standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter Two: The Onset of Lightning and Rain
As the rains began to pound the roof of the palace and all of all the buildings of Minas Tirith, Arwen found herself awakening from the afternoon nap that she had found so relaxing and enjoyable. After a quick look around the chamber told her Aragorn was no longer in the room with her, she decided to rise and look for him.
The bones and joints of her body protested greatly, when trying to shift to a standing position, and she cursed under her breath during her third try. Finally she used the post at the head of the bed to help rise. Smiling to herself in triumph at such an arduous task, she wrapped her body in a blanket to shield herself from the cold.
The thunder overhead rumbled loudly beneath her feet as she walked the long hallways, searching in all of the most obvious of places to find her husband. In the midst of her search she stopped and braced her hand against the stone wall. There was a moment of unease as her stomach muscles slightly clenched. Perhaps it was the child. And so she dismissed it as such.
It was in his study that she found the king writing in a large book bound in leather. Perhaps it was a journal of some sort.
Arwen stood with her back resting against the door, watching Aragorn as he wrote with vigor and a fierce intent. Only when he felt the presence of someone else in the room did he look up and notice that she was watching him. Not before jumping and taking in a startled breath, of course.
"Arwen," he breathed in a sigh of relief. "You frightened me."
Arwen laughed softly and walked over to stand behind him, resting her hands on his shoulders and kissing the top of his head.
"You did not sleep?" she asked.
"I wasn't tired. There was much else to do, and so I left you to your rest."
"Our bed is a cold place without you there."
Aragorn smiled and looked up at her. She leaned down and their lips met in a soft kiss.
"How long has it been raining?" she asked while looking out the window nearby.
"Not long. The storm was far off in the distance when you first fell asleep."
Arwen watched the lightning dance in the darkened sky out the window nearby. She bit her bottom lip as another round of stomach clenching went on suddenly. Not wanting to bother or worry Aragorn, she masked the discomfort. Soon it would be dusk and the castle would become shadowed with torchlight.
Arwen's stomach growled fiercely and she reached down to touch it; to calm her active child.
Aragorn laughed out loud at the sound.
"Do you carry a cave troll in there?" he asked playfully.
Arwen opened her mouth to speak ill of his comment, but nothing more than a soft gasp came out of her startled mouth. She stood looking at her husband in a strange manner that worried him.
"What is it?" Aragorn asked frantically as he stood to turn and face her. "What's wrong?"
Arwen took a step backwards, lifting the bottom of her dress from the floor to eye what she suspected was there: a small pool of clear fluid. Many times in the past weeks had she been warned by her attendants about the process of giving birth. This was the first step in what promised to be a long and tiring excursion.
"Arwen!" Aragorn said urgently, bringing her out of her dream world. He was now standing in front of her, his hands clasping tightly onto her shoulders.
"It's beginning," Arwen whispered to herself.
"What's beginning?"
"Fetch me some attendants, Estel," Arwen whispered. "I'll be in our chamber. Tell them it's time."
Aragorn looked at her for several seconds more, his mind whiring in confusion. It was time? Time for what? He watched her walk away, slightly waddling in her state of pregnancy.
Pregnancy.
Aragorn's eyes grew wide and he jumped at the full meaning of her words. She needed attendants because it was time to have the baby.
Outside in the hallway Arwen stopped and placed her hands against the wall for fear of falling down with pain. She took in deep breaths, trying to calm herself at the feel of life bustling inside. And through the pain she realized that Aragorn was still in their study, probably trying to plan what to do.
"Estel, go get help," she cried, the strain in her voice very clear.
Aragorn came running out of the room and saw her not far away standing against the wall, her face flush and tight with the pain of labor. He turned the other direction to run around the corner but succeeded in only running into another person, knocking his own head into the wall and he and the other person both to the ground.
Aragorn took in a deep breath, for the fall had knocked the air out of his lungs and stars swam around his vision. Through the bright colors he could see the familiar face of his brother hovering over him. It was like a dream....
"Elladan?" Aragorn asked hazily.
"Arwen is being tended to. Go back to sleep," the elf replied.
Aragorn nodded and closed his eyes, the blackness covering his vision and the sweet dreams of mortals to aid him in comfort.
**********
"I think he's waking up," a voice whispered nearby.
Aragorn groaned loudly and clunched at the spot where his head was feeling the most pain. He began to sit up, but felt a hand on his chest push him back down to the matress on which he was resting.
"What's happening?" Aragorn asked groggily to the strangers that he was sure surrounded him.
"You hit your head, Estel," the first voice proclaimed.
"And then fell unconscious," the other finished.
Aragorn groaned again and rolled his head to the side. Bright light clouded his sight on the first try at opening his eyes, but he was rewarded with the blurry figures of familiar figures on his second try. There was a moment of complete peace knowing that he was surrounded among friends before memory came back to him, sending him into a standing position faster than his body liked.
"Where is my wife?" he asked loudly, the worry clear in his voice.
Aragorn's balance waivered and he began to fall backward before he knew what was happening to him. Quickly one of the twins was up and there to brace his fall before he should cause further injury to himself.
"Arwen is in the favorable care of her attendants. There is nothin to worry about," Elrohir assured as he sat Aragorn back down on the cot.
"Has there been any news of her condition?" Aragorn asked quickly.
"Not in the last few hours."
"How long have I been out?"
"For most of the evening. It is nearing the hour of nine, and the storm still rages on," Elladan said as he looked out the window near where he stood.
The three stood in the side room just outside of the chamber in quiet contemplation. There was little to be said and what Aragorn might have tried to say would be battered down by the throbbing headache that had now raged in his mind.
The chamber door was securely closed, but one could still hear the scream that pierced the hallway and reached the ears of Aragorn much to his worry.
"They're harming her!" Aragorn yelled loudly as he stood once more with better balance. Without thinking, he ran out of the room and toward the direction of the chamber where Arwen was.
The twins were not far behind, and were much quicker than he which accounted for him not even having the chance to touch the handle to the door. Anger flared through his body and he began to shout for Arwen as loud as he could.
Inside the chamber, Arwen could hear the sound of her husband as he shouted loudly for her. A sense of longing grew inside of her, and during her period of short rest, she told one of the attendants to let him in; she wanted him to be with her.
On the other side of the door, Aragorn and the twins were most surprised to see the door open, and an attendant usher Aragorn inside.
"Arwen," Aragorn exclaimed as he rushed to ehr side.
"It hurts, Estel," Arwen whispered as a tear fell down her cheek. "It hurts so much."
Aragorn turned to one of the other women and asked if they had given her anything for the pain. When given an answer in the negative, he sighed loudly and walked over to a desk, pulling the drawer open and pulling out a box with several herbs inside.
Walking over to Arwen, he took one of the herbs out and placed it in her open mouth as she clutched at the sheets when her contractions had started once again.
"This should ease you," Aragorn said hopefully.
Arwen swallowed the herb quickly and rode out her contraction with Aragorn's hand held tightly in her own.
**********
In the small room where the twins had taken Aragorn after falling unconscious, they sat in silence. A book graced the hand of Elladan while Elrohir opted for a small book full of blank pages that he used for sketching pictures of Middle Earth.
"I'm not so sure that all of those screams are Arwen's," Elrohir remarked with an amused smile tugging at his lips.
"Yes, some do sound quite masculine. Perhaps Estel is giving birth also?" Elladan remarked, closing his book.
"No, Arwen is most assuredly scolding him for the situation she now faces. I hope that he will let us view the markings upon his skin later."
Elladan chuckled heartily to himself as he opened the book again, scanning for the page in which he had lost.
"Do you feel that?" Elrohir asked after several moments had passed.
"Feel what?"
"I have a feeling," Elrohir said while rising to his feet. "There's something coming."
Elladan followed suit and left the room with his brother to inspect what the problem was.
*********
a/n: thanks to all of you who review the first chapter. your comments are appreciated greatly and helped much in the writing of this chapter. much thanks to my betas (you know who you all are). don't forget or neglect to review and i'll be sure and get the next installment out soon!!
Chapter Two: The Onset of Lightning and Rain
As the rains began to pound the roof of the palace and all of all the buildings of Minas Tirith, Arwen found herself awakening from the afternoon nap that she had found so relaxing and enjoyable. After a quick look around the chamber told her Aragorn was no longer in the room with her, she decided to rise and look for him.
The bones and joints of her body protested greatly, when trying to shift to a standing position, and she cursed under her breath during her third try. Finally she used the post at the head of the bed to help rise. Smiling to herself in triumph at such an arduous task, she wrapped her body in a blanket to shield herself from the cold.
The thunder overhead rumbled loudly beneath her feet as she walked the long hallways, searching in all of the most obvious of places to find her husband. In the midst of her search she stopped and braced her hand against the stone wall. There was a moment of unease as her stomach muscles slightly clenched. Perhaps it was the child. And so she dismissed it as such.
It was in his study that she found the king writing in a large book bound in leather. Perhaps it was a journal of some sort.
Arwen stood with her back resting against the door, watching Aragorn as he wrote with vigor and a fierce intent. Only when he felt the presence of someone else in the room did he look up and notice that she was watching him. Not before jumping and taking in a startled breath, of course.
"Arwen," he breathed in a sigh of relief. "You frightened me."
Arwen laughed softly and walked over to stand behind him, resting her hands on his shoulders and kissing the top of his head.
"You did not sleep?" she asked.
"I wasn't tired. There was much else to do, and so I left you to your rest."
"Our bed is a cold place without you there."
Aragorn smiled and looked up at her. She leaned down and their lips met in a soft kiss.
"How long has it been raining?" she asked while looking out the window nearby.
"Not long. The storm was far off in the distance when you first fell asleep."
Arwen watched the lightning dance in the darkened sky out the window nearby. She bit her bottom lip as another round of stomach clenching went on suddenly. Not wanting to bother or worry Aragorn, she masked the discomfort. Soon it would be dusk and the castle would become shadowed with torchlight.
Arwen's stomach growled fiercely and she reached down to touch it; to calm her active child.
Aragorn laughed out loud at the sound.
"Do you carry a cave troll in there?" he asked playfully.
Arwen opened her mouth to speak ill of his comment, but nothing more than a soft gasp came out of her startled mouth. She stood looking at her husband in a strange manner that worried him.
"What is it?" Aragorn asked frantically as he stood to turn and face her. "What's wrong?"
Arwen took a step backwards, lifting the bottom of her dress from the floor to eye what she suspected was there: a small pool of clear fluid. Many times in the past weeks had she been warned by her attendants about the process of giving birth. This was the first step in what promised to be a long and tiring excursion.
"Arwen!" Aragorn said urgently, bringing her out of her dream world. He was now standing in front of her, his hands clasping tightly onto her shoulders.
"It's beginning," Arwen whispered to herself.
"What's beginning?"
"Fetch me some attendants, Estel," Arwen whispered. "I'll be in our chamber. Tell them it's time."
Aragorn looked at her for several seconds more, his mind whiring in confusion. It was time? Time for what? He watched her walk away, slightly waddling in her state of pregnancy.
Pregnancy.
Aragorn's eyes grew wide and he jumped at the full meaning of her words. She needed attendants because it was time to have the baby.
Outside in the hallway Arwen stopped and placed her hands against the wall for fear of falling down with pain. She took in deep breaths, trying to calm herself at the feel of life bustling inside. And through the pain she realized that Aragorn was still in their study, probably trying to plan what to do.
"Estel, go get help," she cried, the strain in her voice very clear.
Aragorn came running out of the room and saw her not far away standing against the wall, her face flush and tight with the pain of labor. He turned the other direction to run around the corner but succeeded in only running into another person, knocking his own head into the wall and he and the other person both to the ground.
Aragorn took in a deep breath, for the fall had knocked the air out of his lungs and stars swam around his vision. Through the bright colors he could see the familiar face of his brother hovering over him. It was like a dream....
"Elladan?" Aragorn asked hazily.
"Arwen is being tended to. Go back to sleep," the elf replied.
Aragorn nodded and closed his eyes, the blackness covering his vision and the sweet dreams of mortals to aid him in comfort.
**********
"I think he's waking up," a voice whispered nearby.
Aragorn groaned loudly and clunched at the spot where his head was feeling the most pain. He began to sit up, but felt a hand on his chest push him back down to the matress on which he was resting.
"What's happening?" Aragorn asked groggily to the strangers that he was sure surrounded him.
"You hit your head, Estel," the first voice proclaimed.
"And then fell unconscious," the other finished.
Aragorn groaned again and rolled his head to the side. Bright light clouded his sight on the first try at opening his eyes, but he was rewarded with the blurry figures of familiar figures on his second try. There was a moment of complete peace knowing that he was surrounded among friends before memory came back to him, sending him into a standing position faster than his body liked.
"Where is my wife?" he asked loudly, the worry clear in his voice.
Aragorn's balance waivered and he began to fall backward before he knew what was happening to him. Quickly one of the twins was up and there to brace his fall before he should cause further injury to himself.
"Arwen is in the favorable care of her attendants. There is nothin to worry about," Elrohir assured as he sat Aragorn back down on the cot.
"Has there been any news of her condition?" Aragorn asked quickly.
"Not in the last few hours."
"How long have I been out?"
"For most of the evening. It is nearing the hour of nine, and the storm still rages on," Elladan said as he looked out the window near where he stood.
The three stood in the side room just outside of the chamber in quiet contemplation. There was little to be said and what Aragorn might have tried to say would be battered down by the throbbing headache that had now raged in his mind.
The chamber door was securely closed, but one could still hear the scream that pierced the hallway and reached the ears of Aragorn much to his worry.
"They're harming her!" Aragorn yelled loudly as he stood once more with better balance. Without thinking, he ran out of the room and toward the direction of the chamber where Arwen was.
The twins were not far behind, and were much quicker than he which accounted for him not even having the chance to touch the handle to the door. Anger flared through his body and he began to shout for Arwen as loud as he could.
Inside the chamber, Arwen could hear the sound of her husband as he shouted loudly for her. A sense of longing grew inside of her, and during her period of short rest, she told one of the attendants to let him in; she wanted him to be with her.
On the other side of the door, Aragorn and the twins were most surprised to see the door open, and an attendant usher Aragorn inside.
"Arwen," Aragorn exclaimed as he rushed to ehr side.
"It hurts, Estel," Arwen whispered as a tear fell down her cheek. "It hurts so much."
Aragorn turned to one of the other women and asked if they had given her anything for the pain. When given an answer in the negative, he sighed loudly and walked over to a desk, pulling the drawer open and pulling out a box with several herbs inside.
Walking over to Arwen, he took one of the herbs out and placed it in her open mouth as she clutched at the sheets when her contractions had started once again.
"This should ease you," Aragorn said hopefully.
Arwen swallowed the herb quickly and rode out her contraction with Aragorn's hand held tightly in her own.
**********
In the small room where the twins had taken Aragorn after falling unconscious, they sat in silence. A book graced the hand of Elladan while Elrohir opted for a small book full of blank pages that he used for sketching pictures of Middle Earth.
"I'm not so sure that all of those screams are Arwen's," Elrohir remarked with an amused smile tugging at his lips.
"Yes, some do sound quite masculine. Perhaps Estel is giving birth also?" Elladan remarked, closing his book.
"No, Arwen is most assuredly scolding him for the situation she now faces. I hope that he will let us view the markings upon his skin later."
Elladan chuckled heartily to himself as he opened the book again, scanning for the page in which he had lost.
"Do you feel that?" Elrohir asked after several moments had passed.
"Feel what?"
"I have a feeling," Elrohir said while rising to his feet. "There's something coming."
Elladan followed suit and left the room with his brother to inspect what the problem was.
*********
a/n: thanks to all of you who review the first chapter. your comments are appreciated greatly and helped much in the writing of this chapter. much thanks to my betas (you know who you all are). don't forget or neglect to review and i'll be sure and get the next installment out soon!!