Aulë had to look twice at the unexpected guest, golden eyes suddenly locking with ancient silver eyes. The figure sat comfortably at a table, a glass of red wine sitting in front of him. No words were spoken for many minutes as Aulë was at a loss for words and Yavanna had stopped breathing all together.

"Námo, what are you doing here?" the smith finally asked in a calm manner, despite anxiety starting to creep in quickly.

The doomsman blinked and looked down, taking the wine glass in a thin hand and swishing it slowly. He was dressed in travel wear rather than his formal black and grey cloak. His angelic silver hair sat loosely draped over his shoulders, missing the normal hood he usually wore. It was rare that any of the valar saw him without his face concealed. Yavanna always thought that to be a shame- the vala had the most brilliant silver-blue eyes that spoke the most wisdom of them all, even moreso than his sister Nienna.

Despite Aulë's tension, Námo offered a rare, genuine smile. "I apologize for intruding at such hour. I understand everyone is getting ready to retire for the evening. But I have a matter I would like to discuss," He spoke softly.

"Can this matter wait until tomorrow?" Yavanna asked.

"I'm afraid not. This is a rather serious issue," Námo's expression fell somberly.

Aulë sighed when he seen this. "...And I already know what of."

"Peace, my friend. Just tell me what happened."

"Answer me first- how did you find out?"

"I was leaving Irmo's gardens after discussing a matter with my brother, when Aissir arrived. He looked distraught, and I asked him what had happened. He told me quite a story, a very concerning story…" Námo explained.

Seeing a dark shadow fall on Aulë's expression, the younger vala finally stood up and held up his hand in peace. "Again, I come here only asking questions. I would rather hear the story come from you than Aissir."

"What did he say? We all know he can be very over-exaggerating," Yavanna asked.

"That is true, which defends my reasoning why I would like Aulë to explain what happened. From what I understand, you saw a majority of the conflict?"

Aulë and Yavanna remained tense. The smith realized how difficult it was going to be to tell the story from the beginning. It was all such nonsense; he was still trying to mentally process the fight.

"Aissir antagonized him and encouraged a fight between the two of them. Mairon threw the first attack but something told me Aissir was going to attack him regardless. Mairon had tried to stay calm and walk away; that's what my other students told me. All of them were witnesses," Aulë explained. "I showed up just before things took a dark turn."

"That's not how Aissir explained it at all," Námo pointed out, "Of course, that is why I am here to confirm fact from lies."

"He's only angry I dismissed him from my service and he lost his job. I can only imagine what nonsense he told you! What was he doing at Irmo's gardens anyhow?"

"His sister dwells there. He confirmed you had let him go, and he needed a place to stay."

Aulë huffed angrily, forgetting that important detail about his worker. Fear suddenly hit him when he realized Aissir would most likely tell his sister, which in turn Irmo would find out, if he hadn't already. He let his anger cloud his judgement. He shouldn't have turned Aissir away so quickly.

Námo saw the despair in his friend's eyes as a haunted haziness fell over the golden irises. "Mairon was terrified of me, Mandos. My own son thought I was personally going to throw him into the Void!" Aulë said.

"As he should rightly fear a confrontation like this should end with a consequence such as the Void. He knew of the terms at his trial; this is beyond anything we would allow him to do, no excuses," Námo explained. He narrowed his eyes with serious authority after acknowledging Aulë's angered, reddening face.

"...which is why I am here to bring peace to the situation before anyone else finds out. Rest assured I ordered Aissir to keep his silence about the issue, and Irmo has no knowledge of this. I believe your word, my friend. As mentioned, Aissir is far from innocent himself. Mairon had spent years with me in my Halls, and though he struggles with his temper, I'm certain he knows to not even think of randomly attacking someone for no reason, especially since he's under watch."

Aulë and Yavanna listened carefully, not expecting this answer at all. When the smith made eye contact with Námo once again, rare tears were trying to form. "What will you have done then? What will you tell Manwë?"

Námo brought the wine glass to his mouth and took a long drink, licking his lips as he thought for a moment. "I will not report to Manwë. Nobody is severely injured and Mairon is still contained. You and I are notified of this matter, and per the trial, we have say of Mairon's fate without having to bring him before the others in another trial. Perhaps this mishap can stay hushed and monitored rather than jumping to an unwanted conclusion."

Hearing the last set of words brought relief to Aulë, however, Yavanna still carried a careful glare in her eyes.

The bracelets. It was brought to her attention that Námo was under the impression Mairon fought without the use of his powers. If they didn't bring the subject to attention, she knew the doomsman would eventually find out. She feared a totally different answer from Námo if this was mentioned, but the consequences of keeping it a secret would be greater, especially if another issue like this occurred again.

"Do not take my understanding for granted, Aulë. If there are anymore issues, Mairon will be coming back to my Halls for further isolation under the watch of my maiar and I," Námo continued to speak. "I love him as much as you do but you must make sure this doesn't happen again, because I cannot promise a happy ending for him if it does, no matter how much we defend him. That temper of his will be his downfall."

Yavanna sniffled and rubbed at her eyes, breaking the silence her and Aulë shared as they listened to the doomsman. Aulë brought an arm around her shoulders, believing his wife was simply emotional about the situation.

"I know this is a hard road for us all. This is a team effort to help him with rehab. Today was just a scare, and-..."

"Námo, the bracelets nearly broke after the fight!" Yavanna nearly sobbed, feeling anxious about her son's future at this point.

The doomsman's eyes narrowed in total confusion and surprise before looking at Aulë for confirmation. A brief flash of anger burned in Aulë's eyes before he sighed in agreement. Why did she have to make the situation worse?

"What did she say?" the silver-haired vala asked quietly.

"We examined the bracelets after the fight and noticed they were cracked. Mairon managed to fight against the bracelet's restraints and use his power. Mandos, he almost broke free of them completely and I would be lying if I said this didn't concern us..." Aulë said carefully.

"This...I did not expect to hear," Námo looked stumped and at a loss for words. "You're sure about this?"

"Yes," Yavanna answered for her husband. "I would not be so anxious if it weren't true."

"That's impossible. Those bracelets could have held one of us!"

"It took me intervening and attacking him myself to stop him. But even yet, he managed to break free of my spell and escape the forge," Aulë added.

Námo truly looked concerned, perhaps even frightened at the news, whether if it was due to Mairon breaking yet another rule of his sentence terms or due to the maia's extremely unnatural ability to fight against power that should have greatly exceeded his own.

"They still sit on his wrists in one piece. But, I cannot say for sure how much longer," Aulë said further. "Believe me when I say today scared him more than us."

Námo finally sighed and blinked, having stood for nearly five minutes in silence. His eyes sat staring at nothing as he took a moment to think. Finally, he took the last drink of his wine and set the glass down carefully. "Can I see him? I'm finding it very difficult to believe this," he asked.

"He's asleep in his chambers. The fight against Aissir and the bracelets' power exhausted him greatly and he will be weak for a long while," Aulë answered.

"I do not wish to disturb him, but I need to see the bracelets. If they are close to falling to pieces, we will have a problem."

Yavanna and Aulë shared a glance before the queen nodded her permission. Aulë motioned for the smaller vala to follow as he reluctantly led them all down to Sauron's chambers.

"I beg you not to wake him up. He hasn't slept in days and I'd hate for his rest to be disturbed. And no offense, but I'm sure you're the last person he wants to see right now," The smith explained.

Námo nodded respectively as they paused outside a gold-trimmed door and he allowed the married couple to lead him inside the dimly lit room.

Inside the chambers, a couple candles still flickered calmly around the room and Sauron remained in a comfortable sleep. The maia had his back turned to the three Valar who had just entered.

As promised, Námo remained quiet as he walked around and stopped at the side of Sauron's bed. Silently bringing a chair up to the bed, he sat down and took a moment to study the slumbering maia.

Aulë wasn't lying when he said he was exhausted. Sauron's naturally pale skin was sickly now, and his eyes were sunken with dark rings surrounding them, like two large bruises. Sweat beaded his cheeks and forehead, indicating a possible fever. But despite his appearance, he was still and rested soundly. His chest rose slowly and evenly, and his dry lips were parted as he breathed with soft snores.

"Look at you…" Námo sighed very softly. 'You knew better, Mairon. Why did you do this to yourself?'

"Looks like he's coming down with a fever…" Yavanna's whispered voice was heard to his left as she conversed with Aulë.

The doomsman's silver eyes glanced down at the maia's ruined arm that rested against his chest. He studied how it was disfigured, and how it was sloppily wrapped up with bandages.

"You didn't try to set his arm?" Námo whispered, looking over his shoulder to Aulë.

"He was already asleep. The pain would have kept him awake," Aulë said. "It was tricky just to wrap the bandages without waking him."

Turning his attention back, Námo noticed the first bracelet. But it was no longer golden. It was a dusty nickel color that had lost all of it's shine. The remaining power it produced was like a small burning ember that was seconds away from going out.

Even in the dim candlelight, the vala noticed the cracks that littered the surface of the bracelet. It almost looked like an intricate, purposeful design. Some tiny fragments had fallen out of the piece of jewelry, and the maia's wrists were discolored underneath them like old burn scars.

Námo looked at the other two valar briefly before sighing sadly and falling lost in thought. He couldn't resist reaching out and taking the maia's hand, brushing his thumb over the back of the ruined skin as he studied the bracelet more.

Judging by the concern that crossed his expression, Aulë knew Námo now fully understood the seriousness of the situation. He sat conflicted, as if ready to admit he did not know what to say.

"...This is simply impossible," Námo finally whispered again.

"We thought so too," Yavanna agreed.

Námo took one more look before setting Sauron's hand down slowly. "This only confirms one thing," he explained as he turned once more to Aulë, his voice still very hushed. "His power surpasses ours."

Aulë's blood ran cold at the thought when all he could think about was how crucial this issue was going to be in his son's rehab. Would he even be able to recover?

"Morgoth's powers were supposed to be extracted at his trial, and the bracelets were to act as a backup and bound any magic influenced by his evil. The fact Mairon broke them when they could have held one of us is concerning enough, but this darkness…" Aulë rambled.

The silver-haired vala stared ahead at nothing, also wondering how it was possible for him to still have such powers after they were indeed taken away after his trial, not to mention the remaining power was unnaturally strong for a maia.

"You don't think Morgoth still has control of him, do you?" Yavanna suddenly worried.

"Not likely. He resides in the Void, no longer in existence," Aulë answered with a shake of his head. "One thing is for certain- Not all of those dark powers were taken away after his trial..."

All three Valar suddenly held their breath when Sauron suddenly started to stir. At first the red-headed maia tried to bury himself underneath the blanket further, but now in a semi-conscious state, the fever made sleep impossible.

Still lying weakly on his side, Sauron yawned as he rubbed at his eyes, then at his sweat-soaked cheeks. His eyebrows narrowed and he groaned in pure discomfort.

When his golden eyes did finally open, the first thing he noticed was an extremely blurry figure clad in black and grey sitting in front of him. He closed his eyes again, trying to remember all that had happened prior to him falling asleep. As consciousness returned, the first thing he noticed was his head throbbed terribly and that he was burning up. He went to bring his head into his hands and winced with a sharp hiss as his broken arm protested against the movement.

'What the hell happened…?'

The next thing he noticed was a gentle, wiry hand brushing it's fingers through his sweat-soaked hair, bringing strands of it away from his face. The touch was comforting, but it only added more questions that lacked answers.

'Where am I…?'

When Sauron opened his eyes again, though it was a struggle, he kept them open until his vision cleared enough to see his surroundings and who sat beside him. The figure before him sat very still, and soon, golden eyes were meeting familiar silver eyes.

"Mandos…?" Sauron's weakened, whispered voice was barely heard. Confusion sat in his expression, but nothing else.

"Yes, I'm just visiting, Mairon. I heard you're not doing well…" Námo spoke, choosing his words carefully.

"I'm…not…?" Sauron let the comment sit as he glanced over his shoulder at the rest of his surroundings. He was in his chambers, that much was clear. And at the foot of the bed, stood Aulë and Yavanna looking more horrified than anything else.

Narrowing his eyes, he glanced back and forth between the valar, trying to piece together his blurred thoughts. Even the dim candlelight in the room was too bright for his sensitive eyes, making him want to close them heavily. Another throb of pain burst in his temple as he caressed his head despite the pain that equally flared in his arm.

"Easy now. Your arm is broken," Námo reminded him quietly.

"I was in the forge…" Sauron muttered to himself. He ignored the others in the room as the day's past events pieced together slowly. "Aissir was there…"

"Mairon?" Aulë's voice was heard, rumbling in a cautious tone. "Everything is alright. Mairon, do you hear me?"

The former lieutenant winced when pain filled his head again. 'I was hit with a spell…I remember. There was a fight…'

But when his drowsy gaze looked down at his bandaged arm, he finally noticed the thick golden bracelet on his wrist. He held his breath, studying the piece of jewelry carefully.

The dull gold, the imperfect surface littered with ash-colored cracks…

Suddenly, the maia's eyes snapped wide open and he immediately attempted to jump up from the bed, all drowsiness forgotten. Calm turned to chaos in a split second, but Námo wasn't about to let the situation escalate. The vala also jumped up and reached forward to grab Sauron's upper arms, keeping him seated and still where he was.

"Easy now, stay calm!" he said sternly. "There's no reason to be afraid."

Sauron narrowed his eyes as he locked his cloudy gaze with Námo, body already starting to shake with anxiety and his nose whistling with each near-hyperventilating breath. Without turning his head, he let his eyes trail to the side to meet his parents.

"You told him…" Sauron seethed at Aulë, voice shaking from both fear and intensifying anger. The dancing glow in his eyes sparked a slight fear in Aulë, knowing that his son was still unpredictable in his angered state.

"I suggest you lose the hostile attitude now. I am simply here to talk," Námo spoke in a strict manner before the smiths could start arguing. "Just calm down, alright?"

The authority in the doomsman's voice deescalated the situation almost immediately, and Sauron slowly started to lower his guard as the threat in his eyes began to die out. Námo sat down on the side of the bed a couple feet from Sauron, alert in case the maia tried to run again, though the vala didn't think that would happen. Even if Sauron did try to run, his exhaustion would only make him collapse again. He was barely conscious, whether he cared to admit it or not.

"Mairon, what happened today? Everything was going so well," Námo finally asked when the tense silence faded after many minutes.

Sauron kept his gaze down, staring at nothing. They could still hear him shaking, but he was far from cold. The fever had flushed his face completely, and sweat beaded the circles under his eyes.

"Mairon?"

"What happened today was expected…" Sauron finally answered. His voice was harsh and sounded dehydrated. "Somebody tried to prove that I no longer belong here."

"Why would you let nonsense like that push you?" Námo asked. "You know that's not true."

"It's not?" Sauron asked, lifting his eyes tiredly. "So why did Aissir's plan succeed?"

"Nothing about his plan succeeded, other than him losing his job," Aulë exclaimed. "We talked about this, Mairon! You are home now! You let your temper get the best of you, nothing more!"

"Your father is right. How you handled the situation was unacceptable, but it proves nothing," Námo explained further. "You are sick and you are confused. If you were not sorry about your actions, you would have attacked us just now and you would not be in tears."

Sauron blinked when he realized that his eyes were indeed watering and faint tear tracks had stained his cheeks at some point. He blinked again, feeling another hot tear trickle down his nose as he continued to keep his eyes down, away from the valar.

"What will happen to me, Námo?" he finally asked, defeated. His head was beginning to feel heavy with exhaustion.

"You are going to get better, and finally realize you have people that love you," the doomsman answered. "You aren't going anywhere."

"I'm tired…" Sauron all but whispered. He shook his head when he suddenly felt his vision faltering and the room beginning to spin. "I'm tired…of fighting and…being afraid of you all…"

Sauron flinched when he suddenly felt fingers combing back his matted hair away from his face and neck. The chill of the room was an immediate relief from the heat the fever brought. He looked up to see his mother sitting on the opposite side of him with a gentle smile and a square cloth in her hand. She brought the cloth up to his cheeks and pressed the nearly ice-cool fabric against his skin. He leaned into the touch, sighing comfortably as the coolness calmed him down.

He must have dozed for a brief moment because the next thing he knew, he was opening his eyes again, his sight surrounded with dark tunnel vision, and he heard muffled voices that sounded miles away. He had three pairs of eyes watching him concerningly.

"Mairon? Mairon, you're falling in and out of consciousness. You need to go back to sleep," Aulë spoke. "Look at me. Can you hear me?"

Sauron let his eyes flutter shut as he nodded briefly. But the maia fainted almost immediately after, and Námo helped Yavanna settle him back comfortably in the bed, covering him up lightly in respect to the fever.

"I'm surprised he stayed conscious that long," Námo spoke to Aulë. "We will need to monitor him for a few days, and contact Estë if necessary."

The smith and his wife nodded silently. Námo then stood up and walked around the bed, motioning the other two to follow him out of the room to let the maia sleep.

Once they were outside the room and in the dining hall once more, Námo turned to the elder valar, shaking his head in amazement.

"Keep an eye on his health. The bracelets' power is considered lethal due to the level of destruction they caused, so Mairon will not be out of the woods any time soon."

"As you said, we will contact Este if necessary," Yavanna agreed.

As the three valar stood in a brief silence, Námo lifted the hood of his cloak over his head, ready to take his leave. "This has been a very stressful day for us all. This situation is far from over, but I want to reassure you that Mairon will be okay and I will not let anything happen to him," he spoke softly.

"You have my sincerest thanks, Námo," Aüle said. "I cannot bear the thought of losing my son again."

"There was nothing but pure guilt and fear from him. His temper desperately needs work, but his anger towards us is misplaced. I will stay true to my word, and he will not be going back to my Halls."

"The bracelets?" Aulë wondered.

The doomsman went to reply, but immediately paused to think about that answer. "It's clear that the powers from Morgoth have permanently influenced his natural maiarian powers, hence why some of the darkness wasn't extracted at his trial. It would have been cruel to bound the powers Mairon was born with, but this has to be the only logical answer. I am not implying that his fate is finalized, but it is clear he has adapted to the darkness, despite the source having been extracted from him, and his natural power is now just as dangerous. This is a concerning matter, since the bracelets proved ineffective. Mairon should not be able to wield that much power."

"So, a maia possibly has more power than a vala..." Yavanna concluded. The mere sound of the words made the queen realize the severity of the situation. "You don't think the darkness will make him an equivalent threat as Morgoth, do you?"

"Perhaps there is a way of going around this rather than approaching it as a threat," Aule proposed, dismissing his wife's theory.

"Hopeful thinking," Námo nodded. "But for now, all we can do is watch over him. Mairon does not pose as a threat right now, but we unfortunately need to stay cautious. This incident today may have sent us backwards in the progression of his rehab."

As the doomsman was preparing to leave, he took one look at Yavanna's weary, worried expression and grasped her hand warmly. He offered her a calming smile before he turned to Aulë who stood next to her. "As promised, nothing will be reported to Manwë about today, and Aissir has been instructed to keep this problem between us. It seems you have everything under control now, my friend."

Yavanna let go of Námo's hand and immediately brought the vala into a hug. "Thank you, Námo. You have our deepest gratitude," she gratefully told him.

The silver-haired vala smiled and glanced over to Aulë, who stood with his hand extended out. The two valar then grasped each other's forearms respectfully.

"Yes, thank you, my friend," the smith said. "Nothing like this will happen again. We will also keep track of the bracelets and make sure they don't break."

Námo hummed in response. "You need to keep an eye on him, Aulë. If something similar to today happens again, the bracelets will break. Not only will it be crucial for Mairon's safety, but for his trial."

Aulë sighed and nodded. "Understood. You have my word; I will not let him down again. I will go mad if I lose my son again."

"Well, if we keep things calm, you won't," Námo smiled. "I still see the worry in your eyes. Rest easy, my friend. He will be okay."

When Aule nodded, the silver-haired vala turned to take his leave. "I bid you farewell for now. If I am needed, I am just a call away. Do not give up hope. Your son is strong."

Aulë smiled sadly. "That he is."


A/N: Thanks for reading this short story! I've taken a long break from writing but I've wanted to write this "what if" scenario, based off the idea that Sauron had surrendered after the War of Wrath. I wanted to look into the psychological aspect of his redemption, where he surrendered willingly but is still wary about the Valar turning against him because of the evil he committed, so he still appears like he's against them. This fic was also inspired by a video I watched that compared Sauron's power to Morgoth's, and who was technically stronger. But despite the mental conflict Sauron is enduring, thankfully he's surrounded by people who love him and are willing to give him another chance. Anyhow, thanks again! Reviews are always appreciated! See everyone next time!