Disclaimer: I'm not dead. I'm not a man. Therefore, I am not Tolkien and do not own any of these characters, so don't sue.
Author's Note: So, this is a cross between Lord of the Rings and The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Good play…well, it's OK, but anyway, this is my first real Aragorn/Arwen fic. I did write a song fic that was good, but this one has an actual plot I made up—semi—all by myself. And my Silmarillion fic sucked pretty badly, so I figured that I owed it to you people to write something good (and not based on a song) for a change. And this takes place after the War of the Ring. This is also very very A/U and very fluffy. Enjoy!
Negotiations
"Why is this?" Aragorn demanded in his authoritative voice he had developed in his months being king as two heavily masked Easterlings brought him into a dark, seemingly empty room. "I have done no wrong here!"
The Easterlings threw him into the room, a dim light glowing on his face. His chains clanked against his skin and bumped into a chair. He heard a sly voice say, "On the contrary, Elessar. We have many a reason to capture you."
A face appeared to match the voice. It was mostly covered by a sinister, brassy-looking helmet and rich red fabric. All he could see were two blackened eyes surrounded by unusually pale skin. The man sat in an adorned chair and continued to the King of Gondor in a silky voice to match the fabric covering his face, "We are both men of our word. Take a seat, King Elessar. I have brought you here to negotiate."
Aragorn did not sit. "Negotiate what? You have nothing of mine. Go back to your master."
The eyes flinted a bit and seemed to burn in anger for a moment or two, but he did not loose his composure. "Why, have my guards not told you? I have your wife. She is quite a winning creature. You are so blessed to have chosen the likeness of Luthien herself."
Now it was Aragorn's turn to burn in rage, but he did not even try to conceal it. "If you have touched her, I swear to you—"
"No one has touched her e'er since she was taken hither. It would be a black mark on us if we harmed a woman with child." Aragorn was hardly surprised, for his lover's actions had made him expect so; yet it made his arms want to hold his wife again, to comfort and protect her. The Easterling sensed this and showed no remorse, some say joy, at his suffering. He signaled to the other Easterlings—there were about 5 in whole—to get fetch Arwen. The air suddenly changed to very businesslike. "Now, on with negotiations. I will graciously return to you your wife if you tell me why you have destroyed my master."
"I know not of what you speak," Aragorn lied with ease. His years in the Wild were paying off. "I know nothing."
"You are untruthful. I can see it in your eyes."
"I know naught but the men of West were fighting the forces of Mordor when your master was destroyed, myself among them. How, pray tell, could I have killed your master when I was trapped under a troll at the same time?"
The other Easterlings appeared in the door with a woman's figure. Aragorn noticed the curves as his wife's. "Ahh," said the head Easterling, "maybe this will sway your decision." She was pushed into the room, into the moonlight. Her figure was fuller now and her belly had the slightest swell in it.
"It is six month before my time," Arwen warned the head Easterling threateningly.
"I have not forgotten it," the Easterling replied coldly.
Aragorn could not contain himself anymore. He ran to her and embraced her passionately, but gently with his chained wrists around her neck. Over her shoulder, the Easterlings slinked back into the darkness. "It's all right now," Aragorn muttered in her pointed ear. "I am here." He pulled his arms over her head and asked her, "How is the child?"
"It grows," she answered as she held her ever-so-slightly protruding belly. "I believe it is a boy." He reached out with both hands to touch her stomach and stroked it simultaneous with her.
He smiled. "I can feel him." He paused as he took his hand off of her belly.
"I have missed you this fortnight, Estel," Arwen told him.
"This fortnight? You have only been gone a day, if less. What do you mean?"
"Your kingship, melamin. It is taking you away from me."
Aragorn had to agree with her. He had many things to do to fix the broken country of Gondor. Apparently, Denethor was not a good ruler. "I know this. What would you have me do?"
"I only have wanted time with you. If you could spare a day for your Queen, she would greatly appreciate it."
"I swear it will be done. That is, if I can escape these irons." There were some strangled cries in the darkness and then the midnight slinked back into place. The royal couple did not take a moment's notice.
Arwen smiled a mother's smile. "Even if you are at the lowest point of your life, you can always make me smile." The tender moment was short-lived, however.
"How sweet," the sly voice that had greeted Aragorn said. The head Easterling reappeared. "Too regretful that you never will." With that, he swung at Aragorn with a long, notched, deadly sword. Arwen moved in front of him, blocking the fatal blow.
"Move out of the way, Elf!" the Easterling cried.
"If you wish to slay my husband, I shall be first!" Arwen responded defensively.
"You know we will not hurt a woman heavy with child, now move!"
Arwen had no time to retort, for another Easterling leapt out and stabbed the head Easterling right in the heart with a Gondorian blade. The body fell to the ground and the man removed his helmet to reveal Faramir.
The rest of the men removed their helms to reveal Aragorn's personal guard, which he had formed when he started suspecting that Arwen was expecting a child. Aragorn moved past Arwen and asked Faramir, "How did you know?"
"We were in the fields of Pelennor when we heard your wife's screams. Éowyn—" He gestured to Éowyn, who was with them."—noticed first. You should be glad that she has such ears. Without her, we might not have known that she was gone." He went over to the body and picked up a set of keys. He gave them to Aragorn. "Unlock your chains. You shall need your arms to swing your sword." He handed him Andúril (one of the guards had it) and left at a run.
"Faramir misses not a thing, does he?" Arwen sighed, pensively amazed.
"Of course not," Aragorn replied. "Why else would he be my Steward?" With that he gave her a tender kiss and darted out the door after Faramir, sword in hand, to fight his last battle before becoming a father.
A/N: Not so Crucible-ish as I thought it would be. Hmm. Oh, well.
The reason Aragorn was captured was because the Easterlings wanted answers. I'm not sure if I portrayed that well. It was kind of a Harry Potter-ism, like how the Death-Eaters tortured people to get answers to where their master was. The problem with this is that the Easterlings probably know that Sauron was destroyed and that he's never coming back. Plus, they were probably destroyed with that entire 'Defeat of Sauron' sequence anyway. Ah well, it isn't called A/U for nothing.
Melamin means lover, by the way. I got it from the Book of Elvish, so don't yell at me if it's wrong.
Anyway…Press the pretty blurple (blue and purple) button on the bottom of the screen to review please.
A final word, if you wish.
NANKA!