A Deed Unforgiven by LadySternchen  

Flashback- Lúthien

Lúthien pressed down on the white waxen blossom, the sigil of her mother, sealing the leaves around the wafer. She just could not bring herself to seal the lembas with her own device. Not when every time she looked at the flowers of Telperion felt like a gentle smile from her mother. A greeting, a fleeting kiss or brush of her head. She missed Melian more desperately every day, her guidance and wisdom and love.

She might not be queen, but the Lady of Nargothrond nonetheless, and that role felt like improvising every step of the way more often than not. Being able to ask Melian for advice… just ask her how to be. But she could not. Instead, she was left with gently caressing the waxen flower on the waybread, and try her best to keep her eyes from wetting the wrapping.

That she would see the day she would grow to love the making of Lembas… she had HATED it, and moaned about why she had to learn the art every single time. To no avail, for her her mother  had been firm on this. Uncharacteristically firm, if truth be told.

Well, it turned out that she now was grateful for all she had learned after all. She would not have believed that possible, nor would she have thought that one day, she herself would teach the art to someone else, as she now did to little Finduilas. Admittedly, teaching the young princess of Nargothrond was for sure a much more rewarding task than it had been to teach herself, for the child was bright, and golden, and eager to learn- and a lot better at handling frustrations.

Hopefully, Finduilas has learned enough.

“Sorry for all the trouble, Nana.” Lúthien whispered as she packed the stacked wafers into a leather bag and slunk it over her back.

Then she loosened her hair so that it fell around her like the shadows of midnight, and departed from Nargothrond soundlessly, never -or so she thought- ever to return