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.
Well, here's a new piece, because I had time to finish it this afternoon. I was originally going to shop for groceries, but the shop was closed due to reorganizing, or something like that, and the other one went bankrupt and the new company hasn't moved in yet. I was like, okay I'll catch a taxi and go further than three corners from home, but I didn't have my contacts in and I was wearing sneakers and overall really at-home style, so I just went home and ordered sushi and finished this chapter. I hope you'll like it :)
SCENE No. 8
- set after Aryana's birthday celebration (Family Complications Chapter 34 - Birthday Surprise) -
He had such a long day. But finally it was over. Only the good part was left. When that would start though, he had no idea. What takes women more than half an hour to change into a nightgown? An eternal mystery, that question would be. While he waited for his wife at the small parlor table, he looked back on the evening - for about the third time in a row. He couldn't decide whether he felt light and relieved or even worse than before. Feeling bad about this whole issue was ridiculous though. Gilraen was happy. He cannot possible feel bad about her being happy…
The door finally opened and his wife drifted in wearing her pale blue nightgown with matching robes. She looked beautiful. That color brought out the shine in her eyes.
"Would I be mistaken to assume that you had said something like ten minutes when you left?" he smiled at her.
"It is every lady's right to leave their husbands waiting as long as it pleases them" she replied, her full red lips curling upwards. "Besides, the longer you wait, the sweeter the reward shall be."
He was about to bring her into his arms when the door opened again and a groom's head appeared.
"The Prince Eldarion wishes to talk with you, my lord."
"Now?" It was almost midnight, they would soon be going to sleep…
"He says it's urgent" the groom explained.
Rubbing tiredness from his eyes, Aragorn nodded. "Right, he can come."
The groom disappeared and he gave an apologetic smile to Arwen. "Just ten minutes."
Eldarion appeared in the door, he himself half prepared for bed. He looked stunned to see his mother. "Goodness… I'm sorry, I didn't know… I…Shall I leave? I didn't want to intrude…"
"You act like you don't have four younger sisters…" Aragorn glared at him while Arwen just suppressed a fond smile at their son.
"Yes…" Eldarion cleared his throat. "Right, then sorry for interrupting, may I talk with you, Father? I'll be quick, I just… feel like a child who needs forgiveness after wrongdoing..."
"Oh so that's what I am going to learn about" Aragorn nodded humming. At the feast Eldarion never agreed to tell him what was going on between him and Gilraen, but it was clearly something important. "That is a matter worth discussing at this late hour" he gestured his son to take a seat.
"No thank you" he shook his head. "Could we talk privately?"
"What am I not allowed to hear?" Arwen asked with hint of hurt in her voice.
"I just don't want to upset you with talking about Gilraen, Mother" Eldarion said and gave her a swift hug. "I won't keep Father long, I promise" he smiled at his mother.
"My darling wrongdoing boy" she teased him, knowing how Eldarion hated that nickname even in his childhood and stroked his cheek fondly. "I'll just go back to my room so you can have your man to man conversation" Arwen said lightly and left for the door. "And Aragorn" she turned back with a sweet smile. "Ten minutes are ten minutes to you. Only I can take half an hour" she gave a small chuckle and disappeared.
Aragorn shook his head in amusement and turned to Eldarion.
"Well, what am I to forgive you, my son?"
"It happened long ago. Back in August. I'm not proud of it, I'm really very ashamed, in fact. Even while I didn't know she was pregnant, I was ashamed of it. But when I saw her tonight… I just wanted to burn myself alive. I would burn anybody alive who did this to her… You should burn me alive."
"Eldarion" Aragorn raised a hand to silence his son. He almost made him laugh at his passionate remorse, but somehow he could feel that the story will take an ugly twist. "What should I burn you alive for?"
"I accompanied this girl to a tailor's shop and Gilraen was there too. We entered the shop and there she was, standing with the shopkeeper and… I guess those were her servants with her, I don't know. And I just got so mad. I was so mad at her all over again. My little sister shacking up with that man, letting him under her skirts… And I said something like she was a soiled bastard's whore. I never thought she would say anything to that, I was about to leave when she replied. That the girl with me was a spoilt, stuck-up prince's whore then. And I just lost it, my mind blacked out I was so hurt and so angry and I… bloody hell, I hit her. I slapped her on the face and she almost fell over… I don't know what happened, I just remember bursting out of that damn shop at once and nothing more. HOW could I do that?!" Eldarion broke out bitterly.
Aragorn closed his eyes before he looked back at Eldarion again.
"You hit your sister?"
Eldarion buried his face in his hands as he nodded. "When I saw her tonight… She had been with child back then already! I could have killed her child!" he muttered.
"Don't exaggerate, it's ugly enough as it is" Aragorn shook his head. "A slap on the face can't kill a child. Even if Gilraen had fallen over, it would have been an unlikely coincidence to fall in a way that could hurt her baby."
"It was an unlikely coincidence Torundir didn't beat the living hell out of me once Gilraen got home…"
"No. Even when you do something as stupid and despicable and shameful, you are still my son, still the prince of Gondor and Torundir cannot simply go and punch you without losing on it. He knows that, Gilraen knows that too."
"Well then, please burn me alive. You can do that" Eldarion grimaced miserably.
"I am not going to do that. Guilt is already burning you alive" Aragorn sighed. "Eldarion, you need to learn to control your emotions. Have you ever seen me hit anybody because I was angry with them? Especially a woman? Believe me, there have been times when I was so angry with somebody that I felt like hitting them, but never ever got as far as to actually do so. You are a prince. You cannot afford hitting people you are angry with. And your sister? A woman? I am begging you, count to five and think before you act!"
"I am so sorry…"
"I know" Aragorn went on looking straight into his eyes. "It took me long to learn that too. But you don't have that long to learn it. And your sister has forgiven you?"
"Yes, she did" Eldarion sighed. "She was nice, she said she wanted to forget about it."
"And she will, I am sure. Did she say anything about what Torundir had to say about this affair?"
"No" his son shook his head. "And he didn't say much himself. Just that it's Gilraen's decision whether she'll forgive me or not. After I told him that Gilraen had said she would forgive me, he just nodded and asked me to ensure him that he won't have to worry about protecting his wife from her own brother. And of course I told him, I would never ever hurt her again" Eldarion finished.
"You spoke to Torundir too?" Aragorn eyed him curiously. Eldarion had fumed with hatred and anger for months after Gilraen left, not a single week had passed without him expressing how he longed to rip the man into pieces who whored his little sister.
"Yes" Eldarion nodded wearily. "The least I could do was to apologize. Though… the least he could do is to apologize too…"
Aragorn inclined his head. "Indeed that would be welcome… I wonder if he ever will." In fact, he didn't think Torundir would ever apologize. Not for getting Gilraen with child, but for seducing her and taking her away from them. Getting her pregnant was their own business, even though Aragorn could not get used to the fact that his seventeen year old little girl was carrying Torundir's child.
"You knew of her pregnancy, Father?" his son asked.
"Sybille told us the day before yesterday. We were supposed to notice at Christmas, according to her, because we saw Gilraen on the market."
"She could have let us know…"
"She wanted to. She told me, and Sybille told me the same thing, that she was going to write a letter to us, but then we met on the market, and she thought we noticed" Aragorn shrugged. He was not actually sure he believed this story, but thinking of it, Gilraen didn't really have a reason to make such thing up.
"I think she did indeed…" Eldarion mused. "She did talk about writing some letter to us with Torundir on the market…"
"You never said you met them too" Aragorn raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't. Just heard some fragments of their conversation from the other side of the stalls" Eldarion shrugged. "So you will be grandfather, Father…" he noted, half joking.
Aragorn broke into an incredulous chuckle. "To Torundir's son. Would you have ever thought?"
His son just gave a dark eye-roll. "What of the child?"
"What of it? That baby will be your sister's son. An innocent child. I would never bear a sheer drop of enmity for her babe. I am pretty sure he will be a sweet thing. Or she, whatever it will be. I just fear for your sister. She is so young…"
"Sybille will wed Florian in two months too."
"With two of her friends getting married this spring and her sister having married last spring, I could scarcely put it off any further, couldn't I? I wish I could have, but Sybille is so in love, how was I supposed to tell her, that she must wait another year? In any case, Sybille wedding doesn't mean Sybille getting pregnant too. She is way too young and immature to have a child."
Eldarion gaped at him which soon turned into a unbelieving chuckle. "And how do you even plan to make that so?"
"Florian will be the husband of a princess. He will get land, titles, all those things come with responsibilities. He will go with you to Imrahil's great council for the summer" Aragorn said. A part of him hated doing this to Sybille, but the greater part wanted to protect her more than ever, since he failed to protect Gilraen.
Eldarion frowned. "And when do you plan to tell this to them?"
"I told them yesterday when we set the date of the wedding. I told Sybille, I wished Florian to go with you and asked if she wanted to put off the wedding till fall in consideration that her husband would be gone for the entire summer. They both said no. And so, they will marry in May, but a week later you and Florian will ride to Dol Amroth."
"So Gilraen's baby won't have a little cousin any time soon…" Eldarion shook his head with a smile. "Poor Florian" he chuckled and stood up. "Thank you for speaking with me, Father. And apologies for intruding."
Aragorn rolled his eyes lightly. "You're welcome. And please keep that counting to five before you act practice in mind" he said with stern look.
"I will" Eldarion nodded closing his eyes in shame. He turned back from the door with a small smile. "But you know, Father, how nice it would be, if Gilraen's baby had a little uncle or auntie instead of a cousin?" he asked grinning.
"Good night, Eldarion" Aragorn shook his head laughing.
"To you too" his son nodded. "To Mother, too" he added with a last grin and left.
Aragorn sighed as he watched him leave. And now he would go to Arwen's bedchamber, they would debate over from which of them Eldarion inherited this crazy recklessness for half an hour and they would end up in each other's arms kissing, getting dangerously close to that little uncle or niece… No, Aryana was the last, they had agreed long ago. Not like that meant they couldn't love each other every once in a while though.
Okay, some novelty, at least POV-wise. Let me know how you liked this :)
Two more chapters are to come. I'm not yet sure what the last one will be. It might turn out three more chapters if I can't choose. Update is coming in two weeks time, because the end of school term is approaching and I have tons of stuff to do/study for :/ I'll do my best.