It was the 15th of June, and Aragorn King Elessar was worried. He stood on a balcony in the royal palace of Annúminas, looking southeastward and unconsciously scanning the horizon for any sign of a black and silver banner.

It was terribly ironic, he thought with grim amusement. He had brought all of his dearest friends north to Lake Evendim for an extended holiday and some relaxation, and now he could not relax. That was not to say the stay here was to be all play and no work, for he was slowly refounding the ancient city of Annúminas, which had lain in ruins for more than two thousand years. But it was supposed to be a joyous time shared with his loved ones, not an anxious one.

Elboron, the five-year-old son of Faramir and Éowyn, and his escort of ten guards were scheduled to arrive almost a week before. The Prince and Princess of Ithilien were sending their son to meet the ten children of Sam and Rosie. As Prince of Ithilien and Steward of Gondor, Faramir would be taking on many of King Elessar's duties in his absence, and he and Éowyn would be quite busy for a few months. Although their son could have easily remained with them in Minas Tirith, at five years old he was already an adventurous soul, and this was to be a treat for him. He did not go with the King's party out of Minas Tirith, for he was to have had his first stay in the White City first.

Elboron and his escort of guards was supposed to have passed north of the White Mountains, through the Gap of Rohan and across Enedwaith, north through Bree, and finally to Lake Evendim. The proposed day of their arrival was six days ago.

Perhaps it was nothing. They could have been held up by something. The departure from Minas Tirith might have been delayed for some reason, or maybe the wagon Elboron was traveling part of the time in had broken an axle or some such thing, and had to be repaired in Bree.

Aragorn couldn't help but smile when he recalled passing through Bree himself on his way here. The little northern town had never seen anything to equal the procession they made: the King and Queen and their guards, all mounted on splendid horses, and a train of settlers and attendants, some carrying royal banners.

"It is a rehearsal for our visit to the Brandywine Bridge," Arwen had said solemnly, but with humor lurking in her expression. "Hobbits appreciate pomp, and everything must be done with the proper ceremony. We could not possibly come all the way from Minas Tirith in the company of the King and not give them the finest show we can manage!"

Barliman Butterbur's jaw had dropped when the King's party rode into his inn-yard, and it had dropped even farther when, rather than sending a servant to deal with the accommodations, the King himself had come over to speak with him. But he gaped like a fish when he realized who the King was! The Hobbits who had come through fifteen years before had been right: Strider was the King!

Aragorn had laughed long and merrily over the old inn-keeper's expression, and waved away Butterbur's stammered apology for his suspicions of the tall, sinister Ranger so many years before.

"No bowing and scraping is needed, Butterbur," Aragorn said kindly, when the proprietor of the Prancing Pony showed alarming signs of carrying out this prostration. Aragorn accompanied his reassurance with a friendly pat on the back. "I forgive you freely. Now about some accommodations?"

They had very soon put Butterbur more at his ease, and by the end of the evening, his tongue was wagging as readily as it ever had.

"So many people haven't passed this way since my father's time," he marveled during a pause.

"You are likely to see more as time goes on," Aragorn warned him. "We are embarking on a re-colonization of Arnor. As Annúminas becomes more populated, there will be much more trade with the Shire and with Breeland."

"Well, I'm blessed!" Barliman had exclaimed, but someone called from the other side of the tap-room, and he had to excuse himself.

The Hobbits had seemed mercifully less awed at their presence when the party arrived at the Brandywine Bridge, and of course there were good friends among them. And new friends as well: Sam's wife Rosie was a delight. The King and Queen had already met Diamond and Estella, Pippin and Merry's wives. Merry and Estella had been married but four years, having wed the year that Merry became Master of Buckland. Pippin and Diamond had been married somewhat longer, nine years, and their son Faramir was six years old. Pippin had been made Took and Thain of the Shire two years beforehand, and Aragorn had then made him, Merry, and Sam all Counsellors of the North-kingdom. Merry and Pippin were both often in the south, so Aragorn had seen them much more recently than Sam, and he had never met Rosie at all.

And then of course, there were Sam's ten children, just as delightful as his wife. Their firstborn in particular, Elanor, was beautiful. She was very slim and had golden hair, unusual in a Hobbit. In fact, she looked quiet Elven. Arwen had made her a Maid of Honour, at which Elanor, blushing and obviously thrilled, had curtsied gracefully and thanked her prettily. There was even more ceremony when Aragorn had bestowed upon Sam the Star of the Dúnedain, a silver badge of kinship among the Rangers of the North that had heretofore been worn only by Men of Númenorean descent. Sam had understood the significance of the gift, and even now wore it proudly.

Of course, he and Arwen had invited the Gardner family to go with them to their house at the Lake, and they had all traveled north together. Sam's children had almost unable to control their excitement.

They had arrived at the rebuilt palace on the southern shores of Lake Evendim a month later, and Elboron was to have joined them six days ago.

No, a delay of six days usually would not have worried Aragorn. But there had been rumors lately of bands of orcs being spotted in the area. They had hidden themselves well in the woods, or so people said. The King's party had not been targeted by them, but who was to say Elboron's escort would not be?

There was the soft sound of feet on stone, and Aragorn turned to see Legolas and the twins come in. Legolas and Gimli had accompanied Faramir, Éowyn, and Elboron from Emyn Arnen in Ithilien, and then joined the King's party north. The twins had met them at Lake Evendim when they arrived, to Arwen's evident delight—and his own.

The three ellyn all looked rather grim at the moment, though. "We have just had news," Elladan told his brother-in-law. "A scout spotted definite signs of orc activity ten miles south of here, along the Baranduin."

Aragorn nodded grimly, his decision finally made. "We must send out a party of scouts to locate Elboron's escort," he said quietly. "I only hope we may not be too late. What will I tell Faramir and Éowyn?" he added under his breath, then shook himself. He must not think of that just yet. "Come, we must send out the search party immediately!" They turned to go, but were brought up short by Legolas's voice.

He had turned to glance out over the view Aragorn himself had been scanning, and now he exclaimed, "Wait! There is someone coming!"

The others turned back and crowded around him. They could see a small figure resolutely making its way through the foothills of the Emyn Uial. At this distance, none of them but Legolas could see the figure clearly.

"Who is it?" Elrohir asked.

Legolas furrowed his brow and opened and shut his mouth, as if he could not believe what he was seeing. Finally he answered, "It is Katie."

The other three turned and looked at him in shock. "Katie? Katie Elvellon?" Elladan asked in disbelief.

"Do you know any other Katies?" Legolas asked in mild irritation, but he was distracted. He had not taken his eyes off the far-off figure. Suddenly he leaned forward and looked harder. "She carries a child on her back!" he exclaimed. Pushing himself away from the balcony and dashing toward the stairs, he added urgently, "It is Elboron!"

The others did not pause, but followed him immediately.

000

They ran through the rooms of the spacious, beautiful palace, past tapestries and statues and ornaments. They passed through a sitting room, where Arwen, Rosie, and Elanor were sitting. Arwen looked up in surprise as Elladan ran in. "What is it?" she asked, jumping to her feet.

"Katie is coming with Elboron," Aragorn told her quickly.

"Katie?" Aragorn heard his wife exclaim as he ran on, and knew that she would direct the servants to make preparations to receive the newcomers.

The implications of Katie's unusual arrival with the son of his Steward had barely begun to form in Aragorn's mind when he and the three elves burst out into the sunlight from the cool shade of the palace. Why was she here? And with Elboron? Where was his escort?

"Where are they?" Elrohir asked, scanning the green hills before them.

Legolas stared hard for a moment, then pointed. "There," he answered succinctly. They could see a small figure cresting one of the final foothills and slowly beginning to descend toward them.

As they ran closer, it came as a bit of a shock to Aragorn to see Katie in her national costume. He had been used to seeing her in elven dresses, and the sight of her in trousers and a short, tight tunic was surprising, to say the least. After all, it had been many decades since he had visited her world—though for Katie it had most likely only been a few years. She was too far away to tell for sure, but she looked very little different than she had when last he had seen her.

These strange realizations floated through his mind as they drew nearer to her. Her eyes were on the ground; she had not yet noticed their approach. Aragorn could now see Elboron's arms around her neck. She was carrying him piggy-back.

"Katie," Elrohir said when they were within speaking distance, and her head came up. A stab of pity passed through Aragorn's heart when he saw the expression on the girl's face—sorrow, weariness, and desperation. She stopped dead where she was, looking as if her legs could not carry her a step farther.

"Oh, thank God," she said wearily.

TBC

AN: Not where I was originally going to end the chapter, but it works. :)

Welcome back to the final installment of the series! If you're wondering about the title, it's the title of a poem by Robert Browning, which begins, "Fear death? to feel the fog in my throat, The mist in my face…"

So how many of you were surprised by the last chapter, and how many of you saw it coming?

Sorry I was a tad slow getting this chapter out; had to get an inter-library loan book to look some stuff up.

Hiro No Tsuki: lol Yep! The smell of l'amour… lol

Laer4572: Double wedding seems fitter for Elrohir and Elladan rather than Elrohir and Aragorn, don't you think? lol

EresseElrondiel: Aren't you jumping the gun a bit? They haven't even declared their love yet! Oh, and I'd like to see that Elrohir banner. :)

crazycatluver: Welcome back! I love the question spree… Not that I'm gonna answer any of them! lol

Lady Jammchra: Thanks! Always happy to see a new face!. :)

Fk306: This is the last one scheduled, although I'm leaving the door open for later sequels.

Almenal: Ooo you must wait and see, my padawan!

Princess Siara: I was impressed at your deductive skills, and was trying desperately to lead you off the scent! Suspense—the fiction-writer's number-one tool! Honestly, I'm not sure if Elrohir ever explained the Remade thing to Legolas. He did to Elladan and Elrond et al, but… As for teasing Legolas about the blindfold thing, I don't think she'd be so mean. :)

IwishChan: I know; I want access to her closet.

Dee: Yay! Poooooof! And which chivalric knights reference, btw? Sry, but you know me. :)

Ravens Destiny: Ow! —rubs shoulder ruefully; smacks back—

Ames' Maiden: Yay! Long review! I love those! Thank you very much! —curtsies ballet-style— The post may be slow; your elf should arrive soon. :) I bet the elves love the landscaping! Ever thought of taking Sam along? Right up his alley.

Alaterial567: Thanks! Hope you feel better soon!

Thalion: lol Yeah a lot of people get the twins mixed up! And the second request for one of Katie's dresses! How about we just get Katie to infiltrate Lossefalme's old wardrobe and pass out clothes? —Ashley is tickled pink that you called her Elvellon— Wow, you really did have a romantic day, didn't you? —goes off singing "Love is in the air"—

AlabrithGaiamoon: Wow! Didn't know my own power! —hands you a tissue—

Thanks also to Tara, Neassa, Megara, ElvenRyder and Madd Hatter! I loved reading all these reviews! Gave me warm fuzzies inside. :)

Please review!