Aredhel and the Marring of Bliss by just_jenni

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Chapter 3 - Foolish Youth

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Aredhel's mare, a gentle creature, was in no hurry to catch up to the spirited stallion Calimo.  She and Curufin lagged behind while Celegorm pressed Calimo to gallop full speed across the open green pastures that spread out before them.  With the wind in his face, his long, wavy hair blowing behind him and crouched low over his father's steed, Celegorm gave Calimo his head and let him fly.  In seconds he was out of sight of the others.

Aredhel rode with Curufin side by side at a gentle canter, having begun an easy conversation that neither wished to end.  Aredhel was interested in learning about the things that Curufin was required to make in the forge.  She was impressed by his knowledge of metals and precious stones, although she never wore much jewelry.  Curufin asked her why she didn't seem as interested in wearing it as did other young women of her age.

"I have never cared much for adornment," she told him.  "I would prefer to understand how these things are crafted than to hang them all over myself.  I think they would weigh me down."

Soon they noticed Celegorm galloping back to them.  When he drew closer he called out to them. "Why do you not keep up?  Calimo and I have found the perfect spot for a picnic!"

You know my mare cannot match Calimo for speed."  Curufin laughed and Aredhel caught her breath at the look of him in that moment.  His unbound black hair billowing in the wind, his flashing smile - the sight caused a sensation like a bolt to her belly. it was like a splash of cold water, not unpleasant but unexpected, the feeling suddenly rising to the surface of her consciousness.  His resemblance to Feanaro was exceptional but Curufinwe's more youthful appearance was much softer and sweeter than his father's.

She turned to look at Celegorm upon his horse.  Both horse and rider were high-strung creatures with impulsive natures and it could be seen in the way they moved.  Calimo kept shaking his head from side to side and pawing the grass with a forehoof.  Celegorm ran a hand through his thick hair, impatiently untangling it with his fingers.  The powerful muscles in the horse's shoulders twitched compulsively while Celegorm's thigh muscles twitched in unison beneath his pale leggings.  Aredhel chuckled to see them so similar to each other.

"You are both so wild and beautiful," she blurted.

A frown swept across Curufin's brow.  "Have you brought anything to eat?" His interruption was abrupt.  "Because I haven't."

"Oh bother!"  Celegorm shook his head in annoyance.  "No, I haven't either.  Never mind.  Come and look at this place we found.   It's perfect!"  He turned Calimo and they galloped off again.

"Do you want to follow him, Nell?" Curufin turned to look at her.

"Oh yes, please!"  She was delighted to take a look at Celegorm's discovery.

"Come on then, let's see how fast our horses can run."  He dug his heels into the palomino's side while Aredhel did the same to her mare.

They galloped over the fields, inhaling the refreshing air of the summer morning.  When they caught up to Celegorm at the picnic spot, dismounted and glanced around, they were ecstatic.  They saw before them a peaceful haven beside a pond surrounded by apple trees.  It lay in a shallow basin, the sides of which sloped down toward the water at such an angle that the pond could not be seen until one came close to the trees.  It was the perfect place for a secluded swim and a picnic.

"Isn't this a grand place?" Celegorm turned to them with a satisfied grin spreading across his face.

"It is grand," they echoed.  Curufin quickly tied his horse's reins to one of the trees and Aredhel did the same with her mare, before joining Celegorm at the water's edge.  Aredhel immediately sat down to remove her shoes and stockings.  She followed the boys, splashing merrily into the water, holding up her dress and screaming breathlessly when the cold water shocked her skin.  Celegorm laughed and splashed water on her, making her squeal louder.  Soon all three were soaked through.

"Turko!" Curufin suddenly cried.  "Have you tied up Calimo securely?  I didn't see him when we were tying up our horses!"

"Uh, no, I don't think I did."  Celegorm shrugged.  "He'll be all right."

"No, Turko, I didn't see him up there.  You had better go and find him and secure him properly."

Celegorm grumbled, his fun spoiled for the moment, but he splashed out of the water and stalked up the bank to the trees.

"You are quite wet," Curufin said to Aredhel, staring up and down at her while she squeezed water out of her hair.

"No, I am fine," she laughed.  "I will dry on the way home."

"So be it, but if you want to dry your hair properly I will take off my shirt to give you. You can use it like a towel."

Her laughter grew louder.  "But your shirt is wetter than my hair!  You need not take such pains, Kurvo.  My hair will dry in the breeze."  She stopped laughing to regard him with twinkling eyes.  "But thank you for being so kind to me."

She smiled sweetly at him, gazing into his eyes like she had done in the stables.  He blushed slightly and turned his face away from her.  At that moment Celegorm returned. He said nothing until he was standing beside them. The expression on his face showed his anxiety, his forehead creased, a loose strand of hair falling over it.

"Have you tied up the horse?" Curufin inquired.

"No, I haven't," Celegorm replied.

"Why not?"

"Because he's gone."

"Gone?" Curufin echoed.  "What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"He's run off." Celegorm hung his head in dismay.

"He can't have run off." Curufin said.  "He is Ada's favourite horse."

"Well, Kurvo, I do not see how being Ada's favourite horse makes him unable to run off if he wishes."

"You should have tied him up." Curufin admonished, as Aredhel walked up the slope to join them.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Ada will kill you," Curufin said.  He thought for a moment. "Painfully," he added.

"Thank you for that, but you needn't have bothered." Celegorm winced.  "I well know what Ada will do to me."

"Kill Turko for what?" Aredhel asked.

"Turko has lost Calimo, Ada's favourite horse, because he didn't tie him up," Curufin explained.  "Therefore Ada will probably beat him senseless and make him do all of Caranthir's chores for a month."

"Oh Valar," Celegorm swore and dropped his face into his hands.

"That is ridiculous," Aredhel decided.  "Calimo must be nearby.  We should take the other horses and go to look for him."  She sat down on the grass and began putting on her stockings and shoes.  

"But where should we look?" Celegorm asked, glancing around for his own shoes.  "Where could he have gone?  These open lands are vast."

"We could try looking in the direction where you lost Ada's best bow two months ago," Curufin remarked with a sarcastic grin.  "Perhaps Calimo has found it."

Celegorm shot his brother a scathing look.  "If Nell wasn't here I'd punch you," he cried.

"Don't hesitate on my account," Aredhel murmured from her seat on the ground.  When she was finished buttoning her shoes, she jumped to her feet.  "Come on, I will ride with Kurvo on the mare.  Turko, you take the palomino.  These two horses might be able to sniff out Calimo's location and because the lands are open we may be able to spot him even if he is a distance away."

The three young friends searched for hours with no luck finding Feanaro's horse.  Disheartened, disheveled and with empty bellies and no luck in finding Calimo, they slowly returned to the house.  It had become dark, Telperion's light diminishing in the night sky.  As they approached the house Celegorm sighed.  "What am I going to say to Ada?" His voice cracked, its tone distraught.

"Whatever you say, you must not lie to him," Aredhel advised.  "The truth is best, not only because it is the right thing to tell, but because your punishment may be less severe than if you are caught out in a lie and have lost the horse as well."

Celegorm gulped with fear but nodded in agreement.

When the three came to the house along its pebbled pathway, they could see that Feanaro and his eldest son Maitimo were waiting outside for them.

"You are late," Feanaro announced in a stern tone.

Maitimo stared at them solemnly and shook his copper-coloured head.

"Aredhel," Feanaro said, "please go into the house with Maitimo.  He has prepared a bath for you in your room.  You will want to use it while the water is still warm."

Aredhel grasped Curufin's free hand in one of hers and squeezed it reassuringly before sliding meekly from her mare's back.  She followed her red-haired cousin inside.

"Why have you ridden on two horses when there are three of you?" Feanaro asked when he and his two sons were alone.   The boys stared at each other in silence.

"Well?" Feanaro asked, his eyes glinting like a hawk's at its prey.

Celegorm hung his head.  "I don't know how to tell you, Ada."

"Try very hard," Feanaro said quietly.  

"We lost the other horse," Celegorm whispered.

"What do you mean you lost the other horse?  What other horse would this be, then?"

Celegorm shifted uneasily in his saddle.  "Ada, I am most unhappy to tell you that it was Calimo."

"What?" Feanaro's tone grew louder.  Curufin trembled on top of his horse.

"C-C-Calimo," Celegorm squeaked.  His empty stomach rumbled ferociously.

Feanaro remained silent for several long moments, letting the boys suffer a bit longer in their misery.  They could no longer hold their father's gaze and dropped their heads, their stomachs rumbling in shared agony.

Finally he spoke.  "Do you boys understand what you have done wrong today?"

"Both of us?" Curufin asked.

Feanor glanced at his favourite son sharply.  "Take your horses to the stables now.  Your first job will be to unsaddle them, feed them and prepare them for resting."

"Oh, Ada," Curufin groaned.  "Can the stable hands not do that?  We are tired and very hungry--"

"Enough!" Feanaro shouted in a terrible voice.  His eyes flashed with anger.

The two boys flinched at the sound.  They were miserable with exhaustion and hunger, but dismounted and led the horses to the stables.  The acrid smell of soiled hay and horses' droppings assaulted their nostrils, making them feel both sick and hungry at the same time.  But when they walked past the row of stalls to look for rakes, they saw something that lifted their spirits.  There was the lost horse Calimo, in his stall, groomed and looking well-fed.  Celegorm spotted him first and shouted with relief.

"Look, Kurvo!  Calimo has returned!  He must have found his way home!  Oh thank the Valar!"

"What are you thanking them for?" Curufin asked.  "Ada is still going to punish us for taking the horses without permission and for losing Calimo, as well as keeping Nell out again until late at night.  We were wrong to do those things.  Ada is probably still mad at us for losing his bow and worst of all, having to apologize to Uncle Nolofinwe for keeping Aredhel out all night the last time.  The Valar are not going to help us to get a more lenient punishment because we did wrong and must now stand like men and suffer the consequences."

Celegorm paused while raking out the dirty straw and gazed upon his brother with sad eyes.  

"You are right, Kurvo," he said.  "We must start behaving more like men and put aside our childish pranks or we will never gain the trust and confidence of Ada and Nana."

"That is what I needed to hear."  The sound of Feanaro's voice came from the stable entrance.  The boys turned to behold their father standing with arms folded in the doorway.  His countenance was still severe, but he came toward them, took them both in his arms and embraced them lovingly.  "I sent the stable hands to bed some time ago, so I will help you to finish grooming the horses and muck out the rest of the stalls.  Calimo returned on his own before nightfall but your mother has had another fit of worry about you.  When we have finished you will first go in and apologize to her, then clean yourselves up and go to the kitchens for something to eat.  It isn't much.  Macalaure made it, so it isn't very good, but it has been kept hot for you.  Then we shall sit and have a talk."

0o0o~~0o0~~0o0

A couple of weeks later Curufin stopped his work in the forge for a moment to mop his brow.  He had been given a particularly arduous job by his father - to make amends he must fashion a set of iron railings to replace the old wooden fence around their house.  It was tedious work.  Many hundreds of rails must be forged and when he was finished with that task he must help Celegorm build the new fence.  The boys had been confined to the house for a month.  Curufin had been given extra work in the forge and Celegorm was to take over all of Caranthir's chores plus some of Curufin's, as well as do his own.  Aredhel had been sent home right after the incident of the lost horse and the boys had been forbidden to see her until their month of penance was completed.  They had agreed to the punishment without much complaining and had accepted their extra tasks with quiet resolution.  Celegorm had even tolerated Caranthir's taunts and jibes with mature equanimity, and this had the added benefit of causing Caranthir to begin acting like more of an adult himself and stop bullying his brothers.

As Curufin wiped away the sweat, dabbing at his face and neck with a towel, he heard someone calling him from the doorway.  "Can I come in?" A sweet voice broke the silence in the dusty, dirty forge.  He looked up to see Aredhel smiling at him.  A shy grin turned the corners of his mouth upward.  He quickly unfastened his hair and let it fall over his shoulders, perhaps in an attempt to hide the dirt on his face.  Aredhel ran to him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.  "It has been only two weeks of our punishment.  We cannot see each other for another two weeks!"

"Do you want me to go away again?" she asked, teasing him.

"No, no!  I have missed you, Nell.  I am delighted to see you."  He clasped her to his chest in a tight embrace, pressing his lips to her cheek and kissing her.  Then he quickly released her.  "Oh, I am sorry if I have gotten you dirty," he exclaimed.  

"Well, I don't care if you have," she said breezily.

He stared at her and she returned his gaze.  For a moment he reminded her of his father, only Curufin was even more beautiful, perhaps because he had a kinder, sweeter look. His arm and chest muscles were burgeoning from all the work that he had been doing in the forge.  His new muscles were enhanced by the glistening sweat that covered his naked upper torso.  She gazed at him from under lowered lids, her lips parting unknowingly and moved closer to him.  He put his hands on her waist and drew her to him so that their lips met.  She closed her eyes and let all her other senses take him in.  There was no sound save for the rustling of her dress as she moved one knee between his legs.  He smelled sweaty but to her it was unnervingly pleasant in a very masculine way.  She almost swooned at the new experience and the fluttery feeling deep in her belly.  She felt curious, wanting to know more about him, about the mysterious area between his thighs.  Dare she move her leg higher to feel what was there?  Suddenly she felt something hard press against her female parts which caused an electric shock to pass through her.  Gasping, she released his lips and drew back, feeling tremendous guilt wash over her.  They were both panting, his face flushed, hers pale.  She was confused, feeling that she had done something wrong but she knew not what it was.

"I must go now, Kurvo," she whispered.  "My father is meeting with yours on some matter and I had begged him to let me come just for the ride.  I must not be seen talking to you or to Turko.  In just two more weeks we shall see each other again."  She smiled at him, feeling sad that she couldn't stay with him, but exhilarated by the new feelings he had awakened in her.

"It will be the longest two weeks in the history of Aman," he told her.