Tyelkormo's Great Escape by Aprilertuile

Nerdanel

Nerdanel was riding hard. She was convinced she could still catch up to her son. Trying to run away, really?! At this time too?!

She was going to drag him home kicking and screaming and he would be grounded until he was at least 300 years old!

The plan hadn’t been hard to guess. Her son left Tirion by the northern gate: there was a straight road there to join northern villages.

She’d have to guess which one he meant to join, but her bet was on the one built by the faithful of Yavanna that swore allegiance to her son. They usually ordered a new statue of the Valië once every ten years or so, and Nerdanel found them as unsettling to work with as any faithful but they got along with Tyelkormo and Tyelkormo would very certainly rely on their welcome.

She hoped.

Otherwise she’d have lost her time and would have no idea how to find her son.

All that because of his childish idea that he needed no one and wanted no one. That utter child needed to grow up and start acting his age! Of course he’d want a wife one day. And if he didn’t straighten up and didn’t start to act like an actual adult about it, he’d lose his chance to find a good match in the future!

She took a deep breath. No. It wasn’t even that: He may never want a wife, she knew that, but he needed one. She foresaw that one day she wouldn’t be with her children anymore and she didn’t want to imagine her sons alone in that future, without the help of someone balanced and loving and gifted with common sense that only women seemed to have among Noldor. Or at least in the family.

She took another deep breath and focused on the task ahead. She needed to find her son, and she needed to drag him back home.

Running away was NOT a proper solution for any problem in life!

At the very least, running away from his own family was NOT an acceptable solution that he should get away with, and by Eru, he was certainly NOT getting away with it this time!

She rode for days until she reached the village, hopefully not too far from him… Only to find that no one in the village was willing to help her.

It was like they suddenly didn’t even know which son she was speaking about. Like she’d believe that when he was their prince and they chose him specifically out of everyone in the family.

“I am his mother, the least you could do is tell me if he came this way.”

“I’m afraid my lady that I have no idea what you are talking about.”

She insisted, but the answers of this elf didn’t change. She wanted to scream. She walked around the village, just trying to see a hint of her son’s passage, but she saw nothing.

She wasn’t offered a stay in the village that night and it’s dejected that she started to return home. She had well and truly lost her time and lost his trace.

This was a disgrace. Her son was willful and dismissive and didn’t care for what this would look like with the palace, with FINWË!

He didn’t care for his future. He didn’t care for their reputation. He clearly didn’t care for her as his mother…

When he’d return, she would have words for him!

No doubt that Fëanáro would find it fun.

But… Perhaps one of Oromë’s Hunters would agree to help her find her son again.

Even if he wouldn’t return in time for the start of the season perhaps they’d manage to track him down where she failed and would manage to return him home before the end of the season.

Yes, not everything was lost. She would ask Oromë. She should have done that from the start: of course her son was never going to make it easy for her to find him, so she needed the help and she should have known that from the start.