The Edge of Night

A Brighter Hope

She comes to in a talan, not dissimilar to the ones she had grown used to seeing in Lothlorien. As she approaches the window, she finds that she is indeed in the Golden Wood, but it is not as she had left it. Everything around her has lost its light, growing dim, and dying. "This isn't right. Something is very wrong here."

"Much has changed since you left Lothlorien. The world has changed as much as you have, dear one." A voice says from behind her and she jumps, not noticing before that she was not alone. Before her stood Galadriel.

"This cannot be real. I died. I felt it end. How am I standing before you?"

"A peculiar thing, is it not?"

"What is?"

"Fate. It was fate that brought you from Edoras into the company of Gandalf the White. Fate that set you on this journey. Fate that placed you in Haldir's path. And it was fate that brought you before the creators this very night."

"I am sorry my lady. I am still confused."

"Everything is revealed with time. Your vision was revealed, though not completely as you had seen. And now, another path lays before you. You are special, Elfwyn, daughter of Theoden. You have the love of not just your people, but mine now as well."

"How?"

"The very moment you stood between our beloved March Warden and death; you became a savior to our people as well. Stepping in front of him, with no care to your own fate, has brought you to me, on behalf of the Valars."

"What could the Valars want with me?"

"What was freely given can be restored, with a gift. More than just your life stands in the balance Elfwyn. Your beloved Haldir fades as we speak. Lothlorien will surely be lost, should anything happen to him."

"As long as I am mortal, his life will always hang by a thread." She says sadly. This was not the first time she had thought of the consequences of her actions. The fate that she condemned Haldir to had been something that she had regretted for the rest of her days, as numbered as they had been.

"Then that's the solution."

"What is?"

"The gift the Valar are giving you is one not many have received. In fact, I can think of only one other instance where this gift was presented. One brother chose the life of the Eldar, and the other chose mortality."

"I choose an immortal life. I choose Haldir."

"Are you certain? Once given, this cannot be undone. Are you sure that you are content with watching your loved ones die, your father die, as you live on, unchanged?"

Elfwyn pauses, truly thinking over what Galadriel has described. Her father, cousins, people, they meant so much to her. But as her thoughts turned to Haldir, and the future that faced him should she die, her heart began to crack, a mental pain that surged into her very being, almost overcoming her, making it hard to breathe. "I love my family, and my people. But Haldir is the one whom my heart chose. While losing them might be difficult, the thought of him dying is too much to bear."

Galadriel smiles, having already known how this was going to unfold. "It appears that, once again, the Valar have chosen wisely. You will indeed be blessed, both in this world, and Valinor."

...

Legolas and Aragorn gently place the body of Rohan's beloved princess down on a cot in the Hornburg as what remained of her family drew close. The battle was over, she had done what she set out to do. Haldir had been spared, although by his current state one could not tell. He was fading, quickly. "Tell me how this came to be, that my daughter lays before me dead." Theoden demands.

Legolas steps forward. "Elfwyn had a dream... a vision, in Lothlorien. She spoke to the Lady Galadriel of it and was shown a vision in the Lady's Mirror, one possible outcome for the future. She told me that she saw that Haldir would perish in this battle that took place in her homeland, should she not intervene as she has done. During our time in the Golden Wood, they grew close, until neither could deny what had occurred between their very spirits. They are bonded, Haldir and Elfwyn, a fate that has befallen three other couples since Middle Earth was created. And like those couples before them, their love too, was doomed." At this Aragorn looked away, ready to help the others get the wounded on horses and other make-shift carriages to begin what was going to be a long journey back to Edoras.

Theoden looks like he wants to say something but the strangled cry from Eowyn as she exits the caves and looks upon the scene before her gives him pause. Eomer holding her as she falls to the floor beside her beloved cousin.

"All is not lost yet, my friend." Gandalf says, placing a hand on Elfwyn's forehead. "I believe that there is more at play here than what any of us can comprehend."

At this, a bright white light fills the room, causing those gathered at the vigil around the fallen princess to turn and look away. As the light faded, and one by one they turned back, they are shocked to see life in Elfwyn's skin again, her tan skin replaced with an alabaster complexion, the tips of her ears coming to a point and her blonde hair fanning around her like a halo. "What is this?" Gimli asks.

"The Valar have intervened." Haldir says quietly, coming to sit beside his beloved. "She was granted a choice, a choice very few ever receive. She has returned to us, at great cost."

"What great cost?" Eomer asks gruffly.

"While she shall be able to remain by my side, forever, she will be forced to watch as each of her family fades before her and passes into the halls of her forefathers."

"She is immortal." Legolas says plainly.

They wait with bated breath as her eyes open and she looks around before her eyes meet Haldir's. "Meleth nin."

AN: Going back through these chapters, I realized I forgot to add chapter art to many of them. I found this pic on Pinterest. I tried finding the rightful owner (I am not claiming this beautiful piece as mine) and the best I could find was it came from tuadcamlost's tumblr. The Tumblr account doesn't exist at the link with the image so if you by any chance know if this actually belongs to them, or who it does belong to, put a comment so I can give proper accreditation to the creator.