I did not create nor own any of the following places or characters created by J. R. R. Tolkien that are in this story, Arda/Middle Earth, Mirkwood/Green Wood the Great, or Legolas. I did create Collas, Mellolaes and her cousins Anduant and Adulas. Lathwinion is a reference to the version of Legolas' mother I created.
This story is for entertainment purposes only so please read and be entertained.
Legolas sneaked through the palace halls with a quiver strapped to his back and and a bow gripped in one hand. His eyes darted in every direction. He paused. His gaze shifted to stare down one corridor, and then the other. He listened. He felt.
A familiar presence was near, too near.
Legolas grit his teeth. He leaned down, bent his knees, tensed, and shot forward. The hallways seemed to flood past as he sped through them. The presence was left farther and farther behind. Legolas smirked.
A few turns and several halls later his path ended in a wall. Then a sliver of light appeared in it. The doorway grew wider as two tree roots parted to let him pass. With a final burst of speed Legolas shot out into the sunlight.
The elf slid to a stop on the grass. Straightening, Legolas placed both hands on his hips and basked in his triumph. Then the grin fled his face.
"Where are you going, mellon nin?"
Legolas spun around. His head jerked up. His eyes widened.
There, in the branches of the tree whose roots opened and shut the door, stood a red-haired elf. A full quiver was strapped to his back. His hand held a bow. A smirk was spread over his face. Legolas' jaw dropped.
"How did you get out here?"
Collas chuckled.
"I felt you slinking by and went out through a hole in the roof another tree graciously provided. While you turned several times, I took a straight path over your head."
Legolas' hand slapped over his face. His shoulders slumped. Collas raised an eyebrow. Then his eyes fastened themselves upon to bow in the other elf's hand.
"Going to practice I see."
Legolas' head snapped back up. He crossed his arms.
"Yes, and this time I wish to practice alone."
Legolas spun away on one foot letting his arms fall to his sides, and strode toward the lake. Collas dropped from the tree and trotted to his side.
"All right then, we will practice alone, together."
Legolas set his jaw and said nothing. Collas continued to grin as he matched the shorter elf stride for stride. When they came to a log in their path, the red-haired elf sprang upon it and turned back to his fellow.
"You know I need the practice more than you, Lathwinnion. I cannot let you get too much better than me."
"Perhaps if you practiced alone?"
"Ah, but that is so dull."
Legolas went over the log without glancing at the other elf standing upon it.
"How am I to become the greatest archer in Arda with you tagging along and keeping things 'even'?"
Collas' hopped down with a grin.
"How cruel of me. Especially since there are not countless ages ahead of us for you to reach your goal in."
"Every other warrior of our race is ages ahead of us."
Collas threw an arm around Legolas' shoulders.
"And you are still just the best archer under a century old."
Legolas rolled his eyes.
"Indeed, the greatest among all three of us."
Collas turned a grin upon him.
"But those three include me."
He released the other elf and trotted on ahead. Legolas glared at his back.
"How many shots are you going to let me take this time before 'evening' things?"
Collas answered while laughing and not looking back.
"Don't worry, mellon nin. You will make four-hundred perfect shots before we return."
. . .
Legolas watched the hollow gourd, the size of his fist, bob up and down upon the surface of the lake. He studied the rhythm of the waves, felt the coming breeze, pictured how to account for both. Then he raised his bow, pulled back on the string, and smirked. Perfect shot four hundred and one. Perhaps someone had lost count.
"Achoo!"
Legolas flinched minutely. The arrow sped from his bow, flew across the lake's surface, and landed a knuckle-length from the target's center. The archer lowered his bow, grit his teeth, and turned towards the elf behind him.
Collas grinned while wiping his nose upon the back of his hand.
"Sorry, your highness. I don't know what came over me."
Legolas swung his bow at the other elf's head. Collas ducked under the swing with a laugh. Then he turned and dashed down the beach. The Silvan paused, drew his own bow, and launched an arrow at the next target. His also missed the center by a knuckle-length. He sighed and ran on.
Legolas paused his pursuit to aim at the same target. A pebble hit the side of his blond head. His shot missed the center again. Legolas spun back around and raced after the Silvan.
"You are a weak-eyed, honorless wood-maggot, Collas, to cheat me this way!"
"Why do you think I do it?!"
Laughter echoed above them. Both elves stopped. They lifted their eyes and scanned the tree line to their right. Small, identical faces peered down at them from the branches of a nearby birch. Color flooded Legolas' cheeks.
Collas laughed. Legolas strode past him, head down, grumbling in Sindarin rather than the Silvan he and Collas had been speaking in.
"Why did so many elflings have to be born this century?"
"Come now, mellon nin!" Collas threw his arm around the blond elf. "We were two of those elflings ourselves. I rather enjoyed growing up with you and Tirven. Doing so on my own would have been dull."
"Even more have been born after us. It's an invasion."
"You will feel better when you take another shot you won't mind them seeing. I promise not to interfere this time."
Legolas turned towards his friend. A cruel hunger flashed in the his eyes.
"Will you make that an oath?"
Collas' smile became strained.
"What shall I swear by?"
Legolas' own grin widened.
"Your hands. If you aren't true to your word, I get to cut them off."
Collas' arm flew off his friend's shoulders. He backed towards the woods before continuing down the beach four strides away from the other elf. The Silvan tried to chuckle away his sudden case of nerves.
"Perhaps I should simply let you gag and tie me to a tree, so I can't interfere if I want to."
Legolas' looked forward again, his smile still in place.
"That might work."
He stopped, drew, aimed, glanced at Collas, and almost ruined his own shot by laughing. The red-haired elf watched with a grin and both hands tucked out of sight beneath his armpits.
Legolas looked back to his target. His fingertips released the arrow. It flew over the water. A reflection as fleeting as a falling star passed over the lake's surface. The point buried itself in the target's center.
Legolas smirked. He stepped back with a glance at Collas. The common elf nodded his grin humbled. Then the other archer revealed his hands and stepped up to where Legolas had stood a moment before.
Collas notched his arrow, drew, and aimed. Before he released, something burst from the nearby underbrush and slammed into his legs. The archer's body lurched forward as the arrow launched from the bow. The bolt landed in the lake.
Opened mouthed, Collas looked down. Two, bright, identical faces laughed up at him. Legolas was laughing too.
"You were right mellon nin! I fell much better now."
Collas met the other archer's gaze with a ruthful smile.
"You are well-avenged, mellon nin."
"Anduant! Adulas!"
Both elflings' heads spun toward the trees. A she-elfling raced out from the woods. She was a head taller than those clinging to Collas' legs. The little elleth stopped within a few strides of the group. Then she curtsied towards both elves.
"My name is Mellolaes, great warriors. This is my fault. I was supposed to be watching them."
She looked up, met the gazes of both elflings, frowned, and waved them forward.
"Anduant, Adulas come!"
The younlings released Collas' legs. Heads bowed, they trudged forward until they flanked the slightly taller elfling. Then they turned back. The small elleth took one of their hands in each of her own. Then she glanced from one of her charges to the other.
"What do we need to say to them, cousins?"
Without waiting for a reply, she bowed low at the waist. The other elflings followed her example. Three high voices chirruped as one.
"Forgive us, kind sirs."
When the small elleth lifted her head to look Collas in the face, her bottom lip was quivering. The red-haired elf gave her an almost shamed grin. The elf's reply was as soft as Legolas had ever heard his friend speak.
"I forgive you little one." Then Collas gave each of the twins a slightly sterner look, before breaking down into a chuckle. "I forgive these small trouble makers as well."
Mellolaes' face shone with relief. Her eyes glowed. She dropped her cousins hands. Standing up onto her toes, the elfling stretched her arms up towards the tall elf reaching as high as she could.
"Oh thank you!"
Chuckling, Collas knelt down. Not only Mellolaes, but all three elflings flung their arms around him, squeezing the "grown-up" with all their might.
The elf maid's face turned upwards. Her gaze met Legolas' over his friend's shoulder. The half-Silvan smiled down at the elfling.
Her lips curled up into a smirk. Something flashed in both of the elleth's green eyes before one winked at him. Legolas started. The triumph fled the small maid's face as Collas released the elflings and rose to his feet.
Mellolaes gave another curtsy. "Thank you again kind sirs." Then she turned and raced for the trees. The small elleth never broke stride as she turned her head to call over her shoulder.
"Come Anduant, Adulas!"
The other younglings pelted after her. The she-elfling continued to look over her shoulder and gave the archers one last grin. The grown elves returned it, raising their hands in farewell.
Then Mellolaes looked back to the trees. She disappeared into them. The twins followed their cousin's example. Legolas smiled after them.
"You were right, mellon nin. Elflings are a blessing, and more cunning than one would suppose."
A little one shot I have been working on to show Legolas, Collas, and Mellolaes' youth. I hope to have the next chapter of "How Estel Got a Nurse" up soon. It will have a brief allusion to events in this story.
If you liked something, please tell me about it. If you didn't you can tell me about that too. :)
God Bless
ScribeofHeroes