Thank you to everyone who reviewed my story, especially Julia, whose enthusiasm was both encouraging and inspiring, and Raksha, whom I consulted as a Faramir expert and who gave me some very helpful tips on chapter three.

I also wanted to cite some of the sources for my inspiration.  “Slip Slidin’ Away,” by Paul Simon influenced my depiction of Aragorn and Eldarion’s relationship, specifically the verse “I know a father who had a son, he longed to tell him all the reasons for the things he’d done.  He came a long way just to explain, he kissed his boy as he lay sleeping then he turned around and headed home again.”

My portrayal of Aragorn’s initial attitude toward Arwen owes something to the song “Graceland,” also by Paul Simon, specifically  the verse “She comes back to tell me she’s leaving, As if I didn’t know that, As if I didn’t know my own bed, As if I hadn’t noticed the way she pushed her hair back from her forehead.”

The motif of a reunited married couple riding off on a single horse was drawn from the story “Erec and Enide,” by the great medieval author Chretien de Troyes in Arthurian Romances, translated by D.D.R. Owen.

Legolas’ stern reproof of Aragorn was influenced by Proverbs 27:6a “Faithful are the wounds of a friend….”

Another significant source of inspiration for this story was the following passage from the Psalms:

                        Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear;

                        Forget your people and your father’s house;

                        Then the King will desire your beauty;

                        Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him.

                        And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;

                        The rich among the people will entreat your favor….

                        In place of your fathers will be your sons;

                        You shall make them princes in all the earth.

                        (Psalm 45:10-12 &16)

And, of course, I am completely indebted to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, especially“The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen” in Appendix A.

Finally, I want to wish you all a very happy Valentine’s Day and to leave you with this last thought (the moral of the story, if you will): It’s very hard to live happily ever after when you start taking the love of your life for granted.

Adieu,

Wordweaver