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Post by Elrond on Feb 21, 2012 15:35:14 GMT -5
The Fellowship had just left Rivendell earlier today. He knew that the odds of success weren't in their favor but trying was better than keeping the Ring in Rivendell and bickering about what should be done with it until it was too late to do anything at all. Gandalf was with the Fellowship and, while Elrond didn't have a lot of faith in Men, knowing that Aragorn was with them as well was almost as comforting as having the wizard on the journey to Mount Doom.
But just because Aragorn was worthy of some praise it didn't mean that he was worthy of Elrond's daughter. The two of them weren't meant to be and, yet, Arwen couldn't understand it. Aragorn could understand, albeit very reluctantly, that a relationship between an elf and a man could never end well, even though Aragorn's Númenórean ancestry meant a longer than average lifespan for a man.
Convincing his daughter of the same thing was going to be a different matter. But it needed to be done; and the sooner it was done the better it would be for everyone involved. And that was why Elrond found himself walking to Arwen's bedroom only a mere hours after Aragorn and the rest of the Fellowship had left. His daughter wasn't inside right now but he knew she would be coming here soon, if only to seek some alone time. Elrond took a seat on the edge of her bed, already playing several versions of the conversation he needed to have with her in his head. Each one ended with her being disobedient to her father's wishes.
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Post by Arwen on Feb 21, 2012 17:44:05 GMT -5
Arwen had retreated to the garden earlier, knowing that the Fellowship had now left Rivendell and went on their journey. A few tears lingered in her eyes as she knew she would need to face her father soon. Every conversation they had did not end on a friendly matter, and usually left both sides bitter. And of course she was disobedient against the wishes of her father. He wanted her to forget Aragorn and the foolish love she held for him, but it was not that simple for her. Why could he not see the love she held in her heart for Aragorn, why could he not see she wanted to be with him...forever. Was it because she was of elven kind and he a man. Leaving the garden she headed back inside and up to her bedroom. Holding some of her dress in both hands as she climbed some stairs, what met her eyes when she entered her bedroom was to be expected. There sitting on the edge of her bed was her father, she knew what would be coming next.
"Ada...." She slowly walked into the room, her eyes never leaving her father as she took a seat beside him. Finally she glanced away, looking to the floor. Whatever her father had to say to her, she would listen to him. But she already had a feeling she knew what he wanted to talk about, what had all their conversations ever been about. "I know there is only one reason you would be waiting for me here. But Ada......nothing you say will change my feelings or thoughts towards Aragorn." She dared not to look up from the floor as she spoke those words. With the Fellowship gone on their way, it felt a little more tense here in Rivendell.
No matter. Arwen knew in her heart that as long as there is hope, great things will happen. And where others may fail, there are those who will pick up the pieces and move on. There had been doubts before when the council had met, she of course wasn't part of it. But she had heard bits and pieces from someone else what had gone on when her father and the others had met, to decide the fate of the ring. And now that they were gone, she was stuck here. Probably doomed to fade away into the background, she only wished she could help someway.
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Post by Elrond on Feb 21, 2012 21:21:59 GMT -5
His eyes followed Arwen as she walked into the room. She looked very composed for someone whose lover had just left on a perilous quest. But that was his daughter; she had also been strong and able to handle adverse situations. But Elrond still believed she wouldn't be able to handle Aragorn's eventual death. That adverse situation was one that could never be changed. The grief would kill Arwen. She belonged in the Undying Lands with the rest of her kin who were slowly traveling there every day.
Her words were exactly what he had expected to hear. Nothing he could say was going to change her mind...but that wasn't going to stop him from trying his hardest. "Arwen," he said, softly, in the voice that all parents use when they're about to tell their child something they know he or she will not want to hear, "From the day Aragorn arrived in Rivendell he has been like a son to me and I know his own mind better than he himself sometimes knows it."
Elrond placed one of his hands lightly on Arwen's hand. He wanted his daughter to look at him but he wasn't going to force her to do so. "I know that he wants you to be happy--that he would rather see you sail to the Undying Lands than imagine what will come for you if you stay here and have to watch him die." And Elrond knew that Aragorn would readily agree with that sentiment. Sometimes one had to let the ones they loved go.
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Post by Arwen on Feb 21, 2012 22:44:03 GMT -5
Arwen could compose herself as she walked into the room. The tears that had lingered in her eyes before had vanished, she dare not show them in front of her father. She knew that the task her lover and the rest of the Fellowship had set out to do would be a perilous and long journey. There will be many dangers and obstacles the Fellowship would need to overcome. But her....she was meant to linger here in a home that was barely a liveable place anymore. Yes she had seen her kin leaving Rivendell each day, going to the undying lands. Yet she refused to go with them, her and Aragorn had made a promise to each other and if she left it would mean breaking it. She kept her gaze elsewhere as her father spoke her name. She didn't want to hear the words that would come from his lips, she wanted to tune it out. Block it out and not listen, though as much as she wanted to she knew she couldn't.
The words he spoke were about Aragorn, about when he arrived in Rivendell the first time. Yes her father had taken him under his wing, treated him like another son. That had also been when she fell in love with Aragorn, she just knew it was meant to be with him. Slowly she turned her face, now looking at her father. She then glanced down to see his hand upon hers, then glanced back up. The way he spoke to her was so gentle, so soft which is why she listened to his words. When he spoke again she felt a pang of sadness hit her in the chest. The undying lands, no...Aragorn would never want her to just abandon Middle Earth to go with her kin. It was not him, this was just another one of her father's lectures. "No! I won't go...."
Again she could feel tears starting to fill her eyes. "He would not be happy if I left. It's you who wants me to leave him, and I won't. What makes you so certain he is to die? They have only begun their journey..." His words were true though, she would be devastated if Aragorn died. She would be heartbroken and would die from that. "I believe there is still hope."
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Post by Elrond on Feb 23, 2012 11:29:42 GMT -5
It would have been easy for Elrond to lose his temper--to let Arwen know how foolish she was being for wanting to linger around here. But he knew that that wasn't the way to go about trying to convince Arwen. She needed to hear soft spoke words; she needed to know that her father wasn't angry with her. Elrond was displeased with her but he could never be angry with her. Love was sometimes harder to fight against than even evil was.
He wasn't surprised as she continued to fight against what he was telling her, and he was even less surprised as she mentioned that she believed there was still hope. "Even if Aragorn survives this journey," he said, still in his soft voice, "he will still die. It may happen tomorrow; it may happen years from now. But it will happen." That was the curse of mortality. Aragorn was going to die eventually and, no matter when it happened, the pain was going to be too unbearable for Arwen.
"I want you to be happy, Arwen," Elrond said, "And, if I thought you could be happy with Aragorn, then I would not be telling you what I am." As hard as it may have been for her to believe, her father did have nothing more than her best interests in mind. "You belong with your people," he added. He knew this conversation wasn't going to get him anywhere today but at least he could make her think about everything that he was telling her. Maybe should would come around in time.
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Post by Arwen on Feb 24, 2012 12:56:46 GMT -5
Arwen knew her father could lose his temper easily, but that only happens around others. Not her. Maybe it was a foolish decision to stay around in Middle Earth. But it would also be foolish to just leave and go with her kin to the undying lands. Once you sailed there, you could never return. And what if there is a victory, that the one ring is destroyed and Aragorn does fulfill his destiny to become king. She would want to be by his side for the rest of her days, as his queen. Was there no convincing her father of that, if he looked deep into her future what would he really see. Would he see death? Would he see her true happiness? Or would he just lie to her and make up something to force her to go with her kin. Pretty soon the once proud city of Rivendell would be empty, left to waste away of what once was. No one would be here anymore. All that would be left are the echoes of the past etched into the walls, and a dark reminder of what the final days were like. Is this what he has seen, and is that what will be once all the elves have left for the undying lands.
Sliding her hand out from under his, she slowly stood up and moved across her chambers. Even if others have lost hope already, she would always keep hope alive in her heart. "And you think if I take this journey. Go with the rest of my kin to the undying lands, you can save me from the pain of losing Aragorn?" It would be true, she would not feel pain or suffer if Aragorn died and she was in the undying lands. This was just a hard decision for her, couldn't he see that. It was a decision to either stay and give her hope to men and the one she loves, or to leave and not worry about what may happen in Middle Earth. There was something her father did not know and she would not mention it to him until she thought was the right time, perhaps she should just respect his wishes.
"Can I at least think it over for a little bit..." She just wanted to think over his request. This would be a big step for her and if she did decide to travel with what was left of her kin. Yes she belonged with her people, but if she left a piece of her would die. Turning back to look at her father, she decided to ask him something."Tell me the truth. What have you seen in my future? I want to know this before I make a decision." He could do that, he can see into the future and see what will be and of events to come to pass.
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