Flame of Gondolin, book 2: Miss Independent

CHAPTER FIVE
Spring, 544 FA

Anárië woke to the sound of an insistent bird in front of her window, and pulled the sheets over her head. Her body was still sore from the sparring match with Elénna she had undergone yesterday, with the twins and Maglor as witnesses. The smaller elleth was so fast, it was hardly believable, and yet Anárië was becoming faster too, every day, every time they fought. Elénna’s sais could not hold back all the blows from the Flame of Gondolin, and she was now sporting an equal share of bruises.

But that did not mean that Anárië was ready to rise today. She would have much rather stayed in bed the whole day, but the bird wouldn’t stop singing.

She groaned finally, and kicked the covers off, shivering only slightly as her bare feet touched the cold stones. She skipped quickly onto one of the rugs that Maglor had given her, and swiftly washed her face and arms before dressing for the day.

Once her feet were in boots, she felt much better in walking around, and she went to find the twins. She wasn’t surprised that Elénna was nowhere to be seen; likely, the elleth was in the main hall, waiting for her.

A knock to the twins’ door brought her no response, and she frowned before peeking in; they were not there.

At this point in time, she trusted Maglor enough not to harm them, but she was still irked that nobody had told her any plans the previous day. Her face indicated her displeasure as she finally found the other elleth, as predicted – though Elénna surprised her by sitting cross-legged on the bench and peeling something.

"Someone put their boots on backwards," she commented when Anárië lowered herself opposite her with a glum expression on her face.

"The twins are not in their rooms."

"No," the other elleth agreed, "they woke an hour before dawn and rode out with Maglor. A mountain lion was spotted hunting near-by; they will try and catch it."

A flutter of fear made Anárië’s heart bounce, but Elénna didn’t seem concerned.

"And you did not ride with your lord to protect him?"

There was a snort.

"Maglor does not appreciate being handled as a child; besides, I could not leave you here alone."

Anárië sighed: "You could have woken me and I would have ridden with them."

Elénna lifted her eyes off her work for the first time, and Anárië was shocked to see compassion in the amber depths.

"Some things are not for women to join. You should remember that; it will otherwise be always hard for you as you watch the men ride away."

At this, she bristled on the inside, feeling helpless, like when her father had ridden off with his warriors and left her behind to care for his household and other affairs. She would have faced the same future with Glorfindel, yet circumstances had made her take care of a different house. Still, she had cared for it.

The old line which had long since faded on her palm tingled.

"I will never subject myself to the same treatment as other ellith," she pressed out, her eyes hardening, "I, too, swore an Oath. It does not entitle sitting by the fireplace and peeling – what EXACTLY are you doing anyway?"

Elénna’s lips twitched in humour as she placed the small knife down, and wiped her hands: "I was working through a basket of mushrooms. Being a warrior does not mean I cannot help with the more mundane chores."

Anárië gave her an incredulous look, and the other elleth’s smile turned feral.

"It also does not mean we cannot go after the hunters now that you are awake."

Finally on the same level of understanding, Anárië grinned back and rose from the bench, going to fetch her bow. When she arrived at the stables, Elénna was already seated on her mare, with Raumonóna beside her.

The stallion snorted in greeting, and Anárië rubbed his muzzle with a murmur before pulling herself into the saddle.

"No sword today?"

She looked at Elénna, who never went anywhere without her sais. But the longsword would only hinder her, and so she shook her head,

"No. I do not mean to hunt. With the amount of time we have already lost, the mountain lion should have lost its skin by now."

Elénna grinned, and the two ellith rode out through the gates together, following a path that Anárië trusted would lead them to where Maglor and the twins were hunting.

Sure enough, when they finally came upon the party, they were already too late for any snarls or growls; the mountain lion had been pierced by three arrows at least, and one spear.

Elros was the first to see the newcomers, and he smiled broadly as he ran up to them.

"Anná, you should’ve been here! Elrond managed to spear the beast, but I shot two arrows at it!"

"Verily, you are both natural-born hunters," she praised as she dismounted; to the side, Elénna was hiding a smile of her own. She, too, had grown to love the twins, and between them and Maglor had grown an almost family bond.

Elrond noticed them as well and ran up to them in glee. The two boys were now twelve years old, and already going into a growth spurt; they reminded Anárië strongly of their father, but their eyes and facial features were gentler than Eärendil’s; they came from Elwing’s line, and through her from Lúthien the Fair.

"Anná, Anná, you should have seen this! Maglor let us hunt with him almost on our own!"

The news did not strike the elleth as something to be so cheerful about, and her eyes spoke so when Maglor finally joined them. His chagrined smile told her he understood.

"They were never in harm’s way; I had my best hunters with me."

"And your arrow pierced the heart of the beast," Anárië heard Elénna murmur from the side; indeed, the longest of the arrows sticking from the carcass was Maglor’s. She relaxed.

"You should have woken me earlier."

"My lady, none of us wished to disturb your rest," Maglor apologised, and beckoned to her. She automatically glanced for the twins, but they were already describing the hunt to Elénna, who listened with animation.

Seeing them well-cared for, Anárië relented and stepped with her captor, who had grown to become her friend, in a way, through the gentle manners he sported and his treatment of the two boys she had vowed to protect.

"I am truly sorry if I displeased you," he said as they went to retrieve some arrows that had been shot in vain, "but I did not wish to miss the opportunity."

"I am not angry with you for taking the twins with you, not this time," she told him with a small smile, before it faltered, "but I do not appreciate being excluded. I did not swear to protect the boys by sitting by the fire and waiting for them to return home from wherever they rode off to."

She shook her head, and yanked an arrow from a tree trunk. This time, she had no problems with it, and did not need anyone else to do it for her.

"You are not like any other elleth I know," came the comment from her side. Anárië glanced at Maglor with an arched eyebrow, then turned her head back to where the twins and his Hand were now helping with the mountain lion.

To this, Maglor only laughed: "Elénna! True, you have me there. But I have never viewed her as anything other than family. She just happens to also wield the blade better than any other of my warriors."

They fell silent after that, and collected the rest of the arrows. Anárië sensed Maglor wished to say something, but she did not encourage him, and he remained silent.

The group was just about to return to the fortress when the neigh of an approaching horse was heard.

The Elf that rode with haste through the trees carried the design of one of the brothers, but Anárië could not make out who, for he dismounted swiftly and his moves were a blur.

"My lord!"

Maglor turned and she saw the way his muscles tensed as the man neared; now she could see the device.

It was Maedhros’.

"Lord, a missive from your brother – large battalions of orcs were seen moving down from the mountains."

She felt dread settle over her; once more? Would there be no end to the carnage? They had only been in one spot for a couple of years now, and already it seemed that they would have to run again. Anárië was tired of the constant struggle, but in her heart, she sensed it was only just beginning.

"Elénna, ride with Anárië and the twins," Maglor ordered as he pulled himself into the saddle of his own horse, "make haste to the fort! Do not wait for me."

The red-haired elleth looked like she might have something to say on the matter, but refrained and calmly told Elrond and Elros to mount. Anárië did the same, and they detached from the hunting party first, the hooves of their horses beating swiftly against the ground on their way back.

"Elénna?" Elros asked as they rode, drawing abreast with the elleth, "Will there be war?"

"I do not know, little one," she replied, but her eyes were guarded, "I do not know."

Anárië refrained from commenting since they had just drawn closer to the fortress; the gates were open, the guards waiting for them as they clattered in under the archway.

"Elénna, another scout has been sighted riding by," one of them said, holding the head of her horse as she dismounted, "we fear it means an attack on the Gap."

"Whatever it means, Maglor is on his way," she countered him, and Anárië could see she was unwilling to speak of this before the twins, so the golden-haired elleth quickly took the boys by the shoulders.

"Come; to your room."

They went more or less obediently. Elros was complaining the whole way, but she silenced him: "Hush! This is not the time to display that you are still a child."

"I am old enough!" he argued as they climbed the steps to the sleeping chambers.

"If you have to say it, then that proves you are not," she replied calmly, and opened their door, "inside, and wait here. I suggest you wash the grime and dust of the hunt."

She slammed the door shut on them, and for the first time, she was glad of the guard that suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere, placing himself between the entrance.

Once inside her own room, Anárië realised she was shaking. A slow, but steady tremor was making her whole body move in a way she had not felt it do since the fall of her native city. She could hardly pull her riding gloves off, and she gave up on everything else as she slowly sank to the floor with her back to the bed, her face in her hands.

This could not be happening again.

She had been too young to really understand the fear and the shock when Gondolin fell; she had been more than equal to the task when Maedhros attacked the Havens of Sirion, but she had since come to understand the Fëanorions better. She could also very well understand what was happening now – the sound of footsteps and calls from outside were loud enough for that.

She could not decide what was worse: knowing what was coming or a sudden assault.

"Anárië?"

The gentle touch to her shoulder made her shriek and roll to the side, coming down on all fours like a cat and her body tensed for a strike.

Maglor slowly lifted his hands, palms-out, to steady her.

"I am sorry, I did not mean to frighten you."

She relaxed, and drew herself to her previous position.

"I am just tense. This is the third time that something like this is happening to me."

He nodded, taking a seat beside her, but he did not say a word; she looked at him.

"I thought you would not be here so soon. You sounded like you had much to do."

"No, I did not want the twins to overhear me speaking with the messenger," he explained, "I rode soon after you did. It is as Maedhros said – great movement can be seen upon the plains. We have to muster the cavalry and fortify the walls as best as we can."

Anárië was silent as he spoke, her head resting back against the foot of the bed. His voice was soothing, even in times of panic, and it calmed her more than the meaning of his words did.

She felt his hand upon her own, and turned to look at him.

His eyes were sad: "I fear this is but the beginning of a long war, one that Melkor has been brewing within the foundations of Thangorodrim. It will be us or him this time."

Her grip on his fingers tightened.

"Anárië, you know you have become more than simply a captive – to us all," he continued. She would have begged to differ, but he silenced her with a touch: "I do not wish any harm upon you or the boys. They are dearer to me than my own sons might have been; indeed, they are the sons I shall never have."

It took her a moment to find her voice: "They love you equally so; you have taught them what I could not – how to be a warrior and a man in these troubled times."

He squeezed her hand, and remained silent for a while, as outside, his warriors prepared for battle.

"If we had met in Aman," he said finally, "things might have been different."

The weight of the ring Glorfindel had slipped upon her finger the day Gondolin fell felt like lead. Maglor’s eyes were blue, but Glorfindel’s had been bluer still.

"If we had met in Aman, you would never have looked at me twice."

Their eyes met; Anárië smiled sadly, and kissed the hand she held.

Maglor ran his thumb across her knuckles, then leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. The scent of pine, the recent hunt, and calm authority embraced her for a moment.

He left to prepare his warriors for the impending battle. She wrapped her arms around her knees and drew them to her chest, hiding her face from the pain of another heartbreak.