I own nothing.
She had the look of one who had been taught to hide her pride and all of her bitterness, to hide it all behind a smile, but somehow, nearly all of Artanis's smiles came out looking secretive and bitter still.
Questions of why this was were not really important to Melian, at least not at the moment, and it hadn't been those bitter, secretive smiles of hers that had drawn Melian's attention. Nor had it been the fact that Artanis was her husband's niece; Elmo's descendants lived in Menegroth as well, and Melian did not favor them on account of their relation to her husband. In truth, at first, there was nothing about Artanis that had seemed especially outstanding. She was certainly very beautiful by the standards of the Edhil, but that mattered little to Melian. She was Olwë's granddaughter, sister to Findaráto who was accompanying her to Menegroth, and sister to Angaráto, whom Melian had already met. She seemed frankly unremarkable.
It was only when Melian was able to speak with Artanis alone that she started to seem interesting.
In Aman, Artanis had apparently studied a great deal. She had studied every craft and branch of literature, science, mathematics and history that caught her interest. She had engaged in every physical pursuit that she had the free time, inclination and was considered socially acceptable for her to learn. When she mastered those, Artanis had moved on to pursuits that hadn't caught her eye at first, and had even dabbled in a few that she admitted to having no taste for.
When Melian asked, Artanis first replied that, was not learning in itself a worthwhile pursuit? That answer seemed a little hollow; at the very least, Melian got the sense that there was more to it than what Artanis was saying to her. When Melian pried a little, Artanis confessed that learning the myriad arts was all there really was to do in Aman, at least for one who did not need to work for a living; "What exactly was I to do with all of my empty hours?" In the faintly bitter tone with which she said this, Melian heard something else as well.
"I am capable of anything that anyone else is capable of. I am capable of anything that they are capable of."
That was when Artanis's bitterness, her resentment and suppressed pride came to light in Melian's eyes. She had not been watching for it, not been expecting to see those emotions and hear them in Artanis's voice. When finally she did see it and hear it, a reply of her own came to Melian's lips easily, the only natural thing to say.
"I will teach you what I know, if you wish it."
One of the joys of Melian's life was being able to impart knowledge and wisdom on others. Artanis wanted the former and needed the latter; Melian believed that she had the capacity to learn. Her husband's grand-niece planned to stay in Menegroth for a few years at least. Melian felt that Artanis would benefit from the experience, if she would consent to learn from her.
Artanis stared at her, eyebrows raised slightly. In the shadows of the twilight, the half-memory of starvation and hardship clung to her face, recalling that, at one point, those full cheeks of hers must have been hollow. Melian saw her hand twitch, clutching at her skirt.
She nodded, holding her head high. Eyes clear and mouth set, showing nothing but neutral curiosity. For one moment, her skin seemed stretched too tight around her bones.
"Yes, Lady Melian. I think I would."
That neutral expression of hers needed to be exchanged for something relaxed, something open, Melian thought. She needed to learn how to exchange suspicion for trust and bitterness for peace, more than she needed anything else.
Artanis—Galadriel
Findaráto—Finrod
Angaráto—Angrod
Edhil—Elves (singular: Edhel) (Sindarin)