AN: Hello, everyone!

This is the first fic I publish here, so I would be more than happy to receive your reviews. (Especially on grammar and spelling, because I'm not a native speaker, and even though I sort of did my best, I'm sure it's not perfect at all. Well, trying is the only way you can improve, right?)

As for the story, I don't own anything it's all J.R.R. Tolkien's.

It would be so great if you told me your thoughts on the story and the upcoming characters, because each and every character I'll be presenting was inspired by a very special friend or acquaintance or family member of mine, or a fictional character who also has a special place in my heart. And here I have to mention that whatever tiny fracture that is not Tolkien's in this story is definitely George R.R. Martin's (usually words or objects, it's not a crossover story), because I love ASOIAF and it was a wonderful inspiration.

Thank you for reading in advance, I hope you like it!

I'm so damn awesome. Update in such a short time. I'm so amazing, aren't I? Yeah, I know. Haha. Sorry for the narcissism, I've been sitting in the car for a whole hour listening to what a crap I am, so it's time to balance back my self esteem, haha :"D Okay, bullshit off. Here's the new chapter, this is the last POV chapter, there's only the Epilogue left now.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Here's a picture for the story too, an old thing made with The Tudors and Warrior dress-up games on Azalea's Dress-up Dolls.

THE KINGLY WAY

The Queen was oversleeping. She spent half the night reading her books. Or so the maid told him. Aragorn shook his head with a smile and decided he would not send back the maid to Arwen's bedchamber to wake her. She was a bad sleeper ever since she moved to Minas Tirith, she missed the airy halls of Imladris and whenever she overslept, Aragorn thought it best to leave his wife to her rest. Descending to the royal dining hall, he found only Eldarion and Brianneth by the breakfast table. Sybille was surely oversleeping as well, while Aryana… well only the heavens knew where Aryana was again.

"Good morning, Father. Mother?" Eldarion looked up at him.

"Still in bed. Good morning to you both" Aragorn smiled at his son and daughter and took his seat at the end of the table.

"Good morrow, Father!" Brianneth gave him a shining smile. That typical shining smile of Arwen, nobody could resist. Bria looked just like her mother, Aragorn could never decide which of his daughters was the most beautiful baby girl; Brianneth, who was a mirror of her mother's beauty even in her toddler years or the twins with their golden locks and bright eyes. His thoughts were interrupted by someone who had definitely been the wildest toddler of his daughters, and hadn't even changed much ever since.

"This is SO unfair!" Aryana slammed herself into a chair with a sulky face. "Sybille can stay in bed, but I can't! Was there a single time when I stayed in bed and she had to get up?"

"I always thought you despised Sybille's laziness" Eldarion grinned.

"I do" Aryana nodded gracefully and pulled a slice of bread onto her plate.

Aragorn just smiled at them, even quarreling, he couldn't help but adore them. A groom appeared in the doorway bowing deep in front of the royal family.

"Your Majesty, there is a message for you, my lord."

Aragorn waved his hand in agreement to admit the message bearer, a youth of no more than some sixteen years.

"Your Majesty" the lad bowed too entering the dining hall. "I bring you a message from my lord and lady." Aragorn gestured him on with a nod of his head. "My lady had her child last night."

Aragorn blinked at him. Who on Middle Earth was this lad in fact?

"The Lady Gilraen had her child." The boy added then, as explanation.

Aragorn felt his mouth open into a perfect O. This was not a surprise after all, they saw Gilraen not a fortnight ago and she did seem to be at the very end of her pregnancy. He even made Gilraen promise they would let him know when she delivered, but the news still came as cold shower. Gilraen had her child. He was a grandfather. A jolt of worry hit him then.

"Is she healthy? Is she well?"

The lad blinked at him stupidly. "The child is a boy, my lord."

Aragorn rolled his eyes. "Is my daughter well?"

The young messenger blushed scarlet red on both cheeks and ears. "I beg Your Majesty's pardon" he muttered. "The lady is well. Everything went all right."

Aragorn sunk back in his seat with relief.

"So… she had her baby?" he heard Brianneth ask.

"Yes, Your Highness."

The next thing to happen was just as unexpected as the news of Gilraen giving birth. Aryana jumped up with a shrill of excitement and ran to him.

"I want to go see her at once! Please Father, can I? I so want to see the baby!"

"No. No, Aryana!" Aragorn laughed and Aryana stared at him in dumbstruck disappointment. "Darling, your sister just gave birth to her baby. You have any idea how exhausting that is? She needs rest. So does her baby. Her son, is it?" He glanced up at the messenger who inclined his head in agreement. So Gilraen had a son. "Aryana, you will have plenty of time to visit Gilraen and her baby. Just let's not burst the door onto her right now. Let her rest." He told Aryana and patted her small hands.

"But you'll allow me to go and see the baby, won't you? Once he's bigger and Gilraen rested enough?" she blinked at him through long black lashes, almost as wide eyed as Sybille would blink every time she wanted to go somewhere with Florian.

"Of course I will" Aragorn assured her with a warm smile. He was closest to Aryana of all his daughters. Arwen always said Aryana was most like him, of all their daughters.

"I will go with you too" Eldarion agreed absently. He still hadn't forgiven himself the tailor shop affair, it seemed.

"I want to see it too!" Brianneth declared. "When will it be old enough?"

"The baby is a he, not an it, you idiot!" Aryana glared at her. "He just said so!" she pointed at the messenger.

"It's rude to point at people, you idiot!" Brianneth retorted.

"And it is rude to call any other person an idiot" Aragorn interjected sternly.

"Even when she is so?" Aryana shot a malicious look at Brianneth who put on a hurt expression and resumed her breakfast.

"Enough." Aragorn glared at his youngest daughter and turned to the messenger. "You said my daughter delivered last night?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. The child was born shortly after midnight."

Aragorn nodded and thanking him for the news, dismissed the youth. Shortly after midnight meant Gilraen would still be sleeping…

Aragorn scarcely remembered the last time he went anywhere on his own. He was always followed by retainers and guards and soldiers when he went on some business of the realm. Valar, how annoying that was…! Other times he always had Eldarion to accompany him so his son could learn and when he was going somewhere for his own pleasure, Arwen would go along all the time. He liked being king, it meant peace, it meant family, it meant Arwen. It meant everything he had been fighting for for decades. But one thing, he would always miss from his ranging years; the solitude of his own thoughts, a treasured minute alone.

He walked all the way down to the royal stables. He hated when stableboys brought his horse to the Citadel saddled, as if he weren't able to ready it on his own, but that was the kingly way, there was nothing to do about it.

It was a pretty spring day and a pleasant ride down to the fifth level, along the behind street. He liked to go for a ride in the city, to see things for himself: to see if something needed attendance, to see his people in their everyday life – he always went for those rides with Eldarion. The most important thing his son needed to learn was that a good king always had to know what was going on within his walls. It took him six years to settle the order in the White City but since then there had only ever been two people who managed to keep something from his knowledge. The exact same ones he was trotting to visit now.

No servants had ever been so perplexed and stunned to see him. They took his horse and led him into the house half in awe, half in sincere astonishment.

"My lord, His Majesty the King is here to see you" the younger man announced him.

Torundir looked nowhere near as surprised as his servants, but he, too, never seemed to expect him so soon and suddenly.

"Your Majesty" he stood and bowed his head in greeting.

Aragorn mused what he felt for this man. This man who soiled his daughter without his knowledge, who stole away his daughter without his leave… who made his daughter happy…

"Torundir" he nodded. "Congratulations on the birth of your son."

"Thank you, my lord" the man bowed his head again and waited for him to go on.

"I was told everything went well. Is my daughter in good health?"

"She is, sire. She was very exhausted, but otherwise fine. She is sleeping now."

"I would see her. And the child too. No need to wake her, I would just like to look upon her, see if she looks all right." Aragorn told Torundir who nodded and gestured him up the stairs.

"Upstairs, please, my lord."

"How did she cope? I feared childbirth would be hard on her" Aragorn asked as they ascended.

"She did well, Your Majesty" Torundir replied, the shadow of a half proud half loving smile crossing his face. "She labored for some ten hours. I so feared for her, but the midwife kept saying she was doing fairly well. Hard to believe when all I heard was her screams."

"You were not with her?" Aragorn whipped his head around warily. This man dared to leave his daughter alone while she spent ten hours in agony to bring his child into the world?!

"She wouldn't let me in" Torundir said with a hint of regret in his voice. "When I arrived, she'd already been in labor for three hours and she said, or rather yelled" he chuckled "that I mustn't dare go in there and see her like that."

Well that sounded something like Gilraen… sensitivity about exposed helplessness.

"And how did you find the experience through closed doors?" he asked the man.

"Maddening" Torundir replied. "To know she was in pain and not being able to do anything to help her, to ease her pain… Hearing our child cry out was the most magical relief in the world. Then one servant came out with a basket of bloody sheets, that was terrifying... But then I could go see them and Gilraen was fine. So exhausted, my darling, but fine and happy and she held our son in her arms… that was…"

"Invaluable?" Aragorn couldn't help but smile as Torundir got lost in his story of the birth of his son. He remembered feeling just the same way when he and Arwen held Eldarion for the first time. Twenty two long years ago…

"Yes. Exactly" Torundir nodded and opened a thick wooden door leading into a room with a fine bed just opposite the door.

Under a soft white feather blanket and a deep amber colored satin cover trimmed with green velvet lay Gilraen sleeping, her blonde hair spread over her pillow like molten sunshine, her face pale and peaceful, happier than Aragorn had ever seen it. She looked like an angel. His darling little angel he didn't even look at for a year. In that moment, setting eyes on his daughter, behind the sheen of tears blurring his vision, Aragorn wondered how he had been able to be angry with this darling girl for so long.

After a moment of blankly staring at Gilraen, Aragorn recovered to notice a cradle on the right side of the bed. He walked up to the cradle with Torundir to look upon his first grandchild. The babe had a shade of brown pile over his scalp, just the same structure as his father's. He was a gorgeous little thing, healthy looking, sweet beyond words.

"If I may…" Aragorn glanced at Torundir before reaching into the cradle to hold the child, more a courtesy rather than actually asking for his consent, which he, as the King of Gondor and the man's wife's father would obviously be granted. The man's only reaction was a fond smile at the babe as he nodded.

With that Aragorn lifted his first born grandson into his arms. The baby was strong and heavy for a new born, more than 6 pounds as far as he could tell, longer than 20 inches. Followed by a faint moan of surprise by the whole new world around him, the child opened large sapphire eyes at him. Gilraen's sapphire eyes. Last time Aragorn felt similar warmth flooding his heart was eleven years and ten days ago, on the very day of Aryana's birth. The child's gaze was full of curiosity, fear and tiredness. It took him a long minute to decide that evidentially Aragorn was more fearsome than interesting or tiring and broke into a small whiny babycry. Aragorn just smiled as he rocked the child.

"Father?!" a soft surprised voice called as Gilraen stirred from her sleep.

Aragorn turned around to smile at his daughter overwhelmed with emotion. Torundir was already kneeling by her bedside clutching her hand.

"How are you, angel?" he asked her gently, stroking her hair.

"Fine" Gilraen muttered warmly, her lips curving up as she looked at her husband. "Fine… Why didn't you wake me?" she asked looking at Aragorn, addressing Torundir. "I'd have…"

"There was no need for you to have done anything, Gilraen. You just gave birth, all you need to do is rest" Aragorn told her.

"His Majesty didn't want you to be woken" Torundir said to her too, but Gilraen was not interested in their replies anymore, her eyes were fixed on her son crying in low staccato in Aragorn's arms. She looked surprised… even amazed… slightly worried… full of love.

"I hope you don't mind" Aragorn raised a kind eyebrow at Gilraen who shook her head with a small smile.

"You slept well, sweetheart?" Torundir brushed Gilraen's face with his hand again and she turned back to him, her smile broadening as she pressed her lips against his hand in a kiss.

"I did" she nodded. "And I don't even feel like having been overrun by a hundred riders anymore" she gave a tiny giggle and the man squeezed her hand with a chuckle.

It was probably Gilraen's voice that changed the babe's cry. His eyes did not reflect the fear from the unknown anymore, it was almost a look of reproach he gave Aragorn among his ever louder moans, Why am I in your arms when my mother is here.

"I think he wants you" Aragorn smiled and walking up to Gilraen, placed the child into her arms and she took him with the warmest, happiest, most loving shine in her eyes.

"Shhh, hush, my little sweetheart, you are all right. Just all right, aren't you, my darling little baby? I'm here, hush, hush." she cooed to him, rocking him, smiling, kissing his tiny head.

"Torundir, I would have a private moment with my daughter." Aragorn spoke up, after giving the two a minute to nurse their son.

The man looked up and nodded at once. "Of course, my lord." He cupped his son's head and kissed Gilraen's forehead before he stood and with a bow took his leave.

Aragorn sat down beside Gilraen who looked up at him with a hint of worry and stress in her eyes. He didn't know what to say. He wanted to say so many things…

"My darling daughter… congratulations." He finally broke into a smile and reached for Gilraen's free hand. To see her surprise at his words hurt more than he ever thought it would. Was he really such a bad father? For the past year, to Gilraen, he probably was.

"Thank you, Father" she answered. "Thank you for visiting too. It means a lot… I… I want you to know how much it means... It wasn't like… like you never meant anything to me…" Gilraen too, seemed to be struggling with words. "It was never like that, it was the toughest thing I have ever done, tougher than childbirth" she gave a small nervous chuckle and words started pouring from her. "Father, I'm so sorry, I swear I never meant to hurt you, I loved you all, I still love you all. I'd never hurt you on purpose, I know I was so selfish, so bad, but I don't know what got into me, I just wanted to be happy and I needed him, I loved him. I love him so much, I have never ever loved anybody like I love him, it just took all my sanity, but… hate me for this, hate me for how selfish I was, but I'm just so happy with him—"

"Gilraen" Aragorn held up one hand to silence his daughter. "Enough. You don't need to tell me this. It's nothing I don't know. You apologized enough times and this is an old story. Time heals everything and I believe one year is more than enough time to heal this affair."

Gilraen's jaw dropped in awe. "You don't hate me anymore then?" she choked.

"You are my darling little girl, I remember when I held you like you are holding your son now" he gestured at the baby. "How could I hate you Gilraen? All the hurt, the rage was because I love you so much and I couldn't bear losing you to this man…" he gestured at the door. "And the way I lost you to him… But it's all history now. I don't care, I don't mind as long as I see you happy, as long as he treats you well. Does he treat you well? Because Valar see my soul, if he doesn't…"

"He does" Gilraen assured him with a touched look.

"Gilraen, I'm sorry" Aragorn shook his head and it seemed Gilraen was still not short of shock and surprise. "Sorry for the way we treated you for a year. And above all, sorry for almost killing Torundir. I never meant to. I wanted you to know that."

"I deserved it" Gilraen sighed and kissed her baby's head again who fell asleep to the rhythm of their conversation in the meanwhile. "And it wasn't your fault… you didn't want to kill him."

"No, my dear. You deserved our fury, our coldness, separation from us for some months... You never did anything to deserve almost losing your husband while with child, not even talking to you when we saw you at Christmas, sending you a paper that you weren't my daughter anymore, being slapped by your own brother…"

"So he told you" Gilraen noted silently.

"After Éowyn's little show. Apart from his girl affairs, Eldarion tells me pretty much everything, no matter how bad, foolish, hot headed or shameful it is" Aragorn said for his son. He wasn't sure what Eldarion would have to do that he couldn't forgive him. "You know what's funny? It was Sybille who came to her sense first. Concerning you, I mean. I never thought it would be Sybille of all of us to come to sense first concerning anything…" Aragorn chuckled. He loved Sybille the way she was, nonetheless, and now she was even starting to grow up. Just in time for her wedding… Hard enough it was to admit, but Florian had a real good effect on her.

"She was so very nice to me" Gilraen nodded. "I hope she'll come to see the baby too…"

"Why would she not?" Aragorn raised an absent eyebrow.

"She is as afraid of Torundir as of seventh hell…" Gilraen held back a chuckle.

"I do believe that being afraid is the more normal attitude towards Torundir from a seventeen year old girl…" Aragorn shook his head with an apologetic sigh. "So will you forgive me for being so resentful in the past year, my daughter? Just as you are also forgiven for… your attitude towards Torundir, especially for that around this time of the previous year…" he suppressed a grimace and gave a kind smile to Gilraen whose eyes were clouded with tears.

"Thank you, Father, so much… of course I forgive you…Please forgive me too…Thank you!"

Aragorn gulped back a tear too and kissed Gilraen's head. In her arms, the babe woke again, and clutched Gilraen's index finger.

"So what is his name?" Aragorn gently brushed the baby's head with his thumb.

"Nothing, so far. I was so tired last night we didn't really have time to think of anything."

"I can tell he will be as willful and hot headed as his father, if that weighs anything…"

"He looks like him too, doesn't he?" Gilraen smiled at the baby. "Same scalp and nose."

"But he has your eyes" Aragorn noted. "So far…"

Gilraen chuckled. "Father?"

"Yes, my dear?"

"Mother?" Gilraen muttered, clearly dreading the answer.

Arwen? Oh, Arwen… She never admitted, but at times she was so much like Elrond.

"Your mother loves you, Gilraen. She'll come round with time. It'll take her longer, but she'll come round. Just give her some time" he finally assured Gilraen who relaxed a little and set down to hush her now crying son.

"Shhh, my little baby, little patience. I know you are hungry, I know. Just a tiny little more to wait, baby boy, hush, hush…"

"Oh, pardons, I should be going already. I'm leaving now and you can feed him" Aragorn muttered. Yet another first experience in life; feeling embarrassed for keeping his daughter from breastfeeding his grandson…

"No, I'm not feeding him yet" Gilraen shook her head. "I promised Torundir I'd wait for him to be here, because I sort of banished him from the birth room" Gilraen smiled.

"Yes, but he left, because I asked him" Aragorn stood hastily. "My very best wishes, darling daughter. Good health to you both. If you need anything, if something is amiss, you know where you find us, and don't hesitate a moment to find us then, please." He squeezed Gilraen's hand and headed for the door.

"Thank you Father. For everything" Gilraen smiled after him from her satin bed, holding her infant child. It would take months to get used to the sight, Aragorn was sure.

He descended the stairs and came face to face with Torundir once again.

"Thank you for letting us speak" he nodded to the man. "Gilraen wants to feed the child, she is waiting for you. Congratulations once again, Torundir."

"Thank you, Your Majesty" he inclined his head. "My lord" he called when Aragorn was about to turn for the door. "May I have a word with Your Majesty now, perhaps?"

Aragorn considered him for a moment. Did he want to hear whatever this man had to say to him?

"Yes" he finally said and gestured at Torundir to start.

The man was silent for a moment, struggling to find the words before he eventually looked Aragorn in the eyes.

"Your Majesty must know that I love your daughter. I always will, you have no reason to doubt that, my lord."

That was something Aragorn had been suspecting for a while in spite of all the mistrust he had for Torundir. But it definitely made a difference to hear it from him.

"And Your Majesty must also know that whatever we did, none of it was done out of disrespect or disloyalty or treachery or spite. Wrong, it may have been, but it was all out of love and affection for each other. And that I never meant to rip Your Majesty's family apart" Torundir said never taking his eyes off of him. He spoke with respect and unquestionable honesty while never humiliating himself in front of Aragorn for a single moment. "I also owe to thank Your Majesty for leaving Gilraen to me. Be sure, my lord, that I'll make her happy."

Aragorn sniffed as the man finished. "Thank you for telling this to me. And… There's something I want you to know, too" he spoke. "I never meant for you to die at Nen Falastir, Torundir."

The man inclined his head in acknowledgement and thanks.

"If that was all, I will take my leave" Aragorn nodded and turned for the door. "And Torundir" he veered back around twinkling. "There's a council meeting tomorrow… Usual place, usual time - Officer's Small Hall, 9 o'clock."

"My lord?" the man raised an eyebrow. "I was denied my seat on the Officers' Council and it would not do if Your Majesty gave it back to me on account of my newborn son."

"You were denied your seat on the council because of your relationship with my daughter and its… nature, as we are both aware" Aragorn pressed his lips together. "A ridiculous personal reason having nothing to do with your skills and worth to the council. Thus I don't see anything wrong with giving back what you have earned once on similarly personal grounds. And I'm not opening a debate over the matter. Go so my grandson can eat and don't be late tomorrow" Aragorn inclined his head at his son-in-law and left for the main door.

Well, what do you people think? Please let me know in a review *.*

And the offer about sending me a PM or writing a review to let me know what scene you'd like to see in a one-shot still stands :)

Thank you so much for reading. Epilogue is coming up during the weekend and if things go well, I might even post the first one-shot (in a separate story of course) during next week. This won't be so quick as updating this story, since I need to write those first, haha.