Nine months later…

The morning in Minas Tirith began as they all had been for many months: with Aragorn in his private office not far off from the throne room, enjoying the only few moments of quiet that he was going to get for the rest of the day. The bolt on the door, firmly and resolutely shoved into place as soon as it slammed behind him, further ensured his privacy, but he really had very little to worry about when it came to people bothering him right then. The official dealings of the court wouldn't start for another hour and the noblemen had quickly come to learn that King Elessar did not like to be disturbed in his solitude with what could easily wait until then. Other citizens of Gondor wanting an audience with him wouldn't dream of being so bold as to demand to see him before their allotted time – the scars inflicted by Denethor's madness were not easily cured and had barely begun to heal at that point. No, they were probably busy readying the various petitions that they wanted him to judge and soon Aragorn would have to face injustices that ran deep and difficult decisions – but not yet.

Best of all, this peace and quiet from the troubles of the court and the people also meant that he wasn't spending this essentially free time with his wife. Arwen was still asleep in their bedchamber and most likely would be for a few more hours if the previous few months were any indication. For all its ridiculous traditions and troubling quandaries, the court basically made it so Aragorn did not have to see his queen at all except for her silent appearances in the throne room during the petitioning, mealtimes, and the night; he only had to tell her that what he did in the morning was political business and she – like the perfect, understanding spouse – made it a point not to intrude. That day, though, he knew that he wasn't going to have to look at her for awhile since she'd temporarily ceased attending all court functions.

The reason for this reprieve was also the reason why Lord Elrond had returned to the White City of Gondor and was now residing in one of the royal quarter's quest chambers: Arwen was now seven months pregnant. It was to be expected, of course, since they had a rather active sex life after the wedding and she was eager to become a mother; but it had come as a pleasant surprise to Aragorn that he was genuinely thrilled by this news as well. He felt some guilt about bringing a child into what he saw as a loveless marriage, and his some reasons for wanting it weren't exactly pure, but he couldn't deny the fact that this pregnancy had been nothing but a blessing in his life so far.

'Oh, sweet, wonderful child!' he thought happily, pausing in the reading that he was doing to jot down another good name he'd come up with for the baby. 'You do my heart much good after it was shattered. You will become the center of my world and – and it will not be just me and Arwen in this sham of a marriage anymore.'

The child was already playing a major part in Aragorn and Arwen's relationship, as in the physical parts of it was almost non-existent now. They didn't have to conceive an heir anymore, something that the king welcomed since touching her was making him increasingly nauseous. In fact, now that she was in her last months she was no longer comfortable with her body and never requested that he do more than hold her as she drifted off to sleep at night. What Aragorn found most liberating, though, was that she'd gone into her final month's confinement and he didn't even have to worry about accidentally bumping into her at any point in the day. The Man let out a small sigh of contentment just thinking about it.

Arwen hadn't noticed her husband's need to be rid of her as much as possible, but it proved to be a point of contention with their guest. Upon his arrival to the city, Elrond had immediately sensed that Aragorn's giddiness over the circumstances were about more than just the usual new-father-bliss. He hadn't taken kindly to it at all but managed to hold his tongue for almost one day. Choking back what he truly wanted to say, the elf lord had greeted Aragorn fondly and fussed over his daughter and how round she'd gotten before taking a brief rest. Then he examined Arwen to make sure that she was really all right, toured the city's restoration projects, and attended a small but elegant feast that celebrated his arrival. After that he'd retired to the private royal quarters where he and the married couple continued to catch up on each other's lives.

The excitement of the day had gotten to Arwen and she announced earlier than usual that she was going to bed. She'd taken Aragorn's hand but Elrond had stopped her, asking if he could speak to the Man in private about fatherly issues. Arwen had easily agreed and after both of the most important males in her life had bid her goodnight she left. Aragorn, knowing that it would probably be best if they put as much distance between the royal bedchamber and his talk with Elrond as possible, had then led the elf lord to his private off. The ensuing conversation had not been pleasant.

OOOO – Flashback – OOOO

Elrond quietly took in the layout and décor of the small office, trying to compose himself enough to talk rationally while Aragorn closed and locked the door. Hearing the bolt slide into place, he sucked in a deep breath. "I'm very disappointed in you, Aragorn," he finally said, turning around to look at the Man.

"I don't see what cause you have to be so," replied Aragorn in a flat, dull voice. "Gondor has been saved from the power of Sauron, the realm is quickly regaining the strength it's lost since the golden days, I've accepted my destiny and – from all accounts – have become an excellent king, and Arwen is pregnant and happy. What more do you expect from me?"

"You treat her with so much disdain," growled Elrond angrily, fighting to control his volume so that he didn't yell and alert the guards. "How could a child that I raised grow up into a Man who is so unfeeling toward his own wife?"

"I treat her with nothing but affection and respect," countered Aragorn through gritted teeth. "If you don't believe that, ask her."

"I don't doubt that outwardly you've been the perfect husband, but that is not what I wish to speak to you about," argued Elrond. "Do not forget that I can see your mind and your heart, both of which betray you. You are repulsed by Arwen, by the Evenstar of the elven people and a living image of Luthien herself! I never would have thought that such a thing was possible had I not witnessed it with my own eyes."

"Yet I have never neglected my husbandly duties," pointed out Aragorn defensively. He had gone through with every one of those revolting acts and he wasn't about to let anyone, not even Elrond, act like they didn't count for anything. "I've always joined with her whenever she requested it; I have even embraced and kissed her freely. You should commend me for being able to do that, not mocking the effort all of that took on my part."

An outraged Elrond gave him a deadly glare. "How dare you speak that way about Arwen?" he demanded fiercely. "She is not the one who acted like a needy lover in her dealings with you."

A fire blazed in Aragorn's eyes and he got almost nose-to-nose with the elf. "You had better watch your mouth," he warned in a dangerous tone.

"You are her husband," debated Elrond, though he took a step back and fought to rein in his emotions. He knew that he'd just stepped over the line with that subtle dig at Legolas, and needed to keep it together if he wanted the Man to listen to him at all. "You're supposed to love her above all others."

Aragorn's expression was as cold and hard as his voice as he replied: "I don't. I don't love her above all others because I don't love her at all, in any way. I could not love Arwen even if I wanted to, which I don't."

Elrond's breaths were coming in deep, furious pants; he continued to remind himself that keeping a certain sense of calmness and rationality would make all the difference in this conversation – and Arwen's future. "You're a fool, then," he declared, "for you've condemned yourself to a long and lonely life. What about her child?"

"My child," Aragorn corrected him.

"You can't seriously expect me to believe that you feel anything for that child when you freely admit that you feel nothing for its mother," scoffed Elrond.

"I don't care what you do and don't believe," the Man retorted. "That doesn't change the fact that I happen to love my child. Yes, I would have preferred to have the baby with someone else, but what of it? It's not the child's fault that its other parent is Arwen and not Legolas."

Was that a flash of guilt in his foster father's eyes? Before Aragorn could examine it more closely or ask about it, the elf lord turned his back on him. "You betray my daughter," he accused in a slow, even paced tone. "Is it not bad enough that you had a couple of innocent indiscretions before your wedding?"

"I told you to watch your mouth," said Aragorn resolutely as a genuine hatred for the person in front of him brewed within his stomach. His emotions, so deadened after months of marriage to Arwen, were coming alive again and they were fierce in their wrath. "I will not tolerate you belittling what he and I shared!"

"I did not come here to talk about Legolas!" hissed Elrond. "This. Is. About. Arwen."

"Fine, then," snapped Aragorn. "But I say that I have never cheated on her. She's the only one that I've joined with since the time that you presented me with Anduril." He couldn't truthfully say 'since the night that you presented me with Anduril since he and Legolas had made love before Elrond's arrival at Dunharrow and Aragorn wasn't about to betray the memory of that by implying otherwise.

"Your body remains faithful," replied Elrond with quiet disgust, "but your mind and heart are not. They are filled with Legolas even when you touch my daughter. In that way you cheat on Arwen constantly."

"If I am unfaithful to anything," said Aragorn in a deliberate voice, "it is to my heart and mind. They hold true to the one that they hold dear when the rest of me has let him go. I betray them every day that I'm with Arwen when I love Legolas – and have been for decades."

At this Elrond spun back around. "If that's they way you feel then why did you court my daughter in the first place?" he demanded, his fists clenched and held tightly at his sides. "I cannot believe my ears! You lure Arwen away from the immortality of the elves to keep her here in quiet resentment. You should be ashamed of yourself, Aragorn. I have never been more disappointed in –"

"Hold your tongue," ordered Aragorn darkly as he felt himself start to shake with rage. He hadn't been in the mood to listen to his foster father's guilt trips and subtle manipulations for a long time. Everything that he was feeling at the moment had been bubbling below the surface for quite awhile now; now he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold it back any longer. "First of all, I didn't court her out of maliciousness. I tried to love her for all those years and for awhile believed that I'd succeeded. Since you see my heart and mind so well you must have known that I hadn't, and how I felt about Legolas even when I was not; so why then didn't you pull me aside to say something?"

"You were an adult, Aragorn," Elrond explained defensively. "You would not have listened to me, nor would you have left her if I'd have advised it."

"Because I never did anything that you told me to?" demanded Aragorn sarcastically. He curled his hands into fists and pounded them against his own head. "Why would you think that? I have done everything that you've ever asked me to do! You told me to accept that my name was Aragorn and my lineage that of Isidore's without a fuss and I did. You told me to leave my childhood home and set out into decades of loneliness in an unfamiliar world and I did just that. You wanted me to dedicate my life to overthrowing Sauron and not only did I do that, I also succeeded in my task for the Valars' sake!"

He paused momentarily to breathe deeply before plunging back in. "And," he continued on, "I gave up Arwen when you asked me to. Do you not remember, Ada? I told her that our relationship was nothing more than a dream, gave her back her necklace, and all but ordered her to go to Valinor. Just because I wasn't cruel in my rejection of her doesn't mean that I lured her into staying. When a rider sets his horse loose, is it imperative for him to beat the animal in order to make it stay away? Shouldn't a kind but firm farewell suffice?"

"Only when the rider doesn't keep the faint promises of carrots and a warm stall dangling over the horse's head," responded Elrond in a terse voice.

Aragorn clenched his jaw. "I wouldn't talk about dangling promises in front of people if I were you," he said as the pieces to this twisted, heart-wrenching puzzle fell into place and he understood for the first time. "That's what you were really doing, weren't you? You thought that if I had the proper motivation I'd be desperate to rid the world of Sauron. King Thranduil never cared much about the fate of the world of Men and would never offer Legolas up like a treasure to be won even for a cause that he believed in, so you couldn't manipulate my love for him; that's where Arwen came in. You thought that you could dangle the promise of proving myself worthy to be with her in front of me because you never dreamed that she would take our relationship so seriously. You thought that she'd lose interest long before her mortality was in jeopardy and you'd get everything you wanted without having to sacrifice a single thing, save me."

"That's not true," whispered Elrond although in his heart he knew that it was, at least in part.

"Would that your plan had not backfired," lamented Aragorn. "Are you ready to admit now that I'm not keeping Arwen in any way? If she decided to leave right now I'd help her pack her bags and bid her a fond farewell – though we'd probably have words over where our child would live. Finally, I don't care anymore if you're disappointed in me or not. It seems that I can never please you; not even playing a major role in the passing of a great evil, uniting the world of Men, and casting aside everything that makes me happy has made you proud of me. I refuse to try to do the impossible by rejecting my heart's desire on your implication that perhaps that would be enough."

"Aragorn…"

"I don't want to hear it right now," snapped Aragorn. "You called me a fool before and I admit that I am one. I was a fool to let Legolas go in favor of someone that I could never love in order to try to appease someone who has and never will love me for who I am. It would be further folly to try to eject him from my heart and mind. Legolas is love and life to me, Ada, while Arwen is nothing more than cold emptiness. Were I to give him up completely I wouldn't have a reason to go on. I'm done trying to make you happy."

OOOO – End Flashback – OOOO

He'd stormed out after that, leaving a shaken Elrond behind in his angry wake. The next day Aragorn and Elrond had acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had taken place between them. The Man was by now used to living in his lies and trying to resolve any issues he had with Elrond would only lead to more useless arguing and bitterness. Under the understood agreement that neither of them cared to find the strength to endure another confrontation, they settled into a 'happy family' routine that pleased Arwen and kept her from feeling the need to mediate between them. It wasn't much, but Aragorn was as content as he could be.

His life was pleasant enough – save for the fact that Legolas wasn't in it at all.

Aragorn frowned, placed a marker in his book, and set it aside in favor of staring out his window at the sun. Months had passed since they'd said goodbye (or hadn't said goodbye, as was the case; something that tortured the king daily) and he'd heard nothing from or about the love of his life. While it would be preposterous to expect long, frequent letters – Legolas was undoubtedly heavily immersed in healing the hurts of Mirkwood after the War as well as mindful to respect Aragorn and Arwen's union – not to receive anything from him was unusual and unsettling. Aragorn had been contacted by the rest of the Fellowship: he and Gimli exchanged notes from time to time; the hobbits had sent word that they arrived back at the Shire safely; and even Gandalf included a sentence in a letter from Bilbo (in which the old hobbit apologized for not making it to the wedding). None of them had mentioned anything about Legolas after Gimli recounted their journey in Fangorn and sudden farewell and it made Aragorn uneasy. Why hadn't the elf prince at least sent something, just so that Aragorn could have the peace of mind of knowing that he'd gotten home all right?

A knock on the door interrupted his fretting. "It can wait until court begins," called Aragorn, not bothering to get up.

The knock came again, more insistently this time. "I'm sorry, your majesty, but I don't think that it can," replied the voice of one of the guards. Aragorn rolled his eyes, rose to his feet, and made his way over to the door, unbolting and opening it. The guard had enough sense to look embarrassed as he tentatively entered the room. "You're presence is required immediately."

"Are we under attack?" asked Aragorn.

"No, your highness."

"Is the city on fire?"

The guard simply shook his head.

"Is the queen in labor?"

"No, King Elessar."

"Well then," said Aragorn definitively. "I can't think of anything other than those three things that can't wait to be presented to me until the proper time. Leave me."

"But, King Elessar," protested the guard meekly, unused to defying a direct order. "A delegation from the realm of Mirkwood has just arrived. Their leader is requesting to speak to you at once."

Aragorn's heart stopped for a second; then for the first time in almost a year he felt truly happy again. "Legolas," he breathed and bounded out the door. The guard looked on in amazement, having never seen his king react to anyone or anything so enthusiastically before.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It wasn't Legolas that was waiting for him outside by the White Tree, but Legolas' father Thranduil. "Mae govannen, King Thranduil," greeted Aragorn with a formal elvish gesture, successfully hiding his disappointment. "I am honored by your presence. What brings you to this city of Men?"

Thranduil returned the gesture and Aragorn got a really good look at him. The elven king seemed – thin; and was very pale even by elvish standards, save for the pronounced dark circles under his eyes. "I apologize for arriving unannounced," he said in a voice that sounded tense and desperate. "My need to speak with you overcame my sense of propriety. I come in search of my son, King Elessar."

"Legolas?" whispered Aragorn fearfully. "He's not here, King Thranduil. In fact, I haven't seen or heard from him since we parted way about nine months ago. I had assumed that he was in Mirkwood, too preoccupied to correspond."

A look of growing despair and utter worry came to Thranduil's face. "Ai Elbereth," he choked out.

Just then Elrond came running into the courtyard. He'd overheard some guards talking about a delegation that came unexpectedly from the Woodland Realm and assumed that Legolas was a part of it. Ever since his fight with Aragorn he feared that the Man might actually forsake Arwen if he saw his love again and now had hastened out to do some damage control. The last person he expected to see was Mirkwood's king. "Thranduil?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"He's looking for Legolas," Aragorn answered for him with a hard edge in his voice. "Legolas never went back home."

"But he was supposed to!" burst out Elrond. Both Thranduil and Aragorn looked startled and the elf lord struggled to keep his head. "He was quite distraught about – about the attack that Mirkwood suffered in his absence. I thought that Morgoth himself wouldn't be able to keep Legolas away once his obligations to those he'd spent time with during the War were over with."

"Something has happened to him," lamented Thranduil. "I know it. I thought that it was unusual that he hadn't contacted me in so long, but I had no idea how long his business with mortals would last and Legolas tends to get all wrapped up in what he's doing to the point of neglecting everything else. Then a short while ago I sensed that he was in pain, that he was frightened, angry, and alone. I sent people to search for him in Rivendell, and when that proved to be fruitless I came here."

"I'm so sorry, Thranduil," apologized Elrond in a choked voice.

The blonde elf shook his head. "You have no reason to be; I know that you've always done your best to watch over Legolas when I'm not around," he said kindly. Elrond felt his guilt increase infinitely. "When was the last time that either of you saw him?"

"In Isengard," answered Elrond with great concern. Had the grief of losing Aragorn and his child slowly eaten away at Legolas until he finally succumbed to it? "He departed with Gimli the dwarf from there. As far as I know, it was his plan for them to briefly visit Fangorn Forest before he returned to Mirkwood."

Thranduil's face clouded over. "A dwarf?" he asked suspiciously.

"A dear friend," Aragorn informed him, knowing where his mind had gone. "Gimli is more likely to die defending Legolas than he is to do him any harm. I suggest that we contact him to see if he can shed any light on the subject."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next part of Aragorn's life would be full of miserable heartache and constant worry. Gimli would respond quickly to the request for information, but prove to be of little use to the search. In a wrinkled letter – Aragorn would assume that the paper ended up like that because it had been gripped tightly in a moment of distraught – the dwarf would reiterate everything that he'd said before about the 'dratted forest', the giving of Arod, and their goodbye. He would say in a sentence that was smudged with tears that it had been the last time he'd had contact with the missing elf.

Upon receiving this, the next letter that Aragorn would write would be to Eomer, requesting that Helm's Deep, the surrounding area, and all possible routes between the fortress and both Fangorn and Mirkwood be meticulously searched. Still, no one would have any luck with that; and further inquires to Lothlorien, the Shire, and Rivendell would amount to nothing. In every one of the numerous letters Aragorn would send out he would beg that if anyone knew anything about Legolas' whereabouts, please contact him at once. This would become the standard conclusion to every letter he sent for years to come whether the correspondence had anything to do with the search for Legolas or not.

That night, however, Aragorn was too busy thinking about all of the mistakes he'd made in the past to plan out his search strategy beyond composing a letter to Gimli. Back in his office he sat numbly, holding an old arrow as if it was the most precious thing in the entire world. He would have stayed like that indefinitely but the person softly tapping at his door had other plans. "What?" asked the Man dully.

"It's me, Aragorn," called Arwen sympathetically, her voice a little hoarse from all the tears she'd just cried. "Ada told me about Legolas. Please let me in."

"Do as you will," replied Aragorn as if he couldn't care less. "It's not locked and I won't stop you."

Arwen came inside and shut the door behind her. "Aragorn," she said.

Aragorn didn't look up at her, choosing instead to continue staring at the arrow. "Do you know what this is?" he inquired, making the question sound almost like an accusation. "This is the arrow I used when I hit my first bulls-eye while I was training in Mirkwood. Legolas was so proud that he insisted that I preserve it as a sort of heirloom."

"I didn't know that he was involved that much in your training," commented Arwen.

"He was my tutor," said Aragorn. Valar, he hated the condescendingly sympathetic tone of her voice right now. "He made me a better warrior, a better negotiator, a better friend, a better – well, everything. I'm the best person that I can be when I'm with Legolas."

It hurt Arwen somewhat to hear Aragorn say those things but she reminded herself that her husband was just in shock over his friend's disappearance and didn't mean to imply that anything was lacking in their relationship. "Do not despair, my love," she whispered. "I'm here with you."

Aragorn felt an irrational fury grow within him as his stressed, weary mind forgot that Arwen counted Legolas as a brother and instead perceived a more sinister interpretation to her innocent words. "You could never replace Legolas," he declared angrily, leaping to his feet.

"I wasn't –"

"I'm leaving," interrupted Aragorn abruptly. "Don't bother waiting up for me. I'll be sleeping in a guest bedchamber tonight – I need to be alone."

He stomped out, leaving Arwen feeling more helpless and alone than she'd ever felt before at her inability to comfort the Man she loved.

To be continued…