AN: Hello, again!

It appears that I have developed a serious addiction to this site and posting and updating. So here you'll find a set of one-shots to fill in some gaps my story Family Complications left behind, or just provide some additional scenes that I have in my head, but couldn't fit into the story. (That means that I'll keep on this shameless advertising all along, because I need to define when these scenes take place in the confines of the main story)

Everything is owned by J.R.R. Tolkien.

I hope you'll like this, if you read Family Complications and if you didn't, you can still check it out, if these one-shots hook your attention. No-one is forcing you though, if you don't like it, feel free to stop anytime :) I'd be most happy to receive your comments and reviews and thank you for reading in advance.

Somehow fate always saves my updates... I got sick, so I canceled everything I had on schedule for the weekend, except for my appointment at the manicure salon, only because the place is a 5 minutes walk from my apartment, just opposite the pharmacy, where I had to go anyways . So the point is: I'm just sitting on the coach, drinking hot tea, eating throat pastilles, watching movies and (finally!) having plenty of time to update here. It's been ages since I wrote a Gilraen POV/romantic shit/etc, so here we go and I hope you'll like this.

SCENE No. 2

- set during Gilraen and Torundir's visit in Maeregard (Family Complications Chapter 26 - Lord of Maeregard) -

The sun almost set, another hour and they'd finally arrive. The stinging pain in her thighs was dangerously closing to an unbearable level… Goodness, she was not fit for this, three hours of hard gallop was not something she was physically designed for, no matter how many hours she spent practicing horse riding, or how comfortable Zephyr's gallop was supposed to be. Well, it actually had been, on the first day. Now, traveling on horseback for the third day without much rest, Zephyr's gallop was a torture. They offered to stop for her sake every hour… She was not going to have them delay only because of a pair of stinging legs, though. She could do this.

"Keeping up?" Torundir slowed back to ride with her.

"Yes…" Gilraen replied with a tired smile.

"Just a little more to go and we'll turn off the road. From there, it's a good half an hour in light trot" he assured her and with a knee weakening smiled spurred Thunder ahead.

When they trotted through the gate of Maeregard, Gilraen already looked back with a smile on all the times in the past three hours when she thought she would not live to see the fortress. Stable boys hurried up to them once they halted in the large circle yard, ready to take their horses, welcoming their lords. Torundir swung off from his stallion and with a half happy, half proud smile lifted Gilraen from the saddle.

"Well, well, milday, this was not something many women could do after you" Lord Turgon gave her an approving grin as he dismounted.

"Also not something I thought I could do, my lord" Gilraen shook her head laughing.

"Always underestimating yourself…" Torundir glared at her and gave her a fond squeeze before his father gestured them ahead into the keep.

"MARION" Lord Turgon roared once they stepped into the entrance hall. "We want dinner, lassie!" he grinned cheerfully at the middle aged kitchen woman ran up to them.

"I know, m'lord, just another hour to wait, the veal is already roastin'…"

"Another hour?! My darling daughter-in-law must be starving here, and that is all the hospitality we can provide?" he grumbled and waved off the woman. "Are you hungry, milady? Apologies for the delay."

"That's fine, my lord…" Gilraen shook her head with a smile. She had far more urgent needs than hunger. "I was wondering… could I go and wash, and change into some clean cloths while we wait for the dinner?"

"Of course, of course!" Lord Turgon shouted for another serving woman and ordered her to take Gilraen to her room.

"Which is where, exactly?" Torundir raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you two would get the southern tower, will that suffice?" his father grinned.

"Perfectly" Torundir smiled. "I was starting to fear you would want to put her in the guest wing…"

"Ah, but you know I would not be able to sleep at night knowing that my son has to walk fifty long yards every night to visit his wife" Lord Turgon gave him an ironic twinkle and they both laughed.

"Go, sweetheart, we'll send for you when the food's ready" Torundir told her.

Gilraen left with the maids to climb the hundred stairs leading to their southern tower quarters, an enormous round parlor, a dressing chamber with marble basins and a bedroom with a king sized, and also round bed. Her travelling chest was already stood into the dressing room and the maid accompanying her started unloading it at once. She was a nice girl, a few years older than Gilraen, and she kept chatting all the while she set up the paravan and brought warm water for her to wash. She told her how excited they all were to finally see 'The Lord Torundir's Lady Wife' and how happy they are to see them together and how beautiful they look together.

It took Gilraen half an hour to wash and change and by the end of the thirty minutes, she wanted to hug the girl and spill her tears of gratitude on her shoulders for not taking her for 'The Lord Torundir's Whore' rather than 'Lady Wife' like so many people back in the capital did, including her entire family. Soon an elderly woman arrived, presumably the housekeeper of her father-in-law, and informed Gilraen with a kind smile that her lord husband and his father were waiting for her to join them at the dinner table.

Dinner with Lord Turgon was a merry, and also very lengthy thing. It was around midnight when they finally ascended to the southern tower to retire, though actually it was only Torundir ascending, and carrying her in his arms before she would trip from tiredness and fall down the bloody stairs.

"My sweetest" he stroked her cheeks with his knuckles once he laid her onto the bed. "You are exhausted."

"Oh… yeah…" Gilraen muttered sleepily. "But I'm so glad we are finally here."

"You'll like it here" Torundir promised her with a smile and bent down to kiss her. "Are you very tired? I shouldn't want anything from you now, right?" he chuckled and sat up.

"No" Gilraen shook her head and pulled him back down. "You should…" she reached up to resume their kiss, she would never be tired enough for this. "Especially because I'll have such muscle strain that I won't be able to open my legs by tomorrow" she added with a grin and Torundir laughed so hard as he buried his face into her neck, she thought he was going to choke.

"Oh, Gilraen…" he shook his head chuckling. "But don't you have trust in me, sweet angle, that I'll find a way to sort out such problem?" he whispered into her ears in a husky voice and started peeling off her dress, fondling her body and in ten minutes he was making the sweetest love there was in the world to her.

"Gilraen" a deep tender voice called at her. "Wake up, my sweet."

"What?" she moaned completely unconscious of time and place.

"Get up, I want to take you somewhere."

"Torundir… goodness, it's dark" Gilraen muttered as she opened her eyes. "We haven't slept through four whole hours…"

"Come on!" he pulled her up with a glare. "Get up and follow me."

He pulled her with him out into the parlor, then out onto the hallway leading the way to a spiral stair case.

"Oh no, I can't believe you are doing this to me…" Gilraen sighed as they started up the stairs.

"Trust me, it'll be worth it." Was all her husband replied as he pulled her on.

The steps started shrinking after ten minutes of climbing, the path grew narrower, and Gilraen hoped with all her sleepy heart that this would mean the end of the stairs, sooner rather than later. And indeed, shortly they came upon a narrow door and Torundir led her out onto a small battlement that encircled the slim tower they climbed up. Cool, salty breeze caught her golden locks at once and tangled them to the rhythm of the crashing waves.

"Come, the sun is just rising" he told her and they walked around to the other side of the battlement.

Gilraen felt her mouth open in amazement at the mesmerizing sight unfolding in front of her. The sea burst upon her view, with the rising sun coloring its never ending surface a myriad shades of yellow and orange, while closer to the shore sapphire green waves were breaking against the gray rocks of the Bay of Belfalas. On the shore she could make out the tiny silhouettes of the early rising fishermen already preparing their boats and nets for the many catches of the day and, over the water, the seagulls were waiting for the first treat of the morning as they browsed the orange waves for prey amidst their squawks of freedom.

"The sea…" she whispered completely touched. "You took me to see the sea…"

"You said you had never seen the sea. This is a dawn pretty enough to be the first time you do" she heard Torundir say.

"It's not pretty. It's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen… it is amazing…" Gilraen muttered lost in the sight. She just stared at the endless freedom in front of her, listened to the sounds of the waking seaside, inhaled the scent of salt, felt the wet breeze on her face, in her hair. "Thank you" she said as she slowly turned around to face her husband. "Thank you for waking me up, for bringing me here, thank you…" she threw herself into Torundir's arms and pulling his face to hers kissed him, pouring all her heart, all the happiness she felt that moment into their kiss.

"Let's get back, it's quite cold yet" Torundir drew an arm around her once they broke apart.

"Please, let's stay a little longer" Gilraen leaned against him as they watched the sun rise.

"Oh, really now, my sweet, I thought you hated me for waking you" he grinned.

"Oh, really now, my lord, just stop pulling my leg and let's stay a little longer" Gilraen laughed and nuzzled against him.

"Can we go down to the sea? Right to the sea shore?" Gilraen asked Torundir once they were lying on their round bed naked again, one hour after the sunrise they watched from the tower.

"We'll go, and even swim in the sea. Tomorrow. Once you got some rest" the man replied. "By the way, how are the people? Are they nice to you?" he asked with an edge of threat in his voice. Gilraen loved how his voice got that edge of threat every time they talked about the possibility of her getting hurt physically, verbally or any other way.

"Everybody is so nice. Maybe it's only because they don't know who I am, but still, it really feels good that they are so nice to me" she replied.

"Some do. Know that you are the King's daughter, I mean. Leanor, that old woman, who used to be my sister's governess, for instance. The one we sent for you before dinner. And the captain of the guard too, and the servants that came with us… They don't really care though. They have never seen the King or the Queen, to them you'll only ever be my wife" Torundir mused.

"I only ever want to be your wife to everybody" Gilraen said. These people wanted her, these people gave her a chance without even knowing her; Lord Turgon, this Leanor, the maid from yesterday evening. Her family knew her and denied her a chance like that… Maybe they were right. Maybe that was what she deserved; being cast out, being hurt, being humiliated… As if sensing her thoughts, Torundir hugged her to himself.

"And I only ever want my wife to be treated well and get all the happiness she deserves."

Gilraen spent half the day sleeping after Torundir went off with his father to attend some family business. Their round bed was so comfortable and the sound of waves and the fresh sea breeze coming through windows rocked her to the most peaceful sleep she had in weeks.

"The Lord Torundir rode out with Lord Turgon an hour ago, my lady, they went to see the shipbuilders" the old woman Leanor told her once she woke up. It turned out 'an hour ago' was shortly before midday. Gilraen apologized for sleeping so late and asked where she could have some breakfast, or lunch, it actually was. "There's no need to worry about that, my lady" the old woman shook her head laughing. "It's a wonder you aren't sleeping for a whole week after such a tiring journey. I would suggest that you have some lunch here, after that we'll show you the bath halls and you can have a bath, if you wish to."

And thus an hour later Gilraen was sitting in a giant marble tub in the great bath halls of Maeregard. The maid and Leanor coming with her suggested that she tried the pools too, but that was just not something appealing to try all alone, without Torundir. The bath they prepared for her was exquisite enough; scented bath salts, lavender oil and three cups of red wine were added to the hot water to wash her clean, ease the stiffness in her muscles and soften her skin.

"This was something we learned from the Lady Isariel" Leanor told her. "That red wine is good for the skin. And you have such a beautiful skin, my lady, it needs treatment worthy of it."

"Who is the Lady Isariel?" Gilraen asked as she washed her arms with a real sea sponge. It felt rougher than the sandsilk they used in the Citadel, but she just loved the unusual texture and efficiency of the sponge.

"She was Lord Turgon's last wife" the old woman smiled and poured more hot water into the tub.

"Oh…" Gilraen nodded. "What happened to her?" she asked Leanor.

"Well, Lord Turgon threw her out" the old woman held back a chuckle and Gilraen stared at her bewildered. "Just as I say it, my lady. He had us pack her things into a cart, dragged her out into the yard and sent her back to her father. And a month later he sent the annulment charter after her too. We never saw the Lady Isariel again."

"But what happened?" Gilraen stared at the woman in utter shock.

"You know, my lady, the Lord Turgon has a chamber with all his important papers and books and accounts, nobody is allowed to set foot in there except for his son and daughter, his chancellor and me when the room needs cleaning. But somehow the Lady Isariel got in there, we never found out how. And she found the painting of the Lady Narlien. She was raging, she demanded that the poor grooms remove it from the wall at once and burn it. One of them ran to find the lord so he would stop her, they could not refuse to obey their lady, you see, but burning the picture was unthinkable. When Lord Turgon arrived the Lady Isariel attacked him and started shouting about how he dared to keep the painting of another woman in his room…" Leanor sighed. "You can imagine the lord's wrath, my lady. We have never seen him like that. He was roaring his throat raw, swearing at Lady Isariel, dragging her along the hallways throwing her things out onto the corridor, shouting for her to get out of his sight and never set foot under his roof again…"

"And all that because she wanted to burn a painting?"

"It was not any painting she wanted to burn. She wanted to burn the painting of the Lady Narlien."

"And the Lady Narlien is…?" Gilraen trailed off waiting for her sentence to be finished.

"She was the wife of Lord Turgon" Leanor smiled at her kindly.

"Just like the Lady Isariel, no?" Gilraen just couldn't understand. This woman had gone way too far, no question, but who would not be upset to find the picture of a previous wife in her husband's chamber. And Lord Turgon had a number of wives, according to Torundir.

"No, my lady" Leanor shook her head sadly. "Lady Isariel was a wife of the lord, indeed, but Lady Narlien was the wife of Lord Turgon. The mother of the Lord Torundir."

Gilraen opened and closed her mouth in understanding.

"She was such a darling, lively creature, we so loved her" the old woman sighed with a nostalgic smile as she started preparing the towels for Gilraen. "Is the water not getting cold, my lady?" she asked her kindly.

It was, so Gilraen climbed out of the tub and set down to dry herself in the soft towels, before she ascended the southern tower again to dress and wait for the sea smelling breeze coming through the windows to blow her hair dry. Just an hour later Torundir and Lord Turgon got back from the shipbuilders and offered to show Gilraen around the keep. They wandered along the hallways, visited the library, the kitchens, the inner yard, the bath halls again, some council room, the great hall, parlors and all along Lord Turgon entertained them with childhood stories of Torundir and his sister. During supper Torundir suggested that she accompanied them the next day when they'd ride out to see the villages and crops, and Gilraen agreed, more than happy not to be left behind.

And it was such a beautiful day. Gilraen never thought it would feel good to be mounted on Zephyr so soon after riding her whole body stiff, but the filly's great spirit somehow grew on Gilraen too as her horse pranced around and flirted with Thunder. At first they thought the mare was just trying to annoy the hell out of the large stallion, but at their first halt, the moment they dismounted Thunder made an unmistakable attempt to relieve his libido on Zephyr; something Lord Turgon was laughing at for hours.

In one village they came upon a wedding reception, with the bride and groom just getting through an arch of blooming tree branches to mark their new life. Ten family members ran up to Lord Turgon the moment they saw them riding past to beg him to halt for a moment and join them for a goblet of wine; it was a peasant superstition of the area that having the lord on the wedding reception means a long and happy marriage for the couple, Torundir told Gilraen. Lord Turgon agreed and told the family about his own son's recent marriage which brought up another peasant superstition; the lady attending the reception foreshadowed many healthy children for the bride. She was a nice girl, the bride, mouse brown haired, fawn eyed, freckled maid, just the same age as Gilraen, it turned out. Gilraen even gave her a silver pin from her hair, so the girl would have something borrowed too - to match her blue ribbons, new dress and old wedding ring -, which she promised to keep and tell her grandchildren of.

"Aw, I love weddings" Lord Turgon mused watching his dancing folk over a large mug of light summerwine. "Your mother loved weddings too…" he added with a strange twinkle, more to himself than to his son.

"Because she loved to listen to you going on about how she was ten times prettier than every bride" Torundir chuckled.

"She always was so" his father nodded not taking his eyes off the wine. "We went to so many weddings" he said to Gilraen. "My daughter loved weddings too, and Torundir loved to chase after little girls during receptions as well" he added with a grin and Gilraen laughed.

"That happened only once…" Torundir shook his head. "Or twice… or maybe..."

"A lot of times" Gilraen grinned at her husband, who just chuckled.

"The elder Forlan brother married that girl you chased around on Beregond's wedding" Lord Turgon mused. "And there was some little girl on Malberen's wedding too…"

"We attended Malberen's wedding?" Torundir raised an eye-brow.

"Sure we did. You were young though, five years old at best… no wonder you don't remember."

"You were friends with Malberen? I thought you didn't like him. And he definitely doesn't like me" Torundir wondered.

"That is because he trusted his son to your training and it resulted in you planting your rebellious ideas in the poor lad's head" Lord Turgon shook with mocking laughter. "I was never really friends with him, but our general dislike for each other only runs back to… the time a certain matter arose about which we formed rather reverse opinions. And neither of us managed to accept the other's view on the matter. You know what I'm talking about…" he gave Torundir a suggestive look. "And let's not forget that marginal fact that your mother was twenty times prettier than the bride on Malberen's wedding" he added with a smirk.

"And the even more marginal fact that you got as drunk as to tell this to him?" Torundir suggested with a grin.

"No, never" Lord Turgon laughed. "But it might have come to his ear from another guest or so."

"Was this his wedding to the Lady Doriel?" Gilraen asked him, she never thought Florian's mother was any homely.

"That was the one. He only married once, to Doriel, he just waited long, was in his early thirties, I think." Turgon nodded. "It was a big wedding, hundreds of guests, fine food, finer wine… they had their gold back then too, Malberen and his family. It was the second biggest wedding we ever attended… It was a shame I missed your wedding" he glared at Gilraen and Torundir then.

"We didn't have a big wedding with fine food and finer wine, though" Torundir twinkled at him.

"But it was lovely" Gilraen smiled. "At least I loved it."

Lord Turgon gave her a fond smile. "I'm sure I would have loved it too. Your mother would have loved it too…" he murmured addressing Torundir. "I remember the last wedding we attended together… She laughed so much…"

"Thanks to your constant reminders that she was fifty times lovelier than the bride, and a hundred times younger too, or how it went?" Torundir shook his head with a chuckle.

"That was something she added" Lord Turgon laughed. "I am innocent of that part. I only said… ah, I don't want to offend your darling wife."

Gilraen blinked. "Why would you offend me, my lord?"

"The last wedding our family attended together was the one of your parents'" Torundir told her.

"Oh…" Gilraen nodded. Then it came down to her, the hundred times younger than the bride part. If only she didn't miss them so much, she would surely be laughing now… For a moment sadness flooded her heart. But it was only a moment. She could control it now, it was getting easier. Slowly, very slowly, but it was getting easier. She felt Torundir's hand on her back in mute support and sympathy. "It would be terrible hypocrisy if I felt offended by that, after having offended them so recently myself, my lord" she finally said to Turgon with a small smile.

"You, Lady Gilraen, are the finest daughter-in-law I could have ever wished for" the man declared at that and drowning his wine, stood up. "Time to ride on, it is."

Next morning Gilraen woke to find Torundir sleeping next to her, rather than gone on some business with his father. She curled up to him with a happy smile and prepared to fall back asleep when she felt his arms tightened around her.

"We'll go to down to the shore tonight, hmm?" he murmured into her ear.

"And swim in the sea?" Gilraen smiled.

"That too. Beside other things…" Torundir smirked and kissed her brow.

In the end they rode out to the shore late in the afternoon and found a peaceful, stony-sandy corner where they left their horses, and most of their cloths, before diving into the sapphire waves. Gilraen found that swimming in the sea was a ridiculous plan, all they actually did was cuddling in the chest deep water, kissing, talking, flirting and splashing water at each other like three-year-old children. And that was not even the only habit they took up from three-year-olds; Gilraen had never been thrown into the water so many times before, not even as a child. She had no idea what her husband enjoyed in her falling into the salty foams squalling and laughing, and even less idea what she enjoyed in getting thrown every ten minutes, but since they both liked it well enough, the reasons did not really matter. The sun was already setting by the time they got out of the sea to dry themselves and eat the supper they brought along in the saddlebags.

Torundir sat leaning against a large rock, while Gilraen lay lazily in his lap, stroking his outer thigh.

"I missed this. Just sitting around, talking, getting some time together. All the stuff we used to do instead of training you with the bow…" her husband said wondering.

"I missed it too. And all the carefreeness of those times. Oh wait, we never had carefree times…" Gilraen replied and the both laughed.

"But now we do" Torundir leaned in with a wicked grin and kissed her. "You taste salt."

"I wonder if that's got anything to do with someone throwing me into the water every ten minutes" Gilraen twinkled with a smile.

"I wonder too. The moon is coming up. Do you want to go back? We could just stay, it's not cold… We could sleep here" Torundir messed with her hair as he spoke.

"We could. It'd be fun, I have never slept on the seashore. I actually never slept anywhere else than in bed."

"And have you ever lain with a man on the seashore?" Torundir grinned at her.

Gilraen erupted in giggles. "I know, I know... you are only asking that because you were not present every single time I lay with a man in any place…"

"Oh wait…" they said those two words at the same time and burst out laughing again.

Torundir pulled her face to his and captured her lips in a heated kiss. His hands ran down her torso fondling her waist, massaging the curves of her hips, longing fingers digging into the flesh of her buttocks as they slid under her soft shift finding their way to the warm crook of her thighs craving to be touched. All the while Gilraen's hands worked to get rid of his shirt and caress his bare back while she never stopped kissing him for a second as her lips ventured along the column of his neck, returning to his mouth and restarting their route every time she pulled away for a lungful of air. She felt him shoving her undershift up to her waist and struggling to tug off his breaches with the other hand, while she moved her legs on either side of his waist and her arms around his neck, ready to be pulled down onto his groin. His hands settled on both sides of her hips and with a last hungry kiss their bodies became one.

Gilraen had no idea how much time passed while they made love on the seashore, tangled in each other's limbs, drowning in the other's intoxicating scent. She just found herself lying sprawled out on the ground under Torundir, her legs still locked around his hips as she slowly regained her senses. Goodness, she loved this man. All she could do was smile feeling his hot breath tickling her neck, red of the shower of his kisses as he panted into her ears.

"You darling angel" he laughed at her once he lifted his head to kiss her cheeks and rolled off of her. "I adore you."

Gilraen curled up against him and tugged her skirt back down. "I adore you too. You don't know how much…" she muttered into his chest with a smile.

"I know exactly well how much" Torundir said in a strange voice.

"Well how much?" she looked up at him curiously.

"Let's not go into this right now. I'm glad to see you happy, I don't want to talk about anything that would make you sad."

Gilraen understood and nodded. No, she didn't want to go into this now either. She just wanted to be happy in his arms and not think about the price of this happiness.

"So we'll sleep here? I hope it's not high tide" she smiled at him and pressed her lips against his chest.

Torundir burst out laughing. "No, my sweet, it's not, and even if it was, we would wake up when the water reaches our feet and walk away before we'd drawn, you know."

"I know" Gilraen laughed and he stroked her cheeks.

They did sleep on the shore. And not just once. The following week they went twice more to the seashore to have supper, to swim, to sleep and to act like three-year-olds. Other nights they would just go to the bath halls, have dinner with Lord Turgon and make love in their round bed. Staying at Maeregard was probably the most happy and most carefree fortnight of Gilraen's life.

"We'll have to go back to Minas Tirith soon" Torundir told her one night.

"I know" Gilraen replied drawing circles on the taut muscles of his bare chest.

"I would stay longer" he went on. "I really don't like to take you back there, so you'll be exposed to more talking behind your back and more coldness from your family…"

Barahin's birthday celebration flashed into Gilraen's memory like a lightning bolt, and her sister's face, spitting words like venom at her, of how glad they were to be rid of her… She shook the thought out of her head and nuzzled against her husband.

"It doesn't matter. You are my family now…" she said and reached up to kiss him before she rested her head on his shoulder, and Torundir kissed the top of her head as he laid one hand on her forearm, while the other kept on caressing her stomach idly.

Well that was it, please tell me in a review if you liked this, or if you weren't interested in more insight on Torundir's background, because that's fine too, and I'll be happy to read your review anyways. Thanks for reading!

Response to Isotta88's review (I'll try to be short): I'm really glad I'm forgiven and even more glad that you liked the chapter. What did I want to say? Oh, yeah, about the spicy food. It happened a couple times that tourists came to my country and all they could do was bitch about our food, how spicy, how greasy how unhealthy it is, when they were served some traditional dishes (I'm not generalizing, people are usually really nice and love to try out everything, these were exceptions). And I think that's just rude and somehow this experience got included in poor Arwen's character. I've already thought about how I could solve this confrontation you suggested and I'll definitely try and give it a go... We'll see. :) As for grammar and spelling, I'm not a native speaker either and I make so many mistakes myself, so there's really no need to worry about anything like that :))

And updates... I don't want to make any promises, because anything can come up and writing chapters is far more time consuming than just editing them, so these chapters need a lot more time to be readied than the Family Complications ones did. Still, I hope to keep up this pace, that I'll update every weekend.