Standard disclaimer – not mine, no money, just for fun
Not much happening this chapter, I'm afraid – I'll try to update faster with the next to make up for it. Thanks to all who are reading and as always, thank you for your wonderful and kind reviews!! Thanks, too, to Sarah for providing her expert beta skills. And thanks too, to Alanic and anon - I coudn't send a personal thanks but would not want to leave you out for anything!
Chapter 4
List of OC's:
Galvreth – Thranduil's closest advisor and friend
Ivran – Legolas's oldest brother, the Crown Prince of Mirkwood
Ellarian – Legolas's middle brother
Tûrin – Captain of the Mirkwood Home Guard and friend of Legolas
Rissien – Lieutenant of the Mirkwood Home Guard and friend of Legolas
Tathar – Mirkwood's greatest archer, set to compete in an archery contest that takes place every 100 years in Imladris
~*~
The riders were met quickly by the border guards of Imladris and escorted forthwith to the door of the last Homely House. Elrond himself awaited their arrival. Tûrin kept a tight grip on Tathar as they followed the obviously worried Elven lord up the stairs and into the healing wing. Legolas would have gladly hung back, recognizing that the next few minutes could spell the end of everything if anyone here knew Ellarian. But Rissien had planted himself behind Legolas and a firm hand to the small of his back, punctuated with an occasional shove, kept him moving quickly forward.
He stopped at the door of the sickroom, startled by the sight that greeted him – two dark haired Ellyn stood around the bed that Tûrin was lowering Tathar onto. They were stunning - tall, muscular, chiselled cheekbones with eyes the colour of mithril. But what had brought Legolas to a halt was the fact that they looked exactly alike, the only difference between them was the colour of their tunics. Instantly, the adan's words replayed in Legolas's head – My brothers are friends with the Prince – and Legolas knew that he was looking at the twin sons of Lord Elrond, the adan's foster brothers. And they knew Ellarian. The end was indeed near.
All three Lords of Imladris leaned over the bed where Tathar now lay on his side. "Where is Ellarian?" one of the twins stated, quite clearly, straightening and looking back at the small contingent still huddled at the doorway, Tûrin having rejoined them to observe from a safer distance, what was about to occur. "Estel, I thought you said that Ellarian was injured? Where is he?" Lord Elrond's foster son came forward from where he had stopped behind Legolas and Rissien.
"That is Prince Ellarian, is it not?" the man asked confused as he joined the others around the bed.
"No," Lord Elrond stated, unequivocally. "That is not Ellarian." Four sets of eyes flicked to the assembled Mirkwood warriors standing frozen at the door and began to rove back and forth across three guilty faces.
"Yes, well," Tûrin stuttered. Elrond's roving gaze snapped back to him. "He, you see, is – "
"Ellarian could not come, my lord," Legolas broke in. "He was called away and so the King sent his youngest, Legolas, in his stead. I don't believe you have met him." He stayed tucked behind Tûrin as best he could – he might never have met Elrond but that did not mean that any likeness he might hold to his father would not be readily apparent. His golden hair alone could be his undoing as there were few Mirkwood Elves, in fact, exactly two, with that trait.
Elrond's eyes swivelled one spot to the right and honed in on Legolas who had to fight to keep from shying away. He managed a discreet swallow but still had not found his tongue when fortune shined upon him - Tathar came to his senses enough to stir upon the bed.
Legolas and company were instantly forgotten. All attention was transferred to the patient with a parting command from Lord Elrond. "Please, go make yourselves comfortable. My servant shall show you to your quarters and see to your needs. I will see that you are informed of the Prince's condition once I am finished here but do not concern yourselves – his wounds do not appear to be at all life threatening." Legolas felt like fainting from relief but held himself still, fighting his desire to turn and run before Elrond decided to ask any more questions. He knew that Tathar would likely awaken soon and then where would they all be, once he opened his mouth? They could hardly leave him alone with the twins and Elrond.
"My lord, if you please. Might I stay?" Tûrin asked. "Legolas is my responsibility and I would not have it be said that I did not do my duty." Again, Legolas felt weak at the knees and shot Tûrin a look of unending thanks, though the Elf's back was to him.
"Of course, of course," Elrond replied, absently, his attention still on his patient. Rissien's firm hand on Legolas's elbow indicated that they were free to go and he lost no time heading out the door and toward freedom, not at all sure how long that freedom might last.
~*~
Elrond ended his examination of the prince and gave orders for things to be made ready for the surgery required to remove the arrow. "I will return in just a moment," he said to the Mirkwood captain, giving what he hoped to be an encouraging smile. "I need to mix an antidote for the poison and something to help with the pain. Your prince has a concussion – he will have a terrible headache once he awakens but with plenty of rest, he should be as good as new."
The captain did not seem overly concerned as he gave a half-hearted nod, seemingly lost in some other thought entirely, leaving Elrond to wonder if Thranduil needed to be informed that the soldier in charge of caring for his child's welfare did not appear to take his job overly seriously. He reminded himself that the Elf had cared enough to stay behind and keep an eye on his charge. He decided to observe carefully and wait to form an opinion – there would be time to notify the king if he felt it necessary and if he were concerned enough, he would send his own Imladrin guard to accompany the Prince on his return trip home. Given the recent rise in orc activity, that might not be a bad idea, anyway, he told himself, heaving a frustrated sigh.
He beckoned Elrohir to follow him as he stepped from the room, leaving Elladan to keep watch over the injured prince. All three of his sons were accomplished healers, but Elladan's ability was the greater, as much gift as it was due to the skills Elrond had imparted. The younger twin's long legs easily matched his adar's stride as they hurried down the hall. "Send a falcon with a message about Legolas to the king," Elrond instructed. "Though there is no danger, I would not have it be said that we kept this from him. I know Thranduil and the only things more important to him than fine Dorwinion are his sons and especially his youngest." Elrohir gave a brisk nod before breaking off and heading back down the corridor, leaving Elrond with his thoughts.
He had not seen Thranduil in many years, not since before the birth of Legolas – both father and mother had been hesitant to travel with their most precious Elfling whose coming during this time of increasing shadow had been welcomed as a good omen and a reason for celebration. But omens and celebration had long been put aside. Since the loss of his queen, Thranduil had limited his travel almost exclusively to locations close to home and had ceased to have much contact with the other Elven realms. Perhaps the King's love for this child would send him tearing through the Mirkwood forest to attend to his precious Elfling. And perhaps, Elrond might have the chance to attempt to set things right between them, once again.
~*~
Rissien and Legolas were led from the house to a collection of buildings closer to the stables. Several appeared to be barracks, long, low structures with rows of windows set at regular intervals along the sides. Sure enough, they were led to one and inside they found rows of cots lined up, head to the wall, each with an accompanying window. Legolas was enthralled, having never spent much more than the occasional fortnight on routine patrol around the palace grounds, to be likened more to a camping trip than any sort of military action. Now he would be sleeping just like one of the soldiers. He felt a thrill of excitement and a satisfied sigh escaped him. Rissien's less appreciative grunt brought him back to reality. This should be a common occurrence for a soldier of Mirkwood, not a novel experience or anything to be excited about. It was a barracks after all, not a room in the palace. He caught Rissien's raised brow and shrugged, sheepishly. They were shown to beds and placed their packs beside them.
"The bath house is this way," Elrond's servant announced, again leading the way.
"How exciting, Tathar," Rissien whispered with mock glee, as they followed the Elf away from the barracks, "A common bath with lots of other dirty Elves, I can hardly wait!" Legolas glared at his friend and risked a slight shove to his back when he was quite certain Lord Elrond's servant was not looking, payback for Rissien's teasing and those not so slight pushes he had given Legolas on the way to the sick rooms earlier.
It was several hours later that they found themselves clean, well rested and well fed, leaning against the fence that outlined the archery range, watching a group of Elves practicing. Legolas was noting, with a sinking heart, that they were very, very good.
"Checking out the competition?" Tûrin asked. Both Legolas and Rissien whipped around to find their smiling captain approaching.
"Yes," Legolas admitted. "And they are good. Better than any I have seen before."
"Nonsense, Legolas." Rissien uncharacteristically soothed. "You have never seen yourself."
Legolas stifled his doubts and chose instead to give his friend another playful shove. "Correct, mellon nîn, I do not normally shoot arrows in front of a mirror and my name is Tathar. Not Legolas. Tathar."
Rissien grinned and shoved him back. "I like you being Tathar, brat. I can now treat you with all of the disdain you deserve and not worry about you running off, crying to your adar."
"If you two will stop acting like Elflings, I have good news." Both Elves turned their full and undivided attention on Tûrin. The captain stepped closer as another group of Elves passed by, lowering his head conspiratorially. "Tathar has awakened enough for me to tell him what is happening. I assured him that he would not be able to participate but that you, Legolas, would."
"And he accepted that?" Legolas asked, surprised.
"Of course not," Tûrin laughed. "But after I reminded him of the time he "borrowed" your adar's stallion for a midnight ride that ended with the horse throwing a shoe and being stabled for a month while he recuperated and then all of the times he snuck into your adar's wine cellar and stole bottles of the King's finest Dorwinion and then there was the time…"
Legolas raised his hand to interrupt. "Please, tell me no more. I am not in the least bit concerned that he will not keep his mouth shut. How has he managed to get away with all of this and with no one being the wiser, other than the two of you?"
"Oh, Ellarian knows all about it and, in fact, was with him each and every time. You don't think anyone would have the nerve to touch anything of your adar's without his permission do you, other than one of you scallywags that he calls children?"
"But if Ellarian was with him…"
"We told him that Ellarian would support us and he believes us. Ellarian is our friend and allows him to tag along only on occasion. He knows too that you are Ellarian's golden child and that he would do anything for you, brat. He doesn't doubt and he will keep his mouth shut."
"Then it is set. I'm to compete."
"Yes, and from the looks of things, you should probably get some practicing in. Remember, our futures ride upon your slender shoulders, too, tithen Caun.
"Shh! No tithen Caun, no Legolas, not even 'Las. And I would appreciate it if you stopped with penneth, as well. I am after all a member of the King of Mirkwood's army and am representing him in this contest. You would not call Tathar young."
"Because he isn't. And you are," Rissien snorted, dropping a hand to Legolas shoulder and squeezing. "Very well, Tathar it is. And we will watch our words. No one will believe that Thranduil sent such a babe to represent him, anyway and we will need to do all we can to keep their suspicions at bay. We will say that you merely look younger than you are."
"I am not a babe," Legolas huffed, folding his arms across his chest.
"And that you have done nothing but train at archery all of your years and so haven't experience at much else," Tûrin joined in, ignoring the sulking Prince. "That, at least, is not far from the truth." He laughed at the stormy look Legolas shot him. "Come – let's retrieve our bows, Tathar. There is much to do. The contest begins day after tomorrow." They quickly gathered bows and quivers and headed back to the archery range. They had not gone far when they rounded a corner, nearly running into the three sons of Lord Elrond.
"We were just coming to find you," one of the twins remarked. "We wanted to make certain that you had been properly taken care of and assure you that your Prince was improving." All three Mirkwood representatives bowed and Tûrin stepped forward.
"We thank you for your attention, my lords, to us and to our Prince, most of all. I was given assurance that he would recover fully by Lord Elrond and have passed that on to my friends. We are relieved enough that we decided that archery practice would not be out of line, given that the tournament starts shortly."
"Certainly not," the other twin said, "and we would like to show you the way, if you are so inclined. I am Elrohir," he said, smiling.
"And I am Elladan," the first twin chimed in. "The older brother, in case that should matter to you." Elrohir wasted no time shoving his brother in the back. "And when you act like that Elrohir, I realize that I need tell no one, for if I wait long enough, you will give yourself away," Elladan scolded, just before pushing his brother back, hard enough to propel him from the path.
"And they call me the youngest," Estel chuckled, rolling his eyes. The two brothers straightened at once and gave formal bows to the Mirkwood contingent. Tûrin then introduced each of the their small group, in turn. Legolas could not take his eyes off of the two identical faces of the sons of Elrond, never having seen twins of either Elven or Man kind before. He was mesmerized. An amused snicker to his right caught his attention and he turned to find Estel smirking at him. He realized then that his mouth was hanging open, his amazement all too obvious. He snapped it shut and glowered at the man. Estel stepped forward, the smirk turning into a friendly grin.
"Come, Tathar. The practice fields are this way. Your reputation precedes you and I am eager to see you shoot." The man motioned down the path and led them ahead of the others. "My brothers are unusual, are they not?"
Legolas felt heat rise in his cheeks. "Aye, they are," he admitted. It would do no good to deny his obvious enchantment. "I have never seen twins before."
"They are an oddity, on many levels," Estel said, a wide grin splitting his face.
"How do you tell them apart?" Legolas broached the thing that had troubled him since the first time seeing the two together. He could discern no difference between them other than that they wore clothing of different colour and design.
"I have lived here since I was quite small and I have to say that it is still a challenge for me," Estel answered. "They do have different mannerisms but when they want to, they can act one like the other and it becomes nigh on impossible to tell them apart. I can tell you that Elrohir has an ability to connect with horses that I have never seen in Elf or Man before and that Elladan is afraid of thunder and lightening and dislikes mud and rain."
"You must be jesting, surely? He is an Elf and a warrior, not some frightened, squeamish prude.""
"He is all of the above, my friend. And I speak nothing but the truth." Legolas snickered and ducked his head when he caught both twins staring at him, suspiciously. Estel grabbed his arm and pulled the archer further down the path and away from the trailing older Elves. "There is one difference I have learned that I will not divulge to them, or they might correct for it," Estel whispered, shooting furtive looks over his shoulder at the twins who were once again, deep in conversation with Tûrin and Rissien.
"Oh?"
"Elladan favours his left hand and Elrohir his right. They can use them both with equal skill but they choose their favourite unless forced to do otherwise. I'm sure they know that they differ in this way, but I do not think they know that I have realized it."
"So they could change if they needed to fool you."
"Oh yes, which is why I do not want them to know that I know. All hope is lost if that should happen. I have trusted you with an important secret, Tathar. There are times when it might mean life or death for me to be able to tell those two trouble-makers apart."
Legolas laughed out loud. "I will keep your trust, Estel, you have my word. I have two brothers of my own and can imagine the import of what you say. Have no fear. Your secret is safe with me."
They continued on up the path, Estel asking all manner of questions about Legolas's journey from Mirkwood - had they seen many orcs? Had it been any different than previous trips? - remarking on how lately there had been heavy orc activity on the outskirts of Imladris, which was most unusual.
"I don't know," Legolas answered, truthfully. "I have nothing to compare it to. I have never come here before to tell whether there has been a change."
"But you have been to the outskirts of Mirkwood before. Did you encounter more orcs there than normal?"
"I – uh – I can't say. I haven't travelled much anywhere and, so, wouldn't know." Estel gave him a sidelong look and grinned again.
"I told you that you were young."
"I am older than you, human," Legolas retorted. He was growing tired of this constant discussion of his age, or lack thereof.
"Tathar, it may please you to know that everyone here is older than I am. I'm used to being the youngest and it bothers me not. Please forgive me but it truly is a welcome change to have someone else around to share in the teasing my brothers mete out on a regular basis. I have no doubt you will be treated to their favours from now on, as well, now that we are friends."
Legolas could not help but laugh at that. "I am used to it too, though I must say, I do not bear it as graciously as you. My brothers are only just beginning to treat me as something other than an Elfling but my adar, I fear, never will. It is all he can do to allow me to dress myself in the morning, I think."
"Ah, perhaps, but he allowed you to come on this trip. Is it because he did not realize what a dangerous journey it might prove to be? Orc activity is increasing but it is hardly a surprise."
"Well – uh – I think - uh –" Legolas stammered. The rest of the group had caught up with them and though Tûrin and the twins were still engrossed in conversation, Rissien was listening to Legolas and Estel, one dark brow raised. Legolas tore his eyes away to look at Estel again, swallowing heavily before trying once more to formulate some semblance of an intelligible answer. "I'm – I'm sure that he knew that Tûrin and Rissien would be with me and - and that they were quite trustworthy." Even he knew it was a pathetic response. He glanced again at the older Elves. Rissien was staring directly at him, his face a shade of white akin to a bleached bone.
~*~
Dictionary:
Adan - Man
penneth - young one
Adar - father
Naneth - mother
yrch - orc
tithen pen – little one
tithen Caun – little prince
mellon nîn – my friend