No Mortals Allowed! Bwah!

Basically….a treehouse. Yeah…..*coughs* that's it. A sign posted outside a treehouse. In Imladris. Yeah. Uh……yeah. Ha. Uh…let's see here. This is kind of an AU piece, and takes place during their (Legolas, Aragorn, Haldir, Glorfindel) childhood, which was spent in Imladris. ^_^

No warnings. Yet.

No Mortals Allowed

By Lady Amaryllis

There was a large, tall oak tree growing in the corner of a courtyard in the heart of the city Imaldris. High up in its branches was a crude fort constructed from bits of scrap lumber and pieces of discarded wine casks and barrels.

A tattered rope ladder hung from one end of the fort, fraying in many places due to frequent use. It swayed gently in the breeze until a small hand shot out of the bottom of the fort and hauled it up.

"Hurry up, Glory! She's coming!" Haldir urged. He reached over Glorfindel's shoulder and helped him pull up the ladder. Once they'd gotten the end of it into the fort, Legolas scurried over and swung the trapdoor shut. They sat in silence, waiting.

"Hey, guys!" a voice called from below.

"Shh! It's Arwen," Glorfindel hissed. He was the eldest of the three and felt that he was the one in charge, and he was…at least for most of the time.

"Hey! I know you're up there!"

"Glory," Legolas began. "I don't think…."

"Shut up! We don't want her up here!"

"Glory, I don't think that's Arwen," said Legolas.

"Yeah. Sounds like she's swallowed a frog," said Haldir, scratching the back of his head thoughtfully.

"Well, let's see who it is," Legolas said, reaching for the handle on the trapdoor.

"No!" Glorfindel grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him away, but the young elf wrestled free and threw open the trapdoor.

"Who goes there?" he called. He stuck his head out of the fort, blonde hair tumbling over his shoulders and hanging down into the open air.

"I'm Aragorn, son of Arathorn," said the newcomer. "What's your name?"

"Legolas, son of Thranduil, heir to the throne of Mirkwood." Legolas said, his voice swelling with pride. Behind his back, Glorfindel and Haldir rolled their eyes skyward.

"Neat treehouse," said Aragorn. "Can I come up?"

Before Legolas had the chance to say anything, Glorfindel pulled him back up into the fort, knuckles white as he clutched the fabric of Legolas' shirt. "Don't you remember, Leggie? No Mortals Allowed!" he hissed softly.

"You never said that before," said Legolas, rather indignantly. "I'm going to go down now, if you don't mind."

"But Leggie--!"

"No, Glory! I want to go meet Aragorn," said Legolas.

"Legolas, he's a mortal," Haldir said. "You know how they can be!"

Somehow, Legolas was not convinced. "Come on! He can't be that bad. Glory, let go of my shirt, would you?"

Glorfindel refused to let go, so Legolas sighed and simply slipped out of his shirt. He hopped out of the treehouse, landing on the soft grass almost silently. Aragorn stared at him, bewildered.

"Hello, Legolas….what happened to your shirt?"

"They didn't want me to come down here," he explained, and, seeing the injured look on Aragorn's face, added quickly: "Don't worry about it…they're kinda weird."

A small smile spread itself across the young boy's face. "Thanks," he said.

"Hey…listen, do you want me to show you around? There's lots to see," Legolas said, eyes glimmering with hope.

"That'd be great. But I have to go tell Elrond first," said Aragorn. "He won't appreciate it if I'm seen running wild all over the city."

"That's fine." They strode away through the courtyard.

"Aragorn, wake up. It's me, Legolas." Clad in nothing more than a pair of loose brown slacks, the young elf knocked softly on Aragorn's door. "Wake up, please!" he hissed.

The door opened slowly, and Aragorn stepped aside to let his friend in. "What is it?" he asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "Not another one of your little escapades, I hope."

"No…."

"Then what is it?" Aragorn shut the door and lit the oil lamp beside his bed.

"It's cold in my room. And there's something under the bed, and Haldir is snoring. He steals the blankets. There's something under the bed, too…." Legolas shivered slightly.

"And you want to stay here, right?" Aragorn asked, and, seeing the pleading look in his friend's eyes, smiled knowingly.

"Can I?"

"Alright," said Aragorn, climbing into bed and making space for Legolas. "Get in."

Legolas clambered up into the bed, murmuring his gratitude. "Thank you, thank you, thank you……"

Aragorn simply nodded and extinguished the lamp. "Get some rest, Legolas."

"Aragorn?"

"Yes?"

"I forgot Buff [1] in my room," said Legolas.

"You don't really need him that badly, do you?"

"No…but can I hug you instead?"

"…Of course you can."

=End….For Now. ^_^=

Author's Notes:

[1] Buff is Lego's bear plushie. ^_^ So kawaiiiii~