Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story so far. I've only got one more chapter of this story planned out at the moment, so if there are any book-to-movie changes I've missed that you'd like to see 'explained' in this fic's format, let me know. I'm sure there are quite a few differences that I forgot!
Discliamer: This is a work of fan fiction. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for this work.
A Missing Daughter
Once Elrond had finished treating the injured hobbit - although he didn't quite see the point because by all accounts the silly creature had just sat there and let the ringwraith stab it through the shoulder, so it wasn't likely to survive for any length of time in the wilds of Middle-earth - he had to ensure that the proper arrangements were made for all his guests. The Last Homely House was big enough to accommodate a large group of travellers, but with the new arrivals from Mirkwood, Mithlond, the Lonely Mountain and Minas Tirith, it was getting very crowded. Elrond decided that his sons would have to sleep in the summer-house for the duration of the visitors' stay. It wouldn't do to put any of the guests in the drafty old wooden shed that Celebrían had insisted was the height of garden fashion two thousand years ago. He couldn't pull it down because Galadriel would find out and he would never hear the last of it.
With all these extra duties, it was several days before he could confront Arwen about her recent activities. She thought that Elrond had either not noticed her absence, or decided to let Glorfindel deal with her. Glorfindel was so overjoyed by the safe return of Asfaloth that he had let Arwen off with a glare and a warning never to take his horse again. She was not expecting to be told off, let alone punished, when Elrond called her into his study on the day Frodo woke up.
"Now you listen to me young lady," said Elrond, "I am very disappointed with you. Have you forgotten what happened to your mother when she travelled alone?"
"No Daddy," said Arwen meekly, "I'm very sorry."
"'Sorry' is not good enough. I shall give you a choice. You can either go to the Grey Havens when the other elves from Imladris leave, and sail west immediately, or you can stay here and make a banner for Estel, which he will need in the unlikely event that he should claim the kingship of Gondor. I will not make you decide at once; you may have until the party for Mithlond departs."
"Thank you Daddy," she said.
Arwen of course had no intention of going to her room and sewing a flag for Aragorn, and Elrond was well aware of it. He put a guard outside her door and another outside her window, assigned to keep watch for twenty-four hours a day until Arwen either travelled west to the Havens or east, with her entire family escorting her, to become Queen of Gondor and Arnor. Sure enough one of the guards caught her trying to go after the Fellowship of the Ring, armed this time with Elladan's sword and Elrohir's bow. For Elrond it was the last straw. He told her about all the terrible things that would happen to her if she stayed in Middle-earth, all of them true: the aging and dying of mortals, the suspicion and hatred mortals almost always feel towards the ever-young elves, and the abominable personal hygiene habits of all mortals without exception. This was too much even for Arwen and she agreed to leave for the Grey Havens with most of the other Rivendell elves.
Once she was gone Elrond breathed a sigh of relief. His dearly beloved but rather foolish daughter would be safe in the Undying Lands with her mother, and he could get back to worrying about the One Ring and the Dark Lord. The sound of a horse cantering up the paved road to the Last Homely House later the same day brought Elrond out of his not unpleasant reverie. He dashed out of the house, expecting to find a messenger with important news, but it was Arwen, and she was in a most abominable temper. She shouted almost incoherently at Elrond for several minutes before he understood that she was accusing him of not telling her that she and Aragorn would have a son.
Elrond wondered briefly who was responsible for this dreadful deficiency in his daughter's education. Surely Celebrían had taught her that one of the main reasons for getting married is to have children? Apparently not. He followed Arwen inside, and found her sitting in the library. She had somehow had enough time to change out of her riding clothes and was reading a book about the forging of Elvish weapons - the one written by Fëanor, he noticed. He didn't bother to tell her that Narsil was originally made by the Dwarves. He eventually agreed to her request that Narsil be re-forged, because she had obviously made her choice to become mortal by turning back from the road to the west. There was no point trying to prevent her from marrying Aragorn now.
The twins and some of Aragorn's disreputable cousins offered to go looking for the Fellowship, but once the broken blade was renewed Elrond decided to take the sword to his future son-in-law himself. He needed a holiday.