The months passed in an interminable blur. Glóin
remained in Rivendell for a while after the Fellowship left, and I got to
know him a little better. Gimli had told him about our engagement, and
Glóin was ready to accept me as his daughter whatever happened to
Gimli. He taught me the difficult language of the Dwarves. It
was an honor to be taught that language at all, because they guard it carefully.
I had a rather odd accent, but I learned to speak it rather well. We
had a fair share of laughs when things came out funny. Arwen and I
became good friends. She taught me Sindarin, and I helped her sew a
banner with the emblem of the house of Elendil. If I ever felt lonely
or homesick, she would come up with something to distract me. I came
to feel more at home there in Middle Earth than I ever had before.
Glóin left after a while, and Arwen and I continued
our work. Any time I was tempted to be depressed, I had only to look
at her. Since the Fellowship had left, she had been a pillar of strength.
I think she had been preparing for this for many years. She had far
more at stake than I did. If Aragorn died, the grief would probably kill
her. She was prepared to live a mortal life with him, but alone, immortality
would become a burden.
One day, word came from Lady Galadriel in Lothlórien
that Aragorn had need of his kinsmen. Arwen's twin brothers Elladan
and Elrohir left with a company of thirty of the Dúnedain, taking the
banner with them. We weren't sure what to think, but Arwen and Elrond
continued to hope. Boromir had been killed, but his was the only loss
Lady Galadriel reported. She would have told us about any other deaths,
and it was a little consolation.
Time continued to drag on, until word finally came—the
war was over. The Ring was destroyed. Aragorn was crowned king
of Gondor and Arnor. We left for Lothlórien, where I met Arwen's
grandmother, Galadriel. We traveled with Galadriel and Celeborn the
rest of the way to Minas Tirith.
During the journey, Galadriel and I became close friends.
She held a special love for Gimli, who had done the audacious and begged
of her a strand of hair. I had to laugh at the story, and how she had
finally made that stubborn Dwarf realize that not all Elves are evil.
She remembered back so far that she could remember the days of the first
age when there was little animosity between the two races, and could also
remember the wars and dark days that were the cause of the mutual distrust
between the two races. Through her stories, I finally started to understand
some of the subtleties of this place.
We finally came to Minas Tirith, and I stood by Arwen
as she married King Elessar on Mid-year's day. Gimli and I were married
a few days later. We debated about what kind of marriage ceremony to
have, and ended up with a blend of several. I wore a white gown that
was a gift from Galadriel, who stood by me and gave her blessing. King
Elessar performed the ceremony. I wasn't exactly nervous; it was more
like a sense of anticipation, something like when I was waiting for a tae
kwon do certificate I knew I'd earned, but I still had to wait for it.
I'd gone through that a lot of times, but this time the feeling was far more
intense (not too surprising). We said our vows in Dwarvish; no one
else understood, but we didn't mind. After the ceremony, there was
a banquet and a wonderful dance. The day was about as perfect as it
ever could have been.
Later that night, I remembered the Dwarvish prophecy.
"Things did work out after all, didn't they, Gimli? These days have
been hard, but all the while, there was hope. You risked everything,
and it turned out well."
"I'm not the only one who risked a lot. You risked
your heart for someone who probably wouldn't survive."
"Yeah, but you did survive. I'll have to thank Éomer
for that. And now you've got to put up with me!" I got tickled
for that.
We returned to Erebor, then went south to the Glittering
Caves, where we lived for many years. For whatever reason, I aged slowly,
aging perhaps a year for every three we spent on Middle Earth. We attributed
it to Galadriel's blessing, but it was only a guess. Legolas visited
often, and he and Gimli often went off on adventures. I just had to
hope they wouldn't kill themselves. I also learned Dwarves don't make
very good patients.
King Elessar died 120 years after the war ended.
Legolas brought the news. He also told us he was preparing to leave
Middle Earth. What is more, he wanted to take us with him. So,
he built a ship, and we departed Middle Earth for Valinor, where we were
received warmly. Galadriel and Gandalf must have had something to do
with our permission to come here, but they won't say. Oh, well.
I'm home.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story. I have loved hearing from you and hope you've enjoyed it. Specific thanks go to Caitie, Gimli, the peace people, love park, annakas, Gimli der Zwerg, Tina, the wannabe dwarf, Thalia Weaver, grunge muffin, and Anya - Ring of Sarcasm.
What I'm up to: I have two other posted stories: one is a M*A*S*H parody/crossover in which the M*A*S*H characters actually replace the LOTR characters; the other is an introduced character fic with Worf (from Star Trek). Both are accessible on my bio page. I'm also working on a new romance, which I hope to post sometime soon, but I'm still trying to get the ending to work out properly. Let me know if you would like an email when I begin posting it.