When Eve got out of bed, she looked around for some clue as to the time. Since coming to this place, she had realized the days must've been longer than her own, and thus gave up trying to differentiate individual hours. Nevertheless, she didn't even know if it was day or night.
She slipped on her sandals and smoothed her dress down. Eve opened her door and turned left to find Findekáno. With a small knock, she stood outside his door. It didn't take too long for him to open it. He smiled when he saw her.
"Awake at last?" He chuckled a bit and leaned in the doorframe. "Findo and his family are down at the beach. It's been hours."
"I hadn't slept well last night," she admitted, running a hand through her hair and not meeting his gaze. "Guess I was catching up."
"Understandable. We are just not used to an Elda sleeping as long as you," Findekáno explained. "Elves require minimal rest, and only after a hard ordeal do we sleep as you have been."
She scoffed and folded her arms. "Dying is a pretty big ordeal."
"Agreed," he admitted, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. "I did not mean to imply otherwise." He paused. "Did you wish to go down to the beaches again? They are dining down there for dinner."
She frowned to herself, thinking hard. Finally she shook her head. "Not really, and besides, you promised to explain names to me." She poked him in the arm.
"That I did. Very well." He left his room and closed the door. "But there is no reason we should miss the fading of Laurelin at Alqualondë while I tell you of such things."
They walked back to the balcony from the previous night. It remained empty, and Eve saw that the sky faded into silver darkness. Still, a golden light remained. Eve realized she had never seen the sun here.
"Where's the sun?" She turned to Findekáno as they sat on their chairs comfortably.
"Sun. I do not know this word," Findekáno said with a frown. "What does it mean?"
She frowned back at him. "The big glowy star that gives off light?"
"We do not have a "sun" as you say. Our light comes from the Two Trees, Laurelin and Telperion. They give off light each day, fading as the other increases." He smiled. "Nelyo and I enjoy visiting the Trees. Káno goes with us sometimes, too. Perhaps you would care to come?"
"Glowing trees?" Eve chuckled, falling into endless giggles. "Glowing trees? Yeah I've gotta see those."
Findekáno scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Trust me, they are beautiful. You will not be laughing when you see them."
She smirked and shrugged her shoulders. Without another word she adjusted her seat and watched him intently. He finally got the message and began his lesson.
"Names for elves are special. Each has significance. Each has a mother name and a father name." He paused. "Not all elves use both, for example I exclusively use my father name, Findekáno."
"Where I'm from, the parents choose a name together," Eve told him. "And then we have a surname, to tell what family we're from. Eve is my given name, and Gallowyn is my surname."
"I see!" He nodded and leaned in. "Elves can have more than just mother and father names. Nelyo for example. His father name is Nelyafinwë, his mother name is Maitimo, but he also has an Epessë, Russandol. That is the name he uses with friends."
"But you call him Nelyo?" Eve asked him quickly. "Why?"
"We are more like brothers than friends," Findekáno admitted. "Some of us who are cousins use our pet names. Name use changes based on who is speaking."
Eve let out an exasperated sigh and sunk deeper into the white couch. "I'll never remember all of this. I feel like I'm back in school learning french."
"What is french?"
"It's another language than what I speak," she explained quickly. "I speak English."
"You speak Quenya well enough, also," Findekáno added.
"Quenya?" She paused and sat up straighter in confusion.
Findekáno nodded. "That is our language. You seem to know it."
"What?!" She froze and paused. "I'm not speaking English?" At that, Eve concentrated and realized the words had indeed not been English. So she tried very hard and spoke a word in her native language. "Pizza."
"Ah, now that is not Quenya," Findekáno said, furrowing his brow. "I did not understand that."
She let her concentration drop. Eve realized that somehow her brain had been wired for this new language. It made her feel weird, almost violated. And yet she also felt incredibly thankful she hadn't woken up here with a language barrier.
"This is so weird." She muttered to herself for a moment, finally conscious of the strange and yet fitting words leaving her mouth. "Guess I'm finally bilingual." Eve turned back to Findekáno. "You said names have special meanings? How so?"
"A name is precious. It tells who you are speaking to. Often they hold meaning, like Kánafinwë's mother name, Makalaurë. It means Gold-cleaver, in honor of his fantastic ability in music."
"How did Nerdanel know about that when he was a baby?" She found the answers giving her more questions. But as Telperion waxed and Laurelin waned, they had plenty of time.
Findekáno nodded. "Another good question. Elven mothers have some degree of foresight for their children. They name them such."
Eve grinned. "Now that's cool! I wish I could see the future."
But with a small laugh, Finno shook his head. "I do not envy mothers. It is less seeing the future as you say, and more a sense of what will come. That is a lot of pressure."
They fell into silence as each contemplated his words. Eve watched the fading light off the balcony and stood, walking to the rail. She leaned on it, watching the ocean waves come and go below her. While she knew this wasn't the heaven she'd been taught in school, she found herself thinking that this was a heaven in and of itself. It was a paradise for her to live in.
And yet again, the nagging guilt returned. The memories flooded back in. She felt sick, thinking of her last days in her home. She'd had an argument with her brother before going out on New Year's Eve. He'd insisted she could get hurt, reminded her of the dangers. But she'd wanted, once in her life, to have fun without worrying. She bit her lip in anger and regret. Look where fun had gotten her.
Findekáno watched her silently. He wondered what she thought about. He remembered how they'd found her that morning, sad and angry, and decided he'd speak to Lady Nerdanel about it upon their return to Tirion. Perhaps Estë and Lorien would be able to help her. He stood, the last light of Laurelin shining strong. Cautiously he went to stand next to her.
"Something troubles you," he began slowly, carefully. "Findaráto mentioned it again after you went to sleep. What happened, Lady Eve? What brought you to us?"
She bit her lip and did not meet his gaze. Instead she stared intently out into the horizon. After several silent moments, she sighed. "It was my birthday. Where I'm from, people aren't allowed to drink alcohol until twenty-one. That doesn't keep us from doing it, but since I turned twenty-one I decided to enjoy a day without lying to drink." She gave a tiny smile, still looking away. "Sophia and Christopher and I decided to go out to a bar, a place where people go to drink and party. But my birthday is also one of the biggest drinking nights of the year."
Findekáno wondered where she was going with it. He did not interrupt, glad she took the time to translate the words he did not comprehend.
"We call it New Year's Eve, the day before a new year starts." She felt tears stinging her eyes. "That's why my name is Eve. My parents were dramatic."
"Your name carries meaning like ours," Findekáno assured her.
She nodded. "We finished up at the bar around midnight. Christopher had wanted to leave the bar before the craziness of midnight proper. He didn't drink so he could drive us." She paused and turned to him. "You guys probably don't have cars. It's like... a big hunk of metal that we sit in like a cart, except no horses. They can go really fast."
Findekáno nodded in response and she continued. Her voice wavered briefly. "Christopher started driving us home. Sophia fell asleep because of the alcohol. I almost did. Then this other car came out of nowhere and smashed into us." Her breath hitched and she looked away, hiding her tears. "I'm positive that Christopher died right away. He got hit first. And I saw Sophia bleeding out. She wasn't moving."
Findekáno frowned and looked at her, not enjoying where this was going at all. But he had known what he'd asked and did not shy from it. "And you?"
"I remember lying on the ground. I remember horrible pain, like my body was on fire." Eve subconsciously reached down and felt her side. "I think I bled from my side. There was a lot of blood. I remember seeing a lot of stars, which is odd because we don't get that many where I'm from." She sighed and lowered her head. Her body hurt to think about it. "I wished for the pain to stop, I wished I could just die because it hurt so much. And then the pain went away and I don't remember anything else."
A tense silence hung in the air. Finno didn't know what to say; he didn't have anything to relate it to. Death really did not exist in Aman. But just based on her struggle to control herself, Findekáno knew it had been more traumatic than anything he had experienced. He hesitated before resting a hand on her arm, as Nerdanel had done, and she tensed slightly. Then her tears fell, though she did not wish it. Findekáno led her back to the couch and sat next to her.
"I for one am glad that at least you came here to us," Findekáno said a few minutes later as she tried to get a handle on her crying. "That is good at least."
Her body shook involuntarily. "I never should've gone out that night. John told me not to. Now I'm dead there."
"John? Your brother, correct," he asked quietly. "He mourns for you, I am sure. But that is not for you to worry about. It is natural to mourn."
Eve nodded, settling herself after the minor breakdown she experienced. By now, the stars were visible. Findekáno asked if she was hungry, to which she shook her head and told him no.
"I can go back to my room," she assured him, "if you want to grab food."
He frowned slightly. "If you wish to return to your room, I will not stop you. But I think it best if you stay around us."
Eve objected quickly, folding her arms and shaking her head. "At least let me go back and figure out how to make myself not look stupid and weepy."
"Very well," he chuckled. "Findo should be back soon, and we will get you once I have eaten."
She went back to her room then, freshening up. She splashed cold water on her face and tried to fix her hair. With a sigh, Eve sat at the foot of her bed. The grey-blue eyes that had been so intriguing that morning now mocked her. She didn't feel like herself anymore.
Findaráto and Findekáno retrieved her half an hour later, and she joined them and the royal family out on the balcony. Finno was right of course; being around the elves made her smile. Their smiles filled her with warmth, and their kind words made her feel better. They spoke long into the night so that when they finally retreated back into their rooms, Eve slept only a few hours.
But Findaráto and Findekáno did not sleep. Instead, they spoke together quietly in Findaráto's bed room, discussing what Eve had told the elder cousin.
"She trusts you," Findaráto reminded him. "The fact that she told you such things is good."
Findekáno nodded and smiled a bit. "I am unsure what I have done to earn her trust."
Findaráto nearly slapped his friend. "Do not say that. You show care to everyone. She has picked up on that."
"I do not enjoy seeing her in pain," Findekáno told him. He stood up and paced at the foot of his cousin's bed, a frustrated expression on his face.
Findaráto nodded as he sat cross-legged on top of his comforter. "None of us do. And we are helping as best we can. Once we return to Tirion, she can begin her lessons with me." Shrugging, he continued. "She mentioned she had studied in her world. Perhaps this will bring some amount of normalcy back into her life."
"I am worried of what Fëanáro will say about you teaching her," Findekáno admitted darkly, facing his cousin head on.
"If grandfather tells Fëanáro to allow it, he will." Then he paused. "At least I believe. We must not allow ourselves to think so ill of him."
Findekáno agreed, ending his pacing and leaning against the wall instead, right across from Findaráto. He wondered what to do. Finally he spoke up. "At least Tyelko seems to wish her well. The only ones not to seem to be Curufinwë and Moryo. And of them Moryo seems merely uninterested." He smiled. "It is good that Huan was there with Tyelko."
Findaráto agreed. "Do not trouble yourself too much, Finno. All shall be well, I know it. We will help her as best we can, and they as best they can, and she will come to love this land as we all do."
"Dawn is not far off," Findekáno noted as they watched Telperion's light fading from Findaráto's window. "We should get ready for the day."
And so Findekáno left his room and made his way through the palace to the guest chambers. He readied himself for the day of travel before them.