Single Handedly - - Chapter 10

Title: Single Handedly
Genre: Romance, Angst
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Maedhros/OFC
Time: First Age 346 – Fourth Age
Chapter(s): 10/?
Chapter Summary: Kalin spoke softly to her warrior. "Your sword be swift." Clear eyes followed him long after the thick forest concealed his figure and she gazed on with silent prayers for his protection.
Author: Codi Lyn (a.k.a. i_luv_obiwan91)
Disclaimer: J.R.R. Tolkien and his family are the sole owners of his works including the Silmarillion and his Lord of the Rings series. I'm just inspired by his works and thought of different ways for different things to end as another option. It's his music; I'm just playing it on a ukulele, not a guitar. ಠ_ಠ

Chapter Ten – It May Be Our Words Become Lost

With a heart lightened by his mother's counsel, Maedhros resumed his daily routine and chores around the fort as he had always done. When he trained and rode green horses within and without the walls, he often took Kalin with him upon Rúnyadal as she grew more confident in the saddle, assisting and directing her only as needed. Her beauty seemed to grow with the pace of their relationship and each day was completed with a step in the right direction.
Mîrluiniel delighted in observing him spar with the soldiers, sweat pouring off his determined brow as he bested them, both with blade and hand to hand. Quick and strong, he would sometimes challenge up to half a dozen of his elves, weaving between them as if it were a deadly dance. As he finished one of these matches, she came to the roped-off pin and met him with a skin of cool water.
"I see you've anticipated me, my lady. I thank you." He took it from her with a bow of his head and emptied it with but a few draughts.
"A need not difficult to foresee, my lord, you work exceptionally hard on the field. It's impressive."
He laughed easily and wiped the drops of sweat from his eyes before nodding to a small group of elflings playing and watching the other soldiers spar. "I appreciate your compliment. Usually our only audience is the children. But that is well, most of them I will teach on this same field ere long." Kalin followed his gaze and smiled at them as a few waved to her. Maedhros' focus changed to her, however, as her eyes softened to the little ones attentively pointing out their fathers and relations to each other among the elves. He smiled. "You've grown quite attached to them, and they to you, since your arrival here." The captain remarked and she turned to him with a comely blush.
"I admit I have. And I was happy to hear from Celebrimbor, who sent me a message I received this morning. His printing was only just legible, but it seems Curufin has been teaching him some smith-work. I think he will excel at it."
Maedhros smirked and shook his head. "I'm certain he will, such talent runs in his blood."
The comment heightened her curiosity and she chanced to inquire. "Were you very skilled in metal-craft?"
He looked down. "My own skill is not worth mentioning. My brothers are much more worthy of the art, and always have been." Memories came to him of when his father brought each son to the fire of his smithy. For Curufin, it was coming full-circle through the teaching of his son. With a deep breath and instinctive desire for a new conversation, Maedhros looked up to Kalin and caught her eyeing him carefully.
"I'm sorry if I brought up a tender subject…" She began an apology but he waved her off before she could finish.
"No, do not think of it. I've turned a blind eye to too many things in my past. It does not always bring me pain to remember." He grinned then, encouraging her not to be sorry for something so insignificant. Receiving her radiant smile in return, he bowed his head once more in respect and gave her back the skin, backing away to retrieve his sword once again.
Remethiel approached the maiden as she stood admiring their swordplay and linked her arm within Kalin's. Leaning close, the elleth murmured to her. "Ah, my dear, he is smitten with you."
Blushing, Kalin turned her back on the sparring field and beamed brightly for her friend, releasing a little of the excitement that filled her every time Maedhros met her gaze. "I don't know what's changed in him, but it's been for the best. It's as if he's finally conquered whatever inhibition there was separating us."
"Well, there's certainly nothing in his way now." Remethiel looked past her to where the men fought, glancing to Kalin with a smirk. "He's looking for you."
Light in her eyes, the elleth turned her head and caught his emerald eyes looking back at hers, softening when they found their mark. "I really do care for him, Remethiel." She confided, watching him as he instructed an edhel on proper stance, inadvertently displaying his powerfully muscled back through a sweat-clinging tunic.
The mother of two grinned beside her and nudged in jest. "And of course it's no sin that he's more attractive than any Vala, either." Kalin burst into giggles with a crimson color that crept to the very points of her ears. No doubt Maedhros had heard the sudden cry of laughter, and for that reason Remethiel took the elleth by her arm and led them away before a second wave of embarrassment could be delivered.

From the time of the spring festival it had been two months; well now into warmth and growing, but still with the wariness of frost before the fullest bloom. Maedhros was to ride to the Marches on the next morning and was gathering necessities for the duration of his patrol when Maglor strode purposefully into the room, decked with bow, quiver, and blade. "Don't bother with those, Maedhros, you won't be needing them."
The elder looked his brother over quickly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going in place of you. By staying through the winter, you did me the dishonor of taking my watch. I'm taking yours, brother." Maedhros made to argue but Maglor put his hand in restraint upon him and silenced the rebuttal early. "Russandol, I have not been blind while I have been silent. You have a greater purpose for remaining than I." Receiving a perplexed expression, Maglor smirked and slapped his brother's neck in good humor. "I am happy for you. Kalin is a rare blessing."
The younger son turned and made for the door, halted only by his sibling's voice behind him. "Thank you, Kano." With a moment's pause and bow, the second born left the room and walked through two more halls before he came to another chamber, once claimed by his brother and captain. Hesitating for only an instant in contemplation of how he should conduct himself, Maglor knocked gently on the door with gauntlet-clad knuckles.
After a moment, it was opened to reveal Kalin in a simple nightgown and damp curls hanging wildly about her face. He smiled to see her, but she furrowed her fair brow at his state of dress. "Where are you going?" She asked, a tone of distress in her voice.
"I'm riding for the March tonight, I wanted to see you before I left."
The young maiden shook her head. "But Maedhros…"
"I'm going."
Her head tilted, finding him out through the manner in which he answered. "Are you doing this for us?"
He took her hand in his and pressed it so that he could just feel her through his leather gloves, finally looking to her beautiful eyes with meaning. "I'm doing this for you." Her gaze changed and he bowed with a somber 'fare well' before striding back down the hall and away from her doorway. But Kalin did not long stand frozen in place, and ran afterwards to catch him up, throwing her arms around his neck in an embrace of gratitude. Maglor tensed in her hold and took her by the shoulders to push gently away. "Mîrluiniel, please don't… Do not lay these attentions on me. There is another who should be receiving your affection now." He turned away reluctantly and left, finally escaping her sight as he turned the corner.

The days in Himring passed more peaceably than Mîrluiniel had expected as a whole upon hearing all the dangers of living in the north, being so far east and therefore closer to evil things. Thus with no incident, she grew at ease and rather ignorant of such potential threats, enjoying completely the time Maedhros spent with her every day.
She quickly regained her skill and learned new ways of riding and horsemanship under his careful tutelage and the good training of Rúnyadal's patience. "I am proud of this brute." Maedhros spoke as he rubbed the stallion's neck one day in appreciation. "Rúnya was never so docile for me as he is when you are upon his back." Sitting high where he indicated, Kalin laughed and stroked the animal's neck likewise in praise. "Perhaps it is just an elleth's touch." The captain remarked conclusively and met the lady's gaze with a smile, soft, but significant, as every sign of pleasure from such a lord was. Maedhros never smiled at her, it seemed, without a meaning behind it for her to discern and smile back at.
Pilindiel soon came running up to the Noldo with rosy cheeks and a sweet smile, calling out to him. His laugh was warm as he scooped her up into his arms and held her against his chest. "Where is your sister, young one?"
He asked, and the little raven-haired child grinned proudly before rushing an answer and getting to her own news. "She's with naneth. Guess what!"
The edhel shared a humorous glance with the maiden above him and played the elfling's game. "What?"
Pili waved at Kalin for a distracted moment before turning back to Maedhros and clapping her small hands on his shoulders. "Naneth and atar said I'm going to be a big sister! Naneth's to have a baby!" Kalin was immediately glad for such a blessing, but also saw Maedhros' initial reaction and could not help but be puzzled by it. It was brief, for the child's sake no doubt, but it was an expression of regret and sorrow. He soon put on a visage of happiness and mirth and congratulated Pili on her 'promotion' in the family before offering a ride and lifting her to Kalin's lap. Leading them on with his face turned away, Mîrluiniel could see how his body language portrayed his true thoughts, causing her to wonder why such an exciting thing as the expectation of a new life occasioned this somber response.
Maedhros took Pili around the court enough to see, and be seen by, her friends before he carried the lass down and told her to go play. Turning to Kalin, he then assisted her down from her seat, mounting upon his horse and hastily explaining to her. "I'm going for a ride."
He began to turn away but she stayed him, gaining his attention with her grasp on his ankle. "May I go with you?" She waited for him to say 'no' as he hesitated, unsure whether he wanted anyone present when he needed to counsel in thought and regroup within himself.
To any other elf he would have refused without a second thought; but another look at this elleth he had so grown to care for, and his hand reached for her of its own accord. Giving him her left arm, he pulled her up behind him deftly. Kalin's arms wrapped around his torso and he murmured for her to 'hold on' before urging Rúnyadal into a gallop, fleeing past the walls of the keep swiftly.
Mîrluiniel kept quiet as they rode and held tight to him, breathing in his scent of leather and sweat that remained from breaking in a young horse that morning. They wove through the trees south of Himring, the wind chasing and trying to grab at them through dipping boughs and stirred up leaves. Though the sun was noon-high, it was hidden behind blown-in clouds and a grey sky above new greens in the canopy.
Rúnyadal slowed to a trot through some tall sycamores and they came to the same waterfall that Maglor had showed her in the winter, beautiful in every season, she was certain. There seemed no doubt that Maedhros came her often to sort out his thoughts, and Kalin wondered if when Maglor had revealed it to her, it held more meaning than only a pretty view to bestow.
The eldest Fëanorian then dismounted distractedly, helping her down with the chivalry in him that never slept, before he turned away and began pacing aimlessly about the water's edge. Mîrluiniel found a seat upon a moss-covered rock and watched him patiently. At length he crouched beside the stream of cold water and let his fingers drift through the current. Judging by his calmer body language, she felt safe to make her inquiry. "Why are you not happy about Remethiel's pregnancy? I noticed your face when the child first revealed the news…"
His jaw clenched momentarily and he glanced toward her with reluctance. "You've been observing me more closely than I'm used to being watched… No, I am not as joyful as perhaps I should be. I cannot help it…" He paused and chanced to look at her again, finally admitting his true unease. "It is another life to be responsible for, another to protect and defend. Another that might come to harm under my care." He scooped his hand through the water and slowly opened his fingers as he stood, watching the liquid flow out of his hold and onto the ground at his boots. "My heart longs to be glad for them, and if we were in Valinor I would be completely so… but how long can it last while we dwell in these wilds? We should never have left Aman."
Kalin rose and came before him, closing his fingers to save the last several droplets of water from escaping his grasp. "I am thankful you came here. If it had been as you say you desire, I would be long dead in an abandoned forest…" He turned his head away at such a gruesome thought. "And we would never have met, nor even known of the other's existence."
He looked down at her hand and the water she helped him keep safely within the palm, so very like the happiness he could not attain without her close to him. Yet in her hand there was no water, and what could she gather while she still aided him so attentively? Carefully he turned his hand so that the liquid poured into hers and then dropped his fingers away. "Perhaps, it would have been best, had you never known of me." He suggested, meeting her perplexed and disappointed eyes with his forlorn gaze, subtly shaking his head.
Her head also shook, though in agitation. "Why do you do this, Maedhros?" The elleth finally confronted him. "Why do you continue to push me a mile away every time mere inches have been gained? Every instance that seems to bring us closer is robbed when you distance yourself and estrange me." Her lightly colored brow knit in frustration and clear eyes sought his for the answers he was due to give.
Maedhros turned away, uncertain of how to respond as his fingers ran through wind-mussed hair. "Kalin, just look at me…" He faced her and held open his arms in a vulnerable gesture. "I have been cursed, and by my own doing. My curse is that no matter how strong I may be, I have no assurances that I can protect those I lo… those with whom I associate. My curse is to endure and watch, helplessly or deliberately, as those around me suffer." He neared her only a little, but enough for her to see the anguish deep in those limitless green eyes. "You do not understand what great harm I can bring upon you, Kalin."
He spoke lowly, his voice subdued, and her heart raced for a moment in fear before her confidence was quickly rebuilt. "In what ways, could you harm me, Maedhros?" Her voice was just as soft and in such a tone that he could not discern the emotion behind it, whether she maintained a fear or self-assurance within her.
He looked down, averting his eyes from hers of morning blue, and answered her. "Please know, that never would I intentionally harm you…" A glance was all he could afford of his resolve before he began. "I know that you are not of Noldorin blood, and therefore by being Sindarin most, if not all, of your kind are upon less than friendly terms with my brothers and I. If ever a conflict were to occur, I could very well do severe harm to your family. Especially if they ever come into possession of even one of the Silmarilli and fail to surrender it. Such a thing is hardly within our control, for the oath so drives us to do it." He waited for her reproach, yet Kalin received him in a way very unlike how he had expected.
She sank to her knees on the leaf-strewn shore and stared down at her missing hand, silent for a moment until Maedhros knelt before her in concern. "My hand no longer remains for me to see or use… but that is all I let this handicap take from me. It cannot make me steal, cannot make me take life. I still control my body, my actions, and my emotions. You still have control, Maedhros." She looked up to him and silently commanded his gaze to lock with hers by the conviction in those eyes. "Much more has been taken from you, yes, but you do, and always will, have a choice." The faith and trust she gave to him through her intent look weakened him physically and he found himself nodding in subconscious agreement with her words.
He wanted desperately to believe what she said and obey her wishes as such, but she could not fully grasp the meaning of his oath and all to which it pertained. For now, though, he could not bring himself to contend with her. "For so young, your words are very wise." He remarked honestly, managing a small smirk.
Though recognizing his evasive compliment for what it was, Mîrluiniel smiled in response and agreed to let go the topic, for the time being, at least. "I'm not so young as you think…"
Her voice sounded even more innocent in her protest and he laughed gently at it. "You are young and beautiful. What could such things want with me?" The Noldo asked in a voice that held something like regret and she eyed him curiously from her place on her knees.
"Do you still see no good in yourself, Maedhros? It saddens me greatly to see that you do not."
"Goodness, by definition, is constant. You have always done others good and received it in kind, where I…" Kalin reached for his hand there, studying it intently so that he might not perceive her inner distress when he mentioned his old sins. "I have done terrible things at intervals with what you would call 'good.' In no way do I wish to bring you sadness, Kalin, but this is hardly to be changed. I do not trust myself, and therefore am not to be trusted."
Sighing, the elleth shook her head and pressed his calloused hand within hers. "You make a hopeless case for yourself. I must not be so wise as you think, for I cannot at this moment tell you what you should do." At last she turned her eyes back up to him and met a strange look in his that resembled admiration and longing. She realized then, something she knew he had not: he wanted to be encouraged, to have this burdensome yoke be shared. Yet Kalin wished not only to share its weight, but also to take it completely from his shoulders. A smile slowly crept to her mouth at the acquiring of this knowledge and she leaned just enough closer to gain her lord's more conscious focus. "I will do all that I can to give you hope, in any way possible, Maedhros. I know whatever obstacles you find, or make for yourself, you will prevail over them."
"You lied when you told me you knew not what to say." He remarked simply, studying the detail of her face while she remained so near. Wind blew stronger around and between them with the declining of the day and Mîrluiniel grew chill with such early spring air piercing through her. Maedhros attentively saw her brief shiver and pulled her up with the hand she still held, catching her by the arm to steady the elleth on her feet. "I should return you to a fireside, you are hardly dressed to be riding hours away from the Hill with me." Rúnyadal was called over and the tall prince lifted her to the saddle with ease, swinging up behind and taking the reins to lead them on.
As they progressed, Kalin found herself becoming strangely anxious for reasons she could not grasp. An unknown warning that caused concern welled instinctively in her chest, and she noticed that Maedhros felt the same way the closer they came to Himring. Mounting a far rise that witnessed the eastern border of the keep, they descried three figures riding fast toward the gate, out of ceremony, even for sentries. Maedhros galloped Rúnya the rest of their path and communicated to Kalin that he recognized the insignia upon those swift-riding men as of being his own, not another realm's nor the enemy's.
Upon entering through the gate, a guard informed his captain that the new arrivals included lord Maglor, but also warned him that each man was badly wounded. The eldest son rushed to where he saw them being huddled around and quickly dismounted to join them, leaving Kalin with the horse. "Maglor! What's happened? Where are the others?" He came up to the dark mare and questioned as the second-born leaned over weakly to accept his aid in coming down.
"The rest are on the March and safe, my brother. It was not a large threat, but the yrch were hid in the earth and came upon some of us before the sun was lit." Maglor gasped as his right arm lifted to hold onto Maedhros' shoulder, the grievance caused by what looked to be an arrow wound. Kalin hurried to his other side and helped to hold him upright where a slashed leg hindered progress.
They came into the fort with him and two other wounded elves, setting them down on long dinner tables to care for their hurts. The elleth with ivory curls took most care of Maglor as his eldest brother talked with him, Calanon soon joining their conversation, as he was one high enough in rank to be privy to such information. "If they were hidden, they must have known you would come by that way and have been tracking our movements." The officer surmised upon hearing out the circumstances, but his injured compatriot shook his head.
"No. They led us into the trap by leaving their trail of maimed carcasses. We could smell them for a mile and broke off to investigate. It was a lure."
Maedhros had been pacing up till now, but then stopped with his foreboding answer. "They're getting closer, and they're becoming bolder."
"Morgoth is probing us? Testing our strength?" The third of the present party suggested, throwing out options for motive.
"It may be so, Calanon. But the cursed one will find us steadfast when none of his pawns return to bring news." Maglor at least sounded confident on his part, and it gave Kalin a grain of strength against the fear their discussion was invoking within her.
"You are certain not one was left, Maglor? You scoured the trees for spies?" Maedhros felt doubtful where Maglor was sure, and she again worried when the latter became silent for some moments.
"I know every yrch who fought was destroyed, but…"
The eldest turned quickly to his soldier and ordered. "Calanon, take your horse quickly and go to the Marches. Track each orc as far as you dare and discern if any tried to return to their master. Be prepared, and I will come to relieve your duty in a week's time."
"Yes, captain." He went immediately and left the building to ready his steed. Kalin did not turn from where she carefully removed a gnarled arrowhead from the Fëanorian's shoulder, but was secretly glad that Maedhros would not depart from her so suddenly. She called over a fellow-healer and he brought her stitching to suture the open flesh her patient now laid bare. Maglor's eyes met hers briefly and he smiled as best he could.
"Are you all right, Maglor?" Maedhros finally inquired after his brother, and, though he winced at the needle passing through a tender spot, he replied steadily.
"I shall be. Forgive my not being thorough, I…"
Maedhros put his hand up. "It is learned, brother." At this he left them to check on the other edhil who had returned wounded along with his kin.
Maglor sighed and glanced at Mîrluiniel, sufficiently brightening his eyes as soon as they landed upon her. "You and Maedhros went for a ride?"
She blushed beautifully, nodding that they had. "It wasn't just a pleasure ride." She spoke softly. "We were in the fortress walls when we were told that Remethiel is with child again." He smiled gently and the maiden did also. "I was happy as well, but Maedhros' initial expression was not so at all. I was upon Rúnyadal and he helped me down, mounting and saying he was going for a ride. Well, I wanted to know the meaning of his expression before, and I asked to go with him. At first, I thought he might refuse me, but he helped me up and I went along." She was quiet then, as she took care of his injuries, and he waited for more.
"I think I have an idea of what you found out. 'But another life to risk by staying at Himring.' Am I wrong?"
Kalin met his eye with some surprise, but then tilted her head after a moment with another understanding. "You feel the same way, don't you?"
He sighed, grimacing as he lifted his leg to prop against a bench. "I used to, and do so now only to a very small degree. Maedhros has expressed much the same thing to me when many of our older children were born, and I often felt the same way. But I realized life is much more often a blessing than a curse."
"It is always a blessing." She corrected him quickly and looked up with furrowed brows. "How can life be a curse?"
Maglor frowned. "When children are stolen by a dark lord and bred to become the abominations that attacked us this day… Life can be a curse, Mîrluiniel, and could I do so, I would prevent your ever seeing it." Her gaze fell from his in shame and quietly she mended the slash upon his calf muscle. Kalin had not thought of that, and how foolishly she forgot the horrors of her own people in the darkness before knowing the Valar, when Morgoth spirited away her kin and malformed them with torture. She shuddered inwardly and put fie upon her ignorance.
After finishing her attendance to him, the fair elleth gathered her things and made to assist the other soldiers when he took her by the empty wrist and stopped her softly, an apologetic expression upon his face. "Forgive me, my lady. I should not have been so harsh…"
"No, Maglor. I never wish you to conceal your honesty from me. I just, I am embarrassed by my own imprudence."
He shut his lips a moment as he listened to her, but hastily advised. "I would not have that be so. Innocence is nothing to be ashamed of, and that is all you need worry for having shown. What you spoke was from your pure heart, and not to be ridiculed." He let go of her arm then, glancing at his brother across the room talking with his soldiers. "I am most thankful for your care of me, Kalin." He bowed to her and stood on uneasy legs to limp where his brother held council, leaving her with varying thoughts.

Mîrluiniel found the eldest son of Fëanor on the east wall after their meal that night and sought tentatively to stand as near as she felt possible without intruding upon his quiet. It was of no use, though, for as he leaned his forearms on the stone guard wall, Maedhros turned his face to her and smiled slightly. Feeling welcome now to approach, she stood by his side and shared his view of the dark east, no longer lit by the moon's safe illumination. "The yrch always grow bolder with the waxing of Tilion's light. Every attack that's been made has been under the cover of darkness." The Noldo prince remarked as his eyes, keen in their depth, scanned the rocks and forests past his Hill. "At least we have an ally in Arien, whose eyes Morgoth still fears and hates the sight of." A silence passed.
"How many attacks have there been, Maedhros? Are they always so damaging?" Kalin ventured her questions and noticed his glance quickly falling upon her hand and arm, which rested on the wall with his.
"Enough… enough to keep us from growing comfortable. And, as for damages, it depends on the skill of each elf."
She mulled this over with a shadow of a frown. "Is not Maglor second to you? Surely he has great skill."
Maedhros sighed. "Yes. Maglor is an efficient warrior, and skilled among many."
"But does that not mean…"
"The enemy grows stronger." He finished and stood upright, straightening his posture to oppose the vulnerability in that statement. "It is possible… It may be, that an attack to the fortress is being organized. It could be many years…" The captain's voice trailed off, obviously very thoughtful about the situation and what he needed to do to defend against it. Mîrluiniel hardly knew what to say, or what an attack on the keep could even mean for them. Were they fortified enough? What kind of force would they meet with? Hundreds… thousands? She had never experienced a battle.
A hand gently grasped her arm and she turned to see the faint flicker of torchlight upon Maedhros' face. "Forgive me, Kalin, if I've revealed too much. I should not put such a burden on your shoulders."
Shaking her head, she answered. "You can tell me whatever you wish. I only desire that you not bear this all on your own." He smirked briefly and she wondered if he would consider that desire one to be fulfilled or not. Their moment of physical contact was ruptured when Taurvantian trotted up between them and wagged his tail against their legs merrily. A pleasant smile broke out upon the young woman's lips as she bent down and scratched the lean hound under his chin. "Hello, Vant." She greeted the creature sweetly and allowed him to lean affectionately against her thigh.
"Shall I leave him with you while I am gone?" Maedhros offered as she stood once more and observed her surprise.
"You will not need him?"
The flame-haired elf shook his head and answered. "Not as much as I think you will enjoy him. Taurvantian is young, yet, I would rather he protect you here than risk his life with me."
The elleth furrowed her brows slightly when she understood that he meant the dog to guard her while he was away, and realized that such a kind offer was not to be refused. "I thank you. I promise to keep him with me wherever I am until your return."
Bowing his head, he was grateful for the acceptance of this small token of regard. "That gives me comfort, I am glad of it."
Mîrluiniel studied him as he said this and decided to ask, herself. "And what will give me comfort for your safety, my lord?"
His jaw clenched in a failed attempt at a smile and she waited patiently for his eyes to return to hers, his reply soon coming after. "Your comfort is my sword. I'm afraid that is all the assurance I can give my lady." With a sigh Kalin looked down to the hound at her side and then turned to the blackness of the east. Maedhros interpreted her reaction differently than she had intended. "You doubt my ability with the sword?"
She turned to him, confused at first, then serious. "I do not doubt your ability, only the use of that ability."
The Noldo grew insulted. "Now you question my commanding judgment."
"I'm not! I only worry that if it comes to it, you would allow yourself great harm or death to defend that which could be saved without such measures."
"So you would have me save myself, only. A selfish captain I would be, indeed, if I were not willing to lay down my life for any of my men. I will not be made a coward!"
"It is not cowardice to save both your life and that of others. It is not being a coward to live!" She was disturbed by how rapidly their argument had progressed and the scowl on his face as they stared at each other. "Good eve, my lord." Her voice quieted as she turned away from him, and with a moment's hesitation, Taurvantian ran after the elleth and accompanied her down the wall. Maedhros watched her shadow cross the courtyard with a frown before turning angrily and pounding his fist against the stone barrier.
He would leave at daybreak.

Mîrluiniel slept with Vant for warmth that night. She felt so cold. Why couldn't he understand that she worried for his life because she cared for him? She felt she had reason to fear what she had expressed. For evidence she remembered his rescuing Celebrimbor from the river. He received that gash without a thought for anything but the lad's safety. Was she not reasonable to be concerned that he might do such a thing in graver circumstances? Kalin got out from under the furs and knelt in front of her small fire, reaching her left arm out to the flames without thinking, her hand tucked securely beneath the opposite arm. The sleepy hound behind her hopped down from the bed and sniffed at her outstretched arm, nuzzling her cheek once she brought it back.
"Taurvantian, I wish you could make him understand." He seemed to smile at her calmly with his steady panting, and it succeeded in evoking a smile from her, also. His ears perked toward her and he nudged her as if to say 'you look tired.' Nodding, Kalin scratched his head and crawled back into her warm bed, thinking about Maedhros and his elusive temperament before exhaustion finally called loud enough for her to hear.
She awoke to a much different call: the sound of a horse galloping outside her window. Confused, since her window faced outside the keep, she thought. 'Who could be riding out so early?' The question began in her mind but the answer came instantaneously, causing her to jolt out of the bed. Maedhros' name was murmured under her breath as a shawl was thrown on in haste and bare feet carried her outside. Mîrluiniel ran swiftly through the muddy courtyard and paid a drizzling, dark sky no heed as she fled up the steps onto the eastern wall.
Pre-dawn's early glow through thick rain clouds lent her sight enough to catch the glint of armor and swishing tail of Rúnyadal as Maedhros rode the stallion through the trees towards the east. Clasping her knit shawl only loosely around her arms with one hand, the elleth's long curls blew brightly in the wind atop the tall structure, a pure contrast to the dirty storm clouds and grey rain. As if in the hopes that her voice would carry to him on Manwë's breath, Kalin spoke softly to her warrior. "Your sword be swift." Clear eyes followed him long after the thick forest concealed his figure and she gazed on with silent prayers for his protection.
Soon she felt the presence of another at her side and turned to see Maglor propped against the wall not three feet from her. He, also, looked to the east. "Seeing him off?" He asked, turning to her finally.
"I didn't even know he was going today. I fear I may have caused his haste this morning for we had… something of a quarrel, last night."
The injured elf took a limping step toward her and pulled her shawl up over her shoulders properly, though it defended only a little more against the wind and rain. "I see. And you parted…"
"On somewhat estranged terms. I should not have pushed my point… I know he is a flawless warrior, what I said made no difference. I just wanted to make sure he would defend himself."
"Ah, now we come to it. Maedhros in battle is a fearsome thing to behold. He attacks and destroys his enemy, and he defends his men. His self-defense is his offense, his attack. There's hardly middle ground with my brother, Kalin, if you have not noticed this yet." The elf studied her a moment and smiled slightly. "Judging by your predicament, I think you have."
Humorlessly, she nodded, looking back to his face after a time. "Will he be all right, Maglor?"
He gazed down at her admiringly and brushed a wet curl from in front of her eyes. "If he knows what is waiting for him here, he will."