Disclaimer: I own Eli and the particular way the words in this story are put together. Everything else, I don't own. Though I would very much like to in the case of a certain Elf and King of Gondor...
Authors Note: Third times the charm, they say. Took me three tries to start this FanFiction in a way I liked. The first two times revolved around someone falling into Middle-Earth (yes, again) but then I came up with a better start. But anyways. Longer chapters will come later, I promise.
Also, my apologies on any elvish in this story. I'm horrible at languages - my mom has been trying to drive French into my brain for about 10 years and I still haven't gotten a hold on it. So I'm not about to learn Elvish. Thus, all the elvish is direct translation from the dictionary with no grammar even considered. If anyone out there reading this knows Quenya Elvish and would like to be my personal Elvish translator, leave me a review (at least partly) in Elvish with your email, and I'll be in contact! :)
------------------------------
-No Eyes Needed-
------------------------------
-Chapter I-
-To Recognize a King-
------------------------------
He stepped out of the shadowed doorway, but became no more visible to the passer-by. He was dressed from head to foot in black and dirty brown clothes, seeming to almost blend him into the shadows that were just starting to lengthen. To the common passer-by, he was unnoticeable, indiscrepant, someone one sees and then promptly forgets about.
And that is just what the busy people hurrying along the streets of Minas Tirith did. They saw him, of course, and a few wondered that a ranger had come into the City and was wandering the streets, instead of being up at the palace, but they soon forgot about him. In the shadows cast by the hood of his cloak, the man smiled.
It was good, for once, to be able to walk where one willed without constant attention, he mused as he walked calmly down the street. He stuck to the shadows, watching the street, letting himself fall into the familiar ever-watchfulness that had been constantly needed before the War, reveling in the feeling. Others would have been glad to escape the hunted life that he had lived before Sauron fell, and he had, for a short while.
But he found he missed that life. The constant danger was like a drug to his system, it made him feel alive. If he had been able to continue to live that life, while still being able to marry his love, he would have. But the Lord of Rivendell would allow his daughter to marry no less then a King, Aragorn thought wryly.
As a wry smile to match his thoughts grew on his lips, he turned a corner only to have something small hurtle into him. Startled, Aragorn instinctively settled into a defensive crouch, then almost laughed at himself as he saw what had run into him. It was a young girl, no more then five, with tussled blond hair and blue eyes that showed fear as she looked up at him, wide-eyed.
"Eli! Eli-" the other child's voice stopped working abruptly as he came around the corner of the house and saw the strange man standing in front of the girl. The boy eyed the stranger warily, ready to bolt or scream for help, but the man just smiled pleasantly, and would have moved on his way if it were not for the fact that the girl suddenly made him a deep curtsey. A curtsey so deep, it could only be for royalty. For the second time that day, Aragorn was startled, and it took him a moment to recover. When he did, he quickly motioned to the girl to straighten, but she seemed to have not seen. Glancing around, he scowled at the few passers-by that were starting to take notice of the scene.
"There is no need for that, child." Aragorn said gruffly, turning his attention back to the girl. To his relief, she stood straight again, but she still stood with a respect that suggested she was not in front of a normal ranger. Stopping a low growl in his throat as he saw the curious glances being shot his way, he crouched down to take a better look at the girl. She looked back at him shyly, but her eyes were unfocused, and seemed to only have settled on the general area of his face, instead of on any specific feature. He realized with a start that the girl was mostly, if not completely, blind.
"How did you recognize me?" Aragorn asked the girl curiously, and surprise flitted across the child's face before it returned to shy respectfulness as the she looked down.
"Jahon pointed you out to me when you came into the city last year, Majesty." she mumbled, and Aragorn frowned, partly at the title, and partly because she had not truly answered his question.
"And you recognized me even though I am dressed much differently?" he tried. Now it was the girl's turn to look at him curiously as she spoke.
"You look the same to me, Majesty." she replied. Puzzled, Aragorn opened his mouth to ask what she meant by that, but the young boy that had been following the girl had finally plucked up his courage, and he now came up beside the girl and tugged at her sleeve.
"Come on, Eli. You know Mum said you shouldn't talk to strangers." he said nervously, eyeing Aragorn with obvious fear.
"But he's not a stranger! He's-" the girl started in protest, but knowing what was coming next and that she was speaking loud enough for passers-by to hear, Aragorn interrupted her with a shush.
"Your mother is right, you shouldn't talk to strangers." he said, standing, and the girl looked at him in surprise. "Farewell." he said, nodding at the child, and strode off quickly, barely hearing the "Bye Mister Elessar!" that the girl shot after him as he slipped around the corner of a building and into shadow. Moving so quickly and silently that only Elvish senses would have been able to track him, Aragorn made him way back to the palace and slipped inside through the back door he'd found only a short time ago.
Dropping his caution as he entered his private chambers, he frowned again as he thought of the girl. There was something strange about her. She was mostly blind, of that he was sure, and yet she recognized him when everyone else had not. Lost in his thoughts, he had not noticed that Arwen was in the chambers until he felt a light touch on his arm.
"What troubles you, husband?" she asked in her musical voice, concern on her features.
"Nothing, mélamin." he replied with a reassuring smile. She gave him a look, making sure he knew full well she knew he was lying before leaning against him with a happy sigh.
"As you wish." was all she said, and Aragorn looked at her wryly. There were some disadvantages to having a half-Elven wife, he decided. Though he quickly forgot what those disadvantages were as Arwen began to loosen his belt with one hand while letting the other hand wander to...other parts.
---
"A girl, Your Majesty?" Grandor asked his king curiously.
"She should be in the fourth ring of the city. She is blond haired and blue eyed, mostly blind, and goes by Eli." Aragorn elaborated, and the other ranger's curiosity increased.
"What specifically did you want me to find out about her?" Grandor asked.
"Anything." Aragorn replied with a slight frown. "She was able to recognize me as her King yesterday when I went out when no one else could." Grandor looked slightly surprised for a moment, then quickly filed the information away as his expression returned to the neutral one most rangers had.
"I shall discover whatever there is to be discovered, Your Majesty." Grandor said after a moment, bowing.
"Good. Start at once." Aragorn replied, and with another bow, Grandor turned and left.
Authors Note: Third times the charm, they say. Took me three tries to start this FanFiction in a way I liked. The first two times revolved around someone falling into Middle-Earth (yes, again) but then I came up with a better start. But anyways. Longer chapters will come later, I promise.
Also, my apologies on any elvish in this story. I'm horrible at languages - my mom has been trying to drive French into my brain for about 10 years and I still haven't gotten a hold on it. So I'm not about to learn Elvish. Thus, all the elvish is direct translation from the dictionary with no grammar even considered. If anyone out there reading this knows Quenya Elvish and would like to be my personal Elvish translator, leave me a review (at least partly) in Elvish with your email, and I'll be in contact! :)
------------------------------
-No Eyes Needed-
------------------------------
-Chapter I-
-To Recognize a King-
------------------------------
He stepped out of the shadowed doorway, but became no more visible to the passer-by. He was dressed from head to foot in black and dirty brown clothes, seeming to almost blend him into the shadows that were just starting to lengthen. To the common passer-by, he was unnoticeable, indiscrepant, someone one sees and then promptly forgets about.
And that is just what the busy people hurrying along the streets of Minas Tirith did. They saw him, of course, and a few wondered that a ranger had come into the City and was wandering the streets, instead of being up at the palace, but they soon forgot about him. In the shadows cast by the hood of his cloak, the man smiled.
It was good, for once, to be able to walk where one willed without constant attention, he mused as he walked calmly down the street. He stuck to the shadows, watching the street, letting himself fall into the familiar ever-watchfulness that had been constantly needed before the War, reveling in the feeling. Others would have been glad to escape the hunted life that he had lived before Sauron fell, and he had, for a short while.
But he found he missed that life. The constant danger was like a drug to his system, it made him feel alive. If he had been able to continue to live that life, while still being able to marry his love, he would have. But the Lord of Rivendell would allow his daughter to marry no less then a King, Aragorn thought wryly.
As a wry smile to match his thoughts grew on his lips, he turned a corner only to have something small hurtle into him. Startled, Aragorn instinctively settled into a defensive crouch, then almost laughed at himself as he saw what had run into him. It was a young girl, no more then five, with tussled blond hair and blue eyes that showed fear as she looked up at him, wide-eyed.
"Eli! Eli-" the other child's voice stopped working abruptly as he came around the corner of the house and saw the strange man standing in front of the girl. The boy eyed the stranger warily, ready to bolt or scream for help, but the man just smiled pleasantly, and would have moved on his way if it were not for the fact that the girl suddenly made him a deep curtsey. A curtsey so deep, it could only be for royalty. For the second time that day, Aragorn was startled, and it took him a moment to recover. When he did, he quickly motioned to the girl to straighten, but she seemed to have not seen. Glancing around, he scowled at the few passers-by that were starting to take notice of the scene.
"There is no need for that, child." Aragorn said gruffly, turning his attention back to the girl. To his relief, she stood straight again, but she still stood with a respect that suggested she was not in front of a normal ranger. Stopping a low growl in his throat as he saw the curious glances being shot his way, he crouched down to take a better look at the girl. She looked back at him shyly, but her eyes were unfocused, and seemed to only have settled on the general area of his face, instead of on any specific feature. He realized with a start that the girl was mostly, if not completely, blind.
"How did you recognize me?" Aragorn asked the girl curiously, and surprise flitted across the child's face before it returned to shy respectfulness as the she looked down.
"Jahon pointed you out to me when you came into the city last year, Majesty." she mumbled, and Aragorn frowned, partly at the title, and partly because she had not truly answered his question.
"And you recognized me even though I am dressed much differently?" he tried. Now it was the girl's turn to look at him curiously as she spoke.
"You look the same to me, Majesty." she replied. Puzzled, Aragorn opened his mouth to ask what she meant by that, but the young boy that had been following the girl had finally plucked up his courage, and he now came up beside the girl and tugged at her sleeve.
"Come on, Eli. You know Mum said you shouldn't talk to strangers." he said nervously, eyeing Aragorn with obvious fear.
"But he's not a stranger! He's-" the girl started in protest, but knowing what was coming next and that she was speaking loud enough for passers-by to hear, Aragorn interrupted her with a shush.
"Your mother is right, you shouldn't talk to strangers." he said, standing, and the girl looked at him in surprise. "Farewell." he said, nodding at the child, and strode off quickly, barely hearing the "Bye Mister Elessar!" that the girl shot after him as he slipped around the corner of a building and into shadow. Moving so quickly and silently that only Elvish senses would have been able to track him, Aragorn made him way back to the palace and slipped inside through the back door he'd found only a short time ago.
Dropping his caution as he entered his private chambers, he frowned again as he thought of the girl. There was something strange about her. She was mostly blind, of that he was sure, and yet she recognized him when everyone else had not. Lost in his thoughts, he had not noticed that Arwen was in the chambers until he felt a light touch on his arm.
"What troubles you, husband?" she asked in her musical voice, concern on her features.
"Nothing, mélamin." he replied with a reassuring smile. She gave him a look, making sure he knew full well she knew he was lying before leaning against him with a happy sigh.
"As you wish." was all she said, and Aragorn looked at her wryly. There were some disadvantages to having a half-Elven wife, he decided. Though he quickly forgot what those disadvantages were as Arwen began to loosen his belt with one hand while letting the other hand wander to...other parts.
---
"A girl, Your Majesty?" Grandor asked his king curiously.
"She should be in the fourth ring of the city. She is blond haired and blue eyed, mostly blind, and goes by Eli." Aragorn elaborated, and the other ranger's curiosity increased.
"What specifically did you want me to find out about her?" Grandor asked.
"Anything." Aragorn replied with a slight frown. "She was able to recognize me as her King yesterday when I went out when no one else could." Grandor looked slightly surprised for a moment, then quickly filed the information away as his expression returned to the neutral one most rangers had.
"I shall discover whatever there is to be discovered, Your Majesty." Grandor said after a moment, bowing.
"Good. Start at once." Aragorn replied, and with another bow, Grandor turned and left.