A Scandal in Pants by LadyBrooke

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Chapter 1

“You cannot go to the mountain in that dress,” Anairë says.

It is a mark of how close they’ve become that Nimloth does not immediately scowl and set off for Ingwë’s court as she is.

As she is would be especially bad, because she currently only has on the metal circlet Anairë gave her for her last birthday, daintily shaped to look like real flowers so no one could tell her they are out of season and therefore can’t be worn to court, and a silk robe she put on when she got out of her bath.

“Why can’t I?” she asks instead.

“Not because of how they think people should dress, but merely because it is winter and you will be most of the way up the mountain,” Anairë answers. “The snows might have melted, but that just means the ground is mostly mud. Your dress will blend in and you won’t achieve half the scandal you want to.”

“Do you have any suggestions, then?” Nimloth responds, already opening her closet doors to look inside.

“I brought you something, actually, if you don’t mind rewearing one of my old scandals.” Anairë pulls a blue garment out of the bag.

“You have old scandals?” Nimloth says, looking at the clothes more closely. She can now see it’s a long tunic with matching pants, gold embroidery layered on top of blue cloth.

“They should fit you, we’re about the same size.” Anairë looks down at the outfit. “And yes, I do. When Aredhel was young, the Teleri and some of the Noldor who lived outside of the city were the only women to wear pants. That was part of the reason she loved her cousins so much, because they would take her with them to visit Formenos, and she could wear what she wanted without anyone remarking on it. She said it was easier to hunt in them.”

“And when she came back to the city, people remarked on it,”Nimloth says slowly, picking up the pants and sliding them on. They don’t fall down, and Anairë smiles.

“They did, and questioned how such a respectable elf as I could have such a disreputable daughter.” She pulls the tunic over Nimloth’s hair, carefully avoiding the circlet.

“And so you got an outfit with pants to wear, so they would no longer only be commenting on your daughter.”

“I asked Eärwen to commission it from some of the tailors in Alqualondë, which she did. And then I wore it to the opening of court one year, without telling anyone beforehand.” She brushes the creases on the tunic. “Indis was amused, and even Fëanor seemed to want to compliment my plan, if I hadn’t been Fingolfin’s wife. Things were already going bad by that point.”

Nimloth looks at her. “Do you think it will scandalize Ingwë’s court as much as it did Finwë’s?”

“I know it will,”Anairë says.

“Thank you,” Nimloth answers.