Silmarillion Writers' Guild

Please be forewarned. Here is the next chapter of "The Marring of Bliss".

CHAPTER TITLE: THE FRUITS OF LABOUR
AUTHOR: Digdigil
CHARACTERS: Curufin, Aredhel, Celegorm, Amras, OFC.
RATING: NC-17

WARNINGS: FOR GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF SEX AND FOR FOUL LANGUAGE.

SUMMARY: In the year 1494 Celegorm has a talk with Aredhel and encourages her to go back to Curufin. Curufin indulges in some lovemaking with two ladies, resulting in a great surprise for him.




Curufin carried on a relationship with Poldanis for many years unknown to anyone else, as he took over the running of the forge in Tirion. Fëanor his father had become reclusive and silent and had built his own forge separate from the main one where he worked alone, keeping secret what he was working on and devising behind closed doors. Nerdanel, his wife, had left him after a terrible argument in which she had told him of her plan to leave him and wished also to take with her both or at least one of the twins. Fëanor had adamantly refused to grant her wish and Nerdanel went alone in terrible sorrow to live with Fëanor’s half-brother Finarfin and his family.

Thus there was great upheaval in the family, yet all of the brothers remained close to their father and Finwë, their grandfather. Curufin had given up for a time going hunting and riding with Celegorm and so Aredhel would often join Celegorm alone and just the two of them would go. Curufin remained working in the forge and once in a while he would ease his sorrow at losing Aredhel by spending time with Poldanis.

Thus many years passed. During this time the evil Vala Melkor had been pardoned by Manwë and dwelt in Tirion also and was free to walk about and speak with the Eldar, spreading his lies and deceits among them. During this time Fëanor also had made the Silmarils and sometimes would openly show them to people, not knowing that Melkor coveted them and planned to destroy Fëanor and cause a rift between the Valar and the Elves. There was talk and whispers among many of the Elves about leaving Valinor and going east to establish their own realms in the Hither Lands of Middle-earth. Melkor spread rumours of the coming of Men into Middle-earth who would take it and make it their own, and many of the Elves believed his lies.

A longing grew in Fëanor to leave Valinor although he never paid any heed to Melkor, never trusting him. During this time he was fighting more often with Fingolfin, his half-brother, and each grew jealous of the other. A great rift grew between them when Fëanor believed that Fingolfin wished to usurp Finwë’s leadership and take over kingship of the Noldor. At this time Fëanor, as well as the other Noldor, turned from their work making jewelry and other fine items of beauty, in order to make armour, swords and other weapons. Unrest was brewing and there was much talk among Fëanor’s sons and their friends of leaving Valinor to go to Middle-earth.

Then in the Year of the Trees 1450, Fëanor threatened Fingolfin’s life and for this he was banished for twelve years. Finwë renounced his kingship and moved with Fëanor into exile in Formenos, thus the kingship of the Noldor went to Fingolfin.



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On a fine spring day in 1494 Aredhel and Celegorm went riding in the forest, outfitted with bows and arrows, intending to do some hunting, but mainly just wishing to ride and enjoy the open air and to escape some of the stress and worry they were feeling over the imminent trouble they felt was brewing among their people.

It was a cool, calm day and they walked with their horses through the area that Celegorm had discovered as a young man, with the apple trees and the recessed pond. A couple of hundred years had passed since they were children and the pond was no more as vegetation had grown over it and it now had become part of the surrounding pasture. But the apple tree had grown in number and had spread into an orchard, and Celegorm and Aredhel walked alongside it, leading their horses, and taking pleasure in the sweet aroma of the pink and white blossoms, glad to be away from all the talk of strife in Tirion.

“You and my brother have not spoken in many years”, said Celegorm suddenly to Aredhel.

She started. “If you are talking about Curufin, then you are right”, she said. “I do regret all that has passed between us, and I would do what I could to put things right”.

“Then you should make the first overture”, said Curufin. “You should go to him and try to repair the damage that was done. With all the upheaval that is occurring amongst our people, there may only be a short time before we are separated that you will have to make amends”.

“Thos are find words now to come from the one who urged me to break off my engagement to Curufin many years ago”, she retorted.

“That is as it may be”, replied Celegorm, “And I regret now, in hindsight, my advice to you at that time. Had I known that the ways of the world would change, and that all chance for the happiness that the three of us used to share could be gone forever, I would have encouraged, rather than discouraged, you and my brother to wed”.

“I do not know how he would receive me now”, said Aredhel. “He has become by all that I have heard, very quiet, keeping his thoughts to himself, and becoming almost as fell as your father. I fear his feelings for me have died along with the bliss of Aman”.

“You will never know what his feelings are unless you speak to him”, Celegorm advised.



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At this time Curufin and Poldanis were alone, having locked themselves in Fëanor’s forge while he and Finwë were away. Fëanor had said they would be gone for a few days. He had left his forge in pristine condition and when Curufin walked though the doors with Poldanis, he marveled at how well kept it was. All of the metalworking tools had been cleaned and polished and hung on hooks on the walls. The floors had been swept free of all dust and debris. The work surfaces were clean and free of clutter, and the fires of the forge had been extinguished. Leading off of the main workroom was a small antechamber that Fëanor had set up as a bedroom so that he could spend nights sleeping in the forge if he wished, when he and Nerdanel were going through the worst of their troubles. Curufin knew of this room and had led Poldanis to it.

“Here we may be alone for as long as we want”, he said. “My father used to sleep here when he did not wish to come home”.

Poldanis had stopped working at Curufin’s forge many years prior to this and as a result, she and he had not seen each other for a long time. He went quietly across the room to light the lamps and then turned back to lock the door behind them.

“Stars!” She exclaimed as she looked around. “This place looks as if your father means not to return. I have never seen a forge so clean”.

Curufin gave her a worried glance, his eyebrows almost touching in the middle as he frowned. “You may be right”, he said. “I am concerned that some trouble may be close to arising between my father and the Valar”.

“Has it to do with his talk of leaving Valinor for the Hither Lands?” Poldanis asked.

“Yes, probably”, replied Curufin, sitting down on the bed. Poldanis came to sit beside him, placing her hand upon his thigh.

“If he goes”, she asked, “Would you go with him?”

Curufin turned his head and looked her straight in the eyes. “Yes, I would”, he said firmly.

Poldanis sighed and raised her hand from his thigh to his shoulder. She massaged it gently. “Well, let us not waste too much time worrying about what may not come to pass”, she said, and began to pull his sash away from his tunic. Curufin was dressed in a formal brocade tunic with a sash of brilliant red. Underneath it he wore a shirt of red silk and breeches of black velvet. Around his neck hung a long gold chain with a huge, sparkling ruby pendant in an intricate setting that Fëanor had made for Curufin’s 200th birthday.

“What are you doing?” asked Curufin, as Poldanis finished undoing his sash and then proceeded to unbutton his tunic. She laughed in an effort to brighten the tone of the conversation.

“I had assumed that when we came into this empty forge and you had locked the door behind us that you wished to fuck me”, she said. She finished unbuttoning his tunic and slid it off of his shoulders. “My, this is a grand article of clothing”, she said admiringly. “You look like quite the lord today”. He laughed as she began to unbraid his hair. He had been wearing it much longer than the shoulder-length style he had worn as a youth, and it hung straight down his back in one long braid reaching to his waist. She undid the long braid easily but had some trouble undoing the smaller tight ones that ran from the centre of his forehead around to where they joined the long braid at the back.

“Leave those”, he said, grasping her wrist and kissing it.

“No”, she laughed. “I want to smooth out your hair and then take a good long look at you. It may be the last time we will see each other”.

“Don’t say that”, said Curufin crossly, as Poldanis undid the last braid and combed his hair out with her fingers.

“Well, it could be true”, she said. She tried to sound offhand and breezy as if it wouldn’t bother her if it were true. She knew that he did not love her and still harboured feelings for Aredhel. “Now stand up so I can see how you look”. He did as she said, standing tall in his red silk shirt and black breeches with his arms bent, hands on his hips and the dazzling ruby pendant resting against his chest. His long brown hair with its red highlights fell around his shoulders to his waist, wavy from having been plaited.

Poldanis put her hand to her mouth. “You are the handsomest Elf in the whole of Arda”, she pronounced.

“Are you mocking me?” Curufin asked, with a small smile causing his mouth to turn up at one corner and tossing his hair behind his back.

“No”, she sighed. “You truly are, My Lord”.

“Nonsense!” He scoffed. “Every one of my brothers is better looking than I am!”

“There you are wrong”, she said.

“Now it is my turn”, he told her. “Stand back and let me look at you”. He pulled her up by her hands to a standing position, and then stood and regarded her carefully. She was wearing a simple gown of grey silk, unadorned except for some lace trim at the neckline and wrists. It was loose fitting but clung to the curves of her ample bosom and bottom. Her light brown hair was piled on top of her head, making her appear taller than her actual height of five feet, one inch. She wore a simple silver necklace without any jewels adorning it.

“You know, you are a pretty girl, Poldanis”, Curufin said to her.

“I am not grand like a lady”, she said.

“No, but you are pretty nevertheless”, he countered. “Come here”. She walked up to him and took her into his arms and hugged her. Then he undid her hair, letting it fall in waves down to her bottom. Then he slipped her dress off, undoing the buttons that held it at her shoulders. She wore a simple linen shift underneath, and he lowered this, letting it fall to the floor on top of the dress. Under that she wore a tight camisole that bound her ample breasts to keep them from bouncing as she walked, and a pair of plain bloomers. Curufin bent to kiss her, but Poldanis stopped him with a finger to his lips.

“No, Curufin”, she said quietly. “Let me now undress you”. Then she slowly unbuttoned his shirt, letting the ruby pendant lie against his smooth chest. The feel of it was cool against his hot skin. She untied the laces at the front of his breeches and sliding her hands down inside them, she slowly pulled them down from his hips. With the breeches around his knees, she pulled him backwards closer to the bed, her hands around his naked waist. She turned her face upwards to kiss him and he bent down low in order to reach her lips. He held her for a moment very tenderly, and then picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed, hobbling as his knees were bound by his breeches. Gently, he laid her down upon the satin coverlet and pulled his breeches all the way off, kicking them under the bed. Then, completely nude, his smooth skin gleaming in the lamplight, he knelt on the bed beside her. He very slowly untied the laces of her camisole and let her large breasts fall free. He bent down and kissed her throat and let his kisses trail down her chest to her stomach. She raised her knees so that he could remove her bloomers, and when they were both naked they lay facing each other. Neither spoke a word.

Curufin put his hands around Poldanis’s waist and pulled her up to him and kissed her lips. She put her hands in his hair and ran her fingers through the long strands as she held the back of his head and pressed his face to hers. She could feel the length of his arousal poking between her knees. She squirmed against him and he relaxed his hold on her so that she could lower herself to where she could feel his erection against her pubic mound. She kissed his shoulders and chest as she thrust herself against him. Together they rolled over so that Curufin lay on his back with Poldanis sitting astride his hips. Breathing heavily, she grasped his erection and stroked it firmly, leaning over as well to plant a series of kisses upon and all over it. Then, leaning with her hands on his hips and supporting herself, she lowered herself on top of him, guiding him inside her carefully. He moaned with pleasure as she moved up and down on his cock, while he held her breasts in his hands to keep them from bouncing as she rode him up and down as if she were riding a horse.

Then, when both of them were panting heavily, Poldanis rolled onto her side, Curufin’s cock still inside her, and then carefully onto her back. He then thrust his manhood deeply into her, slowly at first and then with increasing speed.

“Stop!” She meant to cry before he could spend his sperm inside her, but she did not, and only cried out in ecstasy as she climaxed, and he ejaculated at the same time, throwing his head back and crying out as she did. When it was over, they fell apart and lay side by side, savouring the moment as if it were their last time together.



~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~



When Curufin awoke the next morning in his bed at home, he lay for a while pleasantly recalling the night before. His sleep had been peaceful and uninterrupted for once by nightmares. It had been the best sleep he had had in a long time. He was just thinking about getting up with Amras knocked on his door and then burst into his room. “Curufin”, announced Amras. “You have a visitor”.

Curufin groaned. “Who is it?” He asked. He did not feel like having company today.

“It is Cousin Aredhel”, said Amras brightly.

Curufin sat bolt upright in bed. “It is Aredhel?” he cried. “Tell her to wait! Do not let her leave! Go, Ambarussa! Tell her!”

Amras looked startled. “Yes, very well. Don’t worry!” he said. Then he banged the door shut as Curufin leapt out of bed and began banging drawers open and closed as he looked for something appropriate to wear. When he emerged from his room he was wearing a mismatched purple shirt and green breeches, two unflattering colours for him, and his disheveled hair was pulled behind his back, tied loosely with an orange ribbon. To top it off, his red ruby pendant clashed horribly with the shirt it lay against. He clattered down the stairs, taking three at a time, and almost fell through the door into the parlor where Aredhel sat waiting for him.

Aredhel rose quickly to her feet when he entered and the two of them stood and stared at each other for a moment without speaking. Aredhel’s heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and her legs felt weak as if they would not be able to hold her up for much longer. Curufin could only stare at her. He was speechless, not knowing what to say, but wanting very much to say something meaningful to her. He strode up to her and picked up her hands.

“Hou are yow?” he asked, then blushed hotly.

Aredhel wanted to laugh but instead she burst into tears. Curufin took her in his arms and held her close, wanting to cry himself, with joy. They stood hugging each other for a long time before she broke free from his grasp and looked into his eyes.

“I love you”, she whispered.

“I have never stopped loving you”, he said.

“What shall we do?” she asked, brushing tears away from her eyes and trembling.

“Are you still afraid of wedding me?” he asked her.

“No”, she whispered.

“Then I think we should do it now”, he said, “For we know not what tomorrow brings”.

She nodded in agreement and raised her hands to clasp them behind his neck. Then he stooped and kissed her tenderly on the lips. As their kiss deepened, a feeling flooded through Curufin such as he had not felt in many years. An overwhelming love and desire flowed through him, and he felt that he knew that Aredhel felt exactly the same. When they broke the kiss, both were breathless for a moment.

“I think we should wed now, too”, whispered Aredhel. “Right now, my love”.

With that, he picked her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs to his bedroom. He kicked the door open and then hesitated when he saw it was in a worse mess even than Celegorm’s. Hastily, he hooked his foot around the edge of the door and pulled it shut again. Then he carried Aredhel down the full length of the hall to Fëanor’s bedroom, which he knew to be in pristine condition since Nerdanel had left and Fëanor had been sleeping at his forge. He carried Aredhel inside and over to the huge four poster bed where he laid her carefully down on the bedspread. Then he locked the door and returned to her side. He sat on the edge of the bed and smiled down at her. “I want to make sure that this is what you really want before we start something again that you may not want”, he said, lovingly stroking her luxurious dark hair.

“It is what I want”, she said to him. “I do love you more than anything and we have wasted so much time when we could have been together”.

He wasted no more time and ripped off all his clothes as fast as he could. When Aredhel looked at him she smiled sweetly. “You are so beautiful”, she said. “And to think the last time I saw you like this, I was afraid of your – your – weapon”.

“Are you afraid of it now?” he asked.

“No, my love”, she sighed. “Although it is rather large”.

“I promise I won’t hurt you”, he whispered and leaned down to kiss her. He started to undo her clothing and she stiffened, grasping his hand as he was unbuttoning her dress. “What’s wrong?” he breathed into her neck.

“I think I – it’s very bright in here, don’t you think?” Aredhel asked.

Curufin cursed the tree Laurelin and wished for it to be consumed by flames.

“I’ll draw the drapes closer together”, he said, and sprang up to do so.

“How about if we just get under the covers?” Aredhel suggested.

“Good idea, good idea, let’s do so”, said Curufin, hurrying back to the bed. He pulled back the covers and Aredhel crawled beneath them. Then Curufin crawled in beside her and grappled with her clothing as best as he could without being able to see what he was doing. Finally, he got all of her clothes off of her and threw them out of bed onto the floor. Then he took Aredhel in his arms again and pressed many kisses onto her face and lips. As their naked bodies clung together, he felt as he did as a young boy. This was where he truly belonged, he thought, in Aredhel’s arms, the arms of the one person in the world he truly loved with all his heart.

Their lovemaking was very tender. He did not want to hurt her and was worried that they might not be able to consummate their union if his penis was too big for her vagina. But he need not have feared. Aredhel’s passion had been awakened and she welcomed him inside her with the same amount of enthusiasm that he showed for her. They made love blissfully and tenderly, not like a couple who knew how to do it expertly, as he and Poldanis did, but like a couple who truly loved each other and were deeply committed. Afterwards they did not want to leave each other, and so they stayed in Fëanor’s bed all day and made love several times. Later, when it was time for Aredhel to leave, they kissed and declared their undying love once more, but they forgot to formally declare their marriage and to speak the Name. When she left, Curufin spent a long time staring after her as she rode home along the lonely, winding road.



~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~



Several months later, Celegorm came to the forge to tell Curufin that he had received two missives and that they were waiting for him at the house. When Curufin arrived home, he tore open the first one. It was from Poldanis.

“Dear Kurfin”, it said.

“Tis my humble dootie to tell yu tht I am with chile an it be yurs.

Lv,

PoLdanis”

Curufin sat down heavily on the front step, his face grim with a look of terrible pain. He stared at this letter for a long time before he opened the other one.

“My Darling Curufin”, it read.

“I am pleased ( I think) to tell you that I have discovered that I am pregnant with our baby. I will be in contact with you soon to discuss our arrangements for a wedding festival to be held soon after the baby’s birth next year. How exciting to think that our baby will be born in the spring of 1495! I do not wish to be wed while sporting a huge bump on my stomach! I love you, my Darling. Kisses. Until we see each other soon,
Yours forever,

All my Love,

Aredhel.