12. Growing family

Against all odds and much to their political enemies' great disappointment mixed with not so small amount of fear for their careless words about him being a undeniable proof that the House of Fëanor finally was being punished by the Allfather himself for their past deeds as Kinslayers, Yuë did actually survive the critical months that followed his premature birth. Sure, he was still very sickly and caused endless worry for his family every time he had a coughing fit, but he had grown a lot from how tiny he had been at his birth and now looked more like a full-term newborn.

"Easy there, Yuë, don't eat too fast," smiled Maedhros as she nursed him. Her youngest son still was not one to eat a lot, but he had gotten much better at eating if you were to check with how things had been during his first days of life.

"Good boy."

Today it was the date of the naming ceremony that would have happened if he had been carried to full term, so in many ways, it was a very important day for her family.

"Ammë, look!"

Cúwen showed up in the door to her younger brother's nursery, showing herself to Maedhros in the pale green dress that she had gotten for the naming ceremony by the Sand clan.

"You look wonderful, my girl. Now, where is your older brother?"

A few muffled swearwords from the mirror out in the corridor revealed that Rûsa had some difficultly in taming his thick mane to hair with the hairbrush so it would look neat at the ceremony and not look like a serious case of bed hair he was always plagued with right after leaving the bed in the morning. Maedhros shook on her head. Thick hair was not uncommon in the House of Fëanor, but poor Rûsa had gotten some of the thickest hair they had seen in the family. Maedhros shook on her head again as her firstborn looked inside, his hair still in a minor mess and the hairbrush in one hand. Had they not known better, they would have mistaken the look in Yuë's green eyes as a sign that he mentally was laughing at how Rûsa's hair looked at the moment.

"Yeah, yeah, I know that I look silly, baby brother," grinned Rûsa as he bent down and gently pinned Yuë's little button to nose for a moment. In return, Yuë hiccupped slightly as response.

"Cúwen, please try and help Rûsa with his hair, I have my arms full at the moment so it is a little difficult for me to do that," requested Maedhros with a meaningful look on her younger son. Cúwen was quick to obey the request, dragging Rûsa along by his ceremonial cloak.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Pretty much everyone in the Noldorin royal family was present; the few family members who were missing had legal reasons for their absence, being away as ambassadors to the courts of Olwë and Thingol. On the other hand, it had surprised them all to see Ingwë arrive alone to Formenos yesterday, with only saying something that he needed a short break from his people that he had left in the skilled hands of his son Ingwion and simply meant to stay in Formenos as a pilgrim under a few days. Nonetheless, he was welcomed to witness the naming ceremony.

"No one else missing outside those who are at the other royal courts? Good, let's start then."

As per tradition when it was a new birth in his royal family, despite that this little great-grandson had been born six months premature and they had not known if he would survive, it was Finwë who performed the naming ceremony.

"…by the grace of Eru Ilúvatar, the All-Father; Esselya Yuë ná."

Yuë was sleeping throughout the whole ceremony, for he got tired easily and it was also normal for him to take a nap during this time of the day. The light blue blanket helped to not make him look so horribly pale despite that he was an albino; rather it helped to soften how white his skin was.

"Little sleepyhead," cooed Rog gently with a soft laugh as he took Yuë from Maedhros to let her arms rest a bit. His young son stirred in sleep at his voice without waking up, instead finding his thumb and started to suck on it. Even if he was mute, there was nothing wrong with his behaviour otherwise.

"He has grown strong indeed. He might never become a warrior, but there are other abilities a prince can have."

~X~X~X~X~X~X

The ceremonial meal afterwards is simple, but fitting the season. After all, it was late autumn and not much fresh fruits or vegetables anymore at this time of the year.

"Forgive my bluntness, Ingwë, but what is going on in Valmar lately? We have not seen much of your people outside Valmar this summer, and a lot of Vanyarin youngsters have been found around Aman, all refusing to return home."

Rûsa froze in a movement at his great-grandfather's sudden question, although he quickly got an excuse for his behaviour in that Yuë awoke and started crying. Ingwë lowered his goblet slowly, not saying anything at first as he searched for a good white lie.

"One of the noble-born girls was a little…too forward and rude against several other youngsters on the Spring Ball. They were horribly upset by her behaviour, and wanted to get away from Valmar for a while."

Rûsa relaxed when he realized that the Vanyarin High King would not reveal what Vanë had done against him, for even if it was little over six months since it had happened he still did not really feel emotionally ready to tell his family what really had happened the day after the Spring Ball. After all, it was indirectly the reason to why he had been forced to fight once more against his own inner demons again alongside the stress of the yew poisoning that had caused Yuë to be born premature.

"Is something wrong, Narvi?" whispered Celebrimbor as he bent down to her. She had been acting strange the last half of an hour or so during the meal, and it worried him a bit, especially as she was in the last months of her own pregnancy. Given that their child was the first known child that would be born to an Elven parent and a Dwarven parent, they did not know for how long she would be carrying the baby. An Elvish pregnancy lasted for twelve months, while a Dwarven pregnancy lasted for fifteen months, making it pretty logical that Narvi's pregnancy would last somewhere between.

"Please ask your mother and lord Elrond to come over to our house…I think it is time."

He did not need to ask what she meant.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Indeed, it was Narvi's own labour which had begun. Lucky, their house was not too far away from the small palace where the naming ceremony had happened so Narvi had been able to walk home, despite that it naturally did hurt a bit during the walk.

"I prefer to give birth here in my own home, it feels a lot more natural to be in a place that I know…" gasped Narvi slightly in pain as she got some help from Astarë to get out of the finer clothes she had worn for Yuë's naming ceremony, she would change into something more simple later. Right now she only wanted to get rid of the layers of clothing she had worn. Astarë had arrived first to the house after that Celebrimbor had told her why Narvi had left.

"Tyelpë was born in our home as well, so I can understand why."

By now, Elrond has arrived too. He had gotten a letter earlier from Celebrimbor about the possibility that Narvi soon would give birth, and had therefore packed some of the things he would need if his help was requested.

"Just a quick check and a couple of questions that I always do when a female patient is in labour: about how far in the pregnancy is you, lady Narvi?" inquired Elrond as he checked her heartbeat by holding his fingers against the pulse on her wrist.

"Thirteen and a half months, give or take a couple of days. The pregnancy of a Dwarrowdam normally is fifteen months…with a husband of her own race," answered Narvi, adding the last part with a glare towards Celebrimbor who were busy in fixing a hot bath for her so she would not have so much pain from the contractions.

"Then it is safe to say that a pregnancy with a mixed-race baby is right between the different pregnancies between your own races."

It was technically not the first time Elrond had helped during the birth of a mixed-race baby, he had been a present "midwife" at all the four times that his twin brother Elros had became a father with his mortal human wife. On the other hand, this was the first time the still-unborn baby in question did have Dwarven blood, so it was a little hard to blame him for asking Narvi what she knew about Dwarven ways in pregnancy and birth.

"The warm bath is fixed," called Celebrimbor from the hallway, already having his arms full with clean towels and blankets that he would carry to the birthing room.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

As both Fingolfin and Finarfin were present, they took the chance to speak with their granddaughters about the months that they had spent in Formenos to give support for Maedhros and Rog for everything with Yuë.

"So…you all think that it is Calcanis' attempt to revenge her husband? And to lessen the risk of Nelyo's sons being seen as heirs to the throne before Cúwen and any future sisters she might have?" asked Finarfin as all four walked along a street in Formenos to be left alone during their talk.

"Yes. After all, who can forget that horrible pair's endless attempts to have one among their four sons married to one of us? Imagine how things might have been, if lady Nelyo had not found out about Nárion's plans with a marriage to her and really had ended up married to him! Can any of you imagine how he would have reacted about Rûsa being Taurion's son?" commented Maeglin, as she shuddered at the thought, from where she was walking beside her maternal grandfather. So far, Finarfin had not said anything but it was clear that he wanted to listen on what they all had to speak about before saying anything himself.

"If she even had been having any strength left for another childbirth then, I do not doubt that Nárion would have tried to make Nelyo pregnant as often he could, just to increase the chance to either become prince consort to the first High Queen of the Noldor or father to a new High King…" Fingolfin mumbled while he remembered how Maedhros had been looking like when Fingon saved her. He also remembered her words about that Rûsa's birth had taken a lot of her spiritual strength, all in her attempt to keep them both alive in memory of what eventually had lead to Taurion's suicide.

"You mean…she might have shared Lady Miriel's fate and die as a result of the childbirth during her captivity in Angband, because of that Rûsa would have been her lastborn child in her old body? And that Nárion would have used Rûsa's birth as proof to his claim that she had been unfaithful to him?" Saira wondered in understandable worry, looking terrified at the mental image of that. Finarfin nodded, not doubting for a moment that a marriage with Nárion would have made Maedhros extremely unhappy in the marriage once his true colours would have been shown long before it had happened with her own parents and worn out as a mother by an early age for the Elves from becoming pregnant with multiple children born too close after one other. Unless she would have followed Fëanor to Middle-earth out of pure desperation to escape Nárion, and trying to take their children with her.

"At least Nelyo would not have been so foolish. Yes, she was a bit more naïve in her youth, but never stupid enough for fall for a ner out of the blue. The discontinued relationship with Nárion burned her when it came to possible relationships, greatly fearing that she would only be married for her status as our brother's Heiress, for the rest of the Years of the Trees before the Darkening, and we all know Rog's version of the events…"

Privately, all four were almost happy in how things had turned out in reality during the First Age. Sure, it was not perfect or how they would have wished to happen, but the thought of how things could have been far worse was horribly scary.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

By the next morning, several message birds were found outside the houses where the different members in the House of Fëanor lived. Once everyone saw what the message was about, they were quick to get dressed. After all, how often could you say that you could witness an event like this one?

"No, I will take Yuë with me, go ahead, you three."

Yuë looked around on his family members with large green eyes from inside the blankets, clearly wondering what was going on and why they acted like this. He made an unheard little protest, born mute as he was, as Maedhros bent down to kiss his forehead for the temporary goodbye before she left with her two older children. It was not that her youngest son disliked to be carried by Rog, he simply wished to be with his ammë at the current moment.

"Do not worry, my boy, I will hand you over to your ammë soon," promised Rog as he dressed in his outdoor winter clothing, having long learned the signs of when Yuë wanted his mother.

In the house belonging to Celebrimbor and Narvi, there was a air of pure joy and happiness, the kind of feeling one could sense around a pair that just had became parents. And indeed, Celebrimbor was found in the birthing room beside the bed where Narvi was resting, smiling with an unusual tender look in his silver-grey eyes on the small bundle of blankets in his arms.

"Everyone, please meet our daughter Frëja Haldamírë."

The baby clearly was a mix of her unusual set of parents; a lighter skin tone than Narvi's own dark one blending in with Celebrimbor's high cheekbones, yet there was the busy eyebrows of the Dwarves and the faintest hint of a light brown little sideburn at her slightly pointed ears, revealing that she would become a lovely brunette as she grew up, and the light blue eyes she had inherited from both her Dwarven maternal grandfather and Elvish paternal grandmother. Like all newborn babies, little Frëja was looking ugly-cute at the best. But there was indeed something special about her, being the first known offspring born between an Elf and a Dwarf.

"She is lovely," cooed Astarë who was already in love with her half-Dwarven granddaughter. It took a little longer to persuade Curufin into holding Frëja, who was not as sure about it as his wife. Frëja did not cry or so, but she gave her paternal grandfather a look that really said "say that I am ugly and I will make you temporarily deaf, grandpa!" in true Fëanorian style. Curufin seemed to get the warning hint in her eyes, for he smiled awkwardly in pride of becoming a grandfather before giving Frëja back to Narvi.

"The first great-grandchild born in the House of Fëanor. Now people can't say anymore that our House is doomed to stay at three generations," declared Fëanor with pride over that it now was four generations in his growing family.

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Author's note: According to the website realelvish dot net, Haldamírë means Hidden Jewel in Quenya. Remembering that many of the names on Tolkien's Dwarves are old Norse? I felt that the name Freja, from the fertility goddess in the Viking mythology, would fit on a child born between a Dwarf and Elf. I only changed the letter A to make it sound more like Middle-earth.