Sad news....
The ring sparkled in his hand as he turned it. It had been a gorgeous piece when it had been created, by a friend that Elladan himself had commissioned. He remembered hand picking the gems himself, for the way the colors matched all of Elrohir's favorite things - green summers, the golden leaves of both Lorien and Imladris, the snows of the mountains, and the blue of their mother's and sisters - even their own - eyes. When Elrohir had unwrapped the thing, he had sworn never to take it off. At the time, Elladan had decided it would probably lost here or there. On projects with the Dunedain, or in a war. But the ring had managed to survive even the last war, and time itself.

He'd had a hard time believing that Elrohir could give such a thing away. He had seen the giving, from one hand to the other, sharp eyes picking up a glitter, and a gleam... Elrohir had more than one ring, he had told himself, and he would never give this one away. Yet it sat there, in his hand, because it had been found on a wraith, who'd found it on a body, the body of a woman that he realised they should have taken better care of.


His thoughts turned to Wulfred, then, and he let out a bit of a sigh. He didn't want such a thing to happen to her. He didn't think he could handle that, and had never found a convenient way to tell his brother about Farandren, either. The thought of Wulfred being slain at all - let alone because she was out trying to find him - was the most unbearable emotion he could summon.

The clearing of a throat brought him out of his own head quickly, and he looked over his shoulder to see his brother's open eyes. Elrohir tilted his head to one side, half a smirk dying on his face when he caught his brother's expression. "You have grown so serious..." he whispered, and Elladan just sighed, and nodded his head, moving to tuck the ring away. Unfortunately for him, Elrohir's eyes were far too sharp. " ... let me see that." he demanded, softly, but firmly. Elladan wrinkled his brow, and nodded.

He got up from the chair he had been sitting in, taking a place on the bed beside his brother, and then gently placed the ring in his brother's hand. Elrohir's jaw twitched, a lost look, and a sadness, replacing the smirk that had been there before. He tapped the ring with his finger, gently spinning it in his open hand, and Elladan just watched him, ready to provide support, or empathy, or ale.. whatever his brother would need.

Elrohir for his part, said nothing. It had always been too good to be true, their marriage. He didn't need to know how Elladan had gotten that ring. His mind was good enough at filling in the blanks. She was dead ... the ring only confirmed what he had already suspected, from his dreams. He reached up to his neck, pulled out a chain, and undid it with slightly shaky fingers, putting the ring on it and clasping it back around his neck.

Everything that he had left of her, in the shape of a ring, fell down his chest and underneath his shirt. Resting against his heart, where it would remain, until such time as he could see her again.

It was only when Elladan started squeezing his shoulder did he realise that he'd been crying.