Out of darkness....

[Saeren]

You do not wish me to, our bond can never be broken, muinthel, *not by time, not by distance, not even by death * his voice became hard and commanding, * You know this to be true, or through all the years we would never have come together, as we did, *

[Cerridwen]

Lindon... in the early years of the second age, Gil Galad, High King, and the peoples of the Noldor, and the Laiquendi and the Teleri, lived together, mostly in peace. many of the Noldor had departed , but some remained, in this , the last of Beleriand to survive the War of Wrath.
Ceridwen had almost decided to depart, she had wanted to go before the mighty host of the Valar and Maia, and go on her knees and admit her parentage, and be pardoned and taken away.
But she had sought for her twin. Sauron had not taken up arms, and had almost meekly bowed before the herald of Manwe, but that she had not seen, she wanted to be as far away from * him * as possible, and yet she hoped, against hope that Saeren would avail himself of this opportunity to come before the Valar.
She had not know then that Sauron had sent his son far into the east. She had not seen him, and so she remained in Lindon.

[Saeren]

In the night, like a cat, Saeren swarmed, almost flowed, up the white wall of the house, and into the room, his night-sighted eyes adjusting to the dimness here, turning his head.
His twin was alone, peaceful sleeping, in the reverie of all elves, eyes half open, unfocussed under long lashes. He folded his arms as he surveyed her, expressionlessly, then picked up a small footstoos, sat down on it, close to the head of the bed and waited,his hands casually hooked about one knee.

[Cerridwen]

Whether proximity made her aware, or something else, Cerridwen suddenly snapped back into consiousness. She sat up, abruptly, and turned her head in a tousled cloud of dark hair. Her eyes, which matched his in their golden colour went wide, she opened her mouth but uttered no word, becoming perfectly still. A wave of complex emotions swamped her, rage and hate, love, grief, rendering her both speechless and motionless.

[Saeren]

'' Quel amrun, nae saian luume' '' He murmured , '' I am surprised to find you alone, pen-vell. '' he glanced around the room. '' a pleasant place, '' he was clad all in black, snakeskin from the huge reptiles of the south, his skin was tanned honey-gold, and tattoos swirled over his arms. '' What , no word of greeting for your dearest gwanunig? '' He sounded surprised. '' no kiss? No embrace? ''

[Cerridwen]

Cerridwen swept up a flagon of water from beside the bed and hurled it, following it with the goblet, leaping from the bed, she picked up an alabaster vase, fragments shattered in every direction as it broke , she picked up anything moveable she could reach in a furious and continuous bombardment, until she could find nothing left to throw . The last thing she hurled, sweeping it from a drawer, was a hunting knife, and she threw it with complete precision. Like everything else, she meant it to connect.

[Saeren]

Saeren did not move as the missiles hit , smashed, or bounced away from him, depending on what they were made of, but a hectic sparkle of laughter began to glitter in his eyes. When the knife hissed through the air, he casually brought his hand up and the hilt smacked into it .
'' Well, I am glad to see you have not lost your spirit at any rate, '' He whipped the knife upwards so the point stuck, quivering, in the ceiling, then jerked her towards him.
'' The lady protests so much, I might think she was actually glad to see me, ''

[Cerridwen]

'' Why did you not die? Why did some-one not just kill you? '' she hissed, her voice throbbing, '' you are still tethered to him, are you not , as surely as any slave? '' Her slender white fingers rose and touched his beautiful face, delved into the coronal of thick raven curls, as if she were blind and seeking to discover how he looked and felt, Then her right hand slapped him, ringingly across the face. '' Death is the only chance you have! Look at you! You become more like him each day! Saeren, ... Ah Elbereth....you will never be free! ''

[Saeren]

'' If you think I am anything like him, that only proves you have never been around him, '' Saeren responded dryly. he caught her hand. '' Quite a lot of strength there for a little ellyth '' He drew her hand to his chest, '' mmm, yes, sorry, my heart still beats, I still live, and so does he and so , yes, I am still his.. slave, servant, have it how you will, ' he shrugged, as his eyes darkened, almost into purple. '' you think I that much of a coward, Cerridwen, to wish death upon myself? I mean to outlast him! '' His hands took her face between them, long and elegant, a little pressure could have caved in her skull. He bent his head , his lips on hers, '' we will both outlast him, '' he whispered. '' you are a fool you know. You should have gone oversea long ago. he could use you if he found you. And if he knew I was here,..... '' he smiled . But Sauron was not always in his mind, Sauron, to the extent that he trusted any-one, did trust Saeren, at least in matters of warfare, he let him train and move about, knowing he would always come back, knowing he had to, or could be brought back, by that chain binding his mind.
'' but... some things are worth a few risks. Ah-ah...'' his fingers impercetively tightened. '' shhhh, it has been a long time, has it not? '' His smile flashed, charming and white and cold as marble.

[Cerridwen]

'' I would rather die than be under his control, '' she hissed, her golden eyes ablaze. '' What have you done...? '' She searched the eyes above her for anything remaining of the sweet, brave, protective little boy she had once known, who had stole food for her, comforted her in the chill, despairing darkness.
But his veneer was complete now, a hard glaze covering whatever might remain underneath. But she had known the last time she saw him...whatever he had once been had been stifled, the roots growing into strange contortions by days after day, year after year, century following century of service to Sauron. Yet there was nothing about him which spoke of slavery, the way he walked, held himself, his very aura, bespoke absolute confidence , he walked like a warrior born who feared nothing All around him shimmered that dark magnetism which sent all she had been taught and all she held to be true, scattering to the twelve winds.

[Saeren]

'' What have I not done? Oh surely there are one or two things, '' he said, with that dark amusement in his tone as he saw her ruffled feathers. '' Easy to hold to such honourable ideas, when you have never been in that situation. Are you going to give me wine, or have you broken it all? ''

[Cerridwen]

She flung around in a gauze swirl of silks and flung open the door, her footsteps on the stairs soundless, as she returned bearing a cool jug of wine, and silver goblets.
'' I am alive and here because you took me from him. I know. I know . And you never came with me! You went back to him! Melian would have sheltered you as she did me! What are you? His toy, his slave, his military tactician, his butcher, his trainer of mortals who live to serve him and war? You could have been so much more ! Were you are Nirnaeth Arneodiad? Did you rejoice to see so much death, my brother? So many Eldar and Edain dead in their blood? Were you at Gondolin when it fell? Oh tell me how you enjoyed those slaughters, my twin! ' Her eyes, lifted to his shone in fury like twin golden suns.

[Saeren]

'' Yes I was there and I saw Gondolin fall! '' he tossed the wine off in one long swallow. '' I have seen the pits of Angband, and the prisoners there, a lot of Eldarin women were taken from Gondolin, melmenya , some men too. I saw the Arnoediad. How do you think I felt, watching the hordes of Angband and the men of the east butcher my own kin? And I killed. I had no choice, - you are naive! I never had any choice, I told you before, and I will tell you again. Until Sauron is gone there is only this for me! And I intend to continue to be damned good at it, because it keeps me mostly out of his reach. But he is here.. '' he tapped his head and the black curls bounced. '' be glad he is not in there, '' he laid a finger on her brow. '' Sitting there like a toad, cold, dark, ready to pull the chain that binds me, ''

[Cerridwen]

They faced one another, like two bristling cats, eyes blazing, until her face shivered, her eyes showed, through the fury, the pain under them.
'' Oh Saeren, '' The words throbbed with pain. '' Oh my brother, it would indeed be better to be dead, and trust the mercy of Eru, '' She stepped closer to him stood on tiptoe and kissed him, for a long moment. '' You could be so much more, ''

[Saeren]

'' I will be , '' he murmured, his modelled mouth smiling, his hands in her hair, which poured through his fingers in silken waves. '' I will wait, Cerridwen, and when he is gone, he will not drag me with him, I swear it. ''