Here it is! Chapter 1! I'm so excited about this, and really hope you guys like it. Please review and let me know how you like it so far. I'm really really excited to be continuing this story that I started so many years ago and that my childhood imagination hasn't left me quite yet.

CHAPTER 1

Gondor

Sometimes, it was as though we were the only breathing beings in Middle Earth, and at this moment it certainly felt that way. As Legolas and I began walking through Minas Tirith, I was surprised at the lack of humans in the city. The windows were shut, the people were inside. We passed through the guardless gate without a sound, and exchanged worried glances with each other as we silently made our way up the first flight of steps of the marble city.

My leg pained me something terrible, but i still limped the steps two at a time. Legolas followed closely behind me and I could feel his eyes on me as he watched my labored breaths. It had been years since the Battle of the Black Gate - or so they called it - and my chest had still not recovered fully. I refused to return to the Gardens even as Legolas begged me. But I was not a human - not weak - and despite the pain and short breaths, I made it to the top of the steps and across the courtyard to the great hall where all the Kings of Gondor had sat on their thrones. The closer I got to the doors where the only guards stood, the greater the feeling of dread grew in my chest. I was not ready for what great sorrow Aragorn had written to us with, nor the cause, whatever that may be.

Our weapons were not taken, and I was glad for that. Legolas's hand never left mine as we pushed our way into the throne room, both expecting the worst. But what we found was an empty room. Aragorn was nowhere to be seen, but the faint scraping of metal against stone that only we could hear told us where he was. My leg throbbed as we crossed the marble floor to the open door on our right. I could tell now that Legolas was worried and scared for his friend. Not even Arwen was anywhere to be found. His hand was stiff in mine, and not even a squeeze from my fingertips as I pulled my hand away released his tension.

When we finally found Aragorn, he was seated in front of a spinning stone. His sword hissed and sparks flew across the blacksmith's room. "Aragorn!" I realized he had taken no notice of my shout. "Aragorn...?" still no answer, though my voice seemed to eerily bounce through the empty city, setting my teeth on edge. Legolas crossed the room ahead of me. He had been wistfully silent since we had arrived, telling me only that there was a "deep sorrow" in the city, and I agreed. I watched as he eased the sword from Aragorn's hand and whispered to him softly in Elvish. I came behind him and perhaps less gently, pulled him to his feet. Only then did he seem to recognize us. As my friend blinked his deep eyes, I frowned and told him his sword - given to him by my father and forged from the shards of Narsil - needed no sharpening.

"I know..." he said in a quiet, broken voice. I was taken aback and put my arms around my friend, kissing him on the side of the mouth and pulling him close.

"Aragorn," I said, eyebrows contracted on my brow, "What has happened? Where is everyone? The city is empty."

Aragorn lifted his eyes to meet mine, and as we looked at each other, I could feel his despair coursing through his fingertips and into my hands. "They are mourning their queen." he said in a hushed voice. All at once, my knees buckled out from under me, and Legolas reached over to catch my shoulder just as Aragorn caught me under my elbows. The world seemed to fade to black for a moment, before his face came back into focus. I righted myself, ripping myself from their grasps, before I stared at each of them in turn.

"What do you mean?" my voice came out of my throat in a hoarse whisper.

Arwen and I had been friends since as long as I could remember, and only a few years ago had I discovered that we were blood sisters. I had seen her a few times over the years, whether it was at our wedding, or on our many visits to Gondor to visit them.

"I thought that I sent the messenger to you with what happened..." Aragorn said, confused, as he stood straighter and adjusted his cloak. I looked at him, shaking my head a few times before shrugging my shoulders.

"He died. They had ridden hard and were followed by a pack of rogue orcs. All he had time to tell us was of your need for us before we were attacked." Aragorn did not even grunt.

"Rhasslairiel hurt her leg, and we rode straight here." Legolas reached over and put his hand on Aragorn's shoulder, "What happened?" he asked quietly.

Aragorn shook his head, looking down at the ground and running his hands one at a time over each other. "I do not know." he whispered to us, casting a few glances around us. I did the same, frowning a little bit, before turning back to my friend. "I woke up and she was gone. Not a scream, not even a whisper to find her."

"It wouldn't be like her to simply leave," I said out loud, and Aragorn and Legolas could only agree with me. "Something must have taken her. Have you questioned the guards?"

"Of course," Aragorn seemed insulted that I had even asked. "None of them have seen a thing. She disappeared into the night, without a trace of where she could be." Aragorn suddenly looked old and sullen, and as he lowered himself down into his throne, Legolas and I knelt in front of him, so that our eyes were even with his. I closed my eyes and rested my forehead onto the arm of his giant chair, before feeling Legolas's hand on the back of my neck. I groaned.

"Rhasslairiel..."

"Mm?"

"Arwen was pregnant."