Mornel has a frightening encounter with unfriendly elves. Arafinwe makes plans to cut short their visit even as Olwe makes a last-ditch attempt to reconcile his daughter and law-son.

26. Runaway Ship

"Atto," Arafinwe addressed his law-father firmly. Olwe had always treated him like a son and the Noldoran enjoyed the hospitality of Alqualonde. However, it had to be done despite his promise to stay all summer. "Atto, in light of the latest incident with the ambassador, I believe it would be best if I take Mornel back to Tirion soon… before she really gets hurt."

"Ara! You have barely spoken with Earwen…"

"I have."

"I do not speak of polite greetings over meals, Ara." Olwe's brow furrowed with displeasure.

"I know, but it is clear that Earwen no longer feels for me… I will petition the Valar…"

"Arafinwe, don't be hasty. She still feels for you… At least stay a few more days, until the sea trials..."

"I will stay for the trials. Then I will leave…"

Olwe watched helplessly as his law-son left the room. He really did not wish for his law-son and daughter to be parted.

Meanwhile, Mornel was lying on the grass with her eyes closed while Fearocco grazed some distance away. It was so peaceful on the hills – she could see why her brother often took Serelinde up here before the Darkening. It was a pity the Tinwions had to work at the shipyard that day. The cliffs dropped off sharply into the sea here. Further north and south the Pelori rose sharply. The elfling took in the salty air and the cries of the wheeling sea-birds. She did not hear the elves sneaking up on her with ill-intent.

Strong hands suddenly seized her. A foul-smelling rag was forced into her mouth, muffling her scream. Her arms were pinned firmly to her sides.

"What do we do to her now?" an unfamiliar voice whispered in Telerin. Mornel understood enough to know she was danger.

"The cliffs?" She was being dragged closer to the edge of the drop.

"No, you dolt. His Majesty will know and there'd be trouble for us… Perhaps there might be more spiders in Avathar…" Mornel shuddered. She had heard terrible tales of the spider Ugoliant who killed the Trees from Olorin. The smiths at Grandfather Mahtan's sometimes told stories of how the monstrous spider would snatch elves who dared to venture into her shadowy domain and devour them both fea and hroa. Apprentices would dare each other to venture into the shadows of Ugoliant's former domain as a test of courage.

Fearocco! Help! Her friend must have heard her mental plea. There was a harsh neigh and the sound of hooves, then screaming. But she was too close to the edge. A push to her back and she felt the ground disappear beneath her feet. She was falling.

Suddenly her descent slowed. Many tiny claws were digging into her hair and back. She then felt soft sand beneath her feet. She had landed on the beach. She heard cursing and more neighing above her on the cliffs. Fearocco had seen off her attackers and was peering over the cliff's edge looking for his mistress. Many seabirds – gulls, albatrosses and terns- soared back into the blue sky.

"Thank you!" Mornel called out after her feathered rescuers.

"That was a close one, eh?" Aiwendil huffed and puffed as he scrambled over the rocks to where Mornel stood.

"Master Aiwendil! I didn't know you were here!" Mornel was delighted to see a friendly face. The scruffy Maia picked out an albatross feather from his tangled hair.

"Lady Yavanna sent me to check on the seabird colony outside the Pelori… oh, and you," Aiwendil stared at his bare feet. He had meant to be in Alqualonde when the Noldoran's party arrived but the gulls did so love to chatter about their eggs.

"I'm alright, Aiwendil. Now how do I get back up there?" Mornel looked up at the cliff. She could feel where the birds' claws and beaks had torn her tunic open.

"There is a path further down. I will walk you back to the palace."

"What of those elves?" Mornel frowned as she heard faint groans from the cliff top. They will not hurt you again, princess, Fearocco's reply echoed grimly in her mind.

"I think Fearocco has taken care of them. I will send word to King Olwe or Queen Falmiril…" Aiwendil hailed a passing petrel and whispered the message to the bird before watching it fly off in the direction of the palace.

"Princess?"

Mornel had thrown her arms around the Maia and was crying into his grimy robes. Wordlessly, he patted her on the back as she sobbed. Olwe and Falmiril were kind and friendly. So were the Tinwions, Serelinde, and a good many of the Teleri. Yet there were still a handful that could not forgive the Kinslayers and sought to direct their misguided vengeance on a helpless child.

Lord Ulmo had heard King Olwe's call. He chuckled as the royal couple outlined their plan. There were some things he needed to prepare. Arafinwe and Earwen were meant to be together. They were part of Eru's song. Lord Manwe had confided that much in Ulmo. Arafinwe's appeal would never be granted. Olwe and Falmiril understood their daughter's heart well, far better than Earwen would admit to herself. The Noldoran needed the support of his queen. King Olwe could do without his daughter now that things in Alqualonde had fallen into some semblance of normalcy.

After the frightening incident at the cliffs, the Noldoran was reluctant to allow his niece out of the palace. Aiwendil had offered to watch out for Mornel on her outings, but Arafinwe did not trust the Maia. The Maia was too easily distracted and liable to run off after whatever caught his attention. Olwe had dealt with the offending elves severely, sentencing them to Tol Eressea for twenty cycles of the sun, to be carried out as soon as they had healed from the contusions and broken bones inflicted by an angry horse. Tol Eressea was a lonely island some distance from Aman's coast. It boasted a small Teleri fishing settlement famed for squid. The elves were sentenced to help the villagers in building a new pier and seawall to guard against Osse's storms. Fearocco had chafed at being confined in the stables - a necessary measure until the grooms deemed him no threat to the other horses in the pastures. Thankfully, the king soon acceded to his owner's pleas not to punish the horse. He was soon set back to grazing and galloping over the hills.

Mornel missed her swims and her friends, especially from the shipyard where the Tinwions worked. She had often gone there with the brothers to look at the ships they helped build, especially the royal vessel. Initially, the shipwrights were hostile to Mornel but she soon won them over with her easy manners and modest ways. She was nowhere as insufferably arrogant as Feanaro. They soon grew to tolerate the Noldor princess' presence. She was just like any one of the elflings who sometimes brought food to their elders working at the shipyard. Mornel would sometimes bring snacks from the palace for her friends. That was before the incident at the cliffs.

Serelinde strummed on her harp as Mornel sang a Telerin folksong to pass the time. She was bored. Lord Aiwendil had shown her a nest of baby wrens. However, the Maia then went off to the cliffs to check on some seabird nests. Her uncle had correspondences from Tirion he needed to reply to and meetings to attend. Her hosts had their own duties to attend to.

Mornel perked up at the sight of her uncle walking along the garden path dressed for an outing. He was also toting a large basket. Perhaps he would allow her to accompany him to the market or wherever he was headed. Olwe's palace grounds were fair but Mornel had long explored every nook and cranny there was to explore.

"Uncle, where are you headed?"

"To the shipyard, Mornel. King Olwe has some important letters he wishes me to deliver in person to the master shipwright…" Mornel's heart leapt at the mention of the shipyard.

"May I come along please? I so miss the Tinwions…" the elfling pleaded. Arafinwe could find no reason to deny her request.

The Noldoran thought it a little odd his law-father insisted he delivered both the letters and the picnic hamper for Earwen to the shipyard in person when a palace servant could have sufficed, but Olwe insisted and Ara could not find reason to turn him down without being a total cur. He was told that he could leave the hamper in the cabin of the royal vessel, which Earwen was to later take out for the sea trials, if his wife did not wish to see him. The weather was exceedingly fine and the sea was expected to be calm enough in the afternoon for the princess' sailing. Lady Earwen was as accomplished a sailor as any of her brothers.

The Tinwions were busy at work when they arrived at the shipyard, although Surihin did look up for a moment to acknowledge Mornel with a wave. Surialdo was too tied up raising a mast with his mates. Arafinwe found the master shipwright in charge of the royal vessel and handed him the letters before heading for the berth where the new royal vessel was moored. There was no sign of Earwen around so Arafinwe decided to leave the basket in the main cabin of the vessel.

"Mornel, would you like to come on board with me?" the Noldoran offered. The elfling nodded eagerly. Neither she nor the Tinwions had been allowed on board the royal vessel yet. Arafinwe had no intention of lingering at the shipyard but he knew how disappointed his niece would be that she was not be able to play with her Teleri friends.

They crossed the gangplank to where the new vessel bobbed sedately on the gentle waves rolling in. The jewelled eyes and golden beak of the swan-head prow gleamed in the sunlight. Above their heads, the shining white sail was half-raised. The craft was all rigged and ready for her first sail. In the distance, Mornel could see the arch which marked the harbour entrance, rebuilt after the Kinslayings. Both uncle and niece did not feel the gentle jar as the waves rolled underneath the vessel, tugging it loose from her mooring ropes. Mornel followed her uncle into the beautifully furnished main cabin with its portholes set with coloured glass. There he placed the basket on a heavy table. There would be smaller cabins below decks for use by any guests, servants, or sailors.

Arafinwe found his attention drawn to a decorative carving on the cabin wall. It depicted a minstrel with his harp as a trio of elves gathered at his feet. For a brief moment, he was reminded of his absent children. How often had he come across his eldest son playing the harp with his siblings gathered about him? Why, one of the elves in the depiction had her head cocked the same way Artanis did when something caught her interest. Leaving her uncle to his musings, Mornel peered out the porthole. Was it just her, or were the docks further away than she recalled? She could see the palace hill and that seemed to be moving away as she watched.

"Uncle, we are moving!" Mornel called out in alarm. Arafinwe hastened over to the porthole and saw that his niece was right. Hurriedly, he went out onto the deck. They were moving faster now, possibly caught up by a confluence of both tide and currents. He tugged to no avail on the helm. It was stuck.

"Ara! What are you doing here?" Earwen scowled as the commotion drew her up from where she had been checking on the caulking in the hold. She did not find any shoddy work there unlike what her mother had told her to expect. Such an inspection could have been left to the shipwrights.

"Earwen, we're adrift! The helm's stuck," Arafinwe replied. There was no time for explanations. Earwen hurried over to the mast. There was a stiff breeze picking up and filling the half-raised sail. Earwen lowered the sails to try slowing the runaway vessel. There were dangerous shoals near the harbour entrance which they were fast approaching.

"Send help! Tell Master Aiwendil!" Mornel screamed out to a passing gull but the bird did not seem to hear her. Instead the bird flapped its wings lazily before diving for a fat fish. Arafinwe managed to budge the helm enough to miss an anchored fishing boat. A string of Telerin curses followed them from the startled fishermen as their vessel skimmed through the harbour arch and into open water. There was a jarring crack as the tiller caught on the rocks. Arafinwe, who had been clutching the helm tightly, was thrown against the bulwark by the sudden impact. He lay motionless where he had fallen. Earwen gave a stricken cry, ran to him and turned him over. There was blood trickling down the side of his face and a nasty contusion on his brow. His eyes were closed.

"Help me, please," the flustered nis turned to only one other elf on board – Mornel. The elfling recalled all she had learnt helping Aunt Findis in Lorien. She gingerly felt for a pulse. Head wounds often look worse than they really were. There was still the risk of a concussion even if the skin was not broken… She had no herbs or such with her. To her relief, there was a strong pulse and Arafinwe let out a loud groan. His eyes fluttered open. He was only stunned. Earwen tore the hem of her dress to make a crude bandage for her husband's head.

Mornel peered about them. They were caught in some strange current and the weather about them was changing rapidly. The sun had gone and a heavy fog was fast closing in. She shivered at the chill in the air. Earwen had thrown the anchor overboard but it could not catch on the bottom. They were out too deep. The sea-anchor was simply wrenched out of her hands and swallowed up by the growing waves.

"The ship… We hit some-something… C-check…" Arafinwe managed to croak as Earwen helped him to his feet. Instinctively, Mornel hurried below. She had not reached the bottom of the ladder before she encountered water sloshing about the hold. They were taking on water. Mornel hurried back on deck to report the bad news. Earwen went below to assess the damage done. It was not long before she emerged utterly soaked.

"We need to find land quickly. I cannot stop the leak," Earwen reported. Mornel shimmied up the mast. It was a lot harder than climbing a tree but she might be able to glimpse something in the growing fog from high up. Arafinwe was still groggy from the bump to his head and could barely stand up without support. Earwen was trying to steer the ship despite her broken tiller. The wind had died totally but they were still at the mercy of the waves.

"Land! I see land!" Mornel called out. Was it just her imagination or was the ship being drawn ever closer towards the land she glimpsed through gaps in the thick fog?

Author's Notes:

Yes, Lord Ulmo and/or his Maia are definitely in on this adventure. Ugoliant would be the ideal bogeyman(spider?) to terrify elflings with.