The Stranger in Middle Earth

I do not own the rights to Lord of the Rings

Chapter Nineteen

Elessar

We fell into a routine as the month of April went on. Most of the soldiers from Rohan had returned home apart from the Royal Guard who stayed in Minas Tirith with Eomer and Eowyn. Eomer also arranged riders to take letters from Minas Tirith to Edoras and back so they could contact their closest as often as possible. In this way I was able to write to Sunniva often.

The other knights in Minas Tirith, what remained of us, settled in easily. The Council were able to get the kings permission to set up our order properly in Gondor and Father Harold had already started working with an architect for a church in Minas Tirith.

My uncle was also given a reward for his service to Gondor. He was given as a gift just over a thousand acres of land by the river Erui, fifty miles from Minas Tirith. He humbly accepted the gift but told the king that he couldn't go there immediately. As soon as the coronation of our new king was complete he intended to ride to Erebor.

The days leading up to the coronation were busy to say the least. Representatives from across Middle Earth came to Minas Tirith. One group to arrive which caused a stir came from Lothlorien. The elves were lead by Lady Galadriel who predicted our arrival. When we received word that the Erebor representatives had arrived my uncle, cousins, myself and Gimli hurried to the courtyard to greet them. The group of two dozen dwarves rode on ponies as they came towards the city. My family and I stood away from the great arch where the gates once stood while Gimli happily stood forward to greet the new arrivals. The dwarves were lead by a formidable looking older Dwarf gray hair that held traces of red in it.

'Father!' Gimli belted when he saw him.

Gloin, I realised, climbed off of his horse and embraced his son happily. After a few moments they let go of each other and, loudly laughing, Gimli lead his father towards us.

'There are some men I want to introduce you to,' Gimli told Gloin.

'Who are they then?' Gloin asked him.

'You'll see.'

They stopped in front of us and Gloin looked at us, and in particular my uncle, with something that looked like familiarity.

'Greetings,' my uncle said to the old Dwarf. 'I am James Harris, son of Bartholomew Harris.'

Despite of his massive beard which hid most of his mouth, I saw Gloin's jaw drop so far it almost hit the ground. My uncle continued the introductions.

'These two are my sons, Markus and Rickard. He is my nephew; John son of Daniel.'

'I don't believe it,' said Gloin, his voice filled with surprise. 'You're the image of him James. I thought you were Bartholomew for a moment.'

'Thank you,' my uncle responded calmly but a smile came onto his face.

'Where is your brother?' Gloin asked next.

At that my uncle's smile vanished. His posture dropped a little and he mournfully answered the question.

'Dead,' he answered. 'He fell in battle years ago.'

Gloin cursed in Dwarvish and shook his head.

'I'm so sorry. Bartholomew never stopped trying to a find a way back to England. He searched through every ancient text in Middle Earth to find a way back to you.'

'And I found a way to him,' my uncle told the Dwarf. 'Will you allow us to travel to Erebor with you after the coronation?'

'Of course,' Gloin agreed. 'Bartholomew has been a good friend to me and my kin. It would be my honour to take you to Erebor.'

'Then you have my thanks. Gimli volunteered to show you to your rooms. I will see you at the coronation.'

'I certainly will young James.'

My uncle laughed. It was the first time he'd been called young in a long time.

...

The coronation of King Aragorn II Elessar took place on May the First of that year. The sun shone down and not a cloud could be seen in the skies above Minas Tirith. It was as if the sun itself wanted to show us the true beauty of a new age. Crammed into the Citadel stood hundreds of guests from the armies of Gondor and Rohan as well as the Gondorian nobility and the guests from across Middle Earth. The English Knights stood there as well my family and the Council at the front. We were all dressed in our full armour, Jason had been convinced to give his armour a good shine, apart from Father Harold who wore his best vestments. The White Tree had come into full bloom and showered all those gathered with blossom.

Standing in their full armour on the steps to the Tower of Ecthelion was Aragorn and Faramir. Standing with them was Gandalf dressed in his white robes and Gimli who was holding a black cushion upon which sat the crown. It was magnificent, greater than any crown I had ever seen. It shone brightly and was adorned with precious stones. At the front and back were wings made of silver only making the crown even grander.

The ceremony began with Faramir, Steward of Gondor, making a speech to the people.

'People of Gondor, hear now the Steward of this realm! One has come to claim the kingship again at last. Here is Aragorn son of Arathorn, Chieftain of the Dunedain of Arnor, Captain of the Army of the West, wielder of Narsil reforged, whose hands bering healing, descendant of the line of Isildur. Shall he be our king with the name Elessar and dwell here among us?'

"Aye!" the entire crowd declared with one voice.

When they declared that Faramir walked off the steps to join the crowd, and I noticed he walked towards Lady Eowyn. Back on the steps to the Tower Gandalf gently lifted the crown from where it sat as Aragorn kneeled in front of the wizard. He held the crown high up above his head before slowly lowering it onto Aragorns head. When the crown rested on its rightful owners head the wizard declared to the crowd,

'Now come the days of the King. May they be blessed.'

'Amen,' I heard Father Harold whisper.

Aragorn then stood up and turned to face the crowds of people. His long black cloak fell around him but he kept his hand on the kilt of his sword. He looked every part a great king. The crowd cheered him and I did so as well. I clapped my hands and yelled my approval. When the cheers died down Aragorn spoke to his people as their king for the first time.

'This day does not belong to one man but to all. Let us together rebuild this world that we may share in the days of peace.'

This was met by another round cheers and clapping hands. They soon fell silent though as Aragorn started to sing in Elvish.

'Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta!'

His voice carried over us as he walked down the steps towards the crowd. As he passed us we bowed to him and I smiled. I knew that only a good future awaited Gondor. A group of elves, including Legolas, bowed to him as he passed. He stepped up to Legolas and put a hand on his shoulder. He said something quietly to him and, even though I was close by, I couldn't make it out. Legolas then smiled as he tilted his head towards the elves behind him and the king looked that way. I did as well, curious to see what he was looking at. In fact, it turned out to be who, not what.

Amongst the group of elves a female Elf. She had raven hair and wore a circlet of silver on her head. They way Aragorn looked at her spoke of just one thing. Love. Slowly the two walked towards each other, not focusing on anything else. He gently touched her chin and looked into her eyes. Then they kissed. They embraced each other and he spun her around. The crowds clapped again but I noticed a few young Gondorian noblewomen looking a little saddened.

'I think they might know each other,' Rickard said and I chuckled at that.

'It must be good to be a king,' Jason added his own joke.

They walked through the crowds a little further, almost lost in happiness until they were out of sight of us. I could just see the top of Aragorn's crown over the heads of the people and I saw that they stopped.

'My friends,' I heard him say to someone. 'You bow to no one.'

He then bowed as did the people behind him. That was when I saw he was bowing to the four Hobbits. My uncle was the first of the English to bow and the rest of us soon followed him. Thousands of people bowing to Hobbits. I can only imagine doing as much in the war as they have done.

...

Later that day I walked alone into my uncles chambers. Rickard, Markus and I had been sharing with him for the time being. I walked to my small room and pulled a small pile of letters out of a wardrobe. I looked at the most recent, it arrived the previous day, and read through it again.

John

Thanks for your last letter. I hope your uncle is feeling better now. Cenric is driving me mad right now. He "forgot" to hand back in his sword after Helms Deep and smashed the table leg.

Thank you for telling me the Lord Prayer in your letters. I feel comfortable praying now but I haven't told anyone else yet. You promised to not tell anyone as well for now. You told me that you will go to Erebor after the coronation to meet your grandfather. I suppose that while you're there you won't be able to write. That will be fine. The next time you can write will you? I want to hear from you again John

Lots of love

Sunniva

I read through it a few times and then sat down at the small table to write a reply.

Sunnvia

I'm sorry about your table and I hope it is repaired quickly. My uncle is feeling fine now and I think that he'll stay that way.

The coronation was magnificent. I wish you could have been there to see it. I know that Aragorn will be a good king and he will lead Gondor well in the years to come. Sadly this is the last letter I will be sending you for a while. I ride for Erebor soon and I will soon meet my grandfather. As soon as I can I will write again.

I promise I won't tell anyone that you have started praying to my God for now. If you feel that you have need of advice in Christianity while I cannot write I think you should write to Father Harold.

I'll write to you again as soon as I can but that may not be for months. For now Sunniva, goodbye.

John

I read through the letter and then sealed it with wax. I decided to send it to the couriers and then go and have some drinks with my cousins. There was a lot to celebrate after all.

AN: I know this one was shorter than some of my others but I enjoyed writing it and you're lucky to have it. I have been binge writing my superhero AU of Phantom of the Opera (my imagination is weird) and then this morning I woke up and said, "Oh God I've not written the next chapter for Stranger!" Here it is though and I hope you enjoyed it.

Also, one other cool fact that I just want to state here and has nothing to do with Lord of the Rings. Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey in Star Wars the Force Awakens, is the great niece of Arnold Ridley, one of my favourite actors. I think that's cool.

Review Responses:

Kiya: For the record the thing with John being helped by God is inspired by something that happened to King Clovis of the Franks. It's a long story.
They'll get to Erebor soon.

ATP: I'm glad you liked the story so far.

As ever, enjoy and review please.

Have a nice day.