The Small and Secret Things by Dawn Felagund

The Calm Before

Maedhros on the day that Celegorm and Curufin arrive in Himring after being banished from Nargothrond. A double drabble.

It is as good a day as we have in Himring. No news comes from the front. The weather is as fair as can be expected; I spit and it does not freeze before hitting the earth. Even the forsaken winds have subsided a bit so the streets remain clear of snow and I don't have to listen to the bellyaching of the gardeners appointed to that task.

The sky is a pale, flawless blue-gray, without a single cloud.

I am sitting in my study, enjoying it. Just one day,> I'd asked. And I've received.

There is a cup of herbal tea sitting on the corner of my desk. For once, I have time to let it properly cool and do not have to drink it down so fast that I scald my mouth. Or chance that it will sit until as cold as the numbing floorboards beneath my feet while I discuss battle plans and provisions and how we will survive another winter.

I lift the teacup and sip. Delicious.

And then comes the knock. The page bows low, hiding unease in his eyes. "My Lord Maedhros, I announce the arrival of Lords Celegorm and Curufin. Most unexpected--"

Chapter End Notes

Today's Word:

stasis STAY-sis; STAS-is, noun; plural stases STAY-seez; STAS-eez:

1. A state of balance, equilibrium, or stagnation.
2. Stoppage of the normal flow of a bodily fluid or semifluid.

Stasis comes from Greek stasis, "a standing still," from histasthai, "to stand."