Summary: Songfic to Forever Young by Audra Mae watch?v=2EUh6HC2aTQ The Elves in Rivendell cope with the loss of their loved ones. Rated T by Caitie

Year 3019

(Text written in bold type is spoken in Elvish)

The ceaseless rain of early summer finally dwindled and disappeared for a day, the sky however was still overcast and grey. The thick clouds threatened to pour rain on Elrohir as he watched Alida and Leonid play in the gardens. His eyes rose from the toddlers playing in the damp grass to the statues that watched over them. It looked just like them, the stone carvers of Rivendell had out done themselves with Arwen and Legolas' memorial. The gardens were lush and fragrant, filled with blue and white anemones, purple lilacs, and white primroses.

Arwen's statue sat on a pedestal so that no matter where in the garden you were she was easily seen. She looked down at the flowers below, her favorites had been anemones so they surrounded the base of the pedestal. Behind Arwen stood Legolas, his left hand rested on Arwen's shoulder and in his right he held a stone bow. On Arwen's lap rested a carved version of Hadafang, her hands neatly folded over the blade. Their faces showed a peace in the expression but their eyes made Elrohir shiver every time, hollow eyes, void of emotion.

Elrohir looked back to the children, they had stopped rolling in the grass and now stood before the statue. They craned their necks and looked up at the carven image of their parents. Elrohir felt something break inside of him every time he took them out to the garden to play. Alida turned to her uncle, her hands held a small bouquet of primroses. "For Mama," she said as she held the flowers out to him. Elrohir stood from the bench he'd been sitting in and lifted Alida into his arms, he carried her a few steps closer to the memorial and she reached out, setting the flowers on Arwen's cold lap.

"Come," he saidto Leonid, stretching his hand out to grab the small boy's hand. "It's time to go back."

"No!" Leonid shouted as he tried to pull his hand out from Elrohir's grip. "No! Mama! Papa!" Leonid struggled as Elrohir started back towards their home. He burst into tears and fought with his uncle until Elrohir was forced to pick up the child. It was only a matter of time before both children were crying uncontrollably. Every step that took them farther from the memorial became heavier than the last.

Miniel, the twins' nursemaid, came bursting into the corridor as Elrohir approached their home. "What happened?" she asked as she took Alida from Elrohir's arms.

Elrohir shook his head. "Their parents," he said quietly. He followed Miniel up to the nursery that had adjoined Arwen and Legolas' room, they refused to move the children into a room closer to the rest of the family, instead leaving them in the room Arwen had chosen for them. He set Leonid in his bed and left without another word, shutting the door so that it muffled the cries of the children.

Standing alone in the hall Elrohir started to walk away, but as he passed the door to her room he stopped. The door had remained closed since they had returned from Minas Tirith, there was no need to go in there since the twins' room had a separate door as well as a door adjoining the two rooms. Hesitantly he reached for the doorknob and before he knew what he was doing he was in the room.

A thin layer of dust coated every surface and glittered in the pale light that was just beginning to peek through the clouds. His eyes were immediately drawn to the bed where their weapons rested. A collection of knives and arrows, both of their bows, Legolas' twin blades, Arwen's Hadafang lay exactly where they had set them a few months ago. Everything in the room was untouched, no one had the heart to move anything, to disturb what they had left of Arwen. He could still hear the sound of his niece and nephew crying through the thin wall between them. Suddenly he screamed, his hand grabbed the closest thing to him, the chair at Arwen's vanity, and he threw it at the wall across from him. He let out an anguished cry as he sunk to his knees.

Tears spilled freely and uncontrollably as all the emotions he'd been storing up since her funeral poured out of him. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and when he turned his back to see who had joined him he saw his father. Elrond had tears in his eyes but his remained as stoic as ever. He walked around to stand before his son then lowered himself to kneel on the ground. His arms wrapped around Elrohir's shoulders and Elrohir cried more.

"I miss her too," he said, and Elrohir could hear the brokenness in his father's voice. "I miss them both."

When the tears slowed Elrohir looked up at Elrond. "Why did she have to go? Why did she have to follow him?"

"You know why," Elrond said.

"I can't accept that!" Alida and Leonid's cries had grown louder. "They know! They know their parents are gone, they're young but they still know."

Elrond nodded. "They cannot be young forever, the need to know, we can never hide it from them."

"But if we did we could spare them so much pain, Father."

"Do you wish you didn't know your mother?" Elrond asked. "Do you think Aragorn wishes that he never knew his mother just to spare him from the harsh reality?" The room was silent. "I would not wish that kind of ignorance on anyone."

Alida and Leonid's tears had finally ceased. "We will spend the rest of our lives giving those children what Arwen would give them. And we will tell them stories of their mother and father, so that it was like they knew them themselves." He turned to the bed. "For them, we must carry on. For Arwen and Legolas, for the children we will carry on." Elrond stood and straightened his robes. He walked over to the bed and picked up a silver knife with an opal set into the handle. "I gave this to Arwen," turning the knife over in his hands. "And I will keep as a memory of her." He picked up another knife with Elvish writing etched into the blade and passed it to Elrohir. "This can be your memory."