The glorious garden was a place where nature could grow within the walls of the stone city; and grow it did, with lush grass, brilliantly colored flowers, and strong trees that promised to become even more robust in the years to come. It was a piece of the elven world – particularly that of Rivendell and what Mirkwood must have been like when it was still called Greenwood – so that the world of Men wouldn't wholly lose that loveliness as the last days of the Eldar race ended. Legolas had spent a great deal of time selecting just the right trees, flowers, and plants; and even more time nurturing them, or seeing that they were nurtured, in a way that only a wood elf could. It was not an exaggeration to say that the garden was counted among the most beautiful spots in all of Gondor and all of Middle-earth. Walking through it that day with his husband, however, Aragorn couldn't help but hate the place.

Legolas had been aware of his husband's dour mood ever since he'd announced his desire to visit his garden again that morning. Figuring that it was only the result of some leftover fears from the events of the previous day, he'd been very happy when Aragorn offered to accompany him. Being outside always made him feel refreshed and strong and he hoped that Aragorn would cheer once they began their walk. Unfortunately, he was apparently set on clinging to his dark cloud.

Legolas glowered inwardly as he watched his husband glare at his beloved trees. "You don't have to be here, Aragorn," he said with a touch more hostility than what the situation called for. Dealing with Aragorn, Thranduil, and Gimli's even more overbearing protectiveness since yesterday afternoon had left him on edge and he didn't like the notion of his husband inviting himself along on the walk he'd wanted to take to get away from all that only to ask him to tolerate it some more.

"I didn't have be here yesterday either," pointed out Aragorn, jumping as a light wind rustled some leaves. "Andthat turned out to be more dangerous than any of us anticipated."

"So you came along to protect me from the evil wind?" Legolas snapped sarcastically. "Well, I don't need it or you here if you're going to act like this. I'm just fine on my own."

"I want to spend some time with you," countered Aragorn through gritted teeth, trying his very best not to yell at his spouse. After all, he did understand why the elf wasn't in the greatest of moods. It was terrible to have his favorite spot in the city become the place where he could have died. Or it must have been; Aragorn didn't know because all he got when he asked Legolas how he was feeling was a curt 'I'm fine.' "I just don't see why you wanted to come back here. It has to be terrifying, Legolas."

"This is my garden," Legolas shot back. "Just because one poor woman tried to attack me here doesn't mean that I'll be frightened away permanently. She's in the dungeons now and all is right and good in the city again. I doubt that someone will attempt a similar attack so soon so I don't need you to be here when you clearly don't want to be."

"What is wrong with you? Can't you see that I'm here because I'm worried about you?" snapped Aragorn before he could stop himself. Legolas looked taken aback and the Man bit his lower lip, chastising himself for losing control of his emotions like that. "I'm worried about you," he repeated in a more gentle tone. "I know that you're not in immediate danger anymore; yet I can't let this go. Losing you and our son would kill me, Legolas, and everything in this garden reminds me of how that could have happened yesterday. I'm trying not to let those feelings interfere with how I'm acting, but I can't help it."

Legolas' irritation ebbed somewhat; guilt mingled with it as he looked over at Aragorn again. "I'm sorry, Aragorn," he apologized, his voice still a little sharp but not without sincerity. "I guess I was thinking so much about how much I didn't like the way you were acting that I didn't consider the reasons why you were doing what you were doing. You went through this ordeal too; I was wrong to ignore that."

"Don't worry about what I've been through and what I'm going through," Aragorn told him, taking his hand to make him halt on the path. "That's not important now. I promised that I would be strong for you, remember? Just focus on what you need and I will take care of you."

One step forward, two steps back; Legolas was stunned that he was able to hold back the aggravated retort on his tongue. "No; I don't accept that," he replied in a serious, even tone as he looked straight into his husband's eyes. "We both faced the tiniest, slightest, horrible chance of losing our child; why then must one of us be forced to be the strong one all the time? Why can't we just be there for each other? It was like that before: you helped me get through the darkness of Moria and I helped you face your fears about your bloodline and responsibilities."

"Oh Legolas." Aragorn felt a stinging moisture in his eyes and he struggled to keep it from spilling over. "We just – these last few months – can we please talk to each other like we used to? I can't remember the last time we spoke to each other."

"It's not the actual speaking that's been the problem," noted Legolas with a sadnessin his voice.

"I know," agreed Aragorn, asking himself once more how things could have gotten to this point between him and Legolas. "I make promises to you, you make promises to me, and we come together when one of our lives is in danger or were just in jeopardy. Ijust want to have an actual conversation."

"Name a topic," Legolas told him. "Anything, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. We're in danger of becoming strangers, like so many of the married noble couples are and I can't stand it. This concealing of emotions and the hostility it causes – I don't want it to be a part of our relationship anymore. Tell me anything or ask me anything and I will give you an honest answer."

Only one thing came to Aragorn's mind. "Why do you feel sorry for Lady Nienor?" he asked. That particular question had been plaguing him ever since Legolas had intervened on Cirion's behalf. "Even after the guard had left you still refused to answer why you felt that way. I don't understand how you could possibly have any sympathy for her whatsoever. Maybe…maybe I'm more worried about what that than I am about you being attacked again."

"I didn't think that you were ready to listen and understand yesterday," explained Legolas sagely. "All of the questions – from all three of you – started with 'what' and 'how could'; it sounded like accusations and I was defensive because of it. Your 'why' puts me more at ease."

"Then please tell me, my love."

"She said that her father didn't want to be her father, but rather the father of the queen," recounted Legolas; he could still here the lady's desperate, miserable voice in his mind. "She felt as if she'd disappointed him; as if just being his daughter wasn't good enough. I think that she believed that she was somehow hurting Lord Cirion by not being your wife, or having the possibility of being your wife."

"That's no excuse for what she did," said Aragorn. Understanding his husband's emotions wasn't the same thing as understanding Lady Nienor's, he reasoned, and he wasn't in the mood to be as forgiving as Legolas. "I can't pardon her because she had a lousy father."

"I'm not asking you to," insisted Legolas, downcast again as he mentally searched for an effective way to put all of his feelings so that Aragorn would truly understand. "She deserves to be punished; I'm not excusing her by thinking that she's not purely evil. You might not be able to imagine what she was going through – have you ever felt like you were hurting your father simply by being what you are?"

"No," conceded Aragorn. His relationship with Elrond had always been loving and if the elf lord ever felt disappointed or despondent about what his foster son was he'd never let revealed it to Aragorn. Perhaps that was part of the reason why he couldn't emphasize with the would-be assassin; of course, if Legolas understood her motivations, it meant…. "But you have?"

Legolas nodded wordlessly. "But that's absurd!" Aragorn cried. "Legolas, I've never seen a more devoted father than Thranduil. You are his life, the center of his world –"

"And I'm going to kill him one day," interrupted Legolas with that painful admission. "I will never regret my decision to become mortal because I loveyou and it was the only way that we could be together, but this is harder on Ada than it is on you or me. Death is always more devastating on the ones left behind than the ones who are leaving. He'll linger in a land that he knows he no longer belongs in until he sees the light extinguish from my eyes and then cross to Valinor, either by ship or by death from grief. There I will be but a memory of something sundered from him forever, or else a pain that not even the Blessed Realm can heal. How can I not think that I'm hurting him?"

Aragorn embraced him in strong, comforting arms. "What she did was wrong," said Legolas as he wrapped his own arms around his husband in return, "but when I think about it that way I can't help but feel sorry for her."

There were no words that the Man could offer that would change how Legolas was feeling and somewhere in the back of his mind andAragorn understood this. However, he hated the idea of leaving the elf to his misery without attempting to console him. "Don't let yourself think that way," he counseled. "You shouldn't feel –"

Legolas tensed and tore himself away. "Don't," he said hotly. "You have no right to tell me how I should and shouldn't feel. I thought that you wanted to understand, but no; you just wanted to try and 'fix' it. Well, I don't need anyone to tell me who to feel compassion for, or at what stage of supposed recovery I should be at – I don't want to be protected from things that are unpleasant! If I did, I would have just stayed in Mirkwood."

"Well maybe I wouldn't do that if you would open up to me," responded Aragorn with a mixture of desperation, frustration, and confusion.

"I just did, and you –"

"My lords?" Faramir cleared his throat as he approached them with Eowyn at his side.

"Faramir," said Aragorn, his voice shaking as he tried to rein in his emotions once again. He nodded at him and then at his wife in greeting. "Eowyn."

She nodded back and looked at Legolas with a shocked look on her face. Faramir couldn't blame her for her reaction – the king and the prince were such a loving couple. Even during those last few tense months he never imagined that they would ever be so at odds that they'd be arguing in a public place. "Pardon the interruption, but the council meeting will begin in a few minutes," he said apologetically. "They'll need to be informed about everything that happened yesterday before we can discuss a suitable punishment for Lady Nienor."

Itsounded crazy but Aragorn didn't want his fight with Legolas to end so abruptly. It was the first time in months that one of them hadn't been trying to protect the other and in a strange way it felt good. At least they still had enough passion for each other to yell; he had a feeling that if they could get all of the negative emotions out in the open they could actually start talking again. "Maybe we could push the meeting back to this afternoon."

"Go." Legolas' command was full of regret and acceptance rather than bitterness. "The politics of Gondor can't come to a halt whenever we want it to. Any delay in the meeting might be interpreted in a detrimental way. Remember, there are going to be some people who won't want to believe that a noblewoman could have done something so – unladylike. We can pick this up later."

Aragorn tentatively reached out and touched his husband's face, happy when Legolas didn't recoil. "We will talk later," he vowed. "Tonight, please; I have a surprise for you."

"All right," said Legolas and a small, teasing smile came to his lips. "But only because of the surprise."

"I knew that you wouldn't be able to resist that," Aragorn told him. "I look forward to it; I really do." With one last soft caress and hopeful smile at the decidedly not angry look in Legolas' eyes the Man departed with Faramir.

Eowyn barely waited until they were out of sight before turning to her friend. "Legolas –"

"I don't want to talk about it, Eowyn," the elf cut her off wearily. "Getting into all of the reasons why we were just fighting would be a long and exhaustive ordeal for both of us."

"I wasn't going to mention it," she said. "It sounded like you two were working through it just fine; sometimes you need a knock-down-drag-out fight before you can start dealing with everything else."

"Oh," said Legolas, feeling a little sheepish at his assumptions. "Then what were you going to say?"

She leaned in a little closer. "Tell me that I didn't hear you correctly," Eowyn requested emphatically. "You don't actually feel sorry for the person who tried to kill you and your baby, do you?"

"She believed that her father would never love her unless she was married to Aragorn," replied Legolas defensively, a little surprised at her incredulous reaction.

"So? That's no excuse for what she did!"

"I'm not excusing Lady Nienor!" Legolas burst out in frustration. He was so sick of everyone he cared about talking down to him as if he didn't understand the gravity of the lady's crimes! Was it too much to ask that one person at least accept his feelings without acting like they were evidence that he needed some sort of emotional intervention? "It's not as if I'm marching down to her cell right now to let her go with a hug and a kind word. But all of her life she's been defined by her position in society and in her family, pushed into fulfilling everyone's lofty expectations without having anyone ask her if that's what she wanted. I would think that you of all people could understand that, Eowyn."

"I do," Eowyn insisted, forcing her tone to remain calm. Legolas had obviously had enough of debating this topic and it wasn't worth upsetting him about it now. However, the Rohirric woman couldn't just leave her own thoughts unspoken. "Being bound by my duties to my family and my country, dealing with Wormtongue poisoning my uncle's mind and banishing Eomer. Never in my life have I felt so helpless and confined by the image of who I was supposed to be. I doubt that Lady Nienor's ever endured anything so terrible, though she might believe that she has in her own mind. Did I ever contemplate running a sword through Wormtongue's treacherous throat? Did I ever resent the way my uncle and brother just dismissed me without acknowledging my skills as a warrior? Of course! But I never harmed any of them in the throes of a snit. I'm sorry, Legolas; I understand what she must have went through but I can't feel any sympathy for her. If I could handle it, she could have too."

Legolas looked at her knowingly. "Maybe she isn't as strong as you are."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The king and the steward had reached the courtyard after a silent walk from the garden; Aragorn would have marched right through it if Faramir hadn't cautiously grasped his shoulder. "Sire?" he asked. Aragorn jumped with surprise. "I'm sorry I startled you."

"I guess I forgot that anyone else was around," Aragorn told him, sucking in a deep breath. "My mind's just somewhere else right now."

"Back on that, ah, discussion you were having with Legolas?" Faramir didn't need an answer to that question – the expression on Aragorn's face said it all. "Eowyn and I couldn't help overhearing."

"Half of Minas Tirith probably couldn't help overhearing," commented Aragorn dryly.

"It's better than not having anything to say to each other at all," said Faramir wisely. "I was just wondering if you'd like to take a moment to collect your feelings before you have to discuss Lady Nienor's trial and possible punishments."

Aragorn nodded, feeling a little more shaken than he'd ever admit. "That would be nice," he agreed with a flustered smile. "Not for long; I just need to clear my head."

He walked blindly to the nearest platform – Faramir following close behind – and sank down with his head in his hands. They sat together quietly for a second before he looked up again; that was when he took note of the particular location he'd chosen. "This is where Legolas and I announced to everyone that we were going to have a child," he recalled pensively, staring up at the White Tree. "That night was so special and wonderful. He – he wore a tunic that was a little too tight so that everyone could see how much his stomach was bulging."

"I remember," said Faramir with a Mithrandir-like bemusement. "It caused a bit of a stir at the banquet before the announcement with people speculating if the rumors were true or not."

"That was one of the happiest moments in both of our lives. Legolas and I had wanted a child so badly and – and she tried to take that away." Angry, frustrated, and confused tears slipped out of his eyes. "She was going to take our son away from him – both of them away from me – and he feels sorry for her. How could he? How is it possible for anyone who respects our marriage to have any sympathy for that woman?"

Faramir stirred uncomfortably. "Perhaps you don't want me to answer that right now," he hedged.

"You?" Aragorn asked, dumbfounded and feeling a little betrayed. "Well then, I think I'll ask you: why do you and Legolas – two intelligent people and good judges of character – feel anything but anger toward that venomous snake? She tried to kill my husband and baby!" he added with a roar, relieved deep down that his fury at the whole situation finally had an outlet, no matter how unfair to Faramir it was. "How could you –"

"Because I was going to take the Ring from Frodo!" shot back Faramir with an unexpected surge of ferocity.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's got everything to do with why I feel sorry for her," explained the steward, hanging his head. The shame he felt over his actions over four years ago still weighed heavily on him; needless to say, it certainly wasn't his favorite topic of discussion. "I wanted my father's affirmation, his love, so badly that I almost sent the One Ring into his possession. It was wrong and somewhere within me I knew that; yet I still ordered my men to take my 'mighty gift' to him. Can you even bear to imagine what the outcome of the war would have been if that had happened?"

"It didn't, though," argued Aragorn. "You resisted when it counted."

"Because a certain Samwise Gamgee was bold enough to tell me why I shouldn't," countered Faramir forlornly. "That was the first time that someone had ever dared to imply that it would be better for me not to try to be what my father wanted from a son. I doubt that anyone did the same for Lady Nienor when it became apparent that living up to her father's lofty expectations by marrying you wasn't an option."

Aragorn still wasn't quite ready to accept this rationalization. "I grant that she didn't have the best father in all the lands," he said, "but I'd wager that yours was more difficult and still you managed to overcome it. We are but the results of the choices that we make."

"But what about Boromir?" Faramir asked suddenly. "He made the choice to take the Ring and that's exactly what he tried to do; yet you honor his memory enough to have once considered naming your child and the heir of the realm after him."

"Because he repented his actions at the end," Aragorn stressed. "Besides, I knew how demanding Denethor was; his expectations" – he cut himself off as he realized what he was saying. "A parent's expectations can make a child feel very – guilty; desperate even. Legolas was talking about that too."

Nodding dryly, Faramir noted, "They can be hard to let go of." He looked up at the citadel, then back at his king. "You don't have to forgive her, feel sorry for her, and you most definitely shouldn't pardon her. But as the king, it is your duty to judge her in the same way that you would if her intended victims were strangers. But, of course, since this is the first time anyone has threatened your family personally, as the king you must also send a message."

"So you're advising me to find an appropriate punishment while keeping her plight in mind without appearing too lenient, all while keeping my own personal feelings in check?" Aragorn pinched the bridge of his noise as a headache come on. "Something that keeps my husband's feelings on the matter in mind while at the same time letting everyone know that I will tolerate no one hurting my family. Does such a punishment even exist?"

"I don't know," answered Faramir with all honesty. "That's part of the reason why I'm glad that the king officially returned a short time after I took on the stewardship: that sort of decision would torment me to no end. Thankfully you don't have to make it today."

"You're right," said Aragorn, relieved. "Today I'll just listen to what my advisors have to say and concentrate on getting to tonight. Maybe it will be easier to wrap my mind around all of this after I have a long overdue talk with my husband."

To be continued…

A/N: For those of you who are waiting, the next chapter is very Aragorn/Legolas, and they'll actually be together and not just present. Hang in there a little while longer!