King Elessar grinned slightly as he remembered. His father had been so angry when he had seen those burns! The King of Gondor chuckled softly as he trailed his fingers across the object that had sparked memories from a far distant time.
A barrel of pipe weed from the south farthing.
The hobbits, Merry and Pippin had traveled from the shire to Rivendell, met with Elladan and Elrohir and continued to the city of Minas Tirith in the company of the twin elves. They had brought the barrel of pipe weed as a gift for Aragorn. The king chuckled again, somewhat ruefully.
He had not smoked for several years, largely due to the fact that he was certain Arwen would not welcome it. Not since before the hobbits had returned from the war of the ring in fact.
A hand fell on his shoulder, startling the former ranger out of his reverie. He whirled to face his unheard guest…
Legolas laughed lightly at the expression on his friend's face. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
Aragorn forced himself to relax. " No. No no. Not at all. I was simply...remembering."
The blond elf tilted his head to the side curiously. "Anything in particular?"
The human allowed his lips to quirk. "The time I returned home after my
first journey with the rangers." He laughed softly. " When I was trying to conceal…"
" That horrible habit you picked up," the prince finished darkly. "I too remember that. I also remember spending many nights in a tree far away from you so I would not pass out from the fumes."
" Oh, come, Legolas, it wasn't that bad…."
" I insist that the only reason we returned unharmed on that journey was because not even orcs could bear the stench."
" You are overreacting, mellon nin."
" Much the same way your brothers overreacted when they saw smoke coming from your balcony?" The elf smiled innocently. He chuckled at the scowl that crept over the human's features. "What brought these memories to surface?"
Aragorn grinned, and motioned to the barrel beside him. "A gift from the hobbits."
Legolas wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Pipe weed!" His blue eyes narrowed. "But you stopped smoking many years ago."
" The hobbits did not know that."
" Not know what?" The new voice entered into the conversation as two dark-haired elves strode toward the friends. Elladan and Elrohir embraced their brother and greeted Legolas, grey eyes shining.
" Well?" Elrohir prodded again, releasing his human brother.
" That Aragorn stopped using his pipe," Legolas said sternly with a pointed look toward the king, which said king ignored.
Elladan caught sight of the hobbit's gift and groaned. "Ai! Only hobbits. What are you going to do with it?"
" Well…"Aragorn's hand fiddled with something in his pocket as he tapped the fingers of his other hand over the barrel's lid. " I suppose that I can always distribute it amongst the guards…"
"A very good idea," Elrohir said quickly. " Why don't we do that now…"
" However," the human continued. " It is a gift."
" Estel," Elladan looked at his youngest brother with something akin to horror. "You aren't going to smoke any of that, are you?"
" Well…" the king repeated slowly. His hand closed over whatever was in his pocket and drew it out.
"ACK!" All three elves yelped in disgust as they realized that Aragorn was holding his old pipe.
"Five minutes," the man said firmly. " All I ask is five minutes of peace and quiet while I enjoy my gift."
" Here!" Legolas looked around the hall as if his friend had taken permanent leave of his senses.
"Now!" The twins cried in unison.
" Yes," the king said. " Now. Her.."
" Where Arwen can walk in and be subjected to this filth?"
"Out in the gardens." Aragorn swiftly lifted the barrel and walked away. " Five minutes."
" We'll be timing," Elrohir said darkly.
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Arwen hummed softly to herself as she walked through the halls of her home. A soft smile curled her lips as she thought of the two hobbits she had just parted from. Oh she did enjoy having them near. They were such merry folk... and they had been so excited about the gift they had brought for her husband.
The elf queen turned into a long hall… and stopped. She inhaled deeply for a moment and her brow furrowed. There was something in the air that she had never smelled before. She was fairly sure that it was not coming from inside.
The long windows lining the hall were open according to her wishes. With spring upon them, the queen had no wish close herself into cold dark buildings and had ordered all windows to be thrown wide, especially those facing the gardens. She stepped toward one of the windowsills, and breathed in. Yes...the smell was definitely coming from outdoors.
Light footfalls alerted her to the presence of others and she turned, making a mental note to discover the source of the strange odor at a later time.
Her brothers and Legolas strode down the hall, their noses wrinkled. She almost laughed as she watched them. There was absolutely no resemblance between the twins and their fair friend, and yet, with their faces twisted into expressions of disgust, it was remarkable how similar the appeared.
" Something troubles you?" she asked, allowing the barest hint of mirth to color her tone.
Elladan scowled at her. " Do not tell me you cannot smell that."
Arwen's eyes lit. "I can smell something…do you know what it is?"
A glance passed between the three male elves. Immediately, their faces cracked into identical wicked grins.
The queen frowned. That couldn't be good.
"Why, yes, actually," Legolas attempted to smile innocently at the suspicious elfmaiden.
She did not buy it for a second. " And…?"
" I believe the source for that particular smell may be found out in the garden," Elrohir said sweetly.
" Quite near this window, actually," Elladan added.
Arwen narrowed her eyes dangerously. "What are you hiding from me?"
" Nothing," Legolas assured her. " We are simply answering your question
hiril nin."
Arwen snorted. She did not believe their innocent act, but she did wish to know what the smell was. "If you are playing some trick..." She left her warning hanging in the air and quickly made her way out towards the gardens.
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Elladan peered from the window. " Here, this one provides a very good view."
Legolas and Elrohir joined him immediately. Indeed, the window looked out over the beautiful gardens excellent scenery.
More importantly, it allowed a clear look at the king of Gondor, who sat with his back against a wall, peacefully smoking.
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Aragorn blew a smoke ring between his lips and sighed softly. This was so relaxing. His eyes drifted shut and a smile pulled at the corner of his lips. The sun was warm, the flowers around him were blooming, he was enjoying a pipe…..another sigh escaped him.
Soft footsteps sounded.
The king groaned. Only an elf would step so lightly. Apparently his brothers had forgotten how to tell time…
Whoever it was stopped in front of the human.
" I still have two minutes of peace remaining," Aragorn said grumpily, his eyes still closed. " Is that too much to ask of you, my broth…" his eyes opened and took in the sight of a very amused Arwen standing before him. " Wife," he finished lamely. Oh, Valar, he was going to die.
" I did not know you smoked, meleth nin," the queen said blandly. " How long has this gone on?"
" Since I was twenty," the man mumbled, halfheartedly hoping she wouldn't be able to decipher the muttered syllables.
No such luck. Arwen's eyes widened considerably. " How is it that you kept such a thing unnoticed for so long?"
" You were not often in your father's house, Undomiel," he reminded her. "And the elves of Lorien would not permit it. Besides, I have not done so for many years." He grinned ruefully. " I know elves do not enjoy the smell of pipe weed and I did not want to impose anything upon you that you would dislike. This," he motioned to the pipe he held, " Was part of the hobbit's gift. I did not consider it polite to give it away completely unused. Do not worry, it will not happen again." As he spoke his hand moved to empty what was left of his pipe.
Arwen reached out and trapped his hand, holding it still.
She smiled widely and laughed. " You need not worry, husband."
Aragorn's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
She bent and kissed his forehead. "Use the hobbit's gift. And tell them to bring more the next time they come." She chuckled softly at the look of confusion that spread across her king's face. " I like the smell."
A choked yelp echoed from an open window nearby.
" You…what! The former ranger could not believe his ears.
" I like it. It smells homey."
Elessar, the king of Gondor watched his queen stride away, his mouth hanging open, his pipe dangling loosely from his fingers. He glanced towards the window and saw three elven faces mirroring his look. Well, not exactly. He doubted he looked anywhere near that horrified.
For a moment, he could not form a single coherent thought.
And then he realized exactly just what had happened…
The corners of his mouth twitched. A wicked grin that had lain dormant for years slowly spread across his features.
Making sure his brothers and friend could easily view all his movements, Estel refilled his pipe and lit it, leaning back against the wall with a deeply satisfied sigh.
FINISH
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Undomiel- EvenstarMeleth nin-My love
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