"Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Why would I not? I have dreamed of this moment for thousands of years."
"Is it wise to conceive right now? While the Enemy is still out there..."
"Let the armies of the free peoples resolve that. We left that all behind. But I have to ask, are you having second thoughts?"
"No, not at all! I-I just wanted to check with you before we could not turn back..."
"Why would I want to go back?"
"Good, good. Good. Alright, come here love."
Aurthiel awoke once again, in that same old dwarf house. The fires were dimming. Was it night? She sighed, pushing herself up and rubbing her sleepy head. Where was Mythrenniel? Her humming and singing were not to be heard. She must have gone to scavenge more supplies again.
She leaned her head back. Her sarcastic and snarky energy had been fading as of late. She felt withdrawn, yet in a bizarre sort of way. She had spent how many decades in Lindon drinking at the start of the Second Age. She had been so devastated, so bitter, that she cut everyone and everything off to become a drinking, orc hunting hermit. She had gotten better, she had rejoined friends and developed bonds once more. She had even become one of the Gwaith-i-Mirdain of Eregion! Oh, Eregion! Tears flooded her eyes. Her regression had started when Eregion fell to Morgoth's predecessor…
The withdrawal she felt now, however, was something completely different. She knew, she just knew, that the birth of her child was near. She could sense it. A feeling of strength being pulled from her spirit made her want to scream. She needed more power to regain control in her life, not less! Her Lesser Ring had been supposed to help her, but she was unable to even put it on! She reached up and coiled her hand around her scarf, gripping it. Tears continued to fall. What was she doomed to sacrifice for this baby now? A baby she was not even destined to raise…
She raised her other hand and balled it into a fist. Slamming it onto the stone head of the bed, she cursed it all. She cursed her foolishness, she cursed the Dark Lord Sauron, she cursed the Fall of Eregion. She cursed her lover, she cursed the time they spent together in those deep forests, she cursed his betrayals and end. Tears slipped down her face and dripped off her jaw. She had been so, so foolish! Every time she was happy, it got stolen from her! What had she done lately to deserve this? The Curse of Mandos could not possibly still be in effect, it was fulfilled in the First Age! Right?
She repeatedly slammed her fist against the head of the bed. Weeping and sobbing, she saw no happy ending. Everything was dark, cold, and void for her...
At least, by passing off the child she bore as Mythrenniel and Orotasarin's, she sealed a better fate for her still beloved baby.
