Chapter 1
There was great joy in Aman when they learned that the Golden House of Arafinwë was to grow again. Then came Morgoth into Aman and the death of the beloved Trees and joy was lost. A great host of the Noldor was leaving Aman to march against Morgoth.
Eärwen rushed after her husband as quickly as she could, given her belly.
" Arafinwë, you would leave me but a week before I am due to bear your child?"
The golden Elf turned with a sigh and walked towards her. He took her into his arms, pressing a kiss to her lips.
" I would not let our children go alone. Findaráto and Nerwen have their hearts set on going." He placed his hand on her protruding belly. "This one will be your joy in these dark times. A little piece of me while I am away."
Eärwen watched him go before closing her eyes tears cascading down her face. She went to the balcony overlooking the square. There the Elves massed, ready to march. She picked out her husband making his way through them to Fëanáro and Nolofinwë's sides. The children of the three brothers each stood beside their respective father. Her eyes faltered on one. His eyes turned up to her sadly. He inclined his head solemnly. She lifted her hand, pressing it to her lips for an instant. The trumpets sounded and the moment was lost as the crowd lunged forward, leaving Aman. Eärwen allowed the tears to fall freely, eyes on her husband, a hand on her belly.
Yes, this one shall be my joy; but I fear he is not a piece of you, Arafinwë.
Eärwen cried out as another contraction riddled her weak and weary body. She clasped the hand of one of her maids as if her life depended on it.
Where are you, Arafinwë?
Suddenly, he was there, holding her hand, brushing the sweaty tendrils of hair from her face.
" Arafinwë?" She croaked.
He just smiled sadly, eyes telling her of grief's unnumbered he had endured only to humble himself and return. With a small cry, Eärwen felt the child leave her body. A loud, healthy squall filled the room. The women healers bustled away, intent on cleaning the babe before allowing the mother to hold it.
Arafinwë pressed a soft kiss to his wife's cheek, rising. She sent him a weary smile, watching him, in love with him all over again.
" What is it?" He asked softly to one of the ladies, trying to peer over their shoulders.
" A boy." The healer had a strange look on her face as she turned around, holding the babe.
Arafinwë swallowed, not daring to touch the child offered to him.
"This must be a joke."
Eärwen sat up as best as she could in her condition.
" Bring me my child." She ordered firmly.
The healer glanced at Arafinwë before slipping by to gently hand the infant to Eärwen. Eärwen cuddled the newborn to her chest, ignoring her husband for the time being. She closed her eyes, fingering the downy soft, dark hair.
" All of you leave us." Arafinwë thundered.
Eärwen could not help a tear as she stared down at her beautiful boy.
Oh, why did you leave, Findekáno?
Arafinwë shook his head, coming close to the bed, eyes fixed on the intruder upon his wife's chest.
" I forsook the March and our children to come back to you, my faithful wife." His tone held a bit of irony. He motioned to the newborn suckling at her breast. "He is Findekáno all over again, Eärwen. Did you think you could hide this?"
Eärwen pretended not to hear him, running a finger down the baby-soft cheek. Arafinwë reached down and wrenched her chin up to look at him.
" This is his child, isn't it?"
Eärwen held the babe closer before nodding with a soft sob.
" Arafinwë, he is our-"
Arafinwë shook his head, holding up his hands.
" He is your son. I have no part in him. You will get rid of him."
A cry of anguish left her lips and almost as if the babe knew it was his future they determined, he started to wail. She quickly hummed, speaking soft words and cradling him, calming him down. She looked up at her husband pleadingly.
" Please. He is my son, Arafinwë."
"This discussion is ended, Eärwen." Arafinwë suddenly looked old. "You have committed a terrible sin and you must pay. He must go away."
Eärwen gathered the boy in her arms, weeping. Arafinwë's expression softened. He sat on the bed beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
" But I am not cold-hearted enough to part a child from its mother before its first birthday. Until then, he is yours; but after his first birthday, he goes to his father." Arafinwë sighed. "I will take you to your father's in the morn."
Eärwen shook her head.
" Findekáno knows nothing of raising a child, Arafinwë. He may even be dead already."
Arafinwë rose brusquely.
" He should have considered that before he laid with and impregnated my wife."
With that, he strode from the room leaving his wife alone with her child.
Eärwen approached her father with a sad smile. Olwë welcomed her with a hug.
" Arafinwë already told me." He shook his head. "He goes as summoned by the Valar to pay for leaving Aman."
Eärwen just nodded. Olwë took his grandson.
" Go to him, Eärwen."
Eärwen walked over and placed a hand on her husband's back, between the shoulder blades.
" Will you come back when they have sentenced you?"
Arafinwë glanced at her in surprise.
" I did not think you would want me to."
Eärwen looked down at her hands.
" I am sorry, Arafinwë. I don't know why I did this." She reached up a hand to touch his face. He turned his face away and she dropped her hand. "But I will regret the action, even if I do not regret this child. I love you."
Arafinwë looked at her with a sad expression.
" Maybe I will come back, Eärwen, but I cannot forget this."
With that, he mounted his horse and spurred it off in the other direction, towards Máhanaxar. Eärwen joined her father again, taking the babe back into her arms. Olwë put an arm around her shoulders, leading her back towards the unspoiled part of Alqualondë.
Eärwen rose, seeing her husband. She sent him a hopeful smile. Arafinwë simply inclined his head, taking her hand.
" Good to see you again, Eärwen." He murmured softly.
Eärwen smiled, squeezing his hand.
" And what did the Valar decree, Arafinwë?"
He sighed.
" Their sentence is just." He glanced at her again. "I will be returning to Tirion with you after the year is up. I will…" He trailed off for a moment, looking down and continuing in a low voice. "I will be taking my father's place as King of the Noldor."
Eärwen just nodded.
" You will do well in this new position. You need not worry."
He just sent her a brief and tired smile.
" First thing on my list is to mend the rift between my people and your father's. The Noldor did wrong here, and we will aid in rebuilding their homes."
Eärwen linked an arm with his.
" Walk with me? My father is watching the boy."
Arafinwë simply nodded, walking alongside her.
" Aye."
They continued silently along the stretch of beach. Arafinwë kicked at the sand absently.
" Why, Eärwen?"
Eärwen looked across the Sea.
" Because I am foolish. I did not know what a good thing our marriage was, until I ruined it." She admitted quietly. "I am sorry. I have said it a thousand times. Will you not accept it?"
Arafinwë sighed.
" One day. I forgive you, but I cannot love you right now."
Eärwen watched the boy with a smile as he crawled about the nursery. He was developing far quicker than any of her children had before. Arafinwë paused, tomes in hand. He put them aside, lingering in the doorway and watching the boy. The toddler ran around in lopsided circles, giggling when he tumbled onto his bottom. The boy spied him and crawled towards him before lifting his hands expectantly to Arafinwë. Eärwen rose quickly, expecting her husband to turn the boy away. She clasped her hands before her, looking at them apprehensively; the tiny toddler with his arms outstretched and a grin on his face; the older, golden Elf staring emotionlessly back.
Arafinwë instead crouched low and lifted the boy up gently. The dark haired tot burrowed his head into Arafinwë's shoulder in response, hugging his neck as best as he could. Arafinwë's expression softened as the boy cuddled with him.
" Have you named him yet?" Arafinwë attempted a pleasant conversation with a wife he had not spoken to for months.
Eärwen nodded.
" Araninyo."
Arafinwë ruffled the dark curls eliciting a squeal from the boy.
" A fitting name, given his father."
Eärwen just looked down. She touched his arm.
" Arafinwë."
He held up a hand, distributing the giggling babe back into her arms.
"What is done is done." He pressed an amiable kiss to her cheek. "It is in the past and we must move on. We cannot change it."
Eärwen put Araninyo down, throwing her arms around Arafinwë's neck.
" Perhaps it is a good thing that he is going to his father." Eärwen whispered.
Arafinwë's eyes shadowed and he took a step back.
" Things cannot just return to how they were. Though I still love you and have forgiven you, I do not trust you. Trust does not come easily anymore."
Eärwen looked to the East.
" One night changes the course of so many lives."
She bent down, scooping up Araninyo and hugging him fiercely. She walked away from her husband and towards the window.
" I have spoken with the Valar." Arafinwë said quietly.
Eärwen turned with an incredulous expression.
" What?"
" I told the Valar. They knew. They will take Araninyo when he is a year old and then decide what to do with him."
Eärwen shook her head.
" No."
Arafinwë just shook his head faintly.
" Things are already decreed, Eärwen. You cannot undo the will of the Valar."
"He is my son." Eärwen cried.
Arafinwë sighed.
" What would your children think to return and find you had bedded their cousin? This is no small price for I also, to admit that my wife is unfaithful to I, the leader of the Noldor. It is not the same as giving up a child, I do consent that; but it is what the Valar and Eru think best."
Eärwen shook her head.
" They never know the bond between a mother and her child."
Arafinwë raised a brow.
" No? And what are they to us? They are not just our protectors. They look after us in every way. They feel our pain." Arafinwë's gaze hardened. "I will not have you speak so lowly of them in my presence."
Eärwen turned her head down calmly, extending a hand to Araninyo.
" Come, my son. It is time for your nap."
The boy took her hand reluctantly, staring almost beseechingly at Arafinwë as he passed. The golden Elf picked up his tomes and continued on to his room.
"Amil!"
Araninyo toddled about surely, his dark curls shining beautifully, intermixed with a few silver strands.
" Yes, Araninyo?" Eärwen did not look up from her embroidery.
He put his chin on her knees, staring up at her with his gray eyes. Eärwen glanced at him and then set aside her stitching to sweep him up into her arms. She snatched a newly finished knit cap and tugged it over his hair. He immediately made a face and tried to pull off the hat.
" No, Araninyo."
The boy pouted darkly. Arafinwë approached, causing the boy to lean further into Eärwen.
" Eönwë is outside waiting for him."
Eärwen's face tightened. She managed a small nod. Arafinwë glanced at the circlet and letter on her writing desk. He moved towards them.
" Findekáno never did lose it."
Eärwen shook her head.
" It is proof of Araninyo's heritage."
Arafinwë glanced at the miniature clone of Findekáno walking around the room.
" His looks are proof enough to any of his family." Arafinwë knelt beside the boy, fiddling in his pocket. "Araninyo, I made you something. Come here."
The boy came, tugging off his hat and handing it to Arafinwë. The golden Elf laughed and put it back on the boy's head.
" Keep it on if you want this." Araninyo dutifully obeyed.
Arafinwë unfurled his fingers from his palm. The little boy squealed his face bathed in a silver light. A pendent, meant for years to come, lay on a silver chain. The pendant's design was covered in a background of deep blue with silver stars sparkling in a likeness of Aman's night sky. Araninyo took it, instantly staring at it and then beginning to chew on it. Arafinwë chuckled, lifting the boy up.
" Thank you." Eärwen whispered.
Arafinwë just nodded sheepishly, fingering one of Araninyo's curls sadly.
" I guess I have a soft spot for him."
Eärwen took her son back into her arms. Araninyo looked up at the two adults, holding the necklace up triumphantly and jabbering in his own slurred language. Arafinwë put his hands in his pockets.
" It is time, Eärwen."
It was dark outside, the sky resembling the necklace now firmly secured around Araninyo's neck. The sweet salt smell of the sea lilted through the air combined with the unearthly smell of something else, of Taniquetil. The glimmering Elf-like herald of Manwë stood imposingly, yet gently by the door. Eärwen walked slowly, listening absently to her husband's soft words of respect. Her eyes were fixed on her son.
My son, my little king, you are no longer mine now. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
Arafinwë touched her elbow gently.
" Eärwen." He prodded gently.
She sent him a small smile, looking down at Araninyo. The boy looked back up, eyes dark and confused. She stumbled forward, tears blinding her, and pressed Araninyo into Eönwë's arms, before moving back.
" Goodbye, my little king. I'm sorry." She choked out.
Arafinwë put a hand on her shoulder, before drawing her into a hug. Eärwen almost accepted it, before she remembered the bag on her shoulder.
" His things." She offered it to Eönwë. "There is a letter for Findekáno in there."
The herald nodded quietly. He inclined his head to Eärwen politely.
" He will be safe. You need not fear for him. You will hear his name again."
With that, Eönwë mounted. Araninyo cried out, looking for his mother. He reached his tiny hands towards her, frightened gibberish streaming from his tiny mouth. He did not understand; he could not understand. He screamed and wailed while the couple grew smaller in the distance. Finally, he could not see them at all; and he was tired of shouting.
AN: Characters:Quenya-Sindarin (lineage)
Arafinwë-Finarfin (3rd son of Finwë, husband of Eärwen)
Findaráto-Finrod (eldest child of Finarfin and Eärwen)
Nerwen-Galadriel (youngest child/daughter of Finarfin and Eärwen)
Findekáno-Fingon (eldest son of Fingolfin)
Nolofinwë-Fingolfin (2nd son of Finwë)
Fëanáro- Fëanor (eldest son of Finwë)
Araninyo- to be announced- (son of Fingon and Eärwen)
Eönwë- (herald of Manwë)