Night-Time in the Gardens

Title: Night-Time in the Gardens
Author: Nosila
Pairing: Arwen/Eowyn, Arwen/Aragorn, implied Aragorn/Legolas
Disclaimer: They don't belong me. If they did, the ring would never have been destroyed because everyone would have been too busy having sex.
Rating: R
Summary: Eowyn takes Arwen to a clearing in the Gardens - things progress from there.
Notes: British spellings.
Dedication: Aliir. For working so hard on our wonderful new links website. ::shameless plug approaching:: Go see it! http://www.geocities.com/purpledluva/lordlinks.html. For adult LOTR links. And to Evian-chan for agreeing to beta. And to Marilise whose e-mail made me get off my ass and finish this chapter. Thanks to all of you! :)

I smiled giddily, high as the moon. My whole body seemed to be humming with anticipation. I was sure it had to be obvious to everyone around me, but no one had mentioned anything. Maybe they were just being polite.

The reason for my excitement? A small, folded piece of paper tucked into a pocket concealed in the folds of my gown. It had one word on it - a word that would have mystified anyone else but I and one other person.

Tonight.

Eowyn had slipped it into my hand when we had bumped into each other earlier this morning. She hadn't said anything, just quickly pressed it into my palm with a look that could be described as knowing, or maybe sultry. Some mixture of the two. A look that had excited and thrilled me, and made me think of what was to come.

************

The rest of the day passed in a blur. I did everything a queen was supposed to do - talked with people, attended meetings, met with other noble ladies and comforted Aragorn when he complained about all the paper work he had to endure now he was King of Gondor. I sometimes think he preferred being a Ranger to being King.

Eventually, evening came. In a few more hours I could slip down to our clearing in the woods and meet Eowyn. However, I still had to make nice with Aragorn for a bit longer, till I was absolutely sure he was sleeping soundly. Then, and only then, could I go. Even after all this time, Eowyn and I had to keep our relationship a closely guardecreecret.

Aragorn came out of the luxurious wash room connected to our bed chamber and came over to where I was lying on the bed. He leaned down and kissed my cheek.

"I hope you don't mind, Arwen, but I feel exhausted. More tired than I can ever remember feeling as a Ranger. Sort of brain-weary, as if my mind is clouded with exhaustion." He smiled, wry and tired. "I didn't realise how much paper work was involved with running a kingdom. Would you mind if we extinguished the lamps straight away?" As always, he was polite and courteous, worried about my comfort. So sweet of him, really. But I could only think of Eowyn, and her golden beauty. Not for the first time I felt guilt at deceiving him this way. Even though Legolas was on one of his many visits to Gondor, I did not think he had been sharing a bed with my husband.

"Of course we can extinguish the lamps. If you feel as tired as you do, sleep is probathe the best thing for you." We kissed, gently, the the feeling of his soft lips and bristly hair against my chin only intensified my guilt. I tried to banish the feeling from my mind. The idea of leaving Eowyn was unthinkable, and that was what I would have to do if I wanted to free my mind from guilt.

I watched him as he rose and snuffed out the flickering lights coming from the small lamps that adorned our walls, before crawling into bed beside me, rolling onto sideside. I smiled, gently stroked some dark hair off of his careworn face, and lay back, waiting for his slow breathing to become regular and steady.

************

I waited an hour or two before slipping out of bed and into a simple gown. Holding my breath for fear of discovery, I stole down the narrow corridors and winding back staircases to the garden door normally used by the servants. I always used the servants corridors when I was going to visit Eowyn: they were less likely to ask awkward questions, and even if they did gossip, what harm could it do? It would inject some entertainment into otherwise dull lives. No one here seemed to realise whatealtealth of information servants were.

The grass was cool under my feet as I walked over the lawn, wet mud occasionally squishing between my toes. The night air grew perceptibly colder as I passed under the shadows of the trees, till I had to repress a shiver. Our outdoor meeting place had been perfect in the summer, but now was starting row row cold. Still, I would be warm enough before the night was through.

Eowyn was waiting with her back to me as I stepped in to the clearing. She turned and came rushing over.

"Finally!" She softened her exasperated tone with a smile. "What took you so long?"

I smiled back, reaching over and twining my arms around her slender neck. "Unlike your Faramir, Aragorn does not fall straight to sleep the moment his head hits the pillow."

She wrapped her arms around me, drawing me close into a soft kiss. I sighed as our lips met, closing my eyes and opening my mouth to her questioning tongue, and relaxing my body till it moulded against hers. She undid the ties on my gown and let it fall to the ground. I shivered as the cool night air hit my skin, my nipples instantly pebbling. Eowyn ran slender hands over my goose-pimpled flesh, before pushing me down till I lay on the ground, feeling the cool, damp grass push up against my back. I ran my hands through silky blond hair, pulling at her gown, as pleasure slowly overwhelmed us both.

************

I crept back into mine and Aragorn's rooms, smiling at the lazy feeling of contentment that rolled through my body. My whole body felt floppy and overworked, but in a good, satisfied sort of way. I was the cat who'd got the cream.

Grinning at my mental image of Eowyn and myself as cat did didn't immediately notice what was wrong as I slipped beneath the bed covers.

Aragorn wasn't there.

I froze, cold horror replacing the warmth I had felt just seconds ago. Where was he? Why wasn't he here? Did he know? Had he followed me? Had he been just pretending to sleep - he was a Ranger after all, and one brought up by the elves - it would be child's play for him to follow me, and watch Eowyn and I together. What would happen if he knew? What would he do? What goi going to happen?

These questions, and a thousand others raced through my mind. Panic suffused my mind, my body was paralysed with fear; I knew I had to calm down, to think clearly - it was just so hard!

Eventually, after what seemed like hours but could only have been minutes, my mind calmed and I allowed my body to gradually relax. I was overreacting. He had most probably just not been able to sleep, and decided to ta waa walk to calm his mind. It would not be all that unusual - but he had been exhausted when he came to bed. Or, at least he had acted exhausted. Maybe I was being too suspicious. It could be perfectly innocent. Maybe he had woken up to find me gone, and had gone looking for me, anxious that something was wrong. That would be like him. If that was the case I could just say that I could not sleep and had gone for a walk. He could maybe even be with Legolas. There were too many maybes.

Anyway, there was no sign of him, and I did not want to face a possible confrontation tomorrow with no sleep. Inside me, I was sure that there would be one, and I wanted to be calm and clear-headed when it came.

With that sense of foreboding in my mind, I tried to relax, and let sleep take me.


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