Note: Some part of this chapter has snippets from The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen written in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings/Return of the King.

If he had thought Imladris was the only wonder of Middle Earth before, he was wrong. Caras Galadhon was definitely the second one, and he could say that it was even better than Imladris. He hoped Lord Elrond wouldn't mind when he praised the Golden Wood over Imladris when he returned there.

Time seemed to be still here.

Haldir had not taken a straight route to get here. Rather, he had curved through the woodlands, slowly bringing him to the Naith of Lothlorien. There he was blindfolded, which he accepted gracefully. The elves had led him hither without him getting so much as a stubbed toe.

As Haldir removed his blindfold, he marveled at the city in front of him. An entire city built in a grove of strange trees Haldir explained was mallorn.

They began the hard ascent together.

Aragorn could feel the eyes of the elves upon him, looking at him in wonder and bewilderment. Some were curious, though some frowned at him and held him in contempt. He wondered what ill he had done for them to treat him so. Even the elves of Imladris did not treat him thus. When he mentioned this to Haldir, the latter said, "The elves of the Golden Wood rarely understand the world of me, Estel. Mortal world lies far south of us, and none of us wander there anymore. We are so estranged from them that it is a wonder the Lady has invited you into its heart. And as for those who look at you in contempt, they have suffered very much at the hands of the Enemy. Most of us believe that men are frail and treacherous. They haven't forgotten Isildur and how his actions have led to the long defeat." Haldir sighed. "They blame the actions of men for the rise of the Shadow yet again. If not for the protection of the Lord and the Lady, we would have all left Middle Earth. There's nothing for us here save death."

"Would you then leave this Middle Earth, a place where you have lived ever since your kind was born in the far eastern lands, to doom and destruction?"

"We do not like it, Estel of Imladris, we have grown weary over the years even though time seems to have stilled in this land. The yearning to fight for Middle Earth seems to wane in most of our hearts, and yet we do a lot to protect our own borders. This only because of the Lord and the Lady who already do a lot to stem the advances of the Enemy." He turned and pointed to the north. "Estel, an evil grows across the Great River as you know, a fortress the Enemy has reclaimed and filled with monstrous creatures. Ever it seeks to enter this land and corrupt it, but we would not have it so. And this struggle against the darkness of the Enemy has cost us our will to remain forever in Middle Earth. So, whether the Enemy is defeated or not, I fear it is our fate to depart to the West or fade in the woodlands, never to be seen by anyone again. But the Shadow grows over Middle Earth and cuts the roads westward from us. We cannot escape southward, and now soon the Enemy will cut us off from the West. We will be trapped here, but here we will make our stand, believe me you."

He nodded. "I do believe, but I wish that when the Enemy is defeated, some of you will still feel it in your hearts to stay in Middle Earth for a time. These lands, having grown so accustomed to elven ways, will suffer without you."

"That I am aware of. These lands will understand though. They have seen many elves leave the shores to seek the Undying Lands. The lands may cry for us and wish us return, but I fear ere the end none of us shall come back. Our days are waning, Ranger of the North, and a choice comes before us all."

"May that choice be delayed then!" he wished.

Haldir laughed. "I fear that choice will come to us in your lifetime. But enough of this talk. What comes must come, and there's no fighting it. As long as we are here, we'll defend our homeland. I do not think the Lady Galadriel would have us flee these shores. The White Lady is no coward. As long as the Enemy still rules in Mordor, Lothlorien shall fight."

They came to a large flet upon the tallest branch of the huge mallorn tree. The throne room was so huge that it could easily hold a thousand men, perhaps more, inside it. Lights illumined the entire flet; almost magical they seemed.

"Come, Estel, the Lord and the Lady wish to speak with you."

Haldir led him into the huge throne room where councillors sat on their ornate chairs carved out of wood. They all stared at him with straight faces that betrayed no emotion. Save one. He didn't know who he was, but the elf showed proper contempt in the same manner as some of the elves below.

His eyes soon found the Lord and the Lady, sitting in all their splendor upon their resplendent thrones. Wisdom sat on the brows of the Lord Celeborn, and his eyes had an ageful depth that made Lord Elrond seem like a child. He bore no emotion at his approach and stared at him as though a king would a rule-breaker.

To his right sat the White Lady.

She truly was the most beautiful woman in Middle Earth, yet there was something that told him she could be as dangerous. Her deep blue eyes delved deep into his mind. He could feel her voice in his head, asking what he truly desired. He stood straight, as though he didn't wish for her to know that he had any kind of weakness.

She smiled at him, making him feel comfortable, such as he had not felt for a long time. Not even when he was toiling in the lands of men. It was as though all the weariness had been willed from his body.

Turning slightly to the Lady's right, he saw Arwen, the elf-woman whom he had come to love ever since he had first met her in the forest glades at Imladris. He had thought her Tinuviel but had soon recognized the mistake he made. She had turned out to be Elrond's daughter.

She had not returned his love back in Imladris. He didn't know what she felt for him, if she ever did. He didn't however expect that she return his love. He was aware that he had aimed truly high, higher than his present station allowed. Even though he knew that Arwen had the life of the Eldar flowing in her veins, he had fallen in love with her.

He remembered being silent in the days that followed their first meeting. His mother had noticed it, guessing that some something strange and bad had befallen him. At last, he had yielded to her questioning and told her of the meeting in the twilight of the trees.

"My son," his mother had said, "your aim is high, even for the descendant of many kings. For this lady is the noblest and fairest that now walks the earth. And it is not fit that a mortal should wed with the Elf-kin."

"Yet we have some part in that kinship," he had countered, "if the tale of my forefathers is true that I have learned."

"It is true," his mother had spoken, "but that was long ago and in another age of this world, before our race was diminished. Therefore I am afraid; for without the goodwill of Master Elrond, the heirs of Isildur will soon come to an end. But I do not think that you will have the goodwill of Elrond in this matter."

"Then bitter will my days be, and I will walk alone in the wild," he said.

"That will indeed be your fate," his mother said.

And then one day soon, he was called to Elrond's chambers. "Aragorn," Elrond spoke, "son of Arathorn, Lord of the Dunedain, listen to me! A great doom awaits you, either to rise above the height of all your fathers since the days of Elendil, or to fall into darkness with what's left of your kin. Many years of trial lie before you. You shall neither have wife, nor bind any woman to you in troth, until your time comes and you are found worthy of it."

He had felt troubled then, wondering if his mother had outed his feelings for Arwen to her father. "Can it be that my mother has spoken of this to you?" he had asked.

"No indeed," Elrond had replied. "Your own eyes have betrayed you. But I do not speak of my daughter alone. You shall be betrothed to no man's child yet. But as for Arwen the Fair, Lady of Imladris and of Lorien, Evenstar of her people, she is of lineage greater than yours, and she has lived in the world already so long that to her you are but as a yearling shoot beside a young birch of many summers. She is too far above you. And, so I think, it may well seem to her. But even if it were not so, and her heart turned towards you, I should still be grieved because of the doom that is laid on us."

"What is that doom?" he had asked.

"That so long as I abide here, she shall live with the youth of the Eldar," Elrond answered. "And when I depart, she shall go with me, if she so chooses."

"I see," he said, "that I have turned my eyes to a treasure no less than the treasure of Thingol that Beren once desired. Such is my fate."

A foresight had come to him then, though right now as he stood in the court of the Lady Galadriel, he could not see that foresight come to fruition.

"But lo! Master Elrond, the years of your abiding run short at last, and the choice must be laid soon on your children, to part either with you or with Middle Earth."

Or maybe it was coming to fruition. The choice was laid upon all the elves that abided in Middle Earth. That had been what Haldir was talking about.

"Truly," Elrond agreed. "Soon, as we account it, though many years of men must still pass. But there will be no choice before Arwen, my beloved, unless you, Aragorn, Arathorn's son, come between and bring one of us, you or me, to a bitter parting beyond the end of the world. You do not know yet what you desire of me."

Arwen grinned at him then, bringing him out of his self-induced trance. The elves stared at him askance. The contemptuous elf snorted to his side.

The Lady Galadriel however smiled.

Coming to his senses, he bowed and greeted them, "My lord Celeborn, my Lady Galadriel."

He had heard much of them from Elrond and thanked his fate to have found himself in their company.

Galadriel rose from her seat and, coming down to him, raised him up. "Rise, son of Arathorn. Too long has it been, and an age has passed since a mortal has been allowed to step foot into this land. It was Isildur, I believe, who last passed through here on his way north. Sad that he would not consider any other route. He insisted upon the Gladden." Galadriel sighed. "And now you. I've heard a lot about you and long have I desired to meet you. But loathe I was to grant you our meeting before you have proven yourself to me and the world. By serving the realm of which you ought to be king, to defend your people whom you love above all things dear, you have proven so. Brave you are, son of Elendil, and weary too perhaps from all your struggles in the south. You will be needing some rest, and we shall not keep you long. You have also been wounded, I heard, and though you have been healed, your heart is still at great unease."

He bowed again.

Galadriel returned to her throne and beckoned him to step foot on the dais.

The elves murmured.

It seemed that no elf had been upon it yet.

"How can this son of Man have the favor of the Lady this soon?" he could hear them say.

The elf who had looked at him with contempt stared at him as though he wished to kill him with daggers.

He did as the Lady bid him and stepped onto the dais.

"This Aragorn, is Lord Celeborn, King of kings, Lord of Lothlorien. Accounted greatly among the Wise, we have dwelled in Middle Earth for three long ages. Great deeds have been wrought over this time, and yet the Shadow grows ever longer. I fear our fate is to diminish into the West and surrender to our long defeat, and yet I believe the time's not right for that. You have proven yourself to me, Estel Elrondion, but you have still much to do to prove to the lord of the elves."

He nodded and bowed to Lord Celeborn once again.

"May the Valar bless you, Aragorn, Lord of the Dunedain," Celeborn said.

He bowed again, this time in gratitude.

He then turned to Arwen and bowed to her as well.

Arwen stood up. "You do not bow to me, Estel. I may occupy a station higher than you here or in Imladris, but you do not bow to me. Or have you forgotten of our meetings upon the bridges of Imladris?"

"I haven't forgotten, my lady."

Arwen laughed. "Your memory is not as weak then as I feared."

Before they could continue, Galadriel said, "Aragorn is weary from his long and hard travels, Evenstar. A time can be found for you to speak with him later. But, for now, I would hear his story and then wish him his rest as is his right."

He began his story, detailing everything he had done from his time in Rohan to setting the fire in Morgul Vale and the eventual pursuit Sauron's creatures had given him. The elves heard of this tale in awe, though that one elf had scoffed ever so often. He thought he had done it silently, but Aragorn had heard it.

When he was done, Galadriel nodded. "And now you must rest." To Haldi, she said, "Take Aragorn to his quarters and see that he does not expend himself. Clad him in elven-white for so should elf-friends be cloaked. And put to wash the clothes of the Ranger."

Haldir nodded.

As the elf was about to take him away, one of the elves stood up. "My lord," the elf addressed Lord Celeborn, "this is blasphemy. You accord him a status greater than he deserves. Great deeds he may have done, but mortal he is in our eyes, and mortality means frailty. Why then do you seek to honor him thus when he has wrought nothing to deserve it? He's Isildur's heir you say. Do you forget then, my lord, what Isildur did? Pardon my outburst, my lord, but I've to speak my mind for only when it gets its answers shall it finally find peace. This Aragorn here is a human. The same blood flows through his veins. His lineage is great yet consumed by the promise of power. Weak is his heart, I feel. He needs healing and that may be right, but why clad him in elven white? He is not one of our people, my lord. He is of the line of the kings of men, and they are all weak. Why then do you honor him thus?"

Aragorn could not believe that the elf held him in such spite.

The courtiers of Caras Galadhon murmured among themselves, some of then even agreeing.

Arwen stood up. "I bid you to keep your mouth closed, Silwin. Your hate consumes you, and in that blindness, you fail to see that Aragorn is the heir of Isildur, not Isildur himself. You speak of the frailty of men although you have not heard much of their deeds. What say you of Beren One-hand? What say you of Hurin and Huor? What say you of Turin Turambar and his slaying of Glaurung? What say you of Tuor who saved the people of Gondolin from his ruin? You count Earendil as the Blessed Star and yet he was once of mortal kind. What say you?"

Silwin stood silent. Words seemed to have failed him.

"You have no words now, Silwin?" Arwen mocked him. "You speak of Isildur's Bane and his weakness for taking it from the Enemy's hands to keep as his wereguild, and yet you seem to think that even one of the Wise that stand here could withstand its evil presence, its dark power. Even you, Silwin. Just as Isildur, you would stretch out your hands to this thing and would claim it as your own. Do you really think you could refuse the dark words? I think not. One day or the other, Silwin, you would have acted as Isildur did. Slower perhaps, but it will. I sympathize for your loss, Silwin. I really do. You lost your kin in the wars that ended the previous age. You lost also the Lord Amdir and later Lord Amroth, but do you greet the guests of this country thus? Is it the courtesy of the elves that one should refuse hospitality that should rightfully be accorded the elf-friends? For Aragorn is an elf-friend. My father has decreed it, and my grandmother just has done declared so."

For a moment, Silwin hung his head ashamed but swiftly straightened himself. "Lady Arwen, do you then side with the mortals against your own kind?"

Arwen stood calm. "Silwin, I would only stand with what's right, elf or man or dwarf. The fault remains with you and you alone."

Silwin was about to retort when Lord Celeborn raised his hands. "Stop bickering in this court and ruining its decorum. No matter whose fault it be, this shall stop." To Silwin, he said, "This is not the way we treat our guests, Silwin. Your hatred has blinded you. Do not then let it blind you above everything else. Lady Galadriel, my love and dear wife, has declared him elf-friend and thus he shall be granted all those courtesies he's deserving of. And speaking of who deserves and who does not, this man here has done greater deeds than you, but perhaps, the fault is not yours alone. We have been keeping you here in Caras Galadhon, seeking your counsel on how to well defend our borders against the Enemy, but perhaps we should send you into the outside world, to know more of it and its people and to see and perceive its troubles... to better understand the Enemy's motives and its intentions to dominate all of Middle Earth. Soon may that day come and maybe then you shall wrought such deeds as could be compared to this man's, this elf-friend's. For though I chose to deny him entry in the beginning, I regret that decision now that I see and perceive him. Besides, he comes from Imladris, the land of our kin."

Silwin bowed. "I beg your pardon, my lord, but if the Lord and the Lady wishes so, I shall not hinder. But do not ask me to sway to this human's wishes and whims, whether he be greater in deeds or no."

Saying, he stormed away from the court.

Aragorn sighed. Silwin had spoken harsh words, and much of it was also the truth. Isildur had not been able to stand up to the dark words of whatever his bane was. How could he then, his descendant, shorn of the light of Numenor?

"Lord of Lorien," Galadriel spoke. "Sit now. You have spoken. And the elves have heard."

Celeborn nodded and sat back on his throne.

"Do as you have been bidden, Haldir," Arwen said. "Take Estel to his quarters and let him sleep to his heart's content. In time, all shall be healed."

Haldir bowed and led Aragorn away from the court.

As he walked away, he could feel Arwen staring at him. He smiled. She had defended him.

But did she feel anything for him, just as he felt for her?