"Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love." —Khalil Gibran

Author's Note: If you look up the last word of this chapter, it will ruin the entire book for you. Don't. Do. It. Unless you like spoilers, of course. This chapter is dedicated to LadyLindariel (geez, I hope I spelled that right).

I have a new Lord of the Rings fanfiction up, if you are interested! Hopefully, it will be nothing like this one, very upbeat and filled with humor. It's called Leitmotif, for anyone who would like to check it out. Feedback is always loved.

She took a step forward, but then stopped herself from continuing forwards. Durdirith padded up to stand beside her, and touched her arm gently. In a hostile voice, her eldest brother demanded, "Who are you and why are you here?" His horse moved beneath him, and she could tell that it was wishing for a run.

Arwen caught a challenge in Durdirith's eyes, but when he spoke, his voice was disarmingly polite. "I am Durdirith and this is my half-sister, Hethu. We do not have a permanent home, we are but travelers looking and exploring." The lie was told so smoothly that she almost did not notice that he had claimed that she was his sister—half-sister, at that—and her 'name' was not exactly the most worshipping.

She knew that her brother would not buy it, and she knew that he would know that it was her. A small smile lit her mouth as she realized that she missed her family so much. There was a deep ache inside of her that needed them, and she had not bothered to look at it until now. They would always be united, through wherever the came from.

And then he did not.

That ghost of a smile completely disappeared and she gaped at Elladan. He nodded curtly at the pair, "If you would allow us to take you to our haven, all are welcome to abide there, if they wish it." Something in his tone unnerved her, and she unconsciously leaned into Durdirith.

Elladan turned away and spoke to another Elf, and Arwen felt her defiance level rising. She was about to speak up when she felt something else writhe up inside of her. It wanted…to stay. To keep everything the same, to keep who she was to herself. Durdirith whispered softly to her, "They are not asking." When she gave him a sorrowful look, he added, "I would advice against letting anyone know who you are—although undoubtedly your family and friends will most likely recognize you at first sight."

She gave a short bark of laughter and told him, "That is my brother. He does not seem to remember me. Not one bit. Surely he should remember me?"

Durdirith studied Elladan, and then blinked. "Maybe he simply does not want to be to obvious."

"Darling," Arwen drawled, "he does not know who I am."

In that infuriating way, Durdirith raised his left eyebrow. "Darling?"

"Never mind!" She hissed, shoving at him. At the silence, she realized that the rest of the Elves were staring at the pair. "Just…do not make a big deal."

He nodded his head at the rest of the group, "And you are saying that I am the one making a large deal out of this? For I recall laying down the request of you keeping silent."

With a huff, she spat back quietly, "Half-sister? I hope you realize that Elves do not have half-sisters. There is one dam, one sire and that's it. No stepmother, stepfather, none of it. Only one instance in history I can ideate, and that did not turn out so well in the end. Elves. Do. Not. Have. Half. Sisters."

"My father did."

Silence greeted his words, and Arwen dropped her angry demeanor to blink curiously at him. "He did?"

Something sparked his Durdirith's eyes and he answered, "Yes." He turned away from her and back to the other Elves. "I beg you to abandon the discussion."

Elladan dismounted from his chestnut gelding—at least, Arwen assumed that it was a gelding, she was not very good at telling the gender of a horse without looking beneath—and strode towards the disheveled couple. He gazed at her for only a moment more than Durdirith, and her heart plummeted further. There was still the feeling of defiance running beneath her skin, but more than anything, she wanted the warmth of her family. Had she truly changed so much that her own brother did not recognize her?

When she left, she had been an Elfling looking to spend a day or so away from the stress of her family—and, as she had found out, her ignorance. Now, she was an Elleth that loved the wilds of the forests and the mountains. She doubted that she would ever be able to be kept inside for a prolonged period of time, not while she lived. And she certainly did not expect to die anytime soon. Without realizing it, she had changed, and she was not sure if it was for the good or the worse. How would her family react when they figured out—and they would figure out—who she was? Would they be angry with her? Would they be relieved? Would they be overcome with joy? They cared that she had gone, certainly, but how much? She was not insecure when it came to her parents or brothers, for she knew that they all loved her; but she was slightly concerned over whether they had thought that she would be alright on her own. Of course, she knew that she could, but did they?

Throwing caution to the wind, she leaned over to Durdirith and whispered in his ear, "I am afraid."

He gave her a startled glance, and held out a hand to Elladan. "Pardon us for a moment," he told her brother, gently pulling her away. When they reached a distance that he deemed safe enough, he asked analytically, "Why are you afraid?"

"Per se, I am not afraid," she kept her voice low, eyeing the mounted Elves. "I simply do not know what to feel, and that it pushing me to be fearful. Pray tell me, what emotions should I harbor at this moment? Seeing my brother again, after everything that I have done? I do not believe that what I did was fallacious, but he could think differently. And how am I to know? I have not laid eyes on him for many years."

Nothing came out of his mouth. It was open, and Arwen thought that he was going to speak, but he did not. She gazed into his eyes, hoping that she might decipher their depths, and was surprised when they were honest. His face was open, and it showed her every emotion that was processing in his brain. There was everything and nothing all at once, all of him and none of him. At last, he choked out, "Ambarussa. Dear, sweet, Ambarussa."