Only Time

Ch. 37 ~ Gift (Legolas' POV)

*Dedicated to Natascha van Gaal*

I woke up and turned over to realize I was in bed alone. I listened but the wing was empty. I lifted myself up on one elbow and brushed my hair out of my face. Stretching, I wondered where she was. As I looked around the bed chamber, I realized this was only the second time I had ever spent the night there. We had arrived in Rivendell late last night and everyone being worn out from celebrating and the battle had been given rooms and most immediately went to bed. Hedraliel mentioned that she had never seen Rivendell so full of people. It was as if most of Minas Tirith had emptied and everyone had come to Rivendell. The only one that stayed behind was Aragorn to make sure his new kingdom was secure until he returned. He was arriving today; Arwen had gone ahead with her father and the rest of us. Considering that after our wedding, she was leaving Rivendell for good to live with Aragorn and be the rightful Queen of Gondor, she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her Ada.

Today was the day before the wedding and I could hear that preparations were already well underway. I had gotten up; gotten dressed after a quick bath and exited the wing just as many different elven maidens rushed passed me bowing upon seeing me. I did not know Rivendell all that well so I walked toward the out of doors and saw elves hanging different garlands and lanterns all around. It was also pretty easy to see where exactly we would wed as it was on a bluff overlooking majestic waterfalls and trees. I heard my stomach grumble and wondered where I could find the dining hall. I asked a passing maiden and she pointed me in the direction of what was known as the main house. This is where Lord Elrond himself lived and they had the hall there. As I entered, I followed the directions the maiden had given me and entered the dining hall.

Lord Elrond was just finishing up his meal and to the right I saw many of my friends sitting down and enjoying theirs. Gimli saw me enter first:

"Oh ey there laddie, you are awake! Come grab some food, it is simply divine! And so is the ale!" He said with a wink and a belch that made the others laugh lightly as I myself smiled.

But before I partook in the meal, my eyes scanned the large room until I saw Arwen looking at me with a smile. She nodded her head toward a different room off the side. Moments later the love of my eternal existence and soon to be wife came through with Eowyn on her heels as they helped bring more food in. The two were laughing about something. Right before she saw me, Aragorn who I never knew arrived, patted me on the back and went over to hug his wife. How long was I asleep for? My thoughts were broken as a vision in silver appeared before me; she stroked my cheek as the others watched smiling trying not to stare. That got my attention back to the present as I looked her in the eyes and put my arms around her, holding her close to my chest. Her content sigh made my heart sing. When I let her go, I kissed her passionately, not caring who was watching. As we parted, she was blushing as usual and I brought her chin up just as my stomach grumbled again and she laughed, taking my hand and leading me to where the food was.

As she had already eaten, she just sat by me engaged in conversation with Arwen who was doing the same while Aragorn ate. He and I just looked at each other and at our respective women knowing full well just how lucky we both were. Everything had finally ended on a positive note. Lord Elrond was quiet sitting at the head of the table as he watched the noise and merriment with both pleasure and a mixture of sadness. Hedraliel and Arwen noticed it first; nodding at Arwen and whispering into my ear:

"I will be back in a bit."

Hedraliel got up and went to her uncle who asked to speak to her for a moment. She nodded and the two of them left the room. I had not a clue where they went but Arwen and Aragorn smiled at me as I joined their conversation as well as with Faramir, Eomer, and Gimli. The 4 hobbits were also in attendance. Mithrandir was the only one inconspicuously absent from the table. Knowing him, he always had some form of business to attend to or another.