The Consort of Mordor: a Sauron x Bilbo

Quiet Steps

Bilbo woke up with a start, a hand on his shoulder as he realized he must have fallen asleep while watching over Frodo.

He looked up at the one who woke him, seeing Sauron now without his blindfold, revealing his striking golden eyes.

The Dark Lord said nothing, just guiding him back to the dining room and sitting beside him.

Like always, the meal was already waiting on the table, so Bilbo began to eat silently.

About halfway through the meal, Bilbo put his fork down, looking at Sauron, "Did you come to a decision?"

"When my master is freed in the days of the Dagor Dagorath, I shall stand by his side whilst hiding you from him." Sauron said, making the hobbit frown until he continued, "But, during this interim, I find myself amenable to your request. I admit I find myself curious as to what you can show me in a year that I have not witnessed in three ages."

Bilbo smiled, even as the Dark Lord explained that there would be conditions for not only him to follow, but also the people of Middle Earth.

***

The Mouth of Sauron delivered Sauron's terms to the various leaders of Middle Earth, "The rabble of Gondor and its deluded allies shall withdraw at once back to their borders, first taking oaths never again to assail Sauron the Great in arms, open or secret. All lands South of Imladris shall be Sauron's forever, solely. West of the Greyflood as far as the Misty Mountains and the Sundering Seas shall be tributary to Mordor, and men there shall bear no weapons, but have leave to govern their own affairs.

With Isildur's Heir dead, Gandalf missing, and the Elven Lords having uncertain fates, those that remained were forced to agree to the Dark Lord's terms.

But Bilbo had a different set of conditions he had to agree to: the Nine would be following them as a guard, they could not leave the newly claimed territory, and the biggest condition being that Frodo -and Sam by extension- would remain at Barad-dûr while they were gone.

The hobbit agreed to all the terms, recognizing the threat in the final one: that the two young hobbits would be collateral so he did not get any ideas of running away.

So, they would be leaving in three months when the empire would hopefully be settled from the change in management.

In the meantime, Sauron spent his mornings and evenings with his hobbit, leaving to run his kingdom most of the day.

Unfortunately, that left Bilbo alone with his comatose nephew and gardener most of the day with the maia refusing to wake them yet.

So, the writer spend his time reading and working on his manuscript -whether Mairon had gotten the real one or meticulously recreated it, he was not sure of- and trying to avoid the ever-increasing amount of guilt he faced.

Why was he alive? Why did Sauron get obsessed with him of all creatures? Why did the fate of all rest upon a simple hobbit twice over?

Bilbo ran a hand through his golden curls, unwilling tears beginning to blur his vision, as a burning question roared in his mind: why was he always the one that survived?

The tears threatening to spill broke, racing down his rosy cheeks and causing a slight heave in his breath.

He was so distracted trying to regain his composure that he did not notice the door open and the maia enter the 'home' and kneel before him.

Sauron's hands cupped Bilbo's face, wiping his tears away, "What causes these salty rivers, my love?"

"I guess I just felt a bit overwhelmed, it is nothing." The hobbit said, saying a half-truth as he wiped his eyes with his handkerchief

"Anything that causes you distress is not nothing, my sweet." The Dark Lord replied, running his thumb over Bilbo's lips, "But perhaps I might provide a distraction?"

Sauron removed his left hand from the hobbit's face, closing and then opening his palm to reveal a ring, bile built up in the writer's throat at the sight of it.

The ring's band was made of mithril -he could tell that immediately by how it glimmered- with white gold leaves and rose gold rose petals encasing an emerald with several smaller rose gold roses around it.

"Do you like it, precious?" Mairon asked as the hobbit stared at the ring

Bilbo nodded, taking the ring and holding it in his own palm, too nervous to slip it on, "It is very beautiful."

The maia noticed the missing 'but' at the end of the sentence, "But you fear it to have similar properties as the Rings of Power? I am not offended by your worries, my love, it is wise to not trust every gift one might give you. I assure you, though, that it is merely a normal ring I made for you, but I also acknowledge my word is worth very little to you."

Golden eyes watched as Bilbo set the ring on the wooden table, but he otherwise did not react.

He then pressed a kiss to the hobbit's forehead, "I hope you choose to wear it one day, I rather enjoy making gifts for you."

***

In the days that followed, Bilbo eventually came to the conclusion that the ring was just a ring.

It did not call to him, did not demand his attention as the One Ring did -though he gave it hours of attention regardless, just staring at it during the hours of silence between Mairon's visits.

That was also another change, the Dark Lord rarely visited in the mornings anymore and had stuck to only evening visits -but sometimes he did not even attend those.

Bilbo was almost desperate to see him whenever he was there, it was unbearable to stare at the two unconscious faunts and the ring that was just a normal ring between his seven daily meals.

Even working on his book and reading through his library did not provide the same joy, the self-proclaimed recluse had gotten used to at least having a few hours of social interaction a day even if it was just when he went to the markets or walked through town.

For the first time since he got home from Erebor, he was desperate for companionship, even if it was from Sauron.

The next time the maia visited him, he was wearing the ring.

Mairon was waiting at the breakfast table the following morning.