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It was time. Lunian removed the tie from the end of her braided silver hair, letting the long, thin tresses hang down to her waist before she slowly made her way to the ground. Gimli was waiting for her at the tree's base, and she smiled faintly at him before nodding in the direction of the horses.
Legolas didn't understand why she wished to go to Imladris, but had made ready, and stood beside his horse as he waited for her. "Well, friend Gimli, have you learned to ride yet?" he asked teasingly.
Gimli gave him a soulful look, but allowed the solemnity of the moment to pass, falling into the easy camaraderie he had shared with the elf in times long since passed, to the ways of anyone who would one day die. "Of course, you silly elf." He tried to hoist himself onto the horse, but succeeded only in falling to the ground. Legolas helped him up and onto the horse quickly and thankfully without comment, before swinging himself onto the other horse's back. Gracefully as ever, Gimli noted, a tad bitter, since he saw the way old age had crept up on Lunian as easily as he knew it was coming to him.
"With whom shall you ride, Milady?" Legolas asked softly, smiling down at the woman he obviously adored.
Lunian sighed and offered him her hand. With a grin he pulled her up, not feeling the pain shoot through her for his abrupt movements.
"Take it easy, Elf!" Gimli barked from the other horse. "Don't pull her arm off!"
Legolas frowned in distress, looking at Lunian, seeing for the first time pain lines bracketing her mouth as she clamped her teeth on her lower lip. "Love?" he asked softly, rubbing her arm gently.
"I am better," she said softly. She didn't look at him. "Let us go, please."
Feeling like he was missing something important, he urged the horse to a walk, then called to Gimli's horse, who seemed content to stand in one place all day. In silence they rode, pausing only for meals.
Lunian must have been hurt when he pulled her up, Legolas decided when she winced upon touching the ground once more. He stayed at her side, offering her a hand when he could, but she waved him off.
"Come and eat, Elf. Let her walk it off." Gimli's voice called him away, but Legolas's eyes followed Lunian as she moved with a look of pain on her face around the camp, her movements horribly slow.
Finally he could take it no longer, moving to her side before he was aware of stirring. "Lunian, my love, what pains you so? Have I hurt you?"
She bit her lip and cried out when his hands closed over her shoulders, and she carefully backed away. "I am sorry, Legolas, you have not hurt me. I am merely stiff from riding all day." She failed to mention the pain in his eyes was just as cutting, though in a different way. "I will be better in a while."
'I will be better in a while' seemed to be her answer for everything as the trip to Imladris continued. Legolas grew increasingly concerned, and then worried. When he saw her hand had curled over the worry stone which had been little used in recent years as far as he knew, his uncertainty grew beyond anything he had experienced before.
After a seeming lifetime, they reached Imladris, or the physical remains of the once great elven dwelling. A few shadowy remains of buildings yet lingered, along with crooked stairs and broken paths. Nothing else indicated anyone had lived there once, save a few overgrown patches of flowers that didn't seem to belong where they were.
It was to the small glen that she and Elrohir had often frequented that Lunian walked. She took a deep breath and looked around, a faint smile replacing the weariness that had been on her face for far too much of the journey. She moved to a tree and sat down so her back was to it. She sighed peacefully and closed her eyes.
Legolas looked at Gimli, who looked back without any sign of knowing why they had to come to Imladris for her to sit beneath a tree. Legolas moved to sit beside her, offering her his warmth as a cool breeze slithered through the barren branches around them. "Lunian?" he asked softly, reaching out to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. The silver mass shifted on the wind, brushing across her wrinkled skin.
She smiled faintly and opened her faded eyes. "Did Elrohir ever tell you I was born in the garden?" she asked softly, as if speaking to herself. "He said I was born right here. He and Lenaith had been here when I began coming. I wouldn't let her move inside. I wanted to be born in the sunlight." Shaking her head she closed her eyes. "I may have enjoyed the stars, but I was never a child of them. I was born as the sun began rising, Lenaith died as it set."
Legolas frowned, not understanding what she was getting at, if she was indeed getting at anything. He took the hand with the stone in his, squeezing it gently. "Lunian, why are we here?"
She blinked at him, seemed to come back from a great distance. Then she smiled and reached out to touch his cheek. "I was born here at sunrise many years ago. I will die here, at sunset."
"In many more years, perhaps," he agreed, still frowning.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Today. My time has come, Legolas."
"No."
She smiled at his protest, the denial building in his eyes, but nodded her head. "I shall not see the stars this night."
Legolas's mind had gone utterly blank. She couldn't die. Not yet. "You could live for many more years," he pleaded, moving to his knees beside her so he could look into her eyes.
Weariness looked back at him, combined with a love so pure it was dizzying. "I am old."
"You are young," he countered.
She shook her head with a slight smile, closing her eyes as if she lacked the strength to keep them open. "In the ways of elves only. I am no elf."
"Half."
"Half," she agreed. "And you must remember that, and all it could mean. I do not wish to die twice."
He searched her face, seeing with painful clarity the wrinkles of her translucent skin, the silver of her thinning hair, the slight opaqueness in her eyes. He opened his mouth to protest again, but could no longer deny what he had forced himself not to see, not to understand.
She smiled gently, understanding his problem, his protests, his fears. Undoubtedly she had thought of them all at least once before now. "I have lived a long, full, and ultimately joyous life. I am ready to rest, and it is time for me to do so."
His throat constricted, roughening his voice when he was able to speak. "You could stay with me a while longer, let me say goodbye properly."
She smiled again, a faint, wistful smile that cut into him. She was saying goodbye. "I have already stayed longer than I should have for you. My body is worn out, my eyes grow dim. I must go before my mind follows the rest of my physical form. I will not remain so you can lose me even as I sit beside you. That would be much worse than simply saying goodbye here, which you would see if you would think with your mind for a moment."
"How can I think when my heart is breaking?" he whispered, feeling moisture build in his eyes and claw at his throat.
"You shall have many years to think about it later, Legolas. But now, the day is waning, and we have other things to discuss." She reached out and touched his cheek, feeling each feature of his beloved face with her fingers.
Legolas looked up at the sky, seeing his time with her would be incredibly short. Never before had a day slipped away so quickly, nor had any elf wished so fervently for it to stop, back up, and simply start over if it had to start at all. He shook his head slowly, looking at her for a long moment.
Lunian caught her lip between her teeth at that look. Sorrow, pain, despair, anguish, but worst of all, heartbreak. "Don't you dare die on me now. I'm the mortal, I'm the one, the only one, who dies today. You promised me you would remember. I want to see you again, Legolas, when I can see clearly once more, when my hands don't ache so I can touch you without pain, when we can have the lifetimes forbidden to mortals."
He closed his eyes, swallowed, and shuddered. In his mind all of his doubts returned, compounded by seeing her giving up on life, her strength seeping from her even as he tried to get her to stay with him. Could he continue?
Could he chance her rebirth without his presence?
He still didn't know what his ultimate decision would be. Pain turned to numbness, leaving him only aware of her eyes. As the sun was hidden by clouds the pupils opened wider, hiding some of the gold, only to have the gold reappear as soon as the sun did. He had thought to watch that change all of his life, and the decision was nearly upon him, but he still didn't know.
"I am sorry, my dear one, my love, but there is no other way." She touched his cheek, her finger trailing down to his jaw.
He caught her hand and brought it to his lips. She gave him a watery smile, and turned her hand in his. When she pulled it back, the worry stone rested in his palm. He frowned and looked up at her.
She half smiled and closed her eyes. "I shall not need it any longer. Perhaps you shall."
With a swallow he closed his hand tightly around the stone, sensing the sun beginning to drip behind the mountains. "I'm not ready to die," he whispered, catching her eyes again. "Nor to be alone."
Another twist of her lips. "That is why Gimli is here, Egola. He may not be adequate compensation, but he is a friend." She shifted her tongue from the one Gimli knew for a moment. "And his passage will not be valid after his death. Keep him with you." She looked beyond him, glancing first at the waterfall and then at the sky. "Say goodbye to her for me, will you? I always put some autumn leaves next to her statue." Gimli shifted uncomfortably, frowning at this, apparently wondering if she had taken leave of her senses. "The day is slipping away."
Despair welled within Legolas, shaking him to his core. "Not yet."
"You have a few minutes," she agreed. "Remember, and you will not lose me."
His hands trembled as he reached out to her, cupping her face, brushing at her cheeks, feeling the curve of her ears, tracing her lips and eyes. He let them slip to her hair, one stroking through the fragile length as the other held her head gently as he moved forward, kissing her with all his anguish and love. Then he drew her into his arms, wanting to hold onto her forever. He bent his head to hers again, trying to convince her the only way he could, since words had already failed.
Lunian shook her head when he lifted his to kiss her forehead, a silent denial to his plea. "Are you sure?" she asked softly when he didn't release her.
A tear slipped from his eye, splashing next to her pale lips. "There is no other way," he whispered softly, blinking his eyes rapidly to keep her in focus, holding her closer still.
Her smile was remarkably composed, considering the chaos his insides were in. Death would have almost been a relief for him at that moment, but he wouldn't make her see that. He could endure to her end, at least. She touched his cheek one last time. "Let the stars be your comfort." She drew a deep breath, savoring the night air and the slight scent of flowers and autumn leaves to go with that of her elven love. "You have my love, Legolas of Thranduil."
The steady gaze held his even as life seemed to seep out of her from her feet, which were outside his embrace, up her legs, through her arms, and finally her breath congealed in her throat, the lashes fluttering shut with the last bit of life she possessed so he didn't see it slip out of her golden green eyes as the world bled into darkness.
The world was awash with his tears as he cradled her, rocking slightly. He gave up trying to hold them in and let them take over.
Gimli shifted from his position, sitting beside Legolas as the elf openly displayed his grief. Gimli kept his own to a few tears, surprised at the noise a heartbroken elf could make, his soft sobs echoing in the silent woods. Ineffectively Gimli patted the elf's back, knowing he could do naught but wait.
Eventually Legolas's sobs quieted, his tears slowed. He released the limp form he had cradled, laying her gently upon the ground. Tenderly he stroked her silvery hair away from her face, drying the path of his tears on her face. "Gerich meleth nîn," he whispered softly, kissing her forehead.
"What does that mean?" Gimli asked as quietly as such a robust dwarf could.
Legolas drew a shuddering breath, a finger tracing Lunian's still features, resting lightly on the cooling lips. "You have my love."
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Hey look! (Points at above chapter) Five pages! A long chapter! (Bows to rounds of applause, then rolls eyes at herself for even typing above lines.)
Okay folks! Obviously, there's not much left, and I really don't know what I'm going to do with the ending. I have two written in my head, but don't know which one to go with. While I debate, there will be a few filler chapters, most likely, but voting time is running out… and will make a difference… unless all the votes are to upload both options. The current vote is posted on my bio page, but I'm not online at the moment, and I don't remember what it is. I think the vote for him to live was double or nearly double the votes for him to die.
Sorry, Jennifer. I doubt this puts you at ease.
LadyJadePerendhil… There was never a contest for Lunian. She's been mortal throughout, without any other option. As for her coming back… Dunno. Wait and see. Sorry, I can't do anything about the chapters being screwed up by the net. And as for the maturity… It's taken me long enough to write this darned thing, and a lot has happened to me in the meanwhile.