A/N: I know I haven't updated this story for ages. The reason being is that I had had a six month long writers block pertaining to this story. I admit this one is almost too serious. I tried to liven it at some points, but it still seems too serious at the moment. All right, here's the much readed review responses to those who were patiently waiting for the third installment:
To Chinri: Honestly, I've always wondered what it would be like if Sauron regained the Ring. Thanks for your review!
To Erestor: It is doomed--maybe. I thought Sauron'd listen to Nora's advice since he knows she is truthfully captivated by him and she belongs to another time period/dimension...I've heard some other people take that view about Sauron, too. Though in the Appendices it actually says that Sauron became hot, black, and hideous. But I like your theory about him much better. :-)
To Fk306 animelover: I'm really sorry about the long wait! Anyway, here's the next chappie. Finally.
To Icy Sapphire15: That would be cool. Though I think like Nora and Bethany I'd probably head over to Mordor. I like Sauron.
To Scarlett Moonchild: Thank you! (blushes) I wanted to do something which broke away from the monotony of Fellowship fangirls to fangirls of a different sort. I'm so happy you like it!
To Legolas's Girl 9: :-)
To BloodyPenHand: Thanks! I really didn't want Sauron to be cute or handsome in this one (though I admit he always looks that way in my thoughts even when he's supposed to be hideous) so Nora's shock and terror is more realistic. Though I have to say a lot of the fear felt in chapter two wears off a bit in this one.
To Napolde of the Council: This is the best fanfiction you've read since Haldir's Here? Whoa. Sorry for making you think I'd put it aside. Anyway, I'm happy to continue it.
To Luthien and Tari Oronar: That's what most people would do in that situation, yes. Nora and Bethany on the other hand... :-)
To entilza: So someone else has also been wondering that besides me:-) I used to feel like I'm the only Sauron fangirl on this site. But I'm happy to see I'm wrong. :-)
To Saerwen: Yep, I've always hated those type fanfictions, too. It's far too common in this site and its so stereotyped that I had to do something different--besides, I'm a Sauron fangirl, too.
To Ain't-No-Angels: Thanks! Am writing more. :-)
To Sauruna: Thanks:-)
To Cyblade Silver: When people send in the same type stories over and over again
To fuz: Lol! Thanks for your review:-)
To kingmaker: I wanted to make the trip into Mordor as realistic as possible. The Ringwraith wasn't so much as influenced by Tolkien so much as a nightmare I had in which one actually looked at me through my bedroom window. That was scary. (shudders) Glad you liked it:-)
To Yellow Peanutbutter Ruler: That sounds like a cool story! It's nice to work outside the mainstream of "girl ends up in ME" stories.
Chapter Three
Bethany wondered why she'd never wondered about the diet of Sauron or the Mordorian host.
She was sitting in front of a plate filled with gourmet sushi, chicken hearts rolled in brown sugar and molasses, mice steak, and stuffed shrimp. A salad decorated with black grapes and red salsa was in a delicate little black dish had been placed as a side dish.
She felt a tad bit bored. So far she had seen no orcs. Or Gûlthak Morhont, as the orc-drivers real name was. Sauron had lied.
Maybe he hadn't told a lie all day and he decided to say one to save his reputation for lying.
She took a sip of the First Age wine in front of her plate. It was one of the best drinks she'd ever had. Who said alcoholic beverages tasted nasty? This was wonderful! This was—
She giggled, feeling happy and carefree.
"...and that was when I killed Gil-Galad," Sauron was saying. His tale had been quite gruesome, describing the writhing and screaming of the elven king in great detail as Sauron had made him spontaneously combust. "His charred remains are in the dungeon."
He chose this time to end the story by taking a measured sip of wine.
Nora sighed happily. Finally, someone was sane in Middle-earth! Elves were the most disgusting, vile—filth—that had ever walked the earth. No wonder they were despised by Sauron!
"Not that I hate them, of course. I only have something against rebellion. As a leader of a government it is my task to eliminate whoever is against me, whether it be an elf, dwarf, man, woman, or child," Sauron said. He took another sip of the wine, scowled and demanded the death of the idiot who had let it sit out too long in the Mordor heat.
"B-but my L-Lord, it had only been out for two minutes! Surely you can't taste"— the doomed orc was saying, sallow face drained of all color, yellow eyes wide with terrific fear.
"You forget I'm a Maia and my sense of taste is very accurate. As punishment for leaving my wine out for two hours—yes I can also tell a liar when I see one—you are to be sent to the torture chamber. Your death penalty is a slow, painful death. In fact, I will be there to be sure it is properly carried out," Sauron said coolly. He didn't bark, snarl, growl, scream, or show any emotions, but somehow the fact he was entirely emotionless made it a whole lot worse.
Two strong Black Uruks appeared from behind two red tapestries located near the entryway to the Grand Dining Hall and bound the orc, who tried valiantly to fight them, only the Uruks laughed raucously and carried the poor servant out, Sauron getting up and following close behind.
Nora poked at her food, wishing Sauron could stay behind a bit longer and tell more about his exploits. It could very well be a long time before he came back.
She had sat there for at least half an hour when she heard a giggle from Bethany, and noticed for the first time that her twin was very drunk.
"Thas' so bad for lil' orky," she slurred, swaying in her stone chair. "Saurie's cute."
She giggled again. Nora found her cheeks growing red with horror. What if Sauron stepped in and saw this? How embarrassing!
"I hafa song I wanna sing fo' Moront," Bethany piped up.
At that very moment Nora's worst fears became reality. Sauron chose this time to return with a new orc servant trailing behind him, carrying new glasses of wine.
Bethany gave a drunken grin when she saw she had an audience. She blew the Dark Lord a kiss, then proceeded to burst out in an offkey love song, switching the name Morhont for Sauron and vice versa.
Nora flashed Sauron a sheepish I-don't-know-her look.
But Sauron actually appeared partially amused. This was after all, a much different behavior from the miserable orc servants who'd get drunk in his presence. They'd go on about how much they hated Sauron. Then sing songs about being free of him and ruling Middle-earth themselves. Sauron would neatly order their execution as soon as they had passed out from too much liquor.
But Bethany on the other hand—
"…m'heart'll go on an' on…" Bethany finished, trailing off sleepily. She lowered her head and rested it on the black, iron, table— discordantly snoring.
Sauron worked up a small spell in Black Speech. Bethany flinched as though great pain had siezed her, but then she sighed peacefully and stopped snoring, a tiny smile on her lips.
"Well. Now that we are alone perhaps you would like to try the wine I brought you," he said, breaking Nora's attention away from her peaceful sister. The servant obediently placed another tall glass of wine in front of the girl, removing the other glass which hadn't been touched yet.
The servant let out a low snarl and then quickly exited the room.
"I don't drink," Nora started to say, but closed her mouth when she saw him give her a disapproving look.
"It is the finest wine from the First Age—it would be a great shame to waste it."
Obediently she sipped the wine, not wanting to anger him. She had seen what happened when he was slightly ruffled, she didn't want to see him when he was angry.
The wine tasted sweet with a tart aftertaste.
"Mmmm."
She took another long sip. This time she noticed she felt something happening inside her. A change was taking place, and it didn't feel like drunkeness. She felt as though burning hot metal was growing deep inside her, growing in intensity with furiosity!
A painful convulsion ripped through her. She felt as though she was being ripped to shreds and burnt slowly alive! Panic filled her.
She heard words being chanted in Black Speech. An incantation for what?
She lost concentration when yet another convulsion siezed her.
A large, slender black hand curled around her waist and then she had lost consciousness before she could realize it had been Sauron's hand and she hadn't been burned by it.
I-I-I-I-I-I
Nora awoke feeling as though she had been boiled in hot water and then laid out to dry in the blistering heat. It wasn't the most pleasant things to wake up to.
The second thing she noticed was that she wasn't in her own living room back home, but somewhere else. And that was when she remembered she was in Mordor.
She was laying inside a deep bed, cozily wrapped in black sheets and blankets. She wondered lazily which servant of Sauron had the bedroom belonged to before, and how that servant had died or found his Master's displeasure.
That was when she remembered drinking that wine and the onslaught of terrible, fiery, pain which had gripped her body, sending her into nerve-shattering convulsions. Sauron's hand wrapping around her waist as she lost consciousness...
We shall meet soon, Nora. Perhaps after our…meeting…you will see whether or not I am worthy of your foolish fantasies...
She shivered, Sauron's words coming back to her. But this time she really thought about what was really being said between the lines. The fact he had stared at her as though she was a piece of fresh meat. Did it mean though, what she thought it all meant?
Was Sauron so blatantly obvious in his intentions or had he only wanted to cause fear in her, to see if she was really an obsessive fangirl of his?
But at the same time...
She shivered, sitting up in the bed. And this was when she noticed she was wearing...absolutely nothing.
It appeared her anxieties about the meeting had proved true. Sauron really had meant the words.
Well, at least it was him and not Legolas who was after her. She would much rather Sauron than Legolas or Aragorn any day. Sauron was more...whoa...than the ordinary characters. He had something to him which had puzzled her and intrigued her since the very day she had fallen in love with the character.
There was something about Sauron which never appeared in the pages of the book, something about his plans for Middle-earth...
The heavy door of the chamber opened and her nerves returned full throttle.
Sauron was clad in thin blood red robes instead of armor. He managed to look elegant and evil at the same time. His ruby red eyes swept over her body with black desire and intentions. But his attention wasn't focused on her for very long.
His attention was now on the open window, the blood stained drapes pulled back so one could see the ash plains of Mordor, and Orodruin spewing out fire from the distance.
His expression abruptly changed from one of lust and desire to astonishment.
Blue light suddenly filtered into the room and there was a soft buzzing sound in the distance.
"It appears our…meeting…is interrupted. Here."
He pulled out a black, short dress out of seemingly nowhere and tossed it at Nora, who put it on without any questions.
"Hurry! You'll kill us both if you detain much longer," he hissed, red eyes glaring down at her.
"What are you"—
But he cut her words off by snatching her up and leaping out of the room.
Just in time as the chamber exploded in a ball of scorching hot white flames.
"Gee. I could've been in there. Thanks for rescuing me," Nora said, peering over the Dark Lord's shoulder to the remains of the chamber.
"Save your gratitude. The only reason I saved you is because you still have some use for me. Thatis the only reason I rescued you. Now be quiet and don't move from this spot." He set her roughly down on the ground, then peered into what had once been the bedchamber.
She watched in near fascination as Sauron gracefully crept inside it, his red eyes wary. He reminded her of a furious tiger who had only just escaped capture from poachers. It was the way he stalked carefully into the room, red eyes letting nothing escape from his focus.
Then he vanished completely from her view.
"So. You found me, Ylzikk. I commend you on your hunting skills."
The voice that answered Sauron was something Nora had never heard before. It was pleasant yet dripping with venomous evil.
"The Yazuki will conquer all. You cannot withold what is rightfully ours," it said. There was no fear in that voice at all.
"Ah, but I am. Arda is mine. I will not step aside from my rule only to have it replaced with vile filth—especially to you and your kind!"
Nora nearly cheered, but remembered just before doing so that Sauron had ordered her to remain quiet. Instead her face split in a patriotic smile.
Arda belonged to Sauron—not that other guy/creature/thing!
There was a high pitched electronic whir and the sound of bones breaking.
The good, patriotic feeling left and her heart leapt to her throat.
Then there was silence.
She tried to tell herself that the Lord of Mordor was all right, but instead she had images of him laying on the cold floor, dead, and then the things taking over Mordor and then Arda...
Whatever those things were, they were evil.
Like Sauron wasn't already.
"My Lord?" she whispered, creeping around the corner to peek into the room.
He was standing tall and proud in the room, looking with disgust and revulsion down upon the remains of the creature which had attacked him. He was holding his hand close to his body in a protective guesture. His wrist had been broken.
Then she saw the thing that had attacked him. It had long tentacles, slimy blue-green skin, multiple yellow eyes, several insectoid limbs, and a tail that ended in a scorpion-like stinger. Limp in a tentacle lay a technologically advanced blaster, a weapon that had not been mentioned in the Lord of the Rings or the Silmarillion. As neither had the Yazuki race been mentioned.
She was about ready to sneak back to the place Sauron had left her, but the Lord of the Ring's head snapped up and his red eyes narrowed with anger.
"You are playing with fire, Mortal. I told you quite clearly to stay in that spot and remain silent."
"I was concerned"—
In two strides Sauron was towering over her.
Her heart slammed into her chest.
"I do not need your concern—I am capable of taking care of myself. Now. Clean up this mess. And incinerate the body--the skin is toxic," he ordered, then striding off.
Nora, that was not the smartest thing to do, she told herself as she began cleaning out the room. Surprisingly there wasn't much damage done. Sauron must have fireproofed it beforehand.
What was the Yazuki race? Why were they hunting down Sauron?