Two weeks passed before Escanor was strong enough to travel. The elven healers had worked wonders, and his own regenerative power had helped, but the damage he had inflicted on his body was profound. He had burned his very life essence in the battle against Smaug, and that did not heal quickly.
But finally, the day came when he could stand without pain, walk without staggering, and feel his power, though diminished, flowing steadily through him again.
It was time to leave.
Thorin had tried to persuade him to stay, at least for the formal coronation ceremony where he would be declared King under the Mountain. But Escanor had politely declined.
"I have promises to keep," he had said. "And I've put them off for too long already."
Now he stood at the entrance to Erebor, Rhitta on his back, the Elessar around his neck, preparing for the long journey back to Rivendell. The entire Company had come out to see him off.
"You don't have to go alone," Bilbo offered for the tenth time. "I'll go with you. I can…"
"No, my friend," Escanor said, placing a hand on the hobbit's shoulder. "This is something I must do alone. Besides, Thorin needs you here. You are part of Erebor now, as much as any dwarf."
"You'll write to me, won't you?" Bilbo had tears in his eyes. "Let me know how you're doing. How... how everything's going."
"I promise," Escanor said, hugging him and lifting the little hobbit off the ground. "You're my best friend, Bilbo Baggins. Never forget that."
"And you're mine," Bilbo sobbed. "Now go. Go and mend your messy heart."
The dwarves said their goodbyes one by one. Dwalin with a handshake that nearly broke bones. Balin with wise words about love and honesty. Fíli and Kíli with jokes about how he needed to teach them more fighting techniques when he returned. Bombur with enough packed food to feed a small army.
And finally, Thorin.
"Escanor," the King under the Mountain stood before him, his eyes reflecting a respect beyond words. "You saved me from becoming like my grandfather. You showed me the true meaning of honor. And you gave my people a home. There's no way I can ever thank you enough."
"You don't need to thank me," Escanor smiled. "Just... be the king I know you can be. Just, wise, generous. Always remember that gold is just metal. It's your people who matter."
"I will remember," Thorin said, extending his arm. "When you return—and you will—you will have a place of honor at my court. As a brother, as a friend, as a hero of Erebor."
"I will return," Escanor said, squeezing his arm. "After I fix what needs fixing. After I speak the truths that need to be spoken."
"Then go with my blessing," Thorin stepped back. "And may the luck of Durin be with you."
Escanor turned and began to walk away from Erebor, away from the dwarves who had become his family, towards an uncertain and terrifying future.
But necessary.
So terribly necessary.
Rivendell, Three Weeks Later
The journey had been long but peaceful. No orcs, no spiders, no dragons. Only Escanor, the open road, and his increasingly anxious thoughts.
What would he say to Arwen? How would he explain the inexplicable? How could he tell her that he loved her with all his heart, but that his heart also had room for another?
I had no answers. I only knew that I had to try.
Rivendell appeared before him like a dream come true, as beautiful as he remembered it. But this time, he felt not only awe. He felt apprehension. Fear.
The guards recognized him immediately and escorted him inside. Elrond received him in his hall, rising from his seat with an expression that mixed relief and concern.
"Escanor," the Lord of Rivendell stepped forward. "News of your victory has reached even here. You slew Smaug. You freed Erebor. You are a true hero."
"I don't feel like a hero," Escanor replied honestly. "I feel like someone who's about to break your daughter's heart."
Elrond stopped, his eyes narrowing.
- What do you mean?
"I need to speak with Arwen. I need to... tell her something. Something difficult." Escanor looked directly into the elf's eyes. "And then, depending on how it goes, I might need your permission to leave quickly before you decide to kill me."
"I don't kill guests," Elrond said curtly. "But I can make exceptions." His expression softened slightly. "She's in her garden. The same place where you walked together earlier. She's waiting for you. She's been waiting ever since she heard Smaug fell."
"Thank you," Escanor bowed. "And... I'm sorry. For what's to come."
"Don't apologize yet," Elrond said. "Not until I know if there's a need. My daughter is stronger and wiser than even I sometimes remember. Perhaps she'll surprise you."
Escanor expected that. But he didn't believe it.
He found Arwen exactly where Elrond had said she would be, sitting beneath the ancient tree in his secret garden. She was dressed in white, her dark hair braided with silver flowers, and when she saw him, her face lit up with such pure joy that it made Escanor's heart ache.
" Escanor!" She leaped up, ran towards him, and threw herself into his arms. "You're back! You kept your promise!"
He held her tightly, burying his face in her hair, memorizing this moment because he didn't know if he would ever have another one like it.
"I'm back," he whispered. "But Arwen... we need to talk."
She stepped back, and he saw her joy waver, replaced by caution.
—That sounds serious.
"It is." Escanor took her hand, guiding her back to the bench under the tree. "Please, sit down. And... and just listen. To everything. Before you react. Can you do that?"
Arwen nodded slowly, clearly confused but willing.
-Can.
Escanor took a deep breath, then began.
—When I left Rivendell, my heart was yours. Completely, totally yours. And that hasn't changed. I love you, Arwen Undómiel. I love you with every part of my being. That is true, and it always will be true.
"But," Arwen said softly, and pain was already forming in her eyes.
"But," Escanor continued, forcing himself to maintain eye contact, "something happened in Mirkwood. I met someone. Another elf. Tauriel, Captain of King Thranduil's Guard."
Arwen stiffened, her hand tightening around his.
—And you love her.
"Yes," Escanor said, and the word felt like a betrayal even if it was true. "Not in the same way I love you. Not with that immediate soul connection we feel. But it's real. It's deep. And I can't deny it. I can't lie about it. Not to you."
The silence that followed was crushing. Arwen looked at him, her eyes searching for his, and he could see the pain there, the betrayal, the confusion.
" How?" he finally asked, his voice barely audible. "How can you love two people at the same time?"
"I don't know," Escanor admitted. "But I do. And I've struggled with this every day since I met Tauriel. I've felt guilt, shame, confusion. But what I've never felt is that my love for you is any less. If anything, meeting Tauriel made me realize just how deep my love for you is. How real. How unwavering."
—But you still love her.
-Yeah.
Arwen stood up, walking away from him, her hands trembling.
—I don't understand. How am I supposed to... how can I accept this? You asked me to wait. You promised to come back. And you did. But you came back with your heart divided between me and someone else.
"I know." Escanor stood up as well, but didn't approach. "And I understand if you can't forgive this. I understand if this is the end of us. I'll accept it. But I couldn't lie to you, Arwen. I couldn't pretend Tauriel doesn't exist, that these feelings aren't real. Because you deserve honesty. You deserve a choice."
" Choice?" Arwen turned to him, tears streaming down her cheeks. "What choice? To choose to share you? To choose to know that when you kiss me, you're thinking of her? To choose to live with a love torn in two?"
"Not split in half," Escanor said firmly. "Arwen, this is important. My love for you isn't half of what it was. It's whole. It's complete. The heart doesn't work like a cake that needs to be divided. It can expand. It can hold multiple truths without diminishing any."
" And I'm supposed to believe that?" Arwen demanded. "Trust that?"
"No," Escanor shook his head. "You don't have to believe anything. I'm just asking you to consider... that maybe love doesn't have to be exclusive to be real. That maybe there's room in my heart for both of us. And that my love for you is as strong now as the day I met you. Stronger, even."
Arwen stared at him for a long moment, then, surprisingly, she laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh. It was bitter, broken.
" You know what's the strangest thing?" he said. "Part of me understood. Part of me saw this coming."
- That?
"When you left with the Company, when you said goodbye... there was something in your eyes. An openness. As if you were open to possibilities you didn't even know existed yet. And I thought, 'He's going to meet someone. He's going to find something he didn't expect.'" She wiped away her tears. "But thinking that and facing it are two different things."
—Arwen...
"No," she raised her hand. "Let me finish. Because I need to say this, and if I don't say it now, I never will." She took a deep breath. "I love you, Escanor. I love you with all my being. And because I love you… because I truly love you… I can't ask you to deny a part of yourself. I can't ask you to pretend these feelings for Tauriel don't exist."
—What are you saying?
"I'm saying," Arwen said, stepping closer and taking her hands, "that I need time. I need to process this. I need to understand how I feel. But I'm also saying… that it's not an automatic no. It's not a 'never.' It's a 'I need to think.'"
Escanor felt hope ignite in his chest, small but real.
- Really?
" Are you asking me to share your heart with another woman?" Arwen looked directly at him. "Yes. And that's... terrifying. And strange. And it goes against everything I've been taught about love. But..." she hesitated, "but I also see the truth in your eyes. I see that you're not doing this to hurt me. I see that you're being honest even when it would be easier to lie. And that... that means something."
"It means everything," Escanor whispered.
"But I need to know her," Arwen said firmly. "If I'm going to consider this, if I'm even going to think about accepting this… situation… I need to know Tauriel. I need to understand what she is to you. What you are to her."
"She doesn't know I came here first," Escanor admitted. "My plan was to talk to you, then travel to Black Forest and talk to her. To be honest with both of you."
"Then we'll go together," Arwen decided. "To Mirkwood. The three of us will sit down, and talk, and... see. We'll see if there's a way to make this work. Or if it's just a beautiful impossibility."
" Would you do that?" Escanor could hardly believe it. "Come with me to meet her?"
"If we're doing this, if we're exploring this... this impossible situation... then let's do it right. With honesty. With open communication. With respect for everyone involved." Arwen smiled sadly. "I don't promise it will work. I don't promise I'll be able to agree to share you. But I promise to try. For you. For us."
Escanor pulled her towards him, holding her tightly, overwhelmed with gratitude, love, and relief.
"Thank you," she whispered against her hair. "Thank you for even considering this. Thank you for not just... rejecting me."
"Oh, part of me wants to push you away," Arwen admitted against his chest. "Part of me wants to scream at you, hit you, tell you to leave and never come back. But the biggest part of me… the part that truly loves you… that part knows that love isn't about possession. It's about wanting the other person's happiness. Even if that happiness is complicated."
They hugged for a long time, neither wanting to let go, both aware that this was just the beginning of a much longer and more difficult conversation.
Finally, Arwen stepped back, wiping her eyes.
— When do we leave? To Black Forest?
" Are you sure?" Escanor studied her. "I can go alone. I can talk to Tauriel first and..."
"No," Arwen shook her head. "If we're going to do this, let's do it together. From the beginning. No secrets. No separate conversations where things could be misinterpreted. The three of us, honestly, openly."
"Then we'll leave tomorrow," Escanor decided. "If that gives you enough time to prepare."
"I'll never have enough time to prepare for this," Arwen smiled weakly. "But yes. Tomorrow it works."
—I need to tell your father.
"He already knows," Arwen said. "My father has feelings. He probably knew about your divided heart before you did."
—And he didn't kill me?
"He still can," Arwen said, but there was humor in her voice. "Especially if you hurt his daughter. But he's also wise. He understands that love doesn't always follow simple rules."
That night, Escanor sat with Elrond in his study, explaining everything. The elven lord listened in silence, his fingers clasped beneath his chin, his expression inscrutable.
When Escanor finished, Elrond sighed deeply.
—You have put my daughter in an impossible position.
-I know.
—And you have chosen a path that few would understand or accept.
-I know.
"But"—Elrond looked directly at him—"you have also been honest. You have come to her with truth instead of lies. You have offered choice instead of deception. That... that says something about your character."
"I love your daughter," Escanor said simply. "And because I love her, I couldn't lie to her. Even if the truth is painful."
—And this other elf? Tauriel?
—I love her too. Different, but no less real.
Elrond leaned back, studying him.
"You have the heart of a hero, Escanor. Vast, generous, capable of great love. But that same heart could be your downfall if you're not careful. Because loving two people means risking losing them both."
"I know," Escanor whispered. "But the risk is worth the chance to honor both loves. To live with integrity."
"Then I give you my blessing," Elrond said, surprising Escanor. "Not because I approve. Not because I understand. But because my daughter has chosen to give you a chance. And I respect her choices, even when they trouble me."
"Thank you," Escanor bowed deeply. "I won't disappoint you."
"Don't disappoint me," Elrond said firmly. "If you harm Arwen, if you cause her unnecessary pain with this impossible experiment... there will be nowhere in Middle-earth where you can hide from me."
"Understood," Escanor smiled slightly. "And I wouldn't hide it anyway. If I hurt her, I'll deserve whatever you do to me."
"Very well," Elrond nodded. "Now go. Rest. Tomorrow a journey very different from the one you expected will begin."
That night, Escanor lay in his bed, touching the Elessar around his neck, thinking about what was to come.
I would travel to Mirkwood with Arwen.
They would face Tauriel.
And the three of them would have a conversation that could change everything.
It could end in disaster. It could end with broken hearts everywhere.
Or it could, just could, end with something new. Something strange. Something beautiful.
A love that defied convention.
A love big enough for three.
Please , she prayed to whoever might be listening. Please let this work. Not for me. But for them. They deserve happiness. And if I can give them that, if I can love them both completely without diminishing either...
So let this work.
Please.
End of Chapter 15