"To the Day's Rising," by Suzelle

[suzll.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Challenge: Elessar returns to Arnor
Format: Short Story
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG
Warnings: N/A
Characters: Aragorn, Arwen, Ivorwen, Nethril (OFC)
Pairings: Aragorn/Arwen
Summary: A year after Sauron's fall, Aragorn returns to visit his family among the Northern Dúnedain.
Creators' Notes (optional): With thanks to cairistiona7 for the beta, and special thanks to guest-star Salvage for betaing for a fandom she's not even in.

With Aragorn and Halbarad both gone, it had fallen to Nethril to assume the duties of acting Chieftain of the Dúnedain, and it had been Nethril who received the messengers the Grey Company sent ahead of their return in August. Flush with the triumph of their king and heartsore at the losses they had faced in Gondor, they had remained in Minas Tirith to witness King Elessar’s wedding to Arwen Undómiel at Midsummer. He would remain in Gondor through the autumn and winter, but intended to set out on a grand tour of the Reunited Kingdom after the snows melted. The Dúnedain spent the winter mourning and rebuilding from their losses, but now all seemed to look towards the East in hope, eager to witness the return of their final Chieftain.

No one looked more than Ivorwen, who had taken up residence in the healer’s cottage following her husband’s death two years before. “I have spent most of my life here, after all,” she had said with a faint smile, “it is only fitting that I end it here as well.” The old woman was too frail to leave her room, most days, but her mind was still sharp as ever, and Nethril found solace in visiting her grandmother on days when her tasks as acting Chieftain did not prove to be too onerous. She and her mother had taken to avoiding each other—Halbarad’s death was still too near to them both—but Ivorwen was content to simply relive fair memories of the past, and her gentle laughter helped to stave off the spring’s grief.

“He will come soon, now,” Ivorwen said, and closed her eyes with a smile. “He will come with his lady, and I will be forced to eat my own words.”

“Oh?” Nethril turned to her grandmother with some surprise. “I did not know the Lady Arwen had ever appeared in your prophecy.”

“My life is not ruled entirely by visions, child,” Ivorwen chided her gently. “Lady Arwen has never entered into my foresight, though perhaps that is part of the problem. I thought their union would be his undoing—the undoing of us all. I told her as much, the year we met. Gilraen…” her eyes clouded, and she shook her head. “Let us just say my daughter did not approve of how I conducted myself, that winter in Rivendell.”

Nethril snorted. “I confess, Nana, I cannot picture you as anything other than diplomatic around such esteemed company as the Lady of Rivendell.”

“That is because you did not know me in my youth,” Ivorwen chuckled. “You shall have to ask Arwen herself, when she is here, and see what sort of regard she holds her husband’s cantankerous grandmother.”

Nethril shook her head. She had yet to meet Aragorn’s fabled betrothed, though from the number of stories he’d told over the years she might as well have known the Evenstar quite well already. In some ways, none of the news from over the mountains felt quite real yet, that life in the Angle was simply doomed to continue as it always had, more difficult and empty with the loss of her brother. None of it would be worth it, until she saw Aragorn with her own eyes.

At last, the horn call sounded, one afternoon at the end of April, and Nethril practically upended her desk in her haste to run to the ramparts. She went to fetch Ivorwen, and the old woman leaned on her arm, her smile barely repressed at the sight of the small party riding through the gates. Aragorn rode at the head of the column beside a tall woman, both dressed in mantles of white, and Nethril could not help but gasp at her cousin's changed bearing, somehow so much lighter and more assured than it had ever been before. There was no mistaking the love in his eyes as he dismounted and took the Lady Arwen's hand, and Nethril's smile widened even as her eyes filled with tears.

Aragorn met Nethril’s eyes briefly, full of happiness and sorrow and something that might have been an apology, but it was Ivorwen he focused his gaze on, and he bowed his head as he knelt before his grandmother. Ivorwen’s breath caught in her throat, and she reached out to touch the green jewel that was fastened in a brooch on his cloak.

“Elessar…” she breathed. “‘I see on his breast a green stone…’”

“I am sorry I could not come sooner, Grandmother,” he murmured. “When you above all others have held faith that hope would be reborn for our people.”

Ivorwen wept and drew him into a tight embrace. “Oh, my dear child—it is enough that I can see you here now.”

***

Nethril and Mellaer worked to put together a hasty welcome feast, held in the field before the Commons under the spring sunset. Aragorn spoke a few words of thanks, toasting memory of the dead, and the evening devolved into revelry and good cheer the likes of which the Angle had not seen in years. There was a light in Mellaer's eye that Nethril had not seen since Halbarad's death, and though Nethril kept half an eye on her mother throughout the meal, concerned the reminder of her losses would prove to be too much for her, Finnael spent the evening surrounded by her grandchildren, who took turns making her laugh with bits of half-formed song. Even the knights of Gondor, stiff and formal at first, made themselves welcome among the Rangers of the North, swapping war stories and tales of misspent youth over pints of ale.

Yet Nethril could not help but notice a rather conspicuous absence, after the tables were cleared and the dances began, and she shook her head before she grabbed a full wineskin off the dias and stole down the familiar path that led to the river. She found Aragorn beside the shore of the Hoarwell, seated upon the grassy knoll that had always been the unofficial sanctuary of Ivorwen and Dírhael’s grandchildren. His sword rested on the ground beside him, and he stared out at the river, the fading sunlight giving the water a golden hue.

“They’re looking for you,” Nethril said. “Your people await their king.”

Aragorn shook his head. “No more of the formalities, Nethril, please. Not tonight. I was only ever Aragorn here. Not Estel, not Strider, not Elessar…let it be so, one last time.”

She sighed, and sat down beside him on the riverbank. She held out the wineskin, and he took a grateful sip.

“They told me your house name,” she said at last, and let out a snort. “Telcontar. There would be no end of talk, if they ever worked out the translation in Bree.”

“I thought it was fitting,” Aragorn’s mouth twitched with a smile. “The sort of touch Dírhael would have appreciated.”

Nethril laughed. “Aye, that he would. So long as your descendants know their forefather took the legacy of his house so very seriously…”

“That is what Halbarad said, when I tried it on him,” Aragorn chuckled. “Fitting for a king who could never let a Mettarë pass without livening up the Chieftain’s Call…”

They lapsed into silence once more, Halbarad’s absence pressing in on them. It had always been the three of them, her brother and her cousin, ever since Aragorn assumed the Chieftainship nearly a lifetime ago. Halbarad his chief lieutenant, the sword-arm and shield, and Nethril in the map room of the Chieftain’s house, providing comfort and council as best she knew. Saelind, Halbarad had taken to calling her, on the cold nights when they tended the fire, debating how many men they could devote to the guard of the Shire. She would laugh and tell him to bite his tongue, that he had known her long enough to know that wisdom was hardly one of her chief traits.  And now, she supposed, the name would die with him.

“I’ve spoken to Mellaer,” Aragorn said, “though I do not know what comfort I can give. It is a sacrifice I never would have dared to ask, had I known…”

“He knew,” Nethril said, her eyes filling with tears in spite of herself. “Stubborn bastard. He would not say it to me or Mellaer, but he knew he wasn’t coming back. It is the most noble sacrifice he could have asked for, to have given his life so you would be king.”

Aragorn did not not reply, but reached out and took her hand in his. She took a long drink from the wineskin before passing it back to him, and they exchanged a look in silent toast to the man she knew he’d loved like a brother. Nethril stared out at the river, wondering if she truly believed in her heart the words she had spoken aloud.

“Did you speak with Ivorwen?” she asked.

Aragorn nodded.  “Arwen is with her now. I had forgotten they had met before, though I am grateful I was not present for it. They seem to be getting on quite well, all things considered. I did not know…” He looked at Nethril, his face stricken. “I did not realize how close to the end she is.”

Nethril looked down at the grass beneath her. Halbarad’s eldest had welcomed his first daughter three years before, and if Nethril had had children of her own, she knew she could well be a grandmother herself by now. Ivorwen had lived a long and full life, indeed, had outlived the majority of her own children. But it would not make the parting any easier.

“I am glad you did not wait longer to come,” she said. “I cannot tell you what it means, that she lived to see her hope fulfilled.”

“I have a feeling I know. There are so many who should have been here.”

“And because of them, there will be many more who follow in their footsteps. Now that you are wedded to the fey Elf-maid with eyes like twilight and a thousand years of legend to her name.” She grinned wickedly at his look of chagrin and stole the wine back from him, looking out over the sunset. “So, cousin of mine. Here we stand, with all of your life’s labors fulfilled. What is it you look to on the horizon now?”

Aragorn sighed, and took another drink from the wineskin. “Ah, Nethril—there is so much I hope to do. A full lifetime ahead and it does not seem like enough. I want to rebuild Annuminas, and dwell beside Lake Evendim, the glory of our forefathers restored. I think of Arnor, so long without a kingdom, and Gondor, so long without a king. And I do not know how to be in two places at once.”

“Arnor will keep,” Nethril said softly. “We have survived this long, haven’t we? Let Gondor steal you back for a time.”

“There will be many in Gondor who will forget that we are a Reunited Kingdom. I would have them remember the land I came from, and have Arnor know that I have not forgotten them.”

“Oh? And how would you have them do that?”

He turned to Nethril. “I was going to wait to ask you this until we had had more time together, but… In Gondor, I have a Steward, descended from the line that has kept the kingdom together for half an Age. He is young, but wiser than his father ever was, and he has a wife I think you would quite like.” He gave a faint smile. “But Gondor is not the only realm that needs a Steward, for when I cannot be there myself. I would not ask it of you, only…”

Nethril looked down at her hands, careworn from years of weaving in her mother’s house and aiding Isilmë in the forge. A weariness had crept up on her these past years, almost without her noticing, the walls of the Angle reminding her of little but hardship and defeat. But the specter of Annuminas loomed in her mind’s eye, alongside the ruins of Fornost and the possibility it might one day be restored. It would be a new challenge, away from the home she had known all her life—but perhaps, now, that was just what was needed.

“Do you remember what I said to you?” she asked. “The first year you returned to us from Rivendell?”

“Family counts for much among the Dúnedain, but friendship does too,” he smiled. “And the future is ours to shape.”

“That has never changed, Aragorn. Not these past sixty years, and not for a hundred more.”

***

Arwen had left by the time Nethril returned to Ivorwen’s room, and the fire had nearly gone down in the hearth. The gentle warmth of spring crept in upon the room, and Nethril wondered if she should put the fire out entirely.

“What was it he asked of you, Nethril?” Ivorwen murmured.

Nethril stared at the dying embers, lost in thought. “He asked me to be Arnor’s Steward. To help him refound Annuminas, beside Lake Evendim.”

“Ah,” Ivorwen smiled. “I had wondered. So the last of it will come to pass.”

Nethril turned back to your grandmother. “Beg pardon?”

“When you were a girl, you once asked me if you had ever entered into any of my foresight. A tall question for such a small child, I said, and that little girls rarely entered into my visions. But the truth was, you had. I simply did not feel the time was right to tell you.”

“A fair answer for such an impertinent question,” Nethril smiled.

Ivorwen gestured to the chair beside her, and Nethril took a seat next to her. “I have had a true dream of you, once, the year after your father died. I saw you standing at the edge of a lake, looking out along the still waters. There was labor and strife ahead of you, but for the first time in your life, you would be at peace.”

Nethril stared at her grandmother, at a loss for words, and Ivorwen reached up to take her face in her hands, kissing her lightly upon the forehead.

“May you find that, my granddaughter. May you find that as I have.”

***

Endnotes

1) Saelind - “Wise Heart,” the name the Elves gave to the wisewoman Andreth in the First Age.

2) The infamous first meeting between Arwen and Ivorwen is the main plot of an older fic of mine, Dead Elvish Writers.

3) Tolkien does not give us Ivorwen’s date of death, but as the Dúnedain were blessed with longer lifespans, I think it is plausible to imagine that she lives to see Aragorn crowned king.

Comments

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed seeing Aragorn reunited with his grandmother now he is king.

[suzll.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

This is such a charming and heartfelt story. You've outdone yourself with this one. It is so graceful and unfolds so beautifully. I really love Nethril more every time I read her.

I adore the idea that Ivorwen survived to see him crowned and for him to come home to visit.

I still cannot read about Halbarad and feel gutted that he had to die. I greatly appreciate that he gets his due in this story.

[suzll.livejournal.com]

Ah, thank you so much, Oshun! I have been very invested for awhile now in the idea that Ivorwen lives to see Aragorn crowned, and I was glad to have the chance to play that out here. And, heh...I am glad you love Nethril...because I have about 25,000 words of a WIP novella from her POV waiting in the wings...

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Ahhh.... that is just right.

I have often wondered what life was like post Ring War for the people Aragorn had led - for in reality they were leaderless once he took up the kingship, for he was as distant a ruler to them as Queen Victoria was to India. He moved on to a life of luxury which was well earned (and probably one he sometimes felt constricted by, as well!), but what improvements were there for those who had cared for his line all those years? I do hope things improved substantially for them.

I would like to think many of them chose to go to Annuminas, and found, for their families, a life with less hardship. And I think Nethril will be an excellent Steward to lead them there.

[suzll.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!!

what improvements were there for those who had cared for his line all those years?

This has been something I have wondered for ages now, and I was very glad to finally have a chance to give at least some answers here. I think Annuminas would provide fulfillment and healing for a lot of them.

[pandemonium-213.livejournal.com]

Another great addition to the Matriarchs of the Dúnedain Cycle! To echo Oshun, this is a graceful story that both answers and asks questions and reaches connects neatly with other fics in the Suz!verse.

Of course, I love your characterizations, particularly that of Ivorwen (oooh, yes, that confrontation with Arwen in Dead Elvish Writers!), and her revelation of the prophecy concerning Nethril is so fitting. Also really appreciated Aragorn's reflective mood and the quiet conversation with Netrhil by the Hoarwell. Halbarad's absence leaves a notable gap, and Aragorn's decision to name Nethril as Steward of Arnor is perfect, and neatly consistent with her leadership experience.

The pacing and the atmospheric setting work very well. You write with an eminently readable style, Suz, and this was a real treat!

[suzll.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much, Pandë! I'm so very glad to hear that you enjoyed this. The inclusion of Ivorwen's prophecy of Nethril was a late addition, so I'm especially pleased that that worked so well for you here.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

...but he knew he wasn’t coming back. It is the most noble sacrifice he could have asked for, to have given his life so you would be king.

It didn't really hit me when I beta'd this (gee, sleeplessness, go figure) but on second reading I'm especially struck by the truth of this line. Halbarad knew his duty and his destiny... had Aragorn tried to stop him from the former to change the latter, it would have seemed to Halbarad like a slap in the face. I've worked that thought into my own stories & WIPs of Halbarad, and I'm working on a Cap shortfic that touches on that same theme (there's a lot of similarities between Halbarad's and Bucky's roles in their respective leaders'/best friends'/kinsman's lives).

So yeah... we're on that same wavelength thing again. When I'm awake enough to realize. *staggers off for more coffee*

[suzll.livejournal.com]

I hope you've had a chance for more coffees now! But, yes...I think, as hard as it is for both Nethril and Aragorn to accept here, Halbarad wouldn't have accepted any other course of action but the one that led to the Pelennor.

Thank you again for betaing this!! <3

[shirebound]

I was only ever Aragorn here. Not Estel, not Strider, not Elessar…let it be so, one last time.

What a wonderful and poignant line. I enjoyed these conversations, and this story, very much.

[suzll.livejournal.com]

Thank you!! This was actually the first line that came to me when thinking about the subject, and the line I constructed the fic around, so I'm glad that it stood out to you here <3.

[engarian.livejournal.com]

I loved this it brought tears to my eyes. And I love that a woman will hold the Stewardship of Arnor as a man does in Gondor. Balance is once more achieved. I'm so happy you bought this prompt.

- Erulisse (one L)

[suzll.livejournal.com]

Aaw, thank you so much!! This means a lot for me to hear.

[dreamflower]

This wonderful! I especially love that Ivorwen lived to see Aragorn come into his kingdoms!

Nethril is a marvelous OC, too. I love how pensive and introspective she is, and how easily she understands her cousin.

[suzll.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! Nethril is one of my favorite OCs to write about, so I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed her.

[zopyrus.livejournal.com]

I can't decide if this fic is a perfect ending, or a perfect beginning. Even though I know you have many other stories to tell about Nethril and Ivorwen and your other Dúnedain OCs, it feels like I am saying goodbye to them here, in the best bittersweet way.

Halbarad's absence (and to a lesser extent Dírhael's) is so palpable, as is Nethril's unspoken grief, when she reflects on the way things used to be for her, Halbarad, and Aragorn--she's clearly preparing herself to be forgotten now that Aragorn has realized his destiny and their little trio has been broken. And then Aragorn's request that she be Steward is such a reversal of that--surprising and cathartic, in the moment.

But it's not actually all that surprising, because you've laid the groundwork so well. Ivorwen's reveal of her prophecy at the end is just confirmation of what we already knew: of course Nethril is going to be a part of the restored kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.

I could go on with little details I loved (Saelind! and the little shout-out to Eowyn!) but I'll spare you. I loved reading this. <3

[suzll.livejournal.com]

This comment was such a nice thing to wake up to on Saturday <3. And I am glad to hear you loved all the little details on top of the overarching themes as well! Both of the ones you mention were ones I was afraid would be a bit too much, so it's very nice to hear they stood out in a good way.

[tehta.livejournal.com]

B2MeM continues to work so well for you. This is truly excellent!

I am sure others have said why more coherently than I can, but what I like here (apart from the cameos or ghost-cameos of the OCs we have all come to care for) is the way the ordinary, non-Aragorn Rangers, as personalized by Nethril, get an actual "happy ending" -- even though they are too humble to expect one, or perhaps too used to duty and sacrifice without any expectation of reward.

Also, the trend of ENDLESS DRINKING in your fics continues, so that's relatable.

[suzll.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!! I have always wondered how life turns out for the ordinary Rangers, and I was really glad to get to explore that here.

And hey, I figure--these people lead way more stressful lives than I do, so they should be drinking AT LEAST as much as I do. Which is to say, definitely at feasts and parties :P.

[huinare.livejournal.com]

This is great. I love the juxtaposition of a kingless people v. a kingdomless people and how Aragorn cannot be in both places at once. Looks like Arnor will have a good Steward in Nethril. And the ending is beautiful.

(Note to self: read Dead Elvish Writers)

[suzll.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm glad that juxtaposition stood out to you--Aragorn would have a lot cut out balancing his duties to the two kingdoms, I've always thought.

(and I hope you enjoy Dead Elvish Writers when you get to it! <3)

[brennanspeaks.livejournal.com]

This was lovely. It has just the right bittersweet feel for Aragorn's reunion with his remaining family. I really enjoyed both your OCs and your take on the canon characters.

[independence1776]

I love this! And I'm practically bouncing up and down in my seat at Nethril being Arnor's Steward.

[suzll.livejournal.com]

Aah, thank you! And I'm very glad that that part appeals to you especially :)

[ladyelleth.livejournal.com]

Okay - I started tearing up the moment Arwen and Aragorn came through the gate, and it didn't quite stop again until the end (still hasn't). You already know how happy it makes me that Nethril gets her reward (and Aeluin says hi to her quasi-aunt, once again!) but seeing this framed into the fic where it belongs is wonderful.

[hhimring]

I love this--Ivorwen and the end, especially.

[zdenka]

This is a wonderful story. It brought tears to my eyes. I really like how you write the society of the Northern Dunadain, and I love your OCs and the way you bring Ivorwen to life.