Something startled Luimëníssë from her rest. A stirring deep within that she could not name. Her dreams had been filled with sparks, a heavy hammer striking a black anvil. It put to mind her dear older brother with his gentle spirit. Rembano with his passionate vision for a more orderly world. Even Curvo, intelligent, midnight eyes coolly appraising his work, searching for flaws. The same eyes that had filled with fire then faded to sorrow as she had emerged from the lake.

The thing rose up in her till she felt full of it, rising from her bedroll to stare bleary eyed at her brother. She gazed across the small tent that had been pitched over them, sheltering them from the bitter winds coming down from the Helcaraxë. Vantaro was curled up next to Artanis, the golden haired maiden resting finally after days on her feet, running from her dreams. Luimëníssë sunk into hers willingly, using them like a magic spell that erased everything that had occurred since the Trees were destroyed.

Vantaro whimpered, clutching his bow tightly in his small hands. Though his body remained small, the size elf children normally were at six years, his spirit had aged in a matter of days. He was wiser, more a small ellon now than boy child. He hadn't innocently called her nésaya since he had been told of their family's fate, rather used her mother name like everyone else. But his wisdom was born of tragedy, not the natural progression of the years as it was with elves. She wondered how different his life would now look because of it. 

Regardless, she would have to leave her dreams behind. Her questions about why it had happened, what if it hadn't, all of it she needed to bury within her spirit. It wasn't only her survival that mattered now, she knew it then in the still night. Vantaro depended on her as well. There was much more she was responsible for, things she didn't understand yet.

A scruffy sound like heavy breathing through a thick snout came from outside the tent wall. Rising from her bedroll, she pulled Curvo's cloak over her shoulders and ventured outside. At first she thought it was a bear and drew back with a gasp, recalling Curvo's warning of the dangers of the wild. Shaggy and grey, nearly the size of a filly, it lifted it's perceptive gaze towards her and blew hotly out it's nose. It was a hound, one of the great ones that belonged to the Vala Oromë. She had heard tell of them, but had never seen one this close.

It nodded it's massive head towards the forest, eyes piercing her with their awareness. She knew then that the animal meant for her to follow. Pulling the hood up around her ears, she followed the hound into the night.

The faint glow of a fire shone out from a sheltered dell, ancient trees and standing stones shielding the rough grass from the wind. A lone figure stood with his back to her as he tossed shards of kindling into the flames. The hound had vanished into the black. She halted outside the ring of light.

The ellon moved to the other side of the flames. His shoulders hunched. Alert eyes scanned the surrounding trees. Curvo had sensed her presence before she could call attention to herself. His hand went to the short knife at his hip and drew it out slowly, his gaze narrowing.

Luimëníssë padded quietly into the light, the fire's glow luminous against her thick, silver braid as she removed the hood. Gently, she grasped Curvo's hand that held the knife and lowered it back into it's sheath with the whispering scrape of fine metal.

"You won't need that, I promise."

He exhaled a heavy breath through his nose, his lips tight as he peered down at her. "Why didn't you speak sooner? I could have hurt you."

"But you didn't." She moved towards the fire and sat beside it. "You are far from your father's camp. Why are you out here all alone?"

"I need somewhere quiet to think when my father and brothers do not require my presence. I've always been like this." He tossed another stick on the fire. "I like being alone."

Luimëníssë shivered. "I don't. Though I fear I may end that way. Now that..." she could not finish the sentence, but he seemed to understand that she meant now that most of her family was gone.

"Why would you think that?"

"My aunt and her husband left today, returning to our home. Other than Vantaro, they were the last of my true kin. Though Artanis and her brothers remain here as well." 

"Why didn't you go with them?" His voice became guarded, vowels keen as his blades. "Go crawling on your knees back to the Holy Mountain, begging for their forgiveness?"

"Because I have done nothing that I am sorry for," she snapped in return. 

Silence filled the glade except for the wind in the trees overhead and the pop of the flames. Curvo removed his knife and sword from his person then sat on his unfurled bedroll, placing them at his right side. 

"And Vantaro? What of him? Was that right to keep him by your side when he's just a child, dragging him off into the unknown?"

"My mother saw his destiny at his birth as she saw Náretarnon's. I now have no question that her visions hold true." Luimëníssë hugged herself tightly and rocked on the stone where she sat. "Vantaro has been fated to wander Middle Earth beyond the shores of Aman, she saw it. It will happen one way or another."

"And you? Didn't she see a vision for you as well?"

 Luimëníssë shrugged. "Yes, but that one has become complicated."

"What will you do in the Hither Lands?"

"I don't know yet. What are your designs?"

"We will retrieve the silmarils and avenge my grandfather's death."

"Yes, those are your father's aspirations. But what are yours apart from his?" She threw a pebble towards the flames. "What do you see for yourself in the new world?"

Curvo looked up through the forest canopy towards the brilliant blanket of stars overhead. He tapped his fingers on his knee cap in thought. "I see a forge of my own where I can experiment and create with my craft. And a realm I can command without my father or brothers' influence."

"Alone?"

Startled by her single worded question, he blinked over at her. "I assumed as much."

"I don't want to be alone. Not now especially," she spoke so softly that her words were almost drowned out by the crackling of the flames. "Not with everything I must do now."

"What are you saying, Luimëníssë?" He shifted on his bedroll restlessly, rubbing his hands together. "Why are you here?"

She rose from the stone. "I need to do something... I need to forgive you."

"You would forgive my people for what we have done-"

"No, not your people," she cut him off harshly before collecting herself with a breath. "I am choosing to forgive you, Curvo. Only you."

The thick layers of his long hair tumbled forward off his shoulders as he hung his head, a dry chuckle rising from his chest. "And why would you do something like that?"

His steely eyes watched as she roved a slow path around the fire to stand over him, his signature prideful smirk besmirching his beautiful mouth. She crouched before him and grasped the tip of his chin in her fingers. The mask dropped and, like the stubborn edges of a mollusk shell cracking open to reveal the truth within, she saw in his suddenly vulnerable gaze what she had thought was still there. 

He wanted her, more than before when he'd confessed to her in the garden by the sea. It was enough for what she needed in return.

"Because I don't believe you want to be alone either. Not truly." 

She pressed a light kiss to his mouth, his lips parting with a shallow breath and face lingering after hers, seeking more. Luimëníssë stood and walked from the glade back towards Fingolfin's encampment.

As she reached her tent, Artanis twirled in the firelight. The cousins stood before each other. Artanis' discerning gaze studied the intricate clasp of Curvo's cloak at Luimëníssë's neck.

"I hope you know what you are doing," she said quietly.

"I am doing what I must."

"Is that your only reason?"

"For now."

"He should expect no more from you. He doesn't have the right." Artanis grabbed Luimëníssë  by the wrist as she moved towards the tent. "Iríssë came to me tonight while you were gone. She said that her father and our uncle are planning among their men to sail for the east soon. There aren't enough ships for one journey. Fëanor and his sons, their warriors, they will go first and land to make safe the place for the rest of us to follow. Are you sure you are willing to come with us?"

Luimëníssë looked back towards Vantaro where he sat by the fire, whittling more arrows to fit his bow, preparing for their voyage. "Yes. I am sure of it."

She only had a short amount of time now. She had to win over Curvo before they landed in the new world and his family had a chance to influence him, which they would doubtlessly try. 

In their state of eternal night since the loss of the Trees, they did their best to maintain their bodies' natural cycle of rest every twelve hours or so. When they next laid down to rest, Luimëníssë waited until she heard Artanis and Vantaro breathe steady in sleep. As elves they did not need long to replenish their bodies.

She had bathed again in the cold lake earlier and allowed her hair to dry loose about her shoulders. The black pearl ring remained tucked under her blankets. She couldn't bear to bring it with her. 

Draping his cloak over her linen chemise, she pulled the hood up over her head and strode out into the night, this time without her phantom guide. Her bare feet crumpled frost bitten leaves as she traversed the forest. The warm glow of his campfire drew her in till she stood in it's ambit.

Curvo reclined on his bedroll, an arm tucked under his head and black hair spilled onto the ground like a dark halo. His body tensed and he turned towards where she lingered in the faint light. He shifted onto his side, propped up on his elbow. He wore his loose undershirt, leather tunic folded to the side with his weapons. 

He watched with rapt attention as she removed the cloak and dropped it beside the bedroll. She slid down into the rough blankets beside him, curling her spine tight to his chest. She could sense his surprise in the dark. Gingerly, he tucked an arm around her waist and held her close, dropping his face into the nape of her neck.

"I wondered if you would come to me again," he spoke against her skin. "I hoped..."

Luimëníssë shivered, surprised by what his touch did to her. "You hoped for what?"

He didn't answer, but nestled his nose into the thick of her hair. They both fell asleep as the fire burned down to a bed of jeweled coals. His kisses brought her to consciousness, full lips grazing the back of her neck, behind her ear and over the hollow of her throat as she flipped onto her back. Curvo hung over her.

"I would pledge myself to you," he said, only winter starlight illuminating them.

She had heard those words once before, long ago it seemed. It felt like a century had passed since that night with Rembano in the sea cave. 

"I will pledge myself to you alone, if you will have me," he murmured, brushing a thumb against her hairline then kissing her till his mouth became urgent. To her shock, she found she reciprocated, needing more of him.

So much loomed in the future without Rembano by her side now. He had said he would be hers. But all she had from him was a promise of a betrothal, he'd never sworn it by the Valar and Creator. And his death had prevented their true union in marriage. Her reply got caught behind the knot in her throat. What she was doing there in the first place? But she knew it was for survival.

"I..." Despite her heartache, her breath hitched with desire. He lifted the hem of her chemise up past her hips. "...yes. I swear it before the Creator."

"By the name of Eru Ilúvatar with Manwe as my witness, I pledge myself to you. I vow to cherish you." He hovered over her as he spoke, his gentle sincerity leaving her speechless as he brushed his mouth along her collar bone. She curled her legs up around his lower back. "I swear to protect you till my last drop of blood. I would have the Valar hold me to this promise even in the Halls of Mandos, if I so travel there. For I have called you wife in my heart since that morning we swam in the ocean. When I first knew I... oh, I love you."

"Husband," she whispered, her arms around his neck.

And with that, she became wife to Curufinwë under the icy stars of Araman.        

***
Author's Note: Surprise! So ok I know this seems sudden, but I swear there is a purpose. I promise you!