Disclaimer: Still almost all Tolkien's
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Hindsight and Foresight
The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.
-Richard Bach, Illusions
Imladris, Early Winter, TA 1975
Rian stood beside Elrohir helping him crush up the ingredients for one of the many healing salves.
"You do not have to do this, Rian. You can go off elsewhere." Elrohir said.
"What will I do, Elrohir? Elladan is off patrolling the borders, Erestor is in a supposed meeting, and Morwen is, well, we both know where Morwen is currently hiding."
Elrohir smiled grinding up a plant, "Yes, that we do know."
"So, do you think she has threatened him with castration yet?" Rian asked.
"Oh, no." Elrohir said, "I think she is far too busy making sure he is well and that he never scares her like that again."
Rian snickered, "Glorfindel should be scared, you should have seen how hard Morwen was throwing those knives after she heard he rode out to the Witch-King while wounded."
Elrohir stopped his task and turned to look at Rian, "Is that why there is a new board up for practice?"
Rian nodded, "Yes, she split the old one in two."
Elrohir did not bother to hold back his laugh, "Well, it was so nice to know Glorfindel. He will be missed."
The two shared a laugh, unaware of Lord Elrond watching them with a smile on his face. His eyes drifted to the closed door of Glorfindel's current room and he laughed at the formidable elven guardian who sat outside the door, book in hand and glare in place.
Glorfindel sighed, both in contentment and in slight pain, as he laid in his bed in the healing halls, Morwen curled up against his finally having ended her sobs of fear and frustration.
Eluialeth, their frightful guardian, was outside the door making sure none but the privileged few could enter. Erestor and Balanauth were kind enough to hold a "meeting with Morwen" so as to cover her absence from any events.
Glorfindel ran one hand through Morwen's hair, the other holding her close to his right side, both elves cautious of the wound on his left side.
"If you keep crying on me Morwen, I am going to develop a complex." He said.
Morwen laughed, "I would hit you but I fear Elrond's wrath."
"A mighty thing, to be sure." Glorfindel said.
Morwen nodded, laying her head down on his chest, listening to his heart beat.
Glorfindel lowered a hand and started to run his fingers up and down her forearm, silently calming her and telling her it would all be fine.
The room was silent, though the sound of the healers chanting a few rooms down did flow into the room. Morwen was lost in thought and Glorfindel was far too thankful to be resting.
The wound in his side probably should have been treated much earlier and therefore a slight infection could have been avoided.
Morwen and Elrond both had not taken well to Glorfindel's 'all's well that ends well' strategy to things. To say the two had not been amused was an understatement. Glorfindel didn't think Elrond could still curse in such a manner. The wound was almost worth it, just to have seen and heard such a thing.
Morwen suddenly broke the silence, "When we got the report back from the field telling us you went up against the Witch-King, I do not think I have ever been so terrified and so angered all at once in my entire existence."
"Give it time, you are young yet." Glorfindel said.
"I am over 1,800 years, Glorfindel." Morwen pointedly reminded him.
"And Elrond is over five thousand. Give it time, trust me, there will be many more things in this world for you to become enraged over rather than me…….." Glorfindel said.
"Running after the Witch-King? While injured and knowing better? Somehow I doubt that." Morwen let out a slow breath, "But you were just doing your duty, what you are supposed to and I suppose I cannot fault you for that."
"Good to know your rationality can apply to our relationship." Glorfindel said, the smile taking the slight sting out of his words.
"You obviously have not yet seen the new practice board for knife and dagger throwing." Morwen said.
Glorfindel lifted his head to look down at her, "What did you do?"
"It was quite an old board, anyone could have made it split. I just happened to be the one to bring about its inevitable end." Morwen explained.
Glorfindel let out a pained laugh, "Balanauth always told me I would rue the day I taught you how to throw a knife."
Morwen smiled, "You were always so insistent I knew how to defend myself, even though you never let any of us out of your sight at the time."
Glorfindel was silent for a moment then said, "We both know I cannot always be there and even if I could often times propriety will not let me intervene. I am certain one day the skills you have learned will be most needed, though I also hope they never have to be used."
Morwen nodded and let out a breath, "How did you feel out there? To be like that again, a warrior on a battlefield?"
"The truth or what you want to hear?" Glorfindel asked.
"If you did not tell me the truth as the truth is, I fear that wound would be the least of your worries." Morwen said.
Glorfindel smiled again, "I was at once both exhilarated and saddened, as I always am when I am doing what I am trained to do. One of the odd things of our world, how we preserve the peace through fighting….I felt quite old and hardened this time. It may have been all the Gondorians and the realization the time of my generation has passed, the time of the elves is…well let me just say the men of Gondor were doing quite well on their own."
"What of the people of the North Kingdom, what will they do now?" Morwen asked.
"I suppose they will be talking with Elrond as to what exactly they should do. Their home is ruined and no one desires to dwell in those lands again, not like they were a few years ago. Many of their people have been lost forever. They must now decide how to proceed." Glorfindel said.
Morwen nodded in understanding, moving closer to him.
"Morwen?" He asked.
Her words were quiet, "I feel much sorrow for them but I am so very glad you were not lost."
Glorfindel placed a soft kiss on her head in response, "As am I." He said, "As am I."
Elrohir watched as his father discussed the plans for the future of the Dunedain of the North with their leaders.
Glorfindel had finally been let out of the healing halls but with a warning from Lord Elrond that if he even heard a whisper of Glorfindel trying to get into active duty in his current state, the repercussions would not be pleasing.
Personally, Elrohir thought it was just his father's way of getting Glorfindel to do those evaluations on all the soldiers, the ones he had been 'misplacing' for the past decade.
Elladan had ridden out to deliver a message to their mother, one urging her to return to Imladris as soon ass she was able. While never one to listen to rumors concerning his own family, even Elrohir had to admit the whispers of his father planning to have harsh words with his mother were valid. Despite the fear for her own safety and that of her home realm, she was still the Lady of this realm and Arwen should not yet be taking on her duties.
Their mother used to be so involved in the running of the realm, cared so deeply for its people, but it was as if when the shadow fell on Mirkwood she started to pull away.
He turned his attention back to the leaders of the Northern Dunedain, they all looked so tired and weary yet still there was a strength in them.
"Of course we will continue to raise the heirs here." Elrond assured them. "It is the least we can do for you."
"Thank you, Lord Elrond." Aranarth said.
"Where will you go now?" Elrond asked.
"We will wander, a moving target is not as easy as a stationary one." Aranarth said.
"You can always find a safe place to rest in this realm." Elrond promised.
"We thank you, Lord Elrond. We must be on our way to gather the scattered groups of our people."
"Of course. Elrohir can assist you if you are in need of another rider." Elrond said.
"Elrohir," Aranarth said, "would you be able to travel with us for some time?"
Elrohir stood proud, "Of course I am able. Let me gather my pack and I will meet you near the stables."
"I will inform Glorfindel." Elrond said. He gave his son a pat on the back, "Be cautious."
"Always." Elrohir smiled.
Imladris, Early Spring TA 1976
The new year had come upon them and passed. Elrohir had returned with the Dunedain. Aranarth had officially become their chieftain and the heirlooms of Arnor had been brought to Imladris. Elrond would guard them well.
Those closest to the family had watched as Elrond received the most precious packages.
Aranarth had told him, "We now scatter to the winds and these cannot travel with us. We give them to you, to keep them safe until the time comes when they are to be returned."
Elrond had taken all of the heirlooms in his own hands not letting anyone else touch them and he watched as Aranarth and the Rangers of the North went off into the wilderness. Elrond had then gathered all the most trusted close to him to unwrap them and put them in more secure holdings.
While many had witnessed the passing of the heirlooms to Elrond, few knew their exact location within Imladris. For now they would be held in a secret compartment in Eluialeth's room, as few would suspect such a mundane place and even fewer would dare to trespass into Eluialeth's chambers.
Morwen watched from between the twins as Elrond carefully unwrapped the cloth holding the most sacred of the heirlooms. Erestor and Glorfindel were beside him, holding the new container it would rest in until it was time to emerge again.
"Are those really…" Elrohir started.
"..the Shards of Narsil?" Elladan finished.
"Unless you can think of another great sword deemed so worthy to have its broken parts carried most securely and secretly around Arda….yes, you two, I would say those are really the Shards of Narsil." Eluialeth said.
"Have you no awe? No respect for the past? That sword…" Elladan said
"We all know what that sword has done. I prefer more to revere the person who held that sword and used it to perform said actions." She answered.
"Elladan, she has a point." Morwen said.
"Yes," Elrond interrupted, "but the objects tend to last longer than the people. Even the eldest member of the Dunedain is so far removed from Elendil that he is almost a god to them and therefore his sword, even in shards, must have some power to them."
"At times," Glorfindel continued as he secured the container, "it is much easier to revere the object rather than the person, especially for a person wielding said object. While a man or elf or she-elf may be a great fighter they could still doubt their skill. Put a sword like this one, intact mind you, into their hands and suddenly they can do no wrong."
"Yes, we are all such interesting creatures when we lack self confidence." Erestor said.
"And the amazing and fearful things which we accomplish when an object give us too much self confidence." Elrond murmured, a dark look in his eyes. He stood up and placed a hand over the newly sealed hiding place as he murmured an incantation.
Erestor made a gesture to get everyone out of the room, "The Lady Celebrian should be arriving today."
"Finally." Rian said as Morwen fought against her own childish laugh.
"And it would not be for the best if all of us were absent upon her arrival." Erestor finished.
"Even if she deserved it." Eluialeth said as the twins and Arwen gave her dark looks and Rian and Morwen looked in the other direction.
Lady Celebrian had been back for two days and while the realm rejoiced at having their Lady returned, there was a tension between the family. Erestor had ordered them all either off of duty or on light duty in order to give Elrond and Celebrian the time they needed to speak of urgent things. Morwen had been one of the few charged with a task, overlooking a couple of scribes.
Morwen studied Eluialeth and Cannith as they worked in the library through stacks of old correspondence. They were supposed to be gathering information for Erestor to take on his diplomatic mission to Gondor. The sound of raised voices caused all to flinch inside the library.
Morwen bit her lip and tried to go back to her work but Eluialeth and Cannith were obviously trying to determine where the sounds had come from.
"Do not let it concern you." Morwen said to them.
"Morwen, that is coming from Lord Elrond's study." Cannith said.
"I am aware, Cannith. Ignore it." She ordered.
The voices became louder and Cannith and Eluialeth exchanged concerned looks.
Morwen put down her quill, "Your work is done for the day."
"But Morwen.." Eluialeth protested.
"The work is done. We have more than enough here. Go and enjoy the day, it is warm for early spring." Morwen said.
Both scribes gave a nod and put the correspondence back in its place. Morwen watched them as they cleaned up their work stations and left.
She silently watched them go before she turned back to her own work. She did her best to ignore the arguing in the background. When it only preceded to get louder she stood up and went in search of Erestor or Glorfindel.
Glorfindel made his way towards Elrond's study, he had been on his way when Morwen literally came running into him. Either Elrond or Celebrian yelling was a bad sign, both of them yelling…. Glorfindel did not even want to comprehend that. He neared the door and then jumped back as it came flying open, Celebrian storming out and giving Glorfindel a glare as she walked by him.
He gave her his own look and then walked inside. Elrond was gripping the window sill, anger clear throughout his body language, from his clenched jaw to his stiff back.
"I take it she found your request for her to stay within the realm more like a demand." Glorfindel said.
"It did come out that way, though she came into the study quite angry at me for forcefully requesting she came back home." Elrond said.
"Even she must know the amount of time she spends in LothLorien can be seen as disrespectful to the people of this realm." Glorfindel said.
"She claims the children are gown and with Elladan's relationship with Rian….she feels that role has also been fulfilled and therefore she is not much needed here." Elrond said through a clenched jaw.
"She married a Lord knowing full well what was expected of her." Glorfindel said.
"I do not think she realized how successful this realm would be." Elrond shrugged.
"If it was smaller she would be needed even more." Glorfindel protested.
Elrond held up his hands is despair, "She is no longer content to stay here for long. She still loves the children but she can only find herself truly happy in the Golden Wood."
Glorfindel nodded, "She feels the most safe there. With all the uncertainty and with, frankly, the orc patrols around the realm she must feel the most safe in LothLorien."
Elrond nodded, "She wants to keep Arwen there with her."
Glorfindel pinched the bridge of his nose, "She needs to realize it is not all about what she wants."
Elrond gave a rueful smile, "That would be when the yelling started. I take it you heard that."
Glorfindel nodded, "Morwen and a group of scribes heard you in the library. She came to find me."
"I should go reassure her." Elrond said.
"Don't bother. She understands more than you think. We have all seen the tension building between you and Celebrian." Glorfindel said.
Elrond gave a sad nod, "I have come to fear Celebrian and I may have rushed into our marriage, not even wed three thousand years and we hardly stay in the same realm. I do care for her, deeply, I always have but there are still moments when I feel we do not know each other. We had those pleasant years when the children were young, when all seemed hopeful and peaceful, as if no dark thing could ever exist. She has always spent at least one season out of the year in her home realm. I fear one time she will set out and never come back."
Glorfindel walked over to his friend, "Elrond, have you seen something?"
"No, Glorfindel. I simply have a feeling it would be safer for Celebrian to stay inside our borders. She disagrees, even when I made to show her LothLorien is closer to any darkness than we are, she still insisted."
Glorfindel stood silent beside Elrond.
Elrond turned to look at him, a sad smile on his face, "I envy you, if but a little."
"Why?' Glorfindel asked.
"Whenever you wed, you will not do so out of a political need or from other pressures. And you will have no need to doubt.."
"Elrond, stop this." Glorfindel ordered his friend. "You have no reason to doubt Celebrian. She has been homesick, the darkness has taken a toll on her and I dare say she is not quite sure how to handle all the humans in our realm, having them at the market is one thing but seeing them in the house at all times is another. Things…change in Imladris much quicker than they change in the Golden Wood and that can be hard for an elf to deal with, difficult for them to adjust."
"She has never expressed such concerns." Elrond said.
"Perhaps she does not wish to be seen as less than she should." Morwen said from the doorway, both elves whirling around to stare at her.
"You left the door open." She said.
"Did anyone.." Elrond trailed off.
Morwen shook her head, "Not that I could see." She proceeded inside, firmly shutting the door.
"Lord Elrond, if I may.." She started.
"Of course." Elrond said.
"Lady Celebrian is the daughter of formidable elves and is married to one. She has been groomed for such a position since her birth. All simply assume she will perform her duties well, expertly even. Perhaps she fears that if she dwells too long here people will see her as an…imposter of sorts. When in the Golden Wood she does not have to be in a position of power and when all things were peaceful her most difficult decision was where to hang a tapestry. You seem to assume she knows how to handle this situation, knowing the years she has lived but….knowing how uncertain I am in these times as a mere councilor I cannot begin to fathom what she must feel."
Both elves seemed to consider her words.
"Celebrian was never near the battlefields of the Second Age. Galadriel forbid it." Elrond said.
"She was not born until the Second Age, therefore she would have seen none of what the First Age wrought." Glorfindel said.
"It is something to consider." Morwen said. "Consider it and then perhaps talk to her in a place she would feel more comfortable and less…." Morwen looked around Elrond's office, at the books and the maps, the ancient weapons on display, "…..less stifled."
Elrond looked at Glorfindel and Glorfindel nodded, "She is a she-elf, that gives her claims credence."
"I also remember her thinking her stuffed cat could talk." Elrond said.
Morwen sighed, "I was a child."
"Who is now telling me how to handle my wife." Elrond said.
"Not telling, Lord Elrond, suggesting. Offering my opinion as a councilor of this realm to my Lord in his need for advice and historical precedent in order to settle a dispute." Morwen said.
Elrond gave her smile, "Erestor would be proud. I shall take into account the advice of my young councilor and perhaps apply it to my current dispute. Now, I must go find my wife before someone is harmed. Whether homesick or worried, Celebrian does still have a temper. I bid you both a good day."
Morwen and Glorfindel smiled at each as Elrond walked off.
"Very well done, Councilor Morwen of Imladris." Glorfindel said in a teasing voice.
"Much better than your fumbling explanations, Lord Glorfindel, Captain of Imladris." Morwen said, not to be outdone.
"Did the twins hear them? Arwen?" Glorfindel asked.
Morwen shook her head in the negative, "Elladan and Rian went out for a ride earlier and Arwen bullied Elrohir into taking her out to the village."
"Good, they did not need to hear such a thing. What of Eluialeth and Cannith?"
"They only know there was an argument coming from Lord Elrond's study. They do not know of the participants. I sent them outside before the real yelling had started." Morwen said.
Glorfindel noticed the worried look in her eyes. He gave her a soft and reassuring smile, "They will sort this out Morwen, Elrond and Celebrian will sort this out."
"I know, I know it is just the result of fear and frustrations and Elrond having already spent most of this week being reminded of past things he has no desire to remember. Celebrian's perceived slight could only push him more. You are right, they will work this out. It is not as if they have much choice for another option." Morwen said.
"No," Glorfindel agreed, "they do not. It is what happens when one marries out of duty and obligation rather than feeling. Though among all nobility, the former is more common than the latter."
Morwen silently held Glorfindel's gaze.
Glorfindel continued as he walked over to her, "Though sometimes true affection does blossom from a marriage of obligation and sometimes marriage based off nothing but initial affection ends very unhappily for all concerned."
"And what of a marriage made out of love?" Morwen asked as he came to stand before her.
Glorfindel smiled, reaching a finger out to trace her features, "Now, love is an entity unto itself and at one moment can seem so powerful and the next as if it never existed at all. Marriages and love, alas, those are tricky things to say the least. And yet.." Glorfindel pause as he leaned down closer to Morwen, "..when it is true…" he pressed a finger to her lips, "…then there is hope for it is so very rare."
He allowed his eyes to meet her own nothing but amusement and conviction in her gaze, "Indeed, Glorfindel, I must agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments."
She pulled herself away from him and made her way out of the study, a knowing smile on her face to match the one on Glorfindel's own countenance.
A/N 1: If you've PM'd me recently or did a review and I did not respond, I do apologize. is either not sending me such things or gmail is not getting them, so, I only know about the reviews when I go to and see the stats for Lullaby and go, "well, something seems different…oh." Alas, I cannot receive pm's that way. Do not hesitate to e-mail with questions or drop a line on my lj, which is probably the easiest way to get me.
A/N 2: teeny time-jump after this chapter.
A/N 3: Renna, as always, thank you.