Rationalising MPreg

Title: Rationalising MPreg

Author: sylc

Summary: Lindir, a former thrall, is forced against his will to become a witness in Sauron's trial on Taniquetil in the Fourth Age.

Characters/Pairings: Glorfindel/Lindir, Sauron/Lindir, OMC/Lindir, OMC/Lindir, Ingwë, Eönwë, Silmo, Elrond, Ecthelion, OMCs, OFCs

Rating: NC-17 (for series)

Warnings: Slash, MPreg, Angst, Slavery, Noncon, Tentacles, Body manipulation, Mind control, Oral, Violence, Minor involved

Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I make money from this.





Three days later, Silmo came to collect him. At the time of the Maia's arrival, all of the members of the family save for Glingal had been lunching on the greensward behind the baths, in the dappled shade of another linden. Even Laiglas had joined them, though after he had apparently exhausted his appetite, the tall elf had moved away to take a walk along the edge of a stream that ran through the lawn. Lindir wondered, as he watched his son slowly pacing along the mossy bank, his hands threaded together behind his back, if the stream contained any water from the baths or if it were fresh water come from the mountain.



And then Glorfindel had stirred beside him and reached out to thread his fingers through the last bunch of grapes before lifting them and holding them out before Lindir's face in silent invitation. Lindir shook his head. "Nay, thank you, I am full," he said, and he smiled when Glorfindel smiled obligingly and started picking the grapes off their stalks to feed himself with them. Lindir noticed that the sleeve of Glorfindel's white robe was stained green with grass. Linden looked back at the picnic spread and then, when he noticed that Linden, who was sitting across from them with a goblet of wine in her hand, was looking at him, tilting his head inquiringly. "Linden?"



"I was just thinking," Linden said, "that it is almost the end of the week." She turned her head to look at Laiglas and Lindir, on following her gaze, noticed that Laiglas had jumped across the stream and was walking towards a small grove of lindens at the other side. He was wearing black today and as Lindir watched him stalking away, crushing scattered linden petals beneath his shoes, long black braids jostling across his back with his movements, he smiled. He really does look like Sauron.



"You said that Silmo only told you that he would collect you at the end of the week, but do you have any idea at what time he is most likely to collect you?" Linden pressed.



"Nay." Lindir looked at Glorfindel, who paused in eating to swallow his mouthful and shoot him a small smile -- they had discussed this earlier over breakfast when neither Linden nor Laiglas had been with them. Linden nodded, looking slightly disgruntled at the answer, and returned her attention to her drink. Lindir leaned closer to Glorfindel and lay his head on the older's shoulder, smiling when Glorfindel put his arm around him.



He must have dozed off because the next thing he knew, Linden had disappeared from the eating area and he was lying on his back beneath the linden with his lover lying curled up beside him, one of the other's hands on his chest, which was bare -- the front buttons of his shirt had been undone. Above him, he could see the high, blue sky shining bright and fearlessly down at him through the quivering leaves of the canopy, rays of light gleaming as they danced off of the soft golden-yellow petals.



Perhaps he was still dreaming, for it suddenly seemed to him that Glorfindel's clothes, once white, were now black. Was it Laiglas beside him, then? But no, it could not be Laiglas for though it was not unknown for Laiglas to lie so close to him, it was certainly unlike Laiglas to undo his shirt and slip his hand onto his bare skin. He was about to turn over when he suddenly felt the other shift beside him, felt the lover roll over towards him to kiss his face. He looked up, caught sight of the other's face, and froze.



Sauron... or the illusion... or whatever it was, did not seem to notice his reaction. Or perhaps it was because by the time Lindir had registered the other's face, Sauron had already bent his head to begin trailing kisses down his neck. The hand on his chest ran down, undoing the rest of his shirt fastenings with ease.



"Oi," he breathed shakily. "What are you doing?" The other's caresses were certainly not like Sauron's, but neither were they very much like Glorfindel's either... instead, they reminded him of a different character -- of when Sauron had been Annatar and had shown him the kind of love that had driven him to what might be called insanity -- that madness that had provoked him sever his own connections with elven society to pursue the object that had seduced him. As the other's lips fastened around his neck, he stared wildly up at the shivering canopy, at the showering petals that were floating down upon them.



And then he turned his head.



And as he did so, as his gaze settled on the stream and to where, on the side closest to them, Silmo stood watching him, no expression on his face, he saw the black hair atop of him turn to gold and felt the gaunt hands on his skin turn warm and callused. The Maia's gaze seemed to be telling him something -- both that Silmo was disappointed in his inability to tell Glorfindel the truth and also, more gravely, that his time and opportunity to tell Glorfindel was now up.



Glorfindel shifted over him. "What did you say?" he whispered, kissing his lips.



Lindir just nodded towards Silmo. "Look." And Glorfindel looked, and on seeing Silmo, the elf-lord stiffened. "That is Lord Silmo," Lindir added, wriggling out from under Glorfindel so that he might sit up and set about straightening his clothes. Glorfindel quickly recovered from his surprise and straightened also to move to help him.



"I see now what you mean when you said he looked young," Glorfindel commented as he helped Lindir to his feet and escorted him down towards the stream and where Silmo stood waiting and where, on the other side of the stream, Laiglas was stalking up with a sour look on his face. Lindir sneaked a sidelong look at his spouse as they went and noticed that although Glorfindel was smiling at Silmo, there was a distinct chill about Glorfindel's eyes. He felt his own smile widen.



"Lord Glorfindel," Silmo greeted when they stopped a few feet before him. "Lord Lindir; it is good to see you both again." He pointedly ignored Laiglas, in spite of the fact that when Lindir's eldest jumped over the stream to join them, he came closer to Silmo than any of them. Indeed, when he came to a halt, he was standing closer to Silmo than to any of them and faced both of them as if he were the supervisor of a match. Silmo glanced at him and his lips pursed slightly, then he looked back at Lindir. "It is time to leave."



"Aye," Lindir said, and he turned to smile and nod at Glorfindel, who bent his head and kissed him. "I will see you afterwards, maybe even during the trial if I am allowed to return to these halls," Lindir said, and he reached out and squeezed Glorfindel right hand, purposely running his fingers over the other's wedding ring -- the ring that symbolised the oath that they had taken when they had bonded with one another in Imladris. Glorfindel nodded and kissed him again.



"I will see what I can do about visiting you," Glorfindel said. "Please take care; do not push yourself too hard."



Lindir just smiled before turning to Laiglas and accepting a kiss from his eldest on his cheek. His eldest said nothing and his thoughts were hidden behind his closed expression. Slightly disheartened, yet also at the same time reminded of Laiglas's recent spat with Silmo and the possibility that Laiglas might just know how to visit him regardless of the rules, Lindir smiled at him before turning towards Silmo, who held out his hand.



"I am ready," Lindir said, and he took it.



~*~



Before his eyes, both Lindir and Silmo seemed to melt away into the air. It was all too soon -- he had not expected this manner of a disappearance, not anticipated that the Maiar might have this power when even Eonwe had been obliged to escort Lindir up Taniquetil in a carrier.



"It is because Lindir was unwilling that Eonwe could not spirit him away. He was also shaken when Silmo escorted him back down the mountain," Laiglas said suddenly, apparently divining his thoughts. Glorfindel looked at him and met Laiglas's black eyes -- the younger's gaze seemed dimmed slightly. Glorfindel's eyes widened -- he was unused to seeing this side of Laiglas. "I was surprised at their disappearance now as well," Laiglas added. He turned away, back towards the halls.



"Laiglas." Now that Laiglas was being so open with him, perhaps it was a good time to press Lindir's mysterious eldest for information.



"Mm?" Laiglas stopped, but did not turn back to look at him.



"What do you intend to do while Lindir is participating in the trials?"



Laiglas turned his head slightly. "What do you intend to do?" he asked rhetorically, and made to move away again.



"I intend to try every means to attend the trial; to support Lindir," Glorfindel said, watching Laiglas stop again. "As I expect you do as well."



Laiglas exhaled, but did not look back at him. "If and when you see my brother, Lindo," he said simply, "tell him that the colour of his hair is as black as mine. He will know what to do." Then he stalked away. As Glorfindel watched him head towards the halls, he suddenly noticed Linden standing by the side door, waiting for her brother, her face unusually grave. But something was odd. As he watched them enter the house, he raised his hand to rub at his eyes.



He could have sworn that her hair and eyes were black.



~*~



"Sit down there, please, before the mirror." Silmo pointed Lindir towards one of the chairs beside the table beneath the window and Lindir obligingly walked over and did so.



Mere moments after Silmo had spirited him away, Lindir had found himself standing back in the bedroom in which he had first met Silmo -- that room lined with carven wooden columns filled with the golden light of sunshine and the smell of flowers. Now, on the seat, he found Silmo observing him and unexpectedly, felt a rush of self-consciousness -- illogical, but still there -- well up in him. He felt his cheeks fill with blood and he looked away, folding his legs and arms.



Silmo did not comment on his embarrassment, instead turning away and Lindir, glancing up uncertainly, watched the Maia move over to close the curtains across the doorway behind the bed -- the doorway that led to all the exits from the room save the one that led to Sauron's cell. Then the Maia turned back and met his gaze, his eyes grave and keen with the depth of his age. There was now no sign of the playful youth who had greeted Lindir when he had first awoken in these rooms.



"I will ask you once more whether or not you are willing to cooperate with us and to allow me to become your medium before the court," Silmo said. "Once you agree to entrust your memories in me, even though what will be shown to the court will be filtered by me, you will still be obliged to remember everything that is even remotely related to the answers that the court questioners will seek from you. I will not hold back from delving into your most intimate and cruel times." His eyes narrowed. "Indeed, Lindir, if your spirit is not resolved on your decision when you give your answer, the bond that I will subsequently form with your spirit and mine may well feel like a rape."



Lindir swallowed. That very morning, Laiglas had intimated in him the details of what a medium allegedly could do to a witness who was ill prepared for the task of giving evidence.



"One who goes before a medium will have to be prepared to sacrifice everything in their mind," Laiglas had told him.



"Would it be easier then if I were to go before the real court?" Lindir had then asked.



"Aye and nay. If the witness is unskilled in controlling their thoughts, as I suspect you are, then most of your secrets will be plastered before the court anyway and the extra unrelated information may well offend the court and cloud the clarity of your information," Laiglas had replied.



"Plastered?"



"I mean that the whole court will be able to visualise and hear the memories that you give in response, in addition to your verbal responses to the questions. It will be shown on the screen that lies at the front of the courtroom; this is what all the witnesses have to endure."



"And Sauron?" Lindir had wondered how Laiglas had come across this information. Was this what Laiglas had been doing on the summit of Taniquetil? Had his son visited the courtroom, perhaps? Perhaps even attended one of the days of the trials of Sauron before he had been called upon as a witness?



"Sauron's memories are also shown on the screen," Laiglas had replied. "But he is skilled at hiding his thoughts. Or perhaps it is that his thoughts are unclouded by emotions. He is probably the best able of all those who have to face the court to handle the pressure. Indeed, ironically, I think he will come out of these trials the least shaken by the ordeal."



"Lindir?" Silmo's voice drew Lindir out of his thoughts. Lindir smiled apologetically and inclined his head. "I do not know what you mean by being prepared for a rape of my mind; I have never experienced such a thing in my life. But I do think that I am as ready for this as I ever shall be." Indeed, there is no choice for me -- Sauron gave me a choice and this is my only chance to take it.



Silmo's face softened. "Then, my apologies." And before Lindir's eyes, he seemed to fade so that he might be no more than a transparent impression floating in the room -- a ghost or a trick of the eyes. But then suddenly his smile broadened and like the wind, he rushed towards Lindir.



Lindir felt a warm breeze on his face like the breath of a lover hovering in for a kiss, sensed a presence on his skin that felt like a caress, and then... quite suddenly, felt a sensation of deep unease within him. Nauseous if he were about to throw up, hot as if he had come down with a terrible and sudden fever, lethargic and dizzy as if there was too much pressure in his head and in his heart. As if he were weighed down by much more than his own spirit.



Someone else... Silmo, was inside him.



"How do you feel?" Silmo asked then, his voice a mere thought, a floating, alien on the waves of Lindir's foremost thoughts. Lindir reeled in the chair, hurriedly drawing his hands to his mouth as he felt a wave of sickness cramp up his stomach. "Do not worry, you will not throw up; I guarantee it. I have done this many times -- I know how to take control of your body's repulsion."



How do I feel? Indescribable! Lindir thought weakly. He looked at the bed. May I lie down?



"I am afraid not; the risk that you will fall asleep is too great. Also, it looks unprofessional for a witness to present their thoughts to the judges lying down -- it is not custom."



Then, please, hurry with the questions. Lindir bent over himself, drawing his hands upwards to cover his forehead in attempt to appease his headache.



"Not yet," Silmo replied, sounding amused. "The court is not yet ready for today's trial. The audience is still filing in and Sauron and the judges have yet to enter and take their seats."



Can they see my thoughts?



"Nay. They do not even know you are aware of them yet -- you have not yet been introduced to them." There was a pause, and then Silmo suddenly said, bracingly. "Ah, here come the judges -- King Manwe, Queen Varda, Lord Namo comes and stands beside the doors that lead to the village where the witnesses are housed, my own master -- Lorien... and... his Lady, Este the Healer." He continued listing through the names and Lindir found himself mentally ticking off each of the names of the Valar. He was fairly surprised, then, when he found that neither Lord Aule nor Lady Yavanna were mentioned in the list.



Why are they not counted amongst the judges? he ventured.



Silmo seemed surprised at the question. "Well, they are both too close to Sauron to be considered impartial enough to be judges -- indeed, they have both become witnesses for the court," he said, "Lord Aule was his master and Lady Yavanna was once his mentor."



Lady Yavanna was...? This was not what Lindir had learnt from the elven loremasters of Lindon, Eregion, and Imladris. He straightened in his chair, hands dropping to his lap, his brow knitted to a frown, though he knew that there was no one to see it.



"Aye, actually, she was once counted a judge alongside my own master, but when it was revealed, early on in the trial, that she was the one who had nurtured Sauron's interest in birds and beasts, an interest that would later foster his interest in the creation of some of his servants, then it was decided that she could not be one of those who could pass judgement on him. Now, both Aule and Yavanna are only honoured members of the audience."



There was another pause. Then Silmo spoke again, "Now comes Sauron, escorted by Eonwe and the servants of Lord Tulkas, the Warrior. He arrives through the door behind his cage, his hands in chains."



Is it possible for me to see the court?



"Nay. But if you wish, on one of your free days soon, I will escort you up to the summit for a tour of the hall."



I would appreciate it.



"The judges and defendant have sat down, the audience has calmed, and all the doors have been closed. Now His Highness, Lord Manwe, has risen to request that Eonwe inform them of the name and nature of today's key witness."



So there was to be no preamble, no welcoming of the audience or recapitulation of the case at hand. Lindir shifted uneasily in his seat -- the knowledge that he was indeed just another face among hundreds, perhaps thousands of other witnesses that the court had faced and had still to face. He wondered whether Elrond had already come before the court -- Glorfindel had mentioned that Elrond would soon be appearing before the court. Perhaps Elrond's first appearance would be with him. What is Eonwe saying to the courtroom? he ventured.



"Your name, your birthplace, your profession in Eregion, and the fact that you spent a few millennia in captivity on close quarters with Sauron and as one of his changelings before eventually escaping, with the help of Olorin, who you knew then as Mithrandir and Gandalf, to Imladris. Think not much on it -- the court will question you on the accuracy of this short history."



Lindir nodded and swallowed. Has he spoken about my children?



"Only to mention that you are a 'mother' of five, three of which were born in thraldom."



Will they mention that Laiglas is Sauron's son?



He sensed Silmo stiffen slightly, perhaps with indignance at the mention of Laiglas. "I think it would be strange if they did not eventually mention the names of his parents. I expect Eonwe has not mentioned it either because Laiglas's sire has not been confirmed or because that information would be too distracting for the judges at this point in time." At Lindir's responding frown of confusion, Silmo added, more gently, "Such information introduces the possibility that Sauron possesses emotions of which he is believed incapable -- it makes no sense that Sauron would have a child with you -- such an act appears to serve no logical purpose in the plans that he made to continue and fulfil Melkor's plans. It would completely bewilder the court and direct interest elsewhere from the stages in history that you are supposed to present to the court."



Melkor's plans? I... I do not understand -- what are you talking about? Is this information drawn from the days of the trial already past?



"There is no time to explain now. Already, they are asking for you to confirm your name and your birthplace in Lindon. Come -- today will be a day of memories before you were confronted with Sauron's betrayal in Eregion."



~*~



"Father... oh, where is everyone?"



Glorfindel looked around from where he had been standing on the edge of the stream, where almost an hour ago he had been farewelling Lindir, to see Glingal walking towards him from the direction of the house. He smiled slightly. "I thought you were with your cousins," he said.



"I was -- I came back here early -- I had a sudden odd feeling about Lindir."



"Well, your feeling came too late... or you moved too slow," Glorfindel said thoughtfully, looking over Glingal's shoulder to where he had last seen Laiglas and Linden and to where his eyes had, by some trick of the light perhaps, told him that Linden's hair and eyes had turned as black as her brother's.



"What do you mean?"



Glorfindel looked back at Glingal and felt his face soften at his son's confused expression. "Lindir has left us to attend the trial," he said. "The Maia, Lord Silmo, came at the end of our luncheon to escort him there."



There was a pause. Then Glingal exhaled and put his hands on his hips. "I see." He turned his head and looked at the stream, his lips pursed.



"How was the lunch with your sweetheart?"



"Eh? Oh, it was pleasant," Glingal said distractedly, raising one of his hands to run it through his hair. "I wish I had been here, though. Did Lindir send a message or did the Maia leave us a message?"



"Nay; I do not even know how long he will be away," Glorfindel said. "By the way, did you see Laiglas and Linden on your way here?"



Glingal shook his head. "Nay. Oh, but that reminds me -- Linden told me over breakfast that Gloredhel and Lindo were on their way. She told me to tell Lindo that his hair and eyes were..."



"Black?"



Glingal's eyes widened. Glorfindel felt his smile turn rueful. "Laiglas said the same to me, though he said nothing of Gloredhel's coming," he explained to his surprised son. "I thought he was uncontactable."



"Apparently she has been trying to summon both of them these past few weeks," Glingal said, pulling a face. "She seemed rather tense today and her words to me seemed to be telling me that she was going somewhere -- on a journey, though she just smiled when I questioned her about it. Did you notice anything? Did Laiglas tell you anything?"



Glorfindel snorted at the last question. "Nay, though I also had a feeling that Laiglas was going somewhere." He looked back at the last place where he had seen Linden. It seems as if she and Laiglas are working together. "I wonder what they mean with all this talk about black hair and eyes." He looked at Glingal, whose brow rose.



"And why are you looking at me?"



"Well, you are closer to Linden and Laiglas than I."



"In case you have not noticed, I have been rather distracted these past few weeks."



"I had noticed, but I still thought that you were closer to Linden than I."



"And you are closer to the core of this whole situation -- Lindir, and we are even and I am not enjoying this conversation." Glingal spread his hands.



Glorfindel pursed his lips and shrugged. "Me neither. Peace?"



"Peace." Glingal put his hands back on his hips. "Well, I do not think much of the welcoming party for Gloredhel when he arrives for if Laiglas, Linden, and Lindir are all absent and Lindo is to embrace his siblings' strangeness," he said. "He will probably ask us, with much resentment, why we called him away from his holiday in the first place."



"Hm."



There was a pause.



Then Glingal asked, "What do you intend to do now that Lindir is attending the trials?"



"I was hoping that I might be able to attend the trials... or at least to find a way to visit Lindir," Glorfindel said. When Glingal's face brightened hopefully, he smiled. "Would you care to join me when I make my request of Ingwe later today?"



"I would like that indeed, though, is Lindir happy for us to be his audience?"



"I have not discussed it with him," Glorfindel said.



Glingal frowned. "Then..."



"But," Glorfindel interrupted, "I have the feeling that Lindir is intending to tell the court -- the public -- things that he has never managed to tell me. And I think that perhaps it would be easier on him if he only had to go through the telling once."



Glingal's frown deepened. "That makes sense, though, it seems strange to me that he is happy to tell the public what he cannot tell you first."



Glorfindel forced a smile. "Well," he said bracingly, "that, I suppose, is just the way events have worked out."