Thank you for the lovely reviews I received. I am still working out how to fix Minas Tirith but my plot bunny screwed with this chapter when I was originally writing it so now I'm trying to combine the new and old ideas, which may take some work. Anyway, keep up the comments and give me advise if you see anything that need worked on.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, don't sue. J
It was two weeks before Aragorn was able to walk the streets again. In that time, he worked on devising some plan to help the poor of the city, but had not yet put any of it past the council of advisors who represented the various parts of Gondor and Arnor that had been able thus far to send envoys to the new king. There were still too many knots in the ideas that he had come up with, and he needed to review the situation again.
This time he went to a different area than before, for new data and for fear that some old friend of the rescued family would recognize him and attack. He managed with difficulty to hide the bleak despair he felt at the plight of his people. In light of his disguise, he looked about him with a disdain he did not feel.
As he did, his eyes fell upon a small group of children between the ages of five and about thirteen, though they were so undernourished, it was hard to tell for certain. The oldest held three half-rotten apples, which he divided among them, giving the best part to the younger ones and keeping the worst for himself. This time Aragorn had come prepared, however, and pulled a few pieces of bread out of his pouch. Tossing them with seeming indifference to the teenage boy, he noticed the child's agility as he caught the expertly.
The boy gave half a bow and thanked him. Once again, he kept only the smallest piece and gave the rest to the other four, except for one bit that he moistened in his mouth. This he took over to a crate against the wall of some decrepit building and put the soggy mess into the mouth of an infant, which looked marginally healthier than the last one Aragorn had rescued.
Keeping in character, Strider barked, "You there, boy! I could use someone like you in my journeying." He developed the half lie, continuing, "I spend a lot of time out in the wild and you seem to have a few wits about you. What do you say?"
"Beg pardon," the boy stammered, "but I can't leave these to fend for themselves." Much to Aragorn's surprise, his grammar sounded educated.
Pretending to think about it, Strider tapped his foot and looked around. Then he said, "Well, I'll try to make arrangements. You're all coming with me; I'm not going to risk not being able to find and intelligent helper."
The boy picked up the baby and called the other children to him. "I don't want to lose this chance to get out of this place," he explained to them, "so if he can help all of you, I'll work for him."
Aragorn set an easy pace for the children, though he did not want to linger in this section of the city. Once again, right before they came into the crowds, he wiped the brown solution off his face. The boy beside him watched with amazement and then said, "My name is Canden, my lord. What do you wish me to call you?" Though he did not recognize the king, the nobility of the man's features was obvious.
Aragorn looked down as if just remembering that he had an audience. "Just call me Thorongil for now if you like."
Canden's eyes widened. "The Thorongil? The one who defeated the Corsairs forty-something years ago?"
Now it was Aragorn's turn to be surprised, and somewhat impressed. "Why yes, how did you know?"
"My father was a sailor back then. He told me about that fight several times. He died a year and a half or so ago. Then mother died giving birth to Ceara here and we were kicked out of our home." He nodded his head behind him to an eight-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl. "They're my brother and sister. The other kids already were orphans in the slums when we got there so I've been trying to take care of them."
They walked in silence for a few minutes until Aragorn noticed that the two youngest were lagging behind, stumbling over the cobblestones barefoot. He stopped Canden and went back to pick the children up. At first they seemed a bit scared, but after a moment they leaned into his warmth. The group went on, higher and higher into the center of the city. Canden didn't say anything but he glanced more and more frequently at the tall man beside him who claimed to be a much renowned hero of the city's past.
This time Aragorn had no difficulty getting through the inner gates. The guards, though they wore the uniform of the city, were in fact the king's bodyguards. They had been assigned to the gates when the captain of the guard found out that the king was making another foray.
The men looked on in pity at the poor children entering with the disguised king, but did not bow or make any other sign that they recognized His Majesty. Elessar, however, winked almost imperceptibly at them, so they nodded slightly in return.
Entering the citadel, Aragorn strode confidently through the halls and up to the royal apartment. He had almost made it undetected, but moments before he reached the door, one of his councilors came up. "Your Majesty, if you have a moment, there is a situation in need of your diplomatic hand." Then he noticed the children. He opened his mouth but was cut off.
"I do not have time right now but I assure you I will be down in two hours. Would you be so kind as to see if my wife is available? I would really appreciate her help."
The councilor bowed and departed. Aragorn closed his eyes for a moment with a sigh and then opened them to see Canden bow. "Your Majesty! I beg your pardon!"
Aragorn sighed again. "Stand up, Canden. You might drop the baby. Yes I am the king, but how were you to know? Come on in." He opened the door and beckoned them forward. It was a large bedroom with big windows and a huge comfortable bed. Aragorn did not linger there, however, but went to another closed door. He knocked just as a precaution and then opened it. This was the bathing room, with a tub fully large enough to swim in. Aragorn made to set down the boy and girl he was holding but their grip on his clothes tightened and he realized they were asleep. Instead he sat down on a bench and whispered that the others could do the same. Then he explained, "My lady will help you girls to bathe and I will help the boys in another room.
They sat in silence for about five minutes until light footfalls could be heard in the other room. "Arwen, in here!" Aragorn called. She came through the door and those children who were awake gasped at here beauty.
She smiled at them and said, "So you have brought in some more foundlings, nin hir?"
Aragorn smiled back. "Yes love. I'm going to take to boys over to Faramir's room since I know he has a large tub, and I'll have someone see about sending clothing here for the children."
She nodded assent and came over to help pry away the little girl from her husband. She then saw that the oldest boy was holding an infant. Setting down the older girl beside a boy who looked to be her brother, she reached out and said, "May I?" Canden looked up at her and then held out his youngest sister. Arwen cradled the child and said, "Don't worry. I shall take care of her."
The boy nodded and then turned to the five-year-old. "Hanny, wake up."
The girl grunted and opened her eyes. "Wh-where am I?"
"Hanny, you're going to get a bath from this nice lady, okay? I'm going to go bathe too, but I'll be back in a little bit."
"'kay." Hanny murmured, still not quite awake.
"Nath, come on. I can't wait to be clean."
Aragorn rose, still holding the sleeping six-year-old, and led the other two boys out of the room and down the hall to the Steward's apartment, at the other end. He knocked and was answered by a female voice. "Eowyn." He said. There were footsteps inside the room and then a pretty blonde lady opened the door.
"Your Majesty? Faramir isn't in right now. I'm just here because I'm repairing his clothes. It makes me feel closer to him being in his room."
"Relax, Eowyn, I'm not accusing you. I was just wanting to use his bathing room." She saw the children then, but before she could say anything, Aragorn said, "Would you be so kind as to see about having some boys' clothes sent here and some girls clothes sent to my room? There's an infant, a five-year-old and a nine-year-old."
Her eyes were full of questions but she bowed and slipped through the doorway past him. The boys went into the room, with Aragorn leading the way to the bathing room. The tub was noticeably smaller than his own but still large enough for several grown bodies to fit with plenty of space for horseplay.
Aragorn said, "Go ahead and get in, I'll take care of this one."
The boys eagerly stripped and climbed in, since the day had been rather chilly and the hot water looked very inviting. Meanwhile, Aragorn once again sat on a bench. "Canden, what's this one's name?"
"We call him Dan. That's the only word he's ever said that we could understand. We found him several months ago sitting behind a barrel by one of the worst taverns in the city, and he's never spoken Common."
Aragorn's eyes opened wide with a start. The name Dan—that was his nickname for his foster brother, Elladan. "I'll have a healer look at him after he's clean. Dan? Come on, son, open your eyes." He called gently.
"Da?" It was a very soft whisper that he hardly caught.
He tried again. "It's time for your bath, Dan, come on, wake up."
The boy's eyes opened this time. "Da?" He said again, louder. This time Canden and Nath heard as well.
Aragorn eased the dirty, ragged clothes of the child and then removed his own cloak. "Do you mind if I join you? I fear I will get soaked anyway so I might as well get in."
The boys nodded and he stripped off his own artfully tattered clothing. His garments were not as bad as they looked but he had mended his own clothes so that they looked close to falling apart. The children's eyes widened at the sight of his scar-laced body, but they didn't protest as he carried the still sleepy boy into the warm water. He set Dan down on a shallow sort of ledge and picked up a bar of scented soap, which he lathered onto a washcloth. Then he passed the soap and two more rags over to the boys.
Dan grew more and more awake as Aragorn washed him, and after his face was rinsed, he said, "Ada."
Aragorn froze. Then he said in Sindarin, "No, I'm not your Ada, but he might be one of my friends. What's his name?"
"Hurin," said the boy.
Aragorn thought for a moment and then remembered. The man was a distant relative on his mother's side who had disappeared several years earlier. He had not been married at the time, but of course he could have married in Gondor. And he knew Elvish well, having learned it from the twin sons of Elrond. "What's your full name?" Aragorn asked now.
"El-la-dan." Dan sounded out slowly. That clinched it in the ex-ranger's mind.
"What happened to your Ada?"
"He died."
"And your Nana?"
"She got real sick and then went to sleep. I couldn't wake her up no matter how hard I tried." Aragorn winced.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty," Canden said, "what language is that?"
"It's elvish. Dan is a very distant cousin of mine that I had no idea about. And before you ask, I am going to take all of you in. You may train as a page if you like and all of you will be schooled. Dan is going to learn Westron. It seems that the only language he speaks is Sindarin, though he understands the common tongue well enough." He climbed out of the tub, leaving Canden to keep and eye on the younger boys, and wrapped a towel around his waist, tying the corners.
Going out into the bedroom, he found four sets of clothes, three of which had probably been found in the attics or long deserted closets. The fourth was a set of clean but casual clothes that were obviously from his own closet. He left them where they were and stepped back into the bathroom. Grabbing another towel, he held it out and Canden lifted Dan out of the water and into the King's arms.
"Come on out when you're ready. There are clean clothes in the other room." He turned away and heard the brothers splashing each other. Chuckling, he carried his cousin out, carefully drying him. The smallest outer garments were a trifle big, but the under clothes fit well enough. He set Dan on the bed and then dried and dressed himself. The other boys showed up as that time and were amazed at the clothes, which were actually their size. Canden of course remembered the days when clothes fit, but his brother had been too young and now barely remembered their parents.
The children were now very handsome and clearly of good breeding, cleaned up. He led them back to his apartment. The girls had already finished their baths and were bouncing giggling on the huge bed while Arwen sat on the window seat with the baby.
Aragorn smiled and set Dan down among them before joining his queen. She smiled at him and handed him Ceara. She was awake and cooing, having already been fed. The rest of the children plopped down onto the bed facing the royal couple.
"Okay, here's what is going on. I am going to go downstairs for a little while you play up here. When I get back, we will all go down to supper. I expect you to show at least moderately good behavior. Afterward, we will take all of you over to the healers to make sure you are healthy and stay that way. By the time you get back, your bedrooms will be ready for you, which are the ones next to ours, with doors joining all of them. The baby will stay in here for the night. Finally, don't be afraid to approach either of us, day or night. I hope you don't have to interrupt any of my meetings, but you have my permission if you don't feel it can wait. So, I will see you shortly. Have fun." Aragorn concluded. With a last smile, he handed baby back to Arwen and left the room to see what diplomatic tragedy had to be avoided now.