Part 74.
Once she was settled in Nallahir's saddle, Arwen seemed to relax, becoming more like her old self.
The six guards Aragorn had instructed to accompany them rode a distance back, so as not to intrude on the couple's privacy.
Throughout the morning they were greeted by people from Bree who bowed their head before Aragorn, and smiled happily as Arwen looked upon them.
She truly enjoyed the morning, taking several opportunities to join in with the children of Bree and play games with them. In Rivendell, and even in Lothlorien children, be they Elven or the sons of Men, were precious commodities seen rarely, but savored by all.
Flushed with happiness and exertion, Aragorn had never seen her look so beautiful. As he watched her, Arwen looked his way and waved, laughing as she missed catching the ball, before picking it up and throwing it back to one of the children.
Aragorn was watching the game so intently that he didn't hear Gandalf walk up beside him. "She is a wonderful Queen. The people everywhere will love her on sight for her beauty, then they will come to love her for her sweet, gentle nature and for her mirth."
"My life began the day I met her. I have never looked back. With such a light I have found it difficult to despair. I know why she was named the light of her people." Aragorn answered.
"Soon she will bring the heir of Gondor into this world." Gandalf mused.
"Not heir, heirs." Aragorn told him. "She is expecting two babies, not just one. A son and a daughter."
"My congratulations, my Lord." Gandalf said, "This is the first I have heard of it though."
"Arwen only told me several days ago."
"Go and enjoy yourself." Gandalf urged him, "Let your people see that you can be as jovial as your wife."
Aragorn nodded and called for Arwen to throw him the ball. The children clamored about his feet, and at once Aragorn realised why Arwen was enjoying the game so much.
Late afternoon found the pair of them reclining on a large rug spread out beneath an enormous willow tree, covering the rug with stripes of sunlight that had filtered through the ribbon-like leaves.
Aragorn lay on his side, while Arwen sat upright on her knees, and they talked for hours, discussing many things, such as the birth gifts they would give to the twins according to the Elven tradition, reforming ties with the other Free People of Middle Earth, and Arwen's plans for her own garden when they arrived home in Minas Tirith.
Finally Arwen laid on her back, looking up through the leaves, towards the sky. "Who do you think our children will look like?"
"Our daughter will have your beauty and grace, and love for everything that grows." Aragorn told her. "And our son will be like me, or perhaps like your brothers."
"Eager for sword fights and trouble?" Arwen asked him.
"Perhaps." Aragorn said, laying down beside her and taking her hand. "Only time will tell."
Arwen laughed and reached out to take his hand. "Look at us, Aragorn. Who could have been certain that we would end us this way?"
"You were, my love. Whenever I felt despair you pulled me through. The crown on my head is just as much, if not more yours than it is mine." He pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it.
Relaxed Arwen sat up. "We should head back to the Prancing Pony. Frodo should be awake now, and we will have to leave Bree and travel further West to the Shire."
Aragorn stood and helped Arwen to her feet. "You know that if you feel the last part of this journey will be too much for you Arwen, you can stay here in Bree until we return. We shall collect you and then ride South go Gondor."
"I will be fine Aragorn. Besides, I wish to see the Shire. I have heard much about it from Bilbo and Gandalf and the other hobbits. I want to go and look upon it for myself." Arwen told him as one of the guards folded up the rug they had been lying on and Aragorn helped her into Nallahir's saddle.
Part 75.
It was deep twilight before they reached the Prancing Pony, finding the others sitting down to a meal in the parlor.
"How was your day?" Legolas asked them, his earlier mischief vanished.
"We had a good time." Aragorn told him.
"You had a good time." Arwen said to her husband. "I thoroughly enjoyed myself." She sat down on one of the wooden benches, beside Aragorn. "There are so many children in Bree, it's not like Rivendell or Lothlorien where there are so few. They are everywhere. I was invited to join in with some of them in their games." She smiled happily.
"It does sound like you enjoyed yourself them, your Highness."
"Gandalf don't be silly. You have known me since I was an Elfling, with my friends I wish to be just Arwen. I do not need to be a Queen all of the time."
"Frodo is awake, and he says he's feeling much better." Sam told her.
"Good. He's stayed up in bed though?" She asked.
"Yes, Lady. He said he was feeling a little shaky on his legs." The hobbit answered.
"Well and good then. We shall be able to leave tomorrow." Aragorn nodded his head. "If we can leave early, we shall arrive in the Shire the day after tomorrow."
"We much reach the Shire by dusk tomorrow night, riding hard all through the day." Arwen told them, her voice distant and far away. "What have you seen Arwen?" Aragorn asked her.
"Haste is needed on our part. There is trouble in the Shire." She answered him. "I will go and look in on Frodo, then I will go to bed myself. I suggest you all do the same. We will need to start out early."
When Aragorn went up to bed Arwen was already sleeping soundly, a faint smile on her lips.
Aragorn leaned over and kissed her. "Sleep well, my love. I fear that you are right. Tomorrow will be a busy day." Then he laid down beside her, finding that sleep would not come to him.
From her deep sleep, Arwen projected a thought into his mind. *Sleep now my Lord. The worries of tomorrow are not the worries of tonight.* Aragorn held her hand gently in his own and fell asleep, one hand resting on Arwen's pregnant belly.
***********
Aragorn woke everyone before dawn the next morning, hustling them out of bed to prepare for the days labors.
Before the gray dawn crept over the horizon all stood about the stable yard, saddling horses and packing supplies. Arwen and Frodo were the last to leave the Inn, for Arwen checked his old wound once more and then guided him out of the door, after dosing him with an Elven tonic, and telling him firmly to say something if the wound bothered him once more.
Aragorn had them both helped to mount their horses and the Grey Company set off on the last leg of their long and tedious journey.
Part 76.
Arwen took no part in the talk that others tried to involve her in. Instead she spent the ride deep in thought. They rode hard, pressing the horses, who were well rested from their time spent in the warm stables of Bree. Nallahir ran strongly under his mistress, easily keeping stride with Brego, Arod and Gandalf's great white stallion, Shadowfax. The hobbits trailed, not far behind them, while around them rode the Rangers of the North, ever eager to serve their Chief and King.
The party made good time, arriving at what the hobbits called 'the Buckland Gates', before dusk was truly upon them, in spite of rain and foul weather that had beset them.
The four hobbits seemed surprised to see the gateway barred with tall, heavy gates, claiming that in the past the gates had been much more welcoming to travelers.
Using the hilt of his sword Pippin banged on the gates to rouse their keepers.
A voice called out from behind the gates, "You can come in now! Can't you read the sign, No admittance between sundown and sunrise."
"Well if it wasn't becoming so dark now I'd be able to find and read your notice wouldn't I?" Pippin answered. "And if hobbits of the Shire and their traveling companions are to be kept out of the Shire on this wet night, when I find your notice I'll tear it down!"
At this several hobbits came out of the watch house and stood before the gate.
Merry looked them over then spoke, "Come along! Hob Hayward, if you don't know me you should!" He cried.
"Why it's Master Merry! And Mr. Frodo and Master Pippin and old Sam Gamgee!" The hobbit exclaimed.
"Stop gaping at us then and open the gates you fool." Merry told him.
"Sorry young Master, but orders is orders. The Chief will have my hide if I do that." Hob answered him.
"Then I'll take his!" Pippin said exasperated.
"Hush now, you'd best not make too much noise or you'll wake the Chief's big man." Hob said quietly.
"Big man?" Aragorn asked, heeling Brego forward into the light.
Hob cringed at the sight of him and darted back against the gates.
"Be still Master Hobbit." Arwen told him gently. "We will not harm you or yours."
"These big folk are great friends of ours." Merry told him. "They have come to see if the Shire is all we said it was."
"It's not anymore-." Hob began, pausing as the big man he was afraid of came out.
"Who goes there?" The man called to them.
"I am called Strider, a Ranger of the North. I seek entrance to the Shire to return home some friends." Aragorn told him.
"Get out of here! Can't you read the sign!" He shouted at them.
"As well as you can," Aragorn told him. "But I take no heed of signs. I will enter the Shire with my companions tonight." He drew Anduril from it's Elven sheath. "Am I understood?"
The man nodded, a sallow expression on his face.
"Open the Gates." Pippin commanded him, watching as the man complied. "Now give me the keys, take yourself out of the Gates and never return here."
The man scuttled off into the night after lobbing the keys in a violent throw, which landed nowhere near Pippin.
The group urged their tired horses through the gates and into the Shire.
"Where can we stay for the remainder of the night?" Merry asked Hob. "You seemed to have pulled down the Bridge Inn."
"I'm sorry Mr. Merry, but it isn't allowed." Hob told him apologetically.
"What isn't allowed now man!" Merry asked him exasperated.
"Pulling folks up and eating extra food and the like." Hob answered.
"Come off it." Pippin told him. "We have food in our packs, and blankets as well. Just give us a place to lie in. It will be better than some of the places we have slept in since we left."
"I'm sorry Mr. Pippin, but I have Daffodil and my girls to think about." Hob told them, almost in tears.
"It's all right." Arwen told him reassuringly. "What if we rode further into the Shire?"
"That seems to be the best idea." Frodo answered her, taking pity on poor Hob. "There are friends who will take us in for the night."
"Come then." Aragorn told them. "Arwen are you sure you can ride further?"
"I will endure my love." She said to him, taking his hand in her own, with her soft leather riding gloves keeping her hands warm.
Once she was settled in Nallahir's saddle, Arwen seemed to relax, becoming more like her old self.
The six guards Aragorn had instructed to accompany them rode a distance back, so as not to intrude on the couple's privacy.
Throughout the morning they were greeted by people from Bree who bowed their head before Aragorn, and smiled happily as Arwen looked upon them.
She truly enjoyed the morning, taking several opportunities to join in with the children of Bree and play games with them. In Rivendell, and even in Lothlorien children, be they Elven or the sons of Men, were precious commodities seen rarely, but savored by all.
Flushed with happiness and exertion, Aragorn had never seen her look so beautiful. As he watched her, Arwen looked his way and waved, laughing as she missed catching the ball, before picking it up and throwing it back to one of the children.
Aragorn was watching the game so intently that he didn't hear Gandalf walk up beside him. "She is a wonderful Queen. The people everywhere will love her on sight for her beauty, then they will come to love her for her sweet, gentle nature and for her mirth."
"My life began the day I met her. I have never looked back. With such a light I have found it difficult to despair. I know why she was named the light of her people." Aragorn answered.
"Soon she will bring the heir of Gondor into this world." Gandalf mused.
"Not heir, heirs." Aragorn told him. "She is expecting two babies, not just one. A son and a daughter."
"My congratulations, my Lord." Gandalf said, "This is the first I have heard of it though."
"Arwen only told me several days ago."
"Go and enjoy yourself." Gandalf urged him, "Let your people see that you can be as jovial as your wife."
Aragorn nodded and called for Arwen to throw him the ball. The children clamored about his feet, and at once Aragorn realised why Arwen was enjoying the game so much.
Late afternoon found the pair of them reclining on a large rug spread out beneath an enormous willow tree, covering the rug with stripes of sunlight that had filtered through the ribbon-like leaves.
Aragorn lay on his side, while Arwen sat upright on her knees, and they talked for hours, discussing many things, such as the birth gifts they would give to the twins according to the Elven tradition, reforming ties with the other Free People of Middle Earth, and Arwen's plans for her own garden when they arrived home in Minas Tirith.
Finally Arwen laid on her back, looking up through the leaves, towards the sky. "Who do you think our children will look like?"
"Our daughter will have your beauty and grace, and love for everything that grows." Aragorn told her. "And our son will be like me, or perhaps like your brothers."
"Eager for sword fights and trouble?" Arwen asked him.
"Perhaps." Aragorn said, laying down beside her and taking her hand. "Only time will tell."
Arwen laughed and reached out to take his hand. "Look at us, Aragorn. Who could have been certain that we would end us this way?"
"You were, my love. Whenever I felt despair you pulled me through. The crown on my head is just as much, if not more yours than it is mine." He pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it.
Relaxed Arwen sat up. "We should head back to the Prancing Pony. Frodo should be awake now, and we will have to leave Bree and travel further West to the Shire."
Aragorn stood and helped Arwen to her feet. "You know that if you feel the last part of this journey will be too much for you Arwen, you can stay here in Bree until we return. We shall collect you and then ride South go Gondor."
"I will be fine Aragorn. Besides, I wish to see the Shire. I have heard much about it from Bilbo and Gandalf and the other hobbits. I want to go and look upon it for myself." Arwen told him as one of the guards folded up the rug they had been lying on and Aragorn helped her into Nallahir's saddle.
Part 75.
It was deep twilight before they reached the Prancing Pony, finding the others sitting down to a meal in the parlor.
"How was your day?" Legolas asked them, his earlier mischief vanished.
"We had a good time." Aragorn told him.
"You had a good time." Arwen said to her husband. "I thoroughly enjoyed myself." She sat down on one of the wooden benches, beside Aragorn. "There are so many children in Bree, it's not like Rivendell or Lothlorien where there are so few. They are everywhere. I was invited to join in with some of them in their games." She smiled happily.
"It does sound like you enjoyed yourself them, your Highness."
"Gandalf don't be silly. You have known me since I was an Elfling, with my friends I wish to be just Arwen. I do not need to be a Queen all of the time."
"Frodo is awake, and he says he's feeling much better." Sam told her.
"Good. He's stayed up in bed though?" She asked.
"Yes, Lady. He said he was feeling a little shaky on his legs." The hobbit answered.
"Well and good then. We shall be able to leave tomorrow." Aragorn nodded his head. "If we can leave early, we shall arrive in the Shire the day after tomorrow."
"We much reach the Shire by dusk tomorrow night, riding hard all through the day." Arwen told them, her voice distant and far away. "What have you seen Arwen?" Aragorn asked her.
"Haste is needed on our part. There is trouble in the Shire." She answered him. "I will go and look in on Frodo, then I will go to bed myself. I suggest you all do the same. We will need to start out early."
When Aragorn went up to bed Arwen was already sleeping soundly, a faint smile on her lips.
Aragorn leaned over and kissed her. "Sleep well, my love. I fear that you are right. Tomorrow will be a busy day." Then he laid down beside her, finding that sleep would not come to him.
From her deep sleep, Arwen projected a thought into his mind. *Sleep now my Lord. The worries of tomorrow are not the worries of tonight.* Aragorn held her hand gently in his own and fell asleep, one hand resting on Arwen's pregnant belly.
***********
Aragorn woke everyone before dawn the next morning, hustling them out of bed to prepare for the days labors.
Before the gray dawn crept over the horizon all stood about the stable yard, saddling horses and packing supplies. Arwen and Frodo were the last to leave the Inn, for Arwen checked his old wound once more and then guided him out of the door, after dosing him with an Elven tonic, and telling him firmly to say something if the wound bothered him once more.
Aragorn had them both helped to mount their horses and the Grey Company set off on the last leg of their long and tedious journey.
Part 76.
Arwen took no part in the talk that others tried to involve her in. Instead she spent the ride deep in thought. They rode hard, pressing the horses, who were well rested from their time spent in the warm stables of Bree. Nallahir ran strongly under his mistress, easily keeping stride with Brego, Arod and Gandalf's great white stallion, Shadowfax. The hobbits trailed, not far behind them, while around them rode the Rangers of the North, ever eager to serve their Chief and King.
The party made good time, arriving at what the hobbits called 'the Buckland Gates', before dusk was truly upon them, in spite of rain and foul weather that had beset them.
The four hobbits seemed surprised to see the gateway barred with tall, heavy gates, claiming that in the past the gates had been much more welcoming to travelers.
Using the hilt of his sword Pippin banged on the gates to rouse their keepers.
A voice called out from behind the gates, "You can come in now! Can't you read the sign, No admittance between sundown and sunrise."
"Well if it wasn't becoming so dark now I'd be able to find and read your notice wouldn't I?" Pippin answered. "And if hobbits of the Shire and their traveling companions are to be kept out of the Shire on this wet night, when I find your notice I'll tear it down!"
At this several hobbits came out of the watch house and stood before the gate.
Merry looked them over then spoke, "Come along! Hob Hayward, if you don't know me you should!" He cried.
"Why it's Master Merry! And Mr. Frodo and Master Pippin and old Sam Gamgee!" The hobbit exclaimed.
"Stop gaping at us then and open the gates you fool." Merry told him.
"Sorry young Master, but orders is orders. The Chief will have my hide if I do that." Hob answered him.
"Then I'll take his!" Pippin said exasperated.
"Hush now, you'd best not make too much noise or you'll wake the Chief's big man." Hob said quietly.
"Big man?" Aragorn asked, heeling Brego forward into the light.
Hob cringed at the sight of him and darted back against the gates.
"Be still Master Hobbit." Arwen told him gently. "We will not harm you or yours."
"These big folk are great friends of ours." Merry told him. "They have come to see if the Shire is all we said it was."
"It's not anymore-." Hob began, pausing as the big man he was afraid of came out.
"Who goes there?" The man called to them.
"I am called Strider, a Ranger of the North. I seek entrance to the Shire to return home some friends." Aragorn told him.
"Get out of here! Can't you read the sign!" He shouted at them.
"As well as you can," Aragorn told him. "But I take no heed of signs. I will enter the Shire with my companions tonight." He drew Anduril from it's Elven sheath. "Am I understood?"
The man nodded, a sallow expression on his face.
"Open the Gates." Pippin commanded him, watching as the man complied. "Now give me the keys, take yourself out of the Gates and never return here."
The man scuttled off into the night after lobbing the keys in a violent throw, which landed nowhere near Pippin.
The group urged their tired horses through the gates and into the Shire.
"Where can we stay for the remainder of the night?" Merry asked Hob. "You seemed to have pulled down the Bridge Inn."
"I'm sorry Mr. Merry, but it isn't allowed." Hob told him apologetically.
"What isn't allowed now man!" Merry asked him exasperated.
"Pulling folks up and eating extra food and the like." Hob answered.
"Come off it." Pippin told him. "We have food in our packs, and blankets as well. Just give us a place to lie in. It will be better than some of the places we have slept in since we left."
"I'm sorry Mr. Pippin, but I have Daffodil and my girls to think about." Hob told them, almost in tears.
"It's all right." Arwen told him reassuringly. "What if we rode further into the Shire?"
"That seems to be the best idea." Frodo answered her, taking pity on poor Hob. "There are friends who will take us in for the night."
"Come then." Aragorn told them. "Arwen are you sure you can ride further?"
"I will endure my love." She said to him, taking his hand in her own, with her soft leather riding gloves keeping her hands warm.