Aragorn shot up, nearly knocking his chair back and stumbled, falling against whoever was standing behind him.

"Mellon-nin! Is everything alright?" the familiar voice inquired as his friend helped him balance. The King, still breathing hard, nodded and slumped forward, gripping the edge of his desk as he slowed his heart beat.

"Everything is well, mellon. Just a nightmare." he replied, standing and turning to face the person behind him, blinking a few times before a wide smile graced his lips. "Legolas!" His friend was pulled into a strong embrace. The Wood-Elf laughed a bit, patting his friend's back before they pulled away.

"I have only been away a month and already you miss me!"

"A month too long, my friend." Aragorn remarked. "The children will be pleased to see you."

"The children. Speaking of which, I heard something had happened earlier. Were one of them injured?" the Elf asked, concerned blue eyes gazing at the Dunedain. Aragorn shook his head, relieving the Wood Elf.

"Nay. Ah, Estel was but he has been taken care of. He had a peculier wound inflicted upon his shoulder..."

"Is that so?"

"Indeed. I believe something had managed to claw him, but it could not have been a cat, dog, or any other animal within Gondor and the children have never been outside of Minas Tirith without a few Guards or their Guardians. Though...I know the two- three(Though I believe Eldarion followed them), of them were outside the palace after supper. All I know is that I was in a meeting with Faramir when we heard Eldarion's cry. Fearing there was an intruder, we hastened over to the Eastern Wing to find the three there. They were frightened, you could see the fear in their eyes..." Aragorn hated the look in their eyes. It did not suit them. It did not suit anyone. "Whatever it was they saw...The children would not speak of it and left for bed. I only hope they approach us soon. I fear to think of what may happen should they not."

"Your children are wise for their age, Estel. They will come to you." Legolas assured the man, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I only hope it is soon. Before it is too late. They seem to have aced that habit."

"Inherited from you, no doubt." Legolas said.

"I deny it!" Aragorn objected, glaring at his friend.

"Do you now?" Legolas raised an elegant eyebrow. "I seem to remember a young boy and man who seemed to find danger everywhere he went and would never once return home unscathed or unharmed in any way! All because he would never approach his Father, siblings or friends about anything! There were many times we feared we would lose you, Estel."

"Trouble seemed to find me? My friend, you are one to talk." Aragorn pointed out. Legolas only grinned. "You still seem to find trouble no matter where you are."

"Is that so? I have gotten into more trouble travelling with you than I have throughout the two thousand years I have been alive! Come along now. You need rest."

"The papers-"

"Can wait until later. You are tired, Aragorn. You have overexerted yourself yet again."

"I happen to have children to raise, a kingdom to run, and a certain Elf friend who insists on pestering me every now and then-"

"I resent that!" Aragorn swiftly ducked as the Elf attempted to hit him. He stood and stifled a yawn as he glanced out the window.

"Dawn already?"

"What is it?" Legolas asked when he noticed Aragorn sigh and shake his head.

"I do not think I will be able to get any rest, my friend."

"For what reason?"

"The children- especially Eldarion and the little one will be awake. I also promised Aranyth and Estel that I would train with them this morning." Legolas shook his head. He should have known.

"What if I were to train them?" he innocently inquired.

"It is official, Estel...You are better with a bow and arrow whilst I am better with the sword." I grinned down at my brother who now lay on the ground, blinking at the cloudy sky, recovering from a hit to the head.

"You are even better with hand-to-hand combat than with weapons." He groaned. "Next time...Try not to hit me as hard." The smile vanished from my face as I leaned over him in concern.

"Are you alright? Should I fetch Ada?" He waved away my concern.
"No, no, I'll be fi-"

"What if I gave you a concussion? Nana will not be happy with me when she-"

"Aranyth, I'm fine." Estel mumbled as he stood and picked up his sword. "Just try not to lose your sword this time."

"Hey! I did not mean to!" I crossed my arms.

"Here, why don't I teach you a little trick?" he suggested. "A way you can avoid losing your sword," he performed the same move he had that caused my sword to fly out of my hand, "Here, come at me." he beckoned for me to try. I shrugged and charged at him. He went on the defensive then switched to offensive. I watched him carefully, trying to calculate his next moves and guess when he would do that little trick. "When I do this," he did it yet again. "Do this," he twisted his blade and I followed then we pulled our swords apart. I blinked.

"That is it? I was struggling all this time and that was all I had to do?!" I huffed, irritated. Estel grinned. "Who taught you that?"

"You would never guess."

"Faramir?"

"No."

"Ada?"

"No."

"Legolas?"

"Nope."

"...Eomer? Lothiriel? One of the trainers? The guard?" He continued to shake his head and I gave up. "Then who?"

"Aunt Eowyn."

"No way...I mean, I knew she was a warrior...Oh well. Come on, then! Let's practice!" I lunged but Estel was prepared and swung his blade up to meet mine. We parried, went on defense, and offense, often switching from one thing to another and trying out new tricks. I nearly lost my blade but thanks to Estel for having taught me that hint, I kept my sword. Soon, it became a battle of strength when our swords became stuck. It was difficult since Estel and I were evenly matched. It was quite eerie how we were so much alike. The only difference between us was that he was male and I was female.

"Estel! Aranyth!" We snapped our heads in the direction of our Ada's voice but before he could say anything, we sensed something behind us and whipped around, skillfully swinging our swords, only to have them blocked by two twin knives. Our eyes narrowed as we gazed at our opponent, who wore a blue cloak and hood over his head. We caught one another's eyes and sharply nodded, pulling our blades back then attacking yet again. Adrenaline flowed through our veins as we fought simultaneously, side by side, attempting to bring down the hooded person. Suddenly, the person twisted my blade and sent it flying out of my hand.

"Aranyth! What in Middle-Earth did I just teach you a few moments ago?!" Estel exclaimed in exasperation, still fighting.

"Well, excuse me!" I growled back, watching my brother continue when an idea clicked in my mind. "Estel, duck!"

"Wha-?!" Estel ducked as I leaped over him, using his back as leverage and managed to jump over the knife that would have hit him had he not dodged. I dived down, whipping out one of my daggers and threw it at him. The figure easily blocked but was not expecting for me to take out another and attack him with it. Armed with just one dagger, I took him on, concentrating on his style of fighting. I recognized it at once. When he brought down one of his knives, I kicked and blocked with my heel. It was a good thing Estel and I practiced with armor over them. Ada had suggested it after one training session. I took this moment to grasp hold of his wrist and pivoted around, raising the man and flipping him over my shoulder with ease. He grunt when he hit the ground and I allowed Estel to deal with him from there. Estel was very skilled with the sword, I had to admit. His movements were graceful and fluid and he never once gave into his emotions, such as anger or frustration. (I was just a teensy bit better than he). During this moment of distraction, I quickly snatched my sword off the ground to join in.

Once I came to stand beside my brother, he whispered to me, "On the count of three."

"One,"

"Two,"

"Three!" We chimed and gave a battle cry, lunging at the figure and tackling him to the ground. We emerged victorious. I laughed and embraced the dazed person.

"We beat you, Uncle Legolas!" Legolas melodious laughter floated in the air as he lowered his hood and returned the embrace.

"Indeed! I must have underestimated your ability."

"You taught us to never underestimate our opponents." Estel pointed out, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"You speak the truth, tithen pen. That is one mistake I shall never make again." Legolas stood and turned to face Ada, who was smirking as he approached us.

"I do believe age is catching up with you, mellon-nin." he told the Elf. "Defeated by two children. My children. I wonder what Dan and Ro will have to say to that."

A warning look flashed in Uncle Legolas's eyes. "Aragorn, if you speak one word of this to those twin terrors, I will tell them of the time you fell into a well."

"Then I will tell them of the time you fell from a tree."

"Uncle! You fell from a tree?" Estel asked, looking at the Wood-Elf in surprise.

"Ada fell down a well?" I repeated, staring at our Father. The two stopped bickering and turned to face us.

"Not one word to any of the others." They both warned in unison. Estel and I glanced at one another then shrugged as Ada and Uncle continued with their childish argument. We were about to leave when the two of us noticed something in the shadows. The twang of a bowstring reached our ears and with horror, we realized what it was.

"ADA!"

Second chapter. I've decided I should probably write a few chapters about their time in Minas Tirith so you guys can understand where they're coming from. I hope you guys enjoy the chapters as much as I enjoy writing them! If any of you have any ideas about what I could write about for the kids and their time in Minas Tirith, I'm open to suggestions. Having a bit of Writer's Block, sadly. I suppose that's what I get for writing so many stories at once :)
Thanks so much for reading and reviews are awesome!