The Ranger And The Prince.

Gondor and Mirkwood.

To say I was happy to be on the roads again was an understatement. Especially now.

With an army behind me, Legolas at my side and Eldarion following, it felt as if we were back in the Fellowship.

Eldarion was so much like his father and his mother. If Aragorn could see him now, I knew he would be proud.

Eldarion's sisters were in charge of Minas Tirith in his stead, so he could lead with us to Moria. With his volunteering himself, many of his men had followed suit after his example, contributing to quite a large proportion of our army.

Eldarion was getting along with both Amethyst and Gemstone but as expected, Jewel was less sociable. She trotted along on her horse, a new book in her hands. Somehow she had managed to kit her horse out with enough books to tide her over the trip.

Whenever we stopped for the evening, Gemstone and Amethyst were challenging Eldarion to some sparring matches. It was fun to see who would win or who would yield. Amethyst was definitely forging a long lasting brotherhood with the King of Gondor because whenever they weren't sparring, they were jesting with the soldiers and drink ale together.

Gemstone was mostly just sparring with him because she had a vendetta for proving she couldn't be beaten. I was so proud, of course.

I had finished drawing up battle strategies that night with the soldiers when I made to leave and find my way back to mine and Legolas' tent. The moon was high in the sky and the mountains of Moria were looking over us. Only another day or two and we would be there, readying to put our plans into motion.

The camp was quiet, that was to be expected of course before a battle. It reminded me of the siege of Helm's Deep all those centuries ago, waiting in silence for the Uruk-hai to march towards us. Except we would be the ones walking into a stone trap, that being the endless tunnels of Moria.

Fortunately, we had much better prospects now than back then. For one, the enemies inside the stone halls did not know of our arrival, at least I hoped. They would be disciplined Uruk-hai, they would be wild packs of Orcs and Goblins, far easier.

As I made my way through the lines of tents, passing soldiers as I did so, I came to a halt when I heard something curious near the supply carts. Since most people were either asleep at this time of night, or silently contemplating the oncoming battle, I wondered who would be talking.

Curious as ever, I snuck up behind one of the carts and let my sensitive elf ears do the rest.

"I'm sorry if my sister hurt you," a woman's voice said softly, "She's always played a bit rough."

"It's nothing, honestly," a man chuckled, "I enjoy a bit of friendly competition now and again, especially now since I have fellow elves to fight with, it's not the same back in the city."

"What about your sisters? Surely they are worthy competition?" The woman mused, "At least, compared to the men in your garrison."

"I suppose, but they don't fight much. The men of the White City aren't like your Mirkwood kin, they believe it is unbecoming of a woman to fight in war, as ridiculous as the notion may seem."

"It's probably for the best," the woman giggled, "If you faired as well as you did with your sisters as you did mine, then you would come to be known as 'The Bruised King of Gondor'"

"Oi, I'm not that bad at sparring!" He retorted, "Besides, I didn't see you doing any fighting?"

"Because I would rather not injure myself before the big battle," she chuckled heartily, "Unlike some people."

"Hey, you know, being the King of Gondor, I could have you arrested for such an insult," he said somewhat amused.

"Well I'm the Princess of Mirkwood, I can say what I like."

"Fair point."

I peeped my head around the cart. Though I shouldn't really be surprised considering what I just heard, my jaw dropped as I saw Eldarion sat down in the clearing with Jewel sat at his side. A small trickle of blood was producing from a cut on his forehead which I had seen Gemstone give him earlier that night. Jewel held a damp cloth in her hand and was quietly attending to the wound.

They stayed in silence for a while, I did the same, mostly out of shock and curiousity. I also tried my best to stay in the shadows and stay as still as possible, like I used to do back in my ranger days.

When the wound finally stopped bleeding, Jewel sat back down with a sigh. I knew I should probably leave because I knew I shouldn't be there, but I was too curious to go.

"I've heard you've read every book in the Mirkwood Library," Eldarion mused as he turned to Jewel.

"Well I try my best. There's a couple of hundred scrolls I've yet to translate and to be honest, the Mirkwood Library is quite vast. I'm bound to have missed a book or two." She chuckled.

"There's a huge library in Minas Tirith, you know." He mused, looking up at the sky, "Hundreds of books, some are the only copies left in Middle-Earth. Perhaps you could visit it after the battle, if you like?"

"You mean, stay at the White City?" She asked, turning to him, "With you?"

"Well..." He chuckled awkwardly, "Your parents will be busy with the reconstruction of Moria. No doubt your brother will stay to help them and I don't believe your sister would appreciate Minas Tirith, she could beat every soldier there and she would be left with no competition."

"Perhaps one day I will," she mused, "But for now, I should probably stay put where I am."

"Just think on it," Eldarion mused as they stood up.

I had to bite my lip not to make audible noise as Eldarion quickly placed a kiss on Jewel's cheek, making her blush, before walking off quickly.

I ducked behind the supply cart and waited until I heard Jewel leave before I relaxed.

I felt a twang of anger at the gesture, after all, she was my daughter but the rest of me was welling up with pride.

Jewel had always been the shyest of my children so it had been a welcome change to see her nose out of a book and actually engaging socially. Even back in Mirkwood, her closest friends were the Scroll Keepers, Librarians and Herbologists.

But then again, I had never thought that she had taken an interest in Eldarion romantically. It was rather odd to say the least, considering the fact he looked much like Aragorn, and was now close to my daughter.

There was around two hundred years between them but considering they were both Elves (Eldarion was mostly elf) it didn't really matter. Heck, there was nearly a hundred years between me and Legolas, and some elven couples could have thousands of years between them.

As I made my way back to mine and Legolas' tent, a broad smile made its way onto my face as I thought of Jewel, the sweetest and shyest woman alive, courting the King of all Men.

I made a mental note not to let slip any of this to Legolas. After all, nothing was more precious to him that Jewel. As the only member of his family that didn't shout or insult him on a daily basis, he would usually spend as much time with her as possible.

If he knew Eldarion wanted to court her or whisk her away, he might just be the first Elf in history to commit regicide against the King of Gondor.

"You're in a good mood," Legolas mused as I entered our tent with the smile still on my face, "What's the occasion? I haven't forgotten something special have I?"

"No, just, it's a beautiful night out." I mused, trying to make up for my unusual happy behaviour.

"Every night is beautiful when you're out in it," Legolas smirked.

"If you say so," I rolled my eyes and flopped down onto the fur pelts that made up our camp bed.

"I do say so," Legolas chuckled as he layed down beside me and hugged me close.

Don't forget to vote and comment your thoughts and feedback.

Also, sorry this is a shorter chapter than usual.

What do you guys think about Eldarion and Jewel? Is it a match made in Valinor?