Okay, yes, I'm sorry. I am. I really am. But know, I do work on it. At school when I can in my comp book. It just takes a loooooot of time. /sigh/ I am sorry. To you who are sticking with the story, I love you a ton, and thank you sooooo much for putting up with my laziness and business. It means the world to me. I'm seriously only continuing for you guys!
So, my beaaaautiful reviewers!
JadedFire: Wahooo… yeah. Yes, you were wrong! Huzzah. Or something. Blushing Sauron… oh yes, wouldn't we all love to see that and laugh at his humiliation. /snorts/ That'd be fun. I wonder who he liked too /laughs/. Oooh…. The first few chappies? How many? Would you like me to send them to you then?
Arzosah: No no no no no no no! I will NEVER abandon this! Not when I've worked on it for over a year and spent so much time on it! No no! Even though I want to beat it with a trident and kick it into a gutter, I can't. It's like a kid. I'm responsible to see it end well now, and even though I want to abandon it at times, I just can't. So no worries, I'm just grossly busy. …I really should draw a piccie. Maybe I'll do that when I get off. /nods/ It'll turn out horrendous. Oh well. Drunk Sauron… oh yeah. He's a card.
Ruler-of-Da-World: Drinks, oh yeees. Hahaha. Oh, my work warrants friend-bugging. That's awesome. /laughs/ Nice nice. Hehehe… Stupid Sauron. …Yes. You know, you need to get more artwork. I checked your little thing at the fanart site and there has been nothing since November. I was sad. Haha… well, I was. /keeps straight face/
Midnight Proc: Ello ello! AAAAAAAH! THAT FORKIN POETRY PROJECT! Curse the world! That…. /smiles/ I'm done. Yeah. Stupid thing. …Blush, yes. So much blushing going around. Like a disease. That poem was rather sad. And yes, you were in a rather odd mood. Oh, by the way, the mumsie taped another interview thing with Poot. And he jigged. It was rather… something. I'll have to bring it to school to show you, huh? Invisible fairies? Well then. You sounded rather high. /laughs/ Drinks and hangovers? Are you kidding me? You actually think that I would NOT write about that/laughs/ Aaah man…
kingmaker/laughs/ Do you honestly think I'd be irked with anybody for being busy when in the past three months I've updated 2 times? Yeah… I completely understand the busy thing. Much sympathy, my bogged-down friend. /smile/ I'm glad that I am able to make Sauron less… Sauronish… or something. I'm so good with words. Ironic when I write things… /coughs/ Hehehe… ah ze eye. You know, I have about… /thinks/ four different Saurons floating around. It's not hard to keep them straight too, cause they are really completely different. Which is sad, considering that they come from the same person… /frowns/ I really do have a plethora of issues. Lala… oh, good to hear about the bar. I was rather confused on how to go about that. Bars in Valinor… kinda weird idea. Glad you liked the chappie. I hope you like this one as well.
Twisted Mary Sue: Ello ello. /snorts/ Haldir sorta gets a girl, at least. /laughs/ And I am sad that you are disgusted; that is rather lamentable. /nods/ Mmm… yeah, I don't suppose you can have both. It's always nice to share, after all. Then again, only people who don't have something want people to share, so…
Aisha: Huzzah/does a happy dance, then quickly looks around and coughs/ I'm glad you like the story; that's always lovely to hear! And I don't care if the review is short or not! Reviews are nice no matter what. I'm sorry to hear that you broke your wrist. That must be reallay annoying. I hope you don't have to put up with the one-handed thing long!
XNemesis: Ah, Nerdanel. That poor chickie having had to put up with Feanor and his gigantic ego. Gah. Hehe… I love the stupid little things that come into my head to write. And I love that at times I'm able to kick my reasoning hard enough to actually put them into the story. /rubs chin/ Perhaps I'll try to draw Sauron blushing sometime. But not now. Too much to do. Discworld then, hm? I'll put it on my huge list of things to read. Maybe I'll get to it over the summer. Wonderful summer…
Snodgrass Winkle: Well, it's good that you like the long chapters, as they seem to be taking a turn to always being a bit long! Yes, blushing, and it is a lovely mental picture. Don't you just want to point and laugh? I do. Too bad he's fictional and that never happened. Alas. /sniff/
Spoofmaster: Haha! You forgot your own e-mail address? How laaame. /points and laughs/ Uh, yes. I know, I know… I'm so horrible in getting the chapters out. But you know what? Third quarter is ovah, which means that the evil one is done. Only not really since the AP history test isn't until May 6th or something… but I'm pretending that the worst is over. Yes. I wish I could promise to be better, but I simply can't. I do write a lot in my comp book though. That does count a bit. And I won't stop dissing Wonka. He's a freak.
Crystal113: No, I don't suppose 'drunk' and 'Sauron' put together would create a very pleasing image. /laughs/ Although, personally, I find it amusing, even if the bit of him being drunk in this chapter was rather freakish to write. Who did Sauron like/takes off three-pointed hat for a moment, then shrugs/ I'm not entirely sure. Somebody though. Aaah… blushing. Fun stuff. When it happens to other people. The mysterious brewing maia/laughs/ Wow, it must be a sign of my caffeine intake that such a phrase conjured up a rather odd mental image… /sigh/ Sorry the update was not soon, but… it hasn't been a month /mutters/ by one day… /sighs again/ Thank you for the luck! I most assuredly need it!
Well then! That's that! Here's the chappie!
I:I:I:I:I
Haldir raised a brow. This fellow knew that it was Sauron here, and he was still ready to serve him?
Obviously pleased, although still trying to regain his usual complexion, Sauron sat up again. "I know that you have a store of some… drinks that you are not allowed to give the eruhini."
The maia, whose name Haldir still didn't know, nodded. "Yes, that is commonly known. What about it?"
Sauron tipped his head down. "I would like to purchase some," he said.
At this, a slight smile quirked up at the corners of the maia's mouth. "Now, are you sure that I can let you have any of that? You hardly count for anything more than one of the children now."
Haldir could see a muscle along Sauron's jaw twitch at this. "Even though I'm not anymore powerful than them, Sidhwe, that doesn't make me one."
Sidhwe nodded. "True, true…" He paused for a moment, seeming for the first time to notice Haldir. "He could not have any, however, and that would be rather rude of you to have something that he couldn't."
"Do you think I care?" Sauron asked with a snort.
"No, I don't suppose you do." At this time, he caught the attention of a waitress serving a table near them and then whispered in her ear. At his words, she frowned slightly, glancing at Haldir and Sauron, and then back at Sidhwe. She whispered something in return, to which Sidhwe merely said, "I know. Now just be a dear and fetch it."
With another skeptical glance, the elf curtsied and hurried away.
Sidhwe now pulled a chair from the table next to them and sat down. "So, what brings you to Eressea? It wouldn't have anything to do with a certain halfling living near here, would it?"
Sauron looked up at him sharply.
With a laugh, Sidhwe continued. "I thought as much. I always believed that you would show up eventually, once news of the arrival reached you. What I was less sure of was if any would get the… pleasure… of your company when you finally came."
Sauron sat up finally. "Well, of course I would bless others with my presence."
"Coming from you, it figures." He stopped now, leaning back and considering Sauron with his honey (or perhaps more closely mead) colored eyes. "So, I know why you came to the island. But why have you come here?"
Sauron rolled his eyes. "You're hardly one to play stupid. If somebody was looking for a good drink, they would be daft not to come here."
"Oh, I'm not so sure about that…" Sidhwe said with a mild smile.
"Don't try to flatter yourself through your modesty," Sauron scoffed.
"I wouldn't dream of it. If I wanted flattery, I'd go about it openly. At the moment, however, that is not what I want to talk about. There is an air of despondency about you. How come?"
"Please, not in front of the elf," Sauron broke in, his voice dismissive and sharp, but his face showing that what Sidhwe had said hit close to a truth Sauron hadn't wanted to have noticed. "Besides," he continued, the sort of cold bitterness that often seeped into his words presenting itself again, "you would be implying that I have emotions then, and none of you seemed very apt to believing that."
If Sidhwe felt anything at Sauron's words, he did not betray it. "I never believed such," he remarked calmly. "Perhaps I did not know you as well as some, but I knew you better than most. You were moody even then and apparently quite capable of having a full range of feelings. While it may be true that some had trouble believing that one could do the things you did and retain emotions, I am not one of them." He rose now, apparently noticing the return of the waitress before they did. "If it frustrated you as much as it seems that they look at you as less, give them a reason to reconsider. Enjoy your evening."
And with that, he bowed just slightly, and melted into the crowd.
Both sat silently. Haldir, for his part, was so on account of slight shock. He could not speak for Sauron's reason for silence. Neither said anything as the drinks were set on the table in from of them, which, Haldir realized too late, was rather rude of them.
It was Sauron who seemed to really come to first. His unreadable expression slowly pulled into one of disdain, yet there seemed, to Haldir at least, to be a slight cloud of uncertainty in his eyes.
Straightening up even more and pulling a little at the fabric of the high collar used to conceal his neck, Sauron cleared his throat. "Well, it finally seems that we've been served. I don't remember you ordering anything, Haldir. Did I miss something?"
Haldir shook himself from his thoughts and then considered the mug in front of him. "No…" he said slowly, "I did not order anything."
"They must have simply assumed then. No matter, is it? You'll be able to deal with that."
Haldir nodded, pulling the mug toward him and looking down at the liquid inside. What if, for whatever reason, he had been given the same thing Sauron had ordered? Why couldn't the children have it? He frowned at his mug and the reflection of himself looking back up from the surface of the drink. Would he explode? Would he implode? Would his intestines burn from the inside out?
His appetite slightly quenched, Haldir glanced at Sauron. He felt some of his apprehension slip away when he saw that Sauron's drink had been served in a tall, transparent glass. Furthermore, rather than amber, the liquid was absolutely clear or, if anything, the palest of blues.
There was no ice in the drink, yet the glass was frosted, and the table around it was gradually becoming the same. Haldir raised a brow. Surely this was not a good idea.
He watched as Sauron reached out slowly, wrapping his hands around the glass and raising it to his lips. The slight expression of unease on his face only helped ferment Haldir's belief that this was a very poor plan.
Yet, nothing bad happened. Sauron leaned back in the chair, cradling the glass against him and smiling softly. He looked up at Haldir, grinning a bit more widely.
"I have been wanting one of these for ages. Literally."
Haldir couldn't help but smile a little too. Shaking his head, the retrieved his mug and took a sip, instantly both surprised and pleased. "That's good!" he exclaimed.
Sauron gave a quiet snort and nodded. "I wouldn't have come here if it wasn't."
Neither spoke for a moment after that, both content with the silence. Haldir scanned the crowd over the rim of his mug, half hoping to at least catch a glimpse of the red-haired elf maid.
Sauron must have been able to tell what he was doing. "I suppose you're a bit put out that you didn't get to order from her," he said with his voice muffled as he spoke into his glass, noting when the elleth came back into view.
Haldir nodded absentmindedly. With a small sigh, he figured that he wouldn't be able to speak with her.
Although he was not immediately aware of it, Haldir presently realized that Sauron was studying him. "What?" he asked defensively.
Sauron took another long drink before replying, even though what he said did not really answer Haldir's question. "If she were to come over, what would you do?"
Haldir shrugged. "I don't know…"
"That's a pretty weak answer. I'm sure you can do better."
"What do you want from me?" Haldir asked, raising a brow. "I don't know what I'd do!"
Sauron didn't respond. He downed what little he had left of his drink.
Figuring that it would be better to simply let the conversation die there rather than prompt something that would make Sauron continue his questioning, Haldir opted to be silent.
The waitress seemed to know exactly when they ran out of their beverages and brought them refills the instant the empty cups hit the table.
Haldir was too surprised at this to do anything but gawk at her as she flashed a smile and hurried off into the crowd again.
"Well said," Sauron muttered, grabbing the new glass.
With a small amount of surprise, Haldir looked up at him. "Pardon?"
Sauron merely shook his head and effectively ignored him.
Frowning, Haldir began to brood. He didn't know that he was, of course; it just sort of happened. First he brooded about what Sauron had been cryptically eluding to, and then he brooded a bit about how it wouldn't make any difference if he spoke to the elleth or not since she must live in Eressea, which left him to brooding about relationships and how silly and ridiculous they were so why would he ever want to get into such a tangle anyway.
He didn't realize it then, being too wrapped up in the whole brooding thing, but Sauron had accomplished the intake of a rather applaudable for his purpose, at least amount of drinks. Haldir too had gone through a few more mugs than he had initially intended. It had been his thought that he would take the place of the responsible one. He's make sure to keep his wits clear and prevent Sauron from doing anything too unruly.
By now, however, he had come to the point where any hope for that was pretty much out the window. He didn't realize that his logic had taken a rather warped turn to it, nor could he recognize any other signs that might have been useful in saving himself before it was too late.
After finishing what he suddenly realized was his fifth mug, Haldir pushed away the glass and frowned. He was half aware, finally, that he had drunk just to the threshold of what was a safe amount for him. At least, in Middle-earth. Here, however, he had no experience, and there was no doubt a difference in this brew in relation to what he was used to. For all he knew, what he had drank could be equivalent to much more than what he could handle.
Upon coming to this conclusion, Haldir simply sighed. There really wasn't anything he could do about it now.
This time, he didn't find a new pint placed out before him the instant he had pushed back the last. Instead, the red-haired lady stopped for a moment, shifting her load of cups and mugs from one arm to another. "Is there anything else that I can get for either of you?"
Haldir felt his words get lost upon his tongue when he realized that she had been looking directly at him while she had addressed them both.
"Do you have anything more potent, perhaps?" Sauron replied, making Haldir frown at the distraction that had pulled the elleth's eyes away from him.
She nodded. "We have something that is less smooth, or so I've been told by the Lord, but yes, we serve something that is… stiffer."
"I'll take a few of those then," Sauron said, leaning back in his chair expectantly.
Inclining her head slightly, she looked back at Haldir. "And you? Is there anything that I could get for you?"
"Perhaps some water, if you could, please?"
She smiled. "Of course."
When she had disappeared again, Haldir looked up at Sauron, instantly raising his brows at what he saw before him. How could he have missed the mount of drinks Sauron had gone through? The table was littered with the tall, thin glasses. There had to be at least nine.
Sauron looked pretty much as he always did, although there was a heightened color to his cheeks, as though his blush had never completely retreated. His expression was also less closed and cold than usual, but apparently this wasn't the effect that he was desiring.
But Haldir figured that he might as well try. "Are you sure that you need more? You never know, I mean, we haven't been here that long. If could still kick in…"
"No," Sauron cut in abruptly. "Do I look drunk to you?"
Haldir slowly shook his head.
"Then I'm not done." There was a pause before Sauron spoke up again. "You know…" he said, throwing a glance around the building, "you don't have to baby-sit me during all of this."
"I don't," Haldir responded dryly.
"No," Sauron continued, by his tone apparently ignoring the irony in Haldir's. "I'm capable of lifting glasses and swallowing, so I see no need for you to sit here with me and be bored."
"Oh? And just what would you propose I do instead?"
"There seem to be people dancing over there," he said, nodding his head in the direction. "Perhaps you could pass five minutes dancing with her."
A flood of thoughts and feelings surged up to meet this proposition. The first to manifest itself into speech, however, was incredulousness. "Are you mad?" he asked, eyes widening.
"It is quite possible," Sauron replied nonchalantly.
Haldir huffed. "For one, she's working. Two, I've spoken all of a sentence to her. What would lead you to believe that she would possibly be able, yet along want, to dance with me?"
Sauron gave him a sly, triumphant grin then, for no reason that Haldir could comprehend.
It was then that he realized the elf maid was standing behind him and had heard everything he had just said.
In all of his life, Haldir had done a number of rather embarrassing things. He was quite good at it. However, he hadn't done anything of this nature.
All things considered, he was pretty much mortified. He was sure that his face was going to burn off.
The elleth set the drinks Sauron had ordered down on the table in front of him and then looked over at Haldir, who would not meet her gaze. "You wanted to dance with me?" she asked him softly.
Haldir opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. It ended up being Sauron that replied.
"Yes, I do think he did. He was just too scared of being turned down to get the guts to actually ask."
"Iaewur!" Haldir hissed, eyes wide.
To his surprise, the maid laughed. "Well then, I can take care of that problem." She leaned toward Haldir slightly, some of her flaming curls falling over her shoulders. "Would you please dance with me?"
Haldir could not help but stare. Has she just asked him?
Hesitantly, he stood up, still a bit stunned as she slipped her hand within his and pulled him across the building. For a moment, Haldir almost thought he heard Sauron laughing from back at the table, but his concentration was too bent upon the woman at his side to take much notice.
She smiled up at him shyly a few times as they made their way through the crowd. For a few moments, Haldir was still too startled with this recent development to say anything, but he finally found his voice. "As pleasant as it would be to dance with you, my lady-"
"Raudwen," she interjected, a small smirk upon her lips as she glanced at him.
"Raudwen," Haldir repeated slowly, shaking himself back to his purpose. "As nice as it would be, I would hate to cause you any trouble…"
"How could you possibly cause me any trouble?" she asked as they slowed and stepped into the mass of dancing couples. "I'm the one, after all, that asked you to accompany me."
"True," he assented, smiling for the first time as some of his shock wore off. "But surely, you can't just stop serving…"
Raudwen waved her hand. "We're allowed to take a couple breaks a night, if we feel so inclined. Thankfully, I haven't done so yet."
Now she turned to face him, letting the hand that was within Haldir's remain there and placing her other one upon his shoulder. Almost unconsciously, Haldir set his hand at her waist.
He did, of course, know how to dance. Due to his station within the guard and his father's position before that, Haldir had been required to attend a variety of balls and banquets. So, such a dance was nothing foreign to him.
Wanting to do so, however, was.
For a minute, there was silence between the two of them as they fell into the rhythm with everybody else. Soon, however, Raudwen turned her bright eyes back up to Haldir.
She didn't speak instantly, instead looking over the features of his face, which, quite honestly, made Haldir a great deal uncomfortable.
"What is your name?" she asked quite suddenly, her gaze directed back to his eyes.
"Haldir," he replied automatically.
She nodded slowly, then smiled again. That smiled seemed to never leave her face. "You are not from Valinor, then, are you?"
"No," he said. "I lived in Lothlorien."
Again, she nodded. "What is it like?"
"What like?" he asked, puzzled.
"Middle-earth."
He gave her a small smile. "I don't know if I could give you a satisfactory response to that."
This time, it was her turn to blush. "I'm sorry; I wasn't thinking," she said with a shake of her head.
"Oh, no!" Haldir started quickly. "I had once asked about Valinor, but received a similar answer. I suppose it's just a natural question."
"Perhaps."
Haldir looked around them, grasping at something to say. "So, you must have been born in Valinor then."
"Here in Eressea in fact," she confirmed. "Do you live here now?"
"No," he replied. "I've lived in Valmar for a while now. This has been the first time that I've been to Eressea."
"Oh!" she exclaimed, pausing for a minute so that another couple ran into them. After a hasty apology, she turned her attention back on him. "This is your first time here?"
"Yes," Haldir said, surprised at the earnest curiosity in her voice.
For a second, a frown pulled down the corners of her mouth, and Haldir wondered what he could have said to create such a response. He berated himself until he finally heard her say, "It's a pity that it is so late. Otherwise I would have taken you around the city at least and shown you some of the wonders it has to offer."
At this, Haldir looked at her a bit more closely. He noticed the disappointment in her expression and could not help but feel a wash of … well, something in any case. Had he not just learned her name a handful of minutes ago? And yet she was talking to him as though they had been acquainted long before.
From then, he was not quite sure what to say. What little he had in the way of wit failed him. It wasn't as though he had any experience speaking to women like this. So he merely let himself be content in dancing with her through the remainder of the song.
When it ended, he suddenly realized how closely they had ended up during the dance. He quickly pulled back a bit, looking at her nervously. But Raudwen only smiled that smile up at him, hooking her arm with his and heading back towards the Haldir's table.
Haldir wasn't sure what possessed them as they walked back, but he suddenly cleared his throat and, all in one burst, asked if there was any way he might see her again.
He felt disgusted with himself the moment the words were out of his mouth. Her silence did nothing to help it. But then she looked at him and he noticed the light blush on her cheeks and the awkward way she twisted one curl in her free hand. "If you ever wanted to or ever possibly could… I would like that." Of course she then smiled, but this time it was a bit coy.
Haldir was not sure why exactly her answer made him so happy. She was, after all, in Eressea, and it seemed unlikely that he would be able to return for a while. But in any case, the simple fact that she would like to see him made him feel remarkably chipper.
He wondered if his drinks earlier had anything to do with it. He almost hoped they had; all these actions and feelings weren't really ones he was entirely comfortable with.
By then they had come close to reaching the table, and Haldir glanced down at Raudwen again. "Goodnight, Raudwen," he said softly.
"Goodnight, Haldir," she returned. She gave his arm a light squeeze, and then disappeared into the chaos.
With a sigh, Haldir turned to the table and found a small party of people situated around it. Well, actually, a small party consisted of females. For a moment Haldir wondered if Sauron had randomly wandered off and the table had been taken.
That was, until he caught sight of the unruly mess of black hair that could only belong to that darned maia.
So, that answered one question, yet raised so many more.
Frowning, he came a bit closer, now able to catch snatches of conversation. It seemed that Sauron was putting on some sort of show, basking in the spotlight. The fact that the audience was only women didn't appear to be bothering him much.
When he reached the table, Haldir crossed his arms and looked at Sauron expectantly. The maia, however, did not take the hint. Indeed, he didn't even seem to notice the hint, or the hint-giver for that matter.
It was then that it clicked for Haldir that Sauron had reached his goal. He was, indeed, drunk. Somehow quite magically so in the last five to ten minutes.
His frown deepening, Haldir spoke up. "Ready to go, Iaewur?" he asked, irritated. Why it irked him as much as it did, he couldn't quite say.
Sauron's head snapped up to look at him. "Haldir!" he simply stated, a sort of stupid smile plastered across his face.
Haldir glanced around. "Uh, yeah. That's my name."
Sauron nodded. "Yes. Yes it is. What's this about going?"
"I think that we should be heading back now. It's late and we have an early morning, remember?"
"No," he replied, quite bluntly, blinking.
Haldir sighed, pulling out a couple coins from a small pouch on his belt and tossing them on the table. After a thought, he added a few more, hoping that they would make their way to Raudwen.
Then he turned his attention back on Sauron. "Come on now; it's time to go."
A rather pathetic pout replaced the earlier smile. "Why?"
"I told you. Come on." Haldir did everything in his power to keep from being completely creeped out by this strange mood change the alcohol apparently had.
"But…" Sauron glanced around at the people around him. "I need to finish my story!"
The women gave small agreements, and Haldir sighed. "I'm sorry, but we really must go now before you… we just have to leave, okay?"
Sauron frowned, surveying the glasses and mugs in front of him. Then a rather impish smile crossed his face and he took one of the mugs and held it in front of Haldir.
Haldir stared at it. "Okay…"
"Drink it," Sauron explained, waving it a bit, causing some of the liquid to slosh over the side.
"Um… no," Haldir said slowly.
"How come?"
"Because you drank out of it," Haldir said, stating the obvious.
"I did not! This one is new, I'll have you know, and I never got around to it because I was talking. Drink it!"
Haldir shook his head. "Why?"
"It will make you happy," Sauron stated, his expression serious.
"I'm plenty happy as it is. But you know what, you coming along and leaving would make me even happier," Haldir tried, pointing towards the door.
There wasn't even a pause before Sauron responded with, "Drink it and then I'll go."
Haldir stared at him, then shook his head and grabbed the glass. He felt pretty clear headed, all things considered, and figured that he'd be able to get back to the room at the inn before the drink could take affect anyway. It wasn't worth it to argue with the miserable thing anymore. He just wanted to be able to go back and sleep.
Quickly he downed the content of the mug, smacking it down on the table when he finished. "There, happy? Let's go."
Sauron did get up, but he snorted as he did so.
Brows drawing together, Haldir looked at him. "What?" he asked suspiciously.
"I did drink out of it," he said, snorting again, and then following the sighing Haldir toward the door. "Namarie, ladies!" he called back over his shoulder at the women still seated at the table.
Haldir shook his head, quite disturbed.
By the time they reached the door, however, he began to feel worried. His footing was less steady, and he felt distinctly light-headed. Pressing a hand to his eyes, he looked at Sauron, who was happily plodding along at his side. "What was that, exactly?" he asked.
"The strong stuff," Sauron whispered in a conspiratorial manner. "Very strong."
Haldir sighed, knowing that he should be more upset than he was at that. But he simply wasn't that angry. He did, instead, feel rather giddy. He almost instantly forgot why he felt an odd sense of foreboding hanging over his head.
As they exited the building and come into the cool night air, Sauron paused. "Night is such a lovely time," he said thoughtfully. "It's the best time of the day, you know."
Haldir snorted. "How can it be the best time of the day when it's night?" he asked.
"I mean day as in the measurement of time, not the period of it that is light, stupid," he scoffed. The glower on his face fled quickly though, replaced by that mischievous look. "One can do all sorts of things during the night…"
"Like?" Haldir prodded, a brow raises skeptically.
Sauron took on a mysterious air then. "I'll show you, but you'll have to help."
Haldir frowned, wondering why in the back of his head something told him that this was a bad idea. "There won't be anything dangerous, will there?"
"No," Sauron assured, nodding. "Quite safe."
Haldir tried to grasp for some rational thinking, but failed, slipping a bit further into the mental stupor that last drink has started to pull him towards. "And it isn't bad?"
A nonchalant shrug. "Not particularly."
Tapping his chin with his finger for a moment, Haldir finally shrugged. "Alrighty. I'll go."
Sauron gave a wider smile than Haldir could remember him ever giving before. "This will be fun…" he said softly to himself as began to make his way down the street, Haldir following behind.
I:I:I:I:I
So, they are finally getting to the good stuff! Wow, this sad chapter that was supposed to be one ends up being at least three. That's… special. I guess.