Honour Before Love

Chapter Eleven - Reunion

Legolas stood at the prow of the great grey ship he had built, his
fair hair fluttering in the sea-breeze. His sharp blue eyes stared
out, ever searching for that elusive first sight of land and the
first sight of his lover.

More than 120 years had passed since he had bade his beloved and
their daughter farewell. At some times it had seemed to be
interminable, but now the time of reunion was nearly at hand, it
appeared to have slipped by in an instant.

Not a day had gone by in which he had nhoughought of the elf that
held his heart and yet the years had not been without happiness. In
some ways they had been the most fulfilling of his life.

The community of elves he had helped set in Ithilien had thrived
under his governance. It seemed ironic to him that where once he had
rejected ruling in his father's realm, he had come to rule over many
of the same elves that had also rejected Mirkwood and Thranduil.

Legolas briefly wondered what his father was doing now. Slowly they
had rebuilt the bridges between them and he believed Thranduil had
finally come to accept him for who he was, rather than for what he
wanted him to be. It had almost been a tearful parting when he had
ridden to Mirkwood to inform his father that he was leaving for
Valinor. Well almost. Perhaps that was more wishful thinking than
anything else, after all no one changes their entire attitude
overnight.

'When do you think you will sail?' he remembered asking his father.

Thranduil had looked at him uncertainly. 'I am not sure I will,' he
had replied. 'I am a true woodland elf and this is my home. Valinor
holds little attraction for me.'

Legolas had been surprised at how much this had upset him. Many had
been the time when he had wished he would never have to see his
father again, but faced with the fact becoming a reality, he found he
did not like it.

'I will be waiting for you,' Legolas had finally said. Thranduil had
merely nodded his head and changed the conversation to another
subject. They had not mentioned Jarab who, it seemed, was far more
stubborn than even his grandfather and had never set foot in Mirkwood
since their banishment.

'It won't be long now,' came a gruff voice from behind Legolas,
making him turn from his vigil of the sea. He turned to face the
dwarf whose hair was now grey and visage old. It had taken Legolas
much persuasion to get Gimli to spend what little time he had left,
in Valinor. He sometimes thought it was not his friendship that
brought him, but the dwarf's wish to once more gaze on the beauty of
Galadriel.

'And how can you be sure of that?' Legolas asked in an amused
voice. 'Have you sailed this way before?'

Gimli accepted the tease with grace.

'Of course not! Yet even I know that birds do not fly far from
land.' He pointed up in the sky and Legolas saw a small creature
swooping in the sky.

'My apologies, Master Dwarf. I'm afraid I was so concentrated on
looking for land that I did not think to look for other signs.'

Gimli gave a curt nod. 'Well, at least it means I won't have to look
at your moping face for much longer. Lord Elrond is sure to be
waiting at the dock for you.'

'Do you really think so?' asked Legolas anxiously. 'It has been so
long...' He could not stop the doubt showing on his face. Who knew
what changes had occurred whilst he was still residing in Middle-
Earth? Perhaps Elrond had taken one look at Celebrian and forgotten
all about him!

'We'll soon know,' Gimli replied prosaically, not helping Legolas'
nervousness at all. 'As I said, it won't be long now.' Showing more
tact than the elf thought the dwarf was capable of, he left him to
his thoughts.

Of course, Elrond was not the only one he was looking forward to
seeing. He could barely wait to see what sort of elf-maiden Nimowen
had grown into. Plus, Elrohir and Elladan had sailed ten years
earlier. They had wanted to wait until King Elessar had passed, but
both their sea longing and their sister's behest has persuaded them
to go. To his delight, Jarab had decided to stay with him in
Ithilien, and even now was on the same ship. Imladris was now empty
of elves, as was Lothlorien. Only Mirkwood and Ithilien still
thrived.

On his way back from Mirkwood after seeing his father for the last
time, he had detoured to Rivendell to take one, final look at the
place he had been happiest. It had chilled him to see the empty
buildings and the neglected gardens which had once been so
beautiful. Only ten years had passed since the last residents had
left and yet nature had already reclaimed much of it. It had been a
mistake going back. It was time to look forward.

So look forward he did, and he could not contain a shout as his
piercing eyes made out a dark shadow in the distance. Almost
instantly Jarab was at his side.

'Can you see it?' he demanded excitedly, pointing towards the horizon.

'Yes, yes, I can see it!' Jarab replied, equally excited.

They both watched in silence as the shadow grew in shape and texture
and slowly began to separate into colours. Legolas became aware he
was holding onto his son's shoulder tightly, but he could not let
go. He needed something reliable to hold on to.

********

The light was beginning to fade as they finally docked. Legolas and
Jarab had been forced to give up their place at the prow of the ship
to take care of more mundane things such as packing. Neither wanted
to spend a single moment more than was necessary on board.

Nevertheless, they were not the first elves to disembark and the dock
was fairly swarming by the time they did. Anxiously, Legolas looked
around for someone he recognised, relaxing a little when he spotted
Elladan coming towards him.

'Legolas! Jarab! It's good to see you.' Elladan said heartily,
matching the words with strong handshakes. 'I thought for a moment I
wouldn't be able to find you.'

'Where's Elrond?' said Jarab, asking the question that Legolas did
not have the courage to raise.

'Oh, I'm sure he's here somewhere,' Elladan replied quite blithely,
waving a hand in the air. He could not quite hide a smirk.

'Elladan...' Jarab said warningly. 'Don't tease Ada.'

'I honestly don't know. I lost him in amongst all these elves.
Honestly, he's been terrible the last few days. Ever since
grandmother told him you were on your way.'

Legolas let out a sigh of relief. It didn't *sound* like Elrond had
changed his mind about them.

Suddenly there was a parting in the crowd. Legolas' heart stopped as
he saw his grey-eyed lover. Standing next to him was a tall, fair
she-elf.

Slowly he made his way towards them. They were not yet aware of him,
and he could see Elrond agitatedly scanning the crowds. He got to
within three steps of him, when his lover saw him.

'Greetings,' he forced out through a dry throat.

'Legolas,' breathed Elrond, the love unmistakable in his face.

All Legolas' doubts and fears left as both he and Elrond moved
forward and clasped hands and stare into each other's eyes, not quite
believing that they were finally together again - and for good this
time. There was no need for words as they drew together, bodies
melding, lips meeting hungrily. Now was not the time to speak of
what had finally brought Legolas to Valinor - the death of Aragorn
and the beginning of the end for Elrond's firstborn daughter - that
was something to speak of later, when they were alone and could
grieve properly.

A high, slightly amused voice interrupted their reunion:

'Are they always like this?'

As they reluctantly drew apart, Legolas realised that Jarab, Elrohir
and Elladan had found them and that the fair elf at Elrond's side had
been addressing them.

It was Elladan that answered with a short laugh. 'Believe me this is
quite tame, sister! You should be thankful that your bedroom is
nowhere near theirs.'

Legolas blushed. This was not the way he had envisaged meeting his
fully grown daughter. Sensing his discomfort, Elrond gave him a
reassuring smile and squeezed his hand tightly. With his other, he
grasped his daughters hand and drew her forward.

'Nimowen, this is your other father, Legolas.'

'I certainly hope so,' she said in a warm voice, her eyes dancing
with mischief. 'I would hate to think you would greet any other elf
in that fashion!'

Legolas inwardly groaned. He had always assumed Elladan and Elrohir
had got their strange sense of humour from Celebrian, as Jarab did
not have it. Now he knew it was all Elrond's fault. It also made
him wonder what the half-elf had had to deal with over the years, as
it was apparent that his beloved daughter was quite a handful!

'It is good to see you again,' he said in a quiet voice, fighting to
keep his voice steady. 'You were just a little elfling when your
father took you across the sea. Now you are full grown and more
lovely than I could imagine.' Not for the first time, he wondered
how much his lover had told her of his decision to let her go with
Elrond and how she felt about it. Whatever she had been told, it
appeared she did not hold a grudge as she allowed herself to be
embraced. When they parted, Legolas realised Jarab was waiting
impatiently by his side. Reluctantly he let her go, allowing Jarab
to take his place.

'And this is your brother, Jarab,' Elrond said. Jarab smiled at her
nervousl
Ni
Nimowen looked at him critically. 'You don't look much like our
brothers,' she remarked.

Elrond smiled. 'That's because he looks exactly like you.' And it
was true, the brother and sister, with their fair hair and grey eyes,
could almost have been mistaken for twins.

'It's good to see you again, Nimowen,' he said sincerely. 'I have
missed you greatly and I look forward to hearing all about the years
I have missed.'

'I have already heard plenty about you from Elladan and Elrohir,'
Nimowen said with a devilish smile. 'But I'm sure you're not as bad
as they made out!'

Jarab turned and gave his brothers a mock glare as they smirked back
at him. 'I'm sure more than half that they've told you was pure
fiction,' he declared. 'However, I have plenty of tales about these
two that will more than make up for that!' It was his turn to smirk
as the twins own faded and they started to look faintly worried.

'I don't think anything you have to tell will shock Nimowen quite as
much as her news for you and Legolas,' Elladan replied, obviously
hoping to direct the attention away from him and Elrohir.

'Yes, there is more we have to tell you,' Elrond said to Legolas
after shooting Elladan a warning look. 'I would have preferred a
little more time, but Elladan seems to have pre-empted me.' Legolas
felt a claw of worry at the trace of apprehension in his lover's
face. He watched numbly as Elrond beckoned forward a familiar blonde
he had not noticed hovering in the background.

'Haldir,' he greeted politely, though with no real warmth. There was
no love lost between him and the arrogant Marchwarden. Haldir had
never forgiven him for daring to take the place of his Lady's
daughter in Elrond's affections. Thus, he was slightly puzzled about
what the taciturn, former Lothlorien guard was doing being involved
in this intensely family moment. He didn't have to wonder long.

Nimowen smiled at Legolas and then said: 'Father, I would like to
present my husband.'

'Husband?' breathed Legolas, looking at Haldir in disbelief and then
back at Nimowen. 'You're married?' He turned to Elrond,
glaring. 'How could you let this happen?' he demanded. 'She is but
a child and Haldir is thousands of years older than her!'

'I am not a child!' his daughter said hotly, her temper
flaring. 'I'm well past my majority, and besides, you're much, much
younger than Ada.'

'That has nothing to do with it! I was a good deal older when I met
Elrond,' replied Legolas angrily.

'But not necessarily more mature,' Elrohir put in. 'Nimowen and
Haldir have been married five years and they're very happy together.
That's longer than you and Ada ever managed.'

Jarab, who had never met Haldir previously and so had no prejudices
against him, was looking faintly hurt. 'Surely you could have waited
for me and Ada to arrive before getting married?' he said to
Nimowen. 'We have missed so much of your life already...'

Haldir, who had been keeping diplomatically quiet until this point,
visibly flinched at these words. 'I'm afraid we could not wait,' he
said to Jarab almost apologetically. 'You see, we have a daughter...'

'A daughter?' interrupted Legolas, his blue eyes flashing with
displeasure at this latest piece of news. 'You mean...?' Unable to
finish the sentence, he gazed helplessly at Haldir, who nodded,
looking faintly ashamed. 'I cannot believe this!' he
declared. 'Here I was expecting a happy family reunion and what do I
find? One nasty surprise after another!' He looked reproachfully at
his lover. 'It would seem I made a huge mistake letting Nimowen stay
with you. If she has stayed with me, none of this would hahapphappened.'

'But I am happy,' interjected Nimowen with a frown. 'I love Haldir
and we have a beautiful daughter, your *granddaughter*.'

Legolas however, was not listening, as he saw the hurt in Elrond's
face that he had caused with his words. He instantly regretted his
outburst. He had spent years yearning for his lover and yet was now
letting the fact that his daughter was as stubborn as himself when it
came to love, cause a rift between them.

'I didn't mean that,' he said repentantly, everyone else fading into
the background. 'I was just a bit surprised, that's all. I know you
are a wonderful father.'

'But not always as wise as I pretend,' Elrond said dryly. 'Nor
capable of stopping my daughter doing things that are not necessarily
the best for her.'

Legolas knew that Elrond was not just thinking of his youngest
daughter at that point. He gripped his beloved's hand and squeezed
it tightly, then he turned to Nimowen and Haldir. 'I'm sorry...I
overreacted. It's just a lot to take in at once,' he apologised.
They both smiled in relief. Legolas held out to Haldir the hand that
was not held by Elrond. 'Welcome to the family,' he said as Haldir
took it.

*******

It was much later that night after everyone else had retired, that
Legolas and Elrond were to be found, sitting in opposite armchairs
either side of the fire. They surveyed each other silently.

It was only then that Elrond finally spoke of Arwen.

'How was she?' he said quietly. There was no question about whom he
was speaking.

'She was well,' Legolas replied uncomfortably. He had no wish to lie
to his lover, but also had no wish to cause him further pain. 'She
loved Aragorn until the end and ruled beside him with fairness and
grace. She brought up Eldarion well and he will be an admirable
ruler.'

'Did she have any message for me?'

'No, no message.' The golden haired elf looked out the window,
unable to meet his lover's piercing gaze. The truth was that Arwen
had realised too late the cruelty of mortality. That, and the loss of
her husband, had so overwhelmed her that she had not even wished to
think of those who still had the gift she had thrown away. None of
this could Legolas bear to tell his beloved.

'I am glad that she was well,' Elrond said with a finality that made
Legolas realise that he, at least partly, understood what could not
be said.

Legolas stood up and held out his hand. 'I think it's time we
retired. It's been a long day.'

'It's been a long 120 years,' the dark haired elf replied darkly, as
he stood up and accepted his lover's hand. Desire showed on his
face. 'Unless you are too tired?'

'I would never be too tired for you,' Legolas replied fervently, an
answering desire showing. 'And you never know, if Elbereth wishes
it, perhaps we will be granted more children. Children that we can
actually bring up together.'

'I would like that,' Elrond replied slowly. 'If it is what you want
as well?'

'It's what I want,' Legolas assured him solemnly. They drew together
for a kiss that was an affirmation of their words. At last they were
ready to begin their new lives together.

THE END