I gently rake my hands through the sand just beneath the sparse patches of grass. The grains slip through my fingers. I knew old age would lay claim to both man and dwarf one day. Time has a way of taking what is due when the time has expired.

I pass a hand through my hair. I thought I had prepared myself. But nothing could prepare me for the tightness in my chest and the cold stone of Gimli's grave against my back.

Tears brim my eyes as I clutch his ax. He traveled with me one last time, here to Valinor. We decided to sail after they had cut off all light to Elessar, Gondor's late king and one of my dearest brothers. Only days had gone by since his funeral and Gimli and I sat upon the wall of the garden at Minas Tirith. The memory shimmers before my eyes.

"Aragorn would not wish for us to weep," Gimli said. But there were tear stains on his face and he wiped them away with his graying beard.

I nodded. "I know. But I cannot help but grieve, Gimli. It is not like the deaths of my kin. Them I will meet again. I do not know if I will see Aragorn. This unlike anything I have ever experienced.

"I know." He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder as if he knew my fea was lost in finding a spirit that no longer resided. "My heart also grieves," he whispered. "And as much as I wish I could, I cannot understand how you feel. But I do understand how Aragorn felt."

His words were jarring and I stared at him. I did not understand what he was saying. He smiled sadly, then spoke, "Legolas, I am old and my days are also numbered. Aragorn is gone..."

His words trail, but there was something else he wanted to say and I knew it. I sat silently, waiting for him to continue.

Finally, he sighed. "It is time for you to sail. You will find peace and comfort amongst your people."

"Not whilst I have a friend here," I answered, meeting his gaze. I knew then more than ever how few days we had left together, though my heart did not understand it no matter how hard my mind tried to explain.

He lowered his voice, his shoulders slumping, "Legolas, I do not wish for you to sit here and watch me die." He looked at me and gave a smile. "Even we hardy dwarves tire of old age eventually."

Silence weighed heavily on the air, filling my lungs and tightening my chest. The sun painted for the glory of the Valar and Eru in the west and my heart yearned to follow it. But I could not bring myself to leave those shores while my friend still lived.

"Come with me," I told him and he looked at me, his thick brows furrowed.

"What?"

"Come with me, my friend, to Valinor!" A smile formed on my lips at the thought. "Let us not stay here and grieve. Aragorn would not wish that for us. Sail with me that we may go on one last journey before we too say goodbye."

The memory fades and a slight smile pulls at the corners of my mouth. Gimli had argued the idea, saying it was ridiculous for a dwarf to sail the seas, but he relented in the end and came aboard with me, sailing down the River Anduin and out to sea.

"The water is nothing to fear, my friend," I reassured him as the ship swayed as the water and wind played under the summer sun.

"What! Fear?!" he cried. "We dwarves aren't afraid of the water!" And he quickly removed his hand from the railing he clung too. "But how much longer until we can get off this blasted ship?!"

"Several days still," I laughed. He muttered something under his breath.

Though he wouldn't admit it, Gimli wasn't fond of the water and rejoiced when we finally arrived, placing his hands on the rocks and swearing to never leave them. That was two months ago. It was all the time we had together in this place. I squeeze the ax handle and bow my head as a hollowness grips my heart.

I sat just outside the small hut the two of us shared, playing with the tall blades of grass between my fingers. We were offered one in the trees like the others, but Gimli refused to climb and, truth be told, I knew it was not only for his hatred of heights this time.

The sun slowly sank away behind me and the sea breeze blew the blades from gentle grasp. Gimli was inside. He had been there for a few days, his eyesight failing and bones weakening, much like Aragorn's had. It placed an unknown fear in the pit of my stomach.

"Legolas."

I stood at his call and when inside, hoping he merely wanted something to eat or drink. He lay on a cot much too long for him, covered by a blanket despite the warm weather. I knelt at his side. "I'm here Gimli."

He turned his head to me and squinted. Then he smiled and grasped my hand. "You won."

I tilted my head. "I won what?"

He looked away, but the smile stayed in its place. "At the Battle of Pelennor Fields, you killed more Orcs than I."

I smiled then as well. "I already knew that."

"Did not!" he said with a laugh that too quickly turned into coughs. I grabbed the pitcher of water and poured some into a cup before helping is sit up a little to drink it.

He sighed as he settled back into the pillows. His eyelids fluttered and I thought he had drifted off before he murmured something I didn't catch. I leaned forward and asked him what he said.

He opened his eyes. "Legolas, do not spend much time grieving for me." My breath locked in my throat as he spoke. "We knew this day would come. I am just sorry you had to see me in this sorry state."

I shook my head and cleared my throat. "No, mellon, it is your pride that is sorry."

He smiled. "Aye, perhaps. But I am glad you have not left me to face this alone."

I took his hand, his skin still rough though he had not wielded his ax in weeks. Tears blurred my vision. "Never, my friend."

"Goodbye Legolas," he breathed. "You are the greatest friend a Dwarf could ask for, even if you are an elf." Then his breath left him, just as Aragorn's had. I waited for his chest to rise again, but it did not.

I waited for hours and part of me is still waiting, though I try with every part of my being not to--to accept they are gone. A shuttered sob escapes my lips and I let the tears fall. The hours pass but I can't find the energy to move. But matters not. For time will go on, but I will linger here until the ending of the world.