Aragorn jabbed his heels into his horse's flanks and pulled back to make the horse rear and strike the air with her front hooves just as an arrow zinged past his head.

"Run! Go! Go!" he yelled as Legolas fired arrows into the patches of grass.

His mare's hooves dug into the ground immediately when all four hooves touched the ground and launched herself after Eldarion and Legolas. Reaching for an arrow, he notched it and fired at a soldier that had suddenly appeared. A horn blow from the direction of Minas Tirith told them that the city was under attack as their horses galloped towards the city. Gimli was striking people with his axe from atop Arod as Eldarion wielded Andruil at his side. Corsairs on horseback followed closely as Eldarion's horse led the group towards Minas Tirith. Eldarion sat taller in the saddle to see what was happening at the city. The Rammas Echor was breeched and the guard had pulled back to the city and locked down the entire city and all the tiers. There was no way back into the city and to try would mean certain capture. Eldarion's eyes narrowed as he turned his horse sharply to the left and motioned for the others to follow. His horse galloped onward strongly as Eldarion leaned low over the stallion's neck. Nearing as close as he dared to the city, he sat up tall in the saddle to be heard.

"Light the beacons! Call for Rohan!"

His horse swerved to the side suddenly to avoid a Corsair as Eldarion gripped the mane to steady himself. The wind tore fiercely at his clothes from the speed they traveled at. Once putting enough distance between them and their followers and the city, Eldarion slowed his mount and turned to face the direction they came from. Resting his free hand on his hip, Eldarion breathed deeply to calm his racing heart as he slouched in the saddle. The other three were behind him somewhere as he slowly sheathed his sword.

"Well, that was exciting," Legolas commented dryly as Eldarion pulled his horse around and started walking.

"Excuse me, my king, but your city lies in that direction," Aragorn called as he pointed in the other direction.

"I know, Lord Renatus."

"But-"

"I know, Lord Renatus, but I know my city better than you think you do. Follow me."

Aragorn raised an elegant eyebrow at his son's comment. He had the urge to take that boy over his knee and teach him about respect. 'Respect to an elf who he does not know is his father?' his mind questioned as he nudged his horse after Eldarion. He was no longer Aragorn Elessar Telcontar, King of Gondor; a man to be respected by all who met him. He was Renatus of Lorien, an elf with no history save that which he could not speak of. 'This is no longer your reign but your son's', a voice whispered in his ear.

"Of course, my king," Renatus murmured and glanced to Legolas.

Eldarion rode up a steep path as branches scratched at his face and snagged his clothing. Small, sharp stones littered the path, causing the horses to occasionally slip and stumble. Evening was coming as they wove up a winding trail and onto a rock plateau which was shielded by a large slab of mountain that blended in perfectly with the mountain wall. Pausing there, Legolas slipped off Arod and gently picked up one of Arod's hooves.

"The horses' feet are cut up from the stones. They will all be lame soon if we continue on this path," he said as Aragorn jumped off and checked his horse's hooves.

"I will have medicine for them soon, Lord Legolas. Have patience," Eldarion said as his eyes searched the stone wall.

"It is about six steps to your left, my king," Gimli said quietly as Legolas turned to look at the dwarf.

"Aye, thank you, Master Dwarf."

"What are you talking about?" Aragorn asked as Eldarion moved down the wall.

"Live free, die well," Eldarion commanded to the wall and stepped back.

Before any of the others could speak, there was a deep rumbling noise and a door outline appeared in the solid stone. The door slowly opened to reveal a dark passage into the mountain. Glancing to the others, Eldarion led his horse into the passage and motioned for the others to follow. Once they were all inside, Eldarion struck two flint stones together and ignited a torch. Reaching for the stone door, he pulled it closed and let it slide back into place on its own. The seams melted into the wall and it looked like a solid stone wall again.

"What is this place?" Aragorn asked as he looked around the small cavernous opening.

"A secret passageway I had the dwarves build for me. It is foolish to have only one way in and out of a large city," Eldarion answered as he knelt next to a stockpile of dried food and medicines.

"And you knew of this?" Legolas asked Gimli who nodded.

"King Eldarion asked me to choose mah most loyal fellow dwarves and swear them ta secrecy. We delved deep inta th' mountain an' widened it fur three horses wide. It took us two months of constant work ta finish it. We came in secret an' we left in secret," Gimli said as Eldarion handed the torch to Aragorn and leaned against his stallion to lift his hoof.

"How many people know of this?" Aragorn asked and accepted the jar of ointment from Eldarion.

"The dwarves and my family are the only ones still on these lands. Lord Elladan and Lord Elrohir put the spell on the doors before they sailed. They used their father's books to cast it and left me the books before they left. And now you two know so I am swearing both of you to secrecy. I will not sacrifice my family's safety," Eldarion said and looked to both elves from his kneeling position.

"You have my word, my king," Aragorn said as he rested his hand over his heart and bowed his head.

"And mine," Legolas echoed as he also bowed.

"And I thank you for it, my friends. Now we must hurry. Alcarohtarë can only tolerate my advisors for a few hours before going for her blades," Eldarion said and took the torch and his horse's reigns.

Holding the torch high, Eldarion led the way through the passage. Aragorn silently praised his son for his quick thinking and secrecy to have this passage dug. It would only take a little bit for him to tell them the truth. How easy it would be for him to let it slip. But he wouldn't; he already though that through. The argument had gone through his mind more times than he wished to know. Telling them would only give immediate relief and then the euphoria would fade and reality would set it. He would have to leave again and leave his family once again. Leave his family and friends to go back to the Valar and his resting place. 'Until I am released or death takes me,' he thought, reciting the Gondorian soldiers' oath. His eyes stared unblinking at the rear of Legolas' mount. How would Legolas handle it?

"We are almost there," Eldarion called and effectively caught Aragorn's attention.

He noted that they had steadily been going up an incline all the way and assumed that they were climbing up to the Citadel. Where would this passage come out at? Aragorn glanced to Legolas, noticing that the elf's natural glow had brightened significantly since they entered the passageway. Looking down at his own hand which glowed slightly, Aragorn slowly smirked and breathed deeply as he tensed his muscles. The glow brightened to almost outshine Legolas. Relaxing his muscles, the glow dimmed and this entertained Aragorn for several minutes going from bright to dim, bright to dim. He flinched when Legolas suddenly whirled around and glared at Aragorn.

"Stop that, Renatus! You are giving me a headache!"

Aragorn quickly dimmed his light and sheepishly grinned.

"Sorry. Got a little carried away," he said and heard Eldarion stop up ahead.

"Here is the door."

"Good, 'cause I'm about ta hurt our littl' lantern 'ere," Gimli mumbled as Aragorn whacked his arm.

"You elves are such comedians," Eldarion muttered and dropped his reins to walk up a heavy ramp.

Reaching through two boards, he pushed up another board as hay sprinkled onto him. Pressing his back against the doors, he listed with his legs and felt the door lift a bit.

"Everyone give me a hand," he said and shifted over to make room for everyone.

They all pressed their backs against the door and lifted at once. The door creaked open as they shoved the doors open all the way. Hay stuck to all of them as they stood in the hay room of the royal stables. Legolas brought their horses up the ramp and took them to their stalls as Aragorn and Eldarion closed the doors and spread out hay. Eldarion set a few hay bales halfway on the doors and in short time it looked like a hay room again.

"Alcarohtarë will be in the throne room directing the soldiers. I hope she had the beacons lit," Eldarion said and walked out of the stables.

"It will take Rohan three and a half days to get here. Depending on her size, the Gondor army may not be able to hold off the Corsairs. What then, my king?" Legolas asked as Eldarion stopped and looked to the golden haired elf.

"The army will hold them off because they must. They will not hand over the White City without a fight and a fight is what we shall give them."

Aragorn felt pride swell in him and almost choke him as he heard his son speak. This is the man that Aragorn hoped his son would become. Eldarion was becoming the King of Gondor and a ruler not to be trifled with. The young man strode through the upper parts of the city and up the steps to the highest courtyard where the White Tree of Gondor stood proudly. Citizens and soldiers gaped in amazement as their king tread past them and to the Citadel doors. Leaning his weight into the doors, Eldarion pushed both doors open and they struck the wall with a loud bang. All conversations and arguments ceased when the king burst through the doors and stopped to look at everyone. Alcarohtarë stood at the head of the table with a scowl on her face which quickly disappeared when she saw her brother.

"Eldarion!" she cried and rounded the table to tightly hug her brother.

"I am all right, sister. Did you order the beacons lit?" he asked and glanced to the advisors.

"Yes, they are lit. All of the reserve soldiers from all the tiers are being equipped with weapons. The Corsairs have not launched another attack yet. I believe they are waiting until the dead of night," she said as Eldarion walked to the front of the large table.

He looked over all the reports that were spread out on the table and glanced up to look at Alcarohtarë.

"How close are they to the outer wall?" he asked and looked to an advisor.

"Just out of range of arrows but too close for catapults. If they have not attacked with serious intentions by tomorrow morning then they may be attempting to starve us into submission."

"We will have to engage them head on in battle," Eldarion murmured as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Lure them into a trap and ambush them," Aragorn said and Eldarion turned to look at him.

"Where?"

"The streets of the first tier. All the roads are a bottleneck and if we can lure them into the street we have the advantage if we place soldiers atop the buildings."

"If we funnel all of them in we can demand their surrender or attack. Box them in from all sides," Eldarion said as he slowly nodded.

"We would need something good to entice them to enter the city," Legolas said as Eldarion nodded.

"Me."

"What?" Aragorn asked quickly, looking to Eldarion.

"What better bait than the king himself. I will ride out with a small army of soldiers. Lead them to believe we were outnumbered and start backing into the city. Once they are in the city, we spring the trap."

"I am not comfortable with this, my king. There are too may variables that can go grossly wrong," Aragorn said as he shook his head.

"Who else would be able to lure the Corsairs as easily then I? The soldiers and I will slip through the second tier's gates and have the gates close behind us. We would be out of harm's way by the time the Gondor soldiers made their move," Eldarion planned out loud as his hand ran through his thick hair.

"It is a good plan, my king," one of the advisors added.

Stepping forward, Aragorn grabbed Eldarion's arm and pulled the king to him.

"My king, this plan is foolhardy. The Corsairs could do something that we did not plan for; they may not go for the bait. There are other options available to us that we can explore," he whispered into the king's ear so the advisors could not hear.

"What other options are there, Renatus? I am open to other suggestions."

Aragorn's mind raced as he scrambled for another solution. It was a good plan but far too risky. Sadly, he could think of nothing else viable.

"My father used the same strategy to attack a horde of orcs. He lured them all into a mountainous pass where other Rangers attacked from above with arrows. No one was killed or injured," Eldarion said under his breath to the elf.

"The kingdom was not at risk during that campaign! Aragorn did not have the duties and responsibilities that you now have."

Eldarion lifted his head and locked gazes with the elf. Aragorn could see the raw determination and intelligence strongly in his son's eyes. And the unwillingness to yield.

"It is because of my duties and responsibilities that I must do this. Responsibility to my kingdom, people, family and myself. To prove to myself that I am as good of a king and a man as my father was."

"You do not have to prove it to anyone for your father is already proud of you. You are a great king and a great man; the people know this and love you," Aragorn said passionately, pleading for his son to see the truth in his words.

"How can the people believe in something that I do not believe in?" Eldarion asked softly before brushing off Aragorn's hand.

Eldarion stepped away from Aragorn and turned to Legolas and Gimli.

"Am I to assume that you ride with me?"

"Of course, my king," Legolas replied as he bowed.

"Good, we execute tomorrow afternoon. Have the men position on top of the buildings and behind the second tier gates at morning. Evacuate the first two tiers of all citizens," Eldarion ordered the advisors as he walked out of the throne room.

Legolas glanced to Renatus before following the king and soon the room was empty except for Aragorn and Alcarohtarë. Aragorn pressed his face into his hands as the elf maiden slowly walked up to his side. Her hand gently touched Aragorn's arm and he lifted his head to look to her. Seeing her worried expression, Aragorn gently pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back soothingly.

"Worry not, Alcarohtarë. I will not allow anything to happen to him," Aragorn soothed softly and kissed the top of her head.

"I know, ada. You always protected us," she murmured and tightened her grip on her father.

"I did my best," he responded and softly sighed.

Alcarohtarë pulled back and wiped her moist eyes. Smiling weakly, she slowly walked from the throne room with a straight back.

Aragorn turned and looked up to the throne where he had sat for so long. So many years ruling a kingdom with his queen at his side; his lovely queen. He slowly walked up to the throne and knelt on the steps before the high throne of Gondor. Leaving forward, he rested his head on the edge of the seat and released a shuddered breath. So many lives resting on his son's decisions; his son that was about to put his life in danger.

(I)(I)(I)

Aragorn slowly walked across the high courtyard towards the blond haired elf that stood by the wall. His gaze scanned over the Pelennor Fields where the Corsairs were camped. Silently walking up to the elf, Aragorn stood beside his old friend and clasped his hands behind his back. It was early morning; an hour before dawn. The sky was just starting to brighten towards the east where only elven eyes could see.

"Gimli and I are the only two remaining from the Fellowship and the war. Gandalf sailed with Elrond, Frodo and others. Merry and Pippin have passed as Eomer has."

"And Aragorn," he added and glanced over to Legolas.

"Yes, and Aragorn. I never though it would hurt as badly as it did when he ceased to draw breathe. For a time, Gimli worried that I would fade from my grief. It helped whenever Eldarion asked for my advice; I can see so much of Aragorn in him, and Arwen. He is so much like his father though. It was painfully obvious earlier today in the throne room."

"He is also as reckless as Aragorn," Aragorn muttered, mentally rolling his eyes.

Legolas dryly chuckled and nodded his head in agreement. He remember how reckless Aragorn use to be before he became king. He was still reckless even after Aragorn became king but it was not as bad. But he enjoyed riding with Aragorn into anything that the man asked him to.

"Eldarion also has Aragorn's intelligence so that must be his saving grace. Ability to think his way out of anything," Legolas commented with a smile.

"It must be."

"What are your thoughts concerning the plan this afternoon?" Aragorn asked as he turned to face Legolas.

"Any good plan can fail, no matter how well thought out. This plan can go wrong or it can go smoothly. I can not foresee the future," he responded quietly as his gaze turned to the mountains.

"Do not play games with me, Legolas. I want to know the truth of what you think, not a mysterious and cryptic elf answer. I have heard enough of those in my life," Aragorn snapped as the other elf turned towards him.

"Alright, Renatus; the truth is, I do not trust you. I still believe you to be a spy of some sorts; perhaps for the Corsairs or someone else, I do not know. You have proven yourself to protect and care for Eldarion and the Princess but there is something else. You have a separate agenda and I will kill you if you dare harm King Eldarion. Do not mistake that."

"I would never do anything to harm him! I want to save this kingdom, not destroy it. Destroying it or seeing it fall would destroy me. Trust me when I say that I have this kingdom's best interest in mind."

"Until you tell me all the truth that I want to know, I will not trust you. I see something behind your eyes that has me intrigued and I do not know if it is for good or bad," Legolas snapped as Aragorn sighed and dropped his gaze.

"I hope that time comes soon," Aragorn murmured and turned away from his old friend's confused expression.

He walked slowly back to the Citadel to don his weapons. Today there would be a battle; and the morn dawned red.

(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)

Okay so it took me a bit over a week to get this new chapter out to you. But here it is, a brand new chapter for everyone to read. I hope everyone really enjoys this chapter and I just realized that this story is coming close to almost being finished. I have maybe five chapters left; I am not sure how much I can pull out to end it nicely. But we shall see what happens. So review for me, please.

Linuvial Greenleaf- I also love it when you are random. It is just so much fun. Gah, I can not wait until you get to come down here. I am so excited to finally get to meet you. That entire day I am going to be on pins and needles in class, so eager to get out of there and meet up with you. My dreams have been screwed up. I told you of the one that I had with the glass building, horses, diving off the cliff and into the ocean. Yeah, my mind is warped just a bit. That is the weirdest I have had in quite a while.

Sielge- Thank you very much for the compliment. Yes, our Renatus is very aware of his surroundings; probably a throw back from being a Ranger and then an elf. Like sensory overload or something. It was the only reason that I could come up with that sounded viable. Gah, I am such a horrible writer if that is all that I could come up with. And a Happy New Year to you too…a bit late.

Elysia of Corellia- See, now you can not rag on my ass for being so late when I got that chapter out relatively quickly. And look, this one is out in reasonable time also.

I am taking votes still on how Legolas and Eldarion discover who Renatus really is but I think that I have the entire scene already planned out in my mind. The idea came to me while driving about 80mph down the freeway on my way back home from working over New Year's weekend and the idea just hit me. So I scribbled it down (in really sloppy handwriting) on an envelope and I ran it past my beta reader and she was blown away with the idea. Honestly, I wanted something different other than one of them getting injured and then the other healing. Oh there will be that, but it will not be the way that they find out.

I had to decide whether to have 'Dan and 'Ro remain in ME or have them sail and I decided that sailing would eliminate some potential problems. As in why did I not have them in the story? But I think that the next person in line for the throne after Eldarion would probably be his oldest sister, aka Alcarohtarë. But that is another topic for another day.

Oh if only Legolas knew how close he was to discovering the truth (slaps forehead with Elysia). He is so going to slap himself when he realizes who Renatus really is. Only I can make a male elf this stupid in a story which he is usually very intelligent. I really should make him more intelligent. But not yet; I am having far too much fun.

Wolf Jade- I thought that was a very cute scene when I wrote it. Always have to throw in a few humorous scenes to break up all the seriousness. Yes, you spelled her name correctly. Legolas does need some sense knocked into him but he is male…and I just realized that you could be a guy in which I am sorry for the small insult. Love ya, Heehee.

Neoinean- No, it does not look very good but they made it out okay. No fear.

XxgemxX- A small cliffie; not the worse that I have ever written. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Later!

Randa-Chan- I know you reviewed every chapter or close to it but I am too lazy and it is too late to read through all of them right now and reply to them. But I am doing the one for Chapter Nine. I am glad that you are enjoying this story so much. This story has taken so many twists and turns but it has been fun so far. Well, I am finishing this the following morning and I reread the reviews for all the chapters and you really should have gone to bed. This is someone speaking with experience. I am notorious for staying up late reading or working on my next chapter…like this chapter.

Viviana- Legolas just can not help being stupid. Really! It is like a medical condition in this story for him. Well, he will eventually get smarter towards the end of this chapter. I hope anyway. Enjoy!

KeshieShimmer- You know it always worries me when I see a review from a new person. I have this fear that the person is going to flame me; I really do not know where this fear comes from. But you like the story! LOL. It is 1:50 in the morning so sorry if I am a little…random. Thank you so much for the compliment; I also love to hear stuff like that from readers. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Horsiegurl- I speak two languages: English and bad English. Heehee. Anyway. I am glad that you enjoyed the previous chapter and I hope that you enjoyed this one also. I work so hard to be sure that the chapter is enjoyable and everyone likes it. I hope my beta reader would tell me if it sucked; I know I have written some scenes where it sucked but usually I catch it and work on it.

Firniswin- Hope this was quick enough for you. I tried to hurry with this chapter and it was flowing pretty smoothly except for a little rough spot I hit but I eased through it. Thank you so much for the compliment; I always worry that I skim over things and make the story seem rushed when I really do not mean to. Hope you enjoy!

Elitenschwein- It was a small cliffie, nothing very bad; or at least I could have written far worse if the mood struck me. Everyone seems to have loved that scene between Legolas and Alcarohtarë; I thought it was very cute when I wrote it. I normally do not like OC women either because they usually are very poorly written but I think I did do a good job with Alcarohtarë. She is independent but also has that sensitive side and she does not allow anyone to bullshit her. Who knows, I might write another story and she appears in it; it could happen. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Elvendancer- I did get some sleep last night after staying up late working on this chapter. I went to bed at about two o'clock in the morning but I slept until about eleven in the afternoon. But cousins are so much fun! Over Christmas break I dog sat/house sat for my boss while his girlfriend and her were on vacation and I have decided that a) I am a cat person and b) I am not having kids any time soon. Kids and dogs are just too alike; yeah, so I may not have any kids any time soon or ever. Enjoy the chapter!

Elven Kitten- Thank you for the inspiration! Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Hiei-Rulez- Yeah, when I die I want to come back as an elf. That would be so cool! Or come back as a horse. Or cat maybe. Well Aragorn has really good reasons to not tell his friends. They would have to go through the same pain and heartache when he left again and he does not want to subject them to that. There are pros and cons to both sides of it.

Grumpy- Yes, now run; and they did run. Enjoy the next chapter.

Dha-Gal- You are late again. Where have you been lately, dearie? I miss you. The chicken fingers from T.G.I.Fridays are really good. They are good from Ruby Tuesdays also. I have a friend that works for T.G.I.Fridays and she says that Ruby Tuesdays copies them all the time. I just nod my head and agree with her; it is better not to argue with her.

Cosmic Castaway- Legolas is having a lot of gut instincts but he does not really know where they are coming from and he does not know whether to follow them or not. I have had moments like that when my gut is telling me really strongly to do something but I have no idea why.

Beling- Thank you so much for the compliment. I really like this story also! I think it will be one of my better ones. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

AleezaChocolat- Aw shucks, you are really making me blush over here with your compliments. I am very glad that you are enjoying the chapter so much. Some stories that I am addicted too I do the same thing; sometimes check a few times a day. Alcarohtarë is a very unique OC in a very good way. I like her better than any other OC that I have written; well maybe I like Sauros and bit better than her but Sauros came first. Where the other sisters are I really do not know. I did not want to bring them into the story because I worried that I would get lost with all the sisters and other characters. If I have too many characters than I really can not keep track and screw everyone up and it makes my story really confused. So, the other sisters are…visiting Elfwine in Rohan. Does that work? Heehee.