Title: The End Has Come.

Author: B-witched83uk (bwitched83ukaol.com)

Rating: PG-13

Warning: One bitch of a cliff-hanger.

Summary: Gondor's royal family have their final adventure together.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings. The whole of Middle-earth belongs to Tolkien.

Dedication: My Daddy, Jeff, for no other reason then that I love him.

Beta: The Last Evenstar. A great friend and a great editor.

Archive: fanfiction.net. Any others please ask.

Feedback: I would absolutely love some because yes I am a praise junky.

A/N: The flashback with Aragorn and Galadwen is something my Mum and I used to do with my Dad.

Chapter six

The accidental declaration

Arwen sat beside the water fountain in the main courtyard, her face a picture of tranquillity. She let the soft water run over her hand, cooling and soothing as it went. Her thoughts went to her eldest daughter, Galadwen. Arwen knew in her heart that something was not right. She had an instinct about these things. She could sense a coming threat, a threat she had felt before. Galadwen was ill, and whether she lived or not was beyond Arwen's control. It was Galadwen's choice and hers alone.

Arwen had not told Galadwen, or Aragorn for that matter, that she knew of her illness. She knew that she would probably not be around to see how it all ended, to see Galadwen chose to live or die. All Arwen could do was love her daughter, and pray to the Valar that she was strong enough to make the right choice. It was Legolas whom she felt for the most. Gwydion would be heartbroken to lose his mother, as Arwen herself had been, but he was young and filled with love and life. Legolas would have nothing to hold him to together, no one to guide his steps.

Every time she looked at Legolas and Galadwen, her heart lifted, for she saw a love that burned brightly and refused to ever be quenched. It was a love she saw daily, mirrored in the eyes of her husband. How close she had come to losing him, many times. Arwen knew that it was her love for him that saved him every time, it was the bond that went beyond the confines of this world that made them both strong enough to take on anything that was thrown at them.

Arwen knew how to fight against the evils of this world, the ones who would try and part them, she knew how to defend their love and keep it safe, but when that threat came from the inside, it was a different story.

She could see a cruel fate awaiting Legolas. A fate that only Galadwen could altar, if she were strong enough to believe in love, to hold on to her faith and never let go.

Aragorn watched Galadwen, sitting quietly at the dinner table. For as far back as they could all remember, the entire family always ate their main meals together in the hall. This was the time of day when they would swap stories from their day, reveal thoughts that had been bothering them, a chance to be with those dear to them. Usually Galadwen's bright smile lit up the room, she would engage mostly with her mother, excitedly talking of coming celebrations.

Today however, Galadwen sat solemnly, her youthful eyes half closed. He thought back to when she was a child, how she would always come running to greet her Ada, beaming from ear to ear. She had been his first daughter, his little Princess. Not that he ever favoured one over the other, just that he and Galadwen had always shared a special bond.

"Naneth, wrap me up." Galadwen giggled and wriggled inside the large bath towel. The little girl couldn't keep still and Arwen laughed at the excited bundle in her arms. "And do not tell Ada."

Arwen wrapped her daughter up tightly and placed a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose, before covering her head.

Aragorn looked up from his documents, in his study where he worked away, to find his wife smiling beautifully. In her arms she held a squirming bundle, which he instantly recognised as his daughter. She was clearly trying to suppress her giggles, as Arwen walked closer to her husband.

"Meleth, this package just arrived for you," Arwen winked and placed the bundle in to his outstretched arms.

"Is that so, at this late hour. Well it must be something important indeed."

Again Galadwen giggled and Aragorn felt her shake.

"I think perhaps you should open it." Arwen smiled with love as she watched her husband play along, eyeing the package suspiciously.

Slowly, Aragorn peeled off the part of the large towel that was covering her head and took in an overly dramatic intake of breath. Galadwen went in to a fit of laughter as her father looked down at her with pretend shock.

"Surprise Ada, I bet you didn't know it was me. I am your package." Her little voice squealed with delight.

"Galadwen what in all of Middle-earth are you doing in there?" He bent down and placed a kiss on top of her freshly washed hair. "Well this is certainly the nicest package I have ever received." He winked at her, causing her to giggle again. Scooping her up in to an embrace her leant his forehead against hers, enjoying the feeling of her damp hair against his skin.

"Do I get to keep you?" he whispered softly, holding her tightly.

"Forever," the little girl whispered back, clinging to his neck and smiling like an angel.

Estelai frowned as the boredom set in. Actually, she was beyond bored now. She had been bored two days ago, when she had been confined to bed. The rain from the other day had caused her a chill, which inevitably led to a full blown cold. She silently cursed Gwydion, who had delighted in informing her that he had never felt better. Her face instantly lightened when she heard the quiet knock at the door. Every day since she had been bedridden, at exactly midday, Gwydion had come to sit with her, telling her stories and cheering her up.

"Gwydion, come in." She pushed herself up in her bed, reaching for a handkerchief to dab at her slightly dripping nose with.

"You look terrible." He came to sit beside her bed.

She treated him to a half smile, half scowl. "How typically dear of you, Gwydion."

He flashed her a dangerously charming grin. "If you continue to scowl at me, I will leave you alone in your dark little room, feeling utterly miserable for yourself."

Estelai instantly smiled at him, a perfect mixture of cheek and affection.

"That is much better." He bent down and rummaged through the small bag he had sneaked in with him. He placed a sandwich on her lap and raised his eyebrows. "How tired are you of watery broth?"

Her eyes lit up as she smelt the freshly baked bread, still warm from the oven. "Gwydion, I knew you wouldn't let me down." She bit in to the sandwich and shamelessly moaned aloud at the first real food she had eaten in days.

Gwydion closed his eyes and looked away from her. The moan, however innocent, had caused him to shake slightly. He thought about how long he had desired to make her moan, albeit under different circumstances then these.

"Gwydion?" She waved her hand in front of his face.

"What?"

"I said, would you care for a bite?" She held the sandwich out to him. He smiled weakly and simply shock his head.

Once she had all but devoured the sandwich, she snuggled back down in to her covers. "Will you read to me?" She stiffened a yawn, allowing her eyes to flutter close.

"Of course, why else do you think I come here? I am simply dying to know how the reign of Tar-Minastir ended," he teased. He had been taught all about the Kings of NĂºmenor long ago.

"Now where were we? Ah, yes, he was fighting alongside Gil-Galad." He flipped open the book and began to read.

It wasn't long before Estelai began to sigh softly, as sleep closed in. "Why are you always so good to me?" She murmured, yawning loudly.

Gwydion just smiled at her and continued to read. Soon, he heard her breathing slow to a steady pace. Placing the book on the floor, he leaned over his cousin's sleeping form and smiled sadly. He finally spoke the words he never could, not while she was awake, anyway. "I am good to you for selfish reasons, cugu tithin. I am good to you because I am in love with you."

The sleeping Princess suddenly stopped breathing altogether. Gwydion quickly sat back in alarm, realising that his cousin must not be quite as asleep as he thought. When her eyes opened, he saw only shock there. He waited for them to fill with horror and disgust, but they did not.

"Why did you say that?" She pushed herself up a little, desperate to know why her cousin would say such a thing.

"I thought you were asleep," was the only reply he could manage.

"Gwydion." She was getting angry now, at his dodging the question. "Why did you say that?"

"You know you cannot pretend to be asleep, that is cheating." He was unbelievably angry at himself. How could he have been so stupid? It was all ruined now. Estelai would hate him, his family would hate him.

He had never been so happy to see a servant before in his life. The young red-headed woman entered the room and looked from one royal to the other. "I heard raised voices. My lady, you should not be getting excited in you current state."

Estelai ignored the woman and continued to stare at Gwydion.

"You are, of course, right. I will leave her to her rest." He walked towards the door.

"Gwydion, don't you dare leave this room." Her voice was firm, but not unkind.

"I wish you a fast recovery." With that, he walked from the room, wincing and mentally kicking himself.

TBC

ME132: Hello buttercup. Kay what you wrote was so sweet, thank you, I'm glad your proud of me. I feel like I know these characters so well, especially the ones I have created. I feel like A/A's children are my own in a way, it will be really sad to say goodbye to them.

Starlight63: Don't worry, I'm not going to have her do a Galadwen. Estelai will not be kidnapped, I promise.

Viviana: I could write about Eowyn and Aragorn, but like I said, I am done with the characters I have already used. Perhaps I might use the twins, but that would only be in my new found slash hobby.

Terreis: Thank you, I do so love writing for Eldarion/Ithiliwen, they remind me of my grandparents, always bickering lovingly. It must be sad to watch your loved one grow old, I hope I managed to illustrate how they would be feeling. Glad you like the fic.

Lariren-Shadow: Reading and not reviewing is bad, but I will forgive you. I'm glad you like the story, don't worry the end will come, in just a few months. Keep reading.

DreaminofLorien: Well I can't really tell you why Ro blames him as it would give the ending away, but I can say that things aren't exactly as Dan sees them. I don't actually know what's wrong with Galadwen, but it is along the lines of Consumption, according to TheLastEvenstar.

EbonyBeach: Thanks Hana, glad you liked it. It has been really emotional to write, I even made myself cry at the end, but sadly all good things must come to an end.

The Converted: No, move to England instead, we can go look for Karl. I'm not very good at keeping my writing secrets am I? I have already told half of you what happens at the end of this story already. I couldn't help it, I was too excited. I will post my slash fic soon, I can't remember if I sent it to you already, oh well, I think you'll like it cos how could anyone not like the idea of Rumil and Figwit going at it?

Thank you Cerridwen-Evereven and ThePrincess04 for your reviews. I'm glad you have stuck with my writing for so long. x