Piecing our Lives back together by chrissystriped

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Chapter Two

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The messenger’s dislike was visible in his face when he gave Makalaure the letter. His heart beat quicker when he saw his uncle’s seal. There had been tense silence between them since they had fallen back to the other side of the lake at the arrival of Nolofinwe’s host. Makalaure had thought it better to cede the wooden houses, they had built, to them than to risk a fight. He knew it would take little to let the hatred of those who had had to cross the Ice because of them turn to open violence.

Makalaure made a strangled noise when he read Nolofinwe’s words.

“What happened?” Curufinwe who had paid the messenger’s looks back in kind, looked worried at him. “What does he want?”

Makalaure turned his back to the messenger and led Curufinwe a bit aside so the other elf couldn’t overhear them.

“Maitimo”, he whispered. “Findekáno rescued Maitimo from Angamando. Nolofinwe informs us that his healers tend to him and he invites us to visit him.”

Makalaure felt himself tremble. They had given up on Maitimo, had left him to his fate. Had thought him irretrievably lost, maybe dead. And their cousin who they had left on the other side of the sea had had the courage to defy Moringotto.

“Visit?”, Curufinwe growled. “You don’t intend to leave him there? With them.”

“Them?” Makalaure glared at him. “Nolofinwe is our uncle. Father was so concerned about treason, but in the end it was us who betrayed them. And remember that we only have tents right now. Maitimo is going to be much more comfortable at Nolofinwe’s camp.”

They had started to build again, but...

“Yes, because you decided to retreat!”

“Be silent!”, Makalaure hissed. “Would you have liked it better to spill blood again? The blood of our closest kin? We are going to make that visit and we will be grateful and polite. Findekáno did what we thought impossible. It’s thanks to him that Maitimo is alive and free. And if I can’t be sure that you are going to behave, I’ll leave you here!”

Curufinwe huffed but didn’t object. Makalaure thought of the crown he had refused to wear as long as they didn’t have certain knowledge of Maitimo’s death and whose weight had still rested so heavily on his shoulders. He’d soon be able to lay that responsibility aside now that Maitimo was back. He wasn’t a ruler, Maitimo was suited much better for that task.

 

Nolofinwe felt the tenseness of his people when Feanáro’s sons rode into the camp. After the Kinslaying and the burning of the ships no one trusted them anymore. He had had to put Turukáno under guard, he was still grieving for Elenwe and understandably blamed them for it.

Nolofinwe was relieved that they had followed his demand and come unarmed. Tyelkormo looked uneasy, his hand buried in Huan’s fur. Nolofinwe hadn’t seen him without a hunting knife since he’d been old enough to be trusted with a sharp blade. Curufinwe and Carnistir stood close together and threw wary glances at his retinue.

Nolofinwe only noticed at second glance that the elf next to Ambarussa wasn’t the second twin but Tyelperinquar, but then he wondered how he couldn’t have noticed his absence – is was an almost visible emptiness. He was furious at them but the death of his nephew pained him. How must they have felt when they had realised that they had killed their own brother?

“Uncle Nolofinwe”, Makalaure stepped forward, his palms up, “we come unarmed, as you asked. We thank you for informing us of the rescue of our brother and allowing us to visit him. We also want to thank Findekáno for his brave and selfless deed.”

“He is with Maitimo. You can tell him yourself.”

They never left him unwatched. Maitimo was still sleeping a lot and his dreams often were dark. Nolofinwe didn’t know what the Moringotto had done to him but it must have been horrible.

He had told Maitimo that his brothers would come today and he was awake and sat upright in his bed when they entered the room. Findekáno stood beside him, his hand rested supportively on Maitimo’s shoulder. His brothers stopped a few steps away from the bed, identical looks on their faces. Nolofinwe had mentioned in his letter that Maitimo had lost his hand, but he knew how it felt to see him. He still hadn’t gotten used to his gaunt face and the haunted look in his eyes.

A tense silence followed, Huan was the only one who didn’t care. Alandur made an appalled sound when the huge hound walked to the bed, panting and wagging his tail. Nolofinwe held him back with a sharp look when Huan laid his head in Maitimo’s lap and a smile came to his nephew’s face – the first real smile he saw from him since Findekáno had brought him home. Maitimo scratched Huan clumsily behind the ears and the hound sighed contentedly.

Maitimo looked at his brothers, still a smile on his lips but appearing uncertain. Makalaure stumbled forward and knelt beside his bed.

“Forgive me, brother”, he sobbed. “We abandoned you. I’m so sorry.”

Maitimo shook his head and pulled him against his chest. “You had no other choice. He would not have kept an agreement.”

“But we didn’t even try!” Makalaure looked up to Findekáno. “Thank you, Findekáno. How can we ever pay you back for rescuing our brother?”

“He isn’t only your brother”, Findekáno said softly. “He is my cousin and my best friend and that’s why I did it. I wish for the hostility between us to cease.”

Nolofinwe realised that all eyes had turned to him.

“It is us who did wrong”, Maitimo said softly. “There is no reason for us to be ill disposed towards you. We would be grateful, should you be so generous as to forgive us our betrayal.”

“The actions of my son shall not be for nothing”, Nolofinwe answered. And if it were only about him and Findekáno, he would have left it at that. “Finwe was my father, too. The Moringotto is our common enemy, we should concentrate on fighting him, not each other, but my people suffered on the Ice. I lost a daughter-in-law. I have to demand that you make amends in public. But it has time until you are well again, Maitimo.”

“He is the king”, growled Carnistir, but before he could continue, Maitimo cut him short.

“Even a king has to admit it if he made a mistake and, as you are drawing attention to it, little brother, you shouldn’t forget to follow the example of your king.”

Carnistir glared at him, his face red with anger, but Maitimo met his eyes. He was pale and thin and looked like Huan’s weight could crush him, but there was a fire in his eyes and Carnistir looked away first.

“Forgive me, if I overstepped, aranya.”

Nolofinwe wondered if he was the only one who saw the discomfort at the address in Maitimo’s face.

“Come”, he said to Findekáno. “We should give them some privacy.”

Maitimo nodded when Findekáno gave him a questioning look and Findekáno left his side reluctantly.

“He worried so much about their reaction”, he said after they had felt the room.

“I know”, Nolofinwe answered. “But Carnistir just proved that he’s going to accept his position. I think it is better if they can talk when no one is listening.” Nolofinwe squeezed his son’s shoulder. “I’m very proud of you. You just made a reconciliation possible.”

Findekáno smiled sadly. “I can’t imagine to be at enmity with Maitimo and you said it yourself: It is the Moringotto we should fight. Turukáno is not going to like it.”

“I know. Many people won’t like it, but that’s why I demanded public amends.”

“Father? I know that many of our nobles would readily call you king.”

Nolofinwe gave his son a surprised look. “Do you want to say you share that opinion?”

“I only mean, it is going to be hard to convince them to bend the knee to a son of Feanáro. After everything that happened.”

“I know. We’ll have to lead by example. And we are going to make known that Maitimo tried to stop the burning of the ships and fetch us over. We are one people and if we want to have only the ghost of a chance in this war, we have to stick together. Maitimo is our king, there mustn’t be any doubt that we could see it differently.”

Findekáno nodded. “I’m at your side, father.”