Title: The King's Vacation

Author: Fairy Laughing

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them, they actually belong to Tolkien. Fear not, I shall return all the toy soldiers to the trunk once I am through finished playing with them. ;)

Summary: Elessar's job is taking its toll on him, so a conspiracy takes place and he is abducted by Legolas and the twins and taken on a mostly pointless quest reminiscent of older times. Unemployed orcs, unwashed rangers, and drunk humans all turn up and Legolas starts to think that maybe Elessar would have been less stressed at home, but to their surprise, he starts to enjoy himself.

Canon notes: Takes place about four years after RotK, and I'm going with the idea that the twins remained in Middle Earth for a few years, and then sailed a little while after Legolas.

Warnings: A bit of alcohol use and abuse in later chapters, and some characters may come across as out of character, but it's all in the spirit of humour.

Feedback: Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top?

The King's Vacation

by Fairy Laughing

Chapter I: The Dilemma

It was four years into the rule of King Elessar and Gondor was thriving beneath his gentle, but firm diplomacy. His plans for expansion had gone well, and now the city was bustling with activity and all persons happy. Crime was relatively low, and the crops generous (as was the king's mid-section). Arwen, his lovely elvish queen, had grown to love the city nearly as much as her homeland of Rivendell. Still, at times, she missed the wilderness of those lands. Arwen had planted a large garden, and spent most of her days beneath the tree boughs with her son and infant daughter.

Yet all was not well with the king; though he loved his queen much, as well as his children, he was devoted to the kingdom and ruling had taken its toll on his body, mind and family affairs. He had become distant and irritable and worked long into the night only to arise with the sun and return to work. Elessar's appearance was slightly haggard, and Arwen sometimes found him staring outside of the window with a look of melancholy longing. He whom had been raised among elf-kind and spent many years in the wilds had grown to miss the unpopulated lands and the freedom he once had to roam about at will. It was one of these moments when Arwen choose to approach him, speaking in her usual gentle manner, "You grow old before your time love. Will you not rest?"

"I have work to do." He turned back to the papers on his desk.

"Please, Elessar," She wrapped pale arms about his waist, frowning at the growing belly, "You work too much, too hard."

"Gondor needs her King."

"Gondor's King needs a break." She said firmly.

"I will not leave the kingdom in the hands of others!" He cried, perhaps a little too harshly. Arwen drew back, her expression hurt.

Just then, a baby's cry rang up and Eldarion came running into the room, nearly tripping over his small feet, and tugged on his mother's hand, "She's crying again!"

Sighing, Arwen closed her eyes and allowed herself to be taken to her distressed daughter, sending one last, pleading look to Elessar.

By the end of the week he had made no move to change his plans, and Arwen knew that it was time to enlist help from others. Quickly she penned two elvish letters, and sent them with a messenger; one went to Imlandris, and another to Mirkwood.

It was not long after Arwen had written when her brothers arrived, Elladan and Elrohir who had been in charge of ruling Imlandris as well, but had left another to that job for a vacation of their own. Their reunion with Arwen and Elessar was a happy one, and Elladan could not but help poke fun at Elessar's widened belly. Elessar's response was to growl at him and mutter about his mistake of hiring a hobbit cook, because, although the hobbit was most talented in the kitchen, he always made a huge amount and it was really quite good.

Mere days later, Legolas arrived, looking as he always had compared to Elessar and even Arwen who carried herself with a queenly grace and had become somewhat maternal. All three marvelled at how quickly the royal children had grown, and congratulated them on the beautiful children. Eldarion had grown fond of stories from the Elrohir, and rough housing with Elladan and Legolas. Elladan had become his horse, much to Elrohir's amusement.

Once the reluctant king and children had been put to bed, Arwen called a very important, very secret counsel in the wine storage room. She held her nightgown above the dirty floor daintily, her hair bound back and eyes intense. Elladan had taken a bottle from the wall, and was examining the date with approval.

"Elladan, pay attention now," Arwen said, "I have called you here for a reason."

"Yes milady." He said, looking to her but still clutching the bottle.

"We must find a way to force Elessar to relax. His job, I fear, will soon make him ill. He grows so cranky... like a child who has not taken their afternoon nap."

The three nodded, and then Legolas smiled, "Well, then perhaps we should force him to take a break, away from the city."

"How do you propose we convince him to leave his post?" Elrohir asked.

"Whoever said anything about convincing him?" Legolas asked, a large grin crossing his face. Elladan and Elrohir grinned as well, and Arwen wondered idly what she had gotten her beloved into.

To be continued...