Oh yes, yes yes yes, I am back. I said I would write a chapter this weekend, and I did… I just didn't get it up. But I'll get it up today. Mmmm… well, this chapter was twitchish. Just… so you know. Made my brain twitch at least. Oh well. DEAL WITH IT! /Laughs evilly/ I've paid my debt, you can pay yours too now. Weee… being evil is fun! Okay, it's probably not that bad, I just ate a lot of fudge and probably happen to be high of the chocolatelyness. Bloo. Now I'll shut up.

Reviewer folk!

Just Curious: /smiles/ Heh… sorry. Couldn't be helped. I'm glad you are enjoying the story, and I know exactly what you mean. If I had more time, I could probably think or more stuff to do along that vein, but… I just don't. So I make each chapter center around one event or thing like that, and then call it good. But you have a good point, and I thank you for it. I wish I could do more about it though /sniff/…

Twisted Mary Sue: /blinks/ Games are fun. My bro and I play "Gauntlet: Dark Legends" or some such nonsense cause it's fun to laugh at its corniness. And I'm glad you like your job!

Dark Borg Drone: /tilts head to the side/ Interesting…

XNemesis: Haldir can be really stupid SOMETIMES? Uh, yes. And… I'm trying to get better about the comments. Really. And being amused is nice!

AzureDragoness: /smiles/ Yes, go Haldir! Sauron can take it… most of the time. /Eyes go big at the ice cream/ Yes, oh yes. I was inspired, I just didn't have time. Seriously… this year is doing as it said it would. /nod/ But hopefully you'll enjoy this too… I hope…

Black Thunder44: Hopefully what you find out is… okay… /grimace/

Crow: Yes, the plot thickens indeed. There actually happens to be a bit of plot… that counts. Well… I think Lalaith is a bit… well, she thinks Haldir is being difficult, and so thinks he's lying, I think. Yes. She's… yes. Poor her. Should be smarter.

Kingmaker: I love history! I love the class, I'm doing super well in it to beams a bit but that doesn't make it easy or fun all the time. It is a major reason why I have a lot of crap. And indeed it is nice to get to the point finally! Or close to the point at least. Yeah, Haldir kinda… ok, he really messed that up. He meant well and all, but… blah. Not very tactful. I wonder what is in those books too /rubs chin/. Squee-hee-hee… I'm glad that I've been portraying Sauron well. He was always the one that I wondered about writing… cause, well, he's Sauron. Hehe.

The Grammar Nazi: Yeah, I almost feel bad for Haldir sometimes. Then I remember that I tried to smash my heart with a hammer and therefore I laugh. Muahaha. /bow/ Well, I appreciate my readers taking the time to review for me. It makes ME very happy. I'm glad that me just responding to you could make you happy! That's quite spiffy.

Ruler-of-Da-World: Yes, yes they are. Frodo… is in the near future, yes. Very near future. Wahahaha.

Mistress Koishii: Hahaha! Lovely. Like the stress kit… sound painful though. Bet Haldir would know. I'm glad you like it. Please please continue to do so…

Spoofmaster: …I made you feel better? Well, that's neato. And if you were forgetting that he's a meanie, it was about time that I reminded you. …He is. Hehehe… and yes, he's a loser too. He always loses. That would be funny if Haldir kicked his bakunka. That would make me laugh too.

Midnight Proc: Wahahahaha… yes. Bad. That's sad that you liked his character. I just laugh at him and get mad at him cause he killed Finrod. Doesn't matter that he destroyed an entire race of people, or fed other people to dogs, of lit a person on fire, or ruined a whole area of land and all the people in there… the Finrod thing bugs me though. /shrug/ Mmm… yes. The only thing he really had any success in was manipulation. Blah… this chapter is just creepy. Oh well.

Feagliniel: He is a jerk, but what's new. Yes… poor Haldir. Haaa…ha. PA indeed! Hehehe… heh.

Okaaay… well. On to the chapter then. Heh… should have posted this sucker on Halloween snort. Anyways, onwards!

I:I:I:I:I:I

Haldir's life for almost the past four weeks had been a living hell. He could think of no other way to describe it than as such. Every morning he woke up with that unsettling feeling that there was something he had ought to remember, something that was not entirely pleasant, and it lingered with him until he finally was able to rub the sleep out of his eyes and had the revelation hit him square in the head. Then he would have the minute it took for him to change into his clothes to mentally prepare himself for what he'd have to put up with at the breakfast table.

True, for the most part he had not witnessed too much. After only one day, Haldir decided that he did NOT want to be in that house any more than he possibly had to be. Having decided that, he had gone along with Rumil and Orophin to the weaponry shop where they worked.

For a while he had entertained himself by browsing, intrigued by the variety of things there, many of which he had never seen before. Orophin, a bit more perceptive than Rumil, seemed to have realized that his brother was in a rather foul mood, although he did not inquire as to why, and had tried to take Haldir's mind off whatever it was that had been bothering him by explaining what all the odd weapons were and how they worked. While it had only been temporary, he had been able to go for an hour or so without thinking about poor Lalaith, who did not know what she was doing, and that damned maia who was trying to mess with Haldir's head.

Orophin had soon been obliged to see to the other people in the shop, and Haldir had been left to his own devices. He had wandered a bit more, finding the archery ranges, where he then paused for a while and watched the people practicing. For some reason, watching them had stirred the desire to practice in Haldir, and after finding the closest of his brothers and asking if he could use the range, he was equipped with what he needed.

Ah, it had been wonderful stress relief. Haldir had wondered how long it had been since he had held a bow; it felt like ages. There was something so comforting about the feel of it in his hands and the pleasure of still being as good as he had been in Lothlorien. He let the arrows fly like no other who was out there, off in the half dreamy world where he hardly had to think about what he was doing.

Actually, the only thing he had thought as he released the arrows and watched them hit his mark was how lovely it would have been to have a certain person sitting in front of the target. Unfortunately, while it was a nice thought, Haldir conceded that there was no hope of fulfilling it.

During the time he had been 'practicing,' he had unconsciously drawn some spectators, one of whom had been the owner of the shop.

"You shoot very well," he has said once as Haldir had retrieved his arrows.

With a start, Haldir had turned to look at him. "Thank you," he replied as he yanked the last arrow out.

"I'm guessing that you're Orophin and Rumil's brother?"

"Yes," Haldir said with a nod.

The elf smiled. "They have spoken of you before."

Haldir could not help but frown slightly. "I'm sure that what they've shared was in the best light," he remarked sarcastically.

With a small laugh, the elf shook his head. "No, I can say that they were right. Although the description was a bit vague, I gathered that you must have been a better shot than them."

"They actually admitted that, even vaguely?" Haldir asked with surprise, raising a brow.

"Indeed they did. I had asked them to bring you here some time so I could see if it was true, but they said that you didn't go out much."

Haldir felt his expression turn slightly sour, his thoughts falling on the reason why he did not leave the house often. "No, I do not. I think that I shall more, now, however."

"Splendid!" the man exclaimed, smiling again.

Haldir cocked his head.

"Do you have any plans on what you will be doing? Or would there be some way that I could entice you to come work here as well?"

"Do you not have enough workers now?" he queried.

"You would not be working in the shop. There has been an interest from some of my clients for lessons and such for their children, and it was that job that I would like you to do."

With a blink, Haldir held up his hand. "I do not think you would like me to be a teacher," he said apologetically.

"Nonsense. Both Rumil and Orophin said that it was you who taught them what they know, and they are better archers than many I have seen. You, of course, are better, but that is besides the point. If you can teach those two, I wonder who you couldn't teach."

Haldir did admit that teaching them had been a bit tiring. Once the novelty of the lessons had worn off, it had been all he could do to keep them in line. But they had learned…

"It'd only be for an hour or so every day for a while. Most of the people are just looking for rudimentary knowledge; many want to teach their children the finer points themselves."

It had been, interestingly enough, a bit tempting. Any money he might get from the thing would only be a bonus -- he got the monthly allowance anyways. The things that drew him to the idea was that he'd have a reason to be out of the house, and when he was out he'd have something to do. And while he did not mean to be vain about it, Haldir knew he could shoot well. Perhaps it would be good.

So he had accepted the offer. Rumil and Orophin had been pleased, Rumil noting that it was just like old times, minus any danger, at which Orophin had snipped that it therefore was nothing like old times other than that they had bows. While at times they had been a bit irritating, or at least Rumil had been, all and all the experience was nice. The children Haldir taught were all young, scaring him by the fact that, when he looked at them as they practiced, they reminded him of himself when he was little. They all listened to him, for which Haldir felt blessed. Even better, they didn't just listen, they were eager to learn every day. It lifted his spirits greatly.

Or, at least it did during the late morning and early afternoon. After they left, Haldir often would stay and practice more himself, although there was no challenge in it. It was at that time, right after the peak of his good feelings for the day, that his mood started to make its descent. He began to think of what the evening would hold: if it would be better or worse than the day before, what Sauron would dare to do that night, if there was anyway he could get to his room without some confrontation.

Yes, it was bad. Sauron had been as good as his word and truly had done everything in his power to wrap Lalaith around his finger. Lalaith, in turn, had been all too willing to go along with it.

Unfortunately, while Haldir had hoped that Sauron, being who he was after all, would not be successful in drawing in Lalaith, he had been. He had been courteous to Lalaith in every possibly manner for the first day or so, after which Lalaith started to let her guard down. Haldir gave her an ounce of credit for not having made the first move after he had spoken to her, but could not give much as she had jumped right in when Sauron had moved from simply to being polite and friendly to blatantly flirting with her.

Haldir had thought that just the idea was bad, and had half-heartedly thought that he might be able to stand it. It actually happening could not have been much worse than the thought of it happening. However, when the time came, he hardly could keep from doing some sort of outburst.

For the majority of his life, Haldir had just about been welded to his duty as a guard. From his dedication, he had moved up the ranks quickly. So, for him, romance had been out of the question. He was happy with his work. While he was not against it, he had never really liked it. It was always terribly obvious when somebody under his command had gotten struck with the bug in that they didn't do their tasks nearly as well as usual, and for that reason the whole thing had worn into his character as being rather annoying.

So, when he saw his sister was whole-heartedly participating in it with Sauron, it made it even worse. Because of his previous feelings for the whole thing, it was nauseating on more than one level.

Of course, it was that it was Sauron which made it truly bad. That and the fact that he was simply toying with Lalaith to get his way. If it had been sincere… well, Haldir wouldn't have liked that either. He probably would have despised it just as much, however he could not realize that. To him the present situation was the worst possible.

And that was what he was having to put up with -- a former dark lord pretending to hit on his sister. It made Haldir's brain twitch whenever he thought about it. Which, considering how potent Sauron tried to make it whenever Haldir was around, was often.

He had put up with it for almost a month. Every day it got worse; now they cuddled. Well, actually, Lalaith cuddled and Sauron just kind of went along with it. That was one reason why Haldir went upstairs to his room right after dinner most of the time. He had made the mistake of going into the living room once a couple of days before, and after witnessing that, he had found he much preferred being alone and bored than seeing that. He felt like he had that image seared in his brain.

Haldir was again trying to protect himself from hearing or seeing anything that he really did not want to be exposed to. And to do so, he was again up in his room. He had tried reading some of those books Sauron always had seemed so interested in, but there was nothing in them that really caught his attention. Sometimes, like tonight, he'd have some weapons from the shop which he would clean or repair. Yet, for the most part, he was just sitting on his bed, hearing the faint noises of conversation from downstairs. He frowned, his brow drawing together as he sighed irritably.

Orophin or Rumil should have backed him up. However, for some reason they were okay with what was going on. When he had tried to get them to talk to Lalaith, they had only been confused. To them, they could not see why Haldir would be against it. They thought that he was friends with "Iaewur," and the only way to explain why such was not so would be giving away information that he could not tell. Again he ran into that wall of information. Something that was supposed to somehow go along with Sauron's punishment was punishing Haldir instead.

And then there were Elhith. Haldir had no idea what was up with him. He was the only other person who knew who Sauron really was, and yet he did not put in his opinion. Elhith seemed to be decently respected by Haldir's other siblings, and Haldir figured that, if he had said something, maybe then Lalaith might have listened, or Orophin and Rumil could have gone to her and made her listen. Something. Anything. Yet Elhith seemed to suddenly become oblivious to the fact that all the amore floating around the house could only be one sided.

Haldir sighed again. It was too much. He had gone through enough in his life, or so he had thought. Why couldn't he just be given a break for once?

Suddenly he was jolted from his thoughts by a knock on the door. "What do you want?" he asked crossly.

"My, are we getting a bit upset?" mocked the voice on the other side of the door.

Haldir clenched his jaw, deciding to be bigger than the various curses that were pushing at his lips and to keep silent.

The door creaked open and Sauron peered in, looking disgustingly smug. He was obviously enjoying himself, or Haldir's discomfort at least.

"How are you enjoying yourself up here, all alone?" he asked, his expression matching his voice. He shut the door behind himself and walked to the wall opposite of the chair where Haldir was sitting, leaning back against it and crossing his arms as he looked down at Haldir. "Don't you find it funny that you, a decent enough elf, is lonelier than me, who was once a dark lord?"

Haldir felt a muscle on his jaw twitch, but he did not reply.

"Impressive," Sauron mused, nodding slowly. "Learning to keep your tongue. Very well." He grinned again. "It'll give me more time to speak about your sister."

Haldir unconsciously swore under his breath.

Sauron raised a brow, cocking his head to the side. "Such language," he said, shaking his head. "I thought I was the only one allowed to have that vocabulary."

He stretched, then rubbed the back of his neck as he yawned. "Have you ever been in love, Haldir?" he asked suddenly.

"No," Haldir replied succinctly.

"Well, you must have some wisdom then." He paused. "I don't think I've felt so silly in all of my existence," he went on thoughtfully.

Glancing at him momentarily, Haldir ran the cloth he had been using to polish the knife in his hands down the blade again. "What do you want?"

Seeming to have gone off on his own thoughts, Sauron snapped back to reality. "Again, many things," he started to answer, "yet for the present I just came to see if you'd finally cave."

Haldir did not know where it came from, but he laughed. However it was unlike any of his laughs before. This one was low and quiet, deeply bitter even to his own ears. "Cave? After putting up with this for nearly a month? I don't think there is much more you can throw at me at this point. I'm sure I'll become immune to it after a while, and I believe that if you stay at this courting thing for too long that Lalaith will lose interest. The only thing you could do in such a case would be to profess your feigned undying love for her and go get hitched, but that would be a pickle that I can't really see yourself getting out of."

Sauron looked rather disturbed with idea, a small grimace on his face. "No… I wouldn't go that far," he said, shaking his head, the grimace turning to revulsion. "But I don't think I'll have to push that far anyways. You might think you can last for a while, but I don't think you can. No, it won't take anything that drastic, not nearly so." He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head again quickly.

"What?" Haldir asked monotonously.

"Marriage," he spat out. "What an ugly thing to say. You're getting in on this mental toying stuff, aren't you?"

"Sure," he answered nonchalantly.

"You can't use my tricks on me," Sauron chastised. He pushed away from the wall, pacing the room. "Seriously now, when are you giving in?"

"I'm not."

"I think you will."

"Well, a lot of what you think is wrong."

"At least I think," he retorted.

Haldir rolled his eyes, balancing the blade on his hand. He wondered what it'd be like to take the thing and throw it at Sauron. Nobody could really blame him if he did. Wasn't as though anybody liked Sauron anyways.

Except Lalaith.

Haldir groaned inwardly.

"Well, if you're so sure that you're past being moved to entering the bargain, I'll have to work harder," Sauron said finally. "As you said, it's been about a month. In sure that counts for something. I don't know what, but something. Lalaith's been talking about it, and I've listened."

Haldir snorted. "I bet you have."

Sauron looked at him over his shoulder. "I have. She's given me many of my ideas for what I do. Proves useful. That's besides the point however. She's brought up this month thing for the last few days, and so it must mean something to her. It'd seem appropriate to do something to celebrate it or whatever, I'm guessing, however since you'd have to be chaperone," he said, his wicked grin crossing his face for a moment, "I've figured that I can't do anything outside the house."

"Congratulations. You've reached a conclusion. Good for you."

Continuing as though Haldir had not spoken, Sauron went on. "I talked to Orophin about it, and he's going to help make a dinner. Obviously, we all know my culinary talents, so I had to stoop to getting his help on it. Although, that really doesn't bother me since I won't have to work. I just have to be useful enough that Orophin will note it. I believe it'd give me points if I tried. I think Elhith might help too."

Haldir looked up at him from under his brows. "Answer me one question."

Sauron shrugged. "Why not."

"How is it that Elhith is going along with this?"

"Remember Osse's?" Sauron asked in turn.

Haldir nodded.

"Well, I just used that same trick on him, almost identically. Convinced him that I've changed and whatnot." He gave a small laugh, again that demeaning sort. "Gullible fellow. I suppose he didn't really have a choice in the matter though, once I started using the finer points of my talents in that area on him. Had to work very hard on him though."

Thinking for a moment, Haldir spoke up slowly. "How come you haven't tried that on me?"

Sauron frowned. "I have tried it on you."

Now Haldir frowned too. "It didn't work?"

"Obviously!"

"Well… why wouldn't it?" Haldir asked, curious and slightly put out to learn that Sauron had attempted the trick on him.

He shook his head. "I have no idea. It should have. Especially with you. I'd think I'd be able to break your mental barriers like a twig."

Haldir glowered at him.

"But the fact is that it doesn't work, and therefore I have to do this whole charade. And if there is something that surpasses my speaking talents, it's my acting talents."

"You're so full of yourself, it's surprising that you don't just spontaneously explode."

"That sounds rather unpleasant," Sauron responded cheerfully. He pulled his hair back from his face for a moment, looking at Haldir again. "So, you won't give in? Let me have a break and skip the dinner?"

"Not for anything," Haldir said, thrusting the knife back into its sheath a bit forcefully.

Sauron gave a small sigh, releasing his hair and then making his way to the door. "Very well then. We'll see if you keep that attitude tomorrow evening."

As he left, Haldir remained frostily silent, not just a little angered when he heard Sauron laugh to himself in the hall.

I:I:I:I:I:I

Sauron was certain that he'd be able to get to Haldir to crack through the whole 'dinner' thing. Somehow he would. The ruse had been going on long enough. It was the perfect opportunity, and he was going to make the best of it.

Most of his morning had been free. He'd just thought of different things he could possibly do, and how he could keep the dinner private, as he knew Lalaith was thinking it would be, while also making it public. Bit tricky, but Sauron was sure he could make it work out somehow.

In the early afternoon, he began to help Orophin with the dinner. It was clearly not his forte; however, by some amount of luck, he was able to keep from botching up the tasks he needed to do. Sauron's one hope was, while the food did look okay, that it actually was okay and wouldn't make him sick or anything after the fact.

So even though it took a while to prep everything, it was done in a decent amount of time, after which Sauron had gone and got ready. On one hand, he was pretty creeped out and a bit aggravated that it was within his power to stop the thing and thereby end the creepiness, but he attempted to make light of it. He could sense that he was close to accomplishing his goal now. It would be over soon enough; he just had to get through this last thing and he'd be done.

That became his mantra of the afternoon. As he stood in front of the mirror in the hall, trying to figure out how to do his hair in a manner a bit classier than the reluctantly brushed mop it usually was, the argument passed through his head. While eyeing the appalling new tunic of pale blue, he whispered it under his breath.

So, after a time, the early evening came, and everything was set. He retrieved Lalaith, who he admitted looked quite lovely, but it was not as though he was betraying himself with the thought. She obviously was -- it would simply be stupid to dispute it -- but it went no deeper, and held no importance to him, other than that he was acknowledging what the evident truth was. It didn't mean a thing to him.

The small dining room adjoining the kitchen was all set up and prepared. The only thing it had been missing was them. And so the instant they were there, everything as he had wanted it, Sauron began to swing his plan into action.

Everything was working so well, Sauron considered after the evening progressed towards its end, looking across the table at Lalaith. The plans could not be going any better. It almost amazed him that everything was going off without a problem. He felt quite smug at how much he could get away with being only as powerful as a lowly elf.

Lalaith seemed to become aware of his eyes on her and looked up. Sauron was not terribly surprised; his eyes tended to do that sort of thing. Almost unconsciously, he smiled, and she returned it. It was nearly too easy. Nearly -- he wasn't about to complain about not having to work.

No, Lalaith had done her part unwittingly. However, her brother was proving a bit more bothersome.

His thoughts darkened slightly, but he did not let it seep into his countenance. For his part, Sauron had to grudgingly congratulate Haldir for being made of tougher stuff than he first had supposed. Yet, it was proving to be rather annoying. All of this romantic mumbo jumbo was starting to grate his nerves. At first it had been a bit amusing, even if it was immensely uncomfortable. Every time he had taken on some part, it had always entertained him for a while.

As he had thought earlier, it was about time for something drastic. However, he still could not think of anything. This was not a subject where he could easily come up with drastic actions.

All things considered, Sauron did not feel that the dinner was too excruciating. He had done many things in the course of time which had just about sent him off the deep end with how dull and boring they were. But Lalaith had proved to be rather intelligent, even if not very discerning, and conversing with her had some merits. Granted, there were things he would rather do, but it actually wasn't too bad.

Finally Sauron had to admit that he could not drag the meal out any longer. He had exhausted every topic he could think to speak of, and there were many, and now an awkward silence fell upon the table.

Hoping that the time had been long enough to push Haldir a bit or, better yet, all the way, to his limit, Sauron went through the courtesies he thought proper as he got up. Lalaith returned them in due order, rising herself and helping Sauron clear the table.

They had just finished, Lalaith uneasily fingering the hem of her sleeve, when Sauron saw Haldir at the doorway. Judging by where he was standing, Haldir did not think he could be seen. 'Twit,'Sauron thought to himself, mentally shaking his head. Did Haldir really forget who he was? Honestly, he had made it his duty to notice everything. Of course he'd see him spying from the doorway.

Yet, it was just the opportunity that Sauron needed. It was time to do that drastic whatever he was going to do, now that he had the audience he needed to witness it.

Running a hand thoughtfully through his hair, Sauron looked down at Lalaith. She had already been looking at him, and when he met her eyes, she blushed and lowered her head. Sauron raised a brow, confused. Elves. Not to mention female elves.

At that moment, he heard a small shuffle. Couldn't be anybody but Haldir. He had to be the loudest elf in the world. Sauron was grateful for it though, because he could tell that Haldir was about to leave, finding the scene to be acceptable.

What could he do to make it otherwise? He needed something quick now, which made him slightly angry at himself for not thinking about it earlier.

Sauron had not looked away from Lalaith this whole time, since he did not want Haldir to realize that he knew that he was watching. Lalaith was still blushing, something which Sauron, in turn, still did not understand.

Something about blushing struck up a memory. Naturally, it was helpful. All of the memories he had been having of his time with the elves were coming in handy in this whole courting thing, which he knew nothing about personally. Sauron's memories of what he had seen were his only guides, and once again they had presented him with what he needed.

It was perfect, true. Yet, he couldn't help but balk at the idea. Was he willing to stoop to doing that to get his way?

After a second of consideration, he figured he was. He was pretty used to stooping, not that he would verbally admit it.

So, he'd kiss her.

Didn't matter that he had no idea how to do that, and was positive that he didn't really want to. That handy dandy memory of what he's seen would have to suffice.

Acting impulsively, or at least as impulsively as he could in the matter, he took her hand in his left one, grimacing mentally as her fingers brushed against the sensitive skin where his hand had healed after his finger had been so rudely chopped off. Clearing the thought away as he saw Haldir take a step back towards the kitchen from his peripheral, Sauron quickly thought of the next thing to do by wrapping his other arm around Lalaith's waist.

She was extremely red now, but all the same she snaked her free arm over his shoulder, her fingers playing with his hair. That was… different. Well, it all was for that matter. He tended to like leaving his personal bubble intact, unless he was going to kill somebody, in which case there really wasn't anything else he could do about it. True, there wasn't anything else he could do about this either -- wasn't like he could kiss her from a distance. Still, it did make him uncomfortable. This touchy-feely stuff was completely out of his sphere of experience. He figured that as long as he didn't look like he was uncomfortable, it didn't really matter.

For half a second, Sauron wondered if he had ought to say something first, but then decided that there wasn't anything that needed to be said. It would only have been stalling, which he was a bit taken aback to realize he wanted to do.

Sauron figured then that there was nothing for it. So he bowed his head and planted his lips firmly against Lalaith's.

Too his surprise, Sauron found that his limited knowledge with this would not ruin its intended effect for, almost as soon as he had kissed Lalaith, she showed that she had some prior acquaintance with the action. She kissed him back, and Sauron just hoped that Haldir could tell she was.

He also hoped that Haldir would interfere soon. While the sensation was not really unpleasant, Sauron decided that he didn't like it. It was just… weird. It was probably the fact that he was not completely disgusted which made him dislike it. He had expected to be pulling off one of his best acts with this, but, oddly, it wasn't quite that way. In the past, he had come to the conclusion that the majority of things in the physical world were of some negative nature. This didn't quite fit.

But more important than that he didn't like to have to refigure things he had decided upon years before, he didn't want to find himself enjoying it. That would be completely unacceptable. He could remain indifferent, but anything more than that was not tolerable. He had gone uncounted ages without any inclination to this sort of thing, thank you very much. And he would keep it that way. He was honestly a bit put out with himself for not being completely revolted.

Haldir thankfully obliged to Sauron's wish soon after. It wasn't quite in the way that Sauron had predicted, however. He had just been waiting for a yell, or for Haldir to run into the kitchen, or more likely both.

But instead he heard a loud, heavy thud. Startled, Lalaith pulled away, blinking up at him before she seemed to regain her senses and looked towards the doorway where the sound had come from. When she looked, her jaw dropped slightly, a choked "Haldir!" escaping her lips before she shut her mouth again. Then, with a somewhat apologetic glance at Sauron, she stepped back and hurried over to Haldir, who was sprawled on the ground.

Sauron stood in his place, watching as Orophin turned the corner and saw Haldir just as Lalaith sat down next to him. While the siblings tried to wake up their unconscious brother, Sauron could not help but allow the smallest of a smile pull at the corner of his mouth. The kiss had apparently been drastic enough for something. Hopefully that something was Haldir caving in.

It better be.

I:I:I:I:I:I

….Was that fun? Heh… maybe? I'm having to think of lots of weird things to do for actions and stuff. /sniff/ Anyways, probably expect the next chapter in about 2 weeks… or… three I guess. When I have Thanksgiving break. Yes.