When a Prince Loves a King

5 years Later

 Aragorn:

I wake up as the sun peeks its way through the blinds. Arwen is still asleep next to me and I quietly get out of bed so as not to wake her. These mornings are some of the only times that I ever have to myself. I walk over to the balcony and look out at the fields in front of Gondor. But this time something is different. I squint for a while before I finally make out a large brown figure moving. It is too large to be a human and it looks like an animal. I freeze as a brassy horn rings through the air.

I run inside and wake up Arwen before running and putting on my most kingly outfit. I run as quickly down the levels of Gondor (which takes a long time because I don't have my horse) and collide with one of my guards. He starts to speak but I cut him off,

"Just open the gates I'll deal with it," he looks at me surprised and goes to open the gates where I come face to face with Lord Thranduil.

I bow low before rising to look at him and stumble back a few steps. His face is a mixture of disgust and hatred. I met him shortly after the coronation and he seemed relatively friendly then. There are two other elven guards by his sides on white horses but Legolas is not with them. Arwen comes up next to me and grabs my arm. Our daughter is right next to her (yes I know they have a son in the book but I like her better so...) and I see her staring wide-eyed at the large elk in front of us.

"My Lord Thranduil-" he cuts me off,

"Just tell me what you have done to my son and I will leave," He looks down at me and my face pales.

"I have done nothing-"

"You obviously have. He is as well as dead in the state he is in. He won't last long. He is fading," his glare feels like lasers and he says "Someone here has broken his heart."

Arwen's hand clenched tight on my elbow but I yanked my arm from hers and turned to face her. "Stop!" She looks at me startled. I look to the guard, "Fetch my horse and my daughters" The guard looks at me startled but runs to the stables. I know that tears are running down my cheeks. How could I have done this? Why did I send him away? Was hiding our love that important? Through the chaos, I can see Arwen's face, she looks... mad?

She stomps over to me and yells, "So you do love him!?" I look at her and mount Brego

"Yes," I say firmly. "You had me banish him on purpose, you wanted him to fade so I didn't have a choice but to love you. Just go home to Rivendell, sail to Valinor, leave Gondor." I motion for Aredhel to come and she rides up beside me on her speckled gray horse. I can't bear the look of sadness on my daughter's face but this needs to be done. "Goodbye, Arwen" and with that, I ride away.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It takes almost 5 days for us to reach Mirkwood, riding as fast as we can and still letting the horses rest. As soon as I can see the large, blue, stone doors, I dismount and run-up to them. Aredhel dismounts next to me and clutches my hand. She looks up at me and smiles before letting go and running back to her horse. She has done remarkably well for only being 4 years old. I walked up towards the large stone doors and they opened wide. I take a deep breath and step into the mountain, not knowing what will await me.