I do not own Erestor or Glorfindel, nor Finwe or Feonor. You will find some of my OCs here though. I make no money from this so please just read and be entertained. :)

Glorfindel entered the room and stepped aside to let Mellolaes pass him as she stepped out into the hallway. She paused there to throw a smile over her shoulder at first Erestor and then him before turning and walking away down the hall. Glorfindel closed the door behind her and then stepped toward Erestor's bed blue eyes wide and focused on his friend. "Have you been telling her more of the story?"

Erestor, however, had his head turned aside to stare at a wall. "A little. She asked if I also felt betrayed, like Narkal did, when his brothers did not let him into Caranthir's fortress after he escaped from Morgoth's mines."

Glorfindel's eyes widened as he froze and straightened. His tone went low and grim. "What did you tell her?"

"That I was never very fond of his brothers."

. . .

Days after I'd walked away from Tarman upon receiving his soft-worded warning, another of Narkal's brothers came to the door of my father's house. My mother told me to go meet him there as he'd said he bore a message for me and didn't wish to stay after delivering it.

Still unhappy with him and his kin, I put on a grim visage to meet this brother of Narkal's with. It seemed not to scare him as he kept on grinning at me after meeting my squinted gaze. The "elfling" as I was fast coming to think of him as was shorter than Narkal or Tarman nearly my height with laughing blue eyes like his mother. He began spouting his message almost as soon as he saw me.

"Mae govennon Curutieth, I am Ascarant youngest brother of Narkal. I am to beg 'you' to come tell 'him' that he is bringing your design into solid mithril form in a way none save Feonor can rival." Then he threw back his shoulders and laughed before shrugging and saying, "Actually he just said to tell you to come see his work and tell him what you think of it, but the content of my earlier message is what he really wants." He paused to bend forward at the waist. Then he lowered his voice. "He is most eager to have you come soon. Thus he sent 'me' with the message, because in our family I have the fastest feet." Then he winked into my face.

I kept my eyes squinted and voice dry and dark. "Tell him I fear I am drawing up designs for my father and brothers to build with today."

The other ellon's smile finally fall away. "You may not be as fast as me, but you can't even spare a little time to come see what my brother forges due to the inspiration he received from your design? It may not be as thrilling as running across Valinor, but ..."

"I have no desire to run anywhere." I shut the door and turned to see my mother and two older sisters standing and scowling behind me. I then received a lecture on rudeness.

Two days later my mother found and told me another of Narkal's brothers had come. This one she had shown inside, but just to a room to the left of our door. I went into it to see an ellon with pale golden hair and blue eyes with a gentle gaze. I swept my own gaze up and down his short and slight frame before saying, "You must be Rombar."

The ellon gave a slight bow as his smile widened. "I am. Narkal asked me to come here on the way back from my time with Maglor my teacher and ask if you have time to come to our home and see the broach he is fashioning from your design. He'd like you to speak your approval or give him suggestions on what you'd like done differently if you prefer."

The voice was musical and I could well believe the ellon's words held good intent, but "Is he not following the design I gave him. It was very precisely drawn."

Rombar blushed. "I imagine he is. I am afraid though I have not looked at it myself yet. I am more knowledgeable about music than I am about forging with metal."

I let my gaze become a glare. "Then let me tell you something about it. If your brother follows the design I drew as I drew and wrote it it out for him then he is doing exactly as I wished him to."

Rombar nodded and shifted his gaze down to the floor. "I will tell him." Then he stepped swiftly past me and out the door.

The very next day two more of Narkal's brothers came to the door of our house, but refused to enter it. I gazed upon ellon as identical as an ellon and his reflection. It was a rather formidable sight as both had their arms crossed over their chests and dark eyes squinted at me in glares much like my own. I was impressed. The words one of them spoke ignited a fire in my spirit though. "You should not ignore our brother's invitations. He is a student of Feonor himself. His fashioning your design out of Mithril is an honor few others have had bestowed upon them."

I scowled even more darkly back at them. "He asked for that honor. I gave him a precise and neat design. That is all he needs to accomplish the task."

"And you cannot come by to either praise or thank him," the twin who had not spoken before spoke now.

Then the other said, "Surely you have finished the drawing of the designs your family needed. Your father, brothers, and youngest sister have been building the same room for five days on the other side of the city. Have you not finished the design they will need next and more since they began there work there?"

"Perhaps I have. But perhaps my family's business is not yours. And I slammed the door shut in their faces. My mother was already writing an apology to Narkal's whole household in another room of our home. I heard her sigh from there. My sisters only glared as I passed them on the way back to my room.

After a day of blissful peace, Tarman came. He also was let into the room off our entryway. He kept his gaze and voice low as he spoke to me there. "I have a feeling it was my words on our walk here that have caused you to stay here rather than come see my brother's work on your shared vision."

"Perhaps I do not wish to get to become entangled in a place in visiting someone who will soon abandon it for another it will then be impossible to dislodge him from."

Tarman gave a smile. "No more impossible than it has been to dislodge you from here."

I glared at him. Tarman closed his eyes and bowed his head further. "Please, my brother has not been so happy for many years as he has been forging this broach using your design. The only breaks in his joy these past several days has been learning you will not come and share that joy with him." He paused before sighing and saying "I fear my words destroyed your own joy in having your art appreciated also."

I lowered and softened my own voice then "Can you tell me you think the earlier words you regret speaking earlier are untrue?"

At the silence that followed, I sighed and continued. "I am glad my design has made your brother happy. Perhaps I will send him more when he has finished with this one. If your words indeed prove true though, I'd rather not get used to sharing my dreams with one who would much rather help fashion those of another, who will then not likely include me. Friendship is not something I am used to and I'd rather not get used to it if I cannot keep it."

Tarman broke in then with "You cannot be sure of that. Feonor has respect for great art and yours is unique and astounding. Perhaps he will invite you to your forge as he invited Narkal then."

I shrugged again. "If it is so, come and see me then."

Tarman sighed, nodded, and walked past me. Then he left our home.

Three days later it was Narkal on my doorstep grinning at me. "I finished it."

I stiffened and stared at him. "Already?"

He rushed past me into the hallway. "I could barely sleep, and sometimes I feared it would not work as you and I wished it to!"

I closed the door behind him while gazing warily as his back. Was he really as happy and ... not angry as he seemed. "At times I feared that too."

He spun back to look at me again still grinning his face shining more than usual. "Is that why you never came to watch me work? Never mind! It is not important! Look!"

He pulled a box out from a pocket in his robe and held it before my eyes. Then he opened it. I gasped.

My ... design ... in metal that gleamed like snow atop the mountains, almost like the limbs of Telperion ... but the lines and angles were so exact like nothing outside of my imagination or my drawings until now. I felt moisture gather in my eyes. I blinked and drew back. "It is ... wondrous ... Narkal."

"I want you to have it." He pulled the broach out of the box and held it out to me still grinning.

I stepped back again shaking my head. "I do not deserve it."

His smile fell away. He lowered both broach and box to his sides as he stared down at me. "Why do you say that?"

I sighed tucking in my chin and closing my eyes as I massaged my forehead. "I ... refused your invitation ... many times ... in an ungenerous spirit, so I do not deserve your generosity now."

I felt Narkal take a step back from me and then heard him say, "My brothers said ... all but Tarman. Told me you said you were engaged with drawing designs for your father, brothers, and youngest sister to follow as they build around the city. I assumed you would have come had this not been so."

I shrugged. "I've been drawing designs I am not sure they will ever need for walls and rooms others may not even ask them to build for them. They might be needed later, but it was mostly to keep myself busy."

"Why?"

I sighed. "I did not want to get used to helping you forge my designs only to have it stop whenever Feonor decides to call you to his side again."

I heard a sharp clack before and below me. I looked down to see the box lying on the stone floor. I looked up to see Narkal's dark eyes glinting and his fist clenched at his side. "Did one of my brothers tell you that was something to fear?"

I nodded. Narkal closed his eyes, turned his head aside and let out a long low breath. "He was mistaken about that."

I looked wide-eyed into his face a moment. Then I asked. "Would you like to see more of my designs then and discuss which one you might force next?"

He snapped his eyes back open. His fist stopped shaking at his side. The contours of his face relaxed as he nodded. "Yes, I would like that."

What do you think now?

God bless

ScribeofHeroes