To The End Of Her Days - A Fanfiction Sequel to The Lord of the Rings

Chapter 2 - In the House of Master Samwise

The next day, Arwen and her escorts set out from Minas Tirith. Eldarion watched them ride away from the highest point of the city's wall, wondering how long it would be before he would see his best friend. Arwen and her escorts went to meet King Elessar and Queen Arwen, who had been dwelling by Lake Evendim, north of Hobbiton and the Shire for a time of rest and renewal. After Arwen arrived on Mid Summer's Day, she spent the week with the king and queen, asking them about the Shire and her kin-folk.

"Do you think they will like me?" She asked.

"They will love you, my child," The king answered.

"Will they love me as much as you love me?"

"Of course. The love for you in our house is great, but the love they have for you will be just as great because they loved your father dearly."

"Will I find friends as good as Eldarion and Belthil?"

"Something tells me you will have more friends than you have ever had before."

Suddenly, Arwen was reminded of questions she had pondered for a long time.

"Elessar, in all the years I lived in your house, you treated me as your daughter. Why didn't you have me call you Ada like your children call you, even though you have always been like a father to me?"

The king said, "I never had you call me Ada because I am not your father."

The queen said, "We have always loved you as our own, but you have a father who loves you immensely. We never wanted you to forget your father, so we have continued to remind you of his love. That is the reason we choose to give you the Evenstar when you left the White City to return to your homeland. Just as it was when I gave it to your father, it will bring you aid when you face your greatest fears and remind you that you will be with your father again, when the time is right."

Arwen held the gem around her neck and smiled as he thought about her father's love, feeling his presence with this gift. After a long moment, she asked, "Elessar, I am grateful that you took me in, but why didn't I just live among my kin in the first place? Why did you take me into your family?"

"We took you into our home for many reasons," the king answered. "Some, you are still too young to understand, but I will tell you that we were honoring your father's wishes. He wanted you to learn and understand all the ways of Middle-earth, and he knew you would not be educated this way in your homeland."

"Part of me wishes I had grown up in the Shire," Arwen regretted. "I hate having to go through all this change! I will miss you, the queen, Eldarion, Belthil, and everyone else so much! I hate leaving everything I have known behind!"

The king put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Oh, my child, you must understand that everything in your life is happening for a reason. It may be for reasons you cannot yet understand, but one day you will. For now, you must never lose sight of the part you are playing in the greater tale."

King Elessar often talked about the greater tale of which she was a part, but she didn't fully understand what he meant. She knew there was a greater purpose for her life, but it was not always easy to see. She knew she would someday find what her purpose was in that greater tale, but for now, she was grateful for the part she was playing.

~

After a week, the king, the queen, and Arwen set out from Lake Evendim. The king arranged a meeting with Sam, his daughter Elanor, Pippin, and Merry at the Brandywine Bridge. Since the king had passed an edict several years before that banned men from entering the Shire, they had to meet just over the Shire's border. The day before they arrived, the king warned Arwen that Merry and Pippin would not know who she was.