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Tweak says, "Yes. I will marry you."

Anairë | The Silmarillion (anaire) wrote in thefeanorians,
@ 2013-04-24 19:03:00

Entry tags:

anairë, fingolfin, yt: 1260

Except for a short - and unintentional - nap, Anairë had been awake for several days now. There was so much work to be done, and so little time to do it! This was something that had to be done perfectly; for her sake as well as Lady Findis'. Her dresses were soon to be on display in the most important and well-attended event that Tírion had seen in years, and she wanted all the ladies in the city - and beyond - talking about them for years.

Blinking in exhaustion, she stood, and went into the kitchen to put on a kettle of tea and splash some cold water over her face. She brushed her hand through her hair, not even wanting to know how it looked at the moment. But it hardly mattered. She grabbed a ribbon and tied it back tightly to keep it out of her face before pouring herself a cup of hot tea and pouring far too much sugar into it. Normally she would not allow herself quite so much - but if this wedding and these dresses went as she hoped, then they would not have to worry about the price of sugar anymore.

And that would be an amazing feeling.

Returning to her table, she took a deep breath and began working again, biting her tongue with a Ñoldorin determination.

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nolofinwe
2013-04-24 11:52 pm UTC (link)

Given the lady's lack of a proper location--and a seriously underwhelming and not at all helpful description of exactly how or where to find her--it had taken Ñolofinwë the better part of four weeks to discover where Anairë worked and lived. She had simply disappeared off the face of Aman, and Findis' only help had been that if he required the seamstress' skill then he ought simply summon her to the palace. Which, while a fine idea, was not one Ñolofinwë wanted to do. Privacy was a thing unheard of in his home, with his sisters and brother constantly snooping about and getting into things that didn't concern them. He absolutely hated it.

He wouldn't be surprised if one of the three were following behind him now, but what did it matter? He'd departed the palace and wound his way through the city, taking his time. For all her perceived loveliness Anairë was definitely not worth running to and Ñolofinwë had business in other places.

And really it wasn't as if he'd made a direct path toward her home, more that he wound up in that general vicinity. He had nothing to say to her, or any news to bring her and certainly no business to offer. But stop he did and before he knew it one of her family members--he'd very distinctly ignored their introduction--had escorted him into a room to wait. He stood there now examining the select few items on a mantlepiece, then half turned when the door opened and the lady in question was brought around by her--who had it been? Brother? Father?

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anaire
2013-04-25 12:07 am UTC (link)

Anairë was surprised when her brother had come to get her, practically dragging her from her table and looking at her in utter disgust. He'd practically lectured her with his eyes and without saying a word for her appearance, yet she simply gave him a tired look of annoyance in return.

She was working, not going to a ball at the palace, and it wasn't necessary at the moment for every hair to be in place. Granted, she usually took more pride in her appearance than she had today, but a quick look in the mirror showed her that she wasn't even close to being unattractive. She was actually almost impressed by her rather cute, though disheveled look.

But when her father finally started stammering and told her who was here, she paled, her ears nearly flattening with anxiety. What was he doing here? Did Findis have a problem? Did she want her to redo everything? But surely her brother would not act the messenger. Such an indistinguished job!

Twisting around her finger the ringlet of black hair that had fallen out of the ponytail, she took a deep breath and made her way to the room where he had been led, and curtsied deeply.

"My lord."

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nolofinwe
2013-04-25 12:31 am UTC (link)

Ñolofinwë assessed the woman with keen, grey eyes. She looked exhausted, out of order and entirely too flustered to warrant any desire for a casual conversation. She was nervous, worried even and he wondered briefly if he'd thought wrong in his initial idea of her. He made her awkward, not happy. Had he misjudged their teasing entirely? It was possible. His ears twitched and his brow quirked in question, looking at her, suddenly feeling ill at ease himself. Maybe he'd only created their chemistry in his mind.

"Lady Anairë," he said with his penchant musical voice, "I hope I have not roused you from sleep, you look as if you need all you might get," pointing out that he noticed her exhaustion and found it ridiculous. Who didn't sleep? Especially when they worked such careful crafts as hers, that required such focus on attention. It would be like his brother going into the smithy drunk. But his displeasure aside, Ñolofinwë regarded her and struggled briefly to come up with an excuse for why he'd come.

"My sister Lalwen," he started, "had a message for you and while I would not normally deliver it myself I opted to bear her tidings as I was walking through.."

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anaire
2013-04-25 12:42 am UTC (link)

She was nervous, yes. For several reasons. First of all, she was terrified that Findis had found something wrong, or wanted her to change something drastic that would take more time to fix than she had left, even without sleeping, and that all of her work, all of her hopes would be for naught.

Secondly, the little sleep that she had managed to find in the past few weeks had been filled with those eyes, which, while she couldn't understand one bit, was making her heart pound with something she didn't have time to analyze at the moment. But her cheeks flushed and her ears twitched a bit - but did not fall - and she smiled a little, a bit of the impishness from their first meeting showing through even her exhaustion.

"Nay, nay, I was simply working on your sister's dresses. They are coming along nicely, if you would like to see and take her news of that?"

She raised an eyebrow as she met his eyes, her expression turning curious as she just stared at him for a long moment before ripping her eyes away.

"Lalwen! Aye, what can I do for her, my lord? I am glad to help, if I can. It is for the wedding, yes?"

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nolofinwe
2013-04-25 03:41 am UTC (link)

"Oh, no I should not like to. She must focus on the other aspects of her wedding besides her dresses. We trust in the quality of your work and expect them to be fine pieces of art in and of themselves, Lady Anairë." And it was the truth. The last thing Ñolofinwë wanted to do was remind his sister about clothes when she'd finally turned her mind around to things like food and the celebration as a whole. The entire city would celebrate for days, if not an entire two weeks. They'd celebrate the whole year if Findis could manage to ge them to do so. Ñolofinwë's ears flattened at his own private musings but he shook his head.

"Lalwen--" he struggled again, brows furrowing, "Nay, nay.. I must not lie. And the truth will out I suppose--and so.. I have no reason for coming, and if I did Lalwen would be the least of them. She does not care for such frippery as Findis."

He offered a very brief smile. "But if I am irreparably disturbing your timeline I suppose I might say goodbye and let you return to your work. Else... I might ask you to walk with me."

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anaire
2013-04-25 03:57 am UTC (link)

"I promise you they will be the pinnacle of my achievement. They will be dresses worthy of your sister's beauty, my lord.

Anairë looked at him blankly for a moment, her ears twitching and perking a little in a rather shocked surprise. He was asking her to go for a walk with him? Her? She shivered, glancing quickly at the clock. It was later than she would have liked, but she couldn't say no, even if she wanted to.

Which...she didn't.

She bit her bottom lip as her eyes twinkled, countering the flush in her cheeks.

"I would like that, yes. But I cannot walk for long! I have much work still to do for your sister's wedding. But it would indeed be nice to get some air. And I do need to pick up some mangoes for supper."

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nolofinwe
2013-04-25 04:17 am UTC (link)

He brightened. "Then let us collect mangoes swiftly and afterwards I will return you to your lonely work," he said, throwing his cloak--which had no holes in it, as a note--over his shoulders so that it hung out of his way and didn't hamper his movements as he neared her. Ñolofinwë admired Anairë briefly then offered her his arm, "I think I might guide us both from your home without trouble," as it was unreprentingly small. Small but comfortable, with a very familial charm to it. It lacked the openness of the palace, and the freedom of Tirion proper but not everyone could live in the perfect view.

There were a good many elves that shared their residences, the private family homes were an enigma to Ñolofinwë; the palace housed many, including the regular staff that kept it, and some of the artists that produced the finest work for the palace walls. None of them were discriminating, save perhaps for Findis.

But, joined with the Lady for the moment, Ñolofinwë lead them from her small home and out onto the streets. Let the whispers begin, he didn't care, and it would only serve to heighten the woman's fame amongst the other elves should they so spy them together. Ñolofinwë wasn't worried.

"Do you speak of your own volition or must I keep supplying questions for you to answer?"

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anaire
2013-04-25 04:40 am UTC (link)

Anairë took his arm, which was a strange thing indeed, full of mixed feelings. On a purely selfish level, she had to admit that she liked it. She'd never walked out with a man of any sort before (her brothers certainly didn't count), and she was curious about this grey-eyed son of Finwë. And her arm seemed to fit comfortably against his, as if it were meant to be there. Her heart skipped a beat as she touched him, and her cheeks reddened and her ears tilted as she felt shiver electrically.

But whatever that was, it didn't matter. Nothing would become of this, and if she did anything to offend him, everything she had worked for the past months would be absolutely for naught. So she had to be very careful about what she said and what she did.

She couldn't help but laugh at his last statement, though.

"Of course I speak on my own, my lord. My parents and brothers have often chided me for speaking too much! I do have opinions of my own, most certainly, and I am not afraid of speaking them. But I do not wish to find myself with my head on a pike for offending the prince," she teased, the impish look from the fitting room once brightening her face.

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nolofinwe
2013-04-25 04:50 am UTC (link)

He looked at her, brow quirked in question with a look of offense on his features. "How dare you!" he started, "I would only push you from the cliffs of Taniquetil," he said airily, waving dismissively, "that way we need not worry about fashioning a pike or cleaning up the blood from such gruesome ... death." Death was a weird concept, for only one had ever died and she had shed no blood doing so. Unless one counted the birth of her child the year before she had gone to Mandos permanently.

He brushed it aside.

"Then tell me of yourself. I know only that you are a seamstress of some renown, you keep odd hours as such, and you have a rather impish attitude about you. You are Noldor, judging by your appearance and residence both, and you somehow managed to impress my sister."

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anaire
2013-04-25 05:03 am UTC (link)

"Oh, aye, forgive me, my lord. I should have known that you would not dare make a mess if you took to murdering someone. I apologize for the offense."

Though her words were deadly serious, there was laughter in her eyes, and her slightly pouty lips were barely holding back giggles.

"Indeed I am Ñoldor. My father's father and my mother's father followed your lord father here from Cuiviénen, and we have always since lived here in Tírion. My grandmother was a seamstress, like I am, and the craft has always been in the family. I am the most talented of my siblings, though. Your sister...well, you know that when she became engaged, she sent out a message for all the seamstresses in the city to submit their best work to her to choose. And she chose mine. She did not meet me beforehand, and I fear she might not have chosen me if she did. Many of the others looked far more noble than I do, but I must say that my work was by far the best of all. I put more love and passion into everything I do than those who simply want renown. Because what I do, I do for my family. You see - "

She stopped, reddening a bit, her ears falling a bit. She should not be telling him the story of her family, or how this could make everything so much better for them. She should not make his sister's wedding about her.

"Well, you know how it is. I love to make the dresses and perhaps make your sister's day just a little happier than it already is, looking how lovely she looks."

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nolofinwe
2013-04-25 05:30 am UTC (link)

Ñolofinwë listened to her speak, and it wasn't in that, I'm here walking with you while you ramble, nonsense either. He did listen, but he was disappointed when she trailed off and mentioned his sister again. He furrowed his brows and sort of nodded his head, feeling a disconnect pass between them in the moment. He couldn't contain the mild let down and his ears sort of flattened. She had so much potential but at every turn he found himself questioning the reality he'd imagined in his head when he'd first talked to her.

"Oh," he said, "she is lovely, yes," he added but without much reverence or emphasis. Who didn't know or believe Findis to be a true beauty? Why did so many of them bother wasting words on a thing that everyone already knew anyway? And why did everyone think those were the things that Ñolofinwë wanted to hear? Not even Finwë wanted to be told he was a glorious, benevolent ruler. He already knew it!

Ñolofinwë shook his head again and sighed. "Did you design your own wedding gown?" he ventured after a moment, his attention straying.

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anaire
2013-04-25 05:47 am UTC (link)

Anairë was not aware of that disconnect herself; she felt strangely tuned to this strange, noble elf's moods. But what could she do about it? How could she truly be herself when so much depended on this wedding going perfectly? Ai, but it was making her heart ache to be so dull. Because...that wasn't who she was. And a growing part of her didn't want him to think that was all there was of her.

Her smile faded a little, and she trailed off into silence - a silence she wanted desperately to break. She was relieved when he spoke, but the question made her blush a little.

"No..." she said carefully. "I haven't seen the point. I've never...I've never been much of a romantic. I mean, I suppose when I was very young I used to dream of falling in love and having a big fancy wedding, but as I grew up...well, such things are beyond my means. And I've started to think that maybe I'm supposed to take care of my family, instead of getting married myself. And I don't mind so much. I mean, they're dear to me. And love...isn't for everyone. Not everyone finds someone special, and yet they can still be happy despite that." She trailed off, but this time into her own mind, thoughtfully. "But I always wanted children..." She smiled a bit sadly, but turned back to him with a gentle smile. "But I have nieces and nephews. And that will be good enough."

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