Melting a Heart of Ice

Til'Arin war chants filled the air as Triina attempted to evade those who hunted her. Her boots made little sound on the stone floors of Minas Tirith as she ran on her toes to avoid heavy footfalls. Her royal Til'Arin clothing was replaced with the same garb and armaments that any of her men and women wore. Her hair was tied up in a braided bun that hid easily under the dark cloak she wore to cover her features and allow her, hopefully, to move unnoticed.

She ran quickly, sliding to a stop before slipping behind a statue and mimicking the stance of a former king to disguise herself in the shadows in hopes of going unnoticed. She winced when the footfalls she hoped to avoid stopped directly in front of her. The only thing keeping them apart was the graven image of a Gondorian king. She could see the telltale golden locks barely visible over the shoulder of the statue and had to close her eyes to surpress a giggle when she heard the lilting voice that belonged to the greatest love she had ever known.

"She is not in her bed, I have searched these halls and cannot find a trace of her! I fear for her,"

"We have a great many other things to concern ourselves with, My Friend. Triina is a capable woman and can care for herself. We've both seen it on this quest."

Aragorn's calm reply was accompanied by rapid footsteps running to join them. The running, from what Triina could see, slid to a stop between Legolas and Aragorn. Whoever the feet belonged to was small enough that she couldn't see them through the statue, but she could tell where they were by how Legolas' body moved to accommodate the small addition to their conversation.

"And where are you off to in such a hurry?" Aragorn joked, clearly speaking to a child.
"Right here, My Lord." Aedán answered and stepped around the statue to grab Triina by the arm and attempt to restrain her.

"Oh, a mighty warrior now, are you?" she laughed while easily escaping his grasp and wrapping her arms around him, tickling his sides until he collapsed into her arms in a fit of laughter.

Her laughter mixed with his and echoed through the halls around them until Aedán wriggled out of her hold and retaliated against her.

"Is it wise to be playing games in a time such as this?" Legolas scorned in elvish, interrupting their mock grappling match.

"He's a child, Legolas, he deserves some joy amidst all this destruction."

"And what good is this doing him, playing games through the hall when he should be preparing for the coming battle?"

"Legolas," Aragorn warned sternly in an attempt to prevent high tensions from causing an argument, but the lovers' quarrel before him was impervious to his intervention.

"What good is it doing him? Did you not see his smile? Did you not hear his laughter? Just yesterday Death itself was staring that poor child in the face, the very thing that has taken his entire family from him. What good would it be doing him to let him sit in fear until he's made to march on the Black Gate? What good would it do any of us?

"He is frightened, My Love. I, I am frightened. This was a break from all that I fear."
Legolas took her hands in his and found that they trembled in his grasp. Aragorn watched them, thankful for the end of their confrontation. No other words were needed as Triina's head fell onto her beloved's shoulder while she herself was enveloped in his arms.

"She is scared the little boy will die in the big fight tomorrow." a small voice explained suddenly from Aragorn's shoulder. Legolas and Triina were each so taken by the other that they took no notice of the hushed conversation unfolding beside them.

"We fear many things in this coming battle, Little One"

"Going to war was supposed to be a great, exciting honor! But it is not. Jokhi says you all can keep us safe. Says he stays in your pockets most of the time but I'm still scared too. If I stay alive but my friends don't that will hurt me too."

Aragorn turned and took his leave of the lovers, taking the faerie with him as they spoke of what she should expect from battle. He was gentle in his tone but spared no details of war and as they walked she moved to eventually sit in his hands with her knees pulled close, hiding her fearful tears from the king that carried her.

"You have an advantage, my friend. One that in recent days I find myself envious of."

"What could you envy about me? I'm little. I can't carry big swords like you do, and I can't run fast. You can't get stepped on and crushed! I can."

"But the enemy doesn't look for the small amongst us. That makes you a valuable, and mighty asset! I am honored to fight beside you and your kin."

His words seemed to carry a spell in them that revitalized the small creature in his palms. She smiled up at him, her wings sparkling ever-so-slightly, and stood with a timid nod. "I am honored to fight with you too, King Aragorn."

With that the little thing took her leave and left him to walk along the halls in solitude. With each step he thought of the many things that weighed on his mind. Much like Triina, he worried about the elf who carried his heart. Unlike Triina, his love was far away and he had no way to truly know of her wellbeing.

In the courtyard below he could hear the sounds of men and women sparring and preparing for battle. All around them the wings of faeries glowed with their emotions as they flew here and there. He worried for them, and for Triina's people who, although they were talented, were quite new to the ways of war.

He worried for the wounded that still lay in the healing house unrecovered from their last battle. He worried for a great many things and knew that his fellows carried the same weight on their shoulders.
He had lain a trap for the enemy earlier that day, showing Saruon the reforged sword of Elendil to entice him to send his many legions through the Black Gate to meet him and his allies.

The plan was, as Triina and Gimli had so gracefully worded it in their meeting earlier, to "Create a diversion! Distract them, keep his eye on us while he kills us all! It's a certainty of death with little chance of success! We love it!"

He couldn't help but to smile at the memory of Legolas' clear look of disdain for their jokes at the time, but he had to admit it did wonders for his own heart to be around such mirth in the face of death.

Only time would tell now how their journey would end, but one thing was certain as he looked out over the White City: if his fellowship was to end on the coming day, it would not be without the whole of their hearts and passion for their quest.