When Thranduil had finished with all the explanations, Haldir was upset. He held in his hands the evenstar, the pendant that had belonged to Roswehn, the jewel that the King had removed from the woman's neck before cremation. Keep it now. It protected your mother, it will protect you too.
He would have liked to reject those revelations, but he couldn't do it.
The story of his mother, her horrible possession by the spirit of evil Queen Regan, her misadventure in the ancient realm of Arnor, the night-time vexation of the ghost that called himself Morgoth, and finally the revelation of the Wizard, Radagast the Brown, about that damn prophecy. Everything his father had told him filled the young Elf's head.
The final blow was the description of his destiny as an instrument of destruction. He himself would have become evil , and he would have been confronted by that mysterious man of the future, whose name was unknown. The latter would have finally destroyed the Ancient King, the first, the most brilliant of all the Valar, who had chosen to rebel against Eru and become the greatest corruptor of the world. Morgoth.
"It is not possible ..." the Prince continued to say, afflicted. "... maybe that sorcerer was wrong. Why me? What's so special about me? Nothing! Look at me ... nothing !!" he shouted to his father. They were still in the hall of the throne, but the Prince had come down from the seat.
Thranduil disagreed. "You are a unique Elf in the world, Haldir. You have certainly noticed that you have a grace that other Elves do not have. Your extraordinary beauty is not a casual gift. Even Morgoth, when he still used the name Melkor, when he still lived in the Light, was beautiful. The brightest of all the Valar. It is perfectly understandable why he is planning to incarnate into a creature like you. "
"But there is one thing I do not understand, father: if in the next few hours Sauron should win, this continent would be already doomed. This prophecy ... makes no sense." objected the prince. "... the final battle ... there would be no final battle, because this world would already be occupied by the creatures of Sauron... Orcs, Trolls, Goblins. How can we hypothesize the future, when we might not even have it, a future? "
Thranduil understood his son's doubts. He was right. "The Dagor Dagorath was a prophecy of Mandos. The lord of our afterlife. But as with any prophecy, one must choose whether to believe in it or ignore it. It is a prediction, it is a divine message about what could happen in many millennia. I have always refused to let myself go to assumptions about our destiny, it is important for me to live in the present.This is the reality for now. I, you, our people ... we are real.Your brother is real, he ... who is fighting in the front line against Sauron. This is the real battle we are fighting these days. And you are right, we still don't know how it will end. And for this reason, I suggested you not to ask too much. Now you are upset, and I understand it. I have instilled in you the terrible suspicion of becoming, in the remote future, the incarnation of that demon. And I curse myself, because I know that this thought will never leave you, and will not allow you to live peacefully. "
Haldir looked at his father. "No, don't hate yourself. It would have been worse for me to live in doubt, asking myself day by day what is the mystery that surrounds me. Now I know. And even if now my life will never be the same again, I feel partly relieved."
Thranduil approached, and did something that for a very long time he had not even done with Legolas: he took his son in his arms, and held him close. They remained silent, united in a long embrace.
"Haldir, if you only imagined how much your mother and I loved you ... You have been our joy for all these years. Our only great consolation, to the fact of being separated. The worst sorrow for two parents is knowing that their sons and daughters are unhappy. Therefore, do not be afflicted. "
"Now I understand so many things, Father. I admit I detested you, because you always kept me hidden in the palace, because I thought you had deprived me of freedom. I told my mother too. But now, everything is clear to me. You always have protected me, and I regret having caused problems to you and the others. " said the prince. "But now I know what I have to do. If from this war a new, luminous Fourth Age comes, I will do everything to become a good King. I will learn from you. And I promise you, I will try not to be afraid." the Prince continued. "... I'm sorry that my mother suffered because of me. If what you told me is true, Morgoth tormented her to have me. She sacrificed her life, we can say."
Thranduil caressed his son's wavy blond hair. "Roswehn lived an extraordinary life. She was loved by a king, and had a beautiful son like you. And in the thirty years that she spent here, I assure you that she was happy every second. Then, she chose to return to Dale. There, unfortunately, her life was not equally peaceful. Surrounded by ironies and malice because of our love story. She did not want me to see her grow older, to fade, to become something that she believed I would no longer have loved. How wrong she was ... Learn one thing, son: when love is real, and is authentic, it never dies. As much as the object of our love can change, that feeling always remains within us. "
Haldir sighed, looking at the ground. "I wonder if I will ever love someone, father. I wonder if I will live an important love story like the one between you and my mother."
"Roswehn too wondered, every now and then. She said: maybe when Haldir grows up, a girl from Dale will walk through this forest to meet him. He is so beautiful that soon his legend will spread: the fabulous Elven King of Mirkwood. The same thing they said about you, Thranduil. Perhaps then, a young dreamer, driven by the desire to meet this Elf, will do what I did: one day she will leave her parents, and she will cross the forest on her own."
The prince smiled. "A human girl ..."
"I would be happy if you fell in love as I was. But I must warn you: if you choose to love a mortal, you will experience a great sorrow. You saw it, humans die. Their existence is very short." the King said to him.
"I will also treasure this suggestion. From now on I intend to ..." the Prince could not continue, because the ground beneath their feet began to tremble, even the heavy throne swung dangerously. Thranduil also got scared , there seemed to have just been an earthquake.
"Father!!!What was that?" shouted Haldir.
"I don't know. Let's get out of here!" replied Thranduil. "Let's go out and see. You, open the door!" He ordered the two soldiers on guard.
The Elves opened the high and majestic gate that closed the entrance to the King's palace.
And first of all, once they got out, Haldir saw the sun. Sunbeams were making their way through the branches of the trees. This also amazed Thranduil: for days their territory had been obscured by gray clouds, first those that arose from the fire set by the Orcs, and then ... others, which seemed to come from the South. From Mordor.
"The light ... all this sudden light ..." said Thranduil.
Haldir and the soldiers looked at the sky, that portion that could be glimpsed through the branches. "...what happens, Father? I have never seen such a clean and blue sky !"
Thranduil tried to concentrate to feel what kind of energy was pervading the world. His instinct was not as deep as that of Galadriel, but he still felt something.
"Freedom ..." was the first word that came to his mind. "We are free."
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Thranduil and his son could not know that several minutes before the creature called Gollum had fallen down from the crevasse inside Mount Doom, with the Ring in his hand. The One Ring in those moments was dissolving into the lava. They could not even know that the earthquake they had felt was the shock wave generated by the collapse of the Tower on which Sauron's eye hovered. And that all that negative energy had been sucked back into the Void, taking with it the Trolls, the Orcs, the Goblins, the Nazgûl, the Haradrim, the Corsairs and ... the Men of the East, including Degarre and Goneril's ex legion.
No one in Greenwood could know that Frodo Baggins had won.
But Arwen, Elrond's daughter, knew it.
The vibration of the ground had reached Rivendell, and Hammon and Goneril had descended into the courtyard fearing that everything would collapse. Just a few moments before Benjamin could give his ex General proof that his love was not a joke nor a crazy infatuation. They would have experienced their first time together in Elrond's thalamus and it didn't matter to Hammon that for Goneril it was nothing more than a concession in exchange for his departure. Vain sacrifice, because he would not have gone away, as it was true that his name was Benjamin Hammon.
Suddenly, their meeting had been interrupted by that kind of earthquake and they had run down, forgetting about Elrond's daughter.
Arwen had opened her eyes again. She felt a new energy flow in her, or rather, it was as if all the poison she had in her body and that was consuming her, was slowly disappearing. She raised a hand to look at it, and saw that it was real. Her body was gaining volume again, she was returning in physical form.
She tried to sit up and succeeded. Her brown hair, flowing again, fell into her lap.
"Benjamin ..." she called, but her voice was still weak. "... is there anyone here? Help me ..."
She felt her legs so weak, as if they had lost sensitivity for a long time, but somehow she managed to make a step.
Arwen also noticed the light coming through the windows. Something wonderful must have happened. Victory, she thought. The Hobbit and the others had won, because the Sun could not shine in a world in which Sauron dominated.
"Frodo ..." she murmured. "Aragorn ..."
A smile slowly appeared on her beautiful face.
⚜️⚜️⚜️
"What the hell was that!" Hammon snapped, once they both had run out on the porch. The shockwave had caused some rubble to fall from the elven houses. "There have never been earthquakes since I was born!"
The woman looked around, and then looked at the sky. "The clouds ... they are gone." She said. "The air is so ... clean ..."
Benjamin also observed the landscape. Above him, the sun shone brightly, even too brightly, considering that they were still in the winter month of March.
Then Hammon remembered. "Arwen! She's still in there !!" and ran into the former residence of Elrond.
The Eastern woman closed her eyes and tried to smell the air. It was a method she used when she was a General, and in that way she identified the presence of enemies nearby. The bad smell was always a revealing signal, especially in the case of the Orcs.
But she felt nothing. Apart from the pleasant scent of the resin that came down from the plants of Rivendell, and the humidity of the water that flowed into the fountains of the kingdom.
"Goneril !!" Hammon shouted from inside the residence. "Come and see!"
The warrior climbed the stairs and joined him in Arwen's room. The Elf princess was standing, supported by the soldier. Still pale, but alive and well. Her eyes had returned to be of an intense blue color.
"She has recovered!" Hammon said.
"I see." Goneril answered, approaching.
Arwen looked at her and looked at her dress. She smiled. A smile so sweet, and sad, that reminded Goneril of Bettie, Roswehn Monrose's maid.
"It's you, then ... Benjamin's great love ..." said the Elf woman.
"...what's happening to you?" asked the warrior.
"Sauron is defeated." said Arwen. "Frodo ... he made it."
"Frodo ... and who the hell is it?" Hammon asked, confused.
Goneril did not answer immediately. Her memory returned to the two little halflings, Pippin and Merry. So their cousin had succeeded. One of their kind, a half-man like them, had realized an absurd enterprise, which seemed hopeless. She shook her head. "It's incredible."
"So? ... will you explain me?" Hammon insisted.
"Let's just say, Hammon, we have one less problem." answered Goneril. "I think we won't have to worry about any war anymore. At least for a while."
"You really are as he described you. Fierce and cold." Arwen continued. "Please take me outside. I want to immerse myself in this Light. I need it."
Benjamin accompanied her outside, holding her gently. Goneril was surprised by her captain's kindness towards that female Elf. The same boy who had thrown her without much compliment on a large four-poster bed full of dust.
She followed them into the courtyard.
"It's over ... the battle of the Morannon, it's won. My father ... will come back." announced Arwen.
Goneril and Hammon looked at each other. And what are we going to do? It was the thought that ran into that look.
"Stay here." said Arwen. "This is no longer our home. Even the time of the Elves is over. And I made my choice."