Elessar and Arwen: A Love Unfading

Darkness Before the Dawn

𝒜𝓇𝓌𝑒𝓃

       Walking amongst the trees of Rivendell, Arwen was hard to spot in her forest green dress laced with gold. She seemed to be in deep thought as she walked, and neither a smile nor a frown came to her face. Indeed, her face was as still as though it had been carved into stone.

       Many weeks had passed since her brothers, Elladan and Elrohir had sought out Aragorn.   Word had now come to her father that they had met, and now Aragorn had gathered a small army of the remaining warriors of the men of the west to storm the black gate. It was this that she was thinking of, and a closer look at her face showed that she was not free from apprehension.

       Darkness had grown and increased so that even the fair land of Imladris was darkened, and the sun no longer shone as it once did. Shivering from the blackness that was beginning to filter in, Arwen softly walked into the Hall of Fire till she stood in the very center. The place that was once filled with elven voices and the sound of a soothing harp was silent and empty, save one person. In a chair before the great fireplace sat the Lord Elrond, his ageless face grave with much weight and concern. Worry for the fate of his sons, and one whom he had raised as such, and also the fate of his people. Already, many had begun to leave for the Havens, and those that remained were fighting off the servants of Sauron who dared come near them.

       Arwen gently put her hand upon his shoulder. "Ada, why do you sit and worry? Your thoughts alone can not change the outcome of this war." Turning around Elrond stood up from his chair, and gently took his daughter's hand and kissed it. He smiled gently as he guided her to the sheltered porch and began to promenade with her there.

       "It is not the fate of this world that I am considering, but more the fate of my children. If this battle is lost, I will lose my sons by birth, as well as my son by adoption. I will be forced to sail away from the world of men knowing that all hope for them is lost. In return, I will keep you with me, my precious daughter. If they were to my miracle win this battle, and the Ring is destroyed, then all of my children shall live, but from two of them I shall be separated, and both shall at some point taste the bitterness of death."

       "Ada, why did you give Aragorn the name Estel?"

"I named him hope, for  he is the only hope left for man."

       "Yes Ada, the only hope for man, but also the hope for elves and dwarves. We have been given this hope from knowing that all of our work will not be in vain."

       Elrond spoke not, but gently took her hand once more and kissed it. They walked until they reached the staircase to the highest point in all of Rivendell. Climbing up and standing there on the platform, you felt as though you were so close to the sky that you could touch it. Together they stood, her hand resting upon his, gazing at the sky. They watched the minimal light filtering through the darkened sky.

       Everything was eerily still, and there was a sense of tension in the air. Suddenly a tremble ran throughout the earth, shaking the very ground. Arwen felt her father's hand tense, and he grasped at the finger on his right hand that Arwen knew held his ring, Vilya. His face grew deathly pale, and he seemed to be involved in a struggle. He made his way to a bench and sat upon it, his face filled with nameless anguish.

       "Ada, what has happened? What is the meaning of this?"

"It has failed Arwen, the ring has been claimed. We shall not see the downfall of great evil. It could only now be through a great miracle that it is thrown in."

       "Then Ada, let us hope for that. For the strengthening of Samwise, and the will of Frodo to be turned to good. Ada, even now, hope has not forsaken us." Even as Arwen spoke these words, a second tremor ran through the earth, this one stronger than the first, and with much power. As the earth trembled, the sky opened up, and a ray of sunlight pierced through. Gradually at first, then rapidly the clouds were displaced, and soon rudy rays of sunlight were once again streaming into the valley of Imladris.

       For a moment as the earth shook the profile of Elrond was one of strength, his jaw clenched, and his eyes smoldered. Then as the sun broke through, his face softened. The power of the three elven rings had been broken.

       Elrond turned to Arwen, and with a smile said, "The ring has been destroyed. The age of elves has ended, and the reign of men has begun. Middle Earth shall live in peace, and it shall be the dwelling place of my beloved daughter." Elrond's face saddened slightly as he pronounced this, but there was a peace in his face that even Arwen could not recall resting upon his face before now.

       Together, father and daughter softly paced back up the porch. They had left their worries behind. The great enemy of their time had fallen.

Hello all. So this is the first true installment of my Aragorn Arwen fanfiction! I wanted this to show the attachment that Arwen had with Elrond, for as Tolkien put it, "She loved her father dearly." I know that I tend to forget that she would have had a very long time to grow the relationship that she had with her father, and that by marrying Aragorn she was giving up seeing the rest of her family ever again.

𝓐𝓵𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓮  𝓶𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓸𝓷  𝓷𝓲𝓷  (farewell my friend)