The disembodied flame rose from the hearth in the solar, smoke stirring the tapestry of the sea cave where Rembano had taken her decades earlier. The twisting figure spit sparks as it formed hands and feet. A head. Tendrils of hair that blackened like charcoal. The eyes remained as golden as flame.

It was the teeth she remembered from that night in the wintry pine barren outside the camp of Fingolfin, the icy waters of Mithrim still as death beyond the naked trees. Luimëníssë wasn't bothered by the chilled floor as she swayed on her bare feet, blinking in dreamlike stupor. Glowing eyes held her captive as he approached. Fangs emerged from an icy smile.

It was Rembano. But, it wasn't. It was an abomination of what had been her lover, who had died in the flames of the Kinslaying alongside her brother. 

"You are not afraid." White smoke seeped from his nostrils as the inside of his mouth cooled to black.

Luimëníssë shook her head. "No. Surprisingly."

"I didn't think you would be. Which is why I appeared before you as such." He circled her, heat flooding the small space between them. "Where is the one you call husband?"

"Hunting wolves on the Plateau."

The apparition's cloak trembled around him as he paced. Oxblood in color. Like the first time they had met. "I fear he may find himself out matched."

"I pray not."

"Why? Do you have feelings for the creature that murdered your kin?"

"Because my son is with him."

The Oxblood Prince paused. "Your son."

"Yes."

"Your son hunts wolves."

"He is a gifted warrior. A gifted metal smith. Horseman. A scholar like my mother. Everything he sets his mind to, Celebrimbor succeeds at with ease."

A strange flicker passed over his face, his lips curling back. "How did such a marvelous youth come to possess these gifts?"

"The Valar have blessed him."

"The Valar," he spat incredulously. An elegant finger trailed down the arch of her jawline, grazing the jugular vein at her throat. "The Valar had nothing to do with the creation of your son. Nor did your husband. And you know it. You've always known it."

Luimëníssë shrunk back, fear flooding her face. "No one else must know."

The figure shook his head, a vague warmth in his eyes as he studied her. "No one else will. And your son will forever be safe in these hills. I promise you that, little mother. Nothing will harm him. He will be like one welded in iron from the hottest forge."

A breath of relief escaped her lips. She blinked and the room spun. Stumbling on her bare feet, she found herself staring at a cold hearth in the grey light of dawn, the castle keep waking below her as servants readied for the day.

How long had she been standing there? Hours? Minutes? Had she been sleep walking? It'd be the first time since that night beside Lake Mithrim. Chilled to the bone, she strode with determined feet back to her bed chamber. Vague whispers from her dark dreams rang in her mind, truths she knew all too well. Had known for years, finally said aloud. Spoken to shadows that stared back with eyes of fire.

She had to get out of the fortress.

***

Luimëníssë had discovered the secret waterfall early on in their years at the Pass. Curufin teased that bodies of water were as drawn to her as she was to them. In one of her explorations of the westward hills, she and Celebrimbor had come upon a chasm scented with evergreen. 

Water cascaded off a cliff into a pool of crystal water. Trees hung over the rocky edges of the oasis, black fish and smooth stones inhabiting the waters. The pool was not as cold as it appeared. An underground stream from the hot underbelly of the earth fed into it, making it warm enough to swim year round. 

She had spent countless hours over the years submerged under the tumbling waterfall, digging through the ever shifting bed of stone for little treasures, and diving from the cliff. Curufin had joined her on occasion. He had even offered to build a bathhouse for her there, cutting down the trees and rerouting the warm stream through to a massive marble tub. She had thanked him, but declined. The idea of desecrating such a place with something hand made was horrifying.

Stripped to her shift, she dipped under the surface of the water, trying to wash the strange night from her spirit. An amused gaze watched her from high above among the trees. 

She dove to the very heart of the deep pool, running her fingers over the smooth stones and letting the muted stillness of the water soothe her mind. After staying down as long as she could bear, Luimëníssë burst towards the wrinkled surface, her lungs aching for air. 

Lying on her back and stroking towards the outer rim of rock, she peered up into the pale blue sky. A glint of metal on the cliff above caught her attention. Luimëníssë righted herself, staring towards the edge of the waterfall. The pale morning sun hit the spot exactly where it rose over the treeline. 

An ellon clad only in hose raced to the edge of the cliff and leaped out over the cascading waters. Her husband hit the pool, swooping underneath her and kicking upwards. Grasping her by the waist, Curufin let out a rare laugh as he lifted her up against his torso.

"Did I surprise you?" He threw his hair from his face, licking drops from his full bottom lip.

"You should have let yourself be known!"

"Why? Were you planning on running me through if I was an orc? You don't seem to be wearing enough to hide a blade anywhere," he said, grinning wickedly. 

He smoothed a hand down her thigh, hitching her bare leg around his waist as he moved them to where the waterfall stirred the surface. Luimëníssë rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance before dunking his head under the water. Curufin burst up into the air, paddling hard after her as she slipped under the waterfall and disappeared into the shallow cave behind it. 

She lifted herself up onto the shelf of rock, the thin fabric of her shift floating around her legs in the eerily lit water. She snuffed the memory of the sea cave in Alqualondë. That was a world away from that morning with Curufin on their lands, in their own little kingdom.

"We weren't expecting you until this afternoon," she said, wringing the long strands of her hair out over her shoulder. 

Curufin's feet hit the sloped floor of the waterfall cave, the steady crash of water echoing around the hollow. He slowly made his way up to where she sat, grazing his palms across the water, his eyes hungrily soaking her in like a rich wine. Curving his hands around her waist, he tugged her towards his broad, pale chest. 

"We were finished early. Found the pack. Killed the alpha. Your son slew him."

"Did he?"

"Yes. The animal could barely put up a fight against him. Little wonder, with the fire in Celebrimbor's eyes when he fights. He's a Fëanorian," he murmured between kisses against her collarbone and down over her breasts.

Your son will forever be safe in these hills... Nothing will harm him.  

Luimëníssë shuddered as the words from her dream stung her brain. Curufin pulled back, brushing the wet hair from her face with a concerned pucker between his dark eyes. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, feigning a weary smile. "I don't like to think of him in battle. Or in danger of any kind, really. I suppose I have become my mother's daughter after all."

"You have nothing to fear. He is untouchable. Most fathers would be jealous of such a gifted son, but I can't help marveling at him." Lips and tongue tasting the side of her throat, his confident hands drifted to her lower back and locked their lower halves together. 

Luimëníssë looped her arms around his neck with a chuckle. "That is because you see him like any craft from your forge. A product of your own genius. Your ego revels in it."

"He is a product of something, that is certain."

Kissing her full on the mouth, he coaxed her lips open. Luimëníssë slipped into the heated fervor of the moment.

"And I can't completely take credit for him," he whispered, before draping her leg over his elbow for better leverage.

"No, you can't," she gasped, nails gripping into his back.

After they made love under the privacy of the waterfall, they dried on the rocky edge of the pool in the rare warmth of the northern sun. Curufin had left his armor on the ledge above and went to fetch it while Luimëníssë braided her tangled hair. Sunlight hit the ripples in the water, ribbons of white curling over her bare legs. She closed her eyes, her body still humming from Curufin's knowing touch. 

It was hard to believe her dark dreams from the night before were anything other than that. Only haunted imaginings. After her family had been killed, she never thought she could be happy again. But in that moment, she felt a stirring of that long lost sentiment, as though she were glowing from head to foot.

A branch broke and she opened her eyes. Curufin grimaced, shuffling his feet like a child that had been caught red handed. "I didn't want to disturb you. You looked... at peace."

"I am," she said then laughed at the honesty in her words. "I am."

He pressed his lips together as he gently studied her. 

"Then so am I."

***

"Speaking of crafts from the forge," Curufin murmured as he drew behind Luimëníssë where she sat at her dressing table. 

Her hair was looped and mounded up onto her head for dinner, leaving her shoulders and neck bare. He kissed the crown of her spine and draped a chain around her neck, the brush of his soft lips making her shiver in remembrance of their stolen afternoon. 

"It's beautiful, husband," she breathed, running her fingers over the treasure.

A royal blue stone inlaid with veins of black had been polished to a tear drop shape. Curves of silver swelled around it like sea foam. It rested against her breastbone, lighter than it appeared. He fastened the chain with nimble fingers.

"I found the stone in a valley not far from here. You see? You are not the only one in this family with an eye for diamonds in the rough," he teased, his smile fading a little and black eyes growing distant. The minute facial expression was not lost on her.

"What's wrong," she spoke to his reflection in the glass before them.

Curufin trudged towards their bed, his black robes swooping around his body as he sat at the end, peering out the window beyond. His shoulders were stooped. Luimëníssë rose from her seat, resting a hand on the bed post beside him. She waited for him to speak.

"I'm concerned."

"About what?"

His dark eyes flashed towards her, mouth tight with apprehension. "What are your thoughts on returning with Galadriel to Doriath when their visit is done?"

She gave a vague smile. "I never thought about it before, Doriath never appealed to me."

"Why not? I've heard it's the closest thing to Valinor on this side of the sea."

She cocked her head to the side with a knowing glance. "Because it isn't where my family is."

"Vantaro is there."

"He is grown and on his own now. I love him, but he has no need of me anymore."

The corner of Curufin's somber mouth curved upwards. "Am I not able to meet my own needs without your assistance?"

Luimëníssë smirked. "You didn't act like it today at the waterfall."

Curufin let out a low chuckle and shook his head. Reaching out, he gripped her by the hip and positioned her in front of him. She leaned against him, smoothing the silver lined collar of his outer robe. 

"What is troubling you, husband? Speak plain."

"It's the Ered Engrin. The mountains are growing restless again."

"The haven of the Enemy is always restless."

"Not like this. The ground rumbles and shakes, as though something is brewing beneath the surface."

If it was the Enemy stirring again, how long would it be until they suffered the ill affects at the Pass of Aglon. She recalled the deadly mists that had plagued their time on Lake Mithrim, that sickened even the hardiest of elves. 

"Is it truly this serious that you would send me south?"

He ran his fingers over her necklace thoughtfully, his gaze simmering with bottled worry. "Perhaps. Maybe the Enemy only wishes to make sure we do not forget his presence."

"But there is something else worrying you."

"It's the news that Finrod brought with him from Doriath. Something that was revealed to him and his brother. They believe that Ulmo may have sent them a vision."

Luimëníssë's jaw dropped. "A vision from Ulmo?" 

For the Teleri, there could be nothing more holy. She wouldn't doubt the validity of their claim. They were half Teleri as she was, their mother being the swan maiden herself.

"There is more trouble coming, more war. They are both searching for hidden places. Places that can be fortified and guarded from the outside world, as Melian's girdle protects Doriath. Finrod will be looking not far from us. He has this idea of a kingdom made of caves, like Thingol's Menegroth."

Finrod was a master planner, he and Curufin both shared that Noldor trait. She had no doubt that her cousin would succeed. If indeed they were fated to see more war in the coming years. Or months.

But was she willing to leave behind her comfortable life at the Pass of Aglon? Leave her husband once again?

Curufin noticed the shadow of worry shade her countenance. Knitting his fingers at her back, he shrugged and pursed his lips. "I didn't want to trouble you with this news until I heard back from our scouts. Celonion is due tomorrow with a report."

Luimëníssë gave an accepting hum. "He has been very loyal to you these past decades."

Curufin scoffed. "I respect him. He doesn't say much about himself, but he does a credible job. Though I have to be honest with you and myself, he is more loyal to the silver I pay him than anything."

Dinner was a quiet affair, polite conversation being the rule of the table with the guests present. Thankfully, Celegorm had not dropped in on one of his visits. Despite the years passed, Luimëníssë had never warmed to the sharp tongued hunter. Amras would sometimes frequent their table, though he usually never made it to the final course before passing out cold, his hand clutching a liquor bottle. 

Neither Caranthir nor Maglor had ever visited the Pass. Both were guests that Luimëníssë would rather not entertain so their company was not missed.

Maedhros traveled to their part of the north on frequent visits, once every three years to five years. He was constantly fortifying and checking his brothers' defenses, while maintaining his own powerful estate at Himring. Despite the years of torture he'd endured, Maedhros still cut an intimidating figure. He was the only ellon alive that she had seen her strong minded husband shrink before, gazing in awe of his eldest brother. 

Celebrimbor had struck up a good relationship with Amras and revered Maedhros. Luimëníssë did not like how he laughed with Celegorm as they rode out on hunting expeditions, but her son returned no different from how he left. Celebrimbor was always himself.

This night, too worried about the news her husband had given her, Luimëníssë did not notice her distracted son sitting to the right of Galadriel. She did not notice how Celebrimbor grazed his fingers against hers and how Galadriel did not move her hand. How at pauses in the conversation, the two of them would look over the rims of their goblets and pass a look of amusement or concern, as though they were entertaining their own private conversation. It was all lost on Luimëníssë.

A servant bounded into the feasting chamber towards the end of the meal. He whispered into Curufin's ear. Luimëníssë set down her glass, her smile from the story Vantaro was telling across the table quickly fading. A dark cloud settled on her husband's face.

"I apologize, but if you will all excuse me. I have a moment of business to attend to," he spoke in a morose tone, not looking at his wife as he strode from the room.

Curufin never came back. They all left for their own chambers. Luimëníssë told Galadriel that she was fine, Curufin was only concerned about the security of the borders. She climbed the tower where she and her husband slept, holding her skirts in one hand and a candle in the other. The wind howled around the structure, the trees below cracking in the blustery force. Luimëníssë tried to swallow down the swell of fear in her chest, but it was no use. 

Suddenly her nightmare from the previous evening seemed more real than it had earlier that day by the waterfall.

Once in her bedchamber, she gingerly removed the necklace her husband had gifted her and set it into a box on her dressing table. She put it into a bottom drawer that held a circlet he had made her upon the creation of his new forge and a few other pieces. The pale blue quartz ring Curufin had made her that had traveled all the way from Tirion never left her finger. 

There was another ring, however, that remained in a small locked box in the back. She had not looked at the black pearl ring that Rembano had made her in the years since she'd arrived at the Pass. Her fingers drifted over it for a moment, an impulse to see it again filling her mind. She shut the drawer and moved from the table with a sigh. 

Letting her blue silk skirts fall to the stone floor and undoing the bone pins that held up her heavy hair, she dropped onto their bed. She watched the fire as she drifted into a gauzy state of sleep. The sense of another presence woke her.

Fear struck her heart at the sight of a black silhouette on the short balcony. It called to mind when the Trees had been destroyed and Rembano had found her alone in her chamber. There was no wind, the stillness maddening in it's silence. 

Rising from the sheets, she pressed her hands to her heart as she tip toed towards the landing. The shadow moved, the erect square of the broad shoulders and alert chin turning in her direction showed her who it was. She let out a sigh of relief.

"What did your scout say?" she asked Curufin.

He did not respond, but looked out towards the north. For the first time since she'd awoken, she gazed past him into the night. The jagged, black peaks of the Ered Engrin, the sanctuary of the Enemy. They were exploding into the sky, spewing fire and black smoke. A faint roar reached them that she could only hear by holding her breath.

"Could you be ready to leave for Doriath with Galadriel and Vantaro by tomorrow?" he asked.

Luimëníssë drew a ragged breath. "Yes."