Chapter Text
Celebrían sat on the floor of the ship cradling her knees as she fought to control her emotions. Starting now, she would have to get used to being without her children, her parents or her husband. Waves of guilt crashed through her as she remembered how she had treated her family leading up to this day.
If only I had not of pushed them away from me when they sought to comfort me, she thought to herself. Now it would be many long years before she would be able to feel their touch, hear their laughter or even their voices. Yes, she could still feel her bond with Elrond, and that gave her some comfort, but nothing could replace the physical touch.
As evening approached, Celebrían heard footsteps and looked up to see Faron standing there. "May I sit?" he asked somberly. Celebrían nodded and sat next to her. "Nice evening, is it not?"
Celebrían shrugged. "I suppose so." She was not really in the mood for conversation, but could not turn him away.
After a few seconds, Faron took a deep breath. "My lady, I must ask you for your forgiveness."
Looking into Faron's eyes, she narrowed hers in confusion. "Forgiveness for what?"
"For what happened to you and Tinil, for not being able to protect you."
Celebrían felt her heart break. Had he been holding onto this guilt the whole time? "Faron, what happened to Tinil and me was not your fault. There is nothing to forgive. You fought so bravely, and I know you did all in your power to protect me and rescue me."
Faron eyes brimmed with tears and he felt an enormous weight lift from him. "You have no idea how much it means to hear you say that. I know your husband and Glorfindel said the same thing, but I needed to hear it from you the most."
Smiling, Celebrían squeezed his hand. "You are welcome, Faron. So, do you have anyone waiting for you in Valinor?"
Faron grinned. "My wife, Liririel. She died in the year 2700 in the Second Age."
"I am so sorry. How did she die, if you don't mind my asking."?
Frowning at the memory, Faron closed his eyes as he remembered. "We were just bound, and I took her out to a meadow which was known to blossom with wildflowers. I was due to leave for patrol in a few weeks, so I wanted to give her something to take her mind off me leaving. On our way back, Orcs attacked us, and as Liririel fled, a lone Orc overtook her and before I could reach her…" Faron was unable to finish his thought.
"No wonder you felt like you failed me. You lost your wife in a comparable situation and when I was overtaken…oh, Faron, I cannot imagine the pain. But I know she does not blame you, and soon you will be with her again."
"Yes, I know she does not now. But enough about me. Do you have someone waiting for you?"
Celebrían nodded. My grandparents, Finarfin and Eärwen. But I do not know them, so it will be strange."
"I can understand that. If you ever need a familiar face, I will always be there, and I am certain my wife will welcome you with open arms."
Celebrían smiled. "Thank you."
Just then, Círdan approached. "We have arrived Captain Faron, my lady."
The two looked at one another and stood to their feet, their hearts beating loudly. Whereas Faron felt more excited to be seeing Liririel after so long, Celebrían felt unsure and a little frightened. Once she stepped off this ship and onto the shores of Valinor, there was no turning back.
"My lady, if you do not wish to remain, there is still time to turn back," Círdan said placing a hand on her shoulder.
"No. I know I would not find healing or peace back in Middle-earth no matter how much I long to be with my family." Taking a deep breath, Celebrían followed Faron off the ship and was instantly met by her grandparents.
"Oh, Celebrían," a silver-haired elleth said. Celebrían walked over and knew from her mother's descriptions that this was her grandmother, but how did she know who she was?
"Lady Eärwen?" The elleth nodded. "How do you know who I am?"
"Ereinion told us about you and your husband, and the Valar said you were arriving," she replied holding out her hand.
Taking her hand, she was enveloped by both her grandfather and grandmother. "Come now, child. Let us take you home, and soon you will begin to heal from your pain," Finarfin said, leading his granddaughter to their home.
Meanwhile, Faron was on the lookout for Liririel and was just about to think she was not there when he heard a soft voice cry out. "Faron!" Turning his head to the sound, Faron nearly collapsed when he saw her.
"Liririel!" Forcing himself to run, he reached her just as his legs gave out. Wrapping his arms around his wife, the two cried in elation never letting go of one another. "Oh, my Liririel!" Faron cried over.
"It is all right, Faron. Everything will be all right. You are home now," Liririel murmured stroking his hair as she rocked him on the sand.
Looking up at his wife, Faron kissed her before he smiled. "I am home my love, and we will never be apart again." Standing to their feet, Liririel led Faron to their house where they spent the rest of the night holding onto one another.
III 3021
Elrond closed his eyes and took a deep relaxing breath. He was in his room packing for his trip to Valinor but found it hard to concentrate. With the war over and the battle against Sauron won, it was now time for him to go home and be reunited with his Celebrían. Celebrían–Oh how he missed her, he missed everything about her: her silver eyes that shone, her smile, her laugh, even how she smelled–the beautiful scent of lavender.
Concentrating on his bond with his wife, he could feel that she too was eagerly awaiting his arrival. Soon, my love, we will be together again, he thought happily to himself. Returning to his packing, Elrond placed another tunic in his bag, when he heard his sons enter his room.
Noticing the dried blood on their clothing, Elrond frowned. "Back from another Orc hunt?" he asked. Elladan nodded but said nothing. Elrond knew it would do no good to reprimand his sons for they were determined to kill as many Orcs before they left these shores.
"My sons, please reconsider leaving, your mother misses you so much," Elrond pleaded.
Elrohir sighed heavily. How they would love to sail now, but they knew they could not leave just yet. "Father, we have been through this many times now. We will leave, but not before Aragorn and Arwen have both passed from this world. We can't leave our sister to die alone."
Knowing he would not be able to change their minds, Elrond resumed packing, while the twins left to clean up.
On the day Elrond was to sail, the former Lord of Imladris stood by the ship which was soon to depart from these shores. In front of him, stood his sons and Glorfindel who decided to remain behind until Elladan and Elrohir left as well. "Take care of my children and make sure they do not do anything reckless," Elrond said with a slight chuckle.
Glorfindel laughed. "I will take care of them my friend, but you know as well as I, they were born reckless."
Elladan and Elrohir stepped forward, and one of the twins handed him a letter. "Give this to Mother and tell her we love her. It is just a letter promising her we will join her soon."
"I will make sure she gets it. Take care of yourselves and stay safe. Take care of Arwen and make sure she knows we love her. Do not let her die alone…" Elrond said choking up as he thought of his little girl and how he would never see her again.
Elladan hugged his father. "We will, I promise."
Returning the embrace before he hugged Elrohir, Elrond let go and stepped onto the ship. Looking back at his sons and friends, Elrond waved until they were out of sight.
Lord Elrond tightened his grip on the edge of the white ship as it neared closer to the shores. Finally, after all these long years he would be reunited with his beloved Celebrían. No longer would he have to spend cold nights alone in bed. No longer would he have to stare at her vanity where he used to watch her for hours comb her silver hair as she hummed a tune. No, he would be able to hold her, caress her, and whisper sweet nothings into her ear.
As the ship began to make its final approach to the shores, he could already see the silhouettes of many elves who were arriving to be joined with their loved ones. Elrond could not help but wonder if she was waiting there for him. Did she even remember him or was she still in love with him after being away from him for so long? The worst question was; did she blame him for not being able to heal her all the way after her horrible ordeal? Soon these questions would be answered for now they had just docked, and the ramp was being lowered to allow the passengers to unload from the ship.
Elrond wanted to push past the other Elves, but for some odd reason, he bided his time. He was not sure if it was nerves or if he was afraid of looking like a love-sick puppy. He kept his gray eyes on the lookout, however, for her ever so often catching a glimpse of an old friend here and there. After what seemed like ages, he finally saw a tuft of long silver hair and caught the sweet scent of lavender. Only one elleth he knew of wore that scent: Celebrían!
Now he cared not if he looked like a small child in a bakery full of sweets, he pushed his way through the large crowd calling out his wife's name. "Celebrían!"
He saw her look his way and her gray eyes lit up as she began to push her way through. "Elrond!"
Muttering a small curse, Elrond felt he would never reach her. After a minute but what seemed like an eternity, they were now embracing one another neither caring if others saw them.
"Elrond, how I have missed you!" she cried into his shoulder gripping him tighter.
"As I have missed you, more than you will ever know." Oh, how he wanted to hold her forever right here and never let go for fear it was all just a dream, but when he kissed her soft lips and looked into her eyes, he knew it was real.
When they let go, she looked around for her children. "Where are they?"
"They are not here. Elladan and Elrohir told me to give this to you," he said handing her a letter. They told me to tell you they loved you and they promise they will sail as soon as Arwen has…" he stopped and looked at Celebrían who looked numb and heartbroken.
"So, Arwen has chosen to become mortal?" she whispered, tears brimming her eyes. "Somehow, I always knew she would, yet it does not stop the pain from knowing I will never see her again."
"She found love with an honorable man…a king. Aragorn, son of Arathorn. We could not have asked for better for our daughter and know that in the very end, we will see her once more," Elrond said lifting Celebrían's chin. "Besides, not all is lost, our sons will sail soon."
Smiling, Celebrían kissed Elrond once more. "Come, we have much to talk about, and there are so many people wish to see you."
"Who is waiting to see me?" he asked arching a brow which made Celebrían laugh.
"Well, there are your parents and…" she paused and teased Elrond a little before she continued, "Gil-galad."
Feeling his breath hitch a bit at the mention of his parents and former king, Elrond glanced around looking for them.
Celebrían smiled softly. "They are waiting for you back at our home. They wanted this reunion to be just between us, but they are eager to see you after all this time."
Letting his wife lead him to their new home, Elrond grinned as he realized he would never be parted from his beloved again and he would have all this time to catch up with his friend and parents.
Epilogue 121 of the Fourth Age
Celebrían gripped her husband's arm tightly as they waited for the final ship to dock. Finally, after 121 years, she was to be reunited with her sons. Despite the knowledge, she would not see her daughter until much later; she could at least find comfort in the fact, she still had Elladan and Elrohir.
Sensing her nervousness, Elrond gently squeezed her hand. "They will be here soon meleth."
"I know, but it has been so long."
Before Elrond could respond, out in the distance, they saw a ship. Letting out a soft gasp Celebrían would have run into the water had Elrond not of held her back. "It is them!" she cried.
Elrond felt his heart leap when he saw the ship but somehow forced himself to stay on the shores until it docked. It seemed forever before the ship reached the shores but finally, it did.
Onboard the ship, two identical beings held onto each other's hands as they finally arrived at Valinor. I cannot stand this waiting Elladan; I want to see her now.
So, do I brother, and we will just be patient, and soon we will be together again, Elladan told his brother although he was finding it hard to wait himself.
Next, to them, Glorfindel was eagerly waiting to dock himself to see his longtime friends Ecthelion and Faron. It had been too long since they had all been together at the same time and he could hardly wait. Just as Glorfindel was about to let out a curse, they were given permission to undock, and three ellyn pushed past the other Elves and off the boat.
As Glorfindel searched the crowds, he heard laughter coming beside him and knew at once who it was. "Ecthelion!" Turning around he was instantly pulled into a deep embrace. "It has been too long my friend, too long!"
"Yes, it certainly has. Faron here told me all about the trouble you two got into," he said elbowing Faron who chuckled.
Mock glaring at Faron, the two clasped hands. "Faron, how have you been?"
Faron grinned and looked behind him toward a black-haired elleth with two smaller elflings.
Smacking his friend on the back, Glorfindel grinned. "I see you have been busy mellon! Are you going to introduce me?"
Motioning for his wife to come over, the elleth led her children over. "Glorfindel, I believe you already know Liririel, and these are our children Glawiel and Mallossion."
"Liririel, I am so happy to see you and Faron have finally got the family you have always wanted," Glorfindel said before bowing to the elflings. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
Giggling, the two hid behind their parents. "I am afraid they are rather shy, but give them a chance, and soon they will talk your ear off," Liririel said.
"I bet they can if they are anything like their father." Glancing over Glorfindel saw Elladan and Elrohir in a heartfelt reunion.
"Come, let us give them some space and I will take you to my home where we can catch up," Faron said pointing in the direction of his house.
"I would like that," Glorfindel said, and the small group left giving Elrond and his family some space.
The minute their feet hit the shores, Elladan and Elrohir wasted no time finding their parents who apparently had the same idea in their minds. Within seconds, Celebrían held both of her sons as the three cried happy tears.
"Nana! I have missed you so much!" Elladan wept not wanting to let his grip go on his mother.
Kissing her sons' brows, Celebrían could not stop her tears from flowing. "I know, ion-nín, I have missed you both so much. But now, we have all eternity to be with one another, and nothing will ever separate us again."
"Are you mad at us?" Elrohir asked.
"Why would I be mad at you?"
"Because we did not keep our promise and kept seeking out the Orcs who tormented you," Elladan said feeling ashamed.
"Oh, my sons, I am not mad at you. Disappointed that you felt you had to spend your life seeking revenge, yes. Mad, no. But let us not talk about such things. That is in the past, let us look to the future now."
Nodding, Elladan and Elrohir looked up at their father who held out his arms and both ran freely into them. "I am so happy to see you again my sons. Now, we can all concentrate on creating a future here and…oh, how I have missed you."
"We have something for you," Elladan said when they broke off the hug. "A letter from Arwen. She wanted us to tell you she loves you both and not to be sad about her death, that she lived a long happy life and we would see one another again someday."
Handing Celebrían the letter, she could not help but feel her heart ache, but before she let it consume her, she felt a sense of peace wash over her and knew her daughter was at peace. "Thank you, Elladan. I think we should honor Arwen's request and not mourn her choice. She would want us to be happy."
Elrond agreed. "Let us go home, and you can tell us all about your time in Middle-earth."
The four of them could not agree more and together they went home.