Disclaimer: See chapter one.

A/N: This is a short chapter since the next one will propably end up being massive.

Feedback is welcome.

33. The Future

"Hope is a waking dream"

-Aristotle

Imladris (Rivendell) February 17/ 17 Coire 3019 III Age

The luminescent light of her home was a constant thing, a soothing thing. During the days golden and warm, reminding her of Buffy in more ways than she could ever explain. But when night came as it had now the light changed and took on a silver glow like that of Caras Galadhon, a glow that Arwen has seen reflected many times in the eyes of Legolas. In the weeks since their departure Arwen had held herself with heavy heart for their safety. Three that she loved dearly had left her to face odds that would stagger and defeat any others, yet she still had faith and above all else hope. Her faith in Buffy was such that she could believe that they would accomplish their task but it was her belief in the three of them together that made her believe that they would all survive. The three of them had been together for many seasons of battle and though she was not the warrior they were she knew more than enough to know that together there was little that could stand in their path.

"Arwen."

"Tollen i lu. I chair gwannar na Valannor. Si bado, no cirar." her ada told her as she sat up from when she lay as the sun fell from the sky marking the end of another day of her wait. A wait that troubled her to no end. While she was far from the warrior the gwenyn or Buffy were, she was far more skilled now than most mortals and knew that there had to be more that she could do. His words mirrored those that he had been says for days now, words with little meaning to her, they would come back and they would win. She believed it with all that she was. (It is time. The ships are leaving for Valinor. Go now before it is too late.)

"I have made my choice." she told him for what seemed to her to be the hundrenth time. She knew he spoke out of love but so did she, and out of faith as well.

"They are not coming back. Why do you linger when there is no hope?" he asked her as he moved into the room to join her, staring down at her from above.

"There is still hope." she told him, her gaze meeting his own and her conviction shining through her eyes. A conviction she noted he chose to ignore as she moved away from her/

"If they survive this war you will still be separated from them. If Sauran is defeated and Aragorn made king and free to wed Buffy you will still taste the bitterness of mortality. Whether Buffy choses a mortal life for Aragorn or not she will not take a ship but remain here to fight until it takes her life. And there will be no comfort for you. No comfort to ease the pain of her passing. She will come to death and so will Aragorn, both the image of splendor of the kings and warriors of men in the glory undimmed before the breaking of the world. Thranduilion will not remain with you but join his adar and his kin as they sail. In the end, my daughter. He will not chose you. But you, my daughter, will linger on in darkness and in doubt. As nightfall in winter that comes without a star. Here you will, bound to your grief, under the fading trees, until all the world is changed and the long years of your life utterly spent. Arwen there is nothing for you here, only death. Go across the seas and wait for your love. Buffy may yet find her way to the halls."

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The night was quiet in spite of the activity going on around them, the hushed tones of activity lost on her as she stood next to her horse. The air seeming to feel as heavy and thick as she own heart as she met the twin gazes of her brothers across from her. She knew where they were going, softly whispered words and hidden preparations hid little from her. The Rangers were to be gathered to go to war, gathered to assist in protecting the people as their chieften would want. She was glad of this, that her brothers would help defend the lands and people Buffy and Aragorn held so dear. But another part of her wished that she was going as well. But she could not and so she would leave with the ships to Valinor and wait for those she loved to join her.

Meeting the gazes of her brothers she nodded, no words needed any longer for them to see what was in the heart of the others. They would see to it that Buffy and Aragorn knew what was needed, they were family above all else and with them a closeness had formed that was rarely seen in even the eldar.

Turning from them she mounted her horse, Aratoamin was the brother of Buffy's Asfaloth and very much like him in many ways. That this would be the last time she rode him saddened her as well but the sadness was little compared to what she felt for other things. As the others began to leave she fell into line with them, most were on foot and the trip while long would be steady in the way only an elven one could be.

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February 18/ 18 Coire 3019 III Age

The sun had risen less than an hour before and yet they had been back in the boats just before it had made itself seen on the horizon, the air still chill as the winter began to truly fade to be replaced by the spring sun. After living ninety six years she fully appreciated the change of the seasons and the beauty of them but her thoughts were not on them, merely a passing tought as she considered the strange dream she had of Faith before. Part of her wanted to believe that is was nothing but for too long she had dealt with evil to dismiss the dream as nothing.

The thought that it was the First come back to exact vengence had crossed her mind but she had dismissed it. She had made a deal and unlike the Powers that Be, the Valar were not the type to do something like what she had seen. This left her with only one other option, a slayer dream. There was only one flaw to her reasoning, it had been seventy four years since she had left and Faith couldn't possibly look only a year or so older. But she had found a reasonable reason for that too. When she had died and went to heaven it had only been a few months for everyone else, for her it had seemed like forever. The possibility that that was the case here was not unheard of. Years around Elrond and her ada had made her reasoning skills much sharper and after her debate about the validity of her dream she had only to discern its meaning. It had been almost a mirror of the one she had had before the fight with the Mayor, except only this time Buffy had figured something out. Faith had said Dawn and 7-3-0 and Buffy had figured it out easily. Seven hundred and thirty days, if what Faith said was true about the arrival date of Dawn into their lives, was exactly two years after she had had the dream. That meant that now Buffy had a time frame, or at least a possible one. But she knew that they didn't have two years to destroy the ring which left her thinking on smaller measurements of time. Hours seemed the most likely to her and after a bit of math she had come up with a date that seemed much more likely. Wether it was true or not would remain to be seen but she fully intened to keep herself on guard in case she was right.

And as much as she hoped it was for the best the way Dawn had been in the long run, she rather doubted it. After all, in the short run last time it had cost her her life.

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The day was bright, the first embers of the spring finding spark around them, the light filtering through the trees to break as the branches moved in the slight breeze.

It was then that she saw it, a sight that forced her to complete stillness. It was as though time had ceased to exist and before her a new world stood. There were four young people there, all dark haired and seemingly full of energy. Arwen felt her breath stop as she gazed upon these pen vell, one was a mirror image of her beloved Legolas save for one thing, his hair. It was dark as her own and as she gazed at him as he practiced the use of a sword wih practiced ease, her gaze fell upon something she knew well, her Evenstar necklace. Forcibly pulling her gaze from who she knew to be her child she studied the other three youths carefully. Two girls and a boy, one girl and the boy were of the same age and shared very similar features. The idea that they were gwenyn like her brothers occurred to her but more so than that was that they all bore a strong resemblance to Aragorn save for one thing, they both had Buffy's eyes. The youngest girl Arwen saw moved with a grace that Arwen had seen in only one other. That this was also a child of Buffy's she had no doubt. They were all beautiful and full of light, faces happy as they laughed and practiced with their weapons as she had seen Buffy do with her brothers many times. Their faces were those of hope, of the future and as they faded from her sight she knew one thing above all others, she had made the wrong choice.

There was no hesitation in her as she wheeled Aratoamin around, the voice calling out behind her unheard as she urged him into a gallop.

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With Aratoamin the ride back to Imaldris took only a few hours, hours that left Arwen time to think on what she had seen and allow her resolve to form, her ada's words echoing in her mind over and over as she made her decision despite what he had said. Tossing her reigns to one of those who kept the stables as she alighted form her horse she rushed past him, knowng instinctually where her ada would be. As she crossed through the Last Homely House and into the garden she caught sight of him, her hand reaching up to unfasten her cloak as she moved with purpose and letting it fall behind her. She noted that he caught sight of her and rose as she made her way up the stairs to where he was, displeasure and concern written on his features as he saw her but she cared not.

"Tell me what you have seen!" she demanded, she was not quick to anger but for her ada's lies she found herself so.

"Arwen!"

"You have the gift of foresight, what did you see?" she demanded again, knowing that he would understand.

"I looked into your future and I saw death."

"But there is also life." she told him, revealing to him what she had seen. The gify of foresight was rare of those who still remained there were only three with the gift, her daernaneth, her ada, and Buffy. Though Buffy had not yet leanred control of hers. That she had seen the future was something to be proud of she could not feel it at the moment. "You saw there was a child. You saw my son. You saw Buffy and Aragorn's children." she chastised him, calling him on his lie. Buffy had told her to trust herself should she ever gain the talent and trust herself she did. It seemed that her vision was true for her ada turned form her and gazed out over the garden and the almost empty house around him.

"That future is almost gone."

"But it is not lost!" she countered, there was still hope and no matter the cost she would see her vision come to pass. The look of uncertanity on her ada's face was heartbreaking though. She knew the love he bore both Buffy and Aragorn, the thought of their end a heavy weight on his shoulders.

"Nothing is certain." he told her as he sat. Taking pity on him despite his lie she kneeled next to him and forced his gaze to meet her own.

"Some things are certain. If I leave them now, I will regret it forever." she told him. The resolution in her belief as strong as the uncertainty in his eyes.

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The day had ended quietly after her confrontation with her ada, for that alone Arwen felt gratitude. Quiet was what she needed most now for what she had planned. As the sun began to set in the west she moved though the halls of the Last Homely House in near silence as she gathered what she would need. She had already slipped into her brother's room to gather things that she would need and now she moved around Buffy's with familiarity. From Buffy's closet she took Buffy's spare pack, her hidden supply of lembas, several weapons, a belt, her spare quiver and bow and several spare tunics and a cloak. As she moved back and forth, placing the items on Buffy's bed with those she had gathers from her brother's rooms she found herself amused by the thought that she was following a habit she had seen in Buffy for many years. A habit that would serve her well to follow as she filled the pack with the things she had gathered and then stripped off the robe she now wore. Dressing in clothes she had taken from both her brothers and Buffy, she dressed in long pants and boots followed by one of Buffy's white under tunics and an over one of deep blue. She followed it with a vest of mail that was Eladan's and a leather vest of Buffy's, grateful that the smaller woman preferred her garments for fighting lose so they would fit her. Finally she took in the sight of the weapons before her. The set of knives Buffy had gotten her years before going into place first, followed by her own sword and finally, after securing one one of Buffy's cloaks, the quiver full of arrows and the bow itself.

Glancing into the mirror over Buff's dressing table she almost did not recognize herself but thought that was for the best. With what she wore and her hair pulled back as she had always done with Buffy's she saw in herself something that she had only seen in Buffy before. A woman truly ready for battle. And that above all else was what she was. She had seen the future and now she was intent on seeing it come to pass. Picking up the pack full of food and other supplies she made her way to the door. She was not the warrior that Buffy was but for the sake of those she loved it would take Sauran himself to stop her from doing all she could to help them.

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