Okay, so we all know that Aragorn has daughters...but you never really hear about them. This is my interpretation of what they're like and how their lives go (sorta).
All right…fanfiction-writing time!!!
Soo…I know the names of Aragorn and Arwen’s daughters (I want to sneak an “E” in there!!) and they are as follows:
Adlanniel................................. Ascender
Alassiel.................................... Joyful
Valiswen................................. Moon Goddess
Fáeryniel................................. Bountiful Orchard (lit. “plentiful woods”)
Lostariel.................................. Blooming
Miriel...................................... Jewel
So yep, those are their names….now just to figure out what happens to them and what they’re like.
Well, Adlanniel and Alassiel are twins since they have similar-sounding names, but all the rest are single children (if that’s the correct term).
I think they’re all gonna kind of fit the meanings of their name. Adlanniel is the one “on top” and most outgoing and daring of the sisters. She’s generally a good kid, but out of the other 5 daughters and Eldarion, she’s the most likely to do something rebellious.
Alassiel is always really happy and is Gondor’s constant ray of light. Everyone loves her and she gets along well with everyone, even though she gets shy sometimes and hates tons of people, unless they’re her family.
Valiswen is a bit of an “it girl”…she’s got brains, brawn, and beauty. Guys kinda fall at her feet, but she’s not very free with her heart because of something sad that happened to her that she still kinda has scars from.
Fáeryniel is a lot like me…she just likes to be around nature and write. She’s probably the shiest out of all of the Telcontar kids, but she will tell pretty much anything to Eldarion…he’s her best friend and brother.
Lostariel is young…blooming…looking for herself…waiting to see what she likes and doesn’t like. She’s young at the start of all the drama.
Miriel is gorgeous beyond belief, but is also really young when all the Telcontar family drama starts, seeing as it begins when Fáeryniel is in her late teens to early twenties (being the oldest sister).
So here is the Telcontar chronology
Eldarion (1.5 yrs older)
Fáeryniel (4 yrs. older)
Adlanniel (6 minutes older)
Alassiel (3 yrs. older)
Valiswen (2 yrs. older)
Miriel (1.5 yrs. older)
Lostariel
So Lostariel was born when Miriel was 1 ½ , Valiswen was 3 ½ , Adlanniel and Alassiel were 6 ½ , Fáeryniel was 10 ½, and Eldarion was 12.
So it begins…when Eldarion is 20. (You get the idea of the age differences now, I hope.) Adlanniel is beginning to like a friend of Eldarion’s, who is also one of her friends, though he’s more of a casual friend. However, this guy prefers Fáeryniel, who does not think of him in that way at all. He talks to Aragorn and Arwen about courting Fáeryniel, so they tell her what he did. She’s pretty shell-shocked and says she needs to think about it.
Since the Telcontar family gets along really well for the most part, Adlanniel finds out that this guy likes Fáeryniel and gets really upset.
And that's where I stopped...perhaps to continue one day?
“You in there, El?” asked a masculine voice outside Prince Eldarion’s chambers.
“When did you abandon formality, Aearion, especially when speaking to your future king?” Eldarion wondered jokingly of his close friend as he opened the door.
“Since we were old enough to understand hatred of constant formality, I think,” Aearion replied with a grin.
“What brings you to these parts?” the young prince wondered.
“Conversation…an escape for both of us, if I know you as well as I know I do,” Aearion answered.
“Very well, then. How is your training going?” Eldarion inquired of Aearion.
“Exhausting as ever. After almost a lifetime of working towards becoming a knight, it is so close now…but I am still nowhere near perfection, according to Master Rory,” the young man admitted rather dejectedly.
“Master Rory says no such things. I asked him how things were going not too long ago, and he said that you shall be knighted within half a year. Tis simply your own interpretations of his comments. You are too harsh on yourself,” Eldarion informed his friend.
“Better to shoot too low and still make the bull’s-eye than aim too high and miss it by three feet,” Aearion stated.
“Or, best of all, aim accurately and be certain of where your arrow is going,” Eldarion suggested.
“More easily said than done, especially in matters concerning the archer. You cannot say that you have not doubted whether you will be ready for kingship if some unexpected misfortune befalls King Elessar Telcontar,” said Aearion boldly.
“Excellent point. I suppose that is why you and I are friends: I take notice of the problems, you solve them,” Eldarion noted with a smile.
“A superb combination indeed. And, of course, if there is a problem unbeknownst to the race of men…we can ask your sisters,” Aearion joked.
Eldarion laughed loudly. “Indeed we can. What men have no understanding of, women know as if it were a part of them.”
“It is, El. Women are everything that men do not know…and they claim that we confuse them,” Aearion observed.
“Fáeryniel often says how much every living man ‘confuses the life out of me’, as she puts it,” the prince informed his friend.
“And yet she occupies my mind often,” Aearion admitted.
Eldarion arched an eyebrow at Aearion. “Would you care to give me a bit more information on that subject?” he inquired.
“I have been thinking of her as a bit more than a friend for…several months. I wanted to ask you if my courting her would bother you—if your father approves, of course,” confessed Aearion.
“Not at all. You may as well ask Father now. I do not believe that he is doing much of importance at the moment,” Eldarion suggested.
Aearion drew a deep breath. This was what he had dreamt of for six months or so…but it was going to be less attainable now. He was not the best speaker in all of Gondor, nor was King Elessar free with the courtship of his daughters.
“Very well. Now or never, I suppose.”
* * *
King Elessar Telcontar glanced absentmindedly at the doorway. Today had been a rather uneventful day thus far. The throne room was not exactly the most comfortable room in the castle of Minas Tirith, but it was better than being out of doors and under the sun in this heat, he realized gratefully.
“Father, do you have a moment?” asked the voice of Eldarion, the king’s only son.
“I seem to have all morning from the current rate of things, Eldarion. What is it?” he wondered.
“Actually, tis Aearion who wishes to speak with you,” Eldarion revealed.
“Very well, Aearion, what is it?” King Telcontar wondered.
Sheepishly, Aearion shuffled forward. Assert yourself. The king will not have a passive man courting his daughter, he reminded himself.
“King Elessar Telcontar, I come here before you to request something that I desire with my whole heart. I only pray that I am worthy of such a lofty request being granted. Your Majesty, I wish to court Princess Fáeryniel,” Aearion requested strongly.
The king’s eyebrows arched in surprise. Leaning towards Queen Arwen, who sat on his left side, he exclaimed, “She is only eighteen summers, Arwen! I cannot allow her to begin courting at such a young age!”
“I believe her to be ready, Aragorn. She is wise and mature beyond those eighteen summers. If you deny Aearion now, it will only be more difficult to find a man with enough courage to request the same thing,” Arwen noted.
“Arwen, I do not want her to get hurt. She is too young to experience the pains of love,” Aragorn defended.
“And what of the joys, Aragorn? Is she still too young to know such pleasure, to care so deeply for another that you would be willing to withstand anything simply to be with them?” Arwen inquired.
“If my daughter suffered heartbreak at her young age, I would not be able to live with myself, Arwen,” Aragorn said.
“You were little older than her when you felt love’s pains…or have you forgotten that sorrow in the bliss we now have?” Arwen reminded her husband.
Resting his head in his hands, Aragorn sighed. Arwen did have an excellent point—he had thought that there was no hope of fulfilling his love for her when they first met. But this was his eldest daughter…and he had not begun to court till many years later. “She is my daughter, Arwen. I want to keep her life free of unnecessary pain,” he finally replied.
“Aragorn…my father did not allow you to woo me when we first met because you were puerile in comparison with me and he believed that only a king was worthy of his daughter. You are a king and the chasm of maturity has been closed. Aearion is little older than Fáeryniel…and he is to be a great knight of Gondor very soon. I know that no man shall be worthy of his daughter, in the eyes of a father, but you should at least give the young man a chance,” Arwen spoke.
Aragorn could not help but smile. “Very well. I will give him my permission…but he must ask for Fáery’s permission himself,” he compromised.
To Aearion, he said, “You have my permission, Aearion, but you must ask Fáeryniel if she agrees to my decision. Speak with me again when she gives her answer.”
“I will, Your Majesty. Many thanks for your generosity and time,” Aearion managed, grinning, before he ran out of the throne room.
Watching him, Eldarion said to his parents, “I think he’s rather excited.”
“Val, who was Eldacar’s heir?” Adlanniel called to her younger sister, Valiswen.
“Why in the world are you asking me? You know that I have not had to memorize the line of kings yet. Ask Fáery; she is excellent with that,” her younger sister replied.
Adlanniel rolled her eyes and replied playfully, “Yes, Val, but she is so much further away! However, you are here and you are much better at this sort of thing than I am.”
“Well, I do not know. Ask Fáery or Eldarion; they should know,” Valiswen suggested.
“Why must I go to such trouble simply for a name? I know who comes before Eldacar’s elusive heir and several after him…I just cannot remember his name!” Adlanniel responded agitatedly.
“I suppose you could ask Father, but he would likely be rather upset that you did not know yourself,” Valiswen added offhandedly.
“Very well. I am going to look for whomever I find first,” Adlanniel decided, heading towards the door of the studying chamber that she shared with her four younger sisters.
At the door, she met Alassiel, her twin. “Would you happen to know who Eldacar’s heir was?” she wondered.
“Let me think. I could probably tell you with three to four odds of my being correct, or I could tell you that I do not know and you would be forced to listen to Father’s lecture, Fáeryniel’s song of the line of Elros, or Eldarion talk pointlessly about whatever he has on his mind at the moment. Which do you prefer?” her younger twin joked.
Adlanniel feigned a groan of frustration while smiling at her sister. “Seeing as you would probably torture me just as much as any of them, I shall go off and be bothered by someone other than you for a change,” she stated sarcastically, leaving the room.
Being in the mood for song, she headed for Fáeryniel’s chambers. She would probably not be doing much of relevance at the moment. Since Fáery had finished her education a year and a half ago, Adlanniel had missed having her sister nearby—to assist her in her studies and simply to talk to. As often as she quarreled with Fáery…she was irreplaceable.
Adlanniel’s feet led her almost effortlessly to Fáery’s chambers. For a moment, she paused outside the door, listening. There were voices coming from inside…Fáery’s and a masculine voice. Probably just El or Father, Adlanniel decided before opening the door and nonchalantly walking in.
“So, Fáery…I have asked your father, and he has given me permission to court you…if you so desire,” said Aearion.
Adlanniel stood perfectly still, shocked, embarrassed, and…hurt. Though she had not spoken of it, she had been slightly attracted to Aearion for a few months now. Somehow, she had expected him to feel the same way about her. Apparently, that was not going to happen. He had already gotten the permission, which was not an easy thing to do.
Fáeryniel noticed her younger sister’s presence almost immediately. “Lanniel, what are you doing here?” she asked Adlanniel calmly, not sounding upset in the least.
“I cannot remember the name of Eldacar’s heir,” she replied, not missing a beat.
“That would be Arantar,” Fáeryniel answered calmly.
At least she didn’t sing the Line of Elros song in front of her potential beau, Adlanniel told herself before saying to her sister, “Thank you, Fáery. I will leave you two to discuss whatever it was you were discussing.
“Thank you,” they responded in unison.
Adlanniel left the room, feeling quite hurt. She knew quite well that , Fáery would never intentionally hurt her, but still…it was not easy to see the secret object of your affections asking your sister if he could court her.
“I apologize. She obviously thought you were my brother or father,” Fáeryniel apologized to Aearion.
“No, it is quite all right,” he answered, shifting uncomfortably.
After a moment of silence, Fáeryniel stated, “Aearion…I enjoy your company very much, but I have never thought of you as more than a friend. For now, I will decline, but do not abandon hope of courting me. My mind may change when I begin to look at you as more than a friend.”
“Very well. I will wait for you, Fáery,” Aearion vowed, leaving the room.
Once he was out, Fáeryniel breathed a sigh of relief. That had been incredibly awkward. How long had Aearion thought of her as a potential significant other? Even knowing that he wanted to be more than friends with her was…outlandish. For some reason, she had never thought of herself as the child who would first be sought for courtship. It had somehow always occurred to her that Miriel or Adlanniel would be the first to attract suitors. This seemed so…absurd to her!
“What is on your mind?” Eldarion’s voice wondered from her door.
“Aearion has just asked me for my courtship. It is unbelievably absurd and…I do not know what to make of it,” Fáeryniel confessed.
“I take it you’ve never thought of him as anything more than a friend,” Eldarion noted.
Fáeryniel nodded her affirmation. “I know that I am of age and a princess of Gondor, the daughter of the noblest man and woman in all of Middle-earth, but…I suppose I always expected Adlanniel or Miriel to be pursued before me,” she revealed.
“So I take it you are not ready because you have never considered being pursued before our younger sisters,” Eldarion concluded.
“Yes. I shall need to make up for that now; I told Aearion that, for now, I would not court him, but I did ask him to give me a bit of time to think about him in that way,” she clarified.
“A wise decision. From what he told me, it seems he has been interested romantically in you for a while now. It would be unwise to close the door on him completely,” Eldarion counseled.
“Thank you, El,” Fáery said to her elder brother gratefully.
“Any time, Fáery. Let me know if you ever want to talk more about this; we can probably give one another excellent advice,” he suggested before leaving the room.
Fáeryniel breathed another sigh of relief. Thank Eru for her brother! She would be lost without him.
Now, however, she had to lose herself…in thoughts of courtship and marriage.