"You ...were?"

"He has children from his first lives that he barely remembers. The ones from his very first life would've almost all died in the Cataclysm. He hadn't really given it any thought but I had and I figured - once we can bring back the human dead -"

"How - complicated."

"It is that. I think it'll be okay. In different ways depending how the war plays out, but - either way. Can we - talk about something else - has Macalaurë come up with anything new -"

"Yes - shouldn't we not tell you things that might be about the war -"

"Yes, yes, tell me something he came up with that has no strategic implications whatsoever. There is no way he spent a whole year only on magic music."

Fëanáro sings him something. 

Sweetheart, you know that if Telumë did something wrong that doesn't mean you did something wrong, letting him. 

I think it does mean that, actually? - I see where you are coming from and it's the advice I would give if an upset newlywed couple of fifty-year-olds showed up at my door before all of this happened with a vaguely analogous problem but I am not a fifty-year-old and - 

- and it's important to me, how people think about it -

Well, why don't we figure out what's actually true, and then I will help you get people to think about it however you want them to.

That doesn't usually work because lying to people is harder than just - deciding on the parts of the truth that lend themselves to how you want people to think about it. Especially when many of the involved people have truth spells.

Maitimo I feel like you have been operating for a while in a context where - you can't build things in the long run so the advantages of being able to think clearly are maybe less. But that's over, now. 

You guys can use the truth spells too. Vanyel's specifically on hand for it. 

We're not going to do that to you.

People keep saying there are lines they won't cross and then they realize I'm actually their enemy and they change their minds. 

By people do you mean Telumë?

No, actually. He knew what he meant to do to me and he never promised he wouldn't do it. Just - lots of other people.

I understand that you think of yourself as our enemy right now and I am not going to use truth spells on you.  

It's not just that I think of myself as your enemy! I had innocent people murdered, in Valdemar, before you rescued me. I gave people to Sauron to torture. I would do it again if he got me back. I don't have a charming difference of opinion with you about hurting people, I am trying to win a war on the opposite side from you. I'm - still scared that when you actually get it you'll go back on your promises.

I am not making this promise because I think you're on our side. I'm making this promise because I think if no one else in the world is on your side, your parents ought to be.

Okay. I wanted him. He wanted me. I was terrified of him not wanting to spend time with me anymore. I knew I couldn't be an interesting conversationalist when I didn't have any memories. That was probably motivating me more than is healthy. It felt like it would be the end of the world if he didn't want to spend time with me anymore. The world felt very small.  It was - really really bad, but I think we were both not checking that, really, and just checking if it'd be worse if we were together. It felt like it wouldn't be. He let me - I'm flinchy about a lot of random things, because of Sauron, so he'd hold still - it felt like something that was actually happening the way I wanted it to, and it's so much worse now that he's trying not to let himself want to touch me -

What do you want people to believe, about that. 

I made an agreement with Telumë where I wouldn't try to give people the impression he'd - insisted, or anything. He cares what you think of him. 

I don't want people to think I'm weak. I don't - if we're going to have a test case for the concept that Quendi can marry men then the ideal test case isn't complicated and doesn't invite any speculation about whether it's the sort of relationship that can be voluntary. Fëanáro asked whether he should bring presents and I was - so upset at the idea - but maybe that's the best way for it to be presented, really -

It seems like if you're so upset at the idea that's a good argument not to present it that way!

Probably if I weren't evil I'd be fine with it being presented like that.