standard disclaimers apply.
chapter two: Imladris
It was morning once again, Aragorn could feel the sunlight poking at his eyes. He stretched his length, feeling the sensation of warm skin in the bed next to him. His eyes still closed, he pulled the figure against his chest and held them there tightly.
"Will you sleep forever?" Arwen asked with a yawn. "Or will you have the good mind to rise and greet the day?"
Aragorn smiled and buried his face into the back of Arwen's neck, inhaling deeply the scent of her skin. She had always been intoxicating to him. Everything about her, and even then as they lay entwined together in bed, Aragorn could still feel his sanity slipping slowly away as he drowned in her essence.
"I choose not the day, but the nights and my time with you," Aragorn murmred.
"Well your time with me this morning will be short lived, for I have many things to attend to," Arwen said as she rolled out of bed.
Aragorn opened his eyes for the first time and watched Arwen walk out of the bedroom and into a large closet where it was presumed they kept their clothing. Then it came to Aragorn that this setting was not very right.
This room he was in was not his bed chamber in Minas Tirith. This was Arwen's bed chamber in Imladris. Panic swept over him and caused him to sit up sharply and look around. Everything was the same as it had been in Imladris many years before when the elves had still inhabited that part of Middle Earth.
Aragorn began to call on Arwen and ask her what was happening, but she was already back in the room and at his side, a concerned look on her face.
"Estel, what is it?" she asked as she placed a cool hand on his forehead. "You do not look well. You are very pale."
"This is not Minas Tirith," he said as his eyes scanned the room again.
"No, why should it be? The city of men is a world away from here," she explained.
"But we live in Minas Tirith," he said in a quivering voice. "What are we doing here?"
Arwen pressed a hand to Aragorn's chest and pushed him back onto the mattress, making sure he was comfortable. She ran her fingers through his hair, pushing a lock off of his forehead. Perhaps he was ill.
"Maybe you think you are dreaming," Arwen said with a small smile. "You need more time to wake up."
"Yes, maybe that is the case," Aragorn said in agreement. "Perhaps I will be along when I am more conscious."
Arwen nodded and leaned down, kissing his forehead and whispering that she loved him into his ear. She kissed the tip of his ear as well before standing and leaving the room, leaving Aragorn to his thoughts.
It was not much longer after that when Aragorn found himself throwing off the sheets and walking into the other room for clothing. He found nothing that resembled his ranger clothing or his kingly attire as he fingered through the garments. Everything was in the intricate style of the Grey- Elves of Rivendell; their long, flowy robes mixed with Arwen's dresses.
Aragorn shook his head and sighed before taking a green robe from its hanger and putting it on as he had seen his foster brothers Elladan and Elrohir do many times before. The elven clothing was always difficult to assemble correctly.
Once his dressing was complete he walked over to the window in the main bedchamber and looked out at the city of Imladris. It was just as he had remembered it from his days before becoming king. The leaves were golden and warm in color, some falling from their overcrowded branches to the stone paths below. Several elves walked along the walkways as they went about their business.
On a balcony several hundred feet away Aragorn saw Arwen standing with her father, Elrond. They were deep in conversation, their hand gestures wild as they spoke. Elrond looked up halfway through his speech and saw Aragorn standing at the window. The older elf waved hello to Aragorn, as did his daughter who smiled happily.
Aragorn smiled and waved back as Elrond and Arwen went about their conversation.
Looking around the room, Aragorn saw a mirror in the corner. Deciding that he must look something dreadful, he walked over to the mirror and gasped at what he saw.
Instead of his normal rugged appearance, he was surprised to see that his skin was without lines or anything obstructing. None of his former scars were visible. And then there was his hair. It wasn't the shoulder length that he had always kept it. It was instead halfway down his back, the locks shimmering and soft like he had always known elven hair to be. Elven.
Aragorn took a deep breath. Nothing was making any sense to him on this morning. Not only had he woken up in Imladris, but he had woken up with the feeling that something was very wrong. He didn't feel at all like himself. It was as if he were in another body. And all signs in the mirror so far pointed to one thing that he was becoming more and more certain of.
Aragorn lifted his hand from his side and brought it to his hair. Closing his eyes he pulled the locks on one side back, tucking them behind his ear. When he opened his eyes again, his thoughts were confirmed to be true. He had every characteristic of the elves. Ears included.
Thoughts roamed back to the night before when he had laid in his bed in Minas Tirith with Arwen at his side. He had been so selfish his entire life as to want elven heritage, especially that previous night, and wishful thinking had gotten him exactly what he always wanted deep inside.
A smile lit his face as he glanced again into the mirror, happy to see his reflection.
The door opened and Arwen peered inside, glad to see that he was awake and smiling. Aragorn rushed over to his wife and lifted her from the ground, twirling her about in a large circle before placing her back onto the floor, but close within the confines of his arms. He touched her face gently and brought it to his, kissing her deeply good morning.
"I am glad to see that you are in better spirits. I thought your mind had gone when you began talking of the cities of men this morning," Arwen said with laughter.
"Yes, I do not know what I was thinking."
"Well you are well now, and I need not bother myself with my duties this minute, so shall we take a walk and enjoy the splendor of the season?" Arwen asked as she took a step toward the door.
"Yes, that sounds wonderful."
Arwen took Aragorn's hand and lead him out of the bed chamber and into the city of Imladris. Together they walked in the shade of the trees, Aragorn's new elven senses bringing him amusement and happiness. Although raised by elves, he had never thought that their senses were as good as the ones he was experiencing for the first time. Every sound was amplified, and every sight seemed clearer. Walking became instantly more graceful for him, and he felt powerful.
The elves of the city greeted he and Arwen good day as they passed, and it was as if he hadn't just arrived that morning. They all seemed to know him better than he knew himself, and that was distressing.
Thankfully Arwen hadn't asked any questions, for what would he do if he should not know the answer? But there were also questions that he should have liked the answers to, but no way of asking them without giving away the fact that he knew nothing.
"I suppose you have not heard the news of the day," Arwen said as they walked.
"No, I have not."
"We have guests in the city. They arrived this morning before you or I awoke."
"Oh?"
"There is to be a feast in their honor, since we have not had visitors of men in the city for many years."
"Let us celebrate."
Halfway through the day while Arwen went about her personal duties Aragorn sat in the elven library with many books in front of him. He was going through historical documents and family lineage to try and find any sign of parentage in ths version of his life. He was interrupted by the clearing of a throat that belonged to his father in law.
"Many a day have I found you sitting in this exact spot with book upon book on the table in front of you. Tell me, my son, do you still seek to find records of your parents?"
Aragorn nodded once and closed the book in front of him.
"Estel, you should not dwell on bothersome troubles of the past. Your parents are gone. They have not come back for you in the three thousand years you have been in my care, and they will not come back for you in three thousand years to come."
"Tell me again how I came to be in your care," Aragorn said quietly, hoping that Elrond would elaborate on the subject.
Elrond walked forward into the library. He took the seat across the table from Aragorn and sat with his hands clasped together.
"The weather that day was harsh," Elrond said thoughtfully. "I had just come in from a long journey to Lothlórien when I heard the sound of a crying child in the path ahead. The rains were becoming heavier and heavier so I stopped and found you laying in a basket."
Elrond smiled at the memory as he looked at Aragorn sitting in front of him.
"Celebrían fell in love with you from the moment I carried you in the door. I was more skeptical since we already had Elladan and Elrohir to look after since they were still young and troublesome. But she insisted on keeping you as one of our own."
"I miss her," Aragorn said softly. Although in his man life he had never known Celebrían, memories of her came flooding through his mind in his elf life. It was as if he had been there all along; the emotion took over him.
"I am sure she misses you," Elrond replied. "One of these days we shall all travel to the Grey Havens and be reunited."
"I long for the day."
There was a quiet moment between the two as they sat with their own thoughts before interruption came to stir them. Arwen stood in the doorway of the library, reguarding each with silent amusement.
"Hardly do I ever see the both of you in the same room as quiet as I find you now," she said.
"Perhaps you always intrude at the wrong moments?" Aragorn said with a smirk.
"Intrusion?" Arwen asked in disbelief.
Elrond chuckled from the side as he stood. Walking past his daughter in the doorway he stopped to kiss her cheek lightly and give her words of love before leaving.
Arwen walked around to stand behind Aragorn, wrapping her arms about his neck. She kissed him many times on the cheek before he turned to capture her lips, the familiar sweet feeling of them sending tingles up his spine.
"You know not what effect you have on me," Aragorn said breathlessly.
"It is not hard to see," Arwen said smirking.
Aragorn looked away in defeat as Arwen had won that battle of wit.
"Then perhaps you have a remedy for this effect?" Aragorn asked hopefully.
"I am the daughter of a very skilled healer," Arwen replied while giving Aragorn her hand as he stood. "So perhaps I can solve the problem."
Aragorn laughed heartily as he was lead out of the library and into their bed chamber for a small bit of pleasure before their presence was requested at a banquet that evening. It was to be a grand occasion to honor guests that had arrived in Imladris from Minas Tirith that day.
a/n: thanks for reviews for chapter one. they helped a lot in writing. and thanks to my betas. sorry about any typos or things that don't make sense. correc them for me. don't forget to review this chap!!!
chapter two: Imladris
It was morning once again, Aragorn could feel the sunlight poking at his eyes. He stretched his length, feeling the sensation of warm skin in the bed next to him. His eyes still closed, he pulled the figure against his chest and held them there tightly.
"Will you sleep forever?" Arwen asked with a yawn. "Or will you have the good mind to rise and greet the day?"
Aragorn smiled and buried his face into the back of Arwen's neck, inhaling deeply the scent of her skin. She had always been intoxicating to him. Everything about her, and even then as they lay entwined together in bed, Aragorn could still feel his sanity slipping slowly away as he drowned in her essence.
"I choose not the day, but the nights and my time with you," Aragorn murmred.
"Well your time with me this morning will be short lived, for I have many things to attend to," Arwen said as she rolled out of bed.
Aragorn opened his eyes for the first time and watched Arwen walk out of the bedroom and into a large closet where it was presumed they kept their clothing. Then it came to Aragorn that this setting was not very right.
This room he was in was not his bed chamber in Minas Tirith. This was Arwen's bed chamber in Imladris. Panic swept over him and caused him to sit up sharply and look around. Everything was the same as it had been in Imladris many years before when the elves had still inhabited that part of Middle Earth.
Aragorn began to call on Arwen and ask her what was happening, but she was already back in the room and at his side, a concerned look on her face.
"Estel, what is it?" she asked as she placed a cool hand on his forehead. "You do not look well. You are very pale."
"This is not Minas Tirith," he said as his eyes scanned the room again.
"No, why should it be? The city of men is a world away from here," she explained.
"But we live in Minas Tirith," he said in a quivering voice. "What are we doing here?"
Arwen pressed a hand to Aragorn's chest and pushed him back onto the mattress, making sure he was comfortable. She ran her fingers through his hair, pushing a lock off of his forehead. Perhaps he was ill.
"Maybe you think you are dreaming," Arwen said with a small smile. "You need more time to wake up."
"Yes, maybe that is the case," Aragorn said in agreement. "Perhaps I will be along when I am more conscious."
Arwen nodded and leaned down, kissing his forehead and whispering that she loved him into his ear. She kissed the tip of his ear as well before standing and leaving the room, leaving Aragorn to his thoughts.
It was not much longer after that when Aragorn found himself throwing off the sheets and walking into the other room for clothing. He found nothing that resembled his ranger clothing or his kingly attire as he fingered through the garments. Everything was in the intricate style of the Grey- Elves of Rivendell; their long, flowy robes mixed with Arwen's dresses.
Aragorn shook his head and sighed before taking a green robe from its hanger and putting it on as he had seen his foster brothers Elladan and Elrohir do many times before. The elven clothing was always difficult to assemble correctly.
Once his dressing was complete he walked over to the window in the main bedchamber and looked out at the city of Imladris. It was just as he had remembered it from his days before becoming king. The leaves were golden and warm in color, some falling from their overcrowded branches to the stone paths below. Several elves walked along the walkways as they went about their business.
On a balcony several hundred feet away Aragorn saw Arwen standing with her father, Elrond. They were deep in conversation, their hand gestures wild as they spoke. Elrond looked up halfway through his speech and saw Aragorn standing at the window. The older elf waved hello to Aragorn, as did his daughter who smiled happily.
Aragorn smiled and waved back as Elrond and Arwen went about their conversation.
Looking around the room, Aragorn saw a mirror in the corner. Deciding that he must look something dreadful, he walked over to the mirror and gasped at what he saw.
Instead of his normal rugged appearance, he was surprised to see that his skin was without lines or anything obstructing. None of his former scars were visible. And then there was his hair. It wasn't the shoulder length that he had always kept it. It was instead halfway down his back, the locks shimmering and soft like he had always known elven hair to be. Elven.
Aragorn took a deep breath. Nothing was making any sense to him on this morning. Not only had he woken up in Imladris, but he had woken up with the feeling that something was very wrong. He didn't feel at all like himself. It was as if he were in another body. And all signs in the mirror so far pointed to one thing that he was becoming more and more certain of.
Aragorn lifted his hand from his side and brought it to his hair. Closing his eyes he pulled the locks on one side back, tucking them behind his ear. When he opened his eyes again, his thoughts were confirmed to be true. He had every characteristic of the elves. Ears included.
Thoughts roamed back to the night before when he had laid in his bed in Minas Tirith with Arwen at his side. He had been so selfish his entire life as to want elven heritage, especially that previous night, and wishful thinking had gotten him exactly what he always wanted deep inside.
A smile lit his face as he glanced again into the mirror, happy to see his reflection.
The door opened and Arwen peered inside, glad to see that he was awake and smiling. Aragorn rushed over to his wife and lifted her from the ground, twirling her about in a large circle before placing her back onto the floor, but close within the confines of his arms. He touched her face gently and brought it to his, kissing her deeply good morning.
"I am glad to see that you are in better spirits. I thought your mind had gone when you began talking of the cities of men this morning," Arwen said with laughter.
"Yes, I do not know what I was thinking."
"Well you are well now, and I need not bother myself with my duties this minute, so shall we take a walk and enjoy the splendor of the season?" Arwen asked as she took a step toward the door.
"Yes, that sounds wonderful."
Arwen took Aragorn's hand and lead him out of the bed chamber and into the city of Imladris. Together they walked in the shade of the trees, Aragorn's new elven senses bringing him amusement and happiness. Although raised by elves, he had never thought that their senses were as good as the ones he was experiencing for the first time. Every sound was amplified, and every sight seemed clearer. Walking became instantly more graceful for him, and he felt powerful.
The elves of the city greeted he and Arwen good day as they passed, and it was as if he hadn't just arrived that morning. They all seemed to know him better than he knew himself, and that was distressing.
Thankfully Arwen hadn't asked any questions, for what would he do if he should not know the answer? But there were also questions that he should have liked the answers to, but no way of asking them without giving away the fact that he knew nothing.
"I suppose you have not heard the news of the day," Arwen said as they walked.
"No, I have not."
"We have guests in the city. They arrived this morning before you or I awoke."
"Oh?"
"There is to be a feast in their honor, since we have not had visitors of men in the city for many years."
"Let us celebrate."
Halfway through the day while Arwen went about her personal duties Aragorn sat in the elven library with many books in front of him. He was going through historical documents and family lineage to try and find any sign of parentage in ths version of his life. He was interrupted by the clearing of a throat that belonged to his father in law.
"Many a day have I found you sitting in this exact spot with book upon book on the table in front of you. Tell me, my son, do you still seek to find records of your parents?"
Aragorn nodded once and closed the book in front of him.
"Estel, you should not dwell on bothersome troubles of the past. Your parents are gone. They have not come back for you in the three thousand years you have been in my care, and they will not come back for you in three thousand years to come."
"Tell me again how I came to be in your care," Aragorn said quietly, hoping that Elrond would elaborate on the subject.
Elrond walked forward into the library. He took the seat across the table from Aragorn and sat with his hands clasped together.
"The weather that day was harsh," Elrond said thoughtfully. "I had just come in from a long journey to Lothlórien when I heard the sound of a crying child in the path ahead. The rains were becoming heavier and heavier so I stopped and found you laying in a basket."
Elrond smiled at the memory as he looked at Aragorn sitting in front of him.
"Celebrían fell in love with you from the moment I carried you in the door. I was more skeptical since we already had Elladan and Elrohir to look after since they were still young and troublesome. But she insisted on keeping you as one of our own."
"I miss her," Aragorn said softly. Although in his man life he had never known Celebrían, memories of her came flooding through his mind in his elf life. It was as if he had been there all along; the emotion took over him.
"I am sure she misses you," Elrond replied. "One of these days we shall all travel to the Grey Havens and be reunited."
"I long for the day."
There was a quiet moment between the two as they sat with their own thoughts before interruption came to stir them. Arwen stood in the doorway of the library, reguarding each with silent amusement.
"Hardly do I ever see the both of you in the same room as quiet as I find you now," she said.
"Perhaps you always intrude at the wrong moments?" Aragorn said with a smirk.
"Intrusion?" Arwen asked in disbelief.
Elrond chuckled from the side as he stood. Walking past his daughter in the doorway he stopped to kiss her cheek lightly and give her words of love before leaving.
Arwen walked around to stand behind Aragorn, wrapping her arms about his neck. She kissed him many times on the cheek before he turned to capture her lips, the familiar sweet feeling of them sending tingles up his spine.
"You know not what effect you have on me," Aragorn said breathlessly.
"It is not hard to see," Arwen said smirking.
Aragorn looked away in defeat as Arwen had won that battle of wit.
"Then perhaps you have a remedy for this effect?" Aragorn asked hopefully.
"I am the daughter of a very skilled healer," Arwen replied while giving Aragorn her hand as he stood. "So perhaps I can solve the problem."
Aragorn laughed heartily as he was lead out of the library and into their bed chamber for a small bit of pleasure before their presence was requested at a banquet that evening. It was to be a grand occasion to honor guests that had arrived in Imladris from Minas Tirith that day.
a/n: thanks for reviews for chapter one. they helped a lot in writing. and thanks to my betas. sorry about any typos or things that don't make sense. correc them for me. don't forget to review this chap!!!