My Strange Persephone

Part two: the ring's vision

Galadriel awoke, and wished she'd still been sleeping. Being awake meant she had to think about things, and there wasn't much she wanted to think about. Eregion had fallen. Galadriel hadn't killed Sauron. And Adar was dead. That scene always played out in Galadriel's mind, whenever she opened her eyes. She'd just stood there, watching, thinking it was another one of Sauron's cruel illusions. The man she loved had been torn apart before her eyes, and Galadriel had done absolutely bloody nothing. She didn't know how she'd live with herself after something like that.

"You're, uh, awake." Elrond, Galadriel's best friend, said with an awkward expression. He was holding a glass of water that king Gilgalad had undoubtedly told Elrond he was to get Galadriel to drink. She didn't care. She wasn't interested. Elrond was another painful reminder of what had happened. He hadn't made an alliance with Adar, and worse yet, Elrond and Galadriel had kissed. Kissed! Elrond had kissed her to slip her a lock pick at the time, but they'd still locked lips in front of Adar. She'd seen how hurt he looked, and how quickly he'd covered it up, clearly wanting to respect Galadriel's choice. She'd never gotten the chance to straighten it out before he'd been taken from her.

"I'm not coming out." Galadriel said. Elrond grinned. "I didn't think you would." He said. "Two Queer elves might just be too much for Lindon to handle." That forced a small smile out of Galadriel, the first since the incident. "You know what I meant." She said. Elrond nodded. "You know, you can't just stay in here for all eternity." He said softly. "People don't understand what's going on. I mean, we're all sad that we lost, but..."

Galadriel clenched her fists. "I'm not sad about the fact that we lost!" She yelled, much louder than she'd expected. "I'm grieving because I lost Adar." It took Elrond a moment to understand what Galadriel meant. "Oh." He said, realization dawning. "Oh. I didn't know." He smiled sadly. "For the record, I don't think he was a real bad guy. Who knows. Maybe with enough time, you could have brought him back to the light." Galadriel shook her head. The rest of the elves would never understand. It was Adar that had shown Galadriel the light.

"Look. I also lost someone important to me." Elrond said, talking about the elven smith Calibrimbor, his best friend. "But he wouldn't want me to stay holed up in my room all day." Galadriel smirked. "No, he'd want you to come out." She said. Elrond grinned. "Ah, I see what you did there." He said. "What a witty comeback, Lady Galadriel."

They were interrupted by a frustrated, sarcastic voice coming from outside the tent. "Are you two done?" Arondir asked. It was no secret Arondir hated Adar, and blamed him for the death of his wife. As a result, Arondir wasn't someone Galadriel really wanted to be around right now, as much as she valued their previous friendship. "Yeah." Galadriel said coldly. "We're done."

"Good." Arondir said. "Because it sounded like the two of you were mourning Adar." He said with a growl. "If you ask me, your little boyfriend deserved what he got." Galadriel rose from the bed, her fists tight. "I want you to think carefully about what you say next." Galadriel said, while Elrond stepped between them, helplessly trying to defuse the conflict before a fight broke out.

"Fine." Arondir said. "Let's not talk about Adar anymore. Perhaps some of the wolves got to him, and there's nothing left to discuss at all." Galadriel's anger rose at Arondir's remark. She understood he'd also lost the love of his life, but Galadriel wanted him to at least respect that she was also in mourning. Arondir antagonizing her was the last thing she wanted. But his words sparked a sort of fear in Galadriel. What if no one had given Adar a proper funeral rite after all? Did that mean he couldn't go to the afterlife? Galadriel brandished her hand in front of herself, the one that wore the ring. The last thing he had ever given her. Galadriel held the ring forwards, and looked Arondir dead in the eye. "Show me Adar."

Galadriel didn't want to see his body. She didn't want to see anything, really. The best case scenario was that she'd see a pyre, like the kind Adar would build for his people. Before they betrayed him. Galadriel was again struck by the urge to strike down every Uruk she came across.

For a second, nothing happened. Then an image flickered to life. It showed Adar alive and whole, arguing with Sauron about something, though she couldn't make out the words. Then, to Galadriel's horror, Sauron pushed Adar back up against a wall, and began to force himself on him. Adar fought back, shoving against Sauron, but was unable to push the much stronger man off of him. A few seconds later, Sauron left, giving Adar a parting smirk and a pat on the head. Galadriel watched as Adar lay down on the bed, and curled himself into a ball, crying. She wanted to be there. She wanted to punch Sauron in the face, while simultaneously stabbing the demon. But more than anything, Galadriel wanted to give Adar a hug.

"He's alive." Galadriel said, and sank to her knees. "Adar is alive." She couldn't believe it. Galadriel felt herself starting to cry, but for the first time in days, it wasn't from sorrow. "But how?" She asked aloud. He'd been stabbed so many times. "Probably some trick of Sauron's magic." Elrond said. "He's pursued you everywhere after you rejected him. He probably wasn't going to let Adar die so easily."

That made sense. Sauron was nothing if not alarmingly possessive, and the way he'd stood there and watched Adar 'die' didn't really match with his personality. Galadriel should have known something was wrong. She should have known he was still alive, and that he needed her. "Sword." Galadriel said, the anger that fueled her existence sparking again. "I need my sword."

Arondir crossed his arms. "I suppose you want to go rescue him." He said. "That's a terrible idea. You'll die, and he doesn't deserve it." Galadriel glared at him. "He killed my wife." Arondir said defensively. "No, one of the Uruk killed your wife." Galadriel said. "And now, they tried to kill Adar. If anything, you two should be friends." Arondir looked unconvinced.

"I'm going." Galadriel said. "Wherever he is, I'm going to find him. I'll let the ring be my guide." Elrond bit his lip. "How do you know you can trust the ring?" He asked. "Because Adar gave it to me." She said simply, and tossed a sword to each of her friends. "If you're with me, we're leaving." She said. "I have a boyfriend to save."