Chapter 7: More to do with sugar than chance
Elladan and Elrohir woke cheerfully, knowing their prank of the night most certainly must have worked. How could they have avoided it? It had been a stroke of luck that the three had inexplicably been in their own rooms, for once.
The two smug elves met in their common room, eating from their breakfast tray in high spirits.
"Well, now that we have that settled, what shall we do?"
"I think perhaps a ride? Pester Glorfindel to allow us to hunt? Or even a game. It looks like it will be a fine day."
"All days of victory are, my brother."
They opened the door, and were instantly hit with an odd smelling liquid. "How in Middle-Earth…"
"A string," Elrohir murmured, following the path made from the door to the bucket. "And a pan to divert the water so we would both be doused. Rather clever, I must admit."
"What is this stuff?" Elladan exclaimed, watching it drip slowly from his hands. "Not oil."
"Nor water." Elrohir tasted it, making a face. "Bitter."
"Oh, that's helpful to know," Elladan made a face. "Next time, feel free to skip that part."
Elrohir shot him an annoyed look. "I suppose the first thing we do today is get cleaned up."
Elladan sighed, but picked up a bit of hair which was beginning to stiffen. "I think so," he agreed, looking warily above them when they entered the bathing room, relaxing slightly to find nothing rigged to trap them.
"This stuff doesn't want to come off," Elrohir complained.
"Try this," Elladan murmured, tossing a jar over. "Worked for me."
"Alright," Elrohir agreed, after checking to be sure his twin was still the proper color. The odd liquid came off quickly. "Well, that wasn't so bad, really."
"No. Rather pathetic, actually."
After dressing, the twins headed outside, still unsure what they were to do for the day. "A game?"
"A ride?"
They looked at each other for a long moment, then shrugged. Without speaking they headed to their horses, knowing they could play a game later in the day. When they arrived, though, their horses weren't there. In fact, their horses weren't anywhere around. All of the other horses were there, excluding those from Greenwood, but theirs weren't.
A couple of horses came up and nudged them, but the twins scowled and turned back towards the buildings, both trying to figure out where two horses could be hidden without being noticed. Every time they tried anything similar, they were found out before they could even irritate the elf intended.
Elladan stopped to scratch at his leg. A moment later, he stopped again.
"What is the matter with you?"
"My leg itches!" Elladan snapped, before moving the material around so he could see his leg. His eyes widened and he stumbled backwards, falling unceremoniously into the dirt before he began swatting at his legs.
"What are you—" Elrohir's eyes widened as something made him itch, too. He looked down, slowly moving his leggings as Elladan had. He let out a curse and scattered the ants that were crawling higher and higher. Once he was cleaned of them, he looked over to see his brother panting, looking down at the swarming ants.
They walked cautiously back to the main building, often looking down to avoid the anthills.
"Perhaps we should use something?"
"I think it might be a good idea… though why they are swarming us, I don't understand."
"It has happened before. Father made the salve for this reason."
"Yes, but…" Elrohir sighed, shaking his head against all arguments about why it shouldn't be happening to them. Mostly, he didn't want to tell his brother that the reason he'd been swarmed before had more to do with sugar than chance. "Let's just hurry up," he grumbled, itching in places he hoped no ants had gotten to. "On our legs?" he asked once they made it to the supply room, holding up the jar.
"Actually, since we are planning on being outside… everywhere is probably a better idea."
Elrohir sighed, but began applying the salve. "Fine, done, lets go look for our horses."
Elladan's lips tightened, nodding quickly. "They can't have done much with them. There aren't that many places one could hide two white horses."
"Perhaps we should split up to look for them?"
"I agree," Elladan murmured, before heading off to the place he thought most likely. He saw two white horses there… but they were from Greenwood. He scowled at the elves who were playing around on their horses, shooting at targets while racing around like wild savages.
After a nearly day-long search, the twins met up near the practice field, soaking wet from the storm that had caught them still searching, and quite annoyed that they would likely have to admit defeat.
"Elladan! Elrohir!"
They cringed slightly, but turned. "Yes, Father?"
"Where have you been all day? You two were supposed to begin training with Legolas, Angolar and Zairil this afternoon…" Elrond trailed off when he saw his sons.
"Sorry, Father, but our horses seem to have been stolen." Elrohir murmured.
"Stolen? I highly doubt that," Elrond answered, frowning at them. "Are you sure?"
"We have looked all over the valley, but can't find them. Why not ask our little woodland friends what they have done to them?"
Legolas lifted a brow. "We didn't take your horses. Why would we?"
"Because—" Elladan cut himself off.
"Because?" Legolas asked, before withdrawing a dagger from a sack set beside a tree, looking at the spider impaled upon the blade. "Perhaps because you played upon the one fear ingrained into all elves of the Greenwood?" He looked up from the spider, his eyes cold and deadly. "We didn't take your horses." He turned back to his friends, before smiling slightly. "A lovely shade, I must say."
"Shade?" they asked, looking at each other in confusion before stopping, staring in shock.
Their mouths dropped open, such perfect mirrors of utter horror that even Elrond couldn't hold in a small chuckle. "How… when… how?" They turned to the Greenwood elves.
Legolas smirked. "Amazing how common some plants are, and how well known their uses, isn't it?"
"But… how?"
He just laughed. "After everything you've tried to do to us, do you really think we would tell you how you turned such a lovely shade of blue?"
"The odd-smelling liquid…" Elrohir frowned. "No… the salve… no." He let out an exasperated growl. "What was it?"
"Several things," Zairil murmured, before calling to her horse. "Dinner?" she asked, turning to the others.
"As soon as we let ours with the others," Angolar agreed, reaching up to touch his own horse.
"Sounds wonderful," Legolas agreed, pushing the spider from the dagger before tossing it up to Zairil. She caught and sheathed it before the entire group headed back to where the horses were.
The twins stared at their horses. "But… you've been practicing in the field since early morning."
"Yes," Legolas agreed, rubbing his horse's neck. "I told you we hadn't taken your horses."
"But they weren't in here!"
Elrond looked at the two white horses his sons had been given a few years past, an idea forming. He reached out to one, pushing its mane to the other side, showing a bit of brown lingering in the hair under the withers. "Quite clever," he murmured. "Brilliant, actually, from what I've pieced together."
Legolas smiled faintly, bowing his head slightly. "A truce would be acceptable, as it is clear we have come out the victors."
"That's rather cocky."
"But true," he countered, looking at the blue twins. "I suppose we could have tried something different, maybe turned one blue and the other green or violet. It would have taken more planning… but maybe then everyone could tell you two apart."
They gaped at him.
Elrond held up a hand. "Enough. I will hear nothing more of tricks being played. Elrohir, Elladan, what I have heard through various sources assures me this retaliation is more than deserved by what you have tried to do to them, much less to others here. Perhaps you would take this as a lesson, and refrain from continuing such? There is no time for such foolishness, anyway. Glorfindel rides in the morning."
The three Greenwood elves all inclined their heads slightly. "We will be prepared," Legolas answered for them.
"What? What's going on?"
"Glorfindel goes to discover the truth of what happened to them on their journey here."
"You mean how they lost so many arrows? You've seen them, Father—they likely attacked each other playing and didn't bother to pick their arrows up."
The twins were treated to their father's narrowed eyes, but the Greenwood trio merely looked at them with mocking amusement. Angolar was the first to speak. "Well. We will see you two children when we return."
"Children!"
"We're older than you!"
"Well, most of you."
Elladan glared at Elrohir for throwing in the qualifier. "Father, surely we could go along?"
Elrond hesitated. "My sons, you are young—"
"We are nearly twice her age."
"Oh, yeah. Thirty years is close," she snorted.
"And we have been trained for decades!"
"As have we," Legolas murmured softly. "In far more realistic situations. After all, that little spider was the largest you have here."
Elrohir snorted. "It's unlikely, Prince, that you have seen one much larger."
Legolas jerked back as if slapped, his head turned away after a moment in which they saw his eyes dilate and darken nearly to black.
"Leaf," Angolar murmured softly, laying a hand upon his shoulder.
Zairil glared at the twins, swinging at Elrohir before he could move, hitting him solidly in the jaw. Her glare remained even as he steadied himself on his feet, her teeth clenched so tightly a muscle in her jaw bulged and twitched. She spun around, joining Angolar. Together they made an elven circle around Legolas, each holding him—Angolar with an arm around his shoulders, Zairil with hers around his waist.
Legolas took a deep, shaky breath, then bowed his head, light blond hair mixing in with mid and dark gold to hide their faces from any onlookers until they straightened, turning together to their rooms without a spare glance for the others.
Elrond looked at his sons with censer heavy in his gaze. "The two eldest princes of Greenwood managed to kill or drive back several of the giant spiders that colonize that wood before one made it through to attack their mother and younger brother, though the princes were very young yet themselves. Both were seriously injured defending their kin. Know what you attack, if you insist upon attacking."
