It was noontime of the next day and all of the inhabitants of the farmhouse, both the permanent and the temporary ones, were gathered once more around the long table in the kitchen. It had been a hard morning's work for all of them; Aragorn and Legolas had insisted that the guests would do their part in the chores and the farmer had plenty for them to do. It had been a long time – too long, both of them thought – since the monarchs had worked with their hands and bodies like that and it had felt surprisingly good to feel that ache that muscles got after a good workout again. Legolas had assisted the farmer's son with the crops, Aragorn had taken on mending some of the shutters on windows that had been damaged during recent storms, Eldarion and Laurelin had followed the farmer as he tended to the livestock, and their good guards had been assigned to help the farmer's wife keep an eye on the babies – and whatever else she needed some extra hands in doing.

And now it was lunchtime and everyone was eager to enjoy the fruits of her labors and theirs in the kitchen. Hands were flying all around as people snatched up pieces of bread, fought playfully over use of the water jug, and gestured wildly while their owners spoke animatedly and all at once about the morning's events. "I love this place," Eldarion enthused to his parents. "This may sound odd, but it's a little like some of the best parts of Minas Tirith and Ithilien while being something else that's just its own."

"That doesn't sound too odd to me," Legolas assured him. "The indoor comforts of the world of Men and the connection to nature that is so much a part of the world of elves – but in a way closer to both."

"There's livestock here too," grinned Eldarion, for he loved animals and was good with them. "I got to feed the cows and tend to the horses; then we had the time to weed the vegetable gardens" –

"The prince here is a natural at that," interjected the farmer. He nodded to Laurelin, who was thirstily drinking down her water. "The princess too; I could swear that I actually saw those plants growing when they were watering them. I've never seen anyone so young take to it so fast."

"Both he and she were helping out in the gardens of Minas Tirith as soon as they were able to hold a spade properly," Legolas informed him with a great deal of pride. Perhaps once things settled down in the White City once more he could take them out there again – it felt like ages since last he'd taken on any major gardening project and he keenly missed working with his hands and good earth. "And those are no mere flower beds, mind you; they are pieces of nature that one can comfortably walk through without feeling like they're going in circles and looking at the same tree all of the time."

"I've heard tell of those from my boy," nodded the farmer, glancing at his son (who was in fact no small boy, though the farmer would always call him that for the rest of his life). "I always thought that he had to be exaggerating just a little, but apparently not. That would explain this morning, then."

"How so?" wondered Aragorn curiously.

The farmer affectionately tousled Eldarion's brunette hair, grinning like a mischievous grandfather when the boy crinkled his nose and ducked. "I was just asking myself how a couple of city dweller children could have thumbs that are so green," he explained with a fond glint in his eyes. "And why it seemed so natural that they be out in the gardens at all. Now I understand."

"Yes, and their fathers certainly didn't live as 'city dwellers' before the War," declared Aragorn. "Legolas is an elf of the Woodland Realm, where all things both tame and wild grow; and I was brought up in Rivendell, which has wonders and beauties in nature that are beyond count." He sighed wistfully, remembering the garden that he used to spy on Legolas in when he was ten and in love for the first time. "I don't think that I will ever really get used to having stone beneath my feet instead of ground. I envy you in that regard, good sir: you walk on the free earth every day. I miss that."

"Sad," commented the farmer sorrowfully. "But then again, I don't suppose that a king would have the time to take for himself just to walk around outside of the city."

"Why not?" asked Legolas rhetorically, turning to smile at his husband. Aragorn saw an eager light in the elf's face that he hadn't seen in awhile. "We could at least make a point of walking the grounds outside of the gates a couple of times a week. We used to do that a lot, and take the children too; but then there got to be more and more to do and that fell by the wayside. This is the first time in months since we left the walls of Minas Tirith; being surrounded by all of that stone for so long stifles the heart and soul."

Maybe that had been a part of their problems too. The advisors hated it when the prince consort and especially the king left Minas Tirith for any period of time; it made the guards uneasy too and they tended to hover like overprotective mother hens whenever it happened. For years Aragorn and Legolas had told them politely but firmly that they would do what they wanted to do when it came to their personal time and everyone else would just have to deal with it. Gradually, however, without them even realizing it, the couple had given in more and more – an 'all right, I suppose that I don't need to travel to Rohan' here; a 'well, I did just go to Ithilien last months' there – until, with the exception of a pregnant Legolas' jaunt to see his people in Ithilien, neither monarch had set foot outside the city in several months.

That, however, was going to change soon. "It's a date, then," agreed the Man wholeheartedly. He playfully kissed Legolas on the mouth just to make Eldarion groan and roll his eyes. "Who knows? Maybe one day we might be so compelled as to bring our children along with us. Maybe."

"Ada! Papa!" objected Eldarion good-naturedly. "If you leave me within those walls while you to go out and have fun all the time I will never forgive you."

"I never said anything about leaving you behind," cried Legolas, as it was his turn to protest. "Now you're simply going to lump me in with your papa when he threatens to do so?"

"It's just easier that way," replied Eldarion puckishly.

"You little imp!" proclaimed Legolas, springing forward suddenly and catching the boy in a fierce embrace, rocking him side to side. Eldarion growled in protest but that only made the elf laugh. "Might I remind you that he wasn't the one who couldn't sit up without support right after your birth? Mind you, he deserved to be the one who couldn't sit up, but that was me, my dear boy. I take all those pains to bring you into this world and now you refuse to even separate your papa and me in your mind?"

Prince Legolas' teasing comments reminded the farmer of something that he'd thought of when he'd first laid eyes on the royal children the previous morning. It had been something he'd wondered about since he'd first heard that the kingdom was getting its heir over thirteen years ago but he'd never held much hope that the question would ever be properly answered. He knew that it wasn't exactly the most appropriate inquiry to make to anyone, let alone a monarch of his country, but this might be his only chance to ask. Besides, he seriously doubted that anyone would lock him up for it at this point. "I beg your pardon, my prince," the Man cleared his throat. "May I ask you a question? I'm afraid that you might find it a little too personal."

"You can ask me anything," answered Legolas jovially, pausing from rocking his son but not quite ready to release him yet. "I can't promise that I will always answer but you, my good host, are more than welcome to ask away."

"I understand" – the Man stopped and lowered his voice. "I understand that it was you who bore and delivered the prince and princesses," he continued. This wasn't a secret or anything, nor was it something that the king and prince seemed the type to be ashamed of, but still it wasn't right to shout about other people's bodies and affairs in front of a crowd. This went double when it had to do with something so personal. "But you are male. How was that possible, then? Is it something that is fairly common among elves or do the Valar place a generous amount of blessings upon you? And if it is the latter, do you know when you are getting the blessing so that you can better prepare for it or was each one of your children a complete surprise?"

He regretting not keeping his curiosity in check almost instantly, for at that moment the prince grew paler than usual and a look that told of a great grief came to the elf's luminous eyes. "I'm sorry" –

"Every child is a gift from the Valar," interrupted Legolas, talking in an unnervingly quiet voice. "I didn't know that any of them were on the way until at least the second…the first month of pregnancy."

"All right," responded the farmer kindly, quite content to give up on future inquires and leave the mystery of the prince and princesses births just that – a mystery.

Eldarion didn't miss his ada's haunted reaction to that innocent question or the way that he hugged his stomach while answering it; nor did the way that his papa wrapped his arm around Legolas' shoulder and pull him closer escape the boy's attention. He didn't understand the reasons for it; this wasn't the first (or the second, or the hundredth) time that someone had asked him that very question, with varying degrees of politeness and tones of approval. To his knowledge, neither Legolas nor Aragorn ever reacted quite like that to even the rudest, most judgmental person.

The one thing that truly caught Eldarion's interests, however, was the elf's labored correction from two months to one month when reporting at what point he'd found out about each of his pregnancies. That didn't seem right. It had taken two months with the twins, he remembered that quite clearly. He also distinctly remembered Aragorn fussing about how his husband was entering the second stage of pregnancy before finding out that he was pregnant for the second time, so that one month didn't refer to Laurelin either. It wasn't him either – five or six months, his parents had told him; and from what else they'd told him he was certain that they would have welcomed knowing as early as one month along that he was on his way. So where else could that whole 'one month' thing come from?

Perhaps he would have asked about then and there, accidentally dragging up the recent painful episode before his parents were prepared to tell him about it, if he'd had the time. However, the close-yet-still-distant sound of horse footfalls, wheels turning, and snatches of familiar songs drifting through the open window ended the boy's questions at that time.

Beren was the first one on his feet to investigate, racing over to the window before his king could even issue an order. "Your majesties, our good hosts!" he announced happily, looking over his shoulder and smiling knowingly at them. "Lord Gimli is currently coming up the walkway in a carriage with King Thranduil riding at his side. The lords Elladan and Elrohir ride before them."

"Wonderful," declared Legolas, letting out a long breath that had a shakiness to it that Eldarion didn't understand but was sure that he didn't like. "Come, come, my dear children! This will be but the first of many joyous reunions in your near future. You are about to be hugged so tightly that you'll find out how many ways your bodies can be crushed without breaking a bone, and wept on until your garments are thoroughly soaked. There's no point in putting it off any longer."

"Why would we want to?" asked Laurelin, tittering at how ridiculous her ada acted at times. She slid off of the bench and grabbed her brother's hand. "You're silly, Ada. Come on, Eldarion!"

Eldarion knew that it would be futile to do anything but comply with her wishes. "All right, all right, just don't pull my arm off!" he cried jokingly. Then, after giving his ada one last assessing look he allowed the little girl to drag him away. He reminded himself to ask about Legolas and Aragorn's strange behavior at a later time, but that slipped his mind in the excitement that followed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I still say that we should have waited for one of those guards to come back and lead us here," asserted Gimli once more as he and his elven companions rode cautiously up the small path to the humble farmhouse that the directions they'd been given had led them to. "That is, if here is truly where we're supposed to end up."

"We have already promised Legolas and Aragorn that would start out for here at first light," insisted Thranduil in a tone that way anything but argumentative. How glorious it was to be seeing his grandchildren again! He couldn't have waited for anyone to come back first even if he'd wanted to. "Besides, that would have delayed our reunion with Eldarion and the girls another day at most."

"Aye, but we'd be guaranteed to be seeing them," countered Gimli, eyeing the house suspiciously before he leaned back in his seat on the carriage and turned back to the elven king. "I don't know if I trust those directions that we got. That guard – Eldacar – he was pretty unsure about every which way we were supposed to go and turn and that farmer seemed to be more than just a little on the empty-headed side."

They were so involved in their bickering, friendly debate that they didn't notice the door to that farmhouse swinging open. The twins, however, did; and Elrohir suddenly cleared his throat conspicuously. "If I may be so bold," he called back to them, though the appearance of the sight that he'd been longing to see for days kept him from glancing over his shoulder as well. "But if you're quite done with all of that bickering, or flirting, or whatever the gossips are calling it these days, I suggest that you look ahead. There you will see ample proof that we have not been led astray."

"Uncles! Daerada! Grandpa Gimli! Unc-Dae-Gran-cles-rad-pa Gi"-

Eldarion and Laurelin's cries of greeting got jumbled up in their excitement, so much so that it was difficult to make out what they were saying; but that didn't matter. None of it matters, for there they were, running hand-in-hand out of the door and toward their family. They were not dead, not half-starved; it didn't even look like they were injured. It was all that Gimli and the elves had wished for and more than they could have expected. But really, now that they thought about it what else should they have expected from Aragorn and Legolas' miracle children?

It was a wonder that the dwarf and three elves didn't trample each other in their haste to put their arms around the children as soon as was physically possible. "Look at you two," sobbed Thranduil, who unsurprisingly beat the others and engulfed his two eldest grandchildren in a massive embrace. Two young headed rested on each of his shoulders and it was hard for anyone who saw not to smile through their tears. "You both are perfect."

"Not a scratch on you," observed Gimli. This was not technically true but he hadn't meant it in a literal sense anyway. Elbowing his way past the twins he nudged one of Thranduil's arms out of the way. "Move over; you're hogging them!"

Eldarion let out a sobbing laugh as he felt his daerada reluctantly relent just enough to make room for Gimli. "Some things never change, do they?" he asked wryly.

"And some things do, I see," noted Elladan, remembering how his nephew and niece were clasping hands. The Eldarion and Laurelin of old would have been trying to trip each other on the way down the path. "The hobbits send their love too. They would have come with us, except there wasn't room for all of them without bringing a parade of carriages and they couldn't find a fair way to choose which one of them could come along with us. It's so good to see you both again, by the way."

"You haven't seen them yet," groused Elrohir. He shot his best Elrond-like withering look at the elven king and dwarf lord; a wasted effort, as both of them had their backs to him. "All right, enough of that! There will be plenty of time for hugs and gushing and a whole lot of weeping later, but first I must insist that Elladan and I examine them. They could be in need of a healer and just not know it yet."

"They're fine," Gimli protested, but he backed off and silently coaxed Thranduil to do the same. They were not healers, after all, and if anything, their recent experience had taught them that when it came to the children's well being it was best to err on the side of caution. "I just ask that once you see that they are truly as sturdy and sound as mountain dwarves you hand them right back over to me."

"Listen to them, Aragorn," sounded a voice coming from in front of them. "Our family is fighting tooth and nail over our two eldest children like they were some prized commodity or something while ignoring the fact that we have two more who would like their attention just as much."

Thranduil let loose a joyous cry when he looked up to see his precious son and the Man standing there with two baskets full of lovely, healthy baby girls. "Oh, I shall never neglect them!" he declared, practically leaping all the way over to see the infants. "Hello, Meren; hello, Gilraen. You have not forgotten your daerada, have you?"

"Ada, you make it impossible for anyone to ever forget you," said Legolas in a long-suffering tone; but he was smiling as he watched his father bend over and kiss Meren's brow.

He started to say something else, something cheeky and smart, but a movement from behind him caught his eye first. He looked over and was not happy with what he saw. "Please, you don't have to do that," he protested in vain as the farmer, his wife, and his son walked around everyone, each with a bundle in their arms. Most of what they had belonged to the children – their freshly-laundered garments and such – but there were also food items and a couple of blankets in there that definitely belonged to their hosts.

"Nonsense," declared the farmer's wife as she resolutely plopped her burden down in the carriage. "You've got a bit of a journey ahead of you; I doubt you'll be able to make it back to Minas Tirith before nightfall and it won't do to camp out a night without a few little odds and ends. We're happy to given them to you and help you get on your way."

"Getting a little tired of us, are you?" asked Aragorn with a teasing twinkle in his eyes that turned sincere when Beren and Eldacar came with all of their horses. "You're generosity continues to humble me to the last. Thank you for everything. You can expect some deliveries from us in the next few weeks, and if there is anything that you ever need please do not hesitate to ask us."

The farmer took his king's offered hand and firmly shook it. "You're a decent fellow," he stated, and then nodded to Legolas. "You both are. I always knew that you're great people but it's nice to know under all of the titles and fancy mumbo-jumbo you're decent fellows too."

"Thank you," smiled Legolas. It was a shame that it had taken so much loss, tragedy, and near-tragedy for him and his husband to remember that there was more to them than the King Elessar and Prince Legolas parts. "It's nice to be reminded of that every once in awhile."

Soon enough the children had to say goodbye to their kind hosts and clamor onto the carriage with Gimli, who was very smug that he would be getting them all to himself whenever their party was on the move. Legolas was next to say his goodbyes, and did so with a heavy but grateful heart. "Farewell, my friends, until our next meeting," bid Aragorn as he mounted his horse, the last one to do so. "And don't think that we've forgotten our promise to you! I daresay that after today your farm will have considerably less problems…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Laurelin and Eldarion sat at the edge of their fathers' bed, waiting for Aragorn and Legolas to get finished putting the twins down for their afternoon nap. Apparently their parents had something to tell them – something serious, judging by the expression on the Man's face and the catch in the elf's voice when he asked them to wait in their bedchamber. Neither of them had given any hints and Laurelin was baffled, but Eldarion guessed that it had something to do with him and his sister having to move back into their own bedchambers. It had been well over a month since the two of them had spent the night in them and now that the danger had passed it was probably time that they all resumed their normal lives. Certain that there wasn't anything too serious to be concerned about Eldarion didn't feel at all guilty about the fact that he and Laurelin were currently doubled over with laughter.

Perhaps it wasn't so unusual that the two siblings were doing this; after all, a lot had happened in the last couple of days that deserved exactly that kind of reaction. For one thing, there had been the scene that the people of Gondor had made upon their reentrance to the city the afternoon of the previous day. Being greeted by throngs of people cheering was no new thing but to have that crowd cheering for them and not their parents was not something that either Eldarion or Laurelin were used to. They would have found the shouts of "Hail the victorious Prince Eldarion!" and "Behold the brave Princess Laurelin!" flattering but amusing then had they not been too exhausted and relieved to be home after their ordeal plus another night of camping out after leaving the farm to register the absurdity of anything that was going on around them.

There had also been the matter of their reunion with the hobbits. Sam, Merry, and Pippin had decided to forego the confusion of the crowd by the gate and instead waiting with their broods for the royal family to make their way back to the citadel. To be greeted by a group of hobbits with goofy grins plastered on their faces was an experience that everyone should have at least once in their lives, Eldarion decided; for their happiness was sincere and there were few other times in his life when he had felt more welcome and loved. All Laurelin had to do was squeal with delight when she saw them and all of them charged, clamoring to be the first ones to embrace them. Their hobbit uncles beat the rest to the children and then engaged in a merry battle to see who got the first honor to try to fit the boy and girl into his arms at the same time first until Merry, Pippin, and Sam decided to band together and surround the children, Aragorn, and Legolas all and practically smother them with their love and attention.

If he hadn't been so overwhelmed, the crown prince might have taken note of a bit of a melancholy exchange between Legolas and Estella Brandybuck. The elf had been holding Gilraen at the time and Estella had been staring at father and daughter with a combination of apprehension and anticipation. Legolas had nodded to acknowledge her and then looked down at the baby in his arms. The hobbit lass hesitated for a second before shaking her head. 'Later,' she'd mouthed to him, gesturing to the crowd swarming all around them. Some things had to happen when there weren't so many people around and working past what was left of her fears and guilt so that she could uphold her end of her bargain with Legolas by holding the infants was one of them.

There was also the matter of the next reunion that had taken, with Faramir, Eowyn, and their two children. While Aragorn was thanking his steward for seeing to it that Gondor didn't fall apart politically whilst he was otherwise occupied and Legolas spoke with Eowyn in a low voice, answering her inquires about his well being, Findowyn had approached Eldarion. It had been awhile since the adoring boy had laid eyes on his crush and his face had turned crimson when she noted how much older he seemed now before hugging him and telling him that she was glad that he was back. He'd been so happily surprised by her actions that he almost – but not quite – missed seeing Laurelin giving Theomir a kiss on the cheek and the subsequent way that the little boy had looked ready to float away.

The first was rife with some unkind amusement at the people's expense for exaggerating (in their opinions) what Eldarion and Laurelin had accomplished since their kidnapping. The second filled the siblings with a giddy delight; and the third was, at least in earlier days, the type of situation that the two of them would have spent days teasing each other mercilessly about. Yet none of these were what had left the prince and princesses in fits of laughter. What they were currently talking about had happened before any of those had, soon after leaving the farm that had been their haven when Aragorn and Legolas had insisted on taking a little side trip. There was a matter of fulfilling a promised they'd made to the kindly farmer, and that involved going to another, nearby farm so that the king and prince consort of Gondor could have a little chat about responsibility and respect with a group of cow-tipping children.

"I still can't get over the looks on their poor mother and father's faces when they saw up pull up and Ada and Papa coming up their walk!" giggled the little girl, covering her mouth with her hand so that she wouldn't make a lot of noise and keep her younger sisters awake. "And then when Ada and Papa asked to speak with their children! I've never seen anyone's eyes get that huge before."

"Neither had I – until those children came," laughed Eldarion. "I can't believe that Papa actually told them that the cows weren't to be tipped anymore because everyone on the farm, including all of the livestock, now had the favor of the crown! 'I was a young Man once too, a long time ago'," he added, mimicking Aragorn's tone and inflections perfectly. "'But there are pranks and then there is what you've been doing, which I deem akin to vandalism. It would be a shame if all of you headed down such a dishonorable path so early in your lives, especially since the only place where that path leads to is the dungeons of Minas Tirith'."

"I don't think our dear host will have any more troubles from them," said Laurelin. "Between Papa having one of his talks with them and Ada giving them one of his Looks I don't think that they'll be brave enough to take one step off of their own land anytime soon."

"I should hope so," spoke up Aragorn from the doorway. He and Legolas smiled, albeit a bit sadly, at their son's reaction when Eldarion realized that they had been able to sneak in without him noticing it. Shutting the door behind them so that they wouldn't disturb Meren and Gilraen's slumber, the Man shook his head. "I would hate to think that I was losing my touch when it comes to unruly children. Besides, their actions proved that they were not ready to be trusted with so much freedom yet. I'm just glad that we have well-behaved children – don't you agree, Legolas?"

The elf prince managed to give his husband a small, closed-lipped smile. "We could not ask for better," he concurred, wrapping his arms around his stomach tightly as if he were cold. He looked over at them, the smile freezing on his face when he noticed that Eldarion's joy had dimmed somewhat and that the boy was now studying him inscrutably. "But enough about that," he added, and there was something of a cross between contentment and resignation in his tone. "How do you fare, Eldarion, Laurelin?"

"All right, I suppose," replied the boy ponderously, his eyes still on Legolas as Laurelin lifted up his arm, flopped against him, and sighed tiredly. This was not the first time that his ada had made such an out-of-place gesture since their reunion. He wondered why that was, for he knew that elves didn't normally get cold. "We're glad to be back, that's for sure. It does feel a little weird though, but I can't put my finger on why."

Legolas sat down next to him and stroked his long, dark hair. "It's hard to pick up the pieces of your normal life after so much has happened," he told his son wisely. "Especially when you have changed but the world around you has not. It will take some getting used to but soon you'll find that this growth is to your benefit, once day-to-day life goes back to the usual thing."

"Is that why you wanted to speak to us privately?" asked Eldarion. "I understand that we must go back to sleeping in our bedchambers" –

"No," interrupted Aragorn automatically before he took the time to think about what he was saying. "No – I mean, yes we're worked things out with the guards and had locks added to the entrances of the hidden passages, so your bedchambers are safe to sleep in now; but that's not what we wanted to talk to you about."

He closed his eyes briefly, summoning within him the courage to tell them about Legolas' miscarriage and the strength he would need not to fall apart while he did so. Kneeling down before them, he took one of Laurelin's hands with one hand and one of Eldarion's with the other. "There's – there's something that happened while you were – were gone," he forced himself to say gently and in the calmest tone possible. "Something that your ada and I wish with all of our hearts that it hadn't. It won't be easy to hear but this is something that we cannot and should not hide from you."

"Is this about Lord Eärnil?" asked Eldarion solemnly, blinking back tears in his eyes. He'd noticed the blood that had been on his knife when Tanondor had first pulled it on him but hadn't had the time later to ask himself where it came from. The boy had been horrified to learn that it was there because the insane Man had killed his supposed friend when the lord had refused to stand idly by and watch the prince and princesses get kidnapped. Eldarion hadn't known Eärnil any better than he did the other noblemen but his parents had liked the kindly old Man well enough and it made him sad to know that an honorable person like that had died because of Tanondor's madness. "I overheard some of the guards talking about it."

"I'm sorry," said Aragorn, a little taken-aback by this revelation. "That's not how I would have had you find out about that."

"I'm glad that I know," Eldarion tried to reassure him. "I'd like to attend his funeral too, if that's all right. It feels right that I should be there."

"You may go; I believe you've earned the right to make a grown-up decision like that," said Legolas thoughtfully, "but that is not what your papa and I wanted to talk to you about today." He looked down into his eldest children's innocent faces and almost wept, for he knew that they would be losing a bit of that innocence now. After all they'd been through it was unfair to put them through more pain and anguish; but then again life wasn't fair and he wouldn't be doing anyone any favors if he tried to make it fair for them by pretending that his miscarriage had never happened. "My dear Little Acorn; my sweet Laurelin; there is no easy way to put this so I'm simply going to say it: the morning that – that you were taken I found out that I was pregnant" –

"Again?" interrupted Laurelin at the worst possible moment. "But that's good news, isn't it? I think it is! Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet? When's the baby going to be born?"

The Man saw his husband falter under her questions and squeezed Laurelin's hand to draw her attention to him. "The baby," he choked out. Eldarion's jaw tightened when he too looked at his papa. Drawing in a deep steadying breath Aragorn plunged ahead. "The baby is not…she was already born; but it was much, much too soon…"

Eldarion glanced, dazed, between the devastated expression on his ada's face and the tears that were glistening in his papa's eyes. His heart sank and it was all that he could do to keep from crying himself. "You mean you lost the baby?" he asked, barely able to get his voice above a whisper.

"Yes," confirmed Legolas in one emotionally charged word. He put his arm around Eldarion and the boy could feel how his ada was trembling. "There's going to be…we're going to plan a funeral for her…"

"Wait!" cried a confused Laurelin desperately. She understood that her parents were sad and that it had made her brother sad too, but this was too much. Having a funeral seemed like such an odd thing to do in this sort of situation. "If the baby's lost then why can't we go out and find her? I mean, we were lost and then found! You two are so good at finding things; so are the guards, and Eldarion gotten good at that too. I can help too, if you think it would help…"

"Oh Laurelin," said Legolas in a strangled sob as he reached around in front of Eldarion to grab her and pull her onto his lap. "It's not the same kind of lost that you were; the baby is lost to this world. She – she died, my sweet girl."

"Died?" repeated Laurelin in horror. That didn't make any sense to her. Old people died; sometimes warriors died too, or at least that's what she'd heard in tales; and on occasion people died because of the wickedness of other people. Babies weren't supposed to die, not babies who hadn't even seen the world yet.

Her ada hugged her close and buried his face in the top of her hair. Laurelin could feel moisture and knew that he, her brave and wonderful ada, was crying. This was not to be wondered at; he had had the baby inside of him, after all, and had known her better than the rest of them. She wanted desperately to be strong when he was so sad but she couldn't stop herself from weeping. "Ada – Papa – I'm – I'm – I'm – I'm – so – sor-sorry," she gasped out between sobs.

Aragorn moved forward and pulled Legolas, Laurelin, and Eldarion all into his arms. Slowly Legolas reached out to him with one arm, then Eldarion to both of his parents, until all four of them were embracing each other. "It's not your fault, my daughter," the Man told her, his own voice thick with tears. "It's not any of our faults."

Eldarion rested his head on his papa's shoulder. "It's that Man's fault," he muttered with a quiet ferocity that only reached Aragorn's ear. Tanondor had kidnapped him and his siblings, murdered another person while doing so, and now, he found out, he also brought about his ada's miscarriage – and therefore was responsible for the death ('murder; it was nothing short of murder') of one of his sisters. Eldarion bitterly remembered how he'd vowed to protect his sisters from Tanondor's insanity felt an intense and helpless anger.

"Now is not the time to assign or take on blame," asserted Aragorn, clutching at Eldarion a little tighter. "We should only be thinking about how to say goodbye to her and about being there for each other. The rest," he added in a low voice that was meant only for his son, "will follow in due time. Justice will be done, I swear it."

To be continued…