Title: Foreboding
Prompt: 042. the Sword of Damocles is hanging over my head; I've got the feeling someone's gonna be cutting the thread
Summary: Turambar has gone to fight a dragon, but Níniel has her own demons to battle.
Author's Notes: All characters belong to Tolkien. Turambar Túrin. Níniel Nienor. Haladin people of Brethil.
'What a comforter are you!' she cried. 'But Brandir, friend: wedded or unwedded, mother or maid, my dread is beyond enduring. The Master of Doom is gone to challenge his doom far hence, and how shall I stay here and wait for the slow coming of tidings, good or ill? This night, it may be, he will meet with the Dragon, and how shall I stand, or sit, or pass the dreadful hours?'
- Unfinished Tales
Of course I am afraid for him. I am always afraid whenever he goes to hunt orcs, although I hide it behind a smile. It is not that I believe him too weak to fight – the people sing his praises, and he rarely incurs more than cuts and bruises. But I still fear for him, and when he returns I hold him tightly and thank the powers of the world for bringing him safely home.
I could not hide my fear when I bid him farewell today. My husband – my dear Turambar – he has gone to fight a dragon! And this time, I truly believe that he may not return. But under my fear, there is something else – a sense of dread whenever I think of the dragon, like some terrible beast stirring. Almost I said to him: do not go! For if you go to the dragon, you go to your doom. But I could not let him go with that doubt in his heart, although now I am wracked with guilt and doubt. If I had told him, would he have stayed for me? Has my act of kindness, if I may call it that, sent my husband to his death with hope high in his heart?
There has been no word for so long – I can no longer wait. Brandir has tried to stop me, and his words are reasonable, but he cannot understand. I have told no-one of my misgivings, so the guilt is mine alone. And Turambar is all that I have. I came to the Haladin with nothing – no mother, no father, no sisters, no brothers, no memories, even. If I lose my husband, I will be alone again, and I would rather perish with him than face this dread, this doom, alone.