𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁.

ㅤ
𝐼 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑒 . 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚 .ᐣ

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

ㅤ
𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌 A᷿L᷿L᷿ .
ㅤ

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

every unspoken question that fear had fastened behind her teeth .

〝 And your name .ᐣ 〞
ㅤ

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

ㅤ
𝐻is thumb brushed lightly along the line of her jaw, catching the tremor there as a man might catch a falling petal before it touched the earth. He did not laugh at her fear . Indeed, he seemed to regard it with a solemn tenderness , as though it were a precious thing —

[/ ( * 𝓑𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 ! ) @flospomum]

Despite her better judgment,
she allows him to gently lift
her gaze ; her jaw clenching
in terror as he does so, pale
skin shaking like a wounded
animal——like a doe left out
in the far fields to be picked
apart for Death.

Sparkling sapphire optics
meet the »

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

brought his lips near to hers—not quite touching, but close enough that she might feel the faint warmth of his breath against her trembling mouth. He could see every flicker of uncertainty in her sapphire eyes, —

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

that she need not crane her neck to behold him . The gesture was almost gallant , as a hand shifted 'neath her small chin so that her eyes would come to his .

〝 I go by many names , . . .〞

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

ㅤ
Beneath the arches of that forsaken tower, the candles bent low, their frail flames bowing as though some ancient sovereign had entered a temple long since abandoned by its gods. His shadow crept across the frozen stones before him, climbing the walls, swallowing the —

[/ ( * 𝓑𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 ! ) @flospomum]

She does not look up. She
doesn’t dare ; she doesn’t
need her gaze to hear the
sounds of his shoes upon
the icy floor.

The Darkness. . . Yes. That’s
it. . . 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 *𝐛𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦!
In a way she’s seen only but
once before!

There’s something in his »

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

Yet when he spoke again, his voice had softened, intimate as a secret whispered beneath the covers of a winter’s night .

He lowered himself before her , not quite kneeling, but bending sufficiently —

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

terrible warmth. He spoke her endearment as though it were a secret entrusted to him alone .

〝 A higher being . 〞

He took one measured step nearer, the faint whisper of his robes stirring the dust upon the stone .
ㅤ

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

ㅤ
𝑇he Dark Lord halted , and the shadows seemed to gather at his feet as though the very darkness of the tower had bent its knee to him. For a long moment , he did not answer. He merely regarded the trembling maiden , his gaze lingering upon her where she stood half-hidden —

[/ ( * 𝓑𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 ! ) @flospomum]

Innocent eyes shimmer with terror
in the darkness of her very, *𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲
dreaded tower ; body trembling so
much that her silhouette seems to
shake like a leaf in the winter wind.

There’s a hitching breath as
he takes a step. She doesn’t
dare to more a single inch »

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

behind the veil of her own hair. There was something almost tender in his silence; something far more terrible than wrath.

Then he smiled .

〝 Who am I, little dove .ᐣ 〞

His voice was low and velvet-smooth, ancient as the roots of the mountains and rich with a strange, —

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

word as though it were a curious little trinket, turning it over on his tongue before discarding it as unworthy of his interest. Slowly, he advanced a single step, the faint gleam of his eyes never once straying from her pale face.
ㅤ

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

ㅤ
𝑆auron’s gaze lingered upon her, taking in the way she pressed herself into the furthest corner, as though a few more inches of stone might spare her from his presence. A low, dark chuckle stirred beneath the shadow of his crown .

〝 Not an outsider . 〞

He spoke the ——

[/ ( * 𝓑𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 ! ) @flospomum]

“. . . M-My Father.” She squeaks
out, so terrified that she seems
to back herself into the farthest
corner of her tower, her arms
hugging her frame as her face
goes paler than the Lady Moon
herself.

“H-He does not.take kindly
to outsiders. . .”

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

ㅤ
Do not mistake me for the absence of life, my lady .

I am what remains when all comforting lies have been stripped away . I am the will that does not bend, the flame that does not die .

And you . . . .you were never meant to kneel to lesser things .
ㅤ

[𝓖𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑙. @bellatorIucis]

you perceive nothing .ᐟ

you nothing but a mockery of life, darkness in the shadow of life. and you know nothing of me.

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

ㅤ
Is it hatred that holds your gaze so steadfastly upon mine, or some more perilous longing that you dare not name .ᐣ

For even now , beneath that silver pride, I perceive the fire that burns in you—a fire not unlike my own .
ㅤ

[𝓖𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑙. @bellatorIucis]

i need no further courage to face you and your darkness.

and i will not yield to the darkness, not to you.

never.

[𝓖𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑙. @bellatorIucis]

𝗼𝗼𝗰. galadriel: i will never yield to you and your darkness.

also galadriel: ...

[𝑆𝐴𝑈𝑅𝑂𝑁. @dreadedgorthaur]

ㅤ
〝 Should not .ᐣ 〞

The words fall softly, yet the air grows heavy about them, and the shadows lengthen at his feet.

〝 Tell me, little thiny . . who shall set bounds upon my coming .ᐣ 〞

He took one step forward, and the faint gleam of his eyes burns through the gloom.

[/ ( * 𝓑𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 ! ) @flospomum]

Head ticking in the direction
of @dreadedgorthaur———

“. . . Y-You should not
be here, Stranger. . . .”