It has been some time since I updated this. Here goes.
Mornel returns to Alqualonde and is warmly welcomed by the king and queen.
14. Tol Eressea
They always said one could smell the salt on the air before you glimpsed the white walls of Alqualonde. Mornel took a deep breath, feeling the slightly briny air fill her lungs. She held it for a while before exhaling. The air about the Swan Haven was invigoratingly fresh. It was warmer here than in Formenos at this time of the year. As one approached the city, one could hear the gulls and waves, broken by the occasional calls of the Lindar sailors from their boats offshore.
A mile from the gates, Mornel dismounted and relieved Fearocco of his saddle and bridle. The horse neighed his thanks before galloping off into the cliff meadows where the other horses were grazing. She fashioned a rough backpack from the saddle and bridle and shouldering her saddlebags. She was not going to ride Fearocco into Alqualonde. After Tirion, Fearocco deserved a break. He would return to the stables when he has wearied of the cliffs and the company of his fellows.
Strolling at a leisurely pace, Mornel entered the city of the Teleri unchallenged. She paused to buy a cup of jellied eels from a youngster. She took a mouthful and quickly choked on the unexpected spiciness before realizing the young elf was the youngest of her friend Surialdo's sons. The elf gave a whoop and scrambled off with his little hand-cart. Mornel waved a fist half-heartedly after him to amused laughter from bystanders. Young Ciryon had grown much since her last visit to the Swan Haven and she did not recognize him as the scrawny urchin who had been hiding behind his amil's skirts. She accepted a cup of cool water from a nis to put out the fire in her mouth. Mornel continued her journey to the palace without further mishap.
"Mornel, it's great to have you with us again," King Olwe looked up from a map he had been studying when a servant showed her in.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. My uncle the Noldoran sends his greetings," Mornel bowed and presented Arafinwe's letter to Olwe. The king chuckled as he read the contents of the letter.
"We will send our reply to him by pigeon in lieu of a herald. We would hate for you to have to leave us so soon. Have you been to your amil's?" Olwe folded the letter and put it away. Mornel shook her head with a smile. She intended to visit once she done delivering the Noldoran's letter.
"You best visit her before she leaves for Tol Eressea in two days' time. She has a contract working on my son's villa," Olwe advised. Mornel nodded. Olwe motioned for her to take a seat on a nearby divan.
"How is Findarato?" Mornel asked as she sat down.
"Earlindo has taken both Findarato and his fiancée out for a sail. They should return by dinner…" Olwe replied as he rolled up the map. The servant had returned with some refreshments. This time, Mornel took a wary sip from the glass offered to her, just in case.
"Mornel!" Queen Falmiril burst into the room and swept Mornel into a bear-hug. "We are so happy you are here! You have done so much for dear Ingoldo…"
"It was nothing – he is my cousin after all. Amarie did most of the work…" Mornel countered.
"You underestimate yourself, child. You have done far more for them both than you know," Falmiril replied. She had witnessed the improvement in her grandson's spirits since their last meeting in Lorien. There were still times when a shadow would seem to descend on him. It took a while for them to convince him to take a stroll along the rebuilt quay. The Teleri held no grudges against Findarato or his kin now. He had taken it upon himself to call on Nerdanel on learning she was living in the city and spent a leisurely afternoon at her workshop.
After a bath and meal with the king and queen in the palace, Mornel went over to Nerdanel's workshop. Her mother was in the yard, her sleeves rolled up and working on a block of pink marble. Already the likeness of a smiling face was taking shape.
"Amme," Mornel called out as she stepped through the gate. Myriad statues greeted all callers to the workshop, including erotic nudes. The yard was littered with lumps of discarded marble and stone chips. Mornel had to watch where she was stepping. Housekeeping was never one of her amil's strong points.
"Take a seat, I'm nearly done." Nerdanel's chisel continued chipping away without missing a beat. Mornel sat down on a stone bench and watched as over the next twenty minutes the face came to life under her mother's skilled hands. Finally satisfied, she put aside her tools and inspected the bust. "What do you think?"
It was a realistic bust of a smiling Finrod. Mornel noted that her mother had even captured the slight suggestion of weariness in his eyes. Mornel had seen a small statue of Findarato back in Tirion, crafted sometime before the Darkening. This was a different Finrod Nerdanel had depicted in pink marble.
"It looks just like him, amme," Mornel commented. She recognized her cousin had been changed too much by his experiences to be the same carefree prince the sculptor in Tirion had depicted.
"He has changed much indeed…" Nerdanel wiped her brow with a towel. "I fear sometimes, for your brothers… how they would have changed…" she allowed her voice to trail off. Mornel kept quiet. There was nothing she could say to allay her amil's concerns. Pityo was still languishing in Mandos under the Doom. He had been horribly burnt and no one knew if he would suffer any after-effects on his return.
"Mornel!" Amarie cried out a greeting when she saw a familiar face on the pier as the swan-ship sailed into the harbour. Finrod waved to his cousin as he aided his uncle in lowering the sail. A nis stood serenely at the prow. Her harp hung idle at her waist as the wind tossed her silver hair like a halo around her face. Serelinde. Mornel had not expected her to be part of the sailing party.
"Mornel, catch!" the helmsman grinned impishly as he tossed a mooring rope to her. Mornel laughed as she caught it. It was a tanned Surialdo who was steering the vessel. Mornel helped moor the craft and aided Amarie in disembarking. Amarie was a little weak-kneed as she was not used to being at sea, even in such calm waters. Finrod hastened to purchase a bag of lemon drops from a nearby stall to ease his beloved's discomfort. Serelinde greeted Mornel with a hug. Surialdo shook her hand and they exchanged news of their families. Mornel learnt that Surialdo's eldest son was hired by Prince Earlindo as his valet and kept his villa on Tol Eressea during his absence. His wife had been hired recently as the villa's cook. Prince Earlindo was immediately beset by a pack of admiring nissi as soon as he set foot on land. He was long of age but had yet to show any inclination of settling down. Still, he politely acceded to his fans' request for an impromptu performance of his latest ballad.
Dinner was held on the terrace of King Olwe's palace. It was an informal affair. Serelinde had been invited to join them. Mornel noted how her law-sister would offer the prince a choice morsel of food and how his hand would brush against hers. They reminded her too much of Finrod and Amarie. The Valar had given Serelinde and the other spouses of the Exiles who remained in Aman the choice of breaking their bond. It seemed that Serelinde and the youngest son of King Olwe were in love. It was awkward to say the least. Amarie looked horribly scandalized as only a Vanya would. Finrod urged her to walk with him along the lake awhile on noticing her discomfort. The king and queen looked on sadly.
It was later when Mornel chanced upon the royal pair alone in the gardens that she understood why. The couple was sitting on a bench admiring the moonrise.
"Our Lindo loved Serelinde ever since before she was wed but he would never think to ask her to break her bond with his friend Makalaure," Olwe said quietly. His wife nodded.
"It is heart-breaking. They had always been the best of friends before the Darkening. She does take good care of our Lindo. Such good care…"
"Those two neri would have forgone all sleep and food working on their music back then without her," Falmiril chuckled richly.
"Serelinde would not betray the memory of her husband too. In some way, she still loves Makalaure. Why did that young fool have to follow his atar to their Doom?"
Mornel crept away before the royal couple saw her. Isil sailed across the sky. The swans had gone to their nests in the reeds. Finrod played his harp in the pavilion for Amarie. Mornel decided to cut short her evening stroll and return to her chambers. She caught a glimpse of her law-sister with Prince Earlindo by the reeds. They had found a nest of swan eggs in the shelter of the reeds. Earlindo was counting the eggs while Serelinde soothed the parents with her song.
At the prince's invitation, Mornel had agreed to visit the villa where her amme would be working. Finrod seemed to thrive in the relaxed atmosphere of Tol Eressea. Prince Earlindo's new villa was modest in comparison to the manors of Tirion but it dwarfed all other buildings on the island. There was another reason for her to visit the island. It was on the very edge of Aman. If one ventured to the eastern shores, one could see the sea fog which veiled Aman from the Hither Lands. That was exactly what Mornel did.
"Hello! Do you have any news from Beleriand?" Mornel called out to the wheeling seabirds. To her annoyance, the birds ignored her. Gulls were not the brightest of birds. She shrugged. It had been worth a try. She had managed to strike up a conversation with an old albatross once in Alqualonde. She had found the poor bird with a broken wing on the beach and nursed it back to health with Surialdo's aid. The old bird had roamed the seas far and wide but he had little news to give her. He did mention elvish settlements on distant shores much like the small settlement on Tol Eressea. He had kept to the lonely cliffs away from them, lest the inhabitants might be yearning for albatross stew. He promised to bring her news but it had been many years since they last spoke. Albatrosses did not live forever, unlike elves.
"Whatcha doing here?" Osse sloshed up onto the shore. Mornel greeted the Maia and explained she had been hoping for news of Beleriand.
"Have ya not enough tales of woe from there from yer cousin?" Osse croaked and a wave washed over Mornel, drenching her to the skin. "Gulls don't go that far. The albatrosses and terns who do keep to themselves like the snobs they are. Didn't that feather-brain Aiwendil teach you anything?"
Mornel shook her head with a wry smile. Aiwendil had taken her to the cliffs to show her the nesting colonies but he never discussed which of the seabirds were capable of flying the distance to Beleriand.
"Moreover, there are those enchanted isles Lord Ulmo put up. Most of the birds here go no further than those."
"Mornel!" Finrod's voice called out from further up the beach. He was with Amarie and the pair were gathering shellfish from the rocks. "Is that Lord Osse?"
Her cousin and Amarie hastened over to greet Osse. The Maia returned the greeting by drenching all three elves with a large wave.
"Oh Manwe! I must look a mess!" Amarie exclaimed with a rare curse. She had been wearing a silk scarf and the saltwater had quite ruined it. Her proud golden tresses hung lankly down her back.
"I apologize for him. My lord tends to get carried away at times," Lady Uinen explained and emerged from a nearby rock pool as an annoyed Amarie wrung out her golden hair. Finrod reached up to pluck a strand of seaweed from behind her ear. He could not resist leaning in for a peck.
"Oh, Findarato!" Amarie admonished him half-heartedly. Mornel and the Maiar laughed along with them. Lord Osse filled up Finrod's bucket with plump oysters afterwards as an apology for ruining their garments.
Nerdanel had begun her work on the marble columns of the villa's veranda. A design of shells and dolphins would festoon the tops of the columns. Prince Earlindo and Serelinde spent most of their free time in the parlour composing music. The inhabitants of the island looked upon the prince as their leader and it was not uncommon for him to be called on to mediate in some disagreement. The hours between breakfast and noon where given to any visitor to call on him. Prince Earlindo would always help where he could. The betrothed pair of Finrod and Amarie spent their time strolling along the scenic shoreline in each other's company.
Mornel explored Tol Eressea alone or with Lady Uinen as her guide. There was a hidden cove frequented by a pod of friendly dolphins which allowed Mornel to swim with them. The elves of the island did not bother Mornel. They treated her with the same indifference they treated all outsiders. Earlindo had explained that many of the elves on Tol Eressea were descended from the Lindar who got on the island during the Great Journey but declined to set foot on the mainland. They were bit clannish but the prince's presence was changing their opinion of outsiders. Nerdanel was pleasantly surprised when several young neri presented themselves at the villa and asked if they might be her apprentices.
On the ferry to Tol Eressea, she had wondered aloud if had her atar sailed past Tol Eressea instead of heading north, they would have been stopped by the elves of the island. The ferryman chuckled and said they had not realised anything untoward had happened on the mainland until Tilion's vessel sailed into their starry sky. There were only a few families on the island then and they were too far from the Trees to notice their Light. True, it turned a bit cold but they thought it was Lord Osse tossing a fit. He then launched into a tall tale about Lord Ulmo's pet Kraken getting caught by a local ner in his net.
News came from Alqualonde. The Noldoran had sent King Olwe a message from Tirion in reply to Olwe's letter. The king and queen of the Noldor would be visiting in two weeks' time. King Olwe suggested that both Finrod and Earlindo return to Alqualonde as Earwen would be so happy to see her son and little brother again.
Author's Notes:
Finally, Arafinwe would get to meet his son again in the next chapter. I am thinking of ending this story arc soon.
I will allow Finrod some years of peace with Amarie before the War of Wrath. At this point, Tol Eressea is still a bit of a backwater.