30. Family relations
Autumn of year 815 of the Second Age, Khazad-dûm:
Ala had a bad feeling this evening, something related to her firstborn and only son, she knew that.
"He better not be doing anything stupid…"
It was truly regrettable that her two remaining children left alive were so different in character, not helped by the age difference of thirty years between them. It was a very huge age gap between siblings, Odin was more of a traditional mind, while Narvi, her greatest treasure now since Loki had been lost, was…
Well, open to new ideas was a good term for her daughter. Narvi had, from an early age, been interested in cultures beyond their borders there in the Orocarni mountains and Ala never doubted that if her daughter had been a son, Narvi would most likely have become a merchant like Balder to curb his desire to travel to distant places and see other cultures. But her daughter's true call laid in the crafting of stone, a very respectful work in the Dwarven culture since it did tie to their very origins.
"Oh, is one of them already returning home?"
She had heard a knock on the door, that Ala was sure on.
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Meanwhile, Narvi was going through a ceremony which would confirm her as a true member of the Stonemasonry Guild here in Khazad-dûm. Seven days ago, she had delivered the stone block where she showed off her skills as a stone carver for the Masters in the Guild.
"Ow," was her single reaction on getting the set of ear cuffs, engraved with a very small mallet and chisel as a sign of which Guild she belonged to, in her ears. They would be removable, but it would always hurt the first times a new piece of jewelry was added on someone.
"I can see the logic of why you have to be past the age of 60 in order to make this test to be counted as Master in your own right. Being an apprentice takes many years, and there are many secrets in the craft that must be taught. Someone who becomes a Master without the proper training and tests, risks to shame the whole Guild in the long run if that Dwarf starts learning the craft to apprentices of their own."
Personally, with her current age of 65 years, Narvi counted as old enough for the test and she had passed with full agreement on her skills three days ago, which had been celebrated at home with her family. Yet the family feast had not felt the same without Frigga and Loki present. Something felt missing without them. But they had to accept that change, it was the same for every family who lost someone of its members.
"Welcome to your new rank, Master Narvi of the Stonemasonry Guild."
Finally, after spending half her current life as a apprentice, Narvi was not merely a adult Dwarrowdam by law, now she was a legal Master in her own right, which would give her a independent life so she did not have to share a home with Odin anymore when the time came for their mother to join the rest of the family in the Halls of the Forefathers.
But when she arrived back home, a less than pleasant sets of news was waiting for Narvi:
"Odin will only have half of his usual salary for the next six months because he personally got involved in the drunken tavern fight he was meant to break up alongside some co-workers and he will also spend the next seven days in jail for that disobedience from the one in change of the group?!" she finally managed to speak after spending some moments in shocked silence over what her mother just had told her. Great, she knew that Odin had not yet risen in the ranks among the city guards because his superiors did not think that he had learned from his previous mistakes while on duty, but getting only half of his salary? That was an unspoken warning that his behavior was getting close to crossing a line. If Odin made one more serious mistake while on duty, he could actually be fired from the city guard and in the worst case, he would end up working in the mines, which held its own dangerous risks.
"Damn that brother of mine! Are it the cursed blood of our unwanted grandfather that is making him act like this?!"
Ala said nothing, but it was clear that she agreed with her daughter on this mess caused by Odin.
Dinner that evening was a silent, and very simple affair because neither Ala or Narvi wanted to cook anything fancy.
"At least you have gone through the ceremony to be a Master in the Guild, so from now on, you will get a higher pay for each work you finish. And the winter is coming, those who work as guards outside the Great Gates will need warmer clothing while being out in the cold weather, so I will likely get commissions on sewing those warmer uniforms. We should be able to survive on less money from Odin for the coming six months with some careful planning."
Ala had a point. She may be getting older and she knew that she soon would need a pince-nez in order to see clearly on what she was sewing, but this eye-problem was nothing uncommon among older tailors and garment makers, and she had already been visiting the healers so she could commission a such pair from the Glasscrafting Guild.
"Yes...and once my brother leaves the jail, let's tell him that he is not welcome back into the house during those six months. He will have to realize that we refuse to accept his behavior in situations like this."
Narvi did not like the idea of blocking her brother from their home, but this situation risked to affect her and Ala as well. The actions of one family member could sour a whole family's social reputation if they did not do a counter-move quickly and sometimes the best way to protect themselves from nasty gossip, was to distance themselves from that family member for a time.
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Back in Ost-in-Edhil, Celebrimbor had just finished something that he wanted to hear Celebrian's opinion on.
"What do you think, kind kinswoman of mine? Should it be suitable for selling?"
He had crafted miniatures of various flowers in gold and silver, with gemstones to act as the flowers themselves and the metals as the stem. The small size was intended to make them into being worn as some form of jewelry.
"I love them!" she said at once with shining eyes of wonder over what he had crafted, "Please, can I wear a pair of them as hairpins for the winter festival? I am already planning to have a turquoise dress and would love some colour for my jewelry as well. Wearing white like my mother makes me...seem too pale, if I can call it that."
Celebrimbor agreed that she fitted best in not too pale colours. With Celebrian inheriting the silver hair of her father and maternal grandmother, she needed to think carefully on choosing the right colours of her clothing or it did not look good.
"Turquoise, you said? What good luck you have, I managed to get my hands on a few such stones while visiting Khazad-dûm."
Opening a wooden box, Celebrimbor showed her the fine gemstones that he had brought during his visit to the Dwarven realm.
"Please make the pair in gold, or the jewelry will only be hidden in my own hair."
He smiled friendly at her, promising to have the commissioned jewelry set finished within the month.
"I am glad that I can help you as a customer, because it would be a waste of your talent if you only make everyday items from metal."
"My family name and history is not...helping at times, I confess to that, yes. But perhaps with the passing of time, I can make my own legacy separate from the First Age."
Looking down on the flowers again to see if she could find a possible surprise gift for her mother as well, Celebrian noticed something else on the small table.
"Oh? A silver and emerald brooch? It looks a little like what I have heard of the styles in Dwarven jewelry…"
Celebrimbor hastily removed the brooch and put it in a separate box but the daughter of Galadriel managed to notice the faint hint of him actually looking somewhat embarrassed.
"I...am thinking of making a new journey to Khazad-dûm within a few years. You are right, I want...to study their jewelry styles and perhaps borrow something of that to make a Elvish version of more unusual jewelry that people will eventually recognize as my own style. A style that will be mine alone, and that no one else will be able to claim..
"Good luck asking permission from the royal family for some Dwarrowdams to show off their inherited family jewelry for you, since I am sure that the jewelry styles between the West and East are very different," Celebrian could not help but tease her second-cousin in a friendly manner, making him blush in a manner that was rarely seen.
"By the Stars of Varda, you and princess Finduilas are going to be a shared terror on social gatherings if she has been reborn and you two meets in Valinor at some point in the future."
Sometimes Celebrimbor really wished that his friends from Nargorthrond, among them princess Finduilas and her fiancé Gwindor, had survived the First Age. He knew that the two female cousins would have loved each other, and possibly be almost sisters since both of them were the only children of their parents. But even if Celebrian was different in personality, she was sharing her late cousin's friendship with him, and that knowledge warmed Celebrimbor whatever he felt alone because of the bittersweet past he had with most of his family members.
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Author note: Pince-nez is a style of glasses, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, that are supported without earpieces, by pinching the bridge of the nose. The name comes from French pincer, "to pinch", and nez, "nose".