...if the King's mind controlled sex slave is leading the invasion, and was chosen for that rule because he's not very bloodthirsty by someone who didn't know he was mind controlled...

As far as Elspeth knows the mind control does not cause him to be bloodthirsty.

Well, that's good. 

Why don't they talk about something less depressing than awful Elves.

Sounds good to Elspeth.

And then she goes back to attempting to solo the Manhattan Project. Along with purchasing quantities of misleading things.

Dwarves are very interested. Some of them report to the Noldor and some are just interested.

Well, she can't reliably distinguish between them, so anybody who asks gets her fascinating recipe in full that she's so eager to explain.

It makes its way to Maitimo. He has it attempted. It does not seem likely to produce Angband-levelling weaponry. 

He takes a trip down to Nan Elmoth. Taken with four hundred casualties, only two of them on his side. A dozen executions in the pacification stage. The roads are being extended and the government has been restructured and he can spend an afternoon receiving oaths of fealty. So he does.

Very nice, he says to Findekáno that evening.

Maitimo wants Findekáno to glow at his approval, so Findekáno does, and kisses him, and nestles himself snugly in Maitimo's arms. How's the levelling Angband going?

I don't know! We're trying exactly what I'm hearing and we are not getting anything useful. Perhaps it'll take some time. 

Occasionally she "unpacks" something from her old memories that makes the whole thing more complicated. Orders more stuff. Returns stuff. (Compensates discreetly for certain genuine weaknesses in equipment with her sense of smell, precise hands -)

She hates me. I am not very used to people hating me, it's disconcerting.

I hate you. Not at the moment, but certainly most of the time.

Not in nearly the same way. And that doesn't make me happy either.

Towards what end is my liege sharing this with me?

Maitimo kisses his forehead. Oh, shut up.

But he doesn't actually want Findekáno to shut up so Findekáno doesn't want that either. I would fix it for you but that seems uniquely impossible. 

We'll just have to win it without her. But my experiments aren't working!

It's going to take a while. She's going to need more uranium. Good thing she's immortal. And knows a lot of things to deliver lectures on. She could branch out into dancing if the Dwarves like dancing. She's very graceful.

The Dwarves are not particularly enthusiastic about dancing. Maitimo rides back north. Findekáno spends another two years making Nan Elmoth a well-run corner of the Noldorin empire and then hands off the project to an appointed governor and stops by Irisse's on the way home. 

"Hi," she says, and smiles at him, less than happily. "We're staying in Himlad. Tyelcormo's been helping with the baby."

"Does he want anything?"

"Me to stop hating the King."

"Please don't hate the King," he says earnestly. Maitimo hates being hated and so he hates it too. 

Her smile twists. "Counterproductive, Finno."

(Elspeth, meanwhile, has not stopped hating the king. If anybody in Tumunzahar didn't know about his bad behavior before, they do by now.)

He spends a week with Irisse and his nephew. Lomion has astonishingly dark hair and is old enough to know it's inappropriate to pull on Findekáno's braids and does it anyway. Lomion is very enthusiastic about Huan and calls Tyelcormo Prince Turkafinwe. Irisse thinks that Maitimo's considering putting Lomion in charge of Nan Elmoth, when he's of age. Does Findekáno think that'd help pacify the locals?

Findekáno does, but not by enough to cancel out the ill effects of having an incompetent governor, should Lomion turn out to be one.

"I'm contractually obligated to think he's brilliant and perfect," Irisse says.

"And I am similarly obligated to think only of the interests of the crown," he says. She shoots him a sharp glance.

He takes Lomion out riding and tells him stories of Valinor and cooks quail for Irisse's household, badly. Tyelcormo gives him an assessing look and he meets it. He tells his sister again that he's sorry rescue could not come sooner.

And he rides the rest of the way to Himring. He takes his time weaving his way through the fortress to the throne room, and cheerfully waits outside it for Maitimo's current audience to conclude, and then he is announced and he kneels and tells Maitimo what he's achieved in his name. Maitimo embraces him. It is all very professional. 

And once he's out of sight Maitimo wants, and so Findekáno wants, to go up to Maitimo's rooms and shackle his own ankles and wrists and only then tell the oath that its conditions have been achieved and it ought to no longer bind him.

And then he stops wanting what Maitimo wants.

He is used to this and does not collapse sobbing. But when Maitimo comes for him he is very still. 

Maitimo sits on the ground beside him and waits and after a minute Findekáno says "I did not do anything I on reflection regret.'

"Good."

"Please give me tonight alone."

Maitimo hates that request. Findekáno does not make it often. "Beg," he says, a little dangerously, and Findekáno kneels and rather than speaking at all just lets Maitimo into his head. Maitimo likes that. 

Maitimo doesn't give him the night alone. He's not really surprised.

Elspeth wants uranium. Well, Maitimo can make that difficult. He does. Tumunzahar is not going to be importing uranium. He writes to her. The Noldor require all the uranium for the war effort, sorry, perhaps if she comes to visit some sort of agreement can be reached.

Fine.

In she comes, sucking the marrow out of a raccoon bone.

She's not seething with hate. She's not seething with anything. She can get her mama's protection for her mind just by pretending she has it, here. She is blank and unradiant.

"Elspeth! How are you finding Tumunzahar?"

She suspects he can probably guess the depth of her displeasure from the mere fact that she opts not to reply to this question.

"Now that you've had the chance to see a bit more of my kingdom, do you have any other complaints about the way it's run?"

Hiss.

"Thank you. We try.

Findekáno is to my knowledge not being mind-controlled at all right now, if you wanted to talk to him."

"To what end?" she wonders.

"Well, last time you were quite rude to him. I seem to recall you telling him that every word out of his mouth was poisoned, and hissing at him. Maybe you want to apologize? Or ask him if he now considers himself a priority kingdom reform to demand in exchange for Angband-levelling?"

"Oh, are you having trouble with the recipe?"

"As much as you're having with uranium acquisition."

"I could take a look at it for you."

"Ah, Tumunzahar hasn't sunk in after all, if we're not talking price up front. Yes, please."