Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's and the plot, everything else belongs to Tolkien and those who currently own the rights to his work.
Chapter 7– Another 6,000 years
Third Age 2552
Elrond was plagued by nightmares that very same night. In them, he relived the eve his sons had come riding madly into Imladris bearing their mother's broken body. Elrond did not even recognize his wife when Elladan carried her into the healing rooms. For a few moments, he was unable to move and Istuion was forced to take charge. The elf Lord took his wife's delicate hand in his, unable to speak or think or feel beneath the crushing horror of the sight before him.
Elrond awoke with tears running down his cheeks. He'd not had that dream for several years, why should it haunt him now? He left his bed, knowing he would find no rest tonight and decided some fresh air might lift the heavy fog that hung about him. The Lord of Imladris abandoned the marble halls of his house and wandered the starlit gardens. He listened to the singing of the nighttime creatures, willing their music to calm his troubled soul. After a time, he found himself in the same small glade where he spoke with Eruanna earlier that day. He sat himself on the stone bench, pondering what it was that had brought him back to this place.
Elrond looked out upon the lovely scenery. The garden looked beautiful; the dew speckled foliage shimmered by the grace of Ithil. As his gaze drifted across the landscape he found his eyes drawn to the tree growing opposite the stone bench. In his mind's eye he could see the young elleth backing into the tree away from him, her hands raised, and her terror filled eyes…it was her eyes. The revelation hit Elrond hard. It was the child's eyes that had reawakened his nightmares.
Elrond had seen terror like that only once before – in his wife's eyes. Long after her physical wounds were healed, Celebrían's experiences tormented her. Elrond would hold her when she woke from nightmares. There were times, when waking from those terrible dreams that she would lash out, thinking him an orc. During those brief moments the fear in his wife's eyes tore at his soul. He saw that fear again, today, in the child's eyes. That was why the dream had returned.
Elrond found some comfort in identifying the cause of his sleepless night. Though he was known far and wide as a wise and venerable Lord, Elrond was not always so perceptive when it came to personal matters. The ancient ruler bore such burdens of knowledge and responsibility that he found it easier to ignore his own troubled soul.
With a sigh, Elrond stood and made his way back to the house. There was no reason to remain in this place, having found the explanation for his sleepless night. Reaching the house, he saw Arwen reading on the terrace leading to her chambers. He silently thanked Iluvatar that at least one piece of his heart was yet untouched by the horrors of the world.
Arwen heard her father approaching. She was surprised that he'd come from the garden as her father did not normally wander the grounds at night. She sensed he might need some company and so placed her book aside so he'd have no reason to think he was disturbing her.
"Ada, you are up late this eve." Arwen smiled at her father as he climbed the steps.
Elrond approached his daughter, taking a seat at her side. "I was unable to sleep," he said dismissively, not wishing to burden his child with the details of his dream. Elrond looked past Arwen up at the sky. The light of Eärendil shone brightly, smiling down upon them. It had dimmed some with the passing of ages but was still more radiant than any other star in the sky.
Arwen followed her father's gaze and placed a hand on his. "Do you miss them, your ada and naneth?"
"I'm not sure," the words were spoken before Elrond could think better of them. They sounded harsh to his ears and he tried to soften them with an explanation. "I was so young when they sailed across the sea. I should like to see them again, though I do not know if I would even recognize them."
Arwen nodded her understanding. She gazed up at the sky thinking of her father's parents whom she'd never known. They were in the Undying Lands with her mother. "I miss naneth," Arwen whispered.
Elrond returned his attention from the sky back to his daughter. A shadow fell across her fair face. He pulled her close and she rested her head on his chest. Elrond knew Arwen missed her mother. He'd been certain that she would travel with Celebrían across the sea, but to his great surprise, his daughter had remained. Elrond wondered if it had been his wife's request that Arwen remain with him in Middle Earth. The night before they were to depart for the Grey Havens, Elrond stopped by Arwen's rooms to see if she required assistance packing her things. He was surprised to find not a single item out of place. He'd asked her why she was not ready to sail. Her words lent him the strength to carry on.
I will not leave you, ada.
Elrond hugged his daughter. "I miss her too, but one day, we shall all be reunited." It was the one thought that brought him comfort; they would all be reunited in Valinor.
Arwen closed her eyes; she'd never understood why the elves wished to leave Middle Earth. She did not feel the call of the sea nor had she ever heard her father speak of it. She knew that her father had pledged to stay in Middle Earth until the last of the elves sailed west, but she knew not who this pledge was made to, nor why it had been made. "And when will that be?"
Elrond did not have an answer for his daughter. Celebrían asked him that very same question on the eve of her departure but even with the gift of foresight, Elrond was unable to see when the time of the elves would end. The future was clouded by the darkness growing in the east. Elrond could feel the darkness spreading and he believed it would hasten the elven exodus. How long would the elves remain in Middle Earth? Five hundred years, a thousand, two thousand? To men, such a count of years was forever, but to the elves it would pass in a heartbeat.
Elrond was not so certain the years would pass as quickly for him. His wife had been the foundation he'd built the last two and a half millennia of his life on. An elf would have faded long ago if they'd suffered the pain of losing so many loved ones. There were other elves who survived a parting with a parent, a brother, a friend, but few elves could survive the torment of their mate without passing into the west. Alas, Elrond was not an elf and so could not fade from these things and yet, his soul was weary. There were times he wished he could forget his concern for Middle Earth and the promise he made. Then he could abandon this land like the rest of the elves and find peace in the Undying Lands.
Elrond, remembering his daughter's question, answered her as best he could. "I know not when the end will come. I know only that it will be soon by the measure of the elves, though by the measure of men, a long time hence."
Arwen hugged her father. "We shall both see her again, ada, and Elrohir and Elladan will come as well, if ever they grow tired of hunting orcs." Arwen's heart ached at the thought of her brothers. After a visit of no more than a few weeks, they returned to the wilds. Her once gentle brothers had changed much since the attack on their mother. They spent most of their time with the Dúnedain, slaughtering as many of the foul beasts as they could find. How Arwen feared for them each time they were parted!
"Yes," Elrond whispered, "we shall all be reunited again."
There was a long silence where father and daughter sat looking up at the stars. Arwen wondered at her father's pensive mood. Why had he been in the garden? Arwen was unsure if she should ask, not wanting to pry further into her father's private thoughts. He'd already confided much to her tonight and Arwen knew he disliked sharing his burdens with others, especially her.
When it became clear to Arwen that her father had more on his mind, she decided to ask him about his walk. She sensed that there was more to his sleepless night than lack of fatigue. "Ada, why were you out in the garden?"
The elf Lord studied his daughter for a moment, unsure if he should tell her about the dreams that his encounter with Eruanna had reawakened. A smile curled his lips. It dawned on the great and wise healer that, earlier that very day, he'd counseled the young elleth to speak of the things that haunted her and now he found himself reluctant to take his own advice.
Arwen noted the strange expression that crossed her father's face. "What is so amusing?"
Elrond's attention returned to his daughter. "I was thinking I should take my own advice once in awhile."
Arwen's confused expression made Elrond laugh softly. "I had a nightmare this eve and I just remembered I'd told Eruanna to speak of her own nightmares earlier today."
Arwen smiled. "Then perhaps you should take the healer's advice," she paused. "Do you wish to tell me of the dream, ada?"
Elrond leaned back against the wall. He did not wish to relive these memories with his daughter, but Elrond knew that Arwen was the only other person in Imladris who would truly understand. "It was about the night your brothers brought your mother in from the Redhorn Pass."
Arwen's face dropped at her father's quiet admission. She placed a comforting hand on his arm. Arwen understood such dreams, having had them herself not so long ago.
Elrond continued, strengthened by the warm hand on his arm. "I have not had that dream for some time and yet it returned tonight."
A thoughtful expression graced Arwen's beautiful face. Why should tonight be any different? She voiced that very thought. "Why tonight?"
Elrond raised a hand to his cheek rubbing the spot where Eruanna's hand had landed. He was grateful the child's palm print faded quickly. It saved him from explaining the mark to Erestor and Eru forbid, Glorfindel.
Arwen watched her father raise a hand to his cheek and realized what the simple gesture meant, "Eruanna," she whispered the child's name. The young elleth did not elaborate on what took place in the garden beyond the fact that she'd struck the Lord of Imladris. Curious, she pressed her father for more detail. "What happened in the garden, ada? She told me she struck you."
"She did," Elrond could see the events playing out in his memory. It had all happened so fast Elrond hadn't had time to process what he felt during their encounter. He was so concerned with the elleth's emotional welfare he'd once again ignored his own. When he'd fallen asleep, Elrond's mind was finally free to process the day's events. The horror of the episode with Eruanna came crashing to the fore bringing with it painful memories.
What frightened Elrond most was that in the moment after Eruanna struck him, she did not see Elrond, Lord of Imladris, healer, teacher, guardian…she'd seen only an ellon; an ellon who, like the Mirkwood wardens, was capable of causing her harm. It left a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that the child would think him capable of harming her. Elrond tried to find the words to explain this to his daughter. "She was afraid, but not of the Lord of Imladris." Elrond paused, "She feared an ellon who had her trapped in a garden grove." Elrond looked down at his hands. "Her eyes were filled with such terror. She thought I would hurt her. It was like looking into your mother's eyes when she woke from a nightmare."
Arwen gave her father's arm a comforting squeeze.
Elrond closed his eyes and leaned his head against the cool stone wall. "If I live another 6,000 years, I never wish to see that kind of fear in an elleth's eyes again."