Indy's B2MeM Stories by Independence1776

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2009

Some of these have been reworked into other stories.

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Prompt 1: learning to make a fire
Father knocked softly on the open door and came into my room when I looked up from my book and smiled. He sat down in front of me on the hardwood floor.

“I have a surprise for you,” he said and gently placed Nelyo’s old harp between us.

I looked up at him, puzzled. Nelyo didn’t like me playing with his things.

“Káno, what is the matter?”

“Not mine.”

Father sighed and corrected me. “It is not mine. Káno, Nelyo’s hands are too big for it. This is a harp for a young child, not an adult. I asked him if you could have it, and he said yes.”

I nodded slowly and pulled the instrument into my lap. I strummed it like I had seen my brother do, and smiled when music rang through the room. I stuck the tip of my tongue out of my mouth like Father did when he was working on something, and began to play a simple melody, one I had heard many times when Mother calmed me to sleep after a long day of playing outside. When I finished the song, I grinned and looked up at Father.

“What can I play next?”

Prompt 2: Mercurial Monday (Great Danger): Gone
“You can hardly blame me for running from the Dark, Maitimo-- you did so yourself!” Makalaurë shouted. He gestured behind him at the empty iron chamber, careful to keep the torch’s fire away from anything flammable. “This is not my fault; it is not your fault; it is not Father’s fault. The only person we can blame this on is Melkor!”

The soft glow of someone with a torch approaching the room abruptly ended their argument. Once inside, a grave-faced Tyelkormo simply nodded at the empty place where the Silmarilli had been, almost as if he had expected it, and faced his older brothers.

“Grandfather’s dead. He… he was slain before the main doors. Why didn’t anyone notice he hadn’t followed?”

He started trembling and Maitimo hurriedly wrapped Tyelkormo in a hug. Looking over his shoulder at Makalaurë, Maitimo said, “Go saddle some swift horses. We need to tell Father.”

Prompts 3 and 4: Happiest Moment and Role Models
“Second father?” I asked when Maglor didn’t respond.

He smiled and leaned forward on his seat. “It was very well performed, Elrond, but you rushed the introduction. I think that was nerves, which won’t disappear, but you’ll be better able to work through them with practise. You have a talent for writing evocative pieces. It reminded me of a windy spring day.”

I grinned. Elros had said Maglor wouldn’t appreciate it, but I knew my brother was just jealous. Besides, even the best had to start somewhere, and Maglor was the best musician I knew. And he had liked it!

Prompt 5: Regret: If
I looked at the young twins sleeping curled together on the big bed. They sometimes reminded me far too much of Ambarussa. I turned away, blew out the candle, and silently walked out of the room.

I sat down in a chair in the main room, a wine glass in hand. What had brought me here? No, I corrected myself, I knew what had.

The damned Oath. I shouldn’t have been so blindly loyal to Father. I could have refused. If I had the chance now, I would. But I would have still followed him, for Valinor was no home.

Prompt 6: Music: Noldolantë
I slipped through the starlit camp, not wishing to talk to anyone. I shifted my harp to my other arm and reached my goal shortly after: the large oak tree that stood in the middle of the empty space between the Fëanorian camp and the Host of Valinor. They tolerated our blades, but they did not tolerate our presence.

I settled myself against the rough trunk, tuned my harp, and began the mournful strains of the lament I had been writing for nearly six hundred years. Both camps grew quiet, and in the near distance, I could hear someone weeping.

Prompt 9: Hero: Defense
“We do not speak of him here,” Finarfin said as he swept along the corridor leading to his study, the newly arrived half-elf following behind him.

Elrond frowned. He knew quite well that Maglor Fëanorion was not the best of people, but he was far from the worst. He also knew that there was bitterness between the half-families, especially since the Darkening. And yet there was more to the Fëanorians than Kinslaying.

“Then I will,” Elrond said quietly, holding the door shut. Finarfin turned to look at him, eyebrows raised. “He is my father and I will not ignore that.”

Prompt 10: Travel: Longing
I looked out over the Sea, knowing I wouldn’t be able to see the land of my birth. It was too far away, and the curve of the earth meant that I wouldn’t be able to see it if it was closer.

“Maglor?” I turned to face my only living brother. “You cannot stay here forever.”

“I know. But I miss home.”

“So do we all. But your sons need your attention.”

I nodded, took one last look at the sullen gray waves, and headed back to our reduced camp, to care for the children whose lives I had destroyed.

Prompt 11: Humor: Replaced with Prompt 16: Limits:
I lightly tossed the bundle containing the Silmaril into the air, checking its balance so I wouldn’t miscalculate how much force I needed to throw it, and the jewel fell out onto my palm as the covering fluttered down into the surf. I cursed, bit my lip from the pain, drawing blood, and threw the jewel into the Sea. I would not keep it, but nor would I kill myself. I was the last living son of Fëanor, and I could not face Mandos. Not after everything I had done. No, I would wander and hopefully learn to live again.

Prompt 12: Innocence: Replaced with Prompt 2: (Tedious Jobs): Scales
Makalaurë stared at his teacher. Scales. It was always scales, never anything interesting.

“What are you waiting for? Get on with it.”

He turned back to the composition that had occupied his attention for the past two weeks. Makalaurë scowled, but began to play the scales, from easiest to hardest. He stopped, but his teacher raised his eyebrows, so Makalaurë continued. And continued.

Finally, the “lesson” was over. As Makalaurë packed his harp, he asked, “Why scales? They’re tedious.”

“As is the grunt work of being a musician. Only discipline will help you become the best. Scales are the beginning.”

Prompt 13: Friday the Thirteenth: Gone
I looked down at the shaky desk, not truly seeing it. I had refused Morgoth’s terms, but I had condemned my brother at the same time. Maitimo, one of my closest friends. The one who had been there for me through everything, who had given me his old harp, who had explained to me why Father sometimes acted as he did. The one who had listened to me when I babbled about the woman who eventually become my wife. The one who understood me better than anyone else.

Now he was captive in Angband, unreachable, and I could do nothing.

Prompt 14: Seasons: Renewal and Prompt 8: Beauty: Fire
“I find it striking.”

Maedhros shot me a disgusted look. “The trees look like they’re on fire. Furthermore, Maglor, the leaves are going to fall off. Winter is death here. The trees only remind me of that.”

He stalked off, heading back inside. I continued standing on the ramparts, leaning against the cool stone in the crisp air, looking over the red and gold forest. I could understand why he felt as he did-- it reminded him of Father, though he would never state it. But to me, Middle-earth felt more real than Valinor. Here, life was precious, for we couldn’t know what would happen next. Father had been right; Valinor had been a cage. Now, even though we were at war and exiled, it was still more freedom than we had in the land of our birth. I could not fault Father for leading us here, though the manner of our departure… That I wished I could change. But there was no going back, only forward.

Forward into the fire of our lives, for though I knew we could not defeat Morgoth, we would willingly die trying, going out in last burst of flame.

Like Father.

Like the trees.

Prompt 15: Ides of March: Fate
I looked at the gems shining in the dark room. I knew they were special, given their potential as lighting. But they weren’t special enough.

I spent the next few years happily with Nerdanel, never forgetting my projects, though she had her own. We raised our children, watched some of them start families of their own. But I always searched for the next project, the next thing to discover, to create.

It took many years, with many setbacks, until I finally created what I had longed to make: three gems, shining with the light of the Two Trees. The Silmarils.

Prompt 16: Mercurial Monday (Adventure) and Prompt 7: Tree Speaks: Choices
“Elrond?”

I giggled and pressed myself further into the hollow tree. Maglor would never find me here. The dead wood groaned around me in the slight breeze, but I wasn’t worried. The trees had told me I would be safe here.

Maglor grew closer and finally bent down to peer into the opening. “There you are.”

I pouted. “How did you find me?”

He grinned. “The trees told me. You shouldn’t hide in the woods next time. Now, let’s go find your brother.”

I grinned back. “I heard him clambering around the boulders after we split up.”

I took my second father’s hand and we headed off together. But as we grew closer to the pile of boulders, both of us heard someone crying in pain.

Maglor looked at me and said, “Go find Maedhros. Have him bring a healer.”

I looked at the rock pile and nodded before I started running back home. I ran into a guard who stepping into my path and babbled that my brother had been hurt. She nodded and told me wait where I was. It was only a few minutes later that both my foster uncle and one of the healers ran up. I led them back to the rock pile, where Maedhros stayed with me, holding me close. It seemed an eternity before I saw my brother immobilized on a stretcher. Maedhros let me go and I ran to him. He looked up me through his tear-streaked face.

“Next time, I’ll hide in the woods.”

I nodded, nearly in tears myself. “The trees are nice, though they don’t really understand hide and seek. They helped Second Father find me.”

He smiled a little and Maglor and the healer bore the stretcher away. I took Maedhros’ hand and he pulled me against him, comforting me as best as he was able.

It was only later, as I was sitting by my brother’s bedside, that I realized he had been crying himself. And I knew it wasn’t because of Elros.

Prompt 17: Stereotypes: Fëanáro
Fingolfin, sometime before the creation of the Silmarils.
Fëanáro
So stubborn.
But he bends
And apologizes to me.
Forgiven.

Prompt 18: Through the Window: Ladder
I groaned and rolled over in bed, glaring at the square of light shining on the wall. Elros had been far too rambunctious last night, and it had taken me forever to fall asleep. Now, he was up too early and I had the room to myself, though that meant little when I knew I would not be permitted to sleep in. I rolled over, looked out the windows, and sat up in shock to see him looking in. By the Valar, how had he gotten a ladder?

I stood up and walked over to the window, opening it so I could drag him inside.

He grinned. “Happy birthday, Elrond.”

I smiled at him and said, “Happy birthday yourself, Elros. You’d better get inside before Second Father finds you.”

The grin remained firmly in place. “Who do you think is holding the ladder?”

I blinked and stuck my head out the window. Sure enough, the black-haired Noldo was holding it steady. I shook my head and drew back inside. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

I shut the window and grabbed a tunic and trousers from my dresser. Out of all the things to happen today, I hadn’t expected that.

Prompt 19: Wisdom for the Future: Star
I lay next to second father, looking at the stars. “Why you are so quiet tonight?”

“I’m remembering Father and how he loved to look at the stars.” I heard him tilt his head toward me, crinkling the grass beneath him. “Elrond, Father was brilliant, but he should have listened to others. Promise me you’ll do that?”

“Of course.”

“And treat your brother as if you might lose him-- in the war, you can never be sure you won’t.”

I nodded, knowing Maglor was paying attention to me. He drew me into a hug, comforting me in my confusion.

“And teach your children the stars, for they will bring comfort even in the darkest of times.”

He fell silent, and I focused my eyes on the new star that meant at least one of my first parents was alive. Yes, I would teach them the stars, starting with that one.

Prompt 20: Caught Unprepared:
“I’m supposed to do what?”

Father looked at me. “You know when your presence will be required. If you are ill prepared, you have only yourself to blame.”

I looked at the formal robe that had been crumpled up and shoved into the corner from the last time I had worn it. Father followed my gaze.

“Makalaurë, you said you were old enough to handle your belongings. No longer.”

“Yes, Father,” I muttered.

“See if Maitimo has a robe you can borrow.”

Father walked out of my bedroom, rubbing his forehead. Maitimo would not be happy with me.

Prompt 21: Big Storm: Devastation
I clambered over the wooden debris of my small house, looking for the bits and pieces of the life I had lived here. I hadn’t known that storms could come with such ferocity, or that water could surge so high. I had been hunting farther inland, so I didn’t deplete the sources around me. That trip had saved my life, for the waters that had destroyed my house would have drowned me. Since I had no desire to face Mandos…

I shook my head and straightened up, looking at the changed and debris-strewn coast. It was time for me to move on once again. There was no point in rebuilding-- I did not know when or if another such storm would come. No, I would gather what I could and make a life for myself elsewhere. Middle-earth was a large world; there would be a place where I could live.

Prompt 22: Principles of the Law: Words
“You told me you would.”

Elros screwed up his face, threatening to cry. But he hadn’t done that in years, and I knew he wouldn’t do it now. He didn’t want Second Father coming outside.

“I changed my mind. It’s too dangerous.”

He snorted, “I did it. You can do it, too.”

“I am not climbing the fireplace. The roof is not a safe place.”

He shook his head. “Coward.”

He turned and walked away, heading over to the chimney. I watched him scramble upwards, fear fighting with anger. I wasn’t a coward; I just knew better.

So why had I agreed in the first place? Because he was my brother and I loved him. But it hurt when he called me something I wasn’t.

Prompt 23: Mercurial Monday:
Mother looked at us and then down at the brilliant jewel she held. After fastening the necklace around her neck, she knelt, drew us into a hug, and kissed each of us on the top of our heads.

She released us, standing up, and led us outside, into the smoke and confusion, heading to the dock. I heard metal clanging against metal, and squeezed Elros’ hand tighter. Mother looked over her shoulder and directed us to hide in a nearby tangle of ropes and nets. We did so, and then saw her run to the end of the dock. Someone with red hair rushed passed our hiding space, followed someone with black hair carrying a bloody sword. Elros gripped my arm even tighter than I had squeezed his hand. But we couldn’t help but cry out when Mother jumped. The Elf with black hair spun around, sheathing his sword when he spotted us. He walked to us, kneeling down, but swiftly moving aside to show us a white bird flying away from us with the Silmaril.

Softly, he said, “Look-- your mother lives still. But you have no one to take care of you now. Will you come with me?”

Prompt 24: Favorite Quote: Words
“Words-- so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.” ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Father was a great speaker, something that is important to remember when you two study this. He may have been insane with grief, but he never lost his charisma.” Maglor sighed and looked out the window at the snow-covered ground, not wanting to meet his foster sons’ eyes. “Only he could have enflamed the Noldor to leave Valinor, even after the Oath was spoken.

“It was a time of madness and uncertainty. All that we knew-- that Valinor was safe, that the Trees would never die-- was proven a lie. And Father used it as only he could: with language.”

Prompt 25: Memories of Childhood: Home
“When is Father coming home?”

I looked at Mother, who was standing next to me on the wooden dock as we watched a fishing vessel coming into port. Elros stuck his left thumb in his mouth. Mother sighed and knelt down, pulling us against her.

“He’s looking for a way to protect us all, Elrond. If he reaches Valinor, we won’t have to hide here anymore.”

“But you didn’t answer me.”

“I don’t know.”

She hugged us and stood up, taking our hands and leading us away from the water. I looked over my shoulder, wishing Father’s ship would appear.

Prompt 26: Think of a Teacher:
Ah, Father, what have you brought us to? Until now, swordplay has just been that-- play. It was a sport, something to learn, something to spend an afternoon with friends. Now, I look at my bloodstained blade and know that you have taught us something far different: how to kill. How to take a life and not think of it. How to move on from the bodies, the only goal protecting yourself and those on your side. How to ignore that you have killed friends and kin.

No, Father, we would rather not have learned this lesson. But we did.

Prompt 27: A Trunk: Memories
I walked into the suite that had been provided for me, barely able to see through my tears. Elros, why did you have to leave me so soon? Why did you have to chose to be mortal? I walked to the balcony and clenched the cold metal rail. A bell began to peal and the noisy streets grew silent. Now the people of Númenor knew as well that their king was dead. I could not face them, even from this distance, and headed back into my room. I lay down on my soft bed, suddenly too exhausted to even contemplate anything else.

An insistent knock on my door jerked me awake. I blinked and sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I walked over to the door, opening to find two servants standing there, carrying a small leather trunk. I stepped aside and let them into my room, curious. My nephew-- the new king-- followed them, his eyes taking in my rumpled clothing, though he didn’t say anything about it.

“Your brother wished for you to have this,” he said, gesturing with one hand at the trunk the servants put next to the desk and giving me a key with the other.

I nodded, and he withdrew with a slight bow, the servants following. I locked the door behind them, not wishing to be interrupted. I lay back on my bed, fully intending on ignoring the trunk, for I was in no mood to open it. But the curiosity that had gotten me in trouble when I was a child, the curiosity that drove me to chose to be counted as one of the Firstborn, would not rest. I finally knelt before the trunk, running my hands over the soft leather before turning the key in the lock. The lid easily opened and I gasped, looking at the shallow tray filled with trinkets from Elros’ life, as well as a folded piece of parchment resting in the middle. I lifted out a toy soldier, the last from a set Maedhros had given us for our birthday one year. I replaced it, rubbing my eyes from the sudden sting of tears. I looked over the trinkets, only recognizing one or two others. I finally lifted the tray out and found volumes of books. I opened the first one to see my brother’s handwriting, shaky at times, but still clear. I closed the journal, not wanting my tears to ruin the ink. I placed it back in the trunk and lifted the tray of trinkets back into place. I finally removed the parchment and shut the lid.

I unfolded it-- it wasn’t even sealed-- and smiled through my tears.

Elrond,

I know what you’re thinking at this point, that like everyone else in our family, I have left you. That may be true, but please remember I chose this. The long life of the Firstborn was not for me. I was happy here, and I had a full life. Please remember me as we were when we were children, not as I am now. And remember that you are not alone-- Mother and Father are alive and you will see them again one day, when you sail.

The trinkets, as you have undoubtedly guessed, are the mementos from my life. They have little significance to anyone else. My family has more to remember me by than you. Please keep them safe. The journals are a record of everything, including our fostering by the sons of Fëanor. Preserve them as best as you are able, for not everyone wishes to remember Maedhros and Maglor as decent people.

Elrond, please forgive me for leaving you. We knew this separation was coming, but we had years together. Please remember that I love you and I will see you again, when Arda has been renewed.

All love,

Elros

I put down the letter on the lid of the trunk and nodded, tears silently falling down my cheeks. Yes, Elros, I will remember, for I cannot forget-- and nor do I want to. I looked out the window, then, at the blue sky. May Ilúvatar grant you rest, little brother, for I can think of no one more deserving.

Prompt 28: The Calendar: Creation
I looked up when Elros came into the room, banging the front door shut behind him. He shot me an annoyed glare and then stomped upstairs, a couple stairs creaking underneath his feet. I shook my head, bemused, and turned back to my composition. I wanted it done by the end of the month, but it was not cooperating. The notes simply were not coming, even though I had a good beginning. Elrond followed his brother’s movements with his eyes from his seat on the burgundy rug next to the cheerfully crackling fire, a book in his lap. He glanced at me, back at the Tengwar on the page, and then closed the book with a snap.

I looked at him, pen in my right hand, and patted the seat on the soft couch next to me with my left. “What is the matter with Elros? He tells you more than he will ever tell me.”

Elrond gracefully sat down next to me, but he ruined the image by placing his legs underneath him. I smiled slightly-- Father had often lectured me about proper posture when I was going through puberty myself, but he didn’t need that right now.

“He’s been hoping that with the weather shifting toward winter, that you’d be more willing to go hunting with him. I know you go, but you spend more time with me. I think he thinks that I’m your favorite.”

“You aren’t; I don’t have one. But I have no interest in hunting at this moment.”

“Tell him that, Second Father!”

“I have, young one. I promised him we’d go when I finished the composition.”

“And you haven’t.” Elrond sighed and ran his fingers over the smooth leather of the book he was holding in his lap. “I’ll tell him you’re trying.”

“I don’t want you in the middle of this.”

He smiled and stood up, leaving the book on the couch. “I already am, just by living here.”

He slipped up the stairs, skipping the noisy steps. I heard a faint knock on a door, and then a quick opening and shutting of it. I shook my head and turned back to my composition placed on my small lap desk. Maybe, if I hurried, we could leave by the start of next week.

Prompt 29: Falsely Accused: Pain
“Go to your room, Elrond.”

“But I--”

“Now.”

I looked at Maglor, tears of fury stinging my eyes, before turning and stomping upstairs. I hadn’t done it! But Elros… Oh, no, Elros had proof that he hadn’t climbed up the chimney. I slammed the door shut and flung myself on my bed. And Second Father hadn’t listened to me.

An hour or so later, Elros slipped into the room with a wicked grin on his face. “Told you you should have climbed it.”

I threw myself at him, catching him in the stomach. Stupid Elros, so cocky, so sure he was right. It was his fault, his lies that put me in so much trouble. And he would pay.

He started hitting me back, trying to defend himself. But he couldn’t. I hit him square in the nose, causing blood to start dribbling. He screamed and hit me harder. But shortly after that, two arms grabbed me around the waist and lifted me off my brother, holding me in the air. I glared at Maedhros, who was helping my brother up and out of the room. Only after the door closed behind them did Maglor put me down, turning me to face him.

He bit out, “What happened?”

“Elros lied. He’s the one that climbed the chimney, and he came in here to gloat that he got me in trouble because I refused to do so.”

Maglor sighed. “And this was cause to bloody his nose?”

“He deserved it.”

“No, he didn’t. I’ll talk to him, Elrond, and see what he truly did. You stay here-- if I unjustly punished you before, you deserve it now.”

I nodded, knowing better than to argue given his stern expression. He left the room, closing the door firmly behind him. I sat down on my windowseat, curled up, and leaned against the frame. A tear ran down my face. Elros had to confess. He just had to.

Prompt 30: Mercurial Monday: Fantasy
I looked up at the woman dressed in a severely cut gray suit who kept staring at me and gave her a brief smile, hoping she’d leave me alone. I had been in the coffee shop since lunch, working on a composition, and she had only come in a few minutes ago. But I was taking a break and reading a book, and some people took that as an invitation to bother me.

“Someone so handsome shouldn’t be reading stuff like that.”

I looked up, now highly annoyed, at the blonde now standing next to my table, closing the book and putting it on top of my open notebook so she wouldn’t see my work. “It’s an interesting story.”

She sat down-- without invitation-- in the chair opposite me and picked up the book with two fingers, a mildly disgusted look on her face. “It’s fantasy. Shouldn’t you be reading something more connected with real life?”

I took The Silmarillion back from her, placing it exactly where I had before and rested my left hand on it. I met her blue eyes, not bothering to temper the intensity of my gaze as I had learned to do over the past millennia, “This is my life. I did not ask for your opinion. If you don’t like fantasy, that is your business. But do not criticize someone because they like something different than you do.”

She squirmed slightly and finally said, “I suppose all you do is go to conventions and such. Pity that you don’t have a real job, or even a life.”

I bit back a laugh. “You don’t know me, so how are you to judge? As for my job, I’m a freelance writer, as well as a composer of classical music. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

I picked up the book again and opened it, hoping she’d take the hint. She huffed, stood up, and stalked away, muttering under her breath, “While I never!”

I snorted then, amused. If only she knew…

Prompt 31: Tomorrow or Yesterday: Choices
I looked at the sunlight glinting on the water, soft in the dawn, running the events of the previous day through my mind: the Silmaril burning me; my tossing it into the Sea that I had slept next to last night, listening to the crashing waves; the burn that I had only been able to treat with my drinking water and a clean shirt torn into strips as a bandage; my wandering down the shore singing in pain and regret. Yesterday had been the culmination of everything that had occurred since the Darkening. But tomorrow… tomorrow I could start again.