Disclaimer: Anything recognizable from The Lord of the Rings does not belong to me. Aralya, Margate, and Boromir (the younger) belong to my friend JediKnightBalthasar.

This story is slightly AU, as the books wrote that Elessar had only one son, but it sort-of is not AU. You'll see what I mean in later chapters.

*****

"Tell the king his sons have been born."

"My lady?" Legolas was surprised. Lie to Aragorn? That was something he had not done before. Why did Arwen ask this of him?

"His heart was set on boys, tell him he has his sons. Please," the first part of Arwen's statement had been a request, almost an order, but with that last word her voice had dropped from commanding to begging.

"Of course, be iest lin," Legolas replied quickly. "And of the other. . .?" This he would not decide on his own; it was Arwen's right and hers alone.

"Tell him not of the other," Arwen decreed.

"I will," Legolas said with a nod. He slipped from his level of formality, to the informality of old friends. "Arwen, are you all right?"

"Just fine, Legolas. I am fine." Her voice was dead, hollow. "Please tell Aragorn--" she stopped, but was not interrupted.

"I will," Legolas repeated. He stood and walked to the door, turning slightly with his hand on the doorknob, thinking he had heard something, but Arwen had fallen asleep. Had it been his imagination, or had she said it out loud? "I vethed. . ." It is the end. What end? Legolas shook his head, wishing he were not involved. "This is not treason," Legolas told himself quietly. Nevertheless, it felt like betrayal.

The letter, composed by Legolas for King Elessar, was not filled with lies, only a lack of truth. Not once did the letter refer more than one boy, simply to "the twins". Perhaps a few lies would have been necessary, had Arwen not used masculine names for both of the twins. She and Elessar had agreed upon the names, two names for boys and one in case Arwen had a daughter. Instead of deciding on a name of her own, Arwen used the second boy's name for her second daughter.

"Boromir and Aralya," Legolas wrote, guilt gnawing at him, "are healthy children, despite complications." He paused. Were there really complications? His mind strayed back to the night Boromir (named, of course, for the fallen hero) was born, the next morning when Aralya was born. Eleven hours, the two had taken together. Arwen had thought something was wrong, for she was still in pain. Twenty-five hours, more than an entire day, passed after the birth of Aralya, and then the second daughter. . .the stillborn.

Excepting certain truths, Legolas signed the letter. 17 June, he noted in the upper right corner, then he folded the letter and placed it inside an envelope. Tilting one of the candles he had used for light, Legolas dripped white sealing wax onto the envelope, stamped it with the image of a tree, and he sighed.

The deed was done. For a moment the idea of a second letter, explaining everything, passed through Legolas's mind, but he decided against it. What Arwen did when Elessar returned was fully her decision.

*****

"Melamin," Elessar said, embracing Arwen for the first time in years. Arwen could not respond. Fear muted her, the fear and knowledge that Elessar would soon know of her treachery. A part of her wished she had asked Legolas to stay, but he had children of his own and things to get done, and it would have been selfish to ask more of his time. "Is something wrong?" Elessar asked.

"Estel-nin. . ." Arwen said softly.

"Mani naa ta?" Elessar asked, worried. "Mani i raika?"

"Nothing," Arwen said hurriedly. "All is well." There was a small sound from their right, down the corridor. Arwen bit her lip. "Perhaps not all."

Arwen was suddenly hopeful. She had grown to love her youngest daughter, difficult as it was for her to do so, and was afraid of what Elessar's reaction to learning that she was a girl would be. When he asked her pardon and left to speak to Eldarion, Arwen's spirits rose. Perhaps it would not matter to him.

Meanwhile, Eldarion pretended to be asleep. He had not meant to do anything wrong, but intention was of little consequence. "Eldarion," Elessar said softly, gathering his son's hair from his face, "I'm sorry for being gone so long."

"You had no choice, I understand," Eldarion replied. His heart still remembered the ache of those years, which had felt so long. Hardly nine the last time he saw his father, the prince was now thirteen.

"That may be an explanation, but it is no excuse," Elessar said, voicing Eldarion's thoughts. "Years have passed, years which cannot be given back. You are hardly a child any longer, Eldarion. Will you not allow me to see you?"

"Please do not be disappointed," Eldarion requested, rolling to face his father. The two allowed their eyes to meet, and for some reason both known and unknown to them, they began to laugh. They embraced once, still laughing, and somehow knew that this was the closest thing to those years being given back: their relationship, the bond between them, was the same as it had ever been.

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Be iest lin = According to your wish

I vethed = It is the end

Estel-nin = My hope (Aragorn was, in his youth, known by the name of Estel, so this could also be "My Hope" meaning the person)

Mani naa ta, mani i raika = What is it, what is wrong

That was just an introduction, more coming later! This story is sort of taking my friend's characters and writing a story for them, asking what would happen if. If anyone is familiar with her works, then they'll understand later, if not then this is just a story about Aragorn and Arwen's children.