Hiya, fellow readers! It is me again! For those who have been reading my River of Time book about Ryn and the other children, this is the prequel to it. Of Elves and Rangers is the series that speak of Aragorn's childhood and what happened from when he was a toddler up to the time the Lord of the Rings begin. With that said, here is the first chapter!
-Nescit Cedere-
"Elladan! Elrohir!" Elrond rose his head when he heard Glorfindel's roar and watched as twin Elves sprinted past his study with a Golden Elf hot on their heels.
"It was not us!" The twins had cried before passing. Not too long after, Erestor calmly strode in, his eyes following the Balrog Slayer and the twins as they swerved right towards the Gardens. He shook his head and looked to Elrond, who rose to greet him.
"Erestor." Erestor bowed his head and Elrond shook his.
"No need for formalities, Erestor." Elrond glanced over to where he had last seen his sons and the Balrog Slayer. "Do I even want to know?" He inquired and Erestor allowed a smirk to grace his features, causing Elrond to raise an eyebrow.
"For once," Erestor spoke, his voice low and smooth. "The twins are correct."
"They were not the ones to prank Glorfindel?"
"Nay." Erestor replied.
"Then who was it?" Elrond asked but only received a mysterious smile for an answer. Elrond sighed and took a seat once again behind his desk. "The twins wish to ride for the Dunedain camp once again. Arathorn had sent them a message that excited the twins that they practically begged for me to allow them to go." Erestor seated himself nearby, opening his book to read when the door to the study reopened to reveal a soaked Glorfindel with colorful twins next to him. "What in Eru's name have the three of you done?"
"I had nothing to do with it." Glorfindel darkly muttered and the twins gave their Father identical smiles.
"We did not do anything either!" They added while Glorfindel glared at the two.
"We will be leaving in less than an hour." the Balrog Slayer announced and Elrond raised his head in surprise.
"So soon?" Glorfindel was silent for a moment. "Glorfindel, is everything well?"
"Everything is well, Elrond." Glorfindel replied, though his tone was laced with uncertainty. "Now off with you!" he shooed the Twins away and left to go to his own rooms to change. Erestor stood and after bowing his head once more to Elrond, left after him. Elrond shook his head, smiling slightly. Glorfindel and Erestor were the best of friends. There was nothing Elrond could think of that could possibly sever their bonds of friendship. Though he wondered how his two advisers, who hated one another so greatly that Elrond had to ensure they remained separated, could have finally settled their disputes and become inseparable. Very rarely did any Elf see one without the other, except for when Glorfindel was training his warriors and Erestor was in council.
It was not too long after that Elrond found himself standing in the courtyard of Rivendell bidding his sons and Glorfindel farewell. Erestor stood beside him, watching as the three galloped away. Elrond was suddenly hit with a feeling of foreboding and resisted the urge to call them back. For the past few days, whenever he thought of his sons leaving to meet Arathorn, he would be struck with an ill feeling. He prayed to the Valar nothing had befallen Arathorn and his wife, Gilraen.
"Elrond?"
"Erestor...I believe something may have happened to the Dunedain Camp."
-Nescit Ceder-
"RO!" Dan shouted, twisting his blade to decapitate a charging Orc. They had reached the Dunedain camp to find it under attack and had immediately joined the fray, searching for Arathorn when the two were separated.
"DAN!" came the faint reply and Elladan fought to reach his brother. "We must find Arathorn!" Ro shouted and Dan nodded in agreement, scanning the field for any sign of their friend. He was nowhere to be found.
"My lords!" A young Dunedain by the name of Runeth waved them over and the twins easily made their way to him.
"Where is Arathorn?" The twins immediately asked and Runeth pointed to his right. The twins followed his gaze to find Arathorn fighting nearby under the shadows of the forest, taking on three Orcs at a time. They bolted from Runeth and charged the Orcs sneaking up on Arathorn, crying out as they attacked. No Orc stood a chance against the deadly duo. Arathorn's eyes brightened when he saw Elladan and Elrohir.
"You have come!" He sighed in relief.
"Of course we did!" The twins chimed, flanking him on both sides. "And it appears we have arrived just in time!" Elrohir added.
"We had no warning. I fear our scouts were slain by these Orcs before the attack." Arathorn informed them, killing yet another Orc.
"Where is Gilraen? Have the women and children been taken care of?" Elladan inquired.
"Aye. Young Halbarad was with me when the Orcs attacked." Arathorn said. "He warned the camp. A few of our men are making sure that they are taken far from here till the battle is won."
"Should be soon!" Elrohir smiled as he noticed the Dunedain were winning. Only a handful of Orcs were left.
"I should ho-" The twang of a bowstring caught the twins' attention and they watched in horror as the arrow sailed through the air and hit its mark. With a cry, Arathorn staggered back and fell against Elrohir, his hand covering his left eye.
"Arathorn!" the twins exclaimed in horror, kneeling down with the man. Arathorn inhaled sharply, clenching his teeth together against the pain, gripping Elladan's hand. Elladan and Elrohir's eyes were wide with dismay and alarm as their gaze fell upon the arrow shaft protruding from Arathorn's eye.
"Arathorn!" Elrohir called.
"Chil-" Arathorn hissed.
"Sh, everything will be well," Elladan attempted to soothe, tears blurring his vision as he helplessly looked to his twin who shook his head.
"No...bushes..." Arathorn murmured, coughing as blood trickled down his chin and stained his tunic. "Keep...safe..." he whispered.
"Everything will be taken care of, Arathorn." Elrohir managed to say without his voice cracking. Arathorn's life was fading, they could feel it.
"Please...Do not...blame...yourselves...keep...children...Watch...them." Arathorn gripped Elladan's hand as he opened his right eye to look at them. "Aragorn...Aranyth..."
"We will." The twins replied, bewildered as to what Arathorn was trying to say. Arathorn gave a weak smile.
"Thank...you..." He whispered before his eye closed and Arathorn's head rolled back against Elrohir's shoulder.
"Dan..." Elrohir brokenly murmured. "He's...He's dead..." Elladan was unresponsive, staring at Arathorn's still form lying against his brother before howling in anger and rage as he stood and began slaughtering all of the Orcs that were left. "Dan!" Elrohir cried. "Dan! Do not!"
"Ro..." Elrohir snapped his head down to see Arathorn's chest rising and falling slightly. "You will...tell him...?" Ro's eyes softened as he nodded, pressing a kiss to Arathorn's forehead.
"I will." His voice wavered as Arathorn nodded weakly then allowed himself to drift away. Elrohir returned his attention to Elladan. The Orcs were screeching and retreating when they saw the rampaging Elf flying here and there on the battle-field, slaying all Orcs.
"Dan!" He shouted but Elladan would not hear him. "Dan, daro!"
-Nescit Cedere-
Elladan and Elrohir walked silently away from the camp.
"It was not your fault." Elrohir softly broke the silence. Elladan slowly nodded.
"I know..." he whispered. "But I could have done something!"
"There was nothing we could do." Elrohir told him as they continued. They walked in silence.
"If only Glorfindel had been there." Elladan sighed. "He would have been able to save him."
"Let us not dwell on what could have been, Elladan. We must find Gilraen." A soft sound caught there attention and the Elves silently walked around a large tree to find a child, no older than seven, crouched on the ground, legs drawn up to his chest, head resting against his knees as he cried.
"Child?" Elladan carefully approached the young Dunedain, who jumped at Elladan's voice and whipped around to see the twins standing behind him.
"Halbarad?" Elrohir knelt before the child. "What is it? What are you doing here?"
"Ada and Uncle fell." Halbarad whispered, eyes red from crying. "I cannot find Nana but I found Aunty." He began to sob once again. Elrohir was quick to pull him into an embrace, one the child was grateful for.
"Gilraen? You have found Gilraen?" Elladan and Elrohir inquired. The child's head bobbed up and down.
"Where is she?"
"Gone." came the answer. The child then raised his head, as if he had remembered something and tugged their sleeves, beckoning for them to follow him. They followed the child who knelt on the ground and brushed aside the vines to reveal a hole beneath the tree. The child slid into the hole, confusing the twins until a moment later, the child reappeared, using one arm to pull himself out of the tree and carrying something wrapped in a blanket in his other arm. He passed it over to Elladan before disappearing once again and returning with another bundle and placing this one in Ro's arms. The twins blinked before pulling a part of the blanket up and gasping at what they saw.
-Nescit Cedere-
"Elladan! Elrohir!" The twins gently tugged the reins of their horses when they heard the familiar voice calling to them and looked to see a fair being riding a pure white steed galloping towards them. The being had long, golden, hair and blue eyes filled with concern and relief. "There you are!" Glorfindel halted before the twins. "Your Father was worried when you did not return-" he trailed off noticing the looks the twins had. "What ails you?" He asked.
"Arathorn fell." Elladan told the Balrog Slayer, who started at the news.
"He fell...?"
"Orcs attacked the encampment. He was slain by an arrow to the eye." Elrohir explained.
"What of Gilraen?" Glorfindel inquired.
"She was wounded before fleeing the attack but died before she could get away." came the reply.
"This is ill news..." Glorfindel lowered his head, closing his eyes with grief. He had had the opportunity to raise Arathorn when his father, Arador, had been killed by trolls, and had met Gilraen briefly. To lose them both at once was a harsh blow. "Let us return." He and the twins rode in silence into Rivendell where Elrond and Erestor awaited them.
"My sons!" Elrond breathed a sigh of relief, embracing both his sons when they dismounted.
"Ada." The twins said in unison and Elrond noted the sorrowful tone they spoke in. He pulled away, taking in their appearance and closed his eyes.
"Let us speak inside." He said and they went into the Hall of Fire. Erestor took care of the horses before following. "Arathorn and Gilraen have fallen." Elrond stated more than questioned. Elladan and Elrohir somberly nodded in reply. "Then the line of Isildur is broken." the Elf-Lord sighed.
"There is still hope, Ada." Elrohir said and Elrond turned to his son. "Before Arathorn died, he had asked for Elladan and I to check the bushes. We did so but found nothing until we continued down the path. There we found Halbarad, who had lost his Father as well. The child had taken it upon himself to protect Lady Gilraen and when we arrived, he revealed the hole beneath the tree he had led Gilraen to and where Gilraen had passed from her wounds. But she was not alone."
Elladan and Elrohir lifted the tiny bundles they had been holding. Elrond's eyes widened in surprise.
"Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and Aranyth, daughter of Arathorn." Elladan introduced the babies. Aragorn's eyes were open, revealing the grey-blue colored orbs. They looked up at Elladan and raised a small hand which wrapped around the elder twin's finger. Aranyth gurgled and looked to Glorfindel, eyes widening in awe when she saw the golden colored hair and reached out for the Elf. Glorfindel carefully cradled her in his arms, gazing down at the baby with a slight smile on his lips.
"Aragorn and Aranyth." Elrond repeated, approaching Elladan and Glorfindel to take a closer look at the younger set of twins. Both had chocolate colored curls and grey-blue eyes. They wore Elvish sewn clothing with a necklace around their necks. One Elrond recognized as Arathorn's and one that Gilraen wore after Arathorn had proposed to her. "They are indeed Arathorn's children, heirs of Isildur." He whispered, joy and relief evident in his tone. "But what shall we do with them?"
"Elrond?" Glorfindel glanced up at his friend.
"They are orphans now, Glorfindel." Elrond explained. Elladan and Elrohir glanced at one another before looking to their Father. Though they did not quite know the young twins, they felt it was their duty to watch over them. Hadn't they promised Arathorn they would?
"Ada, may we take them in?" Elrohir asked, taking Elrond aback.
"You wish to keep them here?" Elrond inquired and the twins nodded.
"We made a promise to Arathorn, though at the time we did not understand what he was asking of us...Please, Ada?" Elrond was silent for a moment before Aragorn suddenly snatched one of his braids, giggling happily and locking eyes with Elrond. When their eyes met, Elrond knew what had to be done.
"Yes...They will become a part of our family." Elrond nodded. The twins grinned happily. "We will foster them until they come of age. But, they cannot go by the names of Aragorn and Aranyth. The Orcs that attacked the camp did not come across it by accident. They were sent to kill Arathorn. The Orcs who survived will believe the line of Isildur has ended."
"But if they were to find that it hadn't," Glorfindel said, knowing where this was headed. "Then the children will be in danger."
"Indeed." Elrond nodded. "We must choose different names for them."
"What will we call them?" Elladan asked.
"I do not know...We need fitting names for them." Elrond whispered and everyone sat together, pondering what names should be given to the young twins.
And there you have it! The prologue to Of Elves and Rangers! I should have the next chapter up soon. Please read and review, constructive criticism welcome!