The Undecided of Earendil
By- Larien
Chapter 25
Gemini969- Hey good to hear from you again! Sorry it took so long to update, but this chapter was difficult! Thanks for the review and I'm glad you're still enjoying it!
Copperfang- Wow, the hatred is contagious! It seems you and everyone else suddenly hates Aradhel instead of Thranduil...lucky Thranduil. Lol. And yes, well at least, from what we can assume, yes. Sirdhem was the leader of the ghosts of Arnor and was the one responsible for the killing of at least Aradhel's grandfather. The ghosts though, didn't raid the cities, they stopped the king from doing so. Ooh, things are coming together! And you might have to fight some other readers for Aradhel for the hatred has spread! Lol. So thanks for the review and thanks for the kind reviews on the poems. It means a lot!
Loony Kay- Yes, drama is the key to this story it appears! Lol. And you are not the only one who wants to beat Aradhel! But don't worry things should be getting better; at least Legolas is supposedly on his way...well they really can't get worse can they? Knock on wood. Lol. Thanks for the review as always!
madrone- And you will be left with yet another cliffie, I promise! Lol. The reunion may not happen for a while...or maybe it happens in this chapter? I dunno, guess you'll have to read. So thanks for the review and I'll leave this with a cliffie too, how's that? Lol.
Elvnchic9- I'm glad you appreciate how long the chapters are; sometimes I worry I get carried away! And you too? Everyone wants to kill Aradhel! Poor king, I think he just needs a hug...lol. Anyway, thanks for the kind review as always and I hope I didn't take too long to update this one! Also thank you for the kind reviews on the poems. It means a ton to me!
Karone Evertree- Glad to see a new reader and I'm glad you like the romance. It means a lot to hear it! Anyway, I'm not sure if you're yet to this chapter, but if you are, I hope you continue to enjoy the story and I look forward to speaking with you in the future! Thanks a ton!
Legolaslover77- I'm glad you appreciate how long the chapters are; sometimes I fear I get carried away! Also, I'm glad you enjoyed what happened between Thranduil and Gandalf; I was a bit worried it was too abrubt for a wizard and whatnot, maybe a bit too rash. But oh well. It's done and done. And you along with everyone else hates Aradhel; it seems to be the new "hating Thranduil." Anyway, thanks for the review as always!
A/N- As a heads-up sort of thing, school starts for me on Thursday, therefore chapters may take a little longer to get up. I promise to at least have one each week, if not more, but just so you all know why it may take a little longer. Also, I'm currently looking for staff members of my C2 archive, The Elvish Library. Anyone interested, please drop me an email. Otherwise I hope you enjoy this twenty-fifth chapter! We're a fourth of the way there…lol. Just kidding…I hope. Anyway, enjoy!
Aradhel poured himself and his advisor, Dirum, glasses of wine in the study as a glorious new afternoon poured its delightful rays through the windows. The velvet curtains moved little in the breeze and the smell of fish and fresh water washed over them as the very waves of the lake on the horizon. Off in the distance they could see the port, busy as usual, bustling in and out the different sized ships amidst the horns and whistles of sailors and hearty laughs as members boarded the goods to be traded. Dirum, an elderly man in his late fifties was attired in his usual fur garments with their high collars and long sleeves. Often Aradhel wondered what the man fancied in looking like the days hunt, but said nothing as Dirum's advice and council were of great importance.
The advisor had taken a seat, rather starkly, at the end of a fine wooden chair, his eyes raised to look at the King who stood at the window, causing a great many wrinkles to encompass his shiny bald head and his pointed chin was etched with sternness. Aradhel looked back at the rather vulture like man and raised his glass in cheers before taking a sip. The councilor did likewise, but sipped only but a drop of his before placing it next to him and starting on what he had to say.
"You put too much faith in the ambassador from Rivendell." He said thickly in a voice leaden with a hoarse sound that melted around you like myrrh.
"I put faith in nothing but my own plans." Aradhel said lightly. "And I knew that is what was troubling you."
"She is not to be trusted. She is just like one of them." Dirum continued stiffly.
"Caniel has exhibited incredible sense of balance with the whole situation, not to mention the uncanny ability to state what needs to be stated in order to bring about resolution." Aradhel looked dreamily out the window, recalling their earlier meeting during which Caniel again had the final word in the debate over whether or not to send spies into the Southern lands to scout out who was behind the order of attacks.
"Her ability to silence the entire council is impressive but not practical." Dirum stood and walked towards the king's side. "She is biased towards the elves, my lord. It's only right she should be after being raised by them. We got her too late."
"She is the piece we've needed to finish what my forefathers began!" Aradhel said in hushed tones, facing his advisor. "Caniel will see our way. The way of men."
"In time perhaps, but that doesn't change what is happening now!" Dirum said impatiently. "In case you've failed to notice, her actions have not lead the elves any closer to Nenuial and that has been the whole point of this operation, has it not? Her decisions have only prolonged this folly of a war!"
"Do not speak so bluntly of such matters!" Aradhel warned, pulling him away from the open window. Checking briefly over his shoulder, he continued, "Her actions, whether to our advantage or not have done more then you give credit! They have secured a feeling of safety and progress among the council. Caniel thinks her actions have impacted the war for the good and the outcome of the soldiers. The city loves her, have you not seen?"
"I have seen and that's what worries me." Dirum said dryly.
"What's worrisome about that?" Aradhel asked stubbornly, watching as the old man paced. "They worship her in the streets, they crowd her at the Orbelo games just to shake her hand. According to one of the Orbelo teams, there have even been requests to have her join the team!" Aradhel laughed. "More and more people are getting involved with the cities activities in hopes that they will get to speak with her! She's practicly a goddess in their eyes!"
"Excatly!" Dirum shrieked, pointing a long crooked finger in Aradhel's face. "She is their ruler, not you! Don't you understand? The people feel safe because of her decisions, not yours! The respect you've worked to earn has all been obliterated by this woman's socializing in the few weeks time she's been here. The people don't need a king because they've found a new queen!"
"Alas! And that's what she should be!" Aradhel smiled. "This is perfect don't you see? With the people trusting everything she does, and Caniel trusting me, we'll have no problem getting what we need!"
"Caniel is wary of you Aradhel. And it doesn't help with that ranger poking his nose in places it doesn't belong. She will not be so quick to give us information."
"That's what leverage is for." Aradhel said slyly, walking past the old man to pour more wine.
"Threatening her will no sooner bring the elves here then offering a present of Balrogs." Dirum said skeptically.
"No. No threatening is too brutal for now. I was thinking more subtle means, more emotional means."
"Explain yourself."
Aradhel leaned back against a table in his garments of startling black. Silver jewels decorated it in fashion and his long, curly black hair hung around his shoulders in thick layers. He had also long since acquired a fine mustache that curled up around his lips in a menacing, almost pirate, way. Not to mention the silver earring in his left ear was also a very pirating effect.
"Caniel is vulnerable as of now. She is desperate for love, which she has since lost. And she is torn between deciding whether to be human or elf. This city is giving her some power in the 'man' department. She gets to see what is offered from man should she choose human. She's also building trust with the humans here, unlike what she had with the elves. The elves did not worship her for they saw her as a danger. Here, she is a goddess, being offered what every person wants; power. And she loves the attention, the ability to do something with herself. Her decisions are important, her knowledge is useable and unmatched."
"With the elves, Caniel was a threat for she was too powerful for her own good. So they tried sheltering her, but that was their big mistake. Caniel began to feel unimportant, useless even. What she didn't know was that everything she said, everything she did was always carefully monitored and discussed. Being naïve, though, she started to rebel and hold things from them. While developing her power more, she lessened her trust with those she deemed unworthy of it. The elves became an enemy. The men here, though, are becoming subjects. They respect her for everything she's worth and that, my dear Dirum, is why I believe she will be open to read like a book in no time. It's a bragging right and it's important."
Dirum watched Aradhel finish with a swig of wine, and then sighed deeply, replacing himself on the chair and shrugging. "I see you have convinced yourself of the lesser sentence so I will not argue. But know this- the power she posses may yet be turned against us should those she loves be in danger."
"I think you put too much worry in a silly matter like love." Aradhel grunted.
"And I think you underestimate it." Dirum said firmly. "Do what you will then. But you have been warned."
"And what would you have me do?"
"Rid ourselves of her as planned. Torture her until we get the information we need then be done with it!"
"She is too strong willed."
"Then she watches those she loves being tortured before her!" Dirum threw his hands in the air, spilling his wine. "And we advance the troops on the line of elves in the East and finish them off with the orcs. And then we move on Valinor."
"If only it were that simple."
"It would be if you were not in love with the girl yourself." Dirum grumbled, eying the king angrily.
"That is bold."
"It is the truth and you'd do best to remember it." Dirum shrugged uncaringly. "Do not let yourself be blinded by a pretty face."
Aradhel set his glass down roughly and marched back to his window, his jaw set tight. "If we started torture, Elrond would become suspicious of the lack of letters and would send another ambassador."
"Celebas is dead. The lord of Imladris has no other he would trust with such a matter." Dirum smiled. "And if he does, they'll be next."
Aradhel chewed the side of his cheek for a moment before saying, "We could not afford to be killing elves both in and out of the city. Eventually they would catch on and send their troops here where we have little power to protect ourselves with our crowded city and weak walls. The plan is too risky."
"You asked me, I told you." Dirum stood a final time and with a bow moved towards the door, leaving Aradhel looking out the window. "Do as you will, majesty. And if you need any further advice, you know where to find me."
It had been four days since the morning Caniel had found Aragorn and Aradhel bickering in the hall. And when she inquired to either of them about it, she received the same answer, negotiations. Wondering what had to be negotiated with Aragorn's dagger bothered the girl all through the council meeting during which little progress was made. In fact, all four days had proved rather fruitless in negotiations with the council. Caniel was no where closer to telling Elrond to send his troops for aid, nor was she convinced that this was all a set up. What had been decided was to start a draft; whereon all men above the age of 19 were to be enlisted and new quarters were given to all wounded soldiers at Caniel's request. The council it seemed was unaware of the foul treatment and were quick to agreeing to sign on more doctors and nurses as well as give them a bigger room to treat the patients.
There was also a stronger camp being organized for all soldiers, after seeing the poor way they defended the walls. But as negotiations went, the exact intentions and whereabouts of the orcs remained a mystery. And the soldiers on the walls were to remain there. So far as Caniel was concerned, the king had no intentions of helping the elves, which she reckoned was out of spite towards their unwillingness to help. But she did not quarrel too much as the number of soldiers to send was minimal anyway.
On this fourth day, though, the meeting having already subsided, Caniel was spending some time with the soldiers again. She was seated next to the same young boy who had healed a considerable amount and was to be sent home the following day. Aragorn was across from her, sharing jokes with an elderly man who looked too frail to even lift a sword. But he had been fighting along the lad who now entertained Caniel with stories of his home life, which she thought to be quaint and entertaining. As she helped him pour another glass of juice, his arm still in a cast, a messenger came jogging into the room as they so often did with letters spilling from his pouch and newspapers sticking out of his backpack.
As he started handing the different letters from family members to the soldiers, Caniel listened as a particularly brutal looking man complained about the delay in the postage. The paperboy sighed and handed him his letters, apparently having heard this complaint a lot today.
"The orcs, sir, had moved to the southern gates! Their entire ranks are blocking all entrances to the city! The mail had to travel along the western parts and come by boat! If you would like to read it, it's front page."
The man tossed the boy a coin and greedily started reading the paper harrumphing under his breath and tossing his eyes back and forth across the bold print carefully.
Caniel watched as Aragorn, who had stopped half way through a joke to listen, had suddenly jumped up and was buying a paper. Caniel excused herself from the boy and walked over to Aragorn who was flipping through the pages with an astonished look on his face.
"What is it?" She asked quietly.
"The orcs they've moved just as…" He quieted his voice, ushering Caniel to a corner where the nosy men could not overhear. "Just as Legolas was suppose to arrive."
"He was supposed to have arrived days ago." Caniel said sadly. "He is not coming."
"But I was sure that Elrond would have talked sense into Thranduil." Aragorn sighed.
"He is a stubborn elf if I ever did see one. It would not surprise me if he had failed."
"But what worries me is, what if he had come? Legolas, that is. With the orcs having moved their ranks he may have easily run into them…"
"Oh Aragorn!" Caniel gasped, holding her hand to heart. "You don't presume to think?"
"I'm sure he's all right, he's a warrior." Aragorn said hastily, trying to quench the pit in his own stomach upon hearing this unnerving news. "I just…I'll be back. Stay here!" He commanded over his shoulder as he bolted from the room, leaving Caniel with the paper and the worst feeling she could recall ever feeling.
That night the company was to have dinner with the King. But as predicted, when dinner started, Aragorn was nowhere to be found leaving Caniel alone with the king. As they started on their salads, Caniel having dressed herself in a simple blue dress that hung loose around her frail figure, the conversation immediately began on that of the war. To Caniel's dismay Aradhel could not talk about anything else, as his opinion on all the matters flooded over her in the many minutes they spent picking at their salads. After many moments, though, Aradhel silenced and studied Caniel's plate, which was still full of the food that she had managed to only move around in circles as he talked.
"Are you not hungry?" He asked taking a bite of his own.
"No."
"It's quite good."
"I'm sure it is." Caniel sighed, shuffling her napkin on her lap. Beginning daintily she asked, "Why do you refuse to help the elves in the war effort?"
"Because they refuse to help us."
"But they are fighting."
"And to little affect." Aradhel dabbed his lips before sipping some wine from a rather large golden goblet. It seemed everything in this palace was gold. "You see, Caniel, it is really of no surprise that their so called fighting has done little to aid us. You see, the elves want Nenuial destroyed."
"What?" She asked with surprise. "Why do you believe that?"
"Is it not obvious?" He smiled. "I'm sure you've looked up a lot on our past and have come to realize that since my grandfather, our kings have had short ruling spans. In any case, it's because the assassin did not agree with what they were doing. Ever since the pillaging of Rivendell, someone has been looking for a way to take out the kings of Nenuial. And the elves have done little to stop it."
"If the elves wanted you destroyed, they could have sent their armies to your city." Caniel pointed out.
"Indeed, but even that is too grotesque for the noble elves." Aradhel took another bite. "Fact is, they haven't needed to destroy anyone, as the ghosts of Arnor have been doing a right fine job of it, always killing of the king as soon as he steps out of line…"
"Well if he does step out of line, then something should be done."
"Then you agree with the assassins?"
"I agree with no one as of yet."
Aradhel studied her carefully. "Anyway, the elves still prove to be of little help, even though they claim we betrayed them when all these years they've continued to sit back and watch this city brought to its knees time and time again. They care nothing for the people here who have to sit and endure new policies every time a king is crowned and reboot the entire economy with each rise and fall. Do you think it is easy for them? Fair for them?"
Caniel shook her head slowly. "It is not fair. The people are of no consequence to the kings actions."
"Then you see why we hold such a grudge against the elves. They feel no shame in letting the humans here suffer while each dynasty is destroyed and restarted."
Caniel thought this over for a minute as some servants replaced her untouched salad with the main course of the meal. The plate was crowded with lamb and potatoes, and decorated with fine vegetables and sauces all the like. As Aradhel began his, Caniel picked carefully at a bean that she placed in her mouth, still not feeling like actually eating anything. In fact, she felt more like retiring for the next couple of weeks. Her limbs ached and she was constantly feeling tired. Her eyes had a sagging look to them when they were open, and they were redder then a rose some days. A red that contradicted the almost ghost like color her skin had taken on. The once honey-tone silk had been replaced with white skin that crinkled like parchment whence she moved and her hair had become thin and worn. In some people's opinion, she had begun to look a lot like Sírdhem.
"Where is Aragorn?" Aradhel asked after many moments of him eating the meal. "Was he not to join us?"
"He is overseeing the orc advancement in the south." Caniel answered, gazing lazily at the burning candles that danced around in the breeze.
"Ah yes. Unfortunate event isn't it? That they should so suddenly change their course. It's delaying all visitors, mail, trades, everything! Terribly unfortunate." He said this with a flourish of his fork, which then sunk itself back in the potatoes. Caniel thought she almost heard a hint of laziness, of uncaring in his words. As if he had been expecting such a move all along. But instead of questioning it (her curiosity had lessened much lately, as she was often too lazy to pressure matters in her weak state of mind) Caniel picked up her knife and twirled it nonchalantly in the dimming sunlight that cascaded the room with pink and orange rays.
"No word from Legolas yet?" Aradhel asked.
"No." Caniel answered in a voice of forced calm
"You think he would write, after all this time. Especially to those he claims to love…you must be worried sick for him." Aradhel swallowed. "I do hope he hasn't run into the orcs if he was in fact on his way."
All Caniel could manage to choke out at this was a simple, "Yes."
After an awkward pause, the silence was disturbed by Aragorn bustling in. He still wore his raggedy traveling clothes, and his hair dangled loose in his face as he took his seat across from Caniel. She looked at him carefully, feeling her heart flutter in the hopes of some good news, but he only nodded to them both before digging into his food.
"How goes the southern fight?" Aradhel asked after studying the rough appearance of the ranger in distaste.
"Unpredictable." Aragorn said after swallowing. "I do not understand the course of action taken by the orcs. They have huge numbers on the plain, yet only mild parties are attacking the walls. They could take over the entire city if they all advanced."
"They like to play games." Aradhel nodded. "They like to taunt us with their numbers. It's convenient really, how they've managed to secure off the entire city. I suppose it's only a matter of time now before they start advancing for real."
Aragorn nodded grimly then looked to Caniel. "No word."
Caniel felt her heart sink again; her eyes were downcast towards her untouched food once more. No sign of Legolas. He really wasn't coming.
"You really should eat, Caniel." Aradhel tried again. Aragorn looked up to study her full plate.
"I'm really not hungry, thank you."
Aragorn was just about to remark when a servant walked in, a rather skinny young man, who carried a goblet of some red wine.
"My lord." He said, bowing low and offering the cup to Aradhel who took it skeptically.
"What's this?" The king asked, swirling the contents about the cup.
"A drink for dessert." The young man replied in a squeaky voice. Neither Aragorn nor Caniel missed the way his hands fidgeted nervously at his side, or the way his breathing had seized all together when Aradhel sniffed the drink.
"Taste it." Aradhel demanded of the servant, handing him back the glass.
"What?"
"You heard me. Taste it."
The servant looked quickly at Caniel, in a way that suggested she was to argue against it. But she did not understand why it was such a big deal anyway, and keeping her place she said nothing. Looking down at the drink warily, the servant suddenly dropped to his knees and bowed low to the ground.
"Majesty, forgive me! I was to bring it from the head cook! He said he would hurt me otherwise! I had no choice! I did not want to do it my lord! Forgiveness, majesty! Please!"
Aragorn looked alarmingly at Caniel who watched with amazement as the servant wept before the king, with the poisoned drink still clenched in his shaking hands.
Aradhel, though, had the most vacant expression Caniel had ever seen. If he was surprised, moved, or amused it didn't show. And when he spoke, his words chilled the room like ice.
"I forgive you." He said. "Now taste it."
The servant looked up terrified at the king, before nodding solemnly and drinking the wine. In what seemed like only seconds, the man began to gasp and clutch at his throat, dropping the glass on the floor and withering to the ground. Caniel shoved her chair back and knelt down to the man whose limbs jerked uncontrollably. Holding his head in her lap, she turned to Aradhel.
"You must stop this!"
"It is too late."
Caniel glared at the king before looking back down at the man who watched her movements with frightened eyes. Then his movements stopped and those hazel eyes dimmed, as they stared up at the girl who held his lifeless body. Closing his eyes, Caniel felt like she had strayed into a dream and barely heard Aradhel call for servants to rid of the body. Aragorn apparently felt this to be a good time to conclude dinner so he grasped Caniel by the shoulders and led her away from the dinning room and back to her room where she sat on her bed, staring fixedly into space.
"That man…" She said after a moment to Aragorn who had started rinsing his hands. "He did not deserve to die."
"No one does." Aragorn said soothingly.
"I understand now what Gandalf said." Caniel continued to no one in particular.
"What did he say?" Aragorn moved to sit next to her.
"Be the kindness that Aradhel lacks." Caniel recited. "I didn't understand it then but now…" She whirled on Aragorn. "He isn't coming, is he?"
"Who, Legolas?" Aragorn asked. "I thought he was but-"
"But you never heard if he actually was did you?" Caniel stood and started pacing. "The entire time he's been away, do you know how many times he's written?"
"I-"
"Never!" Caniel cut him off. "He was so involved with that marriage that he couldn't even drop a letter…and who does Elrond think he can fool anyway? Talking Thranduil out of his son's wedding is like convincing a Balrog to live in Lothlorien! Not to mention it wasn't Thranduil they had to talk to anyway, it was Legolas! I don't blame him after all, he probably found some beautiful elf who could bear him many sons and raise them all elvish and…" Tears started to flow and Caniel stopped pacing and turned to the ranger. "He's never coming back."
Aragorn moved to her side when she crumpled to the floor, her sobs shaking her frail body and her tears flowing like rivers. "Caniel, mellon nin, think of what you are saying." The ranger said quietly. "You know Legolas loves you and would never abandon you so easily. My guess is he is on his way but has been delayed by the armies of orcs."
"If they haven't already killed him that is." Caniel said between her hands.
Aragorn couldn't deny that that had recently become his greatest fear, for the chances of it were likely. "He is strong. And so are you. And that is why you should not give up on him just yet."
Caniel wiped away her tears, sucking in quick breaths as she looked at the ranger through swollen eyes. "I am weak Aragorn. I can't eat, I don't sleep well. I don't think I can last much longer."
"But you must hold on. For him if no one else."
"I just need to know what's happened." Caniel gasped, ignoring his remark. "If he is wed, then so be it. I can die easier. If he is killed, then so be it. If he is coming…. if he comes then I will hold on."
Aragorn studied her through pitying eyes and nodded grimly. "He will come."
Caniel didn't respond only tried standing, whereon Aragorn had to help her gingerly cross the room to her bed where she sat down wearily. Then he poured her some water and sat next to her, watching as she sipped it carefully.
"Aradhel has postponed the meeting tomorrow." She said suddenly, startling Aragorn who had been gazing out one of her windows towards the lake.
"Did he?"
She nodded. "He said it looked as though I needed rest, so it is postponed." She sighed, sniffing. "I could use a morning to myself."
Aragorn smiled and drank his water, thinking silently before saying, "We could send for the elves."
This caught Caniel off guard. "What?"
Aragorn rubbed his forehead in a weary fashion. "Without you this war would be a mess. And without Legolas there is no you. And keeping Legolas from you is an army of orcs at the southern gates. It seems to me, then, the only way to rid of the orcs is to send for the elves."
Caniel gazed at him with curious eyes. "But we have not gathered sufficient evidence!"
"Time is running low Caniel and from what I've seen, we aren't going to find a huge piece of evidence any time soon." Aragorn sighed. "I don't know what else to do."
"You still don't trust Aradhel?"
"I do not."
"I'm not sure I do either." Caniel admitted. "Everything here is so divided, so suspicious. How is one ever supposed to discern lie from truth?"
"We work with what we have. We make do and trust our own judgment. If the elves want to be of any use, we can use them at the southern gate."
"You don't suppose it is a trap do you?"
This time, it was Aragorn who was surprised. "What do you mean?"
"I mean this sudden shift of the orcs. You don't think it was a plan to get the elves over here do you?"
"If it is, I have found nothing to support it." Aragorn said. "Then again, nothing is supported. Do you mean you wish to keep the elves away?"
Caniel thought it over for a moment. If the elves stayed away then the orcs would have a free city to move in on and they would be defenseless to do anything about it. And with the armies moving in on the city, Legolas would never make it. If he was coming at all…but was that selfish of her? To send for the elves just so she could see Legolas again? Surly they would see it was saving her and the city. And as ambassador all she had to do was to prove that the war was real and Elrond had agreed to send aid. Was this not sufficient?
Sipping the last of her water, she turned to Aragorn.
"We might be making the biggest mistake of our lives."
Aragorn nodded grimly. "I'm aware. But what choice do we have?"
Caniel shrugged in a defeated manner.
Aragorn continued. "The time has now come where mistakes must be risked for the greater good. It is decided then. I will send the letter tonight."
Standing, the ranger blew out some of the candles in the room and set their glasses aside for the maid in the morning. Then he turned back around to Caniel who struggled to walk to her closet. Escorting her there, he grabbed her nightgown and led her back into the room.
"You'll be all right?" He asked.
She nodded grimly. "One can only hope."
"Then I leave you to rest. Sleep well."
With that, Aragorn left Caniel to a night filled with strange and haunting visions of Legolas, no longer at his wedding, but fending off thousands of orcs. And in the dream, Caniel would watch him get slaughtered in some brutal manner before awakening with a start, only to fall back asleep and see it again. At one point, she woke up sobbing and stayed awake for a long while after, crying into her pillow. But when the sun only started to break the horizon, she settled back into a more peaceful sleep of the trip from Valinor.
When morning finally did arrive, instead of sleeping in as she had hoped, Caniel was awoken when someone burst into her room at a very early hour and started pulling at her covers.
"You must come Caniel. Quickly!" The person said.
Opening her eyes wearily Caniel saw that Aragorn was bustling about her room, lighting the candles and grabbing some robes. But when she tried to move, she could not.
"Aragorn," She whimpered, stopping him dead in his tracks.
"Oh Caniel!" He breathed, only now noticing the girl who looked nothing short of a skeleton with red eyes and translucent skin.
Rushing to her side, he felt her forehead; she was shivering and her skin felt of ice.
"What happened?" He asked, "You were to hold on until-"
"I can't." She whispered, as he cradled her. "I'm too weak. I just can't do this anymore."
"Can't do what?" Aragorn asked in a scared voice, helping her to a sitting position. "Can't do what Caniel?"
"I saw him die. Over and over again he was slain and I couldn't help him." She said, tears, which were so accustomed to her face now returned as she cried into the ranger's shoulder. "He is not coming Aragorn. And I cannot wait. My body is worn, and my limbs frail. I can hardly lift my hand…"
With a shaky breath she showed Aragorn her skeletal like fingers, which had grown to be crooked and white. He took her trembling hand in his and kissed her cheek.
"You are strong Caniel. You will be all right."
Then she spoke words that sent chills of fright up Aragorn's back.
"Let me go, Aragorn. Just let me go."
Aragorn looked at her strictly, his eyes flashing dangerously before he lifted her from the bed and set her on her feet.
"I will not!" He said sternly, grabbing her robe and slipping it over her. She cried harder still, unable to keep her balance without him to support her.
"Look at me, Aragorn! I'm not even a person anymore! I've become the walking dead, nothing more then a shell of who I was!" Her voice was hoarse and blended with gasping breaths.
Aragorn, though, seemed to ignore her completely as he slung one of her arms around his neck and braced her against him Her body was so frail that he was almost afraid of breaking it when he told her to walk with him. She complied but not easily. Her legs moved slowly and were trembling all the way down the hall, as she occasionally fell or stumbled. To which Aragorn would simply pull her back up. At the foot of the stairs, she turned to him and looked at him with a wet face.
"Why are you doing this?"
"There is something you must see." He said as he started her down the stairs.
Getting down took a good length of time and when they reached the bottom, he did not let her rest, only pushed her one towards the main circle in the entry way. The windows were all alight with the fresh morning sun as they walked into the hall where all was quite; most people were still asleep. But in the middle of the room stood Aradhel, looking grim and put out. His red robes glistened in the light and his long, curly hair stood a little more askew then normal. But his chiseled face and fixed eyes seemed to gaze past Caniel and Aragorn as they approached.
Lifting her head to look at Aradhel, a gesture that took a lot of strength, Caniel whimpered, pulling back from Aragorn.
"Not more meetings!" She said weekly, attempting to take a few steps backward on her own. But she was stopped when she hit another person behind her.
Then a soft voice said, "Just one."