Ch 17

We arrived in Rivendell a few days later. Usually, I would have found the naked trees to be beautiful and graceful, but they were loosing the magic of the elves and now, they looked only bare and ugly, as normal trees look in the winter when they are not covered with snow.

The first person I saw was Glorfindel. He nodded sorrowfully as I looked at him and I bowed gracefully to him. My children didn't know what to think of Rivendell or Glorfindel. He was the first elf they had ever seen and it made a solemn impression on all of them.

"Mom, this place is beautiful," Athelas exclaimed.

"You should have seen it in the spring with the elves' magic still present on the land. It was so much more beautiful than this, but now it is fading into nothing," I replied.

Gandalf led us into the House of Elrond and there the great lord sat on his throne going over a stack of old scrolls. When he saw us, he smiled gently.

"Welcome back to Rivendell, Berythna and Samwise. You have come to see us to the harbor, have you?"

"Yes, my lord."

"I am glad you have come back. Who are these children?"

"They are ours, lord. Sam and I are married now and we have four children."

"I think there is one who does not entirely belong to your husband."

At this, he set his gaze upon Frodo. Frodo didn't quite know what to say, so he only stared back into Lord Elrond's eyes for as long as he could manage, then quickly dropped his head.

"You are the son of the Ringbearer."

"Yes, sir," Frodo answered.

"Welcome."

"Thank you, sir."

"Tell me your name and the name of your half siblings."

"My name is Frodo Baggins," Lord Elrond smiled at this, "and this is my brother, Bilbo and my sisters Rose and Athelas."

"Welcome all of you to Rivendell. I know you have never been here before and the magic of the elves is fading. I wish I could have greeted you in the glory of what was once Rivendell, in the time your mother lived here with us. Now that we are leaving, the glory of this land is failing. Even the most beautiful things must come to an end."

During Lord Elrond's welcome, my children told me later that they felt both joyous and sad at the same time. They did not know why, for they were happy to be in such a beautiful place as Rivendell and even happier to meet Lord Elrond, but all of them knew, including Sam and I, that Rivendell would soon fall and that nothing would be left here but a barren wasteland.

After Lord Elrond had greeted us, he made arrangements for each of my children to have one of their own rooms, and Sam and I stayed in my old bedroom, which hadn't changed much in all these long years.

We gathered at dinner time in the main dining area. All of my children were very pleased with their rooms and couldn't stop talking about how beautiful everything was. This is when they also met King Elessar, who's beard and hair were know white, but his eyes were still unchanging, and Lady Arwen, who was forever unchanging. They were all astounded by their grace and wisdom, and Frodo told me later that evening that he thought King Elessar the wisest man ever to live and the Lady Arwen the fairest lady to ever live.

That evening, while the children went off with King Elessar to hear more stories about his adventures during his life, Sam and I spent the evening in my old room talking.

"Can you believe how different this place looks without the elves? They will be leaving tomorrow evening and already their magic has nearly failed."

"I know, my dear," he replied sadly. "I can remember Rivendell in all its glory. I'm sure it was even fading when I was here It is very old, can't you feel it?"

"I know how old this land is. I have lived here many ages of the world and if you thought Rivendell was beautiful the first time you saw it, imagine how beautiful it was when I first saw it. The trees seemed more alive back then and the waterfall, which is now only a stream, was full of life. The flowers had more color to them, but now they seem dead."

There was a silence and then he said, "Frodo is a good boy. I only wish he could have known his father."

"I have wished that for thirty-three years now."

"When we went to tell Merry and Pippin about Gandalf visiting the Shire, he asked me about Mr. Frodo and what he was like. I tried to tell him all I could and do you know what he said? He says, 'Thank you for taking care of us, Mom and me that is. You didn't have to do it, but you did and I just want to thank you for it.' Can you believe that?"

"Yes, I can."

"He even sounds like Mr. Frodo when he talks."

"I know. He's a good boy. All of our children turned out in a good way."

"Yes, I'm very proud of them."

"So am I."

The next afternoon, after lunch was served, the remaining elves and their guests gathered in the hall and lit a fire. They then began to play music, some very sorrowful and other tunes were filled with joy, and then they began to tell stories. One elf told the story of Frodo and the Ring, in which my oldest listened very carefully, and then Glorfindel rose and told the story of Luthien and Beren, a sad story I had told my children when they were younger. They remembered most of the story, and Bilbo said it was very nice to hear it again, especially as told by the elves.

That evening, the few remaining elves gathered at the gates where Frodo and the Fellowship had gathered many years ago, to leave Middle-Earth. I held Sam's hand and tried my best not to cry.

"Well, this is the end," I heard Gandalf say as he stood by Lord Elrond and looked upon us. "I am leaving as well. My time here in Middle-Earth has ended. I have seen many things in my life, but it is now time for me to go on the last journey I am to make. Take good care of yourselves and know that I am proud of all of you. Do not weep, Sam, for it is time I left this world and journeyed to the next."

"Friends," Lord Elrond exclaimed, "you may stay here as long as you wish. You were always welcome here in Rivendell and you always will, though very soon, within the next hundred years, it will be a desolate place, a shadow of it's former beauty. I know this is especially hard for you, Arwen and Berythna. Perhaps you can restore this city to it's former glory, although I think not. Let the memories be at peace and do not linger too longer here after we are gone. The pain will be too hard to bare. Goodbye, my friends. Comfort them, Aragorn and Sam. They need it now and they will for a long time. A part of them is dying. They will feel it emotionally and physically. Farewell."

With that said, he turned and passed through the gates. After the last elf had gone, he turned and shut the gate, which closed with an ominous sound. We watched as the elves drew out of sight and then for the first time, noticed how extremely cold it was. It felt to me as if the world was coming to an end.

As we made our way back to the empty House of Elrond, all of us felt that nothing needed to be said and that it was best if we just went to bed. King Elessar and Lady Arwen would be leaving the next morning and we silently said our good-byes for what we knew would be the last time. In my heart, I knew I would never see them again.

I was awoken in the morning by Rose who had come into my room and woken me gently by saying, "Mom, you'll never believe this! It's snowing!"

I looked out the window and found all of Rivendell to be covered with snow. This was the first snow any of my children had ever seen and they were outside playing in it. Even Frodo was acting so much younger than his thirty-three years. The world looked a little brighter this morning, and for the first time in a while, my spirits began to lift. I think Sam felt the same way because he hurriedly dressed and went outside to play with our children. I stood outside on the steps and watched.

We stayed in Rivendell for three weeks. The children loved it, but Sam and I stayed for more emotional reasons. I took Frodo into the bedroom where I had first met his father long ago, and he asked if he could stay in that room for the remainder of our stay. I agreed.

The night before we left for home, Sam and I stayed up late and talked.

"Sam," I whispered. "I am old, Sam, very old. I was old when I met Frodo and I think I shall return to Rivendell once more. I think I shall like to die here, Sam. Lord Elrond told me that I can willingly lay down my life when I tire of this world and I think I will be ready to do that soon."

"Not too soon, I hope."

"No, I will wait many more years, but I am growing tired of this world and want to move on to the next. Of course, I will wait until our children are all married and have families of their own, and I will wait until you are gone, but I want to die here in this bed. Some day soon, I feel."

"Whenever you are ready, Berythna. I just can't bare to think of life without you."

"I will wait many more years, my dear, but I can feel death approaching."

"Don't you wish we could be young again?"

"Yes, Sam. I think everyone wishes that."

"We should sleep now, my dear. We have to start for the Shire again tomorrow."

"Good night, Sam. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Thank you for everything, Sam. For being a loyal husband and I wonderful father. The children really love you, my dear. And so do I."

Sam didn't know what to say to that, so he put his arms around me as I gently kissed him and I curled up into his arms and went to sleep.