Disclaimer: Tolkien owns. He even owns the ships in this one.
Pairings: Finrod x Amarië, Turgon x Elenwë
Characters: Amarië, Finrod, Elenwë (Turgon, Idril, Finarfin and some random Vanyar mentioned)
Warnings: Canon-compliant AU, flirting, princess hold alert,
Song: Bird's Poem
Words: 1,838
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helping hand (noun): help or assistance
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assistance
Rolling her eyes, Amarië sighed and wondered how long she would be stuck here. She should have known it would be a bad idea to walk on her own, never mind that she had traversed the path leading up to her cousin's humble abode several of times before without mishap.
The elven maiden looked down at her ankle in disgruntlement. The slender joint was just peeking out from beneath the edge of her skirt, and it was already swelling and turning a rather interesting shade of purple. Hopefully she had only twisted it and not done anything worse, or she would be confined to bed for weeks.
Settled in the knowledge that she would be going nowhere until someone walked down the path and found her, Amarië surveyed the wild growth of flowers in the sunshine that dappled the path. Above her, the trees were whispering and waving gently with the breeze, their vibrant leaves veined in the bright light. She tried to relax--maybe if she concentrated on nature long enough, it would not seem like forever before someone found her.
It wasn't working.
She worried her lip and glanced down the path towards the house. It wasn't visible from where she sat; in fact she would probably need to walk another mile or so to reach it. In the other direction lay only the road upon whence she'd been walking for the last two hours and which led back towards Tirion.
When her mother heard about this, she'd never be allowed to visit anyone without an escort again! What would people say? Amarië of the Vanyar, too young and clumsy to even visit relatives without getting herself injured! Oh, just thinking about it made her cheeks tinged a pale rose with embarrassment. She just hoped that whoever found her would be kind enough to keep their mouth shut about the whole event and let her pretend it had never occurred.
"Might I ask why you are sitting on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, my Lady?"
Startled out of her thoughts, Amarië looked up and up into quite possibly the most handsome face she'd ever had the fortune to look upon. And immediately her flush darkened. What a sight she must look!
"I... Oh... I... uh... um... I was just admiring the... uh..."
His eyes were looking straight into hers, brilliant and deep royal blue. They captured and held her attention so easily, for they were filled with intelligence and kindness and appeared very gentle. Added to the good-natured smile and the comely features, he made quite a breathtaking picture. And oh, his hair, golden and falling around his shoulder in thick waves... so dreamy...
"Are you quite all right, my Lady?" he inquired, tugging on his sleeve and looking a touch concerned. It was then, of course, that Amarië realized she'd ceased to speak and had been blatantly staring into his eyes for quite some time without even realizing it.
Mortified, she looked down at her hands curled in her lap and made a valiant effort to ignore the grass-stain that marred her skirt five inches to the left of where her fingers clutched the soft, white fabric. "I, well, that is to say..."
"Is there some way in which I can assist you? Directions, perhaps? Unless you are also on your way to visit Prince Turukáno and Lady Elenwë, in which case I could escort you the rest of the way..." he offered softly. "I mean, if it would please you, of course."
Well, someone had found her, and she didn't want to wait for the next elf to pass this way, because it would likely be this same man on his way back to Tirion, and she really wanted to visit her cousin and see the baby. Besides, if she didn't ask for his assistance, then she might be here until after the mingling of the lights, maybe even longer, and it would be many times more embarrassing were he to come across her in the exact same spot again and think her a simpleton...
"Well, yes, I am, visiting the Lady Elenwë that is," she said quickly, trying not to let her blush worsen. The heat was rising up in her cheeks without her permission anyway. "I seem to have... injured myself..."
"Injured?" he asked, worry plain in his eyes.
"My ankle... I tripped and twisted my ankle, that is all, but I fear I cannot walk..." Oh, she didn't think she could bear to look him in the eyes. What a fool he must think her for coming out here all alone!
The sound of his soft chuckle made her flush deepen and tears prick at her eyes. He was laughing at her! But then he continued with a gentle smile to match his gorgeous eyes, and she forgot. "Well, I would not be much of a gentleman if I left you out here injured and alone, would I?" he said, and offered his outstretched hand and his smile broadened. "Let me help you up."
Tentatively, she grasped the offered hand, so much larger than hers. It was very warm, and felt very nice wrapped around her fingers, very strong. Easily, he aided her to her feet, and without even warning her, his arms slipped beneath her shoulders and knees. Squealing with surprise, she found herself pressed up against his broad chest, flexing arms supporting her weight as he began walking towards the house. Without thinking, Amarië wrapped her arms around his neck and tried not to think about how soft his hair felt on her knuckles.
"Tell me, my Lady, what brings you out to see Lord Turukáno and Lady Elenwë? Are you and Lady Elenwë friends?"
Oh, he was talking to her. Hoping her voice didn't sound too strained or weak, she managed to stutter out that Elenwë was her cousin and that she was visiting to see the baby, little Itarillë.
"What a coincidence, that is my errand as well," he told her, and he was smiling down at her again and Amarië was beginning to feel a bit warm and dizzy... "Lord Turukáno is my cousin, you see. We are friends, and he invited me out here to show off his daughter. I find myself a bit jealous, actually. I love children, but haven't any of my own."
Not a father... Oh, is he married? How improper it would be to be carried by a married man like this... And what a shame it would be! Amarië could not help but bury her face against his shoulder at the last thought. She shouldn't even think such a forward thing about a complete stranger, never mind that he was clearly of noble lineage being related to Lord Turukáno and any woman in her right mind would be thinking the very same thing.
"Are you staying long?" she asked, biting her lip before adding, "Surely your family would miss you."
"I live by myself, so no one in my humble abode will be missing me, and I'm sure my brothers would love to be rid of me for a few days in any case," he replied. "And you, my Lady?"
"I... I still live with my parents..." she whispered. "I promised I would be careful, and my mother let me visit on my own. I think I'll be scolded if she finds out about this."
The stranger smirked and winked. "Worry not, my Lady. I shall tell no one. It will be our little secret, yes?"
"Y-yes..." When he did that it made him so playfully roguish looking. And he wasn't married if he lived alone. Maybe... Oh, but she shouldn't linger on such things! "Yes, my Lord... uh... You haven't told me your name..."
"Forgive me. I am Findaráto Arafinwion, my Lady. Tell me who I have had the pleasure of acquainting this fine afternoon?"
"Amarië," she told him, though now that she knew his name she also knew how he was related to her cousin's husband. The heir of the King's third son. Not in the line of succession, certainly, but hardly a poor match. And he was so very kind to her as well. She did not think her father would deny him permission to court her should he request it. But surely it was too soon to be thinking such things...
"May the stars shine upon our meeting, Lady Amarië," he said, inclining his head.
It was then that the house came into view, and Amarië actually felt a little disappointed at the sight, for that meant that Findaráto would be able to put her down and she actually found his embrace to be rather comfortable.
But then she saw Elenwë standing on the doorstep, watching them with slightly widened eyes, and oh how embarrassing to be caught in the arms of a nearly complete stranger!
Their eyes met, and her cousin gave her a look, one that Amarië knew all too well. An idea had gotten into her sweet cousin's head, and while Elenwë was gentle and caring, Amarië knew she could also be a stubborn woman. And she always got her way.
"I see both of our guests have arrived. I hope I do not have to introduce you," Elenwë said as she greeted them at the bottom of the steps.
"Lord Findaráto was kind enough to lend me a helping hand. I am afraid I may be confined to a chair for the rest of the evening. My ankle is in quite a state," Amarië explained, her voice a bit rushed. "It was very kind of him."
"And no trouble at all," her new acquaintance (and the handsomest elf she'd ever met) replied, and she thought his cheeks might be a little flushed as he set her down and held a hand to her back to make sure she didn't lose her balance and fall. He didn't release her immediately, but bowed and brushed a kiss against her knuckles, sending warm breath over her pale skin (and a small, pleasant shudder down her back). "I am more than happy to assist such a lovely Lady whenever she might call upon my aid."
Before she could stop herself, Amarië let out a giggle behind her hand, wondering if she must look like a maiden just past her majority meeting a handsome man for the first time with the way she blushed and twittered. "Why thank you, kind Sir."
"Well, why don't you come inside and see Itarillë, cousin," Elenwë said suddenly, wrapping an arm around Amarië's waist and carefully guiding her up the steps, away from the golden-haired prince. Sly blue eyes glanced back over their shoulders, and Amarië knew for sure now that her cousin was definitely up to something, especially when she added, "Are you going to join us, Findaráto?" and smiled in Amarië's direction with a subtle wink.
If that something involved matchmaking... well, Amarië was hardly one to complain.
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How fluffy. Please don't think of Amarië as an airheaded ninny or anything. I think any woman would become a bit flustered when confronted with Finrod in the flesh. As for being concerned with reputation, well, she is a young woman in the court of Ingwë... And I love Elenwë already even though I completely made her up on the spot. I should write about the women more often; they need more love from the fan-base.
In any case, I had fun with this. The song I was listening to is very light and goes well with the peacefulness of the scene. Bird's Poem by TAMUSIC and from Air TV. It's a lovely violin and piano piece. It's a good thing it's so fluffy, because the anime I'm watching now is not being fluffy at the moment. Utawarerumono is awesome, but it can get a bit on the dark side. It's one of the few anime that I've watched in which I don't hate every female character who appears (and believe me, there are a crap ton of them in Utawarerumono, because it was originally an erotic RPG video game of some sort, I believe; the anime is less about the sex and more about the plot).
And, because I can: Finrod (look at those abs *sighs*), Elenwë and Amarië by ~Righon on dA, just because I can. There's also a picture of Finrod and Amarië cuddling somewhere in that gallery.
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