When Haldir woke up, his head was throbbing. Curtains were drawn across the window on the wall he was facing, but the faint light that slipped between the curtain and the wall burned into his eyes.
Grimacing, he shut his eyes again, turning over slowly to keep the pain radiating though his head from spiking too highly.
Haldir pulled the blankets up over his head, blocking out what little light had remained. For once, he cursed his sensitive ears for catching every faint noise: a creaking floor, a bird outside, a branch brushing the window in a slight breeze.
For a minute, Haldir frowned in his dark cave of blankets. A branch? Of a tree? Since when had there been a tree outside the window? The day before there had not been one, and slowly he came to the conclusion that one couldn't just have grown over night.
Slowly, he dared to open one eye slightly, pulling the blankets down to his nose. No, this room was indeed very different from the one he had thought he would be sleeping in.
It was at that moment that a door opened, instantly drawing his attention and anger as another flood of light reached his eyes.
The door was promptly shut behind the person, however, and Haldir was able to open his eyes again.
He couldn't help but frown when he recognized the person. "Mithrandir…?" he asked, propping himself up in his pillows while trying to ignore the wave of nausea that assaulted him.
Mithrandir nodded, walking into the room and setting a glass on the nightstand. "Drink this as soon as you can," he said, making his way back to the door. "Not that you really deserve it."
Still frowning, Haldir rubbed the back of his neck, then picked up the glass and drank its contents obediently. It tasted revolting, but Haldir figured that there had to be some reason why Mithrandir had told him to drink it.
Once he set the glass down, he fell back into the pillows, feeling slightly better. And then he tried to remember what had happened the night before.
At first, it had seemed that Sauron had forgotten whatever plan he had for showing what sort of fun could be done during the night. They had wandered the streets for quite a while, with no further talk about the earlier subject. Sauron had slipped into speaking in various tongues Haldir did not know and did not truly care to be enlightened about. Sauron was probably complaining or speaking of some random act of destruction, and it didn't hurt Haldir a bit that he was missing it.
His expressions were pretty amusing, however. He was more animated than Haldir had ever seen him. Unfortunately, this got dangerous during the times when he was flailing his arms about and nearly smacked Haldir in the face.
This had gone on for some time before Haldir realized that there seemed to be a rather musical quality finding its way into Sauron's speech.
After furrowing his brow in consideration for a moment, Haldir turned to look at Sauron in order to draw some sort of conclusion. Sauron did not really seem to be the singing type of person, so the fact that he was doing anything of a similar nature was a bit alarming -- or so it would have been, had Haldir been sober. As it was, he was simply mildly puzzled and vaguely aware of the fact that it was a bit odd.
At the moment, Sauron had ceased to talk, but now seemed to be humming to himself. Haldir cocked his head to the side. "Are you humming?" he asked, even though it was blatantly clear that Sauron was indeed doing so.
Sauron stopped humming instantly, although he did not look at Haldir. "Was I?"
"I think you were."
"Oh." With hardly a pause to consider it, Sauron shrugged and once began to hum again.
Haldir blinked. "You don't usually hum," he pointed out.
"I'm not usually drunk, either," Sauron replied, much too sing-song.
He put up with it for a while, but it eventually got to the point where Haldir understood that there was something decidedly creepy about it. "I don't like it," he said finally.
Sauron snorted. "Why ever not? I know I'm not off key."
"I don't know. It's just… too out of character?" he tried after thinking about it.
"Well, you know," Sauron said in a matter-of-fact tone, "you should be glad that I could sing."
Haldir made a face before laughing. "You haven't proven that you can sing, for one thing, and for another, I don't know why I would be happy if you could."
"It's quite simple, really. All the ainur can sing, you know. It's how we helped create the world, after all! Really now." He shook his head in a chastising manner. "Saying I couldn't sing, honestly."
"Why would you want that counted in your repertoire of abilities, I do not know," Haldir said honestly.
"The more accomplishments, the better."
Haldir's expression must have been rather skeptical. Considering how he accepted Sauron's explanation, Haldir didn't know how else his face would look. "… I still think the only thing your voice is good for is verbally lashing or deceiving people."
With a small laugh, Sauron nodded a bit. "Perhaps…" he murmured, then frowned thoughtfully. Haldir did not notice him glance over before he apparently decided that Haldir needed to be shown that he was, once again, wrong, for at that moment he began to sing.
Haldir paused in mid-step, unsure about how he wanted to react. One thing he felt a bit sure about was his belief that Sauron might have been singing in Valarin, for, while it was a beautiful language, it also gave Haldir the feeling that he shouldn't be hearing it.
As it went, Haldir couldn't say that Sauron was bad at singing, as much as he wanted to. In that was the main problem, for it was impossible for Haldir to reconcile Sauron's personality with anything of a positive nature, really, be it singing or something else, like laughter. So long as Haldir could hardly put the voice together with Sauron, it was rather had to make any decision.
He frowned.
Sauron, meanwhile, seeming to have decided that one stanza was quite sufficient, had stopped and was now looking at Haldir with an expression that clearly demanded praise. "Well?" he finally ventured when Haldir was not forthcoming in a response.
"Was that really necessary?" Haldir asked in turn, still a bit shocked to find that somebody with such a caustic tongue could actually sing.
"Probably not," Sauron said indifferently. "Then again, I don't recall being one to simply act in ways because it was necessary."
Haldir had to nod at this. "What did it mean?"
"The song?"
"What else would I be referring to?" Haldir asked, blinking.
Sauron held up a hand. "I don't know." After a pause, he specified. "I don't know what it meant."
Haldir laughed after taking a moment to make sure that Sauron was serious. "You don't know what you were saying, and yet you remember the song?" he asked incredulously.
"It's ground into my brain!" Sauron said in defense. "I could sing that in my sleep. I've tried to get it out before, but it just stays. Apparently I was successful in getting rid of the meaning, however. I really don't remember much of the language."
"That's pathetic."
"A little, I suppose," Sauron agreed. "… But I sang it."
"That you did," Haldir said, shaking his head.
For whatever reason, this seemed to appease Sauron, who adopted a somewhat smug grin.
Somewhere in the time following that, they had found another bar and went in, spending roughly half an hour there. Still, it had been a long enough for Sauron to go through an amount of glasses to allow him to make a small pyramid.
Sadly, Haldir had given in and had a few drinks himself. At the time, it had been nice; he'd felt splendid, which was something he hadn't truly felt in a long while.
Once they had left there, Sauron had started speaking in Quenya once more and Haldir could again follow what he was saying.
"This is lovely," Sauron said, smiling.
"It's something," Haldir conceded.
"Am I drunk now?" he asked simply.
Haldir glanced at him, then nodded. "I'd say that it is a pretty safe assumption."
Sauron clasped his hands behind his back, looking straight ahead. "I didn't really think it would work. After my luck with my plans and all, I didn't really think it'd work."
Raising a brow, Haldir looked up at him. "Work?"
"I didn't actually expect that I would feel better. I wanted to, but I didn't think I would. It tends to be difficult for me to get out of my moods."
While Haldir was a bit surprised at this candidness, he didn't say so.
"I feel just wonderful. I can't remember having felt this good," Sauron continued. "And I can still remember all the awful things, and yet they just don't matter. I can't care. Actually, it's a bit unnerving, I suppose, but I can't bring myself to care about that, either." There was a pause, and then he went on, in a softer, thoughtful voice. "I doubt that we could get the whole world this way, so that they'd all not care as well, hm?"
Haldir didn't look at him this time. He didn't want to see if Sauron's expression agreed with the slight note of remorse in his voice.
Out of the corner of his eye, Haldir saw Sauron shake his head. "Silly thought. I always can bring the mood down, no?"
"You do have a knack for it," Haldir replied, hoping to turn the conversation in a different direction.
Sauron laughed softly. "You've gotten more of it than anybody. I never care how I treat you."
"Gee, thanks," Haldir muttered sullenly, a bit put out.
He suddenly lurched forward as Sauron's arm was slung over his shoulder. It reminded him greatly of another moment a year or so ago. "It's very refreshing. In the past, it's almost always an act. When I was in control, say, at Barad-dur, I wasn't around people, really. It was just me. Everybody was too freaked out to actually say anything against my opinion or what they assumed to be my opinion. Then, if I was going about infiltrating and whatnot, I was not being myself, and that was frustrating. Then again, people did speak against me, and I got to exercise my oratory skills, which I do enjoy. But, see, I get both, in a measure, now. I don't have to pretend to be nice and polite; I can be cold and caustic when I feel like it, yet you don't let me walk all over you. Not most of the time, at least. And considering that you botch up most of the things you try to argue, I always get the satisfaction of winning the arguments." He smiled at Haldir, almost in such a good-natured way as to make Haldir think Sauron was trying to tease him but not truly demean him.
"Oh yes, well, I am here for your entertainment after all, my lord," he responded, his voice oozing with sarcasm.
Sauron laughed, that rare laugh of his that Haldir hadn't heard since the day Rumil had ruined his hair. Haldir supposed that it had something to do with the alcohol, but didn't care as it was much more pleasant than that "how can you be that pathetic?" laugh that Sauron always had.
"You're good. I'm quite glad that, since I would have been stuck with something, I got stuck with you."
Haldir was pretty unsure about how to respond. That had been a compliment, hadn't it?
"We shall pretend that I never said that, hm? I suppose I should try to keep my reputation up. Allow me that?"
Haldir nodded wordlessly.
"Good child," Sauron responded, patting Haldir's shoulder and then removing his arm.
Haldir decided that he didn't like being called that as it made him remember how terribly old Sauron really was, which was just odd. Not to mention that it was a bit degrading to be referred to as a child.
They walked on for a while in silence, not really going anywhere in particular. A breeze came off the sea, just a block below them. Haldir closed his eyes for a moment, letting the cool air blow on his face.
Apparently it was at that moment that the street decided to become uneven and his foot caught in one of the loose stones.
Sauron caught him by the collar, dragging him back up. "Of all my habits, clumsiness was not the one I had hoped you would pick up," he said as Haldir straightened his tunic.
"What had you hoped I'd pick up?" Haldir asked.
"Oh, I dunno," Sauron replied, although it was obvious that he did.
Haldir didn't press him, but frowned.
Knowing that Haldir hadn't liked the answer, Sauron reluctantly added, "I suppose a bit more orderliness would be nice."
While it wasn't all of it, for sure, it was something.
These moments of thoughtfulness passed and Sauron returned to being quite obviously drunk. "I don't suppose it is of any real consequence," he said, shaking his head and then losing his balance himself. He quickly steadied himself against the wall of the building next to him. "This stuff does not help my coordination," he complained, frowning seriously. "If my neck isn't broken by the end of the night, it will be a miracle."
"It can be like a game," Haldir chirped.
"Exactly!" Sauron flipped his hair back from his face, once again smiling stupidly. "If I lose, I'll lose my body, because I believe breaking your neck causes death, am I right? So I'd lose my body, which I --" He glanced sidelong at Haldir. "-- am very good at."
Haldir let out one quick yelp of laughter before restraining himself.
"Buuut, if I win and don't break my neck, then… I don't know what I get. Well, that's a bit unfair."
"Ah, it's okay." Haldir looked around and cocked his head. "Where are we going?"
For a moment, Sauron considered the question, tapping his chin. "Where were we going?" Suddenly, he threw his hands in the air triumphantly. "My plan! My evil plan!" He cleared his throat and then lowered his voice to a whisper. "I need some materials so that the plan may be accomplished. Naturally, you need to help me, since you said that you would take part in the scheme."
"I thought you had said it wouldn't be bad," Haldir said warily, a bit jarred from his thoughts by the mention of evil.
"Well, it isn't very bad. I mean, considering all the things I've done before, this is extremely minor! I wouldn't even consider it anything in… the time… before… now."
Haldir looked ahead blankly, undisturbed for the most part. For a moment he wondered why he wasn't bothered, because, somewhere in his head, a little voice was yelling at him for what he was doing. After contemplating, he decided that the little voice would have to speak up if it really wanted to be heard, and since it didn't, it obviously didn't have anything important to say. "Exactly what sort of supplies are you needing to get?"
Still smiling, Sauron brushed out the wrinkles on the front of his tunic. "Depends on the route I decide to take. Possibly more alcohol, but I need a different kind than we've had so far this evening."
"To drink?" Haldir asked, puzzled.
Sauron laughed, then cut himself off abruptly, waving his hand and shaking his head. "No, no, I think I've had quite enough of that. Maybe." He paused, seemingly considering the proposition. "No, I've had enough," he said decidedly, as though silencing an argument within his head.
He then proceeded to rattle off a variety of other substances that he needed to get depending on if he chose the first plan or the second. Most of the things Haldir didn't recognize. But he didn't really care. He was now perusing the pattern of the stones that made up the road.
There didn't seem to be any imminent end to Sauron's list of supplies, so Haldir cut in. "And what will all this make when you are done?"
"As I said, it depends. But…" He paused here, thinking. "When we talked about it, you seemed a bit interested in fireworks. Am I correct?"
"Mmmm…" Haldir thought, trying to remember the conversation. "Fireworks? Like, when you told me about that whole thing with Yavanna's garden?"
Sauron nodded. "That would be the thing."
"Yes, I was," Haldir admitted reluctantly.
With a bit of a smug expression, Sauron continued. "That settles it, then."
Haldir looked at him expectantly, raising his eyebrows as he waited for what they would be doing. No answer came. "…So what are we making?"
"Oh! Oh yes, right…" Sauron said with a start, apparently remembering that Haldir wanted an answer. "Well, you see, I'm willing to share with you my knowledge of the subject."
This last statement turned itself over in Haldir's mind for a moment, trying to reach the conclusion of what it meant. "We're going to make a firework?" he finally stated dumbly.
"Close. You are going to make a firework. I'm going to teach you. You should feel rather honored as I haven't taught anybody anything… ever… unless I thought it would do something for me in the end. In a way, I guess I do get something out of this. It'll be amusing. But entertainment is my only goal."
After considering this too for a moment, Haldir smirked slightly. "And then what? We just light it?"
"Pretty much," Sauron responded with a shrug.
"That's a bit lame," Haldir pointed out slowly.
Sauron's head snapped in Haldir's direction. "Pardon?" he asked, a cold edge on his voice.
"What I mean is that if you go through all that trouble and simply set it off, what does that get you? You don't plan on using it somehow?"
Raising a brow, Sauron pointed at him. "Are you suggesting…" he began slowly, as though he didn't comprehend exactly what Haldir was hinting at, "that I make it worse?"
"I… guess…" Haldir admitted with enough decency to be shocked with himself.
There was a slight pause, and then Sauron let out a whoop. Haldir was surprised at the noise, yet couldn't help but laugh… it just sounded too funny.
"I can't believe it!" Sauron exclaimed, putting a hand to his head. "The little elfling has turned bad!"
"Hardly," Haldir said, trying to brush the comment away. "It was simply a fact, wasn't it? Why go through all that trouble and risk just to set it off easily?"
"That is true," Sauron agreed. "But it is also true that, obviously, somewhere in that head of yours, you have some desire to see what the 'other side' is like, don't you?"
"I suppose everybody does at times," Haldir answered vaguely in an attempt to divert the attention from himself.
"That is likely true. Still…" Sauron grinned slyly. "I never thought you'd actually say anything to hint at such.
Haldir found that there really was no proper response to this and so remained silent as he followed Sauron.
Haldir almost felt a thrill as they planted the firework into the ground. With a small smile, he struck the flint a few times to give his hands something to do while he waited for Sauron to finish positioning the firework. "Where exactly will it explode, if you aim it that way?" he asked, watching the sparks in the darkness.
Sauron looked up from his work and examined the sky. After a moment, he pointed to a place above Mithrandir's house. "About there," he said, then went back to aiming. "Should be nice and loud for him." He smiled darkly.
They were quiet for a minute then, just the sound of the flint occasionally breaking the silence, during which time Haldir reflected on the last hour or so. It had been rather eventful, actually. They had managed to round up a varied array of things that Sauron claimed were necessary to make a firework, and then, of course, had made one.
He did feel slightly bad about their acquisition of the materials. After Sauron had picked the lock and they had gone into the dark store he had singled out, Haldir had felt a small pang of discomfort. They had broken into the store. Sauron had told him to shush when he had voiced his unease, but that obviously hadn't helped anything.
The only solution he had found was that, while Sauron had gone around and gathered the various things, Haldir had found the prices and then set the necessary money behind the counter. Sauron had scoffed at this and been pretty perturbed, but in the end he had let Haldir leave the money. "You'll be complaining about it all night and we won't get a thing done otherwise," he had muttered as they hurried out the door.
After that, they had gone back over to Mithrandir's estate and set up the materials in a patch of the yard. It was almost disturbing the sense of command and order that Sauron seemed to get once he was giving Haldir directions. Sure, he was bossy and domineering most of the time, but this was just creepy. He was extremely particular about everything and Haldir was not allowed to make any mistakes, however minor.
So, in the end, there had been a firework. Haldir had been a bit proud of this accomplishment, and, interestingly enough, Sauron seemed to be, too. "Well, you actually followed what I said," he stated, a note of surprise in his voice. "We'll just have to see how it turns out."
Haldir was brought back to reality when Sauron stood up suddenly, wiping the dewy grass from his knees where he had knelt. "Ready, then?" he asked without looking at Haldir.
With a nod, Haldir leaned down, setting the flint carefully by the fuse. He glanced back over his shoulder at Sauron, silently asking if he should strike. Sauron nodded quickly, and without a moment's more thought, Haldir lit the fuse.
In nearly the same moment, Sauron dragged him to his feet and pulled him to a group of trees. "You'll be very unhappy if you're next to it when it goes off," he explained as he pushed Haldir behind a tree.
Peeking around the trunk, Haldir watched as the firework launched into the sky, sailing along with a low whistle that cut the still night.
"Wait for it…" Sauron whispered from his side.
Not a moment later, the next fuse must have caught and there was a brilliant flash of golden light that illuminated the grounds around them to a nearly noontime brightness. The light lingered for a moment and then slowly dissolved through a variety of colors, mimicking the sunset several hours earlier.
Sauron had his hands behind his back during the show, a smile on his face. "That is classy, is it not?" he asked.
"It is," Haldir agreed, surprised that from the few things they had taken such a display could be made.
He was not sure why he had forgotten the bang until it thundered through the air. Shocked by the noise, and that it had taken so long, Haldir fell back against the tree, his eyes gawking wildly around to Sauron. "That was loud," he whispered hoarsely.
"Of course it was loud. Supposed to be," Sauron replied, but there was a note of surprise in his voice.
"Please say that it was supposed to be that loud."
Sauron didn't answer.
That wasn't good.
Neither was the fact that when he looked back up at the house, the firework had apparently landed on the roof and lit it on fire.
For a moment, he merely stared at it, not able to comprehend what he was looking at.
And then everything broke out in a way befitting his drunken state.
"Sweet Elbereth!" Haldir moaned, grabbing Sauron's shoulders and shaking him, only to turn back to the tree in order to bang his head against it.
A hand pulled him back from smashing his forehead against the bark more. "That isn't how to handle this," Sauron said in such a grim tone that Haldir momentarily forgot that he was drunk, too. "Come along."
He then ran forward, Haldir close behind. In a few moments they reached the front door, which Sauron unceremoniously threw open.
They walked into a large, circular entry room, at least three stories tall with a glass dome at the ceiling. Haldir did not admire it long on account that he feared he would tip over if he continued looking straight up without a view of the horizon.
At that moment, Sauron began to yell. "Mithrandir! Mithrandir! I know you'll be able to hear me -- you never failed to point out that I had a big mouth! Mithrandir! Wake up and get down here, you prune! Your damned house is on fire! Do you hear me? Get UP!"
By this time, he was absolutely bellowing, his words reverberating off the walls and up to the ceiling.
A couple elves, apparently servants or some such thing, had actually been at the banisters that lined the entry way from floors above already, looking both bewildered and more than half asleep. Since none of them were whom Sauron wanted, he continued to scream at the top of his lungs, making Haldir start to wince as his voice cut into his ears. Panic and volume were not nice additives to Sauron's voice, Haldir quickly decided.
Finally, when it looked like Sauron would resort to running up the stairs himself to find Mithrandir, he appeared at the top railing.
"On fire, you say?" he stated calmly, leaning out into the open space a little and looking up at the glass dome, where the slight flickering glow of fire was easily discernable.
He gave a barely audible sigh and then turned away from the rail. "Come along then everybody. Bring water."
There was instantly a fluttering of movement as the servants rushing to get water.
Haldir looked at Sauron with a tinge of helplessness. When Sauron made it clear that he was going to be following the servants for water, Haldir, a bit surprised though he was, followed.
After acquiring large bowls, since all of the pails had already been taken, they made their way with everybody else to the roof. Haldir was impressed that neither of them had dropped the bowls or spilled any great amount of water, even in their state.
By the time they had reached the top, it seemed that most of the fire had already been extinguished.
They poured their water onto the flames. After the next three people poured out their loads, the fire was no more and all that was left was the smoking, soggy, charred roof.
It was at that exact moment that Haldir realized what an uncomfortable situation they were really in. They had just barged into the house, pointing out the fire on the roof and nothing else. But, how had they seen the fire? Why had they been in such a strange part of the island at that time of night? And how had the fire started?
It seemed that these questions were going through the minds of the other people who were there as well for, as the shock wore off, a suspicious glint crept into their eyes.
One thing Haldir noted at lucky was the fact that the packaging of the firework had apparently all burned out with the fire. Still, there was a definitely suspicious air about it.
"Go back to bed," Mithrandir told everybody quietly.
There was a pause, and then the soft shuffle of feet as they made their way back into the house.
So, that left Mithrandir, Sauron, and Haldir standing silently in the dark.
Mithrandir began to pace around the burned area of the roof, surveying the damage. "It looks like it will be easy to fix," he said thoughtfully. He looked up directly at Sauron. "Don't you think?"
Sauron folded his arms across his chest defensively and then nodded tersely. "It would not be difficult."
After considering Sauron for a moment and seemingly coming to some sort of decision from his small nod, Mithrandir went back to looking at the mess. "This was not exactly the manner in which I expected to meet you again," he said, dropping the topic of the fire for the moment.
Sauron apparently had guessed that this was coming and did not look at all surprised at the statement. He only nodded again, rocking a bit on his heels.
"Firework?"
Another nod, followed by a pause.
"Why?"
There was very genuine curiosity to Mithrandir's tone. At the moment, he didn't seem terribly upset by what had occurred. Haldir knew that this, unfortunately, wouldn't last.
Sauron scratched the back of his head, apparently trying very hard to sound intelligent. "I've heard that you claim to be the first person to have made fireworks. I found that to be a terrible affront."
This time it was Mithrandir who nodded. "So, you made a firework to show me up?"
"Actually, it was Haldir who made the firework. I simply supplied the knowledge to make it."
At these words, Haldir felt the blood drain from his face. Not a good change in the tables. Mithrandir's attention was turned to him now, the bright eyes considering him gravely.
Mithrandir promptly nodded and turned away again, leaving Haldir to let out a long breath. "Why would you do that, Haldir?" Mithrandir asked, once again causing Haldir to be as uneasy as he had been a moment before.
"I…" Haldir began, but could find no words. For the first time that night, he realized how tired he really was. He felt like everything was spinning around him as he tried to think of something to justify his actions. For a moment, he closed his eyes, planning on opening them again.
But, apparently, he hadn't. He could not remember anymore except for waking up.
By now, the medicine must have been working fully because when his curiosity convinced him to pull his blanket back, the light didn't make him want to vomit.
Rubbing his eyes to clear his vision, Haldir sat up and looked about. With a great amount of care, he stood up, testing his legs and finding that they would hold him.
He walked around the room for a moment, stretching his stiff limbs. He paused in front of a mirror, grimacing at his reflection. For the most part he looked respectable, except for when it came to his eyes, where the skin underneath was gray, causing his eyes to appear saucer-like. Sighing, he kneaded his palms against his eyes and turned to the door.
He started when he noted the figure standing at his door, leaning against the door jam.
It was almost humorous. If Haldir had felt like the undead that one morning after not having slept, Sauron looked like the undead. His head was down a bit as he looked at the ground, apparently waiting patiently for Haldir to finish gawking at his reflection. With his head at that angle, all of Sauron's dark, sleep-tousled hair fell forward into his face, causing his already sharp features to be shadowed and forced into greater contrast. His arms were folded, his hands looking incredibly pale against the dark fabric, not to mention that his gaunt frame made his clothes hang oddly. Haldir felt a pang of anxiety looking at him. Sauron hardly looked as though he had the right to be standing and breathing.
At that moment, Sauron looked up, letting the light from the window hit him clearly in the face. The frightening appearance drained away, leaving behind a Sauron that looked to be nothing more than a hung-over elf.
Sauron apparently realized that Haldir had seen him and came into the room slowly, rubbing his temples. "Is this what you meant when you said that the morning after wasn't any fun?" he asked, his voice hoarse, apparently from the yelling the night before.
"It would be," Haldir replied, leaning back against the wall while watching Sauron's sluggish progress across the room to the bed, where he sat down heavily.
"My head feels like I have somebody hitting hammers against it," he said slowly, closing his eyes and setting his head in his hands. "Hundreds of hammers."
"Did Mithrandir not bring you any medicine?" Haldir asked curiously.
Sauron tipped his head without opening his eyes. "Medicine?"
For a moment, Haldir considered not continuing, but, with a sigh, did so. "Did you just wake up?"
"Yes," Sauron responded weakly.
"Let me try to find him to see if there is anything for you."
"Thank you," Sauron muttered absently, missing Haldir's shock at the courteous reply.
Haldir wandered into the hall, wondering vaguely where Sauron's room had been and how long it had taken Sauron to find his room. Out in the hall, windows lining the wall allowed Haldir to look out at the sea. For a moment, he paused at one, leaning against the windowsill as he watched the lapping of the waves.
A voice at his side jarred him from his momentarily reverie. "It seems that our resident Dark Lord has found his way out of his room."
Blinking in surprise, Haldir turned toward the voice, not at all shocked to find that it was Mithrandir standing next to him.
"Do you happen to know where he wandered off to?" Mithrandir continued.
Haldir nodded. "He's in my room. He's…" A pause. "…extremely hung-over."
"You don't say?" Mithrandir replied, an almost amused note in his tone.
Neither said anything for a moment. Haldir was painfully aware that Mithrandir could probably read all his thoughts as though he had spoken; Sauron, after all, had been able to before he had been 'tried.' In figuring that he'd become aware of his thoughts anyway, Haldir suddenly piped up. "I'm sorry, about last night I mean. I don't know what I was thinking."
"You probably weren't."
"No, I wasn't," Haldir concurred, holding the window frame to support himself as he leaned out of the window to feel the breeze. "I wasn't thinking at all. It was utterly irresponsible of me." He sighed. "I'm supposed to be watching him and keeping him from doing such things. Yet, what do I do? I helped him with it!"
Mithrandir made no comment or sign at Haldir's words, merely staring ahead at the ocean.
"I'm not much of a counselor to him," Haldir said thoughtfully as he leaned back against the wall. "I don't set a good example, even. I continually play into his plans and let him get his way. This last time I didn't even have any reservations about it! I'm probably making him worse, if anything."
At this, Mithrandir turned to him, shaking his head. "Not worse," he said slowly. "Different, but not worse."
"Different?" Haldir asked, brow quirked. "I daresay!"
"Haldir, you're being too hard on yourself in this," Mithrandir continued over Haldir's skeptical comment. "Did you not think that there was probably some inkling that, in choosing you, there would be some… incidents?"
When Haldir didn't reply, Mithrandir went on. "Do not think that the Valar didn't consider their choice carefully. They would have known all about you and your character before deciding on you. Therefore, they would realize that things like this would likely happen. And perhaps they wanted it to."
At this, Haldir let a small smile slip. "They wanted us to burn your house? Do they have a grudge against you or something that I haven't heard of?"
The look Mithrandir gave him then silenced him instantly. "I was not speaking of this exactly but the nature of the action in general. What I mean for you to think about is if it could be possible that they wanted somebody who would not treat him the way you are assuming they would."
"How else would they want me to act?" Haldir asked, leery.
"Like you are."
The thought turned around in Haldir's head momentarily, a frown pulling down his features as he considered it. "Why ever would they want that?"
"Because you tend to forget that you really have the upper hand and treat him as more of a friend than anything else."
Haldir choked. A… His thoughts could not grasp it. A … friend? Sauron? Did he really treat him like he would a friend? As he thought about it, Haldir realized that he hadn't really had that many friends and had even less after becoming a march warden. While he tried to deny what Mithrandir had said, Haldir really couldn't since he had no idea if he really was treating Sauron in such way.
Mithrandir sighed tiredly, obviously noting Haldir's expression. "It isn't anything that you should be disconcerted by. As I said, they no doubt figured that this would be the way you would act and thought that it would be the best way to handle the problem he posed. Since I have a feeling that such is the case, I'm going to let you leave with your skin." He gave a small, reassuring smile. "Now, what brought you out of your room? I'm guessing that the drink helped."
Haldir nodded, not truly comprehending what he was agreeing to as he was still in the process of returning to the present. "Do you have more?" he asked as he recalled his reason for venturing forth in the first place.
Walking away, Mithrandir responded with, "I'm assuming that it's for Sauron?"
"Yes," Haldir agreed with a nod.
"I suppose so. Go back and make sure that he isn't getting sick all over the bed or anything of the like. We just had them cleaned last week."
With a bob of his head, Haldir went back to the room, finding Sauron curled up in a ball with his arms wrapped around his head. Haldir almost pitied him for a moment, knowing the feeling that Sauron was no doubt experiencing at the moment all too well. He shut the door behind him softly.
"Mithrandir still has some. He'll be back in a minute."
Sauron raised a hand and waved the fingers slightly in acknowledgment.
This had just been done when there was a quiet knock on the door and Mithrandir came in with another glass. He simply handed it to Haldir and then exited the room, leaving Haldir to bring the brew to the pathetic, huddled mass on the bed.
Again, he was greeted with a blind hand that reached for the glass, waiting for the handle to be brought to it. Once Sauron felt the handle, he grasped it and sat up, eyes still clamped shut, and drank the contents without looking. Although he made a face at the foul taste, he didn't say anything, and drained all that had been brought to him.
The glass was returned to Haldir after a moment, and, once he had set it down, Haldir took a seat on a stool in the corner.
Haldir studied his hands while he waited for the medicine to work, noting the gray powder that still stained his fingers from the night before. Sighing, he rubbed at them for a few minutes, eager to remove the evidence from his person.
"Well, don't you look like a child who's done something naughty and is being punished," Sauron said, an amused lilt to his voice.
Haldir looked up and found that Sauron had sat up and was trying to get his hair from continually falling into his eyes. "I have done something naughty," Haldir pointed out. "And, while I haven't been punished, I probably should be."
Waving a hand, Sauron stood, stretched, and yawned. "Could have done worse things."
"Or I could have done nothing."
"That is true." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and then sighed. "I suppose I owe him something now," Sauron grumbled.
"Owe whom what?"
"Olorin."
At Haldir's blank expression, he quickly amended himself.
"Mithrandir."
"Oh…" Haldir mumbled, nodding.
"Yet, as foul as that would be, that headache was worse." He groaned. "That was horrid. Absolutely horrid. I couldn't open my eyes, which was unpleasant as my vision happens to be my favorite sense, if that was not apparent."
"How did you find my room then?" Haldir questioned, actually a bit curious.
"Ran my hand along the wall. I'm only two doors down; I didn't figure that we'd end up on opposite sides of the building. Oh, that was awful."
"You're the one who wanted to get utterly wasted!" Haldir pointed out.
"Well, now I have, so I don't plan on doing so again. I mean, it was fine last night, although I am a bit embarrassed now that I realize how I was acting. Still, it was okay." He nodded almost to agree with himself. "It was okay. But this morning, ah, that was a payment greater than what I had intended. Never will do that again. If I ever say I do, enforce that I don't."
"You know, it seems to me that any time I try to tell you not to do something, my opinion doesn't really matter. If you want to do it, you will."
"I don't think you have to worry about it; I doubt that a time would ever come when I'd be that desperate again, knowing the outcome. It's just a sort of heads up."
"Uh-huh."
"Well…" Sauron looked around the room, an expression on his face that hinted to him desiring to say something yet being unsure about whether the setting or time was appropriate. "Have you had breakfast, too? I'm actually a bit hungry, so I wouldn't mind finding something to eat."
"I haven't. I guess we can go look around for somebody to point us to the kitchen."
"Fair enough. Only, they would be pointing you, because I'm not asking."
Haldir rolled his eyes. "Still afraid of people, hm?"
"I am not afraid. We've gone over this before. Unless you've forgotten, which you might have. I wouldn't think it out of the realm of possibility, considering your limited mental capacity."
Haldir couldn't help but smile grimly to himself. Yes, indeed, Sauron was back to his usual self.
In the end, they found the kitchen themselves and luckily stumbled upon the remains of breakfast. There were some rolls left, and some fruit, along with a couple jars of jelly.
They ate standing up, talking a bit about gathering up their belongings from the inn and the return trip. "The captain had said that there would be another trip this afternoon later on, so I suppose we could make that one. We'll probably have to leave soon, though, so we'll have time to get our things."
Sauron took a bite out of an apple thoughtfully and then nodded. "Sounds fair enough."
Haldir could now see their path home clearly. Then he considered the reactions they would likely be met with. It would not be good.
Apparently Sauron noted that Haldir's thoughts were not pleasant. "Why are you screwing your face up like that?" he asked while tossing the apple core into a basket on the other side of the room. "It's not a particularly attractive expression," he added with a slight smile as he hopped up and sat on the counter.
Scratching his chin, Haldir set his dirty dishes by the others. "I'm wondering what it'll be like getting back. We'll probably get skinned."
Sauron gave a small laugh. For a moment, Haldir wondered on whether Sauron's laughter, the real sort and not simply the ridiculing one, would continue to be as frequent as it had been the night before. Haldir had figured that once the alcohol had worn off, so would Sauron's disposition towards laughing. But maybe such was not the case. The thought of no more of the degrading laughter was a bit nice. "I can see where you would get skinned, considering your family and all, but why would I be?"
With a wry smile, Haldir pointed out what he'd rather not. "Because I don't seem to recall women liking it when their men wander off without warning."
Sauron flinched a bit at this, groaning. "Lalaith…" he muttered, running a free hand down his face. "Wonderful."
"Yes. So, in fact, I believe that you are the one who will need to look out the most."
"And I need to break it off too… Wonderful," Sauron repeated after a mild shudder.
Haldir did not say it, but he was pleased to hear that Sauron meant to keep his side of the bargain in a timely manner.
"I have absolutely no idea what to do," Sauron said, a defeated note in his tone. "I suspect that, somehow, I must do this… gently," he said, as though the word was entirely foreign to his vocabulary, "…since we'll still be under the same roof, for a while at least, and I don't want any more confrontations than necessary. But I have no idea how to do that…"
"So there are gaps in your observations about courtship, eh?" Haldir asked, smirking.
Sauron glanced at him irritably. "For one, such things seem to be rather uncommon. Two, I believe that when it was done, it must have been done in private and not in a place where I could witness it!"
"I guess you'll just have to figure it out. I can't help you at all."
Another sigh. "Could we be allowed some… privacy?"
Although Haldir felt absolutely ill about it, he nodded. "If it would help…"
"I think it would." There was a long pause as Sauron seemed to consider how he would handle that evening. "I should get her something. Should I? To get off on the right foot. Or would that be rude… to try to make something of a substitute?" He stopped suddenly, an expression of bewilderment crossing his face. "Would you listen to me?"
"I am," Haldir said unnecessarily.
Sauron continued as though Haldir hadn't spoken. "A substitute? In place of me? I don't understand how she could possibly want this --" He gestured vaguely at himself in a disgusted manner. "-- anyway. But how have I gotten my mind to even start thinking this way? Eww…" He then proceeded in banging his head with his fists.
Haldir wiped the crumbs from the counter and glanced at Sauron. "Somehow, I doubt that doing that is going to help you," he pointed out.
With a sigh, Sauron seemed to agree because he dropped his hands. "This is horrible. There must have been something in that stuff Olorin mixed up. If I found out that there was, so help me…"
"Whatever do you think he put in your drink?" Haldir asked calmly, a bit amused at the display happening before him.
"Something that did weird things to my brain."
Haldir laughed. "It'd be hard to note a difference in anything dealing with that."
Sauron, obviously, glared.
They were unable to continue their conversation any longer at that moment due to the entrance of Mithrandir. "I thought that I might find you here," he said without any formal greeting. "I see that you've eaten."
While Haldir nodded, Sauron did absolutely nothing to acknowledge Mithrandir's presence. He had his attention placed on something outside.
"I suppose you will be leaving soon so that you can get back to Valmar."
"Yes. In fact, we were going to leave once we finished eating," Haldir agreed.
Mithrandir nodded. "There was no time to discuss these things earlier, so I'll ask them now before you go. How is your family?"
For a moment, Haldir didn't answer as he considered how to truthfully answer. At the moment, they were all fine, as far as he knew. "They are doing well, thank you."
"Frodo mentioned that he had visitors yesterday. I don't suppose I need to inquire as to who they were," Mithrandir said to Haldir, while looking at Sauron.
Haldir swallowed and then wetted his lips, knowing how obvious the whole plan must clearly be. "Yes. We stopped in and had… what was it?" He frowned as he tried to sift for the answer through the fog that still surrounded his mind.
"Tea," Sauron stated dully.
"Yes, that was it," Haldir said, a bit surprised that Sauron has supplied anything to the conversation.
With something that looked suspiciously like a smirk, Mithrandir folded his arms. "Well, I'm glad to see that it apparently turned out alright for everybody concerned." The words he left out were as clear as if he'd spoken them.
The silence that followed seemed dreadfully uncomfortable to Haldir, but he wasn't sure if it was so for the others. He cleared his throat. "I guess I'll go get my boots then and we can head out."
Sauron nodded, but didn't get off the counter. "I'll be here."
Frowning at how ominous that sounded, Haldir nonetheless ran back to his room and yanked his boots on. He didn't even push his leggings back down once he had them on, opting to make sure that Sauron didn't have the time to do anything unpleasant.
Once he got back to the kitchen, trying very hard to conceal his rapid breathing, Haldir quickly assessed the situation and found that nothing ill had happened. Relaxing just slightly, he made his way into the room. "Ready?"
Sauron looked up at him, his expression remarkably placid, nodding and getting off the counter. "Yes."
"Good." Haldir looked at Mithrandir and smiled meekly, bowing. "Thank you for your services," he mumbled.
Mithrandir smiled faintly. "Of course. Just, next time, please don't let the circumstances be quite this… strange."
With another wordless nod, Haldir moved back toward the door. "Coming?" he prodded, looking sidelong at Sauron.
"Yes I am. Just stop badgering me!" Sauron snapped. He then looked over at Mithrandir, and paused a moment, before inclining his head ever so slightly.
That apparently said more than Haldir could garner from it. Mithrandir did the same in turn, and then Sauron made his way from the kitchen. After walking a few feet past Haldir, he stopped and turned back. "Coming?" he mocked, raising a brow.
Without a response, Haldir said goodbye to Mithrandir once more, and then followed Sauron from the house into the bright morning.