"The Sudden Pain of Silence", by Himring

[hhimring]

B2MeM Prompt and Category:
Initial prompt no. 11: The song of Fingon Elves yet sing,

captain of armies, Gnomish king,

who fell at last in flame of swords

with his white banners and his lords.

(The Lay of Leithian)
Daily prompt March 3:
And the music and the echo of the music went out into the Void, and it was not void. Never since have the Ainur made any music like to this music, though it has been said that a greater still shall be made before Ilúvatar by the choirs of the Ainur and the Children of Ilúvatar after the end of days. (The Silmarillion, “Ainulindale”)

Format: Drabble
Genre:  family, friendship
Rating: PG
Warnings: Reference to canon threat of violence;
Characters: Fingon, Maedhros
Pairings: Fingon/Maedhros (pre-slash or bromance)
Creator’s Notes: Sneaking this into B2MeM by means of a "creative" take on the B2MeM prompts. This drabble incorporates three Tolkien Weekly prompts and is dedicated to Ziggy.
Summary: They had found each other easy to talk to. But then...

He loved to hear his cousin speak. When Maitimo pulled down a book from the shelves and began to explain, their world seemed to gain depth, sing in subtler shades of colour. It was even better when Findekano discovered he could answer. Maitimo would listen patiently, as he spoke, and help unravel his thought.
Maitimo was not just family but a friend. They drew together, exchanging whispered comments and support, when routine was boring or when another crisis hit.
Then Feanor’s sword touched Fingolfin’s throat. Maitimo and Findekano cried out in a single voice, exchanged glances and found themselves divided.


A/N: Quenya names: Maitimo=Maedhros, Findekano=Fingon. References the fanon that Maedhros used to be Fingon's teacher.

Comments

[independence1776]

This is lovely! The limited wordcount of a drabble makes this shine.

[hhimring]

Thank you!
I'm glad to hear that you think I made the drabble format work for me, here!

[zdenka]

I like this. You really do a lot with a drabble. I like the contradiction of the two of them being united yet divided in that moment.

[hhimring]

Thank you!
Maedhros is thinking something like: Oh no, no! My father attacked my uncle.
And Fingon is thinking something like: Oh, no, no! My father got attacked by my uncle.
Almost the same thing, in a way, but the difference makes all the difference...

[narya_flame]

Gorgeous! I love how you take it from their early friendship to the divide between their houses.

[hhimring]

Thank you!
I'm glad that worked, compressing the developments over a considerable time span like that.

[raiyana]

eek, that last line, though! (especially contrasted with the words right above concerning support...)

[hhimring]

If you read the drabble as part of my long-running series (which of course one doesn't have to), it's telescoping things a bit. But in my 'verse, Maedhros and Fingon don't really have any major falling-out before this moment, as in some other fannish versions of their story, despite the tensions in Tirion--although they gradually become a little estranged because Maedhros is so distracted by it all. Maedhros is in denial about this.
So this is the moment that painfully reveals the gap.

Thank you very much for reading and for your comments!