but she was prepared to wait for him to stop for the rest of eternity. He did not weep the whole time, he just held her, needing someone to hold on to, someone to assure him that the world would be alright. He knew he had not made the wrong decision deciding to stay back so that he could stay with Celebfaer, but the grief of loosing his father and brother, never being able to see them again was tearing him apart. He could not allow the rest of the kingdom to see him like this, which was why he needed his queen. Only she would understand.
What Legolas did not see that night was the rest of the kingdom. The rest of the kingdom grieved also. Not just for the loss of the king, but for the loss of a great number of elves from Middle Earth, for they knew that this was the last of the Elves. The Elves would now be so diminished in numbers that they would probably be forgotten by the race of Men and Dwarves. No longer would the trees sing happily as they once did. There would not always be a sadness in the tunes that the trees sung, despite the Elves that stayed.
*************************************
Weeks turned into months, and before long it had been almost a year since Thranduil had left and Legolas' grief had subsided. Each night he would cry into Celebfaer's shoulder, yet during the day he would appear as though it did not affect him. The kingdom loved him for it and eventually life was back to normal.
Rosa had become so frail, that Celebfaer knew it was only a few days, weeks at the most before she finally left. What had made her hold on this long Celebfaer did not know, but she hoped that Rosa was not suffering. The strangest thing happened to her one day while she was visiting Rosa though.
It was a year after Thranduil, Eran and the others had left for Valinor and Celebfaer had been kept up for most of the night by Legolas. He had stopped weeping but some nights he still liked to hold her until he fell asleep and Celebfaer could not help watching him sleep when he was like that. It was at those moments that her love for him was at its strongest. When he was most vulnerable she loved him the most because she knew that it was part of her job to keep him strong and protect him. Just like it was his job to protect her when she was vulnerable.
Celebfaer was sitting beside Rosa's bed, her eyes closed and she must have drifted off for a few minutes or something because she was sure that Rosa had sat up and spoken to her. So it must have been a dream.
"Celebfaer, you know what you must do." Rosa said to her and she nodded.
"I know, but I cannot leave him."
"Remember what your mother said. You must go soon." Her voice was very weak and Rosa suddenly looked very old and very frail.
"Rosa......"
"Listen child. I am on my last strength. I ask only one thing. I want to be taken from these halls and given a room where I can see the sun." Rosa said and she collapsed back onto the bed.
"Rosa, no! I will go back..... You cannot die, I will take you back and my mother or someone will be able to cure you!" Celebfaer said, and Rosa's eyes fluttered open.
"My time is drawing closer to the end. Please....." She said, then she was silent and Celebfaer opened her eyes and looked down at Rosa.
Her condition had worsened and somehow Celebfaer knew that she had one day left. She just wanted to see the sunrise one last time. Being unable to stop them, tears slid down her face as she realized that her friend would be gone by the time Celebfaer got up the next day. She knew then that the time had come for her to return to the Fairy Realm. Legolas would never forgive her, nor would he understand, but it was something she would need to do alone and she did not know how long it would take.
Getting to her feet, Celebfaer called the wind spirit so that Rosa would be easier to carry and she picked up her friend, amazed at how light she had gotten then she walked out of the room, ignoring the healers protests. She carried her up to where her own rooms, then she went to the room that they had given Rosa before Feanin had been born. Lying Rosa down on the bed, she made sure she was comfortable, then she called the wind spirit and moved the bed so that it was directly in front of the window, so that Rosa would see her last sunrise.
Pulling up a chair, Celebfaer sat beside the bed, taking Rosa's cold hand and closing her eyes, retreating to her mind then seeking out Rosa's soul that was floating above her body, wondering what had happened to it.
'Thank you Celebfear. You were good to me.' She said and Celebfaer nodded.
'I will stay with you and watch the sunrise my friend. You will be greatly missed.' She said.
Celebfaer was not at dinner that night and Legolas frowned. She never normally missed an opportunity to see him so he wondered what was wrong. He searched the bond but all he found was a strange calmness. It scared him a little, but instead of worrying Feanin, he ate with his son then stayed up with him until it was time for him to go to bed.
Celebfaer had still not turned up, so this time Legolas closed his eyes and sought her out, trying to pinpoint her location. She was not far away, so he found the room, Rosa's old room, then walked in and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the scene in front of him.
Rosa was lying on the bed, which had been pushed right up to the window overlooking the forest. Celebfaer was sitting in a chair beside her, her hand grasping Rosa's so tightly that it was as though she never wanted to let go. Tears were running down Celebfaer's face, but Legolas knew that it was pointless talking to her, because she had retreated to her mind and was probably searching for Rosa.
Celebfaer must have sensed that he had entered the room because he had only been in the room for a few short minutes before he heard her voice in his head.
'Legolas, I must do this. I shall not leave you, but I must stay with Rosa. Please leave me for tonight.' She sent and Legolas heard it then nodded and turned, walking from the room into their own rooms to go to sleep himself.
***************************************
The next morning, Legolas entered the room scared about doing it, but knowing he had to. He had known when he had left her the night before that Rosa was very close to death and he knew that Celebfaer would need him when she did die. Just like he had needed her when his father and brother had left for Valinor.
He paused before he opened the door, afraid to open it, but knowing he had to. The sight he saw almost broke his heart.
Celebfaer was sitting beside the bed in the same spot she had been sitting last night, her hand still held Rosa's but the tears were falling freely down her face and she made no attempt to brush them away. Her eyes were open but it was as though she was not seeing with them. She was looking down at Rosa, a blank, but calm look on her face which gave the situation a very uncanny feeling too it. She was so caught up in her grief that she had not noticed or even heard Legolas enter the room, which was rare for her. Normally she could sense the moment right before he walked in and she was always ready for him. But this time she had not even looked up, just kept staring blankly at Rosa, those silent tears falling down her face.
Legolas knew the minute he had walked in the room that Rosa had finally passed to the halls of Mannos. But now he looked down to look at her. Rosa's face was peaceful, her eyes closed and her face serene. Her cheeks were pale and her chest no longer rose and fell painstakingly slowly. She looked as though she was only sleeping and she looked so peaceful that Legolas was afraid to say anything in case he disturbed the peaceful silence of the room.
Legolas had seen many people die in battles, but he had never seen a person die from natural causes and the way she looked so peaceful, as though she was still sleeping gave the whole scene an eerie feeling. Suddenly Legolas shivered as though an icy wind had blown through the room, but it was this movement that caught Celebfaer's attention.
She looked up at him the tears still falling down her face and bit her lip, as though uncertain and afraid before she spoke. "She's gone." She said and Legolas nodded. "She wanted to see one last sunset. And I know now what I have to do Legolas. I have to leave Eryn Lasgalen."
Chapter Thirteen: The Loss Of Friends
The next few weeks went by smoothly and Celebfaer did not have to stay in the house of healing another night. The healers only requested that she come back every day for an examination, but after a week or so she had improved greatly and soon she was able to stop seeing the healers and spend time with Rosa when she went there.
It was almost as if Rosa knew that Celebfaer was better, because as soon as Celebfaer got better and was no longer needed for check ups, Rosa's condition began to decline. Celebfaer's mind was still too weak for her to attempt to bring Rosa back, which saddened her, but she somehow understood that this had been the price. She wished it were not so, but she knew that Rosa had sacrificed herself for not only the Fairies, but for the sake of the child, Feanin. So every day Celebfaer spent at least an hour in the room where Rosa was kept, praying to the Valar, but knowing it was in vain.
But she could not spend every hour of the day grieving for her friend. She spent most of her hours playing with Feanin, or walking with Arwen and Aragorn. Gimli had left a week after Aragorn and Arwen had arrived, because he had felt a little uncomfortable in the presence of so many Elves. When Legolas was not busy, he would spend time with them all as well.
So the days passed by quite quickly, holding the same thing and the days seemed to merge into one. Aragorn and Arwen soon had to leave, because their son could not be allowed to take over the kingdom completely, until Aragorn was ready to pass it on to him.
Then before Celebfaer knew it another year had passed and Thranduil told Legolas that the time had come. He was going to leave Middle Earth and search for Valinor. And he would take the rest of the Elves that wanted to come with him, which turned out to be half of the kingdom.
It was a sad day when the day finally came for them to begin their travel to the Gray Havens. They were going to pass through Rivendell first to see Celeborn and then they were going to leave. But it was the last time that Thranduil would ever see his eldest son. Eran had decided to go with them, so it was a very sad day for Legolas.
As with tradition, the coronation ceremony of Legolas was conducted before they left. Legolas's father put the golden circlet on top of his sons head and tears were falling from his eyes. Legolas tried to control the tears, but Celebfaer knew that there was a sadness in his heart that she would never be able to make disappear. She could feel it through the bond, but also see it in the way that he stood. And when Thranduil placed the crown on her head, her thoughts were not on the responsibility of what lay ahead for her and Legolas in Eryn Lasgalen, but they were on the task that she herself had to do before another seven years had passed.
Then when the party that was leaving went down to the stables, Legolas stood above them, his crown on and his face hard, as though he did not want to show his real feelings.
"Brother, I shall miss you." Eran said and Legolas nodded then embraced him.
"And I shall miss you. May the Valar bless you with peace and happiness in Valinor." He said his voice hard, but breaking slightly and Celebfaer nodded.
"We shall miss you Eran. Feanin will miss you too much. I do not know if he will be able to cope with your passing very well." She said and Eran nodded.
"That is why I said my farewell last night. It is good that you did not allow him to see us off."
"It would have torn him apart." Legolas said sadly and Celebfaer nodded agreeing with her husband, then Eran smiled before he put his hand on Legolas' shoulder then he turned and mounted his horse.
Thranduil spent quite a while with Legolas, giving last minute instructions and generally trying to comprehend that he would quite possibly never see his eldest son again. Or his grandson. Eventually however, Eran beckoned to his father and he mounted as did the rest of the people that were leaving.
Then they rode away, and Legolas did not take his eyes off them until they were out of sight, then he turned and walked away, not looking at anyone and Celebfaer knew he needed to be left alone. She could feel what he was thinking and she knew to leave him. When he was ready he would come to her and she thought she knew where she would find him if she wanted to look.
So she went to take Feanin away from the maid that had kept him amused while Thranduil and Eran had left. Feanin was full of excitement, because he had been at the coronation and although he could not understand exactly what was happening, he knew something good had happened.
So they were playing around when suddenly Feanin got a serious look on his face.
"Rosa is going to die, isn't she Ma?" He said and Celebfaer looked at him for a few seconds before nodding slowly.
"She will. Very soon."
"Like Eran and Grandda?"
"No. They are going away. They will not come back, but they are not going to die."
"Then where are they going?"
"They are traveling from this land to another. A place where the Elves are allowed to dwell with the gods. It's a good place." She said and Feanin nodded, then came in and hugged her.
"Promise you will never leave Ma." He said and she paused slightly before answering.
"I'll never leave you Feanin. We share a bond, which is why you can feel me in your head. And I have a feeling we are yet to see what you inherited from me." She said, the last sentence was more for herself than for Feanin, but the boy took no notice.
"Ma? Where's Da?" He asked and she laughed.
"He is busy. Come let's go for a walk." She said picking him up and carrying him for a little while before she put him down and let him walk himself.
***************************************
Later that evening Celebfaer began to get worried. It was after dinner, and she had put Feanin to bed, but she had not seen Legolas since the farewell.
She knew he would turn up eventually, but she feared that if he didn't turn up soon, he might never return. Thranduil had told them that now that they were officially the king and queen they were entitled to take his own rooms, but Celebfaer had known, just as Legolas had known that they would keep their own rooms. It was Celebfaer's favourite room in the entire palace because of the way the sun hit it when it rose. Besides Legolas had told her that he would feel odd sleeping in the room that was his fathers, even if it was closer to the throne room and the study. Legolas liked the exercise and besides they had all that they needed up this end of the palace. They were close to their son and were rarely disturbed, except for important matters.
So Celebfaer was sitting at her desk, brushing her hair when she felt Legolas enter the room and stand behind her.
"Melamin, you are troubled." She said looking at him in the mirror, but he didn't answer. He didn't need to, she instantly stood up and they both walked towards each other, meeting in the middle of the room, where she took him in her arms and he started to weep.
"They're gone........" Legolas started, but Celebfaer silenced him with her finger, standing on tiptoes so that she could kiss him softly on the top of the head.
"Shhh....." She said softly. "Let it out melamin." She added and he did.
She had no idea how long she held him for, but she was prepared to wait for him to stop for the rest of eternity. He did not weep the whole time, he just held her, needing someone to hold on to, someone to assure him that the world would be alright. He knew he had not made the wrong decision deciding to stay back so that he could stay with Celebfaer, but the grief of loosing his father and brother, never being able to see them again was tearing him apart. He could not allow the rest of the kingdom to see him like this, which was why he needed his queen. Only she would understand.
What Legolas did not see that night was the rest of the kingdom. The rest of the kingdom grieved also. Not just for the loss of the king, but for the loss of a great number of elves from Middle Earth, for they knew that this was the last of the Elves. The Elves would now be so diminished in numbers that they would probably be forgotten by the race of Men and Dwarves. No longer would the trees sing happily as they once did. There would not always be a sadness in the tunes that the trees sung, despite the Elves that stayed.
*************************************
Weeks turned into months, and before long it had been almost a year since Thranduil had left and Legolas' grief had subsided. Each night he would cry into Celebfaer's shoulder, yet during the day he would appear as though it did not affect him. The kingdom loved him for it and eventually life was back to normal.
Rosa had become so frail, that Celebfaer knew it was only a few days, weeks at the most before she finally left. What had made her hold on this long Celebfaer did not know, but she hoped that Rosa was not suffering. The strangest thing happened to her one day while she was visiting Rosa though.
It was a year after Thranduil, Eran and the others had left for Valinor and Celebfaer had been kept up for most of the night by Legolas. He had stopped weeping but some nights he still liked to hold her until he fell asleep and Celebfaer could not help watching him sleep when he was like that. It was at those moments that her love for him was at its strongest. When he was most vulnerable she loved him the most because she knew that it was part of her job to keep him strong and protect him. Just like it was his job to protect her when she was vulnerable.
Celebfaer was sitting beside Rosa's bed, her eyes closed and she must have drifted off for a few minutes or something because she was sure that Rosa had sat up and spoken to her. So it must have been a dream.
"Celebfaer, you know what you must do." Rosa said to her and she nodded.
"I know, but I cannot leave him."
"Remember what your mother said. You must go soon." Her voice was very weak and Rosa suddenly looked very old and very frail.
"Rosa......"
"Listen child. I am on my last strength. I ask only one thing. I want to be taken from these halls and given a room where I can see the sun." Rosa said and she collapsed back onto the bed.
"Rosa, no! I will go back..... You cannot die, I will take you back and my mother or someone will be able to cure you!" Celebfaer said, and Rosa's eyes fluttered open.
"My time is drawing closer to the end. Please....." She said, then she was silent and Celebfaer opened her eyes and looked down at Rosa.
Her condition had worsened and somehow Celebfaer knew that she had one day left. She just wanted to see the sunrise one last time. Being unable to stop them, tears slid down her face as she realized that her friend would be gone by the time Celebfaer got up the next day. She knew then that the time had come for her to return to the Fairy Realm. Legolas would never forgive her, nor would he understand, but it was something she would need to do alone and she did not know how long it would take.
Getting to her feet, Celebfaer called the wind spirit so that Rosa would be easier to carry and she picked up her friend, amazed at how light she had gotten then she walked out of the room, ignoring the healers protests. She carried her up to where her own rooms, then she went to the room that they had given Rosa before Feanin had been born. Lying Rosa down on the bed, she made sure she was comfortable, then she called the wind spirit and moved the bed so that it was directly in front of the window, so that Rosa would see her last sunrise.
Pulling up a chair, Celebfaer sat beside the bed, taking Rosa's cold hand and closing her eyes, retreating to her mind then seeking out Rosa's soul that was floating above her body, wondering what had happened to it.
'Thank you Celebfear. You were good to me.' She said and Celebfaer nodded.
'I will stay with you and watch the sunrise my friend. You will be greatly missed.' She said.
Celebfaer was not at dinner that night and Legolas frowned. She never normally missed an opportunity to see him so he wondered what was wrong. He searched the bond but all he found was a strange calmness. It scared him a little, but instead of worrying Feanin, he ate with his son then stayed up with him until it was time for him to go to bed.
Celebfaer had still not turned up, so this time Legolas closed his eyes and sought her out, trying to pinpoint her location. She was not far away, so he found the room, Rosa's old room, then walked in and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the scene in front of him.
Rosa was lying on the bed, which had been pushed right up to the window overlooking the forest. Celebfaer was sitting in a chair beside her, her hand grasping Rosa's so tightly that it was as though she never wanted to let go. Tears were running down Celebfaer's face, but Legolas knew that it was pointless talking to her, because she had retreated to her mind and was probably searching for Rosa.
Celebfaer must have sensed that he had entered the room because he had only been in the room for a few short minutes before he heard her voice in his head.
'Legolas, I must do this. I shall not leave you, but I must stay with Rosa. Please leave me for tonight.' She sent and Legolas heard it then nodded and turned, walking from the room into their own rooms to go to sleep himself.
***************************************
The next morning, Legolas entered the room scared about doing it, but knowing he had to. He had known when he had left her the night before that Rosa was very close to death and he knew that Celebfaer would need him when she did die. Just like he had needed her when his father and brother had left for Valinor.
He paused before he opened the door, afraid to open it, but knowing he had to. The sight he saw almost broke his heart.
Celebfaer was sitting beside the bed in the same spot she had been sitting last night, her hand still held Rosa's but the tears were falling freely down her face and she made no attempt to brush them away. Her eyes were open but it was as though she was not seeing with them. She was looking down at Rosa, a blank, but calm look on her face which gave the situation a very uncanny feeling too it. She was so caught up in her grief that she had not noticed or even heard Legolas enter the room, which was rare for her. Normally she could sense the moment right before he walked in and she was always ready for him. But this time she had not even looked up, just kept staring blankly at Rosa, those silent tears falling down her face.
Legolas knew the minute he had walked in the room that Rosa had finally passed to the halls of Mannos. But now he looked down to look at her. Rosa's face was peaceful, her eyes closed and her face serene. Her cheeks were pale and her chest no longer rose and fell painstakingly slowly. She looked as though she was only sleeping and she looked so peaceful that Legolas was afraid to say anything in case he disturbed the peaceful silence of the room.
Legolas had seen many people die in battles, but he had never seen a person die from natural causes and the way she looked so peaceful, as though she was still sleeping gave the whole scene an eerie feeling. Suddenly Legolas shivered as though an icy wind had blown through the room, but it was this movement that caught Celebfaer's attention.
She looked up at him the tears still falling down her face and bit her lip, as though uncertain and afraid before she spoke. "She's gone." She said and Legolas nodded. "She wanted to see one last sunset. And I know now what I have to do Legolas. I have to leave Eryn Lasgalen."