Two months by maeglin

Twins and Friends

Telvo talks with his nephew.

One hundred fifty years before the destruction of the Trees...

"She is beautiful."

Telufinwë regarded his nephew, collecting his thoughts.  

"Do you love her?"

Tyelperinquar looked astonished by this question.

"Well of course I do!  I love all of our cousins."

"And all equally?"

"Fine, I admit I have little love for Turukano.  But what of it?  You like him no more than I do!"

The elder sighed.

"Turvo is an ass.  But it wasn't Turvo I had in mind."

"Hmm?  Then whom... Artanis?  Certainly I love her!  She thinks too much of herself, but that is hardly uncommon in our family.  You and Uncle Pityo are the only modest ones amongst us," he laughed.

"Thank you... I suppose."  He sighed - his nephew, for all his brilliance, could he remarkably dense.  Or perhaps, merely purposely evasive?.

"Oh, very well, I will speak plainly.  Do you desire her?"

"Manwë in Varda, Telvo!  That is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard!"

The elder laughed.  "Take no offense, young one!  Surely you know about Turko and Irisse, so it was not unreasonable for me to think as I did, when you so oft praise our fair cousin's beauty."

"Ah.  Well, if you have not yet noticed, I am not Turko!  Artanis is beautiful, yes - but so are Amil, and Irisse, and Vingarië, and even Hisilrië!"

"Good!  I am glad to hear that.  Turko and Irisse - they cannot wed, of course, but neither shall either have any other, so they suffer greatly.  Or at least Turko does."

"I know."  the younger frowned.  "I pity them.  But it is passing strange to love one's cousin in that way.  You do not think so?"

"I have long grown used to it.  But let us speak of other things.  You must know that I am not the only one to have misunderstood ... this, for you spend so much time in Artanis' company and court no other maiden.  And there is Turko and Irisse's example, so people talk."

"I am not courting her!  Artanis inspires my work.  Not only is she my 'muse', if you will, but she has extraordinarily good taste in jewelry.  I know that if she likes something I make for her, others will as well, and since she sets fashion as much as anyone, I am receiving more commissions every day, and more oft from the daughters and wives of the minor lords.  I have saved almost enough to buy a house suitable for entertaining such guests, with land enough to build my own forge and shop.  And Artanis - unwittingly at first but with great enthusiasm more recently - has helped me more in this than anyone other than Atar.  In some ways, even more than Atar, for she has helped me 'come into my own', as it were."

"And she understands me, better than anyone, excepting of course Eressetor.  Even better than my own sister understands me, for Hisilrië is still half a child.  Our other cousins see me as little more than my father's son, which annoys me greatly, as you must understand all too well.  So, naturally, Artanis is my favorite cousin - why wouldn't she be?  And if others spread ignorant gossip, what of it?  Should I shun her for fear of what others might say?  Grandfather would have my head if I did!"

Telufinwë raised his hands in surrender.  "Very well, Tyelpe, you need say no more!  I will say only this.  Do you not expect, when you finally find a maiden to court, that she will be jealous?"

The younger's face fell.  "This I have found already, Uncle.  They are all so .. silly!  But so am I, I suppose - I am just fifty-two, after all.  In another fifty years, or a hundred at most, surely things will be different.  I can wait.  We have all the time in the world, do we not, so what is the hurry?"

The elder sighed.  "I am ninety-eight, and cannot say that the maidens my age have changed much in the last fifty years.  Not in that way, at least.  I fear that waiting, in and of itself, will not help you.  Eru knows it has not helped me or Pityo.  The one unfortunate thing about being a twin is that no-one can ever understand either of us as well as we understand each other - and that makes women uncomfortable.  Unless we find another set of twins - and the only set we know are much older, with children and grandchildren of their own - I fear we shall never marry."

Tyelperinquar put his hand on his uncle's shoulder.  "Surely the two of you will find a pair of sensible women some day. Other twins will be difficult to find, but perhaps two sisters close in age and mood?  That could work, could it not?"

A smile.  "It might.  And as you say, we have all the time in the world."

Chapter End Notes

Names:

Telvo - Amras (Telufinwë)
Tyelpo - Celebrimbor (Tyelperinquar)
Artanis - Galadriel
Turko - Celegorm (Tyelkormo)
Turvo - Turgon (Turukano)
Irisse - Aredhel
Pityo - Amrod (Pityafinwë)
Hisilrië (OC) - daughter of Curufin, younger sister of Celebrimbor.

I don't buy the Celebrimbor-loves-Galadriel canon/fanon.  JRRT changed this multiple times, and I think the loving-Galadriel bit applies only to the "Gondolin" version of Celebrimbor, who was NOT a Feanorian.  

But of course they were cousins....

About the ages of characters: I know that the "years" in Valinor were different, but assume the Elves still must have had some way of reckoning age comparable to that which existed in Beleriand and the rest of Middle-Earth later on (after Sun and Moon), else it's hard to make sense of JRRT's works.  Here I assume Elves reached their majority at fifty, so Celebrimbor is just past his and Amrod/Amras are about twice his age.