Disclaimer: I am not Tolkien, nor do I claim to be. I do this for pleasure not profit. Enough said.
AN: The Legolas in my stories is not Tolkien's Legolas, either of Gondolin or Mirkwood. I simply borrowed the name with no intention of returning it.
The L and L Adventures: Dwelling in Doriath
Chapter One: Rude Awakenings
In the Elder Days of Middle Earth there was a herd of horses dozing beside the river Aros. The horses were lean and covered with dried sweat from a long, hard journey. The few horses that were not sleeping were tearing hungrily at the grass. Into this peaceable scene came a loud shout immediately followed by a splash. Then the sound of childish laughter could be heard coming swiftly towards the horses. It was a sure sign of familiarity on the horses part that when a running figure crashed into their midst they only moved out of his way and continued what they were doing before they were so rudely interrupted.
The figure was a young male Elf. He had long golden-blonde hair and laughing blue eyes. He had youthful, yet strong features that were currently contorted with mirth. He had the lanky build of an elfling just coming into maturity and was painfully thin. His clothes were much to big for him and looked to be of very poor make.
The first young Elf was swiftly followed by another young Elf with identical features. Except that his face was contorted with anger and determination instead of laughter. And his golden hair was dripping wet along with his clothes.
The second Elf quickly caught up to the first Elf and tackled him. A brief wrestling match ensued with the second Elf quickly emerging as victor since it is very hard to laugh and wrestle at the same time. As the second Elf caught his breath he glared at the first Elf pinned beneath him.
"You threw me in the river!" exclaimed the second Elf incredulously, once he had caught his breath. "Las, that was the first sound sleep I have had in weeks. And being awakened by someone grabbing me and tossing me in cold water is not something I enjoy!"
By now the first Elf was looking slightly remorseful. "I am sorry, brother, I did not think of that. I just wanted to do something to make Vanwa laugh. He is far too serious for an elfling his age. You are not truly upset with me are you, Lorien?"
The one named Lorien sighed but did not loosen his grip on his twin. "I am not truly upset, Legolas. You startled me is all." A mischievous expression replaced the previous look of fury. "But I can not let this injustice go unanswered. Hmm, what would be a fitting punishment? Do you have any ideas, Vanwa?"
The one addressed as Vanwa was a small, brown-haired elfling. He was less emaciated than the twins but could not be described as fat, or even healthy. He was younger than the other two, being only twenty-one to their forty-one. Due to inhaling a lot of smoke a year ago he could no longer speak, but Lorien had taught him to make signs with his hands in place of words so he could converse after a fashion. After a moments thought, Vanwa made a couple gestures that made a grin spread across Lorien's face.
"Oh, Vanwa, you are brilliant. Bring some over here."
By now Legolas had become very nervous. He could not see Vanwa from where he was lying and so had no idea what was going on. He swiftly found out when Vanwa and Lorien started smashing fresh horse manure in his hair. The following shrieks would have put a ringwraith to shame, if they had been born an age earlier to hear it.
Needless to say, after that everyone needed a thorough wash. So the threesome made their way down to the Aros, laughing and chatting and reeking of manure. After washing themselves and their clothes, the elflings decided, since they were wet anyway, to go ahead and wash their horses.
It took the elflings some time to get all the dirt and dried sweat out of over thirty thick coats and when they did, it made the horses look even thinner. It also made the many scars that the horses bore more apparent. Generally you would never find Elven horses in such a sorry state of health, but these horses had newly come into Elven hands. Before, they had been subjected to the rough, uncaring hands of evil men, as had the elflings who now tended them.
A month ago, the three elflings had instigated the escape of many of the slaves that were being held on the slopes of Thangorodrim, the mountain above Morgoth's underground fortress. The elflings had called the horses to them as they escaped, to draw attention away from the other escapees and to aid in their own escape. They had spent the following month riding hard to avoid recapture. They had been on the constant alert for Orc patrols as they crossed the Anfauglith (the gasping dust), but now that they were leaving lands held by the enemy they were able to relax a little, yet not completely.
Once they were done washing, the elflings saddled ten of the horses and strapped several bulky bundles onto the saddles. The saddles and bundles had been taken, along with the horses under them, by the elflings from their former masters when the Men had been so foolish as to try and recapture them. The bundles mainly consisted of armor, weapons, and clothes that the Men would no longer need, having been killed by the elflings.
The elflings mounted three of the unburdened horses and followed the river south for the rest of that day and most of the night. Although they were moving at a much slower pace then they had been before, the elflings and their equine entourage still made it a considerable distance before they stopped to rest for the few remaining hours of the night. In the morning, the elflings caught fish for their breakfast while the horses feasted on the juicy green grass by the riverbank.
The elflings pressed on and by noon they came to a ford, which they decided must be the Arossiach (the ford of Aros). They crossed the river at the ford but decided not to follow the road that continued on from it, for it went west and they wanted to go south towards Doriath.
The reason the elflings were making their way towards Doriath was that it was the closest realm still free from Morgoth's control that the twins knew of. Plus the twin's grandmother was from Doriath, though she did not dwell there anymore. They only half remembered the stories their mother had told them of their family in Doriath, so they were unsure if they would find any kin left there that would take them in. The scant knowledge the elflings did have of Doriath was from a mother's long ago teaching and the other slave's late night whisperings, so it is understandable that when they came to the Girdle of Melian they became hopelessly lost.
The Girdle of Melian was an enchantment that Queen Melian had put in place to protect Doriath from attack. Anyone that tried to enter Doriath without the permission of King Elu Thingol would find himself lost in the confusing mists and shadows that surrounded the forests of Doriath. Only one had breeched the Girdle without the King's permission, and, unfortunately for the elflings, they did not share Beren's power.
For three days Legolas, Lorien, and Vanwa were lost in that enchantment. Despite their constant vigilance some of their horses managed to wander off into the mist and get lost, taking some of the elflings' supplies with them. It was with dwindling possessions and hope that the elflings laid down to sleep for the third time since getting lost.
"Captain," called one of the scouts of the March Wardens of Doriath softly as he dropped out of a tree.
"What did you find?" asked the Captain as he approached the scout.
"Horses, Captain. A whole herd of them in a clearing just a little ways ahead."
The Captain huffed, annoyed that the scout had not given him any new information. He was well aware that there was a large group of horses a little ways ahead since they had following their tracks since that morning. "And?" prompted the Captain gruffly.
"There are some people with them, two or three I am not sure. I did not get a good look at them but their garb is Mannish as is their tack." The Captain frowned at the news that there might be Men trying to get into Doriath. "Whoever they are they are sleeping right now. They did not even set a watch," scoffed the Warden.
The Captain frowned even more severely at that. Even inside the Girdle of Melian it was dangerous to sleep without setting a watch, and doubly so on the edge of it. The Girdle kept out Orcs but wolves could make their way through it, not to mention bears and other forest predators. The lack of watch made the Captain suspect a trap, but the small number of people made that unlikely. "Are you sure there are only two or three people?"
The scout drew himself up proudly. "I am sure of it. I could not clearly see them under their blankets, but there could only have been three at the most. And I saw no tracks leading away from their camp."
"Then why so many horses?" wondered the Captain under his breath.
The scout's sharp Elven hearing caught the question and he frowned, that fact had been bothering him too. "I do not know, Captain. But I definitely saw only three people at the most."
The Captain nodded his thanks to the scout before turning to address the rest of his patrol. "I want archers in the trees surrounding the clearing. Everyone is to stay out of sight unless I signal otherwise."
The Wardens did as their Captain commanded and cautiously moved forward and surrounded the clearing. Once the Captain was sure his archers were in place he stepped out from behind the trees and approached the camp openly.
The Captain only took a few steps before one of the horses spotted him and neighed a warning to his fellows. Immediately the pile of blankets in the middle of the clearing sprang to life. Three figures arose from the blankets, weapons in hand, before the Captain could take another step.
The Captain stopped in shock. They were mere children! And their pointed ears and slim builds indicated that they were Elven children. But what were three elflings doing alone on Doriath's border? The Captain continued to stare as the elflings shifted into a back-to-back triangle. The two taller elflings held their swords with an ease that the Captain knew came only from experience. The smaller elfling was less at ease with his long knife but looked no less ready to defend himself.
"Who are you?" demanded one of the taller elflings of the Captain.
"Generally, it is customary for the intruder to identify himself first," answered the Captain, his befuddlement making him cautious.
"Well, you are the one who intruded on our sleep so…" the elfling trailed off with an expectant look at the Captain.
The Captain felt his lips twitch into a small smile. The elfling was not a fool that was for sure. "Very well. I am Oropher, a Captain of the High King's March Wardens. Now who are you who trespasses on the King's land?"
"I am Legolas and this is my brother, Lorien," said the elfling as he tilted his head back towards the elfling behind him. "The short one is Vanwa."
Vanwa glared at Legolas for calling him short, he was actually quite tall for his age, but since Legolas still had his attention fixed on Oropher it failed to have an impact.
"What is your business in Doriath, Legolas?" questioned Oropher.
"None of yours," Legolas retorted and immediately winced as Lorien drove a sharp elbow into his side. "But if you call off your archers I might be willing to discuss it," he hastened to add while surreptitiously moving a hand to rub his sore ribs.
Oropher was very surprised that Legolas had spotted the well-hidden archers. But elflings were hardly a threat to Doriath's security, so he signaled for his archers to stand down. As soon as the archers were no longer pointing arrows at them the elflings sheathed their weapons and turned to face Oropher.
Oropher started slightly when he finally saw Lorien's face. Elven twins were a rarity so he was surprised to find two wandering the wilds of Doriath. And the fact that Vanwa bore no resemblance to either of them puzzled him.
"Thank you, Captain Oropher. You might as well come closer so we do not have to shout at each other." Lorien spoke politely but with a subtle authority.
As Oropher approached he noticed that the twin's heads barely reached his shoulder, and Vanwa was only slightly taller then his belt. The oddness of finding elflings alone in the woods again impressed itself upon Oropher and he asked again why they were there.
"We came to see the beautiful sights of course," said Legolas as he looked around with exaggerated admiration at the dreary looking trees.
Lorien rolled his eyes at his brother's antics before answering with the real reason. "We came to find kin and a place to stay."
Oropher could easily believe that reason, refugees streamed into Doriath on an almost regular basis. "What kin do you seek?"
"Any kin of Daurhael, our grandmother, who lived in Doriath long ago," answered Lorien.
"I know Daurhael," answered Oropher, pleasantly surprised that these elflings were related to his friend. "I did not know she had grandchildren. You must be her daughter's children. Oh, what was her name?" Oropher muttered trying to remember the name Daurhael had mentioned in many of her letters, before it became too dangerous to run regular curriers between Doriath and the Falas (coast).
"Falawen," answered Legolas with a rough voice. Oropher recognized the look on the twin's faces as grief and endeavored to gentle his tone.
"She is not with you?" Oropher asked, silently dreading the answer.
"She is dead," answered Lorien. "As is our father. That is why we are here seeking kin."
The twins had a forced calm about them that hinted at their underlying grief. The sympathetic, yet calm look that Vanwa sent them made Oropher suspect that either he was not related to them or that he had never known his own mother. Oropher sincerely hoped that it was not the latter.
"Where are you from?" Oropher asked in an effort to get the conversation out of the painful lull it had fallen into.
A strange expression crossed the twin's faces and they glanced at each other. Something passed between them and then Legolas sent Oropher a disarming smile. "Hithlum, originally, but that hardly matters now. What does matter is where we are going, which is Menegroth, if you will take us there that is."
Oropher's curiosity was stirred by the obvious evasion but he let it slide, for now anyway. "I can not in good conscience let elflings wander in the wilds by themselves. I also cannot let strangers into Doriath without taking them to the King first, so yes I will be taking you to Menegroth."
The elflings looked relieved and happy at that proclamation. "Thank you, Captain," said the twins at exactly the same moment with eerily similar smiles on their faces.
"Now that that is settled I think it is time for us to go back to sleep," said Lorien placing a hand on Vanwa's shoulder and steering him back towards the pile of jumbled up blankets that was their bed. "See you in the morning Captain," Lorien added over his shoulder.
Vanwa sent Oropher a shy smile and a little wave. Legolas gave Oropher a lopsided smile and chirped, "Sweet dreams, Captain."
Oropher stood there for a moment watching the elflings settle down under their blankets. He took careful note of the way the twins slept with their hands unconsciously gripping their swords and the fact that they placed Vanwa in the middle. It saddened Oropher's heart that Elves as young as these were already accustomed to having to defend themselves against the world in which they lived. Thoughts of his own son filled Oropher's mind and comparing his bubbly, innocent Thranduil to these wary, hardened elflings made his heart even heavier.
Oropher was startled out of his thoughts by the feel of eyes. One of the twins, he had lost track of which one, was giving Oropher a pointed look that asked why he was still standing there staring at them. Oropher took the hint and strode out of the clearing back to his warriors. As Oropher left he realized that he had failed to ask several important questions, like why elflings had so many horses and why they wore Mannish clothes, but he did not even slow his stride. He reasoned to himself that the elflings obviously needed their rest and could answer his questions in the morning, but Oropher could not help but feel that he was following the polite orders of an elfling.