13. Secret Garden

Dinendal shuffled nervously as he stood behind the tree, leaning around the trunk to spy on Faeneth. Pale moonlight shimmered like silver in her hair, the shadows turning the red of her gown to a deep rust. Arwen and Haldir had rounded the path at least five minutes ago and he had been standing here since then trying to muster his courage.

It was completely useless to retreat. If Orophin did not badger him for news of his success then Arwen would be sure to ask Faeneth if only to spite him. There was nothing for it but to attempt to say something regardless of how pitiful he might sound.

He took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the tree, creeping up on silent feet as he tried to decide what he would say. Arwen had at least provided him with some useful information. She was reading a book, perhaps he should ask her about that. He rather liked to read and there was at least a small chance it would be something he had perused during one of his long watches. It seemed infinitely better than archery at the moment.

He cleared his throat and Faeneth looked up at him, her large brown eyes blinking back at him. Almost instantly his brain seemed to empty, all the things he had planed to say evaporating like a morning mist. Desperately he grasped for something that Arwen had mentioned to him only a few minutes ago.

"I... like green," he blurted out. He could never remember regretting anything he had ever said so much nor so quickly. Faeneth stared back at him blankly, her face a mask of confusion.

"Oh," she said, looking down at her lap with a critical frown. "It is not really my color at all, to be truthful, but one of my friends suggested red would be... flattering."

"Um... yeah," he forced out lamely. He thought the gown very flattering but somehow he had completely lost the words that would communicate that fact.

"Maybe I should have bought the green one after all," she said pensively. Din was aware that he was nodding but she seemed not to notice as she sighed. "Ah well, I suppose I might as well head home." He hurried forward, offering her his hand and he was surprised at the funny rush her smile caused in his chest.

"Oh, thank you," she said with an expression that clearly indicated she wasn't used to anyone making a fuss over her. "You know Din, you are quite a nice fellow."

"I..." he mouthed wordlessly a moment and she laughed. he could feel his ears turning bright red though he hardly cared.

"I... oh, you'll think I am being presumptuous."

"No I wouldn't!! he insisted a little more forcefully than he'd intended. It was the longest conversation he could ever remember having with an elleth.

"Well I wanted to ask you something a bit impertinent," she admitted, biting her lip as she tried to mask her coy smile. He blinked back at her a moment. She was flirting with him! Perhaps his general air of fumbling stupidity would help him out after all.

"I...um... ask whatever you like," he fumbled as her cheeks turned pink.

"What sort of elleth's does Rumil tend to favor?" she asked a bit uneasily. He stared back at her with a blank expression not at all certain he had heard her correctly.

"Rumil?" he asked.

"Well you are his best friend," she said with a sigh. "And try as I might I can not seem to gain his attentions. So I thought perhaps you would help me a little?"

"Help you?" Dinendal felt as if the ground had suddenly slanted away beneath his feet and he were tumbling backwards

"Only a little!" she insisted with a worried expression, "You know him so well or I wouldn't impose."

"A little," he stated in disbelief. She was rocking back and forth on her heels nervously and she seemed to take this declaration as a promise.

"Oh thank you!" she squeaked, giving him a fierce hug. "You really are a dear! I promise not to pester you too much, I shall see you tomorrow!" Without a word she snatched up the book she'd left in the grass and hurried off into the darkness, turning to wave over her shoulder at him.

"Oh Valar," Din sighed miserably as he watched her go. He turned back to the path with a disgruntled frown, if he had to be miserable he might as well go find Rumil and make someone else miserable as well.


Haldir knelt in the shadows of a willow, one hand reaching out to silently brush aside a low hanging branch. It had taken him only a moment to slip through the trees past Arwen. A handful of yards away he could see Aragorn, singing to himself as he paused to stretch his aching muscles. The mortal's pace had slowed considerably, no doubt with fatigue and the Marchwarden wondered if he had timed this properly after all. He sighed, there was hardly any choice in the matter really. If he had not orchestrated this reunion tonight then by tomorrow it should surely have been muddled by someone else.

"What are you doing?" He jumped at the voice hissing in his ear and he spun around, glaring balefully at the golden haired elleth glowering down at him.

"Do not do that!" he snapped, grasping Aduial by the arm and pulling her to the ground beside him. He gave her a warning glare before leaning around the trunk of the tree and then stealthily creeping closer. "I need to be certain he stays on the proper path."

"You need to have the cobwebs cleared from the inside of your head," Aduial snorted, hot on his heels as they made their way silently though the underbrush "You are worse than Laurelin." Haldir froze, looking over his shoulder at her with a horrified expression.

"She is not here with you, is she?" he asked.

"Of course not!" Aduial replied, rolling her eyes. "Silivren took her on home."

"Well there is no reason for you to linger here," Haldir stated, crouching behind a mallorn tree and leaning round the trunk for a better look.

"I shall be happy to leave as soon as you do," she said waspishly, folding her arms over her chest and leaning against the tree trunk. "I have no intention of leaving you here to sulk to yourself."

"I am not sulking," he insisted.

"Yes, I know," whatever comment she intended to make he shushed, grasping hold of her arm and pulling her down beside him again. She gave him a venomous glare.

"What?" he demanded in exasperation.

"You should not be here," she insisted, leaning over his shoulder for a better look as well.

"I have made my choice," he whispered softly.

"It is not your choice I fault," she answered, her face so close to his own that her lips almost brushed his ear. "You only harm yourself by lingering here."

"It is too late to do anything about that now," he answered resignedly.

"You have never done anything halfheartedly in your life, have you?" she asked, smiling in spite of herself. He held a finger to his lips, grasping her hand and pulling her slightly closer.

"Look," he whispered.

Aragorn yawned, rubbing the back of his neck. He breathed deep the scent of mallorn blossoms, humming softly to himself as he walked. Twilight had settled over the garden and he smiled to himself, Haldir's evil brew had done its job well. He was weary now but not weak and he was beginning to feel a bit guilty that he had poured out the last dose.

Not guilty enough he thought, chuckling to himself. He let his mind wander as he began to sing along with the elven voices that floated on the air. It was tranquil and almost eerie, the soft sound both pervasive and ethereal. He had not heard this song in so many years, long distant years in another garden so far away. It seemed like a lifetime ago. He glanced down at the ring of Barahir on his hand. Thirty years, there were some men for whom thirty years was nearly a lifetime.

He sighed. He would have to write to Elrond before he left. Haldir had mentioned more than once that his foster family were distressed at his long absence but how could he go back. How could he ever go back and face her again, to know that she could never be his? It would serve no more than to torture him. Elrond, his kindness and compassion aside, could hardly expect anything else. In truth, Aragorn had assumed that his absence would be welcome by the elf lord at least. Arwen could hardly be expected to have feelings for a mortal she had not even seen in three decades.

"Ah but your feelings have not changed, have they?" he murmured to himself. He paused beside a shallow pool. His face had changed, he was not a wide eyed youth any longer. The boy Arwen had been so fond of was gone now. He was rough and hard despite his fine elven clothes and there was a sternness in his jaw and a cool detachment in his manner that had not been there when last he sang this haunting melody beneath the trees of Imladris. If she saw him now would she even recognize him?

"Even my name has changed," he whispered, turning away from his reflection. If she ever felt anything for Estel Elrondion he hardly believed she could feel the same for Thorongil Captain of Gondor.


The lay of Leithian still wove it's magic beneath the golden trees but the strange voice had stopped. Arwen's heart was beating fast though she hardly noticed, without thinking she grasped up her skirts as she had when she was still a girl, her bare feet trodding though the soft grass as she quickened her pace. She felt breathless and giddy, the feeling of anticipation so unfamiliar it made her lightheaded. When had she last felt so exhilarated. She could not remember but something drew her onward, pulling her inexorably forward. The ground seemed to tremble with excitement beneath her feet as if it were calling Luthien to dance beneath the trees, the stars glowed brighter and the leaves of the trees rustled as if they were lending their rhythm to the song.

She skirted the trees that led to the reflecting pool and she skidded to a silent stop. A man, a mortal stood before the still waters, dark hair falling in soft ringlets around his shoulders, his rugged profile etched out against the soft glow of moonlight on the water. Merciful Valar, it couldn't be. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, she could do nothing but stare in silence, trembling, her head spinning. It had happened.

She had finally gone mad.

The mirage turned, his cerulean eyes rising to meet hers and he froze, muscles tensed. He seemed even more shocked than she felt and she flet tears begin to mist her eyes. If she had lost her senses she dearly hoped she never regained them.

"Tinuveil," he whispered breathlessly. She let out a strangled cry, her feet pelting the ground as she ran, flinging her arms around him.

"Estel?" tears streamed down her cheeks as she felt his arms surround her.

"Arwen?" she could feel his lips brush against her hair. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" she demanded, pulling back to look up into his face. "I live here! What are you doing here?"

"I... Ow!" he looked at her in stunned silence, she had hit him. Before he could say anything else she hit him again.

"Five years!!" She declared hotly, "five years and you could not find two minutes to write!? I thought you were dead!" He stared at her dumbfounded a moment, rubbing the bruise forming on his arm, thank the Valar she had not hit him in the ribs.

"Would you feel better if you hit me again?" he asked uneasily.

"Yes!" she stated angrily, but she did not hit him, she slumped against his chest with a sob burying her face in his tunic.

"I was in Gondor," he said, feeling a bit foolish. "I wrote Ada before I left and told him it would be some time before I would be able to get a message so far north."

"He never got the letter," Arwen shook her head, looking up at him. "The last we heard from you was while you were in Rohan. Ada even sent inquiries but no one had ever heard of Aragorn!"

"I am so sorry," he soothed, drying her tears. "I did not give them my true name, A... friend of mine said it would not be wise. Arwen I swear to you, I had no idea."

"How are you here?" she asked her voice faltering.

"I was wounded and I ended up on the borders of Lothlorien," he sighed, shaking his head as he dried her freshly forming tears again. "to be honest I am not sure what happened, it is all still a bit hazy. Arwen do not weep, please." he cupped her face in his hands, she was even more beautiful than he remembered.

"We were all so worried," she said softly, her fingertips reaching out to gently brush his beard. It was the same face, so familiar and yet so different. "Estel, you've changed so much."

"I'm older," he stated drily, smiling in spite of himself.

"You've grown up," she seemed almost surprised by this. "I knew you had, of course. I just... I never expected..."

"You have not changed at all, my lady," he replied, kissing her hand. "You are just as radiant as ever."

"Oh you have grown up!" she laughed, brushing the last tears away with the back of her hand. "There was a time when you would have blushed red after saying.... Estel are your ears pink?"

"I believe they are, yes," he admitted, adjusting the collar of his shirt that had grown uncomfortably warm. She let out a giggle, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I thought I would never see you again," she said softly.

"I thought the same," he said heavily. "Arwen, I..."

"Tell me everything," she said, taking his hand. "everything you've done, I want to hear about it."

"Five years is a long time," he smiling as she laughed.

"Estel you've been gone for nearly thirty years, and I do not care if it takes all night. Tell me everything."


Orophin knelt in the underbrush, a disgusted sigh escaping his lips. He and Rumil had split up, better to observe their quarry. At first he had found the proposition almost silly, now he was infinitely glad not to be anywhere near his youngest brother who was no doubt on the verge of a tantrum.

"What are you doing?" The hair on the back of his neck stood on end at the sound of the all too familiar voice and he put his very best smile in place before turning to look up at her.

"Meril nin, how lovely you look melleth," His wife stood over him, her long delicate arms folded over her chest and a dark scow on her flawless face.

"Oh, do not dare," she declared, her eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. She grasped his shoulder, leaning over him to peer through the bushes. Arwen laid a pale hand on Aragorn's cheek, tears glistening in the deep blue pools of her eyes.

"Tell me," she stated, turning to glare at her husband. "That you are not plotting to leap out of the shrubbery and damage him."

"Of course not," he replied with his most flirty smile. "That would be far too obvious."

"Orophin!" She hissed, struggling to stifle a yelp as he pulled her into his lap. "I am serious! Rumil put you up to this didn't he? Where is he?"

"I expect he is in that mallorn tree over there sulking because Arwen seems quite happy to see that scraggly mortal." He answered, placing an open mouthed kiss on her collar bone.

"Tell me exactly what evil you plotted or I swear to you I will go straight to Haldir." She stated angrily, she shivered her breath catching for only a moment.

"Melleth, be reasonable," he soothed, his fingertips caressing a soft trail up her arm. "If you go to Haldir you will no longer have a husband."

"Tell me everything!" She insisted, grasping hold of one of his ears and making him wince.

"I would not let Rumil damage him," Orophin stated defensively. "Ow!"

"But?"

"Ow.... but what is the harm in our making him look like a bit of an idiot?" He finished hurriedly. Meril released his ear, staring at him with a gaping expression.

"Is that an invitation?" he asked hopefully, his lips nearly brushing hers.

"That is abysmally low," she stated, nearly smiling in spite of herself.

"Arwen could do better," he insisted in his most convincing voice. "What could it hurt to attempt to show her that?"

"Swear to me you will not harm him!" Meril demanded, closing her eyes as his lips closed softly over the tip of her ear.

"He will not be permanently damaged," Orophin promised in a breathy voice.

"And you will not strip him naked and tie him to anything?" she asked, giving him a stern look. Orophin paused a moment, considering this.

"Only if you strip me naked and tie me to something," he offered with a leer.

"Orophin!"

"Well you have already untied Aragorn once," he pointed out. "Why should he have all the fun?"

"You are absolutely incorrigible!" she declared, stifling a laugh as he pulled her down on top of him.

"Mmm this reminds me of our wedding night," Orophin said, his hands caressing her back as he drew her into a sensuous kiss.

"There were roses on our wedding night," Meril murmured.

"If you like we can go down to the rose garden," He offered.

"No," she whispered against his lips, stifling a giggle. "I like hydrangeas too."


"I have never been so appalled in all my life!" Rumil stomped angrily across the foot bridge, Dinendal trailing a few paces behind him with the least agitated expression he could muster.

"What did you expect to happen?" his friend asked with a shrug. "After waiting twenty years to see him I am not sure she would have been completely put off no matter how badly he smelled."

"I do not understand how it could not have worked!!" Rumil insisted. "Our plan was fool proof!"

"No one knows fools better," Din muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. "Where are we going?"

"I need a drink!" his friend snarled, pausing before Haldir's front door and flinging it open.

"There is a perfectly good pub not far from here," Din pointed out, watching as the other elf stalked into the kitchen and began rummaging though the cupboards.

"I do not feel like company," Rumil sulked, climbing onto the table and reaching into the basket on top of the china cabinet. He pulled out a bottle and uncorked it, squinting into it with a frown before returning it and clambering to the floor. "Where is all the wine?"

"If you have not noticed Haldir does not keep wine in his house," Din snorted.

"No normally he buys it to drink," Rumil countered sarcastically, pulling up the cushions on the couch. He violently tugged a bottle free, scowling as he shook it before discarding it. "but usually he passes out before he finishes it!"

"I am going to pretend you did not say that," Din answered sulkily following as Rumil entered the bedroom and crawled, head first, under the bed.

"You can pretend all you like" Rumil's muffled voice answered as several empty bottles rolled out from under the bed. "It does not change the fact that Arwen is one step closer to binding herself to a mortal and Haldir is one step closer to fading. Rhach!" He crawled out from under the other side of the bed, his brow knitting in a scowl.

"He will not fade!" Dinendal's voice was strong with conviction but his face betrayed him. Rumil only gave him a perturbed look before opening the doors of the wardrobe and searching through the shelves.

"We need a new plan," Rumil insisted, finding an empty flask that he shook with a sigh. "We will just have to try harder to make Aragorn look like a lout."

"We could try to get him to act like you, that should do it," Din muttered under his breath, slumping on the edge of the bed.

"You are in a terribly foul mood," Rumil observed, rummaging through the boots at the bottom of the wardrobe. "What happened with that elleth?"

"Nothing," Din sighed.

"Get a new elleth," Rumil advised, He reached inside one of the boots and pulled out a bottle. "Ah ha!!" He sat down on the bed beside Din with a more cheerful expression, pulling the cork free with his teeth and taking a long draught before handing the bottle to Dinendal.

"No thank you," his friend stated miserably.

"I hate drinking alone," Rumil insisted.

"It smells stale," Din stated, sniffing it and wrinkling his nose.

"I think it is a little," Rumil replied, taking another long pull. Din only shook his head rolling his eyes as Rumil shrugged and tipped his head back, emptying the bottle.

"Come on," Din sighed, dragging him to his feet.

"You can buy me a drink and drown my sorrows," Rumil nodded, clapping him on the shoulder. His best friend scowled. He wanted to drown something at the moment, but it certainly wasn't Rumil's sorrows.