"He rebuilt this fortress for himself, not for you, my lord." Gothmog's smirk was triumphant. Mairon kept his face neutral, and did not allow himself to give into his impulse to snarl at the other Maia, not even when Melkor turned dark eyes on him.
"My lord, I rebuilt this fortress as a bastion for those of your Maiar and other servants who were not taken in the Battle of the Powers," Mairon explained calmly. "Which is one of the reasons I chose to rebuild here at Angband rather than Utumno. I believed that if your lesser brethren ever happened to think of looking for us, they would look at Utumno, not here."
"Your reasoning there is sound," Melkor said. Once, his voice would have been a silken hiss, Mairon thought to himself. Now it was harsh croak. "However, I desire to know your motives for doing such, Mairon, as that seemed to be what Gothmog is harping on about."
"He wished to supplant you," Gothmog hissed.
"I did not!" Mairon responded, allowing a little of the fury he was feeling towards the other Maia show. He deliberately angled his body away from Gothmog, facing Melkor directly.
"My lord, if I may be frank, I did not know if you would ever have the chance to return to us or not," Mairon said. Oh, how he wished the Vala had not… "So I rebuilt this fortress to provide protection to those of us still remaining on these shores in case you never did.
"And," Mairon turned a steely glare on Gothmog. "I rebuilt this fortress and gathered those who remain so that if you ever did return, you would have some place to return to."
"So you doubted my return," Melkor said flatly.
"I prepared for all eventualities," Mairon replied. "That is, after all, why you valued me as a commander."
A subtle shift in Melkor's face, and Mairon knew he had won. But Gothmog wasn't done yet.
"My lord, surely you will not continue to give Mairon command of all your forces. He has become too accustom to his own rule. And he doubted you. Give command to one who never did."
"So instead of giving command to the one who salvaged what could be salvaged, and rebuilt after the Valar ravaged all, you would have command given to the one who is responsible for the Valar attacking in the first place?" Mairon asked silkily. Gothmog's fire died for an instant, then redoubled as the Balrog snarled and stepped forward.
"Enough!" Melkor shouted. "Mairon shall retain all command in administrative matters, and those pertaining to this fortress. Gothmog, you shall have field command in military matters. We have an Elven kingdom to eradicate, and Melyanna should be enough of a challenge for you. Go see to it." Gothmog bowed sullenly, and withdrew. Mairon echoed him gracefully, and made to do the same, but Melkor stopped him suddenly with a charred hand tangled in the Maia's dark hair.
"But if I get one hint," Melkor said in a soft voice that still managed to be terrifying, "that you are too comfortable with your own command, or that you are undermining my authority, you will regret it. Do I make myself clear?" Mairon dropped his eyes submissively.
"Perfectly, my lord. I would never dream of disobeying you." Melkor studied him for a long moment, then snorted and released him.
"See to it that my chambers are readied, and send whatever you have here that passes for drink," he snapped. Mairon bowed deeply, lowering himself fully to one knee, then withdrew with all the speed he could manage without seeming to hurry. Out of the throne room and down a few hallways, Mairon paused and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes for a moment. Oh, why couldn't the Valar have just left him imprisoned?
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