Taboos Were Made To Be Broken (January 2017) by Kaylee Arafinwiel

The Princess' Speech

Luthien addresses her family, unwilling to take her imprisonment quietly - and Neldiel isn't about to take this quietly, either.

O2 - Etiquette

Neldiel stared at Lúthien, and she saw in Lúthien’s face that it was true. "No," she said quietly, shifting her gaze to the King himself.

Elu felt Neldiel's regard on him, and turned to look at his foster-granddaughter for a moment before turning back to his now kneeling daughter. "For leading one of the Firiath into Our lands without permission, and for daring to defy Our authority, We confine thee to the hold of Neldor until the order is rescinded. Until then, think on thy place and remember who and what thou'rt."

Lúthien knew she wasn't expected to respond. She stayed silent and still, kneeling at Elu's feet, feeling all the family's eyes on her. As Elu publicly condemned her for allowing a Mortal within Menegroth - not just any Mortal, she fumed, but a good and noble Man - her cheeks flushed red.

Neldiel shook her head in disbelief, and it was clear to all who knew her that she was struggling to keep her temper. There was something the King wasn't saying. Lúthien wouldn't have allowed just any Mortal into Menegroth. There had to be more to it.

"Rise," Elu said, eyes fixed on Lúthien, "and go to your place."

"I would beg a boon of thee, aran veleg lin, though I know I have no right to ask it," Lúthien said quietly, as she rose to her feet. "Let me speak to our family before I am shut away, and confess my deed to them, lest they plague you or Lord Daeron for answers."

"Speak then," Elu said after a moment.

Lúthien gave Elu a proper curtsey before turning to the assembled Elves. "I confess that I did, with intent and forethought, lead the mortal Beren son of Barahir into the halls of Menegroth and the royal presence without warning or permission. Beren is a prince of his people; his father was an ally of Cousin Finrod. How he passed into Doriath I know not. I was dancing to Lord Daeron's music as is my practice, when Beren came upon us. When he beheld me dancing amongst the trees, he declared his love for me at once. I felt it for him, as well, as though he were no Mortal but an Elf." She could hear the elves stirring and murmuring amongst themselves, though she paid no attention to the words being spoken.

"So, it is for love that I am doomed, and it is for love that even now Beren son of Barahir, prince of the Firiath and Lord of Ladros, makes his way toward the Dark Hunter's lands to take the jewel my father has demanded as my bride price. Until Beren returns I must remain here under guard, by our king's decree."

Galadhon very carefully kept his thoughts and feelings to himself, and he looked out over the gathered elves. Naturally, his gaze went first to his wife, and what he saw didn't surprise him; Baraves had, briefly, looked startled, but she had hidden it well with a stoic mask. For her, Elu's word was law, whether it was right or wrong.

He looked then to Brandir. Lúthien’s adopted brother had paled, and though Brandir was wise enough to hold his silence, he wasn't quite as adept as Baraves at hiding his shock. Perhaps he did not care to. Perhaps he wanted Elu to know how he felt.

The youngest of the gathered elves - Nimloth and Amdir, Oropher and Vehiron - were looking to each other as they tried to make sense of what was happening. None of them understood what they were witnessing.

And as for Galadhon's son, and his niece and nephew...they were the ones in the middle. Old enough to understand, young enough to be horrified. He could trust Galathil and Celepharn to be silent, but Neldiel...she was already shaking with rage.

Gwathion and Tatharien felt quite as shocked as their son and daughter-in-law, though they hid it better. Tatharien would have dearly loved to embrace Lúthien and hold her protectively, but, she reminded herself, that was foolish. Lúthien was older than Tatharien herself, for the sake of the Belain. Yet pity stirred in Tatharien's heart all the same.

Lúthien, for her part, saw the varying expressions on her family's faces, from her uncle and aunt to her youngest cousins'. She turned away, head bowed, and began walking toward the ladder which had been placed against the tree.

Neldiel's eyes, hard and devoid of their usual twinkle, lingered on Lúthien’s back, and then she shook her head. "I will not stay and watch this," she declared, turning her back on the scene and beginning to walk away.