Fate and Destiny
By Gozilla
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Please excuse my poor English. -
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Thanks a lot to those who left me wonderful reviews! Hope you will like this chapter!
crap – thoughts
"crap" – conversation
(crap) – author's note
Chapter 2 – The Crowning Ceremony
One week later, in Minas Tirith
"My lord." Faramir pleaded, "The crowning ceremony must not be delayed any further! The hearts of the people of Gondor are getting unsettled with the absence of a leader to guide them through the re-building of the country."
"It is not the time." Aragorn said, looking out of the window, "Legolas is not yet in the condition to travel around and I wish not my best friend to be absence from the crowning ceremony."
"But the hearts of the people are getting restless." Faramir urged, "They are broken and despaired for the loss of many lives. The crowning of their king is the only way to relive their hearts. My lord, your people need you. People of Gondor need their king immediately."
Aragorn paced the room in frustration. He knew the urgency of his crowning ceremony and the status of the people in Gondor. But he did not like the fact that his best friend would most probably miss one of the most important days of his life.
"My lord!" Faramir urged desperately.
"Alright, alright!" Aragorn answered. He sighed in defeat, "The crowning ceremony will be held three days from this day. But I need you to send a messager to send my invitation to Lord Elrond of Rivendell as quickly as possible. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my lord!" Faramir replied with a broad smile of relief on his face. "I will arrange the fastest messager to Rivendell and the crowning ceremony immediately." he said as he rushed out of the room.
Aragorn could hear all the yelling and ordering outside of the room. He let out another sigh and looked out of the window. The gentle breeze seemed to be inviting the former ranger to join them for adventures, ones like he had in the past.
"I told you I don't want to be king..." Aragorn murmured, he felt as if his best friend was standing beside him, smiling and ready to tease the once mighty ranger for giving in to another person so easily.
"I wish you could be here..."
Three days later, in Minas Tirith
The ceremony was tremendous. The only occasions Aragorn had ever seen so many people crowding together were on the battlefield. Royalty members and noblemen of every tribe and race from all around the Middle Earth came to join the ceremony, together with almost every single man and woman in Gondor and Rohan.
But it is different, very different. Aragorn told himself silently. He felt tensed and very uneasy. It is not a battlefield. So, just relax. he kept reminding himself.
He cursed silently under his nose. Damn it! It is a ceremony to celebrate! Why am I feeling so nervous? He had a feeling that he would rather be standing in front of the Black Gate facing the flood of orcs than the very stage he was standing, waiting and hoping for the ceremony to end soon.
Aragorn stole a glimpse to the crowd. He saw the hobbits and Gimli were standing near the stage with Gandalf. The hobbits were very excited and their eyes shone with happiness which had almost lost in their journey to the destruction of the one ring.
He smiled to himself, glad to see the hobbits had returned to their happy- selves again.
Aragorn turned and met the eyes of the white wizard. Gandalf smiled to Aragorn, knowing very well the boredom was torturing the former ranger.
Aragorn returned a bitter smile to the wizard before he turned and look for any sign of the elves. He was disappointed as couldn't find any before forcing himself to returning his attention to the ceremony.
After an hour, the ceremony had finally come towards the end. Faramir, as the steward of Gondor, put the crown on Aragorn's head. Cheering exploded in the crowd.
Suddenly, the cheering slowly subsided. All the people, including Aragorn, turned and looked at the back of the platform where the ceremony was held.
Silence overwhelmed the whole place.
At the back of the platform, it was like a river of light gently parting the sea of people.
A group of a dozen elves, led by Legolas, who was wearing a silvery tunic, walked towards the stage from the back of the platform. People parted to give way to the elves, stunned and amused by their magical glow.
Filled with happiness, Aragorn rushed towards the elves and stopped in front of his best friend. His broad smile slowly faded as he noticed Legolas was very pale and his eyes were slightly clouded.
Before Aragorn could say a word, Legolas gave him an assuring smile and put an assuring hand on the king's shoulder. Aragorn, in return, smiled broadly and put his hand on the elf prince shoulder. Legolas silently tilted his head towards his back. Aragorn turned and looked behind the elf.
There were Arwen and Elrond standing side-by-side, with Arwen holding her father's arm. The twin brothers, Elladan and Elrohir were standing behind the two. Gently, Elrond took Arwen's hand off his arm and handed it to Aragorn.
Stunned and surprised, Aragorn took Arwen's hand from Elrond. It was the very first time his foster father showed any sign of approval publicly to his relationship with Arwen.
Aragorn bowed with respect and appreciation to Elrond. He then turned and led Arwen towards the stage. On the stage, they turned to the crowd before a cheer, even louder and merrier than the one before, exploded from the crowd. The sound of the cheering echoed all over the Middle Earth.
Grand Hall
Right after the crowning ceremony, the new king and future queen were being rushed to the grand hall for the celebration feast.
Once in the grand hall, Aragorn was immediately surrounded by many guests, congratulated for the victory over evil and the crowning. However, Aragorn wished so much to be with his elven family and his friends in the fellowship.
Understanding the new king's frustration, Arwen gently squeezed Aragorn's hand and whispered in elvish, "Don't worry, I will find and accompany them." and she left to look for her family and the members of the fellowship.
It was until the feast started that Aragorn could finally sit down and relax a little. He nodded with appreciation to Faramir, who insisted that that feast must be started and pull the new king out of the crowd.
It took a few moments for Aragorn to gather himself and looked around. While the servants were serving food and drinks, Aragorn scanned the hall and look for his friends.
The hobbits were on the left side of the hall, busied eating and drinking. Gimli was not with them. He then saw the elves sitting in a table nearby. But there was no sign of Elrond, his twin sons, Arwen or Legolas.
Aragorn searched and searched again but failed to find the missing elves. Suddenly, a hand landed gently on his shoulder. He turned and saw the grey eyes of the white wizard.
"They are not in the hall, my friend." Gandalf whispered, "Don't worry, they are fine."
"What happened?" Aragorn asked, confused.
"There is nothing you should worry about." Gandalf whispered, a hint of hesitation in his voice, "Enjoy the feast. You will see them tomorrow."
"What is going on?" Aragorn demanded, "Where are they?"
"They wish not to worry you, Aragorn." Gandalf sighed in defeat, "Legolas is not feeling well and has retired from the feast. The others are with him in the healing room, though he insisted that he would be fine on his own."
Aragorn did not question any further. As a healer, he knew that, even with his elven healing ability, Legolas' injuries would need at least a month to be fully recovered. He cursed himself for being so careless when he saw the pale face and clouded eyes of the elf. He should have known that his best friend was in no condition to leave Rivendell and rode for two days to Gondor.
Aragorn ate little and retired from the feast once the last plate of food was served. People watched in confusion as the new king rushed out of the grand hall.
Inside the healing room
Legolas lied on the bed placed in the middle of the room. His breaths were slightly ragged and irregular.
Elrond sat beside the bed, checking on the pulse of the elf prince. Arwen and her twin brothers stood on the other side of the bed, worries written on their faces.
"How is he?" Gimli asked, standing beside Elrond.
"He is doing fine." Elrond answered, putting down Legolas' hand, "The pain- killing herb is taking effect. He should be in much less pain now."
"I told you that you should not come." Elrohir said, "Look what you have done to yourself? The two days' quick ride has almost re-opened your wounds."
"I don't want to miss Aragorn's crowning ceremony." Legolas said weakly, "He is my best friend and it was one of his most important moments of his life."
"Crazy elf!" Gimli interrupted. But deep inside his heart, he knew that any one of the three companions, including himself, would do the same in similar situation.
Gently, Arwen stroke Legolas soft golden hair, "You will be alright, little Greenleaf. Now take some sleep and rest."
Before Legolas could respond, a soft knock on the door drew everyone's attention.
It was Aragorn. He walked towards the group, smiling, "I would like to thank all of you for coming. I am sorry that I could not speak to any of you earlier."
"How are you feeling, my friend?" Aragorn asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Much better." Legolas replied.
"Thanks for coming."
Everyone just smiled at the simple conversation with deep friendship.
Suddenly, sounds of footsteps echoed from the corridor outside. The four hobbits appeared at the door, each holding a large plate piled with fruits, meat and fresh bread.
"I thought Gandalf was fooling us when he said that there is another party over here! I can't believe it is real!"
"Yeah! Another party! More food! More fun!"
"How can you people left us out of this private party? It is not a real party at all without a hobbit!"
"Let's get started! Where is the ale? Did anyone bring along the ale? Don't tell me we forgot to bring it from the kitchen!"
The room was immediately filled with the happy laughs and chatting of the hobbits. Gandalf slowly walked into the room and winced an eye playfully to the new king.
The hobbits started singing and dancing around the room. They even got Elrond, who was very reluctant to do so, to dance with them.
Surprised by the appearance of the hobbits and the wizard, Legolas smiled broadly as he felt the pain being taken away by the laughter in the room. Aragorn laughed wholeheartedly for the first time since the whole ceremony started.
Aragorn stayed with Arwen and Legolas while the others started singing and dancing with the hobbits in the room.
The party lasted for about an hour. It was when the group found that the elf prince was asleep with his eyelids half-closed, they ceased the party and left the room quietly for the elf to rest.
Peacefully, Legolas spent the first night of his long stay in Minas Tirith.
End of Chapter 2
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please feel free to review and comment!
This chapter marks the end of the connecting scenes between "Sacrifice" and this story. The next chapter will be the real start of "Fate and Destiny".