Standard disclaimer – not mine, no money, just for fun

Thanks to everyone for reading and a special thank you for all of the wonderful reviews!!! I'm thrilled to know you are enjoying the story – all I can say is - wow! Thanks also to my beta Sarah – you are the greatest!

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 competition in Imladris that takes place every 100 years

Chapter 10

The rest of the troops did not return until near dawn. Elrohir had explained to an anxious Rissien and Tûrin where their young charge had escaped. They wanted to check to make sure he was fine but with words of assurance from the son of their host, they could hardly insist. They were ushered off to their own beds and Elrohir returned to Estel's room to relieve his brother, bearing also a fresh set of clothing for the Prince. He found Elladan fast asleep in a chair, his head resting on the bed beside Legolas, and Estel tucked neatly at the young Prince's side, hand on top of Legolas's chest, snoring loudly. A pair of sapphire blue eyes blinked up at him from between the two sleeping beings.

"You are awake!" Elrohir whispered, from the end of the bed. "How do you feel?"

"I am well," the young Prince answered, groggily.

"You lie."

Legolas winced. "Not very well, it seems. I never was any good at it."

"Hmm," Elrohir chuckled, softly. "I think you are, unfortunately, quite good at it. You have convinced everyone that you are someone you are not."'

"Everyone, except you and Elladan."

"You hadn't a chance there, my friend. As I said, you look enough like your naneth that anyone who knew her well would have been able to tell, if they were not otherwise distracted, that is and if they had other reasons to be suspicious."

"Other reasons?"

"You comport yourself as something more than a mere archer, my Prince, try as you might to play that part."

"Oh," Legolas answered, a faint blush turning his cheeks pink.

"And you are truly very young to be as good as you are. I have heard of Tathar's skill but I had never heard that he was a prodigy. Please, do not take this in a bad way but I can't imagine the Elves of Mirkwood keeping a secret such as that. They would have touted not only Tathar's skill with a bow but also the fact that he had only just reached his majority."

The soft blush that had tinged Legolas's cheeks turned a brighter shade of red. Elladan chose that moment to awake. He lifted his head to observe the Prince and gave a cry of dismay. "Ai! You are fevered!" But his hand touched a cool brow and dismay was replaced with confusion. Legolas blushed yet again causing Elladan to glance back to his brother who was rolling his eyes.

"Let him be, Elladan," Elrohir scolded. "You carry on like a mother hen. He is a Prince of Mirkwood, not a puppy."

Elladan snorted and turned back to inspect Legolas more closely - eyes, pulse, and finally wound, stopping first to carefully remove Estel's hand from the Prince's chest. The gentle movement was still enough to disturb the sleeping man. He blinked and slowly came awake. Recognition of where he was and memories of the events of the night before came back in a rush and he sat up quickly.

"Easy, Estel," Elrohir scolded. "You'll frighten the Prince."

"Not likely," Legolas chided, with a smile. "I'm a Prince of Mirkwood, Elrohir, not a puppy."

Elladan laughed out loud while Estel looked affronted on Legolas's behalf. "Certainly not," he exclaimed. "You should have seen him facing down Orcs with a vengeance, Elrohir. Puppy indeed! You looked like you do that every day before breakfast, mellon nîn." Estel rolled off of the bed and stood, stretching.

"That was actually the first time I have engaged an Orc in battle," Legolas said. "To tell the truth, it was the most terrifying thing I have ever done in my entire life. Well, except the times I have thoroughly angered ada and had to engage him in battle..."

"What!" Estel stopped stretching and dropped back to sit on the bed again, leaning across to better see and judge the Prince's face. "You cannot be telling the truth."

"How would you know, Estel," Legolas grinned. "You are obviously incapable of deciphering whether I am telling the truth, or not."

"True," he admitted. He turned to Elrohir standing at the foot of the bed and then looked to Elladan, still examining Legolas's wound, and asked, "Brothers? You would know if he speaks the truth. You caught him out before, you can do it again."

"Contrary to what you must think," Legolas said before either twin could answer, "lying is not something I do often, or well. I swear it."

"So you keep insisting," Elrohir laughed. "And why should we believe you now? Because you have sworn it?"

"You have a point there," Legolas joined in. His laughter, however, turned to a cry of pain as Elladan probed a bit too deeply during his examination.

"Ai, Legolas," the twin said, "I am sorry. Your wound is healing nicely, though, if that helps. And I am finished with my prodding and poking, which, I'm sure will help quite a lot."

Legolas, white-faced and trembling, gave him a weak smile. "It will, indeed."

"I think some food is in order," Elladan continued, sitting back and observing the young Elf solemnly. "And then you and I must talk."

"Talk?" Legolas glanced warily at Elladan before looking to Estel and Elrohir. Both arched eyebrows and shrugged.

"Yes," Elladan answered, fishing around in a drawer beside the bed and pulling out a roll of fresh bandaging. "You and I must talk. Alone." He turned to look pointedly at first Estel and then Elrohir who, with another shrug, headed for the door.

"I will send up something for you to eat, then" the younger twin said, over his shoulder. "Come Estel, after you've helped me with food for our Prince, then we can break fast together - you are looking a bit famished yourself."

"I have a better idea," Legolas said, wincing as Elladan began to wind the clean bandage around his shoulder. He placed a hand on the healer's arm to stop him. "Could I please have a bath first? I smell of fish." He wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Told you, you smell," Estel laughed, as he joined Elrohir at the door. "We shall send up a bath, with your food."

"He is right," Legolas admitted, after they had gone. "I smell so awful that I can no longer stand to be around myself. I can't imagine what it must be like for you."

"You can't possibly smell as bad as Estel on a good day, Ernil nîn," Elladan said which caused Legolas to laugh out loud, despite the pain. The older Elf began carefully unwinding the bandage he had just been applying and in no time, the twin was helping a grumbling Legolas to the bathing chamber.

"I can bathe myself, Elladan. I am not an Elfling."

"So you keep insisting," Elladan said gripping Legolas's elbow tightly when the Elf swayed, making a mockery of his declaration. "Would you like me to first carry you to the tub where you can then prove you are not an Elfling by bathing yourself? You shan't do it by walking as you haven't made it ten paces and already you are swooning."

Legolas rolled his eyes but did not protest the hand that grasped him tightly by the arm or the other that slipped around his waist before he took another step. He could not deny that the floor had begun to waver beneath him and the distance to the bath chamber seemed to have become extremely long in the few short moments he had been on his feet. He could not contain the sigh that slipped past his lips as he wondered how he was to compete in an archery contest when the simple act of walking seemed beyond his ability.

Elladan stopped, at once and said, worriedly, "Legolas? Do we need to return to bed?"

"No, no, Elladan. I am fine." The older twin raised one brow to display his disbelief. "Oh, very well," Legolas admitted. "I'm not fine. But I can continue. I just don't know how I will manage to compete like this, yet I know I must."

Elladan's arm tightened around his waist and Legolas found himself all but carried the rest of the way. In moments he was settled into a warm soothing bath, the likes of which he was certain he had never known, or if he had, he had never properly appreciated. Elladan disappeared, returning with a grunt and a grimace as he forced his way back through the door moments later balancing a tray laden with food in his hands, closing the door with a backward kick of his foot.

"I need a quiet moment with you penneth, with no interruptions," Elladan explained, as he settled the tray of food on the edge of the tub, taking a seat beside it, at the same time. He filled a cup with tea and handed it to Legolas who took it. "Drink that. Now," he ordered. Legolas did as he was told, without question and continued on to eat the bread and cheese the dark-haired twin thrust at him, one piece at a time as if he were hand feeding a baby bird.

When Elladan was satisfied that his patient had eaten enough, he left his seat at the Prince's side and moved to kneel behind him. "Here, let me wash your hair. You can hardly do it with that shoulder."

Legolas opened his mouth to protest once again, this time that this was no fit duty for an Elf lord, but Elladan had already begun to massage soap into his hair and, as much as he wanted to deny it, the feeling was exquisite and the perfume of the soap a welcome change from the smell of blood, sweat and fish that he had lived with throughout the night. Instead of a protest, a satisfied sigh escaped his lips and he leaned gratefully back against the tub.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure, Ernil nîn.

"Just Legolas. Please. No ernil." Elladan smiled and continued to card his fingers through the fine golden tresses.

"How about mellon nîn?"

"Yes. I would like that," Legolas answered, sighing again and leaning back into the twin's gentle touch.

"Good," Elladan said. "Then, I need to talk with you, mellon nîn, about what you are planning to do."

"Mm…" Legolas could not gather enough energy to give a more earnest response.

"You must know that I will support you in whatever you decide," Elladan continued, not certain that he had the Prince's attention but well aware that time was of the essence – Rissien and Tûrin would be up and about before long and quiet talks with the Prince would not be possible once they were. "But know this too, Legolas - you must have faith in your abilities. And in your adar. In mine too. I will talk with Ada, Legolas and have him talk with Thranduil."

"It will not matter…"

"You do not know that. With all of us working to convince him, I think your adar might listen. He is not ignorant, just afraid. For you. Listen to me - I know for a fact that if you try to compete, you could harm yourself, permanently."

"I will stop before that happens."

"Will you? You are so desperate, mellon nîn! So much so that I fear you will not heed any warning your body might give you. Listen to me!" Elladan tugged on one of the locks of hair he held in his hand, hard enough that Legolas was forced to lean his head back and look at the dark haired Elf behind him. "You ask not to be treated as a penneth. That is all well and good. In order not to be treated as a penneth, then you must not act like one."

Legolas stiffened but stopped shy of pulling away. Elladan was only trying to help. Not anger. And, like it or not, what he was saying deserved to be listened to. But Legolas had something to say, too. "I heard what Elrohir said about Galadriel, that she told you to help me," he said. "I wasn't fully conscious but I heard and I understood. I believe her. I need to do this, for me and for reasons that I don't even begin to understand. There is more at stake than my pride, or my chance to be a warrior, or my opportunity to escape my fate to serve as my brother's advisor. I do not understand it, but I know that it is true. Do you not think that if the Lady Galadriel herself says that you should help me to compete, then I must compete?"

"That is not what she said, Legolas. She said we were to help you. That is all.

"And yet, what else could she mean?"

"I cannot say. But what would be the value to anyone if you were to harm yourself? What would you prove then? That you are young and inexperienced and perhaps even a bit selfish? I ask that you think, long and hard, before you make this decision. And again, that you have faith in yourself. And in your friends and those you love."

He released the lock of hair he had grasped in his hand but the young Elf remained stiff and uncomfortable against the back of the tub, not at all the result that Elladan was seeking. He again began to card his fingers through the soft tresses until he felt Legolas relax once more. He had nothing left to say and he remained as unsure about what Legolas should do as before. He only hoped that Legolas was less sure, too. "The choice is yours to make," he said quietly, voicing the only thing he was certain of. "All we have done is to ensure that you have one. You alone must decide whether to compete, or not to compete. You must search your heart and make the decision that an intelligent and courageous warrior would make. Do you understand me?"

Legolas gave a nod of his head. Elladan hefted a pitcher of warm clean water and pushed the young Elf's head forward, rinsing the soap from his hair. He poured yet another pitcher in the tub before standing and heading to the door. "Soak for awhile," he said as he went. "It will do you good. I'll be back later to help you to bed. The contest will not begin again until tomorrow and I think Rissien and Tûrin should sleep quite a large part of the day. By then, you should be well enough to fool them. I know you have said that you are not a good liar, tithen pen but I think you have become quite a good one, not that I think that is necessarily a good thing, by the way."

He left Legolas then with his thoughts and spent the next half hour pacing back and forth on Estel's balcony wondering if he had done enough, said enough. When at last he returned to the bath chamber, it was to find Legolas, fast asleep, his nose just brushing the surface of the water. He extracted the exhausted Elf from the bath, dried him and dressed him without much help from the bedraggled Prince and then tucked him once more into a bed remade with fresh sheets, thanks to Elrohir.

If Rissien and Tûrin were suspicious, Legolas had need to put them at their ease, though not without help from one of Elladan's pain killing elixirs, secured, surprisingly, without complaint. Legolas was more concerned that the dark circles beneath his eyes or extreme pallor of his skin might give him away, but Elrohir had thought of that and arranged it so that Legolas made his appearance before his keepers, outside of the dining hall where the only light came from an open door at each end of a long corridor.

Elrohir's timing was perfect. He made certain that the two Mirkwood Elves were waylaid by a clumsy servant, just long enough that they passed Legolas in the centre of the hall, the furthest distance from both light sources. Estel was at Legolas's side and assured the keepers that he and Legolas had just eaten and thus had no need of joining them for dinner. Tûrin must still have been worn out from their night of Orc fighting for he, surprisingly, gave no argument. "You will take yourself to the barracks, then," he admonished. "And keep yourself occupied until you are ready for sleep. You are not to leave under any circumstance. We will be back as soon as we have partaken of some food." To which Legolas nodded, serenely. Bed was exactly where he wanted to be right now, he thought as the pain in his shoulder flared strongly enough to be felt, even through the numbing effects of Elladan's potion.

Rissien was uncharacteristically silent, intent on something else entirely, for once, to Legolas's unending relief. He was staring past Tûrin toward one end of the hall. If anyone would have caught him out, it would have been the ever-observant guard. It wasn't until Tûrin had finished his speech and begun to walk toward the dining chamber that Legolas realized what had so captured his friend's attention - a group of Lórien Elves, Haldir included, were clustered at the far end of the hall, talking, their eyes flicking back toward Estel and the Mirkwood Elves at disturbingly frequent intervals.

"What are they saying?" Estel asked, noting too, the guard's focus.

"They are talking about you, Tathar." Rissien said, turning at last to give Legolas the thorough visual going over that had been so lacking earlier. "You look pale, penneth. Are you all right?"

"Yes - yes, of course," Legolas stuttered.

Estel stepped deftly between Rissien and Legolas, blocking the guard's view of his charge, drawing everyone's attention back to the group at the end of the hall as he asked, "And what do they find so interesting about Tathar?" The move worked. Rissien returned to observing the Lórien Elves.

"They are saying that someone let the horses out again last night. They think it was Tathar."

"What?!" both Legolas and Estel cried out together.

"Yes. They found several strands of blond hair caught on a nail at the back of the foal's stall. They think that whoever let the horses out had to enter the stall to chase out the mare and her little one. The foal was found sometime in the night. The mare has not been, though they do not continue to search for her and I do not know why." Legolas and Estel glanced uneasily at each other, a move that was not lost on Rissien. While they gave their attention back to the Mirkwood guard, he continued to stare at them with obvious suspicion.

Estel cleared his throat. "Yes, well, there are plenty of blond Elves here what with Lórien so well represented. Why are they, of all Elves, pointing fingers at Tathar?"

"It was apparently a very blond hair," Rissien said. "Not the silver blond of Lórien Elves, either. Golden is how it was described to me. Like Tathar's hair. Like Lord Glorfindel's." Rissien cocked a brow. "So, if you were trying to determine who might have let the horses out last night, who would you suspect? Lord Glorfindel, who was busily hacking away at rogue Orcs in a human settlement ten leagues away, or Tathar who was supposedly asleep in the barracks, not a stone's throw from the stable?" The eyebrow raised another notch. "But he wasn't in the barracks, was he, Estel?" The two glanced again to each other. "Was he?"

A smile settled on Estel's lips and he looked calmly back at the guard. "Of course he wasn't, Rissien. You know he was with me."

Rissien snorted again, suspicion bleeding into certainty, certainty that something was afoot between the two young ones. "I am hungry, Tathar," he snapped. "I am going to eat now. And after I eat, you and I will talk. I want to hear about how you spent your time with Estel last night and how those hairs could have ended up in that stall.

"I did not enter that stall, Rissien. I swear it."

Rissien narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps. I used to be able to trust you, penneth, but lately… We will talk. Later. For now, go back to the barracks and wait for us. Go directly back. Speak to no one. Understood?" Legolas nodded. "We will finish eating and then find out what is happening. Until then, keep to yourself."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

"And what have I told you, brat, about getting smart with me?"

"You have told me not to do it, sir."

"So don't." With that, the guard turned on his heel and brushed past Tûrin who followed after shooting one last glaring look in Legolas's direction, confused as to what was happening but no less certain than Rissien that something was amiss.

"Phew. That was close," Estel said, wiping a hand across his brow.

"Close?" Legolas scoffed. "That is what you say, Estel, when you have been successful at dodging suspicion. Which we were not. All we have gained is a few more precious moments to try to come up with a story they will believe."

"You are correct, mellon nîn."

"Of course I am," Legolas responded.

"You are a terrible liar." Estel took Legolas by the arm and steered him toward the direction from which they had just come. "Come, let us find out about these hairs."

Legolas resisted. "I am supposed to go straight to the barracks and – "

"- and they are already suspicious of you," Estel pointed out. "So why follow the rules now? Don't you want to know about these hairs?"

"Well, yes. Of course."

"Then come. I am sure my Adar knows what is happening.

Dictionary:

Penneth – young one

Adar - father

Naneth - mother

mellon nîn – my friend

tithen pen – little one

Ernil nîn – my prince

Anon – It is a very good thing that Legolas is so much better than Haldir so that he can still have a chance at the contest – it was my way of trying to give our poor Marchwarden a hope otherwise, he might as well just go home now. And I could not have made your day any more than you made mine though with your lovely review – thank you!!!

Alanic - I happen to be an awful Elf torturer, I can't seem to stop myself but he usually comes out ok in the end. I tried for twisty so if I got anything close, I'm thrilled! Thank you so very, very much for letting me know you are enjoying!!!