Work Text:
Morwen fell ill not long after Urwen’s birth, a sore throat and a bad cough and a nasty fever that left her limbs weak and her head spinning. The discomfort and being confined to bed made her bad-tempered, but worse than that was the fact that she was not allowed to see Túrin or the baby until she recovered.
During the worst of the illness, when Morwen felt so weak and lightheaded she could scarcely move, Rían sat by her bed and stroked her hair and sang to her. Most of the songs ran together in her mind as she dozed, but one tune struck something old and half-remembered within her, and the memory came flooding back so sudden and vivid that she opened her eyes.
"Grandmother used to sing that song," she murmured. Rían stopped singing and looked down at her in surprise.
"Yes, she did. She sang it to calm me down whenever she saw me crying, and to help me fall asleep after Mother…" she trailed off.
"I’d forgotten it." Through her feverish daze, Morwen felt vaguely guilty - how could she ever have forgotten anything about Adaer, the woman who had given her life to protect her two granddaughters?
Rían continued to run her fingers through her cousin’s hair, not speaking for a long while. Then she said, “You know, I don’t remember Grandmother’s face. I can’t remember what she looked like at all, but I remember her voice, and all the notes and all the words to her songs.”
And I remember her face, but none of her songs. This suddenly seemed very important; Morwen reached out to her cousin, and Rían took her hand, looking concerned. “Those songs - never forget them, alright? Promise me you won’t, Rían.” She tried to sit up, gripping the girl’s hand as hard as she could, but Rían gently pushed her back down.
"I promise," she said, squeezing Morwen’s hand reassuringly. "Now please try to get some rest.”
Morwen obeyed reluctantly, though it was something of a relief to lie back and close her eyes; she was exhausted. A few moments later the singing resumed, a pleasant melody that she did not recognize, and soon the sound of Rían’s sweet voice soothed her into real sleep.