Work Text:
Stealthily, Annatar approached, silently dismissing the maids who were grooming Celebrimbor's hair. They promptly agreed because they knew their prince would be far more satisfied with the Maia's company than theirs.
With precision, Annatar's skilled hands began the meticulous separation of the lengthy tresses into three even sections, utilizing his long fingers as a comb.
"Are you finished?" inquired the prince, directing his query toward the perceived 'maid.'
Annatar, deliberately, took a measured pause to appreciate the splendid black hair before tendering his response.
"My prince," he declared in his hoarse and velvety voice, invoking an involuntary shiver that traversed Celebrimbor's spine, rendering him momentarily motionless "You embody every attribute requisite for a commendable ruler,"
"Annatar..." he uttered "Since when are you here?"
Annatar didn't respond. The hairstyling persisted with cadence, the act of braiding undertaken finely, perhaps taking longer than usual. It seemed like he really enjoyed taking care of Celebrimbor's perfumed hair because the dark color of the locks made him feel like he was traveling through the blackness of the universe, to a more pleasant time and place.
"You are powerful, talented, disciplined and held in high esteem by everyone," Annatar proceeded, punctuating each quality with a discerning touch. "Charismatic when necessitated, rebellious when imperative. Yet, the most pivotal trait eludes you."
"And what might that be?" inquired Celebrimbor.
"Ambition," asserted Annatar, adorning the strands of Celebrimbor's hair with black pearls.
"I am ambitious,"
"No, you are not," responded Annatar, his focus unwavering from the task at hand "You possess an avid hunger. Hunger for knowledge, for recognition. Hunger for excellence akin to your grandfather's."
"Then, what is absent?"
"Hunger for power. It is this void that renders you bereft of true ambition."
"I have all that I desire here with me."
"Indeed, and therein lies the essence of what I speak," intoned Annatar. "A modest incentive would render you perfect."
"Perfect for what purpose?"
"To ascend as the sovereign ruler of the entire elven-kind," proclaimed Annatar, eliciting a crystalline laugh from Celebrimbor.
"Yet, I find contentment in ruling Eregion," affirmed Celebrimbor sincerely. A frustrated sigh emanated from Annatar.
"Annatar, do you speak seriously?"
"I harbor no ill intentions," reassured Annatar, feigning humility. "The elves, in their current state of... organization... are exemplary. I merely posit that you, my prince, would make an exemplary king. Forgive my audacity."
"You are forgiven. However, let us refrain from further discourse on this matter. Lorien and Lindon harbor misconceptions about your character, and we must not provide them with legitimate grounds for suspicion. The pillars of Eregion possess an acute attention to all that transpires, and though your intentions are benign, caution is essential."
"Caution... another regal virtue you possess. Yet, its further refinement is advised."
"Why so? About what specific matter should I exercise caution?" queried Celebrimbor with a discernible sense of suspicion.
"Your friendship with the dwarves requires you to be more careful," replied Annatar jokingly, resorting to the ancient quarrel between dwarves and elves, and causing Celebrimbor to burst into laughter.
"You are truly impossible today."
Upon affixing the final bead to secure the entwined tresses, Annatar handed the mirror to Celebrimbor.
"There, there, the task is concluded."
Celebrimbor, upon examining his reflection in the mirror, observed the black pearls emitting a faint luminescence as he turned his head—an illusion of movement and enchantment akin to a dance.
"Beautiful! You, my lord, possess a myriad of talents."
"You have but glimpsed a fraction," asserted Annatar with a cryptic smile.