Disclaimer: Refer to Chapter 1.
Chapter 6: A Painful Truth
Celebrían and Elrond wandered further into the meadow, stirring up grasshoppers that flitted before them, darting away with a sharp whirring sound. A few small, yellow butterflies drifted more calmly amid the chaos of the grasshoppers, seeming unfazed by the approaching elves. A silence settled between Celebrían and Elrond, but it was becoming a more comfortable silence.
She was so much more solemn than he remembered, and to Elrond's eyes, it did not suit her. Her face was closed and her manner stiff, and he was left to wonder if she was always this way now…or only around him?
The wind grew more insistent, the grass making sounds like a thousand panicked whispers. Elrond turned, seeing the horizon was washed with an ominous shade of blue-gray. Celebrían still wandered well ahead, paying little mind. The vibrant hues of the meadow were tainted by the sickly yellow light that precedes a storm.
"I think we should go back to the city," Elrond called, hearing thunder grumble from the skies above.
Celebrían looked up, contemplating the clouds calmly. Her silver braid swung along her back as she tipped her head. He saw then that though all else was made dull and faded by the strange, heavy light, she retained her color, she defied the darkness with her own tiny glow.
She met Elrond's gray eyes for a long moment. There was defiance in her stance, in the rigid set of her lips. With the exception of Gaerdhal's gentle admonitions, she was not used to being told what to do. Another clap of thunder broke across the sky, closer, and Celebrían jumped.
"Let's go back," she agreed, turning for the city with quick, nervous steps. Storms sprang up quickly on the island, and she felt a little foolish that Elrond, a foreigner, had been more aware than she. The first fat, cold raindrop hit her hard on the top of the head, and a shiver tickled down her spine. She marched stolidly on as the sky split open, a deluge of chilled rain pouring over them and soaking her clothing in seconds. The wind shifted, sending crossing sheets of rain before them, blurring the trees. Only the bolts of blue lightning cut through the curtain of water, the boom of thunder heard over the rain, very close now.
Celebrían looked down, seeing that a stream of muddy water was rushing down the path, wearing away the dirt and leaving the rocks slick. Celebrían's foot slipped out from under her, she threw her arms up, struggling to say upright. She fell back into Elrond's hands; surprised it was his soggy chest her head impacted and not a sharp rock. He gripped her waist and had to shout in her ear, "We have to get out of this."
Celebrían said nothing, and did not fight Elrond when he tore off his outer shirt and covered her head and shoulders with it. He wrapped his arm around her just as the hail started. Misshapen balls of ice the size of large acorns pelted Elrond's face as he tucked Celebrían against him and ran. He was only fairly sure he was still on the trail, and just hoped he wasn't running her off a cliff. It seemed forever he ran, the hail just getting larger and stinging more sharply with each step. He struggled to keep his balance as the ground became coated with chunks of ice, and when Celebrían tripped, he lifted her against him, dragging her on. Then, as if by some miracle, a structure appeared, looking solid and safe, beckoning Elrond forward.
Elrond didn't care if it was someone's home or Manwë's own council chambers, he had to get his wife out of this storm. He wrenched the heavy wooden door open, shoving her in before him and slamming the door shut. He leaned back against the door, bracing his hands against his knees and panting. When finally he looked up, he saw from the dim light of the single window that they were in a storage shed; shovels, rope, and wheelbarrows were scattered about the musty building.
"Celebrían, are you all right?" He pushed away from the door, going to her where she leaned weakly against the wall. She was shivering, her teeth clamped together to stop their chattering. Her eyes looked huge in her pale face, her scars almost invisible on her colorless skin. Elrond studied her eyes, lifting a hand to her damp cheek. He rubbed his thumb over her skin, and for a second, he would have sworn her eyes begged him to kiss her. But, a crack of thunder that shook the walls and rattled the single window of the shed seemed to bring her back to her senses, and she ducked away, wringing out her braid with anxious hands.
Elrond opened his mouth for a moment, thinking to comment on her distance, but he said nothing, hoping she might speak when she was ready. Elrond frowned, struggling to strip his undershirt over his head, draping it over a wheelbarrow handle to dry. He kneeled down, attempting to untangle his wet bootlaces. He looked up and saw Celebrían standing at the tiny window, staring out at the storm.
"You should stay away from the window. It is still hailing, it could break..."
Elrond trailed off, watching as her small hand rose, pressing lightly against the cool glass. A dull, blue-hued light came through the window, washing over her perfect face. Her voice was so quiet, so fragile when she spoke that Elrond dared not breathe, that he might not hear her.
"Tell me about my children. Did they marry? Are they happy? Did they have children? Do I have grandchildren across the sea?"
She was crying now, her body shaking so wildly she could barely speak, her hand splayed like a claw on the window.
Elrond crossed the room in two steps, drawing Celebrían into his arms. She went gladly, sobbing into his bare chest as the thunder growled outside, more distant now.
"I want them to be here," she said, "I would give anything to see them again. Why did they do this to me? Why did they leave me here, dying inside from missing them? Don't they love me anymore? Have they forgotten me?"
"They never forgot you. Not for a single moment. They love you very much."
"Then where are they?" she cried.
Elrond moved her away from the window, to a corner of the shed where he sat on the smooth dirt floor. He settled her against him, curled in his lap with her head against his chest. He told her everything he could think of about Arwen and the twins, how hard-hit Elladan was by her departure, how passionately he and his brother had hunted orcs, about Aragorn, about Arwen's choice to live as a mortal. Elrond could feel Celebrían's smile against his skin at some of his tales and feel tears slip anew down her cheeks at others. She never asked questions, but remained silent, absorbing all that he said reverently, for she had thirsted for this for five hundred years.
Yellow sunlight was slanting through the window when Elrond fell silent, the storm but a memory and the hail long-since melted. Celebrían stared intently into the square of sunlight that nearly touched Elrond's feet as she asked, "And you? What happened to you in the past five hundred years?"
He was quiet for so long she was sure he would not answer. Finally, his deep voice nearly shaking with contained emotion, he said, "Nothing. Nothing that matters. For five centuries I drifted, soulless, alone, waiting for this moment. Waiting for the day I could hold you again."
Elrond closed his eyes, pulling her tighter against him.
Celebrían said nothing, just sat obediently, her eyes wide and her heart troubled. Elrond had existed in the realm of their past, sustained only by memories. She had, after some reluctance, started over, rebuilt her world into a new one—one without him. A wretched emptiness filled her now, a crippling guilt nearly overwhelmed her as she realized it was not the others who had forgotten her, but she who had forgotten them.
Thank you so much to my reviewers: Lady Cantara, Star4, Ellfine, Erindi, Kirsty-Q, Lady of the Twilight Woods, lord elo, ATMachine, Rocco, Narwen Almiriel, delumacar, Faerchithiel (whew, hope I didn't miss anyone, I'm not used to this volume of reviews.) You guys rock, keep on me about updating faster, don't let me get away with these delays anymore. :)
Thanks to any of you still out there, I won't even try to make an excuse for the inexcusable delay between chapters. I will try to do better. More Gaerdhal in the next chapter, hope you like it!