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sansaorgana · 1 month ago

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— ONCE UPON A DREAM

FADING LIGHT (PART ONE) FADING LIGHT (PART TWO)

PAIRING — Sauron x Moreth (OC)

SUMMARY — Sauron develops a slight obsession with Adar's daughter, which accidentally creates an unbreakable bond between them when he finds himself in his weakest state. Lady Moreth has no idea who the man from her dreams and visions is but it is his tempting that causes her sickness and encourages her to go down the path of darkness. She feels guilty after finding out the stranger's true identity because of Sauron's past with her father. However, now, it is too late to break their connection.

AUTHOR’S NOTE — Moreth (the name is supposed to mean gloom) is a daughter of Adar and Reader from my "Fading Light" fanfic but since this story is about Moreth herself, I gave her mother a name and that is Aranya, which apparently means free. Since Moreth was originally Reader's daughter, I haven't described her looks much – she has black hair (after her father) and I mentioned some things that are connected to her corruption: hollow cheeks, skin "a few shades paler than originally" etc. Her mother's appearance remains undescribed. Even though it can be read as part three of the "Fading Light" fanfic, it can also be read as a one-shot. I do believe you don't have to know the fanfic about Adar and Moreth's mother to understand the backstory of these characters enough. In "Fading Light" Moreth was a bit... boring, let's be real. She was not the most important character there and I kinda gave her no depth. I wanted to change that and to give her a (love) story she deserves. 🥰

WORD COUNT — 10,190 (💀💀💀)

ENGLISH IS MY SECOND LANGUAGE.

ONCE UPON A DREAM

Morgoth knew that Adar had plenty of potential but he had a weakness, which was easy to exploit – his family. He truly believed that when his suffering and training would be over, he would be able to reunite with his wife and daughter, to give them a new, better life. Not that their life was bad – they were wealthy Elves living in a beautiful realm. But Adar was one of those who wanted more. Way more. Without limitations and without the noble shackles of the Elven light.

And even though Adar reuniting with his family was never a part of Morgoth’s plans, the Dark Lord often used Lady Aranya and her daughter Moreth to convince Adar to stay or to threaten him.

And when Morgoth fell, Sauron wanted Adar as his Lieutenant. Adar was not only very well trained by Morgoth but also had an army of Orcs that was following him. Sauron needed him by his side but Adar kept mentioning that now, when he was finally free, he could go back to his family. Sauron couldn’t let that happen.

He knew the illusion he wanted to show Adar but to make it more believable and more realistic, he had to see Lady Aranya and her daughter himself. To observe them for a little while.

He even considered killing them to make the story as real as possible but then he realised he might need them alive one day – it could be his wild card to use against Adar that his family was actually alive. Yes, killing them would serve no purpose.

Wearing many disguises, Sauron managed to get close to Mithlond where Lady Aranya resided with her daughter. And while wandering around, he even found out that the two had been attacked not so long ago by a bunch of poor human villagers. They had been on the road from Eregion to Mithlond and robbed of their expensive jewellery. Sauron immediately knew that he could easily twist this scenario into a much bloodier and cruel one. All he had to do was to show Adar a very realistic image of his wife and daughter laying dead by the road in the puddle of their blood.

But to make it convincing enough, he had to see them better. To learn the patterns of their behaviour and to seek for every little detail. And finally, the opportunity arose.

He was sitting by the tree, hidden in the tall grass nearby the river. And then he heard the laughter of a young, Elven maiden coming from the other side of the shore. Sauron squinted his eyes and spotted two women sitting by the river. The older one was holding a book and she opened it immediately after sitting down. The younger one – her daughter – kept dancing with a flower crown in her hair and singing a song.

“Moreth, I am trying to focus on the content of this book,” her mother scolded her gently and the young maiden pouted. She sat by the river as well and she dipped her legs in the water, watching the water with curiosity.

She was a young Elf – Sauron could sense her youthful energy. She did not have the old wisdom yet like her father or mother. She could not be older than a century or two. Her long, black hair that she had inherited from her father danced in the air and she was humming the song now.

Her mother was not very old either – not as old as Adar for sure – but Lady Aranya had a very sad and melancholic energy around her, which was no surprise. She sighed at her daughter but refused to scold her for the second time even though she visibly struggled with focusing on the book when her daughter kept humming her tune.

Sauron was able to penetrate Adar’s mind and he had seen these two many times before in Adar’s memories but they were different there. In Adar’s memories his daughter was a child; a few years old. And his wife was younger, full of energy and smiling widely, radiating warmth. Sauron had to admit that in real life she was even more beautiful and he understood why Adar wanted to go back to her so eagerly.

But Sauron was not focusing on Lady Aranya. He could not keep his eyes off of her young daughter. In fact, his gaze had to be so intense that the young girl spotted him. She stopped her song all of a sudden as she got visibly startled, staring into the tall grass on the opposite side of the river’s shore. She tilted her head as if she had no idea if what she was seeing was real or an illusion – a pair of eyes looking back at her. Observing.

“Mother…” She started and Sauron moved back quickly, hiding further.

“Yes, Moreth?” Lady Aranya sighed as she glanced at her daughter.

“I think we should go back,” Moreth answered. For some reason she did not tell her mother about the pair of eyes staring at her and she did not reveal the reason why she wanted to go back so quickly.

She was too young to sense the intruder’s darkness.

“Well, if that is your wish…” Lady Aranya nodded and they both stood up to walk away. On their way, Moreth looked back one more time, squinting her eyes but this time Sauron made sure she could not see him.

For many years, Sauron could not stop thinking of the young Elven maiden he had seen by the river and he could not understand why. What was so special about her? Yes, she was beautiful and full of light but so were many other Elven women.

Adar did not know about any of this, of course. He was grieving his wife and daughter, having absolutely no idea that Sauron was thinking of Moreth more often than he would like to.

Perhaps it was her innocence or the seed of darkness planted deep in her soul because of her father’s downfall. She was somehow doomed already without even knowing. She was a Princess of the Orcs and had absolutely no idea about it, living her innocent life far away from all the battles and wars happening. But – just like her father – she had potential. And Sauron believed that, perhaps, with his help, she could become the best version of herself.

But first, he had a war to win.

After Adar’s betrayal, during all those centuries of coming back to life, Sauron was often thinking of Moreth. At first, his horrendous form – so full of primitive and raw instincts – felt nothing but pure hatred towards the young woman. She was Adar’s daughter and his blood was flowing in her veins. Murdering her would satisfy Sauron’s thirst for revenge.

But then, as his form evolved, he remembered that in a way he had killed her already – he had already killed her in Adar’s mind and he had already struck that blow to his enemy's heart.

The days of growing back to a full form were long and boring. He sometimes wondered where the young Elven woman was and what she was doing. Had she discovered her darkness already or was she still unaware? Had she gotten married? She would be about an Age old now. Perhaps she had children of her own already. Sauron did not like that idea.

He was trying to search Middle-earth to reach her with his mind; just to satisfy his curiosity, but he was too weak to be able to do that. All he managed to get were misty glimpses of her and he could not figure out much from them. He could feel a deep sadness about her as with age she had gotten more and more melancholic just like her mother.

And he swore to himself he would eventually find her somehow once he’d go back to his shape and form. He would get to know her better and perhaps he would find an answer why he couldn’t get her out of his mind.

The door of the dark and damp hut opened as Halbrand moved uncomfortably, expecting Waldreg to come back and torture him some more. But the moment he heard the footsteps, he immediately sensed that they did not belong to that filthy man but a being much more graceful and with a presence much more soothing.

Lady Moreth, The Uruk Princess, entered the hut and the very first thing she did was approach the warg that was kept on the chain in the same building. She petted the beast and the animal seemed to enjoy her touch as it nearly purred into her hand.

Halbrand’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of her after so many years. It surely was not the way he had imagined their first proper meeting to be like. He wanted to awe her in his most gracious form. He had not expected that she would reunite with her father and she would see him covered in mud and bruises as Adar’s prisoner. And he could not understand why she even came to him – a worthless human that her father had ordered to torture.

Moreth was humming a song to the warg and it reminded Halbrand of the song she had been singing by the river’s shore an Age ago. He still remembered that tune and he had often been reliving it in his mind. She must have loved to sing and nothing had changed – even now, when he could sense that the light of Valinor was gone from her.

She was still beautiful when she finally turned around to face him. But her beauty was of a terrifying kind now. Her cheeks were hollow, her eyes empty, her skin a shade or two paler than it had originally been. There was a crown made of leafless branches tangled in her long, black hair, decorated with the grey stones of various shapes and the skulls of the small forest animals instead. Her dress was black but not very grand and the edges of it were covered in mud. She, however, did not seem to care about it. And by her waist there was a small dagger attached in case she needed it – her father would never leave her completely unprotected.

Halbrand had seen her mother as well. Lady Aranya had been by Adar’s side when the Orcs had given him to their Lord Father. Moreth’s mother had changed, too – she had gone cold and her melancholy turned into ruthlessness. Both mother and daughter were no longer radiating the warmth and light of the Elves and Halbrand wondered if Adar deep down hated himself for causing that.

“One would think that you enjoy all the tortures my father is putting you through, human king,” Moreth addressed Halbrand with a gentle smirk.

“One would think wrong,” he answered in a raspy voice, looking up at her with curiosity.

“You have spent a long time with Lady Galadriel, so I’ve been told,” Moreth left the warg’s side and crouched down in front of him. He could see her face better now and his heart clenched in his chest at the sight. He was drawn to her in a way that was nearly as painful as all the Waldreg’s tortures. He was dying to touch her but he could not since his hands were tied. “She is believed to be the most beautiful of my old kin,” Moreth pointed out.

“What do you want to know?” Halbrand raised an eyebrow at her.

“Do you think it is true?” Moreth wondered out loud.

“She is beautiful,” he admitted with a head nod and she smiled at him with a hint of sadness. She had to be aware that her transformation had taken some of her grace but he could not disagree more.

She is beautiful, but not as much as you, he thought but did not dare to say it. Because in his eyes she was – terrifying, unsettling, twisted. He could imagine all the beings in Middle-earth worshipping her just because she’d look at them. If she wanted it, she would have everything he was trying to achieve but without any effort.

At least, that was how he perceived her.

Moreth reached out to a bowl of water that the warg had for himself and she dipped in it a cloth she had been hiding inside her sleeve. When the cloth was wet enough, she retreated her hand and gently wiped Halbrand's face with it in the most delicate manner. Even on her path towards the ultimate darkness, she still remained gentle and innocent in a way, which Halbrand found somehow endearing. She was being corrupted by Adar, but that was a gentle corruption rooted in fatherly love. She remained unspoiled by the true evil.

That was something that he himself would love to do to her.

“Why can’t you just tell me what you know about Sauron?” She asked, looking deep into his eyes.

“So, you came here to deceive me?” He smirked at her. “And I thought for a moment that you simply had a good heart,” he teased.

“Really?” Moreth seemed to be surprised as she froze for a moment.

“Of course not. You’re the Uruk Princess,” he mocked her and she clenched her jaw but she went back to wiping the blood and mud off of his face. “And you have lost your abilities to seduce people, you know? You no longer radiate the alluring light that could easily lead lower forms of life to their own destruction just because an Elven maiden smiled at them,” he explained, trying to anger her further. Just for fun.

“I did not come here out of my heart’s goodness or because I want to feed off of your compliments, human king,” Moreth pursed her lips as her hand went lower and her damp cloth reached the iron collar around his neck.

After a moment of hesitation, she gently wiped his skin underneath it, wherever her agile Elven fingers could reach. This action caused shivers go down Halbrand's spine as he watched her with his lips slightly parted. She was a seductress without even realising.

“Why are you here then, Elven witch?” He asked her and she sighed before looking into his eyes.

“I feel as if I know you already,” she admitted and his heart quickened its pace. “As if you were…” She did not finish the sentence and looked away. “It does not matter. It does not make sense.”

“As if I were… what?” Halbrand asked her, gently.

“You will misunderstand me, human,” she laid her eyes upon him again.

“Then explain it to me, Elf.”

“...As if you were the man from my dreams,” she revealed and cleared her throat but he did not say anything. He furrowed his brows, waiting for an explanation. “Not in the way you must think of. Not that you are everything I crave or want in a man. But, for some time now, I have… dreams… visions… of a faceless and nameless man and… it is as if someone is trying to reach me,” she confessed. “The dreams stopped some time ago but I still remember the man clearly and… and I miss him even though… even though he terrified me, too,” Moreth admitted and looked deep into Halbrand's eyes.

For a moment, he got scared she would see right through him, but that did not happen since she was too affected by her confession.

“He was the main reason for my downfall. He was teasing me, tempting, encouraging. But if it was not for him, I would not have found my father again. I would not have gained my freedom here by his side. This man… I have never told anyone about him,” she added and swallowed thickly. “Not even my mother… She thinks I transformed into the creature like my father because I am his daughter. But that is not completely true. And now she has fallen as well just because she did not want to abandon me in the darkness.”

Moreth retreated her hand and began to play nervously with the damp – and now also dirty – cloth in her hand. She looked down, refusing to keep staring at the man in front of her; too embarrassed of what she had just confessed.

“I know nothing of magic,” he only said.

“Yes. And the dreams… I had them for centuries. Before you were even born,” she shyly looked up. “It cannot be you. And yet… I feel as if I know you.”

“You must be mistaken. Perhaps you have lost your senses,” Halbrand answered, harshly.

“Perhaps,” she agreed with him. “I do wonder why the man has stopped coming to me in my dreams.”

“Is it not for the better? He terrified you. He caused your downfall,” Halbrand provoked her to explain to him better.

“That man… I might not know his face or his name but I could sense his power,” Moreth stood up and straightened her back as if the mention of him alone was enough to make her feel more proud. Being chosen by him to be the victim of his scheming was making her feel special. “He was greater than any Elf, he was like a… nearly like a God,” she explained. “I do not expect a human to understand the bond between the creatures like us,” she added with contempt and Halbrand could not help a little smirk.

She was not aware of how beautiful and tempting she was to him at the moment; only proving to him how right he had been for thinking of her so excessively for all those years.

Just like that, Moreth left the building and the warg went back to growling at him but Halbrand could not be bothered. He was left with a smile upon his lips.

He had no idea that all those years when he had been trying to go back to his shape and trying to see Moreth to check on her – that she could have actually felt his presence. That he had actually reached her in a way and appeared in her dreams and visions as a ghost-like creature.

And to know that he was the reason for the downfall of Adar’s daughter – his murderer – felt undeniably satisfying. It was his sweet revenge. Or at least the first part of it.

The second part would be to make her his. Completely and entirely. Forever.

Knowing what effect he had on Lady Moreth and that the door to her soul was open for him, Sauron began visiting her in her dreams again.

At first, he returned carefully and tested the waters. She seemed to be happy about his comeback and curious about his long absence. He was reassuring her as much as he could and slowly teasing the reveal of who he was.

He did not plan to tell her yet about being Sauron for that could be a shock too big and she was aware of her father’s difficult past with the Dark Lord. Therefore, at first, he just revealed to her that the man she had met back in the old and dirty hut was indeed the man from her dreams.

He visited her one night in his new form of Annatar and revealed to her that he had to hide his true identity. Moreth seemed to be intimidated by his new appearance.

“You are made of so much light,” she whispered in a trembling voice. “How could you be the one to deceive me towards darkness?”

“It was not you I have deceived. It is the Elves I am with now that I am deceiving,” Annatar explained with a gentle smile as he reached his hand out to put it on her cheek. It was nothing but a dream but he could feel the shadow of her real presence.

Moreth closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, enjoying his hand on her even if it was only an illusion.

“What are you?” She asked.

“Someone for whom you were made, Lady Moreth,” he explained and, just like that, she was sold completely.

Moreth was returning from the walk in the woods nearby when she spotted her parents talking nervously by one of the houses in the camp. They looked very upset and worried, which caused her heart skip a beat as she hurried to their side.

“What is it? I could sense your nervousness from afar,” she asked them and raised an eyebrow.

Lady Aranya put her arm around her daughter and pulled her closer in a reassuring manner.

“We have been fooled, it seems,” she explained to her daughter.

“Fooled? By whom?” Moreth looked up at her father. His jaw was clenched and his eyes burnt with rage.

“That man from Mordor, the king of Southlands…” Aranya began saying as Moreth felt a little dizzy at the mention of him. He was the man from her dreams. What did he have in common with all of this?

“He is Sauron,” Adar finished his wife’s sentence.

Moreth felt as if the ground under her feet moved and opened, trying to swallow her whole. She held onto her mother tightly and took a deep breath in as her heart fluttered in her chest.

“Impossible,” she only whispered.

“There is no such a thing as impossible when it comes to Sauron,” Adar explained in the most serious manner. “We have foolishly trusted him enough to release him. I should have known… I’ve had that feeling that something was wrong…” He cursed under his breath and walked away, angrily.

Moreth looked at her mother with fear in her eyes. Fear and guilt but of the second thing her mother could not be aware of.

“Your father, he… He shares history with Sauron,” Aranya explained.

“I do realise,” Moreth nodded.

“You do not know everything,” Aranya shook her head. “And I do not wish you to know.”

“I understand, mother,” Moreth squeezed her hand and followed her father inside the house.

He was standing by the wall and staring intensely at the fireplace.

“Father,” she approached him and gave him a hug. Adar wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. “Do not blame yourself,” she tried to somehow comfort him. “We shall find him and kill him. He will not hurt you or the Uruks again. I shall not let him,” she looked into his eyes and he cracked a smile at her words.

“And how could you prevent it, child?” He asked.

“I am no child,” she reminded him. “I am an Age old and–”

“And I shall not let you fight my battles. I shall never risk your life. Or your mother’s. But when you are by my side, I have strength I need to face my challenges,” Adar fixed his daughter’s hair and she smiled at him gently.

Oh, poor father. If he had only known…

Perhaps she was more doomed than she had thought.

Sauron tried to visit Moreth in her dreams on that night as well, but he could sense from the very beginning that something was wrong. Moreth did not let him in as deep as usual and she fiercely tried to fight back his interference.

“Be gone, dark spirit. Deceiver,” she spat out at him.

“What is the meaning of this, my love?” Annatar tried to reach her but she flinched, making him freeze. His face remained gentle but his eyes filled with anger as he looked at her after this rejection.

“Now it all makes perfect sense to me. Why you have chosen me out of all people to torment, to haunt,” Moreth’s eyes filled with tears. “It was because of my father, was it not? You wanted your revenge. I know who you are. Sauron.”

Annatar took a step back. He had been so busy with Celebrimbor and the rings that he had neglected the whole affair with Moreth. He had trusted she would not find out on her own until the right time would come.

“Be gone. You have caused enough evil and pain in my life. My parent’s lives, too…” Moreth shook her head and the tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I had been thinking of you even before your father betrayed and slaughtered me,” Annatar revealed. “Ever since I had seen you by the river’s shore, hiding in the tall grass.”

Moreth gasped and furrowed her brows. Apparently, so far, she had not connected the dots that the mysterious pair of eyes from that day belonged to the man from her dreams.

“You have been the bane of my existence ever since I was a young maiden,” she realised out loud. “Why? Why did you choose me? Why did you lie to my father so cruelly about my mother’s death and mine, too? Why have you caused him so much pain? Oh, I do not wish to know! Just be gone!” She kept shaking her head and turned her back on him. He could feel the vision around him getting more transparent and fading away. She was shutting the door close.

“Moreth, wait…” He tried to reason with her. “Moreth, listen to me…!”

The vision disappeared and now he was all alone in the darkness of his chambers in Eregion again. He took a deep breath in angrily as a single tear streamed down his cheek.

He was not going to give up so easily on the woman he had been thinking of for centuries now. Even if it meant changing some of his plans and letting go of some of his old grudges.

Moreth woke up all sweaty from the most realistic nightmare she had just had. She took a deep breath in and looked around but everything seemed to be still and quiet inside the hut.

It was this way only inside because there was a battle going on not so far away from here. But Moreth was not taking part in it – her father would not let her. She was in this hut in the middle of the forest with her mother, waiting for his return.

She stood up and approached the window. Lady Aranya was outside and staring at the stars above. It looked as if she was praying even though no Valar would ever answer her pleas for she was fallen and far too corrupted for that.

Moreth sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

In her dream, the Uruks had betrayed her father and murdered him as she had been screaming for them to stop. One of them had been holding her and her mother back to make sure they would not help Adar and he had been not moving an inch, allowing their blades to cut him.

And when they had finally been released from the Uruks’ hold, they had ran up to him and held his dying body while sobbing. The most dreadful part of this dream was not the betrayal of the Uruks but the fact that a fallen Elf was not welcome to Valinor anymore. They would never reunite again. Moreth had lost her father so quickly after getting him back.

“That will happen,” a familiar voice filled her head as she winced, trying to fight it back. The moment of weakness opened the door in her soul slightly for Annatar to sneakily slip inside.

Just like the anxiety about the battle had weakened her enough to allow him to present her with that nightmare.

“Go away,” Moreth hissed.

“You can save your father if you come to me, Moreth,” Annatar lured her in with the gentle but still threatening tone of his voice. “Come and meet me. I have dreamt of your touch ever since you laid your hands upon me back in Mordor; comforting the tortured human king so generously with your gentle touch.”

“I do not trust you, deceiver. I am no fool,” Moreth massaged her temples.

“Come to me, my Queen, join my side and many lives that you care about can be spared. The Elves, the Uruks and the man between them – your father,” Annatar kept tempting but Moreth snorted at his words.

“A Queen you dare to call me? Do you really think I am vain like that to be lured by such a promise? I do not wish to be a Queen. What I have now is enough – perhaps even too much already. Be gone!” She suddenly gathered the strength to cut him off and she took a deep breath in before rushing out of the hut.

Lady Aranya turned around, confused.

“What is it, my child?” She asked, sensing that something was wrong.

“I must… I must go and see father…” Moreth mumbled as she approached the horses.

“Moreth!” Aranya approached her, trying to stop her daughter from departing. “It is too dangerous, there is a battle and your father might be in the middle of it.”

“Nothing will happen to me. The Elves and dwarves will take me as their prisoner and the Uruks are my brothers and sisters,” Moreth explained although she was no longer certain about the part about the Uruks.

She wanted to believe that what Sauron had shown her was nothing but a lie and illusion, created to scare her. But if it had been true, she could warn her father about the betrayal that was coming his way.

“Well, if you must go. I shall go, too,” Aranya approached her horse.

“Mother, no!” Moreth shouted, making her mother freeze as she looked at her daughter in shock. “You do not understand, I must depart alone,” she hopped onto her horse.

She could not allow her mother to leave with her because in her dream there had been the two of them and she had to do everything to avoid this scenario from happening. If her mother was not there, the exact scenario could not happen.

“Please, I am aware you are worried, but do trust me,” Moreth reached down to squeeze her mother’s arm and then she ordered the horse to gallop away as fast as possible.

As she rode through the woods, her heart pounded and her mind filled with chaotic thoughts. She hoped to get to her father on time no matter what. She cared about nothing else and paid no attention to her surroundings.

And just like that, she felt her horse stumbling and throwing her off of its back. Moreth yelped and landed on her face in the mud, although she had managed to put some of her weight onto her hands that were placed flat on the ground. The dried out leaves got stuck to her hair and she coughed while wincing out of pain, looking up at the running away horse.

“No! Come back!” She shouted after him but he did not listen to her as she cursed under her breath in Black Speech.

Everything was against her but she would limp to her father if she had to. And when she struggled to stand up, she froze, feeling someone’s eyes on her.

“Well, well, well, I knew you would show up eventually,” Annatar smirked as he kept staring at her, leaning on the tree nearby.

“I am not here for you!” Moreth hissed at him with pain and anger. “I am on my way to warn my father since you have been so generous to show me what is about to happen.”

“That is what I mean,” he laughed and she froze, realising that it was exactly what he had wanted her to do.

She felt like an absolute fool; standing there in the middle of nowhere, holding her own chest because of the bruised rib cage, slightly bent out of pain. Face to face with Sauron.

He approached her slowly as his face turned serious. She felt his hands touching her gently and even though she flinched, he did not retreat his fingers.

“Let me,” he whispered softly to her and removed her hand from her chest. He put his own hand there and she could feel her injuries mending slowly, bringing her relief. “I have not planned to cause you pain, my love,” he assured her as she kept squinting her eyes at him, knowing very well she should not trust his words.

“I hate you,” Moreth spat out as Annatar met her gaze. But instead of anger, she spotted a hint of pain on his undeniably beautiful face.

“Do you really?” He asked.

“No,” she admitted, ashamedly. “But I wish I did.”

“I know that you do, my love,” Annatar let go of her chest, knowing that she was healed now completely from her injuries after the fall.

“Do not call me that. How can you call me that after everything you have done to my family? To my father? My mother? Me?” Moreth asked, her eyes filling with fresh tears. “You have tormented my father, you have lied to him about the deaths of me and my mother. You have enslaved his children. You have caused my mother a whole Age of pain and loneliness without her husband by her side and you have caused the same to me – a fatherless life. And you have deceived me, you have pushed me towards darkness–”

“Do you regret the path you have chosen?” Annatar asked and Moreth closed her mouth.

“No, but–”

“Let me confess something to you,” Annatar took her hands gently and she was clearly uncomfortable with his touch but she did not push him away. “The visions and dreams you saw before meeting me in Mordor, the ones you were having for centuries until now. I did not control them. I was trying to reach out to you, to check on you, to see what you were doing, because – as I have confessed to you before – you had been on my mind long before your father betrayed me. But I had no idea that my mental search for you was causing your visions and dreams. They were not my intention. Therefore, whatever you had been seeing me doing or hearing me say, it was coming from the depths of your own soul, Moreth. You were affected by my presence, yes, but it was all coming from… you,” Annatar explained softly.

“You are lying to me,” Moreth refused to believe him although deep down she knew that he was right.

“Am I? You should have known out of all people the most when I lie or deceive,” Annatar pointed out and squeezed her hands tighter. “I was in my weakest form when I was reaching out to you. You have penetrated my soul the same way I have penetrated yours. And what your mind was making you see and hear in visions and dreams, it was taken out of me as those were the parts that have been unguarded in the times when I was struggling to survive,” he explained as Moreth blinked a few times, trying to comprehend everything.

“I am not sure if I understand. It is all so blurry,” she confessed.

“I know. I have struggled to understand our bond for some time, too, until I finally realised that our minds had intertwined,” Annatar explained. “It was done accidentally on my part but you… You invited me in.”

Moreth looked away, not knowing what to say to all of this. She could not deny that she still loved the man standing in front of her. His presence was soothing to her and holding his hands felt as right as it could. Her life had always been a lonely one, she had never had a lover before as she had only been watching other Elves fall for each other and marry. But she had always felt as if she could not leave her mother. Her mother had been living in sadness and grief after her father, so Moreth had decided to accompany her in it.

And even though she had been trying to remove Sauron from her heart after finding out who the man from her dreams truly was, it was not so easy to do so. He was imprinted on her heart and soul whether she wanted it or not.

“There are Uruks on their way now to betray your father,” Annatar informed her and she immediately turned her head around to look at him with widened eyes. She tried to get her hands out of his grasp but he only squeezed them tighter. “You can still save him, Moreth.”

“The pain you and your master have caused to my father… I cannot forgive you for it. I cannot betray him myself,” Moreth explained as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Your father has caused me pain, too. He has betrayed me and slaughtered me. Humiliated me in front of his army, used my crown against me and watched me being ripped apart… Piece by piece,” Annatar’s eyes lit up with rage at the memory. “You have no idea what a pain that was.”

“I can imagine,” Moreth admitted and sniffled some of her tears back.

“Yet I am willing to forgive him for that,” he promised. “But it must be a transaction. A forgiveness… for forgiveness.”

Moreth did not say anything. She was still doubting the man in front of her but she also knew that she was running out of time to save Adar.

“You still are not sure about my intentions but, my sweet Moreth, you have the ability to search through my soul and see for yourself if I am deceiving you or not,” Annatar pointed out with a smirk.

Moreth hesitated for a moment before holding his hands back and squeezing them lightly, furrowing her brows and trying to get inside his mind.

What she saw there terrified her at first. Even though she was a creature of darkness now, the amount of evil and pain she had suddenly found herself in was simply overwhelming. She saw glimpses of his schemes and plans, the big, dark creature wearing the Iron Crown and a heavy armour amongst the ashes. She saw the rings and corruption, she saw death and whole realms destroyed for disobedience. She saw thousands of Uruks marching with a war chant on their lips, she saw a big, black fortress and a throne.

Chaotically searching through all of this, she managed to find herself amongst that disarray. As if she was an eagle, she saw herself and Annatar from above, between the trees, holding hands and staring at each other like in the very moment. She dipped down and managed to sink herself into his form and to be able to perceive the scene through his eyes – to see herself as Sauron.

And she did not see a woman dirty from the mud with dry leaves stuck to it. She did not see a scared woman who was terrified of what was coming to her father and torn because of the choice she was presented with. No, she saw a beautiful, strong creature, standing proudly. She saw a dreadful Queen, radiating death and darkness. She felt respect towards her even though it was, actually, her.

“I know you do not wish to be a Queen,” Annatar’s voice filled her head. “But I also know you wish to be by my side. And this is how my love will make you flourish,” he said.

“You call that a flourish?” Moreth snorted through her tears and she could sense Annatar’s anger at her question, so she quickly explained that it was no rejection from her. “The path of the light is no longer open for me since I have abandoned it. I can only improve myself through the darkness and I do wish for perfection,” she confessed. “I shall be your Queen.”

She took a step back, letting go of his hands and breaking up the inner connection for now. She stood there, breathing heavily as she kept staring at him with shock on her face. She had not suspected to be able to dig so deep into his mind.

“My love,” Annatar caressed her cheek affectionately. “Let us go save your father now.”

He truly intended to keep his promise even though he was bitter about it. However, he did not want to begin the tale of his love with betrayal. He could deceive and betray everyone but not her – even villains like him needed one person they could trust and keep close. It was making the greatness and power more bearable.

It was early morning already when they reached Moreth’s father. Lady Galadriel was standing behind him and there were a few Uruks coming his way carrying Glûg on the stretcher. Moreth glanced at Annatar and immediately understood what the smart plan was. Adar would never walk past any of his children’s pain.

When he saw them, he immediately hurried to their side to check on one of his most loyal and closest Uruks.

“Father, no!” Moreth emerged from between the trees and Adar turned around at the sound of her voice, surprised to see her so far away from the hut she was supposed to hide in with her mother for the time of the battle.

“Moreth! What are you doing here?” He asked in a scolding tone.

“I am here to warn you of the betrayal,” she hurried to him, grabbing him by his wrists and trying to keep him away from the Uruks. “It is Sauron’s trap,” she explained as the Uruks looked between each other uncomfortably.

“What are you talking about? How do you know?” Adar furrowed his brow and that was when Annatar joined them, walking out slowly and gracefully. Lady Galadriel gasped at the sight of him and shot him a deadly glance.

Adar put his arms around his daughter immediately as if he was trying to protect her from the man coming their way.

“Stay away from her,” he drawled out at Annatar as he realised that he had emerged from the same path his daughter had walked out of.

“I can try, old friend, but I am not sure if she would stay away from me,” Annatar smirked at Adar.

Moreth’s father looked down at his daughter, confused. But he had no time to ask her any questions when the final betrayal revealed itself.

“So what do we do, Master?” One of the Uruks asked Sauron as he bowed his head.

“Why are you calling him a Master?” Adar asked him. “My son?”

“They are not children anymore,” Annatar explained to him and then looked at the Uruk. “Leave us,” he ordered. “That is a family matter between me and your Lord Father,” he added. “Raze Eregion, leave no Elf alive, but bring me their leaders.”

“A family matter?” Adar asked, even more confused and even more angry than before. He let go of Moreth as he kept staring at her intensely.

“Hail Sauron!” The Uruks chanted in Black Speech. “Hail the new Dark Lord!” They added and ran away to follow his orders. Adar reached his hand towards them but his movement was weak because he knew it was hopeless as tears filled his usually cold eyes.

Moreth’s heart cried out for him and she was the one to touch his hand gently, bringing him back to reality.

“Bring me my crown,” Annatar ordered harshly and Moreth looked up at him, confused. Was he giving that order… to her? And what crown was he speaking of?

She turned around and saw the Iron Crown of Morgoth on a stone next to Lady Galadriel who kept watching the scene in silent terror.

“Please, my love?” Annatar added in a much softer voice.

Moreth looked away to avoid her father’s eyes at that moment. She knew she had lots of explaining to do and she only hoped he would not hate her as a result of all of this.

She knew why Annatar had made this request. She had to prove herself since her promises of wanting to become his Queen could have been nothing but treachery to save her father’s life. Now, when Adar was safe, it was her turn to keep their deal.

But Lady Galadriel standing there as if she was guarding the dark item was surely an obstacle. She was one of the greatest warriors of the Elven race – a Commander of the Northern Armies. She kept staring at Moreth, challenging her.

Moreth swallowed the lump in her throat and straightened her back, feeling the sudden outburst of courage as she remembered the dreadful Queen her lover had been seeing her as when she had penetrated his mind.

When she took the first step, her father reached his hand out, trying to stop her. She, however, ignored him and kept taking more and more steps towards the Iron Crown.

So far, everything she had been doing in her life, she had been doing with her parents on her mind. Her mother and her father. But she was not a child anymore – just like Adar’s Uruks. She was an Age old and it was the time for her to do something for herself. To choose her own path and make decisions for herself. To start a life that would be hers to live.

Her parents had themselves now again, they could spend an eternity making up for the lost time. And she refused to be a background character of their love story. She wanted her own. She wanted to be with the man she had been dreaming of for centuries.

When she reached her hand out for the crown, Lady Galadriel did not move to stop her but she spoke:

“Are you fully aware of what you are about to do?” She asked and looked at Moreth in a way that made Moreth realise that Galadriel was still trying to search for the remains of her light.

“I am not a child or a fool, Lady Galadriel,” Moreth answered calmly but with a hint of anger. “I am aware. And I shall not be underestimated ever again,” she stated and grabbed the crown, feeling its corruption and darkness spilling all throughout her body. She tightened the grip and walked back to Annatar to hand him the item.

But when Annatar held it with a smirk and tried to take it away from her, she squeezed the Iron Crown even tighter, refusing to let it go. He furrowed his brows at her.

“And you will not bark your orders at me ever again,” she informed him with her chin held up high as her eyes filled with anger and confidence.

“You have never been more beautiful,” Annatar whispered with a malicious grin and Moreth nodded her head at him, letting go of the Iron Crown. “Go with your father to your worried mother, I can sense her anxiety through the miles of this forest,” he caressed Moreth’s cheek gently. “I shall join you later and for now… I have unfinished business with Lady Galadriel here,” he looked up to meet her eyes.

Moreth nodded at him, touching his cheek as well as if she was blessing him before his confrontation with Galadriel. Then, she gathered her courage to turn around and face her heartbroken and confused father.

“Come,” she grabbed him by the sleeve but Adar kept standing still. “Father, please. I want to explain and I have not done all of this just for you to foolishly lose your life now!” She exclaimed and that was what eventually made him follow her into the woods, hesitantly.

Aranya and Adar were sitting by the table and staring at their daughter with pain and a hint of disappointment. They were holding hands under the table and Moreth was sitting on the opposite side with tears in her eyes after explaining everything to them. Well, almost. There were things they did not need to know. The most intimate parts of the bond she shared with Sauron.

“He… He caused your father so much pain…” Lady Aranya started as her voice quivered.

“I know…” Moreth shook her head, fighting the fresh tears. “It is not like I can fight it, I have tried, with every fibre of my being, I swear to you, to the both of you. I have tried to fight it but–”

“I know,” Aranya nodded. “I have tried to fight the darkness within me as well but in the end, I decided to join you and your father. I know what it is like,” she confessed.

“Thank you,” her daughter took a deep breath in. “Father?” She looked at him.

He was even more quiet than usual now and she understood why – his whole world had just tumbled down. Not only did his daughter want to share her life with his greatest enemy but also the Uruks he had considered his children for centuries went away with the man he had sworn to protect them from.

“I am… defeated,” Adar confessed finally.

“Oh, Adar…” His wife reached her hand out to caress his scarred cheek. “Do not think of it this way. As long as I am by your side, there is no obstacle we cannot face together,” she assured him and Moreth bit on the insides of her cheeks. She could not wait to be in her lover’s arms already.

“The Uruks are like children to you just like I am… and they have made their decision – just like me,” Moreth explained. “But, father, I swear to you, by Sauron’s side, I shall make sure to take care of them just like you would. I shall follow your steps and after all the centuries of commanding their army, it is time for you to retire. To live a peaceful life alongside mother and enjoy each other’s company,” she tried to comfort him.

“Well, I must admit, that last part is something I would enjoy very much,” Moreth’s mother squeezed Adar’s hand tighter. “Before all of this happened, before Morgoth took you away from me, you had told me that you would love to live with me far away from everything else. I have not forgotten that, my love,” she reminded her husband.

“I do not trust Sauron with the Uruks and I do not trust him with our daughter. Simple as that,” Adar stated.

“And that is the problem, father,” Moreth tried to make him understand as gently as possible. “You do not have to trust Sauron. You have to trust your children who are old enough to make their own decisions.”

Her mother gave her husband a meaningful look. She seemed to be quite convinced but Moreth knew that her mother deep down was just glad to get rid of the Uruks and that she could have her husband for herself now. She had grown to like these creatures but she did not like this life of constant travelling, conquering and fighting.

The conversation was interrupted by a knock upon the door. Moreth straightened her back immediately. She had been too focused on her parents to sense him earlier but now it was very clear who was standing outside.

“It is him,” she announced.

“I can smell his stench,” Adar nodded with a clenched jaw.

“Father!” Moreth exclaimed. “I beg of you, if you still have some love for me in your heart, do try to understand,” she pleaded.

“I have all the love for you in what is left of my heart, my sweet daughter. Out of all things in this world, you should not doubt that,” he answered very seriously.

“And knowing that I am lucky to have my father's love gives me confidence,” Moreth nodded with a smile as she stood up and approached the door to open them.

Annatar stood there with an unreadable expression on his face. She was sure he had been listening to her conversation and perhaps he had been doing that for longer than she knew. Moreth lowered her gaze and glanced at his crown that had blood on it. She could smell the blood was pure and Elven.

“Is she…?”

“Unfortunately not,” Annatar drawled out as he entered the hut. “And I have not managed to get her ring,” he added, visibly upset.

“Her ring?” Moreth furrowed her brows.

“Nenya, the ring of water,” her father said. “It is powerful and uncorrupted.”

Annatar shot him a glance.

“Bold of you, old friend, to speak of corruption,” he remarked.

“Please!” Moreth rolled her eyes and put her hands on Annatar’s chest. “You have promised me to forgive my father for the sake of me.”

“I have promised you forgiveness for forgiveness but there is none coming from your father,” Annatar pointed out.

“How do you expect my husband to ever forgive what you have done to him?” Lady Aranya asked and did not even try to hide her indignation.

“We both were the victims of Morgoth,” Annatar’s voice went softer as he addressed Aranya, trying to use some of his charm and treachery to convince her.

“You were his servant out of your own will, not a victim,” Adar pointed out. “And even right now you hold his crown.”

“And you have followed him out of our own will, too, old friend,” Annatar answered. “And even right now you wield his sword,” he pointed at the weapon.

Long silence occurred between them all. Apparently, there were no more accusations to throw since both of them were too involved in the evil deeds and darkness, too twisted and corrupted to be able to truly find out which one had been the most guilty one and which one was to blame the most.

“I could forgive the tortures,” Adar finally whispered. “But how can I forgive you the illusion of my wife and daughter dying? You have no idea what it did to me for you have never loved.”

“I have and I do,” Annatar answered, putting his hand around Moreth’s waist as Adar’s eyes filled with rage at the sight. “And all I can say to that is; I shall ensure that your daughter will never be harmed.”

“I can ensure that myself,” Adar replied.

“A conversation with your father is pointless,” Annatar was annoyed. He was easily getting angry and the frustration was even greater now when he had just failed to kill Lady Galadriel and get her ring. He sighed and left the hut, slamming the door shut behind him.

“Is that supposed to be threatening?” Adar smirked to himself.

“Father!” Moreth shook her head. “Mother, do something,” she looked at Lady Aranya.

“Whether we like it or not, whether we accept it or not… They have a bond we cannot break and trying to stop it might possibly cause more chaos and destruction than goodness,” Moreth’s mother tried to explain to her husband. “I have not sacrificed everything for my family only to watch this very family fall apart just because my husband is too stubborn.”

The look Adar gave her took her aback at first because he seemed to feel betrayed by her. But he also understood why she was able to have compassion towards their daughter in this very situation since she had been in a similar one when it came to him.

“I have abandoned my friends, who were like family members to me. I have abandoned my old life without any chance of going back there. I have abandoned the light and the shores of Valinor… for you. For Moreth,” Aranya reminded him. “I do not wish for my daughter to abandon anything for her lover. We shall swallow our pride and our pain for the sake of her. I do not wish to lose my daughter because I know that we shall lose her if we keep opposing her like this. She will choose Sauron and I do not want her to be forced to make a choice,” she tried to make him understand and he went silent for a moment before addressing his daughter.

“You would? You would choose him?” Adar asked Moreth and even though his voice was full of contempt, there was also pain that felt like a slap in her face because she had never wished to cause pain to her parents.

“I…” She started, not sure of what to say. It was not so easy, but also – she had already made a promise to Sauron so it did not matter anymore.

“It does not matter,” Aranya answered instead. “If she chose us, she would grow to hate us. And I do not wish for that either. I want her happiness.”

“I wish for Moreth’s happiness, too,” Adar approached his daughter and looked deep into her eyes full of tears. His eyes were wet, too, and he cracked a smile at her. “He is a deceiver, Moreth. How can you trust him?”

“I have seen and explored his mind as much as he has mine,” his daughter replied. “I am the only one he cannot deceive. I know his heart, father.”

“His heart?” Adar asked, mockingly.

“Yes, father, his heart. Beating in his chest, pumping the blood of his flesh and with each breath there is a thought of me and a yearn to be with me. And it has been this way for centuries now. You surely do know something about it even though your heart is quite rotten, too,” she pointed out and Adar took a step back. He was still not fully convinced but a little more peaceful now, which his daughter and wife could sense.

Aranya approached him and placed her hand on his arm, pulling him closer to her and away from their daughter. She nodded at her and Moreth nodded back before following Annatar outside.

He was standing by the tree nearby and caressing the Iron Crown with his fingertips. His face was still annoyed and Lady Galadriel’s blood remained unwiped from the item.

“He will accept it but it will take him time,” Moreth stood next to her lover and explained softly. Annatar snorted at that. “Do not be too harsh, my darling,” she addressed him and he moved slightly, trying not to reveal what an effect it had on him when she addressed him as her darling. “What if it was your… our… daughter wanting to be with the man who has tortured you in the past?” Moreth tried to make him see as she put her hand gently on Annatar’s arm.

“That would have to be Morgoth. He was the one to torture me,” Annatar answered. “And he is a God. I would be delighted if a God wanted my daughter as a bride.”

“I… I do not think my father shares your mindset,” Moreth chuckled. “And I do not share it either for I would not trust a man who has hurt you…”

She was trying to be sweet but it only made him laugh at her as he pointed his finger at the door leading back to the hut. Her father was inside and he had hurt him in the past.

He had killed him.

Moreth closed her mouth, not knowing what else to say to make it all better.

“The thing is,” she finally said, “I have promised to be your Queen and even though the crown is not something I wish for, I want to be by your side. But I also refuse to give up on my parents. And I do not care anymore what the two of you will do with it,” she shrugged her arms. “You will have to live with it and work it out somehow,” she added and gently took the heavy crown from her lover’s hands. Surprisingly, he allowed her without any resistance as he looked at her softly.

Moreth cracked a smile at him, thinking how beautiful he truly looked in this form of Annatar and how lucky she was to be the woman he loved. She lifted her hands and put the crown upon his head, delicately.

“I have loved you for centuries without knowing your name or your face but that was only the beginning of the eternity together,” she whispered, grasping his hands with her fingers and Annatar looked down at their hands intertwined as he squeezed her fingers back.

“I shall make the whole of Middle-earth love you as much I do,” he assured her and she sighed but also smiled at him.

His love was more than enough to her but she had to get used to the fact that his love was as great and loud as everything else he was doing and he wished to scream it from the mountaintops. And the more powerful she was becoming, the more powerful he was becoming as well. She knew – she could have seen it all inside his mind.

“I do not think it is possible to make anyone else love me the way you do,” she laughed softly, “but I cannot forbid you from trying.”

MASTERLIST

#sauron x oc #halbrand x oc #annatar x oc #lotr oc #lilysfiction

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