Bouquet, for Femslash Bingo 2016 by Urloth

16th July - O43 Phylox: Harmony. Earwen/Anaire

A snippet set after Edebar.

Anairë blossomed amongst the trees. Her face flushed and her appetite was healthy. They swung their hands together like schoolgirls on a trip and laughed at the antics of their sons. Eärwen was delighted, as Findaráto discovered the beehives and became obsessed with Anairë’s father’s apiary skills, that Angaráto seemed to take this as a challenge, and set about trying to outdo his older brother with what he could learn about the bees and all the flowers they could visit.

Formenos folded them in her mountains with a mother’s embrace. Eärwen wished heartily that they might never leave.  

Anairë’s third pregnancy had brought her a daughter at last, and her mind was bright and cheerful from the moment it touched her mother’s from within the womb. Eärwen smiled when she heard the news, and they packed up their sons and retreated to Formenos where Anairë had been born and raised.

Ñolofinwë had promised Anairë she could spend any pregnancy that produced a daughter with her own mother. Anairë had not forgotten.

It was the first time Eärwen had been able to see the great orchard town, and the flowers on the fruit trees were blossoming white, pink, cream, and blue. Spreading out beneath the trees grew great mats of creeping phylox in shades of brightest fuchsia and royal purple.  They spilled out of broken urns set into walls, and surrounded wooden walk ways that visitors could use to meander through the orchards.

“They have a competition,” Anairë told her, “for the vertical variety.” They were sitting with their arms around each other. Anairë had her head tucked sweetly against Eärwen’s chest. Eärwen was wondering if it was possible to die of happiness, in this bright happy place with a bright happy Anairë in her arms.

“Really?”

“Really,” Anairë kissed the bottom of her chin when Eärwen flicked the blossom petals away from her hair. “My mother participates every year. She loves it.”

Their sons were trampling wholesale over the clover mix that Anairë’s parents preferred over the creeping phylox. They chased each other around and through the orange trees, their laughter ringing in the air like the chorus to a song.

Findekáno was currently it. He wasn’t quite scaling the trees to get out of the other threes reach, but it was almost so and Eärwen kept an eye on that. She wasn’t sure that knocking all the blossoms off would be welcomed.

Eärwen was glad that they were happy here. This was where Anairë had been a happy child. This was where Finwë had first met her up in a tree, balancing on branches thinner than a finger.

With Turukáno looking more and more alike his mother, Eärwen had a good frame of reference now for how it must have looked. She could imagine such a bright sprite of a girl peering down at Finwë where he sat upon his horse.

“The way that my son looked up at that child and smiled,” Finwë had said, “my heart delighted because it had been a while since I’d seen pure joy on Ñolofinwë’s face. He is so serious all of the time. I thought it was good he thought to marry her older sister because surely a child so gregarious as this one before us would push her way into the life of her sister, even newly married. Such a child would not easily let go of her sibling and would be eager to know new family.”

That was not how it had eventuated but there was no need to think about that now.

Anairë yawned and wriggled in the way that meant that she was going to fall asleep very soon enough.

“When is the competition?” Eärwen steadied her and reached for a cushion.

“In maybe a month,” Anairë smiled, “so we can attend.”

“That will be fun,” Eärwen was already there. She’d never been to a flower competition! A Golodo flower completion as well!

The bees were humming persistently. Eärwen wanted to hum along. Perhaps they could harmonise.  

They were so far from the sea here but she felt like a child again, free and happy to do what she wanted.

“We have eight whole more months here,” Anairë giggled softly, a shy and rare noise, “well probably more. I don’t fancy riding right after having a child.”

“Eight whole more months,” Eärwen wondered happily. The tutors would be arriving for the boys soon. Fëanáro had threatened to visit them with his own brood. He had mentioned something about owning a small property in the region.

It would be nice if all the cousins could take lessons together for a while. It would surely be an adventure for her quieter lot.

Anairë and Eärwen could go off and have adventures off their own too, once the tutors arrived.

She smiled and curled their hands together. Anairë was breathing low and steady, already dropped off for a nap.

Who could blame her.