„Miss Luminarie, I would like to say something that may change our relations , " said Arwen.
„If it will change it, then don't say it if you don't want problems in the future."
„I know that, but I can't be true to myself if I don't say it now. It isn't easy for me to keep it inside for so long , but I didn't have the courage to say it without my mother because she is a pillar for me in emotions , " Arwen said with resolve in her eyes. When her teacher saw this, she was startled and looked in the direction of her friend, but what she saw was the back of her head, which was turned toward the window in an illusion of looking into the gardens outside.
'Traitor,' thought Luminarie while she gritted her teeth. 'I really can't take this conversation from her daughter, and she knows it, but she still made this decision.'
„Before anything, Master, I would like to say that I want to end my training here before you make any decision after hearing what I have to say , " said Celebrian's daughter.
'Uff, at least I dodged the bullet for another 30 years,' Luminarie thought as she looked at Arwen . 'I can't just go with the flow because I still see only Celebrian when I look at her . I have to see her as a normal woman if I want to be faithful and honest.'
„Miss Luminarie, I..." Arwen started but was cut off by her.
„Arwen, if you want to say something important, and if it is what I think it is, then start by talking to me when we are in private, just by my name , " Luminarie said while raising her hand and motioning her to stop for a moment. „And as for the answer , I will give it today, to be clear." When Arwen heard it, she started to tremble a little. She thought that her teacher would flatly reject her, but she still took a deep breath and said to her ,
„Luminarie, I don't know when it started, but I am not only looking at you as a teacher but as a woman I begin to love, and I would like you to know that it will not change, whatever you say." Arwen said, her eyes starting to water as she thought about the words from her that she took as the start of rejection.
„Arwen. Come here," Luminarie said and stood up. When Arwen heard it, she stood up and walked toward her, holding her left arm with her right hand across her chest. „I want to say that I am really flattered by what you said, and it made me happy to hear it from you. But there are some circumstances that make it hard for me to just accept it. Firstly, when I look at you , I don't see a woman who can be a partner for me but a little girl and the daughter of my first love. Yes, your mother was my first love, and she knows it, and probably that is why she came here , " she said, looking at Celebrian with accusation in her eyes, to which Celebrian just shrugged her arms. „Secondly, you are still my disciple, and if I were to look at you that way in training , I would probably take it easy on you, and we don't want that for all our sakes. So don't take it as rejection but as an obstacle in the fight for love, understood? But please wait with that until your graduation from my training. I am not saying that I wouldn't start to love you in the future or something. I am just saying that I can't look at you as a partner at this moment. Maybe in the future ; who knows? So take this hug and go to your room to let this situation settle in your mind . I need to talk with your mother , " Luminarie said with a smile and hugged Arwen strongly while stroking her hair. When she let her go, she opened the door to the office and let her out while smiling, but when the door closed behind Arwen, she turned, and when Celebrian saw her face, she thought about a way out of the room. But Luminarie just flicked her fingers, and a golden barrier appeared on every window and door of the office.
„Oh no. Lumi, please don't..." Celebrian started while she stood up and walked slowly, her back turned toward the wall.
„ Oh, but I didn't even say what I will do, Cel," said Luminarie with a radiant smile that, in a normal case, would look like an angel 's smile, but for Celebrian, it was the smile of a devil.
„I know this smile, so I know that it will be something painful. So I am not going to take it like I did when I wasn't married. Do you understand? I AM MARRIED, SO YOU MUST NOT TOUCH ME . MY DAUGHTER JUST TOLD YOU SHE LOVES YOU!!! BE MINDFUL OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES!!!" Celebrian shouted at Luminarie, and when she did, she saw that Luminarie was looking at her own feet with a frown.
„What? Don't tell me you're not feeling anything toward her because I saw you looking at her , but it seems like you are pushing it aside because of something. And don't play me with that card you used with Arwen. Spill it; what is it ? " she demanded, as it was about her daughter and the closest friend.
„It's just that I don't feel right about it. She is so bright and warm , and I... well, you know that I have my demons inside me, so I don't see myself as worthy of her, okay?" Luminarie said and walked to stand before the window to look at her flowers there, which started to show up as it was the start of spring.
„Lumi, why are you so dense sometimes?" said Celebrian with a sigh .
„Why are you saying it like that? I have to say that I am an intelligent person, so don't tell me that I am stupid, okay?"
„It isn't about your knowledge. Well, maybe it is, but not in magic, martial arts, or anything like that. You are dense in interpersonal skills and the emotions of people around you. If someone loves you and you love that person, then fight for that feeling with everything you've got. It is worth it, you know? Just like me and Elrond when you wanted to fight with him for me , " Celebrian said, smiling at the end of her words with a fond expression .
„You will not let me go with this, will you?"
„No. You have only one way in this. Accept that you will call me 'mother,' hehe."
„Oh, hell no. In your freaking dreams, do you understand? I will NEVER call you that , " said Luminarie with determination in her eyes, but there was some mischief as she thought of something to tease her.
„Well, I can call you 'momma' if you will breastfeed me, hehe," she said while leaning towards her, and because she was taller than Celebrian, she looked down at her like in some anime scenes where she would be a boy standing over the girl with his hand on the wall, and Celebrian looked exactly like the shy girls there.
„I would rather give you a right hook with my fist," said Celebrian, and there was a fierce glint in her eyes that told Luminarie to back off because she was getting too close to the line she shouldn't cross.
„Okay, let's end this bickering here and talk about something else. Did you get an answer from Thranduil about that girl I asked to train?" she asked the Lady of Imladris to change the topic, which was easy when Celebrian heard what she was asking.
„Yes, we got it, and he will allow her to come here for 50 years to train when he saw that your Commander was better than his son with weapons. By the way, why are you asking him about that girl?" Celebrian asked.
„Well, let's just say I know something, but I can't say anything before. I can prepare a few people to better respond and behave in stressful situations."
„But you still didn't say why her especially," Celebrian said while Luminarie looked away.
„Well, I don't need to confess anything to you as it doesn't concern you. I just want to help the girl and maybe save someone," she said while looking at the ceiling.
„And it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that she is really beautiful, right? None at all?"
„I don't know what you are talking about. I just want to train her; I don't have ulterior motives."
When they started to bicker again, time just flew by, and it was evening in no time. When Luminarie saw the sunset through her window, she whistled and asked Celebrian if she wanted to join them for dinner, to which she readily agreed because she wanted to stay with her daughter for as much time as she could. A few days later, she left, and just like that, the last thirty years went by without anything major going on except for Tauriel joining the training and a messenger arriving with news about the dragon killing King Dain I in the year 2589 of the Third Era.
Year 2610 Autumn, Third Era, Celeb Ando (Silver Gate in Quenya) - the name of the city Luminarie founded, which was named after Arwen discovered that it had been nameless for thousands of years.
Arwen stood under the east gate with guards picked by Luminarie herself, looking at the castle beside Lake Evendim. In her ears were the last words she heard from Luminarie.
„If after 300 years, you will still feel the same as you do now, I will give you my answer, Arwen. Until then, please think about it deeply, because it could be strange for some people to know that you would like to be with a woman, and before you say anything about not needing to think about it , I inform you now that I need to focus on a project and it will take that much time, so you will not lose any of the time you could spend with me otherwise. I even waited with this because I wanted to end your training. At the same time , Tauriel will go under Neori to learn, which will give me more time to finish it faster."
After those words, Luminarie closed herself in the workshop, and Arwen left.
„What could take that much time to make?" asked Arwen into the air, shaking her head.