****A/N: you will probably notice some differences in Evelyn's character in the next chapters. Please keep in mind we are now about 35-40 years after the War of The Ring. Evelyn had four years of training wth Gandalf in her powers, and the rest of the years she has been with the twins, Glorfindel (Not sure when he sailed, but for my purposes, he has stayed behind), and Lord Celeborn. She has grown both in her powers, in herself, and her beliefs. As always, please R&R!****

Chapter 14

*Year 35 of the Fourth Age*

Early dawn light filtered through the sheer curtains that draped from the open window panes, warming Evelyn's cheek, gently caressing her from her slumber. Muffling a yawn, she stretched, feeling her muscle pull and protest the movement so early in the morning. Then she stopped. Why were her legs slippery and sticking together and her covers clinging to her skin? She creaked her ears open, looking warily at her feet as she slung the covers from the bed. Evelyn shrieked as she did. Frogs. There were frogs everywhere. They were in her bed, on the floor, a few even sat upon her legs, croaking in protest against her movements. Slinging the frogs from the bed, she screamed the twins names, cursing them as she did so, now fully awake, all traces of sleep had dispersed.

It did not take long for Ceilin to barge into her room after the outburst, only to let a scream fly from her mouth as she ran into the hoard of frogs.

"Hand me my robe, I have two brothers to kill," Evelyn stated matter of factly, snatching the garment from her handmaid. Once the robe was around her shoulders, Evelyn let herself go as she surged through the halls. The freedom that washed over her as she left her mortal form was exhilarating, for a time it was an escape from the pain and stiffness that was a constant in her muscles now. If only Gandalf was still here for her to thank again for her lessons.

It was not long before she spotted one of the twins, Elladan, she was sure, running from the scene. With just a passing thought she froze him on the spot, and watched with glee at his shock as she materialized in front of him.

"You do not play fair." He stated, looking at her sulkily from where his feet were firmly stuck to the stone floor in a pocket of ice.

Evelyn shrugged, "And since when are your tricks ever fair?"

"It was only harmless frogs." He whined, wiggling like a fish on land, trying to dislodge his feet.

"Aye, and this," She waved her hand nonchalantly at the ice, "Is only harmless ice." She smiled brightly.

"Harmless? I cannot feel my feet!"

Evelyn was just about to reply when a stern voice interrupted them both.

"And just what, pray tell, is going on here?"

Evelyn jerked her eyes up as Elladan struggled to swivel around to look into the blues eyes of Glorfindel.

"She froze me!"

Glorfindel let his eyes wander down to look at his Lord's feet. "And what warranted your current predicament?" He asked, looking to Evelyn, who swore she saw a hint of humor flashing behind his stoic demeanor.

"He dumped frogs in my bed."

Glorfindel had to stifle a laugh. It was hard enough keeping the three of them in line, laughing at their antics, would only add fuel to the he had to admit, they made his life very interesting. He thought once Arwen had grown and they took to hunting and patrolling with the rangers, they would grow up and mature. And they had, to an extent. However, the arrival of Evelyn had once again brought out jokesters in them in the attempt to bring her from the edge of her fading. For the most part they had succeeded, there was only a ghost of the shadow that remained hidden deep within her. Furthermore, it brought many laughs to the few elves who still resided in the Last Homely House.

Clearing his throat he gave them both reprimanding looks, "We have a busy day, or have you forgotten we ride to Gondor?" Instantly he knew the reasoning behind the frogs as the words left his mouth. He watched the shadow darken in the woman's eyes, and he mentally berated himself, but what was said was said. "De-ice Elladan please."

"Aye," Evelyn agreed as she called the ice back to her, freeing his feet, though they still remained a bit damp. "Though their rooms stay frozen until the frogs are disposed of." Evelyn stated, flipping her hair over her shoulder with a mischievous smile and walked off as Glorfindel succumbed to their banter and laughed.

"You best get to work then and warn your brother." The blond elf lord laugh as he walked away from the gaping elf in front of him.

The next hour found Evelyn in the barn, gathering the last minute items for their trip. She had packed for a few months, knowing their journey to see the rulers and their firstborn son would not be a short stay. After that time, she was sure if, needed, she could have more items made or bought. Her emotions were mixed. Evelyn was ecstatic to see her old friends, but there was sadness as well. They all will have aged, even Arwen. Seeing them after so long was going to be a shock and drive home the fact that their passing is closer than ever. A part of her could see the reasonings behind Legolas' distance from mortals, his distancing from her. There was a grief in the pit of her stomach that gnawed at her, knowing there was nothing she could do to slow down time.

The main haul of luggage had been sent weeks prior to ensure they would arrive in plenty of time. Evelyn did not want to be stuck there days before her clothes, she was past having to borrow clothes from others. When she first arrived, everyone she encountered she was indebted to them for all the garments they lent her. As soon as she had been able to, she had them repaired and sent back too their owners.—mostly Éowyn. She could not repay Aragorn, as he had them special made for her, so she wore them as much as she could in return, getting full use from them.

She stood at Zenith's old stall, its new inhabitant a stark contrast to her first horse in Middle Earth. Many good years they enjoyed in Rivendell before she passed peacefully in her sleep at the ripe age of twenty-eight, though she retired her from use many years prior. Granat was still young, only six years old, but the young stallion held himself proudly. Unlike Zenith's fiery personality, Granat was sweet and gentle. If there were children here, Evelyn would not hesitate to place them on his broad back. He also stood a solid few hands shorter than her mare, coming in at only fifteen three hands. Also in contrast was his coat, he was a light grey, so light and faded that he appeared solid white except for the dark skin that could be seen around his muzzle and eyes.

She reached over and patted his thick strong neck, that arched regally. Evelyn smiled fondly at his resemblance to Gandalf's old mount, Shadowfax. The stallion was not built for speed or jumping, but he made a brilliant dressage horse and she had his training well underway. There was no doubt in her mind he would one day be able o do all the classical moves she would envy watching the riders in the Austrian ridding schools.

Stepping into his stall she set to work oh his mane. She french braided the white silky strands down the length of his neck to his shoulders where she finished with it dangling midway down his long sloping shoulder, held fast with a strip of leather. Sighing, Evelyn moved to his tail, which would take much longer.

After cleaning the tail, she sponged down the top and back of the tail hair, getting it slightly damp. Grading to small strands from the outside of his tail, Evelyn pulled them to the center tightly, adding them to a center strand. Sliding down, she took a strand from the left and wrapped it around diagonally to the right, keeping the hair pulled as tight as possible, then followed suit on the right side. It took a lot of time and patience to keep the strands the same size and in the center. Which Granat did not make easy. He just could not keep his tail still, but constantly tried to swish it back and forth. Half way through, she had to add more water to his tail which was beginning to dry and tangle in her hands. Finally, after what seemed forever, and multiple restarts she reached the end of the tail bone, and then just started a simple braid down until she ran out of hair. Evelyn debated doing a fancy pinwheel, but her hands where aching, so instead she just secured the end with another strip of leather and left it at that. It was better than nothing. He could still swat bugs, but the amount of tangles would be much less at least.

"Finished yet?" A voice asked above her, startling her from her concentration. Elrohir.

"Aye, I figured your cleaning may take awhile, so I kept myself occupied while waiting." She replied with a smile spreading across her face that only widened when she saw him scowl.

He only gave her a 'hmpf' in reply.

"No hard feelings brother, I'm sure i'll have my payback soon enough." Evelyn stated, opening the stall and leading the stallion out.

"Of that, have no doubt my dear," His voice floated through the air as he grandly bowed as she passed, eliciting a chuckle from her. "Where is our gift?" he asked as an afterthought.

"In the small paddock eating, I figured I might indulge him one last time."

For Arwen's son they bred the finest pony for Evelyn to train for him. At five, it was time he start learning one of the trades loved by the elves, and his family. And now they had Evelyn to teach him, whose skill with a horse far surpassed most of the elves he knew his entire life.

The pony stood right around thirteen hands. A little large now, but with room for the child to grow into in the coming years. What was more important was his attitude, which mirrored that of her horse, with not a mean bone in his body. She had no children to practice on him, but she was confident, the pony would handle a child just fine. She put all the basic training on him she could, and desensitized to just about every bad scenario that her brain could think up.

Soon she saw his glistening palomino coat coming around the stable, his lean body held up by his slender yet sturdy legs. He resembled a small arab in stature. There was just a feeling in her gut about the pony and she would just have to go with it.

"With whom is he to travel with?" Elladan asked, stepping up behind her.

"I'll take him with Granat, they are used to each other." Evelyn answered, eyes still on the pony.

"What troubles you?"

Evelyn glance up at the ellon behind her, giving a deep sigh as she looked into his concerned eyes.

"Our visit to Gondor. I miss Aragorn and Éowyn, even Arwen whom I barely got to know, but I am worried about how our reunion will be after so long."

Elladan rested a comforting hand upon her shoulder giving it a tight squeeze. "They will be beyond exhilarated to see you again, after all these years." as the words come from his mouth he realized the issue, and closed his eyes as he bowed his head slightly. "Ah, I realized your worry."

"I have realized now that I will not pass. Everyday I look to the mirror and the only thing that has changed are the shadows in my eyes. I have no wrinkles to show my years, only the same scars that cannot fade to show my age. No spots on my skin from the rays of the sun. In my heart I know that none of my friends will outlive me, but seeing them after thirty odd years, it will make it real, I will have no choice but to accept their fate, and I am not sure I'm ready to."

Her brother wrapped an arm around her shoulders, offering all the support he could. "Aye, Evelyn, neither am I ready to accept their fates, yet there is no choice in the matter for us, such is the fate of elves." After a moment of silence together, Elladan spoke again, pushing the despair and grief from his voice as best he could. "Come, it is time we were off, the others are waiting."

Evelyn did not speak, she only nodded her head and disentangled herself from Elladan, walking to the little pony, who was still waiting for a new name from his young master, though she kept calling him snapdragon, dragon for short. She placed his fancy halter on his head and lead him to her mount who stood patiently and watched the little pony with interest. Tying the lead rope to the leather band around the stallions neck, as they rode without tack, Evelyn grab a bit of mane and hoisted herself up on the strong white back.

Looking at the others, she gave her best smile and they took off at a canter, leaving the Last Homely house, for what would be a much longer trip than they initially intended.