Shutting the door quietly behind me I turn and have to stifle a gasp at the beauty of the room, the centre piece of which is a huge four poster bed covered in rose petals with candles casting a soft glow over the whole room.
"This is so beautiful," I murmur feeling his arms wrap around my waist from behind and his nose nuzzle my neck.
"It pales in comparison to your own beauty my love," he whispers and I giggle partly from embarrassment and partly from nerves, moving away from him to sit on the edge of the bed beginning feel uncomfortable as the corset of the dress continued to cut into my waist as it had all day. "What is wrong little one?" he asks kneeling in front of me and taking my hands in his effectively stilling their twisting.
"You always read me so well," I sigh glancing up at him and he smiles in response shaking his head a little.
"I remember a time when I read everything wrongly and hurt you continuously," he says and my hand finds his cheek my fingers stroking across his features and relishing the look of joy on his face as he leans in to my touch.
"That all seems like so long ago now doesn't it?" I say quietly and he smiles shuffling forwards slightly so that he is now resting between my legs his arms winding around my waist and his face planting tiny kisses against my neck causing delicious shivers to run up and down my spine.
"Aye it does, now what is troubling you?" he whispers against my skin and I sigh again.
"I am afraid Aragorn," I admit pulling away slightly and attempting to move across the room but succeeding only in nearly falling into the fire, bloody dress.
"Of what little one?" He asks getting to his feet and moving to stand before me his face once more showing concern.
"Of this… all of this… I do not know if I shall be okay… I…" I trail off trying to work out what to say, "I love you Aragorn, so much but my mother died before we could ever talk about… I just…" I falter again feeling the heat rise in my cheeks and tears well in my eyes.
"Oh little one, there is no need for you to be afraid we will never do anything unless you are ready for it do you understand I shall never force you into anything," he soothes and I nod moving closer to him and into his embrace, "how about we get into our night things and just hold one another tonight knowing that we can do this every night for the res of our lives?" he says and I beam at him.
"Oh Valar yes, this dress is beginning to make me bleed I think," I exclaim and he laughs as he moves to begin unlacing it.
I simultaneously breathe a sigh of relief as the pressure is released from around my ribs and waist and suck in a breath of apprehension as his finger trail gently across the skin of my waist.
"Come little one let us bathe and then sleep," he whispers helping me to step out of the dress and stand before him in my undergarments feeling equal parts like a goddess and a frightened child, it really was getting very confusing.
"Okay," I breathe back following him obediently and standing beside the tub as he dips his hand into the water to check it is still warm, in here too there are petals everywhere including hundreds floating on the surface of the water and I can feel a tiny smile tugging at my lips despite my nerves before I realise that he is in front of my again.
"Little one, I know you are nervous, look I'll turn away and you can get in first the petals will keep you covered," he suggests and I smile nodding at him and leaning up to kiss him briefly before turning away from him and undressing completely and stepping into the warm water.
"Okay I'm ready," I say in a voice so tiny it makes me cringe and I try desperately to hold in the gasp and furious blush as he quickly strips down to nakedness and steps into the water behind me.
"You are so beautiful," he murmurs as he picks up a cloth and begins to wash my back.
"I am average at best Aragorn and am covered in scars," I laugh and he mutters something under his breath before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me flush against him making me squeal in shock.
"Do you feel how much I love you, how much your beauty affects me?" He growls and I shudder, there was no doubt in my mind what he meant and I could definitely feel it against my back causing fear, wonder and arousal to flood through me.
"I have never… I am nervous because I have never…" I stutter and he chuckles lightly against my back.
"Neither have I little one, we shall discover what it is to love completely together," I turn slightly to stare at him in shock at this news and read only complete sincerity in his eyes.
"But I thought… Hallebrad told me stories of the rangers," I say in wonder as I continue to stare at him his own cheeks flushed with what I think is arousal but I don't really have a clue all I can think is that it makes him look even more handsome.
"The rangers yes and men too generally do not wait for marriage but I was raised by the elves Peyson and they have different values, values which became my own also," he whispers and turn completely now to straddle his lap as I kiss him fully.
"I'm ready," I say before I talk myself out of it, "please," I add as if he needed further encouragement and he nods deepening the kiss and moving his hands down to my chest, his fingers brushing against my nipples and causing me to moan and arch into him.
We spend the night exploring each others bodies discovering everything that makes the other cry out in pleasure and by the time that the first rays of sun are beginning to peak through the blinds across the window I am exhausted and sated and happier than I have ever been.
"I love you," I whisper my voice hoarse from crying out so often during our love making last night and he leans forward in response as I roll onto my front his lips finding the very top of the scar across my back and I can feel his smile as he begins kissing all the way down the scar making me shiver slightly.
"I love you more," he mutter eventually and I laugh,
"Even with the scar?" I ask looking over my shoulder at him as he works his way back up my body flipping me onto my back and laying over me.
"Especially with the scar," he replies punctuating each word with a kiss making me giggle, "this scar just reminds me of what a brave and fearless warrior I have married,"
"So I can still train? because I do not think I can be the sort of queen or wife to sit in pretty dresses and drink tea all day," I say and he laughs this time before kissing me again.
"No indeed if you became that woman then I would wonder what happened to my little one, we shall train together and you shall be part of Gondor's army," he promises and I squeal a little with relief and joy throwing my arms around his neck and pulling him toward me crushing my lips to his before pulling away as we both laugh.
Half an hour later a knock on the door brings us back to reality and as Aragorn gets up and throws a robe on I sigh and sink back into the blankets on the huge bed, a bed I suddenly realise, I would get to share with him every night for the the rest of my life. He checks I am covered before opening the door a crack and having a quick conversation, sighing himself as he shuts the door leans against it watching me.
"You have no idea how much I want to climb back into bed with you," he says and I smile at him,
"Then what is stopping you my handsome husband?" I say in what I think is a coy voice but is probably just vulnerable.
"Alas, reality calls and we must begin our duties, are you well enough to train today, Faramir has need of someone to help him and there are rumours of orcs around,"
"Really?" I ask in a yelp sitting up on my knees as he walks towards me pulling me into his chest as he reaches the bed.
"I can think of no one better suited to the job or who I trust more," he smiles as he nuzzles my neck.
"Then what are we waiting for?" I laugh jumping up and rooting around for my tunic and trousers as he laughs behind me. "So what are you doing today?" I ask once I have finished getting dressed and am braiding my hair.
"I have some meetings to attend with the council and Legolas, Haldir and some other Middle Earth representatives to discuss how we shall begin to recover from this war and keep Sauron's allies at bay," he says and I nod kissing him again as he helps to strap my sword to my side. "There, every inch the warrior I first met in the forest outside Rivendell," he smiles and I laugh at him.
"When we first met I stumbling around half dead from starvation and an arrow wound in my shoulder," I respond and he hands me my bow,
"I remember a brave and lost young woman who was still fighting to stay strong and stay alive despite having just lost everything," he muses and I fall silent as I think back to those moments.
"It seems strange that so much has changed in such a short space of time. To think less than a year ago I was just a village girl whose parents allowed me to play at sword fighting and shooting a bow," I say sitting on the edge of the bed, "the soldiers will not look to me, why should they?" I realise suddenly and he sighs as he kneels before me and takes my hands in his much as he had last night.
"You were never a mere village girl my love… I will not lie to you the soldiers will have trouble taking direction from a woman but you must have heart for they will see you as I see you soon enough, you are the strongest and bravest person I have ever met," he says solemnly and I offer him a weak smile knowing that he did not need to be constantly worrying about me.
It is worse than I think that day and I very much want to give up and run away several times but somehow manage to hold on. I mean don't get me wrong they were perfectly polite to me, they had to be I was the queen after all but I could see it in their eyes, I could hear the mutters and comments. What does a woman know of battle? She is a queen not a solider why should we follow her into battle? Faramir tries to put a stop to it but I can see the same doubt in his own eyes and it dawns on me that until I could prove myself in battle no one other than those in the fellowship would truly trust me.
"How was your day little one?" Aragorn asks when he finds me that evening sitting by the window of our room staring out at the sunset. One good thing about being married to the king is that we get the best view in the city and the nicest suite of rooms.
"It was fine," I lie not wanting him to worry, "What about you?" I ask and he sighs heavily,
"It went well but there is much to do and I am not used to talking," he replies which makes me laugh knowing full well that he would rather run into battle than sit and have endless conversations about logistics and rebuilding cities.
"Well at least we have each other," I say after a while and he smiles gathering me into his arms and carrying me across to the bed before falling on top of me as he attempts to detangle himself from my limbs in order to drop me.
"That is very true my love although we have little more than an hour before Marianna will arrive with our food and some new clothes for you,"
"So she is still my maid?" I ask unsure how I feel about it, glad that it means that I still get to see her often but equally sad that I could not just treat her as a friend.
"Of course as will the other two young women, why do you not want them to be?" he asks looking slightly confused.
"No. I mean yes I do still want them to be I just didn't realise that would still be the case now we are married," I say and he laughs a little nuzzling my neck, which seems to be a favourite thing for him to do. "I have a lot to learn still don't I?" I whisper and he smiles down at me his hands now holding my face, cradling it like a precious stone of some kind.
"We both do," he says and I lean up to kiss him before Marianna arrives and we eat and get ready for bed.
I lay in bed that night listening to him breathing deeply in his sleep, enjoying that he seems to be more relaxed and at peace now than he ever has been and hoping that I am at least a part of the reason for that. I cannot sleep however because my mind is replaying an image I had seen earlier. An image that even I had not allowed my mind to focus on until now. Orcs on wargs attacking a village on the outskirts of Gondor, just over the horizon from the city. It terrified me but at the same time I felt the yearning to battle and prove myself to the men here, show them that I wasn't training them just because Aragorn had wanted to give me a job or I had forced him. I didn't know what to do, tell him or keep quiet? I knew I had time, the image had been foggy and far off and Galadriel had helped teach me that image like that meant that the visions were possibly weeks away so at least I had time to organise my thoughts, or attempt to at least.