Until the Stars are All Alight by Dagstjarna  

That night, Elrond dreamed. In the blue morning on an unfamiliar shore, cold mist clung to the dunes. Behind her she saw the hazy silhouette of a building or house. She went that way, to a pavilion with a strong roof of thatched seagrass and walls of airy linen curtains lapping gently in the breeze. Near at hand stood an elf, strangely washed out as if faded by the sun, faint like the moon during the day. She was clad in plain crisp linen white as bone, with a blanket of light and sturdy wool folded neatly over her shoulder. Her bare feet were crusted with sand. 

She turned as Elrond climbed the steps and passed under the roof, and Elrond found herself looking up into a face of startling familiarity. 

     “Celebrimbor!” She breathed. 

Celebrimbor smiled, warm as ever, warm as fire. 

     “Dear Elrond,” she said hoarsely. She had been weeping and her voice was in tatters, but the life in it was strong. It rasped like a lost voice, like one that hadn’t been used for a long, long time. “I am sorry I left you.” 

     “You didn’t,” Elrond told her sternly. “You were taken.” 

     “You forgive me?” 

     “There is nothing to forgive. And if there was, I would have already.” 

Celebrimbor looked away. Elrond stepped over to her.

     “I am newly come from Mandos,” she said hollowly. “And it’s…very strange. Everything is brand new, yet familiar. My memories don’t feel like mine yet. I feel old and young, and the last thing I knew I was making spinning tops and toys for the children in my halls. Where are they now, I wonder.”

Elrond glanced around them. Valinor, she realized. She had never seen it before. There was nothing but milky fog beyond the sun-bleached linen hangings. They seemed to be alone. 

     “What is this place?” 

     “It is where your parents’ followers live between their visits down from the sky. I haven’t seen them yet, Elwing and Earendil. I wanted to come here first.” 

Elrond’s throat tightened. 

     “Where is everyone else?” She managed to ask. 

     “At a feast with Elu Thingol. I came at an odd time,” She shrugged. “I….I may go to Finrod next. I don’t know what to do.” 

     Elrond reached out, wondering if she could touch Celebrimbor, and found that she could. She folded her arms around her, and Celebrimbor sank into the embrace. 

     “I hardly understand what happened, Elrond. I feel lost.” 

     “Far from it.” Elrond rubbed her back. “You are found. Are you afraid to go to your family?” 

     “I don’t know. I miss them. But I miss you more.” 

     “You could…” she almost said it, but held back, not quite sure why. 

     “That is what I wanted to tell you,” Celebrimbor gripped her shoulders, stepping back. “I want to come back.” 

     Elrond frowned. 

     “I want to return to Middle Earth. I have unfinished business there.” She said, with a stubborn set to her jaw. “Annatar was traitorous. I should have listened to you, to Galadriel.” 

     “It wasn’t your fault. You looked for the best in him, and you cannot be faulted for it.” 

     “I don’t think it was my fault, but I have a responsibility to care for the world and do good where I can, just like everyone else. And my role in the making of the rings and the darkness that has followed is not small, however good my intentions were for their creation. It is because he tricked me so well, I think it’s only fitting that I come back to haunt him just as he haunts me still. Hopefully,” She added. “to a better end.” 

     Elrond bit back a sigh. She wanted her friend to find peace, and healing. But that was something Elrond could also offer in Imladris, perhaps better than a land teeming with maiar could for Celebrimbor in particular. She noticed Celebrimbor searching her face, and smile reassuringly at the worry she saw there. 

     “Don’t fret about me,” she poked Elrond’s neck, who laughed despite herself (a secretly ticklish person). 

     “When will you come?” Elrond asked. 

     “I don’t know at all. There are lots of…conversations, that need to be had.” She sighed and rubbed her face, looking like she dreaded the very thought. “Much has changed in Middle Earth since the end of the first age, and much has changed here in Aman too.” 

     Elrond nodded.

Then Celebrimbor added,

     “I won’t come alone, if I can help it.” 

     “Good.” 

     The air began to shine with a soft pink glow. Sunrise was getting on above the encircling mists. Celebrimbor looked at her fondly. 

     “You should wake up now. It will be morning soon in Imladris.” She reached out and tucked Elrond’s hair behind her ears, brushing the back of her fingers against her cheek. “May a star shine upon the hour of our meeting.” 

“Celebrian is in Aman.” Elrond said quickly, betrayed by a tremble in her voice. “If she has left Lorien she will be glad to see you.”

“I will see if she can be found.” 

 “Farewell.” 

Elrond woke with a face full of tears, her hair stuck to her cheeks. She felt well rested, warm, and comfortable. That was rare, just as it was for her to dream about Celebrimbor, unless it was of her death. It was so good to see her old and best friend that her whole chest ached. She sat up, and saw a gentle gray light reaching into the room. There was something merciful in the light that morning, she thought. She burst into tears at once.

Chapter End Notes

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it!! :-) <333

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