PLEASE NOTE: AS AN EXCEPTION THIS WEEK, THERE'S A DOUBLE UPDATE! THIS AND THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER ARE NEW. This is due to the length of the scenes and the uneven word distribution in the chapters, and also because this chapter below consists mostly "only" of a smut scene which I know some of my readers like to skip. AND it's because I'm stupidly excited about finishing to upload this series part, because the next two series parts build the height of the Stewardaides Crisis. I'm very proud of them and I can't wait to share them with you. I'm sorry for the word vomit this week though.
Arwen hadn't been sitting in a sick room for long yet when well-known steps in the hallway revealed that the messenger must have found the King very quickly.
Aragorn entered without knocking and stopped next to her, putting his hands on her shoulders to eye her closely. Relief spread on his face. "What happened? Are you alright?"
Arwen gave him a quick kiss but put him off then, briefly summarizing the events.
"Ioreth will come to see me soon. She'll surely say the same."
Actually, she had expected Aragorn to be happy, but while she had been talking, his expression had already darkened. He raked an agitated hand through his sweaty hair. "You're calling me here for something like that? Do you have any idea how many things ran through my head on the way here?" Aragorn braced himself heavily on the bedframe; he visibly had to try and keep it together.
"Arwen, I know I couldn't be there much for you lately, but I can't neglect my duties, just because you feel a little dizzy. You should know, your body is not that immune to temperatures anymore. Your skin doesn't know how to deal with reacting so intensively to the sun either. The rebels make me fear for you every second already. Recklessness doesn't make that easier."
After a moment of being speechless, Arwen got up with clenched fists. "You know very well that I accept all your duties. It was your subjects who acted against my will. No one is better aware than me of how much danger we're constantly being in, but I won't stay in my bed for the rest of my life, just because we can't manage to take these criminals prisoner!" Her headache started to get worse, which forced her to pause.
"I can take care of myself. I've already done that before you came into my life, and I did it whenever you left me alone for years once more. Give that lecture to your guards, not to me."
When a quiet knock interrupted her, Arwen straightened her posture as it was suitable for a Queen. "Get back to your government affairs. No one's going to bother you again, except in the unlikely case that I do have a bad sickness. Come in."
Arwen didn't give Aragorn a chance to answer though he was clearly having a very bad conscience about his words now, instead nodded at Ioreth.
It took Aragorn some visible effort to swallow another comment; his good-bye sounded stiff. Arwen's fiery temper did not only have advantages. He always must have known that. The two of them would have much to talk about once he came back from Osgiliath. By then, maybe not only the air would have cooled down but their minds, too.
If this heat didn't stop anytime soon, the realm would be in a very different kind of trouble anyway. A drought period would destroy the harvest, and water in the city's wells was already in short supply.
The additional worry didn't exactly help to lighten Arwen's mood. "I need a moment before I can play the role of the obedient patient, I'm sorry."
Grateful that the grey-haired healer fulfilled her request, she finally sat down on a chair, taking a deep breath, and tilted her head. "Just confirm my optimistic assessment, will you?"
"I'll see what I can do." With a quiet laugh, Ioreth stepped closer to her and briefly examined her airways, her glands, her mouth, her ears.
"I see no signs of sickness, you're right. But your body is busy with something." Lost in thought, she sat down as well. "Tell me how you were faring in the last few days."
Arwen told her only hesitatively about her weird problems. She had an idea what the woman was getting at but thought it premature to even think about this. No one here needed false hope right now.
Ioreth just nodded and murmured something to herself. "You've been feeling sick too, haven't you?"
"I thought, that was the heat." Arwen wrung her hands, trying her best not to let this certain prospect into her mind yet, not after all the fears that had haunted her regarding this subject. "I know what you mean. But it's far too early, isn't it?"
"Too early?" Ioreth took her hand with a soft smile. For a moment, she almost looked a bit like Mithrandir when he was confused about someone's words.
"Your wedding was two months ago, and by mannish standards, you're in your prime, aren't you? Actually, the others here have only been waiting for a message like this. Me, I knew from your time in the camp of Cair Andros back then that it would be a little more difficult for you, but I have often prayed that the Valar would quickly reward a connection as wonderful as yours to the King. Indeed, after a recovery like yours, every now and then it happens that the body is particularly in a hurry. A newly patched-up vessel is often stronger than ever before. And there are certain unmistakable signs that a healer can notice even in this stage, that are very unambiguous. "
In her role as a ruler, Arwen should actually not have allowed such a gesture of closeness but she was suddenly downright clinging to the woman. Her sight began to blur. "Are you sure?"
The healer gave her a handkerchief. "Believe me, Your Majesty. I have delivered this news to many women since I started working in these houses." Happiness spread on her worn-out features. So now it had indeed happened, the very thing people had been yearning for so much, the thing that Aragorn and Arwen had feared might never be able to happen, or only if they would make huge sacrifices in their marriage: The line of Kings would not fail again.
"Congratulations. You're giving your husband a child."
Now Arwen couldn't stop her tears of joy anymore. Out of reflex, she put one hand on her belly. She wasn't capable of saying anything. She just beamed at the woman and tried to process what she'd just learned. A child was growing inside of her, Aragorn's child …
When the healer stood up, as she probably wanted to give her some time alone, Arwen quickly stopped her. "Keep this to yourself. I don't want the King to hear about it from rumors. And we'll have to keep it secret for now anyway. After all, there's a lot that can happen in the first few months. And if the wrong people get to know …" The fear suddenly rising in her, that the Stewardaides might possibly not allow a child of the King to be born, promptly wanted to take Arwen's breath away. "You won't tell anyone!"
For a moment the old woman looked as if she was about to burst into tears because she wasn't allowed to share the good news, just as little as the ones regarding Tarisilya back then. But then she nodded slowly. "Just tell the King soon."
She went to a cabinet from which she took a small envelope with herbs. "Here, use these to brew some tea. It will help against the worst nausea in the first few weeks."
Arwen thanked her and hurried to her chambers as fast as she could. Upon arrival, friendly but firm, she sent Ranír away for the rest of the day.
She was very tempted to ride out immediately and talk to Aragorn. It was no longer just her own life though, depending on her avoiding even the smallest risks. On the journey west last year, she had witnessed firsthand how quickly such bliss could fall apart.
Another assassination was only a matter of time as it was, especially after this development. Which was another reason for her to talk to Aragorn quickly. Only knowing for sure that it wouldn't have been good for her to leave in a rush, stopped her. Arwen corrected herself immediately in her head: It wouldn't have been good for either of them. Another few tears of happiness streamed down her cheeks that she quickly wiped away.
There was only one person whom she would have loved to tell this immediately. Who could understand better how she was feeling right now than someone who would soon give birth herself? But Tarisilya wasn't here anymore. Arwen would have to wait for the crisis between Aragorn and Legolas to be solved before her friend and she could enjoy their motherly instincts together.
Arwen dropped onto her bed and happily nestled into the sheets. There were definitely far too many hours of this day left … She would be counting every single second.
"Which is also why we need to … Your Majesty?" Verilas paused, frowning when Aragorn stopped walking beside him and came to stand at a window in the hallway instead, leaning outside. "Is something wrong?"
"Don't you hear that? Can't you feel it?" With a lenient smile, Aragorn looked back over his shoulder, half amused, half worried about so much ignorance towards the obvious.
His council had been nonstop lamenting to him about Gondor having to face the next catastrophe soon, because of a few hot weeks … They had all been hoping for the relief of a few drops so badly, fearing so much that they wouldn't come in the foreseeable future … And now that the sky was starting to cloud over, no one noticed? Sometimes he had to remember that these people had spent more time in their lives with education and politics than with traveling the lands with a tent as he had. It was just one of the reasons why on some days, he was glad to get to his chambers and not have to hear or see anything for a few hours – except for his wife, of course.
In fact, that was a very good idea right now. "If that's all for today …"
By now, Verilas knew Aragorn quite well and could tell if he just wasn't in the mood for even more speeches and crisis conversation or if he was really sapped and certain things should better be delayed until the next day. Today, the latter was the case. "I'll keep the rest for tomorrow."
Finally, he heard the rain starting to pour down outside as well and blushed a little. Admittedly, sometimes Aragorn needed to be reminded of dry but simply inevitable duties and be taught about them a little as well. His advisors on the other hand were betimes sitting between these walls for too long at a stretch, talking about what was going on outside.
Verilas accepted the reprimand without comment and said goodbye but then stopped again. "Your Majesty …"
Aragorn knew this tone and tried hard not to roll his eyes. Of course. After the report about the reconstruction progress and miscellaneous requests of citizens being forwarded to him, it was time for the unofficial item on the agenda. Gossip at the court. Rumors usually just had him wish there would be a relationship between Lords and servants in the Citadel as uncomplicated as that was the case in most noble elvish circles. But today, the attendants, of course, had especially much to talk about. Trouble between the King and Queen was always most interesting for many people.
"Hurry up. I'm afraid, my patience is too limited for stories that no Hobbit could tell with more creativity today."
"People are just worried, Your Majesty." Verilas sounded almost offended. "Most of them honestly love you by now, and they love your wife. They need a safe and stable leadership so that they don't get tempted to listen to words of riot again. Now they say, the Queen is seriously sick and you just left her alone. That's scaring some people."
"How long have you served my predecessor in these halls?" Aragorn carried on with a sigh. In his thoughts, he was already in his chambers for an indeed badly needed reconciliation with Arwen. "And still you don't know how little truth there is in most words going around at the court? My wife is perfectly healthy. If you have doubts about that, you're welcome to join us for dinner."
"That won't be necessary, Your Majesty. I mean, thank you for the invitation! Of course, I believe you, so …" Verilas realized in time that he was talking himself into trouble and left to go embarrass himself somewhere else.
"By the way, as far as I know, your wife is staying in the garden."
"Thank you. I'll go there immediately."
Aragorn would have preferred to change clothes before facing Arwen, but if the first thing he did after work was seeing his wife, the peace of mind of the royal household would hopefully be saved.
The way the outdoor facilities connecting their chambers were constructed, at the Citadel's backmost part, where the mountains and high hedges on all sides provided much cover, one could stay there undisturbed. It was no surprise that Arwen had withdrawn to that place.
Aragorn had expected to be welcomed with a scathing glance and stopped in the door in surprise when he saw Arwen standing in the middle of the lawn instead, in the pouring rain. She was stretching out her arms sideways to feel the water on her hands. The rain was getting even stronger right now; within seconds, there was almost a flood. But apparently, Arwen had no intention to go inside. After it had been warm for so long, she enjoyed the cold feeling on her skin, with her eyes firmly closed. Her hair and her dress were already completely soaked but given the way she smiled, she didn't even seem to notice.
"Are you trying to get sick, so that people will have a valid reason to be worried about you?" Sighing, he stepped up to her side and put his cloak around her shoulders.
"It's raining …" Arwen ignored the little reprimand completely. She seemed almost a little absent-minded, almost like a child very enthusiastic about a summer shower.
"I know, and you've been out here long enough. Come on." Aragorn had last seen Arwen with her head all over the place like that after the attack on him. While she was smiling this time, something still seemed to occupy her mind so much that she only really noticed him when he tried to lead her inside the house.
Arwen wrapped her arms around his neck – well, now at the latest, his own clothes were soaked as well. She ignored that, too, and kissed him, then rested her head against his shoulder. The wetness on her face had him realize only belatedly that she was quietly crying away in his arms.
"If this day holds even more wonderful surprises, I'll start to wonder if the Valar maybe want to make up a little for all the suffering in the war and afterward …"
Before he could ask what she meant, she pulled him down to her so that her lips were right by his ear, as if she was afraid that someone else could hear her words. "I'm pregnant, Estel."
After a few first speechless seconds of disbelief, a grin spread on Aragorn's face that was soon joined by a hint of guilt about that stupid discussion in the afternoon. "And I'm a certified idiot. I'm sorry about earlier."
Careful, not quite daring just yet to accept what he'd heard, he touched Arwen's belly with his fingertips. The weather couldn't completely veil the glistening in the corners of his eyes. Only when he brushed back a few wet strands of hair from Arwen's forehead with a trembling hand, to kiss it, he remembered that they were still standing in the rain.
Immediately, the brief moment when his emotions had threatened to overwhelm him, was gone. "You need to get warm." Without compromise, he pulled Arwen with him. "Or you'll actually get sick. From now on, you should avoid everything that could be dangerous in any kind of way. I'll take care of Alagas. You shouldn't ride; better take a carriage. Even better: Stay here. No journeys anytime soon. People will understand. You should avoid audiences as well; I don't want you to be upset. And …"
"And you'll shut up about the risks right now." Arwen braced herself against his weight the second they were standing under the porch. "I know all this. I've been there in Rohan, remember? I would never do anything that could harm the child. If I have to sit around here indeed all day so that nothing can happen, I'll do that too. But don't make me even more afraid than I've already been all day."
For the first time, she let it show that that the thought about the pregnancy did not only cause her joy either. There was so much that could happen, not only to the child but to her, too …
But at least for a while, they should try to be happy without seeing the ever-present shadow of the Stewardaides; she was right about that of course. She narrowed her eyes a little, pretending to eye Aragorn from head to toe before standing tiptoe to cover his neck with kisses. "If it's a boy, I want him to have your eyes, just like haruni said. He'd drive everyone crazy with them. Just like you, whenever you look at me."
"Is that so easy?" Aragorn stared deeply into her eyes and raised one brow slightly while he ran his hand from her waist down along her hip. "Does that help to get you to your chambers so that you can change clothes?"
"Here I am, waiting for you all day, and then you send me to my room? You call that fair?" She slapped his chest, feigning annoyance. "My chambers face west. They have heated up until sundown. You don't want your poor, weak wife almost blacking out again for a second time today, do you? Your rooms are far more comfortable. And you know what's good for me much better than any handmaidens do." Leaning into his touch on her behind, she was happy to let her hips circle against him a little.
A more than acceptable compromise. Now Aragorn was even more in a hurry to get Arwen inside the house.
Once he could be sure that there were no servants in here with them, it took him exactly two seconds to open Arwen's dress and pull it down her shoulders and hips. "Much better," he noted, provocatively eying her bare body. "But you should better get to bed real quick. You want me to get you some tea?"
Arwen started to unfasten the buttons of his thin tunic with a snort. "Later. It's only my fault, you're sodden. If you get ill, they'll blame me." It was of course only out of worry that she got him out of damp fabric before pressing against him, batting her lids innocently.
"If you feel like getting dressed again, you're welcome to get me a cup. But you really shouldn't bother ..." she murmured it to him casually while being busy already with opening his pants, starting to caress his most sensitive spots.
It both blindsided and aroused Aragorn greatly every time, that during these kind of games, Arwen was starting to become more active right from the start lately, all by herself. And there was no way, Arwen could miss that growing lust, once he had shed his pants and leaned back against the wall to not possibly lose his stance. There was something that he had been wishing for a while now in secret … And today, it felt like the right mood. Though he could never get enough of touching Arwen, he was also longing to feel more of her caresses for a while.
He buried his hand in her hair but didn't pull her close this time. Instead, he tenderly caressed her neck and guided her downwards, only very lightly; it was more a shy question than a request.
Arwen was too surprised to really think about it; there she was on her knees before him already. The sight had the last of his blood go south. Hesitatively, she started to caress his cock with her fingertips, watching him startle. When his hand clenched on her neck, she sighed in arousal. She was always enjoying it greatly when he was making her feel good with his mouth and didn't seem to mind trying the same. She just seemed a little surprised.
But when he raised his brows questioningly and tried to tug her upwards again, she scooted closer to him and pressed slow kisses to his groin. Then she let her lips wander down. When Aragorn tensed in anticipation, she looked up, slightly insecure. "Show me what you like." With that, she overcame her hesitation. Grabbing the root of his cock firmly, she first touched the tip with her lips and then slowly licked over it. When a deep moan escaped Aragorn's throat, she became a little braver and took him in her mouth deeply.
"You seem capable of finding that out quite well on your own," was the answer he somehow managed to squeeze out between suppressed moans. "Don't stop, please." He caressed her neck lovingly, trying his best not to hold her too tightly when she found an especially sensitive spot and treated it particularly well. At some point, his knees started to shake so badly though that he had to give Arwen the quiet order to stop – only reluctantly though.
Once in the bedroom, he waited only until Arwen was sitting next to him on the bed before kissing her passionately, pushing her back on the mattress to return the favor. As usual, he especially gave her pretty, firm breasts much attention whereas Aragorn long knew that Arwen didn't mind it at all when he was groping them with a little more strength. Afterward, he always regarded the oversensitive skin with particularly playful caresses of his lips, sucking on her small, dark nipples for minutes at a time, which was always guaranteed to make his wife moan shamelessly.
"Wait." Today, she had to gently push him away earlier than usual though. She was reacting conspicuously intensively to this caress right now; both of them quickly realizing that it was a sign of the pregnancy, they smiled at each other happily. "Not that firmly anymore, mîl nín."
She pulled him close and eagerly turned him on his back, tracing his ear with the tip of her tongue, until his heart was racing more and more. Then she kissed her way down his neck to his shoulder. Just as slowly, she covered his chest with kisses, teasing every inch of his skin. She only avoided his nipples, getting close to them again and again just to continue somewhere else then. Only when an Aragorn sighed repeatedly, impatiently, she closed her lips around one of the small buds, using her tongue and also her teeth on it again and again while she massaged the one other with her fingers.
"You know me far too well already, Nauriel." Aragorn's hands came to rest on what was his favorite part of Arwen's body, her behind. Every now and then, they slipped to her thighs or her tailbone, too, before his right hand found its way through her spread legs, sneaking between their bodies. He could feel it immediately how much Arwen was yearning for him already, how she pressed down against him when he was only grazing her moist folds with his fingertips, then slowly slipped two fingers inside of her.
Arwen gave up on trying to brace herself on her hands next to Aragorn's head, putting them on the bedframe instead, so that she was lying on him with all of her hardly noticeable weight now, her face only an inch apart from his. A shiver went through her body when he started moving his fingers inside of her; she spread her legs for him even wider. It aroused him to no end, watching the growing lust on her face, hearing her whispered plea for more.
Instead, Aragorn pulled his hand back so quickly that Arwen grumbled a protest. The look he was having on his face right now was something she had to be very familiar with by now. Arwen was just irresistible when he made her wait a little from time to time, to rile her up even further so that the satisfaction would be even bigger in the end. And he felt like teasing her a little after she'd given him that small fright today.
"More of … what?" He caressed her back almost casually, with his other arm under his head. "Will you tell me what you're yearning for, Nauriel? I want to touch you exactly the way you need it most."
Her reaction wasn't exactly what he had expected. After she had glared at him for a moment, pouting, Arwen slipped down next to him and got up then, sauntering to the window. She looked outside for a few seconds as if she had all the time in the world before smoothly sitting down on the broad windowsill that was always pleasantly warm at this time since the stone had stored heat all day. Arwen drew her knees close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, making no move to come back. Clouds darkened the rising moon; from the distance, Aragorn could only see Arwen's shape and a little bit of her face, so that he could only guess what kind of sight he'd just robbed himself off.
"You know, Estel, that doesn't even really matter that much. I know they told you all your life, you always need to be perfect, but I just want to be with you, no matter how. I had to do without that for far too many decades. I want to feel you close to me and inside of me, every second that we can spend with things like that. Every night, I want you to take me to that point where I forget everything, where I start to feel so incredibly hot … Until I feel like I can't take it anymore, trembling in your arms … And I want to see you lose control, see you forget your own name, because of me …" When her hoarse voice almost faltered, she raised her hand in an unambiguous gesture.
Thanks to the light falling on his silhouette, she would be able to see him better than he saw her, and notice without a problem how much her inviting posture turned him on … and also that contrary to his plan, it was promptly his patience now being at an end and not hers. Someone dealing with Aragorn in his everyday life could probably hardly imagine how quickly the reserved King could become a predator guided only by instinct. In situations like that, he only paused when Arwen told him to or when he noticed himself that she wasn't feeling comfortable; they already knew each other in the bedroom well enough for that.
And right now, he left no doubt either about what he had in mind when he came to stand between her legs, firmly massaging her thighs and her behind. "And you deserve nothing less, Nauriel." He put his right hand back where it had been a minute ago, on the heated spot between her legs that always made Arwen weak in the knees. "Nevertheless, you are more than welcome to let me know if something feels especially good," he murmured to her tenderly while two of his fingers already slipped back inside her.
Arwen just nodded weakly, sighing away deeply. Leaning back a little, she moved her hips harder against his circling fingers, until a third one found her most sensitive point. She clenched her hand around the windowsill, holding on to it. Her body tensed more and more. Grabbing Aragorn's hand, she put it on her chest so that he could feel how fast her heart was beating. Just a moment later, her arousal ended in a height that had her gasp for air helplessly.
Aragorn didn't really give her a chance to calm down before pulling her towards him a bit. Just a few moments later, without much of a warning, he had entered her, which had her go wild again immediately, as wild as she could be right now, slightly restricted in her mobility thanks to the window and her sitting position, so that she was fully exposed to his fierce efforts.
She tried to adapt, covering his chest with small kisses, raking her nails over his skin a little too tightly again and again until Aragorn pulled her hips harder against his and she lost all control once more. Capturing his lips with hers, she kissed him with the same intensity that he used to move inside her. Losing herself in a second height, she threw her head back, almost at the same moment that Aragorn dropped his last control in too and came inside of her with a throaty moan.
Breathing heavily, he fell against her, bracing his hands on the windowsill, and sucked softly on the side of her neck. A little revenge for the traces she had left on him in their wedding night and the amused grin of more than one of his advisors. When he could think somewhat clearly again though, the worry came back immediately that she had actually shortly made him suppress.
"You should be resting. Your body needs to recover as often as possible right now, Nauriel."
"Now you remember that?" She laughed quietly in his ear and started nibbling on it again as he gently picked her up and carried her to the bed, wrapping the soft covers around her bare body. At least she didn't protest. "I'll try. No promises though. And you do the same, alright?"
While he did nod, in truth, it happened only rarely that he fell asleep before his partner did since her body, more vulnerable than in the past, needed more rest than it had used to. If he wasn't really tired, there was always something weighing down on his mind keeping him awake half of the night. Today as well, in spite of the good news earlier, there was quickly that gloominess in his soul again when he put his arm around his lover and stared at the ceiling.
"What is it?" Arwen was noticeably fighting her exhaustion. She straightened up a little to be able to see him better. "It's making me sad, having to see you so lost in thought on such a day of all times."
"I just remembered a few trivial things that Verilas was talking about earlier. Sleep, mîl nín, or I will really have to lock you up in your room tomorrow so that you can gather strength for both of you."
He would of course never have done that, and Arwen knew that, too. But he caressed her belly for a moment in apology anyway and kissed her forehead before closing his eyes, signaling her, this was not a conversation he wanted to have right now.
Arwen hesitated for a moment, but then she nestled close to him again and finally gave in to her tiredness.
Arwen only realized that she should have known better than just believing a soldier when she startled up again a little later and found the bed empty on Aragorn's side. She sat up sleepily and saw her husband sitting in a chair in a corner, watching her thoughtfully.
"Given how much I asked of you earlier, I didn't think you would wake up again so soon." She could hear the smile in his voice, but he sounded tired.
Arwen wrapped one of the thin covers around her body and went to join him. More worried by the second, she sat down on his lap; there wasn't room elsewhere anyway. "Well, you wouldn't watch me sleep for half of the night because of trivialities, with a look on your face as if Sauron was rising again in the east."
She didn't get a real answer but instead of sending her back, he put his arms around her in a firm hug, burying his face against her hair. Arwen could feel that he was trembling very lightly. When he pulled away, tears were glistening in his eyes in the weak light.
"You're scaring me, Estel." Arwen took his face between her hands.
Again, it took him a moment to absent-mindedly kiss her hand before he finally found the right words.
"Earlier, I just realized that every happiness I ever had broke at some point. I almost lost you a few times already. The moment, these insane people learn that you're pregnant with the heir of Kings …" He paused, taking a deep breath.
"There are far too many things that can happen, and I fear that it will be something I won't be able to do anything against. One detail that we don't pay attention to is enough, a weakness that they can use …" He caressed Arwen's belly again and again, as if he was still busy really realizing how big that gift was that they had been given in the shape of this child. "Nothing in my life ever was made to endure, except for the loneliness. I couldn't deal with being the one to stay back alone once more."
"Look at me." Arwen rested her forehead against his. "Nothing will happen, you hear me? You did too much for this world for the Valar to impose such a burden on you. They've protected you in the battles against the darkness. They won't turn away from you now either." Arwen did her best to not let his fear infect her, closing her eyes to shut everything out but her husband.
"I'll take good care of this new life inside of me, and you will protect me. As long as we do that, we will be alright, I can feel that. By now, you should have learned that I'm right about these things, you know?"
She didn't get an answer, and right now she didn't need one, either, which she signaled him with a tender kiss. "I'll stay with you forever, just like our child, no matter what happens. I won't let anything come between us. These bastards didn't manage that so far, and they'll never get a chance to try again."
For a verbal reaction, she waited in vain again. Aragorn just pressed her closer to him and caressed her belly.
Arwen couldn't tell how long they were sitting there before Aragorn pushed her away with a kiss to her forehead and brought her back to the bed, already an image of deep calmness and strength again, as if nothing had happened. But Arwen knew now that some shadows could taint a heart too badly to ever completely brighten up again.