Hello everyone! Here I am, once again, with another chapter! Much later than promised, but it's here nevertheless. So here you go…

Disclaimer – Anything you recognise belongs to Professor Tolkien, and not to me.

Chapter 3 - No Bath

Why now? Why me?

Aragorn simply stared at the two children for a while, covered so completely in mud. He was, he had to admit, perplexed. It wasn't raining outside, was it? Not the last time he had checked. A quick glance outside told him that it hadn't suddenly started in the few moments since he entered the room. And it hadn't rained in the past few days, so there couldn't be any puddles. But then how…? For there wasn't even a single inch on either Eldarion or Elboron's body that wasn't caked in mud. And dripping. The maids wouldn't be too happy then… But that would come later.

Firstly, what to do about the children? Éowyn of course loved her children very much, but even she wouldn't be happy to see her son looking like a little orc. And she would be angry with him. And when the shield maiden was angry with someone, people knew about it, he thought dryly. Best to avoid such an incident while the delegations from Harad were present in the city. King of Gondor Aragorn may be, but even he couldn't face the wrath of the White Lady…

He tried to clear such thoughts and brought himself back to the present. Two muddy toddlers. Just what he needed when he had been planning to spend some time with his wife. He exchanged a glance with Arwen, who had a wry smile on her face. Aragorn sighed heavily. Arwen caught this and winked at him. Suddenly there was a mischievous look on her face. He did not have to hear her speak to know what that look meant – Later. And later it would have to be.

But for now, they had to deal with the situation in hand. "Right," he spoke up. "Let's get the two of you into a bath."

Both boys immediately started protesting. "I don't want a bath, Ada!" shouted Eldarion. "Baths are nasty. And I had one in the morning."

Elboron chipped in, nodding earnestly. "Baths are horrid and they get you all wet!"

Eldarion clearly agreed with him. "And they make you smell all nasty. And icky!"

"And GIRLY!" Elboron shouted. Both boys looked at each other and shuddered. To smell of scented soap once a day was enough for them.

Aragorn had to work hard to keep the smile off his face. He looked around him to find that Arwen was no longer there. She had returned to the nursery, where Elenna could be heard stirring uneasily, obviously disturbed by all the racket the boys were making. He heard Arwen singing an Elvish lullaby to her softly. Elenna calmed down. And, to his surprise, so did the boys. When he turned back around to them they were both listening silently, and intently. When the song was over, Eldarion opened his mouth to speak, but was nudged by Elboron, who brought his finger to his lips and shushed rather dramatically. "Shhhhhhh. You will wake her up," he whispered loudly.

This seemed to annoy Eldarion. "I know that, Bor!" Seeing Elboron's hurt expression, he immediately reached out to him and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, Bor," he said softly. And he was. Somewhere inside him he understood his friend's concern. After all, Bor had been a big brother for much longer than him. And it comforted him to know that Bor would look after his sister if he wasn't there. And he would look after Eirien if Bor wasn't there. Always.

Eldarion hadn't been a big brother for very long. But after five months with Elenna he was getting more and more used to it. At first he had been very distressed to learn that his Ada and Nana would be someone else's Ada and Nana too. And then his naneth had taken his hand and placed it on her belly, and he felt something move, and he had been amazed to learn that that was his little brother or sister. And then him and Bor had a talk (even though both had a rather limited vocabulary at the time) and him and Ada had a talk. Ada said that they would always love him, and just because they had someone else to love didn't mean that they wouldn't love him just as much as they did now. That had made him feel better. And now he couldn't imagine life without his sister. Just as he couldn't imagine life without Bor. That thought made him reach out and hug Elboron again. And as they hugged each other, he knew that Bor felt the same, and that they would be best friends forever.

Due to the expressions on their faces, Aragorn could almost see their thoughts going through their heads. Even at this age, they were so loyal to each other. He knew that the two boys would always be there for each other in times to come. No one could ever have imagined how inseparable they would become…

Nevertheless, that still did not solve his current predicament. The glaring absence of the warmth of his wife by his side reminded Aragorn of what had been interrupted. He decided he was going to get both boys clean, and quickly, whether they wanted him to or not.

"Eldarion? Elboron?" At the sound of their names, both boys turned to look at him, and immediately crossed their arms and pouted.

"No bath," said Eldarion.

"No bath," agreed Elboron.

The king of Gondor sighed, yet again, in an extremely un-kingly manner. It was going to be this way, then, was it? In that, case, he would simply have to try a different approach. Aragorn paused for a moment and thought. Hard. Until a flash of inspiration came to him. Why hadn't he though of it before? It was so simple. He would use the same ploy to get the toddlers into a bath that Lord Elrond used to use with him.

And so Aragorn made up his mind. He had a Plan, and he would use it. Not a plan, but a Plan. There was no way it could fail. Of course, the thought that Eldarion and Elboron were related, by blood, to the Troublesome Twins and Equally Troublesome King of Rohan respectively, never once crossed his mind right then. Or that Elrond had always had assistance from Glorfindel and, even though admittedly reluctantly, Erestor. Or that it had always been only one of him, but here there were two of them. Together. At the same time.

No, Aragorn Elessar, King of the Reunited Kingdoms, never paused to consider. All of these thoughts never entered his head; so eager was he to solve the problem. He decided to put his Plan into action.

"Boys," he announced, a grin back on his face. "How would you like to play a game?"

Both boys immediately brightened up, all thoughts of a bath forgotten for the time being. "Game?" Eldarion questioned.

"Yes. A game."

Translations

Meleth – Love
Ada – Dad/daddy (shortened form of Adar)
Naneth/Nana – Mother, mummy

Right then. First things first. SORRY! I am really really sorry for such a long delay in the posting of this chapter. Honestly, I am. But I had coursework and spent the holidays revising for exams and then when we got back to school I had the exams themselves. They were over a few days ago, but I've spent the past week worrying about the results. A very stressful time, as you can see. Yes, there is no excuse for such a long delay, but… Sorry? And I offer you chocolate elves as an apology, and a request for forgiveness. I hope you will find it in your big, big hearts to forgive me. Please? Puppy dog eyes

Now. Moving on, what did you think of this chapter? Did you like it? Did you hate it? What bits were poorly done? Do let me know. If it felt a bit patchy, then I apologise. Because I've worked on it in bits and pieces over such a long period of time, so I don't think it flows very well. As for the interaction between the two toddlers, I'm still not happy with it. I was in half a mind to just get rid of the entire chunk, but I thought I'd see what you thought of it first. It's a long time since my little brother was three, and I can't actually remember what he was like then (I was very little at the time, you see). And I don't know any 3-year-olds. So I wasn't sure if they would interact like that. Or if they would have such thoughts. Yes, Eldarion and Elboron are both intelligent kids, but still… Let me know what you think.

Can I say a very big thank you to all those who reviewed this story. I really appreciate all the feedback. I have never received so many reviews before. And thanks must also go to those who took the time to read the other little stories I put up, including 'They Watched', 'Wait for Me', and the other altogether-quite-depressing fics. Extra elfsies for you. Here you go! throws chocolate elves

I'm really sorry (yet again) that I don't have time for individual replies. Back to coursework for me. And it would become too long if I tried to fit in each reply. I will try to include them in the next chapter. Just a teensy request – if you want me to reply, then could you please include an email address in your review? It's just that when I have a lot to say I tend to give rather long replies… I don't think they like that here on If that is inconvenient, then I promise I will include a reply in the next chapter. See? This author's note has already gotten too long.

So I will end it here. Hope you liked the chapter. I will try to get the next one to you as soon as possible. I will leave you now with a poem by Langston Hughes. I think it's lovely. I find it sort of uplifting. So keep dreaming! Until the next post.

Bye!

- Narwen

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Langston Hughes