High Princes of Tirion
by Nemis
A/N: Masques, or Masks; (dramatic) entertainments involving dances and disguises.
*hands out toothbrushes* Sweet stuff ahead...
*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^
Chapter Twenty-Four Masque
*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^
Sitting in her chambers, Celebrían watched Celebriníel laying the finishing touch on an essay she had been working on for the past four weeks now. There was an air of expectancy about the rest of the house, but if her daughter was aware of the atmosphere, she was ignoring it. Much like her father she was able to lock out everything around her when concentrating on her work.
Celebrían had only a vague notion of what had happened between Celebriníel and Ereinion during his last visit, some months ago, but knowing both, and acknowledging Ereinion's arguments on this, she could easily guess. Celebriníel had not spoken a word of it. And any letters Ereinion sent were, as far as she could tell, still in secret.
A year now, she thought, and wondered if it was something her daughter dwelled on as well. From today only a year.
A knock on the open door of the chamber startled Celebrían out of her thoughts, but she recovered easily and watched Elernil enter, depositing what looked to be a box on the table where Celebriníel sat. Her grandson glanced at her, and she returned a smile. He smiled back and subsequently raised an eyebrow at Celebriníel.
'He told me to bring it to you at once, I was not allowed to see to anything else first.' He looked at the small object, which seemed heavy. 'Not that I would have considered dragging that all over the house.' Nodding, he stepped back. 'I will go and see Daeradar now.'
Almost as suddenly as he had entered, he had left again, and from across the library sounded a knock and the opening and closing of the door to Elrond's study.
Sitting back, Celebriníel stared at the object wrapped in dark blue cloth for a moment, before shifting her gaze to rest on her mother.
'Does this mean he is not coming?'
Rising, Celebrían walked over.
'Not necessarily. First see what he sends, before drawing conclusions. I shall be on the other side of the library.'
Closing the door behind her with a smile, Celebrían lingered a little before continuing onwards, entering the study across from hers, joining her husband and grandson.
With uncertain fingers, Celebriníel meanwhile unfolded the material. A wooden strongbox appeared, decorated beautifully with ornately carved trees and flowers, a silver latch at the front. It opened with a sharp snap as she pushed it up. Raising the lid, she found the interior was covered with a very dark blue velvet. At the bottom lay a notebook, the cover of the same coloured material, and also a rectangular wooden box which proved to contain a silver pen similarly engraved as the box. A carefully secured ink jar, silver and glass, held a small note captive against the back of the chest.
Taking a deep breath she took it out, and caught a small bag of blue velvet that fell out simultaneously. Holding it in her hand, she let her eyes run over the familiar scrawl on the paper.
Do not think me heartless for sending
you this, instead of doing as I should, presenting it personally.
I write this note in haste, in-between council sessions, so Elernil can take it
with him as he follows his father to celebrate your begetting day. I tried to
come, but I fear there were other factors involved, factors I cannot ignore.
I will follow, if not soon,
Until then,
Yours,
E
Note: It seemed safer to transport your actual present inside something which no one will consider awkward for me to send.
Refolding the letter and dropping it into the box, Celebriníel sat back, more than a little disappointed. Thoughtfully she turned the velvet bag in her fingers.
Possibly the only thing that would have made this day remotely bearable was his presence. She had looked forward to seeing him again, not having been face to face ever since their rather ambiguous exchanges last winter. Ereinion's letters had become slightly more personal, but somehow he seemed careful not to reveal all.
Holding her hand up, she poured the contents of the little pouch into it.
A delicate stone came first, followed by a fine silver chain which was attached to it. Amazed, she stared at it, and watched the blue of the stone turn darker a moment, then light again. It was quite beautiful, she had to admit.
For a moment, she contemplated throwing the stone into the box and sending it all back to Tirion again. Never before he had done this, and it made her feel as if he somehow tried to compensate for his absence.
Still holding the jewel in her hand, she crossed the room and gazed through one of the windows down into the garden.
She realised she had been oblivious to most of the guests arriving for the celebration. Somehow it was hard to imagine why her parents were so adamant to observe this to such a large extent. Especially since neither of them ever bothered when it concerned their own begetting days.
And Ereinion... He knew how she felt about today, she had written of it to him extensively. He had to have known how important it was to her that he would be here. With a sigh she looked down, gazing at the necklace.
'Curse you, Ereinion. And myself as well for caring so much.'
--~~*~~--
Already the gardens were filled with Elves, most of them dressed in white as was the custom at these celebrations, some wearing the masks that had been made a voluntary option of the evening. Bursts of laughter came from all directions; those present seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Celebriníel stood and looked on for a moment, before leaving the doorway and stepping into view. Immediately a happy cry rang out.
'Briníel!'
With a grin Celebriníel caught Almarinde as she ran up to her, wearing a very simple mask, much resembling the one her father wore. Elladan stood a little removed, with Almariel on his arm, speaking to Galadriel. Celebriníel pulled at her niece's mask.
'And who is this hiding behind there?'
The small girl chuckled and fumbled with her hair, showing her aunt the loose braids that had been set there. Celebriníel smiled. It was not difficult to recognise her father's handiwork.
Almarinde shifted on her aunt's arm to be able to look around more. Seeing her grandparents, who had followed a little behind, she enthusiastically indicated she wished to switch arms. With a smile, Elrond complied.
Celebrían slipped her arm through Celebriníel's and together they strolled over to where Celeborn stood.
'Is something the matter, Briníel?'
Shaking her head, the younger of the two ladies smiled.
'I just find myself wondering if the masks were such a good idea.'
An amused look in her eyes, Celebrían chuckled.
'Now, your nieces would not have forgiven us had we called off the masks. And you shall see, many will disregard it altogether. Your father plans to, in any case.'
Chuckling, Celebriníel nodded.
'Ereinion said it was a nice touch, though when he mentioned something about wearing masks in politics, and that this would be a good way to practise how to act if I were ever to find myself in Tirion's polite society, I began to suspect he was teasing me.'
Laughing quietly, Celebrían touched her daughter's arm lightly with her free hand.
'But you must remember Ereinion usually mocks the things he rather likes, and masks are typically something he enjoys. Perhaps because it is easy to pretend to be someone else.'
Celebriníel glanced at her mother.
'Well, apparently he did not enjoy masks enough to come.'
Placing an arm around her daughter's shoulder, Celebrían pressed her lips against Celebriníel's forehead.
'No doubt he will come soon.'
'I merely wish I was older, Nana, because all this would not matter if I were.'
With a curious smile, Celebrían looked at her daughter.
'Do not be in such a hurry to grow up, meluihên. Leave your father and me this last year in which we can pretend you are still our little girl.'
--~~*~~--
Catching the hand she was offered, Celebriníel was not very certain who it was inviting her to dance, since Elernil was still speaking to her, and she was still laughing. At the moment, she was quite certain she had danced with just about everyone already.
But as she faced the masked Elf, taller than Arinmîr, more broad shouldered than Elernil, she could not help but hold her breath for a moment, before quickly finding her father in the crowd. Seeing him laughing with her mother and Almarinde, she looked up at her dance partner, trying not to raise her voice.
'You are here!'
With an experienced gesture, he gave her a nod before leading her, at once making for the epicentre of the dancers. Celebriníel noticed he was broadly smiling. Placing a hand on her waist, waiting for her hand on his shoulder, she felt their other hands meet as if it were a natural thing. In reality, it made the blood rise to her cheeks, and her stomach flutter ceaselessly.
'Follow my lead,' Ereinion whispered, giving her a wink.
For a moment she hesitated, then gave in, and let herself be swept away.
'I should really kick you,' she whispered after a while, causing him to chuckle happily.
'It would be allowed, my actions were horrible. But I stress, at the moment I wrote you the note, I had the full intention of actually attending the required meetings.'
'But you did not, eventually?'
'I did not,' he confirmed mischievously. 'But I had a hard time finding white clothing and a good mask. All my garments seem to have something to do with blue, nowadays.'
'I could have cared less about what you were or were not wearing.'
'No clothes at all would have been so very conspicuous,' he shot back, grinning. 'And that would not have done at all. My plan was to sweep in secretly, and later on, sweep out equally secretly.'
As he spoke, the music around them changed, picking up pace.
At first Celebriníel did not notice, too busy concentrating on her partner and the dance, but as the amount of couples on the dance floor diminished considerably, she looked up at Ereinion.
'I am not certain I like the part about you slipping away again secretly.'
'My choice of words was sweep.'
'It means the same in this case, does it not?'
'You, my lady,' he said to her, bringing his lips closer to her ear, 'are much too attentive to details.'
She smiled and bowed her head a moment.
'And you, my Lord, are having too much fun. Possibly at another person's expense.'
Instead of replying, he led her into a turn, releasing her a moment, his body much closer than before when they met again.
'Still with me?' he whispered.
Locking her eyes with his, Celebriníel pressed closer again in response, squeezing his upper arm.
'Still here.'
They stood still for a moment, trying to gather breath, judging each other's responses.
When they finally continued, any actual direction had gone, resulting in something improvised, driven by reaction upon reaction, turning more swift and challenging as the music, too, moved to its climax.
In the end, there was applause, but neither of them seemed to be paying much attention to it.
Celebriníel felt her breath almost out of control, but knew it was not because of the dance. With a smile, but his eyes very serious, Ereinion brought her hand, which he had still not released, to his lips. She acknowledged it with a nod, and then he released her and stepped back, at which point they both went into different directions.
Neither of them dared look to where Elrond stood. Ereinion was quite certain he would receive a very questioning, and probably scrutinising gaze. And he was most assuredly not up to that at this point.
As he slipped away, towards the house, he observed Celebriníel go into the general direction of the gardens.
He had intended to leave now, before any curious questions could be put to him; retrieve his horse and return either to Tirion, or find one of the shelters near the waterway, to spend the night there.
He had not planned on following anyone into ill-lit gardens, for whatever purpose. This had been a very foolish enterprise to begin with, he tried to tell himself. And only something sensible could make up for it. Sensible would be to inform Celebrían, find an excuse for Elrond, spend the night here, and then go back to Tirion in the morning.
But Celebriníel... His gaze wandered towards the gardens again, noticing she had not been the only one to venture into that direction.
They had to know rain was approaching, he thought. It was in the air. Perhaps even thunder due to the pressure of the spring evening. For a moment he merely stood there, contemplating. Stables, or forest. Sensible or irresponsible.
But before he knew it, he was taking off his mask, making his way down as well.
She had seen him do so, he knew she had. It seemed as if she had vanished at the moment, and he could do nothing but follow into the direction she had disappeared in, not knowing where he was going, and in a sense, not caring.
It began to rain softly, and as he left the garden path, he could distinguish close-by squeals from others who fled the increasing rain.
Not he. Not Celebriníel either.
By the time he stepped onto a new path, a much more hidden one, his tunic clung to his chest, clammy, almost pleasant, giving the sense of physical contact. And yet so far from it...
This path was wet, the light of a lonely tree-lantern reflecting in a layer of water, and as he watched it, he saw her stand beneath one of the cherry trees, which was in full bloom, the white blossom almost lighting up as if it were snow on a winter night.
You should return, he told himself. You should not be here.
But he did not. Nearing, he wondered if they could pretend they were mere strangers, since that was the only way it would not matter.
Celebriníel looked at him, her eyes glimmering in that familiar manner he had come to love so.
And then she reached her hand out to him, there, where even the drops that fell from the branches smelt sweet, and he took it, allowing himself to be pulled along.
As they walked together there were no words, they simply made their way through the woods, evaded the occasional branch, all the while voices and laughter in the distance, the sound of rain dripping on leaves.
When they finally halted, Ereinion feared there would be need to speak.
'Celebriníel...' he whispered, avoiding her eyes a little.
'You came,' she smiled happily, reaching out to take the mask he was still holding in one of his hands.
Ereinion looked at her as he released it, trying to control his breath, his body, his mind, the blood streaming through his veins. Still smiling she looked up at him again and squeezed the hand she was still holding in hers. He could do nothing but stare, his heart beating fast.
It was still there, it was truly there. She loved him, had forgiven him for being the fool that he was, forgiven him for staying away. He wanted to sing, weep, dance, and embrace her all at the same time.
'Oh, blast it,' he whispered, and bent towards her. He found that he had arrived at a point where he would willingly undergo any punishment that could be put upon him for doing this.
His breath was on her face for a moment, and then his warm lips touched upon hers. For a moment Celebriníel thought her heart had stopped, until she felt her stomach flutter and almost by instinct brought her free hand up, tentatively resting it against Ereinion's neck.
The short kiss left them both short of breath, and at the same time desperate for more.
His breathing increased as Ereinion drew her closer and placed an arm around her waist, trailing his lips across her neck, feeling her brush hers along his ear.
'And still, you would not speak it?' he heard her whisper.
At a loss for words, he withdrew slightly and stared at her, allowing himself to trail his fingers lightly over her cheek. The look on her face seemed to lie somewhere between expectancy and regret over speaking the words.
'If this is a dream,' he finally whispered, resting a hand against her face, 'I might just as well...'
Her arms slipped easily around his neck, and before either of them knew it, they were caught up in a more fiery embrace, fingers combing through hair, lips moving over other lips, tasting, discovering, answering.
'Not here,' Celebriníel whispered at length, and pulled him along, deeper into her father's gardens.
And nothing remained but to follow.
Her white dress had stopped fluttering, and now clung to her as a second skin, emphasising every curve and rounding Ereinion knew his mind should not be focussing on.
When she halted, he could not help but press against her, both because of their fast pace and because he wished to, her hands drawing him in as well. Resting his own hands on her back, he searched her lips out again, feeling her fingers on his sides, almost on his skin... Almost...
'I love you,' he whispered against her mouth, before claiming it again, making her whimper softly, almost clinging to him. He had known there would come a time when it would be easier to speak those words than to hold them back. But somehow he had not expected it to be so soon.
Ending the kiss, he simply embraced her, burying his face in her hair.
'I should not have come, but I do not regret it.'
Celebriníel stayed silent, but he could feel her fingers clasping his tunic, as if somehow she needed to convince herself he was real. Her whisper was hoarse, as she spoke softly against his shoulder.
'I do not regret it either.'
When she looked up at him again, he shook his head, not certain what to say next.
'Briníel...'
She silenced him by pressing her lips against his gently, only to end the embrace and step back, severing all physical contact between them, except the hand he still held, his fingers entwined with hers.
Bringing them up to his lips, he met her eyes. She only kept his gaze for a moment, and he knew she understood.
Then she bowed her head and let go, gone again before he could do anything further. He did not follow.
Perchance this had indeed been merely a dream, he reflected. It could very well be he had followed shadows of his own mind, of his own desire, into the evening, now turned night.
Shrugging the feeling off, he decided to find his way to the stables at once. He would go. But not to Tirion. Not yet.
Anyone observing might have noticed the new vigour in the tread of the High Prince, even if he would have denied it himself.
--~~*~~--
Anar shone on the sandy riverbank, and the heat it emanated was pleasant on Ereinion's skin. The water ran as it always did, purposefully. But it had no real choice, he thought, looking on. He sat quietly watching, his arms resting on his knees.
'You should have taken some wine, yesterday, and blamed all this foolishness on being drunk,' he grumbled, picking up a pebble and flinging it into the water.
Then he chuckled. There was no denying he felt good, better than he had in a long time. Spending the night besides the stream had in no way diminished his mood, even if it had not exactly helped dry his clothes.
The rain had helped the watercourse swell, but fortunately it had not increased enough to escape its banks. The sky stretched out above him, just as the land on the other side of the river below. Green grass moved to the whims of the wind. It was magnificent, he thought.
But his time here had not been spent just admiring the scenery. He was here to clear his mind. All had been said now, he realised all too well. And the only question worth asking at this time was how to continue.
What awaits me when I go back? Everything? Or nothing?
The ground beneath his feet was comfortable, once again the grass was blown down by a current of air. From afar he could see the road leading from Tirion, the heat trembling above it.
He liked the fact that no one knew he was here, that this time was his, not to be taken from him, not to be given away without his expressed consent. The space around him, the very depth of nature, soothed him.
It was good to be loved. She loved him. Just this once, this person, cared about him.
He had wondered before, what he would have done if he had found his feelings not returned. How long it would have eaten him from the inside, until he could not have endured it any longer. How long he could have lain awake, fearing sleep, afraid of what dreams might bring...
Suddenly he discerned footsteps behind him, and Elernil emerged from the woods, apparently as startled to find him here as he was of the other's appearance. He was running too fast for Ereinion's liking. On his feet a moment later, he looked at him questioningly.
'Stay, Elernil, what is the matter?'
'Ereinion, Briníel...'
He was all-attention at once.
'Where? What has happened?'
The Elf-lord began pushing the younger Elf into the direction he had come from.
'She fell,' Elernil stammered, 'you are familiar with the higher road, where the path is wet because of the rain?'
Letting go of the younger Elf, Ereinion was already gone.
Elernil had spoken of the more difficult path which ran to and from the waterway. Incidentally, it was also the more beautiful. He had taken the lower road himself last night, because it was both quicker and safer, especially in darkness and after rain. Usually he would have thought about placing warning signs, he had taught Elernil to years ago, but somehow he had not expected anyone to even think of taking the higher road anytime soon. He quietly cursed himself for thinking so lightly of it.
Coming upon what had to be Elernil's possessions lying in the middle of the path, Ereinion grabbed hold of a nearby tree, leaning over the precipice.
Spotting her at once, he was hesitant to call, uncertain how serious this was.
'Briníel!'
Pale-faced, she looked up at him. It seemed to take a moment before she was able to focus enough to recognise him.
'Ereinion?'
He acknowledged the reason for Elernil's distress at once.
The place where Celebriníel had come down was only a natural protrusion of rock, quite a way down. If she had fallen deeper, the situation would no doubt have been more grave.
Not even for a moment did he allow himself to consider how much more grave. The problem now was how to reach her, and from there, more importantly, bring her to safety.
He heard footsteps again, and found Elernil nearing.
'I did not bring rope,' he said, anxiously, hunching down to search the backpack again.
With a comforting pat on the shoulder Ereinion looked at him.
'I do not think we shall require any rope. I do not intend to bring her up here again, I intend to bring her down.'
'But how will you make your way downwards?'
It seemed Elernil had already judged the rock face too steep to climb down from himself.
Looking at the younger Elf closely, Ereinion narrowed his eyes.
'I will find a way. Now promise me you shall not panic.'
Elernil shook his head, his voice soft.
'How can I not? I brought her here. I am responsible.'
'Panic will not help. If I had set markers yesterday when I came here, you might not have taken the high road at all. This is not your fault. Blaming yourself will not turn back time, nor change the situation we find ourselves in. Agreed?'
'Yes.'
Holding on to the tree, Ereinion directed his attention down again.
'Briníel, are you well?'
Trying to keep herself from bursting out in tears of anger, she nodded.
'I think so. But I cannot climb down from this blasted spot.'
Elernil tried to look down as well.
'She tried to stand earlier, but nearly lost balance and I told her not to move any further. I cannot say how strong the stone is. It might not hold very long.'
'Now then,' Ereinion placed both hands on Elernil's shoulders. 'I am going to send you back to the house, and I want you to alert your grandfather, or anyone else you can find. I shall meanwhile try and help Celebriníel, but if I cannot find a way, it shall be easier with their help.'
'I am supposed to leave you?' Elernil replied, incredulously.
'Do you not think I can handle this little thing?' Ereinion responded, trying to speak courage into the both of them. 'Now, run off, the faster you go, the sooner this will be over. But be careful. I do not intend to collect you from precipices too.'
With a quick nod, hesitating a short moment, Elernil was off again, into the direction of the river, evidently taking the fastest way across; swimming.
Ereinion bit his lip, sighing deeply.
Be glad you do not have a fear of heights.
'I do not have a fear of heights,' he told himself. 'I have a fear of falling.'
He threw a calculating glance over to a tree which grew all the way from a lower ledge. It was several arm lengths away from where he stood, but there was little to support any suspicion that it would hold his weight.
On the one hand, he knew it was wiser to wait. On the other, he was determined to either be with her, or break his neck while trying.
He grinned, then shook his head.
Acts of such an impulsive nature were what got you into trouble a lifetime ago, Ereinion.
'Ah, but here are no Maiar swinging maces,' he replied to himself. 'So stop delaying, and get on with it.'
Taking a deep breath, he stepped back, then jumped forward.
*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^
Uhm, sorry... ;)