Toddlers and Tranquility

Hello again! This is a short, sweet fic about the royal family of Gondor. It should be about two or three chapters. Hope you like it. Do review and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer – Anything you recognise belongs to Professor Tolkien.

Aragorn Elessar sighed heavily as he walked towards his chambers. It was nearly sundown, and he had been stuck in council since morning, only coming out for a few minutes at noon, to have a hurried meal. He had not spent any time with his family at all that day. At times like this he wished that he were simply an ordinary man, not the king of Gondor. What he would not give to be able to go back to his old ranger ways – no having to wear stuffy formal clothes, no attending long, boring councils consisting mostly of old men who were too full of themselves...

Aragorn was interrupted from his thoughts by the arrival of the doors to the royal wing. The guards at the doors greeted the king as he stepped inside. Aragorn nodded at them. Once inside, he smiled to himself. Honestly! As if they really needed two guards outside the doors day and night. The royal wing was one of the oldest and most secure parts of the palace.

The royal wing. The main doors led into a large, long corridor, out of which several doors led into different rooms on either side. On the right side, there were fewer rooms, and a couple of large, ornate windows could be found, from which one could see the gardens and the courtyard. At the end of the corridor were the king and queen's chambers, consisting of their bedroom, sitting rooms, study and the nursery. Traditionally, there would have been guards outside the doors to these chambers as well, but Aragorn had been adamant that they were given some privacy.

The entire wing had been cleaned from top to bottom and a few small changes made, when the king was crowned. Till then it had lay unused for many generations, because the stewards had their own rooms. But now, it was full of life again. Aragorn looked forward to coming back here at the end of the day. It seemed to be completely detached and separate from the rest of the palace. It was where his official duties could not reach him. And it was so peaceful. Well. As peaceful as it could be with a three-year old running around. The thought of his son brought a smile to his face once more.

Aragorn started to make his way down to his chambers, but paused to look outside from a large window. He could see Arwen's garden from the window. It was almost winter now, and the leaves had fallen from most of the trees. But some small plants still flowered on defiantly, scattering the garden with splashes of colour. Arwen's garden... She had started work on it soon after their wedding, to keep herself occupied when he was required to be away from the citadel overseeing the repairs and construction taking place in the city. It flourished very quickly under the care of an elf. Five years later, it was still beautiful, and growing more so every year as the plants grew and established their identities. Five years... They had been married more than five years now, and those five years had been the happiest of his life. Arwen had given him everything he could every want. And most importantly, the two of them had been together after such a long wait.

The sound of laughter somewhere nearby brought him back to the present. He only wished to go inside to the warmth, to his wife, his family, as soon as possible. The days were getting steadily colder. Winter would be here soon. Aragorn had never been that fond of winter. At Imladris, he had always preferred spring. But since becoming king, he found himself looking forward to the colder months. For the colder months brought his steward to Minas Tirith. Faramir and his family always spent late autumn, winter and early spring in Minas Tirith, which meant that Aragorn was relieved of some of his duties, and had more time to spend with his family. Indeed, he would have been stuck in council for many more long hours today if it had not been for Faramir. Aragorn was very grateful to Faramir for allowing him some freedom from his duties.

Walking quickly, Aragorn soon reached his chambers. The scene that greeted him inside more than made up for his day. Arwen was sitting by the fire with their five-month-old daughter, sleeping like an angel in her arms. And Arwen looked simply breathtaking. As always. She looked up at Aragorn when he came in and smiled. Finally, a chance for some peace and tranquillity. He was home. But the former ranger inside him became wary at the sudden decrease in volume. Surely he had heard laughter a few moments ago. Yet now it was too quiet. Where were the toddlers?

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Imladris – Elvish name for Rivendell

What did you think? Do review and let me know. Thanks for reading!

Coming up (soon) – Fluff, including a cuddly and adorable three-year-old Eldarion (and an equally cuddly and cute toddler heir to stewardship of Gondor).

A special note to Malara, for being such a dedicated and enthusiastic reviewer. – Thank you! Your reviews really mean loads to me, what with me still being a new writer and everything. I need all the support (and reviews) I can get (really, I promise!) And don't worry, I haven't abandoned UWMA. I'm currently working on Ch 5, but I haven't posted the next couple of chapters because I'm not happy with a few things so I need to change some stuff. Also, homework gets in the way. But hang in there. I will post them soon.

P.S. Malara, I'm glad you liked the title of UWMA. I was rather stuck for a title for this story. I hope you like it. If not, tell me if you've thought of a better title. I'm honestly not very sure about this one.

- Narwen Almiriel