Oh boy, the Frotu sucks, no? I'm really sorry about the hugenormous delay, but with work and then school, I suddenly was like "GAH! No life!" ... And I'm very serious. I do not have a life. I sacrificed it to the Academic Deities.

So I can't guarantee that updates will be entirely regular, but I will make sure that there are no more big like... three month gaps, for that is just rude. I'll attempt to get a chapter every 2-3 weeks. I'll try very very hard. Your patience is very much appreciated! Oh, and I will reply to reviewers after the next chapter. Thaaaaank you, I love you all from the bottom of my appendix!

The old residence was bustling around him that morning. It had steadily emptied of people over the years until it was just the three of them: Orophin, Rumil, and Sauron. On one hand, Sauron found it to be a useful arrangement. After all, it meant that he didn't have to worry about cooking for himself, even though time had inevitably wriggled a few basic skills into his repertoire. On the other hand, he did have to deal with the ruckus they produced. It was enough for a whole family. Perhaps two.

All in all, though, he was generally able to disregard them. This morning, as they hurried about trying to get their necessities for their trip, they chattered ceaselessly. Sauron found it a bit more difficult than usual to ignore, due to the fact that much of what was said was through yells from one end of the house to the other, but practice had made him quite adept at tuning out their babble and focusing on more important things.

At the moment, 'more important' constituted a piece of bread on the plate before him, as well as the apple and slices of cheese lying innocently next to it.

No, Sauron did not need to organize and pack at the moment like the elves were. He was already prepared for his attempt at supervising children, at least physically. There were not many things he had need of daily, so his packing job was incredibly light. He was nowhere near as vain as the majority of the elves. True, he wouldn't allow himself to go out with his hair looking like it had when he had first regained a physical form, but he wasn't particularly fussy.

So, where the elves were continuing to rush about, Sauron had nothing else he needed to do. The downside was that meant he was waiting on them. Even the usual activity of brooding offered no distraction, as there was simply nothing he felt like brooding about. Or, perhaps more precisely, there was nothing he could brood about properly in the amount of time he supposed he had.

After ordering the blocks of cheese from largest to smallest, he sighed and got up. He was having to wait pointlessly, which was making him irritated. In turn, this knot of annoyance in his gut made the idea of eating unappealing. Rather than stay around any longer, Sauron decided that he would just make his way to Haldir and Raudwen's house without Rumil or Orophin. They would both show up eventually, and this way he would be able to get whatever important information he needed before they arrived.

The walk was uneventful, although it was a bit interrupted by the volume of people who were out. It was admittedly a nice day, although, then again, when wasn't it in Valinor? There was one point of interest, however – the wind had changed directions just enough that it brought down the scent of forests from the southern mountains.

Sauron dismissed this observation as he reached his destination. Noticing such trivial things was a rather aggravating habit he had been fighting for the last handful of years. He was holding his own, but every year it became harder.

It seemed that the moment he raised his hand to rap on the door, it swung open to reveal a flustered Raudwen. Raising a brow, Sauron waited for the explanation he assumed would be forthcoming.

"I'm so glad you've made it," she said happily, a false smile plastered on her face as Elbaras ran across the hall behind her wearing what looked suspiciously like…

"Is he wearing his undergarments on his head?" Sauron asked monotonously.

Without turning around, Raudwen closed her eyes, the peaceful expression belying the severity of her next words. "Elbaras, if I have to remove those myself, you will not like where they end up."

A lump of clothes suddenly landed in the middle of the hall.

Opening her eyes, Raudwen stood back, pretending as though the scene a moment ago had never occurred. "Please do come in."

Sauron did so, trying to remain unfazed. After all, he had been up against a lot worse than that little display. If the most serious of his troubles consisted of a child wishing to make their underwear outerwear, what difference did that make to him?

It seemed a bit strange that Raudwen did not shut the door behind her. The reason for this became clear when Haldir hurried around the corner a moment later, carrying two traveling bags. "Everything is ready," he said to Raudwen, nodding his head to Sauron in a tacit hello.

"And you left everything on the counter?" she prompted.

"Yes, dear. Everything he could ever need and a third of everything he never would."

Giving him a brief look, Raudwen took a breath and turned back to Sauron. "Once again, thank you. We truly appreciate it. I left directions to where we will be so you can find us if there is an emergency, but we should be back soon enough that it won't make much of a difference. The neighbors are both available if you need anything; that way you won't have to go to the market for supplies if something suddenly runs out… which nothing should, right Haldir?"

"Most assuredly," Haldir responded in a slightly weary tone.

"The children should be in bed a half hour after sundown. We had a talk with them about this, because they can be wiggly around bedtime. You shouldn't have any trouble with meals, although Elbaras has been known to occasionally decide that he does not like a certain food or dish. So long as you keep them out of their bureaus, they should be fine. They have enough toys to entertain themselves. Anyway, I left some notes on the counter about dinner and things like that, so everything should be pretty self explanatory."

Sauron nodded, figuring that the children were probably aware of all this themselves, therefore making his immediate awareness of it superfluous. At the same time, though, it seemed necessary for Raudwen's peace of mind that he be directly alerted to the workings of the household.

Apparently satisfied, Raudwen called to the children, who appeared a moment later and stood patiently before her. "Behave yourselves for Iaewur, okay?" she said, dropping to a knee to look them in the eyes.

"Yes, Mama," they chimed.

"You remember what I said would happen if he tells us that you were naughty, right?"

Perhaps it was just him, but Sauron was pretty sure that Elbaras and Anariel's eyes both widened.

"We'll be good, promise!" Anariel said seriously, nodding her head.

Raudwen smiled and kissed the girl's cheek. "I'm glad to hear it." She kissed Elbaras' cheek as well and then stood up. "We'll be back tomorrow."

"Sleep well tonight, you two," Haldir said, ruffling Elbaras' hair and grinning as they looked up at him. "Maybe I'll be able to find something to bring you guys from the trip, so long as you listen to all the rules your mother told you…"

This seemed to have given them another prerogative to act properly. They smiled hopefully, the earlier threats forgotten in the face of potential reward.

There was the distinct sound of chatter outside, continuously getting louder. Orophin and Rumil must have finally arrived. Raudwen was now at the door speaking with them as Haldir quickly gave each of his children a goodbye hug.

As he picked up the bags and went to the door, Haldir paused by Sauron. "You have no idea how much I appreciate this," he said quietly.

"I'll probably have an idea just how much when I finally ask for something in return," Sauron replied casually.

Smirking, Haldir shifted the bags. "You would measure it that way, but you know it doesn't convert properly on that scale. I must say that I'm pleasantly surprised you agreed before asking for anything in return."

Sauron pondered this for a moment, wondering if he really had done such a thing. It would have been quite a lapse in thinking to not at least verbally work out some sort of contract of reciprocal benefits.

There was no more time to think about it, however, since Haldir had gone to join the others in the yard. The final farewells had been exchanged while Sauron tried to recall what he said the night before, and now the twins were waving to their parents at the doorway.

Sauron waited in the shadows of the hall, not feeling like partaking in the whole waving business. The kids eventually migrated outside, waving until the party must have been completely out of view. Their hands seemed to drop simultaneously.

Similarly, they turned to look at him almost in the same moment. They stepped back into the house, Elbaras shutting the door behind them before standing next to his sister and staring up at Sauron.

It was a strangely disconcerting feeling to have the glances of two children on him. Usually, people took some care to mask their feelings or obscure their motives from their expressions, but neither child made any effort at such pretense. They were blatantly scrutinizing him. For what, Sauron had no idea, and so he decided to merely scrutinize them back. If that was the game they wanted to play, he had enough practice to participate.

This didn't seem to be any sort of deterrent, unfortunately.

"What do you want?" he finally asked, perhaps gruffer than he had intended.

Anariel's head tipped slightly to the side before she turned to Elbaras. "I think you were right," she said, ignoring Sauron.

"Why don't you think Mama notices?" Elbaras questioned.

"It's probably Papa's fault."

Blinking at this exchange before pulling his face into a properly annoyed expression, Sauron folded his arms. "What are you talking about?"

"You're not like us," Anariel said simply.

"Of course I'm not like you. You're just children," he retorted, wondering how he was going to put up with them if this was how they were going to act the whole time.

"I don't mean like that. I mean that you're not like us, like elves."

Somewhere outside, a bird called.

Besides being shocked by this statement, Sauron figured that it was not ideal that they could tell this. How had they drawn that conclusion?

For the first time in a long while, he wasn't sure how to proceed. The last time that had happened was during the whole charade with Lalaith. Jeez, he thought dryly to himself, these touchy personal things are so annoyingly tricky.

"What else would I be?" he tried, attempting to keep a lighter tone than he felt like using.

Anariel shrugged in a way that hinted that, even though they had decided he was different, this did not concern them. Both their demeanors, while acutely curious, didn't seem disturbed or worried. "Something. We aren't sure exactly what, though, since we haven't figured out what makes you different."

She stepped forward and took hold of his left hand, wrapping her tiny fingers around his wrist. Sauron was too shocked by this breach of his personal space to completely register what had happened.

His hand was held up before Anariel's face, where she looked at it seriously. "Did you fight in battles?" she now queried.

"What?" he asked distractly, trying to keep an eye on Elbaras as the boy started circling him.

"You don't have a finger. Or was it an accident?"

Suddenly, Sauron felt much too backed into a corner. He snatched his hand away. "That is none of your concern," he said severely. At the same time, he reached out and caught Elbaras by the collar of his tunic before steering him back towards his sister.

He considered the pair in an attempt to decide the best way to deal with the situation. For whatever reason, he did not think intimidation would work properly. Not that it wasn't an option he would put in reserve.

Sighing, Sauron sank down to their level so that he could look them in the eyes. "I suppose I ought to set a few rules with you in addition to the ones your parents established."

Anariel frowned at this, but did not say anything.

"You're both… seven now, right?"

They nodded.

"Seven is old enough to understand boundaries."

"Like how far our parents say we can go from our house?" Elbaras asked, his face becoming serious.

Sauron couldn't remember the last time it had been necessary for him to explain something so simple. It probably was when he had tried to organize the orcs. Those things were nearly hopeless. "Sort of. On a larger scale, it's like a division between what is acceptable and what isn't. For example, Anariel, grabbing my hand and telling me that I don't have a finger passed both physical boundaries and social boundaries." Ugh, he was having to enforce social boundaries? How embarrassing. "Understand?"

Anariel hung her head a bit. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings," she mumbled.

"You didn't hurt my feelings," Sauron replied, stopping himself from saying the further specifics on his tongue. Perhaps she didn't need to know that reminders of his defeat inspired less sadness and more rage. "In this instance, I just meant that I like to have my own space. I don't take well to having people inviting themselves to be so close."

"Is that rule one?" Elbaras asked.

"Um… sure." Sauron released them and rested back on his heels. "My rules are grounded on my belief that you probably can behave yourselves, if you want to. Both your mother and father have given you reasons to be this way, but it's probably safe to say that you'll have your lapses, right?"

Elbaras giggled at this, and Anariel promptly elbowed him with a frown that was amusing for its severity when contrasted with her age.

"I don't think I should have to explain everything to you. I'm going to assume that you know what is acceptable, and I'll judge you accordingly. Understood?"

Both nodded slowly, as though they were actually making an attempt to absorb what he was saying. Sauron truly hoped they were.

A mildly uncomfortable silence followed where they both stood there, a bit downcast, apparently waiting for something more from him. Sauron stood up, and after a brief pause, turned toward the kitchen. "You may go play or whatever it is you do now, if you wish," he said, figuring that it was a good enough dismissal as any.

After a second, there was the clear sound of feet on the stairs, and Sauron let out a sigh. Hopefully he wouldn't have to deal with them until dinner.

It was, unsurprisingly, wishful thinking.