"There you are!" Nessa's voice rang out as she rushed across the grass towards Tamuril, who had been hiding from Arwen for the last half an hour. She was planning on avoiding pretty much everybody until it was time for her to leave with the Mirkwood Elves.
She lifted her head and forced a smile Nessa's way. Her friend gave her a look, shaking her head as she moved to sit down beside her. "Arwen told me you are leaving."
Tamuril sighed. Of course the news would have made the rounds by now but she had been hoping to avoid most of the sad goodbyes, selfish as that might be. "I cannot stay here."
"What happened?" Nessa eyed Tamuril with worry etched into her expression.
Tamuril looked up with a soft frown. "Arwen did not tell you?" She sighed when Nessa shook her head. "It is… complicated. I just have to go, Nessa."
Nessa was quiet for a moment, accepting that her friend wasn't ready to talk about it, before she nodded. "I will come with you."
"What? No! I couldn't ask you to–"
"You are not asking. I am offering." Nessa said firmly, reaching out to place a hand on Tamuril's arm gently. "I will inquire if King Thranduil will have me along."
"I don't want to drag you away from your home. You belong here."
"So do you." Nessa reminded her, watching Tamuril lower her gaze to the grass. She sensed something big going on behind her friend's eyes but she didn't push. It wouldn't do any good, she already knew that. "But who says we cannot come back in the future after an adventure of our own. Hm?" She nudged Tamuril, trying to make her smile.
It worked as Tamuril offered her friend a small, brief smile, leaning to rest her head on Nessa's shoulder. She was fairly certain that she could never show her face in Rivendell again but she didn't say so. "I think I will feel much better if you are with me." She admitted.
Nessa smiled, resting her own head against Tamuril's. She clutched her hand in hers and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Then it's settled." She breathed, becoming thoughtful as the two of them settled into a relatively comfortable silence.
Lindir was hurrying along behind a rather aggrieved Elrond, trying his best to catch up with whatever had happened to upset his Lord. To most everybody else, Elrond looked normal as ever, walking through the corridor towards his study with Lindir in tow. But Lindir could tell that Elrond was upset despite the fact his face barely betrayed a single emotion.
He had managed to glean that it was something to do with Tamuril, though Elrond was refusing to be very forthcoming with answers to Lindir's questions and so he had simply stopped asking. Elrond was a patient elf, the most patient being Lindir had ever met, but he still did not wish to push him. When, and if, he wanted to talk he would and Lindir would listen.
He fussed around Elrond's study after the other had taken a seat behind his large, ornate desk, though he did not touch any of the paperwork waiting for him. Instead, Elrond leaned back in his chair, elbow on the arm as his fingers pressed to his lips, his brows drawn together.
"Drink this, My Lord, you will feel better." Lindir said, gently putting a cup of chamomile tea in front of Elrond on the desk. Elrond lifted his gaze and gave his friend a grateful smile, albeit a small one, and he reached for the tea, one of his favourites.
The two lapsed into silence for a few moments as Lindir moved to sit down on a nearby chair, watching Elrond closely, though from the corner of his eye.
Eventually, Elrond sighed and shook his head. "She is leaving." He stated, keeping his gaze on the teacup.
Lindir looked up at him, not needing to ask who he was talking about. It was obvious right now that this was about Tamuril. A lot of things had been about her recently and Lindir's heart went out to his friend, it truly did, but he knew how hard it was on Elrond, his other friend, not being able to heal her heavy soul. He had seen it before with Celebrian and he knew Elrond did not like to feel so helpless in helping others.
"Where?" He asked, turning his head to look at Elrond fully.
Elrond rolled his eyes just slightly. "With Thranduil."
"She is going to the Woodland Realm?" It was Lindir's turn to frown as he stared back at Elrond. He couldn't understand why Tamuril would have made such a decision, though truly he couldn't understand why she would be going anywhere at all. This was her home and he knew that Nessa would miss her. He made a mental note to pay her a visit later and check in on how she was, if she had heard the news.
Elrond inclined his head in confirmation, sighing again before he fell silent. His heart was heavy and he did not know how to make this right. Could he even make it right? She didn't seem receptive and he, himself, was holding on to some slight frustrations regarding the things she had said to him.
The door to his study opened and Lindir jumped, not having heard anyone, being so focused on his Lord and friend. Elrond, however, had heard his daughter coming and didn't seem the least bit surprised.
"Ada, you cannot let her go." Arwen breathed out as she moved towards his desk.
"Arwen, it is her choice, I will not take away her free will." He replied, not looking at her, a finger pressed to his lips as he stared into space.
Arwen blinked before she turned, looking over at Lindir as though she were seeking backup. He simply looked back at her, mouth agape and head shaking slightly as he floundered for something to say. Nothing came and Arwen turned back to her father.
"Please, you must forgive her!" Arwen cried then, taking her father's dismissive attitude about the topic of Tamuril for residual anger. "She did not mean for any of it to happen!"
Elrond lifted his gaze, finally looking upon his daughter. His frown had deepened. "Arwen…" His voice was soft as he stared up at her. "I hold no ill will towards her. None. I am not driving her away, this decision rests upon her shoulders alone. She wishes to leave. I will not order her to stay where she does not want to be."
"You know that you could stop this." Arwen persisted, arms crossed in front of her as she stared back at him.
Elrond's gaze flickered briefly to the desk, his mind racing despite his stoic expression. He wasn't sure that was true anymore and he couldn't make sense of any of this at all. He just didn't know how to comprehend the fact they had come to this point so quickly. He wanted to go back and handle his conversation with Tamuril after she had kissed him much differently. He had gone about this all wrong, he did know that, but he kept hearing her words in his head and seeing the look on her face.
"Arwen." He sighed, sitting forward and reaching for a quill, acting as though he was about to get some work done. "Let it go."
Arwen was upset that she was losing her friend. She knew that Tamuril would not be coming to Gondor with her and with her going to Thranduil's realm so soon, she didn't know when she would ever see her again. She also knew that her father's heart was hurting, she knew how close they had become. Tamuril was a sister to her and she knew that Elrond looked upon her as a daughter. "Ada… you will regret it." She murmured softly, looking at him sadly for another moment, before she turned and left his study.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Elrond sighed and dropped the quill again, cradling his head in his hands. He just didn't know what else to do.
Lindir stayed for a while, trying to help in his own way, before he took his leave of Elrond, moving thoughtfully through the halls. He felt bad but he didn't think there was a whole lot that he could do about it. He didn't like to see the ones he cared about in such stress but he felt fairly helpless to do anything.
Making his way towards Nessa's room, he hesitated outside the door, lingering in the dimly lit hallway for longer than was probably normal.
Eventually, he sucked in a breath and forced himself to knock, fidgeting as he waited.
"Hi!" Nessa's face broke into a bright smile when she opened the door and saw him. He returned it, feeling his heart pull as he looked at her. Nessa reached out and took hold of his arm, tugging her into the room with her. Lindir was a little startled but he was pretty sure he managed to conceal it.
"What has you in such a good mood?" He wondered, feeling as if she didn't yet know about Tamuril leaving and he felt bad that he would now have to shatter the smile she wore so beautifully.
"Oh!" Nessa chuckled, waving her hand in response. "I had some wine." She admitted, causing him to laugh.
"Well, I wish I could say that I was surprised by that." Lindir teased, watching her. He suddenly realised that she was in the middle of putting some of her clothes into a bag. "What are you doing?" He asked.
"I'm packing." Nessa told him, completely oblivious to the way his face fell at her words. She had already turned to grab her goblet back up, finishing off the wine before turning back to the task at hand. "I asked King Thranduil if I could accompany Tamuril to the Woodland Realm."
"Oh." Lindir nodded, caught off guard. "You asked him yourself?"
"Well, I asked his guard." She corrected, shrugging. "And his guard asked him and then his guard told me that it was okay." She was talking quite quickly, obviously thanks to the wine she had consumed.
"I see." Was all that Lindir could say. It was late afternoon now. They would be leaving at dawn. "When will you return?"
"I do not know." Nessa shrugged, looking up at him. "Whenever Tamuril is ready to come home, I suppose."
Lindir's heart began to sink further into his shoes. Nobody had seemed very certain that Tamuril would return to Rivendell and the thought that Nessa might never come back either… he didn't wish to think of it.
"Would you like a hand?" He asked quietly but Nessa shook her head, smiling at him and not noticing the sadness he was trying to conceal.
"Thanks but I think I have everything… I have to go and check on Tamuril." She added, picking the goblet up again before she remembered that she had finished the wine. She placed it down again, wrinkling her nose in disappointment before turning back to Lindir and linking arms with him, walking him out of the room. "Come with me!"