As he had promised, Maedhros ensured that the kitchen staff could offer some simple food while Dior explained why he had arrived to Amon Ereb like this, in the most unlikely company of the Lord of Nan Elmoth and his family.
"So...Luthien tried to pair you two up for a hasty-done marriage, simply because you two get on so well that it is often mistaken as a more...serious secret romance?" Celegorm asked, making a clear point of not sounding like he accused either Dior or Nimloth for the situation.
"I admit that I am not really sure exactly what my feelings for Nimloth are currently, whatever it is just a really strong friendship or something else, but I will honestly congress that I can imagine her as a wife, because she is more of my type than...the young ladies at the royal court in Menegroth."
Dior did sound almost ashamed, for some reason.
"That is because none of those silly airheads to noble maidens have even imagined a life without any of the comfort they are used to since birth. My mother is from a smaller Silvan nomadic tribe and I have been raised in the manner of how the females there was expected to do their share of work. Not just housekeeping cooking, sewing and raising children, but also hunting, looking for edible roots and plants, keeping orcs away from camp…"
As Nimloth listed all the things she had been taught, Celegorm understood why Dior felt a bit lost about doing his duty in the peace treaty or following his own heart. Nimloth and he was a bit similar in attitude, so perhaps there was no surprise that Dior had a particular taste. Though given how unusual Dior himself was in the first place…
"Can we talk more about this another day? I am tired after the long journey and I think a bath would be really nice before dinner…"
They did not mention it, but both Maedhros and Caranthir who had dealt the most with their mortal allies, could tell from the way in how Dior tried to scratch himself discreetly near the ears that he must be suffering from hair growth which was on the way to form sideburns even if he had been spared from a stubble otherwise. Rather logical, in that he would not have time to shave on the journey and being the only known half-Elven currently, it was impossible to say how both of his Elvish and Mannish blood had affected him.
"Of course. Do you need some of that salve you uses to avoid getting dry skin? Your face seem to need it."
Dior confirmed that he had forgotten a few everyday things in the haste to get away from Menegroth, but thankfully almost all of it could be found here in Amon Ereb as well.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Of course, it did not stay quiet for long in the fortress when people realized that Dior indeed had arrived. They did not bother him or Celegorm, but many of the servants stíll talked about that while it was a unusual marriage, Dior seemed more modest than his mother at least.
"From what lord Celegorm have spoken about him, he seems like a practical person."
"Yes, did you see the bow and arrows beside the saddle bags? He must have tried to pick up some habits from his future spouse."
"Pretty good-looking, I think that stronger jaw must be from his Mannish inheritage, but it matches him well A handsome brunette."
"Strong body, not someone who is spoiled by having others do all the difficult tasks. I remember that thin body of his mother when she was in Nargothrond…"
At the very least, the servants agreed on that while Dior was somewhat less stunning in appearance than Luthien, he clearly was a very different personality given that he had came all the way here to Amon Ereb out of free will.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Dior, naturally, was unaware of the talk about him as he washed off in a bath after shaving off all the stray hair he wanted gone from his face. It felt nice to be able to be really clean again. He was used to not be able to wash off his whole body on journeys before, but when he could, he made sure to enjoy it while it lasted.
"Now when I finally am here at Amon Ereb...will Celegorm insist on the wedding ceremony soon? I am old enough to manage the wedding night despite that I have not tried anything like that…right?"
Dior was not prudish, but he had wanted to remain chaste for Celegorm because he knew how much damage could be done to someone's social reputation thanks to the wrong kind of talk. Sometimes that alone had been enough to speed up the period between a betrothal and the following wedding just because a set of worried parents had wanted to save a daughter from social ruin.
"In a way, Nimloth was a safe choice because she is a distant relative and few saw any danger in having her as a teacher for me…"
It was just that familiarly which worried him now. Would Celegorm be unhappy over that Nimloth had needed to come along? Was there a risk of that it could become tensions between them because of that?
"Ugh...I do not wish to be involved in a love triangle like Mother was! First with Daeron and Father, then with Celegorm and my parents! I have tried all my life to not to not have to deal with similar consequences of my own actions! It is enough of that I am to marry Celegorm in order to atone for her rejection of him!" Dior thought in growing dismay, pouring cold water over himself in a attempt to clean his head, then hurried to get back into the warm water again. It would be just his luck if he grew ill before the wedding and it had to be postponed until he had recovered again. Just another one of the many things Dior secretly disliked about being mortal, outside the sheer fact that he would grow old and die.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and he had to focus on that instead.
"Dior? May I come inside and join you in the bath?"
It was Celegorm. While not the first time Dior had seen his future husband naked or bathing, the changed surroundings made him realize that yes, that was a view he had to get used to seeing from now on.
"Nervous about the big event, huh?"
At least it was not asked in a teasing tone, so Dior nodded in agreement while trying to not blush too much.
"It feels more real now when I am here, yes…"
A careful side-look, revealed that Celegorm had gotten a few newer scars on his body since the last time they met. Not any big ones, but very alike those he already had from earlier battles. The marks of a survivor, someone who knew the hard way of life and the dangers of the world instead of being sheltered away from it. Not that Dior himself had been spared, he had a small scar on his back as a reminder from ten years ago, of how dangerous it could be to not wear armour or anything else as protection if enemies showed up. He had been lucky to be saved by Celegorm who had arrived just in time to save him from the pack of orcs, or Dior would most likely not have been alive right now.
"Are that old scar aching again? You have said something about that it can start to hurt when you have been riding for a very long time, like on a journey."
"Somewhat, though I prefer the ache over that I could have been killed or paralyzed from the waist down if the blow had been deeper."
Celegorm nodded, gently touching the scar in question and were pleased to see Dior twitch as reaction on feeling the fingers pressing just barely against his skin. It had been a great shock to hear Dior scream desperately for help and seeing him being assaulted by orcs in a manner that would not have ended well. And if he indeed had became paralyzed from that, Dior would have been living a life of pity, basically unable to be anything useful for Doriath outside maybe the role of a counsellor. In world where people needed to be able to work or at least use their bodies, being paralyzed was like becoming a burden for the whole family.
"I was a fool to ride out alone that day on a badly chosen hunt without looking for possible danger, just admit it."
"No, you were upset with your parents over something minor that just turned big in your view and you were also in a difficult period of changing from a boy into a adult, they should have expected that you would have mood swings as a result. You were never a shy child, just the more quiet kind that tends to surprise people when they actually show a honest determination and it is hard to change your mind," Celegorm responded, they had already talked about that day several times in the past bout he could understand why Dior still sew himself as being a idiot that day.
After some silence, where they simply helped to wash each other's hair, Celegorm spoke again:
"I was thinking that we could do the first part of the marriage ritual among the followers of Oromë this evening, since it basically is just burning a small offering in the form of some meat which later is to be eaten by the betrothed pair and also burning a small braid made of both their hairs as a sign of that the Huntsman shall bless them."
Dior nodded. Celegorm had suggested that kind of marriage ritual because it would stand out from the ones normally performed by the Noldor and Sindar in Doriath. Celegorm may not talk much about his past where he was a follower of the Hunts of the Valar, but he still followed many of the teachings he had learnt in his youth out of respect for Oromë as a teacher and for that the Huntsman had been the one of the Valar to find the Elves at Cuiviénen. That Celegorm actually had been a priest of that cult, a rank given only to those who was seen as special among the followers, also played a part.
"I am thinking of teaching you the role of a high priest for the cult of Oromë. That way, even if you are mortal, the cult might still be able to live on among the Second-born in the future."
Dior understood the unspoken words, as he leaned against the strong chest behind him. Celegorm did really expect to die in battle one day, the silver-haired Noldo could not keep escaping from the orcs of Morgoth without that narrow luck running out at some point. If not the Oath causing something else to happen, basically risking that Dior could become the widowed spouse despite being the one more likely to die early.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
After resting for a few hours in the chamber that was to be his own, Dior felt ready for attending the small welcome feast that had been arranged in a haste. But the Elves living in Amon Ereb actually enjoyed a challenge, especially one that did not involve blood loss or risk of death.
Out of personal taste, Dior had dressed in a simple robe of green fabric and braided his hair with a white ribbon to add some contrast in the brown colour. He had never liked the fashion of the royal court in Menegroth because the many layers of fabric had been easy to trip in unless walking slowly and it also restrained movements.
"I hope that they will be pleased by what I plan to present them…"
The plan was that Celegorm and Dio would start the feast by making the offering to Oromë, to ask for his blessing of the marriage. In a way marriage could be likened to a hunt, a similar search but in a different manner because the hunter was looking for a spouse, not a prey to kill. Also, Celegorm and Dior kept silent during the shared prayer, to not reveal anything meant only for the Huntsman to hear. Sometimes a secret was best kept silent.
"I bought something with me from Doriath that should please you all seven. Perhaps one of the few times I am willing proving myself as the son of my parents...in one noticeable manner."
Placing the small chest on a free spot at the nearest table, Dior opened the lid. A strong light revealed itself from the inside.
"You stole the Silmaril from your grandfather?!" Caranthir said, after finally finding the right words to cut though the stunned silence.
"He started the whole mess by requesting it as a bride prize for my mother, and failed to give it to you once my parents had enjoyed the wedding. It is originally something from your father, after all. And the door to the treasury was rather easy to open with my powers and switching the Silmaril with a common diamond in roughy the same size, once I used one of Celegorm's improvised sleeping concoction on the guards who was at the door. It is not like they expect to be hit by a small dart blown from a pipe made of reed," the half-Elven calmly responded while he closed the lid again. Maedhros and Maglor gave their oldest younger brother a stern look.
"Exactly what have you been teaching your future spouse during the every second summer-visits of yours in the past?" the second-born brother asked.
"The basics of survival in the wildness and how to deal with annoying people. It was a bit tricky to be left alone with Dior as a child, Luthien insisted on a servant watching us all the time so I had to do something so we could actually talk to each other in peace. It is not like I planned to steal him away."
Maedhros looked like he really was tempered to hit Celegorm with his closed fist on top of the silver head in a way to discipline him like when they had been children in Valinor, but forced himself to not since there was other guests present. Celegorm was a adult and if his teachings actually had proved useful for Dior, then the oldest brother could not protest it.
"Are you done with the offering now? Many of us want the feast to start," Aredhel called from the great hall. Maeglin could be seen behind her, though Eöl seemed to already have drawn back to a corner of the great hall where it was a little less people.