The sun blazed overhead on the hottest afternoon of the summer so far, but the shade of the great oak tree beside the hall was quite pleasant. Bregor sat with his back against its trunk, sharpening a knife and enjoying the fresh air after a long morning spent cooped up indoors dealing with official matters. Hearing footsteps, he looked up just in time to see Andreth hurrying across the courtyard in front of him.
"Andreth!" he called out to her, but she did not respond; in fact, she sped up. Her shoulders were hunched, and her hair, wilder than usual, obscured most of her face.
Bregor stood up abruptly, watching his sister enter the hall at what was almost a run. Something was wrong, he knew it. Putting away the knife, he bounded across the yard and into the house after her.
It took his eyes a moment to adjust after being exposed to the bright sun, but he heard a door slam in the approximate location of the room Andreth shared with Beril and some of the other women. Bregor found the door and pressed his ear to it, listening hard. After a minute, he thought he could hear crying coming from inside the room.
Alarm clawed its way into his chest. Andreth rarely cried, so whatever had upset her must be serious. He and his sister did not often keep secrets from each other, at least not important ones; if something had been bothering her recently, he would have known about it.
He knocked gently on the door. "Andreth?" he called. "What's wrong?"
The crying stopped abruptly, and he could hear her moving around. "Please tell me what's going on," he said. "May I come in?"
Nothing. He waited for another minute before he heard the bolt on the other side slide back. Taking that as a "yes," Bregor opened the door slowly and stepped into the room.
Andreth sat on the low wooden bed that she shared with Beril, her knees pulled up to her chin with her arms wrapped around them. Her brown hair hung loose and disheveled about her tear-streaked face. She seemed too miserable even to look annoyed with him.
"Where were you?" he asked quietly, sitting down beside her on the bed.
"Walking in the hills," she answered. She couldn't keep her voice from trembling slightly, which seemed to upset her even more.
"You know you shouldn't wander off by yourself," he reminded her, trying his best not to scold. "There's a reason Father's leading patrols. Too many Orcs spotted in the area recently."
"I wasn't by myself," Andreth said. At least she sounded angry with him now.
"Going with Melda or Beril doesn't count. None of you would stand a chance against an Orc raiding party."
"I wasn't with Melda or Beril." This came out muffled, as Andreth was now resting her forehead against her knees, no longer looking at him.
"Then who were you with?" he asked, genuinely confused. "A man?" He supposed it was possible, although Andreth had never shown particular interest in any of the local boys, and most of them were out on patrol at the moment anyway.
However, her silence told him that he had guessed correctly. "Who was it? Andreth, if someone harmed you, you have to tell me. Grandfather will need to know about this when he returns from Nargothrond, so whoever did it can be punished."
She just shook her head, her face still hidden. He laid a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. "I'm fine, Bregor. Leave me alone."
Clearly she was not fine, but Bregor knew it was no use trying to get her to tell him anything else. He would just have to figure out who she was with himself, and he had a good idea of who she might have told.
He found Beril behind the house, hanging clothes out to dry with some of the other women. His youngest sister greeted him cheerfully, then frowned when she saw the look on his face.
"I need to talk to you in private," he said, keeping his voice low. She finished pinning one of their father's shirts onto the line, calmly told the girl working beside her that she would be back in a moment, and followed him around to the front of the house.
"What's going on?" she asked, once they had stopped beneath the tree where Bregor had been sitting earlier.
"Is Andreth involved with someone?" Bregor asked bluntly.
Beril looked taken aback. "Why do you ask?" she said, just a touch too innocently.
"Beril, if you know who it is, you have to tell me," he insisted, scowling at her. "Andreth is sitting on her bed crying, and she won't tell me what happened, or who she was with."
Beril's eyes widened. "Are you sure it was because of him?" she asked. "I don't think he would do anything to hurt her, I really don't!" She sounded quite alarmed. "In all this time, he's never said or done anything -"
"How long has this been going on?" Bregor said. "And why did nobody tell me? Do you two not trust me?"
"Don't be like that, Bregor," said Beril reproachfully. "She hasn't told anyone but me, and it's been over a month now."
"A month?" He couldn't believe it. A month ago their father had still been at home. How had Andreth kept this a secret for so long, and why? She was the most sensible person he knew, and certainly old enough to be looking for a husband; why on earth did she not simply court openly, like everyone else?
"Who is it, Beril?" he said sternly.
She glared at him, but he could tell she was worried. He watched her wrestle with the decision in her mind, but concern for Andreth evidently won out over the desire to keep her sister's secret. "Alright. I'll tell you." She took a deep breath. "Andreth has been going out for walks in the hills with Lord Aegnor for over a month, and corresponding with him for longer than that."
Shocked, Bregor could only stare at her. "Aegnor? King Finrod's brother?" He had only met the elf a handful of times, and never without his father or grandfather present. The lord's older brother Angrod was the one who usually dealt with Bregor's people, since he was the military leader of their particular faction of elves. Aegnor was a capable fighter, and he had seemed more sociable than his no-nonsense brother, but Bregor knew almost nothing else about him.
Bregor's head was spinning. An elf? How on earth had they met, and when? What did Aegnor think he was doing, sneaking around with her like that? His intentions couldn't possibly be good.
Angrily he started to turn away, but Beril grabbed his arm, looking slightly panicked. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to find the bastard and see that he answers for whatever he's done," he said savagely, striding off without another word. It was his responsibility to make sure that their mighty neighbors didn't cause any trouble, especially with his father and grandfather gone. They had given him the task of caring for their people, and he could not let them down.
He found Aegnor more quickly than he had expected, when he ran across the golden-haired elf pacing near a small stand of trees just outside the border of the town. He didn't seem to notice Bregor approaching him, and he looked distracted, even a little morose.
Bregor didn't hesitate. He marched up to the elf, seized the front of his embroidered tunic, and pulled him roughly around to face him. "What did you do to my sister?"
Aegnor stared at him in shock. "I - what?"
"If you harmed her, if you forced her to do anything she didn't want to do, I'll gut you myself," Bregor snarled, shaking him.
The elf seemed to have realized what his attacker was talking about, and anger and horror began to fill his expression. "I did not do anything to harm her, or to thwart her will! I would never - my people don't -"
"Oh, of course! Your people are far superior to ours, how could I ever forget! Never mind that my family swears allegiance to King Finrod, just as you do." Bregor dropped the exaggerated sarcasm and shoved Aegnor roughly. "What was it, then? Promise to marry her, and then get her to do whatever you want and abandon her the moment you've had enough? I bet you thought you could get away with anything, seeing as you're the king's brother and the high king's nephew, and she's just a mortal girl!"
The elf lord's blue eyes narrowed, icy with anger. "No," he hissed, taking a step towards Bregor, his hand hovering over his sword hilt. "Although after this display of ignorance, I'm beginning to think that Andreth was wrong about the nobility of her relatives!"
The dull thud of his fist smashing into the elf's face was the most satisfying sound Bregor had ever heard. Aegnor stumbled back, recovering more quickly than Bregor had anticipated. He was stronger than he looked, for all his slender build, and before Bregor had time to react his opponent had tackled him to the ground. Within moments, they were in the middle of a full-out brawl.
Despite the explosion of pain in his right eye where the elf had caught him with his elbow, Bregor thought he was on the verge of pinning him down when someone barked, "That's enough!" A strong hand pulled him off Aegnor, and another reached out to haul the elf to his feet and restrain him before he could continue to press the attack. A moment later Bregor found himself staring into the fierce eyes of another golden-haired elf lord.
Angrod was a little shorter than his brother, but more solidly built, and he shoved the combatants aside without much difficulty. He stood between them, arms outstretched to make sure they stayed a safe distance apart.
"What in Astaldo's name is going on here?" he said, glaring at both of them. "A brawl between allies? At a time like this? You're both lucky that Lady Beril had the foresight to warn me, or this might have ended badly."
Bregor looked around, and indeed, Beril stood just behind Lord Angrod, her expression determined and a little terrified.
"You went to him for help?" Bregor asked incredulously.
"Don't you talk to me like that, Bregor," his sister snapped. "I knew you were going to do something stupid, and I was right. Besides, he doesn't know."
"Know what?" Angrod asked, glancing around suspiciously at all of them. "Explain!"
Both Aegnor and Beril kept their mouths shut, but Bregor saw no reason to keep this quiet. In fact, he wanted the whole world to know exactly how angry he was.
"Your brother, my lord, has been harassing my sister Andreth," he said, holding his head up proudly to counteract the sight of the bruise which was no doubt rapidly forming around his right eye. "If he thinks that the House of Beor will stand for such misuse of one of its daughters, then he is sorely mistaken."
"There is no 'misuse!'" Aegnor cried. "The Adan is raving! My relationship with the lady Andreth is one of respect and good faith."
Despite the elf's protests, the waver of guilt in his voice left Bregor unconvinced. "She's twenty-one years old, you fool! Just how old are you, anyway?"
"Twenty-one years?" Angrod said, sounding appalled.
Aegnor looked uncomfortable now, but he replied with conviction. "It's different for mortals, Angrod, you know that. She's a grown woman, and a surpassingly intelligent one, at that. She can make her own choices."
"You are still centuries older than her in terms of experience," Angrod insisted, rounding on his brother. "Besides, it is impossible for mortals to mature as much as we do, no matter how long they live. They simply do not have the capacity."
"Mature?" Bregor spat, almost unable to believe what the elf had just said. "Your brother here is more of a hothead than me, a mere lad of twenty-three summers!"
"Watch it, boy," Angrod growled, clearly beginning to lose what little patience he had left.
"You do think you're better than us," Bregor accused. "If you two have such a low opinion of us mortals, how do you expect me to believe that he," he jammed a finger towards Aegnor, "has been treating my sister with the respect she deserves?"
Aegnor lunged forward, knocking Angrod off-balance and leaving the other elf unsure which of them to shout at. He settled for both. Bregor braced himself, ready to hit back if Aegnor came at him or Angrod lost his temper completely.
Suddenly, someone shouted, "Stop it, all of you!"
The three of them turned to stare at Beril. She was shaking with anger, her fists clenched at her sides. "None of this idiotic fighting is going to solve anything," she said, glaring at each of them in turn. "Are you even listening to yourselves? If you all trust Andreth's judgement so much, then I suggest you ask her what happened and get this matter cleared up, instead of wasting time arguing about it!"
At her words, Aegnor seemed to deflate, looking ashamed. Bregor was glad of this, though he couldn't suppress a certain amount of chagrin himself, and quickly assumed a less threatening stance. As much as it rankled, his youngest sister had a point.
Angrod paused for a moment to collect himself, then turned solemnly to Beril and gave her a courtly bow. "You are right to chastise us, my lady," he said, rather gruffly. "I apologize for my conduct and that of my brother, and defer to your judgement on this matter. What course do you think it best to take?" He spoke without a trace of mockery, and despite himself, Bregor was a little impressed.
Beril looked even more surprised than Bregor felt at being addressed so respectfully, but she regained her composure swiftly. For all that she was only seventeen, she managed to radiate the same air of confidence that their mother had once commanded.
"I will speak to Andreth," Beril said decisively. "If she wishes to tell me what happened, we will know who, if anyone, is at fault. If she does not, I will not pressure her to do so." She shot Bregor a disapproving look. "No one will be permitted to see her without her express permission." Another glare, this time directed at Aegnor. "If you will all follow me back to the house..."
"Lead on, Lady Beril," Angrod said, still with the same sincere courtesy. Beril nodded and began to walk back towards the town, with Bregor and Angrod just behind her and Aegnor trailing after them.
As the group made their way through to the heart of town, Beril forced herself to appear calm. Some of the people going about their business stared at them as they passed, thanks to her brother's stony expression and black eye. Many called out greetings, and Beril answered them all with a smile and a polite response.
She halted in front of the steps leading up to the hall. "Wait outside, please," she said firmly. Bregor started to protest, but she held up a hand to silence him. "All of you. I will return as soon as I can." She turned and walked up the stairs and through the door as calmly as she could manage, keeping herself from running only through sheer force of will.
Once inside, Beril leaned against one of the walls and took a few deep breaths. It had taken all her nerve to intervene in that fight. Her family could be difficult, but it was usually her father or one of her grandparents who settled such disputes, or her mother when she had been alive. But none of them were here now, which meant that it was up to Beril to solve this. Bregor would be no help until he calmed down, and Andreth was apparently locked up in their bedroom.
"Andreth?" She knocked on the door, hoping her sister was really still there. "Andreth, it's me. I need to talk to you."
"Come in, then," Andreth's muffled voice said from inside the room.
Beril entered to find her sister sitting on the bed, combing her hair. Andreth's eyes were red, and she wore the slight frown that usually meant she was thinking very hard about something. When she saw Beril, she moved to one side, and Beril sat down beside her.
"Are you alright?" Beril asked. "Bregor told me you were crying. What happened?"
Andreth lowered the comb, and began tracing the outlines of the teeth with one finger. "I'm fine," she said, though she did not sound entirely convinced.
When it became apparent that she didn't mean to say anything else, Beril said mildly, "Well, that answers one of my questions."
Andreth glared at her, but she relented. "I was with Aegnor. We went for a walk in the hills, like we usually do."
"I guessed as much myself. Now, please tell me what happened. I just want to know that you're really alright."
"Fine," Andreth snapped. "We were kissing, and then -" she blushed, and started to play with a lock of her hair. Beril raised her eyebrows.
"I won't tell anyone if you -"
"No, nothing else happened," Andreth said. She sighed. "Maybe it would have, I don't know. We were kissing, and suddenly he pulled away. He had this look on his face like he had never really seen me before, and he seemed a little scared, even. He stammered something about how this couldn't happen, not now, and then before I could say anything else he was gone." She stared down at the floor. "I've never felt so awful in my life. I was so embarrassed, Beril, I thought I was going to die. What if he never speaks to me again? I don't even know what I did wrong."
"He didn't hurt you, then?" Beril asked, relieved.
"Of course not," Andreth said sharply. "How could you think something like that?" Her voice softened. "You've been talking to Bregor, haven't you? I think I might have scared him a little. I was in no state to talk to anyone when he found me, and I was afraid he might be angry with me if he knew. He looked worried, though."
Beril coughed nervously. "That's a bit of an understatement," she said, wishing she did not have to be the one to tell her sister what had happened. "He was worried enough to come find me and make me tell him about you and Lord Aegnor."
"You told him?" Andreth's blue eyes flashed angrily. "What were you thinking?"
"I thought he might have harmed you," Beril replied, unwilling to let her older sister intimidate her. "I was worried, too! I regretted it the moment I told him, of course; he looked ready to kill someone when he left. So I went and found Lord Angrod and convinced him that there would be trouble, and I was right. They were fighting by the time we got there."
"Fighting?" Andreth sounded horrified. "You don't mean really hitting each other?"
"Bregor has a black eye," Beril said flatly.
"And which of the lack-wits began it?" Andreth cried.
"Well, I wasn't there for that," said Beril, "but I would guess it was Bregor. Lord Angrod broke them up as soon as we arrived, and then I brought them back here so I could ask you what really happened." She decided not to give her older sister the details of the argument between Angrod and Bregor about the suitability of her relationship with Aegnor. Andreth was angry enough as it was.
"I can't believe this," Andreth groaned, throwing the comb down on the bed. "What were they thinking?" She buried her face in her hands.
Beril hugged her sister, then moved over to sit behind her on the bed. She picked up the comb and ran it through Andreth's hair a few more times before starting to braid it.
"It's alright," she said gently. "Where's that circlet of Mother's that Father gave you on your last birthday?"
Andreth pointed to the covered basket in the corner. Beril finished off the braid, then fetched the circlet and carefully placed it so that it sat perfectly on her sister's brown hair.
"Wash your face," she ordered. "Then you can go out there, tell them all that there's been a misunderstanding, and make sure Bregor and Aegnor understand how foolishly they acted."
Andreth stood up smoothly and turned to face her sister. She looked like a queen, Beril thought: regal and wise and just a little bit terrible. "That sounds like a wonderful idea," Andreth said, extending a hand to her sister and helping her up off the bed. "But I'll feel better about it if you come with me."
Beril smiled. "Of course," she replied, and followed as Andreth swept out of the room.
After what felt like hours of painfully awkward silence, during which his bruises started to ache and the relentless sun began to make him feel as if he were being slowly roasted over a fire, Bregor heard footsteps. He stopped staring determinedly in the opposite direction from Angrod and Aegnor just in time to see Andreth emerge from the house, Beril close behind her.
His older sister had combed and braided her hair and washed her face, which was now free of tears and bore a forbidding expression. She wore the copper circlet that had been made by the elven-smiths of Nargothrond, a gift to their mother from King Finrod Felagund. Beril stood just behind her, peering over her shoulder; the younger girl looked uneasy, but only a little, and she did not seem upset. Bregor was not sure what to make of that.
Andreth did not look at him or at Aegnor; instead, she made her most regal curtsey and said, "Lord Angrod. My sister tells me I owe you thanks, and that your timely intervention kept my brother from completely disgracing himself."
Bregor's face flushed with indignation, but he knew enough to keep his mouth shut.
Angrod looked at her for a moment, then he bowed as deeply as he had to Beril. "You honor me, my lady. However, you must not neglect your sister's part in this. I would not have known that help was needed if she had not sought me out."
"Beril is wiser than her years," Andreth agreed, smiling just a little. Then she turned to face Bregor, her expression stern and fierce again. "You, however, are too old for such foolishness. Grandfather and Father left you to rule while they are away, and this is how you behave? Starting fights with our allies and making baseless accusations? How could you shame our family in this way?"
"Baseless? Andreth, what was I supposed to think?" Bregor said, feeling his temper flare up again. "If you are trying to tell me that Lord Aegnor did you no harm, good. You should have told me that to begin with, instead of sneaking about keeping secrets and making everyone worry!"
"Perhaps I should have," Andreth said, frowning. "But that does not excuse your actions, Bregor. What you did was completely inappropriate behavior for a leader."
Before Bregor could respond, Angrod cut in. "I understand that this is a personal matter," he said, unable to conceal his impatience, "but as long as you have no grievance against my brother, I would like to know the truth about your relationship with him."
Andreth's face turned cold and haughty once more. "I couldn't say, my lord. Perhaps you should ask your brother."
Bregor, Angrod, and Beril all turned to stare expectantly at Aegnor. He looked miserable.
"Andreth, I'm sorry," he said, ignoring everyone else and taking a step towards her. "I shouldn't have...I should have explained, instead of running off like that."
She turned to face him, trying valiantly to hide her distress but not quite succeeding. "Explain, then."
"I have never felt so strongly about another person, but in our case there are, well, complications." Aegnor suddenly seemed to notice the strange look Angrod was giving him, as well as Bregor's angry stare and Beril's concern. "This is ridiculous," he snapped. "Can't we talk about this in private?"
"I agree," said Andreth, glaring at her siblings. Aegnor offered her his arm, and after a moment's hesitation she took it, though she would not look at him. They began to walk away together, Andreth steering him to somewhere behind the house.
Bregor moved to follow them, but Beril was beside him, holding him firmly by the arm. "Let them go," she said. "I trust him, and Andreth knows what she's doing." He nodded reluctantly, and, satisfied, she turned her attention to Lord Angrod. "My lord, I'm terribly sorry for the trouble. Would you care to come inside, and sit down while you wait for your brother to return? I can offer you food and drink as well, if you like."
Angrod looked surprised, but he nodded. "Thank you. I would be glad of a chance to sit down."
"Then please, follow me." Beril took a deep breath and collected herself, then led Angrod into the hall. After a moment, Bregor grudgingly joined them.