The translation of the title should be 'The End of All Things,' according to the Council of Elrond website. If I've made a mistake, please tell me. I'm not skilled with Quenya…or Sindarin, for that matter. If you want translations for the Quenya phrases Nienna and Frodo use, you can find them at the bottom. I would like to know what you think of this because it is my first story involving Frodo and Silmarillion-centred stuff, so if you decide to review, I'd prefer it if you were helpful and constructive. Whatever floats your boat, really.

I do not own Frodo, Sam, Elrond, the Valar, Quenya, or anything the great Tolkien created, nor am I making money off of this fanfiction. My descriptions of Valinor and the sea come from The Silmarillion and the last chapter of The Lord of the Rings. All credit goes to Tolkien and my evil muses.

Dedication: This is for my great-grandmother, Mary Famularo, who passed away on 31 December 2003. I hope we meet again someday, if there is such a thing as heaven.

---

Frodo peered over the polished rail of the great white ship, and felt a stirring of regret deep within him. He grimaced as the ship slowly passed through the serene grey firth of the Outer Sea, for there was a shadow on the water, and he knew very well that there were still remnants of that same gloom in Arda. Trembling slightly, he took the crystal phial he had received from Galadriel out of his finely woven Elven cloak and held it up as a final farewell to his friends and kin on the grey shore.

"Lumenessë i silme auta, meldanya," he whispered. "Lumbule enteluva! Á mahta qualmenna, an mauya mahtië!"

On the coast, Sam caught a glimmer of brilliant white light through his unshed tears. It brought back bittersweet memories, memories of nearly vacant Lórien far away, recollections of the departure of the Dark Lord and the hope and courage he had found on their hopeless quest. "I'll do my best to make it better in your stead, Mr. Frodo. We will heal, and the Shire will be just the way you'd want it to be if you stayed."

Before Sam could finish his thoughts, however, the light of the star of Eärendil, captured in the phial, disappeared and was never seen again in the east.

---

Several days later, as the sun rose over the water, Frodo once more took leave of his chamber beneath the deck and sat by the hull of the fair ship, looking out at the vast sea and fingering the jewel he wore around his neck. Healing was all he desired, and he believed that he would find relief in Aman, but he had his qualms about his choice. Selfishness had driven him to choose the sea; because of his choice to sail, others who had suffered worse hurts than he could not be helped. Sighing, Frodo put the jewel back under his soft burgundy tunic.

"What ails you, Frodo?" Frodo turned around and looked up, only to find Elrond standing not far away, his hands on the rail, also gazing at the faint shadow of the distant land they had departed from. The star on his brow reflected the orange light of the dawn, illuminating his ageless face.

"Naught but regret has followed me since I left, Lord Elrond. How am I to know that all the wounds we suffered during the war against Sauron have healed? I may have fulfilled my quest and brought salvation, but healing may not come to those who deserve it more than I."

"Nay," Elrond said, laying his hand on Frodo's shoulder. "You have earned the honour as a Ringbearer. Do not despair! Time shall heal all wounds."

"I do not wish to disagree with your counsel, Lord Elrond, but I am still wounded and it will never truly heal. Some hurts cut too deep and leave scars, scars that refuse to fade over the years. My quest was not in vain, but my choice in the end was."

"You did not choose selfishly, Frodo. A time shall come when all hurts shall be erased from memory, and all shall find the healing you have sought."

"I have sought," Frodo answered. "But I shall never find."

Later that night in the pouring rain, Frodo again went up to the deck, but sat on a high chair by the stern. Several other Elves stood near him, but he heeded them not. The rain seemed to be a curtain that enveloped the ship, and he shuddered. Frodo's mind kept straying to Sam, now probably safe at home with Rosie and Elanor, left to rebuild the world to what it should be. Sam, his dear friend...he wondered if he would ever see him again. Frodo missed Sam's laugh, his touch, and his innocent smile that would light up the darkest of places. He longed to see Sam, especially here on this lonely journey.

"It's just another journey a Baggins must take, my dear Sam," he whispered to no one in particular. "You'd love to see more of the Elves, I know you'd like to, and many of them are sailing into the west also. It's a shame, Sam, that the light has been fading for them for millennia, and now they shall be free of weariness. But for you, I, and those who cannot take such a journey, it is quite different. Every wound cannot heal, and shadows are only dispelled when light comes forth, but neither shall last for long. When shall we meet, Sam? You too were a Ringbearer, if only for a little while, and have you been granted the honour of finding rest in Valimar, where no mortal feet have tread? What awaits me there, and must I deal with my despair alone, friendless, without you to comfort me? You are the consolation that may never come! I could not stand to think of never seeing you again, Sam! But perhaps your time shall come, and my fears shall be naught but a child's worries."

Then, as if an unseen power heard his secret thoughts and yearned to console him, the rain lightened, and Frodo could smell the sweet scent of fresh flowers on a spring day in the Shire. The melodious voices of singers drifted across the water, and the grey curtain turned into shining silver glass and was rolled back. Frodo stared in awe and beheld a white shore, and lush green country under a beautiful sunrise. Beyond the shore stood a city with golden arches and high, lofty domes the same colour as the sea glass.

"Na vedui!" a few of the Elves cried. "Valinor na vedui!"

"Oh, Sam!" Frodo wailed silently, not bothering to dry his eyes, gazing at the seaside in both wonder and sadness. "If only you could see what I see now! Beauty and rest are in this land, of course, but healing? Those who rest may heal in body but not in mind, and those who are healed do not rest but toil! What then shall become of me?"

When the ship had docked and the entire multitude of Elves had set foot upon the shore, Frodo at last left it. He looked across the calm water, searching for a glimpse of the home and friends he left behind but he knew he was too far away, in another circle of the world.

"Come, Frodo," Elrond said, gesturing toward a narrow cobblestone road paved with silver that led to Valimar. Frodo quickly followed, not looking back ever again from that shore. He must try to find healing, as Sam had wished.

---

Frodo found Valimar to be quite welcoming, with its wide, golden halls and the happiness of others, but still there was discomfort within him. The merry bells, and there were many, rang and the Elves and Valar sang songs of long ago, some of which moved Frodo to more distress. The Elves' laments and hymns, though beautiful, stirred up his heart and only brought back memories of Middle-earth and the horrors of its past.

However, he did not become fully reclusive, but joined the Elves, Bilbo, and the Valar on their blossoming lawns, discussing moments in time long gone. Bilbo counselled Frodo to forsake this speech and enjoy the peace of Aman, but his heart was still heavy with regret and sorrow, and turning from the east gate passed through the city into the west. There was a green mound, Ezellohar, where the two trees had grown and withered, or so he was told. He sat for a while at Corollairë, absorbed in the thought of the trees that had once stood there and brought light. But after several minutes, Frodo realised that he was not alone. Looking up, he saw a cloaked figure not far away.

"Máravë omentaina, Frodo son of Drogo. Long did I weep for your seemingly hopeless quest and the evils in Arda, and here you shall find healing for the deep wounds you received. Áva rucë!"

As she drew back her grey hood, Frodo rose to greet her. "Aiya, herinya! But I have not seen you before, and I wonder at who you are."

"I am Nienna, a Vala, but I come here seldom," she replied. "I am the sister of Mandos and Irmo, and my halls are west of West, upon the borders of the world."

"Thank you for your introduction, greeting, and kind words, but I cannot help feeling naught but regret in this place, and I cannot find healing," Frodo said. "For I have left my kin and my friends, and I shall not see them once more. It grieves me to think that they shall not receive healing while I do; there are too many hurts in Middle-earth that time cannot mend, and are they not worthy to find peace in this place?"

"Do not regret what you have done, Frodo, for through your quest you brought salvation to the innocent. I have lamented and comforted for millennia, only desiring to repair the evils foundered by Melkor and his followers. If there is one thing I have known and taught, it is that time may heal some wounds; lamentation cannot. None now weep over the graves of the fallen on Haudh-en-Nirnaeth, and so shall it be when this age is long gone."

"But I weep for those who cannot join me here. Alas, I have sailed to the Undying Lands, but I shall die, and not with the ones I left behind at my side. Thither will they go after?"

"When you depart this life, Mandos and his halls await you, and there shall you abide with your friends and kin until the end of all things."

"Until the end of all things…and when is that?"

"Even I cannot say. It is then that all sorrows and hurts shall fade into memory. Be at peace! You shall not be forsaken!"

"I thank thee, Nienna," he said, bowing low in admiration. "Now I must return to Valimar, begging thy pardon. I shall not despair ever more, but in hope await the hour when all evils come to pass."

"That is well! Hiruvalyë estë sinome, Frodo. Merin sa haryalyë alassë. Namárië!" Nienna turned and continued on her way into the west, and after watching her for a moment, Frodo too departed and came to Valimar.

Frodo returned to his chamber in the fair halls of the city. He now recalled his memories of Sam with just happiness, and afterwards he did not heed any evil that had ever befallen the world. He crossed to the window, from which he could view the sun setting over the tranquil western sea, and remembered one of the best memories of his childhood. Young Sam's voice sounded in his head, saying: "Each sunset reminds me that one more night must pass before we play again, Frodo!"

Frodo smiled and whispered, "Each sunset reminds me that another day passes, and one of them may bring death. But neither death nor the end of all things shall separate us, my dear Sam."

---

Lumenessë i silme auta, meldanya. Lumbule enteluva! Á mahta qualmenna, a mauya mahtië! – In this hour the starlight is passing, my dear. Heavy shadow shall come again! Fight to the death, for you must fight!

Na vedui! Valinor na vedui! – At last! Valinor at last! (Sindarin)

Aiya, herinya – Hail, my lady!

Máravë omentaina! – Well met!

Áva rucë! – Fear not!

Hiruvalyë estë sinome, Frodo. Merin sa haryalyë alassë. Namárië! – Mayest thou find rest in this place, Frodo. I wish that thou shalt know joy. Farewell!