A/N: First off, I own nothing Tolkien. The verses Tom sings are, if not taken directly from the book, extremely closely based on it. Second, this fic is a collaboration between me and a fellow author, Sulia Shincho. Thirdly, this fic is slightly, slightly AU (ex. Tom leaves the borders of his land; Legolas is walking alone instead of riding with others to Rivendell.) These sacrifices had to be made for the plot.
Begin fic:
Legolas, son of the Elvenking, Thranduil, of Mirkwood, walked speedily and silently through the spider-infested, evil gloom that was Southern Mirkwood. It wasn't that he was scared of spiders, rather, what he felt was acknowledgement of the fact that they could possibly kill him for being in their part of the sunless forest.
He wasn't too bothered however, as he had his bow and daggers with him. Yes, he could defend himself if need be, but if a huge horde of spiders came, it would only be a matter of time before he was defeated.
Legolas looked up at the forest canopy. There was no sunlight. Mirkwood hadn't been named "Mirkwood" for nothing. However, despite the dimness he could make out several enormous shapes scurrying about. Spiders. All the more reason to get out of here quickly he thought, hastening his already swift and soundless pace.
Legolas hoped the spiders hadn't noticed him yet; if so, it would be a while, if at all, before the dangerous arachnids decided to attack him.
Thinking of Mirkwood's past as 'Greenwood the Great', Legolas sighed. It used to be so beautiful…
Legolas was suddenly startled out of his reverie by something that sounded like… singing? It wasn't an elvish voice, that much he knew, and the words weren't elvish either. Why would anyone come here? And then, unexpectedly, a man danced into Legolas's line of sight.
The first thing that Legolas noticed about this man were his boots – they were a bright, bright yellow. He was a short, old man with a frizzy brown beard long enough to tuck into his belt. Upon his head was a battered brown hat with an ostentatiously bright blue feather sticking out of it.
"Hey dol, merry dol, ring dong a-dillo," sang the man as he cheerfully jigged around.
The first thought that went through Legolas's mind was who is this man? The second thought was why is he singing? Which meant the third question had to be, is this man mad?
So, Legolas cleared his throat, blinked eyes that had been wide and staring in surprise, and asked, "Pardon me, sir, but who are you?"
The man sang back, "Merry Tom, jolly Tom, his wife is Goldberry," there was more, but Legolas tuned it out as he tried to remember whether he knew anyone named 'Tom' or 'Goldberry'. Drawing a blank, the Elf said, "Tom who?"
The man, still grinning and jigging, sang, "Hey dol, merry dol, Tom Bombadill-o!"
Legolas continued his pondering while the diminutive old man continued his singing rhymes. None of the names were clicking in his head – Legolas just had never heard of 'Tom Bombadillo' before this day!
'Excuse me," he replied, "but I still do not fully understand."
The old man sang back:
"Oh, Tom Bombadil is a jolly fellow!
Bright blue his jacket is and his boots are yellow!
Merry dol, derry dol, ring dong a-dillo,
Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadill-o!" The old man, finished with the verse, beamed as though this would explain everything.
Legolas fought the urge to sigh in frustration. This old man was singing in riddles, in Legolas's opinion. About the only information he had gotten from the man was his name, his wife's name, and a headache.
Legolas decided that he had no more time for this irritating riddle-game. Lord Elrond had summoned him to Rivendell, there was an important matter that must be discussed. He could tarry here no longer.
So, Legolas gave up, and said, "Good day, sir," and started to walk away.
Then, suddenly, there was a bright flash, accompanied by a loud crack. Legolas closed his eyes against the blinding light. His head was spinning. Once the spinning stopped, Legolas opened his eyes. Something was different, he noticed. Is it just me, or did the trees grow a bit bigger? Reaching his hand up to rub his temple, he felt it come into contact with… a hat? Looking down, he saw that his legs seemed to be a lot shorter and his boots were… yellow?
Realization hit like a drenching in cold water. "Oh no…" he whispered.
So, what do you think? REVIEW, please!!! I appreciate it! If you're wondering just how Lego got transported into Tom's body, don't worry, you'll find out one of these chapters…