Going Home (to a place we’ve never been before.) Chapter Twenty One; Finding the Balance.
Almost finished! This is the next to last chapter of the tale ☺️ ☺️ ☺️
Going Home (to a place we’ve never been before.)
Chapter Twenty One; Finding the Balance.
Words; 2575
Neither Naltatamë nor a messenger arrived later that day or the next. Whether Iltatamë was courting the twins as Ithilienne had suggested, or not, nobody knew as all three had spent part of that next day, it being fairly calm, out on the bay in a small sailing skiff with Eärendil. This had the advantage of introducing Iltatamë to both their other grandfather and the sea, whilst away from curious onlookers.
What they did in the privacy of their own rooms at night was, of course, open to a great deal of speculation, but anyone who lived or worked in the main house remained tight-lipped on the subject.
The third day after the solstice celebrations a figure rode into the courtyard around mid-day. It was not Naltatamë.
The messenger who arrived with many letters for Celeborn, Elladan, Elrohir and Iltatamë was, of course, one of the Galadhrim. Within very little time Gladhedon was sitting at their table sharing food, wine, and all the Galadhrim gossip with his old friend Rumil and his wife. Tindómë reckoned they were probably up to speed faster than the recipients of the letters, who would have had to read them and, probably, compare notes to get the full picture.
By the time Legolas arrived, tipped off by Ithilienne, Tindómë was able to give him a simple resume of the important bits.
“So, short version… King Arafinwë sent a polite invitation saying he would like to meet Naltatamë as he had seen some of her work… invitation declined, presumably by her mother. Then he sent more of a command to come to the palace, this time her mother comes in person to say that Naltatamë is indisposed. But, whilst the mother is at court, Her Ladyship sent some official type person round to the house, who insisted on speaking to her. Gladhedon says he heard, from a very good source of course, that the housekeeper thought Naltatamë was being hidden by her mother because the King might force her into a relationship with the Els…
“Naltatamë tells King Arafinwë she is happy in Master Elrond’s household, any possible relationship with Elladan or Elrohir is as much her choice as theirs - his great-grandsons are honourable ellyn and their behaviour has always been most correct. That bit accompanied, by the way, by an eye-roll from Gladhedon and the comment that, of course, their behaviour in matters of the hröar would be correct - they have had many years to practice and hone their skills to perfection.
“The King says it is clearly a ‘misunderstanding’ between mother and daughter… Gladhedon says this is purely to save the mother public embarrassment; the King was not born yesterday. Her Ladyship suggests Naltatamë might like to stay with her presently, and no mention is made at any point of Iltatamë’s existence, although those who know, know, of course.
“Gladhedon says that Her Ladyship wants to better know any elleth who can so fascinate her grandsons, and so do the King and Queen which, so much easier if she’s a guest of their daughter. Not to mention, of course the entire horde of Galadhrim who live on the estate these days wanting a look at her. Oh, and Naltatamë seems more than happy to hang out with Her Ladyship for a while; nice place, nice forge, and it gives her sister a chance to get to know the Els and make her own mind up about them.
“Current odds amongst the Galadhrim are very poor for those wagering on the two sets of twins thing. Gladhedon is happy - he took a long shot on the Els meeting a pair of twins, just after they first arrived, and has excellent odds.”
At this point Tindómë paused, for the first time. But before Legolas could comment, or ask questions, she spoke again.
“Honestly, I was much too slow - I so should have wagered on the possibility before they even got here!”
She did not mention that Rumil was not in the house as he had left, with a grin, to make wagers on what the news from Tirion might be with one or two newer members of Master Elrond’s household, who were unaware of his major Galadhrim connections…
……………………………………
They had talked. The two evenings and nights before the messenger arrived, they had talked and talked. All three spoke of their parents, their upbringing (so different in some ways, so similar in others), and about having a twin, part of your fëa shared from your begetting, a bond that must surely be no less close than the soul-bond of those who married. For the first time all three could talk to someone else who understood.
Elladan and Elrohir wished they had had such a conversation with Naltatamë months ago. It hurt a little, although they understood why she had said nothing until she had been able to speak to her own twin.
They talked of their families. Naltatamë knew their parents well, of course, and Grandmother a little already from her visits to Alqualondë. In fact Grandmother’s letter to them had said that her main reason for suggesting Naltatamë stay with her, and their parents, was to allow her grandsons time to get to know Iltatamë, in the way they already knew her sister, if that was what they all wanted.
Iltatamë, on the other hand, having only seen Grandmother at her most commanding and imperious, was probably glad that she was getting to know their other three grandparents better instead.
Knowing that everything was well with Naltatamë was a relief for all three, even though the Elrondionath had not doubted for a moment that Grandmother would easily get Haru and Haruni to do as she suggested, and that they would not be easily convinced that Naltatamë was remaining in her parents’ home entirely of her own volition.
At the casual mention of Haru and Haruni Iltatamë looked slightly troubled.
“I really find it strange that you two are direct family of the King and Queen, and yet…”
“And yet what?” Elrohir asked.
“And yet we feel like equals,” she said slowly.
“Iltatamë,” Elladan said. “Never think either your sister or yourself are anything less than our equals. Naltatamë already knows this, I believe. And if it is written into the music that your fëar are destined to sing with ours, be sure that no-one in any part of our family would ever think of you as in any way ‘less’.”
And for a moment he was taken back to a long ago conversation with Éomer, who had wanted to be sure that Rumil was seriously planning to bind to Tindómë. Éomer, who had worried that, as not fully elven, she might actually be ‘no more than a toy to you all. A year or two’s entertainment to be discarded later.’ And he wondered, briefly, if such a possibility really might have coloured Naltatamë’s mother’s attitude to his brother and himself.
Iltatamë continued looking at him seriously for a few seconds more. Then she shook herself slightly and said, “I know I said that I would feel guilty enjoying myself physically with either, or both, of you until I knew Nal was free to join us. And, whilst I know she is not likely to be here straight away, I think that if she told your Grandmother she was leaving today to come and join us, or if we all turned up at your Grandparents home to join her, there would be no objections.
“So, I believe it might be time for you to introduce me to the pleasures of starlight bathing… And my sister told me that if I look very closely I might find the outward difference between the two of you.”
A message arrived at Tindómë and Rumil’s house for Legolas a little later.
Legolas, a favour, please. Would you ask your folk to leave the upper bathing pool free this evening? Normally, of course, we would be happy to share it but, knowing how much interest there will be, we fear it may become so crowded that we would need to charge admission.
Also, please tell your future betrothed she was right. Just in case there was a wager on who might be courting who by this point.
……………………………….
The night was clear. It really was starlight bathing. In fact, the distant stars in an almost moonless sky made Elladan think of Naltatamë’s net of diamonds that she wore in her hair for celebrations.
During the hours in which they had done nothing but talk, he had asked Iltatamë if she had a similar star net for her hair, as he knew Naltatamë’s had been a piece made to display her delicate handling of metal and jewels to gain her mastery.
“Similar, but not the same,” she had answered. “Naneth asked Adar to make me one as she likes us to ‘match’. But Nal had put herself into hers, and Adar felt it wrong to copy it exactly, and so he made mine to include work by me. I made small stars in glass, faceted to catch the light, and he made them into a net like hers.”
“Useful to know,” Elladan had said, “but I already feel as if I would not need to look at your hair to know which ‘you’ you are.”
Elrohir had agreed.
And now, even as they undressed by moonlight and began to rub the scented oils into each other’s skin, Elladan realised there were subtle differences in the two ellyth’s hröar.
Iltatamë was a little more slender; working with glass had not built quite as much muscle as working with hammer and tongs. And just as he knew that he had a swordsman’s calluses that were not the same as those of bowmen, so the touch of Iltatamë’s fingers was not quite the same as that of her sister.
They spent a long time getting to know what felt good, what made any one of the three gasp a little in pleasure, or tilt their body into the touch. For the ellyn it was interesting to discover where this elleth’s reactions matched her twin, and where they were uniquely hers. She was learning the same about them.
As she ran a finger down each of the lines of fine hair that were, literally, the root of that small outward difference, the sound of other voices drifted up from the lower, saltwater, pool.
“I am glad that we have this pool to ourselves tonight,” Iltatamë said. “It was kind of Legolas to make sure we did not have an audience, as I would think there will have been quite a few wagers on which of us do what…”
Elladan and Elrohir exchanged glances and Elrohir raised an eyebrow slightly as if to say ‘Should we tell her?’ Elladan smiled and spoke.
“Our friend’s folk are wood elves… they can move silently through the trees, and remain hidden where any of we three might be discovered. You can be certain that someone will be up there,” he gestured to the dark trees just a little back from the pool, “making notes. Unless it is Rumil. Then there will not only be notes but a pictorial record.”
He wondered what her reaction would be.
She laughed, tipped her face towards the trees, where all was still and silent, and said “Rumil, if it is you we would really like to see the pictures!”
………………………
Over the next week or two no illustrations of that long evening of starlight bathing were forthcoming, so it seemed it had not been Rumil in the trees. There had been no attempts to deny that money had been changing hands the next morning though, or that the outcomes of many of the wagers were based on observation not speculation.
The twins had introduced her to many of their friends that first night, during the solstice celebrations. Now those friends took time to get to know her - as herself. Grandmother’s ‘suggestion’ that Naltatamë spend a little time on her estate outside Tirion was exactly right, they realised.
Time spent getting to know each other’s hröar better was certainly enjoyable. Elladan was interested to note that Iltatamë’s breasts were not as sensitive as her sister’s; in the middle of such pleasures one only had to suck briefly on Naltatamë’s nipples and then blow gently across them to bring her to, or over, the edge of flight. Iltatamë’s reacted better to nibbling or even gentle biting.
On the other hand, even tracing patterns with a finger on her backside caused her to arch and moan more readily than her sister. She was also learning their own slightly different reactions and preferences.
Iltatamë could, as they had all three realised during their very first conversation, overhear the two ellyn when they spoke silently to each other just as easily as her sister did.
All three began to recognise a sense of inevitability to the deepening of the relationship between them. Whether all three were together, or it was simply Elladan or Elrohir and Iltatamë, there was, however, none of the sense of imbalance that there had been as they got closer and closer to Naltatamë.
One evening, when Iltatamë had been invited to a ‘girls’ night, by Eleniel, Sérëdhiel, Tindómë and one or two others, all promising to tell her stories about Elladan and Elrohir that they would not tell her themselves, the twins in question talked to each other about the better sense of balance.
Did it mean Iltatamë was really the elleth their fëar would sing with, and not Naltatamë?
No, both decided almost as soon as they considered it. Both agreed that there was no longer the sense of imbalance, the feeling that if you were to turn, or look behind you, there should be someone there. But, then, they did not feel like that when one of them was ‘swayed’ by others without the participation of their twin; the desires of the body were as much fun without each other as with, just different.
They did wonder whether, as the sense of imbalance had only begun after they had been in Lord Aulë’s domain for a couple of months, he had been, quietly, matchmaking. Perhaps he already knew that their part in the Great Music was with the other pair of twins. They had suspected previously that he ensured that Naltatamë met them; her becoming part of their parents’ household had been his suggestion after all.
Elladan remembered her blushing and saying, “I thought it was only me,” at the mention of imbalance between them; she was almost certainly feeling a little guilty at not, at least, mentioning Iltatamë. As Iltatamë was also under his patronage, although a different sort of smith, Lord Aulë would have known as much about her thread in the Great Music… perhaps he had enhanced the feeling that someone was missing to nudge Naltatamë to tell them of her twin’s existence. They were unlikely to ever know, but it amused them to think of The Great Smith as a romantic.
In the end it really was not important. The three who were now together simply knew that their fourth was elsewhere, but would join them (and with them…) sometime. In the meantime they would spend time together, and when they were reunited with Naltatamë they could feel just how the balance would work; whether they would naturally fall into two distinct couples - or not.
Going Home (to a place we’ve never been before.)
Chapter Twenty One; Finding the Balance.
Words; 2575
Neither Naltatamë nor a messenger arrived later that day or the next. Whether Iltatamë was courting the twins as Ithilienne had suggested, or not, nobody knew as all three had spent part of that next day, it being fairly calm, out on the bay in a small sailing skiff with Eärendil. This had the advantage of introducing Iltatamë to both their other grandfather and the sea, whilst away from curious onlookers.
What they did in the privacy of their own rooms at night was, of course, open to a great deal of speculation, but anyone who lived or worked in the main house remained tight-lipped on the subject.
The third day after the solstice celebrations a figure rode into the courtyard around mid-day. It was not Naltatamë.
The messenger who arrived with many letters for Celeborn, Elladan, Elrohir and Iltatamë was, of course, one of the Galadhrim. Within very little time Gladhedon was sitting at their table sharing food, wine, and all the Galadhrim gossip with his old friend Rumil and his wife. Tindómë reckoned they were probably up to speed faster than the recipients of the letters, who would have had to read them and, probably, compare notes to get the full picture.
By the time Legolas arrived, tipped off by Ithilienne, Tindómë was able to give him a simple resume of the important bits.
“So, short version… King Arafinwë sent a polite invitation saying he would like to meet Naltatamë as he had seen some of her work… invitation declined, presumably by her mother. Then he sent more of a command to come to the palace, this time her mother comes in person to say that Naltatamë is indisposed. But, whilst the mother is at court, Her Ladyship sent some official type person round to the house, who insisted on speaking to her. Gladhedon says he heard, from a very good source of course, that the housekeeper thought Naltatamë was being hidden by her mother because the King might force her into a relationship with the Els…
“Naltatamë tells King Arafinwë she is happy in Master Elrond’s household, any possible relationship with Elladan or Elrohir is as much her choice as theirs - his great-grandsons are honourable ellyn and their behaviour has always been most correct. That bit accompanied, by the way, by an eye-roll from Gladhedon and the comment that, of course, their behaviour in matters of the hröar would be correct - they have had many years to practice and hone their skills to perfection.
“The King says it is clearly a ‘misunderstanding’ between mother and daughter… Gladhedon says this is purely to save the mother public embarrassment; the King was not born yesterday. Her Ladyship suggests Naltatamë might like to stay with her presently, and no mention is made at any point of Iltatamë’s existence, although those who know, know, of course.
“Gladhedon says that Her Ladyship wants to better know any elleth who can so fascinate her grandsons, and so do the King and Queen which, so much easier if she’s a guest of their daughter. Not to mention, of course the entire horde of Galadhrim who live on the estate these days wanting a look at her. Oh, and Naltatamë seems more than happy to hang out with Her Ladyship for a while; nice place, nice forge, and it gives her sister a chance to get to know the Els and make her own mind up about them.
“Current odds amongst the Galadhrim are very poor for those wagering on the two sets of twins thing. Gladhedon is happy - he took a long shot on the Els meeting a pair of twins, just after they first arrived, and has excellent odds.”
At this point Tindómë paused, for the first time. But before Legolas could comment, or ask questions, she spoke again.
“Honestly, I was much too slow - I so should have wagered on the possibility before they even got here!”
She did not mention that Rumil was not in the house as he had left, with a grin, to make wagers on what the news from Tirion might be with one or two newer members of Master Elrond’s household, who were unaware of his major Galadhrim connections…
……………………………………
They had talked. The two evenings and nights before the messenger arrived, they had talked and talked. All three spoke of their parents, their upbringing (so different in some ways, so similar in others), and about having a twin, part of your fëa shared from your begetting, a bond that must surely be no less close than the soul-bond of those who married. For the first time all three could talk to someone else who understood.
Elladan and Elrohir wished they had had such a conversation with Naltatamë months ago. It hurt a little, although they understood why she had said nothing until she had been able to speak to her own twin.
They talked of their families. Naltatamë knew their parents well, of course, and Grandmother a little already from her visits to Alqualondë. In fact Grandmother’s letter to them had said that her main reason for suggesting Naltatamë stay with her, and their parents, was to allow her grandsons time to get to know Iltatamë, in the way they already knew her sister, if that was what they all wanted.
Iltatamë, on the other hand, having only seen Grandmother at her most commanding and imperious, was probably glad that she was getting to know their other three grandparents better instead.
Knowing that everything was well with Naltatamë was a relief for all three, even though the Elrondionath had not doubted for a moment that Grandmother would easily get Haru and Haruni to do as she suggested, and that they would not be easily convinced that Naltatamë was remaining in her parents’ home entirely of her own volition.
At the casual mention of Haru and Haruni Iltatamë looked slightly troubled.
“I really find it strange that you two are direct family of the King and Queen, and yet…”
“And yet what?” Elrohir asked.
“And yet we feel like equals,” she said slowly.
“Iltatamë,” Elladan said. “Never think either your sister or yourself are anything less than our equals. Naltatamë already knows this, I believe. And if it is written into the music that your fëar are destined to sing with ours, be sure that no-one in any part of our family would ever think of you as in any way ‘less’.”
And for a moment he was taken back to a long ago conversation with Éomer, who had wanted to be sure that Rumil was seriously planning to bind to Tindómë. Éomer, who had worried that, as not fully elven, she might actually be ‘no more than a toy to you all. A year or two’s entertainment to be discarded later.’ And he wondered, briefly, if such a possibility really might have coloured Naltatamë’s mother’s attitude to his brother and himself.
Iltatamë continued looking at him seriously for a few seconds more. Then she shook herself slightly and said, “I know I said that I would feel guilty enjoying myself physically with either, or both, of you until I knew Nal was free to join us. And, whilst I know she is not likely to be here straight away, I think that if she told your Grandmother she was leaving today to come and join us, or if we all turned up at your Grandparents home to join her, there would be no objections.
“So, I believe it might be time for you to introduce me to the pleasures of starlight bathing… And my sister told me that if I look very closely I might find the outward difference between the two of you.”
A message arrived at Tindómë and Rumil’s house for Legolas a little later.
Legolas, a favour, please. Would you ask your folk to leave the upper bathing pool free this evening? Normally, of course, we would be happy to share it but, knowing how much interest there will be, we fear it may become so crowded that we would need to charge admission.
Also, please tell your future betrothed she was right. Just in case there was a wager on who might be courting who by this point.
……………………………….
The night was clear. It really was starlight bathing. In fact, the distant stars in an almost moonless sky made Elladan think of Naltatamë’s net of diamonds that she wore in her hair for celebrations.
During the hours in which they had done nothing but talk, he had asked Iltatamë if she had a similar star net for her hair, as he knew Naltatamë’s had been a piece made to display her delicate handling of metal and jewels to gain her mastery.
“Similar, but not the same,” she had answered. “Naneth asked Adar to make me one as she likes us to ‘match’. But Nal had put herself into hers, and Adar felt it wrong to copy it exactly, and so he made mine to include work by me. I made small stars in glass, faceted to catch the light, and he made them into a net like hers.”
“Useful to know,” Elladan had said, “but I already feel as if I would not need to look at your hair to know which ‘you’ you are.”
Elrohir had agreed.
And now, even as they undressed by moonlight and began to rub the scented oils into each other’s skin, Elladan realised there were subtle differences in the two ellyth’s hröar.
Iltatamë was a little more slender; working with glass had not built quite as much muscle as working with hammer and tongs. And just as he knew that he had a swordsman’s calluses that were not the same as those of bowmen, so the touch of Iltatamë’s fingers was not quite the same as that of her sister.
They spent a long time getting to know what felt good, what made any one of the three gasp a little in pleasure, or tilt their body into the touch. For the ellyn it was interesting to discover where this elleth’s reactions matched her twin, and where they were uniquely hers. She was learning the same about them.
As she ran a finger down each of the lines of fine hair that were, literally, the root of that small outward difference, the sound of other voices drifted up from the lower, saltwater, pool.
“I am glad that we have this pool to ourselves tonight,” Iltatamë said. “It was kind of Legolas to make sure we did not have an audience, as I would think there will have been quite a few wagers on which of us do what…”
Elladan and Elrohir exchanged glances and Elrohir raised an eyebrow slightly as if to say ‘Should we tell her?’ Elladan smiled and spoke.
“Our friend’s folk are wood elves… they can move silently through the trees, and remain hidden where any of we three might be discovered. You can be certain that someone will be up there,” he gestured to the dark trees just a little back from the pool, “making notes. Unless it is Rumil. Then there will not only be notes but a pictorial record.”
He wondered what her reaction would be.
She laughed, tipped her face towards the trees, where all was still and silent, and said “Rumil, if it is you we would really like to see the pictures!”
………………………
Over the next week or two no illustrations of that long evening of starlight bathing were forthcoming, so it seemed it had not been Rumil in the trees. There had been no attempts to deny that money had been changing hands the next morning though, or that the outcomes of many of the wagers were based on observation not speculation.
The twins had introduced her to many of their friends that first night, during the solstice celebrations. Now those friends took time to get to know her - as herself. Grandmother’s ‘suggestion’ that Naltatamë spend a little time on her estate outside Tirion was exactly right, they realised.
Time spent getting to know each other’s hröar better was certainly enjoyable. Elladan was interested to note that Iltatamë’s breasts were not as sensitive as her sister’s; in the middle of such pleasures one only had to suck briefly on Naltatamë’s nipples and then blow gently across them to bring her to, or over, the edge of flight. Iltatamë’s reacted better to nibbling or even gentle biting.
On the other hand, even tracing patterns with a finger on her backside caused her to arch and moan more readily than her sister. She was also learning their own slightly different reactions and preferences.
Iltatamë could, as they had all three realised during their very first conversation, overhear the two ellyn when they spoke silently to each other just as easily as her sister did.
All three began to recognise a sense of inevitability to the deepening of the relationship between them. Whether all three were together, or it was simply Elladan or Elrohir and Iltatamë, there was, however, none of the sense of imbalance that there had been as they got closer and closer to Naltatamë.
One evening, when Iltatamë had been invited to a ‘girls’ night, by Eleniel, Sérëdhiel, Tindómë and one or two others, all promising to tell her stories about Elladan and Elrohir that they would not tell her themselves, the twins in question talked to each other about the better sense of balance.
Did it mean Iltatamë was really the elleth their fëar would sing with, and not Naltatamë?
No, both decided almost as soon as they considered it. Both agreed that there was no longer the sense of imbalance, the feeling that if you were to turn, or look behind you, there should be someone there. But, then, they did not feel like that when one of them was ‘swayed’ by others without the participation of their twin; the desires of the body were as much fun without each other as with, just different.
They did wonder whether, as the sense of imbalance had only begun after they had been in Lord Aulë’s domain for a couple of months, he had been, quietly, matchmaking. Perhaps he already knew that their part in the Great Music was with the other pair of twins. They had suspected previously that he ensured that Naltatamë met them; her becoming part of their parents’ household had been his suggestion after all.
Elladan remembered her blushing and saying, “I thought it was only me,” at the mention of imbalance between them; she was almost certainly feeling a little guilty at not, at least, mentioning Iltatamë. As Iltatamë was also under his patronage, although a different sort of smith, Lord Aulë would have known as much about her thread in the Great Music… perhaps he had enhanced the feeling that someone was missing to nudge Naltatamë to tell them of her twin’s existence. They were unlikely to ever know, but it amused them to think of The Great Smith as a romantic.
In the end it really was not important. The three who were now together simply knew that their fourth was elsewhere, but would join them (and with them…) sometime. In the meantime they would spend time together, and when they were reunited with Naltatamë they could feel just how the balance would work; whether they would naturally fall into two distinct couples - or not.