Chapter 4 CoTN
The Next Day.
I lay naked next a sleeping woman, and I felt very happy. Fianth might be a mortal, but she had given me what no elf woman would: physical delight, yes, but more. Her passion, her acceptance of me as another person who needed comfort was had been amazing. I discovered lying there that I could get quite fond of this lady, and I hoped to continue our friendship even when our errand to find my brothers was complete.
It was early morning, not yet dawn but the sun would rise soon and we should get on our way today. Like yesterday morn, I didn't want to wake Fianth, but today I had to, but I could at least wake her gently. So I kissed her softly and was rewarded by seeing her eyes open slowly even as she returned my kiss. Odd, but I had considered her brown eyes unremarkable, but now I could see the different colours and depths within them. She actually had pretty eyes, and I hadn't noticed till now which was very unlike me. Then again, I supposed that last night I had been more interested in other extremely attractive parts of the lady.
'Good morning,' she said as our lips parted.
'A very good morning,' I smiled as my hands caressed her warm body. It felt remarkably good to touch a woman so. Fianth greatly enjoyed my touch, and in a few moments her hands began to roam my body too. One of the things I missed most from my time with my wife was early mornings spent like this, making love.
As last night, when we were spent, we rolled onto our sides, and Fianth lay in front of me, her hands stroking my back. Thus we lay, as the sun rose and lit the new day. Finally, reluctantly, we had to rise, and we bathed in the hot spring one last time, playfully washing each other.
Breakfast was eaten as we packed our gear, and saddled the horses, who were eager to commence the journey again. I had left Fianth's side once during the night, to check the flooded stream and as I had assumed, it had abated enough to be fordable.
So, we rode on our way, splashing through the stream and on slightly west, but always in a southerly direction. Once Fianth asked me to look for a tall pointed hilltop that looked like a spire. Clearly it was a landmark, and she said that I would see it when she could not. I nodded agreement, while mortals were similar to elves in more aspects than I would have considered possible even two days ago I had to admit that mortals were not long sighted, nor was their hearing good.
It was mid day when I saw the pointed hilltop and we stopped to have lunch. A short break was all we took for Fianth said there was a good campsite ahead, near the east side of the pointed hill. 'It is even possible we may meet your brothers there, Curufin, for it is one of their outposts from their hideaway.'
'Really! Well then, we should make haste!' I replied, eager to see my brothers whom I hadn't seen in some years. Ambarussa were the only ones younger than I, and I had a great fondness for them.
'It's not likely, though. It is far more likely that we will find them in the main camp, still four or five days hard ride from here,' Fianth said.
I knew that too, but I was torn between desire to spend more time with Fianth and pleasure at the thought of seeing my brothers, and oddly as I idly let my mind brush across hers I found she too was thusly divided in her wishes. Still, it was mid afternoon and soon we would need to camp for the day, so we rode quickly in order to reach the site Fianth had mentioned.
My brothers were not there, but we found signs of very recent occupation, a day, not more than two at most. I examined the boot prints carefully; quite sure the identical prints had been Ambarussa. I could see why they used this place, like the site we had used the previous two nights, it had fresh water very close, plenty of dead wood for the fire, and while there was no cave, the rock walls on three sides made the site extremely defensive able by a handful of warriors.
We had not hunted this day, so our evening meal was a cold one of dried fruit and meat. I began to wish I had brought some lembas, but I had not so there was nothing I could do about it. We had a fire, and hot tea at least, and thankfully no sign of Orcs, which both Fianth and I thought unusual. Were my brothers responsible for this lack of enemies?
It was a boon, for once again, we decided to trust the horses to keep watch, and once again I just had to indulge myself with Fianth. This astonished me, for even when my wife and I were newly wed we had not so indulged ourselves. Was it because elven law forbade Fianth to me and so I was fascinated by that fact? That a physical relationship with her should not be? Or was it truly that I needed her?
I could not sleep, and I lay with Fianth in my arms, thinking. Was it right that elves were bound to their spouses irrevocably? Was it cruel of the Valar to expect this, even for I, who was separated forever from my wife? I decided it was, for not until I lay with Fianth did I realise how much I needed physical love, or how quickly I had become deeply fond of the lady who had given herself to me.
Having decided that the laws of the Elder in relationship to marriage were horribly unfair to all elves, and perhaps mortal customs were kinder to incarnate beings of flesh and blood, I quieted my mind enough to rest for a while. I soon awake again, thinking though. Perhaps the Valar, who are beings of spirit who may chose to clothe themselves with bodies, just cannot understand the physical needs of those bound to their hroa. Grandfather Finwe had once touched this subject with me, when I first became betrothed. I had not then understood why he had married Indis, but now I did, and I was sorry for the fact I had not earlier. With this thought in mind, I finally slept, and quite deeply at that.
To my surprise, it was Fianth who woke me the next morning, her hands gliding through my black hair gently. She was pushing it from my face, but I found her touch very pleasurable, and it was a nice way to wake up. We could not bathe properly this morning, but we managed a quick clean up from water I heated in a cooking pot. Then breakfast was on the run again, for we both believed we could catch up to my brothers before they reached their most secret hideaway, and save ourselves some days journeying.
We did not catch up to Ambarussa that day, for we delayed ourselves hunting rabbits. Neither of us felt like cold food again that evening, so when we found a rabbit warren, we quietly shot two plump young rabbits. Again, we found were my brothers had camped for the night, and with the campfire ash still faintly warm to my elven senses it was obvious they had left no later than that morning.
We would eat, rest and depart the site well before dawn, we decided. We had still seen no sign of Orcs; my brothers must be responsible for that, there was no other reasonable explanation. The rabbits became a stew, flavoured by the remains of the herbs I had gathered for the wild pig two days ago, and thickened by various root vegetables Fianth gathered when she gathered more firewood. Even if I do say myself, the stew was good, or was it just hunger for a hot meal?
We had no time for dalliance that night, but Fianth was happy to sleep in my arms again, something I found nearly as pleasant and comfortable as joining with her. I stroked her face as she slept wondering if she found as much comfort in me as I did in she. I hoped so.
It was not long after midnight that I woke Fianth. It was three nights from a full moon, so there would be plenty of light to ride by. We were ready to ride quickly, and we pushed on through the night. I kept a careful watch for danger, but I saw nothing out of the ordinary at all. Which in itself was puzzling, but maybe I solved the mystery of Ambarussa's activities; could it be they were hunting Orcs?
The sun was not long up when Fianth said we approached the next of my brothers' campsites. She had told me as we rode that we were in essence re tracing the journey she had made with my brothers not quite four years previously. Again, I wondered how old she was, surely she was very young yet, she spoke of having had a child, and she had been married. I resolved when we were safely back in Himring to find out more about Fianth.
Sure enough, we had found my brothers, for it was Amrod's voice that challenged us, and his delighted cry when I replied. I dismounted, and indicated Fianth should too, and barely were we both standing by our mounts when I was hit by a small whirlwind, my red haired twin brothers nearly knocked me off my feet with the exuberance of the their greeting. They always were an enthusiastic pair!
Soon though, they greeted Fianth nearly as warmly, exclaiming over how well she looked compared to when they last saw her. As I looked around the campsite, I realised I was right, that it appeared my brothers were not hunting Orcs, but also deer from the spitted meat cooking over the fire. It seemed Fianth and I had arrived just in time for breakfast.
Over a meal of venison I answered my brothers' questions about why I was there. I explained how the Oath had stirred again, and of Maedhros' need to see all of us, and to discuss the situation. Ambarussa were silent and grim faced when I finished.
Amras it was who spoke, 'we should leave today, then, for this does appear urgent.' All of us were in agreement, and by mid morning we were under way.
The journey back was uneventful, but I regretted that I could find no way to be private and intimate with Fianth. That would have to wait until we were safely within Himring.
The Next Day.
I lay naked next a sleeping woman, and I felt very happy. Fianth might be a mortal, but she had given me what no elf woman would: physical delight, yes, but more. Her passion, her acceptance of me as another person who needed comfort was had been amazing. I discovered lying there that I could get quite fond of this lady, and I hoped to continue our friendship even when our errand to find my brothers was complete.
It was early morning, not yet dawn but the sun would rise soon and we should get on our way today. Like yesterday morn, I didn't want to wake Fianth, but today I had to, but I could at least wake her gently. So I kissed her softly and was rewarded by seeing her eyes open slowly even as she returned my kiss. Odd, but I had considered her brown eyes unremarkable, but now I could see the different colours and depths within them. She actually had pretty eyes, and I hadn't noticed till now which was very unlike me. Then again, I supposed that last night I had been more interested in other extremely attractive parts of the lady.
'Good morning,' she said as our lips parted.
'A very good morning,' I smiled as my hands caressed her warm body. It felt remarkably good to touch a woman so. Fianth greatly enjoyed my touch, and in a few moments her hands began to roam my body too. One of the things I missed most from my time with my wife was early mornings spent like this, making love.
As last night, when we were spent, we rolled onto our sides, and Fianth lay in front of me, her hands stroking my back. Thus we lay, as the sun rose and lit the new day. Finally, reluctantly, we had to rise, and we bathed in the hot spring one last time, playfully washing each other.
Breakfast was eaten as we packed our gear, and saddled the horses, who were eager to commence the journey again. I had left Fianth's side once during the night, to check the flooded stream and as I had assumed, it had abated enough to be fordable.
So, we rode on our way, splashing through the stream and on slightly west, but always in a southerly direction. Once Fianth asked me to look for a tall pointed hilltop that looked like a spire. Clearly it was a landmark, and she said that I would see it when she could not. I nodded agreement, while mortals were similar to elves in more aspects than I would have considered possible even two days ago I had to admit that mortals were not long sighted, nor was their hearing good.
It was mid day when I saw the pointed hilltop and we stopped to have lunch. A short break was all we took for Fianth said there was a good campsite ahead, near the east side of the pointed hill. 'It is even possible we may meet your brothers there, Curufin, for it is one of their outposts from their hideaway.'
'Really! Well then, we should make haste!' I replied, eager to see my brothers whom I hadn't seen in some years. Ambarussa were the only ones younger than I, and I had a great fondness for them.
'It's not likely, though. It is far more likely that we will find them in the main camp, still four or five days hard ride from here,' Fianth said.
I knew that too, but I was torn between desire to spend more time with Fianth and pleasure at the thought of seeing my brothers, and oddly as I idly let my mind brush across hers I found she too was thusly divided in her wishes. Still, it was mid afternoon and soon we would need to camp for the day, so we rode quickly in order to reach the site Fianth had mentioned.
My brothers were not there, but we found signs of very recent occupation, a day, not more than two at most. I examined the boot prints carefully; quite sure the identical prints had been Ambarussa. I could see why they used this place, like the site we had used the previous two nights, it had fresh water very close, plenty of dead wood for the fire, and while there was no cave, the rock walls on three sides made the site extremely defensive able by a handful of warriors.
We had not hunted this day, so our evening meal was a cold one of dried fruit and meat. I began to wish I had brought some lembas, but I had not so there was nothing I could do about it. We had a fire, and hot tea at least, and thankfully no sign of Orcs, which both Fianth and I thought unusual. Were my brothers responsible for this lack of enemies?
It was a boon, for once again, we decided to trust the horses to keep watch, and once again I just had to indulge myself with Fianth. This astonished me, for even when my wife and I were newly wed we had not so indulged ourselves. Was it because elven law forbade Fianth to me and so I was fascinated by that fact? That a physical relationship with her should not be? Or was it truly that I needed her?
I could not sleep, and I lay with Fianth in my arms, thinking. Was it right that elves were bound to their spouses irrevocably? Was it cruel of the Valar to expect this, even for I, who was separated forever from my wife? I decided it was, for not until I lay with Fianth did I realise how much I needed physical love, or how quickly I had become deeply fond of the lady who had given herself to me.
Having decided that the laws of the Elder in relationship to marriage were horribly unfair to all elves, and perhaps mortal customs were kinder to incarnate beings of flesh and blood, I quieted my mind enough to rest for a while. I soon awake again, thinking though. Perhaps the Valar, who are beings of spirit who may chose to clothe themselves with bodies, just cannot understand the physical needs of those bound to their hroa. Grandfather Finwe had once touched this subject with me, when I first became betrothed. I had not then understood why he had married Indis, but now I did, and I was sorry for the fact I had not earlier. With this thought in mind, I finally slept, and quite deeply at that.
To my surprise, it was Fianth who woke me the next morning, her hands gliding through my black hair gently. She was pushing it from my face, but I found her touch very pleasurable, and it was a nice way to wake up. We could not bathe properly this morning, but we managed a quick clean up from water I heated in a cooking pot. Then breakfast was on the run again, for we both believed we could catch up to my brothers before they reached their most secret hideaway, and save ourselves some days journeying.
We did not catch up to Ambarussa that day, for we delayed ourselves hunting rabbits. Neither of us felt like cold food again that evening, so when we found a rabbit warren, we quietly shot two plump young rabbits. Again, we found were my brothers had camped for the night, and with the campfire ash still faintly warm to my elven senses it was obvious they had left no later than that morning.
We would eat, rest and depart the site well before dawn, we decided. We had still seen no sign of Orcs; my brothers must be responsible for that, there was no other reasonable explanation. The rabbits became a stew, flavoured by the remains of the herbs I had gathered for the wild pig two days ago, and thickened by various root vegetables Fianth gathered when she gathered more firewood. Even if I do say myself, the stew was good, or was it just hunger for a hot meal?
We had no time for dalliance that night, but Fianth was happy to sleep in my arms again, something I found nearly as pleasant and comfortable as joining with her. I stroked her face as she slept wondering if she found as much comfort in me as I did in she. I hoped so.
It was not long after midnight that I woke Fianth. It was three nights from a full moon, so there would be plenty of light to ride by. We were ready to ride quickly, and we pushed on through the night. I kept a careful watch for danger, but I saw nothing out of the ordinary at all. Which in itself was puzzling, but maybe I solved the mystery of Ambarussa's activities; could it be they were hunting Orcs?
The sun was not long up when Fianth said we approached the next of my brothers' campsites. She had told me as we rode that we were in essence re tracing the journey she had made with my brothers not quite four years previously. Again, I wondered how old she was, surely she was very young yet, she spoke of having had a child, and she had been married. I resolved when we were safely back in Himring to find out more about Fianth.
Sure enough, we had found my brothers, for it was Amrod's voice that challenged us, and his delighted cry when I replied. I dismounted, and indicated Fianth should too, and barely were we both standing by our mounts when I was hit by a small whirlwind, my red haired twin brothers nearly knocked me off my feet with the exuberance of the their greeting. They always were an enthusiastic pair!
Soon though, they greeted Fianth nearly as warmly, exclaiming over how well she looked compared to when they last saw her. As I looked around the campsite, I realised I was right, that it appeared my brothers were not hunting Orcs, but also deer from the spitted meat cooking over the fire. It seemed Fianth and I had arrived just in time for breakfast.
Over a meal of venison I answered my brothers' questions about why I was there. I explained how the Oath had stirred again, and of Maedhros' need to see all of us, and to discuss the situation. Ambarussa were silent and grim faced when I finished.
Amras it was who spoke, 'we should leave today, then, for this does appear urgent.' All of us were in agreement, and by mid morning we were under way.
The journey back was uneventful, but I regretted that I could find no way to be private and intimate with Fianth. That would have to wait until we were safely within Himring.