A year before the time The Hobbit is supposed to take place, Elven-King Thranduil and his son Legolas as well as companions from Mirkwood come to Lothlóthrien. During their stay there, Thranduil and Legolas meet the youngest daughter of Lord Elrond...
Thanks for 3.5 k! This part is dedicated to Anna for the best comment she had on the last chapter.
A couple days later, Lord Elrond sent out Elven scouts to scour the land for many leagues in every direction, looking for any sign of the Nazgûl. Celebwen was rather frustrated by this turn of events, but said nothing. Many of the scouts went to get in touch with the Rangers and some even attempted to gather news from Thranduil's folk in Mirkwood.
Two months later, when the chill of December was beginning to bite and cold winds howled their haunting ways across the barren lands of the wilderness, the scouts began to return. Elladan and Elrohir, along with their youngest sister, were the last. 'They had passed down the Silverlode into a strange country, but of their errand they would not speak to any save Elrond.'
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Celebwen quickly dismounted and giving her horse to one of the attendents that had come scurrying out to take her and her brothers' steeds, she followed her brothers up the stairs to their father's Council Chamber. The cold air seem to pierce her worn cloak and she drew it closer around her. At the door Elrohir paused, turned, and said over his shoulder to his sister, "You may go. I can tell Ada the news."
Celebwen nodded, turned, and left the hall, quickly walking to her own chambers. Today was very cold, colder than she had remembered from previous years. The distant roar of the falls of the River Bruinen was fainter and the wind stronger, its chill more piercing than last she remembered. She reached her room and opened the door, stepping inside. "Ah well. I suppose I'll just have to get used to it," she told herself as unpinned her grey cloak and hung it on a short row of wooden pegs.
Something on it caught and stuck fast to her sleeve. She tugged, a rather foolish idea, and whatever it was came loose from her sleeve, but not without first producing a rip in the garment. Celebwen sighed, frustrated, and made a mental note to sew the sleeve later. Then she picked up her cloak again to see what had cause the unfortunate accident.
She saw that the Lothlórien pin that Haldir had given her all those years ago was coming loose from the material. She slipped it out and dropped it into her palm, stepping closer to the fading daylight falling through her window. She held it up to the light and peered intently at it. The brightness of the emeralds and the gold had not faded with the passage of time though the shine was somewhat hidden under a couple layers of dirt that had gotten stuck there with all of her journeyings. Celebwen laid it down on nearby table and gazed at for a long time, or at least appeared too. For though her eyes seemed to rest upon the small object lying glistening in the pale winter sunlight that streamed through her window, making a sharp contrast against the white marble table, her mind was elsewhere, traveling the long road of time, remembering when the pin had first been given her...
Celebwen came to a start when her door opened with a bang and she looked up to see her sister Arwen come in, her hands full of what appeared to be clothing. Arwen looked up and saw her sister and said surprised, "Oh Celebwen! I didn't know you were home."
