Who's The Fairest

Who's The Fairest

Posted: July 18, 2008
Title: Who's The Fairest
Author: Alex
Type: FCGen
Characters: Gimli, Galadriel
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Challenge Name: Exaltations
Warnings: Fluff
Beta: Larian Elensar

Summary: Gimli believes Galadriel to be the most fair in all the world.

*****

Gimli stared at Arwen for a bit then turned away. “Nope, she is not as beautiful as Galadriel. Shoot me if you like but she is simply not Galadriel.”

Eomer harrumphed and held his hand up for another pint.

Gimli stared into his glass and smiled.

Galadriel.

There was nothing more fair in all creation that the Lady of Lothlórien. When he saw her the first time, it was as if the rest of the world faded into a plain black and white world, a world without color or life. It seemed her very presence made the sky blue and the leaves of the forest turn a rich green. She was simply the light of his world.

Arwen was pretty but she couldn’t light up the world.

Could she?

~~

Later that evening, Gimli was lucky enough to see her, Galadriel herself, as they all filed into the great hall for a banquet in honor of Lord Elrond, father of the future Queen. Galadriel smiled as she and Lord Celeborn took their seats. She managed to catch Gimli’s eye and smiled at him and him alone.

He forgot to breathe.

He touched his pocket and sighed. He kept the hairs she had gifted him with still. They were his prize possessions. He looked up to see her watching him, as if she knew what he had been doing. Perhaps she did. She had seen into his mind in Lothlórien.

He watched her throughout the meal. He could not have said what they ate for dinner or even for dessert. He had been too enthralled by Galadriel’s beauty. Not even the most beautiful of Dwarfish lasses could stand up against such blinding brilliance.

“Thinking of Galadriel?” Legolas startled him, sitting at the table beside him. How could that infernal elf always know what he was thinking?

“And if I were?” He tried to sound nonchalant but it came out more defensive than anything else.

“I was just curious. Eomer tells me he believes Lady Arwen to be the most fair.”

“He is mistaken. I told him I’d stake my life on that.”

Legolas laughed. “You have been spoiling to fight Eomer since we first met him. He is no easy opponent. Do you really wish to fight him?”

“I simply wish he’d acknowledge that I am right.”

Legolas patted Gimli’s shoulder and pushed away from the table. “I will speak with you later, my friend.” And he was gone.

Gimli watched the Lady until she and Celeborn rose from their seats. He felt himself rise almost as if by magic. Galadriel turned from Celeborn and nodded to him. He *knew* that she had been inside his head, but he didn’t care! He was sure that she knew how much he revered her above all others. He nodded back, his face solemn.

Eomer showed up about the time the Lady left the room. “See? Arwen is much fairer than she is.” Gimli punched the King of Rohan in the nose and went to his room, smiling all the way.

***

Many years later, an elderly Gimli sat in a small sailboat with Legolas as they sailed into the West at last. Aragorn had passed and Arwen had faded away not long after.

“So tell me, Gimli, after all these years and all that you have seen, do you still hold Galadriel as the fairest?”

Gimli patted his pocket and nodded. “Aye, lad, that I do. And perhaps I will get to see her once again before I die.”

Legolas nodded. “Perhaps you will, my old friend, perhaps you will.”

*****

THE END

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