b2mem | Longing for Arnor, by Kaylee Arafinwiel

B2MEM Challenge: Bingo 2012 - AU Lives/Dies G51
Format: Ficlet
Genre: Family
Rating: PG
Warning: N/A
Characters: Aragorn (Estel), Gilraen
Pairings: Arathorn II/Gilraen
Creator's Notes: In my Arnorverse (including, but not limited to “Isildurchil Dithen”), the Muse settled on using the “Iroquois kinship system” for the Northern Dúnedain. Parallel siblings of one’s mother and father (i.e. mother’s sister, father’s brother) are called ‘mother’ and ‘father’. Parallel cousins (children of parents’ parallel siblings – gender of cousin doesn’t matter) are treated as siblings. Only parents’ opposite-gendered siblings are ‘uncle’ and ‘aunt’, and their children are ‘cousins’. I may have to do some rewriting to reflect this, but hopefully it hasn’t been important enough before now to require serious revision.
Summary: In Gilraen’s room, in Imladris, sometimes it’s easy to forget that Estel isn’t to know who he is. Gilraen can’t resist telling him a little bit about home. For G51, “Arathorn father of Aragorn never dies.” I decided he was poisoned by the arrow wound instead, rendered comatose, and all three of them were brought to Imladris for protection.

"Nana?"

Gilraen cradled Estel in her lap, rocking her little boy. "Yes, Estel?" Ever since he'd turned four, he was full of questions.

"Do we have other family besides Ada, Ada Elrond, Dan, and Roh?"

Gilraen ran her fingertips through Estel's hair and nodded. "Yes, we do. Perhaps we will visit them someday, but not until you are old enough to travel and it is safe."

"Tell me?"

"Well, there is your Nana Nessanie," Gilraen began, but Estel interrupted with a frown. "But you're Nana!"

"Yes, my silly boy," Gilraen said with a rare laugh startled out of her. "Nessa is my sister. You can have more than one nana, my love - you have three edair as it is, for your ada has a little brother, though he must be barely more than a boy himself."

Estel nodded, remembering. His born Ada was very ill, which is why they lived with Ada Elrond. "Oh. Yes." That made sense.
"Your Nana Nessanie has a little girl, not much older than you are now. And then there are our brothers. We have three, younger than Nessa but older than me – and your Ada has three sisters."

Estel stared, wide-eyed. "You have three, Nana! I only have two brothers!"

"Ah, but you have many cousins – and Nessa's little girl will be your sister, when you meet again," Gilraen promised. “Perhaps we can persuade your Ada Targon to give you brothers.”

"When will that be?" Estel rather thought a sister might be nice, and he wouldn’t mind little brothers, especially if he could teach them things like Dan and Roh taught him.

"Sooner than you think."

“Will Ada wake up before we go home?”

Gilraen was spared from responding by Elladan calling “Estel!” Her little boy kissed her cheek and ran off to greet the twins. She sighed, mood darkening. Talk of home had only strengthened her desire to return.

I miss you, Arathorn. I miss everyone. Please, love, come back to me. For Estel’s sake.