1 | Joys of Youth

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The dialogue will include Quenya names whilst the narrative will mainly be in their Sindarin form.

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Hidden in the Mountains of Tumladen stood the Secret Elven City of Gondolin, with its fair and noble king, Turgon Son of Fingolfin. After their exile from Aman, The Noldor spread across Beleriand, with some staying with the Descendant of Finwe. 

Amongst Turgon's host was the House of the Golden Flower along with its new and young lord, Glorfindel and his younger sister: Elemmírë...

Born noble of Noldorin-Vanyarin descent, the young elf shall begin her tale in the city she called home...

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Location: Ondolinde, North Beleriand, Middle Earth

Time: 256 F.A

Her feet were burning under the hot stony surface, pattering as she raced down the street. Perhaps she should have worn some form of footwear this time, though that would come between either a pair of fancy slippers or her hardy leather boots (which her keeper of the wardrobe and tailor would have a right fit if they found her wearing dirty boots with a dress like this). Even if she wore her slippers, it wouldn't help her catch up with the figure so far in front.

It didn't even help that it was the middle of the day, when the sun was right up in the sky and most of the citizens of the city were busy with their everyday jobs and crafts. The Great Market was mostly full at this time, where merchants, tailors and bakers were trading goods to others from the parts of the city. Both a mix of nobles and commonfolk as they did their usual routine.

Most of the people around her had noticed her presence, though hardly wasn't bothered by her rushing. She had been doing this constantly for years, zooming past every day and never having the chance to stop and say hello that they had grown accustomed to it. The sprightful and bright sister of the Lord of the House of the Golden Flower they called her. Some would call her Fealassie as well from her mother-name, which was alongside the meaning of her anessi. [1][2]

Soon, the blonde-haired figure was too far for her to chase as she cried out to her: "Itarillë! Don't be so fast!" Suddenly, she skidded to a halt. But not enough for her as she went straight into the side of someone else. A small breath came out of her mouth as the other grunted at the impact. "Oof!"

Staggering back, the familiar ellon dropped his satchel and the entirety of his belonging scattered over the ground.

He glanced back to her and asked, "My lady, where are you running off this time?"

Widening her eyes, she quickly scrambled back to him and replied, "Sorry Ingolmo!" She bent down to begin picking up his things. "Here let me help." [3]

Together they began to pick up various scrolls and quills, luckily with the ink pot intact as she passed it into his hand. When she glanced over to his face, there was a glint of amusement in his eyes.

Ingolmo spoke, "I see you and the Aranel are at your daily chore." He suggested, "Do try and keep your eyes forward, my lady." [4]

Once she placed all the scrolls into his satchel, she huffed back in mild frustration, "You would understand when you're up against her."

That would be a terrible understatement for them both. Both knew how fast the Aranel of Ondolindë was, especially when she was with the Lady of the House of the Golden Flower. The two were described to be the worst decision ever created, having met during the migration of their people to the hidden city.

Since then, Princess Idril and Lady Elemmírë have been inseparable, constantly joint at the hip if they weren't running around the city causing more chaos than the usual elf. It was why Ingolmo hadn't been too mad at her for bumping into him.

The dark-haired elleth chuckled before bowing to her. "Good luck, my lady."

Elemmírë gave the scribe one a sheepish smile before beginning to jog back to the direction Idril once ran towards. It would seem her friend had stopped at the crossroads, her face lighting up with a laugh before gesturing to her.

"Come on Elemmírë! Catch up!" Idril laughed, her voice sounding like the cheerful bells of the towers.

Elemmírë shook her head, taking a deep breath before continuing. They turned right heading into the inner parts of the city, going through the secret alleyways and paths they have created. They had done these routes dozens of times that if was blindfolded, she could do it easily through sensing the smell, sound and feel of the air around her.

As they went into the heart, she glanced up at the tall towers of the palace - one sticking out more than the others. The King's Tower shone like a beacon under the light of the sky, it's glistening walls almost shone across them. They turned left before spotting the domed shaped gazebo at the centre of the city. [5]

When she arrived at the opening, she discovered Idril perched beside the Place of the Well, her bare feet dangling in the water. Elemmírë slowed down then, walking over to her friend before she sat down next to her.

They sat down in silence for a while, regaining their breaths as the sound of the water flowed out from the well and into the small streams surrounding them. It was the usual place that they would spend their time in, for it was close to the palace (allowing for the royal guards to keep an eye on Idril) as well as the peace they had in them. Many of the elves dwelt her during the evenings so during the day it was left for them.

She retorted to her, "If you allow me to use my ingolë, I could have caught up just before we left the market." [6]

Idril exclaimed back, "That's cheating!" She unknotted the tie at the end of her hair and began to run her finger through them. Her eyes went across to Elemmírë as she pointed out, "Not everything will have your ingolë in use, Mire."

She rolled her eyes at that, having heard of it many times. It was the fact that she could have used her magic to run faster than Idril, which had been most of the time before Idril had found out that she had been doing so. Her friend had felt cheated, so they had decided together that she wouldn't use it once they began their races around the city.

Though it wasn't just about this. Most of the Eldar of Ondolindë were accustomed to the young lady's magic, often being more of help than hinder to them. She had been proficient with her magic even before the construction of the hidden city, helping to hide them through their journey from Nevrast alongside other magic users of her kind.

However, as her use of magic continued, so did her dependence on it. Her constant use of light during the evenings as well as keeping herself awake to read and to train. Her brother on the other hand was becoming concerned about her overuse, reminding her that her magic would not help her in every situation she encountered. Well, she wasn't exactly using it all the time – perhaps in just helping her to keep her life a little exciting from time to time. Living in a city in which few enter and hardly leave did not give much to her, no new faces or any news of the outside world.

Elemmírë huffed and sagged her shoulders, finishing her own braid with a small ribbon. "Now you sound like my brother. Which reminds me, he'll be back after his scout party." Her face then lightened, a cheerful grin towards her friend, "But first, race you to the library?"

For a moment Idril pondered before smiling back and slid off the side of the water and began to run heading to the West of the city. "Not if you catch up first," She shouted back to her, her hair whipping in the air.

She just simply stared back, taking a large inhale of breath in frustration. Elemmírë slipped off the wall and muttered to herself, "Itarillë..."

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Her brother and his scouting party arrived just past midday, still wearing the same hunting attire from the past half-year (which was the usual arrangement he had despite Hestondur telling him that if he kept bringing mud into the house, he would take most of her brother's prized boots and make him walk barefoot the entire time). [7]

Elemmírë could smell the ferns and blood and odd scent of dirt in his outer tunic when she hugged him tightly. Her head easily fell over his chest, being one of the shorter statures of the Noldor. His golden hair, still radiant as always, was the exact shade as hers though with smaller braids in them.

When she pulled away, she smiled happily up to him. "Háno." [8]

"Nésa." Glorfindel grinned back, ruffling the top of her hair as he eyed her down. He pointed out, "You've grown."

Elemmírë knew the joke was coming at her, causing her to glare back as she exasperated: "It's been six months, Laurefindelë!" She inhaled sharply and firmly added, "Plus, I'm already a fully grown quimellë thank you." [9]

Chuckling along, they headed down further into their house, passing by several other familiar faces who bowed to her brother. Glorfindel breamed at each of them, asking how they fared and if there was anything concerned. She gave her brother a look, rolling her eyes at how even after months away he still didn't trust her enough to manage the house.

They headed into the main room of the house, a large atrium in which they set a table for them to eat. Glorfindel glanced to his right at her and spoke, "I will see when you stop running about bare-footed in the city."

She stopped as they arrived at the middle of the atrium and gaped back at him. "Ingolmo told on me?"

"No, I did."

Another familiar ellon entered the atrium, his dark silver and navy tunic stark to her brother's dark green and gold ones. He wore his sword at his hip, placing them over to the side as they sat around the table.

She creased her brows and asked, "Ecthelion, how?" Elemmírë peered her eyes at him. "I thought you were on duty today."

Thinking he would stay at his home for most of the time in the city would be a reasonable excuse for the Lord Ecthelion of the House of the Fountain to do. But her brother and Ecthelion were practically brothers even before her she was born, and for her had been the additional older brother in their rather small family.

The three of them settled in with the food, with her brother sighing in relief as he dug into his food. Elemmírë settled with her tea and small cakes, having a terrible sweet tooth, whereas Ecthelion followed her brother's path of digging in.

He glanced his eyes at her with amusement as he airily pointed, "And word does spread around when the Lady of one of the great houses is running around with the Aranel of Ondolindë."

Ignoring Glorfindel's sudden pause, Elemmírë plainly answered: "She had no lessons today and I was complete with work, so I asked if she wanted to go to the library."

He stopped eating, frowning at her. "Running? To the library?" Glorfindel sighed, "Elemmírë—"

She continued, popping a bit of cake into her mouth. "And then we decided to head over to the gardens and practice some of our dancing...well mostly Itarillë. You know I am not exactly graceful."

There was no effort to look at their faces, easily sensing from their minds a mix of disappointment and exasperation. What did her brother think she would become in a span of six months? For the Eldar, they live long lives that even a year did not seem too much for them. Elemmírë wouldn't simply bend into what the lords and ladies of Ondolindë wanted her to be.

Even as a lady of the house she did what was necessary. Represent her brothers at formal dinners and meetings. Keep the house in order alongside Hestondur whenever Glorfindel was away. She would keep up as head loremistress for her house along with Ingolmo.

Glorfindel took a sip of his wine before he said, "Honestly, I ought to just ask you to babysit her, Ecthelion." He thought aloud, "Or perhaps Lady Írissë—"

Never had she seen Ecthelion's head flick over to her brother's. "Not Lady Írissë."

On the other side of the table, Elemmírë grinned at the thought. "Yes, Lady Írissë!" She leaned across to her left, patting her brother's shoulders. "Háno, you are brilliant. I'm going to ask Itarillë tonight when we go stargazing."

She returned to her spot, laughing inwardly at the horror in both their faces. Elemmírë had once met the King's sister a few years back, though not much in person until recently. She was often outside hunting, training with her horses in the open plains outside the city walls. Perhaps she wouldn't mind her tagging along after they finished their duties.

Meanwhile, Ecthelion was chuckling along with her now, raising his brows over to Glorfindel and pointed, "Now that was your own fault, friend."

"I wonder if I am the brother or the parent nowadays," Glorfindel shook his head, regretting every bit that had come out of his mouth in just the first ten minutes around her.

Elemmírë gave them a look and huffed, "You're both my parents, whether I like it or not."

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[1] - Fealassie: meaning 'Joyous Spirit' in Quenya. It is one of her after names.
[2] - Anessi: The given names of the High Elves such as the Noldor. This includes the father name, mother name and then after name. For Elemmire at this time, she only knows her father-name and after name. Therefore called as Elemmire Fealassie.
[3] - Ingolmo: Meaning 'Son of scholar' in Quenya.
[4] - Aranel: meaning 'Princess' in Quenya.
[5] - The King's Tower: The tallest tower in Gondolin
[6] - Ingole: meaning 'Magic' in Quenya.
[7] - Hestondur: meaning 'Servant of the Captain' in Quenya
[8] - Hano: meaning 'Brother' in Quenya.
[9] - Quimelle: meaning 'woman' in Quenya.

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A/N: And so it begins. We finally get to see what Elemmire was like and how she became such a girlboss in Rules of the Multiverse. I love the friendship between her and Idril, especially the fact that I always wondered if these notable elven characters actually had friends. Or a childhood to be honest.

We also get young Glorfindel and Ecthelion and some new characters I added for the sake of building the House of the Golden Flower. And I cannot wait to show the family bonding they all have between the years before Gondolin's fall.

Just to note that I will be only updating once this week as I'm updating another (Changing of the Song Part 2). So see you next week. :)

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Edited: 11/04/2022