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Chapter 2: You protest your innocence too strongly

Imladris

Elladan sighed, looking out through the slats of the window in pure boredom. "When are they supposed to arrive?" he asked dully, sagging head propped up on a half-asleep hand.

"A week."

He growled. "And why are we stuck here waiting for them?"

"Because King Thranduil told Father to expect them much sooner than that, and to expect the horses half-dead from being overridden."

"Cretins," Elladan spat, glaring out the window once more before moving to sit beside his brother. "But why are we stuck waiting for them?"

"Would you rather be home?"

"Well, at least there are things to do at home."

"Ah, yes… like cleaning up the halls you two have so recently destroyed?"

"Glorfindel," they groaned. "It wasn't our fault," Elladan protested. "How were we to know that horses don't like being inside on some days when they're fine on others?"

The ancient elf smiled cheerily, shaking his head. "Young elves," he murmured, as if to himself. "You protest your innocence too strongly, and too poorly. Elegance of words would go well with the inelegance of your scheming."

"We don't scheme, Glorfindel," Elrohir insisted, looking up from the book he had managed to grab before they were sent out here to wait for the expected elves. "We merely… investigate."

"Yes, things that don't have anything to do with you, and which you would better off leave alone."

"If we were to do so," Elrohir murmured quietly, "then we would never learn anything. Which would, I think, be more of a burden to Imladris than we already are."

"Yes, indeed!" Glorfindel agreed a little too heartily, if Elladan's sour look was any indication. "What a horror to think of having two such terrors loose among us for all of time… though really, you two are so trouble-bound, it would be just as likely for your father to send you away to Lothlorien to be dealt with by your grandmother."

The twins both paled slightly, looking discretely at each other before deciding they preferred a different topic. "Do you know anything of them, Glorfindel?"

He smiled easily, knowing their tactics, but not caring to correct them today. "Not much. Prince Legolas is the second of four sons. His mother, the Queen, sailed west when the youngest was born, for a spider attack forced labor too early to try and save the child. Her body retained the poison long enough she felt no joy in middle-earth any longer."

"That's sad. Wait, how could she go? Isn't she a wood-elf?"

"Half, and allowed to travel west," Glorfindel looked at them thoughtfully. "I think many elves, even wood-elves, will travel to the undying lands in time."

"But—"

He protested the whining tone more than anything. "Enough!"

The twins meekly lowered their eyes, sitting in silence for a while. "What about the others?"

Glorfindel shrugged elegantly, looking out the window. "Cousins, related to the court somehow."

"They're all inbred, right?"

Glorfindel resisted a growing urge to smack the young elves. Valar, Arwen wasn't this much trouble! Of course, she had only just learned to walk… well, toddle. "The two accompanying the prince are not related to him in any way. They are simply his friends—but cousins to each other. And that is all the more I know about them."

"Surely you at least know their names," Elladan insisted.

"Why don't you ask them?" the old warrior murmured, lifting a brow at them. "After all, they are practically upon us." With that he left, moving from the flet to another with the ease of one who knows well where he is.

The twins scowled at his back, before what he had said sank in. "They're here?"

In a mad rush they sprang from their chairs—Elladan's falling over—and jumped for the window, their shoulders crashing together as they did so. "How did they get here so fast? They're even letting the horses walk!"

"Well, let's not stand here and watch them," Elrohir murmured, before smiling. "Let's go and meet them."

Elladan read that smile, and knew mischief was on the way. "Yes… Let's."

Together they ran through the flets set up to observe travelers until they were in one near where the Greenwood elves would be passing, and settled down to watch and listen. The prince they could tell clearly enough—his hair was nearly silver, it was such a light gold, and his eyes were the same sapphire they could recall from their one meeting with the King of Greenwood, years ago. The other two were normal wood-elves, one slightly taller than the prince, riding at his right, the other rather slight, riding to his left. Both had hair darker than the prince, the smaller elf's hair more of a dark honey than gold.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to make me some new arrows," the tallest one asked, looking at the smallest. "After all, you lost so many of mine."

"And all of mine," was the laughing reply, which surprised the twins—though appearing as a male, this one sounded very female. Perhaps… very young? "But you did give them to me, and they were donated to a good cause… though I, for one, would have forgone the giving altogether."

"Considering the alternatives," Legolas murmured, "I wouldn't. You have long made your own arrows, Ang. I am sure they have what you will need here, if you brought nothing along."

"I didn't anticipate needing them on the way, Leaf," he protested mildly.

"Nor did I," Legolas replied genially. "But better to have them and not need them than need them and not have them."

"True," the third murmured. "But all jesting aside, when do you think they're going to speak?"

"I was beginning to wonder that myself. It's hardly like the elves of Imladris to be short of words." Both elves turned, looking directly up at the flet where the twins had thought themselves well hidden.

"But the Greenwood elves are never short of wit, ill-placed as it may be," a familiar voice called out, before the old warrior dropped onto the path.

"I thought it felt like you, Lord Glorfindel," Legolas grinned, getting down to properly greet the old warrior. "But the spies seemed like more fun to aggravate."

Glorfindel lifted a brow after releasing the offered hand, looking the young elf over. Despite the age—or lack thereof—the prince had already developed into a strong youth. There was no childhood softness left upon his frame. "You have grown, since last we met, Prince."

"I should hope so! Since I was but nine at the time."

"Your memory serves you as well as your senses," Glorfindel murmured. "Well met, indeed, Prince."

Legolas bowed his head slightly.

"But tell me, I expected but one guard to accompany you."

"Fishing for information? Why not get to the point?" Legolas laughed softly, knowing well that Glorfindel knew more than he let on. "My friends, Angolar and Zairil. Quite clearly, this is the legendary Lord Glorfindel."

"Quite," Zairil agreed, bowing her head slightly.

"May I ask," Glorfindel murmured, looking curiously at her hair, "why your arrows are in short supply?"

"Ah. You may, of course. Upon leaving our wood we found a stand of trees rather overpopulated by those creatures who seem wont to draw our fire. And who were we to flee without giving them some?"

"Yet your quiver is practically full, I see," Elrohir observed, climbing down to stand somewhat behind Glorfindel.

"I guided Zai's horse while she used her bow. In the dead of night, one must trust their own eyes over their horse's, no matter how sure-footed the horse normally is."

"You left as expected?" Glorfindel asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Yes."

"A lucky escape, then, I imagine. Seeing as there was no light of stars or even dawn to escape orcs who tried to reach you."

The playful laughter that had been upon the faces of the Greenwood elves vanished, their eyes lowering slightly in memory. "Yes," Legolas agreed at last, letting out a tense breath. "Lucky."

The other two looked at him, both lifting a brow fractionally. Glorfindel found himself intrigued despite himself. "Perhaps you would like to inform Lord Elrond of your arrival?"

Legolas looked up, and nodded his head. "I think it only polite," he agreed, laughing softly as he reached up a hand to the horse nudging his shoulder.

"Would you settle in your rooms, first?"

"That would be very agreeable, at this point," the prince agreed, before bowing his head slightly in thanks.

"Elladan, Elrohir, show them their rooms while I inform your father of their arrival." When the twins opened their mouth on a protest, he sent them a hard look, which made them promptly shut their mouths without making a sound. Glorfindel climbed quickly up to some of the flets and disappeared in the trees.

The Greenwood elves smirked at each other, having clearly caught the look Glorfindel sent their Imladris counterparts. They had received several such looks over the years, but they were never so cowed by them. The twin sons of Elrond weren't going to be as interesting as hoped… but then, they had always been fine on their own.

Elladan and Elrohir looked back at the Greenwood elves to see innocent smiles that they naturally didn't trust in the least. "This way," they stated together, turning to led the elves to the rooms near their own. "Bathing chambers there, dining hall all the way down, then left and the first right."

The twins nearly stopped when they heard soft snickers as they left, but instead their eyes narrowed, plotting already in the works.