Finding Lost Family by chrissystriped

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Chapter Nineteen

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Telemnar was surprised to see the door to his house wide open, the entrance hall lighted brightly. He heard instruments and loud voices, it didn’t sound like one of his wife’s parties. He wasn’t even sure if what he heard could be described as music. What was going on here?

Indo stood at the door, at least someone was taking care that no trespassers entered the house, he smiled at him. “You are late, they already started but please, come in”, he said. Telemnar came closer and Indo paled when he recognised him. “My Lord, forgive me! I didn’t recognise you.”

“What’s going on here, Indo?”

“Your son is having his monthly meeting with his people. The Lady allow him to hold it here.”

“Hm.” Ecthelion’s parties were infamous, Telemnar didn’t know what to think of that. “His people?”

“They call themselves Angband-Elves, my Lord. Former slaves, he was...”

“I know”, Telemnar interrupted him. “I saw it. Is Nivwen in there, too?” Indo nodded. “She always greets them if she has the time.”

Telemnar walked to the half-open double door to the garden hall and looked in. The room was full with elves who danced and sang together. He saw by their clothes that they came from all social classes and some of them had obvious scars. It was loud. Telemnar looked around, hoping to find Nivwen and get an explanation from her – instead he saw an orc. He had seem a few things on Vaire’s webs that had confused him, but still, he hadn’t expected to meet an orc in his own home – least of all kissing his son!

Telemnar just made ready to push through the crowd to kick out the orc, when his wife found him. “Telemnar, you are back?” She took his arm and looked at him with wide eyes and Telemnar forgot for a long moment that he was angry.

“Nivwen, forgive me for forsaking you”, he whispered. He’d wanted to say this to her for a very long time. Nivwen kissed his cheek.

“Of course I forgive you.” She took his hand. “Let’s go to a more quiet place.”

“But...” He remembered Ecthelion, but his son had vanished in the crowd together with the orc.

“Let’s not talk about this here”, Nivwen said again and Telemnar followed her to the library.

They sat down together in the large armchair, curled around each other as they had done so often when they were younger.

“How did you fare?”, Telemnar asked softly.

“I was often lonely”, she caressed his arm, “but I suddenly had so much work with the house and the lands and the fact that everything was a little disorganised after the return. Still, I missed you and Ecthelion, it’s been a lot livelier since he came back.”

Telemnar huffed. “I can hear that. What’s going on here, Nivwen?”

She bit her lip. “What do you know about Ecthelion’s life, Telemnar?”

“That he fought bravely in the battles – he never lacked courage, just a bit of good sense – that he finally was taken captive by the Enemy. I saw that he was a slave. I saw him fight for his freedom against the orcs but... alongside them, too? Reading the webs is an art I’m not very good at, it seems. Nivwen, what is the orc doing here?”

“You saw them together, didn’t you? Sharû is Ecthelion’s friend and his lover. He is...” Nivwen shrugged. “He is a decent person and more sensible than many of Ecthelion’s former lovers. I like him.”

Telemnar groaned. “You like him... He is an enemy!”

“The Valar say he isn’t. Listen: Sharû and his soldiers saved the Angband-Elves from certain death and helped them to flee when the army of the Valar stood before Angband’s gates. Ecthelion and his people thought they deserve a second chance and the Valar gave them Tol Eressea to live on.”

“The Valar are not infallible”, Telemnar grumbled and Nivwen slapped the back of his head.

“Hush. In this case they are right. Please, don’t make it hard for Ecthelion. I’m not sure if he already realised it himself, but I believe that Sharû is the one he wants to marry. And sure, Sharû isn’t the nice girl I once envisioned as his bride, but Ecthelion knows what he’s doing.”

“Our son? Knowing what he’s doing?”, Telemnar echoed incredulously. “Are we talking about the same elf?”

“No, possibly not." Nivwen smiled wryly. "He learned to take responsibility, Telemnar. He’s doing so much for his people, he’s their voice and they need him. That party over there is not one of his drinking bouts, he holds these musical evenings to give them something to look forward to and a place where they can all be together. Community is important for them. I’m very proud of him and I hope you can be, too, once you’ve talked to him. I don’t think he saw you, please let him have this night, there’s enough time to talk tomorrow.”

Telemnar relaxed. “Fine. To be honest, I’d rather sit here with you than to argue with my son, anyway.”

Nivwen smiled at him and kissed his lips. “I missed you, Telemnar. I missed you so much.”

Telemnar pulled her closer against him. “I missed you, too, already when I decided to go with Turgon and all these years in Mandos... I’m so happy that you still want me.”

“Of course I do.” Nivwen kissed him again.

 

Ecthelion rubbed his eyes when someone knocked on his door. “Yes?”, he groaned.

Sharû grumbled sleepily, the warm arm on Ecthelion’s belly pulled him tighter against the orc. Indo opened the door.

“Your mother wants me to inform you that Lord Telemnar returned yesterday. They expect both of you at breakfast.”

Ecthelion sat up and stared at Indo.

“My father lives?” Indo nodded and didn’t bat an eye at Ecthelion’s chest that was covered in bitemarks. Ecthelion groaned. “And of course he saw us together... Thank you, Indo, we’ll come down in a minute.”

Sharû watched him with worried eyes. “Are we in trouble?”

Ecthelion shook his head. “I hope not. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that my father has been rehoused, but every other day would have been better. I hope you don’t mind meeting him?”

“Do I have a choice? But I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”

Ecthelion shrugged and pulled Sharû with him as he stood up, shivering a little when the cool morning air hit him. “Any trouble I could be in because of being with you is worth it.” He caressed his shoulders and tore himself away from Sharû with an effort because he knew they wouldn’t make it down in time if he indulged himself.

 

Sharû followed Ecthelion down the stairs. Ecthelion was right, his father could hardly have chosen a worse day to come back – although Sharû suspected that it hadn’t been up to him that much. Nivwen smiled at him when they entered the dining room.

“Father”, Ecthelion shook his hand with a wide smile. “I’m so happy that you are back.”

“I’m happy to see you alive, too, my son.” Sharû tensed when the elf looked at him.

“May I introduce my friend Sharû, father. Leader of the orcs of Tol Eressea.” Ecthelion smiled at him. “My father Telemnar, Lord of the Silver Fountain.” Sharû bowed.

“It’s an honour to meet you, my Lord”, he said in his best Noldorin.

“My pleasure, Sharû. Please, sit, let’s eat.” Telemnar waited for them to sit and help themselves to food before he said: “Nivwen already told me a little about the nature of your party yesterday. I have to admit that I don’t know what to make of that ‘music’ of yours.”

Ecthelion smiled wryly. “I’m not surprised by that. The ear has to get used to it. I still hope you will permit us to continue meeting here.”

“Nivwen thinks you should be praised for doing this and I trust her judgement. But I want to hear more about the situation. We distrusted ‘escaped’ slaves for a reason.”

Ecthelion tensed, Sharû watched him put his cup back on the saucer with a controlled motion that spoke of the anger he was pushing down.

“It is true that Morgoth tried to plant spies in our midst this way and everyone of us”, Sharû could hear the emphasis Ecthelion put on the pronoun clearly and he could see that Telemnar did too, “who’s attempts to escape succeeded was punished for it. Do you distrust me, because I was a slave?” Telemnar shook his head. “Then there’s no reason du distrust my people. I’d be happy to introduce a few of my friends to you and you are invited to come to our meetings. You’ll find that we are normal elves.”

Telemnar nodded slowly. “I hear what you are saying and how much this means to you. I rarely heard you stand up for anything so decidedly. I don’t want to fight with you, Ecthelion, not in this and not about your friend.” Sharû didn’t look away when Telemnar’s eyes met his. “But it takes some getting used to, to have an orc in my house. And, if you allow the remark, he isn’t much like the ‘prey’ you favoured in the past.”

Sharû felt his cheeks heat but Ecthelion laughed. “Some people said about me, I favoured anyone who didn’t say ‘no’.”

“Ecthelion!”, Nivwen chided. “Please, that’s not a suitable conversation for breakfast. And you are embarrassing Sharû.”

Ecthelion bowed his head to her. “You’re right, mother, forgive me.” He took Sharû’s hand in his and looked into his eyes while he kissed the back of his hand. “I’m sorry, Sharû.”

“You don’t embarrass me with something like that.” Sharû smiled at him and took a deep breath before turning to Telemnar. “I can understand that you distrust me, my Lord. I was the enemy you fought and had we met in battle, one of us would have killed the other. I did things that were horrible and that I’m not proud of. My men and I experienced the miracle of mercy. I never took the chance we were given for granted and none of us would throw away the life that we have now. I’m not an enemy anymore.”

He knew the look Telemnar gave him. Many elves who had never spoken with an orc looked like this when they realised that he could talk in complete sentences.

“That may be. And Ecthelion never let others decide who he socialised with.” He shrugged with a grim smile. “I suppose, we’ll learn to get along.”

Sharû bowed his head. “I hope so, my Lord.”

Ecthelion squeezed Sharû’s thigh under the table and winked at him. “I’m sure you will”, he told his father. Sharû was nonetheless relieved when breakfast was over and he could leave the scrutinizing glances of Ecthelion's father behind.