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The land of the star was not one she ever thought she’d sail to again. But after all the insurmountable courage and loyalty Númenor had shown Galadriel during these dark times, she was all too happy to receive their request for her return.Even if it came with clouded tidings, just as the sun at last felt free to shine again.For Galadriel believed now, for the first time in over an age, that her task was at an end. Pharazôn had seen to Sauron’s capture. Morgoth’s successor finally in chains and brought so low that even the eyes under his brow could not glimpse her light anymore.She ached with a mixture of satisfaction and sorrow, and both encompassed all the things he had done. At the bottom of the very long list, but resting squarely atop her conflicted heart:
Hurting her.
Though there had been no question he belonged in chains. Perhaps now his own return to Númenor would be but a temporary respite on his way to finally facing the judgement of the Valar that was owed to him. Sauron laid to rest in the Void beside his master. Galadriel used all her might to be pleased about it, to block out any other unbidden thoughts.Thoughts about clenched fists around necks until the breaking of the world.Her heart ached, but at least the peace she needed so badly was finally at hand. She had stood unmoving as they had taken him away, and the last thing she saw of him was his watchful eye piercing hers from over his shoulder.Something in her now told her, he was the reason for her return to the island.That the light in her could still be lured to him.Satisfaction and sorrow.It was these thoughts that consumed her during her journey across the sundering seas, that perilous water which had altered her life so completely. And as her ship came into port, her heart sank like a stone. Clouded tidings indeed, for Númenor was shrouded in a layer of thick black smoke, all emanating from atop a building she did not recognise. A terrible structure, large and imposing, a juxtaposition to those around it. Not in appearance, for it was akin to other buildings in the city, but it was in the way it made Galadriel feel as she looked upon it.Like a child. One that witnessed the might of Morgoth at too young an age, seeing first hand what darkness truly means.And it was here now.Queen Míriel herself met Galadriel at the docks, the second sign this day that something was gravely wrong. Elendil was at her side as he was wont to do since her blinding.“Thank you for coming so quickly, Lady Galadriel.” She spoke in haste, no time for even a warm smile. “But we should get you out of sight before one of the King’s Men sees you.” The elf stopped herself from protesting, only for the look of heavy sadness that wearied Elendil’s face. She could ask her questions once they were somewhere safe, but with every step the three of them did tread, the thought of hope dimmed from her heart.The last traces of it then washed away with her tears as she was told what had become of this once hallowed isle.A crown usurped. A king corrupted by an unknown force. A temple raised in the name of Arda’s greatest enemy. Men… sacrificed.“This is not the bright star I knew her to be.” Galadriel spoke mournfully as sadness continued to fall from her eyes. “How could Númenor fall so far from the sky…”
“Pharazôn is to blame.” Elendil stated plainly. “His arrogance became boundless the moment he returned with Sauron. Parading him in chains through the city, personally escorting him to his cell. It is said that he spends much time in the dungeons. Gloating. And the times he is not there, he is ruling over our island with a crown of thorns. Cruel and commanding.”“But what of this temple? How could he let such darkness come to fruition?”
Míriel’s face became one of anger, even her blinded eyes might scorch those who would look upon her. “For the same reason I am no longer ruler of this isle. There is one at his side, day in and day out. It is he who saw the temple constructed, he who leads the blasphemous in ceremony. He who has given Pharazôn so much.”
“Sauron.” Galadriel could not believe it to be anyone else.
“No. That abhorrent creature remains in a cell, Pharazôn’s little pet. The one who has brought a shadow upon us, they call him Zigûr.” Míriel’s voice shook in her rage. She could barely sound his name and winced as if each letter had sliced her tongue as she spoke it.“It means wizard.” Elendil pointed out. “But the only wisdom he has shown lies in his skilful ability to corrupt.”
Galadriel was fuming, breathing heavily, sharing Míriel’s temper in kind. “How many have not fallen under his spell?”
“Only a few, loyal to the queen. Some… some of the faithful were lost, lured by the temptations of immortality.” There was great pain in Elendil as he spoke. Galadriel could keenly sense that he was thinking of someone close, someone now turned away from him. “We hide to avoid being captured and offered up to Zigûr for defying him. I cannot help but think, even now that you are here Galadriel, we shall become martyrs in this fight.”“I will not see that happen. I only wish I had travelled with Pharazôn as he brought Sauron back here… perhaps then I could have staved off this mania before it took hold.” Her mind returned to that last memory of Sauron once again. That glint in his eye as he gazed at her, knowing much it seemed that she had yet to discover. So discover it now she would.“Can you get me into the dungeons? Take me to Sauron?”
“Galadriel–”
“Yes. If it is what you ask, we shall find the way.” Míriel cut off Elendil’s outrage at such a request. “But I would caution you, elf. There is not much to be gained from treating with a demon of despair.”
“On the contrary, what I might glean from his wretched eyes might provide a glimmer of hope for us all.”
“Then it is settled. Elendil, guide her as you do me. I will await your return with a happier heart than when you left.”They were handed two dark cloaks, the cover of choice for those that followed Pharazôn’s rule. Galadriel tucked her hair away best she could, knowing it might see her discovered quicker than her ears would. She was famous in this city. “Follow my every step.” Elendil instructed urgently, quietly. “The moment we encounter any doubt of success, we are turning back.”
Galadriel did not like his hesitancy, but she understood it now. How far one can fall when they force themselves off the precipice. One must see all dangers first before descending into them.
“See what happens when you stop galloping and give yourself a moment to think?”
The words of the great deceiver, ringing true still within her mind. Was he wise to tell her this? Or foolish.Either way, he was the one in the cell.Galadriel did as asked, and followed Elendil closely and with little noise. She was able to easily predict which paths he would tread, given her elvish instincts, but what those instincts had not accounted for was the sights she had wished remained unseen.What was once a prosperous and hopeful empire, now lay covered in the poisonous touch of corruption. And death. The faces of those she saw as they went by, were empty. These people had been denied pain and grief, their love ones sacrificed for a greater purpose, one that would benefit them all. Galadriel saw a pair of smiles exchanged between two men, but there was no joy to be found in them. Whispers of trusting in their leaders, the certainty now of salvation from the Doom of Men.“It is alright, mother.” A young girl cooed with glassy eyes. “Father knew the peace we ourselves are striving for. What a gift he has given to let us have the chance to find it.”
“I miss him.” The widow proclaimed without care.
“So do I, but I take comfort knowing we will see him again. We will have another life with him. Once we have lived long our own.”Galadriel wiped her tears away with the hood of the cloak. Elendil turned to her, his face almost numb. “Come on, we must keep moving.”
The elf nodded and they continued their journey through the desolated streets. Buildings were marred by the banners of Ar-Pharazôn, and abstract portraits of the one named Zigûr. The closer they came to the palace, the more frequent these signs became. A sickness that had spread outward, and now, they were at its source.Elendil lead Galadriel down an unguarded passage, through which they had to move slowly as there were no lights lining their path. Her eyes did help her see, better than the man could, but she was not about to give him another reason to be perturbed by this entire expedition. She followed him still, and waited for the moment that was at last upon them.The passage gave way to a chamber, one Galadriel recognised immediately, for she had spent time here before. Uinen in all her splendour still stood in the centre of the room, a reminder of the great Númenor of old, when the sea was their only god.“Come to relive old memories, elf?”The familiar voice caused her breath to hitch in her throat, and she felt Elendil start beside her. Steeling herself, she moved around the grand statue to see him. “It would seem it is you who wishes to do so, Sauron, given the tiresome form you have taken up again.”
He laughed, that Halbrand laugh. “You and I both know you do not find me… tiresome.”Galadriel scowled and moved closer, Elendil’s watchful guard in the distance behind. “I am tired of your games. All that you have done, all that pain and bloodshed, misery spreading from crook and crevice out into the very sun itself. You have taken much from me, more than I should have allowed.”
“Still blaming yourself, I see?” He scoffed. “You were but a means to my end, elf. Whatever will you thought you might have had was only metal in my hands to mould.”
“I am not your instrument!”
“But you are! Even now as you stand. You may be on the other side of these bars, but you are still a captive. Still playing right into the design I have wrought for you, because it is always you, Galadriel. As for you it is always me. The purpose of our existence.”Galadriel burst forward at the bars, clutching them, squeezing them as if they were Sauron’s throat. He only stepped casually backward with a smirk.“Perhaps we should go, he’s wasting our time.” Elendil chimed in.
“I wouldn’t accuse me of that crime, captain. Once again it is Galadriel and her relentless pursuit. Are you not yet satisfied? I am prisoner here, am I not? What webs might I weave in this dark place?”
“Do you still think me a fool?”
“I never did.”
“I know who frequents your cage. You cannot possibly think I would not consider that to be of interest.”
“Merely cultivating a friendship. I have nothing left to lose. You, however…” He let his eyes wander up and down her form, and they were wild, tormenting her. Galadriel once again ignored his wanton hint, loathing him further for it if it were possible.“Cease your vulgarity and tell me your plans. What have you done to Pharazôn? And who is this Zigûr? Another ancient ally of yours?”
“I rather admire the man. Getting to live out one of my darkest fantasies. Bringing Númenor to its knees.”
“That ‘man’, if he even is one, is an affront to everything good in this world. Just another enemy to be defeated. Tell me how I might do so, and perhaps we could find better living arrangements for you.”“Galadriel–” Elendil protested loudly, too loudly in fact.
Sauron was cackling. “I do not think you are presently yourself, Galadriel! You would free me in exchange for information?”
“If only to escort you to Manwë myself.”
“Who is to say… I’m not already free?” He smirked, that knowing spark in his eye shining once again.“Father?”Galadriel and Elendil’s heads spun round, locking on to the owner of the voice. A young woman, adorned in Pharazôn’s colours, her dark hair braided, her eyes blackened with charcoal.A daughter.“Eärien?” Elendil uttered her name with many emotions. “What… what are you doing here?”
“I should ask the same of you.” she replied, indignant. Elendil did not wait for a proper answer and he grasped her forearm, beginning to walk her down the passage whence he and Galadriel came. “Let go of me!” Eärien struggled. “Father! Stop!”
“You will remain in this dreadful place no longer, I will not have it!”
“The only dreadful thing remains my father abandoning his daughter!”
“You abandoned reason first, child!”Galadriel came up behind them but she was too late. She watched with her elven eyes as Eärien took advantage of the darkness, and managed to sneak away from her father’s grasp. “Much I have learned in your absence.” She spat as she pushed herself past Galadriel, but the elf caught her as she re-entered the chamber, restraining her against the wall. “Have you no respect? For yourself or your forebears? How could you do this to your father? Be a part of this wicked scheme?”“As she said, elf, Eärien has learned much in your absence.” Sauron spoke, but it was not only his words at her back. Galadriel now felt the coolness of a blade against her neck, could smell the scent of smoke that permeated off the armour the prison guards wore as they now surrounded them. Then as silence began to fill the room, a new voice broke it.“If it isn’t the Commander of the Northern Armies…” Pharazôn began, revelling in the sight of his adversary outmatched and outnumbered. “Who might I have to thank for the pleasure of your presence, my lady? Bringing her back to this island again, Elendil.” He shook his head in mockery. “We may have to find a sufficient punishment for you this time.”
“Cease, you foul king!” Galadriel cried, loosening her grip of Eärien, letting the young woman scamper away to safety. “And cease your company with this snake, and cast out the wizard who has lead you to ruin! Surely this cannot be any of what you wished for Númenor?”“You do not understand elf, and how could you? The arrogance of your immortality has blinded you to the sorrows of men. We only wish to live, to walk beside you in peace until the end of all the ages. Why should we not want that? Númenor should be heralded as one of the great peoples of this world, for we are mighty, and we are brave.”
“Brave?” Galadriel sneered. “All I see is cowardice. Are you not thankful enough for the gifts the Valar have bestowed? Your lives are longer than the men of Middle-earth, men that sided with Morgoth during those horrors of war. What makes you think that worshipping him now might free you from the Doom of Men? Zigûr is a false prophet, quite plainly leading sermons of pain and brutality. To what end? Only the downfall of your great lands.”“Perhaps Galadriel might benefit from his wisdom, Pharazôn?” Sauron spoke, words slithering into the king’s mind. “Show her all that you see so that she might understand the true purpose of all of this.”
“I will not be swayed!”
Sauron laughed again. Galadriel detested how his form had become a torture to her. A form she believed to be good, only containing the greatest evil to walk among them. For a moment she tried to will Halbrand to life.“You may not be, Commander.” said Pharazôn. “But all who visit Númenor should bear witness to the glory of Zigûr and the power of his words. I would not be a gracious host if I denied you that chance.”He motioned to the guards with a gesture of eyes and head, and immediately they escorted Galadriel and Elendil in their custody, out of the dungeons. The elf could feel Sauron’s smile branding the back of her neck. But she held her resolve, for she knew what lay ahead could not be worse than what lay behind within that cell.They were stripped of the cloaks that would disguise them, their true selves on display for the masses as they headed closer to the temple. People cursed them in the streets, heaping praise upon Pharazôn. Galadriel could taste bile at the back of her throat.As they approached the grand entrance of the temple with its high vaulted doors, the crowds parted to let the king and his prisoners through. “It seems you have arrived at the right time, Galadriel. The people have gathered to hear him speak. Ready yourself, for your ears are to be treated to a feast of words.”They were escorted all the way to the front, coming to rest in a pew that was decadent to say the least, trimmed in gold, lined in plush cushions. A place for a king to worship from. Silence quickly fell within the nave, so quickly it unsettled Galadriel greatly. These people had surely heard Zigûr speak many times, yet they were as eager as children at supper.A chill spread through her, and the room, as a new presence entered, slowly walking towards the steel lectern at the centre of the stage. A tall figure, shrouded in what felt like the very shadow he had cast over the island. His hair, long and raven-like, his skin pale like marble, where it was not concealed by deep crimson robes. His eyes were of silver, encompassing the only light about him. They locked onto Galadriel immediately as if he knew her.And she knew him. For when he was close enough his face came into focus, that strong jaw, that smirk.Zigûr was Sauron.Her rage was endless. How do they not see it? She pleaded in her mind. Any words spoken out loud now would be in vain and get her nowhere, any actions might surely lead to Elendil’s death, if he was not a dead man already.“My friends.” He spoke in a voice that boomed to the back of the temple, a voice that sounded nothing like the charm of Halbrand, but held all the slippery deviousness of Sauron. “Fortunate you are to be here this day. A day given to us by Melkor, he who carries our faith.”
“Blessed be, Melkor, giver of life.” The congregation chanted on cue, monotonous and manipulated.
“For it is by his divine hand that we continue to live at his mercy. Given the chance to exist in ways denied to us by those that would proclaim themselves our gods.”
“We reject the Valar, and curse Illuvatar’s children.” An eerie mantra that pained her ears.“It is Melkor alone that cares, that sees the value in all of you. He knows what good you will do in this world, when you are granted life eternal. How you might rule in peace and prosperity. Why else would he give it to you? You, the most deserving. He knows what troubles you have faced for he has faced them himself. He is considered less than. Something to be caged.” The crowd booed and it was deafening. ‘Zigûr’ continued on.“There are those that say this island is a gift?” He cackled. “What gift to be sealed in by the sea and then forced to believe the waves are your master? It is the treachery of the Valar, the deceitful reminder that you must dwell here, even after aiding in victory, whilst the elves and the so-called gods of Arda may walk upon many endless realms. Their lands undying, their Middle-earth, all of it going to waste and for what? So that you might be kept in your place.”The people were raucous now, borderline unruly. Sauron’s words were a wind, spreading the fire that had been sparked in each of their hearts by Pharazôn. Galadriel too was alight in her fury, but one she shared alone.“Melkor once ruled over Middle-earth, spreading his glory down from the north, taking what he could for himself that which he was denied for so long. His place in the Music. He wants you to join that Music too, my friends, yes. He wishes for a grand harmony to cover all ears and brighten all minds, a song of deliverance. And not only for the magnificent Númenor, no, but for your kin on the mainland, all men deserve to be bathed in the same endless light, and sing in a chorus undying.”Screaming filled the nave, sounds of joy like Galadriel had never heard. Women and men alike were openly weeping, children were skipping along the aisle. She could not believe that so many could see hope when only death awaited them. Sauron had ensnared them all so totally, replaced their purpose with his own, crafting a terrible army of a new faithful ruled by fear and false hope.He had wandered with such charisma across that stage, spoken every word like it was divine prophecy, from the mouth of Eru himself. They believed it because he believed it. The old ways of serving his master had reared their ugly head, except it was Sauron now in control, reducing Morgoth to a pawn in his treacherous plan.Just as he said she was.“Hear now, my friends, hear now, that a Child of Illuvatar sits among you.” Gasps and murmurs echoed off the walls at his words. Galadriel felt Elendil squeeze her hand, hoping to steady her, anchor her. Ever the captain. “I spied her when I first came in.”“Kick her out!”
“Burn her!” Cried unknown voices.“An offensive presence that fills me…” His chest swelled along with his ego. “…with such great satisfaction. I wish you could all feel it.”“Get rid of her!” Another stranger cried.“Get rid of her? No…” Sauron laughed. “I will do no such thing! Remember at the beginning, I spoke of how fortunate you all are to be here this day. This day where one of the Eldar bears witness to the truth I have granted all of you! That she might see the light I have shown you, feel Melkor’s grace caress her very fëa.” He was staring at Galadriel now, speaking to her directly, his eyes so wide and consuming. His mouth parted in a small smile, and Galadriel could see his breath shake his bottom lip. Sauron was salivating.“Might she be the first of her kind to awake in His gaze? To take back with her to her homeland, wherever that might be, the wonderment we all know? Spread it among her people? That, my friends, that… would be the true gift.”Applause broke out, more blissful screaming.Galadriel could withstand it no longer.She shook herself free from her captors and stormed the stage, having lost all hope except for that which she put in her fist. She struck him and it did nothing but prove his point. He addressed the masses. “Not so exalted after all, are they? No greater strength than you, so again I ask, why treat them with the reverence you yourselves are owed?”Galadriel moved to strike him again, but this time he grabbed her forearm, stopping it in its tracks with ease. Evoking a memory from what felt like long ago now that the elf wished she could forget.Sauron stared down at her, near emotionless, containing only the wicked nature she knew he possessed. “If it would please the people, and you most of all Ar-Pharazôn, I might keep this elf a while longer. If only to see that she is properly cared for, as Melkor would want.”Applause had never terrified her more.‘Zigûr’ bowed before his congregation, and as Pharazôn walked up towards him in thanks, he offered the king his hand, and Galadriel recoiled at the sight and sound of Pharazôn’s lips upon Sauron’s skin.“Do with her what you must, Zigûr. For I have my own prize.”Galadriel’s eyes darted to Elendil, restrained between two guards. I am sorry. She spoke with her eyes, not regretting her decision but only sad for its outcome. It is alright. The captain replied with strength upon his brow and bravery in his heart. A tear fell down Galadriel’s cheek, but it was caught before it could escape her skin. Sauron’s hand, warm and sickeningly comforting, brushed that teardrop away before delicately turning her face towards his own.Another memory threatened to surface, but Galadriel sent it back down beneath those sundering seas.“Come, my child. Let me show you the wonders of this world you might yet know.” His silver tongue spun sincerity, concealing the vindictive glee he no doubt felt, leaving Pharazôn to believe as ever, that the wizard before him could not be the very same prisoner he loved to visit beneath the palace.“Pharazôn! You are being deceived! This creature is not who he claims to be! He is Sauron, I swear to you!” Galadriel cried before Sauron could take her away, a final stand before the sealing of all their fates. The King of Númenor scoffed at her. He was too far gone to believe anything that did not drip from the venomous lips of Morgoth’s successor. “You are mad, elf. I have tamed the beast called Sauron. He exists now only as a mascot of my accomplishments, the beginning of the real power that Númenor holds. Now be a good child and find the faith that has been missing from your endless life for so very long.”Galadriel gasped and screamed, but Sauron held her firm within his grip, and her sounds vanished into the joyful chorus of the crowd as she was dragged away.He forced her into another chamber beyond the apse of the temple. Its ceiling was as neverending as her sorrow for the men of this island, its coldness like the barren lands of Forodwaithe. A scent of agony permeated the air, the stench of cruelty and hatred, all the things Sauron was, all the things she had fought against for more years than there had been sunrises.In the centre of the room lay an altar, one upon which rested horrific things. Instruments of despair, designed for servitude in Melkor’s name, all stained with blood. And it was fresh. Fear encompassed her completely now. Sauron released her, but she did not run, she was frozen still, trapped by the very presence of him, and what he might do next.He began to pace slowly around the chamber, and her ears filled with the sound of his footfalls and robes as he moved across the stone. And then, his words once again.“You should not fear, Galadriel. I know this is what you’ve wanted, in all those days since I left you wet in the Glanduin. A chance to be alone with me once more. I could feel it aching from you down in the dungeons, your desire to banish all others, even that captain from the room, so it could be you and I… the way it was intended.”“Keep your vile words, Zigûr. Save them for your senseless followers. I am not so easily undone.”
“Cease the lies you tell yourself, Galadriel! They may not be able to see who truly leads them, but at least they can see, can feel what it is that you do.”
“And what is that exactly?” She sneered.Sauron glided towards her like a dark and terrible phantom, swift and sudden. He stopped a hair’s breadth from her, and Galadriel could feel the raging fire within him. “My power.” He uttered softly, and something radiated within the elf at his words, as if they were a key unlocking a deep secret. Though she forced it back down before anything could surface, letting her light keep that shadow at bay.His lips curved into a smile of great satisfaction. He knew the effect he was having on her, she could see that plainly. It made her even more sick. Sauron traced a single finger, like a feather on her skin, and she blushed beneath his touch, but suddenly recoiled in disgust, more at herself than he, not ready to let her own deception falter yet.Sauron’s smirk widened, and he turned to resume his pacing. Galadriel watched as the same hand that had grazed her now wandered across the sharpened tools, blades and hooks that were spread upon his so-called altar to Melkor. The blackest of velvet sheets that separated the instruments from the stone that held them, felt like a cruel contrast in this dark place. Something so soft and comforting to the touch, and Galadriel longed to feel it in her hands. Or perhaps she simply wanted to be the velvet now, as she watched Sauron clench it tight within his fist.“None of this… none of this matters does it?” He spoke in a voice removed from grandeur. Galadriel eyed him curiously, welcoming the distraction from her cursed desires. “Melkor still rests within that Timeless Void, beyond the Door of Night.” He chuckled. “My master… the one who showed me a better way all those ages ago… a part of me believed all of these horrors committed would change something. Unlock some magic within the unseen world that might set him loose once again. Though…” He smiled maliciously as his next thought struck him. “I have had such a good fill with my rule over this land. To see how these men have bended to me, as they should. So lucky are they to receive but a glimpse of my power, and know the same bliss that Melkor gave me.”“You are demented.” Galadriel’s words trembled from her lips. “Nothing you could ever do would see Manwë release Morgoth from his chains! A mistake once made will not be made again.”
“Mistake? A trait that your kind knows all too well. But your mistakes, elf, lead to my glory and the glory of Melkor.” In an unexpected motion, Sauron pulled the velvet sheet clean off the altar, sending it and all it carried hurtling to the stone floor in a loud crash.“Come to me.”
The elf twitched but held firm. “I will not.”
“Come to me, Galadriel.” His voice hissed all around her, sinking into her skin, flowing through her veins. She stepped slowly forward, of her own volition, her curiosity winning out. Or at least that is what she convinced herself of. Stopping in front of the altar now bared before her, she looked across at Sauron and fell so deep into his eyes. The silver now melted, only orbs of flame shining back at her, an unknowable chasm of fire.“Do you see it? The secret fire I carry… how it burns with my worship to my master. How it cleansed me of all ills so that I might finally wield my great power.”Galadriel was awestruck, entranced. A dream-like state overtook her and she at last did not fight it. The warmth she now felt… it soothed her, bringing with it a serenity she had not known since her youth. But it was Morgoth himself who had stolen that peace… how could he be the one to restore it now?She shook her head, an ache behind her eyes, but Sauron called her back to him. “Do not reject me again, Galadriel. Can you not yet see what it is I can grant you? Can you not feel it in your heart, your very being? In that dampness that now runs down your thighs?”
“No… I–”
“Hush now.” Sauron wandered around to her side of the altar, his body now the closest it had ever been. The scent of him caused her body to ache. He slipped his hands, those long fingers, underneath the fabric that covered her, his skin grazing hers as he pulled down her gown. She was bare, exposed completely, and she trembled, though not from the cold.“There you are. My beautiful servant…” Soft praising words that trickled down her flesh along with his eyes upon her. “The way you were made, designed… it is the only thing I would thank Illuvatar for… but Melkor deserves my thanks as well… for it is he that lead me… to you.”Galadriel’s chest was heaving, her heart racing like never before. She could feel that dampness he spoke of, smell it now in the air. She wanted him to taste it. Her offering.He brushed her luscious hair aside and his fingers grazed her throat, running downward along the curve of her neck, atop her shoulder and arm. Sauron was savouring every second that had been granted him. He breathed her in, the tip of his nose just below her ear. “The scent of Valinor is still carried upon you. You cling to that time so desperately. Tell me why.”
“Because it was when I was most happy.” She answered truthfully without hesitation.
“That was not happiness, Galadriel.” He whispered against her skin. “That was a lie. A wonderful mirage. For true happiness, my child… lies right here.”The elf whimpered as his hand made contact with her at last, coating himself in her, feeling that part of her she knew he had longed to feel. Sauron pressed his hungry lips to her neck, no doubt feeling her throbbing pulse buried just under the surface. Galadriel grasped the altar, needing to steady herself. He sucked on her earlobe as his fingers delved deep within, and she moaned uncontrollably. But it felt good to surrender.“Yours is the ultimate sacrifice, Galadriel.” Sauron’s breath tickled her damp skin. “For what you give to me, you give to Melkor… and the binding of our flesh shall be all that is needed to return him to me. Then all our supplications shall be answered at last.” His thumb swiped that sensitive bud, his teeth smiling as he bit down upon her, and his other hand caressed her breast. Pain and pleasure warred within her, but they were two sides of the same coin. It was like a feeding frenzy, maddening and all consuming.None of his words made any sense to her, but she did not care. His voice was music enough to her ears such that she wished it now to be the only sound she ever heard henceforth. Even if it dripped with malice and seduction. Though no amount of coupling was going to release Morgoth from the Void. The only thing it might release would be the tangled web of love and lust that had covered her heart for so long.Galadriel turned to face him, to see his expression as he tended to her. But the moment she spied his lips, coated in his saliva as he thirsted for her, she chose to drink from him as if he were a cup containing the most hallowed of liquids. Sauron could not suppress the moan she lured out of him as her tongue met his in passion, the hand from her breast moving to the rear of her head to hold her against him. The kiss was breathless, a total and complete collapse of any pretence or will. They both gave in to each other.His skilled hand only increased its motions, and Galadriel increased her cries, only now they were sent down his throat. Soon the elf lost all control, breaking the kiss, using all of his body to keep herself standing. Sauron spoke to her sweet praises in Quenya, his voice even more beautiful for it.Galadriel was unable to fathom the totality of what was happening. It was as if the dreams she had viewed as nightmares were now come to life and unmaking her from within by the skill of his divine hand.“Does this not feel exquisite? Our bodies finally beginning to meet on this euphoric plane? I only wish that I had taken you sooner… for I have been denied you too long…”
“You… have not yet taken me…” Galadriel spoke between gasps.
“I suppose you are right… and what might we do about that…” As he spoke his fingers curled within her, eliciting a sharp cry from her lips. “What deeds would be in obeisance to our lord, the one who would set right all ills in this world…”Galadriel opened her eyes and looked up at him, this dark priest of Melkor, this embodiment of temptation. His mouth curved like a scythe, a deadly smile that shook the very core of her being in ways she had not thought possible. Sauron let his sinister laugh thrum in his throat, vibrating against her skin, chilling her very bones.And only he could warm her again.Sauron ran a single finger lightly over her face, her neck, clearly pondering what next to do with her. The anticipation caused the elf to hold her breath. “I know you have an offering for me, for Melkor, Galadriel. I would ask that you rest upon the altar now and prepare yourself to give it.” He took a step back to give her space, and she loathed that brief time he did not touch her, despite how she now dripped from his fingers. She used her hands to prop herself up on the stone slab that rested in the centre of the room. Though she did not take her eyes off of him, she could still make out the carvings that now rested beneath her palms.Words of woe that spoke of a cleansing flame, a changing of the world that Melkor had long desired to bring about. It was against everything Galadriel and her kin had fought for and believed in.Yet it excited her greatly to let this evil seep into her skin. To let go. Forgetting consequence, focusing only on the ecstasy she deserved, that was at last within her reach.She was free.“Lean back, my child… part your legs so that I might sip your sweet wine in the name of Melkor… yes… that’s it.” His eyes were ablaze at the sight of her following his command, that sumptuous seam now exposed, glistening in the candle light of this unholy place, and eager to be poured down his throat.Galadriel watched as Sauron kneeled in reverence before her, the altar at the perfect height for him to receive her sacrifice. As if it were destined.He draped her leg over his shoulder, and wrapping his arm around her thigh, he attached himself by lips and fingernails, and Galadriel could not discern which struck her deeper. Kissing his way slowly along her flesh, drawing out the journey to his most sought after destination - the prize that practically beckoned him, Galadriel shifting her hips in anticipation. His laugh passed through her skin once more.“Oh, my child… in all the time I have known and perceived you, I did not realise you wished to please Melkor so.” Their eyes made contact as he spoke, and he ran his tongue along her thigh, causing Galadriel to writhe with a shiver.
“No, Sauron, you have perceived me correctly.” She answered him, biting her lip. “It is not Melkor I wish to please.”
He grinned as he turned to face the beautiful vision that rested between her legs. “Nor I.”With that, Sauron at last let himself consume her. The sound of his groan was lost to her ears, drowned out by her own cry, but regardless, as it was his way, she felt his voice move deep inside of her. The mouth that had spoken evil and cruelty, that had manipulated all with the silver tongue it held, now worked a different kind of magic as it moved against her, feasting on that which was his to taste.Galadriel had never experienced such an act, and was new to its rapture. She wished to watch him, but that deft kiss of his only sent her head hanging back, the long tresses of her hair scraping the altar she now yearned to make their bed.No part of her apex went unsullied, every single motion elicited a spark of pleasure. Galadriel’s shrieks echoed off the walls as Sauron’s tongue swiped over her now swollen bud, which he proceeded to suckle on in a languorous manner, drawing out her cries, making them last so long that she could not break to breathe.Then she felt his fingers slip within her once more, with ease such that they could now reach their deepest. He was coaxing her, moulding her to give them both what they wanted, and as her bliss began to build, Galadriel suddenly realised it would not be long now. She bucked her hips into his head, riding them closer to that end.If she could barely breathe, it was certain that he could not at all, but he devoured her like she was all he needed to exist, supping of her elixir of life itself that now sprung in abundance.Her native tongue fell from her lips as she did from grace and into the arms of the deceiver. Galadriel’s euphoria was upon them at last, and Sauron worked furiously to see it done. He filled her with his hand, his teeth clasped around her nub, and the lady of light was consumed by a fire of darkness. She gave all she had to him, so very gladly, and she could feel it pouring out of her, coating his lips, his throat as he drank her down.He hummed into her ravaged flesh, and he did not cease his mastery of her, not until her wailing began to still into a small whimper. Galadriel felt as though she might never move again, become one with the altar such that she would eternally rest as a monument upon it. A testament to Sauron’s worship of her.His lips kissed her tenderness, and she moved yet, trembling at every little touch. Finding the will now to gaze down at him, she saw it was his lips that now glistened in the candlelight, and he licked them, a show for her, closing his eyes and savouring her flavour on his tongue.“Are you pleased… with my offering?” Galadriel managed, still catching her breath.
“Indeed, my child… mmmm…” He dove back in for another taste, causing a great sigh to escape her. “I should not want to waste a single drop. You are beautiful, Galadriel. Sacred beyond measure. You have made this place more befitting of its purpose, a purpose which, as it stands… is not yet complete.”
“Our purpose, you mean to say? I cannot believe any longer that you erected this temple in service of ‘your lord’. I know you as well, Sauron. Morgoth has been gone too long to still hold any sway upon you. I see how your words do not betray the totality of your meaning. The façade slipped along with your tongue inside of me.”He smiled at her and kneeled no longer. “Perhaps I did lose myself for a time. Whether it was the people’s beliefs or my own that felled me, I cannot say. Númenor has bequeathed me a power that I had not yet known, a large kingdom of fools to rule over, to move one way or another. And if their faith in Melkor moves them so, then surely it is not beyond me to give into that faith myself? If only to have that power over you as well… my child.” Sauron’s wickedness knew no bounds, and he laughed in satisfaction, before leaning towards Galadriel, covering her body as she still sat naked upon the stone.Galadriel could feel that power he spoke of, in body and in spirit. And she cared no longer to rebuild her own façade, for all the pieces of it had turned to dust. She was his now to remake, in whatever image he saw fit.“You once spoke of binding me to power.” She began, lifting her hand to feel what waited for her beneath his velvet robes. “I would ask… that you do that now… but know that I have no light left to give you. For you have already taken it.”
“And it will sustain me for all of my days.” His words fell into her mouth before he covered it with his kiss, their tongues meeting in equal fervour. The both of them alike now in truth and in want, having surrendered to the other, and their desires. Though whether it were true or false, Galadriel had come to enjoy seeing Sauron within the ‘Zigûr’ persona. All disgust and disdain for it had melted away, and she longed to hear him speak in wisdom, what teachings of ‘Melkor’ he had to bestow.Even as something tugged on her heart that she now chose to ignore.The image of Elendil, prisoner. Of Míriel, a queen dethroned.Long was Galadriel tired of fighting for everyone but herself.Sauron had released something dark within her now, that replaced the light he stole. The true tempest once hidden deep within had surfaced, beautiful and terrible as the dawn.The last tear she would shed for them now fell as she pulled at Sauron’s robes.“Tell me, Zigûr… what else might sustain you?” She teased him, breaking their kiss. “What glory might Melkor give to us if we bind our bodies in his name?” Her lust throbbed within her, and she smiled as he reacted to her words, grinning in sync with her.
“Why he would elevate us to a greatness none of our kind yet know. See that we continue to spread his good word, his rule over the men of this realm. Raise us all up to be better than was once thought possible.”
“Would he make me a queen?” Galadriel pondered slyly.
Sauron chuckled in playful malevolence. “No… that was my promise to you. I and I alone would see to that being fulfilled.He kissed her again, their passion only increasing, hands now hurriedly at work to bare him to her fully. The fabric became a memory on the stone floor, joining Galadriel’s own gown she would happily let the moths eat. What feast fell now before her eyes, a body she had yearned for for countless days to see in its totality. “Does the lady enjoy the view?” Sauron spoke lowly, breathless, marvelling in the way her eyes, her hands traced his form.Then he groaned as she took the length of him in her grasp.“I feel I shall enjoy much more… with this inside of me. But first… I have one request.” She stated plainly, stroking him.
Sauron’s eyes fluttered. “Anything.”
Galadriel took a breath, unsure of what his reaction might be. Would it turn him away from her? Would it put her in chains? Or would it please him? Above all her doubt, she knew Sauron wished to satisfy her most of all. It was this thought that lead her to speaking.“I would ask… for Halbrand to take me.”She had thought it was the priest she had wanted to commit this final act, this meeting of their flesh. And while she had certainly revelled in having that particular itch scratched, it was clear to her now that it was only delaying the inevitable, concealing her true desires that rested in the deepest part of her heart. Halbrand was who she truly yearned for, and Galadriel would deny herself of him no longer.Sauron’s eyes widened at the unexpected notion. “Is that so?”
“Not Zigûr, not Annatar… Halbrand. The first of your names that I came to know.”
And love.
“I forget how sentimental you can be, elf. I suppose it makes sense, does it not? You have unfinished business with him. That much was plain as I gazed at you from behind those familiar bars.” He chuckled in amusement. Galadriel only squeezed him in her grip, impatient now for an answer. Sauron gasped and laughed louder. “You always get your way, don’t you.” He then held her lips with his own for a brief moment, before whispering words into her mouth.“Close your eyes.”His only request in return, to which she acquiesced. Galadriel let herself lay back on the altar, her legs dangling off the edge now, her mouth agape as she panted in anticipation for what was to come. Course hands began to move their way up her curves, skimming over her breasts, making her twitch. A new scent filled her nostrils, one she had committed to memory. She felt one of those hands scoop her up behind her head, lifting her closer to the heat that was starting to engulf her. Too nervous to open her eyes, she simply waited.His breath hit her lips in a brief moment before he stole them with a kiss, and Galadriel sighed into him, welcoming him in, feeling his stubble scratch against her skin. He had her, so she let her hands clasp around his face, and she wept as she knew who it was that tasted her now.
Halbrand, Halbrand, Halbrand…
His name was her prayer that had now been answered. It was strange, all these names of his, they were one and the same spirit, but nothing seemed to send her heart into a frenzy now more than knowing she had Halbrand at last. “I told you… you do not find this form tiresome.”
“Why must you always be right?” Galadriel admitted, a mixture of playfulness and dissatisfaction in her tone.
“Because I know you, Galadriel. I have always known you.” Oh how she had missed this voice. “I speak the thoughts you hide from the world. I am the truths you seek to cover with lies. You run from yourself but into my arms. It is why you have given into me. Why you have put aside your noble cause in coming to this isle. In fact, it might be why you came here at all.”Galadriel’s head swam as she made sense of all Sauron said. She had known there to be something in his gaze, that final time he had looked at her as Pharazôn took him away. It was that she had been chasing. “You have unfinished business with him.”Indeed she did, and in moments, that business would be complete.“Is this the purpose we were brought together for?” She asked him, expecting him to know. Halbrand’s hazel eyes burned down at her. “What does your heart tell you?” He spoke softly, entreating her to find her own answer, for it might be contained within. Galadriel responded, not with words, but with action.Using her elven strength, she rolled their bodies upon the altar, ignoring the ache in her bones where she collided with the stone. Halbrand now lay beneath her, his chest heaving, his eyes heavy lidded as he gazed upward at her naked beauty. Galadriel was now astride him, her honey dripping onto that hardened shaft she needed to claim. And as if her battle was over, she sheathed him inside herself, putting to rest at last all that remained in her quest.The shriek that passed her lips was a sound she had never heard, could not believe rose up from within her. Sauron groaned with exquisite fervour, clutching his smithing hands to her thighs as she began to ride him. A feeling of utter completion washed over her. This was it, this was everything she had needed, that had been missing from not only her existence, but from their twisted relationship. The push, the pull, her fighting, him egging her on. It had all lead to this inevitability. Galadriel found it rather fitting that their coupling was occurring in a darkly hallowed place, and one of Sauron’s design.Everything had been of his design.
“Still playing right into the design I have wrought for you, because it is always you, Galadriel. As for you it is always me. The purpose of our existence.”
How perceptive even then, not hours ago. Almost as if he knew this very moment would come to pass. Galadriel had believed herself to be free, having surrendered to Sauron and his priestly temptations, the weight of her burdens lifted at last. But what freedom was this when he was guiding her hand, even as he held it now, clinging to her as she writhed above?She forced the confusing thoughts from out her mind with a commanding thrust of her body into him, wanting to take him deeper into her, to reach places she had only ever dreamed of. Sauron pierced the very core of her, and the pleasure he brought was of no compare to any other kind of rapture this world could know.“Galadriel…” Her name a prayer of his own. “What words are there…” He moaned in his own bliss, his eyes dancing along with her every movement, wanting to take her all in. Galadriel smiled down at him. “This cannot be… have I… stopped your silver tongue?”
Sauron pulled her down to him. “It seems it might only be good now… for tasting every part of you.” Galadriel hummed as his tongue called out her own, colliding in a passionate mess, as were their sexes, with Sauron thrusting upward to pleasure them both faster and harder.“If you would allow me…” He spoke in the midst of their kissing and moaning. “I would like to consummate our union… by bending you upon this altar.”
“Would you thus?” Galadriel teased him in response.
“I would.” He turned her head to take her earlobe betwixt his teeth, then Sauron spoke words that almost ended her then and there.“I want you to feel all the power I possess as I surrender to your body.”She bit her lip and her nails clung harder to where she grasped him, her body almost giving way. “Your will is mine. As ever.” She replied swiping his own lobe with her tongue in near mimicry.Sauron’s laughter filled her ears, that low and devious chuckle, and she removed herself from him, the both of them sighing at their parting, before sliding to the side to let him up. Galadriel heard the pads of his feet hit the stone floor, just before he spoke.“Lie on your belly, Galadriel, and let your toes graze the ground upon which I stand.”The next sound she heard was his hand running along his length, coated in her slick. Once in the position he commanded, she turned her head, hoping to glimpse a moment of such a glorious sight.“So greedy, elf…” he chastised, giving her rear a sudden slap with his hand, and Galadriel jolted at the pain that spiked through her, delicious like flame. “Have you not tired of this form yet?”
“Silence, you fiend.” She responded with a small giggle at his jest. “I am only tired now of waiting.”
“So impatient.” Sauron collected the other cheek, balancing his act of admonishment. “Fret not, my child… your contrition is at hand.”Sauron punctuated his words with a forceful motion of his thickness into her, filling her to the hilt. Words that were a mixture of Halbrand, Zigûr, Sauron all in one, as he catered to whatever he sensed was best for her, which was now… all of him.He was as relentless in his taking her as she was in her pursuit of him all these countless years. Slamming himself into her, her body against the altar, crushing her in an onslaught of wicked pressure. Galadriel shrieked loudly every time he hit that pinnacle within her, the bliss of it spreading through her like a wave of magic. Her knuckles whitened as she braced herself on the altar’s edge, canting back against Sauron, meeting his thrusts, matching his power.He gripped her hips like a vice as he buried himself in and out, over and over. The music of his moaning, their coupling, added so wondrously to the ecstasy Galadriel was feeling. It helped her picture how beautiful he no doubt looked right now as he claimed his elf at last. She felt him so deeply inside she could not breathe, as if an invisible hand had wrapped itself around her throat. Or perhaps that was a part of his power, his skill, controlling her body so deftly, stealing more of the will she thought she possessed.The taste of copper suddenly made itself known to her tongue, and it was only then she realised she had bitten down on her lip so hard she had drawn blood. She felt no pain, she could feel nothing else, only Sauron binding his body to hers.“You are mine, Galadriel… you have always… been… mine…” He grunted out the words he needed her to hear.
“Yes… Sauron… I am… yours… only yours…” She was lost in him completely. He had consumed her, from her body to her very fëa. Galadriel was indeed his instrument. But was she the driving beat of the drum, moving his existence ever on in a constant rhythm of destiny and purpose, or the strings dancing all around him, running wild with notes up the scale and back down again, an unpredictable melody he had to tame?The brief flash of fear she felt at this thought disappeared as soon as it came, for Sauron had slowed his motions, deciding to let Galadriel feel every single inch of him, his torturous thickness that was changing her into a writhing and helpless thing. “I promised… to bind you… to power. Tell me, Galadriel… how does it feel?”He had trapped her. Asking her a question he knew she could only give one answer to. He must be aware of the doubts that were starting to creep their way in, she was certain of it. For even as she attempted to focus on an honest answer, the tip of him would graze her most tender spot, and she would have to try and remember all over again what words she was about to speak.Galadriel almost did not care, for she was endlessly grateful for the pleasure he was making her feel. A true endless euphoria, perpetual, eternal. She knew in that moment she could have it, have this, have him for all her days.“It feels… like a promise kept… like undiluted happiness… so pure… so complete… uhhhh….”
“That is right, my child… my queen… mmmm…”Her body began to adjust to her new state, and with that came a calming of her mind, a stillness that allowed the perplexing thoughts to re-enter. She did not like how they made her feel. They were the antithesis of the rapture Sauron had shown her, this enlightenment that had devoured her whole. Galadriel was suddenly faced with a decision she wished she did not have to make. One she hoped she would not come to regret.She continued in her surrender to him. She did not go back, did not relent. She saw in Sauron her true purpose, knew that no lies resided in his concern for her. She had been fighting him for so long, it had been all she had known. Galadriel was so tired. Letting go of everything, here in this temple, upon this altar with her Enemy… it was time.“I wish to see you… my lord…” She declared, but softly.
“My lord?” Sauron was amused by the epithet. “You need not use that title with me, as much as it pleases me to hear you utter it at last.”
“But you are… my lord Sauron.” Her voice trembled, and her fear fled, replaced now with relief. A feeling of certainty.He groaned in ecstasy at the sound of her words, then again as he slammed himself into her, filling her and keeping himself there. Galadriel wondered if he would split her in two.“Mmm for that, I will let you see me, elf… if only so I can watch you call me that as I fill you with my seed.”She felt barren as he withdrew, but knew it would only be temporary. Rolling her aching body once again onto her back, Galadriel whimpered a little now that Sauron was in her vision once again. His naked body glistened in the lamplight, the sweat on his brow dampening his hair, reminding her instantly of that night she had come to seek Halbrand’s forgiveness, her last attempt to sway him to join her. His eyes shone in the forge then exactly as they did now, gazing heatedly, meaningfully into her own. Galadriel could not help but touch herself. Joining her now contained an entirely new meaning.“By Melkor… I would almost be content to watch you fulfil your own desires… but you are simply too irresistible…”
“There will be time enough for that… I am sure.”
“Yes, there will.”Sauron stepped toward her, taking a leg in each hand, raising them up to rest atop his shoulders. The tip of him bumped up against her sex, causing Galadriel to twitch with anticipation. “Would you like me to release you, Galadriel? To at last unleash what only I can upon this world?”
“Yes.” She gasped.
“Yes, what?” He demanded, pressing her bud tight between two fingers.
“Yes, my lord Sauron!” Galadriel keened, canting her hips, desperate for him.He smirked, his eyes wild, an expression she utterly adored. Then Sauron ended her misery, filling her to the brim in one swift movement. Galadriel’s eyes widened as she took him in, whining in her overcome state. He had somehow found a way to reach her deeper, with her body angled up and off the altar slightly, Sauron could dive in and use her utterly, as was now all she wanted.Galadriel could not believe her eyes. Sauron, Halbrand, grasping firmly her raised legs, his thick length vanishing inside of her repeatedly, his hair shaking with every snap of his hips, his beautiful face set in a sign of exquisite rapture. It almost did not seem real, and if she could not sense everything he was doing to her so acutely, she would have been certain now this was an illusion. After all this time, Galadriel was at long last, getting what she wanted.“On second thought… I have changed my mind… I would like very much to see you tend to yourself, Galadriel…” Sauron uttered near breathless. “We can both… see you to completion… together.”
“Yes Lord Sauron… I would also… ohhh… like that… very much…” She answered him, struggling to complete the sentence, and without hesitation, Galadriel returned her hand to her sex. She felt his shaft as it darted in and out, drenching her fingers in their shared elixir of pleasure, and began to rub that blissful apex so furiously.Sauron bent her body further towards her now, and increased his motions with the knowledge that their shared goal was now in sight. It was as if he discovered a new kind of haste, of urgency, and moved with such force which matched that in kind. Galadriel felt herself being unmade, as if her body might dissipate into pure white light and drift off up into the sky.“Such a good elf… yes… greedy, hungry, little elf… uhhhh… are you ready for me? To feel what I have to give?”
“Y-yes… by Melkor yes!” Galadriel used the name without even registering, caught up in the intoxication of it all. “My release is at hand…”
“Then release yourself to me, Galadriel… let my power spread through you, let it… tear you apart… remake you into… my queen at last!”Time stopped. All control was lost. Galadriel was gone, the entirety of her very being swallowed up whole by the most divine of sensations. This was more, so much more, than when he drank from her directly what felt like an age ago now. That had been bliss. This.. was glory. An enlightenment achieved, leaving her naught but a vessel for his worship, his lordship over her and the peoples of the world. Her surrender was complete. She was free indeed… if only to do his bidding.“Cry for me… Galadriel…”
“Always… for you… my lord Sauron!”She could feel herself clench around this shaft, an unspoken command for him to fill her. He did so gladly, and looked simply immaculate doing so. His mouth open and slack, Sauron bellowed as he spent himself within her, thrusting his hardest with every drop that exited him. He seemed to glow in a whole new way now, illuminated by more than just the lamps in the room, entranced by more than just her sumptuous body around him. Her own light shining down upon her.The moment was perfection like neither of them had ever known.Sauron surrendered himself, and partly collapsed on top of her, still buried within. Both their bodies shook against their will, and even more so as they reached each other for a mindless meeting of tongues. Even both their raiments, ageless and strong, were spent. They had given each other everything.After a moment, Sauron removed himself from her, though Galadriel did not feel empty as she did before. “Oh what a mess we have made…” He noted, lust still in his tone, looking at where his seed now dripped from her, and from him. “This place is hallowed… we must see that it is treated as such.” He then moved around to the side of the altar, eyes only on where Galadriel lay, panting. “Would you do me one last thing, my child,” Sauron began, sinking back into the ‘Zigûr’ persona. “Cleanse me, and I will cleanse you.”Galadriel answered with a parting of her lips, for Sauron already knew that she would oblige him.He moved his weeping head to her lips, and gasped as she took it eagerly into her hot mouth, clenching a fist in her hair. The she-elf sighed at the taste of him, she had never known such salt to be so sweet. The flavour was the mingling of their powers, his pleasure that she had given him, and she lapped up every last drop as if she were in the midst of a great desert. Nothing else would ever quench her thirst.But Sauron was still not done with her, and as one hand held her golden tresses tight, the other ran along her seam, causing sparks, the dying embers of her euphoria, to rise within her again. The dark priest snickered, pleased with himself and the sight of her trembling again under his touch, as her mouth remained wrapped around him. “Can you feel the way the very essence of us mixes together, Galadriel? How the remnants of our shared bliss linger on? You’ve taken that inside of you, my child. How fortunate you are.”At his words, he pressed two of his fingers within her warmth, ensuring his release lies where it was destined to, entwined with her own. Planting his seed with care, and pushing it deep, succeeding with a whining moan from her throat that also swallowed it down. He was nothing if not thorough. Galadriel was so thankful for this, feeling as if it were a gift, and she kissed the tip of his length with a smile, wondering what indeed she had done in this life to be worthy of such greatness.“It seems… you are not the only one… to receive an offering.” she stated, casting her eyes up at him.
“No, it would not.” Sauron smirked. He removed his fingers, and replaced his now softening shaft with them, so she could finish her cleansing. Galadriel’s cheeks hollowed as she sucked what was left of both their spend, completing her work with a teasing swipe of her tongue along his skin. Humming in satisfaction as she licked her lips, savouring their taste.“This truly is a most sacred day… a day worth waiting for. The consummation of the greatest partnership Arda has ever seen. No rulers before or henceforth shall compare.” He moved around to rest between her legs that still dangled off the altar’s edge. Taking her hands, still sticky from their coupling, he pulled her up to meet him.Sauron smiled. And perhaps for the first time in the entirety of knowing him, Galadriel saw no trace of malevolence within it. No lies or falsehoods or deceptions. He was happy. Truly happy. And it only made her love him more. He brushed her hair behind her pointed ears, not out of necessity, but out of wanting to touch her with a tenderness she could now sense radiating through him. Then a hand came to rest on her face, a soothing caress, his glassy eyes closing as he moved in to claim her lips.Galadriel kissed him slowly, her heart threatening to burst through her chest. Though when they parted, something changed. Halbrand was gone, and returned now was the image of Zigûr. Yet the imagined king of the Southlands still resided in his eyes, eyes that held onto that look, that contained their love.“Are you ready at last to be my queen, Galadriel? To experience the full power I have given you? To be the true god that I worship at my altar every day and night in all consuming bliss?”
Drunk on her love and lust for him, her desires coursing freely through her veins, she answered him with a purpose she had not felt since she first took Finrod’s dagger in her grasp.“Yes. I asked you once, if you meant to save or rule this world.”
“I remember.”
“I understand now your answer. For together, we shall achieve both.”Sauron couldn’t help but kiss her furiously at her words, as if he needed to take them into his very being whilst they were fresh upon her tongue. Galadriel entwined her hands through his now raven locks, like silk running over her soft skin. Even though it had been the guise of Halbrand that had drawn her to him, that had seen to their bond being solidified at last, the new queen could not help but think as Zigûr devoured her now, that she could become quite accustomed to this. Sauron with his many forms, his many names. All of them… now belonged to her.-----The next day was perhaps Númenor’s darkest yet. The shadow over her now had doubled in size, and her sunlit days of hope were far behind. As Míriel’s angered eyes bore into Galadriel, the she-elf could not help but muse how the former queen had called her here to save her and her people. To banish the darkness that had overcome her home. Such a favour it had turned out to be for Galadriel, but not at all favourable for the last queen of Númenor.For she was now bound to the place that would become her tomb. Situated for all the congregation to see, Míriel was strapped to an obsidian coloured steel pole, whilst worshippers of Melkor gathered wood and kindling to rest at her feet. Zigûr and Galadriel stood at the front of the temple’s aisle, as like figureheads of the people, adorned in matching black velvet cloaks. Though Galadriel still wore the same gown she had when she arrived the previous day. A final insult, a reminder of the hopeful sight she must have been for the faithful of Númenor. For Míriel.The she-elf felt the might of the people at her back and the strength that gave her as she absorbed the betrayal within Míriel’s eyes. She would be a small and necessary sacrifice now, on the King and Queen of Middle-earth’s path of ruling.Pharazôn walked slowly, almost sombrely up the steps to stand by her side. Though when Galadriel glimpsed his visage, she saw naught but victory in the smirk he was failing to hide. “Ar-Zimraphel.” He began, his voice booming to the masses.
“My name... is Tar-Míriel!”He continued, ignoring her. “You have lead a life of treason. A life given to you by your late father, Tar-Palantir, whose weakness of spirit you were cursed with. You both chose to put your faith in the elves, to cling desperately to the ways of our ancestors, those fools who would never live to see all that Númenor would become. Fools who ever existed in the shadow of the West. Might their bones find new life again as we become ourselves enlightened by all that we deserve. That Melkor wouldst give us the lives we have been waiting for all our short days.”The King of Númenor began to pace around Míriel, and looking not at her, but at his faithful. “Your punishment this day… it is rendered such because you denied us of this chance. You would see us to be only a glimmer in the eye of an elf, when in truth, we can be the very sun that shines upon them. This is an injustice of the highest order, an insult to your people, my people. How could you seek to prevent the magnificence we are now at last free to be capable of?”The nave burst into a roar, all around Zigûr and Galadriel, the people were bellowing, shouting, spitting noise and curses at their former ruler, as if they were a cruel choir resonating the message of their faith off the walls. Though the she-elf, was unmoved, only stood next to her beloved, waiting for what was to come.“You have betrayed Númenor, Zimraphel. The land you swore to protect and to lead. Have you anything to say before Zigûr passes the judgement of Melkor upon you?”Míriel was steadfast and firm. She shed no tears, nor any regrets for any act that may have lead her to such a fate. Galadriel knew the woman would not waver, not even in her final defeat. She was sad to lose her, she had been a strong ally. But her sacrifice now served a purpose, Sauron had assured Galadriel, and not even a martyr would she make.“I only wish for my people to find happiness, to prosper. If this is the choice you have made to assure that, then as your queen, I must uphold that wish.”Pharazôn scoffed, finding no satisfaction in her respectful declaration. He had clearly wanted to hear her beg for her life, beg for this madness to end. Galadriel couldn’t help but smile. Her heart ached for Míriel more, but there was nothing more to be done. The work must proceed.At that moment, Zigûr, Galadriel, and Pharazôn were presented with branches from the white tree, Nimloth the fair. The three of them each moved to Míriel’s pyre, and set them like bones at her feet. “Strange is this fate,” Míriel spoke softly, catching Galadriel’s eye as she rose. “The very tree that entreated me to keep you, shall now burn with me by your hand. This is no will of the Valar.”Galadriel attempted a response, but was cut off by her beloved. “This is indeed the will of the Valar, the will of Melkor himself. Your spirit will strengthen him and that strength shall pass into your people. What better gift to give them, Zimraphel? Your wish shall truly come to pass.”
“May the waves pull you deep into the black. Sauron.” Míriel hissed, and Galadriel felt a surge of anger move through her. Sauron felt it too, and squeezed her hand to hold her steady. The she-elf took a deep breath, and finding herself re-centred, stepped backwards and away, to her place at her king’s side.Eärien then came forward to present Zigûr with the flame they required, and he proceeded to move with reverence towards Míriel, holding the torch aloft like a sacred instrument. “In his name are you given, in his spirit you will dwell.” The chilling prayer was recited back to him by the crowd, Galadriel too uttering the words. “Receive her now, O Melkor. One life for many.”A commotion sprung forth suddenly to the right of the impending sacrifice. Galadriel’s elven eyes locked on Elendil, who had freed himself from his bonds, and the guards who had held him. The captain rushed to put himself between Míriel and Zigûr’s fire, which had been only a moment away from igniting the pyre.“You will not do this! Míriel is the final hope for Númenor, the last beacon! If you allow this Pharazôn, it is our island’s doom that will be secured! You must see that! Galadriel was right, Zigûr is Sauron! He manipulates and misleads! You are but a piece in his game! One he has almost completed!”“Let not your heart speak, Elendil!” Pharazôn countered. “Do not let it blind you with falsehoods! Galadriel would not stand at Zigûr’s side if he were the Shadow personified! For that darkness lays only within my dungeons as you know! Her enemy is my captive.”
“If she stands at his side it is only because Sauron has pulled down the same veil that covers your eyes! I know this elf, and of her ages long quest. He has brought her to ruin, as he has with Númenor!”“Then why do you still fight, Elendil?” Zigûr interrupted. “If things are truly as hopeless as you claim?”
“Because it is what she would want.” His pained eyes darted to Galadriel, a plea set within his irises, though it was not one the she-elf could grasp, no silent communication received this time. “And I swore an oath to this kingdom and its rightful heir. I will fight for Tar-Míriel! To the last!”Elendil charged forward at Zigûr, but was sent back by a great surge of power. A flick of the priest’s wrist. The room gasped, along with Galadriel, as Elendil collided with Míriel, though he did not cause her to fall. That same power now held him in place against her, his arms wrapped behind him and around her body, his broad chest now a shield in mockery of his attempt to save her. Galadriel looked down and glimpsed her beloved’s hand, his fingers clenching, gripping Elendil from a distance.Zigûr emitted the smallest of smirks, and Galadriel may have been the only one close enough to catch it. He still held the torch with his other hand, the flames dancing in his omnipotent eyes. “Elendil. You too are guilty of treason against Númenor. You too shall burn in Melkor’s name, so that you will give him that which he will give back to us. Your part in our glory.”“No!” It was not his impending death that caused Elendil to cry out, but the sight of the one who would see it done. For with one glance, Zigûr called Eärien to him, and she took from him the torch and walked towards the one that gave her life. “My daughter… it cannot be you. This pains me greater than the flames that will see me turn to dust.”
“For that is why it must be her, Elendil. Not only do you insult Númenor with your presence, but you blaspheme against Melkor with your intervention! Sacred rites are not to be interrupted!” Zigûr screamed at the man, his voice encompassing terror itself.Galadriel shifted her gaze to her king in this moment, seeing a glimmer of the monster he had shown her once upon that fateful raft. Though Sauron did not unleash any further fury, he needed not do anything else, not when Eärien would be the one to send Elendil and Míriel away from this world. His work was done.“Eärien… Eärien…” He repeated her name in sorrow. “Have you fallen so far you do not see your own kin before you? That you would not recognise the lives you are about to take?”
“I…” She hesitated a moment. “I… am only sorry that it must come to this, Father. I will not suffer Númenor to fall. I will help keep her aloft, in your name. I will set aright the wrongs of my forebears.” Galadriel could hear her weeping as she spoke, see how the fire already fell upon Elendil’s face within his own tears.The she-elf watched and mourned.Eärien set her father and her former queen alight. The man struggled against Sauron’s magic, but it was to no avail, the binds that held him now could not be broken. The only escape either of them could find, would be in death.The congregation cheered as their bodies burned and their cries were silenced, their voices stolen along with their lives. Given in sacrifice to the people they failed in service. Given to Melkor.To Sauron.And Galadriel.-----Many days had passed since the irreversible blow was struck. Since Galadriel’s choice aided in the loss of great life. Though she wondered, would she have made a difference at all, even if she had remained Sauron’s enemy? How could the will of one elf stand against the might of a maia, controlling the island with a whisper and a prayer? Perhaps it was a battle she would have inevitably lost. Even so, that was not the reason she surrendered to him. And now with her tearless mourning of Elendil and Míriel complete, the queen had become tired waiting for a kingdom.“I wish to leave, my love. Middle-earth lies unlead and waiting for us. The men here have suffered enough.”
“Does my lady pity them?” Sauron questioned, curiosity in his gaze.
“I only mean to say you have exhausted them. Used them to the fullest of your will. Be done with them at last so that we might find a new kingdom, one from which to rule from permanently, one from where we can save all that need us.”
“Surely you are not tired of Zigûr just yet?” He winked at her playfully. Sauntering towards where Galadriel lay on their bed, he shifted into another form. “Or perhaps you miss him?” Long blonde locks cascaded now in place of the darkened ones. “Care to receive another gift, my queen?”“You know who it is I miss.” Galadriel spoke quietly, her mind wandering off. She was not in the mood for his games, and Annatar only brought with him painful memories of the past. Galadriel turned herself away from him, but Sauron did not relent. She felt his body on the bed behind her, soon followed by the coarseness of hands brushing her own blonde locks from her neck, the scratch of his stubble as his lips brushed her throat.“If my lady desires to leave… then it shall be so.” Halbrand’s voice dripped like honey into her ears, so sweet and satisfying. His hand wandered along the curve of her body, as if she was his to make and unmake, his creation. “Whoever would have thought… the guise of a low man… an imagined king, would be the raiment that stirs you so. I find it rather remarkable.”
“Why does it matter?” Galadriel was put off by his statement, and she stiffened to shirk off his touch.Sauron only pulled her body to rest facing him. “It matters because it makes me doubt you. Of all my forms, of all my names, the one that sets the stars in your eyes is the only one of them that gave you a flicker of hope. The man you hung your war on without any consideration for who you were truly leading into the fray.”
“You hid yourself well from me, would you like a prize? I gave you a crown.”
“And I gave you one in return. One you have accepted now knowing completely who I am. Yet you still cling to the past, Galadriel. Always, the shadow of it lies upon you.”His voice softened, as did his touch as she felt it skim along her leg, under her gown. “You love me, yes?” Sauron asked as his fingers slid between her folds and she gasped for him.
“That’s… not fair.”
“Answer… the question.” He demanded, a coldness in his tone, as he pinched her clit. She responded when her risen hips fell back down, when she had bit back the moan that threatened to see her lose. Galadriel did not want to give him too much satisfaction, she wanted to keep some of that for herself.“You know that I do. You’ve known it since that day in the forest.”
“Then why does it matter… who I appear to be?” His gaze, his words were determined, as was his finger now circling her entrance.
“Because it was you Halbrand… who loved me first. What deeds you may or may not be capable of, which side of the fight upon which you fall, none of those things matter to me. It is in those moments when you gaze at me with this troubled and haunted face, and I see the love you contain that forces everything else away. You look at me how I have always craved to be seen. The hand that yearns to be within me now… why it could be taloned and terrifying… and it would not matter because your visage encompasses all I’ve ever wanted. It symbolises the fate for which I have longed. And besides… I still desire to see it adorned with a crown.”Sauron rewarded her words with not one, but two of his fingers sunk into her depths. Galadriel quivered as he stretched her, moulded her to illicit cries of his liking. “But that is my desire for you, my love. Atop your soft hair… a regal and magnificent piece of metal and jewel, circular… much like the shape of your mouth now.” He curled his fingers within her, and her eyes rolled back as if controlled by the motion, her back arching up off the bed as his thumb rubbed that swollen nub.“Perhaps you are right, Galadriel. We should leave. All the sooner to see our desires made manifest.”
“The only thing… I wish you to manifest right now… is my pleasure at the joining of our flesh…”
“If my lady desires it…” He repeated his earlier words before removing their garments to make it so.As they laid tangled in sweat stained sheets, drifting slowly down together from their shared bliss, Sauron interrupted their calm with a question. “Do you know what Míriel’s meaning was when she spoke of the ‘waves’ pulling me ‘deep into the black’? It sounded more than just a Númenorean curse. It sounded like she had already seen it.”
“Míriel saw in the palantir the doom of this isle. The very sea they worshipped drowning them. I saw it too. Though I believed it to be a future that may not come to pass. Even though she spoke of my arrival being the beginning of the end for her people. Much has changed since then. The tides of fate still flow. I cannot say for certain if they will take Númenor from this world.“It was a future I believed avoidable if I destroyed you.” Galadriel’s hand stilled on his hair, as Sauron moved to look up at her. “And now here you lay, your head upon my bosom, your spend between my thighs. My king. But dark still.”
“Do you believe Númenor will fall, my love? Are we the arbiters of its fate?”
“We yet may be. Perhaps Míriel was referring to my arrival, but at a different time. A later time.” Galadriel smiled at him, a glint in her eyes of the maddening queen she was becoming. “I know how we will depart Númenor. How we can be certain that the likes of Pharazôn will not follow and fight us, or beg to bring us back.”Sauron smirked, tending to her nipples with hand, tongue and lips, though his eyes were fixed only on hers. “Tell me, my queen. What would you have me do?”
“The only thing that could possibly assure that the land of the star never sees their shine again… would be for men to sail west.”
“Go on.” Sauron entreated her, taking her other nipple into his mouth, tracing kisses down her belly.
“They could go to the undying… mmm… lands. Beseech the Valar for the immortality you say Melkor would give them.”
“Break the Ban of the Valar?” Sauron’s voice vibrated into her sensitive flesh, and she felt him in her bones as he cackled. “Oh my love, my queen…” His eyes sparkled with unrestrained joy. “Such catastrophic events… and all they will take is the smallest of whispers.”
“But first, your tongue must be set to more urgent matters.” She spoke, near guttural, filled with power and lust. “It is your turn to clean up our mess.”Her beloved wasted no time drinking from that glorious apex, and Galadriel writhed happily as she clung to his head, feeling so whole, dizzy with lust and the power he gave her. After he saw to her receiving yet another rapturous release this evening, their bodies gave way to slumber, their hands still entwined, bound, as was their love.When next they woke, Galadriel noticed a purpose in Sauron that she had not yet glimpsed, an excitement radiated out of him and into her, infectious. It was unsettling at first, because she knew the reason he was this way. But she had dreamt of the atrocity they were about to commit, the lives they were about to send into the deep. So many men. And women. And children.Though Sauron’s eagerness to execute her plan reassured her they were doing the right thing. They were punishing Pharazôn, his people, for their hubris, their arrogance. For their unconscionable hatred of the Eldar. Her people. Such cruelty should be banished from the world, and if it takes an act of cruelty to set things aright, then Galadriel was more than willing to reconcile that against any guilt she may have felt.Men must be taught a lesson. What happens when one loses the way. Prejudice will not be tolerated.This would be the first step on the path to saving Middle-earth.Sauron and Galadriel called Pharazôn to the altar room before Zigûr’s address to the masses. “I know, it has come to me at last,” he spoke to the Númenorean king. “What act may be done to achieve finally the promises I have made to you, my king.” Galadriel’s lips could not help but curve a little, the true king addressing the insignificant one. She rather enjoyed being a part of Sauron’s deceptions now, the thrill was gleeful.“Speak it, O Zigûr… what must I do?”
“You must sail to Aman. The Valar will see this as a sign of your worthiness of immortality. That you are willing to break the ban set upon you, for the benefit of your people. Such oaths are only broken with great importance, great reason.”
“I… am not sure, my lord.” Pharazôn hesitated, giving Galadriel the opportunity to assist her love with their scheme.She placed a tender hand on his shoulder, Pharazôn tensing under her touch, but not flinching. He did not like her, it was quite plain. However to please his beloved Zigûr, the king had tolerated Galadriel’s presence, as best as he knew how. A move made out of fear, not admiration.“The days of my youth were spent on those shores, the presence of the Valar constant. I know how absolute and joyous one feels under their watch. To have their blessing… it lifts you up like no other feeling. To walk among them… it is a gift. One I see you have earned, my king.”Now Galadriel felt Sauron smiling at her.Pharazôn relaxed suddenly under the she-elf’s touch, seeming to like her bending the knee with a single word. He was too proud to see any of it for what it was: the beginning of his downfall. In fact, Galadriel could not help but find amusement in her words, speaking of the Valar in such a way. Yes there had been times when she had felt and known their grace, but there had also been the great misfortunes that her uncle, Fëanor, had wrought upon her kin, through acts of stubborn pride and covetousness. Leading to the banishment of her own elven line.Both events now were similar in her mind for another reason. Both times she would depart for Middle-earth. Both times… seeking a kingdom.“And you truly believe the Valar will accept us? Grant us that which we seek?” Pharazôn asked for clarification, turning his eyes to Zigûr.
“Melkor is of their ilk. He waits for you on those shores. As does life eternal. The true destiny of Númenor and her greatness. All that we have sacrificed, Pharazôn… it has all been leading to this. Can you not feel it?”Galadriel was enraptured by every word he spun, intoxicated by the dark glow in his eyes, the aura of power that resonated from within him. Watching him egg this pitiful man on towards his death, she had to resist the urges of her body, the want to push Sauron onto the altar and have him fill her warmth. All with Pharazôn watching of course.
Later.
Sauron whispered in her mind, knowing her thought, and she bit back the wanton grin that threatened to spread upon her face and give her away.“Perhaps you are right, O Zigûr. We have indeed sacrificed much along our path to longest life. And if I am to be remembered as Númenor’s greatest king, then an act befitting that title must assure it.” Pharazôn declared emphatically to them, and they both bowed their heads in acknowledgment to their ‘king’.
“Then we are ready to let it be known. A final sermon for your people.”
“And in a matter of days, you will walk upon the land of mine.”Any doubt that may have briefly overcome Pharazôn vanished as if it was never there. He had never appeared so excited, so hungry in the time Galadriel had known him. But such was the influence of Sauron. Whether true to his word or keeping one in the dark about his deeds, he could make you feel… magnificent.And it was this magnificence that spread through the grand nave of the temple as the masses gathered to hear his words. The largest gathering it would seem to be yet. Larger than both the first congregation Galadriel had laid eyes on, and the execution of the doomed faithful. Word had spread like a blaze through the kings men and the citizens of this fair isle. This was the sermon to hear. The moment they’d been waiting for.The beginning of the end.“My friends! Is this not the most blessed day of our lives thus far!”
“Blessed be, Melkor! Giver of life!” The echo off of the walls was long and haunting, so many voices forming a single one, and Galadriel could not help but gasp, feeling a tingle of power course through her at the sight and sound of this mass of blindly faithful bodies. Even her keen eyes could not discern the end of the crowd in the distance.“What I have promised you, what Melkor will deliver to you, is finally at hand!” Sauron declared to resounding cries. “Your faith in him, in me, has been tested, and you have been found worthy of what you seek. The life unending, a vow of light shining always upon your souls! I am feeling so grateful to you all, for trusting in me, hearing me, never wavering even when those who once remained sought to prove me wrong and sully Melkor’s good name!”“We reject the Valar, and curse Illuvatar’s children!”Sauron raised his hands in protest at this prayer. “No, my friends. We can hold true to that oath no longer. For one of the Eldar stands at my side. Her allegiance proof of Melkor’s might. For it is his will that would set a child of Illuvatar to be counted among us. One who believes you are worthy of that which she possesses. Galadriel has seen the light, she has awoken under His gaze! She is Melkor’s gift to you, and to me!”“Blessed be, Melkor! Giver of life!” The crowd chanted and cheered with almost maniacal glee.“She will go forth and spread the message of our lord! See that all of her kith and kin know the joy she now feels! Ensure that our child shall live in His grace.”The entire nave broke out in varied reactions, filling the grand chamber with whispers and hollers, cries and prayers. Galadriel looked at Sauron, tears welling in her eyes. He spoke nothing to her, not even within her thought, only saying all he needed to with his proud and certain expression. He knew she was pregnant. Somehow he knew before she did. Breaking contact with his eyes, she delicately moved a hand to rest upon her abdomen. Closing her eyes a moment, she breathed deep and searched within herself for the knowledge he knew.It was early, days since conception, but… Galadriel could feel a small flame inside her. An ember of life beginning to kindle. A new soul within a soul.She opened her eyes and gasped, feeling her tears quickly fall. Feeding off the lack of restraint the masses were showing at the announcement, Galadriel ignored ceremonial custom, and let her feet fall light and fast towards her beloved. She stopped once he was set within her arms, and ‘Zigûr’ did not turn her away, for she knew how wonderful it would be for the people to see them, see him, as simply a man in love. A father.Sauron smiled down at Galadriel and tasted the salt of her tears on her lips as he kissed her. The people applauded rapturously, but neither of them heard it. Their ears only taking in their sighs of joy, their whispers of love for each other. When they did part, Galadriel gazed up into his dark eyes which reflected her light. His love for her etched so plainly on his face. “I haven’t the words, my love.” Galadriel spoke softly.
“They are not needed at a time such as this. Only allow yourself to feel it.” Sauron replied with a caress of her face. “I am within you now, forever, Galadriel. This makes our binding complete. Unbreakable. You are my queen.”
“And you… my king.”He kissed her once more before returning his attention to his devout audience. “Such blessings bestowed upon us! You can see mine. Though, it is only fitting that you see your own, through the words of your king.” He and Galadriel bowed as Pharazôn stepped forward to place the final stone upon Númenor’s tomb.“My warmest congratulations, O Zigûr. Galadriel. Melkor brings us many gifts indeed. Such as the one we will soon receive. For I declare to you all our intentions to set sail for the West! To the lands undying! Where we shall become undying ourselves!”The reaction to the unborn child compared not to the roar that spread now throughout the temple. Galadriel swore she could feel the foundations shake under her feet. “We are worthy of entrance to that sacred land - and why should we not be? We are the greatest race of men to walk the world of Arda! We are winners of wars! Tamers of the sea! We have proven ourselves to be greater than the elves and it is our right, our time to be seen by the Valar themselves as such! The sand of their shores shall fill the hourglasses of our existence endlessly! Once touched by them, seen directly under the eye of our beloved Melkor… it is all but assured! Númenor shall live forever!”The masses surged upon the stage, enveloping Pharazôn with their joy and celebration. It was a raucous and rapturous sight. Sauron and Galadriel were stood to the side now, unbothered by the men and women that came up to them to wish them well, to thank them for all they had done. They both smiled at their faithful, and played their roles as saviours, Galadriel possessing no care for the people before her. In fact she eagerly awaited Pharazôn’s departure for Aman, for the reckoning of the men who would call themselves ‘greater than the elves’.-----They did not have to wait very long.Pharazôn ensured the sea guard was ready with ships by light of the second day since his announcement. His glorious armada looking surprisingly mighty, beautiful golden sails at the ready, and each ship filled with men desperate enough to get the first taste of immortality. Galadriel’s hand laced with ‘Zigûr’’s as they stood at the docks to bid Pharazôn farewell, the sun only beginning to kiss the harbour in its dawn.“I would ask that you both come with me.” The king entreated them.
“We would be honoured to accept, my king,” Sauron began, “But it is best if we remain here. Fill the void you leave. Let Galadriel rest as she carries my child. That baby is too precious to be sent into any precarious situation.”
“Precarious?”
Galadriel intervened. “There are some who reside in those lands who would not do well to see me. Elven memory does not dim with the passing of time. I am not yet ready to face them, or worthy of the light which you yourself now are. This is your time, my king. Mine will come.”“Very well. It is wise to acknowledge when one’s presence is not welcome. You have learned much it seems, Galadriel.” The she-elf bowed her head, choosing to ignore his pointed remark. “You are welcome to remain in Númenor. Especially, if it pleases my lord Zigûr so.”
“A generous gift from this island’s king.” ‘Zigûr’ responded, bowing his head, mirroring Galadriel.
“For all you have given us, my friend, it is a small one. But when I return, you will know glory such as I. In Melkor’s name.”
“Blessed be.” He stated, clasping arms with the king one final time.
“Namárië, Pharazôn.” Galadriel uttered the elven farewell with a smile, feasting on the satisfaction it gave her. He spoke nothing further, giving a small nod to her, before turning and making his way onto the dinghy that would see him join his ship.The celebrations were many as the fleet departed the harbour, but Sauron and Galadriel stood in silence as they watched the ships commence their doomed mission. They would enjoy the final days of this island, a little taste of what it would be like for them to rule once they ventured to Middle-earth.Sauron saw to the final sacrifice of the remaining faithful, keeping up the established pretence. The last remains of Nimloth now lay in the temple, charred and unrecognisable, indistinguishable from any other tree in this world. There were no more enemies of Sauron’s left, only his new faithful, those of the King’s Men who stayed behind, people who were loyal to a fault to their priest.Galadriel was kept in luxury within the temple, worshipped as a goddess among men. The Eldar who relinquished. They admired her so, especially the women, and saw her pregnancy as a holy sign, a gift from Melkor himself, as ‘Zigûr’ had proclaimed. By the time of their impending departure, the little one within was starting to make its presence known. And Sauron loved the sight of his queen with rounded belly.He certainly showed her as such with his body against hers almost every night.His own goddess to worship, as ever.When one morning, nearly forty days since the departure of Pharazôn’s Armada, the dawn covered the island in hues of red, both Galadriel and Sauron knew that Númenor’s destruction was at hand. It was time to depart. Even though the elven queen had wanted to do so much earlier, she let this be a gift in return for her beloved, for he yearned to see the downfall of this land, to see his deeds come to fruition. The utter and complete annihilation of Númenor and her people.The pair of them bathed, dressed, and made their way down to the docks, procuring a small boat, not needing anything befitting their standing. They had survived upon these waters with less. None questioned either of them as they passed, only bowing their heads to their king and queen regent, likely assuming they were taking a day out on the sea, finding some peaceful relaxation for the unborn youth.As they each rowed themselves just outside the edge of the harbour, Galadriel’s eyes noticed a tremor spread amongst the buildings, and what sounded like a small boom hit their ears. “We’re too close. We should have left sooner.”
“We will be fine, fret not, my love.” Sauron assured her. “Keep your pace, and we shall soon come upon the greatest view of this age.”Wind dusted the top of every hill and structure in the distance now, birds flying in a panic, struggling to hold onto a direction. “Can you hear it?” Sauron asked, his voice filled with wonder. Galadriel only wanted to hear the sounds of their oars striking the sea. They were almost at a safe distance, but she was certain it was not far enough. “Sauron, please, my love… make greater haste.”
“Can you hear it, Galadriel?” He asked again, yet obeying her command.The she-elf did not answer him until she believed they were far enough away. The whole of the island was in their eyesight now, as was something coming towards it on the horizon. That something was what Sauron could hear. What she could hear.The roar of the ocean.It was like a continuous humming, as if a swarm of wasps approached, unsettling and menacing. A harbinger of doom. The horizon lifted to meet the clouds above, the sea rising in an unfathomable fashion. Galadriel thought back to the time she had glimpsed this in the palantir, seen the water descend onto Armenelos and drag it underneath. That had been horrifying. But from this view, it was somehow much worse. To witness the full scale and scope of Eru’s judgement being cast, for it could only be him, was beyond terror. The entire island was being engulfed by the waves, an entire civilisation was being erased from having ever existed. The gift of the Valar revoked, their great hubris punished at last.Sauron was howling with laughter, blinding hysterical laughter. To say it put Galadriel at unease was addressing it lightly. But as if he felt that discomfort from her, he slid across to her on the dinghy, and wrapped his body around her like the Sundering Seas did to Númenor now.His laugh trickled into her ear, low, seductive. Insane. His hands slipped beneath her gown, one at her breast, the other between her thighs. His teeth scored across her throat as he spoke to her. “How does it feel to be bound to my power, Galadriel? To see how you have used it? I may have tossed the stone in the sea, but you…” Sauron snickered as he bit down lightly on her flesh. “Mmm you… you are the ripples.”Her cries mingled with those of the doomed people in the distance, but were not silenced as quickly. Galadriel sounded more like the sea, felt more like the waves as Sauron’s fingers delved inside of her, coaxing her pleasure in the way which she had now become accustomed. She watched as he worked, their work made real before them. Her elven eyes spied the crumbling of mountain tops, the ruin of that elegant architecture, all of it being returned to the depths from which it was risen.It was not enough.“More.” she demanded, her head against his shoulder, her hips canting against his hand.
“Always so greedy aren’t you. Haven’t I given you enough already?” Sauron teased her, his thumb swiping her most sensitive spot. “You need more?” In an effortless instant, he withdrew and pushed her onto all fours, her eyes still on the sinking isle. Galadriel then felt him move between her skirts, the heat of him so close, the tip of him grazing along her seam until it sank so deliciously inside of her.With wild abandon, Sauron thrust himself into her, his grip on her hips so tight his hands might fuse with them. Galadriel let out a squeal as he met her deepest part, trying so hard not to let her eyes roll back in her head. She needed to see her might as she felt every inch of his. “She was a beautiful place…” Sauron spoke amidst his panting. “I shall miss her.”
“You… shall only miss… that… mmm… temple.”
He laughed, a little wickedly. “True… but Galadriel… we have… mmm… so much history there. It’s where… I fell in love with you.”
“Save the sentimentality, my love… and mount me… like the horse you so insisted on… comparing me to…”
He laughed again. “Now who’s… being… mmmm… sentimental.”Galadriel’s head was swimming with power and ecstasy, her nostrils filled with the scent of the sea and their coupling. The island was almost gone, and she had almost arrived. With a hand on her sex she aided her love in seeing her pleasure achieved faster. She wanted to release it at the opportune moment. She adored how stretched she felt, how thick he was moving inside of her, and her own touch only served to amplify everything to encompass the wonderment of it. As did his words.“My queen… mine forever… bound together… this is only… the beginning!” Sauron cried out his final words, spilling himself inside her, making her feel even fuller somehow, despite his length, despite the unborn child already growing within. This new surge she felt matched so exquisitely the final grand cascade of the sea upon the land of the star.Númenor had sunk.Galadriel’s pleasure burst from her in that instant, and like the waves that had taken the island down, she was consumed by her own waves that rolled and rippled through her. She moaned in sheer delight, feeling her walls clench around Sauron as he rode the last of his own rapture. Her body trembled and quaked, in time with his now.And as her euphoria washed over her, the moans echoing from her mouth morphed into laughter. Soft giggles at first, but quickly becoming something akin to her madness taking the form of a song. A delirious staccato that took hold of her essence and lasted long after her pleasure had ended.Sauron removed himself from his love, but even the absence of him did not silence her hysteric fit. She just laid there in the boat, clinging to the edge of it, staring at the void of ocean that was once a grand sign of men. She could barely fathom it. Her plan had come to pass. The vision she glimpsed from her first visit to Númenor. It had happened. She had made it happen.The mist from the sea sprayed onto her skin as the remnants of the great wave reached their small vessel, and Galadriel savoured it, loving the rock of the ocean beneath the wood. As if she was feeling her own power return to her.It wasn’t until Sauron rested himself at her side that Galadriel’s joyous noise began to subside. He kissed the crown of her head, the flushed skin of her cheek, beckoning her lips to meet him. She turned her head and kissed him feverishly, as if she were thanking him for all he had given her. His tongue moved against hers in such a way she thought she might rise to those pleasurable heights again, and so soon. She loved to be devoured by him.“It is good to see you so happy, my love.” Sauron spoke softly, a delightful hum in his speech. He rolled back and pulled her to rest against his chest, his arm draping over her body, keeping her close. Galadriel’s eyes found the sun well on the way towards its ascension in the sky. The warmth at her back almost matched that which shined down upon her. She sighed, content and comforted.“I have that which I might have grasped sooner… if only I… had let go.” Galadriel wistfully pondered, lacing her fingers with his, bringing his knuckles to her lips.
“The past spreads its roots deep. Beings as old as you and I… cannot be pulled from the earth so easily.”
Galadriel let out a small chuckle. “Do you think Melkor would be proud if he knew what you had achieved in his name? Is there a sliver of you that still craves his countenance?”Sauron did not answer her immediately, though Galadriel understood how her question might carry a heavy weight with it, or even scorch his heart. But she was not afraid of him. She feared nothing any longer.“No more can I see the ends of my roots. So, perhaps, yes. A sliver. Sometimes I still try to catch my breath. But then I look at you and feel your light within me. Feel the peace I had been searching for. All I have, all I will achieve… because of you.”She felt his mouth press against her head, then his chin rest atop it. They lay in stillness for a time, as the seas about them ceased their surging, the sound of the water lapping the wood softly soothing her spirit. Then Galadriel recalled another time when she had known these waters to be this calm.Lifting herself upright, she cast her eyes into the ocean before her, as if it were a window to her memory. It rippled, reflected in her gaze. The image of her at Sauron’s side. A queen. His. She had never believed it to be a trick or another deception, for she knew he was only showing her what dwelled in the depths of her heart. The deceiver, honest. And just as the palantir had shown the wave of Eru’s will, this vision of his had come to pass. The water upon which they met ever flowing with the tides of their fate and the fate of Middle-earth.Sauron rose beside her, the memory giving way to the true reflection now realised. “And what of you, Galadriel? We will soon return to the land of your people. Will you be able to face them knowing that you are my ally? My queen?”
“Do you doubt me?”
“I only doubt it will be easy for you. They shall want to keep you in the ground.”Galadriel smiled near carefree, unsettlingly so. Turning to her king she whispered: “Let them try.”Sauron’s smile matched hers in malevolence, and as the curves upon their lips soon faded, they found themselves lost completely within each other, content to drown in the pools of their ardent love. An age could have passed and neither of them would have noticed or cared. Time mattered little to those who had it in abundance. Galadriel snickered at the thought, a brief gleam of joy given by the ones who now had none.“It amuses me that it would take your leadership of an ungodly congregation to secure your success… and me.”
Sauron laughed and kissed her neck. “You deserve to be worshipped like the goddess you are, Galadriel. Perhaps I shall build a temple in your honour when we make Middle-earth our home?”
“Only as long as you fashion an altar with which to placate me.”
“Naturally. It would not be wise to leave the great lady of light wanting.”She grinned into his kiss and his tongue slipped between her lips, Sauron’s prurient sermon sent like liquid fire into her belly, her heart. The pain he had once wrought her was now fully reforged into the darkest of steel, the most steadfast of beliefs, and the deepest of loves.If she were to be a tyrant, she would not see it. Only herself as fair as the sea and the sun, stronger than the foundations of the earth.Giver of life.