Mornel finds herself the target of disgruntled Teleri elves despite the friendship of the Tinwions and Olwe's protection.
25. Telerin Revenge
I am learning how to speak Telerin. It is different from Quenya although both use the same Tengwar characters to write with. Uncle told me he took almost forever to master the tongue even with Aunt Earwen and King Olwe teaching him. Now he sounds like a native of Alqualonde. His children grew up speaking Telerin and had to be given lessons in Quenya before they moved to Tirion. King Olwe's court uses Quenya only as a formal language when dealing with visitors from Valmar and Tirion, as do the traders and the common Teleri in the street. When with family and friends, Telerin is used. My brothers spoke Telerin too -Makalaure more fluently than Maitimo. They said my atto might have spoken Telerin too but he favoured Quenya, well, an older version of Quenya which is much like Telerin.
They were to stay in Alqualonde until fall. Serelinde was assigned to teach Mornel the Telerin dialect. Her lessons were held in the pavilion by the lake where the palace swans swam. They spoke much about Telerin life before the Darkening. Mornel learnt that Makalaure had been a well-known figure in those halcyon days and a welcome face.
"We of the Lindar love music and your brother was the best minstrel in all Aman. It was a pity he decided to go to Formenos with your atar…"
"Do you begrudge him his decision?"
"Never. Your atar had such presence… it'd be like sailing in one of Lord Osse's storms. I guess your brothers just got caught up in it…"
"Then it is the fault of the Valar for freeing…"
"Nay, perhaps there is a greater scheme to this all. A note in the Song of Eru… we must have hope and faith… Estel, you know…"
Mornel felt Serelinde's words made no sense. How could such evil deeds be part of the Song of a merciful Eru like she had been taught in the schoolroom? But Falmiril had said that Serelinde was still grieving, perhaps that was why her words seemed strange.
It took a while to convince her uncle to allow her to leave the palace unescorted so that she might play with her friends, the Tinwions, without the grownups hovering over them. Initially, the Noldoran was reluctant to allow her this freedom. Many of the Teleri were still grieving and might make Mornel the unwitting target of their ire. However, he was soon persuaded by his young niece's earnest pleas. The Tinwions promised Queen Falmiril to protect Mornel from any unfriendly attentions.
I am so excited. Uncle finally agreed to let me go out with my friends. Surialdo said he would show me a quiet beach where they could teach me to swim. I have seen the divers at work and it is amazing how graceful elves can be in the water.
The divers worked naked save for a pouch about the waist in which they placed their bounty. She had seen them gathering kale at the town's seaweed farm. Falmiril explained that clothes might get snagged underwater. The divers left their tunics on shore, ready to be donned on their return. Earwen was among the divers that day. Even the princess pitched in to help with the kale harvest. Arafinwe's eyes constantly strayed to his wife's slender form as she worked. He was no stranger to the practices of the Teleri. Earwen noticed her husband watching her and her cheeks seemed to redden before she dove under. Arafinwe hastily glanced away to the twitters of the other divers.
They met as often as the Tinwions' work at the shipyard allowed. Swimming was a lot harder than it looked. Mornel and the boys kept their undergarments on in deference to Noldorin sensitivities. Aunt Findis and Anaire would surely disapprove of Mornel skinny-dipping. More often, they frolicked in the shallows or lay on the sand watching the gulls. She trusted the brothers but not even they could protect her from the ire of their fellow Lindar completely.
While walking along the docks, Mornel was splashed with a bucket of fish-guts by an elf. The ner yelled at her and Mornel could not understand the words. It sounded like he was complimenting her hair. Confused, she murmured a thank you in Telerin. Perhaps it was a quaint Telerin custom. The elf was left confused by her reply and the spectators started laughing, including her friends.
"What did he say?" Mornel asked. She knew she must have misinterpreted the words.
"Best you not know," Surihin's lips tightened in a grim line. It must have been a really bad word. He took Mornel by the hand and hastened her away from the scene. Her clothes were utterly ruined and it would take a long soak in the palace baths to remove the stench from her hair and skin.
Another time, someone stole her clothes where they had been left on the beach during their swim. Her clogs were also taken. She had to return to the palace clad in Surihin's shirt and piggybacked by Surialdo so that her feet would not be cut to pieces by the coral-lined streets. Aunt Anaire would have been utterly scandalised by the amount of leg she was showing.
Even in Olwe's palace Mornel was not spared hostile glares. After the incident with the sponge, there was a glass of juice she had been offered during a court banquet by a friendly-looking nis. The drink tasted awful and she came down with a fit of hiccups so bad she could not breathe. Her uncle sent for a healer immediately. Afterwards, she had lost her voice for two days.
"Her brother slit Prince Earlindo's throat. The Kinslayer Makalaure did!" the nis responsible had retorted when Arafinwe confronted her with the deed. Serelinde had stalked over in a silent fury and slapped the nis before running from the hall.
"He did that, you know… but it was because he could not get the prince out from under that heavy beam and the building was burning fast…" Surihin would explain haltingly later as they sat on the sand a week later. "We tried to save him but we could not lift the beam." Surialdo added. Sadness washed over the older brother's face and he blinked his eyes.
"W-what happened?" Mornel asked cautiously. She could see how the memory of the events was still painful to her friends. Forgive me, but I must know. Mornel reached over to squeeze both brothers' hands.
"We were on the docks then… It was madness. Atto fell. The docks were burning. Amme tried to save us but she fell too. Then our sister got hit by an arrow…" Surihin rubbed his eyes as if something had gotten into them.
"We could not lift her without hurting her. There was so much blood- then she stopped screaming. Prince Makalaure came then- we recognized him from what Prince Lindo told us of him. He told us she was gone and covered her up… Then we heard Prince Lindo's screams. He was trapped in the warehouse where they kept the oil and tar. He had gone in to get the nissi there out before the fire… It was burning up so fast and we could not free him. The roof started falling…"
"A nis came into the building and Makalaure ordered her to take us out quickly. Then he took his dagger and… the prince was gone. Perhaps it was a mercy." There were elves who had been caught in the fire on the docks. Often they had suffered great pain before their fear finally departed for Mandos. It had not been possible for them to survive the journey to Lorien. The Valar were still reeling from the Darkening and cloistered in their Circle of Doom to be of much use to the stricken elves in distant Alqualonde.
At another meal, Mornel was slipped something in her food which made her act all silly. Mornel could not remember much of what happened but her uncle was very upset. Had she really tried to take off her clothes in front of King Olwe and his guests and danced on the table? She vaguely recalled that the stern Vanya ambassador was gaping like a large grouper she had seen in the market. She had laughed so very hard because he looked so funny. Falmiril had ushered her away and fed her a bitter drink which made her sleepy.
It was difficult for her to shrug off the cruelty at times and she would run to the pavilion where Serelinde played her harp. Her law-sister's gentle music always soothed the elfling's troubled heart. At other times, she would seek out Fearocco and share her woes with him. They would then gallop over the rolling hills like the wind and she would forget her cares for a brief moment in time.
Author's Notes:
I tried to introduce some humourous pranks to be played on Mornel but it jars with the entire tone of the story. Some insight into Makalaure's ties to the Teleri.