Chapter Text
Even after all this time, the darkness of Nan Elmoth unsettled you. As best as you could, you kept the memories of your childhood alive, wishing that for just a moment, you could bask in the sun in Dorthonion again. The lack of sunlight had turned your skin pale and your bones weak. After Dagor Aglareb, your mother had sent you south to join your uncle in the newly founded city of Nargothrond, deciding you were far too close to Angband for her liking. You never completed the journey. By your reckoning, you’d made a serious wrong turn as soon as you’d gone through the pass of Anach, ending up going east instead of west, hundreds of miles off course. You supposed you ought to be grateful to Eöl – without him you were sure you would’ve spent the rest of your life lost in the woods before you inevitably died.
You chided yourself for not being more grateful. He’d taken you into his home and yet here you sat, wishing you were somewhere else. Perhaps you could make him dinner as an apology.
“Are you looking at anything in particular or do you just enjoy staring at walls?” You snapped your head around as you heard Eöl behind you, leaning against one of the door frames with his arms folded. He smirked at you. Although it wasn’t a real, affectionate smile, it still lifted your spirits.
“Sorry I was… I was just…” You fumbled. You’d expected your husband to be in his forge for the rest of the day. “Thinking…”
“Well perhaps your time would be better spent doing something productive? Not just for my benefit but for your own.” He always wanted the best for you. “You know how much I detest laziness.”
“…Of course, you’re right…. I should get started on the washing…”
“While you do that, I’m going hunting. I’ll be back before dark.
He didn’t hug you. He didn’t even kiss your hand. In the last week or so he’d slowly been becoming much more distant to you. Now it was rare to receive his touch at all. You couldn’t help but entertain the possibility that he no longer loved you. As his wife, you had certain duties to perform. Had you done something wrong? You’d give anything to have his affections directed at you once more.
“Very well.” You forced a smile, trying to hide your hurt at his detached tone. “I’ll use the meat to make dinner when you get back.” He was gone without so much as acknowledging your reply.
In the mean time you busied yourself with the usual household tasks, not having any servants to do it for you. You didn’t particularly mind – your family in Dorthonion had been relatively poor so you’d grown up doing this, and more. You were just happy you got to be of some use to your husband. You set about washing his clothing and making your bed with haste. It was already afternoon and Eöl’s hunts never took long. With any luck, you’d be able to show him how grateful you were through these chores, and then maybe he’d stop being so distant with you.
Once everything was to your satisfaction, you sighed with hands on your hips, checking and checking again. Although Eöl was usually wonderful to you, he didn’t take kindly to badly-made beds or neglected chores. And his form of discipline wasn’t something you wanted to be on the receiving end of. Deciding your chores had been done well enough, you decided to use the free time you had to sew up the holes in your clothing.
You’d been able to get through at least three skirts before you heard the steady beat of his horse trotting through the otherwise deserted forest. You threw your sewing down and rushed outside to greet him. When you caught sight of him, you stopped abruptly in the doorway. There was someone with him.
You couldn’t help but stop for a moment and stare. The woman sharing Eöl’s horse was beautiful. In all your years you don’t think you’d seen someone quite like it. Her hair fell down her back in loose waves, features were unmistakably Ñoldor and looked as if they’d been carved by the Valar themselves. She must have been one of the high elves in the west for her skin almost glowed with its own light. The only other’s you’d seen able to do that were the Lords of your homeland.
Eöl chuckled at your gobsmacked expression, stopping his horse less than a meter in front of you before helping the woman down.
“This is Aredhel. She’s going to be staying with us.”