A Deed Unforgiven by LadySternchen  

Flashback- Beren

We are now back again in Beleriand, where quite some time has passed. I needed to decide what to do with Túrin (you know, without Doriath and Beleg, there is a rather substantial part of his story missing) and I thought taking him to Beren in Nargothrond was probably the most logical move.

“Can you believe her?”

There was a lot more that Beren would have wanted to say, only his indignation made finding those words rather hard. Morwen… honestly, how could anyone be so stubborn and prideful? He would have been more than willing to help her after Húrin had not returned from the war, and surely Orodreth would have agreed to taking her and her children in, but no. Morwen would not come off her high horse.

“She is pregnant, love.”

Beren snorted. He would not let that count as an excuse. If anything, expecting another child should make her more eager for shelter, not more reluctant to take it when freely offered.

“Oh love, you know as well as I do how hard it can be. I imagine she is frightened enough as it is. You know, with her husband gone and no-one knowing exactly what happened to him, and Huor and Rian dead and the loss of Urwen… I think leaving her home behind now would just add too much pain to an already troubled situation. Let her have her child in her own house, and maybe when her babe is old enough to take solids, she will reconsider.”

Lúthien being reasonable did not help in the slightest.

“And I am supposed to just leave her there? Leave her to starve, or freeze, or come to some other gruesome ending, while we live here in safety and wealth?”

Why did Lúthien have to be so understanding? He wanted to vent all his frustration, not commiserate with his head-strong cousin. And Lúthien’s refusal to share his anger was almost more infuriating than Morwen’s folly.

“You, dearest, are to make sure that her son is safe. I think Túrin understands his mother’s decision to send him here on his own as little as you do, so maybe you two can bond over that and so make living here in Nargothrond a little easier for him? It is the best you can do, anyway.”

There was too much truth in Lúthien’s words to ignore it, and certainly, taking proper care for Morwen’s little son was overdue as it was. The poor boy was not only half-starved, but had also uttered not a single word ever since his appearance, which in a child never was a good sign, at least in Beren’s books. Maybe the prospect of seeing his mother again in a year or two and then also meet his new sibling would give him some hope.

If only Beren himself could shake off the feeling that this was indeed an empty hope.