Thursday, January 2, 2014

Disappointment

Canon-compliant.  Maedhros only lived on the whim of the Dark Lord.  On the whim of his lust for the prince's father.  Quenya names used (Fëanor = Fëanáro).  Also, Sauron is called Mairon and Morgoth refers to himself as Melkor.  Basically, this is a continuation of "Desire" and is heavily related to "Perfection" as well.  Because I felt like writing from the evil POV today.  Takes place in Angband a handful of years before the start of the First Age.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Silmarillion.

Pairings: hinted at one-sided Morgoth x Maedhros

Characters: Morgoth, Sauron, Maedhros (mentions Fëanor, Finwë, the Fëanorions and Nerdanel)

Warning: canon-compliant AU, slash, obsessive behaviors, slavery, abduction, attempted coercion, implied torture, humiliation tactics, etc...

Song: Leia

Words: 1,463
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disappointment (noun): the act or instance of disappointing; the state or emotion of being disappointed; one that disappoints

It was, perhaps, less for the sake of bribery and more for the sake of curiosity that Melkor ordered the oldest son of Fëanáro brought before him alive rather than carved into pieces.  Easily could he have taken the corpse and claimed to hold a hostage in order to draw forth the other sons left behind, for, whether the first son was in life or death, he had no intention of returning him intact to his siblings.  Truly, it was pointless to spare the energy and the food and the chains to keep the elf.

But he told his servants he wanted the unfortunate creature alive.  And thusly they would bring to him the redheaded firstborn or suffer the consequences.

In the eyes of Mairon, he could see the knowing gleam when he spoke is orders aloud.  His lieutenant knew his mind better than most, suspected at the very least that, in the wake of the death of the father, Melkor sought the same treasure within the son.  Not, of course, that his sly-tongued servant would ever admit to such knowledge, no more than he would claim wholly the thoughts of treachery that constantly bubbled beneath his accommodating smiles and the cruelty of his fiery eyes.

Nonetheless, it was there.  Lingering in the very air as Melkor awaited in anticipation the arrival of his consolation prize.  Much work he had put into the forging and caring of Fëanáro son of Finwë, and he did not wish to see that hard work flushed away beneath the rain of failure and ill-fortune now that victory was crawling closer to his grasp.

Even if it was just a piece of that which he desired, gladly would he accept such a gift and sate the hunger churning in the pits of his belly.

Well, he could imagine it.  Never had he met in the flesh any child of Fëanáro, but always he thought of them with their sire's angular features and fey eyes, with the same arrogant cant to their thin lips and the same swagger through their body.  With the same white-hot glow that shuddered and writhed as a living creature beneath their flesh.

That fire.  That light!

All that which he longed to possess.  Rare was it for Melkor to feel such wistful longing for any object of a material nature, but something about the sire had enraptured the vala, held his attention flawlessly.

Would not the son be the same?

Tall and formed beautifully as the amilessë would suggest, with flames for hair to complement the burn of silvered eyes, Silmarilli reflected from within the mirrored soul of a being of sin and perfection and wonder.  All that Melkor could think to imagine was an elf of supreme make and stature with the same hot-blooded hatred flowing as lava through blue veins, burning against the delicate membrane of pale skin torn asunder all too easily.  So much power in such a delicate package.  And it would be his.

For he had no intention of returning any spoils conquered.

“They have arrived with the elf-spawn in tow, Master.”

Soft and saccharine in obedience was the voice of Mairon the Admirable.  The traitor.  Melkor spared barely a glance for his wayward once-apprentice, the greatest failed work of his ancient hands.  Instead, he turned toward the doors and gripped taut the armrests of his great, dark throne.  Under his skin, the excitement burned.

“Bring him forth.  My patience wears thin.”

And it was done.  First, he could see the red hair, felt the lust curl upwards viciously, hissing and spitting venomously, the greatest of damnations.  And then into his sight came the body, nearly stripped of all covering, so pale and slender but as exquisitely formed as he had imagined, putting to shame all whispered rumors and hushed retellings.  The legs were longer than the sire’s, ankles seemingly delicate and calves coiled with tight muscle, so deceptively fragile, so easily broken in his fantasies of grabbing and squeezing to breaking like dried tinder.  And the bared upper body screamed of work with the sword and the hammer, perfectly proportioned and flexing with each strain against the iron chains binding slight wrists and the curve of a throat he desired to feel struggle for breath beneath his fingers.

The elf was thrown down upon his knees in offering, thrashing and snarling like a mad creature every centimeter of the way until he rested at his new master’s feet.  Finally, the chain about that throat was pulled harshly, yanking the head upwards so that the light of the Silmarilli might rest upon the face that Melkor so hungered to see.

Only…

Only the angles were not quite right to his piercing vision.  Sharp enough in some places, but much too soft in others.  Brows that should have been lowered and creased with fury were drawn up as if in pain.  The garish harshness that did the vala recall in his waking dreams was vanquished, left behind, smeared into shadowed smoothness and softness and kindness.

Eyes fluttered open, ringed with pale lashes, and they were dark.

The gray was there, the flecks of silver and pale blue and iron metal, but where was the fire?  Where was the storm of volcanic hatred?  Where was the ruthlessness, the hunger and ambition and lust and need for power?

Resting in those pools, so open, was fear.  They were too soft, too caring, pleading beneath a thin, cracked façade of defiance.  Near to crying.

Never—never in a million years—would Fëanáro have shown terror in the face of the enemy.  Never.

None of the strength and brilliance he lusted for could be found in this… this…

This disappointment.

Empty of the dancing flame that scorched even the spirits of the greater beings of the earth and the sky, this pathetic elf was filled instead with the coldness of chaotic fear and the ash of a weak will.  Could the blood of the mother have diluted perfection to this degree, sullied it to the point that it was so dulled, so lackluster?  So gentle?

For, within this elf, he sensed only a loving spirit crying for its kin.  No lust.  No greed.  No anger.  Within the mind he could see images of sweet moments between spouses and tending to younger siblings, not the cutthroat bitterness and the will to do anything to succeed that had so entertained his palate in the father.  Within that spirit rested soothing water, an endless amount of patience and determination, but not the will to dominate and take and destroy and create.

Pale.  Empty.  Trembling beneath the weight of his gaze.

Only for a few moments did he stare at the newest slave of Angband, crimson eyes slicing into all that the firstborn ever had been and ever would be.  And he judged the creature…

Lacking.

“I have little use for this worthless thrall.  Take him away and do what thou wilt with him, Mairon, my dear.  But do send a missive to the second son, and tell him of the fate of his brother should his reply be unsatisfactory.”

A shudder wracked the perfect body before him, horror splitting open the symmetrical beauty of that face when their eyes met and understanding passed between the shattered spirit and the cruel smile upon the master’s face.  Melkor wanted at that moment to shred open that form and tear apart the cage of those ribs, reach inside and dig out the core of that spirit, if only so that he might crush it within his palm for daring to be anything less than resplendent and wicked.

But he did not.  Let his servants play.  Let them have their fun.

And let this being serve his original purpose faithfully unto his equally pitiful ending.  At least he would be useful for something.  For a time, in any case.

The knowing eyes of Mairon slithered over his flesh as the lieutenant passed with his newest charge, but Melkor did not look toward his most powerful, treacherous servant as the golden being of fairness dragged away a new plaything toward the torture chambers.  The slime was lucky he had escaped so quickly, or the vala might have taken pleasure in ripping open that body instead, hearing that velvet voice scream unto the heavens for mercy that would not come.

Maybe, then, he would not feel this maddening want so keenly.  Maybe, then, the scald of shame would not be itching beneath his flesh.  Maybe, then, he would feel some small amount of satisfaction. 

If only to combat the images of star-eyes laughing in the back of his mind with sadistic glee at his defeat.

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