In the Garden

Title: In the Garden, Chapter 31
Author: Sorsha
Fandom/Pairing: Elrond/OFC, others implied
Rating: R
Warning: AU (Story set several hundred years after ROTK in Aman); Het.
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated.
Archive: AFF; FF
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Lady Victoria for betaing this fic.
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to Prof. Tolkien. A quick check of my bank account should prove I’m not making anything off of writing my stories. Sigh!
Summary: Life in the Blessed Land has not been so blessed for Elrond. Can the happiness that has long eluded him be found in the words of a red-bound journal, the help of his scheming friends, and the granting of a wish that none thought possible?

Chapter 31 --- The Debate

Silence greeted the conclusion of his speech. Hardly daring to breath, Elrond cautiously glanced around the circle. The inscrutable calm of each face defied his attempts to discover what support he had for his request. The continuing silence did little to calm his fears.

Manwë’s voice spoke to his heart. “Dear Elrond, relax! Our silence signifies nothing. We Valar perceive time differently than the Children of the Ilúvatar. What you ask must be weighted carefully before we render a decision. Such an action will set precedent for future requests and we must make a decision that considers this possibility.”

Inclining his head with respect, the elf lord asked, “I do not know what I am to do next, my lord. Do you wish me to remain here… or return to the ground?”

“We would have you wait here until we have received all of the information we will need to debate the merits of your petition. My kindred and I may have questions for you to answer, but first we will hear if there is opposition to your petition from among your brethren.” The Vala glanced at his Herald and gave a nod.

In a booming voice, Eönwë called, “The Valar have received the petition and now will listen to any that wish to oppose this request. If there are any here present that would like to oppose the merits of this petition, let them step to the foot of the mound to be recognised.”

After a moment, a lone elf stepped into the light at the base of the mound. Elrond stifled a groan as he recognised his opposition… Ingwë, High King of the Elves. The Vanyar had long been outspoken in his lack of regard for most of the elves that had come from Middle-earth. His contempt for the Exiles and their descendents was legend.*

Since his arrival in these lands, Ingwë had enjoyed the exalted position at the foot of the throne of Manwë. While the other elven lines had moved about the lands of Arda, the Vanyar under Ingwë’s rule had settled in Valimar and on the slopes of Taniquetil near the palace of Manwë and Varda. The repeated outrages of Fëanor, culminating in the kinslaying at Alqualondë and the Doom of the Noldor, had outraged the Vanyar who now bore the title High King of the Elves.

That he had been forced to send his kin and others of the Noldor and Teleri to fight in the War of Wraith as part of the Host of Valinor had secretly infuriated Ingwë. In his heart, he blamed the death of those that died in the ranks of the Host on the Exiles, and to a lesser extent, the interlopers that had come begging for the aid of the Valar. That two that carried the blood of the Secondborn were allowed to enter Aman was offence enough; that they should have been given the right to choose their fate… join the ranks of the Firstborn had rankled for millennia.

He likewise bore no love for their son, a mixed breed that cheapened the title elf lord in his estimation. He had made no secret of his opinion and had openly enjoyed the scandals that had haunted Elrond’s time in the Blessed Lands. Elrond had no doubts he had come to the Ring with every intension of fighting his petition with all of his might.

When no other elf stepped forward to join the High King, the Herald intoned, “My Lord Manwë, the Lord Ingwë wishes to oppose this request.”

At Manwë’s nod, Ilmarë, the Handmaiden, instructed, “Lord Ingwë, you are invited to approach the Valar.”

-----

Exposed to the eyes of Valinor as he was, the time it took the High King to complete the climb seemed an eternity for Elrond. The desire to lash out and demand an answer on the merits of his own petition burned at the tip of his tongue, but the logic and reason that had governed his life kept him quiet. Forcing a neutral expression to his face, he watched the Vanyar’s arrival.

“Arise, Ingwë and share with us your thoughts,” Manwë directed.

Rising to his feet, the High King bowed low to the Vala. “My lords and ladies… our laws are clear. Once marriage vows are taken and the union consummated, the marriage is inviolate. There are no exceptions. That the peredhel and his…lady wife took vows for reasons other than love offers no basis for their being set aside. The laws are clear. He has not denied that the vows were taken freely, for valid reasons. He has not denied that the marriage was consummated. That he claims no bond formed is… highly suspect and it defies the will of the One.”

“It should be further noted that one of the Valar serves as witness to the taking of vows at an elven wedding. Had that Vala felt the reasons for the marriage inappropriate, they would not have been permitted to consummate the union.” Smirking at the stone-faced elf lord to his left, he continued, “That it was is beyond doubt. The peredhel even used the support of his sons… sons of that marriage, to support his petition.”

“All of Valinor knows the true reason for his request… his wife is no lady. She is a whore… the daughter of kinslayers and has defiled the sanctity of marriage with her wanton behaviour. I suppose it is to his credit that he made this attempt, without seeking to drag that ugly business before the Valar, but our laws make no allowance for the breaking of a bond for any reason… even adultery. Whether he was unable to keep her attentions or she was promiscuous by nature is of no matter. They are wed and so they must stay.” Bowing again, he concluded, “Our laws are clear.”

-----

The blood pounded in his ears. Only the practice of an elven lifetime allowed Elrond the self-control necessary to retain control of his anger… his fury. While he had known the unavoidable reality of the arguments the Vanyar would offer, he had not been prepared for the vitriolic quality of his attack. It had been needlessly personal and staggeringly vicious. /To call any elleth a whore in public is inexcusable! To call Galadriel and Celeborn kinslayers…!/

It took a moment for the voice of the Lady Estë to penetrate his awareness so great was his anger. “… the substance of Lord Ingwë’s comments are logically part of what we must debate, but his conduct while presenting them was inexcusable! While Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn were among the Exiles, they were never kinslayers! To call one of our people by so heinous a name as whore before all of Aman was unforgivable. To refuse to address Lord Elrond in a disrespectful manner was childish in the extreme!”

“Indeed, I agree! Lord Ingwë, you let your personal opinions get the better of you. You were invited to address the merits of Lord Elrond’s petition. Your conduct is most disappointing,” Manwë observed, a fierce scowl darkening his face.

Bowing his head, the proud Vanyar attempted to excuse his behaviour. “I apologise if I have given offence. I felt it was vital to point out the obvious flaws in… Lord Elrond’s statements and I was merely seeking to suggest that his reasons were less… savoury and heroic than he was suggesting.”

Holding up a hand to prevent further angry words from being exchanged, the Lord of the Valar asked, “Calm yourself, dear Estë… I quite agree with your outrage.”

“Ingwë, you seem wilfully determined to continue in this manner. We are greatly displeased by your attitude. You will step to one side and not speak again unless one of us addresses you,” Manwë ordered, clearly angry with the elf that had long enjoyed a place of prominence in his court.

Stunned by the dismissal, the High King cast a furious glare at the seething peredhel and stepped to the side as instructed. “As you wish, my lord.”

“As there appears to be no others that wish to oppose this petition, we will now hear from those that wish to support it. Eönwë, call them forth,” he demanded.

Within seconds of the announcement, dozens of elves crowded the base of the mound prepared to champion the elf lord’s petition. A brief wave of amusement flittered among the Powers as they watched the large group jockey to speak first. Seeing the Sindarin King Elwë use his great height and physical presence to achieve that position, he nodded to his wife’s Handmaiden. Her voice again drifted over the Ring.

“Lord Elwë, the Valar recognise you and bid you to ascend the stairs.”

-----

Elrond stared at the marble platform at his feet, unwilling to chance meeting the Vanyar’s eyes. /Arrogant son-of-an-orc! How dare he use this night as a chance to air his contempt for the elves of Middle-earth… the Exiles! He has never left the safety of these shores…/

*Relax Elrond. We are all too aware of this problem. Tonight is not the night to address these grievances. Rest assured you and your people’s plight is of great concern to the Valar and you will play a role in helping resolve them,* Lord Irmo’s voice soothed. *For tonight, let us keep focused on the single issue before us, your petition. His arguments were to be expected… indeed must be addressed before we can render a decision.*

Calmed by the gentle admonishment, Elrond bowed his head and forced his mind to settle. A movement to his right drew his attention. His distant grandfather had arrived, his towering height and flowing silver hair making him a wondrous sight. That the words of the Vanyar king had incited his legendary temper was clear.

“Arise Elwë. What say you in defence of your grandson’s petition?”

“My lords and ladies,” Elu Thingol began. “I thank you for the honour of addressing you on a matter of great importance to me and my kin. With all due deference to the High King, he was wrong to have dismissed Lord Elrond… my grandson’s arguments as without merit. Consider, if you will, the basic fact that Ingwë has not set foot in Middle-earth since he followed Lord Oromë here so long ago. Much changed in the time after Morgoth polluted those lands with his evil. He and all those that have lived in Aman can have no idea of what our peoples suffered. He was not among those of the Host sent in your name. He has never seen firsthand the horrors war brings. He has been blessed to have no such memories.”

“While I have not called the land of my birth home for many millennia, I know all too well the misery and despair that rolled like waves across that land as first Morgoth… then Sauron spread destruction and evil. Sauron’s defeat at Mordor was but a temporary reprieve. The Firstborn knew this… knew he would return to threaten the peace of Middle-earth unless the One Ring was destroyed. The times demanded a leader be found, but who was there that could bear that burden?”

“While Elrond was my heir, Doriath was lost. While he was the only High Prince of the Noldor left after Gil-Galad’s death in Mordor, he came to that by the maternal line, and the Noldor do not accept a maternal lineage as a valid claim to their throne. And while his spirit is enriched by the blood of my dear wife, many would never accept him as their king because he also carries the blood of the Secondborn in his veins.”

“Who else was there to unite and lead our peoples? Lady Galadriel is the daughter of Lord Finarfin, not a son, so she could not claim the throne. Lord Celeborn is Teleri… my nephew, but not my heir. Lord Cirdan lacked both the desire and a valid claim to the throne.” Pausing, he looked to his left to give his grandson a reassuring smile. “King Thranduil and his people in Greenwood were still reeling from the loss of so many in the war … his father included. They wanted to withdraw and bother no more in the affairs of Middle-earth. Amroth had succeeded his father in Lothlorien, but he had no desire for the greater kingship and was often away from the Golden Wood.”

“There was no one to assume the kingship at a time when unity and stability was vital to our people. With Galadriel and Celeborn’s assumption of the rule of Lothlorien at Amroth’s death, the only means of providing any stability was a marriage to unite that storied realm with the sanctuary of Imladris. This marriage was vital to all of Middle-earth.”

Sighing, Elwë offered, “It is easy for those born in easier times and places… for those not born to bear such burdens, to underestimate the cost and the weight of those duties and obligations. Those so burdened often have less free will and fewer choices than the rest. They must often put the good of the whole above personal interests… personal desires.”

“Lady Celebrian and Lord Elrond were faced with just that situation and, to their credit, chose to bow to the needs of the greater good. I have no doubt that the Valar knew these facts as well… better than they.” Squaring his shoulders, he added, “Leadership demands we make hard choices, even those choices that seemingly violate the established rules and laws generally accepted as unalterable. Leaders do not always have at their disposal all the options that they might like to have had. This is true for the Children of Ilúvatar and I suspect, the Valar as well.”

“In my time as King, I sent many good elves to their death as warriors of our people. I never took that duty lightly, but when it was necessary, I made those life and death decisions.” Looking at Elrond a second time, he challenged, “Show me one ruler that claims never to have made such a decision for I doubt one exists. Even my old friend Ingwë sent elves to join the Host… committed some to horrible fates. It is the nature of leadership, its greatest burden.”

“My grandson faced such decisions more than any I can name. He and his twin survived the bloodshed of the kinslaying at the Havens of Sirion. They endured their time in their captor’s camp before finding a place at the court of Gil-Galad. They fought amongst the Host as youth scarcely past their majority. Elrond served his people as Herald to the King and led forces in defence of Eregion… led the survivors to the founding of Imladris… helped organise the Last Alliance and fought at his foster father’s side. He kept his people safe and bore the burden of Vilya, the Ring of the Air.”

“He devoted his life to enriching Middle-earth with his great libraries, his teaching, his music, his gifts as a healer… his leadership on the White Council. His realm became a place of sanctuary and healing for our peoples… all peoples of that land. He succoured the Dúnedain and opened his heart to raise one as his own, the King that lead Middle-earth to its victory over Sauron. He endured the loss of his twin and his daughter… their blood enriching the line of kings and aiding the building of a free and peaceful land.”

“I retell all of this not for the benefit of the Valar for well you know these things and more. No, I tell them to remind the rest of us of the many sacrifices Elrond has made to serve the will of the One… to serve the Valar. One can little doubt the honour with which he approached his duties, nor should we question the reasons he has offered for his marriage.”

“I also tell these tales to illustrate the burdens that fall to those that led. I have no doubt your choice must have lain heavily upon your hearts that so difficult a chose must be made, but the Valar knew the reasons for their marriage and accepted the need for this sacrifice. The Vala who witnessed their marriage knew this and knew also that the bond never formed because the reasons for the marriage were not as Eru would have wished. Sacrifices had to be made for the greater good. Thus, the marriage was allowed and the union was consummated without a bond of marriage. So it was… and so it had to be.”

“But the reasons for that union no longer exist. The Eldar no longer call Middle-earth home… we have no part to play in its present. By the fact Eru did not allow a bond to form, I suggest it was his will that this day would come, when Elrond would stand before you to ask to be freed of the vows that bind his life.”

“He and Celebrian did as they were bid and have suffered the price of a marriage that was not established upon the foundation of a bond. My family and I join his petition to the Valar to let them at last be free of this burden and that you help them remake their lives. My grandson was ever faithful to your service. I ask that you honour that with this boon.”

-----

As the voice of Elu Thingol died away, a gentle breeze drifted through the Ring. A soft sigh of pleasure lifted to the heights of the platform… to the columns from those gathered in the second ring. Elrond watched with poorly disguised curiosity, as the Valar paused to listen to the night air with rapt attention. The pull of his Maia blood whispered that the One hovered near… nay, all around them. What this meant he did not know, but his racing heart calmed as the breeze caressed his pale cheeks.

-----

Ithil had risen well into the night sky before Manwë turned his attention back to the three elves waiting before him. A faint smile touched his lips as he spoke. “Hannon le, Elwë. We ask that you join Ingwë in awaiting the conclusion of the testimony.” (Thank you…)

Nodding to Ilmarë, the Vala instructed the Handmaiden to call the next witness. “Lord Gil-Galad…”

___

It was just before midnight when the last of those that wished to give testimony on Elrond’s behalf had completed their remarks. Many had risen to offer personal testimony of what his leadership had meant to themselves and their families. Others rose to recount tales of his sacrifices. Still others came to simply thank him for his care.

Many offered some specific piece of their well-crafted strategy that either supported or added to the arguments Elrond and Elwë had already offered. Ereinion spoke of the opposition he had faced in trying to name Elrond his heir, the logic and practicality of such a thing, lost in the ancient argument of the Noldor that he did not descend from a paternal line. Tuor rose to remind the Valar he had been granted a new destiny and allowed to sail to the Blessed Lands to dwell with his beloved Indril, his meaning all to clear. The Valar had the power to change the laws when they felt an individual had earned that privilege. Erestor discussed the concessions to the Hobbits, Melpomaen his good works, and Glorfindel told of the paralyzing uncertainty of the years after Sauron fell in Mordor. Kings and warriors, scholars and healers… farmers and a stable hand, his supporters came from across the ranks of Middle-earth having but one thing in common to their comments… a deep love and respect for the elf lord.

Lindir was the last to make the climb. Once there, he simply played a piece of music he said had come to him while he waited. He bowed low to the Valar and departed saying, “My heart tells me you know what this means.”

Manwë shifted to a more comfortable position as he let his eyes study the elf before him. He was not surprised to see tears swimming in the peredhel’s eyes. The outpouring of support had caught even the Valar unprepared. Glancing around the ring of thrones at his kindred, he noted similar expressions on their faces, though he knew their reactions were still unreadable to the Eldar.

Refocusing on the task at hand, he again nodded to Ilmarë. Her soft clear voice filled the quiet of the Ring. “The Valar call the Lady Celebrian to approach.”

-----

A/N --- This characterization of Ingwë is mostly of my own devising. I needed an opponent and he seemed a likely candidate. There’s not all that much about the Vanyar in Tolkien and to be honest they have always bored me a little... the elven goodie two shoes. lol