Authors Note: Thank you for your reviews they are, as usual, helpful and
encouraging *smile*.
Hana-Heart, this chapter is slightly longer than the previous one but in future I will try and make them longer :)
Chapter Six
Tavaril arrived at the dinning hall for morning meal with his usual haste. He didn't know why but he could never seem to reach the hall on time for the start of the meal. He hurried through the main entrance doors and reached his designated seat just as the plates of fresh fruit and assortments of bread and meat were being served out.
"One day you will join us for the start of the meal." Elladan smirked at him from a cross the table. "But I doubt that day will occur any time soon."
"At least he has arrived Elladan, I seem to remember a time when you were rarely able to attend morning meal at all." Aragorn's voice carried across the crowed room, stopping all conversation immediately.
Everyone seated at the table started at the unexpected voice, all turned to stare at its owner. Aragorn forced a smile as he neared the table sitting down in an empty place beside his wife and Elladan who both looked equally stunned to see him. The king rarely took meals in the company of others, often demanding that food be brought to his chambers so that he could eat alone.
"Aragorn!" Elladan spoke first having regained his composure the quickest. "I am told that it has been a long time since you have graced others with your company in the dinning hall."
"Aye." The king agreed, reaching out to take a small piece of meat from the table. "But I am bored with my own company and since it is rare indeed that my brothers and nephew chose to visit me I thought that I had better make the most of their stay." Aragorn smiled, but inside he felt reluctant to even be here. After promising himself last night to put the past behind him he had decided that he ought to start by integrating back into family life. Well that was his theory anyway.
"Aragorn did you sleep well?" Arwen asked from where she sat on the chair to his right she sounded, as always, genuinely interested in his welfare, whether she actually was interested or whether she was just exceptionally good at forging her emotions he did not know.
"As well as always." He answered courteously, although his dreams had once again been plagued by memories from the past.
"I am glad." She smiled in return before turning back to her meal. After swallowing a piece of fruit she said. "Are you due in court to day?"
"Yes but only for a short while this morning." Aragorn bit into the meat he held in his fingers.
"What are your plans for after noon meal?" She asked, the others around the table had begun their own quiet conversations amongst themselves.
"I was planning to retire to my study for I have much work which is in need of finishing." He answered, glancing across the table he watched as his Elrohir and his nephew laughed at something Elladan had done and had obviously not found as amusing. It was almost difficult to watch how easily they interacted with each other in a way that he could not ever hope to achieve with his own children. Turning his head slightly he watched his own daughter and his oldest son sat eating in silence. He knew well of their dislike of each other and had often blamed his own lack of participation in their lives because of it. His second son, Aloysius, was due to return home later this day from spending three months in Rivendell learning the healing ways of elves from Lord Elrond himself.
"Perhaps you would consider joining us in the courtyard when Aloysius arrives. We would all enjoy your company."
Aragorn almost laughed, he doubted that his other two children would enjoy his company by the stunned looks on their faces at their mother's proposal.
"Aye," He answered after a moment's consideration. "Perhaps I shall."
~*~
As soon as morning meal was over Tavaril raced through the busy corridors to the kitchens at the back of the palace in search of Aranel. Late last night as he roamed the gardens alone his mind turning over all the information he had been given the previous day and had produced some startling possibilities.
How could he not have put two and two together when his father had told him how rare it was for a male elf to bear a child?
He finally found her as he had done yesterday, but this time she was scrubbing away at the kitchen floor instead of the work tops, a dark coloured cloak tied tightly around her neck concealing her clothing, except for the light blue material that covered her arms.
"Aranel." He called out upon entering the room, he was glad that she was alone he doubted that he would have been able to explain to the Lady Gwen that he needed to speak with the young kitchen maid in private.
She turned, surprised by the sound of his voice.
"I thought that you were Gwen returning." She said sounding slightly startled. "Why do you seek me out this morning? Can you not see that I have work to complete?"
"I have need of more information, if you will give it to me." He said moving further into the kitchen and kneeling down on the floor beside her.
"What sort of information?" She asked sitting back from her position on her hands and knees so that she sat up right. As she did so the cloak fell back from her shoulders revealing the soft blue tunic underneath. "My other clothes are still damp from washing." She muttered pulling the cloak back in to position to cover the clearly unsuitable tunic she wore for working in.
"I wish to know more about your parents." He spoke softly ignoring her last statement.
He had an almost pleading tone in his voice which immediately confused her.
She frowned. "Why?"
"Because," He paused for a moment for he did not wish to get her hopes up if his suspicions turned out to be false. "I wish to help you locate your parents."
"Tavaril," She sighed. "My elven father is dead and I am at a loss as to where to start looking for my human father. I know that you mean well but I am uncertain that you understand how difficult it would be to try and..."
"Please Aranel it can not hurt for us to try."
She sighed again this time though she sounded defeated and nodded, placing the small scrubbing brush into a bucket of water on the floor next to her. "But what ever I tell you must not be repeated to any other with out my permission do you understand."
"Yes of course, I promise."
And so she told him, she explained all that Gimli had told her with his dying breaths. Everything she had ever heard being spoken of about both her parents.
He listened in silence, making no comment as he absorbed all that she told him comparing it with what he had been told the day before.
"Do you know either of their names?" He asked finally as she finished speaking, both their eyes now filled with unshed tears caused by the sadness of her tale.
She shook her head.
"I was told that my elven father was known as Greenleaf and my human father was called Strider, but both are obviously names given by friends rather than names they were given at birth."
"But it is a start." He smiled, wiping his hand across his eyes in an attempt to soak up his tears before they fell. "Please allow me to research into these names further."
Aranel smiled back at him, his expressions, she believed were infectious.
"Yes," She nodded. "I will allow you to do so but please tell me of anything, no matter how small or obscure that you find."
"I shall."
~*~
He had spent much of the morning searching through nearly every book in the palaces extensive library and had found nothing that could help him locate Aranel's parents.
He sighed in frustration putting the book he held down heavily on the small wooden desk.
"What are you looking for?"
Looking up, Tavaril caught sight of his cousin Cadell standing across from him a well used leather bound book in one arm. He was leaning, casually against a book case looking quite bored with his current activity which seemed to be nothing in particular.
"I am searching information on a man named Strider." He answered. Why would Cadell be trying to help him? He had had little to do with the prince, both rarely speaking to each other when they met. Even when they were elf-lings they hardly ever spent time together.
"I know all the books in this library but the only one which mentions a man named strider is the text concerning the War of the Ring." He stated, his expression unchanging, he still looked uninterested.
'The War of the Ring'? He had not thought to look through that particular text for he knew it well, as did most of the peoples of Middle Earth, but he did not remember a man named Strider mentioned through out its pages.
Noticing the confused look on his cousin's face, Cadell moved closer and began to explain further.
"Strider was the name given to my father when he travelled as a ranger for a time."
~*~
"Aranel!" Tavaril burst through the kitchen doors, needing to speak to the half elf about his new found information as soon as possible. "Aranel!"
"Slow down master Tavaril or you will surely crash into something." Gwen laughed where she stood, standing beside one of the large stoves a knife in one hand and a pile of vegetables on the counter next to her.
"Lady Gwendaline." He said as he due in a deep breath.
"Gwen," She muttered under her breath. "Aranel is not here, I sent her on an errand."
"Do you know when she will be back?" He asked sounding annoyed at the prospect of having to wait any length of time to share his new found information.
"It would do you good to learn some patience young elf." She grinned. "The *young* Aranel will be back shortly." She emphasized the word young trying to gain his full attention, it worked.
"She is not that young! You make her sound as though she were a child!" He contested.
"Nay she is not a child but I believe that her behaviour makes her seem older than she really is, I believe that she has had a hard life and has had to learn very quickly the hard way." Gwen's expression turned solemn for a moment but it disappeared a quickly as it had appeared. "I will let her know that you are looking for her master Tavaril. Now do you not have a noon meal to go to?"
He nodded. "Thank you Lady Gwendaline."
"Gwen." She growled as he raced from the room, narrowly avoiding a large piece of chopped carrot that was thrown in his direction by the now very annoyed older woman.
Getting out of the kitchen was the easy part, but moving further into the corridor was slightly hindered when Tavaril collided with another outside of the door. Both crashed to the cold stone floor quite dramatically.
"Oww!" Tavaril grimaced as the other body landed on his out stretched leg.
"Perhaps you should take more care when dashing out into a well used corridor." The voice responded, before attempting to sift off of Tavaril's leg.
Tavaril groaned as he immediately recognised the soft feminine tones of the voice.
Arwen.
"I apologise my lady." He was quick to express his regret. "I was not thinking and I..."
"Hush Tavaril, there has been no harm done." She smiled reassuringly. "Not to myself anyway" She said as Tavaril groaned loudly when he tried to pull himself up from the floor. "Are you well?"
"Aye." He muttered, finally managing to stand. He carefully applied a small amount of weight on his damaged leg and hissed as a sharp pain shot up from his ankle.
"You are not well." She sighed shaking her head from side to side. "Do not say aye when you are clearly not. Come." She held out a hand to steady him. "I will aid you in reaching the healers for it is not far."
"Nay my lady," He refused to accept the offered hand. "I am sure you have other arrangements to attend to I will manage."
"You are the same as your father," Arwen laughed softly. "You refuse to admit defeat and accept help." She reached out her arm and looped it around his waist. "Now allow me to assist you or I will inform your Elrohir that you attacked me in the corridor."
He snorted but did not attempt to remove her arm. His father would no doubt punish him for his careless actions if he were to find out so he relented, placing a small amount of his weight on his aunt as he hopped along beside her.
"What were you doing in the kitchens?" She asked as they neared the healer's chambers attempting to engage her nephew in conversation. They rarely spoke any more out of any formal situation and she greatly missed the young elf that had often visited them as a child, his once immature chatter amusing them all.
"I found some information that I thought might be of use to one of the maids working there." He said slowly, hoping that she would ask no further questions.
He had not really considered Arwens part in the information he was considering. If Aranel was indeed the daughter of Aragorn what effect would it have on Arwen when this fact was made public? Would she accept Aranel as she had accepted her husband's lover for a time or would she refuse to accept the young half elf due to what she represented? After all Aranel was the result of a greater love than that of her own.
But Arwen seemed to accept his answer and both continued to walk in silence until they reached the infirmary.
"I thank you my lady for your assistance." He said as they entered the large chambers and both were immediately approached by a trained healer.
"You are family Tavaril." She smiled as she made to leave the room. "We may not speak with each other often but that does not mean that I am not here if you need me."
He smiled in return as she turned and left him alone with the concerned healer.
~*~
Tavaril's injury to his ankle was minor, although the pain he had grumbled to the greatly amused healer was not. It had taken quite sometime for him to escape the healers clutches as he insisted on allowing his new apprentice to bandage to ankle to strengthen it for a day or two until it had healed completely.
At this he had scoffed, with his elven healing it would be fine by the end of the day, tomorrow morning at the latest, but he indulged the healer permitting the apprentice to bind his foot. He would not have agreed to if he had known that the apprentice was newly arrived that morning and had very little experience.
Finally, with as much grace as he could muster he left the healers chambers, only to be greeted by the loud sounding horn announcing the arrival of important individuals entering Minas Tirith.
Aloysius, his mind concluded. The prince must be home, yet it was only just time for noon meal, he was back earlier than planned.
Moving, cautiously due to his injured foot, he made his way across the passageway and into the library. He walked over to the open window and gazed out across the palace grounds and courtyard, the sounds of horse's hooves growing louder.
It was not long before the large party came into view, his eyes immediately drawn to powerful elf at the very front. Lord Elrond rode beside Prince Aloysius. His grandfather's visit had not been expected but was certainly not unwanted. Perhaps he should discuss prince Legolas's relationship and death with the Lord; maybe he could shed some light on many of his unanswered questions.
~*~
TBC...
Aloysius: Famous warrior (Latin)
Please tell me what you think so far :)
Hana-Heart, this chapter is slightly longer than the previous one but in future I will try and make them longer :)
Chapter Six
Tavaril arrived at the dinning hall for morning meal with his usual haste. He didn't know why but he could never seem to reach the hall on time for the start of the meal. He hurried through the main entrance doors and reached his designated seat just as the plates of fresh fruit and assortments of bread and meat were being served out.
"One day you will join us for the start of the meal." Elladan smirked at him from a cross the table. "But I doubt that day will occur any time soon."
"At least he has arrived Elladan, I seem to remember a time when you were rarely able to attend morning meal at all." Aragorn's voice carried across the crowed room, stopping all conversation immediately.
Everyone seated at the table started at the unexpected voice, all turned to stare at its owner. Aragorn forced a smile as he neared the table sitting down in an empty place beside his wife and Elladan who both looked equally stunned to see him. The king rarely took meals in the company of others, often demanding that food be brought to his chambers so that he could eat alone.
"Aragorn!" Elladan spoke first having regained his composure the quickest. "I am told that it has been a long time since you have graced others with your company in the dinning hall."
"Aye." The king agreed, reaching out to take a small piece of meat from the table. "But I am bored with my own company and since it is rare indeed that my brothers and nephew chose to visit me I thought that I had better make the most of their stay." Aragorn smiled, but inside he felt reluctant to even be here. After promising himself last night to put the past behind him he had decided that he ought to start by integrating back into family life. Well that was his theory anyway.
"Aragorn did you sleep well?" Arwen asked from where she sat on the chair to his right she sounded, as always, genuinely interested in his welfare, whether she actually was interested or whether she was just exceptionally good at forging her emotions he did not know.
"As well as always." He answered courteously, although his dreams had once again been plagued by memories from the past.
"I am glad." She smiled in return before turning back to her meal. After swallowing a piece of fruit she said. "Are you due in court to day?"
"Yes but only for a short while this morning." Aragorn bit into the meat he held in his fingers.
"What are your plans for after noon meal?" She asked, the others around the table had begun their own quiet conversations amongst themselves.
"I was planning to retire to my study for I have much work which is in need of finishing." He answered, glancing across the table he watched as his Elrohir and his nephew laughed at something Elladan had done and had obviously not found as amusing. It was almost difficult to watch how easily they interacted with each other in a way that he could not ever hope to achieve with his own children. Turning his head slightly he watched his own daughter and his oldest son sat eating in silence. He knew well of their dislike of each other and had often blamed his own lack of participation in their lives because of it. His second son, Aloysius, was due to return home later this day from spending three months in Rivendell learning the healing ways of elves from Lord Elrond himself.
"Perhaps you would consider joining us in the courtyard when Aloysius arrives. We would all enjoy your company."
Aragorn almost laughed, he doubted that his other two children would enjoy his company by the stunned looks on their faces at their mother's proposal.
"Aye," He answered after a moment's consideration. "Perhaps I shall."
~*~
As soon as morning meal was over Tavaril raced through the busy corridors to the kitchens at the back of the palace in search of Aranel. Late last night as he roamed the gardens alone his mind turning over all the information he had been given the previous day and had produced some startling possibilities.
How could he not have put two and two together when his father had told him how rare it was for a male elf to bear a child?
He finally found her as he had done yesterday, but this time she was scrubbing away at the kitchen floor instead of the work tops, a dark coloured cloak tied tightly around her neck concealing her clothing, except for the light blue material that covered her arms.
"Aranel." He called out upon entering the room, he was glad that she was alone he doubted that he would have been able to explain to the Lady Gwen that he needed to speak with the young kitchen maid in private.
She turned, surprised by the sound of his voice.
"I thought that you were Gwen returning." She said sounding slightly startled. "Why do you seek me out this morning? Can you not see that I have work to complete?"
"I have need of more information, if you will give it to me." He said moving further into the kitchen and kneeling down on the floor beside her.
"What sort of information?" She asked sitting back from her position on her hands and knees so that she sat up right. As she did so the cloak fell back from her shoulders revealing the soft blue tunic underneath. "My other clothes are still damp from washing." She muttered pulling the cloak back in to position to cover the clearly unsuitable tunic she wore for working in.
"I wish to know more about your parents." He spoke softly ignoring her last statement.
He had an almost pleading tone in his voice which immediately confused her.
She frowned. "Why?"
"Because," He paused for a moment for he did not wish to get her hopes up if his suspicions turned out to be false. "I wish to help you locate your parents."
"Tavaril," She sighed. "My elven father is dead and I am at a loss as to where to start looking for my human father. I know that you mean well but I am uncertain that you understand how difficult it would be to try and..."
"Please Aranel it can not hurt for us to try."
She sighed again this time though she sounded defeated and nodded, placing the small scrubbing brush into a bucket of water on the floor next to her. "But what ever I tell you must not be repeated to any other with out my permission do you understand."
"Yes of course, I promise."
And so she told him, she explained all that Gimli had told her with his dying breaths. Everything she had ever heard being spoken of about both her parents.
He listened in silence, making no comment as he absorbed all that she told him comparing it with what he had been told the day before.
"Do you know either of their names?" He asked finally as she finished speaking, both their eyes now filled with unshed tears caused by the sadness of her tale.
She shook her head.
"I was told that my elven father was known as Greenleaf and my human father was called Strider, but both are obviously names given by friends rather than names they were given at birth."
"But it is a start." He smiled, wiping his hand across his eyes in an attempt to soak up his tears before they fell. "Please allow me to research into these names further."
Aranel smiled back at him, his expressions, she believed were infectious.
"Yes," She nodded. "I will allow you to do so but please tell me of anything, no matter how small or obscure that you find."
"I shall."
~*~
He had spent much of the morning searching through nearly every book in the palaces extensive library and had found nothing that could help him locate Aranel's parents.
He sighed in frustration putting the book he held down heavily on the small wooden desk.
"What are you looking for?"
Looking up, Tavaril caught sight of his cousin Cadell standing across from him a well used leather bound book in one arm. He was leaning, casually against a book case looking quite bored with his current activity which seemed to be nothing in particular.
"I am searching information on a man named Strider." He answered. Why would Cadell be trying to help him? He had had little to do with the prince, both rarely speaking to each other when they met. Even when they were elf-lings they hardly ever spent time together.
"I know all the books in this library but the only one which mentions a man named strider is the text concerning the War of the Ring." He stated, his expression unchanging, he still looked uninterested.
'The War of the Ring'? He had not thought to look through that particular text for he knew it well, as did most of the peoples of Middle Earth, but he did not remember a man named Strider mentioned through out its pages.
Noticing the confused look on his cousin's face, Cadell moved closer and began to explain further.
"Strider was the name given to my father when he travelled as a ranger for a time."
~*~
"Aranel!" Tavaril burst through the kitchen doors, needing to speak to the half elf about his new found information as soon as possible. "Aranel!"
"Slow down master Tavaril or you will surely crash into something." Gwen laughed where she stood, standing beside one of the large stoves a knife in one hand and a pile of vegetables on the counter next to her.
"Lady Gwendaline." He said as he due in a deep breath.
"Gwen," She muttered under her breath. "Aranel is not here, I sent her on an errand."
"Do you know when she will be back?" He asked sounding annoyed at the prospect of having to wait any length of time to share his new found information.
"It would do you good to learn some patience young elf." She grinned. "The *young* Aranel will be back shortly." She emphasized the word young trying to gain his full attention, it worked.
"She is not that young! You make her sound as though she were a child!" He contested.
"Nay she is not a child but I believe that her behaviour makes her seem older than she really is, I believe that she has had a hard life and has had to learn very quickly the hard way." Gwen's expression turned solemn for a moment but it disappeared a quickly as it had appeared. "I will let her know that you are looking for her master Tavaril. Now do you not have a noon meal to go to?"
He nodded. "Thank you Lady Gwendaline."
"Gwen." She growled as he raced from the room, narrowly avoiding a large piece of chopped carrot that was thrown in his direction by the now very annoyed older woman.
Getting out of the kitchen was the easy part, but moving further into the corridor was slightly hindered when Tavaril collided with another outside of the door. Both crashed to the cold stone floor quite dramatically.
"Oww!" Tavaril grimaced as the other body landed on his out stretched leg.
"Perhaps you should take more care when dashing out into a well used corridor." The voice responded, before attempting to sift off of Tavaril's leg.
Tavaril groaned as he immediately recognised the soft feminine tones of the voice.
Arwen.
"I apologise my lady." He was quick to express his regret. "I was not thinking and I..."
"Hush Tavaril, there has been no harm done." She smiled reassuringly. "Not to myself anyway" She said as Tavaril groaned loudly when he tried to pull himself up from the floor. "Are you well?"
"Aye." He muttered, finally managing to stand. He carefully applied a small amount of weight on his damaged leg and hissed as a sharp pain shot up from his ankle.
"You are not well." She sighed shaking her head from side to side. "Do not say aye when you are clearly not. Come." She held out a hand to steady him. "I will aid you in reaching the healers for it is not far."
"Nay my lady," He refused to accept the offered hand. "I am sure you have other arrangements to attend to I will manage."
"You are the same as your father," Arwen laughed softly. "You refuse to admit defeat and accept help." She reached out her arm and looped it around his waist. "Now allow me to assist you or I will inform your Elrohir that you attacked me in the corridor."
He snorted but did not attempt to remove her arm. His father would no doubt punish him for his careless actions if he were to find out so he relented, placing a small amount of his weight on his aunt as he hopped along beside her.
"What were you doing in the kitchens?" She asked as they neared the healer's chambers attempting to engage her nephew in conversation. They rarely spoke any more out of any formal situation and she greatly missed the young elf that had often visited them as a child, his once immature chatter amusing them all.
"I found some information that I thought might be of use to one of the maids working there." He said slowly, hoping that she would ask no further questions.
He had not really considered Arwens part in the information he was considering. If Aranel was indeed the daughter of Aragorn what effect would it have on Arwen when this fact was made public? Would she accept Aranel as she had accepted her husband's lover for a time or would she refuse to accept the young half elf due to what she represented? After all Aranel was the result of a greater love than that of her own.
But Arwen seemed to accept his answer and both continued to walk in silence until they reached the infirmary.
"I thank you my lady for your assistance." He said as they entered the large chambers and both were immediately approached by a trained healer.
"You are family Tavaril." She smiled as she made to leave the room. "We may not speak with each other often but that does not mean that I am not here if you need me."
He smiled in return as she turned and left him alone with the concerned healer.
~*~
Tavaril's injury to his ankle was minor, although the pain he had grumbled to the greatly amused healer was not. It had taken quite sometime for him to escape the healers clutches as he insisted on allowing his new apprentice to bandage to ankle to strengthen it for a day or two until it had healed completely.
At this he had scoffed, with his elven healing it would be fine by the end of the day, tomorrow morning at the latest, but he indulged the healer permitting the apprentice to bind his foot. He would not have agreed to if he had known that the apprentice was newly arrived that morning and had very little experience.
Finally, with as much grace as he could muster he left the healers chambers, only to be greeted by the loud sounding horn announcing the arrival of important individuals entering Minas Tirith.
Aloysius, his mind concluded. The prince must be home, yet it was only just time for noon meal, he was back earlier than planned.
Moving, cautiously due to his injured foot, he made his way across the passageway and into the library. He walked over to the open window and gazed out across the palace grounds and courtyard, the sounds of horse's hooves growing louder.
It was not long before the large party came into view, his eyes immediately drawn to powerful elf at the very front. Lord Elrond rode beside Prince Aloysius. His grandfather's visit had not been expected but was certainly not unwanted. Perhaps he should discuss prince Legolas's relationship and death with the Lord; maybe he could shed some light on many of his unanswered questions.
~*~
TBC...
Aloysius: Famous warrior (Latin)
Please tell me what you think so far :)