Chapter 19: The Tale of Celeborn

Galadriel could feel her body trembling as she gently reached with her free hand and stroked her fingers over Celeborn's face, tracing the familiar angles. He looked different, older and tired, but still obviously himself. He lifted a hand to her face and gently wiped away tears that she hadn't realized were flowing.

"Celeborn, is it truly you? Where have you been all this time? How did you survive? I searched every stronghold of the dark, from the great fortress at Angband to the smallest watchtower in Harad, but I found no trace of you."

Celeborn opened his mouth to speak but his eyes drifted over her shoulder and the warmth of his countenance cooled. He hesitated for a moment then looked back at her, face gentle again. "We have much to discuss. Let us go somewhere more private."

He gently squeezed her hand and led her toward the door. Just before she passed out of the hall, Galadriel looked back to see Anárion and Ontamo watching her with open curiosity while Halbrand sat rigid, his face set in a perfectly blank mask.

Elrond walked beside her as they left the hall, a trembling hand pressed to her shoulder. They made their way to the barracks in silence and found it empty upon their entrance. Since the last of the refugees had left, the barracks had been modified, with the back third of the open room converted from bunks to small private rooms for more important guests. Celeborn led them into the first of these rooms.

It was small, with barely room to walk around the narrow cot, but it was private. Celeborn sat at the head of the bed and pulled Galadriel down to sit next to him. Elrond shut the thin door behind them and settled against it.

"Galadriel, how are you? Gil-galad told me of your mission and your intended journey west, but he had little news of your time here in this city or how you fared after the breaking."

In a halting voice, Galadriel summarized the past years from her time in Númenor and the creation of the Black Lands to her efforts to build an army and a home for the Southlanders. "But what of you? We thought you had passed out of our reach forever."

Celeborn sighed, hand reaching to absently toy with his silver locks. "I cannot explain everything, but I will try. As you know, I was captured during the war before Beleriand was destroyed. They took me back to Angband where I was held captive and tortured. The orcs of that place were skilled in the art of torture, prolonging agony without risking the death of their captives. I know not how long I existed there, trapped in a haze of pain. However, it did not last forever.

"I know now that what ended my torment was the death of Ancalagon. As his dying bulk crushed Angband, the walls of my cell were torn apart and my chains ripped from the stones. I stumbled out into a maze of ruined walls and jagged rock. I was weak and desperately injured from my torment, but I ran across another prisoner escaping who was in better condition than I. He helped me sever the remnants of my chains and evade the orcs until we cleared the fortress ruins."

Celeborn paused for a moment, his expression pensive. Galadriel set a hand on his knee in silent support.

He smiled softly at her before he continued. "My rescuer disappeared as soon as we were out, but I was still far from safety. You remember those days. Destruction and panic consumed Middle Earth, and I was but a single elf, injured and unarmed. I hauled my weary body west, seeking any of our people. I traveled through the ruined landscape as far as I was able, but the time ran together as I was overcome by fever and the various poisons that filled my veins from my torture. I know eventually I came into the shadow of trees again, and there, I collapsed."

Galadriel gripped tightly to Celeborn's knee, her breath escaping in small pants. "What then? How did you survive?"

Celeborn smiled wanly. "By the grace of the Valar, I suppose. I remember nothing else until the breaking. Whatever sleep the Valar granted me was broken when Valinor was cut off from Middle Earth. It was like coming awake from a nightmare, heart-wrenching and sudden. I was exhausted and weak, but somehow the long rest had allowed my body to heal itself, as far as it was able.

"I found that I was in the Greenwood, in a tightknit copse that had grown up around me. I had to ask the trees to permit my departure, but once I was out I was able to find our kin who dwelt there. They allowed me to stay and recover until I could undertake the journey west."

Galadriel stared at him in shock. "The Greenwood? It never occurred to me to look in such a place. I cannot believe, after all this time, that you are returned to me." She gripped his hand tightly, fearing that somehow if she let go, he would dissolve into darkness before her eyes again. "Thanks be to the Valar for saving you and allowing you to return to me."

"And to the other prisoner who helped you escape." Elrond said quickly, drawing both of their gazes. "Truly, nearly as many perished under the rubble of Angband as on the battlefield. It is likely you would have been among them without aid."

Celeborn's hand gripped hers harder, bringing Galadriel's gaze back to her lately lost husband. He appeared troubled. "I have long believed the same, Elrond, but now I am not so certain."

"Why?"

Celeborn's gaze dropped to their hands, his brow furrowed. "I always wished I had been able to thank him and wondered why he left so suddenly, without a word to me. Now, however, I am more confused than ever. Galadriel, Halbrand is the one who rescued me. I recognized him at once."

Galadriel felt as though she had been plunged into the icy northern stretches of the River Lune. Disbelief, gratitude, anger, and fear flashed through her before she could consider any of the emotions. Each breath of air felt too thin for her lungs.

Sounding very far away, Elrond spoke from his place against the door. "How is that possible? No man could have lived that long. Even among elves, there are not so many of us who witnessed those days and still wander Middle Earth."

Celeborn nodded in assent. "There are precious few beings who could have escaped from Angband that day and survived without our knowing. Galadriel," he turned suddenly to her, brows lowered in an expression of sympathy. "I know you consider him a friend, but I fear he has deceived you. I am not certain who or what he is, but he is not the man of the South that he claims to be."

Galadriel stared at each of them in turn, unable to find words. She desperately wished she'd been able to consult Halbrand before discussing this further with anyone else. "I cannot say I know what to think. Perhaps it is a lineage where appearance runs true. In some lines of men, the blood runs strong enough that a man may be mistaken for his grandfather. I fear I have no choice but to confront him, however."

Celeborn looked back at her in concern. "Why do you believe he will speak the truth to you now, especially if he has been lying as long as you have known him?"

Galadriel hesitated but a moment. "You say this man saved your life, perhaps at great personal cost. If you are correct and Halbrand is the same man, then I can only hope that whatever goodness compelled him to help you that day runs true. Not all lies are told in malice, after all."

Celeborn and Elrond exchanged an uneasy glance, but Galadriel focused on calming her thoughts. After a prolonged silence, Elrond stood. "I believe I will retire. It was a long day and there is much to consider. I shall see you both in the morrow." He sent a small smile to each of them in turn before departing, the door closing with too great a sound for its weight.

After several moments of continued silence, Celeborn spoke. "Galadriel, I am sorry for my absence. I know how hard my capture must have been on you, especially following so closely on the heels of your brother's passing. When I escaped Angband, I was consumed by thoughts of returning to you, but the will of the Valar is mercurial and does not always support our own ends. Gil-galad and I spoke at length in the months I resided in Lindon, including about your own journeys over the past age. Your thirst for vengeance could have brought the deaths of even more of our kin. These last few years have been different. Whatever you found in this place, amongst these men, appears to have salved the wounds of the past. Even if Halbrand is a force of darkness in hiding, I will be grateful to him for saving us both."

Celeborn stood slowly and took Galadriel's hand, pressing it gently with both of his. Then he leaned forward and brushed a gently kiss to her brow, before drawing her up from her seat on the bed. "I fear you are exhausted from your trip and the excitements of the day. Please rest. We will speak more in the morning."

Galadriel nodded and walked on shaky legs to the door. She turned back once before departing to see Celeborn standing there, watching her with his familiar loving eyes. She felt a smile spread across her face even as her eyes filled with tears. "Thank you for coming home to me."

She shut the door behind her.

Galadriel walked in a daze back to the palace, emptied in the long hours since Galadriel's departure. In her quarters she found a small plate of bread and cheese waiting for her, reminding her of her interrupted supper. Halbrand must have left it for her.

At once she turned back to the hallway and walked the short stretch to her companion's room. Her knock went unanswered for long enough that Galadriel had begun to wonder if Halbrand was asleep before he finally pulled open the door.

Seeing Halbrand in the rough-spun cloth he slept in, Galadriel realized this was perhaps the first time she had come to his door unannounced. She felt her neck prickle in embarrassed heat, but Halbrand did not look surprised by her arrival, only exhausted.

"I didn't think you'd be coming by tonight. My apologies. Please come in."

Galadriel followed him in and took her usual seat with a frown. "Why would I not? We always speak after I return from Elendil's city."

Halbrand gave a breathy sigh that could have been intended as a laugh. "Your husband returns from the dead, and you wonder why I would not expect you in my rooms for the night?"

"Speaking of my husband, he had a fascinating story to tell me tonight." Galadriel watched Halbrand carefully as she spoke, seeing the remaining mirth drain from his features. "Apparently when Angband was destroyed, Celeborn met a fellow prisoner who aided him in his escape. Before he could thank the man, his savior had disappeared into the chaos of the fight. I suppose I should thank you for saving him, but I must ask: why did you not tell me that my husband lived?"

Halbrand groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I swear to you, I did not know. After Adar's betrayal I distanced myself from all prisoners but especially the elves. I could not be seen granting the slightest of mercies or Morgoth would have destroyed me. When I saw a nameless elf trying to escape the fortress in the confusion, I thought to assuage some of my guilt by making sure he made it outside the walls. I had no knowledge of his identity or even if he survived his wounds. I only found out his name two days ago when he and Elrond arrived in the city."

Galadriel studied him carefully. He appeared to be telling the truth. "You should be aware, he recognizes you as well. I have sowed what doubt I can, but Celeborn is suspicious of your identity."

"I'm sure he is. Very few prisoners from Angband still wander Middle Earth."

"You were not a prisoner."

Halbrand fixed her with a glare, but the lax lines of his brow made him appear more tired than angry. "I fear I cannot convince you otherwise if I have not managed to yet. Regardless, the past cannot be changed—it is the future we must look to now."

"What will you do?"

He sighed. "I will hope to avoid their ire. Elves live on such a timeline that if they leave here now without certainty of my identity, then by the time they return, Isildur will likely have been on the throne for years. I will disappear again when my time wearing the crown ends, potentially wearing a new face, and fade back into memory."

Galadriel nodded slowly. "I believe they will not seek you out once you pass on the kingship, even if they do hold suspicions. I will admit I have not yet decided what I shall do next. I must consider it."

Halbrand smiled gently but his eyes were sad. "I will aid you there. Although unintended, I have stolen your husband from you once. I will not do so again. It is evident that my patience is unfounded and your answer to me will not be altered, especially now."

Galadriel stared at him in confusion, even as Halbrand fixed his gaze on the wall behind her, avoiding eye contact.

"I will take a mortal wife. I don't believe I can avoid Tindómëon any longer anyway. I will wed, and you may at last return to your people if you choose. Thank you for aiding me in my quest to be a worthy king for the Southlanders. I do not know if I have succeeded, but I will endeavor to finish as I have begun."

He stood after he finished speaking, moving to the door to signal the end of their conversation. Galadriel stood to follow but hesitated at the door. "I am sure you are aware, but I accompanied you here because I did not trust that you could put aside your own pride and ambitions to lead these men as they deserved. I believed as so many of my kin do that once the path of light has been abandoned, no being can find it again. I do not know if the Valar will ever rescind their judgement of you, but I can now say my own has been changed. You are a good king, Halbrand. I am honored to have stood by your side."

She laid a hand on his shoulder, feeling the smooth muscle as she pressed it firmly. Halbrand's face was slack with shock as Galadriel smiled gently. Then, she turned and slipped silently from the room and back into the darkened hallway.

AN: We're heating up now! I'm trying to get a chapter out every other week until we reach the end. For those who were curious, I took a little inspiration from the tale of Thingol and Melian for this chapter. Since I didn't watch tRoP season 2, I have no idea how the show writers justified Celeborn's absence for the entire second age, but this is my explanation. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts as well.