Forever Mine

A/N: Well, here's my take on what happened when our beloved Aragorn found out about his true heritage. But instead, we have Eleniel, a young elf who has three older brothers that she adores and thinks the world of. But now, she's going to find out that her family's been keeping a secret from her and Estel… in the next chapter. ;) This one's about Estel!

Hope you enjoy!

If you haven't read Rivendell's Star: Eleniel is my OC. She is Lord Elrond's youngest child and Elladan, Elrohir, Arwen and Estel's little sister. For this fic, she is the equivalent of a 17-year-old human, and Estel is 22. (I think it's canon that Estel was 20 when he was told, but for the sake of this story he's a little older).

"Your name is Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and you are Isildur's heir to the throne of Gondor."

Silence overtook Elrond's study as those words left the elf lord's mouth.

Estel – or should they call him Aragorn, now? – stood still and stiff in front of the person he had known as his father since he was two years old. Elladan and Elrohir loitered a little further away. He stared at his father for a moment before glancing behind at his brothers – were they still his brothers? – who didn't look surprised at all. In fact, they looked as if they had been expecting this. So did Glorfindel, the balrog-slayer's blue eyes swimming with guilt and sympathy and love and worry. Erestor's expression was easy to read for once; his face showing that he had also known. For how long, Estel didn't know. But they had all known. And he hadn't.

The man turned back to his father and shook his head. "What do you mean?" he asked. He had just been called to Elrond's study to discuss an 'important' matter, only to be told this? If he had heard right, and he really hoped he hadn't, then this was a little more than 'important'.

"What I mean, ion, is exactly what I just told you," Elrond said quietly, not wishing to say it again.

Estel's eyes widened. Had he heard correctly, then?

"No, there- there must be some sort of mistake! I am not a king, Ada! Look at me! A king? And of Gondor, no less?" His breaking voice was laced with confusion and anger and sadness. If it was true, then why hadn't they told him?

Elrond, eyes welling with tears, smiled sadly. "There is no mistake, Estel. When you were two years of age, your parents were killed by orcs. Your brothers-" At this, Estel scoffed, and the twins' eyes narrowed behind him- "were there too, and they took you here, to Rivendell, where we have looked after you for over twenty years as my son. My son, Estel, remember that. None of this changes-"

"This changes everything, Ada! How can you say it doesn't?"

"Let him speak," Glorfindel spoke up, walking forward to place his hand on the angry man's shoulder. He could feel the muscles tense underneath, but nevertheless Estel turned to look back at Elrond, waiting for him to continue.

The elf lord nodded at the balrog-slayer before locking his eyes with Estel's. "If you had let me finish, then I was going to say that none of this changes the fact that you will forever be mine. My boy. My son."

"And we are still your brothers," came Elrohir's voice, as he and his twin stepped forward to stand beside the man. He smiled at Estel and wiped away a stray tear from his cheek.

"You are stuck with us forever, gwador," Elladan teased with a wink, and Estel let out a quiet laugh. It didn't take long for his smile to dissolve though, the frown snatching its place back.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, and if it weren't for the exceptable hearing the elves had, they wouldn't have heard it.

Elrond sighed. "We had to keep it a secret from everyone. Enemies were out looking for you – they wanted Isildur's ancestors gone completely – and we believed that Rivendell would be the safest place for you. People soon came to the conclusion that you were dead, which – though it sounds horrible to say – was what we wanted them to believe. If you knew, anyone could have used it against you. Estel, ion nin, you must believe that what we did was for the best."

It took a few seconds, but finally, Estel nodded. "I understand," he said quietly, eyes dropping to stare at his boots. So many thoughts were whirling inside his head… he didn't want this. Not at all. "What does this all mean?" he asked finally.

"It means that in years to come, when the time is right, you will take your place on the throne of Gondor," Erestor told him.

"What if I don't want that?"

"It is your birth right, Estel," Glorfindel said. "You were born to be King."

At this, the young man snapped, his newfound calm disintegrating in moments. "Maybe so, but I wasn't raised to be one! I was brought up in a beautiful place with an amazing family who I looked up to. I still do! This is the last thing I would wish for, Ada! You do not understand. Not ten minutes ago I was a happy man from Rivendell, and now suddenly I am an unhappy… heir who is destined to become a king and rule Gondor! I do not care that it is my birth right. I do not want the life I was born for, I want the life that I choose." And with that, he brushed past his siblings and Glorfindel and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

A stone flew across the grass as Estel kicked it, another one following in its path.

King?

King?!

It took everything in the young man's power to refrain from breaking down and crying at that very moment. He was a man, now; if people saw their lord's son – could he even call himself that anymore? – crying, then sure as day they'd ask questions. Hands balled into fists, Estel picked up his pace and jogged over to a small water fountain at the end of the garden. He'd always come here when he was upset or needed time to think. Listening to the water calmed him, and nobody was allowed in this part of the garden unless it was Elrond or his family , so there would be no one there but him. Elladan and Elrohir had told him once that it had been their mother's favourite place to go, too, and that she had taken Eleniel there alone to spend her last moments on Middle-earth with her when she had been born before sailing to the Undying Lands.

Estel suddenly snapped his head up, the force of it making a few tears roll down his cheeks. He slowed his pace. Eleniel. Did she know about this? Had she known all this time that he was the heir to the throne of Gondor? His sister was currently visiting her grandparents and Arwen in Lothlorien. She had begged to go alone, her being 'old enough to look after herself', but the elleth was only the equivalent of a seventeen-year-old human, and Elrond had laughed at the idea. He had instead sent her with Feredir, Glorfindel's second-in-command, and a few other guards just in case.

Estel reached the fountain and sat down, his back to the cold stone and his legs drawn up to his chest.

And finally, he cried.

Estel didn't know how long he had been sat behind the fountain, but he must have dozed off. Blearily, he blinked his eyes and looked around him. For a moment, the soothing sound of the water had him still lost in his dreams – or had they been nightmares? He couldn't remember – but suddenly, all of what had happened earlier on rushed back into his head and he sat up straight, staring ahead of him.

King.

He loathed the word.

But he didn't feel angry about it anymore. Or upset. All he felt was confusion. He was scared, and there was a huge emptiness inside him that he had never felt before.

"Estel?"

The man let out a soft gasp and his eyes widened as he turned quickly, groaning slightly when it caused a huge wave of dizziness to overcome him. Great. Now he had a headache to pile on top of the list of everything that was going wrong with that day.

"Mhm?" he hummed quietly once he realised who it was.

It was the twins. Of course it was. Those two would never have left him out here by himself for too long.

"Can we sit?" Elrohir asked, still standing a way off to the fountain; he had been on the receiving end of his younger brother's temper before, and although he'd had a good talking to afterwards, he didn't fancy being on that end again!

Estel hesitated for a moment. Could they sit? Of course they could – they were his brothers.

Or were they?

"If you want to."

The twins took that as a yes and, without any teasing remark about the state of the man's hair or how he had tear marks streaming from his eyes, they sat on either side of their brother.

"Why are you upset?" Elladan asked after a while.

Silence.

The twins glanced at each other over the top of his head.

"Why did you run away?"

More silence.

Elrohir shifted into a more comfortable position.

"Do you want to speak to us?"

Even more silence.

"Estel. Brother. We love you so much."

That was all it took for the dam to crumble. Estel glanced at Elladan, a look of such grief and remorse on his face that the older twin felt his own tears brimming in his eyes, and suddenly broke down, launching himself into his brother's arms and crying his shattered heart out.

Elrohir smiled sadly, reaching over to rub his hand up and down Estel's back. If he and his brother had had their way, they wouldn't have told the man anything about his true identity or ancestors until he was much older, or not at all, wanting to keep their baby brother their baby brother for a little while longer. But they knew it had had to be done at some point or other.

"I don't want it, Dan! I don't want the throne of Gondor!" Estel sobbed into his brother's tunic, his tears soaking right through.

"I know," Elladan said simply, sharing a look with his twin over his brother's shoulder and signalling him to check for anyone who may be listening to their conversation. Estel may know about his heritage, but they didn't need anyone else to. Not yet. Not until it was safe.

"No, you don't," Estel said, pulling back and looking Elladan in the eye. "You don't understand! I don't. Want. To. Be. King. I've told you that I don't care if it's who I was born to be, or that it is my so-called destiny, I can't… I can't just drop my life here in Rivendell for a crown," he finished pointedly. His voice had remained calm the whole time, shaky breaths escaping him every so often. He turned so that he was facing both of his brothers and gazed at them with desperate eyes.

"You know, I have wondered about my true parents ever since I realised that I wasn't an elf, and so clearly not Ada's son by blood… and I was so terrified to ask that I never did. I was scared that you'd tell me something like this!A couple of hours ago I was happy, a man who had been adopted by Lord Elrond and come to live in Rivendell purely because my unimportant parents died. Now, I… I don't even know who I am anymore." He shook his head and inwardly groaned in annoyance as salty tears fell yet again.

Both twins placed a hand on their brother's shoulders and looked at him, merely seeing the toddler who had joined their family all those years ago.

"Well, luckily for you, we know who you are." Elrohir smiled.

Estel blinked. "Who?" he asked quietly.

"You're a dirty, smelly, stubborn human, that's who," Elladan told him without an ounce of remorse.

Estel glared at him, but the twins noticed a spark of light return to his since dimmed eyes.

"True, Dan, very true," Elrohir agree, "but most of all, you are our brother."

Elladan nodded. "You have always been and forever will be just that, gwador. Now, you may have been born to be a king, but that is barely even half of who you are. You are Estel, do you hear me? Estel, the little boy who came into all of our lives twenty years ago and changed them for eternity. Estel, the mischievous toddler who would hide from Ada when he told you it was time for your bath. Estel, the child who smiled so wide when you held Eleniel for the first time and promised you would protect her 'for always and forever'. Estel, the stubborn, moody teenager who stole honey cakes with Glorfindel and then blamed it on us when the cook ran after you both. And Estel, the man who has grown into someone we are so, so proud of and honoured to call our little brother. You see, being a king, or even a lord ,for that matter, is only a title. It is a job, something you have been entrusted to do, but who you are… who you are is so much more, tithen pen. You need to remember that, alright? You need to remember that whatever happens, whatever you decide to do, we will always be here to protect you, and love you. For who you are. Our Estel."

It was safe to say that both Elrohir and Estel were lost for words. The younger twin was sat there, tears unashamedly pricking his eyes at everything his brother had said. It had brought up so many beautiful memories that he would give anything to relive again, and he could see that it had shone a new light on Estel's future in the brightness of his brown eyes.

The young man nodded slowly, sniffing and picking at the grass. "I love you both more than I will ever be able to say," he said softly after a short while.

Elrohir smiled. "Right back at you, little brother. Would you like to stay out here a little longer, or should we go and speak to Ada? He has been dreading this day since you were brought to Rivendell. You were, and still are, so innocent, and we all knew what a burden this would be. But we will get through it all together, as a family."

The corner of Estel's lips tugged upwards, and he slowly began to feel the emptiness inside his stomach fill. It would take a long time to heal fully, but it was healing, and that was more than he could have asked for at that moment. "Could we stay out here for just a little longer before we go and speak to him? The water… it's nice," he said, leaning back into Elrohir's chest and closing his eyes as his brother's arms wrapped around him. A thought from earlier pushed to the front of his mind, and his eyes cracked open again.

"Eleniel," he said, "does she know about this?"

Elladan and Elrohir glanced at each other and grimaced before looking down at their sibling.

"No," Elrohir told him with a shake of his head. "El was younger than you by human standards when you came to Rivendell, and she's still so young. We never told her – we didn't want to – but we have to, now, of course. We will explain everything to her when she returns to Imaldris. But Estel, you know Eleniel; she has more of our Nana in her than she does Ada, and I almost dread to think about what will happen when we do tell her."

It was true. Eleniel had her father's temper, but also his kind and caring temperament, whereas her mother… she had her mother's fire and her will to take everything way more seriously than it actually was.

And unfortunately for them all, Celebrian's side of her always won.

Elvish used:

Ion - Son

Ada - Dad

Gwador - Brother (by heart)

Ion nin - My son

Tithen pen - Little one

Thank you so much for reading this! If you liked it, please review to tell me what you think, and look forward to a new chapter soon! :) ~ Gre3nleaf