Disclaimer: No, I do not own Lord of the Rings or any of Tolkien's other works.
Chapter 2
The First Day
"Ah," Legolas stated vaguely, staring at the place where the barrels had once been placed on the flagstones, "Now what do we do?"
"Find them, obviously. Before they are wast- I mean, drank," Elrohir amended whatever he was going to say quickly.
"And where exactly do you suggest looking?" Lindir asked cynically, raising an eyebrow.
Elrohir looked faintly affronted, "Not look, dear Lindir, ask. Why bother wasting all that time looking aimlessly when we could just ask where they are?"
Legolas raised his eyebrows, "You're just going to ask your father where the Dorwinion wine is?"
"Yes, that is exactly what I intend to do," Elrohir answered before marching towards the entrance of the Last Homely House.
"Erm, brother, I'm not so sure that is a good idea…," Elladan began, but Elrohir had already swept through the doors.
The three elves remaining in the courtyard stared at each other for a moment before rushing after him. They were just in time to hear Elrohir ask, "Adar, where is the Dorwinion wine?"
Elrond simply stared at his son for a time before saying, "Elrohir, you are not old enough to be drinking wine, as I have told you many a time before. Now, do not continue pestering me with this matter or a will make sure that you do not taste a single sip of wine before you are in your three thousandth year."
Once done chastening his son, Elrond swept off, leaving a rather shocked looking Elrohir in his wake.
"Wait… I… I didn't want to drink it!" Elrohir exclaimed, but Elrond was already out of hearing.
Elrohir slowly turned around to face the other elflings, rather shamefaced, and admitted, "That may not have been one of my best ideas."
Elladan snorted. "You think? Now what do we do?"
There was a slight pause before Legolas made a suggestion: "Look aimlessly?"
"Does anyone else have a better idea?" Lindir inquired.
There was another pause before they all shook their heads.
"Then look aimlessly it is," Elrohir sighed, "Let's go this way."
He walked off in a randomly chosen direction and the others followed, but it was only moments before Elrohir stopped again, "Shh, listen!"
The other elflings paused, listening hard. There were footsteps coming towards them, down the hall perpendicular to theirs and whoever it was, they were carrying something heavy.
"It has to be the wine!" exclaimed Legolas, delighted at the coincidence and their luck.
Elrohir nodded before gesturing to Elladan to come help him. The twin went over to where Elrohir was standing, by a hanging tapestry, and knelt down; making a mesh with his hands. Elrohir stepped onto Elladan's hands and Elladan stood up so that Elrohir could remove the rod that held the tapestry from the hooks on the wall.
Lindir and Legolas watched blankly, not having the slightest idea of what the twins were doing, as Elrohir unhooked the tapestry from the rod and handed the cloth to Elladan while he kept the wooden rod. The twins then went to stand around the corner; planning to ambush the approaching wine carrier.
"What are-," Legolas began, but the twins shot the prince glares that silenced him effectively.
The elf's footsteps became louder as he approached his impending doom, and, as soon as the footsteps were right at the corner, Elrohir shoved the rod in front of the elf's legs; causing him to trip.
"Wha-argggh!" the elf let out a shout as he crashed onto the floor and the barrel of wine in his arms went flying.
Immediately, Elladan threw the tapestry over the elf's head, and Elrohir ran to grab the barrel. Within seconds, all four elflings were running away from the victim, but it wasn't long before the elf managed to disentangle himself from the tapestry and give chase.
"Stop Immediately! Who are you? Get back here!" the elf shouted behind them.
Legolas whimpered, "Oh, we are going to be in so much trouble!"
"Be quiet and help me carry this; it's heavy!" Elrohir commanded.
The group of elflings flew around a corner, but their pursuer was not far behind.
"Quick! In here!" Elladan flung open a door that led to an unused storage room.
The elflings fled inside the room, but, as soon as Elladan quietly closed the door, and the sound of their running footsteps disappeared, the elf on the other side of the door slowed.
"Where are you? I know you're here." The elf growled.
Lindir whimpered, his eyes wide with horror, and Legolas was muttering, "What are we going to do?" over and over. There was the sound of a door being flung open and all the elflings jumped.
"So not in here, are you? I'll find you eventually" The elf outside threatened menacingly and a door closer to theirs was flung open with a bang.
Elrohir gulped before whispering, "Okay, here is what we are going to do, when the elf gets to our door we're going to open it and hopefully knock him over before we run away. Got it?"
"Run? With that thing?" Elladan gestured to the barrel at Elrohir's feet, "It's too heavy."
Elrohir stared at it for a moment before saying slowly, "We're just going to have to leave it behind and then come back for it later, once we've escaped."
Elladan nodded before moving the barrel into a corner of the room. Then the elflings stood by the door and Elrohir grabbed the handle; getting ready to fling it open. They waited with bated breath until the elf was on the other side, just inches away from them, and then Elladan gave the signal.
Immediately, Elrohir flung the door open and all four elflings simultaneously pushed against the wood with all their might. The door crashed into the elf on the other side with alarming speed, and he tumbled onto the floor; uttering surprised shout. The elflings sprinted out of the room and down the hallway, not sparing a glance at the elf lying prone on the floor. Probably a good thing as, when the elf looked up, a bruise was beginning to form on his forehead, and when he saw the edge of Lindir's tunic flick around a corner, the look on his face was quite murderous. Within seconds, the elf was back on his feet and sprinting after the troublesome elflings, leaving a lone barrel of red enchanted water behind.
Unfortunately, the barrel wasn't going to be alone for long.
Glorfindel peered around the corner, wondering what all the noise down this hallway could be about. He was just in time to see an elf sprint around the corner opposite him, shouting something about having a knife and knowing how to use it. How strange. Perhaps it was a bizarre new fad – Glorfindel could never keep up with them – to inform others of your ability to handle weapons. Rather absurd, as usually when one had a weapon, they knew how to use it, or what was the point of having it in the first place?
Still contemplating youngsters and their peculiar ways, Glorfindel moved to close the door that the other elf had left ajar. As he was doing so, something in the room caught his eye. Could it be? Glorfindel entered the room. Yes, it was!
Someone had just left a barrel of Greenwood wine lying here, looking rather out of place in the otherwise empty room. Well, it would be such a waste to just leave it here, and, with that thought, Glorfindel picked up the barrel and left, intending to share his good fortune with Erestor.
It was half an hour later when four, slightly disheveled elflings returned to the room which they had previously fled. They were all slightly out of breath and had twigs and leaves tangled in their hair; their flight having taken them outside. Coming to the door of the empty storage room, Elladan took hold of the handle and flung it open.
…Only to find that their red enchanted water, which they had worked so hard to obtain, was gone.
Elladan froze in horror and sputtered, "B-but it was right there! Where is it?"
"It was this room, right?" Elrohir was frantic.
Following this statement came the desperate search through the rest of the rooms that lined the corridor.
Crash!
"Not this one."
Bang!
"It's not in here either!"
Thud!
"Where is it!?"
"What are you doing?"
The four elflings spun around to see Lord Elrond.
Elrohir's reaction was automatic, "Nothing."
Elrond raised an eyebrow. Whenever his son used that tone, it was a sure sign that he was up to something. Probably best to get them doing something productive.
"How about you find my advisors and inform them that I will arrive soon to go over the reports with them. They should be in their studies."
A chorus of "Yes, Ada's" and "Of course, Lord Elrond's" met his ears. Satisfied, Elrond turned and left.
The four elflings were left in the hallway staring at each other in despair.
"Well, let's go tell them about the reports, and then we can go back to searching for the barrel," Legolas sighed.
"Glorfindel's study is nearest," Elladan provided, and the elflings walked down multiple hallways until they reached a wooden door.
Knocking, Elladan waited impatiently for Glorfindel to answer. However, after a long pause, Elladan tried again, this time asking, "Glorfindel? Are you in there?"
When there was still no answer, Elladan turned to Elrohir with a frown on his face, "Ada said he'd be in here, didn't he?"
Elrohir nodded, "Maybe something's wrong."
Elrohir tried knocking on the door louder, but there was still no answer.
"Maybe we should check inside," Elladan wondered out loud.
Elrohir grabbed the handle and the door creaked open to reveal a horrifying sight. Glorfindel and Erestor were sprawled in two arm chairs, red stains on their robes and crystal shards at their feet.
Elrohir let out a wail of dismay and all four elflings rushed to two elves sides.
"Glorfindel! Erestor!" Elladan called, but the elves remained limp and unresponsive.
If the elflings hadn't been able to hear Glorfindel's and Erestor's slow, steady breathing, they would have thought that the elves were dead, but they seemed to only be sleeping.
Lindir tried shaking Glorfindel to wake him up, but the only result of this came when the Balrog-slayer let out a loud snore.
"What's wrong with them?!" Legolas shrieked, "And what's on their robes?"
Elladan paused and lightly touched the stain on Erestor's robe, "I think it is wine."
"Have they been poisoned?" Lindir asked, horrified.
"No," the three elflings turned to face Elrohir, who was holding a pitcher filled with a deep, rich red liquid, "This isn't wine; it doesn't smell like wine… I think we've found the enchanted water."
The elflings all stared at each other in horror, but, just then, footsteps could be heard approaching the study; causing the elflings to jump. Elrohir cursed softly as he splashed a bit of the red enchanted water on his tunic.
"It must be Ada," Elladan hissed, "What are we going to do?"
Legolas was thinking fast, "We have to get rid of the water and we can't move Glorfindel or Erestor so we're just going to have to leave them here, but they shouldn't remember anything when they wake up."
"Ada's too close; he'll see us moving the wine," Elrohir contradicted.
It was true, Elrond's footsteps were much closer now.
Suddenly, Lindir had an idea, "How about Legolas and I distract Lord Elrond and you and Elladan move the wine?"
"That should work," Elladan agreed.
Legolas nodded and grabbed Lindir's arm; leading him towards the door. They met up with the elf lord just around the corner.
"Lord Elrond!" Legolas exclaimed, trying hard not to look guilty or like he was up to something.
"Prince Legolas, Lindir," Elrond greeted back, before trying to move past them.
Lindir immediately jumped in front of him, "Wait, we wanted to ask you something!" Lindir paused; thinking hard, what would distract Elrond and keep him from moving? Something odd or shocking? Something awkward? Lindir quickly came to a decision, and, not entirely sure of the wisdom of it, asked, "Lord Elrond, how are elflings made?"
It had the desired effect; Elrond froze and stared down at Lindir his mouth open slightly in shock.
Recovering somewhat, he let out a loud, and fairly unintelligent, "What?"
"Well, you see," Lindir began, now beginning to seriously doubt the astuteness in this, "We know a little about how it's done; something about when two elves love each other greatly, but we don't really know exactly, and seeing as you're so old – I mean smart! – We thought you'd know."
Beside him, Legolas made an odd choking noise and the expression on his face suggested that he didn't know whether to laugh or be horrified.
Now Elrond was beginning to look vaguely uncomfortable, "Er, how about you ask your father?"
"But he's training some of the novice warriors," Lindir protested, wondering how much longer he had to keep this up.
"Well, I'm sure you could ask him later," Elrond suggested, beginning to sound rather desperate.
"But what if a elleth shows up with a elfling, between now and then, and says that it's mine?" questioned Lindir putting on his best pleading face, "Or what if a stork flies down and gives me one all wrapped up in cloth? Then what do I do? I don't want to be a parent! You have to tell me, Lord Elrond, before I accidently make one!"
Now lord Elrond was definitely panicking, "Ai! Go ask someone else! Glorfindel or Erestor, even King Thranduil! Anyone! Just don't ask me!"
And with that, Elrond turned and fled quickly down the hall towards Glorfindel's study.
"Do you think that was long enough?" Lindir wondered out loud as soon as he had gone.
From behind them came a rather choked "Yes," causing Legolas and Lindir to spin around. Just around the corner nearby were the twins and one barrel, as well as a pitcher, of red enchanted water. Both twins were sitting on the floor where they had collapsed from silent laughter.
"I can't believe you asked him how elflings were made," gasped Elladan, with tears streaming down his face. "Did you see Ada's expression?!"
He and Elrohir both dissolved back into hysterical laughter that was soon cut off by a shout coming from the direction of Glorfindel's study.
The four elflings stared at each other wide-eyed; all mirth now gone.
"Maybe we should leave here," suggested Legolas nervously.
The other three quickly nodded and Elladan picked up barrel while Elrohir grabbed the pitcher. Within minutes, they were in a secluded part of the Last Homely House.
Panting, Elladan put down the heavy barrel, "What are we going to do with it?" He asked, gesturing to the barrel.
"We're going to have to hide it somewhere till we figure out how to get rid of it," decided Legolas after giving it a moment of thought.
"Where?" Lindir wondered.
There was a slight pause before Elrohir suggested, "We could hide it the caves. They're close by, but no one is likely to venture there now that the festival is about to begin."
When no one could come up with a better suggestion, it was agreed upon. They poured the pitcher of water back into the barrel, and made a quick plan on how to smuggle the barrel outside. It was with great difficulty that the elflings managed to sneak the barrel out of the Last Homely House without being seen, but, in the end, they made it to a clearing that was backed by a tall cliff. The face of the cliff was marred by a small, black opening that led into a fairly large cavern with multiple tunnels coming off it. The twins and Lindir made their way through the dark passages, with Legolas following them, until they came to a hidden cave that broke off from one of the passageways.
Setting the barrel down on the stone floor, Elladan surveyed what could be seen of the cavern through the shadows, "This should do, don't you think?"
Elrohir and Lindir nodded approvingly while Legolas just shuddered. He did not like caves. Well, his father's halls were sort of caves, but they were large and airy whereas this was small, enclosed, and not at all pleasant.
"Our parents will probably be looking for us. Perhaps we should go back?" Legolas suggested, his voice a slightly higher pitch than normal.
The twins looked amused, but Lindir started leading Legolas back towards the entrance before they could say anything. They hastily followed; not wanting to be left behind.
When they got back to the city, they found the place in chaos. Elves were running here and there without any regard to order and propriety as they rushed to relay whatever information they knew to other elves. When one elf, whom Elladan recognized to be one of his father's advisors, caught sight of them, he let out a cry of relief, "My lords, Prince Legolas… Lindir isn't it? Lord Elrond has been wondering where you have been. There has been a terrible accident and our leader believes that you may have some information on the subject."
"What accident?" Elrohir asked, trying desperately not to look guilty.
"The Lords Erestor and Glorfindel have been poisoned!" the advisor exclaimed, the look on his face suggesting that this was the worst thing to have happened since the fall of Gondolin.
Elladan put on his best horrified face, "Then we shall go immediately!"
The four elflings sprinted out of sight before slowing to a stop.
"What are we going to do?" Legolas was on the verge of panicking.
"Lie," Elrohir decided.
"Lie! To Lord Elrond!?" Lindir looked appalled.
"Just a small lie," Elrohir defended, "We'll just say that when we got to Glorfindel's study, to relay Ada's message, both Erestor and Glorfindel were fine. When Erestor and Glorfindel wake up, they will have lost part of their memory anyways, so it will hardly matter that they can't remember us."
Lindir still did not look convinced and Legolas was staring at Elrohir disbelievingly, "This can't possibly work."
"Do you have a better idea?" Elladan snapped.
Lindir and Legolas quickly shook their heads, so, it was only minutes later that they were nervously standing outside the healing ward's doors; awaiting Lord Elrond.
Elladan gulped as the doors were flung open and Elrond stalked out, looking rather anxious.
"Ah, there you are!" He exclaimed, catching sight of the elflings, "I must ask you something: When you went to Glorfindel's study, did you see anything or anyone odd?"
It was Elladan who answered, keeping his face solemn, "No, Ada, when we got to Glorfindel's study, both Glorfindel and Erestor looked fine."
"And did you see anyone else there? Was there some wine out?"
Elladan shook his head, "I don't think there was anyone else there, and I cannot remember if there was wine or not; we were only there briefly."
Elrond ran a hand through his hair and began pacing, "It is very strange, they seem to have been drinking wine, as there are fresh stains on their robes and there were wine glass shards at their feet when I found them, but the wine itself could not be found. And I'm not even sure it was wine they were drinking, as, though it appears to be wine on their robes, it does not smell like wine. To top it all off, whatever they were poisoned with, seems to have only put them into a sleep from which I cannot wake them. It makes no sense! What is the point of-,"
Suddenly, Elrond broke off staring at Elrohir, or, more specifically, Elrohir's tunic, "Elrohir," he began, his voice cold, "What is that on your tunic?"
Elrohir looked down at himself and his eyes widened in horror as he saw the red stain from where he had spilt enchanted water on himself in Glorfindel's study; he had entirely forgotten about it.
"Er, Adar, I can explain," he stuttered.
Elrond cut him off, looking thoroughly aggravated, "What have I told you about drinking wine!? I told you, just earlier today, that you are too young! Yet here I find that you have completely disregarded my orders!"
Elrond swirled away from Elrohir, who bit his lip nervously, "Adar, I didn't mean to…," Elrohir trailed off, not sure what to say, or how to get out of this situation.
Elrond sighed and turned back towards him, his face blank, "I want you in my study, after dinner. Is that understood?"
Elrohir nodded and Elrond continued, "You are dismissed, you may go to supper. Oh, and Prince Legolas," Legolas gulped, fearing lord Elrond's wrath, "Your father is looking for you. I believe he is in the Hall of Fire."
Legolas nodded, looking relieved, and the four elflings turned and left.
Once out of hearing, Elrohir let out a moan of despair, "What am I going to do? Of all the things I could have spilled the enchanted water on, it had to be myself!"
Elladan patted his shoulder consolingly, "At least he didn't find out that it was us who took the 'wine' from Glorfindel's study."
Lindir sighed, "He hasn't found out yet, but it's probably only a matter of time before he makes the connection between Elrohir having 'wine' on his tunic and the missing 'wine' from Glorfindel's study."
"You're so optimistic," Elladan said sarcastically before turning towards Elrohir, "Though you should probably change you tunic, brother, before Ada find's out that, like the stains on Erestor's and Glorfindel's robes, the stain on your tunic doesn't smell like wine either."
So the elflings made a detour to Elrohir's room so that he could change his tunic and hide his other stained one. They then made their way to their places at the large dining table in the Hall of Fire. Elladan, Elrohir, and Legolas were near the head of the table whereas Lindir was a farther ways down, sitting next to his father.
As soon as Legolas sat down, his father leaned over and immediately began questioning him on how his day had been. The twins listened, amused, as Legolas tried to satisfy his father with his answers without telling him what exactly he had been up to.
When King Thranduil was certain that Legolas was so far having a good time, he abruptly changed the subject, "So, have you found someone to go with yet?"
"Go to what?" asked Legolas blankly.
"You have not yet heard? The Lady Celebrian announced that there is to be a dancing at the festival for which every young person must have a partner."
King Thranduil chuckled at the look of horror that appeared on Legolas's face as he announced this. Nearby, Elladan and Elrohir were of the same mind, and their faces too were contorted in revulsion, but suddenly, Elrohir's repulsed look turned to one of elation; causing Elladan to stare at him in disbelief.
"What's wrong with you?" Elladan asked incredulously, "He just said that we have to dance with girls."
From the way Elladan said this, you would have thought that females were the epitome of evil and repugnance.
"I know that, but if Ada's punishment for me is to not go to the festival, then I won't have to dance!" Elrohir explained gleefully.
"You will also miss out on the food," Elladan pointed out.
Elrohir's face sank as he fell into inner turmoil over the debate of whether the food at the festival would be worth the horror of dancing with a girl.
~.-.~
Balrog: A demon of shadow and flame, and Glorfindel is well known for having slain one.
The Fall of Gondolin: Gondolin was an elven city and was destroyed when Morgoth's armies attacked it.
Ada/Adar: the elvish words for Dad or Father.
Elleth: elvish word for a female elf.
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