Title: Mourning
Characters: Morwen, Nienor, Saeleth (OC), mention of Húrin and Túrin
Prompt: 015. if you feel scared, a bit confused, I gotta say, this sounds a little beyond anything I'm used to
Summary: Morwen first meets her daughter.
Author's Notes: A bit of wordplay in this one – Túrin had a younger sister named Urwen, but she was usually called Lalaith, which means 'laughter', and she died in a plague which was named the Evil Breath. 'Nienor' means 'mourning'. In The Silmarillion, she is described as having golden hair, which she inherited from her father.
Early in the year after Túrin was gone Morwen gave birth to her child, and she named her Nienor, which is Mourning…
– Unfinished Tales
She was so tired. The pains had begun in the morning, and she had labored all through the night to give birth to her child. She had seen the old women look at each other uneasily, and later shaking their heads when they thought her eyes had been shut against the pain. Once, in a brief lull between the contractions, Morwen had wondered if she was dying.
Now lying in bed and propped up by pillows, she watched Saeleth wash her hands before gently lifting a bundle and carrying it to her. The older woman said only: 'A little girl, my lady' before withdrawing, leaving Morwen alone with her daughter. Her daughter, with grey eyes and – Morwen's heart tightened painfully at the thought – golden hair like little Urwen. Like Lalaith.
No more laughter, for you or for me, Morwen thought sadly, an evil fate stole her from us. Her grip on the bundle tightened, and the baby, startled, began to cry. Her daughter was already mourning, for a brother whom she might never see, and for a father who had not come home.