AN: This is just a little oneshot addition to the end of Etyanárë fulfilling requests for a little bit about life in Valinor for my characters written when a plot bunny came and wacked me over the head. I apologise for any spelling/grammar mistakes, this has only gone through word's spelling/grammar check rather than been beta'd because I wanted to post this before I went on holiday to Italy.
Disclaimer: The Tolkien recognisable characters, settings, events and anything which is not obviously English all (obviously) belong to Tolkein estates. I only own large amounts of student debts and my new degree (2(II)! Yay!) so please don't sue. This is purely written for my readers and my own enjoyment.
The Forgiveness of the Valar
"Aranarë!" Silari looked round. In the millennia that she had been in Valinor she had become accustomed to the new name that Manwë had bestowed on her but amongst those who had known her in Arda, she was still known by the Sindarin name she had been given upon arrival in Rivendell.
The person calling her was, to her surprise, a maia she knew to be loyal to Mandos and act in a similar role to Eönwë's with Manwë. The dark haired young male rode over to her and dismounted, seeing that there was no way she was coming to him. The reason for that was that she was seven months into her third pregnancy and was bearing twins. Her eldest daughter was sitting nearby and stood to greet the maia, before bidding him sit so Silari could greet him. Once the formalities were through, the maia got to the point.
"My lady, in a council of the Valar it has been decided that in view of several factors; that your father should be reborn and returned to life. As such it is requested that you present yourself to the halls of Mandos to retrieve him as his nearest available relative." Silari stared at the maia, jaw hanging open. Maglor was to be released? She had thought that the judgement of the Valar had been that because he had committed kinslaying that he should never return to Valinor in any way, shape or form. Once she had gotten over her shock enough to respond, she snapped her jaw shut.
"What, how? What has changed their minds on this?" Her daughter, Andirë was also looking rather shocked. Neither Cirdan nor Silari had ever held back any information about the kinslayings or Silari's less than stellar family. Though it was no longer common, particularly the sindarin population, still held a bit of a grudge about the long past atrocities of the first age. Even Thingol, or Elwë as he was known in Valinor, had got over himself on that point eventually so the issues had mostly been muted.
"The facts of his situation have been considered, his personal reluctance, the hold his father and siblings had over him, the oath and his penance. The amount of time he spent after the first age repenting and suffering had a major effect. Mandos stated that he had shown, in his time within Mandos' halls that he did truly regret and such like. I do not the exact details but that is, in essence, the reasons for him finally being allowed to return." Silari nodded.
"Is there any specific timings I should be aware of? Unfortunately, I cannot come immediately, not in this state and not at any speed." He nodded at her.
"We do not expect you to come running, Lady, and we are aware that your condition presently stops you moving about without serious for-planning," Here both Silari and Andirë laughed softly, "The process of returning him to a body does not take very long and so it will be started when you are ready to retrieve him. We personally have no timetable so my lord will wait until you are ready."
Silari smiled softly as him.
"My thanks, Nurundon; I will come, most likely with someone else all things considered, as soon as I can." The maia smiled softly at her.
"Of course my lady, I look forward to your visit." He stood and bowed to her by way of farewell before vaulting onto his horse and riding off.
XXX
That evening found Silari and Cirdan curled up together watching the sunset as had been their custom since their courtship. It was the time of day that they also tended to share important information, a custom nearly as old as the custom of watching the sunset together. After so many thousands of years of tradition, Cirdan was able to recognise that his wife had something to tell him. When he brought it up Silari curled into his chest affectionately before answering.
"One of Mandos' maia came to visit today, saying that the Valar have reconsidered my father's punishment and will return him to his body now. They wish for me to retrieve him from Mandos's halls and, presumably, let him stay here until he had sorted himself out." Though Cirdan knew and accepted Silari's heritage, he had personally been the victim of one of the kinslayings personally and had lost many of his people in that attack. The other two kinslayings had also resulted in the death of much of Cirdan's distant kin. Silari was not sure how he would take the idea of Maglor living under his roof, even tens of thousands of years later. For a long time the ancient elf was silent, making Silari nervous.
"Presumably, if the Valar are finally willing to forgive him then he has earned it; the Valar not known for their forgiving nature." He paused and sighed deeply. "I will accompany you to get him whenever you are to go. I do not want you to travel alone while you are pregnant."
Silari almost sighed with relief. He had taken it better than she had thought he would, no doubt because he knew how much it meant to her. She had only seen the elf twice, for short visits since her majority so long ago that even an elf could forget.
XXX
When they arrived the next day in the early afternoon, they were sat down in a sitting room and fed by a mothering maia who seemed highly concerned by Silari's condition. Nurundon watched with amusement and it was soon revealed that the lady maia was his wife. After a while, she was rescued by Mandos arriving with Maglor in tow. Upon seeing her, he flung himself to the ground beside her seat and hugged her almost desperately, head resting on her swelling stomach.
"Etyanárë!" He exclaimed with a catch to his voice. Silari hugged him back, slightly bemused by the use of her original name. He was probably the only person out there who would even think of using that name.
"Hello Adar. Manwë changed my name to Aranarë because upon arrival in Valinor I am no longer exiled and so that name is inappropriate." She smiled softly and ran a hand through his soft hair. "It is good to see you again; I have grieved for you for a long time." She hesitated. "This is my husband, Cirdan or Nowë as he is sometimes known."
Maglor rose and attempted as much dignity as possible considering his recent actions. Cirdan rose and greeted him formally. Cirdan's tolerance only went so far.
"Well met, Prince Maglor." He said softly, hand over heart. Maglor placed a hand over his own heart and bowed deeply to the ancient lord.
"My Lord Cirdan, I neither deserve now want that honour. I hope you will accept my apologies for my crimes against you and tell me of any recompense I can give you for the harm I caused." Maglor responded, equally formally. Silari saw her husband's lips quirk slightly.
"You have already paid recompense, Lord Maglor." The Noldor frowned in confusion. "You have provided me a most delightful wife in the form of your daughter. There is nothing more I could want than that, especially as she is presently on the way to providing me with two more delightful children to dote on."
Maglor smiled a smile like the rising sun, an expression laden with relief and happiness and pride.
"How many children do you have? I look forward to fussing my grandchildren I ways I should have fussed my daughter when I had the chance." Silari smiled at him, though Cirdan answered.
"We have two daughters, though I think we will also have two sons in the near future." Maglor's smile widened. Silari grinned up at her husband.
"Well, I don't think we will have any issues find people to help us watch over these two, Orenya." She commented softly. Both Ellyn laughed. "Now why don't you two help me up?" That comment was followed by two more laughs as the elves helped her up and outside.
XXX
Andirë and Airaseldë, their daughters returned from whatever the pair had been doing to find Maglor once more kneeling, head and palm once again rested against Silari's swollen stomach, a supremely contented look on his face. Cirdan was sitting across from his wife and father in law, smiling in amusement.
"You seem incredibly taken by her pregnancy, Maglor." Cirdan commented, the laughter evident in his voice. Maglor shrugged, making no other movement.
"I could not visit my wife often at all and I found out about having a child by being handed and infant that was obviously part elfin and being told the baby was mine. She was already ill by that point so I nursed Edenal through her last few months while she taught me how to care for my child. To protect Aranarë, I could then not admit my child was mine because of the stigma of my name. I can finally take the joy in my family I have always wished to and, Eru, I am going to do so." Cirdan laughed softly.
"I wasn't saying it was wrong, just commenting that you seemed to be more amused by Silari's condition than is usual. There is something rather charming about it, especially considering your reputation. One presumes you will be singing them to sleep sometimes?" Maglor laughed cheerfully before noting the two ellyth watching them from the doorway. Cirdan also noticed them and beckoned them in.
"Maglor, meet your granddaughters, Andirë, our firstborn, and Airaseldë. You two, meet your mother's father, Maglor. Quick warning, I think he might well be rather protective of you." Silari smiled, even after many millennia amongst elves after sailing, all those last few elves that had remained until the end still maintained the odd mannerism they had picked up off the humans of Arda just before they had left. Maglor was frowning slightly at Cirdan's final comment as his granddaughters' slowly came over to him.
"Frankly Cirdan, there is little I will stop at when it comes to my family. What do you think got me in trouble in the first place? Protecting the family is everything." Cirdan hummed a response. Andirë then got up some courage a knelt beside her grandfather, leaning against him. Maglor wrapped his spare arm around her and pulled her close, kissing her hair affectionately. "Well met, my granddaughters." He murmured softly, with a gentle smile.
Seeming pleased with the response, Andirë curled further into his chest and beckoned her sister over. Airaseldë knelt by the pair and quietly greeted her grandfather. Airaseldë was by far the more timid elf but once she had seen her sister, she was willing to join the somewhat ungraceful pile and was pulled onto her sister and grandfather's laps, snuggled against Maglor's shoulder as he held Andirë.
Silari smiled gently, pleased to have her family together and so content.
XXX
Elladan watched the two elves sitting outside the room looking pale and antsy. Inside, Silari had gone into labour and neither Cirdan nor his father-in-law seemed very good at taking the fact that they both had to wait for several hours listening to her scream before the child was born. Well, they didn't have to sit and listen but Elladan suspected Finwë himself would not be able to draw them away from that door. Elladan also suspected if Celebrian, Eleanor and Silari's daughters had not firmly evicted them then they would be inside driving the women folk and his father up the wall.
Maglor's arrival from the halls of Mandos had not been exactly smoothly accepted. Particularly the telerin and sindarin populations had protested vigorously about it. They had been roundly overruled by the Valar who did not make U-turns. Varda had been the one to deliver the ultimatum to the assorted discontents. Silari and Eleanor had promptly thorough amused Cirdan, Thranduil, Celeborn and the twin (while confusing everyone else) by christening Varda the Iron Lady. The lady vala had had not understood why the group had trouble not grinning whenever either she was around or the incident was brought up. They didn't even try explaining the reference. Eventually people gave up, knowing that the group had a large number of in-jokes from their extended stay in Arda that no-one who had not been there would get.
Several hours later when both Maglor and Cirdan were absolute wrecks, the children were born. Both Maglor and Cirdan entered the birthing room as fast as they could before sinking onto the end of Silari's bed as her daughters handed each one a tiny baby boy. Maglor smiled at the new father holding his firstborn son with a reverent, slightly dazed as he leant over and kissed the child's brow.
"Well met Culdanar." He whispered softly. The noldorin prince smiled at the soft look on her face. He knew from his daughter that he had used the same greeting for each of his daughters as well. Once Cirdan was done welcoming his first son to the world, he handed the child to his mother and took his other son off his grandfather.
"Well met Culdairon." He whispered. Maglor smiled and looked over to the twins behind them. After having spent so long away from elfin society, he hadn't been sure that the ancient, silver haired elf would keep to the unofficial tradition of giving the children names with similar routes but he had. Golden red flame and Golden red ocean. Maglor wasn't entirely sure about the translations but the names still suited the two boys with shimmering, pale red hair that was peppered with strands of the golden from Silari's mother (which hadn't come out in Silari but had in her children) and the silver blue of their father. The resulting colour from that strange combination was best described as iridescent copper. Maglor had no doubt that there would be few elves that turned these children down on looks.
XXX
A year later saw the family sitting round their garden chatting and watching the babies. Andirë was sitting a little further away underneath the weeping willow that hung over the side of the lake which marked the boundary of their property. Beside her was a nice young ellon who both Cirdan and Maglor reluctantly approved of (under condition of chaperoning). Silari had laughed when she first saw the two work together over her daughters being courted. It was amusing how well they worked to terrorise any poor young ellon who came near the girls and even more amusing to watch the ingenuity both the older ellon and the two ellyth used to get their own way. It was like watching an exquisite dance.
After a while of watching her family, Silari leant back and smiled gently. Life was not just good – it could not be better