When three months passed and the 'Year to Change Sauron's Mind' began, Bilbo was a wee bit overwhelmed.
So, in proper Baggins fashion, he began stress baking in the days leading up to the trip.
The famous Baggins Sourdough, the Took blackberry lavender scones -that Lobelia kept trying to steal the recipe of, mind you, but he would never hand it over until he got her potato salad one- (a rogue part of his mind wondered if she had stolen his good spoons in Frodo's absence), lemon loaf cake with a cream cheese frosting, and mincemeat mini-tarts with a buttery crust.
He packed all the baked goods up in some cheesecloth and put them in a wicker basket he found in a closet and left a note for the servants he never saw to bring slivered slices of ham and cheese the night before.
Mairon had watched the tail-end of the baking spree, leaning on the counter after dinner, saying nothing at all.
Bilbo had asked why he was just staring, to which Sauron had said, "There is no experience like watching a master at their craft."
"I'm no master baker." The hobbit had blushed
"Yes, you are a master burglar and -if the scent of the room is to be believed- most definitely a master baker." The maia replied
The writer shrugged, "You'll just have to wait and see tomorrow."
"I shall hold you to your word, precious." Sauron said, kissing the hobbit's shoulder before retreating for the night
Now, Bilbo was a mess of nerves as he sat by the door of his quarters.
The door eventually opened to reveal the Dark Lord, who presented Bilbo with a silver bracelet that was seemingly made of woven metal flowers and thorns.
"This one is enchanted." Mairon warned, placing it on Bilbo's hand, "A very simple enchantment though, you'll just get an ache in your feet if you wander too far from me that gets worse the farther you go, but it will disappear when you get back in range. It also will not let you take it off once you put it on, I will do that when we return here."
Bilbo put it on his left wrist, knowing the matter was nonnegotiable, "What is the range?"
"I was feeling generous when I made it, fifteen meters." Sauron replied, "Are you ready to go?"
The hobbit nodded and hooked the picnic basket on his arm, following him out of the copy of Bag End.
***
Riding on a Fellbeast was strange now that he was lucid enough to actually pay attention to what was going on, especially when he was being held against the Dark Lord's chest plate.
The hobbit looked around the lands of Mordor below, having been told to choose a place to land for their excursion today, but everything, looking at the Nine following from a respectful distance, wondering what they thought of the situation.
But, it was impossible to tell from expression alone seeing that eight of the Nine wore spiked faceplates while the ninth -the leader- had an empty void where his face should be.
Eventually, they passed above the Black Gate, above the burnt piles of bodies of Men and Orc, and towards the claimed territories.
Once the bodies were far enough away, were less than a speck in the distance, Bilbo chose a field for them to land.
Sauron immediately began to land the beast, the Nine following and landing some distance away in a circle around them -ready to get him in case he tried to run despite the pain it would put him in.
Bilbo laid out the blanket he had brought, careful to put it away from any flowers or tall grass to minimally affect nature, then plopped down and sat.
He patted the blanket beside him, silently requesting the Dark Lord to do the same.
Mairon heeded the instruction, his armor fading away in a swirl of red and gold mist as he reached the ground.
Bilbo set the basket between them, laying down to look up at the sky with his folded arms acting as a cushion for his head.
They did nothing for a few minutes, merely cohabiting the blanket and feeling the warmth of the Sun.
"You know so much about me." Bilbo said, breaking the companionable silence they had been in, "Tell me about you."
"That is a very long story, we would be here for months." Sauron replied, "I could fill your library a hundred times over with my tales."
"Then pick one of your favorites." The hobbit requested
Mairon was silent for a few moments, picking what story he should tell, before beginning to do so, telling the story of the Ainulindalë and his own small part in it and how enchanting he found Melkor's -though Bilbo sensed a missing 'at the time' at the end of that sentence.
***
It was well past sundown when the story finally got to the end, the maia having not withheld any of the details.
Bilbo hardly remembered the trip back to Barad-dûr, half asleep with only the naturally bone-chilling presence of the Ringwraiths keeping him awake.
The last thing he remembered before succumbing to slumber was being placed back in his bed and the feeling of Sauron's lips against his own as well as the bracelet being removed, as well as the Dark Lord saying something that Bilbo could not remember for the life of him.
***
A month later, Bilbo was figuring out where they should venture to today when the maia told him that they were staying inside the fortress city today.
From far away, some might assume Barad-dûr of being only Sauron's tower, but it was actually an entire city with said tower being the centerpiece and by far the tallest building.
Walking through the city streets, Bilbo noticed immediately the there were hardly any orcs with the city mostly populated by humans of various origin.
The people bowed when they noticed their Lord's approach -or perhaps the auras of the three members of the Nine gave them away-, but Bilbo was happy to notice no one was heavily injured and they all seemed well-fed and clothed.
They passed through a bustling market laden with various vendor's and Bilbo's nose was filled with scents of spices and herbs he had never encountered before.
The Mordorians were quiet as their ruler and his entourage passed, with only an occasional "Hail Sauron!", "Praise Lord Sauron!" and "Glory to Lord Sauron!" in the crowd to break the silence.
"Are they slaves?" The hobbit asked as they rounded the corner
The Dark Lord replied, "Yes and no. They are paid for their services, provided with lodgings, necessities, days off and downtime, allowed to own businesses and worship freely. But most would not have come here of their own volition -some did. Though, I consider myself a kinder master than Melkor, he would have had anyone in the crowd not singing his praises whipped -and that was assuming he was in a pleasant mood."
He did not elaborate even though the hobbit mentally wished he would, opening the door to one of the townhouses lining this street.
"Mordor's...unfortunate...climate does not allow most things to grow, only the lands by the Sea of Núrnen are fertile enough for subsistence farming." Sauron began, "So, I gift you this townhouse, that I have had renovated into a greenhouse."
Bilbo would have been speechless if not for the manners drilled into all hobbits' heads as faunts, "Thank you, Mairon."
There were multiple layers to this gift and he was grateful for them all: not only was he given a garden (though back in the Shire that was sometimes considered a marriage proposal and he was not sure what to think of that), but the location it was in meant that he was allowed out of his quarters, out of the tower, and could wander Barad-dûr proper.
It seemed that Sauron was not done with his gift-giving, as he opened a drawer and pulled out a rolled up bundle of cloth, handing it to the writer.
The hobbit unrolled the fabric -which turned out to be a gardening apron in a grey-blue that resembled the sky before a storm, though the pockets were not empty but instead held a trowel, pruning shears and a gardening fork, all made of iron with wooden handles all intricately carved and stained.
"All of the tools you use should be made by me." The maia said, tying the back of Bilbo's apron
Bilbo then got to work seeing what he had been supplied with, so entranced into his favorite pastime that it took Mairon cupping his face for him to look away.
"I, unfortunately, am unable to stay and watch you today." Sauron informed, "One of the Nine will be staying outside to escort you back to the tower when you are ready or if it gets too late."
The Dark Lord then left, taking two of the RIngwraiths with him.
A/N: The hex code for the color of Bilbo's gardening apron is #78888E if anyone is wondering, I spent forever looking for a color I ended up calling blue-grey rip.