Finrod recovers and the preparations are made for the wedding of Finrod and Amarie.
17. Wedding Plans
Duties in Tirion and Formenos demanded that Arafinwe and Mornel depart before Finrod was fit enough to travel. Amarie and Earwen would remain behind until Finrod could make the journey back to Tirion. Mornel travelled with Arafinwe's entourage until they reached Tirion. There Arafinwe and Mornel conferred over the concerns Finrod had raised about the Noldor guards. It was reluctantly agreed that a troop of archers from Formenos would be sent to train the Noldor guards in Tirion for a season. In addition, it was decided that the younger warriors would be encouraged to visit Lord Tulkas' mansion to train in the warrior arts. Arafinwe had utmost faith in the verity of his son's vision, even more so when Mornel had reaffirmed it with her own scrying and dream. Arafinwe also promised to speak with his cousin Ingwion. However, it was unlikely the Vanyar prince could influence his father.
"It is likely he would see it as a waste of time for his guards to be training when they should be praying or singing praises to the Valar…" Arafinwe shook his head.
"Perhaps he could suggest it as a form of homage to the Vala Lord Tulkas?" Lord Turcaranco, the king's captain-at-arms suggested. The ner had once been a guardsman in his younger days. He knew the matters of the barracks well. He had also held an official post as a minister responsible for the distribution of grain to the needy for a few decades. Eldalote's sister now held that post and managed the granaries. Turcaranco found he was more suited to act as a bodyguard and protector to the Noldoran. Mornel could see from the gleam in his eye that he relished revamping the current Vanyarin-styled drills.
Turcaranco was also law-brother to the Noldoran through his marriage, however troubled, with Princess Irime. He too had lost a son when his spouse took their child across the Ice. If Lady Nienna or her Maiar had sent him word of his child's fate, he did not tell anyone. He had noticed the change in the training styles of the Noldor since the Darkening. Prince Nolofinwe and his children were great champions of the warrior arts. Under them, wrestling, sword-fighting, archery, and riding had soared to heights of unprecedented popularity among their people. Prince Findekano had won medals for wrestling. His sister Irisse had exceled on the archery range. The Noldoran was more scholarly by nature.
Mornel thanked her uncle when Arafinwe motioned a serving-elf to refill her wine goblet. The trio were dining on the balcony, away from Indis' rooms where the dowager queen was fasting in observance of some obscure prayer ritual for her grandson's recovery and future happiness. Arafinwe was adamant that Mornel not be required to fast as she would be ravenous after their long journey from Alqualonde. They were joined by a chattering flock of city-sparrows, eager to share their gossip with Mornel.
"The Lindar would have no part in this, not after the Kinslaying…" Mornel added as she held out a finger for a sparrow to perch on. Despite the current good relations between their people, it would be too much to ask them to risk their lives alongside the Noldor for the sake of the Exiles. Surely only a Noldo could find Aman and be able to sail across the Sundering Sea.
Indis was eager to introduce some noble elf to her step-granddaughter but Mornel was not too keen on being match-made. She agreed to meet with the lord for tea, carefully chaperoned by the dowager queen of course. She found him dull and boringly pious. He thought the latest fashions for sheer fabrics encouraged by the Crown Princess in Valmar quite scandalous. Her patience ran out when the fool referred to her atto as an abomination among the Eldar.
"Such an elf should never have been allowed to exist…"
Mornel icily informed the lord to leave the room before she threw the teapot at his head. The lord blanched at the grim look on her face, hastily took his leave, and fled the palace. It was at such times that no one would deny that Mornel was Feanaro's daughter. Indis apologized but Mornel had no mood to extend her sojourn in the White City after that. Instead, she journeyed on to her grandfather's house and tarried there for a week. Her grandmother baked meat pies and biscuits for her to take home to Formenos. They spoke of Nerdanel and their decision to sell the house in Tirion's artisan quarter where she and her husband had raised her family.
"A new beginning. Moving to Alqualonde was a new beginning for your amil," Mahtan explained. Alqualonde was far from his forge and he missed his daughter. Mornel understood. She did not fault her mother for selling the house. She spent most of her time away from the city. It would be nice to have a place to stay there, away from the palace but there was little sense leaving it neglected for months on end. She could always stay with Amarie or Helwien if life in the palace got unbearable. Tirion had been Mornel's home once, when she was an elfling. Formenos was now her home.
The months slipped by as Mornel was once more caught up in the daily matters of running Formenos, Snowdrop's puppies had grown strong and homes were found for them among the Avari hunters. For Snowdrop, Mornel had other plans in mind. Finrod and Amarie were pleasantly surprised when Eldalote returned to Tirion with Mornel's early wedding gift to them – a large white wolfhound. Snowdrop would provide loyal companionship to the couple for the rest of her life.
Indis took charge of arranging the necessary rituals and ceremonial items for Finrod's wedding. The Guild of Needleworkers was called on to craft suitable wedding garments for the happy couple. Finrod drew up plans for his villa outside the city, much to his grandmother's dismay. Indis wanted Finrod to remain in the palace as per Eldar tradition. Finrod relented and they reached a compromise. He and his bride would remain in the palace until their villa was ready. Masons and carpenters were called on for their services.
There were many minor disagreements between Indis and Earwen over the arrangements. Earwen thought her son would prefer a smaller, more intimate gathering instead of a big banquet. Indis thought it would be against royal Noldorin protocol. The type of flowers and the colours of the buntings were other points of conflict. Finrod did not like the overly-elaborate tunic the guild produced for his wedding and suggested something simpler and more Telerin in style, much to his Aunt Anaire's horror. Mornel received such gossip from Tirion through letters from her law-sister, whose dyehouse supplied the coloured clothes for the royal tailors.
Mornel received a surprise when Prince Ingwion and Lady Elsornie came to Formenos for a surprise visit incognito – something unheard of for a Vanyar noble. The wedding was nearing and Lady Elsornie was concerned that Mornel would be too busy to get a proper gown made. She also brought along a team of seamstresses. While Ingwion fished at the lake, the nissi gossiped over assorted fabrics and the designs for fashionable gowns. Ingwion landed a large trout which the kitchens grilled with herb butter for their dinner. Their daughters were still learning the healing arts in Lorien but Elsornie hoped they would be able to return and attend the wedding as a family. Mornel was glad her friends had visited, for she had been so busy she had not thought about getting a gown for the wedding.
Formal invitations and heralds were sent out to all the major towns in Eldamar to announce the impending nuptials of Prince Finrod and Lady Amarie after almost a year of frenetic preparations, endless rituals, and ceremonies. The logistics of finding suitable accommodations for the guests alone were a nightmare. Mornel received a rather battered invite after the messenger had a run-in with a flock of hungry goats on the last stretch to Formenos. There was a landslide from a week of heavy spring rains and part of the path was washed out. The elves of Formenos had to put up a temporary bridge over the chasm left behind before Mornel could even think of riding to Tirion with the wedding gifts from Formenos.
The gifts from the citizens of Formenos were simple compared to the gifts from Alqualonde or Valmar. There was a set of chairs and a table crafted from pine. There was a silver tea set and jars of homemade Silvan berry preserves. Mornel needed a cart to transport the gifts from the well-wishers to Tirion. Finrod and Amarie had made many friends during their brief stay in Formenos. A troupe of Avari musicians volunteered to travel with her to perform at the wedding banquet. They were merry company to be with and lightened up nights around the campfires with their songs. Even Fearocco was on his best behaviour despite his dislike of Tirion.
The party from Formenos was among the last to arrive at Tirion-on-Tuna. The fields outside the city were dotted with the camps of elves who could not find accommodation in the city or chose not to. The Avari and Nandor felt uncomfortable surrounded by walls of stone, however grand or awe-inspiring they may be. Mornel's party set up camp beside the camps of several Avarin chieftains. Tatie had made this rare excursion to Tirion and was more than glad to take charge of the camp while Mornel rode on to the palace. As a cousin of the groom and a member of the royal family, she was expected to reside in the palace with the other honoured guests. Fearocco would also fare better in the royal stables instead of galloping about the camps with strange horses he might pick a fight with.
It had been close to two cycles of the sun since her cousin's return from Mandos and Mornel was pleased to find him positively glowing. He hugged her as their aunt Anaire squawked an admonishment. They were no longer elflings to show their emotions so freely. In accordance with Vanyar tradition, the bride and groom were not to meet in the month leading up to the wedding. Amarie had been sequestered in her cousin's house across the city after Indis had caught the pair strolling in the gardens. She would be fetched from there on the wedding day. Mornel agreed to take a letter from Finrod when she went to call on Amarie.
Mornel found Amarie being attended on by her many female cousins. Elemmire had set aside an entire floor of his house in Tirion for the bride and her bridesmaids. The nissi had turned it into a riot of colourful fabrics, ribbons, and flowers. Amarie's hair had been brushed to a shining gold and her skin was peach-soft with the creams and milk-baths her cousins urged on her. She would make a beautiful bride. The hours flew by and the stars were up by the time Elemmire walked Mornel back to the palace. She was late for dinner but neither her aunts nor Indis scolded her for it. Instead, Indis had the kitchens send up a meal to her room and a warm bath readied.
The Great Square and main thoroughfares were decorated with flower garlands and banners for the wedding in the week leading up to it. It was to be the biggest celebration in the city since the wedding of Prince Nolofinwe in the Years of the Trees. The Noldoran's wedding had occurred in Alqualonde according to Lindar custom and the weddings of Princes Turukano and Angarato were lesser events as they were not sons of the Noldoran. Only the son of a king would have a wedding on such a grand scale.
"What was my parents' wedding like?" Mornel asked her grandfather Mahtan. Mahtan had taken lodgings at the Guildhouse with the other smiths.
"It was grand enough an affair but I trust there were loads of disappointed noble families," Mahtan chuckled. "There were a few unpleasant incidents but your parents enjoyed the wedding and the honeymoon which followed."
"Unpleasant incidents?" Mornel raised an eyebrow. She had heard how charming her atto could be in his youth. "You mean other nissi?"
"Nay, your atto was too wrapped up with his studies under Lord Aule. Your amme was the only nis he was serious about. There was the odd incident of Lady Indis and her children getting locked in their chambers before the ceremony. Your grandfather Finwe insisted everyone waited until they were rescued before proceeding with the wedding ceremony. Your atto was not too happy. Your uncle Nolofinwe had to climb out of the window to get help. Young Arafinwe fell when he tried to follow his brother and broke his wrist. Odd how the locks all malfunctioned at once," the master smith mused.
"Gee, I wonder how that happened," Mornel smiled wryly. She had also heard tales of her atto's dislike of his stepmother and half-siblings. She hazarded a guess her atto had something to do with their plight.
"I trust there will be no such incidents at the coming wedding," Mahtan guffawed and clapped his grandchild on the shoulder.
Author's Notes:
I think that it would not be feasible for Mornel or Nerdanel to maintain another house in Tirion given that they are now based in Formenos and Alqualonde respectively, even if for sentimental reasons. There might be a replay of that wedding misadventure.