By Love or at Least Free Will by grey_gazania

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A Great Responsibility

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"Someone once said that beauty could save the world. What a great responsibility you have."

— Natalia Makarova

 

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"Are you nervous?" Tinneth asked.

 

Ianneth's fingers paused in their work, buried in the complicated plait half-woven into her sister's thick hair. "Nervous?" she said.

 

"Your marriage," Tinneth said. "You haven't know each other all that long. Are you nervous?"

 

"Not now, no. Though if what Nana says is true, I may be once the wedding draws nearer," Ianneth said with a laugh as she resumed braiding. Tinneth fidgeted a little but stilled herself when Ianneth tugged gently on her earlobe, instead worrying the hem of her sleeve between two fingers in silence until Ianneth had twisted the last lock of hair into place.

 

It made sense for Tinneth to wonder, she supposed; they were their parents' only children, and her sister was too young to remember their cousin Gwaloth's wedding. This would be the first marriage of a close family member that she would truly witness, and the first time in living memory that anyone from Mithrim would marry a prince.

 

In truth, that particular detail made her very nervous, but she wasn't about to burden Tinneth with her fears. "All finished!" she said instead, her voice bright, giving her sister a gentle shove in the direction of the mirror that hung on the wall. "What do you think?"

 

Tinneth peered at her reflection and beamed before turning to catch her in a squeeze. "Thank you!"

 

"I'm glad you like it," Ianneth said, returning Tinneth's grin. She brushed a strand of her own dark hair out of her face and patted the bed next to her. "Tell me," she said once Tinneth was seated, "what has you so fretful, little sister?"

 

Tinneth hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you like him?"

 

Ianneth blinked and tilted her head, studying her sister. "What a question!" she said. "I wouldn't be marrying him if I didn't, would I?"

 

"Well, no… But Ada wants an alliance—"

 

"And he also wants me to be happy." Ianneth cut across Tinneth's words, voice firm. "Don't worry so. I like Fingon very much. He's kind and learned and witty—"

 

"And brave," Tinneth added. "I heard Ada talking about the firedrake."

 

Ianneth nodded. "Brave as well. And I've liked those of his family whom I have met, and they're the ones I'll see most often. And I'll come home to visit, and you will always be welcome to come visit us." She smiled gently at her sister. "I think you're more worried than I am."

 

Tinneth fidgeted again. "A little," she admitted.

 

Ianneth leaned over to press a kiss to the top of her head. "It'll be fine, Tinneth," she said reassuringly. "Now, go find Nana and show her your hair, all right?"

 

Once Tinneth had skipped off, Ianneth retreated to her workroom. There she set to work, cutting, drying, and grinding her stock of herbs — work she could practically do in her sleep, which was fortunate, because she was soon lost in thought.

 

It wasn't only about a stronger alliance between the Noldor and the people of Mithrim, this marriage. King Fingolfin's son needed a son. If not for that, Ianneth had a strong suspicion that Fingon would not have chosen to marry anyone at all. It was no secret that he had, to put it bluntly, rejected a long string of Mithrim's young women. Her trip to the garden with him during their first dinner had been a gamble, something that she had hoped would earn her at least a chance with him. She owed it to her family to make the effort.

 

She had still been surprised when he accepted their fathers' agreements and proposed to her.

 

Her parents ascribed his choice to her charm and intellect. Erethel, whose father ruled to the south and who had never been her friend, claimed that he had chosen her only for the fairness of her face and form. But Erethel was spiteful and still bitter that Fingon had shown no interest in her.

 

Whatever Fingon's reasons, he seemed to genuinely care for her, and he had already taken to asking for her thoughts on the various day-to-day political decisions facing him. She didn't expect love, not yet. It would come, she hoped; they both had great responsibilities to bear, and love would ease those burdens.

 

But affection and trust — those were more than enough for now.