In order to update in a timely manner the chapters will remain somewhat short.

Disclaimer: I don't own LOTR or any of the characters

I had forgotten how quickly rumors flew and by the time dinner was served, word had gotten out that Estel and I had already had a secret rendezvous. My brothers were sending me knowing glances, at one point I could have sworn that Elladan winked. My father, on the other hand, seemed oblivious. He had been too preoccupied with arranging Estel's homecoming feast to wonder where exactly Estel had run off too.

They were conversing easily and laughing so I knew that Estel had not broached the subject, not that I had expected him to do so, at least not so soon. He may have said that he was prepared after facing his mortality in battle, but truth be told, I would rather don armor and fight goblins than be the one to mention it to my father.

In preparing me for the feast, Alatriel had queried how our secret meeting had gone. "It was not a secret," I insisted. It had just so happened that we had first met again out of ear shot of anyone else in the middle of the forest. It was not like we had planned it that way…oh for the love of the ancestors, Estel had better talk to father soon because if we had to resorting to sneaking off to meet in secret we would end up in some history book. It would probably read something like- The Tales of the Elfin Lady Arwen and the Human: A Clandestine Romance. Which would then end in Estel being exiled from Rivendell.

I turned to Elrohir, "Do you think Ada would exile Estel?"

He raised an eyebrow, "For what?" Then he laughed, "Oh, for coveting you?" He immediately tensed but I did not hit him as he expected.

Instead, I turned and smiled at him, "Just wait until no one is watching."

"Ah, getting smarter I see. And no, I do not believe that father would have him exiled." He looked at me then in a different way, like he had realized something and was surprised by it. "In fact, in fact I do believe that father would not object at all, so long as…" he trailed off, still giving me that look.

"So long as what?" I queried.

Elladan jumped in, "So long as the two of you show your unrequited love for one another by begging him upon bended knee, all the while crying sweet, sweet tears of despair."

I rolled my eyes, "You think yourself so clever."

Elladan shrugged, "I try my hardest to be."

Elrohir smirked, "For me, it comes naturally."

One would think that battle would have tempered their jovial, sometimes childish, attitudes but apparently not.

It was for the best I supposed; at least they were somewhat entertaining, as long as their jokes were not at my expense or that of my "epic love," as they had begun referring to it as.

Elrohir cleared his throat suddenly, "You know, Arwen, I read the most fascinating book. You might want to look into it."

Well, that was odd, I could not remember the last book that Elrohir had picked up, let alone thought interesting enough to recommend. "Oh?"

"Yes, you know the incident in the library with the spear? Well, that poor book that had the misfortune of getting in the way was quite interesting. Perhaps you should give it a read?"

Wait a moment, that book…I had seen Estel reading that book. It seemed so long ago but I was positive that it had been. He had said that father found it underneath old roles of parchment and he had decided to give it a read. "Did you borrow it from Estel?"

Looking caught off guard; Elrohir shook his head, "No. Did Estel suggest it as well?"

"He did not suggest it but I know that he has read it. If the both of you found it interesting, then I suppose that I shall have a look at it."

Look at it I did. But not that night, because that night after the feast had ended, Estel and I had found a quiet corner in which to talk until our eyes drooped and we finally part ways.

I found the book slid under my door the next morning and I flipped it open. There were accounts of the Dunedain, of Arnor and Gondor, of the Rangers who protected the Free People, of the surviving lineage of Isildur among the Northern Dunedain. That was all well and good but why my brother thought that I should read it was beyond me. I had history lessons that had gone over all that I truly needed to know of the men who had become Rangers and protectors of the free and the innocent.

I was walking to meet Alatriel, Sylvianna, and the others when Elladan intercepted me. "Did you read the book that Elrohir suggested?"

"I flipped through it, yes."

"And?"

I shrugged, "And what? Most of it I knew from history lessons, I do not see why it is so important."

He quickly changed the subject. "You have spent lots of time with Estel and I know that he has told you some of his past. Has he ever mentioned his real name? His human name, I mean."

Why that was important I did not know. "No, but I have never asked."

"Just curious." He ran off and I found the girls in one of the orchards and I all but forgot my brother's question.

At dinner that night I turned to Estel. Seeing Elladan had reminded me once more. "You never told me."

"Told you what?" he asked, taking a sip of wine.

"You laugh and call me Tinuviel or Evenstar, but I know you only by one name. The name my father gave you."

He nodded. "Alright then, my human name is Aragorn. It is the name that my mother uttered to your father before her passing."

Aragorn. No. It had to be a coincidence. Or the book had a misspelling. "Aragorn? And your father?"

Estel sighed, "As your father has related it to me, I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn."

No. Oh no. That was why my brothers had been relentless when it came to the book. That was why my brother had said that father would not object. That was why Estel had not returned with my brothers.

The family tree so neatly drawn out in the book had been quite clear and despite the piece of page missing there, at the bottom, had read Aragorn son of Arathorn, was the true heir to the throne of Gondor.

I said nothing. It was not as if he had purposefully betrayed me, it was not even a betrayal. It was just…I had no idea what to think. Aragorn was the rightful King of Gondor.