Amrod left early the following morning, even before the servants were awake. He had to get to Amras' manor soon. Telling Geliriel he had word from his brother was true, to a point. It was only a general letter, inquiring after his health as well as Geliriel's, and notifying him about his brothers' actions. There was more about the possibility of one of the Silmarils being found, but the report was sketchy at best. At any rate, he still had to see his brother and tell him about Geliriel's story.

He was halfway there when he had finally sorted his feelings out. He wasn't angry or sad. Nor was he happy. There was shock and surprise at finding out that Geliriel had been captured by a servant of Morgoth. That fact in itself was the surprise. He and Geliriel were connected by more than just their feelings for one another. His father had sworn a terrible oath, that he will regain the Silmarils from Morgoth who had stolen them. He and his brothers had sworn the oath as well. It could not be broken, under any circumstances. He wasn't sure how much, if anything, Geliriel knew about the oath. She barely remembered her own childhood. Still, he would have to tell her soon. 'And now the tables are turned,' he thought.

Arriving at his brother's manor around noon, he was greeted warmly and given something cool to drink. He excused himself for a few minutes to wash the dust off his face and hands, and then returned to his brother, who was waiting for him in his study. A lunch had been brought, and he sat down across the table from his brother. Amrod noticed that Amras had begun to look slightly worried at his strange silence.

"You look troubled, brother," Amras said, the worry in his voice echoing the look on his face.

"Tell me what's wrong." Amrod looked at his beloved brother, and began to speak...

Geliriel did not see Amrod again for a while. At first, she struggled to make it through the day without weeping. It took every ounce of love and support from Glinneth, Orainwen and Berior to keep her from sinking further into despair. Neither had asked why Lord Amrod had gone so swiftly, nor did they care. All they wanted was Geliriel to be happy again.

A few days later, Geliriel was out of tears. There was no more left to cry out. From then on, she kept with her old schedule. The only things she did differently was she did not go into the gardens, and dinners were moved back into her sitting room. Geliriel was quite nearly herself again soon after the seamstress joined them. Between them, Glinneth and Orainwen supplied most of the news and gossip from both the manor and Maglor's Gap, for Orainwen was not to be outdone in the gossip department and had brought what she knew with her.

When Geliriel didn't go outside, she spent her time in her sitting room reading or learning how to knit. Orainwen taught her the basics, and by week's end Geliriel had knitted her baby's first hat. She was very proud of her work, even if the sorry hat was lop-sided and un-even. She would hold them up in front of her and tell her son just how cute he would be in the little hat. She placed her hand on her belly and caressed her child. She was then determined to make better looking garments, but ended up knitting blankets. It was easier that way.

Life in the manor was nearly back to normal when Berior came to Geliriel with a letter. Her friends gave her room, but did not go far. If this letter was from Amrod, there would be no telling how the lady would react and they wanted to be close enough to take of her should she need it.

"It's from Amras," Geliriel said with curiosity in her voice as she sat down. She broke the wax seal, opened the letter, and began to read.

Dear Geliriel,

I hope this note finds you in better spirits. Amrod has told me everything that you told him. I told him that he should have stayed with you, and even tried to get him to return, but he's still quite overwhelmed. Our brother, Maglor, will be here on the morrow. I'm hoping he can talk some sense into Amrod. For what it's worth, Geliriel, I believe he still loves you. I'll make sure he comes back to you as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
Amras

She looked at her companions, who were practically hovering at different parts of the room. She smiled at each of them and then stood up. Glinneth was the first to move. Slowly she came to Geliriel and then hugged her. Then the other two came forward to take their turn. They were happy that their mistress didn't fall to pieces. The contents of the letter must have been positive, and even encouraging, but they did not press the issue.

The weather became colder, Geliriel's baby grew bigger, and she stayed indoors. She took to walking all over the manor, especially to the kitchen. She became a frequent visitor, coming to the cooks with her cravings at odd times of the day. Soon, they would just leave a little something out for her should she visit when they weren't around.

It was during dinner one evening when Geliriel came up with an idea. While Glinneth and Orainwen were sharing gossip and seriously trying to best the other with their tales, Geliriel leaned towards Berior and got his attention.

"Remember when you asked me if I'd like to see the cottage?"

"That was months ago, my lady. Yes, I remember. Why?"

"I wish to see it tomorrow. I'd like to see the inside and see if it needs cleaning."

"I'll be ready to go first thing in the morning. My lady, may I ask why you have sudden interest in the cottage?"

"Well, I'm not sure what will happen when Lord Amrod returns. I have nowhere else to go. I can live in the cottage. That way, if he still wants time away from me, I won't be in the manor for him to run into."

Berior was skeptical, but it was a good idea. Tomorrow, he'd take her to check out the cottage. The last one to stay in it was Lord Amras, and it shouldn't be too much of a mess. Having made their plans, they went back to listen to the two gossipy women, who were still trying to one-up the other.

At mid-morning, after Geliriel finished breakfast, she bundled up to go outside. She met Berior at the door, and together they made their way to the cottage. He unlocked the door, and started moving through the place lighting it up so she could look around. The first thing she noticed was the thin layer of dust that nearly covered everything. 'That can be cleaned up in no time,' she thought to herself as she walked down the hall.

She came to the first doorway on the right. There she found the downstairs sitting room, complete with overstuffed comfy chairs and end tables and the largest fireplace she had ever set eyes on. There were a few empty mugs lying about, but nothing else. She left that room and back into the hall. To the left, she opened the door to find what seemed to be an office. Things were meticulously neat in here. Closing the door, she was back in the hallway. She found it emptied out into a small entryway. There, she found the kitchen that was through a door to her left, which was also neat and tidy. To her right, there was a staircase leading to the second level. 'It didn't look quite this big from the outside,' she marveled. Berior helped her up the stairs where they found two rooms, both of which were bedrooms. One bedroom appeared to have the "lived-in" look, with the bed covers a little rumpled. The other appeared to be unused. Over all, the cottage was in terrific condition and she absolutely adored it.

They went back downstairs and exited the cottage. Standing outside, she talked over her plans to move in. She would stay in her rooms for a couple days after his return. If it seemed to her that he still wanted space, she would relocate to the cottage and stay there. They walked back to the manor and made their way back to her rooms. Orainwen met them in the hallway with a serious look on her face.

"Lord Amrod has come home, my lady. He's waiting for you in your sitting room."

Geliriel looked at Berior and then at Orainwen. She wasn't ready, but he couldn't be kept waiting. Sighing heavily, she straightened herself up and then walked alone to the door. Looking back, she gave her friends a small smile, and then opened the door and went in.

"Welcome home, Lord Amrod," she said formally. He had turned to face her when she entered. He had been standing at the fireplace, warming his hands. He bowed respectfully, but said nothing. They stood staring at one another for some time before she moved to take off her wraps. Once she was finished, she turned to face him again, noticing that he hadn't taken his eyes off her.

There were several times when he started to say something, but then thought better of it. She waited patiently. It was all she could do now. He turned away from her and began to pace. She sat down in one of the chairs closest to the fire and watched him. He would pace, then stop and look at her, begin to say something, but then turn and pace again. The cycle was beginning to get tiresome for Geliriel, but she waited. Finally, he stopped his pacing and turned to her once again. He crossed the room and then knelt in front of her. Taking her hands in his, he looked at her with tears in his eyes.

"Forgive me?" he managed to ask.

She sat there, stunned at his words. She let go of his hands and stood up, walking to the fireplace. She heard him stand up behind her. Turning to look at him, she did the one thing she had wanted to do since he left her. She flew into his open arms and began to cry. Only this time, they were tears of joy. They held each other for a long while. Then she looked up at him and smiled.

"I love you," she whispered.

The look in his eyes and the smile on his face was all she needed to see to know that he loved her as well. He reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes, then he cupped her face and they kissed passionately. He came up for air first and lead her to the bedroom. They lay down on the bed and talked for a while. Then, as the first light of dawn came in the windows, they fell asleep in each other's arms.