Going Home (to a place we’ve never been before.) Chapter Twenty-Three - To Melian and Beyond!
Finally, after two years and around 63,500 words, this story has an end!
Going Home (to a place we’ve never been before.)
Chapter Twenty-Three - To Melian - and Beyond!
Word count=2,900
Rating 15
Beta'd as usual by the inimitable speakr2customrs
Chapter Twenty Three.
Only days later, Grandmother Gull told the Els that she had sent word to her great-grandparents to say that the Elrondionath would arrive at their court in two weeks’ time. She told them that, having watched them put off visiting Tirion for as long as they could, along with their other three grandparents she had already made the arrangements. Grandfather, after all, wanted to be reunited with his great-uncle and aunt.
The Els would accompany her, travelling south by sea to the port that served Doriathrin, from where it would take but two days on horseback to reach the city. Iltatamë and Naltatamë were also invited but would travel the whole distance on horseback, leaving a little later, with Celeborn and Galadriel. This would give the Els time to get to know Melian, in particular.
Whilst they were slightly put out by so many of their fore-parents making arrangements for them ever since, it seemed, they had stepped off the ship that had carried them over the Sundering Sea, they were glad to simply do as they were told… this time.
There had been a moment, before the twins left Alqualondë, when the twin ellyth had panicked. Not over anything the Els thought of as ‘sensible’, but because Elladan produced the diagram that Tharhîwon had drawn up for him and his brother, to help them keep track of how many ‘greats’ various fore-parents needed before ‘grandmother’ or ‘grandfather’ to be technically correct, and whether various people were first, second, third or even fourth cousins once, twice, or more, times removed.
“So,” Elladan began his explanation, “Our maian grandmother is five generations before us - here she is, with the matching grandparent Thingol, who you would think of as Elwë. Oh, and you can see here how Grandmother Gull and Grandfather are related to each other - her maternal grandfather is Galathil, and he is Grandfather’s brother, so Grandfather is actually Grandmother Gull’s great-uncle, and…”
But Iltatamë was gazing at the sheet of paper with a slightly glazed expression and simply pointing to names.
“Elwë… Olwë… their brother Elmo… these are the founders of the Teleri and the Sindar! And… and Finwë…”
Realising that she looked rather taken aback, Elladan spoke gently as he pointed out that in fact Finwë was on there twice. “Finwë and Indis are six generations before us on Adar’s line, and also four generations before us on Naneth’s.”
Naltatamë, who had been a member of the household for a lot longer, looked almost as stunned.
“And,” she added, “Ingwë…”
“Well not directly,” Elrohir said, “Our foremother Indis is only his niece…”
At which point the two ellyth had what Tindómë would have declared to be a total meltdown.
It did not help when Elrohir pointing out that the sisters must have just as many relatives, possibly more as Finwë and Indis were there twice, and Luthien, Beren and Tuor had departed from the circles of the world.
“Ours,” Naltatamë pointed out firmly, “do not include the founders of all the Four Great Houses. It is as if you are woven from all the threads drawn together. We are crafts-folk, from family lines of smiths and fabric workers. How can we marry into such a family?”
Eventually both Els together managed to convince their not-quite-betrotheds that, if their fëar were so clearly in harmony, who their forebears are made no difference, especially as neither of them had ever thought of themselves as ‘high born’ until their arrival here.
But they both thought it was probably as well that they had no intention of spending a lot of time being members of any court. And they were very glad when ‘the Smiths’ actually did arrive at Doriathrin with Grandmother and Grandfather.
……………………
They had had no idea what to expect of Melian. Before they had arrived here in Aman she had seemed an insubstantial figure, almost mythical; one of the maiar who had become soul-bound to one of the first-born. It had seemed rather like one of the stories the Rohirrim told their children.
They had, almost literally, thought of her as insubstantial. Even though they had been told the maiar could take on a body, a fana, at will, they had not thought of this fana as really being solid, warm, flesh, with a heart beat and all working parts. The idea of such a creature conceiving, carrying, and birthing, an elfling seemed so unlikely that they had concluded, when young adults, that Luthien must, in some way, have been formed from the two fëar using some sort of magic.
Meeting Tindómë, and learning of the creation of The Key as an elleth, from a ball of light had, almost certainly, subconsciously confirmed their mental image.
That Mithrandir, a real person who ate and drank, smoked pipe-weed, and was as solid as they were themselves, was also one of the maiar only became completely clear as he prepared to sail. And it did not, really, affect their image of Melian who was not, at the time, in any way uppermost in their minds.
Neither did meeting Mithrandir again here in Aman, nor meeting Lord Aulë. Still, in their minds they expected Melian to be delicate, ethereal looking, probably shining like a lantern, and skipping lightly through each day.
The reality was somewhat different. This fore-mother was at least as tall as they were themselves, and as dark haired, with arms that looked well enough muscled to easily draw a Galadhrim bow or wield a longsword, and she looked no more likely to glow in the dark than they did. (As Tindómë had once pointed out, when they had found that copy of ‘Lore and Customs of the Eldar’ in the library in Minas Tirith, having so much inner light that you glowed in the dark would be a major disadvantage when stalking, fighting, or simply hunting, at night!)
Most disconcerting about their first meeting with Melian, though, was that people had said that Arwen was ‘Luthien reborn’ more than once - and now they realised Luthien must have looked very like her own mother…
His first meeting with this foremother must have been difficult for Adar, knowing he would never see Arwen again, and it also occurred to Elladan that, having known Melian in Doriath, Grandmother and Grandfather must have found the adult Arwen almost as disconcerting.
That Elu Thingol was Grandfather’s close kin was also clear, and Naneth looked more like a feminine version of him than she did like any of her kin in Tirion.
As for the rest of the family - of Dior and Nimloth there was no sign. Grandmother Gull said they were still in Mandos, and if Grandmother Melian knew anything about when they might return, she had not shared the knowledge. And as for Élured and Élurin -Grandmother Gull had said Elladan’s smile reminded her of them, and facially the two sets of twins were remarkably alike; but nobody had ever mentioned that the hair of this other pair was the same white blond as Naneth’s!
For much of their lives the twins had been thought of as Noldorin - here they realised they were very like their Sindar kin. If anything, this worried them a little. What if Naltatamë and Iltatamë began to feel that the Els were not really who they thought they were?
They had no idea whether, as one of the maiar, Melian knew already how any future relationship between Elladan, Elrohir, Naltatamë and Iltatamë would develop. But, if she did, her willingness to talk to them about the ‘bonding puzzle’ as soon as Grandmother Gull mentioned it was, they decided, reassuring.
Grandmother Melian invited them to her ‘nest’; hidden high in the trees, it was constructed of wood, with a series of open arches rather than walls, but a solidly constructed arched roof. There were poles placed high up, where blinds could be hung to cover the open arches, but currently these were empty and sun shone in, filtered through leaves, whilst various birds flew in and out.
Comfortably seated, with refreshments at hand, she asked them to tell her their worries.
Once they had explained, she took a sip from her glass then said, “I see no problem with the four of you forming one bond between you.”
“I will tell you a little of the history. When the first elves awoke at Cuiviénen they were already paired, soul bound. The next generation began to recognise that they, too, were drawn each to a particular other over time, and they wanted to know how to achieve that same level of completeness, of being two halves of the same whole. But their parents could not explain; they had awoken already bound.
“So it was up to those of the Ainur who came into contact with them to explain the soul-bond,” she said.
”Which would include her…” Elladan said to his brother, silently. “Which would explain much regarding Grandfather Elu - and why Grandmother Gull felt that Grandmother Melian was the foremother to talk to on the subject!”
He knew she would almost certainly overhear, no matter how hard he tried to speak only to Elrohir and, sure enough, the foremother in question nodded and said out loud “Quite!”
“So,” she went on, “for the bond to be formed there needed to be a declaration from each, confirming that they wished to be bound to the other until the breaking of the world, and invoking the name of The One. Only over time has this developed formalised wording, which differs only a little between groups of elves.
“The declarations must be made, these vows shared, at a time when those involved are fully committed to, and focused solely on, each other. And when is this more the case than when the hröar are joined together and the fëar ready to soar together?
“Therefore, over time, just as the wording of the vows became formalised, so too did the time, and circumstances, in which they were made.”
She paused, giving them time to consider the ramifications of what she had just said.
She could see that they did.
You have understood, I can see,” she went on, “that the exact wording, or the precise moment of full concentration and commitment that you have been taught, are not essential, as long as the intent is there. Who but The One knows if someone stumbles over the wording of their vows, or ends up making those vows when already repleted from sharing their bodies? Yet they are as soul-bound as any who did all exactly as they were taught as they approached their majority.”
All three sat silently for a time. It was Elrohir who finally spoke.
“M’kay…” he said, showing how much time he spent with Tindómë over the years, “So if we four make vows using all four names, when we are all as ‘together’ as is possible, there will be no difference between our bonding and that of any others who bind as a pair?”
“Exactly!”, said Melian.
She refilled their glasses and then went on, “Of course, as you two were conceived as one fëa before you became two, and this is also true of Iltatamë and Naltatamë, you will be, in effect, only binding two fëar anyway…”
…………………………………………………
Epilogue
Five years or so had passed since the conversation with Melian had reassured them that it would be possible to bind all four together. They had not done so yet; there was no rush now that they knew it was possible and the four had quietly made their own plans for when and where that should be.
The Els had met their almost-betrotheds’ parents. Their adar was very happy to think his twins had found their matching set; that the Els were members of the Noldorin royal family was an added bonus, he would not deny, but he seemed genuinely pleased. He also seemed to understand that they were four, not two twos.
Their naneth seemed more to have simply given up trying to keep them apart. The Smiths said that she was still sure that they would be, in some way, changed and corrupted by the Els having been warriors who had fought evil. But she seemed happier to think the relationship was of two ellyth and two ellyn than she had been when it had been just Naltatamë with both Els. Or, rather, that it was two relationships of one ellon and one elleth…
Elladan and Elrohir’s close family, their parents and the two sets of actual grandparents, had no trouble with the idea, nor did any of the family in Doriathrin. The Vanyarin relatives had made no comment - but the impression was that they had no problem; if four being bound was not the will of The One then it would simply not happen.
But the assumption that there were two relationships, not one, was not unique to the ellyth’s naneth, and they realised that many of the Els extended family would automatically make the same assumption - and some might possibly be distressed if they realised the truth of the matter. Grandmother Anairë came to mind and, one generation closer on that line, having now met Grandfather Turgon and his wife Elenwë who seemed to have similar views. Which is one of the reasons that what Tindómë had now named ‘The Awesome Foursome’ had quietly made their own plans for when and how to make their vows.
Once Elladan and Elrohir seemed to have finally fulfilled the requirements to spend time with every branch of their widespread family, all four had finally ‘escaped’ together, to go and see the valley their friends had described as perfect for them.
They were right.
The four were accompanied by a group of elves who had stayed with the Elrondionath in Imladris and, eventually, sailed with them, and a couple of the Telerin cousins who were simply curious. And as soon as they reached the valley Elladan and Elrohir felt as if it was home. To their great relief, Naltatamë and Iltatamë felt so too.
As Tindómë had predicted there were already a few simple shelters, where those following this route to the new lands even further West had camped before moving on. That Naltatamë and Iltatamë were happy to use these as a temporary ‘home’ and to join in expanding them and building more was, quietly, a joy to Elladan and Elrohir.
All four sat together, now, in a recently completed two room building of wood and stone, poring over, and adding to, their plans.
“We can put the forge here,” said Naltatamë, marking her preferred place on the map, “where we can easily access both water and suitable fuel for the fires.”
“And I will put my workshop nearby,” her sister said, “the river sand will make good glass, and there are sources within the valley for the soda ash and lime. I can not only make glass vessels once established, but also the stained glass panels for the centre of the house.”
The plans for the house were taking shape. Two storeys with a tall central hall topped with a glass dome that would let light stream in. Work rooms and kitchens to one side, with accommodation for visitors above and, to the other side, a large wing for the Lords and Ladies of Imrathgalad, for such it would be known*.
“Apart from our own sitting room and dining room, and a large bathing room, there should be an individual room for each of us, for it is good to have a space of your own,” Elladan had said when this part was discussed.
“But each with a bed large enough to accommodate all four - for what holds four will also hold one, two, or three,” Elrohir had added.
But not more.
There had been some interesting times at Doriathrin that had included not just two pairs of twins but three; Elladan had wished for Rumil’s skill to draw the patterns of light and shade when Élured or Élurin had been part of the sharing of bodies. There had also been times, back in Alqualondë, when one or two of the Telerin friends had joined one or two of the ‘awesome foursome’.
But there would not be any need for beds to hold more than four here.
It would be some time before the house was built, even though the plans were drawn. Other homes were needed, and quarrying and farming needed to be established; the Great House could wait until then. Time enough, on visits back to the cities, for any further play with others.
For their binding vows would finally be taken within the first few weeks of sleeping in those rooms. With no guests invited to celebrate in advance. No, once the vows were made they would have their first feast with those who would live here. Only then would they inform all their relatives, and go to celebrate in Tirion, in Alqualondë , in Doriathrin - and anywhere else it seemed right to do so by then.
In the meantime, there was an awful lot of experimentation required so that, when the time came, they would know just how four could be as ‘together as is possible’. And as to who might be bound to who - they would let people decide that as it suited them.
The End!
*Imrathgalad - valley of shining water (Imrath - a valley with a river down the middle.)
And in my brain I already have the opening chapter of the next story - wherein you may learn the answer to the question 'Why haven't we seen Glorfindel since the end of Chapter One?'
Going Home (to a place we’ve never been before.)
Chapter Twenty-Three - To Melian - and Beyond!
Word count=2,900
Rating 15
Beta'd as usual by the inimitable speakr2customrs
Chapter Twenty Three.
Only days later, Grandmother Gull told the Els that she had sent word to her great-grandparents to say that the Elrondionath would arrive at their court in two weeks’ time. She told them that, having watched them put off visiting Tirion for as long as they could, along with their other three grandparents she had already made the arrangements. Grandfather, after all, wanted to be reunited with his great-uncle and aunt.
The Els would accompany her, travelling south by sea to the port that served Doriathrin, from where it would take but two days on horseback to reach the city. Iltatamë and Naltatamë were also invited but would travel the whole distance on horseback, leaving a little later, with Celeborn and Galadriel. This would give the Els time to get to know Melian, in particular.
Whilst they were slightly put out by so many of their fore-parents making arrangements for them ever since, it seemed, they had stepped off the ship that had carried them over the Sundering Sea, they were glad to simply do as they were told… this time.
There had been a moment, before the twins left Alqualondë, when the twin ellyth had panicked. Not over anything the Els thought of as ‘sensible’, but because Elladan produced the diagram that Tharhîwon had drawn up for him and his brother, to help them keep track of how many ‘greats’ various fore-parents needed before ‘grandmother’ or ‘grandfather’ to be technically correct, and whether various people were first, second, third or even fourth cousins once, twice, or more, times removed.
“So,” Elladan began his explanation, “Our maian grandmother is five generations before us - here she is, with the matching grandparent Thingol, who you would think of as Elwë. Oh, and you can see here how Grandmother Gull and Grandfather are related to each other - her maternal grandfather is Galathil, and he is Grandfather’s brother, so Grandfather is actually Grandmother Gull’s great-uncle, and…”
But Iltatamë was gazing at the sheet of paper with a slightly glazed expression and simply pointing to names.
“Elwë… Olwë… their brother Elmo… these are the founders of the Teleri and the Sindar! And… and Finwë…”
Realising that she looked rather taken aback, Elladan spoke gently as he pointed out that in fact Finwë was on there twice. “Finwë and Indis are six generations before us on Adar’s line, and also four generations before us on Naneth’s.”
Naltatamë, who had been a member of the household for a lot longer, looked almost as stunned.
“And,” she added, “Ingwë…”
“Well not directly,” Elrohir said, “Our foremother Indis is only his niece…”
At which point the two ellyth had what Tindómë would have declared to be a total meltdown.
It did not help when Elrohir pointing out that the sisters must have just as many relatives, possibly more as Finwë and Indis were there twice, and Luthien, Beren and Tuor had departed from the circles of the world.
“Ours,” Naltatamë pointed out firmly, “do not include the founders of all the Four Great Houses. It is as if you are woven from all the threads drawn together. We are crafts-folk, from family lines of smiths and fabric workers. How can we marry into such a family?”
Eventually both Els together managed to convince their not-quite-betrotheds that, if their fëar were so clearly in harmony, who their forebears are made no difference, especially as neither of them had ever thought of themselves as ‘high born’ until their arrival here.
But they both thought it was probably as well that they had no intention of spending a lot of time being members of any court. And they were very glad when ‘the Smiths’ actually did arrive at Doriathrin with Grandmother and Grandfather.
……………………
They had had no idea what to expect of Melian. Before they had arrived here in Aman she had seemed an insubstantial figure, almost mythical; one of the maiar who had become soul-bound to one of the first-born. It had seemed rather like one of the stories the Rohirrim told their children.
They had, almost literally, thought of her as insubstantial. Even though they had been told the maiar could take on a body, a fana, at will, they had not thought of this fana as really being solid, warm, flesh, with a heart beat and all working parts. The idea of such a creature conceiving, carrying, and birthing, an elfling seemed so unlikely that they had concluded, when young adults, that Luthien must, in some way, have been formed from the two fëar using some sort of magic.
Meeting Tindómë, and learning of the creation of The Key as an elleth, from a ball of light had, almost certainly, subconsciously confirmed their mental image.
That Mithrandir, a real person who ate and drank, smoked pipe-weed, and was as solid as they were themselves, was also one of the maiar only became completely clear as he prepared to sail. And it did not, really, affect their image of Melian who was not, at the time, in any way uppermost in their minds.
Neither did meeting Mithrandir again here in Aman, nor meeting Lord Aulë. Still, in their minds they expected Melian to be delicate, ethereal looking, probably shining like a lantern, and skipping lightly through each day.
The reality was somewhat different. This fore-mother was at least as tall as they were themselves, and as dark haired, with arms that looked well enough muscled to easily draw a Galadhrim bow or wield a longsword, and she looked no more likely to glow in the dark than they did. (As Tindómë had once pointed out, when they had found that copy of ‘Lore and Customs of the Eldar’ in the library in Minas Tirith, having so much inner light that you glowed in the dark would be a major disadvantage when stalking, fighting, or simply hunting, at night!)
Most disconcerting about their first meeting with Melian, though, was that people had said that Arwen was ‘Luthien reborn’ more than once - and now they realised Luthien must have looked very like her own mother…
His first meeting with this foremother must have been difficult for Adar, knowing he would never see Arwen again, and it also occurred to Elladan that, having known Melian in Doriath, Grandmother and Grandfather must have found the adult Arwen almost as disconcerting.
That Elu Thingol was Grandfather’s close kin was also clear, and Naneth looked more like a feminine version of him than she did like any of her kin in Tirion.
As for the rest of the family - of Dior and Nimloth there was no sign. Grandmother Gull said they were still in Mandos, and if Grandmother Melian knew anything about when they might return, she had not shared the knowledge. And as for Élured and Élurin -Grandmother Gull had said Elladan’s smile reminded her of them, and facially the two sets of twins were remarkably alike; but nobody had ever mentioned that the hair of this other pair was the same white blond as Naneth’s!
For much of their lives the twins had been thought of as Noldorin - here they realised they were very like their Sindar kin. If anything, this worried them a little. What if Naltatamë and Iltatamë began to feel that the Els were not really who they thought they were?
They had no idea whether, as one of the maiar, Melian knew already how any future relationship between Elladan, Elrohir, Naltatamë and Iltatamë would develop. But, if she did, her willingness to talk to them about the ‘bonding puzzle’ as soon as Grandmother Gull mentioned it was, they decided, reassuring.
Grandmother Melian invited them to her ‘nest’; hidden high in the trees, it was constructed of wood, with a series of open arches rather than walls, but a solidly constructed arched roof. There were poles placed high up, where blinds could be hung to cover the open arches, but currently these were empty and sun shone in, filtered through leaves, whilst various birds flew in and out.
Comfortably seated, with refreshments at hand, she asked them to tell her their worries.
Once they had explained, she took a sip from her glass then said, “I see no problem with the four of you forming one bond between you.”
“I will tell you a little of the history. When the first elves awoke at Cuiviénen they were already paired, soul bound. The next generation began to recognise that they, too, were drawn each to a particular other over time, and they wanted to know how to achieve that same level of completeness, of being two halves of the same whole. But their parents could not explain; they had awoken already bound.
“So it was up to those of the Ainur who came into contact with them to explain the soul-bond,” she said.
”Which would include her…” Elladan said to his brother, silently. “Which would explain much regarding Grandfather Elu - and why Grandmother Gull felt that Grandmother Melian was the foremother to talk to on the subject!”
He knew she would almost certainly overhear, no matter how hard he tried to speak only to Elrohir and, sure enough, the foremother in question nodded and said out loud “Quite!”
“So,” she went on, “for the bond to be formed there needed to be a declaration from each, confirming that they wished to be bound to the other until the breaking of the world, and invoking the name of The One. Only over time has this developed formalised wording, which differs only a little between groups of elves.
“The declarations must be made, these vows shared, at a time when those involved are fully committed to, and focused solely on, each other. And when is this more the case than when the hröar are joined together and the fëar ready to soar together?
“Therefore, over time, just as the wording of the vows became formalised, so too did the time, and circumstances, in which they were made.”
She paused, giving them time to consider the ramifications of what she had just said.
She could see that they did.
You have understood, I can see,” she went on, “that the exact wording, or the precise moment of full concentration and commitment that you have been taught, are not essential, as long as the intent is there. Who but The One knows if someone stumbles over the wording of their vows, or ends up making those vows when already repleted from sharing their bodies? Yet they are as soul-bound as any who did all exactly as they were taught as they approached their majority.”
All three sat silently for a time. It was Elrohir who finally spoke.
“M’kay…” he said, showing how much time he spent with Tindómë over the years, “So if we four make vows using all four names, when we are all as ‘together’ as is possible, there will be no difference between our bonding and that of any others who bind as a pair?”
“Exactly!”, said Melian.
She refilled their glasses and then went on, “Of course, as you two were conceived as one fëa before you became two, and this is also true of Iltatamë and Naltatamë, you will be, in effect, only binding two fëar anyway…”
…………………………………………………
Epilogue
Five years or so had passed since the conversation with Melian had reassured them that it would be possible to bind all four together. They had not done so yet; there was no rush now that they knew it was possible and the four had quietly made their own plans for when and where that should be.
The Els had met their almost-betrotheds’ parents. Their adar was very happy to think his twins had found their matching set; that the Els were members of the Noldorin royal family was an added bonus, he would not deny, but he seemed genuinely pleased. He also seemed to understand that they were four, not two twos.
Their naneth seemed more to have simply given up trying to keep them apart. The Smiths said that she was still sure that they would be, in some way, changed and corrupted by the Els having been warriors who had fought evil. But she seemed happier to think the relationship was of two ellyth and two ellyn than she had been when it had been just Naltatamë with both Els. Or, rather, that it was two relationships of one ellon and one elleth…
Elladan and Elrohir’s close family, their parents and the two sets of actual grandparents, had no trouble with the idea, nor did any of the family in Doriathrin. The Vanyarin relatives had made no comment - but the impression was that they had no problem; if four being bound was not the will of The One then it would simply not happen.
But the assumption that there were two relationships, not one, was not unique to the ellyth’s naneth, and they realised that many of the Els extended family would automatically make the same assumption - and some might possibly be distressed if they realised the truth of the matter. Grandmother Anairë came to mind and, one generation closer on that line, having now met Grandfather Turgon and his wife Elenwë who seemed to have similar views. Which is one of the reasons that what Tindómë had now named ‘The Awesome Foursome’ had quietly made their own plans for when and how to make their vows.
Once Elladan and Elrohir seemed to have finally fulfilled the requirements to spend time with every branch of their widespread family, all four had finally ‘escaped’ together, to go and see the valley their friends had described as perfect for them.
They were right.
The four were accompanied by a group of elves who had stayed with the Elrondionath in Imladris and, eventually, sailed with them, and a couple of the Telerin cousins who were simply curious. And as soon as they reached the valley Elladan and Elrohir felt as if it was home. To their great relief, Naltatamë and Iltatamë felt so too.
As Tindómë had predicted there were already a few simple shelters, where those following this route to the new lands even further West had camped before moving on. That Naltatamë and Iltatamë were happy to use these as a temporary ‘home’ and to join in expanding them and building more was, quietly, a joy to Elladan and Elrohir.
All four sat together, now, in a recently completed two room building of wood and stone, poring over, and adding to, their plans.
“We can put the forge here,” said Naltatamë, marking her preferred place on the map, “where we can easily access both water and suitable fuel for the fires.”
“And I will put my workshop nearby,” her sister said, “the river sand will make good glass, and there are sources within the valley for the soda ash and lime. I can not only make glass vessels once established, but also the stained glass panels for the centre of the house.”
The plans for the house were taking shape. Two storeys with a tall central hall topped with a glass dome that would let light stream in. Work rooms and kitchens to one side, with accommodation for visitors above and, to the other side, a large wing for the Lords and Ladies of Imrathgalad, for such it would be known*.
“Apart from our own sitting room and dining room, and a large bathing room, there should be an individual room for each of us, for it is good to have a space of your own,” Elladan had said when this part was discussed.
“But each with a bed large enough to accommodate all four - for what holds four will also hold one, two, or three,” Elrohir had added.
But not more.
There had been some interesting times at Doriathrin that had included not just two pairs of twins but three; Elladan had wished for Rumil’s skill to draw the patterns of light and shade when Élured or Élurin had been part of the sharing of bodies. There had also been times, back in Alqualondë, when one or two of the Telerin friends had joined one or two of the ‘awesome foursome’.
But there would not be any need for beds to hold more than four here.
It would be some time before the house was built, even though the plans were drawn. Other homes were needed, and quarrying and farming needed to be established; the Great House could wait until then. Time enough, on visits back to the cities, for any further play with others.
For their binding vows would finally be taken within the first few weeks of sleeping in those rooms. With no guests invited to celebrate in advance. No, once the vows were made they would have their first feast with those who would live here. Only then would they inform all their relatives, and go to celebrate in Tirion, in Alqualondë , in Doriathrin - and anywhere else it seemed right to do so by then.
In the meantime, there was an awful lot of experimentation required so that, when the time came, they would know just how four could be as ‘together as is possible’. And as to who might be bound to who - they would let people decide that as it suited them.
The End!
*Imrathgalad - valley of shining water (Imrath - a valley with a river down the middle.)
And in my brain I already have the opening chapter of the next story - wherein you may learn the answer to the question 'Why haven't we seen Glorfindel since the end of Chapter One?'