Glorfindel and the group travelling for Erebor had been gone for maybe a week or two, maybe more. Those in Imladris had heard news that the Battle of Helms Deep was won but of course with no shortage of victims. It was a bittersweet thought. Lord Elrond and those of his House were invited to the festivities in Edoras especially since King Théoden knew it was the Elf Lord that had sent them aid but, they decided that with their group travelling to Erebor, they did not want to leave Imladris in case of an emergency.
Eleniel was stressed. She wanted to be by Estel's side. She wanted Narsil to be remade. She wanted Sauron dead. She wanted Melkor to suffer. She wanted to be with the Fellowship again. She wanted her family back... She honestly just wanted to finally enjoy her existence. Her whole life had been overshadowed by her quest, pushing her own enjoyment to the back of her mind and instead being focused on her destiny. Although now that she knew that a large part of her quest was to just be there because the Fellowship would have failed without her, she also knew that her life was not suddenly going to be left alone for her to live. Sauron and Melkor would still actively try to kill her and if she was being honest, she was hoping that they would try, just so she could show them that she would not be felled so easily.
Without the twins in Imladris, a lot less laughter was heard as everyone felt the slow creeping darkness of Mordor spread all across Arda. Eleniel tried to distract herself and her now becoming antsy thoughts by spending much of her time with Arwen and her little Hobbit friend, a Mister Bilbo Baggins; her Frodo's uncle. Using her healing powers, she would often try and help his memory problems and any other ailments he had although she could not heal him of the damage the Ring caused. The Ring had destroyed Gollum's mind, Bilbo's body and was no doubt trying to destroy her Frodo's soul but she hoped that with her help and advice that he would be able to fight the attacks that thing would no doubt be doing against Frodo.
All those of the House of Elrond were sat in the dining hall that evening, joyous laughter and happiness surrounding the group after the great news they had received only an hour before; The Dwarves of Erebor had agreed to the task and were now making to journey to Imladris. Eleniel sat at the Head table with Elrond, Arwen and Bilbo. Joy could be seen on all three of their faces as they awaited the arrival of their companions in a few weeks time. Elrond listened as Bilbo spoke of changes that would need to be made for their guests like the food served at each meal. Dwarves did not eat anything unless it was meat or had meat in it so Elves would need to be sent out to hunt or they would have to stop in at the nearest town of Men.
She was peacefully enjoying her food, enjoying the chatter around her when Eleniel suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Standing suddenly, she did not notice the silence at her table as she tried to keep her food down and to fight against the growing pain in her head. Eleniel moved to leave the table when her body suddenly felt very weak. She would have fell if Elrond did not catch her.
Speaking of Elrond, the Elf Lord was knelt above her as he gently laid her on the floor, his desperation clear as he demanded to know what was wrong with her. Eleniel opened her mouth to answer him when dark spots started invading her vision. Giving a sad smile to the worried Elves and Hobbit surrounding her, she fainted, finding relief.
Eleniel groaned loudly as her body and mind slowly woke from sleep. Sitting up, her eyes glanced around the dark room, not recognising anything. This wasn't her room she thought. Did she drink last night? Eleniel didn't know. Removing the blankets atop of her, she moved to stand only to stumble at how weak she felt. She frowned confused before slowly making her way to the door. She glanced down the dark hallways of Imladris trying to figure what time it was and where she was.
Deciding to brave the cold, she pulled her gown closer to her body deciding to go for a walk in the gardens. Her senses sighed in bliss as the flowers and trees greeted her happily to which she smiled brightly in response. The flowers and trees danced under the light of the moon and stars, Eleniel's eyes once again drawn to the moon in the sky in thought. She did not know where her feet were leading her only that going this way and that way felt right.
She found herself stood in front of a statue of a woman. Vines and plants had long become overgrown covering much of the maidens body and facial features. She slowly moved the vines out of the way as she looked upon the lady's face. She must have been beautiful in life unlike any other but, it was her eyes that she was interested in. She had not known statues to give off emotions but this one did. They held a deep love in them, one that the fair maiden had only felt for one but there was also a hint of sadness and an overwhelming grief as if life had not been kind to the lady. Eleniel could sympathise. Looking around, she found a single flower upon the floor in front of the statue, a withered purple hyacinth.
It was at that moment that Eleniel knew that it was not simply a statue that she stood in front of but it was actually a grave. Removing the vines that were at the base of the grave, she found herself reading such profound words.
"Onen i-Estel Edain, ú-chebin estel anim" Eleniel read aloud, feeling the tears well up inside of her. "I gave hope to the Dúnedain; I kept none for myself." This woman was Estel's mother, the Lady Gilraen. Estel spoke often of her while they were in Lothlórien, his mind never forgetting the strong Dúnedain woman nor the stupid actions his anger had caused. The tears rolled down her cheeks for a few minutes, silently grieving for the Lady and her son.
Eleniel sat on the ground in front of her grave and before she knew it, she began to speak her thoughts to the Lady imagining that she was truly listening to the words she spoke. "Estel spoke of you often, my lady," she said, a small smile on her face. "You raised a fine young man. I hope you know that. He is everything a King should be. I know he will fulfill the dream of the Dúnedain."
A somber expression appeared on her face when she said, "I promise that I will do everything in my power for him. I will fight by his side when the time comes. I will be the shoulder he leans on when he feels stressed and frustrated and if needs be, I will die for him so that he may live."
"Let us hope that it will not come down to your death, my friend." Startling, she spun around to find Elrond standing behind her, even Bilbo and Arwen were there. She smiled brightly at them three before noticing the sad looks on their faces. She asked them what was wrong but they simply nodded for her to follow them. Confused, she bowed quickly to the Lady Gilraen and made promises to come and visit her the next day.
They led her to Elrond's office where they congregated on the opposite side of the Elf Lords desk to her. Feeling like she was apart of some interrogation, she cautiously sat in the chair in front of them. "Elrond, what i-" she began to ask only to be cut off by the Elf Lord. Rather rudely if she was being honest.
"You're dying." He stated like what he said was a fact and not merely speculation. Eleniel had the gall to look guilty when gazing at the two saddened Elves and Hobbit. "As the darkness of Mordor spreads, you become weaker. I do not know if you will survive this war, let alone long enough to be reunited with Estel."
Eleniel only nodded her head at them, knowing that no matter what happened she would live long enough to reunite with her love, when Bilbo exploded, "Do you not care at all?!" He demanded.
Eleniel sighed sadly at her friend, "You misunderstand my dear Bilbo. Of course I care but, I knew that this was my fate for some time now."
Elrond and Arwen only looked confused as they looked at her. "I do not understand. How can you be dying when you are an Elf? You are immortal." She smiled weakly at her friends and family. Eleniel did not know how to tell them but decided to go with the fast approach.
"I died," she told them while they looked at her confused, clearly wondering if she had hit her head or something. "Back when the Fellowship was still together, we were ambushed by Uruk-hai and while defending Frodo and Sam, I was hit with two arrows in my chest, one of them so close to my heart that if just moved a little it would have pierced straight through my heart."
Bilbo gasped as he heard her words before hobbling over to where she was and wrapping his arms around her form. The elderly Hobbit thanked her desperately for defending his Frodo and Sam to which she smiled and said that Frodo and Sam were hers aswell and that she would have died before letting anything happen to them. "When Estel came, it was too late to save me. I was too weak to use even my own powers to heal myself. I passed on and was greeted by the Valar."
"They are the ones who gave me this second chance. I could stay in the Undying Lands with my family and all that was left of my people but Estel would be lost to me for eternity," she told them sadly as the tears began falling. She thought of her family in the Undying Lands, so far away from her and never to be reunited. She missed them but she did not regret her decision. She already felt hollow without Estel even with the knowledge that they were both in Arda and would be reunited.
She could only imagine what her eternities would have been like with this hollow feeling constantly there.
"Or I could return to Middle Earth but there was a price that I would have to pay..." she trailed off as she heard the gasps of realisation from the Elves in the room. She could not bring herself to look into the saddened eyes of Arwen and Elrond. Bilbo did not catch onto the sad mood in the room and instead asked, "What was it? What did they ask for?"
Eleniel sighed before looking at the staring eyes in the room and answering the question from the Hobbit at her side. "My immortality. I had to give up my immortality. I would never see my family again but at least I would be able to live the rest of my existence with the one I love."
Tension and silence filled the room as Eleniel became consumed with her grief. She didn't feel any regret though. Eleniel knew she made the right decision but that did not mean that she didn't want to cry when she thought of her family all the way in Valinor. No one spoke for several minutes when Elrond finally said something, "You gave up everything for Estel... I do not know if he is worthy of such a gift but I hope he is."
Eleniel smiled widely at her, her happiness shining in her eyes. "He is worth it. He will always be worth it."
They retired for the night. Although she had slept the whole day away, after that talk she felt exhausted but happy. It was like a weight had been lifted off her. She could feel the darkness waning at her strength everyday but, she knew that she would survive. Well she hoped. That however, would not stop her from joining the others in the upcoming battles that was sure to happen. Elrond and them kept pressuring her to stay behind in Imladris where it was safe but she refused. This war was for her home and she would not sit around while the others fought for her safety.
When she woke the next day, she found herself with three shadows. One of them a Hobbit, the other a very male Elf and the other a female Elf. Rolling her eyes at them, she began the rest of her day. They were there when she went to visit Lady Gilraen. They were there when she decided to read some books in the library and she was sure that Elrond and Bilbo had even tried to follow her when she went to the washroom but luckily, Arwen remembered to use her brain and stopped them both from entering although they were still waiting outside for them.
This continued for three weeks, Eleniel having given up after the first week of protests. They just fell on deaf ears. They were eating lunch when a young elf ran into the hall and straight to their table.
"My Lord Elrond, the group from Erebor have arrived," the young male Elf said, his breath slightly ragged. "They are at the front gate my Lord, awaiting your presence."
The Elf Lord stood immediately and nodded to the male Elf. He motioned for Eleniel, Bilbo and Arwen to follow him. Eleniel and Bilbo smiled excitedly to each other while Arwen looked at them timidly, unsure of how to feel about their visitors but not wanting to offend the Hobbit and elleth so she settled with passivity.
As they approached the gate, they saw quite a substantial amount of dwarves separated from the Elves. It seemed that travelling together did not do wonders for the relationship between Elves and Dwarves. Eleniel was searching for a specific dwarrowdam, one with strikingly dark hair and clear blue eyes like that of her brother. Their eyes met each others from across the way, the dams eyes widened in surprise before a blinding smile appeared. Summoning all her strength, the dwarrowdam hobbled towards Eleniel as fast as her much older than the last they saw each other body could. Eleniel knelt down and wrapped her arms around the dam, small tears falling down both of their cheeks. The dwarfs arms wrapped tightly around her waist and grasped tightly onto the front of her dress. The other dwarves that had arrived with the lady looked shocked to see her so vulnerable and hugging an Elf of all people.
The dam moved out of Eleniel's embrace after a few minutes and pressed her forehead gently against the Elf's in familiarity. Gasps could be heard around them but they were too wrapped up in each other to notice.
"How I have missed you, my friend." Eleniel greeted the dwarf in perfect Khuzdul, certainly shocking the other Dwarves, Elves and Hobbit. Dís laughed boisterously, understanding what it was that she was doing before replying in perfect Sindarin, "I have missed you too, my friend."
Silence surrounded the two woman as they spoke to each other happily. The Dwarves were wondering how an Elf knew how to speak their tongue while the Elves were wondering how a Dwarf knew how to speak their tongue considering anything associated with the Elves was hated by their race.
No one noticed until it was too late that Eleniel and Dís was gone.
I fought with myself as to whether or not I should have Eleniel speaking Khuzdul but I figured that after how long her life has been then she would definitely speak it. The relations between Elves and Dwarves didn't use to always suck. Remember Durin's Folk once used to have a very close relationship with Celebrimbor, who would consequently be Eleniel's grand-nephew, I think, as Celebrimbor is her brother, Fëanor's grandson. Not really sure how that works lol. Also as you can see, she has a close relationship with Dís which will be shown how that came to be in another chapter. I think I'm going to return to the others next chapter lol because we still need to get through Helms Deep. The evil of Mordor is affecting her like it does all Elves so while it says that she is 'dying', it doesn't mean bodily dying, it's more on a soul level of dying. If you get me?
Anyways hope you enjoyed xx