"What was my father really like? I have read all about him in the history books but I feel like I do not really know him," Eldarion said as he slowly moved around the room.
"What can I say about him that you would like to hear? Gandalf once called him 'the greatest traveler and huntsman in this age of the world' but he casted all that aside for his family. He loved his family more than life itself. He would sacrifice his life for any of his children or wife. There were a lot of times that he worried he was not a good father to you or your sisters. Not having a real father other than Lord Elrond, he worried that he may be lacking in something and his children suffered from it. He wanted to be the best father he could possibly be and he always worried that he was not. He was always second-guessing himself and his decisions. He would have been broken if he ever disappointed you," Renatus stated calmly.
"My father never disappointed me. He was a great father and an even better king. I just sometimes wished that he had not died," Eldarion commented as he rounded the table. "How did he meet my mother?"
Aragorn stopped and let his mind regress back to the memories. He still remembered how beautiful Arwen had looked when he first saw her. He had been walking through the woods of Rivendell and singing of Lúthien and when he saw her he thought that Lúthien had appeared to him. Her beauty had entranced him and he knew at that moment that he was hopelessly in love with her. Every adventure that he went on, his love for Arwen had followed him.
"Surely you have asked your mother this? She remembers the time just as well as…Aragorn did."
Everyone averted their gaze and Eldarion quickly looked down at the floor. Occasionally, he longed for his mother to still be in Minas Tirith with him so he could have someone to talk with. Someone to sooth away his worries and tell him that everything would be better. It felt as if he was standing alone in a desert and there was no one there to help him or advise him. He lost both of his parents within a two-month period and left him stranded. He pulled out one of the chairs and lowered himself into the seat before looking up at Renatus.
"I would ask my mother but she is no longer here. She has left for Lórien to await her death upon Cerin Amroth."
Aragorn felt the entire world stop abruptly as he stared in shock at Eldarion. Arwen had departed for Lórien to die? She was not wandering around Minas Tirith? Cerin Amroth was a place that held a special meaning for both of them. It was at that spot that once held the house of the Kings that ruled the land of Lórien that the two of them promised to marry each other one day. The room tipped violently as he gripped the edge of the table he was sitting at. He couldn't believe it. He had believed that Arwen would wait in Minas Tirith till it was her time. This news was a violent shock to him and he really didn't know how to respond to it.
"I…I am sorry. That news is a shock to me, to say the least. I thought that she would stay with her family until it was her time," he stuttered in shock.
"She said that there were too many memories for her to deal with. When Elessar died she could find no more beauty in the life around her and was reminded too often of her husband. She departed about a month after his death when she was able to get everything in order," Eldarion said quietly and accepted a goblet of wine from one of the servants.
"The Evenstar told me when I was escorting her to Lorien that she could never stand to be around all the reminders of Strider. It was too painful for her," Legolas commented quietly before brushing aside a strand of hair.
Aragorn suddenly felt a powerful surge of emotion almost swell over him while hearing these things about his wife. He remembered her laugh, the way she looked in the moonlight, her moans of passion; everything started to bombard him in rapid succession. The room suddenly started to close in on him as he slowly stood and knew he needed to get out of that room for a while.
"Excuse me for a moment, please."
He retrained himself from running out of the room but broke into a sprint when he was in the hallway. His footsteps took him to a small balcony that was unused by any of the servants or family. When he was still king he would make it his goal to find these small little places where he could be alone with his thoughts. It was not an uncommon event for a servant to find him asleep or dozing on an out-of-the-way balcony well past dusk. The wind of the evening swept up from the city below and brushed his hair away from his face as he sighed and closed his eyes. A few tears escaped his tightly closed eyes and sunk to the floor. What had he done to the fair Evenstar? His beloved? He brought this bitter end upon her, it was entirely his fault that she now lay dying upon the fair hill where they had pledged their love to one another so many years ago.
It was then a new resolve came over him: perhaps he could stop the bitter end that she was never supposed to meet. If he could make it to Lothlorien in time, he could save his beloved Arwen. He owed that much to her.
Aragorn swiftly moved back into the castle and he hurried to his rooms, not noticing the set of eyes that followed him.
Legolas stepped out from the shadows where he had been concealed. He had followed Renatus as he practically ran from the dining hall and followed him to this spot. He frowned in confusion, how did Renatus know about that balcony? The elf prince only knew about it because Aragorn had shown it to him once when the two had been aimlessly roaming the palace halls, just savoring in the presence of the other as they sometimes did. Legolas' eyes glistened with tears at the memory, until his thoughts strayed back to what he had just witnessed. How in all of Arda did this strange elf know about that balcony? Come to think of it, Renatus roamed all these halls as if he had actually lived there before.
Legolas swiftly made his way down to Renatus' room, intent on getting to the bottom of this riddle. He almost walked smack dab into Renatus, who seemed to be in a hurry. Legolas noticed that the elf had packed a travel bag and was dressed to go on a journey with his weapons ready. Renatus swung a cloak over his shoulders and lifted the hood to cover his hair before glancing up at Legolas.
"You are leaving?" Legolas asked, somewhat surprised.
"Yes," Renatus stepped around the prince of Mirkwood. Legolas frowned and swiftly followed the mysterious elf from Lothlorien as he made his way towards the stables.
"Why?"
"My reasons."
"And for what reasons are you leaving?"
"My own. Now if you do not mind."
On a hunch, Legolas tried something, "You cannot save her."
Renatus stiffened but did not turn around, "I do not know what you are talking about."
"I think you do."
Renatus did not answer but sped up and quickly entered the stables, calling over his shoulder, "Please thank King Eldarion for his hospitality. I will send the horse back as soon as I reach my destination."
Legolas sighed and turned back towards the castle. If Renatus wanted to leave, the Mirkwood elf would not try and stop him.
Renatus swiftly tacked a young stallion and hurriedly mounted the horse, speeding out of Gondor as fast as possible. He galloped through Pelennor Fields, memories of the bloody war of the one ring running through his head. As he crested a large hill, something made him turn around and look back towards Gondor. His eyes were suddenly drawn to the river.
Miles down the river, his sharp elven eyes picked up the faint outline of the black sails of a Corsair ship in the shadows of the night and it was heading straight up the river towards Gondor. It would reach their banks in the next few days, if he was not mistaken. If that was a scout, Aragorn did not even want to think about the advantage the corsairs could gain. He looked in the direction of Lórien, whom did he choose? The past or the future? The love of his life or the beautiful son she had bore him? Renatus sighed heavily, what did he do? He knew in his heart what he needed to do, but he was loath to do it. He glared up at the sky and for the first time in his life he despised the Valar. Almost as if hearing him and taking offense, the sky opened up and rain began to fall upon his face. With a piercing curse, he spun the horse around and kicked it into a gallop heading back towards Minas Tirith. He could almost hear the Valar laughing at him as he scowled angrily and leaned over the horse's neck. The speed, wind, and rain snapped his hood back as he rode and urged the horse to move faster. He slowly started to realize that this was probably the better decision as rainwater soaked his hair and cloak. When he married Arwen, he knew what would happen when he died, they talked about it often. She knew what would happen when she married him and forfeited her immortality. They thought they were prepared for it but apparently Arwen was more prepared than Aragorn. Arwen could already have passed and the ride was a waste of time. He knew of the situation in Gondor and that he was needed here and not in Lórien while he did not know what was happening in the golden woods. His son needed him. Arwen would also thrash the life out of him if she learned that he had left his son in trouble to come and look for her. Aragorn shuddered as he imaged that incident; yeah, Arwen would have seriously maimed him.
The guards opened the gate as he galloped up to the city and through the first tier. The streets were relatively empty as the horse and elf rode past stores and homes. The horse's hooves clattered sharply on the stone and splashed water from the street as a few citizens looked out from their homes to watch the strange elf ride past their home. The silver-haired elf cast occasionally glances to the side stores as his silver eyes watched every movement. He rode as he always did, with his back straight and head held high like that of the kings before him with no mind to the rainwater that streamed down his face. While riding through the fifth tier, two pairs of eyes watched him from the Citadel as Eldarion and Legolas watched from a covered balcony.
"You have doubts about this elf?" Eldarion asked as his eyes followed the horse and rider.
"Yes, my king. I fear that he may be an assassin. He knows these halls like he has been here before and conceals details about his life," Legolas replied as he also watched Renatus and the horse ride towards the royal stables.
"There is something else that I hear your voice, Master Elf. Would you speak of it?" Eldarion asked without looking at the Mirkwood elf by his side.
Legolas cast a glance back towards Gimli who stood by the doorway as the dwarf quietly watched him and the king. Legolas did have his assumptions but no hard evidence to back it up. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell the king his concerns or keep them to himself to mull over longer. The rainwater ran off the edge of the balcony's covering and fell to land on the stone railing. He watched through the heavy rain as the Lórien elf walked out of the royal stables and towards the entrance.
"Master Legolas?"
"I fear that he may have somehow killed your father. He was just leaving for Lórien and I believe it was to possibly kill your mother if she has not already passed. He may be here to kill you."
"Oh, come Master Legolas. This is a bit of a stretch to imagine."
"It a reasonable answer."
"Why?"
"You have no children; you are the last of the line. If you are killed then the line of the kings will be forever broken. Perhaps this elf is a hired assassin sent here by the Corsairs. I do not believe his story of being an old friend of Strider," Legolas commented as his eyes bore into the figure of the other elf.
"He could have killed me during that skirmish with the orcs earlier today. Instead, he jumped in front of an arrow for me. Your opinion?"
"He may have been trying to get in your good grace to be in a better striking position later. His reasoning may be complex but he has his own private agenda. Of this I am sure."
Renatus suddenly stopped and stood still before snapping his head up to lock gazes with Legolas. The two elves stared at each other silently as both pressed their will upon the other. Legolas finally averted his gaze and when he looked back, Renatus was gone and the door was closing softly. The Mirkwood elf's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he turned and followed Eldarion back towards the main dining hall. He silently noted how much Eldarion was like his father at times like these. Legolas had watched for any reaction from the king when he had commented about the assassin possibly killing his father but had seen none. Eldarion took it all in stride and filed it away with everything else that he was being confronted with. Nothing had the ability to faze him when he was focused on his task; just like his father, Legolas noted with an odd swell of pride. Legolas sometimes felt as if he had helped raise Eldarion as much as he would his own son. Gimli walked by his side and grabbed Legolas' arm to hold him back as they walked into the dining hall.
"What is it, Gimli?" he asked quietly as he leaned down a bit to hear the dwarf better.
"Are ya' sure about your suspicions about Renatus? He doesn't seem like an assassin ta me."
"Have you ever been around an assassin before, Gimli?" Legolas asked sarcastically as he raised his eyebrows.
"Well, no, but there be just something 'bout Renatus that doesn't make sense ta me."
"The fact that it does not make sense to you should be enough proof that something is not right about Renatus. Think about it Gimli: he knows his way around far too well for this to not be his first visit, we know nothing of him except that he comes from Lórien, and he hesitated when he gave us his name. If he is not an assassin then he is certainly not good news for the king."
"Well, what do ye plan to do 'bout it?"
"For now, nothing, except carefully watch him. We have to be sure that the king is never left alone with him, but for now we just watch."
Legolas walked into the dining hall and found Renatus talking with the king. His hood to his cloak was thrown back and he still carried his traveling pack and weapons. Silver eyes flickered over towards Legolas before going back to the king as Legolas and Gimli stood quietly by while Renatus talked with Eldarion.
"There is a Corsair scout ship a few miles down the river coming towards Gondor. I only saw one but there could be more behind it; I did not stop to wait and see before riding back. If it were a scout ship then they would probably attack in about five days or a week. The city's military should be called in and equipped to be ready when the Corsairs attack. It would best if you sent out a small group of soldiers, only about five strong, to investigate the ship from the shores. Have them see what kind of attack the Corsairs could muster and how powerful; it will help you know what the best way to counter-attack would be," Aragorn said sternly, hoping his son would understand what things needed to be done.
"The king does not answer orders from a strange elf from Lórien. Last I checked, Gondor's king was King Eldarion son of Elessar, not King Renatus," Legolas commented as Renatus turned to glare at Legolas for a moment.
Aragorn bit his lip painfully to keep himself from rising to the bait and snapping back at Legolas. He knew that Legolas had his reservations about him and his unwillingness to reveal any information about himself but that was no reason to out-right attack him verbally. How Aragorn just wanted to break his vow and tell them who he really was but knew that he couldn't do that. There was also a good chance that they didn't believe him, which he understood totally. Believing that the Valar brought him back as an elf to help his son and kingdom defeat the Corsairs? That was a long stretch for him to ask his old friends to believe. How would they react if he told them who he was and pulled out the Aragorn persona he often used in public and not behind closed doors? When he was king, he could stare a man down during any discussion and could say the most things without actually saying a word. He used this ability as he looked at Legolas to force him to stand down. His silver eyes sparkled dangerously as he clenched his jaw tightly.
"I only say this because I worry about the kingdom of Gondor. I watched your father work far too hard to unite it for the Corsairs to tear it down again," Aragorn snapped as one of the large set of doors swung open to slam into the walls.
All four men jumped in shock as they looked towards the door to see a very angry woman standing in the doorway with her hands planted on her hips. Ebony black hair shimmered against the torchlight as she spared a glare for each of the men in the room. Sharp blue eyes bore into each of them as she slowly walked into the room and waited for one of them to explain to her what they were arguing about. Aragorn recognized the young woman and knew he should remember her but the name wasn't coming back to him. It looked greatly like…
"Sister! What are you doing here?" Eldarion asked and advanced to the woman to hug her tightly.
It was Alcarohtarë! His first daughter, Aragorn thought suddenly and coughed softly to hide his gasp. Apparently Arwen and he had named her aptly for she looked exactly like a 'radiant warrior'. Her slim figure was lithe and powerful as she returned her brother's hug.
"I came because I heard you arguing from down the hallway. What has gotten you so angered, brother?" she asked and brushed aside a stray strand of Eldarion's hair.
"Some disturbing news has come to my knowledge but let me you introduce you to our guests first. You remember Lord Legolas and Lord Gimli," he introduced and motioned towards the elf and dwarf.
"Greetings, Lady Alcarohtarë, you seem to grow more radiant by every day," Legolas greeted and kissed the back of her outstretched hand.
"And greetings to you, Lord Legolas," she replied with a bright smile.
"Lady, you look as fair as ever," Gimli grinned and bowed.
"And you look more handsome every day, Lord Gimli."
"Sister, this is Renatus from Lórien. He was a friend of our father."
Aragorn held his breath as his daughter turned to greet him and he softly kissed the back of hand. When he had died, his daughter was just reaching womanhood and now she was a beautiful young woman. Her pointed ears proved that she took more after her mother but seemed to have her father's presence. She demanded respect from all of those around her and would attain it anyway possible. Her brown knitted in concentration as Aragorn straightened and released her hand.
"Is there a problem, my lady?"
"You remind me of someone very close to me."
()()()()()()()()()
Well, there is the new chapter and I hope everyone enjoyed it. A HUGE, MASSIVE thank you goes out to Linuvial Greenleaf for her help with this chapter. I was totally stuck at a paragraph and she helped me get through it and a chunk of this story was written by her so thank you so much Linuvial. There really is nothing else I can say except enjoy the chapter. Cheers!
Got-lotr- Hope you enjoy this chapter. I have the scene of when they find out all planned in my head and just have to write it now.
Linuvial Greenleaf- It is my beta slave! Heehee, girl, you do not know how glad I am that you helped with this chapter. I would have been so lost without you. Thank you so much! All of us anti-canon people are going down together! And I think that I will use your suggestion at the end of the betaed chapter. Very interesting. Heehee.
Roccovende- This story is going to be full of the suspense and trauma of hiding himself from the others. I am just having so much fun with this chapter, Heehee.
XxgemxX- I try to put those small little tidbits of his past in there to kind of keep everything in perspective, if you will. And it adds a bit of humour to the story when it would usually be an entire drama.
Elvendancer-Well, I hope your training and dance recital went well. I use to dance a really long time ago but stopped that to get into equestrian but I still dance at clubs. The glow is from writing late into the night and getting one of those reviews at the middle of the night and I get all giddy. You should have been listening in on Linuvial Greenleaf's and mine conversation last night; we were just cracking each other up endlessly. We were rolling on the floor in hysterics.
Starlit Hope- Oh, Legolas is going to implode eventually. Heehee.
Cloud-123- Well thank you very much for the compliment. I am glad that you are enjoying this story so much. Aragorn will not reveal himself on purpose until far later in the story. It will include Legolas and Linuvial likes the idea that I have so I will probably use it.
LOTRFaith- Well I hope you did not have to wait too long for this chapter. Aragorn will continue to provoke Legolas to get a rise out of him which I think will be the comic relief of the story. I am planning on not ending this story on a sunny note. Do not know how I will do it but it will be good.
Aislynn Crowdaughter- Fine, your loss. Later.
Kalquelle- I worked on all my stories while I was in London and Ohio so I had some stuff when I actually got home. You are writing your own story? Well, you will have to tell me when it is updated and I will head over that way to read it. I know I have seen those names before, well all of them I think. Yes, please keep the name the same so I know who I am talking to.
Sielge- I am really blushing over here; I do not take compliments very well. I am thrilled that it is your favorite story. I had a blast in London with the other girls. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Elven Kitten- Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others. Till next update.
Dha-Gal- Hope you find time to review for this chapter. Heehee, but no rush, just as long as you do it eventually. Till next update.
Beling- You are making me blush over here. I am just going to throw a whole bunch of emotional conflicts in this story. I am extremely proud of this story and can not wait till it is completed. I will cry when it ends but will very proud.
Grumpy- Thank you so much for the compliment. And you just planted an idea into my head…now we are in trouble.
Nietta- You should be shamed! (waggles finger at you) But I forgive you, I know how stories slip through the cracks and you do not notice some stories. And now you have me blushing. Of course I will make the readers wait until Aragorn's identity is revealed. I was grinning insanely when I wrote that line about elves heal quickly. I could just imagine the insane smile he would have. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the others.
Elysia of Corellia- Wow! That is a really long review. I hate it when ff.net eats my reviews (takes a bat to ff.net) GIVE ME MY REVIEWS! Heehee. And oh no! Aragorn would never get himself into trouble. PAH! That is a good joke if I ever heard one. Legolas has been hit over the head too many times to make the connection. Happens to all of us, the answer is right there in front of us and we never see it. Legolas and Aragorn will just be going head to head with each other in this story. I am just having far too much fun with them; this amount of fun should be illegal. I apologize for taking so long to update but I hope this chapter makes up for my tardiness. And…um…who is Carcharoth? Just wondering. If I am going to be licked to death by something I would like to know what it is first. Enjoy!
Wolf Jade- Honestly, I have no idea how I do it either. These ideas just come to me at odd times of the day and I have to put them down or they just swirl around in my head for a while and I start to mould them into a story. You are seriously making me blush over here with your compliments. I could never handle them well. Well, hope you enjoy this chapter and sorry for making you wait for it.
