Third person POV
The day is dragging by slowly for Aragorn as he sits locked away in meetings with the council. There is news of more uprisings on the borders of Gondor and Rohan has reported similar problems. Aragorn suppresses a heavy sigh as he listens to this news, he had thought that with the war over he could finally have safety for his people and for Peyson, she had suffered so much and he longed to keep her safe.
"My king what do you suggest?" the voice is gravelly with so much talking and Aragorn hides a grimace as he looks upon the weary faces of those around him.
"Double the guard and have more regular patrols, we must protect our outlying villages and keep the attacks down. I know not what this enemy is planning but we must be prepared," he says quietly before glancing outside and seeing the darkness there. It was well into the night and he had been away from her for too long already.
"My King…" the voice sounds panicked and the man glances up quickly and towards the door where the figure stood panting.
"What is it? What has happened?"
"It is the Queen…" he never finishes his sentence, Aragorn is halfway out the door and racing down the corridor, Faramir and Haldir behind him.
"Estel," the cry stops him in his tracks as he sees Legolas' pale face appear at the other end of the corridor.
"Legolas, where is she? What has happened?" Aragorn gasps his entire body stiff and taught with anxious worry.
"She is gone," Legolas replies, his voice as close to wavering as an elf's can be and the intake of breath is close to making him visibly wince.
"I don't understand, gone where?" Aragorn's body was by now thrumming with tension and whole corridor seems to have cooled in temperature s the men try to work out what has happened.
"She had a vision, a powerful one and several people witnessed it…" Legolas begins interrupted as Aragorn advances on him slightly.
"Why did no one fetch me?" he growls spinning to stare at those that surrounded him as if demanding an explanation.
"She said not to, she was well just a little faint and so requested that I escort her back to your rooms,"
"So she is there?" Aragorn jumps in, knowing it is not true, knowing that he is sounding desperate and ridiculous but not caring in his longing to know she was safe.
"Nay my friend," Legolas sighs shaking his head,
"Then where? What did you do? Why did you not stay with her?" he yells advancing more his fingers curling into fists in his panic.
"I stayed with her until she slept and sat beside her for a while, her maid Henriq came in then and sent me to get her water and food, said that she always requested water and bread and meat when she awoke after a vision, when I returned she was gone,"
"She never… Henriq did not know…" Aragorn mutters almost to himself as he processes this information, "Henriq, where is she now, she will know…" but before he has finished he can see in Legolas' eyes the answer.
"She is gone too, we have looked everywhere,"
"She must be in the city somewhere, we must find her," Aragorn's voice is hoarse with worry and he can barely concentrate on what is being said as Faramir shouts more orders and people begin flurrying around everywhere while he is forcibly taken back to his room to wait.
"You must stay here Estel," Legolas pleads as he tries to force his way past.
"I must find her I cannot stay here," he screams before being thrown to the floor.
"You must stay here Aragorn, you are the King you cannot fall apart in this way in front of your people," Legolas shouts back.
"What do I care for the people if I do not have her," he growls in response, shocked by his own anger and fear.
"And what would Peyson say if she heard you say that?" Legolas replies but before Aragorn can answer the door is opened and Faramir enters.
"What news?" Haldir asks immediately having stayed quiet during the earlier argument,
"The guards on the city gates let through a servant girl and her husband with a small cart not three hours ago, we have found the cart abandoned, this was in it," he says holding up the gold circlet Peyson had been wearing that morning. For a moment nobody moves and then Aragorn crumples to the ground letting out a noise of anguish that reverberates through those around him. A thing Legolas had only witnessed twice before, both times when his friend had felt helpless and defeated and the guilt that washed through him brought tears to his ancient eyes.
"We will find her Estel, we will bring her home," Haldir offers, his voice rough with his own feelings, Aragorn does not respond just burying his head in his hands.
"I must go and break the news to Eowyn and arrange the search parties," Faramir mutters after a moment leaving quietly, promising to send word of the search parties.
Aragorn finds him self pacing once again in his rooms, their rooms, his head pulsing with worry and fear.
"Estel you must sleep," Legolas exclaims in frustration into the heavy silence.
"I cannot sleep when I do not know where she is… if she is… I cannot," he replies heavily.
"It has been three days, if you do not sleep you are of no use to her,"
"She is out there alone and scared," he screams as he rounds on the elf, "I promised I would alway be with her to protect her," his fight suddenly leaves him as he slumps onto the bed running his hands through his hair, looking more weary than he had at any point during the fellowships journey.
"I promised," he whispers now looking up at Legolas desperation in his every feature.
"My friend you must sleep, I will go and find out any news and I shall wake you if I hear anything and when you are rested I shall ride out with you to get her," he says,
"You would ride out with me?"
"Peyson is my friend Estel, as you are, I would and always will protect you both with my life. I have let her down and I shall not do it again," Legolas says quietly, determination and guilt lacing his tone and Aragorn glances up at him.
"You are not to blame, she would not want you to hold any guilt," he croaks offering a weak smile which Legolas returns.
"I think I should return the same sentiments to you my friend," he says softly before grasping his shoulder and then leaving quietly. For a while Aragorn sits motionless staring into the wall before he eventually moves to lay on the bed gripping her nightclothes in his hands and inhaling her scent as he lets his tears flow and falls into a heavy sleep.
He awakes to the sound of knocking on the door and springing up he throws open the door to see Legolas standing there Marianna with him holding a tray.
"What is it?" he asks anxiously, feeling weary despite the sleep he has had.
"You eat and bathe and then we will discuss news," Legolas says walking into the room and sitting in one of the chairs by the fire whilst Marianna places down the tray and begins to move around the room cleaning the mess created by Aragorn's pacing, throwing of things and general despair.
"I will not eat when I could be trying to get her home," he cries before he he is silenced by a swift slap to the back of the head from Marianna.
"You will do as you are told," she scolds stunning both males into silence, "what would Peyson say if she returned to this mess, and you looking half dead, I will not have her thinking that everything goes to ruin if she is away for a few days," she continues.
"She is not away, Marianna, she is kidnapped," Aragorn says gently,
"I know that but do you think she shall see it any differently, do you not want her comfortable when she returns," he shakes his head at this and sits heavily opposite Legolas and picks up the bread between them chewing it thoughtfully.
An hour later saw a small group of soldiers led by Aragorn waiting to head out in search of the Queen. Legolas and Haldir, stocked with medical supplies were with him too and all were anxious to get going.
"We believe she is being held somewhere near the west limits of Gondor, the trail leads that way and there are some witnesses who have sighted a girl matching the maids description," one of the returning guards explains and Aragorn nods tightly.
"Faramir, look after the city in my stead, I shall return within these three days from there and I hope to have her with me," he says and after a few short words more the gates are opened and they are on their way. The journey is agonisingly long for Aragorn and he is reminded of the time he chased the Uruk Hai across the plains of Rohan with Legolas, Gimli and Peyson, that same desperation filled him, only this time he felt that should he reach a sight like the one they had come across then he would die. The thought of a life without her made his stomach churn and he had to lock the thoughts away for fear of breaking down in front of his men.
"We should wait here until night fall, send out some scouts," Haldir as they reach a hilly area a few miles south of the village they had been told to head and so with a nod of his head Aragorn stops and dismounts.
"No fires," he instructs wanting to ensure their presence remained a secret for as long as possible. Then the waiting begun, sitting around, polishing and sharpening weapons, talking quietly or pacing as they awaited news from the scouts. It was dusk before they returned, moving directly towards their King, hope and apprehension plastered on their faces as well as his.
"We are in the right place," one of them speaks quietly and Aragorn is on his feet and in front of the man in a movement so swift it is almost elf like.
"How can you be sure? Did you see her… the Queen?" he asks urgently, his heart pounding erratically, but the men shake their heads sending it plummeting once more.
"Nay my King but we have observed the maid Henriq she is in a house on the outskirts and there is an outhouse which is boarded and locked up, we have seen both her and a man walk in their, returning afterwards with food and water," the man pauses and the other one quickly jumps in.
"We were able to overhear part of their conversation, they spoke of the Queen of her stubbornness, I believe we are just in time my King," he says and Aragorn nods, unable to speak for fear of losing his composure. They had found her, but in what state would she be?
A plan is made hastily and within half an hour as darkness falls the men mount and ride their horses into the village, surrounding the house and attacking it quickly. Aragorn does not join them he is focused only on Peyson, on finding her and taking her home. Legolas and Haldir are with him as one of the scouts leads therm to the outhouse they believed she was being held in. Breaking the lock quickly they light a torch and peer inside, recoiling instantly at the sight before them. There she was, whether she was alive was much more difficult to determine. It is Haldir who reaches her first, Aragron having turned away to vomit at the sight. She is deathly pale and ice cold to the touch, her clothing ripped and soiled with blood. Deep wounds cutting into her wrists and ankles where they have been bound, that if she were to survive would surely scar, and her entire body seemed to be covered in wounds that were in various stages of healing.
"Little…" he cannot finish his words, his voice breaking as he kneels before her unconscious body, his hands shaking violently as they reach up to touch her face, moving her hair to uncover a huge purple bruise, a mark clearly made when someone had hit her… hard. His blood boiled.
"She is alive Aragorn," Haldir says as he continues to unbind her and assess her.
"I will Kil…" he begins but Legolas interrupts him now,
"He is dead already she is being held prisoner, she will be brought back and questioned before she is tried and executed, you must get her home," his voice is tight and overly controlled as if he is only barely holding his own rage in check.
"But…" Aragorn's instincts, his knowledge, everything was gone in the face of this sight… her broken body.
"I told you she is alive my friend but unless we get her back to Gondor where I can treat her properly it will not be the case for long. I have dressed the more serious wounds, now, wrap her in your cloak and get her home," Haldir instructs and it is the urgency in his tone that pushes Aragorn into moving, rarely having heard that in the elf's voice.
Moving forwards he pulls his cloak off and wraps it gently around her shoulders before pulling her into his arms and lifting her up and he stands, one arm beneath her knees the other supporting her back as her head lolls against his neck. It is only her tiny shallow breaths that tell him she is alive, he can feel the cold seeping into him from her and it makes him shake with anger and fear.
"Come let us get to the horses," Legolas says and they move quickly through the gathering crowd of the village, Aragorn avoiding their pitying gazes, pulling her closer to him, knowing how much she would hate this attention.
"Here pass her to me while you mount," Haldir says and Aragorn nods, "strange," he comments as he passes her back to Aragorn and he arranges her in front of him, her body suddenly seeming tiny and fragile in a way he could never have imagined.
"What is?" he says through gritted teeth, feeling that if he opened his mouth or spoke any more that he would be sick again.
"Her breathing seems stronger even in being close to you for such a short time, I wonder…"
"What?" Aragorn says, by this time they are moving again, albeit slowly to avoid aggravating her injuries anymore.
"There is an ancient prophecy, I have heard the Lady of the Wood speak of it only a few times myself, one that says, she who holds the sight will feel physical pain and eventual death when torn away from her soul," Haldir muses as he remembers the story and Aragorn frowns at him.
"You speak in riddles Haldir,"
"What if you were her soul and she is stronger already because she is back in your arms," he clarifies and Aragorn nearly lets out an incredulous laugh.
"I think her breathing is stronger because we have saved her from the torture," he growls and Haldir simply nods not willing to aggravate his friend any further.
"Come we must get back to Minis Tirith soon if were are to save her," he says instead and urges his horse into a canter, Aragorn tightening his grip on her and following clsoe behind.
"Come on Peyson, my little one, you must stay with me, you knew I would come, I have got you now. Hear my heartbeat little one and come back to me," he whispers into her hair over and over again as they thunder towards the city… towards their home.