Daughter of the Faithful

Disclaimer : I don't own the Silmarillion, I don't own the Lord of the Rings, all characters in this story are Tolkien's property.

1

Daewen was 20. She was Elendil's daughter, and nobody knew her really. Her father avoided to go wander on the island. He was pessimistic about his future. According to him, their king had made the worst mistake of all his life : he had set Sauron free. For the moment, the Dark Lord seemed to be nice, but Elendil didn't trust him. And one day, while his sons Anarion and Isildur had gone wandering in the city, Elendil confessed his doubts to his daughter.

"The king had made the worst mistake of all his arrogant life by setting Sauron free."

"Maybe Sauron had said something that had changed the king's mind. Maybe King Pharazôn had thought Sauron could be useful for us, he knows more than anybody else, he can teach us something."

"Yea, lies" Elendil answered bitterly.

Daewen was lost in her thoughts.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm wondering if Pharazôn was drunk the day he decided to make Sauron his servant."

Elendil laughed loudly. Daewen was natural, she didn't bother changing her language. Yes, Elendil also thought that his king was drunk that day, but he never dared to say it.

"Our king is arrogant, more than anybody else. That's dangerous for our people."

"Yea, he thinks he's above the law too! He even wed his own cousin! That's inhuman!" Daewen added. "Don't tell anybody, Father, but I don't like him."

"I don't like him either."

"According to what I heard, Sauron knelt before him and said he wanted to serve him. What the hell? I mean, how could he believe that? Sauron is a Maia, damn it!"

"That's why Pharazôn brought him here. To watch him, so he'll be sure not to be betrayed."

They remained silent for a while.

"Father, I would like to know more about Sauron."

"What do you mean?"

"I want to attend his classes. I'll see if what he's teaching is really helping us or not."

Elendil didn't want. She gave him the puss in boots look. He yielded himself.

"All right. But be careful. Even if he seems fair and wise, Sauron is dangerous."

"I know, don't worry."

*****

The next day, Daewen had no idea where the courses took place, and at what time. She was lucky nonetheless. She met her friend Anarima, who was wandering in the city, with her husband.

"Hey Daewen, what's new?"

"Nothing special. I'm just trying to find where Sauron's courses take place. I'd like to attend them."

"You're lucky. That's where we are going. Today, he's teaching optics."

"Have you been to many of his lessons?"

"Yes. You know, at the beginning, I just went to see. But now, the more I see him and I listen to him, the more I realize he's not evil anymore. He's here for the wellness of our people."

"Don't you find this strange?"

"Why should it be strange?"

"Sauron has been a Dark Lord for more than two thousand years, and now, being a Maia, so being almost a god, he's helping insignificant human like us! I think it's very humiliating for him."

"I think not. But come with us, you can talk to him after the end."

Me? Talking to Sauron? You're kidding, Daewen thought.

Anarima led her into a big building. There was a big hall into it, with a podium at the end, a black board on the wall and many chairs in front.

Daewen had never been into this room and she was impressed by its beauty. The walls and the ground were of white marble. There was a big dome of glass as ceiling that allowed the sunlight to go into the room.

Her friend came to the first row and sat down. They were the only ones in the room but many people came in after them.

Ten minutes after, the room was full. Hundreds of people had come. Anarima gave some sheets of paper to Daewen, and things to write.

"There will be a test next month" she explained.

Then, the door next to the podium opened and a seven feet tall guy entered the room : Sauron. He was dressed in silver plated armour, and had dark hair going until his waist. He wore a white cloak that was floating behind him. He went on the podium and looked at the audience, silent.

"Good afternoon everybody" he said with a sweet voice. "Today we are going to talk about optics, and more precisely about lenses."

His voice made Daewen shiver. It was sweet and seductive, but dark at the same time. His gaze came to the audience, going from a man to another.

"Are there new people here?" he asked.

Daewen shyly raised her hand. Sauron came to her. She was stunned when she looked more precisely at his face. He was more than just handsome. He was of noble beauty, the fairest guy she had ever seen. This is a mask he's wearing, her reason told her. He's as beautiful as he's cruel. He had dark grey eyes that were fixed on her for the moment. She sank her gaze into his.

Anarima elbowed her on the ribs. She came back to reality.

"I'm Daewen, daughter of Elendil" she sputtered, looking away from his face.

"Welcome. Do you know anything about optics? Have you learnt something before?"

"No, nothing. I look forward to learn from you. That's why I came."

"If you have any questions, feel free to ask at the end of the lecture."

She nodded. He smiled at her and went back to the black board. He draw figures on the board, explaining how light goes through a lens, and how we can see the image of an object through the lens. Daewen wrote everything he said, and didn't want to stop listening to his bewitching voice.

But she had to one hour later. She would have liked to have one question, so she could talk to him, and hear again his enchanting voice, see again his beautiful face, sink again her gaze into his.

The next lecture was the day after. He would teach about light in a prism. She would go to it, only to listen to him. She had desire to learn, but this would not be the main reason for her continuing to go to the lessons.

*****

Note : liked it or not, please review!

Note2 : I'm french and this is my first english long fanfiction. So tell me if there are some errors in it.