**~*~** means dream/flashback
Fool of a Took: I did not mean to insult anybody, my sincerest apologies! And you really didn't see it? I mean, I tried to hint it out. Is the whole sister thing a bit crazy? I know I'm corrupt for putting it in.
Silent Night: Thanks for reading and taking the time to review. I e-mailed you, did you get it?
Jo March: So, I guess you liked the story then. . .I'll do a sequel, though I'm not sure what to put in it. I was thinking an explanation of why Arwen dislikes mortals, or an action/adventure story for Aragorn and Chandra. Maybe a piece about Faramir. What do you think? Anyway, here's more though probably the last chapter for this story.
Emmithar: Heh heh, I get to tomorrow for a second time, and I have to pay, but the first time I didn't! That's more than the Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack. But the Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack is largely instrumental, and the only chance I get to listen to music is in carpool, so I'll probably never hear all of it. Those two girls in my carpool are so noisy I just want to strangle them! Sorry. Ha-ha! I got such a nice grade on my Physics final--a thirty one per cent!!! And yet I have a B. . .that' luck if I've got any. I wouldn't even look at the paper, the boy ahead of me had to read the grade out loud I was so scared, and then I was euphoric about it. I know, I'm a freak. Sorry to discuss my grades, it was just kinda cool. That is a good phrase, much nicer than "insomniac". Why has Boromir got to face Legolas? Legolas isn't even in this story! Okay, yes, Boromir is all yours. Hey, go easy on Boromir! He saved Merry and Pippin, you know!
*****
"Ada, I have heard Feanor's story, yet for me there are still some holes," Aragorn said to Elrond.
"Indeed?" Elrond asked, knowing well what they boy wanted and not fully willing to give him the information. Then again, if Chandra had told Estel-- Aragorn, Elrond told himself--of her past, then she trusted him, She would not mind a few details being added in here and there. "What holes in Chandra's story?"
"Well, what happened to her most recently. I mean to say, when she left Gondor, how did she do it? How did she manage to slip out?" Asked Aragorn, curiosity getting the better of him and utterly destroying his coherency. Elrond's emphasis of the name had reminded Aragorn to call her Chandra, though he still called her Feanor on occasion.
"For that story you shall have to ask the girl. Even I do not know, and I have no right knowing." Aragorn hardly managed to keep his jaw from dropping. How could Elrond not want to know? Elrond, however, perceived the young man's confusion, and explained, "When you have lived as long as I have, Estel, you know when the rest of the story is just not needed. For me, the story goes that she did escape or perhaps was set free, but it matters not how. I understand that this is a cold comfort or even irritating for you."
Elrond was correct. His answer had given Aragorn no more grounding but less. He searched his mind, trying to find the proper phrasing for his next question. "But, surely her leaving was not legal--Denethor has implied as much. You would never break a law, not outwardly like that. Yet you are allowing Chandra to stay here, and I know Denethor would not have that be legal." He stopped speaking, satisfied with his phraseology.
"Your question, Estel?"
"Oh!" Exclaimed Aragorn. In all his careful wording, he had forgotten to ask a question. "I was wondering. . .I mean to say, seeing as. . .no. . ."
"The reason Chandra has not returned to Gondor with Denethor and his sons is that she is no property of theirs. Law in Gondor allows only a slave's so wrongly entitled owner to free them. Unwilling to allow Chandra to suffer as much at the hands of them, I bought her. I sicken myself for calling myself owner of a being, yet I did this only to free her. It is up to her if she will stay here in Rivendell or go out to face the wide world alone. Though I must admit I swayed her decision towards Rivendell."
"She will stay?" Nothing otherwise had occurred to Aragorn. The thought of her leaving astounded him. Where would she go? She was far too young, who would look after her? She hardly trusted anyone. "If she is going," said Aragorn with new resolve, "then so am I."
Elrond's eyes shone with pride for his son. The boy stood, it seemed, taller than he had ever been before, and straighter. His face was set grimly, as if he knew already that he would stick by her through thick and thin, right or wrong. And in this pride Elrond felt an overwhelming sadness, knowing in his heart that the time was not too far off that his son would leave him, and ride with the Rangers, and lead them. Still proud, Elrond swallowed the tears in his throat and placed a hand on Aragorn's shoulder. "Not yet, Estel. Not quite yet."
Aragorn searched Elrond's face, but could see no sign of the emotions the Elf held hidden away. But the flicker that had passed over Elrond's face, bringing with it raw pain and a look of incredible age, had passed by, and was gone. All Aragorn saw was the face of his Ada, the face he had seen a million times before, and nothing different to it. The moment had passed him by, though for Elrond it lasted an Age. Elrond took his hand from Aragorn's shoulder.
"One last question, if I may," Aragorn ventured. Elrond nodded. "I felt something towards Chandra, a need to look out for her and protect her. Do you know why that was?"
"This, again, is a question I cannot answer. I suggest you get some sleep. It is late, even," he added with a laughing glance at Aragorn's face, "for a boy of your age."
Aragorn smiled with mock indigence. "Good night, Ada," he said, heading for the door.
"Good night, Estel."
*****
Aragorn's tired feet did not take him to his own bed. Instead, he found himself outside the door to where he knew Chandra slept--or he hoped she slept. Worry overcame him, and he turned the doorknob. Stepping inside he saw that Chandra was asleep in bed. He relaxed for a moment. Aragorn turned and was about to leave the room, satisfied with his sister's peace.
A soft moan stopped escaped Chandra's lips. Aragorn whirled. He realized that the muscles in her throat were taut, and the sound might have been a yell had she not been so tensed up. He walked slowly over to her, having seen these nightmares before. "Feanor," he whispered, half-coaxing, reminding her of the fire-spirit within her. "It's all right." She whimpered again, no longer the strong girl who had told him earlier of her enslavement without so much as a tear. She was a child now, and nothing more.
Aragorn sat beside her on the bed, laying a hand on her back. She drew back from the touch, yet she reveled in it. "Shh, it's all right," he whispered. Still she struggled. He felt her muscles contract and twist about beneath his hand. Whatever nightmare she was having, it reduced her to being but a youngling. " A Elbereth Gilthoniel," Aragorn sang softly, a verse he had heard though he knew not where.
"Silivren penna miriel,
O menel aglar elenath!
Na-chaered palan-diriel
O galadhremmin ennorath,
Fanuilos, le linnathon
Nef aear si nef aearon!"
By the end of the ballad or verse, whichever it was, she had calmed. Turning, she curled up against Aragorn. He decided against drawing away, at least for a little while. It was a comfort to him to have her close by, and he knew the warmth of a living being was a comfort to her.
**~*~**
"Listen to me, Aragorn. I am not abandoning you, my son. Your father is never coming back. I know this is hard for you to understand--by the Valar, I don't know if you understand any of this," a woman said. Her voice was soft and comfortable, maternal. Tears fell onto the face of the child in her arms. "I am leaving you here, in Rivendell. Your father was a great man, Aragorn, and let no one tell you different. He had only the weaknesses of a mortal, and he cannot be judged for this. Look after the other, for me if not for him. When and if ever you meet the other, look after her. Now be strong, my child. You are our last hope."
**~*~**
"Shh, Elladan, be quiet!" Elrohir hissed.
"What is it?" Elladan whispered, tiptoeing up to his brother. A light smile adorned Elrohir's face, and his eyes were fixed loosely ahead.
"Look." Elladan did. Aragorn had fallen asleep in Chandra's room. The younger girl had curled up to him at some point in the night, her head buried in his shoulder. Aragorn's arm was wrapped protectively around the small girl. He did not look as worried or fierce as he often did, even in sleep. Elladan's heart melted at the sight.
Aragorn stirred. Groggily he looked around, unsure of where he was. When he realized, he gently pushed Chandra away from him so as not to disturb her as he stood up. She protested, then rolled onto her other side and sucked her thumb. Aragorn walked as quietly as possible over to the doorway where his brothers stood, smiling at him. "She was having a bad dream."
"I know," Elrohir whispered back.
"I didn't mean to fall asleep."
"We know," Elladan replied, recalling the many nights he or his brother had fallen asleep beside Estel. "You were just the same."
"Only, amazingly, cleaner," Elrohir joked. Aragorn smiled good-naturedly. Suddenly the twins turned their heads. Aragorn had not detected the minuscule sound that he suspected the two had heard, but he turned as well. Chandra rubbed her eyes as she sat up. She noticed the three in the doorway. She smiled.
"Was I sleeping?" she asked. The boys laughed. Chandra just smiled more, then stood up and ran over to them. She hugged Aragorn so fiercely he would have fallen over if the twins had not steadied him. "I heard your voice in my dream, and then it wasn't so bad anymore," she said, like a child, and Aragorn remembered how young she had looked during the nightmare.
Suddenly he understood what Elrond had said to him. The look on Chandra's face mixed youth and pain as he hoped never to see again. Aragorn knew without any doubts that she had been remembering some time from her childhood, a time she did not want to remember, and he knew why Elrond did not want to know more. After so many years, the smaller things stopped mattering, only the overall facts, the ones of result. And from then on, he vowed, he would not see that look again. "I promise you that much," he murmured to Chandra. Deep inside her she understood.
I am considering a sequel. What do you all want? Action/adventure for Aragorn and Chandra? The story of why Arwen does not like mortals? A story about Faramir? You decide, I am but the author. . .BUT PLEASE TELL ME WHAT SORT OF SEQUEL YOU WOULD LIKE!! Thank you very much.
Oh, and the verse Aragorn sings is n Many Meetings in The Fellowship of the Ring, it was the first Elven verse I came upon and I haven't the faintest clue what it means.
Fool of a Took: I did not mean to insult anybody, my sincerest apologies! And you really didn't see it? I mean, I tried to hint it out. Is the whole sister thing a bit crazy? I know I'm corrupt for putting it in.
Silent Night: Thanks for reading and taking the time to review. I e-mailed you, did you get it?
Jo March: So, I guess you liked the story then. . .I'll do a sequel, though I'm not sure what to put in it. I was thinking an explanation of why Arwen dislikes mortals, or an action/adventure story for Aragorn and Chandra. Maybe a piece about Faramir. What do you think? Anyway, here's more though probably the last chapter for this story.
Emmithar: Heh heh, I get to tomorrow for a second time, and I have to pay, but the first time I didn't! That's more than the Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack. But the Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack is largely instrumental, and the only chance I get to listen to music is in carpool, so I'll probably never hear all of it. Those two girls in my carpool are so noisy I just want to strangle them! Sorry. Ha-ha! I got such a nice grade on my Physics final--a thirty one per cent!!! And yet I have a B. . .that' luck if I've got any. I wouldn't even look at the paper, the boy ahead of me had to read the grade out loud I was so scared, and then I was euphoric about it. I know, I'm a freak. Sorry to discuss my grades, it was just kinda cool. That is a good phrase, much nicer than "insomniac". Why has Boromir got to face Legolas? Legolas isn't even in this story! Okay, yes, Boromir is all yours. Hey, go easy on Boromir! He saved Merry and Pippin, you know!
*****
"Ada, I have heard Feanor's story, yet for me there are still some holes," Aragorn said to Elrond.
"Indeed?" Elrond asked, knowing well what they boy wanted and not fully willing to give him the information. Then again, if Chandra had told Estel-- Aragorn, Elrond told himself--of her past, then she trusted him, She would not mind a few details being added in here and there. "What holes in Chandra's story?"
"Well, what happened to her most recently. I mean to say, when she left Gondor, how did she do it? How did she manage to slip out?" Asked Aragorn, curiosity getting the better of him and utterly destroying his coherency. Elrond's emphasis of the name had reminded Aragorn to call her Chandra, though he still called her Feanor on occasion.
"For that story you shall have to ask the girl. Even I do not know, and I have no right knowing." Aragorn hardly managed to keep his jaw from dropping. How could Elrond not want to know? Elrond, however, perceived the young man's confusion, and explained, "When you have lived as long as I have, Estel, you know when the rest of the story is just not needed. For me, the story goes that she did escape or perhaps was set free, but it matters not how. I understand that this is a cold comfort or even irritating for you."
Elrond was correct. His answer had given Aragorn no more grounding but less. He searched his mind, trying to find the proper phrasing for his next question. "But, surely her leaving was not legal--Denethor has implied as much. You would never break a law, not outwardly like that. Yet you are allowing Chandra to stay here, and I know Denethor would not have that be legal." He stopped speaking, satisfied with his phraseology.
"Your question, Estel?"
"Oh!" Exclaimed Aragorn. In all his careful wording, he had forgotten to ask a question. "I was wondering. . .I mean to say, seeing as. . .no. . ."
"The reason Chandra has not returned to Gondor with Denethor and his sons is that she is no property of theirs. Law in Gondor allows only a slave's so wrongly entitled owner to free them. Unwilling to allow Chandra to suffer as much at the hands of them, I bought her. I sicken myself for calling myself owner of a being, yet I did this only to free her. It is up to her if she will stay here in Rivendell or go out to face the wide world alone. Though I must admit I swayed her decision towards Rivendell."
"She will stay?" Nothing otherwise had occurred to Aragorn. The thought of her leaving astounded him. Where would she go? She was far too young, who would look after her? She hardly trusted anyone. "If she is going," said Aragorn with new resolve, "then so am I."
Elrond's eyes shone with pride for his son. The boy stood, it seemed, taller than he had ever been before, and straighter. His face was set grimly, as if he knew already that he would stick by her through thick and thin, right or wrong. And in this pride Elrond felt an overwhelming sadness, knowing in his heart that the time was not too far off that his son would leave him, and ride with the Rangers, and lead them. Still proud, Elrond swallowed the tears in his throat and placed a hand on Aragorn's shoulder. "Not yet, Estel. Not quite yet."
Aragorn searched Elrond's face, but could see no sign of the emotions the Elf held hidden away. But the flicker that had passed over Elrond's face, bringing with it raw pain and a look of incredible age, had passed by, and was gone. All Aragorn saw was the face of his Ada, the face he had seen a million times before, and nothing different to it. The moment had passed him by, though for Elrond it lasted an Age. Elrond took his hand from Aragorn's shoulder.
"One last question, if I may," Aragorn ventured. Elrond nodded. "I felt something towards Chandra, a need to look out for her and protect her. Do you know why that was?"
"This, again, is a question I cannot answer. I suggest you get some sleep. It is late, even," he added with a laughing glance at Aragorn's face, "for a boy of your age."
Aragorn smiled with mock indigence. "Good night, Ada," he said, heading for the door.
"Good night, Estel."
*****
Aragorn's tired feet did not take him to his own bed. Instead, he found himself outside the door to where he knew Chandra slept--or he hoped she slept. Worry overcame him, and he turned the doorknob. Stepping inside he saw that Chandra was asleep in bed. He relaxed for a moment. Aragorn turned and was about to leave the room, satisfied with his sister's peace.
A soft moan stopped escaped Chandra's lips. Aragorn whirled. He realized that the muscles in her throat were taut, and the sound might have been a yell had she not been so tensed up. He walked slowly over to her, having seen these nightmares before. "Feanor," he whispered, half-coaxing, reminding her of the fire-spirit within her. "It's all right." She whimpered again, no longer the strong girl who had told him earlier of her enslavement without so much as a tear. She was a child now, and nothing more.
Aragorn sat beside her on the bed, laying a hand on her back. She drew back from the touch, yet she reveled in it. "Shh, it's all right," he whispered. Still she struggled. He felt her muscles contract and twist about beneath his hand. Whatever nightmare she was having, it reduced her to being but a youngling. " A Elbereth Gilthoniel," Aragorn sang softly, a verse he had heard though he knew not where.
"Silivren penna miriel,
O menel aglar elenath!
Na-chaered palan-diriel
O galadhremmin ennorath,
Fanuilos, le linnathon
Nef aear si nef aearon!"
By the end of the ballad or verse, whichever it was, she had calmed. Turning, she curled up against Aragorn. He decided against drawing away, at least for a little while. It was a comfort to him to have her close by, and he knew the warmth of a living being was a comfort to her.
**~*~**
"Listen to me, Aragorn. I am not abandoning you, my son. Your father is never coming back. I know this is hard for you to understand--by the Valar, I don't know if you understand any of this," a woman said. Her voice was soft and comfortable, maternal. Tears fell onto the face of the child in her arms. "I am leaving you here, in Rivendell. Your father was a great man, Aragorn, and let no one tell you different. He had only the weaknesses of a mortal, and he cannot be judged for this. Look after the other, for me if not for him. When and if ever you meet the other, look after her. Now be strong, my child. You are our last hope."
**~*~**
"Shh, Elladan, be quiet!" Elrohir hissed.
"What is it?" Elladan whispered, tiptoeing up to his brother. A light smile adorned Elrohir's face, and his eyes were fixed loosely ahead.
"Look." Elladan did. Aragorn had fallen asleep in Chandra's room. The younger girl had curled up to him at some point in the night, her head buried in his shoulder. Aragorn's arm was wrapped protectively around the small girl. He did not look as worried or fierce as he often did, even in sleep. Elladan's heart melted at the sight.
Aragorn stirred. Groggily he looked around, unsure of where he was. When he realized, he gently pushed Chandra away from him so as not to disturb her as he stood up. She protested, then rolled onto her other side and sucked her thumb. Aragorn walked as quietly as possible over to the doorway where his brothers stood, smiling at him. "She was having a bad dream."
"I know," Elrohir whispered back.
"I didn't mean to fall asleep."
"We know," Elladan replied, recalling the many nights he or his brother had fallen asleep beside Estel. "You were just the same."
"Only, amazingly, cleaner," Elrohir joked. Aragorn smiled good-naturedly. Suddenly the twins turned their heads. Aragorn had not detected the minuscule sound that he suspected the two had heard, but he turned as well. Chandra rubbed her eyes as she sat up. She noticed the three in the doorway. She smiled.
"Was I sleeping?" she asked. The boys laughed. Chandra just smiled more, then stood up and ran over to them. She hugged Aragorn so fiercely he would have fallen over if the twins had not steadied him. "I heard your voice in my dream, and then it wasn't so bad anymore," she said, like a child, and Aragorn remembered how young she had looked during the nightmare.
Suddenly he understood what Elrond had said to him. The look on Chandra's face mixed youth and pain as he hoped never to see again. Aragorn knew without any doubts that she had been remembering some time from her childhood, a time she did not want to remember, and he knew why Elrond did not want to know more. After so many years, the smaller things stopped mattering, only the overall facts, the ones of result. And from then on, he vowed, he would not see that look again. "I promise you that much," he murmured to Chandra. Deep inside her she understood.
I am considering a sequel. What do you all want? Action/adventure for Aragorn and Chandra? The story of why Arwen does not like mortals? A story about Faramir? You decide, I am but the author. . .BUT PLEASE TELL ME WHAT SORT OF SEQUEL YOU WOULD LIKE!! Thank you very much.
Oh, and the verse Aragorn sings is n Many Meetings in The Fellowship of the Ring, it was the first Elven verse I came upon and I haven't the faintest clue what it means.