Galadriel looked out the windows from her quarters. She could see the golden haze covering the canopies of the mallorn trees that grew throughout the lands of Lothlorien. It had been years of toil to heal the land, which had sung many a tragic song of Amdir's death and the passing of Amroth and Nimrodel.
She turned the ring on her finger. It was with the help of that ring she had healed the land of Lothlorien and was able to defend it from the Enemy. To the north, the darkness of Dol Guldur loomed tall. Armies were gathering in the dark fortress, but she could do naught about it. The fiefdoms in the northlands were weak, and what strength they had, they would need it to defend themselves against the onslaught that would inevitably come.
Sauron was gathering his armies both in Dol Guldur and in Mordor. His Nazgul were being sent secretively into the wilderlands to gather information on the whereabouts of Isildur's Bane.
Very few in Middle Earth remembered what Isildur's Bane truly was.
The One Ring of Power crafted by Sauron in the fires of Mount Doom. The One Ring that could rule all other rings of power.
As long as the One Ring was on Sauron's hand, she had never dared to use it. It had pained her all those long years ago that she could not defend her realm effectively against the evil of Sauron, but she had helped Amdir do what he could. And when Gilgalad had sent an emissary requesting the armed forces of Lorien to join the Last Alliance, it was she who had convinced Amdir that Sauron had to be taken down once and for all if Middle Earth had to be secured for the elves.
And so the forces of Lorien joined the Last Alliance. It was with her devices, ones she had learned from Melian of Doriath herself, that the Last Alliance was able to push open the Black Gate and lay siege to the Dark Tower. It was with the help of her devices that the forces of Gondor had driven the Ringwraiths from Minas Ithil.
At its end, Amdir was gone. Gilgalad and Elendil were dead. Anarion was slain. Only Isildur lived, having taken the Ring from Sauron's hand.
Many believed Sauron dead and celebrated. But she knew it was not so. When she heard that Isildur had not destroyed the Ring as he should have, she knew that Sauron would one day return.
But, even then as the Third Age began, she felt hopeful that Sauron wouldn't return for a long time yet. With Amdir gone and Amroth relinquishing the kingship, it had fallen to her to lead the people of Lorien. With it, her dreams of dominion had come to pass. And with the elven ring in her possession, she ensured that Lorien would stand the tests of time.
Slowly, the darkness returned to Middle Earth. An entire kingdom of men was decimated by one of the Nazgul. And Sauron began to take shape once again in an evil fortress closer to her land.
She was aware of the reason Sauron had chosen Dol Guldur as his abode. He was aware that the elves were leaving the shores of Middle Earth after the Last Alliance, most of the Noldor thinking their mission accomplished, that their oaths completed. Moreover, they yearned to return to the Undying Lands and reunite with their kith and kin now that the Ban had been lifted.
And though many stayed behind, unable to forsake Middle Earth to the doom the shadows brought, Sauron knew that the elves were weak.
It was in the North that he would strike first and hard.
He would destroy the elves before he could see them enter into another alliance with the legions of men in the south. And, to that end, he had secretly moved pieces, careful not to let the Free People know he had returned.
He had empowered the Witch-King to destroy the realm of Arnor so they couldn't help the elves or Gondor. He nearly destroyed the line of kings in the North, forcing them to become shadows in the forests.
Lorien had aided Imladris and Angrenost to overthrow Sauron in Dol Guldur in the year of the Dragon's death, just before the famed battle known as the Battle of the Five Armies where the line of Durin reclaimed the throne of Erebor.
The Enemy, however, had anticipated their plans and fled to Mordor where in a decade he declared himself in the Dark Tower. He sent his Nazgul to reoccupy Dol Guldur, and from then on, he was gathering his armies.
She could see what went on in his mind. His plans for the elves were bare to her, though he could not yet see what went on in hers.
Ever her light had fought the darkness to the north. And right now, with Aragorn's coming, Dol Guldur looked close to being emptied. It made her wonder.
Did Sauron figure out who Aragorn really was? Had the time come for the secrecy to pass?
Something told her that it was not the time.
The Enemy should not find Isildur's Heir or Isildur's Bane. Either would spell destruction for Middle Earth.
She paced about her room when Arwen entered her chambers.
"Grand-daughter!" she called out to her lovingly.
"Grandmother!" Arwen bowed her head.
She cupped Arwen's face and planted a light peck on her forehead. "Your wish has been granted, Evenstar," she said. "Are you happy?"
Arwen nodded. "I'm happy to see Estel back here, but I was not happy for Silwin to treat him that way."
She smiled. "You know why he detests mortals, Arwen. Even you, for that matter, considered the men to be wicked fools. For so you scorned them. And now I see nothing but love blossom in your heart for one of them, though he has elvish blood in his veins as well. But I understand not one thing here, Arwen."
"What's it, grandmother?" she asked.
"In Imladris, it was clear to you that this man loved you. He professed it to you even if not by clear words. And yet you kept telling him that it was nothing but a dream. You could see nothing but the tragic end of Beren and Luthien, of them both accepting the gift of Men. He has loved you truly, but I ask you, Evenstar, do you love him as well?"
Arwen sighed. "In Imladris, I knew not what I was thinking. His love for me was clear, and I had also overheard my father speaking to him about this. My mind and heart both were conflicted. I had begun to feel for this young lord of the Dunedain, but was it truly enough for me to make the choice Adar would ask me to make should I profess my feelings as well? Ever since he left me to go out into the Wild, I've been thinking. He doesn't leave me, not even in my thoughts. He never truly left me save for his physical self. We spent happy times together in Rivendell. I might not have thought about it then, but perhaps now, my mind has changed. My heart has matured. Perhaps our union is meant to be."
"It might be," she said. "But then choose well and then do not waver. For in your choice shall your fate be decided. And in either of your choice is another. To leave your beloved."
Arwen nodded, albeit sadly.
"Know this also then, grand-daughter, your father might not take this well. He will not give his daughter's hand to any mortal save perhaps the King of both Arnor and Gondor united. And that shall not come to pass unless the Shadow is defeated. That's something I cannot yet see."
"Did Adar tell you this?" Arwen asked.
"No, but I do feel this would be his answer should this Aragorn ask him for your hand. The choices are hard yet they are ones you have to make. It is not wise to hold back the one who truly loves you. May the Valar help you, Arwen."
Her grand-daughter nodded and left the room just as Celeborn entered.
"What troubles you, Lord of Lorien, my love?" she asked, noticing the frowns on his face.
"The orcs are teeming in the south and attempt to venture westward. Dol Guldur's forces have been joining them, but another company seeks to cross the fords to the north. It won't be long for the western passes to be held against us."
She nodded. "The western passes need to be kept safe. Even though Lorien can hold, save for when Sauron comes hither himself, against Dol Guldur, we need an escape route prepared. The south is not an option any longer."
"What do we do then?" Celeborn asked.
"We force the orcs to do battle."
That created a quiet atmosphere in the room.
In the distance to the north, red lightning cackled, but above Caras Galadhon, a bright white light lingered, driving away the black clouds coming from the north and the east.