A Letter From Ada

This is a little story about how a letter sent from Elrond brings Arwen some comfort even though he cannot be there for the birth of Eldarion.

Disclaimer – Nothing that you recognise is owned by me; it all belongs to JRR Tolkien.

Chapter 1 – To Become a Father

The King of the reunited kingdoms had accomplished many great deeds so far in his lifetime. He was known to all as a brave, wise and just man, and a good king. But for now, as he paced outside his bedroom in the royal suite, Aragorn Elessar was simply an anxious husband, and a very, very nervous soon-to-be father.

“Sit down, mellon nin, before you wear a hole in the floor,” a voice said.

Aragorn turned and shot an irritated look at his long-time friend Legolas, who was trying to suppress a grin at the sight of the courageous warrior who had defeated the Dark Lord and did not fear even death, becoming so panic stricken and fearful at the prospect of his wife giving birth. From beside him, Gimli decided to try.

“Aragorn, laddie, your pacing is not going to help Arwen in any way,” he said. Almost as if on cue, they heard Arwen scream from inside the bedroom.

“Gimli!” Aragorn almost shouted, trying to take his frustration out on someone. “You don’t understand!” At the slightly hurt expression on Gimli’s face, he quietened a bit. “I am sorry, Gimli. It’s just that I cannot bear to see her in pain. I would do anything to take that pain away from her.”

“I know, laddie,” the dwarf replied. “I know.”

“Calm down, Estel,” Legolas put in. “It won’t be long now.”

“Legolas, you have been saying that for the past three hours!” Aragorn replied, exasperated. At this, Legolas, Gimli and Faramir exchanged slightly amused glances. The three of them, along with a pregnant Éowyn, were keeping Aragorn company while he waited for Arwen to give birth. Legolas and Gimli had come to Gondor to visit about six weeks ago. They had not planned to stay for long, but upon seeing Aragorn’s increasing panic at becoming a father, had decided to stay at least till the baby was born. Arwen had gone into labour shortly after midnight that day, and Aragorn had sent messengers to his friends’ quarters, who hurried along immediately. Éowyn was supposed to be resting, but had come along ‘to see what childbirth was like’. It had amused everyone greatly to hear that because she was the king’s niece, the only births she was allowed to witness were those of foals, in the stables of Rohan!

So after much pleading, Faramir had allowed her to come with him, but refused to let her actually enter the birthing chamber, even though, as a woman, she was allowed to. She was now sitting next to Faramir with her head on his lap, listening to the conversation. She listened as Legolas spoke. “Consider yourself fortunate, Estel, that your wife is an elf. Childbirth is not very long for them and they heal very quickly.”

Faramir now spoke up. “Indeed, Aragorn. It can take much longer for mortal women to give birth. But not that much longer, love,” he added hastily, seeing the expression on his wife’s face.

“And as for dwarves,” Gimli put in, “Don’t even ask! It’s one of the reasons why there are so few of us, you know.”

Aragorn could finally take their composure no longer. “You’re not helping, you know! None of you! As for you, Faramir, let us see how calm you stay when your wife is giving birth. And then, just you wait, I will-”

But just what he would do, none of them ever got to hear, for at that moment there was a very loud scream from the bedroom, louder than any yet, followed by what was unmistakably an infant’s wail. Aragorn just stood there, stunned and speechless, till the door opened and Ioreth, the healer, stepped out. “Congratulations, my lord,” she said. “Your wife has just given birth to a fine, healthy boy. Both mother and baby are doing well.”

It took a second for this to sink in. Finally Aragorn’s face split into an almost idiotic grin. He turned to look at his friends, who were already on their feet with smiles on their faces, and said, “Did you hear that? I’m a father!”

“We heard, Estel.” Legolas beamed. “And I’m sure you will be a fine father.”

“Aye, laddie,” Gimli chimed in. Faramir and Éowyn simply smiled at Aragorn, and then at each other, waiting for the day when they too would experience such happiness.

Aragorn turned back to Ioreth. “Can I go in and see them now?” he asked.

She laughed. “Nay, my lord, not quite yet,” she replied. “I can understand your impatience, but you will have to wait just a little bit longer, I’m afraid. We just have to clean the mother and baby up, and then you can see them.” Aragorn looked a little crestfallen at this, but agreed to wait. When Ioreth had gone back inside, he looked around to the others again and spoke.

“Soon,” he said. “Just a little bit longer and I’ll finally get to see my son! Can you believe it? My son!”

The others simply smiled at his enthusiasm, sharing his happiness.

– To be continued

Translations

Mellon nin – my friend