Hi everyone! Here is me working on that promise to update more frequently! This one is a bit longer than the last to make up for its brevity. I'd like to give a shout out to spicyrash for the inspiration that can be found at the end of this chapter and what will be the next chapter. Thank you! I truly to appreciate it when readers can drop some of their Tolkien wisdom on me in order to make the story better. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Thirty-Seven (Mareke)

My body healed after a few weeks under Aragorn's care in the palace. I wanted desperately to return to Minas Tirith to see Adnan and Arathorn, but I needed those few weeks to regain my strength for the long journey to Gondor.

Aragorn was at my side constantly during that time. I did not remember a time in our relationship when we had had so much time together. I was grateful that he did not ask questions that did not pertain to my physical health. He did not urge me to speak of what had happened or the subsequent feelings and emotions. It was a rather quiet time.

After the first week, I was permitted to leave the healing wing and sleep, or try to, in my old rooms.

In the mornings, unlike in Minas Tirith, we had no pressing matters to attend to and so we laid in bed, both awake, but not saying a word. I would rest my head on Aragorn's firm chest as sunlight poured in and he ran his fingers through my curls. Often, I woke with a racing heart, unsure of where I was, but cool silk sheets and his steady heartbeat calmed me.

"If you are feeling up to it we can leave at the end of this week," Aragorn said quietly one morning as I laid, still dozing beside him.

I nodded. "I am more than ready," I whispered. "I miss the boys so much."

Aragorn chuckled lowly, chest rumbling against my cheek. "I cannot tell you how much they have missed you, Mareke." His fingertips traced lazy circles on my back. "They will demand much of you upon your return so we must make absolutely certain you are up to it."

Propping my chin on his chest, I looked into his gray eyes. "I am up to the challenge," I said with a small smile.

Aragorn traced my lips and cheeks with his thumb. His gaze was tender and I thought it looked as though his eyes had misted over. "I know you are." His voice took on a strange tone, so soft I could barely hear it with a force of emotion behind it.

Abruptly, he scooted away from me and stood so I was staring at his back. The hand that wore the bracelet with our house sigils ran through his hair.

"I have a few matters to attend to before we are able to depart," he said, disappearing into the restroom and closing the door behind him.

Puzzled, I stood as well to dress for the day.

Aragorn brushed past me on his way out the door, pressing a brusque kiss to my cheek.

I stared after him for a moment before I too left our rooms.

Without my sons, the days seemed to stretch on endlessly and so I set out to spend it as I had in the days before, walking around the palace of my childhood, trying to pull good memories of the place.

As I turned a corner, ambling aimlessly through the palace, I nearly ran right into my mother.

"Just who I was looking for," she said. "Care to walk in the gardens?"

I nodded and we made our way into the sun soaked gardens. For a very long while, we were silent.

My parents had been nearby throughout my time of healing. Aragorn and I shared meals with them, but I had not been alone with either of them. I had had a feeling that they had both been avoiding the situation I found myself in with my mother.

Eventually, she sighed as she looped her arm through mine.

"Your father and I have been at a loss as to how to approach you, Mareke." She fell silent and then stopped us, turning me to face her. "What do we say to our daughter who was so hurt by our son?"

Tears welled in her eyes and she bowed her head. With a deep breath she drug her eyes to meet mine. "We have failed you over and over again."

I could only shake my head, feeling tears prick my own eyes. "This had nothing to do with you or father," I murmured. I knew I could not say anything about Na'man to her. As a mother myself I knew that no matter my sons did, though I could fathom no such terrible acts coming from them, that I would always love them and see the absolute best in them.

Without a word my mother pulled me into her warm embrace. Aragorn had held me for long hours during those weeks, but I realized I had been yearning for my mother. I pressed my face against the soft skin of her neck and shoulders, the sandalwood perfume I had known my whole life enveloping me.

My mother made no excuses for my brother, but she did not ask me to forgive him either. I knew that she went to his bedside, but I did not ask how his recovery went.

In those weeks, I did not allow myself to think of Na'man or what had happened. I only thought of returning to my sons.

After that first walk, my mother and I spent long hours together in the few days I had left in Harad. We talked of nothing substantial. She asked many questions about the boys and what they had been doing before I left Gondor. It made me miss them even more.

On the last day, I sought Aragorn out when my mother left me after another walk. He was not in our rooms and so I headed for my father's study.

I froze as I went to push the door open, hearing Aragorn's hard voice. I had not heard it often in our years of marriage.

"I want him dead, Hashad, the fact that he is your son is irrelevant to me," Aragorn said icily.

"I cannot do that, Aragorn. You must understand." My father sighed. "We did away with my advisor."

I cringed, thinking of the public stoning that I had refused to attend days earlier.

"And that is well and good, but that does not remedy what was done."

"Nothing will remedy what was done, Aragorn. Nothing can reverse what happened."

Aragorn continued on as if he had not heard my father. "If you do not punish him for harming a Princess of Harad and your daughter then I will take him into my custody for acting against the Queen of Gondor and Arnor." There was a pause. "My wife. The mother of my sons," he said, his voice going weak. "There was to be another child before she came here."

My heart surged and I desperately wanted to go to him and cradle him against my chest as I did with the boys when they were upset. It was the first I had heard him say regarding the child I no longer carried. He had been protecting me from my own emotions as well as his.

"Nothing I do now will bring that child back, Aragorn, though I desperately wish I could. I cannot imagine the heartache this has caused you both."

They were silent once more.

"You are the father to sons as well. And until you are faced with something like this, though I hope you never are, it is easy to imagine that you would treat them like anyone else, but that is impossible. Na'man shares my blood, Aragorn."

"I cannot let her come back here. I cannot let the boys visit you here while this threat still lingers." The hardness came back into Aragorn's voice

"I know that," my father replied. "Take Mareke back to her sons."

I was still hovering near the door when I heard a chair scrape backwards. I tried to hurry away, but I did not make it around the corner in time.

"That has been a bad habit of yours since I met you," came Aragorn's soft voice as his fingers intertwined with mine, pulling me so that I was no longer hurrying away, but looking up at him, cheeks flushed.

I did not know what to say him. He did not seem displeased or angry with me.

"I am not being unjust in what I ask of him," Aragorn said quietly.

"He is their son," I replied.

"And you are my wife. I do not care whose relative he is."

I reached up and stroked his stubbled cheek. He leaned his face into my hand. "Let us just go home," I whispered. "I want to see my sons."

Aragorn stared down at me, seemingly deciding if he would press the issue anymore. Finally, he spoke gently, "First thing in the morning." He bent and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. It was the first time he had done so since I had been found.

I had flashes of those other men and their mouths and pulled away quickly, looking away from my husband.

Aragorn gave my hand a gentle squeeze, but said nothing about my reaction. "Let us see how the packing goes."

ooooOoooo

In the morning, we saw my parents and they hugged me tightly, though Aragorn stood back and only grasped my father's arm briefly, nodding at my mother without a word before going to his horse.

When I turned to go to my own, I saw Baran standing in the corner of the stables. I had not seen him since I had returned to the city. I went to him and took his hands.

"You saved my life," I whispered so only he could hear. I was careful with what I said, bearing in mind our history. "I cannot thank you enough." I squeezed his hands, not giving him time to reply, and went to Aragorn, however Oyna was pulling a mounted mare from a stall with a pack on her shoulder.

Going to her, I immediately began to shake my head. After the incident, Oyna had gone home to her own people just outside of the city when she was deemed well enough to travel that small distance. I had not heard from her since.

"I have to go with you," she said, taking my hands. "I have been with you since we were children."

"You must stay here," I replied, trying to be firm.

"I belong wherever you are," she said adamantly.

Tears came to my eyes at thinking of what that mentality had cost her. "I am releasing you from my service." I willed my voice not to break.

"I have not asked to be released," she argued. Her eyes welled.

She had been my companion since we were children, she was a few years older than I. She was the closest thing to a sister I had. I did not want to part with her. She was the only person from home who had gone to Gondor with me. But I could not watch her suffer again. Despite the trauma having taken place in Harad, I knew she would be alright if she returned to her family.

"I will miss you," I said quietly. "But I cannot take you back with me. Find peace here." I hugged her tightly to me. "Thank you for everything. I can never tell you how much you have meant to me and what a comfort you have been through the years."

"Mareke please," she said and I felt her tears fall on my neck.

Finally, I pulled her away and held her at arm's length. Without another word I released her. I mounted my horse next to Aragorn.

"Go," I said firmly, so only he could hear.

ooooOoooo

It felt as though the ride back to Gondor took forever and it did. I did not realize how weakened I would feel during our travels. I had felt fine while in Harad after Aragorn arrived, but the long days in the sun took what little energy I realized I actually had.

After over two weeks we finally rode back into the White City and my heart was beating hard to see my sons.

We rode into the stables and I quickly slipped from my horse.

Aragorn snatched my hand as I began to hurry away. "Mareke, do you need to rest before you take them on?" he asked gently.

"Do not be ridiculous," I shook my head and went hurrying up the levels of the city.

Before I even got to the seventh level I heard Adnan.

"Mama! Mama!" He came tearing down the steps toward me and leapt into my arms. He had gotten much bigger and I had grown much weaker in our time apart.

Luckily, Aragorn had hurried behind me and I felt his hands on my waist and my back collided with his chest as I took one step backwards, but my husband braced all three of us. Adnan had wrapped his arms and legs around me tightly.

I did not care that we had almost tumbled down the steps. I breathed in his scent of little boy sweat, horse, and whatever berry dessert he had eaten for lunch. It took everything I had within me to not burst into tears, though some still fell onto his red tunic.

"I missed you so much," I breathed, clinging to him nearly as hard as he was clinging to me.

After a long few moments, Aragorn spoke gently, "Adnan, your mother is tired. We should find your brother and then go to our rooms," he suggested.

Adnan slipped from my grip, but Aragorn kept a soft hand on my lower back, gently guiding me up the last flight of stairs.

As we mounted them and arrived on our level, Legolas was standing there with Arathorn on his hip, Gimli next to him.

Aragorn had dispatched his friends to go to Gondor ahead of us. He feared that our children had been too long without anyone familiar besides Lady Belethiel and so they had gone.

Arathorn was straining in Legolas' arms for me and I took him gratefully onto my hip. With my free arm, I hugged Legolas tightly, shocking him with my physical affection. "Hannon le," I whispered, having picked up some of his language in the books he had me read.

I turned back to Arathorn and stared down into his face, brushing his plump cheeks with my fingers.

"This one was an utter terror without you," Aragorn whispered in my ear.

I gave a watery laugh. In my arms, he was angelic, smiling up at me, resting his head on my shoulder, twining his fingers in my black hair.

"Surely not."

Adnan latched onto my free hand and we all went to our chambers together.

As soon as we were in the privacy of our rooms, Adnan began chattering about all that I had missed, including his seventh birthday.

"I am so sorry I missed it," I said quietly. Aragorn laid a gentle hand on my shoulder and Duma pressed his weight against my legs, both comforting.

"It is alright," he replied with a shrug. "You had to make sure Jidd was better."

A lump caught in my throat as I was faced with the physicality of what I had very nearly lost. I clung to the weight of Arathorn in my arms and looked down at my ever exuberant eldest.

Emotions threatened to overwhelm me as the sun sank and we shared a brief dinner with our sons.

"Time for bed," Aragorn said, standing when everyone was through eating.

Adnan began to protest, as did Arathorn when he was lifted from my arms.

"Your mother and I have travelled a great distance and are quite tired. I promise we will spend so much time together in the coming days."

Adnan peered around Aragorn at me. I nodded reassuringly and with a sigh he went off to his bedroom.

The thought of never seeing my sons again paralyzed me in my seat. I could not move but to press a hand to my mouth as I gasped for air. I was grateful for my husband's quiet intuition and for taking the boys to bed because I could not have maintained control over myself for much longer.

If I had died in that shack, as was the intention, I would have missed every birthday of Adnan's from then on. I would have missed the first time Arathorn went to a lesson, sat a horse, wielded a toy blade and everything. I would have missed weddings, coronations, grandchildren.

I could barely breath thinking of the expanse of their lives that would stretch before them and all that I would not witness.

"Come," Aragorn said softly, extending his hand out to me. I had not heard him enter from the nursery so lost was I in my own thoughts.

I placed my dark hand in his calloused one, allowing him to pull me to my feet and lead us into our bedroom.

Before the door had even clicked behind us, I had wrapped my arms around his middle and buried my face in his chest. Body wracking sobs took over. I was gulping for air as hot tears soaked Aragorn's tunic.

He did not shush me or try to make me stop crying. Instead, he held me against his chest letting my fears and emotions take over.

After a long while of that, he gently pried me from him and guided me so I was sitting on the edge of our bed.

Aragorn knelt before me and reached up to brush my tears away with his thumbs.

"Talk to me, Mareke."

It was the first time he had urged me to speak since he had found me.

"The whole time I was trapped in the jungle I never thought of not seeing our sons again. I thought only of surviving in order to make sure I got back to them," I began. "But when I saw them today...I do not know. I began to think of all that I would have missed; what would have happened had I not returned. If you had not come and I would have died, Adnan would have been taken back to Harad and right to my brother."

Aragorn nodded slowly. "You need think of that no more, Mareke." He took a deep breath. "Because of your strength and bravery Adnan is safe here and he will remain so for a very long time." Once more emotion seemed to flow over Aragorn and he looked away from me. He took my hands and bowed his head over them. "And you will see everything our sons ever do. I promise you that."

Aragorn kissed both of my palms before standing and preparing for sleep. I laid down and pulled the blankets to my chin. It was summer in Minas Tirith, but I was freezing.

The next morning, I woke to the faint sound of Arathorn crying out for me from his crib. I was surprised to see that Aragorn was still lying next to me.

He gave me a drowsy smile. "You have no idea how happy he will be to see you this morning. I am not sure what he would do if I went to him one more morning."

I stood from our bed and pulled my silk robe around me, padding through our rooms to the nursery.

Arathorn was standing in his crib, gripping the wooden railing. He had been chanting "Mama" over and over again. He broke into a gummy grin when I pushed the door open.

I lifted him into my arms and inhaled the scent of his sleep that I loved so much. Tears pricked my eyes as gratitude flowed through me and I held Adnan tightly against me. He snuggled against me and I stroked his curly hair.

I heard Aragorn enter the room and he pulled me gently back against his chest. One of his hands stroked Arathorn's plump cheek and our son looked between his father and I before he smiled at Aragorn.

My husband gave a sigh of relief. "See? Everything just feels and works better when you are here."

I turned in his arms and wrapped an arm around his neck, allowing him to hold the three of us together.

"I would not be here without you," I murmured. I gathered my courage and pulled him down so I could press my lips to his chastely.

Just as I began to feel the panic creep up my spine, Arathorn began to fuss.

"Our son is hungry," Aragorn said quietly. I could see the concern in his gray eyes as he looked down at me.

We made our way into the dining room where breakfast was already laid out. Aragorn sat across from me and I settled Arathorn in my lap, spooning porridge into a bowl for him that I then spooned into his mouth. He ate happily.

Adnan joined us, dressed for his day of lessons.

"Mama!" he exclaimed, wrapping his little arms tightly around my neck and pressing a kiss to my cheek. "I am so glad you are home."

"As am I," I agreed. "Though I am sure Aragorn managed just fine while I was away."

Adnan shrugged. "He did his best," he said with his childlike honestly.

Aragorn chuckled. "That is very true, but clearly it was not sufficient."

"They both seem to be alright," I consoled him.

Arathorn finished his porridge and was content to recline against me, watching his brother inhale two plates of food.

"I have to go with Gimli now. Will you be here when I get back?" Adnan asked.

"Of course I will," I promised. My heart broke a little to think how my long absence had effected my eldest.

He smiled at me, pressed another kiss to my cheek and scurried out of the room.

"Are you not hungry, Mareke?" Aragorn asked, raising his eyebrows at the plate before me that I had not bothered to fill. I shook my head and he let the question lie, watching Arathorn gum some soft fruit.

"Are you not needed somewhere?" I asked.

"Not today," he replied.

Later, I learned that Faramir and Eowyn had come from Ithilien to handle matters in Aragorn's absence.

We were allowed to put off returning to our normal routines that first day back because of the Steward and his wife.

That afternoon they came into our sitting room while Aragorn and I watched Arathorn play with wooden figurines on the floor, Duma curled around him where he sat.

Aragorn and I stood to greet them, Faramir stepping in front of his wife. "We are glad you are back in Minas Tirith, Your Majesty," he said, taking my hand and kissing it softly.

"Oh Mareke," Eowyn murmured as she came around Faramir to wrap me in her arms.

As she did so, I saw the barely there swelling of her stomach and I could not hug her back.

My mouth went dry as I felt the small bump press against my own flat abdomen.

After a moment, Eowyn pulled away and I could not look at her or the life she carried.

Arathorn toddled over and tugged on my skirt so I knelt and pretended to busy myself with him while the others spoke briefly above me. They seemed to notice my barely disguised distress and shortly after they arrived, Eowyn and Faramir left.

Disentangling myself from my son, I stood, not able to look at Aragorn either.

"Mareke," he said my name gently, reaching out for me, but I shook my head and dodged his touch.

"I need to take a walk. I will be back shortly." I did not say another word as I swept into the gardens, trying to breathe the fresh air, but I was finding my chest restricted.

I made it to the fountain blindly and I stood there trying to hear the falling water over the blood rushing in my own ears.

My hands went to my stomach and pressed against it. Instead of the roundness that should have been there, my hip bones dug into my palms.

Realizing that I had been carrying Aragorn's second child and his happy reaction to the news had been incredible. The prospect of having a good healer and a safe delivery with him by my side had been something I had very much been looking forward to.

I took a deep, shuddering breath and ran my hands through my loose curls.

I had been out there much longer than I thought for when I returned, Aragorn was holding our son in his arms and he was fast asleep.

Bending over, I lifted Arathorn into my arms to take him to the nursery. I felt Aragorn looking at me searchingly.

"I do not want to talk about it."

ooooOoooo

A week passed and I barely left our rooms. I was not ready to return to my duties and Aragorn only tended to a few of his as he requested that Faramir and Eowyn remain in Minas Tirith for a while longer.

Eowyn did not come to visit me. I had written to her months earlier sharing our good news, but it was obvious that I had lost our child. Seeing my friend expecting a child had been unpleasantly surprising and selfishly devastating.

Those few days were spent mostly with Arathorn and Adnan and Aragorn when they were not at lessons or meetings.

One night after both boys had been put to bed, I sat at my vanity running my fingers through my hair and staring at myself in the burnished mirror.

Aragorn had gone to his study to look over a few urgent documents. He tried not to leave me alone with both boys and so he went when they were soundly asleep.

When he returned, it was late and I was sitting in bed, reading, or attempting to read, a tale by a famous Gondoran author.

I glanced up when Aragorn entered, puzzled to see him carrying a tray with a jug of wine with meat, bread, cheese, and fruit.

"You had dinner earlier," I said.

"But you did not," he said gently, perching himself on my side of the bed and setting the tray on my legs. "I have not seen you take more than a few bites of any meal since…," he trailed off.

I turned my gaze back to my book. "Everything tastes like gruel," I heard myself whisper.

Aragorn was silent, but he rested a hand on my knee and I could feel the heat through the blanket. "Just have a little bit of wine to start." He poured a goblet and handed it to me.

I put the goblet to my lips, drinking more deeply than I intended. I had avoided the stuff since my rescue, fearing that I might find too much comfort in its ability to numb the mind. Under Aragorn's supervision, though I allowed myself to indulge.

"You did not fight so hard to stay alive, to see your sons again just to waste away in front of them, Mareke." There was an underlying firmness to his voice and he tapped a finger on the tray.

I put a small piece of bread on my tongue, chewing slowly. Knowing it was the same food I had been eating for years in Gondor and not the slop I had been given in Harad did not stop me from gagging and wanting to spit it out.

Aragorn did not take his eyes off of me and so I swallowed and reached for an apple slice. "You will feel better after this," he promised gently.

I nodded, knowing he was right and continued to eat slowly and sip on the wine.

"I saw Eowyn today," my husband said after a few moments of watching me. "She very much wants to come to you, but she is afraid to upset you again."

He reached over the tray and brushed away a tear that I had not even felt falling.

"I know it is not fair, Mareke," he murmured, placing the half gone tray on the bedside table and moving so he could hold me in his arms. "I do not like to see it either," he admitted quietly. "It pains me to see her as well, especially when that joy should have been ours. We should have been welcoming a child in a matter of months."

"I am so sorry," I said, looking up at him.

"No, no. This is not your fault. None of this was your fault. Perhaps we both should have known better, but the loss of our child does not fall at your feet." He gazed down at me and put a hand to my cheek, stroking my face with his thumb.

"I wanted that baby so badly," I replied through my tears, resting my head on his shoulder. "We were so happy then and it was going to be so different than the first time."

"I know, Mareke. I know."

I barely felt the kiss he pressed to my temple as I was lost in my own thoughts. We had gone for over a month without saying anything about our loss and something ever so small lifted from my shoulders after even that short conversation.

"We will be happy again. I will do whatever you wish to ensure that you are happy again."

"Just hold me."

ooooOoooo

I gave myself three more days and then I sent for Eowyn. She and Elboron met Arathorn, Duma, and I in the gardens as I did not want to face her just sitting on a sofa.

"You look well, Mareke," she said softly as she came up next to me and joined us on our walk. I kept my gaze focused on Arathorn toddling in front of us, trying to catch Elboron.

"Your boys are happy you are home," she continued when I said nothing. "I can hardly get Adnan to focus on the riding lessons I am giving him."

I smiled at that.

"It is not good at all for my self-worth."

"I am sure he is thrilled to be having lessons from one of the Rohirrim."

"For a while. And then he wants to return to you."

Ahead of us, Arathorn caught his toe on a crack in the path and went crashing to his knees. Duma licked his plump cheek as the boy struggled back to his feet, bottom lip protruding and eyes welling. He hurried to me and crashed into my legs, whimpering to be picked up.

"You are alright," I said, putting both hands on his head. I knelt down and looked at his knees but they were only scratched.

When he determined he was fine he set back off down the path.

In true Eowyn fashion, she did away with the insignificant small talk when I straightened back up.

"This must be so hard on all of you," she said as we walked on. "And here I am making things even more difficult."

"Of course you are not," I said automatically. "If you were not here I would not have had so much time with my family duty free."

"Yes, but…" she trailed off.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her press her hands to her slightly swollen stomach and then just as quickly put them behind her back.

"Eowyn," I took a deep breath and turned to face her. "This is hard for me. Of course it is, but life cannot stop because I am struggling. And what kind of friend am I if I do not want to see you happy?"

Eowyn shook her head. "That is not who you are, but everything is different after all that you have been through. I think I would feel the same way if our roles were reversed. You deserve all the happiness in this world and I am sorry if seeing me causes any extra distress during this trying time."

"You and Faramir deserve another," I said, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. "Elboron deserves a sibling."

"As did your family, Mareke." Her brow furrowed in concern. "You cannot think that you did something to deserve what happened to you."

"I was so stupid. I cannot believe what I fell for and subsequently put my family through." I shook my head.

"No. You are loyal to your family both here and in Harad and someone played on that loyalty. It does not make you foolish. Do not think otherwise for a second."

I could not look at her, but felt the tears coming again. They were so frequent since my return.

"Do not ever feel bad for who you are, Mareke," she said firmly. "Your sons are lucky to have you, Aragorn is lucky to have you. You are a true friend and one of the purest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. You cannot dwell on this and put yourself down, Mareke. Your boys need you to be whole again. All three of them."

I gave her a weak smile and a nod before we continued on with our walk.

ooooOoooo

Another couple of weeks and things went somewhat back to normal. I was juggling my duties, visiting the orphanage every few days, and spending time with my sons and Aragorn. I felt a bit better, but it was still hard to eat and sleep. I found myself awake in the middle of the night checking on both of them to make sure they were still safe and sleeping.

"Do you think perhaps a change of scenery would do us all some good?" Aragorn asked one evening when Adnan and Arathorn had gone back to the nursery to play after dinner.

I raised an eyebrow. "A change of scenery?"

"It has been in progress for a while now and I had hoped to go there next summer, but perhaps we can spend the rest of this summer and early fall there. I have been working to restore Annuminas and turn it into a summer retreat for our family."

"In Arnor?" I asked.

He nodded. "It is nestled within the Hills of Evendim and next to Lake Nenuial. We could breathe different air. Go somewhere completely new for a few months." He was looking at me intently. "I have not been there since just after my coronation and men have been working to restore a dwelling place for us. We could go without the court for a while. Invite them later. Have some peace and quiet."

"I would like that," I agreed slowly.

"The boys would love it. We can take them onto the lake in a boat, walk through the hills, settle into a new city for a while. It has a slower pace there."

I nodded. Aragorn rose and came around the table to me. He pulled me to my feet. We had not touched much since our return. Everytime I felt as though he was holding me too tightly and if I closed my eyes to kiss him, I felt panicked and thought I was back in the shack with the brutish men of my brother's.

"I have missed you, Mareke," he murmured into my dark curls.

I knew it had been long since I had offered him any sort of intimacy. I allowed my husband to kiss me, his beard scratching against my cheeks and chin. His hands travelled down my sides and rested lightly on my hips, there was no threat there. However, the same panic rose up again and I had to pull away.
"I am so sorry, Aragorn, I just cannot."

I pulled out of his arms and headed for our bedroom, leaving my husband standing alone behind me.

There you have it! I'd love to know what you think and of course what you'd like to see happen while they are in Annuminas (or at any other point during the story). All of your reviews made me write so much faster last time and I am so grateful for each and every one of you. Please let me know what you think about this update!

Happy reading,

Avonmora