200 words

Treasured Moments

By Nieriel Raina

Aragorn watched as she flitted from flower to flower in the garden below. Once he felt he had strayed into a dream. Now that dream was reality. He smiled.

Everything he had faced - long years of wandering the wilds alone, battles fought, enduring weather unfit for beasts, the scars on his body - all was worth the joy of having her for his own. His wife.

She looked up, as if she knew where his thoughts drifted. The moment their eyes met, hers shone with a light, pure and radiant, full of love for him, a rugged ranger turned king. Some believe such a love is only fit for bedtime stories told to children. But he knew better. He had lived it. And now they reaped the brief rewards.

With hasty strides, he hurried down the steps to the garden and swept her into his arms. She smiled up at him and twined her arms around his neck.

The world faded. The past flickered. All they had was the moment.

He led her up the stairs, back to their rooms. Only a moment in the long years of the world, but such moments would be treasured and never forgotten.