Disclaimer: All recognizable events, places, and characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkien and possibly New Line Cinema. I am not profiting from this fanfiction, it is written purely for my own enjoyment and that of any who read it.

A/N: Partially inspired by Galadriel's Song of Eldamar, as found in The Fellowship of the Ring, the eighth chapter of the second book: 'Farewell to Lórien', and also inspired by Concerning Hobbits from the Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack. I spent a good half hour on research, trying to figure out how old the various characters would be. Sam's kids were easy enough, after all there's a whole family tree in the appendices on him, but I simply could not find any mention of when Eldarion was born. In the tale of Aragorn and Arwen, it switches straight from telling about Aragorn and Arwen's wedding to Aragorn being at the end of his days and telling Arwen "Eldarion our son is a man full-ripe for kingship" (343). No mention of when he was born, so I just guessed, because I was about ready to throw my book out the window in frustration. Anyway, if anyone knows for sure when he was born, and can cite a quote and page number, go ahead and drop a review or PM about it, and I'll gladly adjust the ages accordingly, since a few years either way will not affect the story negatively.

Please read and review. :)

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The Elves sang of leaves of gold. They sang of the sighing wind, the fading day. The elder hobbits of the Shire remembered the days when the Elves still resided in Middle-earth, when they could be seen on their mournful travels to the Grey Havens. The hobbit children had not been given even this forlorn image of the Elves, for there now only remained a few Elves in Middle-earth.

That very fact was what now had a certain hobbit-hole in Bag End in an uproar of excitement, for the inhabitants had just received word that their old friends were on their way to visit the Shire. Early that morning, a messenger from Gondor rode in and gave his oral message: Elessar, King of the West, was nearing the Shire, and would arrive before the week was out. With him were Arwen, the Queen, and Eldarion, their seven year-old son.

Samwise Gamgee had been out in his garden ever since the messenger had left, trying to perfect his garden, even though it was already indisputably the best garden in all of Hobbiton. His eldest son, Frodo, was happily assisting his father with the flowers, and Elanor, his oldest child, had spent the better part of the afternoon cleaning their home with her mother, Rosie.

The little family was ecstatic. Sam had raised his children on tales of his journey, and none of his family had yet met the non-hobbit members of the Fellowship. Merry and Pippin visited frequently and gladly fulfilled the children's requests for stories, but now that they were really going to meet the King and his Elven wife, both children were overjoyed.

The preparations made the remaining days fly past, and soon six year-old Elanor and four year-old Frodo stood alongside their parents to wait for the arrival of their guests. The messenger had been unable to provide a precise time, but had seemed fairly certain that the company would arrive on the 12th day of Solmath, and so the family stood ready to receive their visitors. They had not been waiting overlong when the tell-tale tinkling bells could be heard far down the road.

"Why, Samwise Gamgee!" a familiar deep voice sounded out from down the hill, as the face belonging to the voice appeared, joy apparent on his weathered countenance. "Strider!" Sam responded gleefully, stepping forward to meet his old friend and clasp his forearm. As he withdrew from the embrace, he murmured, "I hope I may still call you Strider, now that you're King and all." Aragorn laughed, and answered with a glance at the dozen soldiers who shadowed him, "Strider is fine, Sam. It took me many weeks to become accustomed to the name Elessar. I may have born a king, but I was raised a Ranger." He raised his eyes to the family several steps behind Sam, and his eyes widened. "And this must be your family. Would you care to introduce us?" he asked with a smile. Sam flushed with pride. "This is Elanor, my daughter, and my son Frodo." He smiled shyly at Arwen as he mentioned Elanor's name, because she was named for the tiny golden flowers of Lothlórien. He stepped forward to share a tender kiss with Rosie, and added, "And this is my lovely wife, Rosie."

Aragorn bowed slightly to the she-hobbit, and then turned his attention to his own family. "My wife Arwen, and my son, Elda-" He paused, surprise clearly etched on his face. "Where is that boy? Meleth nîn, did you see where he went?"

Arwen smiled, and nodded toward the trees behind her horse. "He told me that he wanted to try speaking to the trees of the Shire. Perhaps he believes they will be more responsive than the trees of Gondor." Amusement colored her voice. Her eyes watched Aragorn as she delivered the news.

The Man chuckled and smoothly dismounted from his horse, handing the reins to the nearest guard. He brushed aside a low-hanging branch, and soon disappeared into the undergrowth. The remaining soldiers shifted uneasily, but Arwen silenced them with an authoritative look. "Your King survived in the wild for over sixty years without you; surely you do not think he cannot take a minute for himself to retrieve his own son? And in the peaceful woods of the Shire, no less?" Properly chastised, the soldiers relaxed, but did not take their hands from their swords or their wary eyes from the trees.

The soldiers did not have to wait long, and just a few moments after Arwen had finished her speech, a bright smile came to her lips. She murmured, "Aragorn has found him, although neither sounds too pleased with the other." Soon enough, the sounds of conversation reached the others' ears.

"...will not respond to your attempts to converse, Eldarion. You know this."

"But Ada! Leg'las talks with the trees all the time! Why can't I?"

"You are no wood elf. I realize that Legolas has...demonstrated his abilities during his visits, but you know that you are not an elf, and you have not the abilities to imitate these actions. Your mother has also told you this many times."

"It's not fair."

"Eldarion, truly the trees do not have anything interesting to speak of. Legolas once narrated a group of trees' dialogue during a night of hunting, and their topics are nothing that you would not find in the kitchens with the scullery maids, albeit with specifics more appropriate for their nature. They speak of insect infestation, diseased bark, and dwarfs with menacingly sharp axes. It is dreadfully boring, I assure you."

"Oh. Well then, what do the horses say? Surely that would be more engaging."

"I doubt it."

On that dubious note, the pair emerged from the trees, the smaller of the two looking crestfallen, and the taller appearing as though he were trying very hard not to burst out in laughter. Catching sight of the group standing in front of him, Aragorn hastily clearly his throat. "As I was saying before I discovered my son's absence, this is Eldarion. Hopefully, he will not cause any more trouble during our stay here." He added with a pointed look at the sulking little boy.

Noticing the invitation for a change of topic, Rosie asked, "Speaking of your stay, where are you planning on waiting the night?" Aragorn smiled, aiming a sidelong glance across the expanse of the Shire. "I believe our agreement was to stay the next two nights at The Green Dragon, and then move on in the morning of the third day. In fact, on that note, we should make our way toward the inn; the night is closing in."

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Meleth nîn - my love

A/N: And here I will end the first chapter. The second should be up within a week, but I can't make any concrete promises. Just for the record, Solmath is the fifth month of the year in the Shire, the equivalent of May on the Shire calendar. I hope that didn't confuse anyone too much. Thank you for reading!