Epilogue

My dearest Arwen,

the waves hold a softer tune now that we are sailing north, leaving the barren deserts of Umbar behind. I look forward to the day when I will hold you in my arms once more, when I can capture the floundering words in my head and declare my love to you anew.

The shadow is spreading, the power of the evil lord increasing and yet ….

Aragorn sighed and dropped the pen again. Five days on the sea had helped his injury heal, but it had not granted him the eloquence he had been so desperately looking for all this time. The perfect words to write to his Arwen remained elusive.

Just as he crumbled the letter - another roll of parchment lost - the door opened to peels of laughter. He groaned silently. Elladan.

"I thought I might find you here, trying to capture the wit and feel of one of Lindir's sonnets."

Feeling suddenly once more like an inept adolescent in his big brother's presence, Aragorn wished for an irrational moment that he could just disappear. Or better yet that Elladan would.

Elrohir not-so-accidentally bumped into his twin as he entered the room as well, effectively quelling the older twin's chuckles. "We are approaching Pelargir," he said simply, and Aragorn was grateful for his intervention, though he had dreaded this very moment.

Crumbling the sheet of parchment for good, he got up. There was something else he still needed to do.

Elladan, mercifully silent, and Elrohir fell in behind him as they made their way topside and he felt buoyed by their steady presence. It would not make talking to Callon, Egrahil and Anwion any easier, but at least he knew that he had his brothers' steady support, their unquestioning loyalty.

He would need it in the months to come. His time in Gondor was coming to an end, he would drop the mantle of Thorongil and become Aragorn once more. He knew that there were other fights to fight, other paths to take, new challenges waiting for him, but it did not make leaving his men behind any easier. His time in Rohan and Gondor had been important and rewarding, a time of growth and learning. He yearned for it already. All the work that he had invested in becoming Thorongil, in earning the loyalty and respect of his men, in defending the realms of Gondor and Rohan - it felt inexplicably futile now.

Denethor had bested him in the end, the steward's son's interference had left him stranded and uprooted, but thanks to his brothers' presence, at least it had not left him entirely alone. He was still reeling, but he would find his way again, he knew. It would merely take time.

Captain Callon and his lieutenants were waiting for him on the command deck, just as he had asked. And as he looked at their curious faces, he braced himself. This had to be done. For the sake of his men and his own future, the time had come to say farewell.

"My time in Gondor has come to an end. I will not return to Pelargir or Minas Tirith," he announced and before they could voice the protest that he could see in their eyes, he added. "Egrahil, you will lead the men home. I would only ask two things: passage to the eastern shore of the Anduin and that you deliver these words to Lord Ecthelion, alongside my deepest regrets: 'Other tasks now call me, lord, and much time and many perils must pass, ere I come again to Gondor, if that be my fate.'"

Silence met his words. Callon was truly shocked; a rare sight to see the flamboyant, loud Captain lost for words. His own lieutenants were more collected. Egrahil's face was grave but accepting, though Aragorn thought he saw a brief glimmer of accusation in his eyes when Egrahil's gaze slid to the twins standing behind him. But the young man held his tongue and nodded, accepting the charge of taking command of the men, of bringing them safely back to Minas Tirith, to demand the honors and prizes that would be their due on his behalf.

Aragorn mustered them all, remembering the perils they had faced, the battles they had won. These were good men, and he would miss them. Into the still lingering silence he spoke silently: "Thank you, my friends."

It was to subdued silence that the ships eventually anchored in Pelargir, that the men disembarked and prepared a new smaller vessel for him and his brothers, that would take them and their horses across the Anduin. Callon himself steered the boat.

It was only after they had left the pier behind that he could finally hear a slow build of cheers and chants, could hear the booming voice of the Lord of Pelargir as he welcomed and congratulated sailors and soldiers alike. A smile spread over Aragorn's face, knowing now that whatever happened to him, whatever dangers awaited his brothers and him down the road, at least his men would be celebrated as the heroes they were.

"Where will you go?" Callon asked as they disembarked, as they bade another farewell and Aragorn found that he did not know.

His brothers were going to Minas Morgul. At the request of their father they were going to scout the activity of the ringwraiths, would try to learn what they could about the plans of the enemy. Their recent encounters had not, Aragorn knew, diminished their resolve to see that mission completed. Elrohir's doubts had fled together with the shadow of the retreating wraith that had attacked them on the shore of the Harnen and, if anything, Elladan's injury had strengthened his resolve.

He would follow them, he knew - if only to keep his reckless brothers out of some of the trouble they were likely to find, and then he would return north, back to his Dunedain kin. And as the thoughts shaped in his head, as a new path took shape before him he found a new resolve to match it. He was Thorongil no more, but he was Aragorn, son of Arathorn and he would face this new challenge, this new chapter in his life.

And he would write that letter to Arwen!

-o0o-

The End

A/N: I almost can't believe it's actually over. This story was a blast and a nightmare to write all at once, it went through four rounds of editing and taught me much about plot structure, pitfalls (not all of which I could avoid) and so so much about ships and sea battles :lol:

Thank you so much for joining me on this trip down the Gondorian and Haradrim coast all the way to Umbar. I do hope you enjoyed the ride! As always I would love to hear your thoughts and comments - a note from you makes my entire week! A special thank you at this point to everyone who has left a review before - you are the best!

And, because so so much happened in TA 2980, join me in about a month (after midsummer) for part 3 of this trilogy - Terrors of Minas Morgul. Largely based on this line from the appendices: "It came to pass that when Aragorn was nine and forty years of age he returned from perils on the dark confines of Mordor, where Sauron now dwelt again and was busy with evil." - LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Here Follows a Part of The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen