Disclaimer: …I'm definitely not as good as Tolkien…and who would *buy* this anyway?
A/N: OK, so I'm as bad at romance as I am at dialogue. What
do you want with me?? I'm doing the best I can…P ;-)
NINE CHAPTERS! WAHOOOO! ^.^ NINENINENINENINENINE!!!! Review!!!!!
And the romance begins…get ready for a sickly sweet chapter. And…REVIEW!!!
Chapter Nine: Even As Mine
After many hours of walking, the earth began to change, becoming rockier and hillier, more like to my homeland. The sun beat down upon us, and I began to tire. Eldarion's pace had slowed as well, and ahead of us lay a large field of grass, with a small creek bubbling through it. There was a thicket of blackberries growing by the stream, and after a few pricks it conceded some fruit, albeit reluctantly.
I sat by Eldarion, my hands full of the sweet sharp-tasting fruit. He took out a small packet of thin, light wafers. At my curious look, he smiled.
"'Tis lembas, the waybread of the Elves," he said, replying to my unspoken question, "and better travel fare I have yet to find."
I smiled back at him and replied, "Perhaps. But I would rather partake in such gifts as the trees give- at least until we reach the barren wastes. Then, I might yet repent, and ask more of your supplies than you would wish!"
He laughed, a deep, pleasant sound, then looked thoughtful.
"It was the gift of my mother…she is the only Elf left in Middle-earth now. I miss her, sometimes. She is beautiful, and good, the best Queen Middle-earth has seen since the days of Elendil, I think…soon I will need to choose a queen, for my father's scepter will grace my hand." His eyes were strangely bright as he looked at me. "My father saved Minas Tirith in the days of Darkness; he is the Healer, the one who holds Andúril the Sword that was Broken and is Reforged in one hand and the athelas kingsfoil in the other, with the star on his brow. He is loved as no other man, nor other ruler, by me no less than any- for I love him, as my father and as my King, the Man and the Elfstone; and I- I am not worthy to stand in his shadow! Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better to have parents who are less than stars out of legend, proud King and Queen the likes of which have not been seen since the days of Númenor!"
In his eyes was a terrible sadness and a longing that I had never seen before.
"Still, you are fortunate, more than you know- to have been raised by parents who love you and know you for who you are," I countered, for I had pain as well, and sometimes it seemed that my heart was afire with it.
His face softened, and he looked at me with a rather different expression in his eyes.
"It seems a terrible thing indeed, not to know your parents," he agreed. "Yet your mother is wise, and beautiful beyond measure. Know you even her name?"
This was a question I had been dreading. I had known Eldarion for but a short time, yet in some part of me I loved him already; but I did not know if he loved me, nor how he would react if he knew that I was half of the Valar, that he knew only as legend!
I sighed, resigning myself to telling him; let fate do as it will.
"My mother's name is Yavanna, called Kementari, of the Valar that wait beyond the Sundering Seas…"
I shut my eyes and rested my head in my hands, wondering what he would do. I heard a sharp intake of breath.
Then a gentle hand drew my face up, and Eldarion looked into my eyes, so intense it frightened me. He took my shaking hands in his own, and with a hand that shook slightly, he traced a line down my cheek.
"But you are flesh and blood, even as I am," he said, his voice tremulous with a trace of fear, and guarded excitement. "And your hands are even as my hands." So slowly I felt that time stood still for us in the silent field, the only sound the distant rushing of the brook, he drew a gentle finger over my closed eyes. "Your eyes see the same as mine do." Then he slid his finger down gently, so gently, until it reached my lips, and there it stopped. "And your lips…your lips are even as mine." He leaned forward, towards me, and kissed me; in his mouth I could taste blackberries, and a light, sweet flavor beyond my knowledge. I closed my eyes; the touch of his tongue on mine awakened a hunger I had never known.
There was a beauty in the touch of his lips on mine, and he moved his arms about me. Stars burst against my closed lids. And then I knew the pain of Arwen Undomiel, and the agony of choice that was her fate, and mine…
A/N: HAHAHAH! THEY KISSED!!! *frenetic happy dance* NINE CHAPTERS!!! …heh heh heh…nine chapters…heh heh heh…
