Back Into the Fold

Nauriel tried to be hard, she did but when Ariana began to weep she came out of her chair to kneel before her and hugged her tightly. “All will pass, in time Ariana,” Nauriel said in a soft, consoling tone. She rocked her daughter as she tried to quiet her sobs…

The next day Elessar himself spent time with her and the baby after they broke their fast. It was a treat to hold a baby again though he and Nauriel had adopted a son he was not so small as Meliara. He was dressed in his green and gray suit but didn't wear his sword, cloak or crown today. Today he was just a father who had just gotten his daughter back. He sat in the large chair near the fireplace and held her child easily crooked cozily in his right arm.

“Have you thought about returning to court? Alot has happened since you’ve been...away,” he said uneasily but his expression changed again when he looked down at Meliara. Elessar was a large, powerful man with his beard and wavy, shoulder length hair peppered with gray. He had an inner presence that affected those nearby and a voice that influenced people when they listened to him.

That night, Ariana was given something to help her sleep by the Healers and she slept soundly through the night. The next morning she rose, bathed and dressed. She was still quite thin, but thankfully the dresses covered that fairly well. She bathed and fed Meliara while eating breakfast herself. After breakfast her father came to see her and she smiled as she saw him with Meliara. Meliara smiled up at him and reacted to whatever he did. Meliara had always been a happy baby and she was pleased that she would grow up knowing her grandparents. When he asked her about if she was going to return to court she sighed a little.

"I don't think I'm ready yet Father. I'm still grieving Lucas' death and taking care of Meliara is rather a full time job. I know since I am back that it is apart of my duties, but may I please wait a few more weeks? At least until the talk about me has died down a bit."

For himself if he never heard that man’s name again it would be too soon. Lucas had been a deserter and had relations with a woman far beyond his station or right and that point would never change in Elessar’s mind. “We could give you a nanny if you’d like?” he said softly as the momentary flash of anger and hatred for that man died away in his mind. “I think it is important that you try to bring yourself back into the fold Ariana...but take all the time you need,” he added belatedly but he didn’t really mean that. He had let the hurt he felt from her go and instead has decided to focus on what is happening now.

“And you need to eat Ariana,” he said again as his eyes drew across her slight form. He said that whenever he saw her and sometimes more than once. Food was just about everywhere in her rooms and the cooks have been ordered to get her whatever she wants whenever she wanted it no matter the hour.

Ariana thought momentarily about having a nanny but she shook her head after a moment. "I would rather not have a nanny...at least not at this point. I am used to taking care of Meliara myself and I'd rather continue to do so." She became quiet for a moment before she looked at her father again. "I know I need a husband Father and I just wanted to say that I will marry whoever you and Mother choose without any argument."

"You know full well that will not be how it is Ariana...and you wound me to think it so. The only thing I require of you is that you regain your health and find happiness again in your life. That was all I ever wanted but your impatience and your need to rebel caused you to make poor decisions. You are the daughter of King...my daughter Ariana and a disappointment. I deserved better than what you did and how you did it. Laws exist for a reason and you know that. I know you loved...him but your encouragement, your willingness to allow him to break those laws was your worst mistake. You had a responsibility to him just as you do for Meliara here, and it is no different for anyone of us," he said but never took his eyes away of hers. He had a crook in his brow which meant he was indeed cross with her but his voice never wavered or changed in tone.

Ariana sighed a little and looked at her father. "I'm not sure I can love again though. I loved Lucas more than I could ever express. Do you think you could love again if Mother were to die?"

He was about to say that it was hardly the same thing, she had only been married for a year but stopped himself short. "Well...I loved an Elven princess once...before I knew your mother. We were...in love actually," he said and his eyes took on that distant look as if he were remembering it all. "I thought I'd never love another when I met her but then I saw your mother," he said and smiled warmly at Ariana. "So strong and beautiful...I saw her with your grandmother...on the street in Gehenna," he said and smiled. "They almost ran me over," he added. "I could have walked away then...and never saw her again but I returned later when she practiced her archery...to talk to her. I don't know why I asked her to leave with me...maybe apart of me knew that I'd fall in love with her and so I just did," Elessar said and chuckled.

Ariana was surprised to learn that her father had been in love with someone else before her mother. He had never heard him mention anyone else before. It was amazing to think that she and her sisters and brother might not exist right now if he had not ended up in Gehenna that day.

"When did you first realize you were in love with Mother?"

Elessar didn't respond immediately because he wasn't exactly certain. He smiled when he thought about the different moments that they shared though and it was unclear if if was him first or Nauriel that made the first move. "Danger has a way of making you realize what is really important. When we visited Imladris...I knew then that I did not love Arwen or maybe I still did but not in the way that was important to me. Your mother was a tigress," he said then smiled brightly as his eyes took on a very warm light. "Is a tigress...and she saved my life," he said as his face changed quickly into a frown and his gaze took her in again. "When I told Arwen how I felt she released me from my oaths and I was free to marry your mother. But know this...if she hadn't I would have married her instead and eventually the love I once felt for her would have returned...in time," he said honestly. "When we as a people ignore our duty, ignore our oaths and ignore our families...we help promote all that is evil in this world. Even now men and women plot for personal advantage and the values we hold so dearly are sold cheaply...nowadays. All we really have is each other in this world Ariana and the love and respect we have for one another. That matters more than gold or even a Crown. It is the faith that we share in one another that defeated the darkness long ago," he said as his face took on a troubled look. "Not a man or even an army," he said as he handed over her babe back to her then went onto his knees. "My children are the light that shines in my heart Ariana...you...broke my heart when you left," he said as he leaned in and kissed her cheek.

(ooc-i dont know why but this post makes me sad)

Ariana knew in that moment that she wanted to make her father proud of her again. She would never regret her actions because, despite what anyone else believed, she had truly loved Lucas and it had brought her Meliara and she would never regret having her. Meliara was the light of Ariana's life. But she could now truly understand what her mother and father had probably felt when she had left. She promised herself that she would do whatever needed to be done. She would return to court and she would find a new husband...one that would love Meliara like his own.

ooc-Time to move on?

OOC-Sure. I am thinking that when Ariana does re-marry that she will probably need someone older than her who is able to not only help her take care of Meliara, but also handle Ariana's ways. She is already starting to mature more because she's a mother, but I just see her with someone older. She's 17 and I'm thinking someone in their early to mid 30s. What do you think?

Ooc- holy cow...well maybe...why not

ooc-new thread