"Yes, he can avoid endangering her by not involving her."

"He tried that, and if I recall correctly she left Doriath and was very lucky to find help at Nargothrond because otherwise she would have gone to Tol-In-Gaurhoth alone and been captured already.  She won't let him go without her, this is outside of his control."

"That is proof he is not worthy of her."

"That she loves him? Or that he doesn't think he can do a better job of imprisoning her for her own good than everyone else who's tried?"

"That she feels the need to rescue him constantly, and that he endangers her by enabling this."

Wow, this is frustrating.

"I see. I think we are unlikely to come to an agreement on how to save Lúthien from centuries of torture today. I will endeavor to delay their departure as long as I can, but he is human. I doubt I can give His Grace more than five years to reconsider his standards.

"If I have not strained His Grace' patience too much already, I would like his thoughts on the High King of the Noldor. I also wish to offer knowledge that will help in the defense of Doriath but I will not provide that without more direct negotiations."

"That is a very conditional willingness to offer assistance. No."

"Very well. I intend to give this same assistance to the Noldor unless His Grace wishes to caution against that."

"He does, because they swear stupid oaths and rule over peoples who were previously free and throw their lives away to protect their own, and believe those who have seen the light of Valinor superior to those who did not, and the Enemy could get it from them."

"What stupid oaths has Fingon sworn? I was under the impression that was only his cousins."

"As far as we know they are purposefully ambiguous about it so everyone can benefit from the threat posture when convenient."

"If I am to give this knowledge to someone, and will not give it to you, who would you have me choose?"

"The Valar."

"...Someone reachable."

"They're reachable."

"I will look into that. Anyone else? Dwarves? Other Sindar? Men?"

"All more vulnerable to the Enemy than even the Noldor."

"The Noldor it is then. They can use this to protect people, they can maybe use this to win the war. If they don't have it we're all dead anyway.

"If that is all, then I will depart. I hope that His Grace reconsiders his estimate of Beren's worth."

"I hope that he does not get Lúthien tortured to death out of his incompetence."

"That is an incredibly mild way to express feelings about one's daughter being tortured to death over the span of centures"

"I don't happen to hold his inability to steal from a god against him"

"At least he loves her"

"It would be a terrible shame if a combination of stubbornness and merely mortal competence were to get Lúthien tortured to death"

"Fuck you."

...

Malak is trying to be diplomatic and does not say any of those things.

"I will endeavor to prevent that as best I can."

So much for a productive visit to Doriath. They start hiking through Brethil just outside Doriath's headache-inducing-disorientation border.

They are not disturbed.

And eventually the Falls of the Sirion where they left Lúthien and Beren and the traumatized elves are in sight.

Hello?

Hey!

Hi! How have you been? How's Beren?

Good! We got married.