I try to be calm when I ask the question. Up to this point, he had not said anything too alarming to me, but my heart could not calm itself. I offer a smile and sit up a little straighter, trying to conceal my bump better under the stranger’s gaze. I did not know what he would do if he saw what I was now carrying. I did not know if all soldiers were completely devoted to my husband’s desire to expand our kingdom. I did not trust anyone in this court apart from my husband and Celebrain. No one else could be trusted. 

“I am your husband’s Captain of the Guard. I am afraid I have not been able to introduce myself to you properly. I was asked to join after the attack on the king this past fall. You were injured so greatly that he felt he needed my skills to keep our kingdom safe. I have been stationed near the resistance for a fortnight, but after the enemy fell I was ordered to come return to the castle.”

My brow furrows at his words. For a moment, I wondered why my husband never told me about the Captain of the Guard, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized we had not talked about the war. He kept that from me. I was for fucking, not war strategy. 

“It is nice to meet you then. Would you like to join me?”

I ask as my eyes take him in fully, and I see all the dirt and grime from battle etched all over his armour. He looked like he had seen a great deal. Not tired, but not completely strong enough to stand for too long. He looked as though he could benefit from sitting and taking a moment to collect himself. 

“You are kind, my Queen. I only wanted to introduce myself. It is an honor to meet the female who has captured my King’s heart.” 

He bows low and offers me a smile. His hair moves enough when he bows that I realize he is an elf, too. His smile is as beautiful as he is, almost like a god of some kind. The same type of beauty that my husband held. 

“Nonsense, surely you can rest for a moment. I appreciate all you have done to help our cause. I cannot do much, but I can offer you a seat.” 

I insist, before I have a moment to properly think about how unsure of him I am. The male’s smile grows, and he nods in agreement.

“As you wish it, my Queen. It would be an honor.” 

He unsheathes the sword at his side and sticks the pointy end into the ground before he sits beside me. In his armour, he looks ridiculous sitting on my hand-woven blanket. At the sight, I cannot help the laugh, which escapes me. 

“I am sorry. Perhaps I should have let you change into something more comfortable before having you sit on the ground with me.”

He offers me a hearty laugh, his smile genuine as he looks at me. The way we look at each other, there is something familiar about him. His smile is so beautiful that it is almost cruel. 

“It is fine. My legs are relieved after such a long walk back to the castle. My men all returned to their rooms in the castle, but I wanted to stop by the garden first. Imagine my surprise when I saw you out here.”

Suddenly, I worry that I had overstepped and taken his special spot in the garden. 

“I hope I did not intrude on your spot in the garden.”

I laugh, gauging his reaction. When I see that he is not frustrated by my choice, I feel momentary relief wash over me. He glances over the garden with a great appreciation, nodding as he takes it in. 

“This is your kingdom, my Queen. You may go to any spot you like. It appears we both have excellent taste in tree gardens.” 

The wind blows around us, like a small tornado that only affects us. When this happens, a bit of my hair falls into my face. I attempt to move it out of my face when I feel his hand along my cheekbone. Slowly, the pads of his fingertips trace over my face as he tucks the hair behind my ear. For a moment, it is as though time slows down, as if it is just the two of us in the entire world. I feel my cheeks blush, but not because I want this stranger, but because it felt odd to have another’s hands on me. 

At the thought, the stranger’s smile grows. 

“You are quite beautiful. Your king is lucky to have you.”

I feel my lips part at his words, but when I attempt to speak, my husband’s voice comes from behind us.

“Well, it is nice to see you two have met. Though I cannot say that I am thrilled to see you two so close.”

His voice is cold when he speaks, and it makes my stomach turn. I pull back from the stranger’s hand and peer over his shoulder to find my husband’s gaze. His eyes are like fire, his jaw clenched as he stands straight. The soldier beside me stands up without a moment’s hesitation. He looks at Sauron and bows. 

“I am sorry, your highness. It will not happen again.”

My king nods, staring between the pair of us, eyes narrowed. 

“I should hope not, Morgoth. I would hate to have to return you to your prison. The Valar will be most displeased by your leaving.” 

The moment my husband says the words, I feel my stomach turn once more. The familiarity of him now hits me. That face, I have seen it in the paintings in the old texts. He looked different in his fair form; most paintings captured him when he was at the height of his reign, but I had seen this form once. I feel the unease worsen when I realize that I had been sitting on a blanket with the Dark Lord of the first age. We had been laughing and smiling as though we were strangers bonding for the first time. I had no idea this had been the male who terrorized my husband and all of Middle-earth. The one whose crown my husband now wore before him. 

Morgoth was not who he had once been, and I can see it. The power he had before seemed to be gone. I could not sense it as I could with my husband. Whatever form he had now was not powerful. Sauron looks at him with such hatred that I can almost feel it. 

The Captain bows deeper and waits for my husband to dismiss him. He does so with a curt nod, and before I know it, he has grabbed his sword and sheathed it once more. He does not look back at me as he walks forward, his legs carrying him out of the garden. It is not until the gate is closed behind him that my husband looks at me. His gaze, still dark, focuses on me with cruel intent. 

“Did you enjoy your time with him, little one?”

He growls as I force myself to stand. My own frustration is building within me. Nothing had happened, and I could not believe that he would be angry by simply speaking with a male. 

“It was not like that, Sauron, and you know it.”

He takes a few steps forward, his much taller form towering over me as he stops in front of me. 

“Oh my darling, you forget that I can sense what is inside your mind. I can sense how aroused you were.”

Confusion flickers within me. Yes, I had felt aroused, but that had been before the Captain had appeared. I was aroused when I thought of my king. 

“Are you jealous?...”

I ask, standing on my tiptoes. I place my hands on his chest, and I can feel how much frustration is bubbling beneath the surface. 

“...Look inside my mind and see what aroused me. I can promise it was not Morgoth.” 

His glare intensifies as he moves to wrap his hand around my throat. Not to harm me, but to keep my head craned back as he looks down at me. I feel him in my mind, probing and combing through any and all memories. As if he needs proof that I am not lying. His jaw tightens for a moment before he uses his free hand to pull my body to his. 

“You are mine. We are going to announce that you are pregnant with my heir, and we will have a ball to celebrate. All will know who you belong to. Whose seed you lust for. Let them look upon you and desire you, but know they will never have you.”

I nod wordlessly as his lips near mine. 

“I do not want anyone else. It is your seed I lust for, your blood I thirst for, and my darkness yearns for your darkness.” 

Something about my words causes him to groan, his lips finding mine. He is on me as if his life depends on it. The hand that had been around my neck drifts down my chest, cupping my breast through my dress. He is rough and handles me with a firmness that he had never used before. At first, I worry that he has not forgiven me, but something about how rough he is awakens that darkness within me. 

“I am sorry, my king. I would never desire to stray from you.”

I whimper the words against his lips, another groan escaping him. His eyes roam over my body, smirking as he studies me closely. He takes in every inch of my appearance, his smirk seeming to grow at the sight of my white dress. 

“Look at you, dressed in white, looking like a virgin ripe for the picking. But you are not a virgin, are you, little Dove? I made sure you were claimed by me the moment we wed.” 

His words are dirty, filthy, and consuming. My head spins, my lips parting as I focus on him. My hands move down his chest, feeling how hard his body is beneath me. Tense from his jealousy. 

“Does that please you, my King?...”

I state in a barely audible gasp, my hands inching lower along his body. They travel lower and lower until I find his hardened cock in his trousers, my palm cupping him through the fabric. The slightest pressure from me causes another groan to escape him. 

“... Knowing that you and you alone have laid claim to me? That, despite how handsome your Captain of the Guard may be, no one else makes me this wet. No one else is my king. Just you, Mairon. It has only ever been and always will be you.”

My palm moves against him firmer this time. His gaze softens at my words, his eyes still cloudy with desire. Something akin to pride fills his eyes as he watches me. Here I was, the shy, timid elf he married. The very same one offered up for him to devour and consume. He knew I loved him.

I could never love another like him.

“My heart beats for you, little one. I have never loved another like you. I have never desired the sins of the flesh as I have with you. You are all I desire. The only one I have ever dared to share my whole self with.” 

He says the words softly as though he’s afraid that someone could overhear him. As though he feared this part of him could be shared with another. His hands move from their spot on my throat and work their way up to either side of my face. He guides his lips to mine; the kiss is not possessive. No, this is an apology. An “I am sorry for doubting you for even a second” kiss. I stroke his length through his trousers once more. His body is grinding against my palm in need of friction. His moan falls against my lips as he holds me tighter to him. I feel his hands move away from my face and travel down to my waistline. 

He ginds himself against me once more, and my breathing hitches. He is so hard. Without a warning, he carefully guides me to the blanket beneath us. The same blanket I had laid out when I had intended to read. My back touches the hand-woven fabric, and a slight chuckle escapes me when I feel him reach around my head to the book I had left lying on the ground. He grabs the book and places it above my head in the grass, safe from any damage. 

“Thank you.”

I whimper at the gesture before I feel his hand between my thighs, his other hand propping him up. The hand between my thighs is light as he traces along my skin, satisfaction on his face when he realizes I am not wearing any undergarments. The fabric of my dress is pushed up around my waist. He hums a “You’re welcome” as he nuzzles his nose along my jawline. He breathes me in, and I feel my body erupt in goosebumps at the sensation. His canines lightly brush along my neck. I find myself leaning back so I can give him better access to my neck. 

“Shall I bite you, my darling Queen?”

His question is a low grumble against my skin. My body jerks upward as his hand trails further up. Out of instinct, I find myself spreading my legs further apart, opening up for him. Giving him access to where I desire him the most.

“Yes, please.” 

I sound desperate when I say the words, and it causes him to chuckle darkly. Without being asked twice, his teeth break the skin. My body is instantly filled with euphoria. The moan that escapes is loud and brazen, but I do not care.

“Good girl. Let the kingdom hear who is making you feel this good. Who owns your pleasure.” 

His voice is in my mind when he says this. His teeth are still in me when his fingers find my soaked sex. His thumb circles around my swollen clit. There, he rubs little circles on my sensitive bud, another moan escaping me as he inserts two fingers, thumb still on my clit. My hips arch into him, my body in desperate need for more friction as he pumps his fingers in and out of me at a slow pace. I moan once more when his teeth retract from my neck. His lips softly kissed and licked any blood that dared to escape me. 

“Can I drink from you?”

I whimper when his fingers start to pick up their pace. I glance over at him with quiet desperation written all over my face. He gives me a contemplative look as he considers my request. His fingers curling inside of me. A sound of pleasure falls from my lips again as he picks up the pace further. The bottom of my stomach tightens as I feel myself slowly heading towards my peak. 

“Once I am inside of you, you can do whatever you desire.”

At those words, he removes his fingers from inside of me, pulling them out slowly and at an agonizing rate. My body is desperate for release. He pulls away from me and sits back on his knees. For a moment, he watches me, pleased at how much of a mess he has made of me. I am spread out before him, my breathing uneven, and my eyes clouded with desperate need. His smirk grows as he moves his hands to his crown, taking it off and placing it next to the book in the grass. Then he stands up, his eyes never leaving me as he moves to take off his trousers. He slowly drags the fabric down his legs, his cock hard and erect as he unwraps himself for my viewing pleasure. The sight of him alone is enough to make me fall to pieces. Stars above, was he going to feel good buried deep within me. He does not take his shirt off as he returns to his knees, spreading my thighs further apart as he leans down on top of me. One hand props himself up as the other moves to his neck. Shape shifting his hand into a claw, he cuts a line down the column of his throat, black blood meeting my gaze. 

The darkness within me comes to life at the sight of it. The dulled thirst is transforming into raw hunger. He sees the shift in my eyes and gives me a dark look. 

“By the Valar…”

He whispers breathlessly.

“... You look even more beautiful unhinged like this.” 

His voice is soft and considerate. He aligns himself with my soaked entrance, the tip of his length slowly easing into me as he pushes himself inside. Once he is inside of me fully, he pauses for a moment while he waits for my body to adjust to him. Only when he feels that I am comfortable does he move. A slow roll of his hips causes chills to move up my spine. Without speaking a word, he leans down to let me have access to his neck. I do not hesitate as I guide my lips forward, the blood touching my lips. The liquid is thick and sweet as I drink him in. He tasted even better than he had the night before. Somehow sweeter than he had been and devastatingly more addictive. The slow roll of his hips moves against me in a rhythm that only he can hear because I am drowning in him. I am delirious and ensnared in him, my mind blank as I think only of him and the blood he allows me to drink from him. Each roll forward causes his cock to move deeper inside of me. A simple move that hit every single fragile nerve I had inside of my needy cunt. He groans when he hits a specific spot within me that causes us both to cry out. I drink from him like a woman starved. As if I had not had him like this the night before. I lap up as much of the blood as I can before I force myself to pull away. I did not wish to harm him by drinking too much. I also did not want to seem too greedy. 

The second I unlatch, his free hand slips over the top of my dress. Careful not to rip my dress, his hand finds my breast, and he gives it a firm squeeze. My hardened nipple twisted by his fingertips. My mind, still consumed by the heightened sensation of drinking from him, could not make out every single thing he was doing to my body, but I do know that it feels good. With a surge of passion, I lean up to place my lips against his. He can taste his blood on my lips, and it causes him to make the most ungodly sound. A sound that causes my breathing to hitch. His tongue is in my mouth, and his slow thrusts pick up speed. With each movement forward, he causes small mewls to fall from my lips. The bundle of nerves inside of me is getting closer to its peak. The walls of my cunt started to tighten around his cock, and I could feel his length start to twitch in anticipation. 

He is almost ready to cum too.

In the tree garden, all I can hear is our sinful song playing in time with the birds around us. Each moan and slap of skin remixes the world around us. Our love as natural as the stream that ran through the garden. I can feel my eyes flutter closed when I feel the tightening in the bottom of my stomach. I was going to cum. I did not know how much longer I could keep up with his thrusts. 

“I love you.”

He rasps against my lips, voice nearly silent. His mind reaches into my own, and I know he detects that I am ready to cum. The moment he realizes that we both desire our release, he draws back to look at me. His lips are mere inches from mine. He does not need to speak when we look at each other. Both of us are in a haze of desire as he thrusts one final time, and our waves of pleasure wash over us. We cum at the same time, his body still against mine as my walls flutter around his length, ropes of cum shooting into me with each twitch he makes. He remains still until he and I are done coming apart at the seams. Only then does he pull out of me and lie beside me on the blanket beneath me. 

We lay together. His head rests on my shoulder, and we gaze at the blue sky above us. Our breathing is ragged. Our chests heave up and down while we try to catch our breath. The streams of sunlight above us warm our skin. 

I cannot stop my mind from slipping back into what occurred this morning. Back to what had led us here. 

“Why would you take the risk with Morgoth? Are you not afraid of him scheming against you?”

My eyes remain on the sky above when I ask the question. Unable to look at him whilst my mind still swarmed with the bliss brought on by drinking from him. My husband does not reply at first; instead, he sits up for a moment, fixing my dress so it covers my exposed sex. Shielding me from anyone who might see me. Once I am concealed, once more he returns to his spot right beside me. Only this time, he props himself on his arm, eyes watching me closely. He does speak when his fingers trail up and down my exposed arms. His touch is so light it almost tickles. 

“The Valar stripped Morgoth of all power before his imprisonment. He is still a Maia, but he is without any of his former power. He just exists, all power torn from him as punishment for his crimes against Middle-earth. I chose him for the Captain of the Guard because he still knows how to fight. He conquered much in his time as the Dark Lord. His skill is a means to help us maintain our power. With his help, I have been able to stop leading battles that would keep me from you. I wanted to be home with you.”

I force my gaze to meet his when he says the word ‘home’. A warm feeling fills my chest when I hear him utter the words. He called our massive castle home, and it made me feel like I had belonged somewhere for the first time in my life. But that belonging felt oddly out of place. I felt like I belonged with him, but I felt like a stranger in our court. 

“I love that I have a home with you. You have made me feel like I matter, and I appreciate that more than you know. There is something I hope to speak to you about…”

I pause and look to him to gauge his reaction, only continuing to speak when he gives me a nod to do so. 

“... I would like to have a bigger role in our court. I do not mean to rule or anything like that, but I would like to know the individuals we rule over. I think it would be helpful to you and our child once they are born.”

The suggestion hangs between us for a moment. His eyes are careful while he considers my suggestion. I knew he did not need help ruling, but I wanted to be more than the wife who had heirs. I wanted to see more of the castle than where we had our heated exchanges. He ponders for what feels like an eternity before he speaks, his voice careful. As if he is finally opening up another piece of himself to me. 

“I will allow it. Celebrian can train you on who everyone is in our court. This kingdom is no longer mine (y/n), it is ours, and I want you to be a part of every single aspect of it. However, Celebrian will shadow you when I cannot. I still do not trust you on your own in the castle. Not because of you, but because of what happened the night of the masquerade. I will not let any more harm come to you, little dove.”

The smile that tugs at the corner of my lips must be infectious because it causes him to smile back at me. But the smile only lasts for a moment before it falters. A tiny piece of him is uneasy. For a moment, I worry that my suggestion has made him feel this way, but he shakes his head in protest. 

“The Captain brought back an old lover from one of the enemy territories. She is in the dungeons, but I wanted to tell you first. Mainly because she was someone who once meant a great deal to me. I know that our relationship requires honesty, so I am being honest about it.”

He reaches his hand out to touch me softly, watching me closely for a reaction. I feel the jealousy wash over me, though I know that I have no reason for it. I knew my husband had others before me; he would have had to in order to become the skilled lover he was today. I just did not like to think about it. 

“Who is it?”

I ask, my voice small when he breathes in a deep sigh. He knew I would ask, but I can see that he wished I had not. His hand takes mine in his as he whispers the name I never thought I would hear.