ARWEN'S DOOM

Arwen's first encounter with Aragorn. Please comment nicely!

"Honor is the most important thing in life," said the Lady Galadriel. Arwen was listening, but at the same time she was distracted by the sight of mounted men, tall riders on horseback passing through the palace gates. Their leader looked like a king!

"Is it right for guests to be greeted by servants instead of by the royal family?" The raven-haired elf princess looked longingly out the window, watching the weary riders dismount after a long journey. Her blue eyes lingered on the gaunt, grim-faced leader. His face was sad and marked with a pain deeper than wounds.

"It is right for the lovely daughter of Elrond to keep to her room, mind her studies, and behave as a proper young lady should." Golden-haired Lady Galadriel closed her book with a smile, ending the lesson on ancient magic. With all her knowledge, it was easy for the wisest and fairest of all elf-queens to read the confused and troubled yearning in Arwen's innocent blue eyes. "In time, your noble father will choose a proper husband from one of the ancient elven houses. But until then, no good can come from gazing on mortal men. Better to close those tired eyes and rest."

"But I don't want . . ." Arwen was about to say that she wasn't tired and she didn't want to rest. But before she could get the angry words out a sudden sleepiness swept over her like a wave. Wise Galadriel smiled knowingly as Arwen slipped into slumber.

The next day at meal time, Arwen sat in the great hall and listened while the tall dark rider begged her father Elrond for aid.

"Orcs do more than kill," the man called Aragorn said. "They burn, they torture. We have too few men, and our weapons are poor. Help us to defend the women and children. Help us, help us . . ."

"I don't understand why my father does nothing," Arwen said that night, pacing back and forth in her chamber like a caged tiger. All day long she had struggled to find a moment alone with the noble Aragorn. But at every turn someone blocked her path.

"Your father's honor depends on keeping Rivendell safe," Galadriel replied, patting a spot beside her on the bed. Arwen didn't want to sit down, but when she did, the wise Galadriel picked up a delicate golden hairbrush and began running it through her long, black hair. "Elrond knows that men's lives are brief, but our elven world will last forever. Pain is the fate of men. To help them might mean losing our own place in the world. Men grow old and die, Arwen. Would you like to grow old and die? Better to close your eyes to the sadness and suffering of men."

"Mm." This time Arwen didn't try to argue. Instead she closed her eyes and relaxed, tilting her head back and allowing Galadriel's skilled, knowing hands to brush and stroke her long black hair. Arwen's head seemed to grow heavier and heavier. Before long the wisest and fairest of all elf-queens was putting her to bed.

But Arwen was only pretending to fall asleep. The moment she was alone she rose from her bed and put on a cloak. Down, down, down she went in her bare feet, slipping silently from the palace of Elrond and seeking out the quarters of Aragorn.

"Why have you come?" The haunted eyes of the hero were like a hot brand upon her, marking her as his, making her burn.

"To help you, to give aid with magic and my prayers." That was the speech Arwen had memorized, reciting it over and over in her head to fight off sleep while wise Galadriel brushed her hair. But when she looked into Aragorn's eyes she spoke different words. Arwen knew these words would be her downfall and doom.

"I want you to kiss me."