Title: "Retribution"
Synopsis: Betrayal and deception greet the King and Queen when they return from the North and Aragorn is torn by love and duty as his kingdom is thrust into a war against an unknown foe.
This is an AU story that does not follow the timeline of the book.
Rating: PG-13Spoilers: Takes place after Return of the King.
Pairing: Aragorn / Arwen.
Disclaimer: I'm not Tolkien. I don't own these characters. (darn!) I make no money. Done for fun.
Additional Info: Movie-verse.
First story in this series "Restless"
Second story in this series "Revenge"
Sequel to "Return"
The above can be found here:
The story will make more sense if read in the above order.
Archive: If you like, just tell me where.
WARNING: This story, after Chapter 5, will rapidly turn very angsty and depressing. There is a violent scene in Chapter _6_ that some readers may want to skip. This is your only warning…Flames will be deflected toward my pet Balrog - and we know how much they love fire…...
Retribution
"I can't believe they'd dare." Aragorn hissed as he glanced over the maps and scrolls lying in piles atop the bed. "Simply because I was inaccessible for several months?"
"Apparently customs in their country are quite different from ours. But I cannot help but think there is something else at work here. But the reasons for such a feeling elude me."
"And Ardhil's Rangers found nothing amis?" Aragorn asked, concerned. For if his kinsmen could find nothing, there was nothing to be found.
"No." Faramir frowned. "Which worries me even more."
Aragorn sighed. "Perhaps I need to speak with him."
Faramir nodded and added with a wry smile. " The Haradrim did not enjoy having to deal with me as your second. Nor did a few of your advisors."
Aragorn shot Faramir an amused grin. "Well they are rather stuck in their ways. I don't even want to know how upset they were when they found out that I was injured and not taking up the helm immediately upon my return."
"No. You don't." Faramir frowned. "Speaking of – when will you be back on your feet?"
Aragorn scowled. "Ioreth refuses to speak of it. 'When my body deems me ready' she says."
"She is a woman of riddles." Faramir chuckled. "Why, just think of the one she muttered for years before your return."
"Nearly rivals that of an elf." Aragorn chuckled and then returned to the scrolls.
After a few more hours, and more than a few visitors, Ioreth walked in, eyes hard as stone.
"You will all leave the King this instant." She began to gather the scrolls even as the King was reading, lifting them out of his hands and placing them in a wicker basket she'd brought into the room with her. "How is he supposed to get well if you are sequestered in here worrying him with matters of state? He needs his rest."
"Ioreth-" Aragorn began but the woman shot him such a nasty look that even the King of the West had to take pause and snap his mouth shut.
"It can wait." Ioreth answered. She finished gathering all of the work Faramir, Imrahil and the generals had brought and shoved the basket into Faramir's hands. "You may have four hours with him per day. Two in the morning, two in the afternoon. No more."
Faramir blinked and when Imrahil and the captain of Gondor's guard returned with more parchment, Ioreth gasped in horror. "No more work. Out, all of you. Remove your hides from this room or I will do it for you." She turned to set a mug of medicated tea to the King's lips. "From Lord Celeborn, my Liege. His solutions appear to be having a greater effect than anything I could possibly concoct. Even that annoying Chamberlain of yours has deferred the brewing of medicinal tea to Lord Celeborn."
Aragorn chuckled and took a few sips, wincing as the steaming liquid burned a fiery path down his throat. "You'll have to thank him for me." Aragorn wrinkled his nose and took another sip, knowing that if he delayed more than a few minutes, Ioreth would tip his head and force the liquid down his throat.
Ioreth smiled smugly.
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Within a few more weeks, Aragorn was able to stand and walk on his own. He was allowed to return to his own chambers, and his own bed, but continued to be under the constant care and watch of Ioreth.
Aragorn was more than annoyed with the woman as the weeks passed and she continued to hint strongly about holding back any marital urges he might feel while he and his wife healed. The King couldn't decide if he should be embarrassed or angry. The woman was becoming nearly as bad as his Chamberlain – who, thankfully, had returned to his duties upon returning to the City and was now mostly out of Aragorn's hair.
Arwen was already in bed when Aragorn arrived and the silence that hung between them was nearly more than Aragorn could take. Since they had returned, he had been sequestered either in the Houses of healing or in his chambers, meeting with war leaders and anyone necessary to see to it that Gondor did not go into an impending war with Harad blind. Arwen had nearly been forgotten in the tumultuous events of the past weeks and Aragorn felt a stab of regret that he had not the time to spend with her.
Elladan and Elrohir, as well as Celeborn had spent all their time with Arwen, and they reported to Aragorn daily on her progress. Her body had healed well enough but her spirit and her mind had not yet recovered from the violent loss of her babe.
The three elves had finally come to Aragorn and insisted he leave his office and seek out his wife. For at this moment, she needed him more than did Gondor or its governors.
Aragorn sat gingerly on the bed, careful that he did not twist the wrong way or
tear any of his healing muscles. When he reached out to rest a hand on Arwen's
shoulder, he could feel her tense at his touch. "Arwen?"
When he received no answer, Aragorn slid to her side of the large bed and lay behind her. He slowly rested his arm around her waist and pulled her back against his chest, breathing a sigh of relief when she did not try to twist out of his embrace. He had been so busy, he'd not had time to check on her as often as he would have liked and – he had to admit, it hurt to look at her because in her face he could see what they had lost. Now, with time to reflect, he knew that she saw the same when looking at him.
They had to get past this, and soon. If he marched to war, he had to know that she supported his decision.
"Indonya? Please look at me."
"Why Aragorn?"
Aragorn winced. It was not often she called him by his birthname. In court she called him Elessar, his crowned name, in private, it was Estel, his elvish name. Only when she was upset with him did she ever use his birth name. Well, Aragorn thought, she had every right to be angry
He took a deep breath and buried his bearded chin in her neck. "Because I love you. And we need to talk."
"We've needed to talk for a very long time." Arwen's voice was low and he could feel her begin to pull away. When she stood, ebony hair falling down her back like a silken wave, and walked into an adjoining room, Aragorn could not help but feel ashamed. His heart plummeted into his stomach as he watched candlelight flicker against the walls of the room, which had long ago been prepared as a nursery.
It had always been so. There had always been a room off the King's master bedchambers that stood ready to house the next heir. Aragorn had not set foot in the room since they'd returned to the City. Apparently, Arwen had.
He stood slowly and padded to the room. Standing in the doorway, he gasped at the things that filled the room that had stood very empty when they'd left for Annuminas. An elven crib rested in the center of the large chamber, one he recognized. An elven rocking chair rested against the wall and small things littered the room, all very elvish in design. Arwen had been busy. She had found something to occupy her time while her husband recovered and spent more time with his advisors than with his grieving wife.
So immersed in concern for his wife, he had not heard the pounding on the door or the soft elven footsteps as they made their way into the King's innermost chambers. Elladan and Elrohir hung in the doorway, watching carefully this exchange between husband and wife. They'd sent Aragorn to her but in hindsight they realized that it might be best for someone to be there to prevent their sister from rending her husband limb from limb.
Aragorn watched his wife carefully, before stepping closer to brush the back of her arm with a gentle touch of his hand. Her head snapped toward him, her eyes red and her cheeks wet with falling tears. As he opened his mouth to speak, she stepped away. "There are no words you can say to still my pain, Aragorn."
Aragorn closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, Arwen was holding a small toy he knew had to have been hers when she was a child. It was clear that she'd surrounded herself with immortal elven things to force away the very sting of mortal death. "There are no words to still pain such as this, Arwen."
His wife tilted her head and stared at him. "Pain such as this? How would you know? You've been far too busy, immersed yourself in your work, to even give this the smallest thought."
Elladan and Elrohir winced at her tone, knowing that Aragorn was in for a verbal lashing he did not deserve - mostly. Arwen had never once called him Aragorn, not in private, not even in public, not even when talking about him with another. Not until she'd lost her child. The twins prepared themselves to see their sister's elven temper flare. It would not be a pretty sight and they pitied the man that would be on the receiving end of her fury.
"You could not feel the child's very soul slipping away inside you. Helpless to do anything but lay there and pray to Elbereth not to take my baby!" Arwen was staring hard at him now and Celeborn, who had followed his grandsons, took a step in to defend the King, who had not yet attempted to defend himself.
"Our baby, Arwen." Aragorn said finally, halting Celeborn's steps with a half-raised hand.
"You'd have never known it by your inability to save him." Arwen snapped and turned away from her husband, cradling the toy in her arms as if it was a babe.
Aragorn bit back a gasp and closed his eyes. When he opened them there were tears pooling beneath the lids, ready to fall. "I would have given my life for him, Arwen." He wrapped his arms around her from behind, ignoring her movements to extricate herself from his embrace. "I would die for you." He whispered, dropping his face to her neck.
She could feel his tears drip down the bare skin, and it cooled her raging temper with the speed of an avalanche. While he had not been there in the last few weeks to help her through the pain and despair, she could not deny that he hurt as much as she at the loss of their babe. "I would have died for our baby," His hands slipped down to cradle her stomach. "You must know that I would do anything for you."
The twins stood silently, watching the exchange as Celeborn stepped back to join them.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here. I will make no excuses." Aragorn turned her around in his arms and gazed at her with such pain and longing in his eyes that Arwen couldn't help but sob. "It was easier to fall into concern about an impending war than to deal with the raging emotions that well in my heart whenever I think of what we've lost." He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
Arwen sobbed and tears dripped down her face. She made no effort to wipe them away. His hands immediately cupped her cheeks, thumbs wiping away the falling tears. "I love you. You are my heart, my life. I don't know what I would do without you. Please, Pl-"
A trembling finger came up to cover his lips and she leaned forward to press her lips to his. "I know you have more to worry about than a lost child, Estel. Impending war is nothing to ignore and I was wrong to think that I was more important than an entire Kingdom."
"That is where you are wrong," Aragorn's eyes hardened and he pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly. "I would give up this Kingdom for you. I would give up everything….and still it would not be enough. It would not equal what you have given me."
"You have given me your love." Arwen rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms tightly around his back. "That is all that I will ever need."
The twins and Celeborn quietly made their way out of the room. Secure in the knowledge that Arwen was not going to tear the King of the West limb from limb and feed what was left to the household animals.