Title: A New Beginning
Author: Venus
Rating: PG-13 (For now may go up)
Pairings: Aragorn/Legolas, OC/OC
Warnings: Mention of previous Slash, Blood, Mention of previous Mpreg, Violence, Angst, Death of main character.
Disclaimer: Most of the characters and settings are not mine and I promise that I will put them back once I have finished playing with them.
Summary: Eighteen years after her birth and with the death of her carer, the daughter of Legolas and Aragorn goes in search of her heritage.
Authors Note: I have kept the elves in middle earth rather than sending them off across the sea.
Chapter One
The battle had been fierce but in the end he had won. Orc's although now rare still roamed the forests of middle earth in vicious hunting packs. Knowing his death would shortly follow shortly did not dampen his spirits as the creature he had vowed to protect sat uninjured beside his weakening body.
He frowned as he noticed the tears slip unknowingly from her beautiful grey eyes, so like her fathers he thought not for the first time since she had been in his care.
"Do not cry for me Aranel." He grunted, shifting slightly to gaze at her fully. Her long blond hair that was usually so full of life lay limp across her shoulders.
"How can I not." She whispered, placing further pressure on to the blade wound in his shoulder. It was too deep to be repaired they both knew, even if they did manage to find help which was unlikely considering how far they were from the nearest dwelling. "Shh, do not move so you will only make the pain worse."
"I am a dwarf woman not a mouse do not fret so." He snorted although he did still his movements.
"Oh Gimli you are the bravest creature I know I can not bear to loose you." She sniffed, the battle to stop the flow of her tears was one she was not even close to wining.
"You new this day would come some day."
"Yes but not so soon." Her voice tainted with anger. "In bed, due to old age, but not so young by a blade in the middle of an unknown forest."
"I am not young and this forest is not unknown to either of us." He whispered.
She glanced up to meet his eyes, tearing her sight away from the blood seeping from his body through her fingers.
"We have both been here before." He continued. "A short distance from here is the exact spot where you were placed in my arms for the first time, after I had made my promise to a dear friend to keep you safe."
"Will you tell me of my parents?" Her expression was hopeful. She had been denied all knowledge about her birth parents. Gimli had told her that it was in order to keep her safe and she had believe him, for Gimli was like a father to her and would never lie to her.
He fell silent for a few moments an internal battle raging with in his mind. If he told her he knew she would venture off in search of what was left of her family and destroy all reasons for keeping her hidden but she did have a right to know and with himself shortly leaving her she perhaps needed a goal to keep going.
Sighing he looked deep into her eyes noting the desperation he saw there.
"You must promise me that you will be discrete when you go in search of what you seek."
She nodded not trusting her voice to be steady.
"You are aware that you were born of both man and elf." Aranel nodded again. "Of all creatures that I have ever come across your elven father was by far the most fair." Gimli sighed wistfully. "Greenleaf he was often called."
"You obviously cared for him a great deal."
"He was the dearest friend to me for many years, through battle and peace we rarely parted from the moment we met."
She watched as his eyes became misty caught up in his memories of past times. "Did you love him?" She asked suddenly curious as to Gimli's part in this.
He looked startled for a moment and then shifted as the pain began to shoot out across his chest.
"Shh, I am sorry I should never have asked such a personal..."
"Yes I did." He interrupted his voice gruff with the pain. "But I knew that his heart forever belonged to another. It was enough that he chose to spend his time with me and that in the end he trusted me so much that he handed over his most precious belonging into my care."
"Me." She whispered.
He smiled gently. "Yes."
"What happened to make him give me up?" She asked softly.
"You my child were born out of wedlock, sired by a man of great influence, who was known to many as Strider. He was already married to another, though he did not care for her." He coughed, grimacing at the pain that one action caused. "The world of men was and still is one of great turmoil. As soon as your human father discovered that his lover was with child he was overjoyed but his advisors were not so keen on the situation you presented. They believed that it would cause distrust towards him for if he could not stay true to his wife then there would be every possibility that he would betray his subjects."
"But that is insane, if he did not love her." She gasped.
"Yes" he agreed "but as I said many times before the world of men is not a trustworthy one."
"What happened next?"
"The advisors arranged to track your elven father when he left with me to return to his home in the Great Greenwood. They planned to assassinate the both of us and make it look like a hunting accident."
She gasped out loud again horror clearly in her voice but did not say anything.
"By this stage Greenleaf was heavily pregnant and gave birth to you a short way in to our journey it was a great miracle that either of you survived such a long and traumatic labour but you were both so strong I should never have worried." He reached out an arm and bushed his fingers across her face fatherly. "It was only a day later that we were set upon by twelve men, before that day we would have laughed at the thought of loosing but with a new born babe the odds did not seem so good." He sighed heavily but smiled as she moved his arm back to his side and leant down to place a gently kiss on his forehead close to the greying hairline. "He was the more agile of the two of us and I had had little sleep the previous night as I watched over him and you so it seemed the logical answer that I would go off and hide you." His voice was becoming shaky and tears threatened to escape his eyes for the first time since that incident. "But I did not realise that he was still weary from the birth, elves normally recover so quickly and he appeared to be well..." Stumbling he paused for a moment comforted slightly by the caring eyes above him.
"You say his heart belonged to one man alone." She whispered seeing the shame in the dwarf's eyes. "Yet he must have cared so much for you to knowingly enter a loosing battle for you."
"How could I call myself his friend when I did not see the exhaustion that he was carrying!" He choked the pain from the memory becoming as vivid as the pain from his current wound.
"But he was an elf." She tried to reassure. "You are always complaining that the elvish blood in me enables me to keep things from you."
"Aye." He nodded trying to smile at her attempt of humour. He was so proud of her, the daughter of his heart. "But these warriors of men made one mistake. Your fathers belly was still swollen from carrying you and seeing this they believe that he still carried the child. In killing him they believe that they had destroyed both of you and no one ever questioned them. I was forced to keep you away from both the races of men and elves, for men would only seek to destroy you once again and the elves would want to keep you hidden in order for the realm of men to be kept stable as any change could cause terrible effects for the rest of middle earth." He coughed again this time violently, blood welling in the back of his throat.
He knew it was time.
"I love you daughter of my heart." He choked. "You have made me so proud I must go now and join my Greenleaf where we will forever watch over you."
"I love you to." She cried, tears flowing at a now increasing speed. "Father of my heart."
"Tell my elven father that I love him to!"
"Your Ada." He whispered so softly she barely caught it.
"Yes." She agreed. "Go in peace and find my Ada; know that I will be safe due to all that you have taught me."
~*~
TBC...
Ada: Father
Aranel: Princess (In Quenya)
Please Review; tell me what you think, whether I should continue?
Author: Venus
Rating: PG-13 (For now may go up)
Pairings: Aragorn/Legolas, OC/OC
Warnings: Mention of previous Slash, Blood, Mention of previous Mpreg, Violence, Angst, Death of main character.
Disclaimer: Most of the characters and settings are not mine and I promise that I will put them back once I have finished playing with them.
Summary: Eighteen years after her birth and with the death of her carer, the daughter of Legolas and Aragorn goes in search of her heritage.
Authors Note: I have kept the elves in middle earth rather than sending them off across the sea.
Chapter One
The battle had been fierce but in the end he had won. Orc's although now rare still roamed the forests of middle earth in vicious hunting packs. Knowing his death would shortly follow shortly did not dampen his spirits as the creature he had vowed to protect sat uninjured beside his weakening body.
He frowned as he noticed the tears slip unknowingly from her beautiful grey eyes, so like her fathers he thought not for the first time since she had been in his care.
"Do not cry for me Aranel." He grunted, shifting slightly to gaze at her fully. Her long blond hair that was usually so full of life lay limp across her shoulders.
"How can I not." She whispered, placing further pressure on to the blade wound in his shoulder. It was too deep to be repaired they both knew, even if they did manage to find help which was unlikely considering how far they were from the nearest dwelling. "Shh, do not move so you will only make the pain worse."
"I am a dwarf woman not a mouse do not fret so." He snorted although he did still his movements.
"Oh Gimli you are the bravest creature I know I can not bear to loose you." She sniffed, the battle to stop the flow of her tears was one she was not even close to wining.
"You new this day would come some day."
"Yes but not so soon." Her voice tainted with anger. "In bed, due to old age, but not so young by a blade in the middle of an unknown forest."
"I am not young and this forest is not unknown to either of us." He whispered.
She glanced up to meet his eyes, tearing her sight away from the blood seeping from his body through her fingers.
"We have both been here before." He continued. "A short distance from here is the exact spot where you were placed in my arms for the first time, after I had made my promise to a dear friend to keep you safe."
"Will you tell me of my parents?" Her expression was hopeful. She had been denied all knowledge about her birth parents. Gimli had told her that it was in order to keep her safe and she had believe him, for Gimli was like a father to her and would never lie to her.
He fell silent for a few moments an internal battle raging with in his mind. If he told her he knew she would venture off in search of what was left of her family and destroy all reasons for keeping her hidden but she did have a right to know and with himself shortly leaving her she perhaps needed a goal to keep going.
Sighing he looked deep into her eyes noting the desperation he saw there.
"You must promise me that you will be discrete when you go in search of what you seek."
She nodded not trusting her voice to be steady.
"You are aware that you were born of both man and elf." Aranel nodded again. "Of all creatures that I have ever come across your elven father was by far the most fair." Gimli sighed wistfully. "Greenleaf he was often called."
"You obviously cared for him a great deal."
"He was the dearest friend to me for many years, through battle and peace we rarely parted from the moment we met."
She watched as his eyes became misty caught up in his memories of past times. "Did you love him?" She asked suddenly curious as to Gimli's part in this.
He looked startled for a moment and then shifted as the pain began to shoot out across his chest.
"Shh, I am sorry I should never have asked such a personal..."
"Yes I did." He interrupted his voice gruff with the pain. "But I knew that his heart forever belonged to another. It was enough that he chose to spend his time with me and that in the end he trusted me so much that he handed over his most precious belonging into my care."
"Me." She whispered.
He smiled gently. "Yes."
"What happened to make him give me up?" She asked softly.
"You my child were born out of wedlock, sired by a man of great influence, who was known to many as Strider. He was already married to another, though he did not care for her." He coughed, grimacing at the pain that one action caused. "The world of men was and still is one of great turmoil. As soon as your human father discovered that his lover was with child he was overjoyed but his advisors were not so keen on the situation you presented. They believed that it would cause distrust towards him for if he could not stay true to his wife then there would be every possibility that he would betray his subjects."
"But that is insane, if he did not love her." She gasped.
"Yes" he agreed "but as I said many times before the world of men is not a trustworthy one."
"What happened next?"
"The advisors arranged to track your elven father when he left with me to return to his home in the Great Greenwood. They planned to assassinate the both of us and make it look like a hunting accident."
She gasped out loud again horror clearly in her voice but did not say anything.
"By this stage Greenleaf was heavily pregnant and gave birth to you a short way in to our journey it was a great miracle that either of you survived such a long and traumatic labour but you were both so strong I should never have worried." He reached out an arm and bushed his fingers across her face fatherly. "It was only a day later that we were set upon by twelve men, before that day we would have laughed at the thought of loosing but with a new born babe the odds did not seem so good." He sighed heavily but smiled as she moved his arm back to his side and leant down to place a gently kiss on his forehead close to the greying hairline. "He was the more agile of the two of us and I had had little sleep the previous night as I watched over him and you so it seemed the logical answer that I would go off and hide you." His voice was becoming shaky and tears threatened to escape his eyes for the first time since that incident. "But I did not realise that he was still weary from the birth, elves normally recover so quickly and he appeared to be well..." Stumbling he paused for a moment comforted slightly by the caring eyes above him.
"You say his heart belonged to one man alone." She whispered seeing the shame in the dwarf's eyes. "Yet he must have cared so much for you to knowingly enter a loosing battle for you."
"How could I call myself his friend when I did not see the exhaustion that he was carrying!" He choked the pain from the memory becoming as vivid as the pain from his current wound.
"But he was an elf." She tried to reassure. "You are always complaining that the elvish blood in me enables me to keep things from you."
"Aye." He nodded trying to smile at her attempt of humour. He was so proud of her, the daughter of his heart. "But these warriors of men made one mistake. Your fathers belly was still swollen from carrying you and seeing this they believe that he still carried the child. In killing him they believe that they had destroyed both of you and no one ever questioned them. I was forced to keep you away from both the races of men and elves, for men would only seek to destroy you once again and the elves would want to keep you hidden in order for the realm of men to be kept stable as any change could cause terrible effects for the rest of middle earth." He coughed again this time violently, blood welling in the back of his throat.
He knew it was time.
"I love you daughter of my heart." He choked. "You have made me so proud I must go now and join my Greenleaf where we will forever watch over you."
"I love you to." She cried, tears flowing at a now increasing speed. "Father of my heart."
"Tell my elven father that I love him to!"
"Your Ada." He whispered so softly she barely caught it.
"Yes." She agreed. "Go in peace and find my Ada; know that I will be safe due to all that you have taught me."
~*~
TBC...
Ada: Father
Aranel: Princess (In Quenya)
Please Review; tell me what you think, whether I should continue?