When I Grow Up

Eldarion sighed heavily as he looked over his shoulder to see if Elarinya was still following him. The crown Prince was off to pay a visit to his horse within the stables. The creature had just been fitted with new shoes, and Eldarion wanted to see how the beast fared. His nine year old sister begged to come along. Aragorn overheard the girl’s pleas, and the King suggested there was no real reason why Elarinya could not tag along. Eldarion did not mind his sister’s presence too much. The only thing that bothered him was the fact Elarinya stopped often to examine things. Elarinya was a curious and inquisitive child. She often stopped to talk to people along the way, asking what they were doing. Just about everything fascinated the young princess. It was only irritating when Eldarion was trying to run a quick errand.

“Come along Elarinya.” Eldarion chided gently as he held out a hand to his sister. Maybe if they held hands, she would be more apt to walk at the Prince’s pace.

Thankfully Elarinya did not protest, and the pair reached the stables in a more timely manner. Eldarion busied himself in conversation with one of the stable hands. It wasn’t until he was ready to leave that he realized that Elarinya was no longer at his side. The Prince looked to and fro before grumbling in annoyance. After a quick search, Eldarion located Elarinya kneeling near a pile of hay. His sister cradled something small in her hands.

“You know Ada’s rule about staying with me when you come along on errands.” Eldarion reprimanded as he stepped forward so he could help Elarinya back to her feet.

“I’m sorry Eldarion.” Elarinya said sheepishly. “But I heard a funny little sound, and I just had to see what it was. Look what I found.”

Elarinya held out a tiny white kitten. Its eyes were closed and it keened in a high pitched mew. Eldarion noticed a small nail sticking out of the animal’s tiny paw. The prince frowned both for the kitten’s sake, and for the fact his sister found it in such a manner.

“He needs help, Eldarion. Can we take him to the healers so they can help him?”

Eldarion frowned as he examined the kitten’s paw. “I’m afraid the healer’s are terribly busy with human patients and wouldn’t have time for a stable yard kitten.”

“But we just can’t leave him here to suffer!” Elarinya’s chin was beginning to tremble as tears pooled in her eyes. The young Princess held the kitten very carefully as if she was afraid to cause it further injury or pain. Eldarion put an arm around his sister’s shoulders. He hated to see her cry and wasn’t keen on starting a scene where others could see it. The Prince sighed heavily as he came to a decision.

“I have things I must attend to once we get back. If I leave you with a book and some supplies, do you think you can manage to take care of the kitten on your own until I can return to help you?”

Elarinya nodded eagerly as she used her sleeve to dry her tears. “I promise I’ll do everything you ask!”

Eldarion sighed again. He knew their parents might not be too happy if they brought an animal into the house without permission. And since Eldarion was the adult, they of course would reprimand him more harshly for doing something so foolish. But maybe Aragorn would be more forgiving if Eldarion managed to teach his younger sister about healing and responsibility.

“Alright, you can take the kitten. But once he’s better we have to find him a new home.”

“I understand Eldarion. I promise I’ll keep him hidden.”

The two walked back to the King’s House as Eldarion kept an arm around Elarinya’s shoulders.

“You do realize Ada is going to kill me if he finds out about this.”

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Somehow the two managed to sneak the kitten into the house without being seen. Eldarion had set up a box in his room for the small creature to live in for the timbering. Thankfully the small nail had not done much damage, and the wound would heal. Eldarion showed his sister how to tend to the kitten’s needs. He even loaned her a small volume on healing, and showed her how to use the basic supplies to take care of their furry patient. Interestingly enough, Elarinya seemed to handle the situation much better than Eldarion anticipated. The kitten healed quickly without the servants discovering its existence. The Prince was most thankful for that.

Eldarion was seated at his father’s side during the meeting with the council one afternoon that was slowly creeping along. Meetings often dragged on and on, and it was quite the task to conceal the yawns that threatened to surface. The councilors were bent over a document. Eldarion was about to nod off when he noticed a brief flash of white scurry across the floor of the King’s study.

The Prince blinked, wondering if his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. He was tired after all. But much to the prince’s horror, he saw a pair of pointy white ears sticking up from the space between the ornate front and back of his father’s chair. There was a small crevice between the carved crowns of the chair, creating the perfect little place for a naughty kitten to hide. Eldarion was about to grab the cat while the others weren’t looking. But before the Prince had a chance to do so, Aragorn sat back down in his seat. Eldarion frowned. Hopefully the kitten would remain hidden until after the meeting was over.

Unfortunately, not even five minutes passed before a little white paw darted out from one of the carved out places in the wooden design. Eldarion watched with horror as the paw batted at the King’s hair. He could hear the reprimands even now as the paw alternated between grabbing for hair and darting back into hiding. Eldarion looked out at the other men. Thankfully they appeared to be engrossed with a set of documents on the large desk and weren’t paying a bit of attention to the stealthy cat’s antics.

Aragorn looked up as he felt something brush against his head. A couple papers upon the desk fluttered, causing the King to look behind him at the window that stood wide open. Aragorn stood to go close it before any of the documents could be blown about. Eldarion watched as the kitten jumped from its hiding place. It ran underneath Aragorn’s desk before anyone had a chance to blink. Once more, Aragorn was seated before Eldarion could snatch up the naughty little nuisance. Alas, there was nothing left to do but leave the situation to fate, at least until the meeting ended.

Aragorn was busy discussing his opinions on one of the treaties when he felt an odd tug upon the laces of his boots. The King instinctively wriggled his foot. The action became an unconscious one through the years in the wilds when boot laces sometimes got caught in thorny branches. The tugging sensation stopped, but was soon replaced by a sharp needle like pain as something crawled its way up Aragorn’s leg. The King stood suddenly from his chair, knocking it backwards with a loud crash upon the floor. Aragorn grabbed at the thing crawling on his leg. A perplexed look came to the King’s face as his hand came in contact with something furry and soft.

Eldarion was mortified as he watched his father lift the kitten from his leg. The small creature looked up at the King with wide blue eyes and gave an indigent mew. Aragorn couldn’t help but laugh. This wasn’t the first time meetings had been interrupted, but this was the first they had ever been disturbed in this manner.

“It would seem we have an unexpected visitor.”

The prince buried his face in his hands at his father’s words. He could sense the slight hint of discomfort in Aragorn’s voice. This couldn’t be happening.

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 Indeed, Eldarion did get an earful once the councilors were dismissed for the day. The Prince knew he deserved it, especially when a meeting with the councilors was interrupted in such a manner. Thankfully Aragorn’s temper was not long lasting. Before long Arwen and Elarinya were brought into the discussion. Neither the King nor Queen seemed too terribly upset once they heard the whole story from their two children. In fact, Arwen seemed a bit amused by the entire situation. She was reminded of a stunt her brothers conspired together on once. Once the two were done explaining, Aragorn turned to Arwen to get her opinion on the situation.

“And what do you think would be the proper solution to this situation, meleth nín?”

The Queen allowed a small smile as she patted the kitten purring happily upon her lap. “I am proud to see my children care for the wellbeing of even a small creature. But your Ada and I did have a rule about bringing animals into the house. There are many who come to this place to seek the King’s guidance, and they may not be comfortable with creatures running about freely as if it were the woods. I would have been happy to assist had either of you sought me out in the matter.”

Elarinya bowed her head. She hated to be reprimanded by her parents. “I’m sorry, Ada and Naneth. I didn’t mean to disobey. I just wanted to help the kitten. Please don’t be mad at Eldarion. I was the one who begged him to let me bring him home.”

Arwen examined the kitten’s paw. “But I do have to say, both of you did a remarkable job in helping this little one to heal for suffering such an injury.”

The young Princess looked up with hopeful gray eyes. “Can we keep him? I think he really likes it here, and I promise I’ll take good care of him and not ever let him interrupt Ada’s meetings again.”

Arwen and Aragorn looked at eachother. It was true Elarinya disobeyed a rule, even though she had done it for good intentions. There would have to be a punishment of some sort, but taking the kitten away didn’t seem like the appropriate one.

“We shall think about it, sell nín. It’s true; you have taken good care of him. But your Naneth and I have rules for a reason. What if the kitten had been terribly ill? You could have gotten very ill yourself. We are not punishing you for taking care of the kitten, but for disobeying a rule.”

Elarinya nodded as she bowed her head. “I understand.”

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The days passed, and both Elarinya and Eldarion served their punishments, granted Eldarion’s punishment was living with the fact he had disappointed his father. He was soon forgiven though, and all went back to normal. Arwen and Aragorn decided to allow Elarinya to continue to care for the kitten. It was a good opportunity to teach the young Princess about responsibility. And if it was one she was eager to have, then why deny their daughter the chance to prove herself?

Aragorn was most impressed when Elarinya explained to him how she cared for the kitten’s wound. He was proud to see his young daughter grasp the basics of some healing techniques. The two of them sat side by side as Elarinya showed her father some of the things she had read about in the small volume about healing. The young princess’ first patient sat upon the King’s desk, swishing his tail back and forth as he watched with feline interest.

Aragorn was nearly bursting with pride as Elarinya shared her budding knowledge with him. Elarinya looked up from the book with a wide smile as she met her father’s eyes.

“I decided something today Ada.”

“And what would that be, sell nín?” Aragorn asked as he placed an arm around his daughter’s shoulders. The young princess seemed as if she was about to burst from the excitement of her news.

“I decided then when I grow up I want to be a healer just like you.”