#it seems likely to me that chained on a cliff face was not Maedhros's first location in Angband

[whovianofmidgard]

Let Down Your Hair

@russingon-week for Day 3 prompt: Rescue from Thangorodrim Author's Note: This is a Rapunzel AU for a fairy tale inspired fic collection I'm starting

Fingon crested another ridge, rock crumbling into small pebbles under his boot with a loud crunch. He had reached the mountains at the break of day and had been climbing it for the better part of it. Yet even in the light of the new Sun, this mountain range was a confusing maze, full of dagger-sharp cliffs, looping canyons and treacherous footing that disappeared under his feet.  

He kept on moving forward. He would keep moving forward until he either found his captive love or his own death.  

Fingon listened closely for the echo on the wind. The first time he lifted his voice in song in this place he truly thought that the answering melody was a mere echo, however he soon learned that it did not repeat his words but sang the next verse back to him. It had been long minutes now since he last heard its answering call.  

The elf slung his harp from his back and sang a verse of the song as loud as he dared inside the Enemy's land, then waited for the echo to come once more.  

When he didn't hear anything for what seemed like an eternity Fingon began to feel like he was standing on the precipice of despair. If something had happened to Maedhros when he was so close to reaching him, if he was late by just a second...  

Then, faintly, the stone walls of the mountain carried a whisper of a tune to Fingon's ear, the tired sigh of a voice unused, the last strand of hope of a weary soul.  

Fingon followed his echo with all haste.  

An enormous cliff face jutted up into the heavens, piercing the sky. This was the very top of Thangorodrim; a sharp wall of impenetrable rock that seemed like the mountains had grown another mountain on top itself. The stone was dark, the wall both too smooth to climb and too razor edged to grip, the peak a barren wasteland where not even a stubborn weed could be found. And up that very peak hung Maedhros on a chain driven into the rock, swinging limply as a corpse from his bound wrist.  

The sight of his beloved cousin brought tears to Fingon's eyes. Maedhros was scarred all over his emaciated body and left bare to weather the elements. Only his auburn hair, now a muddy brown from near thirty years of grime, afforded him some modesty. It had grown impossibly long, long enough that Maedhros had wrapped it around his shoulders and chest several times for a small shred of warmth, and his hair still continued on for thrice more his body's length.  

"Russandol," Fingon called out. "Russandol!"  

"...Finno?" the weak answer came. Maedhros tilted his head down, blinking bleary eyes at Fingon.  

"Yes, it's me! I have come to rescue you!" 

Read the rest on Ao3

[fuckingfinwions]

Thought about the rape magic slavery verse: Maedhros's capture and rescue.

(This is a Feanor lives AU, btw)

Maedhros goes to negotiate (it’s good sense for someone other than the king to go actually) and is captured. He's only had Fingon under his contol for a couple months, he hasn't made Fingon compelled to come after him.

But no one is quite sure how the spell works if the master dies. It might just be that Maedhros's last orders stand forever. But it's possible that Maedhros's death would free Fingon, and the obvious next step for him would be to free Fingolfin.

Feanor won't let that happen.

If Fingon died though, he couldn't cause trouble and nothing magical would happen. Fingon was useful for getting the whole Noldorin army to follow Feanor and for entertaining Maedhros. The first is accomplished and the second is sadly no longer necessary.

Another thing they don't know is whether you can have two masters of one slave. If it’s possible, one of the others could rape Fingon now and then they won’t have to worry about what he’ll do when Maedhros dies. It might not work, or it might drive Fingon mad the first time his masters' orders disagreed. It wasn't worth trying before.

But as long as they’re considering killing Fingon anyway...

Feanor and his sons discuss the pros and cons a couple weeks after Maedhros’s capture. They don't mention it in front of Fingon, but they do in front of Fingolfin, and they forget that he's allowed to tell Fingon everything he knows.

Fingon doesn’t want to die, at least not until he has retribution against everyone who has hurt his family. (Though perhaps the halls of Mandos will be proof against this spell, and perhaps something that started so physically would not last if he was reborn into a new body that Maedhros had never touched.) Fingon is forbidden from killing Feanor. If he runs away, he'll be hunted down just to be sure he didn't spill any of Feanor's secrets, and his family will be unprotected.

Maedhros didn't order Fingon to stay at the camp. He’s a skilled fighter, it’s better if he can chase attacking orcs back to their caves.

Fingon heads north. It’s not like Feanor having seven sons available instead of six will matter to the amount of evil he can do, and Maedhros isn’t likely to personally rape anyone but Fingon.  Fingon lets himself be selfish for once, and rescues Maedhros to save his own life.

Maedhros hasn’t been in Angband very long. Indeed, he hasn’t even had the chance for any escape attempts, so the guard on him is fairly light.

Fingon kills the orcs guarding Maedhros. Neither of them had the key to Maedhros’s chains. He’s chained up in a contorted position, the limits of his body holding him in place - if one of his arms was broken he’d be free from the wall.

“Fingon, you came to rescue me! I’m so glad to see you, my love.” Maedhros has not acknowledged that he and Fingon aren’t really boyfriends anymore.

“Tell me I can attack you.”

“What?”

“I can’t get you free without breaking your arm. Tell me I can hurt you or you’ll be stuck here.”

Maedhros wriggles for a minute as if the absence of guards will have loosened the chains somehow, but they hold fast. “Fine. Don’t kill me, but you may hurt me.”

Fingon understands enough about fighting that he could shatter the bone in one or two blows. Maedhros knows he knows this, so Fingon does.

Maedhros listens when Fingon points out they should actually rest and save their strength when they stop, rather than have sex the moment they’re out of Angband. The broken arm might also be dampening his mood, as well as his arms being chained together because Fingon did not bring bolt cutters.

The two of them walk back to camp. Their fathers are very glad to see them. (Feanor has been taking out his stress on Fingolfin.)

Still, this has brought to light a hole in Feanor’s control of Fingon. He wants to put something in place in case Maedhros is captured or traveling again. (Fingon is still disposable, and therefore good for testing, in Feanor’s view.)

So when Maedhros muses that he wants to do something nice to thank Fingon for being so dedicated and rescuing him, Fingon knows instantly what to say.

“Don’t share me with anyone.” Even if Fingon isn’t driven mad by two masters, Maedhros at least doesn’t inflict pain or humiliation for their own sakes. He can’t say the same thing about Curufin, for example.

“I assure you, I don’t have any plans to.”

“Your father realized that his control over me falls the moment you do. He’ll want someone else who can give me orders.”

“My father has an excellent tactical understanding, and you could be a significant danger.”

“Haven’t I proved my devotion? If I hated you, I could have just walked off into the east and never returned. I might have met one of the locals and settled down with him. I didn’t though. I want you, and no other, so I went north instead.” Fingon can’t lie, and he can’t truthfully say he loves Maedhros anymore, but Maedhros is still very attractive and Fingon doesn’t want anyone else holding his leash.

“But if I were gone...”

“Just because you had one close call doesn’t mean you’ll have another. Please Maedhros? Keep me for yourself?”

Maedhros is overcome and kisses Fingon passionately. Fingon kisses back to support his argument.

“Alright, you win. I’ll tell my father in the morning that I won’t share you.”

“Thank you.”