Do you think living in the same house as a bunch of your crazy relatives hinders your personal life? Tyelkormo didn't think so. He looked after his appearance more than anyone else in the house and tried to impress the opposite sex. And his failures didn't bother him at all but on the contrary gave him even more zeal. Therefore, he devoted at least half an hour every morning to making sure he looked stunning – he combed and styled his hair, adjusted his suit, which was always elegant and embroidered with spectacular patterns as if for a festivity, so that there would be no wrinkles on it, polished everything that could be polished until it was shining, and only then did he go down with his head held high.

Suffice to say that this was a subject of numerous jokes and jibes among the relatives. He didn't pay any attention to it but throughout Tirion he was known as a guy who was concerned about appearance. This should have made normal girls wary and maybe even repulsed. And there were many normal girls amongst the Ñoldor!

But Tyelkormo didn't despair – if he wasn't successful in one city, he will succeed in another! If not a Ñoldor, then a Vanyar or a Teleri. And after all, sometimes there were girls with whom he had success.

Kano even created a funny song about his perseverance which was appreciated by everyone, well, except for Turco himself.

Oh, my beautiful rose, it is almost midnight
So, I beg you, come forward to me!
It's been almost a week, five long days if I'm right,
Since my love has appeared for thee.
At a ditch I first met you, the one with no flow,
Where you argued with that merchant's wife.
And your hand was majestic as it followed that blow
Which you used for concluding that strife.

Oh, my wonderful Donna, you've always been near
For some reason I couldn't that see.
I just hope you can hear all this singing, my dear
So please, cometh forward to me.
I am burning with passion like any good bard,
So, I beg you, just throw me a petal!
Oh, my goodness, what was that which hit me so hard?
Yes indeed, that's some sort of a metal.

Well alright then, I'll leave you and won't be a creep
I shall not here remain as a mountain!
(Just picture me rising from waters this deep
When at noon you come near the fountain)
Oh, farewell then, my Donna, my dear, to you
Since my schedule is being quite tight.
There exist three more beauties I must visit, too
And poems for them all recite…

Of course, Tyelkormo wasn't just a pretty weakling. After all, his father-name was Turcafinwë meaning 'strong Finwë' (Fëanáro had a strange obsession with naming all his sons after his father, though perhaps it was just a childhood trauma). He was also an excellent hunter, he boasted to us that he went hunting with Oromë himself.

Today we had a family trip to the Sea Elves, so Tyelkormo dressed up and combed his hair with special care – it'll be a chance to make some new admirers! By the time he came down for breakfast, the rest of the family was already eating since they don't spend so much time getting ready.

As they saw him, the Twins began laughing into their plates, while I could barely contain my smile. So, when he greeted me, I just nodded because I felt that if I opened my mouth, I would just start tittering uncontrollably. The others had similar or slightly calmer reactions. Only Father treated his son's quirks in a philosophical manner. When everyone was talking about this habit of his third child, he condemned the mockery and assured them that it was only the peculiarities of his youth. Well, we'll see about that, we'll see…

Since the trip to the Haven was an event of its own, it was decided to dress all of us up. Mum persistently combed my tangles for a long time, trying to weave my hair into a braid, which she hardly managed to do. I put on a beautiful blue dress with embroidery and swore that I would behave myself accordingly to my image, meaning no fights, no biting, no running, no starting anything and no provoking my brothers. How boring!

I took the longest to get ready, so I was the last one to come down to the living room. There, the whole family double-checked everything we needed for the road, our parents lectured us for the last time, and the twins decided to have fun for one last time – they were causing a lot of mischief. But when I, a bit embarrassed, stopped in the doorway, all eyes turned to me. It made me feel even more uncomfortable, and just as I was about to say this, Ambarto exclaimed, 'Cena, you look just like a real princess!'

'Cena is a princess!' Kano corrected him. 'We just forget about it sometimes.'

'I forget about it myself,' I mumbled.

'Enough chatter! The carriages are ready, we can go!' Nerdanel, as always, organised everyone.

As we left our house, I couldn't stop twitching and trying to adjust my uncomfortable dress. But after my mother glared at me, I had to silently endure all the suffering. Beauty requires sacrifice, after all.

At the porch, there were already three harnessed open carriages made of dark wood with beautiful folding canopies embroidered with different patterns. I immediately climbed into a carriage with a starry sky. I was joined by Macalaurë and Maitimo, who either wanted to keep an eye on me, or simply wanted to enjoy the beauty of the roof. Moryo and Kurvo got into a carriage with golden birds on a black background, they were later joined by Father. Mother made Twins and Turco ride with her in a carriage with a light-green canopy depicting flowers.

Laurelin was brightly shining outside, and there weren't any clouds in the sky, so, to my great disappointment, we didn't lift the roof. However, an unexpected surprise awaited us along the road. It turned out that not only the Fëanáro's family decided to visit their relatives – the entirety of the Third House accompanied us. I can't say that Father was very happy about it, but I was. Not simply because of the fact that there were four extra brothers and a sister joining the existing seven, but mainly because I was no longer the sole 'princess' with Artanis present. Of course, Nerwen didn't look like a real princess yet, she was too young. Though, she was a little older than Twins, of which she was very proud. Besides, everyone in Uncle Ingalaurë's family was much calmer, which made it possible to take a little break from the everlasting showdown.

Once Artanis saw me, she smiled and waved from her carriage. She also had to travel alongside her two older brothers. It was only now that I realised how fortunate I was that my other two older brothers weren't my companions. With Turco and Moryo by my side, I wouldn't be able to keep my promise to my mum! I got, so to speak, the most sensible ones. Of course, everyone has their own quirks, but still these two are much more reasonable.

The carriages slowly rolled along the flat wide road in a long line. Since we left Tirion, the landscape around us has remained almost the same: fields, hills, small woods, and then a boring road through the mountains – mountains, more mountains, mountains up close, mountains far away, stone gorges… It's not that there was no other terrain in Aman, it's just that the only way to the Haven was through the cleft in Pelóri – Calacirya. Of course, I couldn't bear to contemplate the same type of nature – just bare stones – for three hours in a row, so I began to pester my brothers.

'Kano! Ka-a-ano? Kano?'

'What do you want?' Macalaurë replied drowsily.

'I'm bored! Sing something.'

'Oh, I want to take a nap while I still can,' the singer dismissed me sluggishly, but still began to tune the lyre. He was always happy when somebody asked him to perform something.

Nelyo, apparently, missed Findekáno, so he didn't stop his younger brother from pouring out his soul in a long motif. It truly drove you to sleep. Or even to leave for Mandos. Even the clouds began to appear, all in all, it was dreary. But finally even Maitimo couldn't take it any longer, 'Kano! Stop already howling your sad romances! Sing something fun!'

'I'm not howling! I'm singing. And beautiful old songs, by the way!' the 'great' singer frowned.

'All right then, our dear minstrel,' Maitimo laughed, 'better, play us something of your own!'

'Sing about the sleeping beauty!' I begged. Ever since early childhood, it was one of my favourite songs he composed.

Macalaurë got nervous and muttered something about too childish songs, but the elder brother and I were relentless and managed to persuade or, rather, force our brother to sing his pieces (using intimidation to reveal, allegedly, his very important secret). Suddenly, Kano straightened up, played the first chords with confidence and sang in a sonorous voice. Of course, he was still a young and not too experienced singer, but I liked his songs more than anything composed by others. His songs, while perhaps not so mellifluous, especially in the beginning, breathed with life and the author's soul was felt in them (the songs listed here are quite beautiful with decent accompaniment, and not the off-key caterwauling with incoherent poems that he created in his early period of learning music). Nelyo and I immediately fell silent, listening to him, and even in the nearby carriages, conversations seemed to have stopped, that's how strong his voice was. And even Findaráto didn't compete with him in song duels today.

For hundred years a castle's silent,
Around it densely shady forests grow,
You lie here, princess, waiting for no soul,
Your sleep, as always, undisturbed.

For hundred years a tiny bridge
Was left here wholly overgrown,
For hundred years here only bees
Have visited its quiet soul.

For hundred years you hear the earth,
You catch its unrelenting clatter,
For hundred years the ivy covers all…
For hundred years here only roses blossom…

The road seems shorter with the song, I didn't even notice how we arrived at a large stone arch that served as a gateway to the Swan Haven. This arch fascinated me so much for the first time with its size and grandeur that I couldn't believe that the sea itself could carve such beauty. Macalaurë broke off his song and also looked around in wonder.

As we entered the city, the distance between the carriages was significantly reduced – it was inconvenient to move through crowded streets in a long column. Teleri cheerfully greeted us, they waved and smiled at us. We responded them in kind all the way to the palace of Olwë of Alqualondë. It was decorated with white pearls and shimmered in the light of stars and distant Trees, still reaching here through Calacirya. The king of the third clan of the Eldar even ordered to decorate his crown with white and black pearls. I always thought that there were simply no craftsmen among the Teleri who could create something more complex.

At the entrance to the palace, His Majesty came out to meet us. Arafinwë's wife, Eärwen, nicknamed the Swan Maiden, immediately rushed into her father's arms. Their reunion was joyful. Then he began to greet us. After another 'How have you grown up!', 'Artanis, you have become so much like your mother!', 'Why haven't you visited for so long!', 'Are you friendly with each other?' and so on, they finally let us be and took us to the rooms where we were supposed to live during our stay in the city. Now the official part was over, the parents went on to discuss the recent news with the king and tell him about their lives, and the children were left to themselves… Oh, only our promise to behave well kept the palace from falling apart!

T/N: I hope you enjoyed my translation of these poem-songs, it only cost me quite some time and several headaches. Expect more poems in the future chapters, especially in those about Valinor