Kings and Kitchens Don't Mix

A loud crash caused Aragorn to jump as he focused upon one of the cook’s recipe books. The King whirled around to see a shelf full of metal pots and pans scattered upon the floor. Elarinya rushed to her little sister’s side to help put away the mess. Miriel held up a wooden spoon while bouncing up and down gleefully over the incredible noise she just made. It was by far the very best, and loudest, of all the noises she made that morning. Something within his mind told Aragorn that this might not be as great of an idea as he first thought. The ringing in his ears was just a small clue. The cook would have a fit if she saw her pots and pans all over the floor.

Today was the anniversary of the glorious day Aragorn finally wed his one true love. But over the years, anniversary gifts became more difficult to come up with. Elarinya came up with the idea of making Arwen breakfast. Aragorn’s initial reaction to the idea was to cringe. Kitchens and Kings didn’t exactly mix, not especially when it came to this King. But Arwen recently chided Aragorn for spending so much time with Eldarion, and not enough with their daughters. Hopefully it would please his Queen if Aragorn made breakfast for her with his two daughters. Granted Elarinya was the only one old enough to help. At least the thirteen year old princess knew her way around the kitchen. Two year old Miriel was another story. The toddler rather enjoyed making loud bangs and crashes, rather than helping. But Aragorn did not see it fit to exclude his youngest. Arwen would not be pleased if they had. After all, Miriel seemed to have a knack for holding on to that wooden spoon. Aragorn would have to put that to use here in a bit.

The King turned back to the cook’s recipe book. Hardly any of it made a single bit of sense to him. Aragorn knew food, but he wasn’t necessarily schooled in the ways of preparing anything beyond the basics he grew accustomed to during his time as a Ranger. The King sighed as he searched for at least one of his wife’s favorites that he could attempt. Finally Aragorn located one. Elarinya gathered the ingredients her father called for. Aragorn looked at the items his daughter placed upon the counter with every bit as much curiosity as he had when he looked upon the page in the book. Unfortunately they made about as much sense as the words upon the page.

“Now what do we do?” Elarinya asked as she turned to look back at her father. Aragorn scratched his chin for a moment as he contemplated the answer.

“Maybe it is best if we take it one step at a time.”

It seemed like a good idea at first, but quickly went awry. Water was boiling over as things began to burn in pans. Both Aragorn and Elarinya scrambled to remove pots and pans from the stove while stirring other things to prevent them from burning. Meanwhile Miriel laughed hysterically at the chaos. She seemed to think it was a game and clapped her hands.

The King could not help but chuckle, despite how badly the project was going. Miriel was having the time of her life. Elarinya looked up at her father as she stirred the contents of pot. All three of them were bonding. Aragorn added some ingredients to a bowl before he picked up Miriel and stood her up on a chair next to the counter.

“Now I want to do your very best job stirring these things to help Elarinya and I.” Aragorn instructed gently as he handed Miriel a fresh wooden spoon. The toddler was all too eager to oblige.

One of the kitchen doors opened to admit Arwen entrance. A wry smile was on her face.

“No Naneth, you’ll see big surprise!” Miriel cried out as she covered her eyes. Arwen giggled softly. Her youngest child hadn’t quite figured out yet that others could still see her even though she covered her eyes. The small girl had already splattered some of the contents onto her dress.  Both Aragorn and Elarinya turned bright scarlet. They had totally lost track of the time it would seem.

“We were hoping to surprise you with breakfast, meleth nín.  Our daughters came up with the idea. But it would seem the kitchens weren’t as easy to maneuver as we thought.” Aragorn murmured sheepishly as he moved to his beloved’s side. He dropped a brief kiss upon her lips in greeting.

“Ewww! They’re kissing again!” Elarinya exclaimed, to which Miriel promptly joined in by screeching “Ewwwww!” also and covering her eyes again.

Aragorn and Arwen both could not help but laugh.

“Both of you can continue to think that about kissing for quite awhile longer, and I will be most happy indeed!” Aragorn jested.

With Arwen’s help, the meal was made, and the kitchen cleaned in no time. The four sat down to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Meanwhile, Arwen could not stop smiling. It touched her deeply to see her Estel step out of his comfort zone and work with their daughters on a project. Although the surprise didn’t quite turn out the way the King and his daughters hoped, and the meal wasn’t the best the four had ever eaten, it was a memory Arwen would always treasure.

Aragorn gave his lady a lopsided grin once their daughters had departed with their nurse. “It’s not quite what I had planned, meleth nín. But I hope it pleased you to some degree.”

Arwen stood before she wrapped her arms around her husband’s shoulders. “I could not have been more overjoyed to find the three of you conspiring together.” She leaned forward to share another kiss with her Estel.

“Just think of it, Estel. They might have you embroidering yet!”

The horrified look on Aragorn’s face was enough to send Arwen into a fit of laughter. A humored predatory look crossed the King’s face as he reached out to boldly scoop Arwen into his arms.  The Queen flushed as her beloved carried her gallantly back to their chambers. The mischievous twinkle in his eye gave more than just a small clue as to what his next anniversary gift would be!