Introductions

The journey back to Nevrast had been almost uneventful. With few difficulties, Ecthelion along with A'numireth had reached the city near the sea, where he would report to his lord. And that very thing was bringing him unrest. He had pondered over what he would say to Turgon when he explained how he had not found a hidden place for a Noldor settlement. But instead he had brought a lost child under his care.

It almost sounded ridiculous.

Since Turgon had not returned from his own trip, there was little Ecthelion could do except wait for him to give the full report. Ecthelion had avoided almost everyone since he came back from his journey. Only the people that dwelt in his house knew about A'numireth. Only some servants and his esquire, Hensilith.

Most of his household had taken a liking to the child almost immediately, though at first they had been very surprised to say the least.

A'numireth wasn't sociable in the slightest. She was extremely shy and reserved. She barely said anything apart from "hello, yes" and "no". But there was something refreshing in herself. A charm that easily captivated anyone who made contact with her.

Ecthelion had instructed the inhabitants of his house to stay quiet about the child. The last thing he wanted was to cause a scandal over A'numireth.

But he knew he wouldn't be able to keep her a secret for long.

For the first part of the winter season, Ecthelion spent all his spare time with A'numireth. Preparing the room she would stay in. Changing his schedules so he had more opportunity to spend time with her.

The elf lord was delighted to discover that A'numireth had a very distinct affinity for music. She would listen intently to the tunes he played on his flute and later she would reproduce them flawlessly to herself by humming or singing softly.

Apart from music, Ecthelion taught A'numireth more practical things, such as craft and speech. She received lessons in Quenya, Sindarin and the common tongue. He also taught her the language of the hands.

A'numireth had a bright mind, and she took up the languages quicker than Ecthelion expected. In fact, once she learned the word in Quenya for father, she instantly pointed to Ecthelion and said, "Atar". No one commented on this, so she remained calling him that.

Even though she was growing fluent in speech, she rarely spoke to anyone but Ecthelion himself or Hensilith, whom she had decided to befriend.

Ecthelion's esquire had gained the child's trust surprisingly easily. The elf lord guessed it was because Hensilith used to have two younger siblings.

One of them had accompanied the Noldor in exile, but he had died in the Helcaraxë, and the other had been an elfling. She had stayed in Valinor with Hensilith's mother.

The days went on. Three seasons passed, and slowly A'numireth became more and more familiar around the elves that resided in the house of Ecthelion. Learning from them, their customs and manners.

—- ✧ —-

The weather was warm but pleasant, with the chirping birds and the shushing sound of the sea in the distance. Ecthelion sat in his study, going through a stack of old books, when he heard a faint sound coming from the room next door.

He immediately dropped the books he was holding and rushed to the nursery that had been conveniently installed next to the elf lord's personal chambers and his study.

When he arrived to A'numireth's room, he walked silently up to the cradle that bore soft patterns of rivulets and flowing substances. The little bundle inside the cradle stirred slightly.

"A'numireth?" Ecthelion asked softly.

The elfling turned from where she was lying to face the elf lord and smiled.

"Atar," she said, as she stretched her arms out for him.

"Come here pia wilin," Ecthelion said, extending his arms to pick her up.

A'numireth's face lit up and she jumped into her father's arms. Ecthelion lifted her up in the air and spun around making her giggle.

Just then, a servant maid came rushing through the hall and halted, somewhat shakily on the doorstep.

"Forgive me, my ihér," she said a bit flustered, "but a few of your fellow lords just arrived unexpectedly at the main gates. They insisted that they wished to speak with you. They didn't come into this area of the house, but they are waiting for you in the main salon. Hensilith is entertaining them for now,"

Ecthelion nodded while he placed A'numireth over one hip. He was deep in thought for a moment. But suddenly he seemed to make up his mind.

"Very well, thank you Alinda," said the elf lord, "and please just call me Ecthelion,"

The maid nodded with a curtsey and offered to take A'numireth from Ecthelion.

"She will come with me," Ecthelion explained calmly.

Alinda gave him a strange look, but nodded and turned on her heels to accompany the elf lord to the main salon.

Ecthelion was not sure if his decision had been wise. But he wouldn't lie to his friends. He knew why they had visited him. They wished to know why he had locked himself up in his house after his journey.

Two elf lords were seated and two others stood, talking amongst themselves in the main salon. Hesilith watched them from the doorway from which Ecthelion emerged, carrying A'numireth with him and Alinda trailing behind them.

They all turned to look up at Ecthelion when he entered the room. The lord's faces strayed from the Ecthelion to the child that was in his hold.

The elf lords maintained neutral expressions, apart from some that widened their eyes in surprise and others that cocked their heads and lifted one or both eyebrows in intrigue.

Ecthelion cleared his throat and caught his friend's attention,

"My lords," the elf lord nodded and extended a greeting to them.

They all returned it, somewhat distractedly. Their eyes quickly returned to A'numireth, who was eying them cautiously. Ecthelion knew the child had trouble when it came to strangers. Her immediate reaction with new people was always shying away from them.

Hensilith came forward and extended his arms to A'numireth. The elfling accepted happily and curled up in the fair haired elf's arms.

The room was strangely quiet, but there was little tension. The lords quickly shook themselves out of their shock and one of them raised his voice, as he approached Ecthelion.

"It is good to see you again indur," said the speaker. He was a golden haired elf, with deep but sparkling eyes. His voice was natural but there was a ring of mirth in it that did not go unnoticed by his friends, "may I be introduced?"

"No need to be so formal Glorfindel," Ecthelion said smiling, he turned to A'numireth, "Numi, this is lord Glorfindel, he's my friend, and soon he will be yours too. Glorfindel this is A'numireth"

Glorfindel offered the elfling a shining smile and she returned it a bit shyly.

"Pleased to meet you winë," Glorfindel said softly. He noticed the elfling watched his hair with unreserved admiration.

A'numireth suddenly extended her arms to the golden haired elf, surprising Ecthelion and Hensilith. Knowing she rarely enjoyed being held by a stranger.

Glorfindel laughed lightly and picked up the elfling.

"What is it?" he asked, smiling fondly, "Oh, I see, you want my hair!"

Glorfindel let his locks fall from his half bun and A'numireth grabbed a handful of golden hair and almost immediately stuffed it into her mouth.

"Numi!" Ecthelion yelped, trying to stop the elfling, "That is not for eating!"

But Glorfindel was delighted. He laughed merrily, swerving himself and A'numireth from Ecthelion's grasp.

"Oh, let her be Thelion," Glorfindel said while he watched the child with amusement written on his face, "I did wash my hair today,"

"Well I would appreciate it if you didn't let her do that," Ecthelion said a bit sternly.

Suddenly, another lord that had been sitting quietly in one of the cushioned chairs, rose and spoke,

"Actually indur, it is believed that sucking on everything is normal and healthy for elflings," the elf lord's eyes twinkled with amusement as he said this.

His dark hair was tied at the lower part of his head, but some of his black tresses fell at both sides of his face.

"Do not start Penlod," Ecthelion said, glowering playfully, "just because you have a child of your own, does not mean you know everything about elflings"

"So, she is yours?" Penlod asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not in blood," Ecthelion answered, "but I intend to raise her as my own,"

"Where did you find her?" Another voice asked behind them. A younger elf, of slender form and agile complexion watched Ecthelion curiously, waiting for an answer.

He had chestnut brown hair and a dark blue feather was placed behind his ear, giving him an even more youthful air.

"In the Marshes of Twilight," Ecthelion said, frowning slightly at the memory, "she was alone and cold, almost as if she had been abandoned there"

The young elf looked sullen for a bit, when he imagined anyone leaving an elfling to starve in the middle of a marsh.

"Do not look so grim Duilin," another elf lord approached, patting the young elf on the back while his white braids fell about his face, "Ecthelion found her, all is well now,"

Duilin's face brightened a bit,

"I suppose, you are right Egalmoth," he turned thoughtful again and looked back at Ecthelion, "is that why you named her A'numireth?"

Ecthelion smiled,

"Yes," he replied turning to see Glorfindel lifting A'numireth over his head, trying to pull the elfling away from his hair, "in a way, it seemed appropriate"

"Thelion, why won't she let go of my hair?!" Glorfindel's voice was kept at a somewhat quiet volume, but it was obvious to anyone that he was concerned.

"She just fancies you," Ecthelion said with a mischievous glance, "don't worry, she wants to befriend you, but you should probably let her cling to your hair for a few more hours,"

"Hours?" Glorfindel asked, turning his eyes to Ecthelion "You jest!"

"Oh no indur!" Ecthelion replied, smiling ever so slightly "In fact, when she met Hensilith, she clung to his hair for at least half a day"

Hensilith nodded in acknowledgement of his lord's words.

Glorfindel sighed and surveyed the elfling in his arms,

"Well…" he said cheerfully, "If you will cling to my hair for the rest of the day, we might as well make the most of it"

And with that, he excused himself and headed to the gardens in the house. Duilin stood up and accompanied them.

"Glorfindel's positiveness is as bright as usual," Egalmoth pointed out smiling.

Ecthelion laughed, as he turned to his friend,

"It was never my intention to dampen his mood!" he said as he placed a hand on Egalmoth's shoulder, "I was not teasing when I said that she clung to Hensilith for half a day, she did the same to me the first days of the journey back from the marshes,"

Egalmoth's eyes grew wide and his smile faded a bit. He looked fearfully at Hensilith who just smiled and nodded again.

"Do not look so surprised Egalmoth," said Penlod, brushing away a strand of his hair dark hair out of his face, "elflings do that sort of thing, it's only natural"

Egalmoth still looked sceptical but the other two lords ignored it.

After a moment of silence, Ecthelion spoke again,

"Well, my lords," he said "shall you come further into the house to enjoy the afternoon then?"

Author's Notes:

Oh god! Valar and Eru above! This chapter took forever to finish!

I think I rewrote it like three times! I hope you like it…

I've decided to change my way of translating elvish words or phrases. So if there is something in Quenya or Sindar, it will be translated here at the end of the chapter. I hope it doesn't complicate things too much.

Translations:

Quenya,

Pia wilin - Little bird (Ecthelions has all sorts of pet names for A'numireth)

Winë - Little one

Iher - My lord

Indur - My friend

Sooooo! We've got two new OCs!

Let me see if I can provide some useful info:

Hensilith is half Vanya, half Noldo. His name means "eyes of silver light" His father joined the host of Fingolfin but died in Aqualonde. Hensilith with his younger brother went with the Noldor to the Helcaraxë, where the youngest sadly died. Hensilith has a sister and a mother back in Valinor.

Alinda, is full noldo. A'numireth's nanny. She isn't just a nanny, but we'll get to that part later.

And we also get to see Glorfindel, Penlod, Duilin and Egalmoth!

I would appreciate it if you told me what you think of them.

Also, I know A'numireth doesn't talk much, but that will change in time as she grows and becomes a little bit more sociable.