The next morning, Arwen rises early. She finds her father in the dining hall, though he is eating alone when she comes in. All the other elves must be sleeping still, tired from last night. When she sits down across from him, he smiles and swallows. He greets her softly with a, "Good morning."
They make small talk while Elrond finishes his meal. When he pushes his bowl away, she asks him, "When will I be able to meet Estel?"
Elrond replies, "In several hours. Right now he is watching the sunrise with Gildor and Lindir." Arwen looks surprised at this so Elrond explains. "No less than once every moon, Estel watches the sunrise. Usually Elladan or Elrohir both go with him, but when they are not here another elf or two accompanies him." Here Elrond pauses to finish his drink, then starts again. "I have escorted him several times as well. We travel a good distance away in the early morning, to a cliff facing the east, and stay until after noon, when we eat lunch. The return journey takes around a few hours, so they will arrive midafternoon." He nods to himself and looks past Arwen to where the sun is just barely lighting the sky above the trees in the distance. After staring outside, Elrond gets up and takes his bowl with him, calling over his shoulder, "Excuse me, Arwen; I must write a letter to King Thranduil now."
Arwen stays in the empty hall until the first few elves come in, then takes her breakfast and leaves. She eats the bread as she walks, nodding to passing elves, who all dip their heads to her. She wanders around Rivendell, walking through the woods and savoring the late summer air. No one approaches and it is wonderful to her to not have to be somewhere or do something.
In midafternoon, she comes upon the archery range, where several dark-haired elves are practicing. Erestor is one of them, an elf who was constant through her childhood. When he misses a few bulls-eyes, she calls out teasingly, "My brothers could hit more targets, Erestor!" He turns to her with a smile and bows mockingly.
"Let us see you try your hand then, my Lady!" Arwen shakes her head to decline the challenge, but comes over to him. She is about to speak when an elf comes into view. He is dark-haired like her family, but she doesn't know him. Erestor tells her who the elf is. Lindir, who was one of the elves who escorted Estel. He looks confused when he sees Arwen standing among the other elves, but knows enough to figure out who she is as he comes closer. She likes him immediately when he kneels slightly and takes her hand saying, "Mae g'ovannen, Lady Arwen." Arwen accepts his greeting graciously and pulls Lindir to his feet. She feels comfortable enough around him to ask him a question before he greets the other elves.
"Lindir, you were one of the elves accompanying Estel, yes?" At his confirming nod and smile, she continues. "Where is he now?"
"I left him in the stables. He was getting ready to brush his filly," he answers. Arwen thanks him and turns back to Erestor.
"Lindir can take my place in the shooting. I must go and introduce myself to young Estel." Before he greets Lindir, he lays a hand on her shoulder.
"Galu, my Lady." He says, and then drops his hand. He starts to bow, but Arwen stops him.
"Na lû e-govaned vîn, Erestor." He nods and watches her leave before talking with Lindir.
Once in the trees, Arwen looks back and sees Lindir holding his bow. The other elves have moved back to watch, but Arwen doesn't stay. She moves deeper into the woods, instinctively following an invisible path toward the stables. Her red dress stands out against the greens and browns of the forest, but she moves quietly through the already silent woods. No wind disturbs the warm air and Arwen slows as she gets closer to her destination. She finally stops at a tree that doesn't seem memorable. When she looks up, she sees stripes of color that don't belong with the tree. Five ribbons, all red, hang tied high around a branch. Arwen places her hand against the trunk then lets it slide down.
She moves on, never looking back at the tree, but steeling herself to come back before she departs from Rivendell to tie another one. She comes to the open space surrounding the barn but hesitates under the trees. Making up her mind, she steps out into the tall grass. The area is unusually deserted but Arwen doesn't think much of it.
She is strangely disappointed and frustrated when she stands at the entrance of the stables and doesn't see anyone in them. There isn't any sign of the short boy everyone seems to know and love.
After sighing, Arwen walks in, the warmth of horses brushing against her. She walks past the unknown horses to the rear of the building. In the stalls here are mounts she remembers. Asfaloth is in a stall bordered by empty ones. The horse stretches his head toward her and she strokes his nose. Her fingers start combing through his forelock of their own accord. Soon Arwen opens the door and lets Asfaloth out. The tall horse gives the impression of gratefulness when he steps slowly into the general area of the barn.
"Daro." Arwen commands him to stay in gentle elvish. She goes to find a brush and comes back with a handful of oats and a brush. She feeds Asfaloth before stepping to his side and beginning to brush him. She murmurs to him, perfectly content to talk to the stallion.
The sun is lower in the sky when she finally stops with his tail. Arwen pats his neck, relaxed and content when she finishes. She puts her mount back in his stall and inspects some other horses. She spends some extra time petting one of her father's favorites, an ordinary-looking speckled brown mare known as Esgalith. After tracing the white stripe on Esgalith's nose, she turns and walks out of the stables, determined to find Estel.
Before dinner, Estel sits at a long table in the dining hall. As the elves filter in, he watches silently with his knees pulled up to his chin. Lindir walks in and waves to him but takes his spot a good distance down from Estel. Gildor comes in shortly after and he sits nearer to Estel, yet across and down from him, next to Elrond's seat at the head of the table.
When a tall she-elf enters Estel's attention is instantly drawn to her; he doesn't recognize her. She is wearing a loose, sleeveless summer dress and her long hair falls down her back. She appears to be of relation to Elrond's family with the dark hair, but he can't tell what color her eyes are from this distance. It doesn't matter, because it takes Estel about two seconds to know who she is. Arwen, the Lady of Rivendell. He is still quite shocked that he hasn't heard anything about her. He would have asked Elladan and Elrohir, her brothers, but they are visiting Mirkwood and King Thranduil and Prince Legolas.
Estel drops his knees and turns to focus on Arwen. She walks gracefully to a vacant seat down the table and easily joins in a conversation with Malianth. He can see she is talking but can't hear her over the other elves, though broad hand gestures suggest to Estel that she is telling a story. He watches her, admiring her beauty and spirit as she speaks. Her face is expressive, showing emotion plainly in her eyes and mouth. Surprisingly, she wears no necklace or rings or bracelets and her neck, fingers, and wrists are bare.
"I am going to marry her," Estel says plainly, mostly to himself.
"That seems a bit extreme, considering you haven't even spoken to her," Glorfindel comments as he slips into the chair beside Estel. The boy remains silent and then feels a touch on his arm. He knows it's Glorfindel expressing his apology, but he doesn't react. He curses himself inwardly; he should not have said that out loud.
After not receiving a reaction, Glorfindel turns to the elf on his right. Soon, Elrond comes in wearing blue, and Estel can't decide if father and daughter meant to match. As his adopted father comes to the head of the table, he looks to find Estel, who is watching him already. He smiles and touches his fingers to his temple. Estel nods and mirrors his motion, then smiles too. He watches the elf-lord, but he makes no indication of knowing Arwen is present.
After Elrond opens dinner, he lowers his head down but somehow keeps catching sight of the deep blue of Arwen's dress. He forces himself to eat at his usual pace and listen to the conversation going on around him. Gildor has finished telling Elrond about the morning and they have moved on to discussing the happenings in the forest of Mirkwood. Lindir and Malianth are laughing. Glorfindel has lapsed into a silence and seems to be contemplating his fork, when Estel looks. Time crawls slowly and Estel looks everywhere but Arwen as he finishes his meal.
He jumps when Glorfindel raises his voice and breaks his lengthy silence. "Is my horse still alive, Arwen?"
The boy twists around to see her response. Without looking up, Arwen replies, "I believe so, he was a short while ago." At the end of her sentence she looks up to their end of the table. Her gaze falls from Glorfindel's amused expression to the young boy sitting beside him. Under it, the boy glances at Glorfindel, who doesn't react. After looking back at Arwen, who is still watching him, he stares at her until she looks up at the elf serving her desert. They do not make eye contact again.
While walking him back to the bedchambers, Glorfindel lays a hand on Estel's shoulder. The boy looks up at him expectantly as he starts to speak. "Well, Estel, will you tell me your reasons for marrying the Evenstar of the elves? The one who is currently over two thousand years older than you, and also immortal?"
Estel doesn't need any encouragement. "She is beautiful, Glorfindel, like the sunrise. And she talks with her hands and face and not just her lips. She is spirited, elegant, and graceful." Here he looks up at the tall elf. "She wore blue too."
Glorfindel nods as he says, "Your favorite color." Glorfindel had discovered that fact when they were crossing a cerulean river, coming back from watching the sunrise. He had passed the information on to Elrond and his twin sons, but he didn't think anyone else knew.
Estel turns when he hears a noise out of place in the corridor. He is as surprised as Arwen is when he sees her behind them. Glorfindel drops his hand from Estel's shoulder and bows lightly.
Arwen doesn't look at him, she is busy regarding Estel. The boy stares back with his wide grey eyes. She says softly to him, "Blue is my favorite color too."
Estel looks apprehensive when he asks, "Like the river or the sky?"
Arwen smiles sincerely as she answers, "The river. The sky's colors change."
Estel finally smiles at her and Arwen is glad that she was honest with the boy. She comes closer to him and crouches so they are face to face. Arwen moves her hair behind her ears before she says, "Thank you for the compliments, Estel. They say a great deal about you."
Estel tries to smile through his yawn and at this, Arwen inquires, "Shall we talk tomorrow when both of us are more awake?"
The boy nods and drags a hand through his curls, obviously tired from his day. They part, each heading to their own rooms nearby.
Glorfindel stands there for a short while, thinking about their meeting. Hope meeting the Evenstar.
That night, Estel dreams about blue rivers and fair maidens, while Arwen dreams of sunrises and grey eyes.