I don't have much to say about this one other than enjoy!

Chapter Forty-Four (Aragorn)

When we returned to Minas Tirith from Edoras, another tiring affair at the hands of Shuk, we took a few days to ourselves.

Mareke was more anxious than she had been when we arrived in Edoras. After discussions with Eomer and Lothiriel in Rohan, she would be attending her first council meeting to present what we had learned from both Rohan and Harad.

Two days after we arrived, I found my wife in her study before the sun was up. She was never awake before me and so I wondered what I had missed during the night and was afraid that one of the boys might be sick.

Herenya was in her robe and Duma was curled around her feet. She sat beneath the map of Harad I had given her for a birthday past when she was expecting Shuk.

"Mareke?" I said groggily, stepping into the room. "What are you doing? Is everything alright?"

"I am preparing," she replied, not glancing up at me.

She had written to her father while we had still been in Rohan and his response had arrived to Minas Tirith just as we did.

"You have a couple of days, yet," I said gently, taking a seat across the desk from her.

"I know, but I want to be absolutely positive that this all makes sense and that the numbers are correct."

"This is not all up to you," I said. "I did not implore you to join the council just to take the load from my shoulders." I reached out and stayed the hand that was furiously writing. I lifted it and kissed the palm.

"If I am going to do this, I want to be useful," she replied, finally meeting my eyes with her dark ones.

"You will be," I assured her. "Of course you will be."

Mareke looked back down at the parchment in front of her.

"Why do we not go for a walk in the garden?" I asked. "I have no duties today and we can come back to this later. We are about to be very busy. Let us take advantage of these couple of days."

Mareke looked doubtfully at her parchment.

"Do not make me order it," I said. It had become our joke since I had nearly had to force her to become a member of my council.

Mareke stood with a frown in my direction and I followed her back into our bedroom. She sent a servant to tell Lady Belethiel that we would not be around for breakfast and to entertain the boys for the morning. Adnan also had a few days before he went back to his tutors.

Mareke put on a light grey dress with a shawl. It was not quite autumn yet, but in the mornings and evenings it had started to get a little cooler. She reached for my arm and instead I took her hand and laced my fingers through hers.

Once more, I pressed a kiss to her hand. "Relax. Just for an hour or two."

She actually gave a light laugh and I had to chuckle too.

We walked around in silence for a little while. "Do you remember the first trip we took to Rohan?" I asked. "After Shuk was born?"

Mareke nodded. "I do."
"Do you remember our walk in the garden there?"

"There was not much walking if I recall correctly."

I pulled my wife close to me and kissed her neck. "No, thank goodness there was not."

"Aragorn," she laughed, trying to squirm away from me. "It is broad daylight."

"The sun was coming up then, too," I reminded her.

"I cannot do this right now. I probably will not be able to until after the council meeting."

"Mareke," I said, pulling her to sit on a bench as we passed. "Truly, you should not be so intimidated. You have more intelligence and common sense than that entire group combined. You have already gone before them once," I reminded her.

"That was years ago. Years," she sighed. "You went before your council for the first time after winning a war. What did you have to fear? I go before them after spending years tending to children. I currently spend my day with a toddler. Can you not concede that this may be a bit out of my element?"

"Shuk can be quite intimidating when he wants to be,' I said.

"That is not funny nor is it true."

"Not to you because he likes you."

"He loves me," she corrected.

"As do I," I replied. "More than anything. And I will be by your side for the whole experience. Not just by your side," I amended. "You are my wife and Queen and this is our Realm and we are a team."

Mareke leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on my cheek.

ooooOoooo

Mareke had requested that the council meeting be in the morning. She was not sure she could stomach waiting around for it all day. I handled breakfast with the boys before sending Adnan to his Haradrim tutors and Shuk with Lady Belethiel.

I found Mareke in her study once more, poring over the documents she had created. She was wearing a deep red dress in the formal Gondoran style and her heavy golden crown. She looked every bit the traditional Gondoran Queen.

"Are you ready?" I asked quietly.

She shook her head.

"We have put it off for long enough," I said, offering my arm as she gathered her papers.

Mareke straightened herself and took a deep breath before looping her arm through mine. Our walk to my council chambers was silent. Mareke's grip tightened on my arm as we got nearer and nearer.

When we entered, the council was already gathered and they stood as they always did in my presence.

Mareke and I had agreed to give them no forewarning of her joining the council. It would have served no purpose and I would have heard of it endlessly until her first meeting.

"My lords," I said when I was seated at the head of the table and Mareke had been cleared a spot on my right hand side. "I would like to introduce you to our newest council member, Her Majesty, Queen Mareke."

Most of the men gaped at me in silence. Beinion was smiling at my wife

"The Queen?" one older man finally spluttered. "But she is a woman."

I turned to Mareke and looked at her, pretending to be puzzled."I had no idea." I looked at the man and gave him a shrug. "She has presented a multitude of beneficial ideas during our marriage and I think it is time we included that in our council. Queen Lothiriel of Rohan sits on her husband's council and has since the day they were wed if not before."

"What else were they doing before their wedding?" A man scoffed. "The Rohirrim are not known for their etiquette and proceeding according to proper protocol."

Aragorn shook his head. "No they are not. And perhaps their speedy recovery and booming economy after the War can be attributed to that very fact. I would like to see our people and Realm thrive and so I think we can give it a try."

"Are you not pleased with what we have been providing you with, Your Majesty?" another gentleman asked.

"Not really, no," I said frankly."The Arnor situation has been a disaster and no one has provided any useful ideas or solutions."

"And the Queen has?"

I gave the man a steely glance. "Before we went to Rohan I told you all that we would be sending what Healers we could spare to care for those who were not prepared for the colder spring months in Arnor. I told you that we had found spare funds and spare seed to try for a harvest so that not everyone would have to return to Minas Tirith. Those were not my ideas. Those came from the Queen."

The men turned as one to look at my wife and she kept her chin up and looked over them all.

"Those ideas saved a great many people and allowed some to stay and begin to properly settle near Annuminas and in other parts of Arnor," Beinion said.

When I first met him, I was not sure if he would be staunchly traditional due to his lineage or a bit more modern due to his comparative youth. Had it not been for Vanya, I think he could have leaned more traditionally. However, I could see the respect for Mareke in his eyes and even if having a woman on the council made him uncomfortable he did not show it or fight me as the others were so clearly trying to do.

"While we were in Rohan, Her Majesty led discussions with Eomer-King and Queen Lothiriel on adjusting our trade agreements so that we might have more to send to Arnor." I looked to Mareke and she nodded.

"It was discussed with the Rohirric rulers that they would be open to receiving some of what we are receiving from Harad. We will be increasing what we send to them and also sending some of what we receive from Rohan to Harad. King Hashad has agreed to these terms and we will be able to send supplies and materials from both Realms to the market in Annuminas in order to assist them."

"This is benefitting your people then. Will this even do any good for Gondorans?" a man shot at Mareke. "Are you fighting for your people under this pretense?"

My fist clenched, but she stayed my tongue with a quick look.

"I should think it would benefit all involved; the Gondorans, the Haradrim, and the Rohirrim. Since I was married to His Majesty, the Gondorans have become the people I work for and live amongst."

"Why not set up a direct trade route between Harad and Rohan? Another man asked sharply.

"That is the end goal,' Mareke replied. "But right now we need to leverage those supplies against one another in order to ensure that those who wish to migrate to Arnor are well-equipped to do so. If everything goes through Gondor we can ensure that. When people are successfully settled in Arnor, His Majesty will transfer the excess we received into a direct trade route between Harad and Rohan. For now though, both Realms are happy to go through Gondor in order to benefit those who wish to settle in Arnor."

I studied the men and could see that they knew what Mareke said made sense, but they wanted to fight it.

"And if they change their mind?" a man asked.

"If they change their mind?" I snapped. "They are legally bound to uphold what they have signed their names too. There would be consequences that we have already discussed with both King Hashad and Eomer-King."

"When the Queen came here to fight for more money for the orphanage in the city you all wanted to fight her. And now it appears you wish to do the same thing, though once more she comes to us with a sound proposal to benefit a people she was not born to. At some point, you will all have to admit that it is not her ideas you do not like," Benion said sharply.

I could see Mareke trying to hide her smile. I was doing the same. Beinion rarely showed any passion as that was not done in polite society, but twice now he had spoken up for my wife.

The older men looked away from the three of us, faces flushed, grumbling to themselves.
"This is not a foolproof plan, my lords, I will admit, but I believe it is one worth attempting. The economies of Gondor and Arnor would be more prosperous if we could help the people who are settling in Arnor thrive. We would have more to trade and sell in markets all over Middle-Earth," Mareke said. "Surely you cannot argue with that."

"We could try it," one man finally said grudgingly.

I nodded. "Then it is settled. See that the proper information is passed along to the merchants and those who are responsible for transporting the goods into Arnor when they arrive in Minas Tirith."

"It will be done, Your Majesty."

"Very good." I stood, not wanting to discuss any more business. I knew that there was nothing so important as the Arnor situation and so I was able to end Mareke's first council session early.

"You will not get off so easy in the future," I said quietly as we left. "Those things often last all day."

Mareke nodded.

We stepped into our chambers and made our way to the dining room. We could smell the food and hear Adnan chattering.

As soon as Mareke entered the room, Shuk was reaching for her. "Mama, mama!" he demanded, huffing at being so restrained in Lady Belethiel's arms.

"He did not enjoy being away from you," I said quietly.

"Per the wishes of his father to join the royal council, he will have to get used to it," Mareke said as she lifted him into her arms and inhaled at the rolls of his neck.

"It must be difficult being the son of a King," I returned.

Mareke rolled her eyes as she sat at the table and took over feeding our youngest. Adnan turned his attention to me when I sat next to him and he explained that Legolas had increased the difficulty of both his archery and reading lessons. "The Elves expect so much," I said with a grin. Our oldest was in a good humor even though he had had a busy morning.

"If you would like to eat in peace, Your Majesties, I can see Adnan to his afternoon lesson and put Arathorn down for his nap."

I looked to Mareke, who nodded. "That would be most appreciated, Lady Belethiel, thank you."

When we were quite alone, I looked to Mareke once more. "There is something else I must ask of you," I said quietly. "Another duty to take on."

Mareke arched an eyebrow. "Not what I had hoped to hear after the morning we had."

"The morning we had was fine," I said with a smile. "You were incredible. No one can deny that."

"Even if they tried to deny it, Beinion would be fiercely at my side," she said with a light laugh.

"That he would," I agreed. "I hope he is as protective of his own wife."

"What else must I assist you with, Your Majesty?" Mareke asked me as she leaned back and folded her hands in her lap.

"I have been wanting to increase the frequency of which I hear the trials and tribulations of the people and even listen to some of the criminal cases that happen in the White City," I began. "I want us to be more accessible to the people."

"Us?" Mareke asked.

"Yes. You will be joining me in the presence chamber to hear these things and to help me deliberate and pass judgement on them."

"I take a few issues with that," she said quickly.

"Well, please lay them out."

"I am not so sure that that is the best way to be accessible to our people, Aragorn. You want them to see you passing judgement on their peers?"

"It will show that we are fair. Listening to their concerns and questions outside of the criminal aspect will show that we know what is happening in the Realms that we rule."

"And what if their peers do not agree with the sentence you hand down?"

"It would be impossible for everyone to agree with everything I ever do as King. Have we not learned that time and time again."

Mareke sighed. "I do not wish to be away from the boys, especially Arathorn as he is not yet in lessons, more than I have to be."

I reached out and took her hand. "I want our sons to know what it means to have a Queen rule alongside them. Both of them will rule a Realm. Should we not teach them what they should look for in a wife and Queen? Someone who can lighten their load, someone who takes an interest in their Realm and people, especially if those people are not theirs by birth."

"I am not sure I am the prime example of what a wife and Queen should be," Mareke said.

"If you are not, then I have no idea who would be." I pressed the back of her hand to my lips.

"This all seems like so much right at once, Aragorn," she said. "Are you sure this is wise?"

"I am positive. You have been here for nearly five years. This should have happened long ago. As soon as we were married."

Mareke sighed. "Very well."

"Good. We begin tomorrow."

Her eyes widened, but eventually she nodded her acquiescence

ooooOoooo

That first day in the audience chamber was busy and long. I had not expected so many people to come forward with their concerns and complaints

I glanced over at Mareke to see if she was still awake. We had been listening to two farmers argue back and forth for nearly an hour. One had brought the complaint forward that the other man had had a fence built on his property, in effect croaching on the other man's land and limiting the grazing space for his livestock.

Beinion had been charged with moving the cases along and asking for verdicts. "What say you, King Elessar?" he said, looking to me and trying to contain the boredom on his own face.

"We shall have our land assessor look into the property lines on this matter. If it comes to be that the fence is not where it should be it will have to be moved."

Beinion looked to Mareke who merely nodded next to me.

The farmers were led out, still bickering back and forth with one another.

"Is there anything else, my lord?" I asked Beinion.

His face clouded over as he looked at the parchment listing what would be brought before Mareke and I that day. "There is one more. A theft case."

"Bring them in."

Two guards entered the audience chamber with a little boy held between them. Several merchants followed them in. As the boy got closer, I could see that he was filthy, covered in grime and dirt. His clothes were tattered and his feet bare.

I did not have to even look at Mareke to know that her whole body had tensed when the child appeared in front of her.

"What are the charges?" I barely managed to get the words out.

"For the past six months or so, this lad, Duinhir, has been stealing from the merchants." Beinion gestured behind the boy at those who had come to malign him.

"There is proof?" I asked.

"He was caught yesterday," Beinion said. I could tell he was unable to look at the lad.

"And is there proof that it was him the whole time?"

"I seen him!" One man yelled.

"As did I!" joined in a woman. "He has been nicking fruit off me all summer!"

"If he was caught yesterday, that is all we will deal with here. I will not begin passing down judgements when cases are brought to me that are based on hearsay."

There was some grumbling from the collected group.

"How old are you, Duinhir?" I asked.

The boy could not meet my eyes. "Twelve, Your Majesty."

Next to me, Mareke covered her mouth with her hand. He was barely older than Adnan.

"And where are your parents? Do you have any siblings?"

"My father died in the War," he began. "This past winter my mother was taken ill and she passed. My oldest brother was lost in the War as well and the others disappeared afterwards. They were just gone one day when I woke up. I was alone in our house until they came and took it back." He glanced up. "Your Majesty," he added quickly.

I had not expected a case such as the one before me. I was supposed to pass judgement on a starving child who had no one in his life.

He sniffled and I could see tears making tracks in the dirt on his face.

Before I said anything, Mareke was off of her throne and heading towards the boy.

I reached forward to try and grab her arm, but my fist closed on the skirt of her dress instead. I knew what she would do and I did not want her going among the crowd. There were not enough guards.

My wife gave me a fierce look and jerked the fabric free, descending the steps from the thrones. I quickly motioned for the two guards who flanked the thrones to follow her down.

The audience chamber was open to the public and as she passed by, those gathered bowed and curtsied to her.

The boy tried to as well, but it was clumsy as the guards were still holding his arms.

"Unhand him," she said sharply to them.

"Your Majesty, he is a criminal," one had the audacity to reply.

"He is a child trying to survive." When they released the boy, he seemed to sag where he stood. Mareke actually took him in her arms. There was an audible gasp from those assembled.

"Your dress, Your Majesty," I heard him say weakly when Mareke embraced him.

"I care not," she murmured, actually using the sleeve of her gown to wipe his tears and some of the dirt away.

"I know just the place for you," she said gently.

"The dungeons?" he asked fearfully.

"Of course not." Mareke shook her head.

"You have reached a decision, Your Majesty?" Beinion asked, watching the child and the guards warily.

"I have. I will personally escort Duinhir to the orphanage this afternoon and see him settled. We will find him an apprenticeship in the city," Mareke said with conviction.

"He should be punished not coddled, King Elessar!" one of the merchants called out to me. "He is old enough to know better!"

"Have you no heart?" Mareke demanded of the man. "I have seen your ledgers and I know how much you sell and how much money you make. You could spare an apple or two."

She was angering the merchants and I was glad to see that the guards closed around her just slightly.

"King Elessar?" Beinion asked me.

"I agree with the Queen. The boy shall be taken to the orphanage."

There was more than grumbling as the group of merchants was ushered out.

"That is all for today, Your Majesties," Beinion said. I nodded, but did not move until the room was cleared.

"King Elessar," the boy said, bowing clumsily when I stood behind my wife. "Thank you, Sire."

I shook my head.

"I, of course, did not want to see you punished, but this is all the Queen's doing."

Duinhir smiled gratefully up at Mareke.

"Come," she said. "I will walk you to the orphanage myself and get you settled."

"I will join you." I motioned for the guards to flank us and we made our way down the few levels to the city.

The boy was trembling and as I walked behind the pair I saw Mareke slip her hand into his and give it a squeeze.

Melda greeted Mareke at the door of the orphanage and my wife quickly explained the situation. Melda nodded and ushered us all in.

With everything happening in our lives, I knew Mareke had not had time to visit the orphanage and help Melda as often as she would have liked, but we had had good news during that time.

The orphanage had celebrated its first adoption since before the War, which seemed a sign that things were getting better.

I had spent hardly any time there since the renovations and add-ons had been completed. It was a whole new building compared to what Mareke had taken me to those few years ago. She and Gimli had worked diligently.

The two women helped the boy find clothes and shoes that would fit him and then Melda sent him off to the washroom to have a proper bath. Before he rounded the corner, he stopped and turned back to Mareke. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will never forget your kindness all the days that I live."

"Think nothing of it, Duinhir," she said softly and I could tell that she was close to tears.

I allowed her and Melda to discuss the boy for a few moments longer.

"Come Mareke," I said when it was apparent that she was waiting for the boy to reappear. "You must let him settle."

She looked at me and nodded. With a deep breath, she took my offered arm and we made our way back to the palace.

"That was unwise of you," I said quietly as we climbed the steps.

"What was?" she asked quickly, sharply.

"Going into the crowd like that. We did not have near the guards to subdue so many people."

"You yourself declared the audience chamber a safe space. No one should have had any weapons."

I sighed, knowing that saying any more on the matter would be comparable to talking to the stone wall around the city.

That night, Mareke tended to the boys and when she came back to our rooms, I was sitting on the balcony.

"Is everything alright, my love?" she asked, sitting next to me on the stone bench.

"I cannot get that boy out of my head," I muttered. "I cannot stop thinking about how far removed I am from the lives of the common people."

Mareke's fingers were in my hair. It was always rather amusing to notice that she soothed the adults in her life just as she did the children.

"You are trying to resolve that by making yourself available," she said quietly, pressing a kiss to my cheek.

"Is it enough?"

"All we can do is try, Aragorn."

ooooOoooo

"Mareke?" I came into our chambers just in time for the evening meal. "Why was the boy from the orphanage following Damrod around today?"

My wife did not look up at me as she passed Adnan a bowl of vegetables, while at the same time making sure Shuk was not making too much of a mess of the slice of bread with butter on his plate. "That is his apprenticeship."

"Interesting.I did not realize that my attendant was taking on an apprentice."

"Now you do," she said, finally looking up. I could see the smirk in her eyes and I could only shake my head.

"If it works out, I thought it would be nice. Arathorn will need an attendant sooner rather than later and it would be a benefit for that person to have worked around a King before, but also know how our family works."

I sighed. Again, talking to the stone wall.

ooooOoooo

Mareke attended her second council meeting two days after her first appearance in the audience chamber.

"It seems you are creating a whole generation of admirers, Your Majesty," one of the men said as soon as we had all sat down. "That should be useful."

"Useful, my lord?" Mareke returned.

"A whole young army in that orphanage to adore and support you."

She arched an eyebrow. "You think what I did was to create an admirer?"

"Is that not why you have done everything with the children, Your Majesty? The adults did not agree with you marrying His Majesty and so you will try to make the children yours?"

Immediately, I knew that she was hurt The last thing she wanted was for her motives to be misconstrued even if she knew it was not a widely held opinion and only one voiced out of malice.

Beinion stood, but I was already on my feet. "How dare you speak to her like that?" I growled. "How dare you malign her good intentions?" I was shouting and my fist slammed on the table. Mareke flinched next to me.

"Most of you were there!" I continued. "You saw the poor child. She did not bring him into our quarters to live as our own next to the princes! She took him to the orphanage that you all have hated from the beginning for whatever imbicilic reason!"

"Your Majesty," Mareke said in her quiet, gentle voice. She could not use an endearing name in the council chambers, but she could make even my formal title sound soothing.

I took a breath. "What I convened this meeting for was to tell you all that Her Majesty, myself, and our sons will be travelling to Annuminas with the first goods from Harad and Rohan in a few weeks time to see how that goes and to see how the people fare. We will inform you of the progress when we return. You are dismissed."

They all stood and left the room. Mareke remained seated, saying nothing.

I sat down heavily and carded my fingers through my hair. "I am sorry I lost my temper in front of you," I said quietly.

Mareke shook her head.

"I cannot believe the audacity these men have. I have half a mind to clear the council entirely and start over with a younger group."

"There would be an uproar throughout the old guard," Mareke said.

"The old guard can rot," I said vehemently.

There you go! I hope you liked it. I know the pace of these last two chapters has been rather slow, but it will pick up soon, I promise! Please let me know what you think. I love your reviews and ideas!

Happy reading,

Avonmora