Aragorn slept deeply that night. But even though his body would have
seemed at rest to his mind was raging. Ever since the events of a year
ago, his dreams had been filled with the sight of abandoned battlefields.
This particular dream was one recurring image that dogged him almost nightly. He was walking over beautiful green grass, and then wading knee deep in a clean, clear river. He lowered a hand to drink from its crystal depths. As he sipped the water it tasted foul. The water was blood. He spluttered at waded for the shore, to get out of the river of red blood. But the shore got further and further away, and the blood deeper and deeper. Eventually he was waist deep in it.
He grabbed hold of a log to help him float, and then realised that he was holding no log, but the body of Legolas. Bruised, cut and limp.
"Legolas, my friend!" He gasped, shaking the lifeless body. The beautiful sad eyes gazed up at him, unseeing, unknowing, and just dead. He dropped the body as if it were a hot iron, and reached for another log. The face of Gandalf stared up at him, dead.
Each log he turned over was actually one of his friends. And then he reached one log, and found it to be Arwen.
"No!" He shrieked, clutching her to him and crying. "There must be another way."
He looked upstream and saw a band of orcs clutching Elrond Halfelven in their grasps. Aragorn watched helplessly as they cut his throat and the elf fell into the river of blood. As the body floated past him, another victim was already being murdered by the orcs. It was Lord Celeborn of Lothlorien, and behind him Galadriel waited her death.
"Don't kill them, you bastards!" He screamed at the orcs. The orcs just looked at him and laughed.
"We can't stop it, Aragorn." One shouted. "You started all this when you killed out kind. The blood that flows around you is blood you have split from our kin. You cannot stop the river. You cannot bring back the orcs you slew. Therefore you cannot save your friends!"
As Aragorn began to cry for the lost souls of his friends, hands began emerging from the blood. The arms of orcs long dead by his sword now began pulling him under the surface.
"No!!!!!!" He screamed. "No! Noooooooooooooooooooo..!"
He woke with a start. The realised that it wasn't just his scream that reverberated around the castle. Another scream of pain came from close by.
"Arwen!" He gasped, jumping out of bed and running down the hallway. All around him was a hive of activity. He rushed to the door of Arwen's room, where Faramir was standing.
"My Lord!" He said, stopping Aragorn's headlong dash and holding back. "Where were you? We searched everywhere for you to tell you. Arwen has gone into labour."
"I was in one of the guest rooms." He said quickly. "How is she? Let me in, I wish to see her."
"She has not long had contractions." Faramir said, opening the door. Arwen lay on the bed. Sweat dripped from her forehead and her face was contorted into a grimace as she endured another contraction. Aragorn was at he side in a moment.
"I'm here." He said, gripping her hand and kissing it. "I'm here."
Her contraction died away and she gasped for breath. "I knew you would come." She whispered. She laid her head back on the pillow and panted for lost breath.
Aragorn stayed by her side, lending her support as the contraction came harder and faster. After a while, he began to get in the way of the bustling midwives and doctors.
"Please my lord." One said. "Would you kindly move aside?"
"Come away Aragorn." Faramir pleaded. "Won't you heed the tradition that the king is not present for the birth of his child?"
"I want to be there for her." Aragorn said desperately.
"You shall be." Arwen said. "In spirit." She then screamed again as another contraction wracked her exhausted body.
"Come my Lord." Faramir said, leading a reluctant Aragorn away. "You have heard the myth that if the King is present at the birth, then the child shall be blighted in life. Would you risk the health and safety of your child?"
"It is mere superstition." Aragorn said.
"Then it may have some basis in truth." Faramir said kindly, shutting the door behind them and leading Aragorn into a room down the hallway. The room was decorated sparsely, and a round table and chairs sat in the middle. Faramir seated himself at one of these, but Aragorn went to the window and watched the rising sun, trying to ignore the commotion that was taking place a few rooms down.
He must have been quite successful in blocking out the noise, otherwise he would have noticed the urgent tones in which the doctors spoke, or the hurried and frenzied way the matrons and midwives carried out the requests of the head physician. Faramir noticed, but said nothing, not wishing to worry his king unnecessarily.
Meanwhile, the other members of the fellowship were up to their own business.
Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin laughed and jostled around a large dinning table laden with food. Pippin threw a bread roll and Merry, hitting him over the head. Merry hurled the hot soup at Pippin, but missed and hit Sam. Sam yelled in surprise and Frodo could not stop laughing.
Gimli sat in his chambers, looking forlornly at his axe, which hung in pride of place on the wall. It had been so long since they had had an adventure, and he was getting bored of the every day mundane life.
Legolas let another arrow whiz through the air and hit the target, dead on centre. The huddled of elf maidens of Mirkwood who had gathered to watch the prince practise clapped and cheered. Ignoring them, Legolas aimed another arrow.
Gandalf slowed his horse to a walk as they approached Minas Tirith. He knew that Arwen was due to give birth any day now, and knew that Aragorn would be trying to contact him. He was only two days ride from where he knew Aragorn to be staying, and thought he would surprise him by turning up on his doorstep. He urged Shadowfax into a gentle canter as they crossed the vast open plain, heading towards the city of Osgiliarth.
One of the midwives entered the room. Faramir jumped up to greet the news, and Aragorn walked quickly over to the doorway.
"Well?" He asked.
"Congratulations my Lord." The woman said, in an unreadable voice. "You are the proud father or a beautiful, healthy son."
Aragorn smiled heartily and sighed. "And my wife, she is recovering?" The woman looked down and a tear fell from her cheek. The smile on Aragorn's face faltered. "How is she?" He repeated. The woman shook her head and stepped aside. Aragorn bolted from the room and raced down the corridor, Faramir following him. He pushed past doctors who walked away from the room; some comforting teary-eyed servants and nurses.
He barged into the room stopped in the doorway. He took in the sight before him. One nursed wrapped the crying baby in clean cloths and walked towards Aragorn.
"Your son, my lord." She said, bowing and presenting the child to Aragorn. Aragorn pushed her aside and walked slowly towards the bed.
"Take it to the nursery." Faramir said gently to the nurse. "See that it gets proper attention." The nurse nodded and left.
The last two doctors were packing up their equipment, and one nurse was folding up some blood stained sheets and towels. Arwen lay on the white bed, covered in sweat and her white dress stained with blood. Her face was pale. Deadly white.
"No." Aragorn whispered. "It can not be." He rushed over to the bed and flung himself next to her. He took her limp corpse in his arms and held its cold form tightly against him. "No."
One doctor came over and tried to comfort him by placing one hand on his shoulder.
"Leave us!" Aragorn shouted. The doctor backed away and walked over to Faramir.
"What?" Faramir asked faintly. "What happened?"
"Unseen complications." The doctor said sadly. "The child was breach birth. There was internal haemorrhaging and bleeding. We could not staunch the flow. We could only save the child." He sighed and blinked back a tear. "I am sorry we could not do more."
"Could you not save her?" Faramir asked as the other doctor and nurse left the room.
"We tried sir, goodness knows how hard we tried. But we could do no more. It came to a point when we realised that both mother and child could die, and then we just tried to save the child, the mother's life was a lost cause." The doctor sighed again. "The child must be cared for carefully. The midwife knows what to do. And we shall call in an expert from the north. She specialises in children when the mother." He stopped and took a deep breath. "When the mother has died." He finished. He left, taking his things with him.
"Aragorn." Faramir said softly, walking over to him.
"Leave us!" Aragorn shouted. He did not look at Faramir nor let go of his wife's body.
"But."
"LEAVE US!" He shouted. Faramir nodded and back out of the door. One of the head servants waited for orders from him.
He closed the door and turned to the servant. "Spread the news." He said gravely. "The queen is dead. The country is in mourning. Spread the word. A prince has been born, the country is rejoicing."
"Sir?" The servant asked, not understanding how both orders could possibly be followed at the same time.
"Let the people be happy that the heir is born, and be sad for they have lost the most beautiful queen in Gondor's history." Faramir ordered. "Flags shall be flown at half mast. Prepare the black horses for the funeral procession. Then send word that white horses should be sent for the christening. The country must organise celebrations and be in mourning. So happy yet sad a day has not been seen in Gondor, and should never been seen again."
"Aye sir." The servant bowed and left. Faramir spoke to another servant.
"Leave the King alone with his wife for now." He said. "He must mourn her death in his own way. Send messages to the furthest corners of Middle- earth. Tell them of our glad tidings and deep loss. All who need to know must know."
He turned to yet another waiting servant. "Send a special envoy by eagle to Rivendell. Elrond must be told of his daughter's death in person, before he hears it by word-of-mouth."
He made his way to the nursery and looked as a nurse laid the child in its cot. "Nurse." He said. "Take care of the child for now. Without a mother, this prince must be mothered by all the nurses in Gondor. The king will see his son before the sun sets, and then it will be decided what is to be done about its upbringing."
"Yes sir." The nurse sighed, another tear rolling down her face for the loss of her queen.
Faramir waked outside and looked over Gondor. Already people were mourning in the streets. The sun had barely risen.
"The sun rises on a new day." He sighed. "Life has been given, and life has been taken away. Gondor must mourn a death, and rejoice in a life. And Aragorn must face a life without his other half."
Aragorn laid beside his wife, not letting her go. He cried until he could cry no more. Then he slept beside her. When he awoke he saw her deathly white face and unseeing eyes, and cried again. He was inconsolable, and would not come away from her deathbed. He would not even see or acknowledge the tiny being that was his son.
"Take it away!" He shouted. "Take away the evil being that killed my wife. It is a murderer, let it hang!"
AN - sorry I had to break the story up there, but you will see why I had to do that much later. Read and review please. By the way, what symbols should I use before speech to signify that they are speaking in elvish? Whatever I try doesn't seem to work properly! Any suggestions?
Response to reviewers:
ParaKeet007 - yay my first reviewer! Hope you review more and like ths tory as it progresses!
Lady Serensa Pharodel - here is a LOT more to be getting on with, and I'm already half way through the next chapter!
Fay*Evenstar - Glad you like! *-* I'll keep writing, don't worry!
Moose Head - (cool name) I know that Arwen goes on to have other children, you will just have to keep reading to find out how she manages this. Can't say any more now or it will spoil the fun.
ShawThang - Thanks, I appreciate the fact that you like my writing, hope this chapter met your expectations.
Sheree - Glad you liked it, I am also addicted to smiley faces! ^-^
Well guys keep reviewing, I promise to respond to all reviews I receive. Hopefully next time I will have even more reviews to reply to!
This particular dream was one recurring image that dogged him almost nightly. He was walking over beautiful green grass, and then wading knee deep in a clean, clear river. He lowered a hand to drink from its crystal depths. As he sipped the water it tasted foul. The water was blood. He spluttered at waded for the shore, to get out of the river of red blood. But the shore got further and further away, and the blood deeper and deeper. Eventually he was waist deep in it.
He grabbed hold of a log to help him float, and then realised that he was holding no log, but the body of Legolas. Bruised, cut and limp.
"Legolas, my friend!" He gasped, shaking the lifeless body. The beautiful sad eyes gazed up at him, unseeing, unknowing, and just dead. He dropped the body as if it were a hot iron, and reached for another log. The face of Gandalf stared up at him, dead.
Each log he turned over was actually one of his friends. And then he reached one log, and found it to be Arwen.
"No!" He shrieked, clutching her to him and crying. "There must be another way."
He looked upstream and saw a band of orcs clutching Elrond Halfelven in their grasps. Aragorn watched helplessly as they cut his throat and the elf fell into the river of blood. As the body floated past him, another victim was already being murdered by the orcs. It was Lord Celeborn of Lothlorien, and behind him Galadriel waited her death.
"Don't kill them, you bastards!" He screamed at the orcs. The orcs just looked at him and laughed.
"We can't stop it, Aragorn." One shouted. "You started all this when you killed out kind. The blood that flows around you is blood you have split from our kin. You cannot stop the river. You cannot bring back the orcs you slew. Therefore you cannot save your friends!"
As Aragorn began to cry for the lost souls of his friends, hands began emerging from the blood. The arms of orcs long dead by his sword now began pulling him under the surface.
"No!!!!!!" He screamed. "No! Noooooooooooooooooooo..!"
He woke with a start. The realised that it wasn't just his scream that reverberated around the castle. Another scream of pain came from close by.
"Arwen!" He gasped, jumping out of bed and running down the hallway. All around him was a hive of activity. He rushed to the door of Arwen's room, where Faramir was standing.
"My Lord!" He said, stopping Aragorn's headlong dash and holding back. "Where were you? We searched everywhere for you to tell you. Arwen has gone into labour."
"I was in one of the guest rooms." He said quickly. "How is she? Let me in, I wish to see her."
"She has not long had contractions." Faramir said, opening the door. Arwen lay on the bed. Sweat dripped from her forehead and her face was contorted into a grimace as she endured another contraction. Aragorn was at he side in a moment.
"I'm here." He said, gripping her hand and kissing it. "I'm here."
Her contraction died away and she gasped for breath. "I knew you would come." She whispered. She laid her head back on the pillow and panted for lost breath.
Aragorn stayed by her side, lending her support as the contraction came harder and faster. After a while, he began to get in the way of the bustling midwives and doctors.
"Please my lord." One said. "Would you kindly move aside?"
"Come away Aragorn." Faramir pleaded. "Won't you heed the tradition that the king is not present for the birth of his child?"
"I want to be there for her." Aragorn said desperately.
"You shall be." Arwen said. "In spirit." She then screamed again as another contraction wracked her exhausted body.
"Come my Lord." Faramir said, leading a reluctant Aragorn away. "You have heard the myth that if the King is present at the birth, then the child shall be blighted in life. Would you risk the health and safety of your child?"
"It is mere superstition." Aragorn said.
"Then it may have some basis in truth." Faramir said kindly, shutting the door behind them and leading Aragorn into a room down the hallway. The room was decorated sparsely, and a round table and chairs sat in the middle. Faramir seated himself at one of these, but Aragorn went to the window and watched the rising sun, trying to ignore the commotion that was taking place a few rooms down.
He must have been quite successful in blocking out the noise, otherwise he would have noticed the urgent tones in which the doctors spoke, or the hurried and frenzied way the matrons and midwives carried out the requests of the head physician. Faramir noticed, but said nothing, not wishing to worry his king unnecessarily.
Meanwhile, the other members of the fellowship were up to their own business.
Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin laughed and jostled around a large dinning table laden with food. Pippin threw a bread roll and Merry, hitting him over the head. Merry hurled the hot soup at Pippin, but missed and hit Sam. Sam yelled in surprise and Frodo could not stop laughing.
Gimli sat in his chambers, looking forlornly at his axe, which hung in pride of place on the wall. It had been so long since they had had an adventure, and he was getting bored of the every day mundane life.
Legolas let another arrow whiz through the air and hit the target, dead on centre. The huddled of elf maidens of Mirkwood who had gathered to watch the prince practise clapped and cheered. Ignoring them, Legolas aimed another arrow.
Gandalf slowed his horse to a walk as they approached Minas Tirith. He knew that Arwen was due to give birth any day now, and knew that Aragorn would be trying to contact him. He was only two days ride from where he knew Aragorn to be staying, and thought he would surprise him by turning up on his doorstep. He urged Shadowfax into a gentle canter as they crossed the vast open plain, heading towards the city of Osgiliarth.
One of the midwives entered the room. Faramir jumped up to greet the news, and Aragorn walked quickly over to the doorway.
"Well?" He asked.
"Congratulations my Lord." The woman said, in an unreadable voice. "You are the proud father or a beautiful, healthy son."
Aragorn smiled heartily and sighed. "And my wife, she is recovering?" The woman looked down and a tear fell from her cheek. The smile on Aragorn's face faltered. "How is she?" He repeated. The woman shook her head and stepped aside. Aragorn bolted from the room and raced down the corridor, Faramir following him. He pushed past doctors who walked away from the room; some comforting teary-eyed servants and nurses.
He barged into the room stopped in the doorway. He took in the sight before him. One nursed wrapped the crying baby in clean cloths and walked towards Aragorn.
"Your son, my lord." She said, bowing and presenting the child to Aragorn. Aragorn pushed her aside and walked slowly towards the bed.
"Take it to the nursery." Faramir said gently to the nurse. "See that it gets proper attention." The nurse nodded and left.
The last two doctors were packing up their equipment, and one nurse was folding up some blood stained sheets and towels. Arwen lay on the white bed, covered in sweat and her white dress stained with blood. Her face was pale. Deadly white.
"No." Aragorn whispered. "It can not be." He rushed over to the bed and flung himself next to her. He took her limp corpse in his arms and held its cold form tightly against him. "No."
One doctor came over and tried to comfort him by placing one hand on his shoulder.
"Leave us!" Aragorn shouted. The doctor backed away and walked over to Faramir.
"What?" Faramir asked faintly. "What happened?"
"Unseen complications." The doctor said sadly. "The child was breach birth. There was internal haemorrhaging and bleeding. We could not staunch the flow. We could only save the child." He sighed and blinked back a tear. "I am sorry we could not do more."
"Could you not save her?" Faramir asked as the other doctor and nurse left the room.
"We tried sir, goodness knows how hard we tried. But we could do no more. It came to a point when we realised that both mother and child could die, and then we just tried to save the child, the mother's life was a lost cause." The doctor sighed again. "The child must be cared for carefully. The midwife knows what to do. And we shall call in an expert from the north. She specialises in children when the mother." He stopped and took a deep breath. "When the mother has died." He finished. He left, taking his things with him.
"Aragorn." Faramir said softly, walking over to him.
"Leave us!" Aragorn shouted. He did not look at Faramir nor let go of his wife's body.
"But."
"LEAVE US!" He shouted. Faramir nodded and back out of the door. One of the head servants waited for orders from him.
He closed the door and turned to the servant. "Spread the news." He said gravely. "The queen is dead. The country is in mourning. Spread the word. A prince has been born, the country is rejoicing."
"Sir?" The servant asked, not understanding how both orders could possibly be followed at the same time.
"Let the people be happy that the heir is born, and be sad for they have lost the most beautiful queen in Gondor's history." Faramir ordered. "Flags shall be flown at half mast. Prepare the black horses for the funeral procession. Then send word that white horses should be sent for the christening. The country must organise celebrations and be in mourning. So happy yet sad a day has not been seen in Gondor, and should never been seen again."
"Aye sir." The servant bowed and left. Faramir spoke to another servant.
"Leave the King alone with his wife for now." He said. "He must mourn her death in his own way. Send messages to the furthest corners of Middle- earth. Tell them of our glad tidings and deep loss. All who need to know must know."
He turned to yet another waiting servant. "Send a special envoy by eagle to Rivendell. Elrond must be told of his daughter's death in person, before he hears it by word-of-mouth."
He made his way to the nursery and looked as a nurse laid the child in its cot. "Nurse." He said. "Take care of the child for now. Without a mother, this prince must be mothered by all the nurses in Gondor. The king will see his son before the sun sets, and then it will be decided what is to be done about its upbringing."
"Yes sir." The nurse sighed, another tear rolling down her face for the loss of her queen.
Faramir waked outside and looked over Gondor. Already people were mourning in the streets. The sun had barely risen.
"The sun rises on a new day." He sighed. "Life has been given, and life has been taken away. Gondor must mourn a death, and rejoice in a life. And Aragorn must face a life without his other half."
Aragorn laid beside his wife, not letting her go. He cried until he could cry no more. Then he slept beside her. When he awoke he saw her deathly white face and unseeing eyes, and cried again. He was inconsolable, and would not come away from her deathbed. He would not even see or acknowledge the tiny being that was his son.
"Take it away!" He shouted. "Take away the evil being that killed my wife. It is a murderer, let it hang!"
AN - sorry I had to break the story up there, but you will see why I had to do that much later. Read and review please. By the way, what symbols should I use before speech to signify that they are speaking in elvish? Whatever I try doesn't seem to work properly! Any suggestions?
Response to reviewers:
ParaKeet007 - yay my first reviewer! Hope you review more and like ths tory as it progresses!
Lady Serensa Pharodel - here is a LOT more to be getting on with, and I'm already half way through the next chapter!
Fay*Evenstar - Glad you like! *-* I'll keep writing, don't worry!
Moose Head - (cool name) I know that Arwen goes on to have other children, you will just have to keep reading to find out how she manages this. Can't say any more now or it will spoil the fun.
ShawThang - Thanks, I appreciate the fact that you like my writing, hope this chapter met your expectations.
Sheree - Glad you liked it, I am also addicted to smiley faces! ^-^
Well guys keep reviewing, I promise to respond to all reviews I receive. Hopefully next time I will have even more reviews to reply to!