Zeen! Thank you so much, again. :) I am really, really, really happy this fic convinced you - it was, I think, my first time writing Finduilas (and definitely the first time I ever considered her more closely as a character), so it was a leap in the dark in many ways, so to speak. Finduilas and Lúthien's interaction I had hoped could be much more substantial, but I tried to stick to canon and then I ran across the fact that Lúthien was not permitted to talk to anybody (which implies guards) so that limited it to Finduilas sneaking around, and Curufin's political machinations (which always seemed quite painfully obvious in my understanding of canon as well) gave a welcome, if transparent impetus for it. And thank you for letting me use replacement!Huan!

Falling for Lúthien: I tried to keep my femslash tendencies under control, but can't say I particularly mind that it did not quite work. Which is to say, heh. Once again, thank you!

Thank you very much, Indy! :) It was a little tricky reconciling Finduilas' apparent passivity in the book during that incident with the fic prompt and the preference for swashbuckling - after all, her name is never even mentioned in the Beren and Lúthien story - so I'm glad her sneakiness works, and not just as a story device but as part of her character. The Nargothrond architecture came from the idea that since it is described as a veritable cave city, rather than just a cave, it would feature similar structures, so it seemed to make sense at that point, though seeing that it stands out for you is wonderful.

There is something to be said for being read as what'd probably colloquially be called a 'ditz', and more for Finduilas being clever enough to use it to her advantage. :D I'm glad the conversation worked for you - I was worried it'd be too short or lacked substance, but seeing positive reviews largely did away with that concern. :)

(Aaand, yes, I think you may be right. But then why should she be the exception when everyone else is falling for Lúthien? ;))