Companions

Companions
Chapter Three

Arwen stared after the boy and uttered a sigh of relief when he closed the door behind him. Turning, she was met with the sight of a steaming hot bath. The water seemed to call out to her, as if it were the great sea that lay beside Gondor.

With quick motions she removed the rags that she had worn for years, watching them fall to the cool floor. Picking them up with gentle fingers, she set them off to the side with the mysterious package. For a moment she toyed with the idea of opening it, then decided against it, saying to herself, "After I am clean."

She slid into the warm water, gasping at the wonderful feeling of it on her skin, like a sweet caress. Finding a cloth and soap resting on the edge of the bath, she began to lather it upon her body. She ignored the stinging sensations that were brought forth when she touched one of the many cuts or bruises that had been part of her "punishments", she concentrated only on once again being clean. Much of the soap went towards washing her hair, which was matted and in clumps. Ducking under the water, she felt like crying out in happiness. It was such a wonderful feeling to have what seemed to be centuries of grime suddenly lifted. It was almost as if she was being born all over.

Satisfied that she was as clean as she would get tonight, she stepped out. Looking around, she found more cloths to dry herself with and a brush for her hair. Taking it up, she began working the many knots and twists out the long locks. Finally, after what seemed like hours, it lay about her in straight waves, coming nearly to her knees. It would have been much longer had it been free to grow as it pleased.

A memory of her grandmother filled her mind. She was brushing Arwen's hair, then coming only to her shoulders, and from her lips came a sweet song in their native tongue. Galadriel would often sing to her granddaughter, usually songs that she had sung to her mother when she was young as well.

The slight smile that had found its way onto Arwen's face faded at the thought of her mother. When she had been but a child Celebrian had gone into a state of utter depression. To her family it seemed that just lost the will to live. No one knew what caused it, but at times Celebrian was said to have had visions of things that were to come, much as her mother could look into her mirror and see things. Her visions were not always true, since the power was not as strong in her as it was in Galadriel, but later Arwen learned that her mother had had one not long before she died. Her own theory was that her mother had somehow known what terror was to befall Middle-earth and the thought of what would happen to her people and how she would be powerless to stop it caused her depression.

Running her pale fingers through a few strands of hair she thought to herself, 'And now I shall never know.'

She turned, and her attention was once again caught by the package that the boy had given her. Walking over, she picked it up, noticing how light it was. Slowly she undid the wrapping and lifted put its contents.

'Where could they have found a thing such as this?' she wondered in amazement as she held up the dress. Made of an almost elven-like materialthat she had not seen in decades, it was a shimmering white with sparkling gold embroidery around the edge of the sleeves and across the chest. Leaves resembling those of the mallorn trees of Lothlorien were etched into the fabric, leading Arwen to believe that the maker had purposefully tried to copy an elven style.

Slipping into the dress, she looked into one of the many mirrors in the room. Her own reflection was startling. The dress fit in all the right places, showing off the curves of her body, and was tight but not uncomfortably so. The neck dipped low in a v-shape, ending before it would come under the classification of being 'too low'. The sleeves were close until they reached the elbow where they were cut, allowing them to fall off if she lifted her arm. The skirt barely reached the floor, merely brushing against it when she moved. A sash of light gold was around the waist, its color matching the embroidered thread. Her hair hung in light waves all around her, forming what her father had called a halo. Her mother had kept her hair like this,
though it was golden and not dark like Arwen and her father's.

'I almost feel as if I am home,' she thought to herself as a sense of peace washed over her. Breathing deep, she could almost smell the forests of Rivendell that she had played in as a child.

The thing that cut down the illusion were the many twisting cuts and marks that ran their way across her skin. Painful reminders of her previous situation and hints of what could be ahead in the near future.

Her hand reached up to her neck, groping for something that was had not been there in many years. 'If only...'

With one last glance to the mirror she walked out of the room, carrying the various cloths she had used. Looking around, she searched for somewhere to put them. A servant who was passing saw what she was doing and quickly said, "Here my lady, let me take those for you." With a smile and a slight curtsy the girl left, leaving a stunned elf behind.

'My lady? Does she not see what I am? What game are they intent on playing?'

Following Aragorn's instructions, she made her way to the library, finding the door closed. She heard voices on the other side, one of them mentioning her name. Preparing herself for the worst, she knocked and waiting for a moment after, pushed the heavy door open.




~The story of Celebrian was changed from Tolkien's original, I know. It suited the story to have things be this way. I hope no one was offended, but this is an AU after all.~