2 | Ar-Feiniel

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". . . their sister was Aredhel the White. She was younger in the years of the Eldar than her brothers, and when she was grown to full stature and beauty she was tall and strong and loved much to ride and hunt in the forests."

"There she was often in the company of the sons of Fëanor, her kin; but to none was her heart's love given. Ar-Feiniel she was called, the White Lady of the Noldor, for she was pale though her hair was dark, and she was never arrayed but in silver and white." 

- From The Silmarillion in "Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië"

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Time: 300 F.A

It was not that she had snuck out a lot, but when she did – she did it with at least one other person.

She slung her bag over her shoulder, holding most of her arrows, food, and salves in case she needed them. Her bow was across her body over her blue cloak she stole from Ecthelion's place, hiding her obvious hair as she slipped through the little alleyways towards the edge of the city. Once she spotted the Southern gate, she noticed the usual change of guard up in the towers.

Alongside this, she knew that a certain elleth would be exiting the gates as well and soon noticed her horse arriving at the gates. With the woman's head nodding at the guard at the bottom, the large wooden gates creaked open. Elemmírë took this chance to follow her, allowing her magic to coarse through her body before idly wading towards the gates.

She was just a few feet away from her, keeping her head down as they slowly went through. Most elves who tried to exit the city gates often found it difficult to pass through the many guards situated around the walls. But after decades of learning and watching, Elemmírë had noticed a small gap that made it a mistake. Not only that, but her use of magic allowed the guard to be unaware of her presence, blending herself in her surroundings as if she wasn't even present.

It was another successful attempt, her eyes glancing over to the vast plains of the fields and forestry outside the city before rushing towards the elleth and the horse.

'Lady Írissë,' She called with her mind, causing the elleth to halt and turn just halfway down the cliff-faced path. When Elemmírë brought her spell down, she kept her hood up as she smiled at her friend.

Aredhel, daughter of Fingolfin, looked down to her from her saddle and grinned. "Ah, Elemmírë." She spoke with an impressive tone, "I am surprised you made it. I would assume your brother wouldn't allow you out without a guard."

The Lady of Ondolindë did not know exactly how she was able to easily walk through but did not elaborate any further as she answered: "I may have snuck out."

Thankfully, Aredhel didn't question – shrugging her shoulders. From the corner of the eye, Elemmírë had thought she winked at her, making her quirk her lips. Aredhel spoke casually, "Well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him, would it?" Her head turned forward down the path and changed her tone, "Now, we should head out. You brought your arrows with you?"

Nodding her head, she saw the Lady of Ondolindë nod her head before she gestured for her to hop on. Elemmírë swung herself at the back, holding on by wrapping her arms around Aredhel's waist before she heard her whisper for the horse to continue.

Once they arrived in a beautiful glade surrounded by trees and the city beyond the horizon, Aredhel and Elemmírë hopped of their equestrian companion before setting up their spot within the open area. She equipped her bow in hand, taking a moment to adjust herself with the unfamiliar grip. It wasn't her most preferred weapon of choice; she would rather use a pair of daggers or swords to hunt. But carrying a silver sword created by the noble swordsmiths of Ondolindë would have easily stuck her out amongst the crowd.

As well as this, a sword won't be of use in a forest glad such as this. She had been learning archery under Aredhel's tutelage since they've been met. Her brother already knew it was a bad idea for them to meet, and she agreed. She loved Aredhel a lot for what she stood as. The King's sister was strong, independent, and free. They had not instantly clicked at first, but since their share of causing their brothers' hair loss, they've had bonded over that more than ever.

They would often visit a new part of the outer ring every time she went, hence why Elemmírë was astonished at how vast and wild it was, unlike the clean and patterned gardens the city had.

Elemmírë had been taking in the view, her ears twitching at the sound of birds. "It's beautiful out here, my Lady," She spoke.

Her face turned to her and Aredhel smirked at her, "Come now, Elemmírë. You are a fully grown quimellë already and a dear friend after so long."

She did her best not to be awkward and simply trailed off, "Alright then...Írissë."

Taking a deep breath, Aredhel stretched her arms out and sang out: "And indeed, it is." She spoke in a sad, nostalgic tone, "I miss this."

"The air?" Elemmírë walked alongside Aredhel. She could be talking about the grass for all she cared.

"Yes. And the forests and the wilderness. I used to go to Lorien and spend many days in there, just being free from Tirion and the city." Aredhel told her, a hopefully voice ringing in her ears. "One day I will go out."

Elemmírë's smile faltered slightly, wondering instead to her: "Don't you want to stay in Ondolindë?"

She stopped in her tracks, allowing them to face each other in the middle of the glade. The sun was shining down on the elder elleth's face, her grey eyes gleaming under the light. Her face shone with a mix of longing, her eyes almost imagining another realm in front of her. Most of the Eldar who had crossed to Beleriand and could still remember it has that looked – the long of nostalgia and desire in their eyes.

So, it wasn't shocking to see it in Aredhel, as she smiled sadly to Elemmírë. "Oh, my dear friend, as much as I love this city which my brother built – I long for the forests again." Her eyes looked up where the edge of the mountains laid. She spoke softly before she glanced at her, "One day I'll go, and you may come with me if you'd like."

Elemmírë's eyes perked up, and the thrum of her heart brought her hold of her bow lighter. She wondered, "Really?"

A genuine smile, the one that was shared amongst dear of the Lady of Ondolindë, was on her lips as she replied. "Of course. I can tell someone who yearns for the wild and the unknown. You look at the stars so high up and wish you can go atop of mountains to touch them." Her eyes closed, allowing the whistling of birds enter their ears.

She could imagine it well, a vast land of just ever-growing trees that reached far into the wild, with the tallest trees that reached the sky and great rivers that flowed through the greenery. The ornate architecture blending within the branches and canopy of the woodland. The scent of ferns and mint mixed with bark and pine. The cool wind blowing past them.

And out to the edge would be the coast, waves crashing into the rocks of gently meeting the sandy beaches. The sound of gulls squawking and the taste of salt spraying at her face.

And beyond that, a land that was supposed to be her home.

Eldamar...Valinor. [1]

"That is how I feel with my forests. So close yet so far." Aredhel spoke so dearly.

Elemmírë asked her back, "And where would you go if you do choose to leave?"

"I would like to visit Doriath." Her friend answered, "The Sindar Elves are much like us though do not hold the light of Valinor except for the maia: Melian. But their forests are beautiful and large. Caves so vast and glittering with crystals that you wonder if you are living again under the light of Telperion."

It was...different hearing Aredhel speak of such places with wanderlust and love. Elemmírë knew of Doriath, mostly from her reading and from the records and Sindar elves they harboured occasionally. She knew of the Queen Melian, one of Ainur and who was thought to be beautiful and magical alongside her husband King Thingol. He too was just and headstrong for he was one of the eldest elves who woke up in Cuiviénen. [2]

And then the tales of their daughter, Princess Lúthien Tinúviel – for she was the fairest and most beautiful elf to grace the world of Arda. Even as young as herself, Elemmírë had grown up with these tales as if they were fiction. It wasn't until later in the recent years in which the fiction she grew up with had slowly become the real world and history itself.

"It...It sounds beautiful," Elemmírë spoke honestly, not helping herself to be tugged along at the ache in her fëa to see the world. To see the forests and the sea, and to be closer to the stars.

Maybe she would reach the stars one day and touch them.

Aredhel snapped her back from her thoughts, smirking at her. She questioned: "How about it? Care to join my adventure?"

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"No."

She opened her mouth, "But Lau—"

However, Glorfindel beat it to it as he snapped back, "You are not permitted to leave Ondolindë. Not when the enemy is growing."

Another attempt of speaking, "I know that but—"

"And why in Arda did Írissë even take you outside?" Her brother questioned, clearly annoyed and suspicious. He was probably planning his interrogation from each staff and friend she knew. Glorfindel cried out, "It is dangerous with orcs and enemy spies!"

Elemmírë fought the urge to slam her head against a column. They had finished dinner with her talking about her day, idly moving through the events until she realized her mistake.

She really needed to control her mouth at some point, but that involves having the effort to sort out her head.

They were on their usual evening walk, going around the gardens of their home before he had stopped and gone on a panic frenzy just because she had been leaving the city without a guard or someone else to know about it.

She sighed heavily, flapping her hands down to her thighs. "Alright, I understand your worrying brother! You do not need to continue."

When they arrived at the middle of the courtyard, her brother sagged his shoulders. Glorfindel rubbed his temples with her fingers for a moment. He took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, nésa." He looked at her, a hand lingering over to her shoulder. "It's just that you are important to me. You are the only sister I have; I just want what is best for you."

Her breath shook a little, slightly shaken at the openness he wore. Her brother has always been kind to her, open and cheerful. He was always the light in days, the moments in which that brought her to feel safe and secure.

Their life since she could remember was always just him and her. Even she couldn't remember the faces of her parents, the very ones who had brought her to life, to raise her at a certain age.

Until those years crossing the Helcaraxë, following Fingolfin under the banner of Turgon, had finally taken so much of their people's lives. With two of them being their own parents.

Glorfindel had promised to protect her, to keep her from fading or falling into the harsh conditions of the icy wasteland. It would be what their parents would have wanted him to do, to protect the last remaining kin he must have had. He mayhap masked his fear under all of those smiles and confidence to their house, but underneath it all: Elemmírë knew in his head how afraid he could become when it came to thinking about her.

He would do anything to keep her safe, and it was the mechanism of anger and disappointment that showed it.

She took a deep breath, her hand reaching his own as she laced them together. Softly, she encased him with her own magic, allowing himself to be bathed in a warm glow. Gradually, he would be soothed by it – his face relaxing as a hint.

Elemmírë quietly spoke, "I know, háno." She continued, "But I cannot just waste my life away here."

"Don't you love it here?" Glorfindel asked her, a mix of confusion and worry in his eyes.

She quickly rushed out a reply, "I do!" Her mouth opened, but the words were delayed as she paused to re-word herself. "But...sometimes. I want to know what is outside the mountains which surround us. I want to see Valinor. The place you and Ecthelion grew up in."

A wash of homesickness filled Glorfindel as his eyes glistened. He muttered back to her in a pained tone, "You know we cannot return." He gulped down the bile and continued, "The Valar have banished us."

The Doom of the Noldor is what others and themselves called it. She knew that her brother and anyone who were under Fingolfin's banner did not truly understand the reason for the Kinslaying of Alqualondë until the Fëanorians betrayed them at their flight. When they had betrayed Fingolfin and Finarfin, all they could do was continue, on foot, up North. Their defiance of the Valar had caused them to be banished from their lands if they do not turn back. [3][4]

But her brother followed, believing in under their leader Turgon and of his father – Fingolfin's – host and his belief to continue.

Until years later the battles against the dark Vala – Morgoth – continued. Fëanor had already been lost before she had even existed when they were still in Aman, and now it was Fingolfin's place since the last Fëanorian heir: Maedhros had given the place to the line of his as well as all of his kin.

All those stories, of the tragedies and the pain in which both the Fëanorians and of Morgoth's allies have inflicted, had led Elemmírë to dislike them all. They shouldn't be guilty of what they have done as they were only doing something that was right for them all. For everything they have done for Beleriand and Middle Earth, everything they have done has been trying to push Morgoth back – it should be worth the pardon to sail back.

And it was people such as her dear friend from long ago, Voronwë: who wished to learn as much with his father about shipbuilding and sailing, whom she knew might be able to prove to them how much they have done to protect Beleriand.

Elemmírë's lips twitched as she spoke, "Maybe now. But in time we might be able to go back."

His head shook to the side, a soft smile on his face. "Ever so bright and young and so daring, little nésa." Glorfindel brought her to his hands, giving a side embrace as they stood in the middle of the garden. He said to her, "I hope you are filled with joy and life for as long as ever."

Head leaning against his shoulder, she sighed contently, replying in the same loving tone: "I love you too, brother."

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[1] - Eldamar: meaning 'Elven home' in Quenya and refers to Tirion.
[2] - Cuiviénen: A lake where the firstborn elves of Arda woke up.
[3] - Doom of the Noldor/Mandos: A prophecy predicted by Mandos on the exiled Noldor who chose against the Valar's summons.
[4] - Kinslaying of Alqualonde: Aka the First Kinslaying in which Feanor and the Noldorin Elves killed the Teleri elves to gain their ships to sail to Middle Earth.

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A/N: And so we meet Aredhel, Princess of the Noldor, and pretty much a girlboss. I often can imagine that both her and Galadriel as cousins would have been such a power duo. And yes, there is a slight uncertainty between Aredhel and Elemmire's relationship and it's supposed to be there. I think that Elemmire knows that Aredhel is perhaps not the most reliable and responsible older elleth to hang out with, but she can't help but feel almost so free and independent when Aredhel's there. 

Of course Glorfindel doesn't like it being the protective older brother he is, and he's trying so hard to protect her from almost all the pain and weight that the Noldor had. Because he doesn't want Elemmire to go down such a heavy burdened path.

Well...we know how that turned out.

Double update today because I've been a bit late this week. So stay tuned :)

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Edited: 22/04/2022