Chapter 3.
Amber breathed in and out as she prepared to enter the barn. The door was half open and from inside she could hear the sounds of some animals. She entered without much ceremony but still announcing herself with a few light knocks on the wood.
There was Oscar, sitting on a bench holding one of the legs of the farm horse. He had turned around and instantly blushed and returned to his task of replacing the horseshoes of the old steed.
"Hello". She greeted, hoping to break the ice.
"H-Hello, sorry for not greeting you at the beginning, it's just…" He tried not to make eye contact with her and diverted his gaze to the animal's hoof. Amber just sighed and scratched the back of her neck in discomfort.
"N-no you don't need to apologize. I understand". and she really did, this was not a situation Oscar expected from his sister.
An awkward silence once again surrounded them both as each waited for the other to speak. So Oscar decided to take the initiative.
"He… He seems like a nice guy."
Amber's mind then proceeded to analyze all those words at the speed of light looking for any possible alternate meaning to such a combination of letters until her head clicked.
"NO!". The denial scared the animals and Oscar almost fell off the bench avoiding a kick from the horse. Then Amber was embarrassed by her reaction and approached her brother, helping him up.
"Sorry, sorry!. It was not my intention". she apologized as she wiped the dust and dirt from the boy's shoulders.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." He assured her, extending his arm, showing that he had not suffered any injuries. Amber then breathed a sigh of relief. Unwilling to endure the discomfort of the situation any longer, she set about putting an end to it.
"Look, I know this can all be a little awkward. But I assure you that everything will be fine and that he will get better. He's not from here and probably needs some room to adjust." She had seen the emptiness in those silver eyes, as if he were in perpetual shock. And if she was honest, she had her own questions regarding the stranger situation.
"Oh, I was worried for a moment, I thought he was your boyfriend." A very small part of Amber wanted to think that was a possibility, though she dismissed it immediately because the situation wasn't appropriate for it.
"You know if I had a boyfriend the first one to find out would be you." She playfully pointed her finger at him by pressing his nose.
"So he's a fellow Beacon?" Oscar asked.
"No, I found him under unusual circumstances in the forest. "I couldn't leave it there so I brought it." The answer was true, although she left out some details. They were work matters.
"If there's no further inconvenience, do you want me to help you with Shadow? He seemed to miss me too." Amber was referring to the old, dark horse her brother had been tending.
"He's still jealous because you replaced him."
"Hey, that still hurts me. You know it was painful for me too!".
Nelyafinwe looked at himself in the dim reflection of the window, now with his new outfit he was no longer naked but he would have preferred to be with how uncomfortable he felt. The clothes borrowed from the woman named Amber were not made for someone like him, they were too small, too tight and left many vulnerable areas exposed, at least half of his abs were exposed, and the brown pants would rip if he started flexing too much. the legs. Worst of all, he looked completely ridiculous.
He had tied his hair up in a makeshift bun so that it wouldn't bother his view. A part of him thought for a brief moment about cutting it but discarded the idea when he saw his father's disapproving look. His white t-shirt could barely cover his armpits and the buttons could not be closed due to the size of his torso, the pants barely reached above his knees and he could not wear shoes for obvious reasons.
The first thing he would do when he mastered the language fluently was to ask for a tailor, he needed clothes suitable for a prince. Not to mention a blacksmith for new armor, not wearing one was like staying naked in his eyes.
"How low has my blood fallen that they must dress in the garments of savages?"
Nelyo sighed at his father's words, but chose to ignore them. He only needed a horse, provisions and a weapon after that he would ride to Amon Ereb.
"There at least you can get dressed and equipped with something of quality." Feanaro said.
"The last thing I need is the attention of other Noldor or Sindar, perhaps I can ask the Dwarves of Belegost for help." He hoped that they would not hold a grudge over the deaths caused by Thingol and that this grudge would not extend to their Noldor allies.
"It's not because of that Snotlout's death that they hold a grudge, I can assure you of that…" His father's voice had an extremely venomous tone.
He turned away from the window and walked to the door, which apparently had a good work of craftsmanship on the handle. He opened it and crossed into the hallway illuminated by strange lamps that did not seem to glow with fire. Nelyo watched them for a moment, trying to figure out what was feeding them, but quickly looked away when their lifeless glow made his eyes start to hurt. He almost wanted to take one in his hands but some footsteps on the stairs dissuaded him.
"A shame, I'll have to satisfy my curiosity another time." His father spoke for both of them.
The woman who arrived on the second floor was not the same as before, she was older, a little shorter but shared many of Amber's characteristics. He thought that perhaps she was the mother and therefore matriarch of the house, so in order not to make a bad impression he took a straight posture to introduce himself.
The old woman stopped when she saw him and almost seemed shocked, Nelyo raised her chin and was about to bow until laughter began to echo throughout the hallway and probably throughout the building.
The woman was holding her stomach as she contracted with laughter. The Noldor prince could only remain static as the woman nearly collapsed at the ridiculous sight before her.
"How dare she! She should be flogged for such insolence!" Leaving aside that he did not have the means to do so, Nelyo saw no need to resort to such extremes as his father suggested. The lady's reaction was understandable and could not be blamed, the least the elf could do in such a situation was to be tolerant of the people who provided him shelter. This time he and his father will let it pass, just this once...
The sounds of the cacophony had attracted Amber's attention from below, who went up and when she saw Nelyo, she covered her mouth with her hands to avoid laughing. Then both women regained their composure, something the elf appreciated since his father would not maintain his composure for too long while such an insult was perpetuated.
"Sorry, excuse my aunt, it's just that we didn't think the clothes would be so short." The maid said still holding her stomach. Her words were now clearer to him as he became more in tune with the girl's mind, so that, although he did not master the language of his savior, he still learned in a short time the basic fundamentals of that distant language.
"You are forgiven". His voice was rough and his Quenya accent was noticeable. Amber was a little surprised but formed a smile when she saw that she could now theoretically communicate with the stranger.
"Oh! So, do you speak Valean?" She asked excitedly. The elf just frowned and responded, careful not to say something incoherent.
"Not yet". Said. "Not yet". And he reaffirmed.
"Well, it works well for me, it's progress!" Amber said. "Let me introduce you to the family." Then she waved her arms toward the older woman who had stopped laughing, for the most part.
"Dorothy Pine, the not-so-lovely owner of this farm and my favorite aunt." The mocking tone in that presentation made it clear that their relationship was not in danger from such words, it was just a game for them. Such behavior was almost nostalgic for Nelyo.
"Your little… ugh, so you must be Nelyfingue right?" She extended her hand to shake it, but seeing the lack of a right hand she became embarrassed and switched to the left hand for the greeting.
"Nelyafinwe" The Noldor prince corrected. "Nelyafinwe." His voice was perhaps a little harsher than he would have liked, but he still shook the woman's hand and when she attempted a firm squeeze he did not react but responded with slightly greater force. It seemed that Dorothy approved of his answer.
Amber decided it was best to guide him towards the lower floor which was illuminated by sunlight through the windows. It was a modest sized room with a couple of sofas, in front of what he could only recognize as a box with a black mirror on a small table. There were hyper-realistic portraits on the walls of a younger Amber with two adults, as well as a baby and a less time-affected Dorothy.
"The craftsmanship of this place does not bear the imprint of the Noldor, although it is not deficient." It was the closest thing to a compliment that would come from Feanaro's lips. Amber indicated that they could sit on the couch and Nelyo obeyed although his father preferred to be standing.
the young maiden then took a seat in one of the chairs opposite him and bowed with her hands clasped. The prince supposed that it was time for questions, he had to be careful, the loyalties of this family were still unknown to him.
"How much can you understand?" she asked.
"Enough". He responded directly. He didn't want to complicate the matter further, delving into the minds of the Edain was not something he was proud of, but remembering Ulfang and his sons, it was not out of place to be cautious.
"What happened last night?. What were you doing in the forest and how did so many grimms arrive?" Amber's concern was genuine but there was also caution in her words. Nelyo could sense that she would be ready to fight if his answer was not the right one and that she would fight him tooth and nail if necessary. Such a thought was adorable but the prince gave credence to the girl's determination.
"I don't know" and he was being honest with her and himself. He didn't know what he was doing and when he woke up or why he was there in the first place. And although his goals were clearer now, he had no intention of sharing them with them.
"I was attacked…dark things and I fought."
"How can you not know that?" This time it was Dorothy's turn who didn't bother to be subtle, her niece just gave her a reproachful look for her attitude. Nelyo took a heavy breath and quickly thought of an answer without letting his face show any emotions.
"I separated from my brother…" It was true.
"We discussed… and different paths." In the midst of the chase, he ran towards the mountains and Kano towards the sea, neither having the will to try to convince the other which route to take, especially with Eonwe and his army behind him.
"And I got distracted. And I fell to my death." He didn't want to talk too much about that last part, the scars on his only hand were still a painful truth.
"But you didn't die." Dorothy almost seemed to reproach him, and for a moment Nelyo's pride threatened to respond with violence, but he managed to control it because he was weak in spirit and his will was weakened by memories.
"No… I woke up and was surrounded by…" The word escaped his comprehension.
"Grimm," Amber concluded.
"Grimm." Such a word left a bad taste in his mouth, almost as bad as those times when he uttered the Enemy's name either in whispers or shouts.
"Creatures of Darkness," Amber explained. "Enemies of all humanity who only seek our destruction."
It sounded very similar to the Orcs and other abominations raised by the dark Lord in Angband but from the tone in which the maiden spoke to him, it almost sounded like something out of Utumno. Ancient, forgotten and cursed Utumno.
Doubts began to eat away at Prince Noldor's mind. Why weren't such creatures in Beleriand? Why didn't The Dark Lord use them in the numerous battles? Perhaps, like the winged dragons, they were a trump card? But then why not free them in the last confrontation? It didn't make sense, such things were not in the records of the caravans that passed over the blue mountains, The Tree Shepherds did not report such creatures.
Then the parts began to form a sketch in his head that was completing little by little... The broken Moon, The unknown beasts, the silent trees and the strange masonry of these people...
"You do not know?" Amber almost looked more surprised than him.
"Since when?" Nelyo asked.
"That?" Dorothy didn't seem to care much about the elf's lost look.
"Grimms… since when?"
"Well… since always?" The maiden clarified her doubt because she responded as if someone were asking the most obvious thing in the world. Something that everyone took for granted and that only a crazy person would question such a thing. Silence filled the room while Nelyo's mind sought to give shape to all that information, his eyes were fixed ahead but they were not looking at anything. Amber just exchanged glances with her aunt, both of them agreeing that something was not right for their guest.
She was about to speak when a little boy ran through the door.
"AMBER!" The young man wasted no time and entered the room, ignoring the catatonic elf.
"GRIMM!"
Mae Govannen Eruhini~✨
Salutations!~✨
Well, that was faster than expected. Now that my vacation has started I will have more time to get back to writing... for now. As always, I do not take Oaths.
Any criticism or review is welcome.
Namárië!~✨