Tradition

Eldarion: 3

It was Aragorn's day of birth, and he had fully intended on sleeping half the morning away, something he didn't really get a chance to do anymore now that he had a kingdom and a son to look after.

However, Eleniel had other plans.

It was practically tradition that she would wake her brother up early on the morning of his begetting-day by jumping on him, singing loudly or throwing water over his head… anything, really, that would get him out of bed (so long as Arwen was out, of course. She would not risk the wrath of her sister. Not again).

It hadn't happened for some time, as the two of them lived in different places, but the moment Lord Elrond had told his daughter they would be visiting Gondor to celebrate their Estel's begetting-day, she had immediately started devising a plan to wake her brother up.

A couple days after the Peredhil's arrival in Gondor, Eleniel had enlisted the help of her young nephew, the three-year-old happily agreeing to wake his father up.

On the morning of the king's begetting-day, Eleniel crept quietly into his room, Eldarion in her arms, his tiny hand covering his mouth to stop himself from making any noise. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her older sister wasn't in bed with her husband. Arwen was a morning person, and she must have awakened especially early to help the cooks with preparations for the big breakfast, and see to it that all of his presents were laying neatly on the table for him to see and open when he walked in.

Aragorn was fast asleep on his stomach, blanket hanging off the bed from where he must have kicked it in his sleep. His long dark hair was dishevelled – no change, there – and his eyes were closed, soft breaths escaping his lips, blowing the strands of hair which had fallen over his face.

Eleniel turned to the boy in her arms and grinned, kneeling down and setting him on his feet in front of her. "Right," she whispered, "Dari, you are going to creep up to the bed, and then I am going to hide on the other side, okay?"

Eldarion nodded excitedly, bouncing on his toes. He didn't really understand what his 'El'nel' was saying, but what he did understand was that he was getting an opportunity to wake his ada up, and that was definitely something to get excited about!

"When you are ready, jump onto your ada and shout at him to wake up. Then, when he does, I will take him by surprise," Eleniel continued, butterflies familiarly beginning to take their place in her stomach She hadn't done this in a while, and she was beginning to doubt her decision to carry on this 'tradition'. She was a mature adult, now. She had her first baby growing inside her, and she was married to an amazing ellon who she loved with all her heart. Aragorn was an experienced warrior, and she was certain that his reflexes had improved over the last ten months or so that they hadn't seen each other…

Pushing these thoughts away, she left Eldarion and cautiously walked around to the other side of the bed, crouching down and waiting for her nephew to-

"AHHHHH!"

So impatient, Eleniel thought. She had only just ducked out of sight before the boy had whizzed forward, catapulting himself onto his father's back and screaming at the top of his lungs. Aragorn awoke with a start, twisting himself around and quickly reaching out as he noticed his son beginning to fall off the bed from supposedly being thrown off his back.

Eldarion was giggling widly, and he jumped forward to hug his father, who was breathing heavily. "Valar, Eldarion," Aragorn breathed out, "you almost gave me a heart attack!"

The man was beginning to calm down when suddenly he saw a flurry of blonde hair, and another scream left his mouth as he came face-to-face with his sister, grinning down at him from where she was hovering above him.

"ELENIEL!" Aragorn growled before sitting up quickly and turning the tables on the elleth, pinning her beneath him.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, a hint of anger in his voice, but Eleniel wasn't deterred. Her brother just wasn't a morning person.

"Well, you see, it is your begetting-day, and surely you haven't forgotten out tradition."

"Tradition!" Estel mocked with a humourless laugh. "You scared me to death!"

Eleniel giggled. "Do not be so dramatic, Estel!"

"Yes, Ada! Not so 'ramatic!" Eldarion piped up, squealing as his father stuck his arm out, wrapped it around his son's waist and pulled him so that he was lying beside his aunt.

"You seem to have forgotten what always happens after you scare me, Eleniel," the King said with a smirk, and the Peredhel felt his hand tighten around her wrist.

"What happens, Ada?" Eldarion asked, giggling madly.

A sudden onslaught of memories flooded her mind of times she had done this before, and she mentally cursed herself for completely forgetting Aragorn's preferred method to retaliate in.

The man turned his head to look at the little boy. "Well," he said slowly, "usually, I eat her, but seeing as there's two of you now... well! I better tell the cooks not to bother with the morning meal, as I will be terribly full by the time I've finished eating two little children."

"I am not a child, Estel!" Eleniel said, panicking slightly. "I-I am an adult! I am with child, and I have a husband, and I am mature-"

"Mature, indeed," Aragorn said with a fond smile. "What was mature about you waking me up at Eru knows what time in the morning by jumping on me and pinning me to the bed?"

Eleniel knew her brother was playing, and she couldn't help but laugh her heart out as he quickly ducked his head and nuzzled his nose and bearded chin into her neck, tickling his son with the hand that wasn't holding herstill.

"Did you think I would forget just how much you love neck nuzzles, tithen gwathel?" he asked with a grin, and Eleniel couldn't even speak to tell him just how much of an idiot he was.

Well. Yet another story to tell at the Hall of Fire that night… and certainly something which would bring memories back into his and Glorfindel's minds.

Elvish used:

Tithen gwathel – Little sister (not blood-related)

Longest. Drabble. Ever.

If you didn't know, the last two paragraphs are of course referring to chapter 29. Hope you enjoyed! ~ Gre3nleaf