Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings in any way shape or form. However, my OCs are solely MINE. You no touch-ee.
Summary: A woman shows up in Gondor with a child that she claims is the son of King Elessar, his firstborn and thus the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor. How will Aragorn and Arwen handle this problem, especially when the woman says she has proof of her claims, which endangers Eldarion's position as Aragorn's heir? And who is the other boy that she brought with her? Will Aragorn and Arwen's relationship survive this? Will Gondor survive? The only way out would be to unveil the truth, which is, as they say, out there…. This will be better than it sounds, I'm just a lousy summarizer.
Author's notes, or STUFF YOU NEED TO READ IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE STORY: This story is most definitely AU. As with Wolfheart, I've had a draft of this in my notebook from a few years ago, but I never got around to typing it out because back then, I was immature, and more focused on CSI/Mutant X fics. I'd hope my writing style has matured somewhat, lol. So, um, forgive me if the first few chapters aren't quite up to par… These were written a few years back, when I was younger, and I couldn't change them much without rewriting everything…something I couldn't really do. I have no beta for this fic, so please forgive any mistakes. I'm slowly typing out what I have, and later I will continue where I left off years ago.
For this fic, the timeline still follows canon, which means if you haven't read the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen at the back of the third book (or online), do so. Aragorn still got his first glimpse of Arwen when he was 20, and Elrond confronts him and says they can never be because she's Elf-kind and he's mortal, and so on (it's in the tale, go search for it and read it). Then Aragorn leaves Rivendell and disappears into the Wild for twenty-nine years, and then he is admitted to Loríen and Arwen and he get engaged. Yup, that's all good. But then, for this fic, I say that Elrond confronts Aragorn again about two and a half years before the Fellowship began their Quest, saying that only a King of Men will be good enough for his daughter, and he won't allow Arwen to marry him otherwise, and then we follow movie-verse Aragorn who does not want his heritage or to be king, and so he falls into despair and leaves Rivendell for a while, only to return with renewed hope. As to where he was and what he did while he was gone, that's explained below. Then we follow canon again from the Fellowship of the Ring until The Return of the King, and then the fic begins after he and Arwen have been married for nine years, and my take is that Eldarion was born after they had been married about three years, so he's six in this story, and has a younger sister.
Now, inspiration for this fic came from a line in the appendices which mentioned the Law of Númenor, which originally stated that only sons could inherit the Sceptre and the rule of the isle of Númenor. However, the sixth King had only a daughter, and so according to this law he should have been succeeded by his nephew. Instead, he changed the law and made it so that females could also inherit the Sceptre, and because of this there were three Ruling Queens of the Isle. So I'm taking it a step further, and saying that the throne has to go to the firstborn of the King, no matter male of female. Yeah. So, don't hate me, I did say this would be AU, if that's not your cup of tea please don't spoil the pot for others who might enjoy it…
Now, before the flames start, let me assure one and all that (spoiler ahead) I am very much a fan of Eldarion being Aragorn's heir and future King of Gondor, and I am not writing this to put one of my OCs on the throne instead of him. Neither of my OCs will end up as Gondor's future King, I promise. So please, no flames or hate mail. But if you would, please let me know what you think. I appreciate constructive criticism and reviews that let me know your thoughts on this fic, though I know it hasn't really started off. And for those waiting for Wolflight - FairOphelia is betaing the next few chapters, and she assures me that chapter 2 is almost done, so be patient please. :) Do give me a chance, it's my first attempt at a Fourth Age fanfiction, and it will get better - I have lots of bunnies for this one.
Go to the next page for the prologue and the first chapter. I put the notes in a chapter all their own because I thought this might be the best way to make sure people read it, and then there should be less hate mail and flames. But after you read, please do drop a review. :)
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RK9.