The King and I

King Elessar could not sleep. His dreams were disturbing him. Again. This time they hadn't been too bad, just a swirl of something blue, a hint of silver...then it was gone. But it was enough. Enough to have him rise from his bed, to send him on yet another restless walk through the palace. Send him outside to the balcony, force him to gaze up at the stars. Tiny points of glittering light spread across the deep blue sky. The same sky that embraced Lothlorien. As his hands wrapped around the carved stone railings of the balcony he didn't doubt for a second that *he* was out there as well. That *he* looked up at the same stars, coaxing Elessar's woes back to life. Tightening his grip, shortening his leash.

"My blood shall remain in Middle-Earth", the voice from the past taunted him, "and it suits me well to have my line going through the loins of a king."

The loins of a king...Elessar's lips twitched into a bitter grin as he remembered those same loins wrapped in those of another king: Long, marble legs that held him firmly in place while the Elven Lord impaled himself on the future king's flesh. Rocking back and forth, forcing the human's body to ache for more.

His granddaughter slept in his bed. Behind the velvet curtains. She was his queen. Ever lovely and innocent to see, but her fire slowly fading into ashes of realization: What she had done. What she had sacrificed. He caught himself thinking it was all *his* doing, but then again, wasn't he, Aragorn, worthy of the gift of love? Couldn't he stir those feelings by himself, did he truly need Lorien's help to do so...and if he did, when did *her* love end and *his* will take its place? Did she ever love him for his own sake?

"*I* love you, Elessar...you will not need another love!" The voice came back, haunting him. And then another one; a cold, insistent voice:

"Your motives are not pure in this, my Lord."

"I don't think Elessar minds my motives." Cool hands on his heated body, circling his chest. There, down by the river; fair Nimrodel glittering in starlight...as she would do tonight.

"Celeborn..." he said it out loud, searching in the darkness for his lover's presence. To feel him, to have just a hint that he was there.

"I was always bound to this earth, Galadriel belongs to the sky..." The words had been whispered softly in his ear by red, moist elven lips. "Come, Elessar...claim your land. You will be king because I will it so..."

Elessar let out his breath with a shudder. He had been a fool, he thought. He had underestimated them, all of them. The elves were not his kin, although his children bore their marks. Slightly pointed ears, long, slender bodies. Knowing eyes that sometimes measured him with the fire and intensity of their grand-grandfather. The Lord of Lorien, forever keeper of his heart and soul. Ever bound, ever a servant to the Lord. He, Elessar, the mighty king of men...

Nothing in Imladris had prepared him for it. It was in Lorien, where the Elves still were true to their old ways, the threat had lain. Coiling out,ensnaring him. Invisible chains of enchantment. Lord Elrond had had no power there, he could only watch, as the will of the Golden Wood bent his daughter's and later his sons' wills. Lorien would have what belonged to Lorien. Even dying and deserted, Lorien was alive. Coursing through the veins of those who had touched her, beheld her beauty, tasted her blood. An electrifying presence, scars that would not heal. She had bound his heart. The enchanted forest with her ancient mysteries had staked a claim on him. When the last elf departed, she would still have him, as his blood had mingled and mixed with hers in all his so lovely children. Lorien would live on. Spread her mystery from the throne of Gondor.

And he, Elessar, Aragorn, still yearned for the keeper's touch.

Oblivious to the cold drift, Aragorn watched the White City in all its glory. Silent now in the dead of night. His thin silken robes fluttered around his body as he lost himself in memories. Memories of a dark, starlit night by the river Nimrodel, a touch of pale fingers, silvery hair that brushed over his naked body. The Lord's eyes, pale blue fire with sparks of gold.

"Celeborn..." he called again, his voice was just a whisper now.

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

He had been awakened that night in Lorien by the soft sounds of hobbit feet. As he lifted his head from the ground, he had seen Frodo disappear from their camp to join with the shimmering, white Lady of the Wood. True to his promise to protect the young hobbit, Aragorn rose to follow. To make sure this was safe, to find out where they were going. But before he could catch up with the two, another figure emerged from the dark, and sealed Aragorn's destiny as he did.

"Aragorn son of Arathorn, come with me..it wit was never a request, it was a command.

The silver clad elven Lord had smiled when he spoke and gently laid a hand on Aragorn's arm as he guided him in among the trees.

"Where are they going?" Aragorn had asked as he looked back over his shoulder, slightly confused by both the thought of leaving Frodo and by the Elven Lord's actions.

"To Galadriel's mirror." The Lord had answered with an amused expression.

Aragorn had met the Lord's gaze with awe as they continued their walk on the soft forest ground. He knew of the mirror and it's wonders. It was said to have the power to show a man, or elf, both his past and his destiny. That's why it startled him so to hear Celeborn's next words:

" A child's plaything, nothing more," the Lord said with expressionless face. "But she finds it amusing...I'm sure the hobbit will find it wondrous," he continued, the amused expression back on his face.

"I...I thought it to be a thing of wonder as well," Aragorn had replied.

"Most do," the Lord smiled slightly and tightened his grip on Aragorn's arm,"and most never find out about its true nature. They think our magic so limited, our power so small..."

"Where are we going?" Aragorn suddenly realized they had left the city and entered the Wood herself. Curiosity rose now. Where was the Lord of Lorien taking him?

"To a glade in the forest..." the elf spoke, reading his mind. "I will offer you a trade, Elessar. Arathorn's son."

"And what trade would that be?" It was Aragorn's turn to smile.

"You will see," the Lord smiled secretively.

They wd tod together in silence for a while. The longer the elven lord touched him, the more Aragorn thought he could feel a certain building tension oozing from him. A feeling of something mighty and powerful, not unlike the feel of Gandalf, but yet so very, very different. When he looked, he could see Celeborn's skin had taken the same ethereal glow that had shrouded him and his lady's bodies when they first greeted the Fellowship.

Suddenly the Elven Lord spoke, his voice still heldsemesement, but also something else...a new power, or authority;

" They always speak of the Lady of the Wood, "he said. "They forget that the Wood also has a Lord!" and with those words he lifted his hand in a simple gesture and immediately a white, pulsing light appeared among the trees, seeping along the branches and rimming the outline of every flower,every leaf. Spreading until the Wood around them seemed like one organic,pulsing source of light."*This* is Lothlorien..." The Lord said.

"That was a...nice trick..." Aragorn smiled. He was no stranger to magic,yet he had to draw his breath when pale traces of color mingled with the white light and danced along the branches, streamed across the ground. It was like walking inside a diamond. A living, pulsing gem of light.

"No..." the Lord said, "do you think me a mere wizard, young one? This *is* Lothlorien...this is her hidden face."

"It is beautiful," Aragorn whispered. He felt humble now, faced with the beauty of the Wood.

Celeborn smiled, satisfied.

"You can have her, if you want," he said.

"Have her?" Aragorn turned to face the elf, noticed how the light and the colors seemed to flow into the other's body, ripple across his skin...Celeborn was as much a part of this place as the Mallorns, the white flowers and the earth itself. A different kind of light highlighted his hair and Aragorn looked up to catch the moon with his gaze. Full and colored with silver it shone down on the enchanted forest, catching in Celeborn's hair.

"It is her lover," Celeborn whispered and followed his gaze. " They love each other, the two of them. Lorien is Middle-Earth's keeper of stars." He lowered his gaze to look at Aragorn. "I offer you the power of Lothlorien, Elessar. The power of the stars."

"Why? Why would I want that?" Aragorn asked with a puzzled expression.

Celeborn smiled slightly;

"It would assure you the throne of Gondor," he said, "and smooth the way to our Evenstar..."

Aragorn smiled a little again;

"I'm not sure I want the throne, and if Arwen loves me she will stay...and wouldn't you rather see her depart for the Havens with her kin, than stay here with me?" he said calmly.

"My blood shall remain in Middle-Earth", Celeborn smiled softly. "And it suits me well to have my line going through the loins of a King. That would be your responsibility, your part of the bargain," he finished.

"What?" Aragorn was puzzled and the pulsing light made his head spin, like he had had too much strong wine.

"To breed," Celeborn answered. "And to swear your loyalty to the Golden Wood and her servants. Will you do that, Aragorn, King of Men?" Almost in distraction he reached out and caught a lock of Aragorn's hair between his fingers. He played with it a little, then let it go, shifting his gaze to rest in Aragorn's.

"I am no...king of men," Aragorn argued weakly.

"And you never will be without the aid of Lorien." Celeborn answered.

"How do you know...?"

"I know!"

"But Arwen," Aragorn said, he saw no reason to doubt the Lord's words,"how can I live with such a sacrifice on my behalf? She'll be alone...how can I...how can you offer her to me so lightly..."

"That is true," Celeborn interrupted. "If you take my offer, she will never see the undying lands, that will not be her fate..."

"What *will* be her fate?" Aragorn swallowed.

"She will seek back to her true mother when your time is past; she will find peace here among the Mallorn trees of Lorien."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes..." Celeborn's eyes drifted again, so his his hand, it came to rest on Aragorn's chest, playing lightly with the lacings of his tunic..."Come !" he said abruptly and removed his hand from Aragorn. "Let's go a little further."

As they continued their walk through the pulsing light, side by side, Aragorn asked:

"And what makes you think I am worth such an offer? We have only met briefly before..."

" I have watched you from afar," Celeborn smiled. "Looked at you...I know you well, Elessar. You will make a good king."

" I will not be king." A sudden annoyance, a burst of anger. Why was it that everyone seemed to take that for granted?

Celeborn just smiled.

"I will still offer Lorien's aid," he said. "Smooth your way, weaken your enemies...make sure you have a choice in the matter."

"Everything I wish for..." Aragorn gave an ironic smirk.

"And more!" Celeborn smiled back, reading the other's mind.

"And all I have to do is breed?" Aragorn continued. The dancing, swirling colors making him feel somewhat lightheaded. Irresponsible. Like a child...

"After tonight? Yes..." Celeborn continued to smile.

"What must I do tonight?" Aragorn asked curiously.

"You'll see..." Celeborn's serene smile never faltered.

Aragorn could hear the river nearby and soon they entered the promised clearing, a still spot in the ocean of pulsing light and colors. The grass was green here, the flowers white, the stream glittering in the moonlight. An island of heavy scented wood in the midst of the elven magic. The light they had left behind when they entered was like high walls surrounding them, but in the clearing it was still and dark

"Nobody will disturb us here," Celeborn said. "We can talk..." he added.

"Thank you," Aragorn said spontaneously, he found the spot pleasantly calming after their wandering through the brightly lit wood.

Celeborn smoothed the thin fabric of his tunic and sat down on the mossy ground. He patted the ground beside him;

"Come...sit with me Elessar," he said.

As Aragorn did as he was told, one thought bothered him;

"What about the ring?" he asked. "Can you help Frodo accomplish his task?"

Celeborn looked at the river, fastened his eyes at a point in the stream.

"That is not my concern," he said at last. "True, you will not have a kingdom to fight for if the halfling dies or fails. But there won't be a Lorien, no elven heart on earth either. I must proceed as if he will succeed, and Lorien will help in that as well. Galadriel would will it so..." he trailed off.

"And you...?" Aragorn asked curiously.

"I was always bound to this earth, Galadriel belongs to the sky..." Celeborn whispered, as if talking more to himself than to Aragorn. " I am the Keeper of the Wood, she is the Guardian of Starlight..."

"You will do this for Lorien," Aragorn concluded."You want me to continue your line so that Lorien will live on through your blood."

"Yes," Celeborn smiled, with an almost sad expression." I cannot leave Middle-Earth without leaving something behind. I do love this earth, tremendously." The Elven Lord swallowed hard. That, more than anything touched Aragorn's heart, and made him ask his final question.

"And if I no longer wish for Lorien's help after this bargain is sealed?"

"You cannot go back on your word...but she will help you, not hurt you ...and you need allies, all of you..." he said, referring to the Fellowship.

"All right..." Aragorn said, still in a carefree, lightheaded state. "What must I do?"

Celeborn turned to him with a wide, open smile that Aragorn had not seen before. It made him look young and careless. Beautiful.

"Do we agree, Aragorn son of Arathorn?" he asked breathlessly.

"Yes, I think so," Aragorn chuckled by the other's expression.

"Good," Celeborn replied and clasped his hand in his, bowed his head slightly. "I am happy, Aragorn..." he said. " This has removed a burden from my heart, you will not regret it," he finished.

Aragorn smiled at the elf, complete trust in that moment. A feeling that he would not regret...

"So how to I swear my loyalty to Lorien?" he asked, happy to gain another ally, yet not fully comprehending the might of its power.

"The same way as you claim your land...through me..." Celeborn answered.

"Through you?" Aragorn's smile grew insecure.

"Through my body," Celeborn explained. "This is how our magic happens, there is no other way. I am this land made flesh. That is what I have become."

Aragorn sat up straight.

"I'm not sure I understand," he said. Uncertain now, a little afraid...The Lord couldn't mean that he would have to...

"Oh yes, you do..." Celeborn's eyes teased him. "Now close your eyes Aragorn and make it happen...please" he added.

Aragorn didn't know why, but he did as the elf told him. Maybe it was his voice, maybe it was the dizziness that still bothered him after the wandering through the enchanted wood. But he did it; he closed his eyes and startled just a little when he felt the elf's lips on his own. They were soft, those elven lips. Soft and moist and full. They tasted of red berries mingled with something sweet, honey and wine, something er; er; green herbs and woodland. Celeborn's tongue licked his lower lip and pushed his lips apart to enter his mouth. Aragorn remained motionless as the Elven Lord's tongue swirled in his mouth, tasted it from within. The kiss felt good, he had to admit, and right, in a way. They were to make an alliance, forge a bond between their lands and races. Still his body remained stiff and motionless until Celeborn broke of the kiss with a soft chuckle.

"Open you eyes now, Elessar," he whispered.

Aragorn did as he was told and opened his eyes to find the elven lord's eyes only inches from his own.

"Look at me," Celeborn said softly and moved his face a little away from the man's. He lifted his fingers and quickly undid the lacings of his soft, shimmering tunic and pulled it over his head. "Look at me," he repeated, and spread his arms, lifting them towards the sky. His skin was still glowing and his ever young body, smooth and well defined. "Am I beautiful?" The Lord asked.

"Yes," Aragorn answered in a hoarse, low voice and spoke the truth. The elf was beautiful. His hair like fine spun silver over his shoulders, his lips temptingly red...and his eyes...his blue eyes that held hidden traces of gold.

Celeborn lowered his arms and took Aragorn's hands in his, placed them on his marble chest, moved them across the smooth surface. Aragorn noticed that the elf's nipples hardened when his fingers brushed across them. It was exciting. Made his own body burst into life. He moved his hands on his own account now. Circled and stroked the silken skin under his palms, a small sigh escaped his lips as he caressed the aroused peaks between his fingers.

Celeborn laughed.

"Shall we try again, young one?" he teased and leaned in to capture Aragorn's lips once more. Aragorn smiled into the kiss and this time he let his body melt into the feel of it. He pulled the other closer, placed him in his lap and laced his hands on the small of his back while his tongue answered the challenge and played happily with the other's. Savouring the taste of the mighty Lord's lips, enjoying the feel of him under his hands. The lithe body, the slender limbs. The brush of hair across his face and chest.

"You are a brave man, Aragorn." Celeborn breathed when the kiss finally ended.

"Yes I am," Aragorn replied and arched his eyebrows, placed a soft kiss on the elf's neck as to prove it. Kissed and licked a trail down to Celeborn's chest to catch one of those so temptingly hard nipples between his teeth. The elf's response was very satisfactory as he arched his back and moaned loudly, pressed his crotch to Aragorn's belly. It was hard, the thing he could feel there, behind the layers of fabric. Hard and long and slender, for some reason it made his mouth water, although he had not been a lover of males before. Buis wis was special. This was different. He didn't know why, had no other explanation than that it had to be the elf. *He* was the one making it so special. Maybe because he was Lorien. Mabecabecause he was him. But in that moment the whys didn't really matter. As his own breath quickened and he felt Celeborn's lips on his throat, he decided that the whys could wait. This bargain was about to turn into an exercise in pure pleasure. He caught the elf's mouth again. Held him in place with a hand on the back of his head and explored it thoroughly. The taste was intoxicating, tempting and sweet. The Lord's hands were busy opening the lacings of the man's shirt, the feel of the silken skin against his own rough one alone was pleasurable enough to send shivers through Aragorn's body. When he had to break off the kiss to free himself from the fabric, he finally felt the Lord's hands and lips on his naked chest and he threw his head back and moaned loudly.
"Gods!" he uttered and watched as the silver haired creature moved his head across his o ano and pressed moist lips to the softness of his belly. A tongue flickered out to taste his salty skin and fingers ran across his chest to feel the rippling muscles. Played with the soft hair on his chest and finally rose to slide his own pale and hairless body against the man's. Then they both moaned into each other's mouths as their lips had locked again. Hands were roaming the other's back, tangling in the other's hair. Slender white fingers in unruly dark hair, dark and rough ones in silken blond. Celeborn still shimmering slightly, burning white against the tanned skin of the man. His smooth cheek rubbed against the rough stubble of Aragorn's, creating a pleasurable friction for them both.

That's when they heard her voice through the swirling colors of the wood. Galadriel ringing loudly in the clearing:

"Your motives are not pure in this, my Lord."

"I don't think Elessar minds my motives.elebeleborn murmured and smiled to the man. The voice and the warning in her words had however lit an uncertainty, caused a small burst of fear in Aragorn, but by then it was too late. The Lord of the Wood ripped his leggings open, proving what Aragorn should have remembered, this was no mere mortal but a creature of magic and starlight...As the elf hungrily bent down to take Aragorn's aching member in his mouth and suck it greedily in to the moist cave, Aragorn cursed himself. But ouldould do nothing but moan and hold the other's head so as not to lose the all too pleasurable contact with those luscious lips embracing him.

He fell back on the forest floor with the Elven Lord on top, his face buried in Aragorn's crotch, his hair tickling his thighs. The skilled tongue caressing his member, savoring every drop of liquid that escaped his throbbing arousal. "Gods," Aragorn muttered. "Gods!" he repeated loudly while throwing his head from side to side, watching his dark member disappear in between those red elven lips and then reappear moist and slick with saliva. "Celeborn!" he moaned and curled his fists around handfuls of moss, felt the moisture of the forest floor seep into his palms while his body twitched and arched up against that warm, velvet m.
.

Suddenly Celeborn broke off the contact and rose to his knees. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand in a sensual sweep and reached for the fastening of his own leggings. Aragorn kicked of his boots and the rest of his garments while watching the elf rise to his feet and undress. Reveale new areas of pale, glowing skin. All of it perfect, all of it flawless, flexing muscles under the surface and a proud arousal, long and slender, weeping silvery drops of liquid that slowly ran down the shaft.

Aragorn rolled over and rose 'til he was on all fours. He felt a need, an urge, to taste it all. Feel the cool skin under his lips. He rose to his knees and grabbed the elf's thighs. His mouth kissed and licked at them, bit lightly into the pale skin, swirled his tongue across his hip. Kissed and touched, sucked at him, left purple marks of passion on the white surface. The living canvas of the elven body.

"Elessar..." Celeborn sighed and laid his hands gently on his head.
When Aragorn's tongue tentatively touched the marble rod to taste the sweet juices that seeped out of it, Celeborn gently guided him, made him lick it clean with long, lingering strokes from the base to the tip where new beads of pearly liquid were gathered by every stroke of Aragorn's tongue. Celeborn's legs were trembling sliy, ly, loud moans escaped.

At last Celeborn withdrew a little and sat himself down, facing the man. His eyes were blurred with passion. Aragorn felt a flush of excitement faced with the naked hunger on the usually so serene, almost godlike, face.

Celeborn let himself fall back and arched his hips slightly off the ground;

"Come, Elessar...claim your land" the elf said in a low voice. "Give her your love, show her your tenderness, for in this moment I am the land you will possess..."

Aragorn crawled on top of him, slid across his slender limbs and felt the other arch towards him.

"And if I never claim the throne...?" he asked in a murmuring voice.

"You will be king, Elessar, " the Elven Lord murmured. "You will be king because I will it so..."

Aragorn found his mouth again and caressed his swollen lips with own,own, felt the pounding pulse beneath his tongue.

Suddenly the Lord rolled them over, still with his lips on the man's. When the kiss, ended his mouth traveled to whisper into his ear:

"Will you have me?" he asked.

"Yes..." Aragorn answered.

"Will you have *her*?" Celeborn asked again, motioning to the Wood surrounding them with his fingers.

"Yes..." Aragorn answered again, his voice strained with pent up passion.

"Then take it!" The Lord finished.

He sat himself up, straddling the man and reached for his clothing on the ground. He found his tunic and pulled out a small phial of golden oil from a hidden pocket and poured it in to his palms. Rubbing it on the Man's aching member he smiled down at the strained face on the ground.

"Soon, young one," he said in a low, seductive voice while covering the man's arousal with a thick layer of scented oil. He rose to his knees and positioned himself on top of the man, with the oil slicked member in his hand he lowered himself down, sliding nice and smooth down the thick rod, impaling himself on the human flesh while giving a deep sigh of pleasure.
Aragorn gave a short, muffled scream as the tightnes the the elven body embraced him. He gritted his teeth and breathed heavily. He had to restrain himself so as not to come right there, right then, with the warm, pulsing tightness squeezing his already overripe arousal.

Celeborn paused and moved down to kiss him. He grabbed his shoulders and motioned for him to sit up, so that the Lord ended up in his lap. Their legs were entwined, allowing just enough space for the elf to move, to rock on top of him, with his torso pressed to the other's. His arms held the man tightly and his head was thrown back in passion as he rode the man with slow, sure movements.

Aragorn held on to the other's body. He held him by his waist and moved his arms with the elf's rhythm. He felt the moisture from the elf's arousal on his stomach as the movements effectively pleasured him as well, milked the straining flesh trapped between their bodies. Sweat covered their bodies,made the elf slide even more smoothly against thn. Ln. Loud pants and moans mingled as the couple struggled towards completion. Aragorn moved his hands down and held Celeborn's hips in a slippery grip that made him squeeze harder and bruise the tender flesh under his fingers. Vaguely he registered that the pulsing light in the wood surrounding them had increased its speed as well, the soft colors were just a blur now as they rushed through and mingled, flared across the ground, flashed between the trunks like earthbound lightning. The white light embraced the treetops, reached fingers of light towards the night sky, the twinkling stars and the moon above...

When Aragorn couldn't hold back anymore, Celeborn suddenly slipped from his grasp. He held the man's almost undone arousal in his hand and pumped the organ fast with strong fingers. "Give to her," he said hotly, "Give it to the ground...feed her..."
And Aragorn did. His twitching member sent splashes of white liquid to the forest floor. Let the earth have his pleasure, his desire and his want.
The Lord had grabbed his own arousal while watching the man ing ing in his release and followed shortly, his hot drops of pleasure hit the man's chest and belly while the elf moaned helplessly, caught in his own passion.

When it was over he fell on top of Aragorn who had laid himself back, trying to regain his senses. Long strands of moist hair was plastered to the elf's forehead, his rapid breath only interrupted by soft kisses placed on the man's mouth and cheeks.

"Elessar..." he breathed. "She is yours now...you are hers."

Aragorn chuckled happily and ran his fingers through the elf's hair. Suddenly he realized that the light in the wood had crumbled into a carpet of white, slowly pounding near the forest floor. Startled, he realized that the light reflected the Lord's state and emotions.

"You have strong ties to these woods, my Lord," he mused and held the elf closer in his arms.

"Yes..." Celeborn murmured and traced the outline of Aragorn's lips with his fr. \r. "I do," he finished and they said nothing for a while. Just lay there by the stream and watched the stars in a comfortable silence. Thehe ehe elf on top of the man, encircled by strong, muscled arms. His head resting on the man's chest.

It had been a moment of bliss, Aragorn, King Elessar, thought now, several decades later while he watched the White City, the crown of his empire, from the balcony of his palace. How he had loved the feel of those smooth limbs on top of him, the soft haiike ike liquid silver, spread across his chest. They had not made love again that night. The pact was sealed, there was no need. But he had wanted too...oh yes, he had. He had wanted to take the elf once more, see his beautiful face flushed with passion. But instead, dawn had come at last and chased them away from the clearing, the secret island in the wood that had been theirs alone.

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

Years had passed since the enchanted night in the Wood. The hobbit's quest had been successful...and Aragorn had become king. By his side, the beautiful Elven maid, Arwen Undomiel...his queen and bearer of his children. All his deepest wishes had come true, just as the Elven Lord had promised. He wondered if he had really believed in it that night. That the Lord, and his Wood had such power. If he hadn't, the years had proved him wrong. He thought of Boromir, how his mind, already weakened by the Ring had suddenly burst. Thrown him into pure madness. Boromir, in many ways the rightful heir of Gondor. How Faramir, his brother had suddenly found a love that distracted him from the issue. And how that love conveniently enough had been the only woman that ever had distracted *him* from the thoughts of Arwen. All his enemies through the years had suffered a similar fate. They had been either distracted or died before they ever became a real threat to him...

Gandalf had known...Gandalf had laid his hands on his shoulders and smiled a sad smile while slowly shaking his head.

"Yet..." he had said, "there was no other way..." his knowing eyes locked on Aragorn's. Knowing even what was to come, Aragorn thought now.

"I don't know if I believed it..." Aragorn had replied.

"You do not make a bargain with the Golden Wood lightly...for there is always a price to pay..." Gandalf had said. "I wish I had been there to warn you...as it is...well, I guess it is as it should be...you would not have come this far without her aid."

"Still I have no peace," Aragorn had argued.

"Do you blame the Wood, or it's Lord?"

Lorien's Lord...He had come to Gondor shortly after the arrival of Arwen's son...*his* son. A blue cloaked rider with a small guard of grey-clad Galadhrim. He had recognized them by the white arrows in their quivers, the material of their hooded cloaks when they rode to the palace one rainy night. He had tried not to think of him for years. Had tried to forget all about his rash decision, the alliance they had made. But when the silver haired Lord stood in front of his throne removing his wet cloak and his gaze met those pale blue gems of light, he was taken with a strong dizziness. His heart pounded rapid in his chest and his mouth was suddenly dry. His inside instantly became a brewing pit of emotions, jolts of sensations he hadn't experienced since he first had laid his eyes on Arwen. His eyes must have shown his admiration, his blushing face given away his feelings, for the Lord had smiled a knowing smile. Lowered his lids and looked at him with sparkling eyes. Could he ever have hidden anything from the slender,graceful being, the lithe, glowing creature that was Celeborn ? Aragorn mused. Or had the Lord always known his heart? Been able to read his desires...

He had made sure they were alone that night. With a trembling hand he had poured Gondor's best wine for him. Breathed in his scent in secrecy, watched how the light spilled in his hair....

"You have served her well..." Celeborn's eyes had sparkled with amusement as he looked up at Aragorn, measured him over the rim of his silver goblet.

"And she me," Aragorn had said with a dry smile. His eyes serious, not meeting the elf's.

Suddenly the wine bottle fell to the floor, his hand flew up to touch the braids in the Lord's hair. A sigh and a breath, and then:

"Celeborn...!" The whisper was a cry, the man closed his eyes as not to show his tears.

"Elessar...Estel..." the answer was just a breath, light as a feather. The slender elven hand reached up to take the man's. Hold it lightly in his grasp.
"You have done your duty...there is no need..." he whispered to the King. "She is sated, young one..."

Finally Aragorn met the elf's eyes.

"And you, my Lord...Celeborn...are you?"

The Elven lord looked away.

"What do you mean, Elessar?"

"Your motives are not pure in this..." Aragorn repeated the Lady's words."How long have you been watching me from afar, Celeborn?"

Celeborn smiled slightly.

"I have always known Isildur's heir," he said at last, while his gaze fell to the floor. "But never has he been as beautiful as you," he looked up at Aragorn again, put the goblet down on the table and lifted his free arm to stroke Aragorn's cheek gently. \heldheld such light.," he finished his sentence.

With a strangled cry of pent up emotions, Aragorn grabbed the elf by the fabric of his tunic and hauled him up from the chair. He crushed the slender body in his arms and kissed him hungrily. Celeborn moaned and answered the kiss with equal fire. Tangled his fingers in Aragorn's hair and pressed the man closer to his body. Closer to his sweet, open mouth.

Aragorn broke off the kiss only to ask;

"Will *she* be here tonight?"

Celeborn smiled in return, traced Aragorn's face with his finger. Still holding him tight with his other arm, locking him in his embrace.

"No..." he had said. "It will be only you and I..."

He was in love with the elf, Aragorn thought. Ever since that moment in the Wood he had loved him. Maybe the Wood had wanted it so, maybe Celeborn had wanted it so...or maybe, it had been Aragorn's own heart that had made the decision. Either way he had been, and still was, hopelessly in love with the ethereal being. The keeper of Lorien's soul; his Celeborn.

So they had continued. Aragorn's power increased and his hair gained strands of gray. The elves departed from Middle-Earth, yet Celeborn remained. First in Lorien, later Imladris and Aragorn knew it was partly for his sake. When the Lord visited Gondor all thoughts of the Kingdom and his family was laid to rest in favor of the sweet pleasures between the Elven Lord's sheets. Arwen would become strangely calm and ignorant, never asking where he spent his nights away from their chambers. When he was gone Aragorn would become restless, annoyed and dark minded. It was his curse...the trap. What had never been said...
In the process of getting what he wanted he had lost it all...his peace of mind, his prospects of a good life, for he had lost his heart. Lost it to the graceful Elven King that he could never truly have, for *his* kingdom was one of men, his destiny that of a mortal. And Celeborn's heart was bound to the enchanted Wood, it floated in his veins, possessed his heart and forced Aragorn to obey her as it did. He would never betray the forest for his heart belonged to its keeper. If this was her trap, it was a clever one. Maybe one set for both him and the Lord...
It choked him to think of it; how Lorien's' nicely spun web had created his destiny, everything that he was. And he wanted to believe, so badly, that Celeborn had not been a part of the bargain, that their love was pure and carved by will. Molded out of two hearts' desires.
But he would never know, not for sure. And Lorien's will was Celeborn's will, wasn't it? How could he refuse to obey...

The night held no peace for Aragorn this time. As he walked back to his chambers to slide down beside Arwen's smooth, young body his last thoughts were those of death. She could not take that away. His death would be Aragorn's, alone...

The End