"Mythrenniel, you are my friend, yes?"
"What? Of course! What makes you-"
"-Tell me how much."
"... Aurthiel, wha-"
"-Please!"
"... You are my sister, the one family I had when I left them all in Valinor. You have been my best friend through all these thousands of years; through joy and hardship alike. I am your cousin, married in through Orotasarin. You are very dear to me. I would do anything for you."
"Even when I mess up?"
"Um, Aurthiel?..."
"... I need to tell you something, Mythrenniel. I have made a terrible mistake, and I believe you are the only person who can help me."
Holding a torch in one hand, and a basket in another, Mythrenniel closed the doors behind her with her foot. The heavy stone slabs echoed and quaked as they sealed shut. The elf maiden adjusted to her position as she descended the steps. The winding, claustrophobic dwarf stairs offered little light. The Firebeard build was at least insulating. She only felt a little cooler in this stairway. As she carefully walked down the thin steps, she blinked solemnly. She had no idea her stable, happy life would be shaken this much due to circumstances out of her control. Was it Aurthiel's fault? At least half of it was. Yet, Mythrenniel knew fully well how dark her friend's path was compared to her own. Of course Mythrenniel had suffered loss, grief, and faced bountiful stress. Aurthiel, however, felt this pressure and agony tenfold.
Mythrenniel reached the bottom of the steps, thankfully without slipping. Her fur boots echoed in the stone structure as she took a moment to listen through cracks in the wall. Nothing. With a sigh of relief, she pushed open the door with her shoulder and found herself in the massive, main halls of the Firebeard ruins. Statues of long forgotten dwarf heroes and leaders were etched into the pillars holding the tall halls. The halls were long void of tapestries, carpets, or even wooden structures and beams. Those had been decayed and eroded long ago. This hall, as great as it could have been, was all a bland, sad gray devoid of color and light. Mythrenniel frowned as her footsteps alone echoed through these halls. If it had not been for Beleriand's fall, these ruins could still be a thriving dwarf settlement Perhaps they even could have rivaled the likes of Erebor. Alas, everything was a waste in these dry, barren cavern structures. Mythrenniel was happy when she entered the thin hallway that led to the one place in here with life... The greenhouse.
The greenhouse was mostly flooded from Beleriand's drowning and the more recent changing of the world. Yet, a small portion of farming areas remained in tact. Mythrenniel had planted some fast growing crops, as well as relying on the natural growing fruits and herbs here. Now, she could come here every day to collect some food.
She set her basket down and worked on collecting the needed food with one hand. As she did so, she felt so conflicted.
What is better? Living a happy lie, or being chained to a painful truth? Are we doing what is best for this child?
She finished filling her basket and stood up. She looked down at the small plot of farmland. She will not even know who her real mother is. I know this is going to wreck Aurthiel, but what about the child? Can I do this? I am so confused...
She turned to leave, only to hear a sound no one wanted to hear. Footsteps... Large, heavy, and lumbering too. Mythrenniel looked down helplessly to her torch and food. She would have to drop one...
She bent down, placing the basket on the dirt floor. As she arose, she pulled her sword from its sheath.
"I made my choice. And I made two promises. Once, next to the waters of Mithrim. And again, in our home in Lindon. Whatever dares to endanger these two, I will stand in between."
