Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the Lord of the Rings.

Note: This will be one of the last chapters. No Aragorn in this chapter anymore because he already left. So only Eldarion now. Let's begin.

Eldarion faced the crowd of people that stood before him in the courtyard where the white thee blossomed proudly. He swallowed thickly, remembering the times he had spent with his father here in this very courtyard when he was too young to treasure them. He had not even a change to speak to Noriel about what had happened. And about what he was going to ask her. Of course he did not wear the winged crown of Gondor just yet; he would have to wait until he was crowned officially.

He held up his hands, asking for silence. Boromir stood beside him and Eldarion knew the steward was having as much a hard time as he was. Both needed their fathers now but Eldarion steeled himself with the fact that Aragorn had not know what he had been doing when he first addressed the crowd after he had been crowned.

"Last night my father fell ill. After a long struggle for hours, when the greatest healers since master Elrond, attended to him, it proved to be in vain. Just before first light, King Elessar blew out his last breath. Our king died after the long reign of 120 years." Eldarion tried to keep his voice steady but to no avail.

He heard it rise higher as the people starting speaking all at once. He felt a strong hand upon his shoulder and turned to look at Boromir, who was regarding him with tears in his eyes. He only nodded, telling the steward that they would speak later.

He only saw with a numb mind that the flags were lowered in honour of the deceased king. How would he handle the burial? There was no body to be buried. He would have to make the necessary arrangements for the burial, for the crowning and the wedding that would take place. Of course he still had to ask Noriel.

Perhaps that would be a well decision. To go visit her. He could don his old cloak and go to her. To talk to her about the future together. He was sure she would be a great queen. She was still young, barely 18 summers old but old enough to marry if he asked her father's blessing. She was smart and beautiful and she was pleasant to talk to.

He had thought he had known love before but it had all changed when he saw her. It was perhaps 3 or 4 years ago that he had first laid eyes on her, the magnificent healer in training that she was. Everything had dropped out of his hands, and he had wandered forward as she smiled at the patients before wandering into the next room.

He had stood transfixed to the ground until one of the other healers had asked him what was wrong and he had cleaned up the mess with a red head. A couple of days later he had fallen out of a tree, breaking his arm and had asked for her to tend to him.

He could not bear the knowing smirk on Aragorn's face as he finally appeared for dinner that night. The knowing look in his father's eyes when Noriel appeared days later to rebind his arm. He had asked her for a walk in the garden but she had not agree, saying that she was on duty and had promised to be back as soon as she was able. She had promised to him that she would be here for that walk on her day off.

When they had spent the whole afternoon together and she had left, waving goodbye, he had smiled. The smile had diminished when Aragorn had spoken to him about proper courting. He had promised to think about it and finally after much debating he had asked her, telling her all that there was to know about courting a prince. She had agreed, smiling at him and he knew in that moment he had lost his heart.

He smiled, remembering the early days and now he would ask the question to which it had all come down to. He took brisk steps towards the healing rooms. The halls were empty as were the healing rooms. There were no patients or healers who needed attending, all were in mourning for King Elessar.

He sighed, knowing she would probably be home with her family while he was here, all alone. Defeated he walked back to his own room, lost in this thoughts until a soft growling noise startled him.

He recognized it as Darkness' warning signal and he broke out into a run, throwing open the door to take in the scene before him. Noriel was standing with her back pressed against the door, Darkness standing in front of her, growling to protect her master's room from intruders.

He called out through tight lips, forcing Darkness aside as she leaped away from Noriel. The dark haired healer fled to him. He caught her in his arms, closing them around her and saying softly in her ear. "I am sorry. Darkness does not accept anybody into my private rooms. If you would tell me that you wanted to come in, I would have sent her away."

She stopped trembling and looked at him, meeting his eyes with her dark ones. He swallowed away tears, swallowed past the lump in his throat that had been there since yesterday when his father left.

"It is alright, Eldarion. I have heard the terrible news and I wanted to comfort you. I did not realize you have a watch dog here." She looked at him, smiling slightly as he looked at her.

In a moment his destiny became clear and he breathed in relief to know he would be with her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He pulled her with him as he stepped further inside. She followed him, confused by the sudden change in him as he bade her to sit down, as she did with him right beside her.

"You know my father has died and I am to be crowned king in a few days. What you do not know if the amount of work it takes for a king to lead his country. A task I do not wish to do alone. You know how my love for you is, pure and simple; through the position I am offering you shall not be simple." He took a deep breath to steady himself and took her hand.

"I would ask of you to become my wife and to share my crown and my life. To become queen of Gondor and to rule beside me if you so wish. The life of a queen is not a simple one but I love you and I would not share it with another then you."

She gasped, a sudden smile coming to her lips as she looked at him and then she leaned forward, hugging him and saying. "I would be honoured to be your wife, Eldarion." She leaned her head on his chest and he relaxed, stroking her hair.

"I still have to ask your father for your hand officially, meleth nin." He felt a gentle lick on his hand and he looked down to see Darkness had joined him and was licking his hand, softly yapping at him.

"What does meleth nin mean?" She asked, slurring slightly over the pronunciation. "It means my love for that is what I like to call you." He remembered with a pang that she knew no elvish, so all the endearments he wanted to whisper in her ear would have to wait. He would have to teach her elvish first.

"How did your father pass?" She asked softly as she contently leaned against his chest.

"With a smile." He recalled his father's face. How Aragorn had looked younger even then. "He did not suffer. It went quickly and in the end there was no pain. I think he was happy."

"Happy to be reunited with his wife, I imagine. I heard she was a beautiful elven maiden who gave up her immortality for the man she loved. She was rumoured to be the most beautiful elf ever to have walked these shores. She also has been said to have been the daughter of lord Elrond of Rivendell."

"She was. You have heard many things about my mother but she died early in the marriage and you do not remember any other ruler. The stewards ruled before the king returned. It is an old tale." He shuddered, wanting to tell her the truth but he wondered if it was too soon.

"Has your mother ever told you about the rumours that came into life after the queen died? The rumours that my father had another one of the side and that their marriage had been a false one, because my father really love a male." He threaded cautions, not knowing if she had been accepting of it or not.

"Yes, my mother said something like that. Although she was still a small child at the time when the queen died but her mother told her all about it. My mother does not believe that the marriage between the king and the queen was false for the king was an honourable man. Yet I do think he loved another. Else he would have taken another wife. But where that other is, I know not. Yet I think it was an elf for king Elessar was always very fond of the elves." She looked up at him, smiling slightly.

"Yes because my father grew up in the house of Elrond." Eldarion sighed, knowing he would tell her eventually. For now it was enough to hold her close and to discuss the past events with her. Yet he could feel his heart mending, dealing with the grief that it had been dealt recently.

He knew he would be happy with her. Yet in the back of his mind, he wondered, would things have really been different if Aragorn had died? Probably so. He would have known the king would not be happy and now the man had change for a different life, a happy life. The life which he had been supposed to lead with Legolas but that never was.

The tales of the Nine Walkers were still told and it was up to him to keep those tales alive. Yes, he thought, he would not only keep that tale alive but also the tale of Aragorn and Legolas and Aragorn and Arwen. Those tales were his past, present and future and for once he was not afraid to do so alone.

Hope you liked it. One chapter left and that will be the coronation and the wedding. Please review.