Chapter 8 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8



A few months later Frodo threw the ring of power into the fiery pits of Mount Doom and Gilthoniel, along with all the other elves, traveled to the White City to pay tribute to Aragorn, king of Gondor. Gilthoniel had never been to Gondor before and she was amazed by it. To her it was absolutely beautiful. She walked inside and walked through the many passageways to where the crowning was taking place. The elves from Rivendell and Mirkwood joined them and Legolas walked at Gilthoniel's side. When they arrived Gilthoniel smiled at Aragorn and looked behind her at a Gondor banner. The elf holding this was none other than Arwen Undómiel and when Aragorn saw her he swept her up into his arms and kissed her. Gilthoniel was remembering when Legolas had, not so long ago, none the same to her. She looked up at him and he smiled down at her and took her hand.

Aragorn and Arwen were married and Tillyena and Nimrodel were the bridesmaids. Everyone was happy and jolly and Gilthoniel felt instantly happy again. Her eyes were back to normal and there was a smile upon her face.

But Gilthoniel's thoughts kept switching back to her brother and she had to leave the room after a while, everyone was too jolly for her liking.

Gilthoniel watched the sun setting and smile coldly as the twilight wind breezed through her hair. It was so peaceful here, she wondered bitterly when it would end.

Legolas came out and touched her arm. Gilthoniel turned around and looked up into his eyes and turned away. She couldn't look at him. Everything was so perfect and he would ruin it if he insisted on talking about `them'.

`Gilthoniel,' he began and Gilthoniel looked down at her feet. She knew what he was going to say, but she didn't want him to say it. `Gilthoniel, I love you.'

Gilthoniel sighed and turned around to face him. She looked hard into his eyes and held his gaze until he was forced to look away. `Do you Legolas? Do you really? Do you actually know what love is?'

Legolas flinched but stared back at her. `Yes, I do know what love is, and I also know that I love you. Gilthoniel will you marry me?'

Gilthoniel stepped backwards. “Legolas, you say you love me, but do I love you? I'm not sure about that anymore. Before you were all I could think about, and now there's nothing where you used to be. I don't know if I love you and I don't know if I ever will, so please let me just sort out my life before you talk about marriage.'

Gilthoniel turned and walked away and she felt her heart breaking into a thousand pieces. She longed to be with him but she knew she couldn't. Not now. If only she could turn back time.

But she couldn't. She continued walking at a steady pace, ignoring Legolas' cries for her to come back. She could hear him running to catch her up and only stopped when he grabbed her arm.

`Gilthoniel, what's going on?' Legolas demanded. `Tell me then I can correct it.'

`So you can bring Haldir back to life, can you? You can make me feel exactly the same way I used to about you? Can you do that, Legolas, can you?' Gilthoniel's voice was rising steadily and she turned away from him, knowing her eyes were filling with tears.

Legolas said nothing and Gilthoniel heard him going back to the festivities inside. Gilthoniel sat down, rested her head on her knees and began to cry.

`Do we cry that he is gone, or smile that he lived?' came a deep voice behind her. Gilthoniel turned round to see Gandalf towering over her.

She stood up and allowed Gandalf to wrap his arms around her. She cried into his shoulder and choked through her tears `I'd do anything to bring him back.'

Gandalf looked at her surprised then said `Follow me. You cannot bring Haldir back, but you can stop others meeting a similar fate.'



Gilthoniel rode back to Lorien the next day. She and her brothers had waved goodbye to the people of Gondor and their new king. Legolas kissed her goodbye but Gilthoniel did not return it. Over her shoulder was a small sack that Gandalf had given her. Gilthoniel had promised not to tell a single soul what was in it and not to use it unless it was an emergency.

They arrived back in Lorien and she went straight back up to her room to hide the sack. Elendil bounded happily about when she entered and Gilthoniel gave her the remainders of the wedding feast that Gilthoniel had relieved Aragorn of. She bent down and stroked the wolf's fur. When she stood Elendil jumped onto the bend and curled up as if to go to sleep. But her eye followed Gilthoniel around the room as if she expected more treats.

Gilthoniel looked out of her window at the bright sunny afternoon. She hated being cooped up inside, as you know, and she desperately needed to go out there now.

Gilthoniel whistled and Elendil jumped off the bed and padded towards her. Gilthoniel put on her clock, grabbed her bow and arrows and ran outside.

Gilthoniel and Elendil ran through the forest together as if without a care in the world. Gilthoniel wished this was so; she detested having her brother's face in her mind as if taunting her. She ran even faster in an attempt to block him out. Elendil caught up with her easily. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she ran as if out of breath, but she ran with ease as if it wasn't tiring her at all.

Gilthoniel suddenly felt out of breath as she watched Elendil and she stopped by a nearby tree, panting. She stretched her arms and legs before she sat down against the tree and closed her eyes. Within minutes she was dreaming.



She picked up her bow and walked in the direction Rumil and Halibrien were firing their arrows. She fired an arrow, replaced it by another one, and fired again, and again, and again. She fired arrows at whatever moved, she did not care what that thing was, she just wanted it dead.

Suddenly, smack! An arrow had been shot and whizzed through the air. It hit Gilthoniel in the chest and she staggered backward. She tripped on a rock and fell down. Rumil ran over to her and dragged her back to Halibrien. Halibrien fires more arrows but there was no pint, all the orcs had gone. They'd run away, terrified of this girl elf with her bow and arrow and deadly precise aim.

Rumil bent over Gilthoniel and looked into her eyes. They slowly went from hazel to purple and she smiled.

Fëanor came running over and gasped at the sight of the blood spurting from her chest all over her white dress. Gilthoniel looked up at them all and almost laughed, but all that came out was a crocking noise before she couldn't crock anymore and coughing erupted from her throat. As she coughed, blood spurted out of her throat and splattered onto her dress, staining the little white left red

Rumil's eyes filled with tears as he watched his little sister slowly dying. She reached out a hand for his.

`Don't be sad,' Gilthoniel chocked and coughed some more. She looked her brother deep in the eye and said `I'll finally be with the man I love.'

Fëanor looked shocked and Gilthoniel attempted to laugh again. `Yes Fëanor, it was me he wanted. He loved me, he told me just before he died. Not you. He never loved you.'

Fëanor's eyes filled with tears and she ran back into the hut. Gilthoniel smiled at her brother and Halibrien. `I'll miss you. Come and see me soon.' She laughed again and the laugh turned into a coughing fit. More and more blood flowed out of her mouth and her coughing became worse. The sound of it was so terrifying, so sad, so disturbing the Rumil wanted to cover his ears rather than listen to it.

Suddenly, all was silent. Gilthoniel's eyes rolled back into her head and she ceased breathing. She was dead.



Gilthoniel woke up panting, gasping for breath. She got up and looked around her. The sun was setting and she knew that her brothers would be out looking for her. She stood and set off running back towards Lorien with Elendil by her side..

As she came closer to the city she noticed torches on either side. Rumil stood ten yards away, staring at her. When she reached him he put his arm around her shoulders and steered her inside. He lead her up to her room where a beautifully tailored black lacy dress lay on her bed. She shooed Rumil from the room and put it on. She looked in the mirror at her reflection and couldn't believe that it was her staring back.

She let Rumil in again and he picked up a black veil that had been lying next to the dress. After fixing it in her hair he covered her face with it. Then he took her arm and led her back outside.

Together they walked down to the river Nimrodel and Gilthoniel saw why she was dress up. Lying on one of the little boats was Haldir's body, lifeless and pale. His body was surrounded by straw and hay to set alight. Gilthoniel walked up to the boat and took his hand. It was like ice. She dropped it and went to stand beside her brothers. Findiel came and stood beside her and she managed to give him a small smile before then turned to face Haldir. One by one elves went up to give him their final farewells. Findiel put his bow and arrow quiver beside him then backed away.

Then it was her turn. She, Rumil and Orophin walked up to stand beside him. Rumil and Orophin each put in one of their arrows and Gilthoniel took off the necklace around her neck, a beautiful one that Haldir had given her for her thirteenth birthday, with blue flowers and silver stars dangling from it. It wasn't her special necklace, but it was one of her favorites so she opened one of his hands and entwined the chain around his fingers, then closed his fist again. She also picked some lilies from the riverbank and put them in his other hand.

When she stepped back, several elves stepped forward and lit the straw. The whole boat was soon ablaze and they pushed it onto the river. As it floated away Gilthoniel watched it as it floated slowly down the river. It seem that it had finally dawned on her that she'd lost her brother forever.

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