Ambela picks up a habit of visiting Midnight on a routine basis for small talk and less small talk.

"- so how did this even start, was there ever a point where you were managing the relationship differently?"

"I mean, yes, we were involved without any coercion before I murdered his parents."

"I suppose that is the sort of thing that would cause relationship strain."

"Yeah. I think it was the right choice given the options I had but I haven't tried to convince him of that. Anyway, I - I had people drag him out of bed and across the city and I told him his parents were dead and I asked if he wanted to join them or swear not to get in my way -"

"Was all of that really necessary?"

"To end the civil war? It wasn't - obviously unnecessary? I think all of it increased the chances that his people would surrender peacefully, in some cases not by that much and I can see where someone wouldn't have considered more unity at that point a good tradeoff for - people being afraid of you and hating you - the assassinations were all necessary. I didn't kill anyone who I could have possibly left alive if I wanted the war over that morning."

"Never having ended a civil war I cannot contradict you but the rest of it - for one thing it seems he's sworn to more than not getting in your way, why phrase it like that?"

"Oh, I tinkered later to get - the public confrontation was optimized for appearances, not for how I actually wanted to handle having the heir to Nolofinwë's faction close to me during the war. Later I - negotiated with him for - the wording I wanted - I promised not to hurt his family -"

"Swore or just promised?"

"Just promised."

"Do you happen to know why he settled for that?"

"Probably because he trusted me."

"Under the circumstances that sounds like a reach."

"I had not by that point done anything our society would regard as dishonorable."

"I suppose that's one standard of trust. Did you actually decline to hurt his family further?"

He looks genuinely offended. "Of course."

"I don't have a very good way to predict what insinuations will offend you," she says.

"I keep my word. If I didn't I would be a very bad king, which is much more - important to do right - than my personal life."

"All right. And so now you have him in a time unlimited unreleaseable oath of obedience."

"Yes."

"I'm not immediately sure how to incorporate that into anything healthy."

"Yeah. I've been struggling with that too. I really really like it. If he'd agreed willingly it'd be - very soothing to have - but -"

"If he'd agreed to the oath or just agreed to do as you said?"

"The oath is specifically reassuring."

"Why's that?"