A bit shorter than I had planned, but then it never exactly goes as planned :) It's taking me longer to update, but the good thing about it is that it leaves me more time to really think about the characters feelings. There's so much of it T.T

(again, a very lame title, sorry)

Chapter 2 - Ready

Fingon's first night in Aglon was awfully long and he barely got any rest. However, he did find some solace in being alone in his chambers, for he needed not aymore to put on a brave face in front of his cousins and Aredhel's friends. Dinner had been horrible: an endless succession of laborious conversations, for the most part revolving around trivial matters that everyone pretended to have great interest in. Truly, it had been a relief when it had ended at last – the guests had scattered quickly. Yet if Fingon was glad not to have to talk any longer, he was a little annoyed not to have anything to do.

He had sat on the bare floor, by the chimney, and in front of him he had spread a map of the area at which he was staring intently, as if it was about to speak and tell him where his sister was. He had come in these lands before, on his way to visit Maedhros, but he seemed not able to recall anything useful from these previous travels. After all, back then, he had been mostly preoccupied with deer, boars, and other wild animals he had been hunting with his cousins. But now, as his forefinger was tracing down rivers on the yellowish paper, he wished he'd know where every single tree stood and where every bird lived throughout all Beleriand.

It was only well after midnight that Fingon fell asleep, on the bed that he had not bothered to undo. He rested for a few short hours, troubled by his dreams, and when morning came he was not unhappy to wake up. It happened often these days that his mother would appear to him during his sleep, as if his mind was summoning her in these terrible times, and always he found himself promising lady Anairë that he would bring back Aredhel safe to her. Vain words they were, and he was well aware of it, and he also feared that, across the Great Sea, in the Immortal Lands, his mother somehow knew her daughter had gone missing.

Fingon shook these gloomy thoughts away and, rising, he noticed the weather had improved outside. The sky had cleared up during the night and, although snow covered the grounds, there was less of it than expected – not enough to stop him anyways.

In the main hall, he found Curufin, along with his son Celebrimbor, and both were discussing in low voices, interrupting themselves when they saw Fingon coming to them. Before he could say anything about the blue sky, Celebrimbor jumped from his seat, startled, and his face was tensed when his gaze met Fingon's.

"Please forgive me for not having been there to welcome you yesterday, Fingon, for I was away on the wall and did not know you were to arrive so soon," he said at once without catching his breath. "I presume you have already been told I… I was there when…"

"Indeed, I have heard as much," Fingon cut in. He had a good notion of what Celebrimbor was about to say and he would have rather avoided such a cumbersome conversation, thus he added promptly, "Lady Heril and lady Giliel have already given me quite an in-depth account of the events that preceded my sister's disappearance… And, well, this is not why I wish to speak to you and your father right now."

And with a careless gesture of the hand, he discarded any objection coming from Celebrimbor and instead he turned to Curufin. The latter, slightly crossed, inquired:

"And what it is that you want to say, Fingon?"

"Snow falls no more on your lands, there is no reason to delay our expedition any longer."

"Shall we not wait for your companions to reach our halls before leaving?" wondered Curufin, raising an eyebrow. "Surely they should arrive within a day or two, should they not?"

"No time for that," said Fingon sternly.

A dry laughter escaped through Curufin's lips. "Such a predictable answer, dear cousin… As it happens, Celegorm is already in the stables, supervising the preparations of our excursion and, in all likelihood, I believe it is he who thinks you are the one dragging us late."

"Is that so?" Fingon frowned.

"Yes, perhaps you should go join him," suggested Curufin, slyly. "For my part, I would rather not be around him till everything is settled, for he tends to be irritable when things don't go as he plans."

"I suppose we all react differently when tragedy strikes…" muttered Fingon, shrugging, although he thought Celegorm had always possessed a rather difficult character.

"It does not bring out the best of us, does it?"

Curufin seemed a little too insolent for Fingon's taste, but he knew it was his way to cope with the events – the more his oily smile spread on his face, the harsher was the pain, deep down. And, truthfully, Fingon's mood was sour and he had to admit he was not very pleasant to be around these days. Perhaps his men had been relieved, when he had decided to leave them behind and hurry to the Pass of Aglon.

"I will head to the stables, then," said Fingon, nodding to Curufin.

Before he left the hall, he shot a look at Celebrimbor, who had remained silent, even though a light blush covered his cheeks – was it anger or embarrassment, it would have been hard to decipher. Either ways, Fingon could not help but feel a tinge of guilt for having been so rude with him earlier, but he quickly discarded this feeling. There was no reason for him to go through yet another account of sister's last moments in Aglon and whatever distress was tormenting Celebrimbor, it was not in his power to appease him. In this dark times, to each his own burdens to carry…

In the corridor, he saw her walking ahead of him and for a moment, he was lost in contemplation, admiring the soft shimmering of her blonde curls. Immediately, it brought back sweet memories to his mind, smell of fresh grass and wild flowers, sounds of distant laughter and music… and the glow of the Moon on the pool's smooth surface. Ah, it did happen sometimes that he would lose himself in these reminiscences, on some sunny days of summer, and then he would wonder how she faring in Gondolin, locked away from the rest of Beleriand. Yet this time, his reverie did not last long, for a gush of cold wind pinched him back to reality, and he noticed she was clad in travel clothes.

Hurrying after her, he inquired:

"Giliel, will you be joining with us?"

Hearing his voice, she spun around and perhaps she was a little startled. Only her eyes gave away some of her emotion, and she was careful not to hold his gaze too long. "There are very few of us, it would be foolish to stay behind," she said, a hint of bitterness in her tone. "Although, I'm afraid I might not be of great use… I know not these lands and I rarely hunt."

"I reckon the situation is especially tricky, since we do not have the slightest clue as to where she could be," said Fingon, heaving a sigh. "And I do find this notion rather upsetting, considering Celegorm and Curufin's admirable skills at tracking… Even Huan, the Hound of Valinor, has failed to find any traces of her so far."

"My Lord, you have not lost all hope, have you?"

"No, I haven't…" he whispered.

Truth be told, there was little left of it, yet it was still enough for him to hold onto, desperately. And he had this foolish idea, in the back of his head, and he believed he would know… Yes, he believed he would surely feel it, had his little sister… had she…

As he stood still, Giliel's fingers brushed the back of his hand, lingering on his skin for a few seconds. Fingon was staring down at her, in expectation, and for a brief moment, his eyes conveyed all his thoughts – angst, restlessness and yearning. He would have been ashamed of himself, had it lasted longer, but she quickly recollected herself.

"You should make haste, lord Celegorm has long been waiting to depart," she said, clasping her hands together. "I overheard some servants saying he spent the night in the stables."

"Has he? Then by now in what foul mood must he be," said Fingon and he allowed himself one small chuckle - at least it was comforting to know someone was as anxious as he was to get going.

"We shall all feel better once we are outside of these walls."

"Indeed, we need fresh air." We might be hit by blizzard again though, he reflected.

In the courtyard, they parted in silence, exchanging a brief glance. Fingon headed to the stables, resolved to face Celegorm and his wrath, while Giliel leaned against a pillar, petting absentmindedly hounds that had gathered around her. She watched him stride away and although her face was perfectly impassible, she was overwhelmed with fondness and sympathy for him, to the point that it hurt. She would have done anything to soothe his sorrows, anything to save Aredhel… yet what could she do, what powers did she possess that would aid them?

Once, she had been happy the Noldor had come to Beleriand. It had been easy then to overlook the exile and the Doom, for she had made precious friends among these people, and she had met him too. Perhaps she would have never known love, had the Noldor stayed in Valinor, however it would have also meant that Aredhel would have never disappeared and that her brother would never have had to grieve for her. Ever since she was gone, Giliel wished they had never come to Beleriand, that they had never left the blissful land of Aman... that they had never known the pain and sufferings of those who opposed the Dark Lord.

In the stables, the atmosphere was that of a beehive. Dozens of Elves were busying themselves, carrying equipment and grooming horses, and everything they did, they did it swiftly. Somewhere among this, Celegorm was ordering the squires around, his powerful voice echoing in every stall, and as he was himself checking the horses' harnesses, Huan trailed him closely. Fingon had to navigate through all of it, dodging people and animals alike, in order to reach his cousin.

"Fingon, at last!" Celegorm said, granting him an annoyed look. "I thought you would never wake up… were your dreams so enjoyable?"

"Is everything set?" Fingon inquired, eluding the taunting.

At this point, he and Celegorm were both equally exasperated, but Fingon felt there was no need to pettish – although he was wondering how long he would be able to bear his cousin's bad mood without snapping back at him.

"It is and we should be able to depart within the hour," Celegorm replied, while the nearest horse, a tall black creature, was gently nibbling his cloak. "That is, if all the members of our little party deign showing up in time."

"I saw Lady Heril and lady Giliel in the courtyard just a few moments ago."

"I was not referring to them," said Celegorm, curtly. "Curufin thinks Celebrimbor should stay here, in case Maedhros and Maglor would come to help and also in case… in case she were to return while we are away."

"Are not your brothers on their way already?"

Fingon had hoped he would find Maedhros in Aglon and he still was disappointed his friend was not here, for they could have used more people for the searches and he could have used a bit of comfort.

"Up in the mountains, the winds blow stronger than here and heavy snow has been blocking the roads for a while," Celegorm explained, frowning. "It might take them a whole week to reach Aglon and, even though we are in dire need of more aid, I refuse to delay our expedition any longer…"

A week had passed since he and Curufin had been back from their first trip throughout their lands, looking for Aredhel. They had sent scouts in all directions, of course, and Amrod and Amras had scoured their fief, however Celegorm firmly believed only he and Huan could succeed in finding his dear cousin – something silly he barely admitted to himself.

"This is unfortunate," muttered Fingon, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Indeed, and that is why I insisted Celebrimbor should come with us. We lack no great captains who could oversee the fort in our absence and my nephew has a keener sight than most. I would rather have him with me than leave him behind, surveying the walls."

Fingon nodded. "And where exactly shall we head? Yesterday you talked about the South, yet you gave no further details about our destination."

"Destination… Our only destination is Aredhel herself," whispered Celegorm somberly, and then he added, "it seems more likely she would have gone somewhere nearby Nan Elmoth… for all I know, she may have met some of her old acquaintances and has decided to follow them…"

"Could she have gone into Nan Elmoth itself?" asked Fingon, hopefully.

"It is a fiefdom of King Thingol, thus the Elves dwelling in these woods have got no fondness for the Noldor," Celegorm shrugged and he exchanged a glance with Huan. "I doubt they would have welcomed one of us among them, however charming your sister may be."

"And what of Doriath? What if she had entered the girdle of Melian, unknowingly?"

"We sent messengers there and the Sindar have she had not been sighted in their woods… Their Marchwardens would have noticed her, had she crossed their borders, although I do wonder if we can rely on their words."

"They have no reason to lie about this," Fingon told his cousin, shrugging.

"I suppose not," said Celegorm, his tone dripping with disdain.

"Celegorm, have you… have you considered she could have encountered Orcs…?" Fingon said, cautiously. "Has there been reports of skirmishes lately…?

He was eyeing his cousin, ready to deal with a terrible outburst of anger.

"None of these cursed creatures could have entered our lands!" retorted Celegorm, briskly.

"Yet it may have– "

"Are you telling me we cannot keep a decent watch on the Enemy?"

"It is certainly not what I intended to say," replied Fingon, feeling he was losing patience quickly, "but Nan Dungortheb is not far from here and– "

"She is lost, Fingon, lost! We are not searching for a body, we are looking for Aredhel! You heard me, Aredhel, safe and sound!" Celegorm burst out.

His yells had been so loud, it scared a few of the younger horses and made the squires speed up the preparations, as if they were not rushing already. Yet Fingon was not impressed and he stood straight in front of his cousin staring at him right in the eyes.

"While we should not let despair dishearten us, we would be wiser to avoid disillusionment as well," he said coldly.

"You're ever so rational, son of Fingolfin," Celegorm sneered.

Fingon heaved a sigh and he was about to say they had to brace themselves for the worst, whether they liked it or not, but Curufin entered the stables at that very moment and, sensing a quarrel was in the making, he exclaimed:

"Well, what do we have we here! While I am convinced you two could keep on bickering all day, I do believe it is about time we depart. The horses and the hounds are restless, and so am I."

"I thought you were too busy antagonizing your own son to bother joining us, dear brother," countered Celegorm, his eyes flashing with anger.

"Celebrimbor and I settled that matter and he shall come with us, but thank you for worrying about it, brother" said Curufin, an oily smile spreading on his face.

"Then, let us leave," announced Celegorm, as most of the horses had been lead out of the stables and into the courtyard. "And, Fingon, do remember we are on our way to find a missing person."

"Oh, do not blind yourself, Celegorm, however hard you wish for her to be alive, your will only won't be enough to save her."

Ill temper had turned Fingon into someone rather pessimistic and as soon as these words had escaped his mouth, he regretted it – he feared it was a bad omen.

"She is your sister! How can you…?" breathed Celegorm, genuinely taken aback.

"I am merely being realistic, after all long are gone those days when we dwelled in evergreen Valinor," Fingon said, too proud to admit he had done wrong. "You may have forgotten it, yet Beleriand is a dangerous place."

"Will you please put an end to this!" intervened Curufin, in a loud voice. "It is painful enough not to know where Aredhel has gone, there is no need to argue between us! Do behave yourselves, and I would appreciate it if, from now on, you could focus your energy solely on our expedition!"

Neither Fingon nor Celegorm were truly calmed down by Curufin's words yet they remained silent, having decided to ignore each other for the time being. Celegorm stormed out the stables first, followed by Huan, and Fingon came second, brooding a little.

"Fingon," said Curufin, grabbing his arm before they reached the horses.

"What now?"

"Please, do try to understand him. He has always loved her very much…"

"Does it grant him the right to be so obnoxious towards every unfortunate beings that cross his path?"

"I have to concede that is rather… painful to be around him these, however he suffers greatly."

"So do I! So do you, I assume!"

"Fingon, please…" said Curufin and his gaze was full of sadness.

"Alright, alright, I shall do my best to keep calm."

He doubted 'his best' would last long, but there was no need to tell Curufin that.

In the courtyard, stood about a dozen of Elves, the finest hunters among Celegorm and Curufin's people. Clad in brown and gray outfits, they had formed a line, each of them holding a horse by the bridle, and all were waiting for their lords' signal to depart. There were also Heril and Giliel who seemed quite weary, but determined, and Celebrimbor, pale and anxious, who glanced at his father every now and then. Curufin and Fingon, stern and motionless beside their mounts, were both gazing at the white sky and although they were unaware of it, their thoughts were alike in this moment – they hoped snow would not disturb their expedition.

The gates had been opened, hounds were barking, eager to run, and Celegorm, fair and fierce, finally gave the order to leave. Passing the walls of the fortress, his gaze fell on Huan, the Hound of Valinor, who strode ahead of him – surely the hunting dog of Oromë himself would be able to find her, would he not? Ought he not be more confident with such a powerful ally by his side?

Yet he was still assailed with doubts and, deep down, he was worried Fingon had been right.

Maybe they would find a corpse.

To be honest, I had first meant to include Maedhros in the story, but I find it more interesting to focus on Celegorm and Curufin vs Fingon. Also Fingon wouldn't be in such a bad mood, would Maedhros be there!