1 WEEK LATER
Eldarion looked up from his seat in the saddle. The sun was only just over the horizon and yet the twins had woken them to move on. Why is it that my pesky uncles feel the need to wake us at this hour? There was a light breeze blowing a cool air across the company of Elrondions and kings. Eldarion let his eyes wander over the horizon. If he looked closely he could just see the towers of Minas Tirith begin to show. He smiled to himself. He was nearly home. Underneath him Adasser skipped over a rock throwing Eldarion off balance, nearly making him fall off.
"Ion nin?" Aragorn questioned from his horse to the left of his sons "are you to tired to even move your horse around obstacles?"
"No, ada, I am not. I was just thinking"
"Just thinking? If you are truly his son, you wouldn't think at all before doing something." Elladan said looking back from his mount infront and pointing dramatically at Aragorn
"That's not fair to say! I'm perfectly capable of thinking. From what I've heard the two of you are no better than my father." Eldarion retorted
"No. He is the worst." Elrohir said pointing to Aragorn from the back of the group "but then you are also no better than your uncles."
Eldarion scoffed and went back to focusing on his path singing quietly in elvish, his father and uncles joining in the song.
"Tel talath amin para autarky oio no',
Nan amin in as rada eska.
Du I' du lanta sui amin pada sin ndor,
Amin innas rada silef elen.
Ech ero equë amin engë beleg
ach sii' náyë wanwa a' amin
Tel malle innas auta oio no'
Amin innas heb pada sen tenná i'
ir du gwanna nin mên
Tel anar innas sila gail
Ar' san' amin innas no eska
Amin innas no eska."
The group continued riding towards the towers now clearly visible under the sunrise.
"We will be home in an hour if we ride slowly ion nin. When we get home you will go back to being prince and I king. Be warned, your sisters will swarm you." Aragorn said patting Eldarion on the shoulder
"Gwador, How did Arwen react when she learnt that Eldarion was in trouble?" Elladan said slowing his pace to ride next to Aragorn's left
"She was alarmed when Celebarnor returned riderless knowing that meant Eldarion was in trouble. But when Ada's letter arrived her fears were confirmed and she was in tears for the first day." Aragorn said shaking his head slowly
"How did your daughters react?" Elrohir asked speeding his mount to ride on Eldarion's right
"The two younger were not told in detail and only knew I was going on an errand. The eldest got told in more detail because she came up to Arwen and I demanding what was wrong. She is closer to Eldarion then she is with her sisters."
"I worried everyone greatly didn't i?" Eldarion said sadly thinking over what his father had said
"Yes you did." The king said
"But your ada was no better if not worse than you, so I would count it as genetic." Elrohir said with a smile
"Yes Estel was a lot worse. One time he and Legolas both returned to Imladris half dead and dragging each other back." Elladan remarked
"You and Elrohir were no better. What about that time when you were shot with a poisoned arrow and Elrohir was unconscious. Glorfindel dragged you both back, where at least Legolas and I could drag each other."
"Your son doesn't need to here of this. Now I'm keen to reach Gondor. Good day." Elrohir said ridding inront of his companions pulling Eldarion forwards with him.
IN GONDOR
"Naneth! Naneth! They're home!" Eldarion's middle sister, Nithiel said running into Arwen's chamber followed by her younger sister Alassë
Arwen looked up from the paper she was looking at and smiled at her daughters "shall we go meet them when they reach the stables?" The queen said moving around her small table and taking one of her daughters hands in each of her own
"Mm hm." Eldarion's youngest sister said nodding her head excitedly pulling her mother and older sister out of the room towards the stables
000
The two elves and two men rode through the streets of Gondor quickly so no one would recognise the king and prince despite it still being early morning. They were all eager to see the queen and princesses. Once they reached the large pasture with the elegant stables next door some of the horses looked up from grazing and snorted in greeting.
"Which one is Celebarnor?" Elladan asked gesturing to all of the horses in the pasture as he dismounted his own white stallion
"He's the one that...is not outside?" Eldarion responded looking into the pasture "ada where is Celebarnor?"
"What do you mean where is he? Isn't he always outside?" The king said pausing outside of the stable entrances to gaze into the pasture
"That's what I thought ada, but he is not." Eldarion said as he slid off of Adasser.
"Wait so Celebarnor likes it outside but is not?" Elrohir said leading his white stallion next to his twins
"Yes that is the case. Come we'll put our horses away and see if he's inside" Aragorn said leading his horse through the entrance of the stable, followed by the twins and lastly Eldarion
Sure enough when they entered the stable they could see one lone horse in the private area where the royal family kept their horses. The medium sized pale grey with blonde mane and tail looking depressed and lonely. Celebarnor saw the men and elves enter the stable but didn't acknowledge them and turned around to the back of his stall. Eldarion frowned at this. Usually his horse was delighted to see him and would stamp his feet in impatience. Eldarion handed the rains of Adasser to his father and walked to where Celebarnor's stall was.
"Hey there Celeb' why don't you come say hello?" Eldarion said quietly from the stall door
The horse lifted its head and looked at Eldarion dubiously then looked away once more. Celebarnor had old claw marks across the left side of his rump clearly showing he had a run in with wolves on his escapade. The horse also wasn't putting weight on his left front leg. Eldarion took a step towards his horse and the horse looked toward him. After some time the horse approached Eldarion pushing his forehead into the mans chest firmly.
"That's more like it. Why were you so grumpy?" Eldarion asked his horse stroking its neck
"So this is Celebarno?" Elrohir asked stepping up to the stable door with Elladan by his side, leaving Aragorn to hold all four horses
"Yes. Elladan, Elrohir meat Celebarnor. Celebarnor, these are my uncles."
The horse snorted in greeting showing his first sign of interest in the elves and went to push his forehead against each of their chests. The twins were immediately taken by the horses friendly nature and petted him as Eldarion explained his favourite stroking method
"Be careful. Once you show him affection once he'll expect it every time." Aragorn called trying to pick up Elladan's rains that he dropped
"Do you need some help with that?" A sweet musical voice said from the doorway
"Yes please." Aragorn said gritting his teeth as Elrohir's horse pulled free just as he had picked up Elladan's
"Here let me take these two. Dagon and Dogon can be quite a handful, just like their owners" the stranger said
"How did you-" Aragorn started but was silenced by a kiss to his lips
"Hello melith nin." The stranger said pulling away "I missed you."
"Ada! Ada! Ada!" Eldarion's two youngest sisters came running into the stables to greet their father hugging him around the legs
"Hello Nithiel, Alassë."
"Naneth." Eldarion said leaving Celebarnor's stall and crushing his mother in a firm embrace
"Hello Tithen maethor." The queen greeted her son pulling away and walking over to the two elves watching "Muindor, muindor." She greeted pulling the twins into a hug
"Muinthel." They responded in synchronism
"Eldarion!" The girls squealed seeing him, wrapping their arms around his legs as well
"You two should put the horses away." The queen said giving Dagon and Dogon's rains to the twins
"That we shall." Elladan responded walking to a stall and putting Dagon into the stall next to Celebarnor's as Elrohir put Dogon in a stall next to the one meant for the Kings horse
"Please release me now." Eldarion said trying to get his sisters to let go of him
"Fine." The older of the two said pulling her younger sister off of Eldarion
Aragorn seeing that his son was free handed Adasser's rains to his son, then put his horse into the stall by Dogon. Eldarion put Adasser between the twins horses as it was the only free stall in that side of the stable.
"Where is Arilwen?" Eldarion asked turning around looking for his oldest younger sister
"I'm not sure, I haven't seen her this morning." Arwen responded
"What do you mean you haven't seen her?" Aragorn asked stepping closer to his wife
"She wasn't at breakfast this morning." Arwen responded simply "she went to bed late last night so I assumed she was sleeping in."
"That's likely. The staff will all be starting their shifts by now, she usually wakes up when they open the draperies." The king responded swinging his wife around to hug her properly
"Eldarion? Why do you have that horse?" Alassë asked pointing to Adasser
"Because Celebarnor ran away and went on an adventure. When the twins found me and when ada arrived we came back and I needed a horse. This is Adasser." Eldarion replied lifting Alassë so she was the same hight as the horse
"He's pretty." The little girl said stroking Adasser's muzzle
"Hello I'm Nithiel." Eldarion's Middle sister said introducing herself to the twins
"It is a pleasure, fair maiden I am Elladan." The older twin said placing a chaste kiss on her hand
"And I am Elrohir." The younger twin said with a dramatic bow that caused Nithiel to laugh
"Come girls, let's leave you're ada, uncles and brother to look after their horses." Arwen said "we can fix them some morning tea."
"Yes Naneth." Nithiel said skipping out of the stables with Alassë
"Meat us in the sitting room within the next hour and a half." The queen said walking quickly to catch up with her daughters
Once the girls had left the others all led their horses out of their stalls and untacked them. They then brushed them off, also removing any stones from the horses hooves. Once Dagon, Dogon, Adasser and Aragorn's horse were looked after they put them in the stalls once more to rest. Elrohir and Aragorn went out to check on paper work that needed the Kings signature. Eldarion then led Celebarnor out of his stall to asses his condition with the help of Elladan. The grey horse had scars across the left hand side of his rump and was putting minimal weight on his left front leg. He was also slightly skinny despite being in Gondor for over a month. Elladan ducked down to examine the injured leg and nearly got kicked in the head. He managed to get a firm grasp on the limb and immediately felt a slight heat radiating off of it. As he went to test the range of motion Celebarnor nearly pulled free from him and stared the elf down wearily. Elladan stood after a few more moments and watched how the horse stood.
"Well?" Eldarion asked anxiously as he calmed the horse
"It's most likely a strained tendon but I'm not entirely sure. I'll run him later today and see how he goes. At this rate though I think you'll be riding Adasser with the Rangers." Elladan concluded
"Oh. If it is damage to the tendon then wouldn't someone have to cool the site daily and wrap it to prevent swelling?"
"That is usually the case and it appears that someone has already been doing that. Except for today I noticed. That will take a couple of days, maybe weeks to heal." Elladan said moving over to check the scars on the horses rump.
"Will the scars be of any issue?"
"They shouldn't cause to much harm if they do. They will also fade with time but will always be visible if you look closely enough."
"That's ok." Eldarion said "he'll always be my horse."
Celebarnor shook his head in agreement and looked up towards the entrance of the stables as the head stable hand entered. The head stable hand looked up from the support bandage he was holding to see the prince and an elf with the horse he was mostly coming to see.
"Hello your royal highness, royal guest?" The stable hand greeted petting Celebarnor between the eyes "I see you have returned. How was your adventure."
"It was interesting, Arben. This is one of my uncles, Elladan," The prince responded "I take it that you have been treating my horse?"
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Elladan. I am known as Arben. Yes I've been treating your horse. In fact that is what I came to do." Arben responded holding up the support bandage for the horse "you know that Arilwen has been a big help in treating Celebarnor. She has quite the knack for keeping the horses calm."
"Speaking of Arilwen, you haven't happened to see her this morning have you?" The prince said walking Celebarnor to the cool water trough
"No. Not this morning. She usually arrives at this time though. Why do you ask may I inquire?" The stable hand said easing the lame limb into the water
"She is my younger sister, it's my duty to protect her. Also Naneth hasn't seen her this morning."
"Peculiar." Arben responded stroking his hand down the length of the horses nose "Master Elladan, this is your first time in Gondor?"
"No it is not, though I can say I haven't been here in many years." The elf said running his hand along the horses scars once more
"Ah, yes. You are a healer?" The stable hand inquired "I heard you going over how to treat Celeb'"
"I am trained. My skills with healing are usually only used in emergency or when another healer is not on hand."
"I see." The stable hand said running a hand over Celebarnor's injured leg
"Arben?"
"Yes your highness?"
"What was Celebarnor like when returned?"
"Skittish, like a fawn. Your sister is the one that has been working with him."
"Alright I'll find her and then tell her of my gratitude." The prince said leaving the stable
"Where is she?" Elladan asked the stable hand
"That I don't know. Would you care to help me with Celebarnor as Arilwen is not here?"
"Certainly."
Elf and man finished the treatment for the wounded horse and then left in their separate directions. Elladan to go find his nephew or brothers, Arben to care for the rest of the horses.
000
Eldarion walked through his home towards his oldest sisters chambers. He was whistling a tune to himself that he remembered his sister taught him before the others were born. He smiled at the memory. When he reached the doorway he was aiming for he knocked and waited outside. After a while and no response was made he knocked again, slightly louder. Again he was met with silence. This did not sit well with the prince and he found himself walking into the chamber without permission. The sight that met him caused him to pause in the doorway.
000
The queen and her two youngest daughters were sitting in the royal tea room deep in conversation with the king and Elrohir. They were only waiting on the arrival of the prince and older twin.
"I'm concerned about 'Wen." The king said triggering silence and all eyes on him.
By now most of the staff were on duty working. The regular hustle and bustle of the city beginning. Arilwen was usually up when it began and was out with her sisters by this time.
"Yes. I am also concerned." The queen agreed
Nithiel and Alassë had by now picked up on the serious atmosphere and were fidgeting in their seats. Elrohir seeing this smiled
"How about the two of you show me your favourite places?" The younger twin asked the girls
The two younger princesses looked at each other and nodded "alright then, uncle." Nithiel said being the dominant spokeswomen of the two
"Go find Arilwen." Elrohir whispered for only Arwen's ears whilst following the girls from the room
The queen nodded her thanks and watched Elrohir leave.
000
Eldarion shook himself out of his stupor and walked into the room, sitting on the empty, unmade bed. "Where is she." He asked himself "Arilwen!?"
000
Aragorn was walking towards his oldest daughters room when he heard Eldarion call. He quickened his pace so to see what the problem was. When he entered the room though he could only see his son. Arilwen was not in sight.
"Do you know where she is?"
"No I do not. Arben didn't have a clue either." Eldarion said getting up from the edge of the bed
"Interesting... go tell Arthur" The king said strolling into the centre of the room studying the writing desk
"Certainly ada. Why?" The prince asked glancing at the desk quickly
"Remember that he became your sisters minder when he retired from the guard." Aragorn reasoned picking up a sheet of parchment from the writing desk
"True." Eldarion said walking from the room
ELVISH USED
Naneth - mum/mother
ada - dad/daddy
melith nin - my beloved
tithen maethor - little warrior
muindor - blood brother
muinthel - blood sister
ion nin - my son
A/N - the song is my own. I had trouble finding translations so there might be mistakes (sorry)
"Tel talath amin para autarky oio no', The plains I walk go ever on,
Nan amin in as rada eska. But I will find home,
Du I' du lanta sui amin pada sin ndor, Should the darkness fall as I walk this land
Amin innas rada silef elen. I will find my shining star
Ech ero equë amin engë beleg You once said I was strong
ach sii' náyë wanwa a' amin But now I am lost to myself
Tel malle innas auta oio no' The roads will go ever on,
Amin innas heb pada sen tenná i' I will keep walking until the end.
ir du gwanna nin mên When darkness leaves my path
Tel anar innas sila gail The sun will shine bright
Ar' san' amin innas no eska. And then I will be home
Amin innas no eska." I will be home