Along the Sea

Nerdanel burst back up out of the water gasping for breath and giving a small curse as she did so.

"Bloody Ëa! I almost had it that time!"

She had been trying to make it down to the bottom of the reef for the better part of the day now. She had seen a large bed of oysters along the reef and one had opened to reveal a large pearl and she had set her mind to retrieving it. So far all attempts had been fruitless. Something Fëanáro was quick to point out from his seat on the rock face where he had been watching her.

"You have been at this all day. You really should not become so fixated on things."

"You are one to talk," she said as she treaded the clear blue water, looking down till she spotted her prize once again.

"You are going to hurt yourself, and you use up your air before you are even all the way down."

"If you think you can do better, by all means," she muttered.

"It is too deep and not all that impressive."

"It is perfect and I want it. I am surprised at how quickly you are ready give in. If you valued my companionship at all you would do this for me."

"You would ask me to risk my life for some silly crystalline formation resulting from a parasite?"

"Well I guess there is my answer," she sniffed and began to swim back towards the shore. "Just so you know, I do not really care that much for you either."

She heard a splash from behind her and turned to see that he was gone from the rock face. She picked up her pace for the shore. He never did find that line of teasing from her very funny and she would not be surprised if he were swimming under her right now about to yank her under.

They had been traveling together for several weeks now before taking a detour to the sea before returning to their homes. It seemed to her at times as if he were putting off the inevitable return to his father's courts when he was on break from his apprenticeship with her father. She always felt bad for him during these times and so would extend her stays in the wild for him till she could stay away no longer although she could not for the life of her understand why he liked staying out here with her.

She reached the beach and turned around triumphantly ready to gloat over her victory of reaching the shore before he did and was not prepared when saw him then floating motionless. She paused for a moment and squinted at the water.

"Feanaro?" she whispered softly not exactly sure if she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. She began to walk back in to the water and her eyes went wide with confirmation of her fears.

"Feanaro!" she screamed and ran back in to the ocean and towards the lifeless figure that floated in it. She swam furiously to where he was at, flipping his body face up and pulling him up against her, his head against her shoulder as she swam backwards, using her body to keep him from going under.

When she finally reached the shore she pulled his limp body onto the beach and leaned over him, desperately looking for signs of life. She placed her head against his chest and was relieved when she heard the steady drum of his heart but felt dread again when she could not see his chest rise and fall and she knew what she had to do. When she was younger she had watched as one of her father's hounds gave birth to a litter of pups. One had been still born and Nerdanel had wept upon seeing its tiny lifeless body but her father had simply picked up the tiny babe in his strong hands and placed his mouth over the pup's nose, breathing air into the tiny lungs until a small whine came from the animal and it slowly began to move.

She grabbed his head and tilted it back as she placed her mouth over his and quickly blew air into his lungs. After each breath she would pause for a second to see if his chest would move and when it did not she covered his mouth again with her own. It was during her third or fourth attempt, when she was starting to feel hopeless that his hand suddenly came up and grabbed the back of her head as her mouth covered his. She looked around in confusion as she realized that his other hand had gone around her waist and that he had rolled over on top of her and was kissing her. Her eyes went wide with shock and she pushed at him and he pulled back, a wide grin across his face.

"Really Nerdanel, if you had wanted to kiss me all you had to do was to ask."

He pressed his lips against hers again and she lay there in shock for half a second, partly due to the fact that he had fooled her and the other part due to the fact that she was being kissed, before coming to her senses and throwing him off.

"You!," she screamed, pushing him so hard that he flew a short distance in the air. She stood up and grabbed handfuls of sand to throw at him as she spoke.

"You complete . . . you absolute . . . unmitigated ass!"

He held his hands up as shields from the blows she rained down on him.

"Of all the –"

"Ai!"

"- inane,"

"Nerdanel!"

"- witless,"

"Wait!"

"- empty-headed,"

"I did not mean –"

"- asinine things to do!"

"It was only a jest!"

"It was not funny!"

She stood over him for a moment more before turning to stomp off down the beach.

"I thought you did not care," he called out to her. She spun back around and stormed back towards him at such a pace that he began to scurry backwards as he raised his hands to fend off more blows.

"The only thing I care about is how grateful I am that now I do not have to drag a dead high prince back to his father's house and explain to his father what had happened to his brainless son! Although I still may have to because if I do not move away I just might kill you myself!"

She stood over him for another second, arms stiff at her sides and hands balled into tight fists before giving another kick and sending sand all over him again. She then turned and went back towards the camp.

Fëanáro lay back on his elbows and watched her as she left. He then looked down and opened his hand to look at the large pearl inside it. He looked back up to stare at her retreating back and gave a little smile.