A Meeting of Lovers

Chapter four: Gentle Showers and Lonely Hearts

A gentle tap could be heard from behind the door and as it creaked open a lofty dark-skinned elf entered the room with a small parchment of paper in his right hand and goblet of mead in his left. The elf walked over to the bed and placed the goblet unto the side table drawer and with the same hand he gently brushed Aragorn's shoulder softly urging him to wake up. "Wake up young master" Aragorn did not move "Aragorn you must wake up" still Aragorn did not budge and the elf, beginning to lose his patience, roughly shrugged the man's shoulder causing him to unwillingly drop the parchment onto the floor, it then rolled under the bed and out of site.

"Young Aragorn, please wake up." The elf made his way towards the window and drew open the velvet red curtains. Light quickly filled the room and illuminated every dark corner.

Aragorn moaned and covered his eyes, trying to shield them from the light. "Good morning, what's with the rude awakening?"

"I am sorry Aragorn but I had to get you to wake up Lord Elrond wishes to see you before breakfast; he says that its important and that you are to go to him immediately."

Aragorn unwrapped himself from the embrace of the soft sheets, leaped off the bed and then tried to stand up straight, still a little sleepy from before.

"Thank you" Aragorn said rubbing his hand against his throat.

"I have left some mead for you on the side table, drink it in good health."

Once again Aragon thanked the elf graciously, then opened his closet and reached for dress attire suitable for breakfast. One thing that Aragorn had learned was that at every occasion in Rivendell one must dress respectable for it was an insult to every one to show up in scraps and rags. After a quick sip of mead Aragorn headed towards the main hall and found himself in the doorway in front of Lord Elrond's quarters. He stood there for a moment but for some strange reason couldn't bring himself to knock on the grand doors that lay before him. He wanted to knock, he had to knock, but he couldn't. It was as if something was holding him back, as if something was stopping him.

He couldn't do it he couldn't see Elrond. How could he see Lord Elrond when he had betrayed his daughter, betrayed her trust and at the same time betrayed his trust? He couldn't do it he couldn't see him but as he turned around and began to walk away the giant doors slowly opened and Elrond stepped out from behind them. He stood there, so regal so majestic. Elrond was an elf of great stature and still retained much of the build he had had over 6,000 years ago.

"Ah Aragorn, good morning."

That voice! It cracked its way into Aragorn's head and poked at his mind, such a strong and powerful voice. It was the voice of a leader, the voice of ruler loved by all but to Aragorn it was painful. To hear his voice would send goose bumps up and down his arm. That voice never failed to fill Aragorn's every being with guilt, never failed to remind him of his ill doings and his betrayal.

With all his strength Aragorn tried to speak but could only get out, "G-o-o- o-o m-i-i-i-i-rning."

Elrond tilted his head to the side in bemusement "Are you alright son?"

Son... he called him son.

"Yes sire, I am alright."

"Then step inside my quarters. I wish to have a word with you my son." Aragorn's heart began to quicken and as he stepped inside the bedroom his nervousness grew even more.

"Shut the door would you Aragorn?"

He turned to close the doors and then took a seat on one of the gold- painted Elven chairs. He tried to sit as far away from Elrond as possible.

"Aragorn I wish to speak with you about my daughter."

His daughter! This was it, it was over, and Elrond knew about his deceit and any moment now he would be asking him to leave Rivendell and never see his daughter again. His palms began to sweat and his heartbeat was so fast now that it felt as if his heart was about to pop clear out of his chest.

"My daughter loves you very much and she is very excited about the wedding but I fear there is something wrong"

He knows! I can't believe it he knows!

"I want to discuss with you the arrangements of the wedding, we have been so busy around here that we have completely forgotten to ask for your input. After all it is your wedding to, or is it not." That was it? He was so relieved but he still wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

"Umm i..i..it really doesn't matter. Anything that Arwen decides is fine with me.

"Alright then, if that is what you wish. You may proceed to breakfast now"

Aragorn quickly rose to his feet and left the room running back towards his bedroom where he could be alone. He reached his room and hurried to open the door. He ran inside, shut the door, and locked it tight. He then hurried to the window to shut the drapes.

The room was seemingly dark, it was quiet and Aragorn felt much better now that he was alone. It seemed now that the only time he felt truly at peace was when he was alone with himself. He walked towards the mirror and instead of seeing the strong independent man that he was, he saw someone who wasn't even worth marrying, someone not fit to be with such a fair woman as Arwen.

He stood there for a moment pondering empty thoughts. He titled his head and down at his clothes as if wondering what they were covering. Aragorn undid the buttons of his shirt then threw it unto the ground. His chest was bare. He placed his hand on his left pec and could feel his hard coarse nipple brushing up against his hand. He moved his hand over to his other nipple and gently rubbed it. Aragorn watched himself in the mirror and though he didn't like what he was seeing he continued to stroke himself gently gently.

His hands moved slowly down his body and reached his pants. Aragorn undid his pants and they fell to the floor exposing his most sensitive body element. At the moment he was completely uncovered but he didn't care. After all why should he care, he was alone and being naked was nothing to be ashamed of. He liked his body from his rock hard pecs to his muscled arms right down to his perfect abs. It was himself that he didn't like, his mind, his soul, his very being but he was very proud of his body. Soon he came to find himself heavy and could no longer support his body so he collapsed on the oversized Elven bed and laid there looking up at the ceiling, the ceiling which once had the enlightening colors and subtle beauty of the night sky but now seemed empty and meaningless much like him.

Aragorn tried to fall asleep but couldn't. There were too many things rushing through his mind, too many thoughts, worries, and qualms that seemed to fill his every moment with more grief. It was hot and though he wasn't wearing anything he began to sweat incessantly

The doorknob budged and Arwen called from the other side. "Aragorn are you alright."

He waited a while before answering but then spoke "Yes love I'm perfectly fine" How could he lie to her when the truth was that he wasn't fine, he was more tormented then he had ever been before in his life.

"Then why is the door locked? Open the door darling."

Aragorn quickly rose to his feet and slipped into a robe then walked to the door and unlocked it. He slowly turned the knob, trying to give himself time to prepare for more lies, and opened to the door.

Here she was, standing there in all her beauty, the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. The woman he loved with all of his heart and soul. The woman he's been lying to ever since his return from the quest for ring.

"Why weren't you at breakfast, love?"

"I guess I wasn't very hungry."

Arwen looked at him puzzled and placed her hand on his cheek and ran it down his face and unto his shoulder. "Alright but just don't make a habit of it. I don't want to have you starving yourself."

"I won't I promise."

Aragorn stepped out of the room and headed down the hall.

"Where are you going?"

Aragorn did not stop nor did he turn his head, he just said, "I feel mucked, I'm just going to take a short shower" and kept walking.

"Alright then" Arwen said but gave a look of dismay anyway.

* * * * *

The walk to the bathrooms was an unusually long one. He had not planned on taking a shower but for some reason he didn't feel like seeing Arwen now. He felt like being alone, alone with himself. He liked the solitude that he had inside his bedroom before Arwen interrupted him.

The sun had just reached its peak when Aragorn reached the bathrooms in the palace. Two large corridors separated the male and female bathrooms. A lightly colored pink feather signaled the entrance to the female bathroom and a plain white feather signaled the entrance the male bathroom. Aragorn entered the bathroom with dissent loathing the reason that he was here. After all he was here to escape from the pressures of his life, to escape from the lies, and from everyone who thought of him as an honorable man with good intentions.

The bathroom was empty, the stalls were vacant, and the showers were unfilled. No signs of life were visible anywhere. Aragorn was finally alone. This newfound solitude gave Aragorn a chance to notice the magnificent elegance of this Elven bathroom. This had been the most beautiful lavatory he had ever been in. The floors were spotless and shone as they reflected the light from the sun entering from the one solitary window in the room. The sinks were encrusted in pure marble and were surrounded completely by beautiful soaps and cleansing products arranged very neatly in a specific order. The stalls were clean and well taken care of and each shower was large enough to fit three full-size robust men.

Aragon let out a long sigh then undid his clothes and placed them neatly on the marble counter top. Then he stepped inside one of the shower stands and turned on the water. A gentle sprinkle fell upon Aragorn's body that relaxed his every muscle. The warm water was soothing and as each drop splashed up against his chest he felt a new found peace that he wished would last forever.

Cre..e..e..ak!

Aragorn stopped his motions to listen closer to the noise. Someone had entered the bathroom. He was no longer alone and felt his peace slowly slip away. Not thinking about it any further Aragorn continued with his shower hoping that whoever had come in would soon be leaving. He increased the pressure of the water and picked up a bar of soap that lay on the soap dish. It had been a long morning and all he wanted to do was stay there in that one shower stand all day.

Aragorn heard another creak and guessed that he still wasn't alone. Then he heard the sound of rushing water probably coming from one of the faucets on the sink. The sound of clothes hitting the floor reached Aragorn's ear and he figured that whoever was in the bathroom wanted to shower just as Aragorn was. He turned his head facing the wall in attempt to hide his face. Even though there was a shower curtain between him and the rest of the bathroom he still didn't want to be seen.

He heard the noise of curtains swooshing then quickly realized that it was his stand that was being invaded. Aragorn turned around and was surprised to see Arwen standing there as bare as he was.

"What are you.?"

Arwen placed her finger on Aragorn's lips and ran her other hand through Aragorn's thick radiant.

"I'm here for you. I want to be with you. I sense that you're troubled and I'm here to help you. I want to be here for you."

At that moment Aragorn was not thinking of his betrayal or his guilt all he thought of was how fortunate he was to have such an amazing woman in his life. He ran his hands down her slender back and grasped her shoulder blade pulling her closer to him. Their bodies joined together and as the water from the shower ran down their backs their hearts filled with sensual delights.

They moved slightly from side to side in an almost rhythmic motion as Arwen filled the silence with a low hum from an old Elvish song she had learned when she was just a young elf. Aragorn felt his soul uplifted as he listened to the comforting melody and ran his hands up and down Arwen's soft warm body. Somehow being alone didn't compare to what he was feeling now. He loved Arwen and for the moment he seemed to love himself also.