Hey Everyone! Here is my first story for ff.net, but not the first I have written. You can see more of my fanfiction at my website, which is linked to on my author page.
Story Title: The Ancient Grudge
Rating: R (though the first few chapters will be PG)
Warnings: I'll let you know if any come up.
Summary: Some Men in Middle Earth still hold a grudge against the Elves. They don't like it that their Queen is an Elf, and that their King was raised in Rivendell, despite him being the heir of Isildur. So, they have planned his overthrow, and will use Aragorn's only son as a bargaining tool.
Disclaimer: All of the characters mentioned in the story belong to J.R.R Tolkien and I make no money from this fiction. Original characters belong to me, as does the story plot. Any likeness to another story is purely coincidental and if something too greatly resembles another's work for your comfort, please let me know and I will gladly look into fixing the problem.
[A/N 1] I am going to assume a background knowledge of Middle Earth and its characters, and a (very) limited Sindarin vocabulary. It is my goal to keep as close to cannon as possible, but there will be some deviation from Tolkien's script, of course. If I allude to something that I feel is not common knowledge, then I will footnote it, but footnotes will be rare. I hope you enjoy and if there is something you are unsure of, please make note of it in a review. And on that note, please R&R.
[A/N 2] The reference materials I use mostly are The Silmarillion and the Appendices in Return of the King, both by J.R.R. Tolkien (in case anyone cared).
[A/N 3] Aragorn is mentioned as having Eldarion and many daughters. I took the liberty of naming some of his many daughters.
-- CHAPTER ONE --
Eldarion, son of Aragorn, peeked around the corner of the wall, hidden behind a thick red tapestry that decorated the throne room. His father and mother did not yet think he was old enough to be bothered by the affairs of ruling a kingdom, but the ten year old thought differently. He had seen Aragorn handle the affairs of Gondor plenty of times, and it truly didn't look that hard. And Eldarion had heard the stories of the Great War of the Ring; if Aragorn could face RingWraiths and Orcs, and Saruman, then Eldarion could handle a few angry peasants. If the ease he took in escaping his nanny were evidence enough, he was more than ready to trade words with common peasants.
However, this time King Elessar was not arguing with one of his advisors or trying to be diplomatic with a townsman. Instead, he was greeting two of his best friends. Eldarion knew the elf, for it was Legolas, one of the members of the Fellowship of the Ring. A wide grin spread across the boy's face. Legolas was known to him and his sisters as a playful companion who usually had a treat or game for them to play. Eldarion loved it when Legolas came to visit.
Next to the elf was Gimli the dwarf, who Eldarion had seen before and heard many stories about, mostly from his father and Legolas, but had not gotten to know very well personally. Gimli typically did not want to spend time in the nursery playing with dolls or wooden soldiers, as he had infinitively less patience than Legolas. On the other hand, he seemed to have formed a rather close bond with Shalay, one of his younger sisters. She had taken a liking to his collection of sparkling gems, and anyone who enjoyed the treasures of Arda as much as Gimli was a friend to the dwarves. Eldarion himself had a small green gem carved into the shape of a oval, with white mithril embedded into it in the shape of the White Tree of Gondor, and the seven stars which it laid under. The whole jewel was set in gold, and was so small it could easily fit in the palm of his closed hand. The gift was from Gimli for his eighth birthday, and Eldarion treasured it more because it was a gift from one of his father's finest friends than because it was worth a kingdom in riches.
Eldarion grew tired of waiting for the formalities to end, as he wanted to steal Legolas away on his own, and show the elf the new pond he had discovered on the outskirts of the Minas Tirith, where there were interesting purple flowers and toads that were are big as his fist. He shifted slightly, disturbing the tapestry he hid behind. The movement was barely enough to alert anyone to his presence, but suddenly Eldarion found his eyes locked with the deep blue of the elf's. The corners of Legolas' mouth curved upwards when he recognized the unruly dark brown curls and the bright gray eyes of Aragorn's heir. Legolas gave the boy a quick wink and then turned back to look at Aragorn, who was speaking to him about the upcoming fair the people of Minas Tirith were holding. Eldarion grinned and then melted back into the tapestry, left the throne room, and made his way towards the guest quarters.
Only fifteen minutes had elapsed before Eldarion heard the sound of soft footsteps on the hard stone floors. Eldarion looked up excitedly, but was disappointed to see it was his sister, Almia, who was only two years younger than him. She spotted him sitting in the rooms that already held Legolas' belongings, and with a frown, she entered the room. "Eldarion," she tsked. "You should not wait in a guest's room."
"Be quiet," Eldarion snapped at her, crossing his arms over his chest. "I am going to show Legolas my pond with the toads." Almia's face screwed up in disgust.
"Why would such a fine elf like Legolas want anything to do with your stupid gross toads?"
"He will!" Eldarion insisted. "You are just a silly girl and don't know what is entertaining to a man."
"Think about it, Eldarion," Almia said sourly. "Legolas traveled with Ada in the Fellowship, he fought in the Great War of the Ring, and he is a prince of Elves. What could he possibly find entertaining to do with a scrawny little boy?"
"There is much that this scrawny little boy can show me that is interesting," came a third voice, and both siblings looked up in shock and dismay at the guest in question.
"Lord Legolas!" Almia cried, and quickly tried to curtsey. Legolas bowed slightly in return, an amused smirk on his face. Almia saw this and blushed furiously, for it was not unknown that her eight year old heart had set itself on her father's fair friend. Eldarion rolled his eyes.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Lady Almia," Legolas smiled. "I do beg your leave though, as I fear I have prior obligations to attend to. There seems to be a pond with toads in it that requires my inspection."
"Yes Milord," she blushed again. Eldarion stuck his tongue out at her and then skipped forward, grabbing Legolas' hand and nearly dragging him down the hall.
"Come now," Eldarion said happily. "We shall not be bothered by silly little maidens anymore." He tried to sound more mature than his sister.
"I am grateful for your protection, my liege," Legolas replied with a short laugh.
"You are very welcome, and my name is Eldarion, not liege."
"Of course," Legolas nodded. "Now tell me, Eldarion, where is this pond of yours?"
"Not too far, yet far enough away that pesky maidens and nurses won't come bothering us."
"That is well." Eldarion led the way down the winding halls of the castle until they reached the outdoors through a small, concealed door in the back of his mother's garden. Easily he navigated through the maze of plants, stone benches, and trees until they reached the gate on the far side that let out into the city of Minas Tirith. Legolas knew that the royal children were not permitted to leave the palace grounds unattended, and though Eldarion now had an escort, it was obvious he had left without one before, as he made his way through the city without hesitation. Soon, they were out of the busy part of town, and heading towards the light woods that bordered the white city.
"How did you find this secret pond?" Legolas asked curiously.
"I have a bit of elf in me, myself, Legolas," Eldarion said confidently. "I simply smelt the water."
"Oh, I see," Legolas replied, trying to sound impressed. He found the young prince's antics quite amusing. However, no more than five steps into the forest, Legolas could also smell the 'water' and it was no wonder that the boy had found the pond. It smelled putrid! Though Legolas' keen elven senses already smelled the tiny body of water, it would not be long until even a human with no elf in his blood could smell the stink of muck and decay.
"Ah, there it is!" Eldarion exclaimed, taking a deep breath. "Can you not smell it, too?"
"Yes, now that you mention it, I can. You truly do have the wits of an elf about you, Eldarion," Legolas praised him, thinking that it would not hurt to boost the child's self-confidence. Therefore, he did not mention that he had started smelling the pond a dozen fathoms ago. Eldarion grinned broadly at the elf's kudos, and then resumed tramping through the woods in a manner that Legolas noticed was most un-elflike.
They reached the pond, and for all of Legolas' misgivings about the smell, in actuality, it was a rather cozy little clearing. The pond water, murky brown, was decorated with shiny green lily pads and a few pink flowers. A small ring of dirt circled the pond, and beyond that was think, soft grass that formed a natural blanket over the ground.
"What do you think?" Eldarion asked, moving to the edge of his pond and dropping to his knees.
"It is one of the most exquisite ponds I have ever come across," Legolas answered, kneeling down as well, yet further away from the stink of the water. Eldarion poked around the edge of the pond near a large bush.
"This bush used to have beautiful flowers, but now they are gone," he sighed, his gray eyes searching for any remainders. Legolas eyed the bush in question, and then stood, walking over to where Eldarion was standing.
"That is because the flowers have turned into wonderful ripe blueberries," the elf explained. He lifted up a branch to reveal a bundle of little bluish-purple berries. He picked a few off of the bush and popped them into his mouth. "They are very sweet, Eldarion. You should try some." The youth, always looking for adventure and new experiences, grabbed a handful and shoved the whole lot into his mouth. He chewed slowly, and then his eyes lit up.
"Very good," he smiled, reaching for more. Thinking quickly, he pulled his over tunic off and used it as a makeshift sack to carry more of the delicious fruit in. However, more seemed to go into his mouth than his tunic. Legolas laughed and picked his own, adding them to Eldarion's stash and not his own stomach. Once the human child was content with the number of blueberries he had picked, he toted his stash back over to the grassy bank at the edge of the pond. There he plopped down and laid his berries next to him so he could eat them while inspecting the shallow waters of the pond. Legolas sat beside him, eating a berry every once in a while, and listening to the contented murmuring of the trees and plants. Eldarion didn't find any toads this time, much to his disappointment.
"Perhaps they are in their mating season," Legolas suggested. "Next summer, there should be even more toads for you to catch."
"I suppose you are right," Eldarion sighed. He watched the elf remove his bow and quiver and set them on the ground next to him so he could recline on the soft grass and watched the clouds move behind the canopy of tree leaves. Popping a few more blueberries in his mouth, Eldarion made his way over to Legolas' side, reaching for the bow that was longer than he was tall. He stood and held the bow like his father had shown him, but could barely pull the string back. Legolas watched him carefully, both protective of his bow that was a gift from Galadriel, and the boy who was his best friend's son. Finally, giving up in frustration, Eldarion set the bow back down and reached for his berries. He took a seat next to the elf, unmindful of the blueberry juice that stained his shirt, face, and hands. Legolas, however, noticed when one sticky hand came to rest on his stomach, leaving a child sized blue hand print on the dark green fabric.
"You are a mess, Eldarion," Legolas laughed. The boy just shrugged and smiled, resting his arms on the elf's chest so he could see into his companion's sparkling blue eyes.
"Tell me about the Fellowship, Legolas," Eldarion requested. He ran a small hand through his unruly black curls, leaving a streak of blueberry dye on his forehead.
"Has not your adar told you the tales?" Legolas asked, placing his arms behind his head as a sort of pillow.
"He leaves out all the good parts," Eldarion complained. "All he talks about is how much he missed Naneth."
"And what do you consider to be the good parts, young prince?" Legolas inquired, barely restraining a laugh.
"The Orcs and the Uruk-hai and the Wargs!" Eldarion exclaimed, his gray eyes flashing with excitement.
"Really?"
"Yes. I wish I could have been there. I would have sliced quite a few of the dirty beasts!"
"I'm sure that your help would have been a great contribution," Legolas told him, and Eldarion beamed. "So you want to hear about the Fellowship, with all the good parts left in?"
"Yes please," Eldarion answered. He shifted slightly, resting his head on his arms, still reclining against the elf's chest, and stared into the face of his friend. Legolas took a deep breath to collect his thoughts and then started to tell the story as he remembered it.
The afternoon wore on, and soon Eldarion, exhausted from the excitement of seeing the elf and traipsing through the woods, fell into a deep slumber under the warmth of the sun and the shade of the trees, protected by the elf. Legolas noticed his sleep as the Fellowship reached the start of Moria, and smiled softly. He gently brushed a few dirty curls away from the boy's soft forehead, and then laid back himself, letting himself become immersed in Ilúvatar's song. One hand rested protectively on the boy's right arm.
tbc…