There was no shuffle of feet to announce his entrance, no entourage of Orcish guards to mark the arrival of an officer. When he came, he merely appeared, stepping from the lamp-black shadows into the furnace light of the volcanic cell.
“You.” The somber voice curled with disdain. “You’re the one He wanted so badly?” Sauron came forward, thrusting a hand between the bars of the cell to clamp the elf’s bruised jaw between his fingers. He seemed to be appraising a cut of meat, finding it inadequate. “So many sent to die, for this? You look nothing like him.” This was not addressed to Maedhros, and the lieutenant did not bother to clarify who or what he meant as he relinquished his grasp.
“Such a waste.”The great maia’s back was turned as he examined structures obscured by the darkness of the chamber. Soft metallic sounds echoed amidst the rumbling of the subterranean pit; quiet clinks and clacks of some device turned in the hand, the creak and slither of leather, chilling in their ambiguity. A spray of distant magma illuminated briefly the walls lined with what seemed workman’s tools; racks and rows of hanging instruments, long empty tables, vials and troughs of liquid. He hummed a low note of satisfaction, selecting at last a tool that met with his approval.
“You are… Maedhros. First and eldest of the sons of Fëanor. Yes?” The maia asked, unhurried. He knelt, huge and graceful, before the iron cage, red-gold eyes searching out the prisoner’s. “I am Sauron, first lieutenant and forgemaster of Angband. My Master has given you to me for the purposes of breaking.” He unfurled the whip that had been coiled lazily in his hands, all black braid with many silver-tipped tails. “If you choose to be forthcoming with information that is useful to my Master, we may forgo many painful formalities, but not all. I myself hold no personal grudge against you… if it were in my power to break Lord Melkor’s fascination with those of your house, I would happily do so. To me, you are an enemy soldier, an irritant, worthy of no more attention or special effort than any other. But to my Master…”
The maia blinked slowly, lips touched with an expression of irony; “To my Master, you a most sought and toothsome prize.”As he spoke, he unlocked the mechanism keeping shut the cage, springing it open. He looked not at all distressed that his prisoner might escape. With one hand he pulled the captive’s chain, forcing him out of the cell at the behest of his neck.
“I do as my Master bids– happily, unhesitatingly, exhaustively. And what He bids is that you shall have the memory of Him burned onto you forever, that His unsatisfied desires, His wrath, shall find satisfaction.”
Sauron tilted his head, eyes flashing in the gloom like an animal’s. “You are to be your father’s whipping boy, Noldo. You can thank Fëanor for what you will endure here; it was he my Master wanted, but He has you instead.”
Awareness had not been born
until the other’s voice has burst into existence. Maedhros was
startled though all he did to show it was a mere widening of his
eyes. No, he wast still and silent as the other grasped his face.
There was no room to flee his foul touch and flinching would have
only served to hurt the weak remains of his pride. (He had a feeling
it wouldn’t remain in tact soon so he clung to it like he had once
clung to Nerdanel’s skirts under a different name.)
His eyes did not lift, did
not take in the room around him at the brief glint of light. It hurt
his eyes after hours spent in darkness more so than the other’s
bruising touch. He did not answer, did not not speak in a long time
nor showed interest in Sauron’s words. He half sought out something
to spite the other, to throw him into a rage that would crush him.
Maedhros had no desire to live if it meant being used as a banner of
betrayal. Nay- he would rather have his throat slit now and be
haunted in Mando’s halls by all who he had killed on the path to get
here.In turn, he almost welcomed
the sound of the whip unfurling-
he would deserve such things
after all. How much
blood had he spilled in Alqualondë?He made to wet his lips though his tongue was dry and finally lifted his gaze as the
cell door was opened. He gingerly took a breath of what would be his
last moment of peace then locked his muscles, resisting as a collar
‘round his neck was pulled, his body soon following against his want.Maedhros wanted to snarl,
to claim- Feanor has already done the damage you can not deal. What
was a whip, what was pain? His own father had led them away from home
permanently. Their own father had decided not to turn back ships
for their loyal love one who would follow them. His own father had
set their youngest brother ablaze, his pyre burning around him as he
choked to death on the ash he would become.
Instead he smiled, weary
and bitter “- Do your best then, for a dog gets no satisfaction
unless they earn their master’s affections. I am gladdened by the
sight of the pet and not the owner. Tell me, how sharp are your
teeth?” Kill me, kill me.
The maia laughed, the echo of it reverberating throughout the cavern. His lips pulled back, revealing vicious and curving fangs.
“Very,” he grinned. “But you’ll not tempt me into killing you just yet, Noldo. Not so early in our acquaintance.” The prisoner’s mind slipped open to him, unguarded as it was in a moment of nihilism and despair; he’d heard a whisper of his name on a prayer, begging for death, and that was all he needed to cross the threshold.
So deep was the mire of that mind, the bitterness it held pulled inward all hope and drowned it preemptively in uncaring death. Yet at the center of that sand-trap of apathy lay what remained of a beautiful thing; a bright red-winged bird of free spirit and song, buried deep in the tar.
And that was all he saw before the doors closed on him.
“Sad little thing, aren’t you? Giving in so soon.” He slid a hand through the Noldo’s rust red hair; a mockery of comfort. “Tell me, who was the master who withheld their affection from you, pup? Could it be you’re still following their command, o oft-kicked hound?” He clucked his tongue. “One wonders why.”
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