Lost by chrissystriped

Lost

Celebrimbor looked at the ring on the floor before him where he’d thrown it after ripping it off his finger. It glinted red and gold in the light of the sun.

Annatar’s — no, Sauron’s! — words still echoed in his mind. One Ring to rule them all. How could he have been so blind!

His eyes stung, a sob was rising in his throat. It had all been a lie. The love he’d thought was between them, the happiness. He’d been deceived. What a fool he was. Gil-galad and Elrond had warned him from the beginning. Galadriel had always been suspicious about Annatar. But he hadn’t listened. He had been too blinded by the knowledge he offered — and later his love.

He had condemned them all by making the rings. He’d given Sauron a tool to dominate them. No! No, surely they’d all felt it. He needed to get them together. They’d have to hide the rings. And the three rings he’d made last — while Annatar had already left. Sauron knew nothing of them. He needed to get the them far away.

Galadriel. He’d send them to her. Narvi would make it happen. And he’d advise them to give her the ring he’d gifted to Dúrin, too. That wouldn’t go over well… He hoped the dwarven king was perceptive enough to have felt Annatar’s betrayal, too.

Celebrimbor took a deep breath and called for one of his apprentices to notify the Gwaith-i-Mírdain there would be an emergency meeting. He walked to the meeting room, thinking about good hiding places. Sauron must never find them.

~*~*~

There was blood in his mouth, it ran over his lips and dropped to the floor. He shivered when Annatar stroked his hair — cut short and clotted with blood.

“Tell me where they are”, his lover said gently. “Tell me, where you hid those rings you made alone and all this will stop.”

Celebrimbor shook his head weakly.

“Oh Tyelpe”, sighed Annatar, sounding disappointed. “What use is your stupid defiance? I already know where all the other rings we made together are. I have won. You know I have. Why don’t you tell me, love?”

“I can’t”, croaked Celebrimbor with a throat that felt on fire, tears running down his cheeks. “I don’t remember.”

The knowledge of his plans for the Three had been scraped clean out of his mind — he didn’t even remember who had done that. Celebrimbor felt fear clutch at his heart when the hand left his hair. He knew that meant more pain was coming. But Annatar left without a word and Celebrimbor slumped in his bonds, relieved about the reprieve.

Mairon was furious. He had seen the truth in Celebrimbor’s words, his relief about truly not knowing the whereabouts of the three rings he’d made without him. Who could have done this, who had the power?

Galadriel — sister of the elf who’d almost bested him? How he hated her. The day he’d managed with his schemes to get her out of the city had been a happy day. But she was on the other side of the mountains. Could the brat — descendent of Melian — have done it? He’d had the gall to send Celebrimbor worried letters all the time they’d been together. And Mairon wasn’t any less furious about that despite his worries having been the truth. If Celebrimbor hadn’t been so gullible…

He knew nothing, not anymore.

Mairon couldn’t deny the relief that was washing over him. Finally. He could finally kill him, make an end to his suffering.

What had that elf done to him? He’d always loved the art of torture, but with Celebrimbor it was as if he were cutting into his own heart, each time he hurt him. He hated him for it. The years with him had made him soft, had made him fantasize about a life that could not be. He would take away the temptation. Now that he was sure Celebrimbor had nothing more to tell him, he could get rid of him.