Title: A King Among Men
Author: Jinni ( druscilla@cox.net <mailto:druscilla@cox.net> or
jinni@moonlitpaths.com)
Rating: PG13
Pairing: W/Aragorn
Genre: BtVS/LotR Crossover.
Disclaimer: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, et al. All things LotR
belong to JRR Tolkien, et al.
Distribution: WLF, WLS, NHA, BMP, Aislin.
Author’s Note: Pairing #131 at The Quickie Challenge:
http://quickie.moonlitpaths.com <http://quickie.moonlitpaths.com/>

~*~

There are those people in this world that you can tell, just by looking at
them, that they are not ‘normal’.

I don’t mean that they are supernatural, though there are those sorts as
well. No, these people that I speak of are just different. They set
themselves apart from others by their actions, their thoughts, and their
words.

He was one of those people.

She didn’t know who he was the first time she saw him, paying a visit to a
woman she had come slowly to consider her surrogate sister. They were in
love. It was a beautiful, beautiful thing. I was envious of them. Envious of
that feeling that they shared with one another. The way they could just look
into each others’ eyes and make the rest of the world disappear for just a
little while.

That was what I wanted.

‘Father’ introduced me to this dark haired stranger later that same night;
and I knew right away that he wasn’t all that ‘father’ made him out to be.
After all, father said that Strider was a ranger, nothing more.

But I felt something different in my soul.

He wasn’t just a ranger; for all that his clothes were often dirty and
tattered, his hair grimy and unbrushed. He was something more, of that much
I was absolutely sure.

I did not question ‘father’, who was really not my father at all but just an
Elf who chose to take in a refugee from another realm that fell, quite
literally, from the heavens to his feet. After five years I knew that it was
wrong to question him in these things. He was kind, yes, but completely and
utterly chauvinistic in his deeds and words. A woman did not question in
this world.

And so she did not question, merely accepted what he said, filing it away in
the little category of her brain labeled ‘not completely true’.

He and I spoke that night, as sister played the part of the gracious hostess
to the visiting lords and ladies of the forest realms. I wove for him the
tale of my home, the place I would never see again.

He spoke nothing of himself; nothing more than I already knew, anyway. No
clues about who he *really* was.

And then he left; leaving me with a warmth in my heart that I knew was
unbecoming. He was my ‘sister’s’ intended, and it was not my place to become
familiar with him.

Though I did. And he with me.

Far too familiar for who we were. Him, the beloved of my ‘sister’, and me
the one she confided in. Perhaps it was because we all knew that their love
was doomed, that we allowed ourselves to become close friends.

But, still, I did not learn of his true nature until that fateful day when
the Council was called to order; to determine the fate of the One Ring.

Oh that hateful little ring. Sending out men and hobbits, elves and dwarves,
on a mad scurry to the very fiery hells of Mordor, a land I personally hoped
to never see.

Yes, it was there, listening off to one side as ‘father’ delivered a speech
I know he spent the entire night before working on, that I learned who
Strider truly was.

"That is no mere ranger. . . he is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. . ."

Dear Goddess above.

I could’ve kissed Legolas at that moment, just for giving me that snatch of
information I had been seeking discreetly for more than a year. It wouldn’t
be the first time I’d kissed that cutie of an elf, for that matter – he was
a master of wooing the ladies; even human born lovelies from another realm
like myself. Stud master, indeed.

And don’t get me started on the whole endurance thing.

But that was beside the point!

I knew who he was now. Not just Strider, the ranger from the woods, beloved
of my ‘sister’ Arwen and one of my truest friends in this place. He was
Aragorn, Ilsildur’s heir. The one that would, hopefully, one day take the
throne of Gondor.

He was a king.

Well, king to be.

It all fell into place at that moment. The way he held his head high, the
intelligence that shown so brightly in his eyes. He was no mere ranger, as
Legolas had said; this was royalty.

The night before the Fellowship was to leave was the last time I had a
chance to speak with that king of a man for years.

"You will be safe, right?"

"As safe as is usual in undertakings such as this."

"Pft!" I snorted softly. "You do little to ease my worried heart."

"Worry not for me, Little Tree. Do you know what is to become of you when
the ships sail for Valinor? The time is coming nigh."

Ah.

My own personal heartache brought out into the open by this man that I had
come to care about as more than just a friend, despite my inner resolution
to do no such thing.

"I –" My breath caught and I turned my head so that he would not see the
tears in my eyes. "I will be staying, of course. There is no place there for
me. . . as much as ‘father’ would like there to be. Even he cannot undo the
workings of the world. . .He would move Hell and earth if it was possible. .
. but it is not."

He smiled then, that sad little smile that was all about inner pain. How he
knew so well the words I was speaking. Had Arwen told him yet of her
intentions to go with ‘father’? Yes, I could see it in his eyes. He carried
her pendant still, but no longer had claim to her mortality. He would always
love her, just as I would always love both her and ‘father’ for all they had
done for me.

But our time with our loved ones was drawing rapidly to a close.

It was a sad state of affairs for both of us.

"I will make sure that you are taken care of."

I shook my head firmly, feeling that I knew the reason for this sudden
offer.

"There is no reason to do say that. I will be alright on my own. . ."

But even as I said the words I did not really believe them. The world
outside of Rivendell was something far different from what I had known back
home. And I had little skill outside of the pathetically weak magics I had
brought with me. Scarcely enough to defend myself.

Still. . . I wouldn’t have Aragorn doting on me because I am the kid sister
of the woman he loves.

"There are plenty of reasons why I should make sure that you are taken care
of, Willow."

Ouch. My given name. He hardly ever used that. A quick glance into his eyes
confirmed what I already knew – he was being a Very Serious Man.

"And the fact that you are Arwen’s ‘little sister’ is only a small bit of it
all."

He smiled then, just faintly, and laid a gentle kiss on my forehead, walking
off before I could say anything else to argue.

Though I didn’t have it in me to argue with him by that point. If he wanted
to take care of me, then so be it. If he wanted to delude himself into
believing that it wasn’t because of the connection I had with his ladylove,
then I would allow it.

~*~

I knew when the final battle came.

Knew when the Ring was destroyed.

There was a party unlike any other in Rivendell that night. And the elves
gathered together to sing and dance. This was their farewell party, as much
as it was anything else. Their farewell to Middle Earth before they left for
the hallowed hills of Valinor.

"You are welcome to stay here, in Rivendell, for all of your days."

I looked up into the eyes of the Lord of this place. Lord Elrond. How he had
scared me when I first came here, before I came to call him ‘father’.

"Thank you."

"I wish –"

He stopped and I held up a hand, bidding him not to go on. We both knew that
he wished I could come along with him. I wanted nothing more than that, too.
But there just wasn’t a way. I could not live out my days in Valinor and
their time here was past. I would be loosing my ‘family’ for the second time
in my life. First those I had known back in Sunnydale, and now the only
circle of ‘family’ I had found in Middle Earth.

"Aragorn has sent word that he wishes for you to come to Gondor, however."

I cast a brief smile his way, thrilled at the news, yet saddened all at the
same time.

"He would take care of me for who I am. . . Arwen’s baby sister. . .I’d
rather stay here and be a burden to no one. The forests are still teeming
with food. . . I will be fine."

Elrond gave me a look that clearly said that he thought very little of
whether or not I would be ‘fine’, here alone in an empty city, fending for
myself.

"He cares for you. Just as he cared for my daughter. You were close friends.
. .rumor has it that he wished for more when the pain of their separation
passed."

"Ha!"

Okay, so that was meant to be a jesting laugh, not something so bitter as
how I ended up making it sound.

He just raises an eyebrow at me.

"I will miss you child, do an old elf a favor and go to stay in Gondor. I
would feel that much the better to know that you are safe within a city."

"He’s king now." I whisper softly, my eyes on the ground. "No longer just
the ranger I once thought him to be. . . not even the future king of Gondor.
. . I mean, he’s actually king now. He has better things to do than look
after a twenty-five year old woman, my would-be father."

"He does not think of you as a burden or a chore or else he would not send
for you."

He grabs my hand and I sigh, meeting those steely gray eyes.

"Please?"

And so my will comes undone. My eyes prick with the sting of tears. I’ll
miss this man when he’s gone. Just as I miss my friends back home. He and
his daughter were all I had in this world. . . and now they, too, shall be
gone. He wants me to believe in Aragorn, to believe that he cares for me. . .

Well, perhaps he does, as a little sister.

There are worse thing, I suppose.

"Yes, father. I’ll go to Gondor."

~*~

The White City.

Beautiful.

Breathtaking, even.

I had heard stories, of course.

But stories paled in comparison to the actuality of the place.

The architecture of the elves was beautiful, too; but this was different in
its beauty and striking in its contrast. I was taken with it from the moment
my horse set foot in the gates, my Elven escort flanking me on either side.

We traveled through the crowded early morning streets, careful to avoid
trampling those that were on foot. They looked up at us with only minor
glances. Elves were not commonplace, but they weren’t a rarity, either. And
I was just another human woman on horseback; though I dressed in the style
of the elves. Another horse followed behind, laden with a good majority of
my belongings. More would be coming before Elrond made his final leave of
Rivendell.

I had stopped an hour outside of the city, claiming the need for a break;
though really I had just wanted time to freshen up before seeing him again.
Long since had I lost hope in ever finding love with Aragorn – he had given
all that he had to Arwen; but that did not mean that I wanted to arrive at
his castle dressed as though I had been on horseback for weeks.

So I sat here now, winding through the streets closer and closer to him;
dressed in an Elven gown that had been designed by my ‘sister’ herself. One
of many that had been made before I left, so that I would have something
fine to wear while spending my days traipsing through the castle.

The castle itself was protected by an inner gate, and we were stopped by the
guards.

"The Lady Willow is expected by your King."

I nearly laughed aloud.

Lady Willow.

Apparently my name was on ‘the list’ or something, though, because that was
all it took to admit us into the inner gates. Here I dismounted, staring up
at the white stone castle, mouth open.

This was to be my home?

"You’ll catch a mouthful of bugs if you do that."

"Shush, Domir." I muttered to the elf next to me, giving him a mock glare.
"Rivendell is the only place I’ve ever seen, let me have just a minute of
awe-struck gazing, hmm?"

He smirked but wisely held his tongue.

I let my gaze travel over the tight lines and curves of the building, a
mixture of both Elvish and Dwarven styles. The stonework was white, almost
bleached in appearance, though I knew it had not been treated in that
manner. Bleach did not exist here. Not in this realm of existence.

"You approve, my lady?"

My entire body tenses at the sound of his voice, right behind me. I look to
the side and see Domir chuckling softly. Stupid elf, letting a king sneak up
on me like that.

"Your highness." I murmur, turning and curtseying, eyes to the ground.

"So formal." His voice was chiding, a finger beneath my chin lifting my eyes
back up to his face. "There is no need of that between us . . ."

"Isn’t there? You’re all kingly now, you know. And here I am, still just
Willow."

"You were never ‘just Willow’." He laughed.

Laughter?

It looked good on him, that smiling laughter that I had never before really
gotten an opportunity to see. He had been so sad over Arwen when I last saw
him. So sad and lonely. He looked none of that now.

"Who is she?" The words leave my mouth before I can stop them, an
accusation. Has he already moved on from my ‘sister’ completely, as my
‘father’ hinted before I left? And not even to me, the one who loved him
just as much as she had?

"She?"

"Yeah, the one that’s making you so happy. You needed a good woman. . . and
it seems like you’ve found one. I’ve never seen you so happy."

He smiled, bending his head in acknowledgement.

"Would you believe that I only just found this happiness?"

That brought me up short.

"Really? She’s new?"

Well, at least that would be a little better. He had only *just* found this
woman, whoever she was.

"Mmm." He nodded, taking a step closer to me. I could smell some sort of
spicy scent. Did men in this realm where cologne? Nope. That was just the
yummy smell that was one hundred percent Aragorn. He gave me another smile
and backed up a step, gesturing towards the huge double doors that led into
my new home. "Would you like a tour? Your things will be brought to your
room."

I nodded, unable to speak, pondering more on this mystery woman who had only
recently captured my Aragorn’s heart. It was good to see him happy, and I
couldn’t begrudge that he had found someone who made him that way.

"So . . . tell me about her, this woman that makes you happy? How long have
you known her?"

There was that little smile again. The secret one. The one that had first
made my heart go flip-flop so long ago.

"Well. . . I have known her for years, to be honest." A guard opened the
door as we approached and I was allowed my first glimpse into the castle.
"But she only just walked back into my life a few minutes ago."

"Oh, really?" It was noncommittal, of course. Couldn’t have him thinking I
actually cared about this mystery woman that had just come back. .. into. .
.his . . .life?

She. . .

Goddess. . .

I stole a glimpse at the man walking next to me, blushing when his smirking
eyes met my own. And from that look I knew one thing very well.

Gondor would definitely be my home for a very, very long time.

Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, though that look in his eyes says
something else, but every Kingdom deserved a Queen.

Queen Willow.

Yeah, that has a nice ring to it.

~*~The End~*~