Expanded Realm
Summary: Years after the destruction of the Ring, the king of Gondor finds himself holding the son he and having his wife always yearned for. Yet nothing is happily ever after. MPREG, mentions of rape (non-graphic), post-Quest.
Author's Notes: I'm back again for a new chapter! Geez, I love this story. Have been for quite some time now. So happy that I actually have the ability to post it for you. So, here we go again for another part of Expanded Realm.
Chapter 3:
Cleaver, Weaver, and Dragon Seether
It was a wonderful time had by all, especially by Estellin. The bow the Legolas had bestowed upon Estellin as a present was perfect. Its design was flawless; a perfect present for the son of the King. Aragorn, Estellin's father, and King of Gondor, had made special arrangements for this hunting trip. They were not to have any visitors or any guards with them at this time. Aragorn assured his wife, the Queen Arwen that they would be fine and any "foe" they might encounter would be swiftly dealt with.
She sighed and waved them off, but something was nagging her. The same thing that had nagged Mithrandir in his letter to Estellin, perhaps. Although she had found no evidence to make her worried, yet she still fretted over their hunting trips alone. This had been the umpteenth time they had been on an "alone" hunting trip, and it probably wouldn't be the last. It was their time to get away from the constant surveillance that had plagued Estellin since birth.
In order to remedy the time spent among the guards, they had their weekly "alone" hunting trip, which nearly lasted a full day.
So far Estellin had managed to hunt and kill four rabbits. His keen elvish blood had given him swift feet and a keen eye to small prey of that kind. They had not yet found a fox or large waterfowl the lived in the forest, but Estellin had had his fair share of animals of that sort caught previously. He was ready for anything.
But something smelled off with the rabbits they had caught. They seemed drained of all energy when Estellin had come upon them, and they hadn't been that hard to catch. It was rather disconcerting.
They're horses were becoming more exhausted as the day wore on, but Estellin and Aragorn were having too grand enough of a time to notice. It wasn't often that the horses got tired, but for some reason, they were now.
In fact, it seemed like the whole forest was tired and drained of energy, for many of the trees were dragging. Unfortunately, Estellin was only half elvish, and such gifts as "tree-reading," were foreign to him. Aragorn did not have this gift either.
"Why don't we take a break for today?" Aragorn asked his son after they had been riding for quite some time. "I'll cook our rabbits and we'll have lunch. As the hobbits used to call it; we'll have ourselves some 'coney stew.' It's supposed to be absolutely inviting. I've brought some herbs with me."
He pulled out of his satchel a small bottle of nothing but mouthwatering herbs. He also pulled out a small pot. "You skin them and put them over the fire. I'll boil some water over here." The satchel also contained a small wineskin in which they kept some water.
They often did this, and some of the time they would come back with nothing to show for their day of hunting except full bellies of freshly caught conies.
Aragorn began to boil some water and Estellin began to skin the rabbits. Their skins were nice to keep for the winter, and Estellin made a note to take them back home for stretching. Everything was going smoothly.
What a lovely day for a hunting trip.
The wind was nice and comfortable. It wasn't too cool, nor was it too warm. These were the most favorable conditions for hunting.
Yes, what a lovely day for a hunting trip. And little did they know, but something, or someone, was stirring not too far away from their current encampment. Little did they know, they would soon be in a lot of deep trouble.
The rabbits had been skinned, cleaned, and finally eaten. They were relatively small, but they tasted good. Aragorn licked his lips clean of the rabbit, and looked at his son who was now sprawled out on the ground. He was breathing heavily, and had his eyes partly closed.
"Full, Estellin?" Aragorn asked, looking at his son who was yawning widely. It was apparent that the stuffed feeling was making him drowsy.
"Yep," Estellin said softly, yawning and then stretching.
"Do you want to continue hunting? Or do you want to head back home?"
This was a loaded question and Estellin knew it. Aragorn would've wanted to have everyone home because Arwen would've wanted it. But truthfully, his father missed the old days of being a Ranger and prowling the forest lands spread across Middle Earth.
"I believe mother would want me home before dark," Estellin said, stretching again and then getting up on all fours. "So I believe we should start heading back."
"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary."
That was not the voice that belonged to Aragorn. In fact, this was not Estellin's father's voice at all.
No, it came from somewhere else.
Behind them, there was a group of three elves, staring longingly at them. "You have crossed paths with foes," said one. "We're a part of the Dark Elves in Mirkwood. I'm Cleaver," said the first.
"I'm Weaver," said the second.
"And I'm Dragon Seether," said the third. "We're the Disciples of Anathema. Cooperate with us, and no one will get hurt…very much."
Author's Notes: I know, I know, it took me too long to actually get this posted, and now that it is posted, it's ridiculously short. College is wearing down on me, so hopefully you understand that. Just forgive me and read and REVIEW!