A Perfect Motion, by Himring

[hhimring]

B2MeM Prompt, Card and Number: O68: perfect commotion of silk (127. Mary Oliver (1935-2009))
Format: teaser
Genre: vignette, character study
Rating: General
Warnings: none (except for a very vague veiled allusion to Thangorodrim)
Characters: Maedhros, OFC
Pairings: n/a
Creator’s Notes: This is a scene that had already been planned for one of my slow-moving chaptered WIPs. I'm glad that I could find a b2mem prompt to push me into writing it.
Summary: Maedhros has persuaded a Sindarin healer to accompany him to Himring to treat one of his people. This is a scene that takes place on the journey. Maedhros and the healer have only recently met and do not know much about each other's backgrounds yet. (The healer goes by the name of Auntie, but this is a bit of a joke on her part, not a sign of venerable age.)

After a bite of food, Auntie remained sitting just a little longer, needing to rest her backside, which was complaining at bit, she said, at the unaccustomed horse-riding.

Maedhros, idle for the time being, became sharply aware that he had now missed his daily morning exercise for several days running. Strange how habit-forming such a thing could be—as soon as he recalled that he had not taken the time, on this journey, he also felt the lack, as if it were, ever so slightly, impairing his balance.

He hesitated. He had, he thought, so far succeeded by amusing Auntie and convinced her he was not likely to be dangerous. Would he put that success at risk, if he started to wave a sword about? But surely she was far too much of a realist not to believe in self-defence or in keeping up one’s skills?

He said nothing, but stepped a little to the side, out of her direct line of view, and began, falling easily into the rhythm of the first set of moves. Neither of his companions interrupted him and soon he lost his sense of self-consciousness, speeding up. He quickly ran through the shorter version of the exercise and came to a halt with a final flourish of his sword arm.

‘Very nice,’ remarked Auntie.

He saw that she had turned around so as to be able to watch him better. There was an appreciative gleam in her eyes that Maedhros had not encountered since Valinor and, without considering the question in any depth, had not expected to see ever again.

Surprise at her observation transported him to the once-familiar halls of Tirion’s palace where he used to move, fully aware that he was the centre of attention with everyone’s eyes on him, through celebrations and balls among the nobility of the Noldor in a perfect commotion of silk. He swept her a courtly Tirionese bow—thank you—and found that he had startled her in his turn. Such elaborate manners were rarely seen on this side of the Sea, let alone out here in the Marches, he supposed, nor did they exactly match his travel-worn clothes, let alone the state of the rest of him.

But Auntie did not remain startled for long. The smile and the appreciative gleam—not flirtatious, something a little more impartial, he thought—soon returned.

‘That’s very nice, too,’ she said.

Comments

[grundyscribbling]

Well done, Maedhros. Impressing and charming without even trying. :)

[hhimring]

Maedhros says thank you!
He did succeed without trying, this time.
But it's also something he will remember, later on.

[lindahoyland]

I enjoyed this.

[hhimring]

Thank you very much, Linda!

[narya_flame]

Oh, lovely. It's great to see more of Auntie - and Maedhros is so unfailingly charming.

[hhimring]

Thank you very much, Narya!
Glad you like both of them here!
I hope to write more about them, soon.

[oloriel]

This was very sweet! I very much enjoyed the mental image of Maedhros practicing, and I liked both Auntie's reaction and his own reaction to it. ^^

[hhimring]

Thank you very much!
I'm glad you enjoyed their interaction!
Maedhros's martial arts practice has become a bit of a trope in the series, by now (if three scenes count as a trope!).
Later, he will use a bravura performance to try and boost the morale of his followers (in "The West Wind Quartet"). Here you see him getting the very first inkling of the idea that it could be used for effect, rather than just to keep himself fit.

[oloriel]

Hmmmm, Elven sword kata. *_* I will have to check out his for-effect performance now!

[hhimring]

"He [Maglor] clearly knew his way about the place very well indeed. We ended up in another courtyard that seemed to be some kind of exercise yard. It was filled with a large number of guards and soldiers embarked on a bewildering variety of military activities. In the far corner, there seemed to be an open space and, even as we arrived and Maglor began weaving his way across the yard, a tall red-haired man walked out into the middle of that open space, sword in hand, and began to run through a series of slow sweeping movements that seemed to be some kind of fairly complicated exercise.

I learned later that Maedhros routinely did this set of exercises every morning at this hour and that Maglor knew them well, because when he’d visited Maedhros in Himring previously, they always practised them together. Maedhros, however, was obviously not expecting Maglor that morning, in view of yesterday’s events, and had not waited for him. Maglor, with me trailing after him, reached the edge of the open space. Maedhros was apparently completely focussed on his exercises and seemed to take no notice of him.
Maglor tucked the fiddle under his chin and began to play a slow searching tune. Maedhros did not pause in his movements, his legs and arms moving in an unbroken, intricate pattern. He might not have heard those first couple of notes at all. But it soon became clear that Maglor was synchronizing the notes of the tune with Maedhros’s movements, that in fact the tune was designed to accompany the set of exercises.

They ran through the whole set together. Then they repeated it. Then—and it was impossible to tell which of them had initiated it, Maedhros or Maglor—they speeded up and went through the whole set more quickly. They repeated it. They speeded up again. Maedhros’s movements, so slow and deliberate to begin with, began to resemble an exotic dance, as the sword wove in and out and drew arcs and straight lines in the air. By now, all over the courtyard, everyone had interrupted what they were doing and was watching Maedhros.
Maedhros and Maglor speeded up again. And then they went even faster. It became difficult to follow the movement of the sword with the naked eye. They went faster than that, and it seemed incredible that anyone should be so quick on his feet. They went even faster than that, and now just to play the fiddle so quickly and precisely as Maglor was doing was a noteworthy feat. As for Maedhros’s face, it was a pale blur, and all that could be seen of the sword blade was a reflex of light that danced around Maedhros like a spark of fire.

It was not only an amazing display of skill. It was a work of art, beautiful, the more so, as the man himself was not. For he was after all marred, crippled. I altogether forgot for the moment that all this was about war, too, as much as the ugliness and horror outside the walls; I was thinking of dragonflies I’d seen dancing over pools in the woods of Neldoreth. Suddenly, Maglor played a long drawn-out note and, right in the middle of that whirl of speed, Maedhros came to a halt and at once stood still as a stone, the blade in his hand slowly sinking towards the ground like a leaf drifting down from the branch of a tree. In the ensuing silence, all the bystanders let out their breath in a collective sigh.

Maedhros sheathed his sword and came towards us. He seemed to be breathing more shallowly and quickly, true—but well short of panting.

‘Thank you’, he said to Maglor. ‘A bit showy, perhaps, but under the circumstances, good for morale, I think.’

‘That’s what I thought’, said Maglor.

The brothers exchanged a brief smile."

[Extract from Chapter III, section I]

[oloriel]

That's so kind of you! I managed to find it on SWG (since you gave me the title), but it's so sweet that you copied it here just for my reading pleasure. <3

Now I want all the Himring Elves to do that in unison! If that happens in one of my fics at some point in the future, you'll know you're to blame. ;)

[hhimring]

I really like the idea of them all doing it in unison, so I'll happily accept the blame!

[baileyboybee]

Enjoyed this! Nice respite for Maedhros and he got to show off his courtly manners.

[hhimring]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed!
Yes, a bit of a break for Maedhros!

[erulissedances]

She's quite a practical person, and seems well able to deal with a formidable personality. I totally understand his lack of exercise bothering him. I'm banned from exercise until Monday and those three days off are already grating at me.

- Erulisse (one L)

[hhimring]

Thank you, Erulisse!
Yes, she is practical.
Sorry to hear you're missing your exercise! But I guess it will make you appreciate even more when you're able to catch up and it's not so long now.

[zdenka]

It's good to see more of this story! I enjoyed this interaction between them.

[hhimring]

Thank you very much!
I'm glad you enjoyed another glimpse of Maedhros and Auntie!