Maps by grey_gazania

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Chapter 2: Caranthir

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It took all of two days for Nolofinwë to come storming into our settlement, Turukáno on his heels, demanding to know the whereabouts of his eldest son. Thankfully for all of us, Makalaurë was on his feet and had himself pulled together enough to receive our uncle without embarrassment. In the absence of both his wife and Maitimo, he had begun to crumble under the strain of leadership and the weight of his own guilt.

 

Me, I was just grateful that none of Arafinwë's brats had come along. They had always been harder to deceive.

 

"Where is Findekáno?" Nolofinwë said as soon as Makalaurë came into view. "Where is my son?"

 

"He's missing?" Makalaurë said.

 

"Obviously," Nolofinwë snapped. He seemed a picture of rage, but I could sense the creeping fear behind his words. He didn't want to bury yet another child.

 

"Well, he isn't here," Makalaurë said, shaking his head. "I haven't seen him in months."

 

"Why should we believe you?" Turukáno said belligerently, and his raw pain was like sandpaper on my skin. "For all we know, you could have taken him captive—"

 

"Don't be stupid, Turvo," Tyelko cut in, earning himself a glare from Turukáno and a sigh from Makalaurë. "Why would we do that?"

 

Turukáno opened his mouth to reply, but I stepped in before things could get uglier. Me, trying to keep the peace — how the world had changed!

 

"I saw him," I volunteered, and everyone whipped around to stare at me. "Three days ago. He was hunting in the woods on the western side of the lake."

 

"What were you doing out there? You're no hunter," Turukáno said.

 

"Trying to find someplace quiet," I lied. It was a believable fib; my dislike of crowds and noise was well-known. "When did you notice he was missing? Before or after that?"

 

"He disappeared that night," Nolofinwë said. "He brought back a deer for the evening meal and went to bed with the rest of us. In the morning he was gone." His eyes were fixed on me, his gaze intense. "Did he say anything to you? Anything at all?"

 

"Nothing of substance. He mentioned that Itarillë's embroidery is improving."

 

"Perhaps we should send out search parties," Makalaurë suggested.

 

"Irissë and Aikanáro are already leading a search of the western shore," Nolofinwë said.

 

"Then let us search the eastern shore." Meeting our uncle's eyes, his voice level, Makalaurë added, "We would not sneak into your settlement and steal Findekáno from his bed. You know that."

 

"I'm not certain that I do know that," he said flatly. "But I will give you the benefit of the doubt for now, though you do not deserve it." And with that he turned on his heel and left — on foot, of course. We had all the horses.

 

We didn't owe them anything, I reminded myself. We hadn't forced them to cross the Helcaraxë, and anyone with any sense at all would have gone back to Tirion when they found themselves without boats.

 

"Well, that went better than I expected," Curvo said from where he stood behind Makalaurë, little Tyelperinquar balanced on his hip. "No one came to blows, at least."

 

"Yet," Makalaurë said darkly. He began to snap out orders, and soon a search party had been formed.

 

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They found nothing around the lake, of course. There was nothing to find. But Nolofinwë's search of his own settlement did turn up a few small details: Findekáno's knife and bow were missing as well, along with his harp and a small share of their provisions. A few days later we heard from a Sindarin trader that a man had been spotted heading north towards the mountains — one of us, with shining blue eyes and hair in two great plaits. The evidence was too overwhelming for Nolofinwë to ignore: Findekáno had left of his own free will.

 

With that, things between us went back to what now passed for normal. I did my best to help Makalaurë, because his guilt was crippling him and because the last thing we needed was Tyelko in charge. But at night I dreamt of Maitimo and, for the first time, dared to hope.

 

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Chapter End Notes

Quenya Names:

Nolofinwë = Fingolfin
Turukáno/Turvo = Turgon
Arafinwë = Finarfin
Aikanáro = Aegnor
Curufinwë/Curvo = Curufin
Tyelperinquar/Tyelpo = Celebrimbor