Hi everyone!!!

I suppose someone must like this story if you are reading this, but nobody is reviewing. :(

Okay, some people are reviewing, but not very many.

If I get more reviews, I'll update sooner. I promise. Come on, they only take five minutes to write.

I'm sorry that this chapter is short- the next one will be longer.

R&R! (Read and Review!)

It was, quite simply, a beautiful day. The sweet scent of flowers permeated the city, thanks to the Queen's people who had brought life to the stone city a mere one day after their arrival. Because of the presence of these mystical beings in the city, flowers bloomed when heat should have killed them off months ago.

Around the courtyard gathered an enormous crowd. Every one of them longed for a glimpse of their new Queen. She had arrived the day before, with her father and his household, and already rumors were circulating. Some even said, bizarrely, that she was an elf, but few believed them. Most people agreed that she, their future Queen, was the daughter of some northern lord. Everyone agreed that she was beautiful.

Watching the wedding was most of Minas Tirith's population, dignitaries from other nations, the Queen's father's household, and, of course, the members of the Fellowship of the Ring. From the rooftops surrounding the square, the orphans of Minas Tirith watched the wedding with the curious indifference of those who know that the events unfolding will make history books, but that they will not affect their own lives.

Eldanna was sitting on a flat rooftop, watching the proceedings from her bird's eye point of view. Like those around her, Eldanna gasped at the future queen's beauty when it was suddenly revealed, smiled at the joyful expression on her king's face.

But, unlike those around her, Eldanna's joy was pervaded by a sense of guilt. When Eldanna watched the richly dressed nobles, she couldn't help thinking that Léofwyn should be here, watching, because Léofwyn had believed. Always, Léofwyn had believed that the King would return. She had never been clear on how, but she had always believed in this man who had never heard of her, never would. Léofwyn would never feel the joy at being right, the satisfaction in believing correctly in an uncrowned King. Léofwyn would never see the king that she had believed in, and it was Eldanna's fault.

To Eldanna's left, a boy stirred. He looked to be about twelve, although Eldanna couldn't be positive. Dareth looked up at Eldanna quickly, before returning his attention to the proceedings. Eldanna had met him only a few days after...Eldanna refused to think of it. She had met him after.

It had been night, and Eldanna had been huddled underneath a small, thin, threadbare cloak that she had stolen. Her stomach was empty because she hadn't eaten all day. And then she had heard the sobbing. At first she had ignored it, hoping that someone else would attend to the pained person, but it had eventually become evident that no one else had noticed, or cared. And so Eldanna had crept silently through the night, her curiosity compelling her to find the origin of the sound.

She had found this boy, Dareth, then, crying for his lost home, lost father. She had sat with him, comforted him, and when the tears had dried, he had told her about his life, his family, what he had lost. He had never known his mother; she had died in childbirth, an all too common occurrence in Minas Tirith's poorest districts.

Every night since then they had met, shared their food, and huddled together for warmth. He had awoken some previously dormant mothering instinct within Eldanna, and began to heal her damaged heart. Perhaps more importantly, he gave her hope, and purpose. Dareth's father had trained horses, and had taught his son how. Somehow, there had to be a way to find work for him, a way to live legally, not as one of the legions of pickpockets in Minas Tirith's poorest neighborhoods. Eldanna could no longer let herself waste away. And now she had to watch this ceremony and hide her pain and guilt because of the boy beside her, who was her brother as Léofwyn was her sister.

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