Chapter 10:

"Inga, be careful of that…,"

"Look out!"

Irideth leaped sideways purely on instinct; she managed to avoid the sack of flour itself, but not the explosion of white powder that followed. When the dust had settled, Irideth, Inga and the younger kitchen staff who had been standing nearby were covered head to toe in flour.

"Irideth! Are you alright?" Halla called from the other end of the counter where she'd been helping Minnah pluck chickens.

"I'm fine," Irideth answered, spitting flour out of her mouth. "Just a little paler."

Everyone in earshot chuckled or rolled their eyes, going back to work as Halla stood and moved over to her charge.

"Oh, goodness," she sighed as she took in the sight. Irideth blinked back, screwing her eyes shut as the woman ruffled her hair and sent up another white cloud. "Look at you; you're positively ghostly!"

Methinks the wraiths would disagree, Irideth thought. Then she went still for a moment as she felt a nudge against her mind, a brief passing of thought and the impression of an image. When she looked up at Halla again, the woman gave her a questioning look.

"Lord Sauron's meeting with Minister Kamaal is going longer than they thought; he wants me to bring a decanter of wine and some food," Irideth said.

"Of course," Halla sighed. "He didn't send for lunch, did he?"

"If he did, he didn't tell me."

"That's a no, then. And you looking like this," Halla said with a despairing look at the flour-covered figure before her.

"We can just dust most of it off; I don't think anyone will care as long as I don't go tracking flour all over the fortress."


When Irideth entered Sauron's office, carefully balancing a tray in her hands, she was met with the sight of Sauron and Minister Kamaal leaning over the desk, studying a production budget if the snippets of conversation Irideth managed to understand were anything to go by.

Hoping to be as unobtrusive as possible, Irideth stepped quietly over to the side of the desk and set her burden down at a distance she felt it was safe from being knocked off. As she stepped back, Kamaal glanced sideways and smiled briefly at her before looking back down. And then he did a double-take.

Irideth was mostly flour-free, but she was aware her hair was still quite white and it was impossible to tell the original color of her dress from the front.

Sauron, having noticed Kamaal's silence, followed the man's gaze and blinked at the sight Irideth presented.

"Ask no questions and I will tell you no lies," Irideth said after a second or so of baffled staring.

Kamaal blinked, not sure what to make of that response. Sauron's sigh was visible in the relaxation of his shoulders. "I suppose it doesn't matter as long as you aren't completely destroying the kitchens."

Excuse me, WHAT? Irideth thought. A minute upward turn of Sauron's mouth was the only indication of his amusement.

"Remind me never to send you to the armory or the forges."

Irideth made a face while Kamaal glanced uncertainly between the two of them.

"Oh, and Irideth, I will be attending a state dinner with my advisors this evening. I would like you to complete the reading and grammar exercises in chapter seven of the book we've been working through. I will go over them with you tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir," Irideth acknowledged with a dip of her head. "Was there anything else you required, my lord?"

"That will be all, Irideth."

Irideth dipped into a quick curtsy before leaving, shutting the door behind her.


It took Sauron a few seconds after Irideth had left to notice the odd look Kamaal was giving him.

"Is something troubling you, Minister?" he asked, tone just a bit too polite.

He didn't miss the small quirk of the man's lips. "Nothing of import, my lord."


Irideth was trotting quickly through the halls back to the kitchens when someone turned a corner barely ten feet in front of her.

She froze.

Someone turned out to be three someones: Siraaj Halim, one of Sauron's chief war ministers and his son and daughter, Muzammil and Azeema.

Irideth recovered herself quickly, dipping into a curtsy and lowering her eyes to the floor.

"Good day to you, Lord Siraaj, Lord Muzammil, Lady Azeema."

Despite being only seven, Irideth had to admit Azeema already had an impressive haughty sneer; she could feel it without even looking at the girl. The weight of her father's eyes was not much better.

"Where is your Master, slave girl?" Siraaj said, voice putting Irideth unpleasantly in mind of snake before it struck. Not to insult any serpents, of course.

"My Lord Sauron is in a meeting at the moment and does not wish to be disturbed," Irideth said as she straightened, keeping her gaze fixed on the man's left shoulder rather than his face. She could still see the downward turn of his lips from the corner of her eye. "He will likely be finished within the next hour if you wish to speak with him."

"You think it your place to tell me what I can and cannot do, girl?" Siraaj snarled. Irideth stiffened again when she noticed his hand falling toward the short wooden cane he kept tucked into his belt. "This matter is urgent, and I will not be kept waiting by an impertinent slave."

Irideth wasn't his slave or one of the palace slaves, but that likely wouldn't stop him from beating her. Though the Dark Lord and the Nazgul had made it tacitly understood that no one was to harm her, Irideth wasn't foolish enough to think that most of these nobles wouldn't try to find a way around that. Siraaj was undoubtedly one of the ones who figured that if there weren't visible marks, she was fair game.

Well, there was the link, of course. None of the nobles or ministers knew about it, but Irideth wasn't certain how Sauron would react to her using that to call for help.

"I would never presume to do so, my lord. I am simply telling you that Lord Sauron does not wish to be disturbed; if you wish, I can deliver a message for you."

A quiet snort drew Irideth's gaze to Muzammil. "Please, Father. The slave wouldn't even understand it."

Irideth noted that her throat was starting to burn.

"Of course not, uncivilized swine that she is," Azeema said. "You are one of the horse-herders, yes? Probably grew up rolling around in the dirt with the dogs."

"No, my dear. This one was born in the wilds," Siraaj said, a nasty smile etching its way across his face. "Raised by savage wolves, the word is."

Don't they know that Sauron was at one point known as Lord of the Werewolves? Irideth thought.

A strange feeling of pressure at the back of her skull had Irideth turning around for reasons she couldn't exactly have explained.

She found herself faced with an enormous wolf that appeared to materialize out of the shadows themselves.

She was peripherally aware of the war minister's startled inhalation behind her, heard Azeema and Muzammil crowd closer to him. Irideth's focus, however, was on the wolf's glowing amber eyes. She quickly dropped her gaze, shrinking in on herself.

Sauron walked toward her, and once he'd reached her Irideth gently pressed her forehead to the underside of his chin in a show of submission. Sauron gave a low huff, apparently pleased. Then he grabbed the back of her dress in his teeth and, to Irideth's surprise, swung her onto his back.

Once Irideth had settled herself, Sauron remained where he was for a few seconds; judging by the look on Siraaj's face, Sauron was glaring and/or snarling at him. Then he turned abruptly and trotted back down the hallway.

Irideth briefly lost track of the twists and turns they took, but once they were back in a familiar area she realized Sauron was taking her back to his rooms.

Once they'd reached their destination Sauron came to a stop and Irideth slid off his back.

You should probably go take a bath.

Irideth jumped at the dry voice in her mind. She turned around to see Sauron giving her the canine equivalent of a raised eyebrow. She felt heat rise in her cheeks and quickly ducked her head.

"Sorry for getting flour on you," she muttered.

There's a sentence I never thought I would hear.

Irideth was startled when she realized she was holding back a grin. Sauron gently nudged her in the direction of her room and she went without complaint.


Irideth emerged from her room about an hour later, hair wrung as dry as she could get it and wearing a flour-free dress. She was surprised to see Sauron, still in wolf form, lying in front of the fire in a manner reminiscent of Master Geirwulf's hunting dogs.

Feeling a painful twinge in her chest, Irideth pushed the thought away and took a few cautious steps forward as Sauron raised his head and fixed his gaze on her.

Come here.

Exhaling in the hopes of easing some tension from her body, Irideth walked slowly toward him. When she reached him, she was immeasurably surprised when he nudged her to lie down tucked against his side.

Get some sleep, Sauron ordered. I know you haven't been sleeping well lately and the last thing I need is you collapsing on me.

Irideth opened her mouth, but one look from Sauron had her shutting it immediately. Hoping she didn't look as uncomfortable as she felt, Irideth slowly settled herself, letting her head rest on Sauron's flank. His fur turned out to be softer than it looked, and she was asleep in the space of a few breaths.


Upon waking Irideth found herself pressed against a black-clothed chest and surrounded by several large, furry bodies.

A quick scan of the room showed that they had been joined by at least a dozen of Sauron's wolves. Sauron himself was back in his humanoid form. He was sitting with his back supported by the bedframe, holding Irideth in his lap and speaking softly to a pair of wolves Irideth assumed were the alphas of this particular pack.

A light tug at her scalp drew Irideth's attention to the fact that Sauron was stroking her hair again, which had her relaxing almost before she realized it.

She tensed in surprise when someone licked her ear. Turning around, Irideth was met with the sight of a male wolf- likely a beta- studying her closely.

Sauron chuckled, lifting Irideth off his lap and placing her among the wolves.

Irideth hunched in on herself as the wolves took turns examining her by both scent and sight. When a couple of them tried to groom her, Irideth gave a pained yip and leaped away from the offenders. Apparently agreeing that she needed a bath, one of the wolves behind her gently nudged her to her knees, then pressed her to the floor like an unruly pup and proceeded to lick her face and neck.

"Oh, come on, I just took a bath! I don't need another one!" Irideth yelled, trying to push the wolf away and squirm out from under his paw at the same time.

Sauron laughed when she finally broke free and dove past him to hide under the bed. "Come, little one, you have lived with wolves before!"

"I was a baby at the time, and I do not remember them being this nosy!"

She heard Sauron chuckle, and then he reached under the bed and drew her into his arms as he stood.

"I have placed you in their care for the night," he said, setting her down on top the bed. "They will stay with you until I return."

Irideth nodded her understanding, then made her way to the other side of the bed before sliding off. "What robes are you wearing tonight, sir?" she asked, trotting over to the wardrobe before the wolves could get in the way.

"Unfortunately something formal," Sauron said, moving to join her. "Something with basic colors, though; it is not a gala, thank goodness."

After a few minutes of deliberation, Sauron selected a simple but elegant black robe with a red pattern stitched across the shoulders and collar. A deep crimson sash, black gloves, a few simple rings and the wrought iron crown completed the look.

"You've gotten better at this," Sauron said as Irideth finished tying the sash, giving himself a cursory once over in the mirror.

"All I ask is that you don't ever make me assist you with hair beads," Irideth said as she hopped off the stool she'd been standing on. Noticing the look he was giving her in the mirror, she elaborated, "unless you want your head looking like an ugly tapestry, of course."

Sauron chuckled as he turned to face her. "Weaving was never a strong suit of yours?"

Irideth clasped her hands behind her back and shrugged, moving her gaze to the bedside table. "My mother was the one who made and repaired our clothing; according to her, I was working with our village's Horsemaster almost before I could walk."

"Somehow that does not surprise me," the Dark Lord said, making his way to the door. "I will likely not return until late; I do not want to see you awake when I return."

You could just say 'don't wait up,' Irideth thought as Sauron bade goodbye to the wolves, scratching ears and chins and murmuring softly to them.

And I really hope he didn't hear that.


Irideth had no idea where she was. It looked like part of a castle keep, a communal living area. The walls were made of stone, and in the center of the room was what looked like a well. It didn't hold water, though; instead there was a bright blue-white light hovering a few feet above the center. Dozens of smaller blue lights drifted upward around it, passing through a hole in the second story and vanishing several feet below the ceiling.

This strange well was surrounded by single bedrooms, all simply furnished; a bed, a table, a wardrobe and chest, and a couple of chairs.

And the top of almost every available surface in these rooms was covered with a strange assortment of items; flowers and herbs, crystals of various shapes and sizes, skulls of various animals, dead insects, books, colored bottles.

And on the floor of the room closest to Irideth, journal open beside her, strange design painted in chalk on the floor and several strange… ingredients, Irideth supposed?... set upon the chalk design, was the cat woman from her dreams.

Only she looked much younger.

"Okay, so the void salts amplified it well enough. I'll need to try this again with more powerful soul gems. Maybe I can sweet-talk Enthir into getting me a daedra heart…," the cat muttered, picking up her journal and scribbling down what looked to be detailed notes on a near-covered page. Upon finishing she snapped the book shut and looked up.

And froze when her eyes met Irideth's.

For several moments they did nothing but blink at each other.

"All right, I'm assuming you can see me," the stranger said slowly. "Are you able to hear me?"

Words still beyond her, Irideth did nothing but nod. The woman's eyes widened.

"By Aetherius, it worked!" she whispered, clutching the journal to her chest.

"Wh… what worked?" Irideth said.

"I've been trying to find a way to contact you for months! I have never been so happy my mother made me study magic when I was younger, it probably would have taken me decades to complete this otherwise! Oh, I'll need to thank Urag for lending me those books, and Phinis is going to be thrilled that his idea for the ectoplasm and butterfly wing worked! He's been studying leads on trans-dimensional travel and communication for over twenty years, I'd never have been able to do this without him!"

"But why go to all this trouble to contact me? And… trans-dimensional communication? What are you talking about?" Irideth asked, brow furrowing.

"Well, we're in different worlds, aren't we? And as for going to all this trouble… well, you're my sister."