Chapter 10: Kindred Spirits
"That was about as classy as a rat with a gold tooth."
-Ian Dickson
"Hey, Idril."
I turned around and saw Huor standing in front of me. We were in the library at the time, where I had been spending most of my free time these days.
"I can call you Idril, right?" he continued. "I mean, you don't want me to call you 'Your Highness' or anything, right?"
"Oh, no, that's fine," I said, smiling. "I hate it when people call me 'Your Highness' or Milady.' Just because I'm a king's daughter doesn't mean that I'm that much better than anyone else."
"Yeah, that makes sense," said Huor. "I mean, we're all just people, really."
Wow. Smart kid.
"So how are you and Hurin liking Gondolin?" I asked.
"I like it," said Huor. "The people are friendlier and the food is better than what I'm used to. And I think Hurin agrees."
"I'm glad you think so," I said. "Personally, I'm a bit sick of it, but that's neither here nor there."
Huor nodded. "At least you're honest. That's cool."
"Someone in this city has to be," I muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Huor.
I couldn't believe that I was telling this sort of thing to a thirteen-year-old boy, but I plowed ahead. "It just seems like everything about this place is artificial. It's an illusion, and it convinces everyone that because Gondolin is beautiful, everything else is perfect." I sighed. "This city is so hollow."
"Whoa," said Huor. "That's heavy, dude. So if you hate things here so much, why don't you try to change it?"
With a bitter laugh, I shook my head. "What makes you think that I could change anything?"
"Aren't you the king's daughter?" said Huor. "You're freakin' royalty. Royal people are usually pretty influential."
"Yes, I'm the king's daughter," I replied. "Emphasis on the word daughter. I'm a woman. I have absolutely no power at all. This is a man's world, Huor, and there's nothing anyone can do about it."
"That's good news for me," said Huor thoughtfully, "but probably not for you. I don't think you should give up yet. There's gotta be something you can do."
"I'll think about it," I said, shrugging. "But enough of this. There is something profoudly illogical about a mortal teenager giving an Elf princess advice, and anyway I'm too tired to do any deep thinking. Tell me about where you come from."
"Brethil?" said Huor. He shook his head. "There's not much to say about Brethil. It's just kind of…there. There's a lot of trees, and it gets really cold in the winter, and the hunting's good. Oh, and technically it's owed by King Thingol, but no one really remembers that."
"Ah yes, King Thingol," I said. "You know, if he and my dad weren't from two different tribes, I always thought that they'd get long well."
"Why?"
"Because they're both extremely stubborn, extremely materialistic, and basically jerks."
Huor frowned. "You really hate your dad, don't you."
"I don't!" I protested. "I really don't. I mean, he's my dad, and I love him. He just really, really irritates me sometimes. Well, most of the time, actually."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, fine, he irritates me all of the time," I admitted. "But he's still my father. I'm obligated to love him."
"I feel that way about my dad too sometimes," Huor laughed. "Grown-ups are weird."
"I'm grown up," I said.
"Really?" said Huor. "You don't act like it."
This time it was my turn to raise an eyebrow.
"That was a compliment," said Huor. "It doesn't mean you're immature or anything."
"Huor, you've been here for four days and already you can tell exactly what I'm thinking," I said. "How do you do it?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just like that."
I grinned. "Join the club."
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That evening Dad, Maeglin, Meleth and I were all hanging out in the sitting room. Meleth was knitting, Dad and I were reading, and Maeglin was staring abesently into the distance. Dinniel was at a party—being one of the most popular girls in Gondolin, she was hardly ever around on a Friday night.
"What do you think of our young guests?" asked Dad suddenly, looking up from his book.
"They're okay," said Meleth, and went back to her knitting. You really couldn't have a conversation with Meleth when she was concentrating on something.
"I hate them," said Maeglin sharply.
"Why?" I asked. "They haven't done anything to do."
"They're mortals," spat Maeglin. "They don't belong here, and I think it was a mistake to let them stay with us. I'm pretty sure we'll regret it."
"What were wesupposed to do?" I retorted. "Just leave them to starve in the wilderness? They're just kids, Maeglin. What could happen?"
"Well, what are we going to do with them now?" said Maeglin. "We can't let them leave, or they might tell someone where we are, but I don't want them staying here forever, either."
"That, Maeglin, is not your decision," said Dad sternly. "Personally, I rather like Hurin and Huor. They remind me of your uncle Fingon and I when we were boys."
"Then why don't you let them choose whether they want to stay or not?" said Meleth. "It's really the only polite thing to do."
Dad looked surprised, then nodded. "You're right, Meleth, that's a very good idea. We ought to let the boys choose. Idril, they seem to like you quite a bit; will you ask them?"
I was delighted. Not because of Dad's decision (though that in and of itself was pretty good) but because for once in my life, Dad had actually asked me to do something.
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Later that evening I went to Hurin and Huor's room and knocked on the door. "Guys?" I said softly. "It's me, Idril. Can I come in? I need to ask you something."
The door was opened by short, serious Hurin, who cracked a bit of a smile when he saw me. "Hey, Idril, come on in. We're just hanging out; you're not disturbing anything."
I came in, to be greeted by Huor jumping off his bed and running over to me. "Hey, Idril! What're you doing in here?"
"My dad asked me to talk to you guys," I said. "Can I sit down?"
"Sure," said Hurin. I sat down on the bed, and they sat on either side of me.
"We were talking earlier," I began, "and we were wondering what's to be done about you guys. My cousin Maeglin didn't think that you should be allowed to leave, because he thought you might tell someone the location of the city, but I told him that that was stupid, and Dad said that you should be allowed to decide. So…do you want to stay here or go home eventually?"
"Huh, hard decision," said Huor. "Can we talk about it for a second?"
"Sure," I said. The boys went off to one corner of the room and whispered urgently for a minute or so before coming back and sitting down.
"We have decided," Hurin said solemnly, "that we wouldn't mind staying here for a little longer, though we would like to go home eventually."
"Oh, good, that's what I was hoping you'd say," I said, relieved. "Quite honestly, I like having you guys around. You're fun."
"Yeah, we like you too," said Huor. "You're like an older sister to us, isn't she, Hurin."
"Totally," said Hurin. "You're way less snobby that we thought a pretty Elf princess would be."
I slapped him slightly on the back. "Oh, shut up."