Chapter 37

Bitter winds whipped up and blew about the darkened sky with a gusting rumble. The temperatures plummeted and it was not long before any moisture from melted snow refroze. The remaining accumulation on the ground became hardened, but cracked under the weight of the travelers. They tried to walk on the once powdery precipitation, hoping the snow would provide more traction than the ice covered stone streets. It was nearly a perilous journey getting back as the streets became tricksy. What looked like simple wet ground was actually a thin coating of ice and it did not matter how careful their tread was; they were bound to fall if they walked upon it.

After picking a careful trail through the domestic streets, the three arrived at the palace and wasted no time in getting inside. The two mortals were shivering and took a few moments in the foyer to warm up. Their cheeks had turned a shade of rosy red from the dry, stinging, cold winds and their warm breath condensed in their nostrils, causing the pair to battle runny noses until they warmed up.

Servants came forth to care for their king and his company and they began to remove their soaked outerwear. The cloaks were bundled up for the hems became stiff with ice. As the warm palace air surrounded them, the ice began to melt and dripped everywhere. Gimli and Aragorn removed their sodden boots but toasty socks and dry shoes were brought over to them so they could move about without tracking the mess everywhere.

Elrohir had no need to change in the foyer as he was untouched by the wet snow since he had the luxury of walking on top of it. He quietly left and made for his rooms so he could change into more comfortable clothing while putting his outer garments away himself.

The smell of food was beginning to waft through the halls as the dinner hour was drawing near. The elf inhaled a little deeper to try and decipher the delectable smells that was surely emanating from his soon to be dinner.

The walk to his rooms was effortless and soon the Noldor-elf approached his doors. He pushed them open, but as the door swung on its hinges, a pleading call from down the way reached his ears. He halted in the threshold of his door and listened.

"Legolas?" the call was soft and sad, followed by a slight sorrowful sniffle.

Elrohir's brows furrowed instantly and he left his chambers to creep through the halls and locate the source of the noise. He came up to an intersecting hallway and carefully peeked his head around the corner. A slight distance down the hall, in front of the prince's closed doors, Tauriel stood. Light tears were on her cheeks and her eyes were downcast as she restricted her sights to concentrate her hearing to the blocked off interior. She held two long items in her hands and seemed to grip them desperately.

Elrohir stepped back into the previous hall with a slight sigh. He wanted no part in this and seeing Tauriel made his once easy and hopeful mood shift. He was surprised to find that his heart was not tormented over the sight of her, but he could still feel his disappointment over everything that had happened. He turned to walk away and leave Tauriel to whatever she was doing, but he halted mid-step as Tauriel called out in a heartbreakingly pleading tone.

"Legolas… please..." her speech became thick and soft sobbing accompanied the words.

Elrohir's heart constricted.

Clearly she was upset with something and despite her rejection of him, Elrohir found he had a hard time walking away. He stood quietly and listened for a while as Tauriel quietly cried. She tried to knock on the door and called out to her friend yet again, but no response came from the woodland prince. Without really knowing what he was doing, the Noldor-elf turned and headed for Tauriel.

He rounded the corner and the abrupt movement at the end of the hall alerted Tauriel that someone was present and she turned her face quickly to hide her tears and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Lady Tauriel..." Elrohir called out softly and approached with caution. He suddenly regretted doing this and had no idea what to say or how to go about this for this was not only awkward for him, but it must for Tauriel as well. He stopped a few paces away from her and waited nervously for her to regard him.

With jerky and rushed movements, Tauriel cleared her face of the tears that were there only moments prior and after a deep breath to calm herself, she made her appearance impassive. She turned to the other in the hall and looked uncertainly at the raven haired elf before her. At the sight of Elrohir, worry seemed to cross her face.

"El… Elladan?" she questioned. She felt foolish for breaking down like this and someone had witnessed it... and of all the people in the expansive palace, it was in front of one of the Noldor-elves. She prayed Elladan was the one who had stumbled upon her, but her inability to tell the twins apart left a major doubt in her mind.

Elrohir did not respond immediately and just looked to her with unease. He wanted to correct her and let her know who he really was, but thought better of it and gulped. He withheld the truth.

"Yes?" He questioned as he took on his brother's identity. At the single word, Tauriel looked relieved, though no less troubled. Her relief only burned him further and his disappointment deepened. It was clear she wanted nothing to do him.

Tauriel dipped her head in respect to the elven lord.

"What are you doing?" Elrohir asked. His smooth voice was easy going and he watched the way Tauriel darted her eyes around to try and find her reason. She wanted to keep something from him.

"I… Just have some things I need to give back to Legolas, 'tis all." Held in one hand at her side were the objects she was previously clutching and her grip on the items seemed to tighten.

"Are you alright?" Elrohir asked. He did not care for the items that Tauriel had with her and knew that feelings took priority over whatever Tauriel held.

"I am fine." Her tone was soft but not very convincing and Elrohir gave her a gentle knowing stare. Tauriel looked off and seemed to contemplate her own words.

"I am fine." She said again. "I just wanted to return these to Legolas but..." she shrugged and looked to the closed doors. Speech was not needed for Elrohir to know what was on her mind.

"But you are upset?"

"It is of no matter." Tauriel tried to dismiss it and Elrohir cocked his head as a puzzled look overtook his face. He tried to break down Tauriel's elusiveness with a barbed comment.

"I do not think I will ever understand why it is that Wood-elves are so bullheaded." Elrohir said. It was meant to be a humorous observation, but Tauriel was taken aback and glared at him.

"Perhaps it is the same reason as to why I am so perplexed with your concern for a stranger and her feelings." Tauriel's statement was punctuated with her rigid posture and a look of emerald fire in her eyes. She meant to keep her business a secret and took offence to Elrohir's words.

"Lady Tauriel… I apologize." Elrohir held his hands up offering her the best means to rectify his words. "I meant no insult to you or your people, but I know what I saw and how I perceived things... It is easy to place stereotypes upon others when they fit the picture, for my experience with Prince Legolas and his friends in Mirkwood have lead me to believe that most wood-elves are quite stubborn. Not to mention they were lead by Thranduil… in my mind he is the king of stubbornness. And now here you are, a person of the woodland realm trying to lie about what I saw. You *are* upset. You can deny it if you wish-"

"I do." Tauriel cut him off but Elrohir acted as though he didn't even hear her.

"-But your dejected appearance betrays your words. Not to mention the traces of tears on your face and your stand-off-ish nature. I may not know you, but we have conversed enough for me to know how you look when you are at ease and you are far from it now." Elrohir jumped his brows to add emphasis to his words and dared Tauriel to call him wrong.

Tauriel looked off while pursing her lips. She looked back to the prince's doors but dropped her eyes to the floor.

"I am upset." She admitted under her breath but the Noldor-elf before her did not gloat over this known fact that he had been able to detect. Rather, he took a step closer to Tauriel. She looked up to the raven haired elf and her green eyes met his silver ones. Something about his easy stare beckoned the truth to come out, but she was still unsure what to say. "Yet, wouldn't you be if your friend ignored you?" she asked.

"Ignore you?" Elrohir repeated in question and regarded Tauriel. The she-elf just nodded. "You mean… Legolas?" he asked for clarification.

"I do not know what I have done to that would garner his dismissal of me."

"What do you mean?"

"I know he is hurting. While he says it has nothing to do with me, I cannot help but believe it to be a lie."

"And why would you cause him hurt? You have not seen each other decades. Perhaps he is hurting for reasons that are unbeknownst to you." He said. Again, Tauriel looked off.

"Sometimes old wounds can reopen, no matter how much time has passed or if they have been completely healed."

"Old wounds?" Elrohir asked for clarification but Tauriel did not acknowledge the question outright.

"I came here looking for a fresh start, but the past has come up in a way I never expected it to. Legolas said I was welcomed and I believed him. But he refuses to talk to me as of late. King Elessar has confirmed he has been hurt, but from what no one will tell me. And now he will not talk to me. He locked himself up in his rooms yesterday then disappeared and now it is the same thing now."

Elrohir was hung up on every word, trying to get an idea as the 'old wounds' Tauriel had spoken about, but no new light was shed on the matter. Tauriel's bottom lip began to quiver as she suppressed tears. While her speech stopped, it was apparent her tormenting thoughts had not.

"Lady Tauriel… Perhaps he is not in his rooms?" Elrohir offered. He had way more insight than Tauriel on the prince's matters and honestly did not think the wood-elf to be present. Exactly where Legolas was, was unknown to the Noldor-elf but if the wood-elf was not opening the doors, he could only assume he was off somewhere else and most likely with the real Elladan.

"I have been told this is where he is."

"And who has told you this? It is quite possible that they are not a credible source." Elrohir countered.

"Anna and a few of the guards said they have not seen him since he returned yesterday and surely must be in his rooms now."

"I doubt that." Elrohir said.

He stepped up close to Tauriel and faced the door. With a loud voice to cut through the wood and stern knock, Elrohir called out to the prince. Though he believed Legolas to be elsewhere, he did not want to barge in if the wood-elf was really in there and possibly indecent.

"Legolas? It is El...ladan" the elf brokenly spoke as he almost uttered his own name and gave away his real identity. If the prince was in his rooms, he hoped that the wood-elf would not be able to pick up on his ruse and give him away. He pressed his ear to the door and listened, but when it proved to be quiet, he boldly pushed the door open and stepped back to give a clear visual of the vacant room.

It was dark inside and Tauriel stepped forward for a moment to take a look, noting for herself that Legolas was not there. She felt silly for jumping to conclusions, but the relief she felt outweighed her foolishness and was pleased to know that Legolas was not ignoring her.

"So he is not here." She tried to smile but now a new worry entered her mind as she thought over where the elf could be and hoped he had not left again as he did yesterday. She back tracked her steps until she was standing in the hall and Elrohir began to pull the doors closed but stopped as a thought came to him.

"You said you wanted to drop something off with Legolas?" Elrohir said and looked to the items in her hand. Tauriel looked down in surprise, almost as if she had seen what she held for the first time.

"Oh… I… I can give this to him another time." She said.

"What is it?"

"He left his knives in my rooms the other day and I was just trying to return them to him."

A sobering look over came the raven haired elf and Elrohir looked intently to the knives Tauriel held in her hands. He was now able to make out the form of the white handles as the blades were kept in the sheaths.

"Tell you what-" Elrohir reached quickly for the knives trying to get them into his custody. He did not want Tauriel to attempt to get these back to the troubled prince and it was pure luck that the dangerous weapons had not been in the prince's possession at the time he had tried to end his life. He was certain Tauriel did not know any of what had transpired over night and her willingness to get the weapons back to her friend was a thoughtless action.

Elrohir could not allow these weapons to reach the prince. He made to grab the knives, but Tauriel pulled back quickly trying to keep them with her. As she did so, she shot him an accusing eye while puzzled that the Noldor-elf was trying to take these away from her.

"Allow me Lady Tauriel. I am to be heading to the armory later and I can deposit them with the managers and have them cleaned and sharpened. I know not the last time the prince had them cared for and I am sure he will appreciate it being done for him." Elrohir tried to push this idea on to the red-haired elf in order to get the knives from her, but she resisted.

"No. Legolas trusts no one save himself to care for these knives. I would not let another handle them without his permission."

Elrohir clenched his jaw as his plan was thwarted.

"Alright then… I… have a meeting with him tonight then. Allow me to deliver them to him as I am sure he will want them back after being without them for so long." the Noldor-elf fibbed and held his hand out, asking for the knives.

Tauriel was reluctant. She did not want to give these up as it proved to be a convenient way to try and talk to Legolas. She hated to think this, but the knives were a crutch and an easy way to get back into the prince's presence. What would she do without them?

Yet Elrohir was right. These were not her weapons and surely the prince would want them back.

Slowly she placed the knives in Elrohir's hands and the Noldor-elf quickly tucked them at his side before Tauriel had time to reconsider.

"I'll be sure to keep these safe until he receives them. Fear not." Elrohir said to try and erase the look of worry Tauriel had, but it did not work. He blurted out his next statement to try and shift away from the subject and lighten the mood. "Dinner will be starting soon. Would you accompany me?" Elrohir let the question fly from his lips without thought, but then a jolt of realization shot through him as his question replayed in his mind.

Why on earth would he want her to accompany him to dinner? After what happened a few nights ago…. *he* certainly did not want to go to dinner with her.

He had half a mind to try and back out of his invitation, but could not come up with an excuse. He had already asked and his only hope was that Tauriel would decline his offer. He waited a moment for her response, but Tauriel looked to Legolas' rooms and worried her bottom lip.

Elrohir took her reactions as the rejection he was hoping for and felt a wave of relief flood him. He did not say anything more and turned to begin walking down the hall and towards his rooms. He could not fight the feeling of eyes upon him and though he did his best to ignore it, in the end he couldn't stand it. He looked over his shoulder briefly and spotted Tauriel as she stood in place, watching whom she thought was Elladan, leave.

The she-elf looked so lost and disheartened and Elrohir went heavy with dread. He could not stand to see her this way and though she would not have him, he did not want to see her fair face look so upset. His steps faltered before he turned to look back at her.

"My Lady?" He asked. He honestly did not know what he was asking but acknowledged the fact that he was watching her back.

Tauriel took a calculated step, but did walk towards the elf to join him. As she approached, Tauriel let out a calming sigh. "Elladan… I appreciate the offer but… What of your brother?" she asked.

Elrohir stiffened.

"What of my brother?"

"I am sure you know what has transpired between us."

"Uh… well… I... I know *some* of what happened. I mean, we discussed it, but not in great length. It was not like I was there or anything of the sort." Elrohir stammered and suddenly became very worried.

"Then I am sure you can understand my predicament… I turn your brother down, yet go to dinner with you? It would seem awful scandalous, would it not. I also do not want to add any tension between brothers."

"Oh, well… I only offered to go as friends! I think Elrohir would understand… I mean, there is nothing between you and *I* - clearly!" Elrohir was now trying his best not to act as himself and thought how his brother Elladan would behave, but ironically, his brother was so much like himself. Right now Elrohir wanted to be anything but himself to try and put up with this charade and be convincing.

Tauriel gave a small threaded smile to the noble elf lord. "Elladan… could I ask for you help?"

"Oh, s-sure." He stammered.

"I… need to talk to your brother."

Elrohir's heart stopped.

"You mean... Estel?" He could not fathom a reason as to why Tauriel wanted to speak with the real Elrohir.

Tauriel scrunched her brows. "Estel?"

"Forgive me... I'm sure you do not know his elven name. King Elessar is whom I was referring to."

Tauriel shook her head. "No; I mean Elrohir."

"Why do you want to speak with Elrohir?" Elrohir asked. His heart started to hammer in his chest and he anxiously waited for every word that left Tauriel's lips. She seemed to ponder over her words and Elrohir could not stand to wait for an answer. He turned to walk slowly towards his rooms with Tauriel at his side.

"I owe him an apology." She shyly admitted

"For what?" Elrohir suddenly became very anxious.

"For how I acted the other night."

"Oh..."

"I could have handled it better, but I was so caught up in what was happening and there was a lot going on that night. I did not take the time to really understand what I was doing."

"So - okay - wait... do you…. *do* you… like him?"

"No! I mean, I like him as a person… he is a lot like you and I do have a fondness for you both, but I have no… heartfelt feelings for him. I regret that I let the situation come to that, but I feel terrible for simply running away from him and now I do not know how to approach him. He seems awful hurt and upset with me. He has every reason to be and I do not blame him, but I would like to speak with him to try and make things right…. or at least better. Could you help?"

Elrohir stepped up to his doors that were left open and paused just outside the room as he continued to talk with Tauriel. He felt a renewed spark of hope during the short walk, but hearing that Tauriel still did not want him only dragged him down further. He let out a sigh to try and keep himself composed to remain as 'Elladan' but wanted to get out of this whole mess.

"Yes... Yes I can help." Elrohir said. "I can talk to him if you wish and put him at ease. Then you and he could chat." He said. He didn't need to hear the apology for the confessions she just told to him were enough.

"If you could do that… it would be… I would really appreciate it. Thank you." She gave the elf a warm smile that spoke volumes of her appreciation. Elrohir was taken back by her beauty and joy and his heart picked up in tempo while skipping a beat every now and then.

"Oh… Well… do not mention it." Elrohir said bashfully but then suddenly looked alarmed. "Especially do not mention this to my brother until I have a chance to talk with him." Elrohir felt a rush a panic. He had to intervene with the real Elladan and come clean as to his identity switch.

He knew Elladan would understand.

"Sure." Tauriel agreed with no real enthusiasm and it seemed as though she were just stating the words.

"Hold on just a moment. I would like to change before I head to dinner. I had to travel today and need to get into some clean clothing." Elrohir said and stepped into his room.

"What?... Are these not your brother's rooms?" She said. Within the few days of her being here she had begun to get a lay of the palace and could have sworn Elladan's doors were the next ones over.

Elrohir caught his error and paled.

"Uh… yes. But I am going to….to... drop off Legolas' knives. Elrohir… will bring them to the meeting and can see to it that Legolas' things are brought." Elrohir cringed at the repetitive statement that was uttered out of nervousness.

"He does not know what you are doing with them." she countered.

"IIIII….." Elrohir held the single word as he pondered over what to say to that. "I will have a servant place a note with them. That way he can gather them when he stops by to get his things. I do not intent to come back here before our meeting." Elrohir said and prayed intently that Tauriel would just accept that.

She did.

After dropping the weapons off in his actual room, Elrohir then had to leave and act as though he were making towards his rooms that were actually his brother's. He pushed the door open and headed inside. He took his cloak off and hung it in the closet, then turned to his brother's dressers to get a new shirt. It took a few times at guessing what drawers contains the shirts as Elladan did not keep his things in the same order as Elrohir, but Elrohir did find a new shirt and striped himself of the outer tunic and replaced it with his brother's.

He ran his hand through his hair to straighten it's appearance and after the last clasp on the shirt was fastened, he headed to the hallway to look for Tauriel who had wondered a few paces away, but stood patiently waiting for him.

"Alright Lady Tauriel… to dinner then?"

Tauriel just nodded and the two headed off for the dining hall.

"Do you think Legolas will be there?" She asked, but kept her sights in front of her. While she was glad the prince had not been ignoring her all day, she was still worried about him and her presence here. There was a gnawing need to see for herself that Legolas was not upset with her, but then realized that part of her was just excited to see him. She missed him.

"Who can say? We will just have to wait and see." Another shot of panic cut through him. Elladan could be easily convinced to play along with his identity game as the two were connected and sometimes speech was not needed between the twins. But Legolas was not on the same wavelength as the Noldor-twins and if the prince recognized Elrohir….

Elrohir gulped and pulled at the collar of his shirt, suddenly feeling like it was constricting his air ways.

And yet the prince was not the only one he had to fool. Arwen would be there, Aragorn would be there, Gimli would be there...

**What did I get myself into?** he thought as he made his way into the dining hall.

It was an empty hall as Elrohir and Tauriel were the first to arrive and both elves rounded the table to get to the chairs that they had been occupying over the course of the past few days. Elrohir did a seat swap to sit next to Tauriel and the two waited patiently as servants began to fill their water glasses. Neither elf spoke and when the serving staff left the hall to begin prepping plates, the massive feasting space was cast in silence.

Tauriel was staring off as her eyes were locked on her water goblet and she took a deep easy breath in, though she made no sound. Her troubled thoughts were turned to Legolas and it bothered her that she could not get any answers regarding the prince and his trauma.

"So..." Elrohir said after a while. He had no ideas on topics of conversations, but wanted to talk about anything rather than let the silence drag on.

Tauriel was pulled from her thoughts and reached for her napkin to place in her lap.

"So?" Tauriel questioned back.

Elrohir shrugged his shoulders. "I know not to be honest. I was hoping you would have something rather intriguing to say so we were not sitting here simply waiting." Elrohir said. He hoped people would start showing up soon and relieve him of speaking with Tauriel.

"I do not know that I have anything intriguing to talk about." Tauriel stated.

"Well… then tell me, how are you enjoying your stay thus far?"

Tauriel just snorted.

"I am not sure how to answer that." Tauriel narrowed her eyes as she spoke but did not look at the elf whom she thought was Elladan. In the reflection of her water glass she could see that the Noldor-elf was watching her, but she avoided the eye contact. It was strange to be talking to this elf for his identical appearance to his brother left Tauriel feeling uneasy, but she kept reminding herself that this was not Elrohir.

"Oh?" Elrohir asked. Servants came back into the hall and dropped off glasses of wine for the two that was to be served with the dinner and Elrohir nodded in thanks before he picked his glass up and took a sip then turned back to Tauriel.

Tauriel just shrugged her shoulders. She did not want to go further into detail.

"I think that statement gave away more information than you intended, My lady." Elrohir said and Tauriel finally looked to the elf beside her. "What is troubling you?" Elrohir asked a bit indifferently. He did not care if Tauriel really supplied an answer, but at least it made the time tick by faster. Elrohir took another swing of his drink.

"There is just a lot going on and I am not sure what to make of it all right now." Tauriel's light voice was slightly monotone.

"Such as?"

"Just…. everything… I was thinking all night long over all that has happened over that few days and I just feel confused and uncertain." she propped an elbow on the table and held her chin in her hand and she looked lazily to the elf beside her.

Elrohir looked back to her and in that instant, caught another glimpse of her beauty that had captivated him from the start. He gulped and looked off while the disappointment of her rejection flared again. Sitting here with Tauriel felt like torture.

"Can I ask you a question... and have you be honest with me?" Tauriel inquired and she kept her eyes on the Noldor-elf.

"Well… I… do not know. It will depend on your request."

"What happened to Legolas?"

"My Lady-" Elrohir began to state with a sternness to demonstrate he was in no position to talk about it, but Tauriel did not give him a chance to interrupt her and she and pressed on.

"No one will tell me what happened. I have been able to not only see the pain in his eyes when I look at him, but I have felt it as well. It is not natural. Something horrific has happened to him and yet I do not know what it is and no one will tell me. I have probably known him longer than any person here and it is frustrating to want to help but not even know where to begin or how." Tauriel turned to face her place setting again and continued talking. Her words didn't make sense to the other elf as Tauriel seemed to speak what was on her mind and she had not filled in the gaps as to their past. "I mean I know we did not depart on good terms, but I cannot imagine that he has been weighed down like this for seventy years. He said this was not my doing, and yet I have only had the opportunity to talk with him once during the entire week I have been here. He avoids me."

"Weighed down by what?"

"Just… Kili-"

Someone abruptly stepped in the hall and the two elves looked up as the other Noldor-twin entered the hall. He had an unreadable expression on his face due to the long hours of solely watching over the prince in a boring, hushed atmosphere.

His long-faced appearance changed to skepticism as he looked at his brother and Tauriel sitting together and he squinted with what looked to be disapproval.

Tauriel saw the look upon the one she assumed was Elrohir and looked off quickly. Her anxieties began to build now that the other elf was here and she could not help feeling the need to flee, but she stayed put.

The real Elladan did not know what was going on between Tauriel and his brother and hoped it was nothing as he did not have the energy nor time to get involved with another round of rejection and having to console his brother. Elrohir could do as he wished, of course, but he didn't like the fact that the two, who seemed terrified and depressed at the thought of one another, were now suddenly in good standings and he did not understand what was going on. Elladan's greeting was minimal as he entered the hall and took up his seat beside his brother.

"How did your travels go? Estel has told me it was a success but we did not talk much about it." Elladan jumped into a quiet conversation with his brother, completely ignoring Tauriel for the moment. He was a little leery of her stringing his brother along for, perhaps, a second time.

"It went well, but there is a lot to go over." Elrohir said and turned in his seat to discuss the day's events with his twin.

"That is what Estel said."

"How was *your* day?" Elrohir asked though he thought he already knew the answer to the question. Elladan looked exhausted.

"Long."

"Oh no… what happened?"

"Absolutely nothing happened, for which I am glad, but it made for a rather dull day. Estel has taken over care for a while, but you have the next watch." Elladan said and he leaned back as servants swarmed him to place water and wine at his place. As he leaned back, He could see Tauriel around his brother and the way she carefully kept herself turned from him. He squinted to the back of her auburn head.

Elladan's gaze shifted to his brother and he shrugged his nose towards Tauriel, silently asking what was going on.

Elrohir's eyes went slightly wider and he shook his head curtly asking his brother not to say anything at the moment.

Elladan rolled his eyes before he sat in his regular posture.

Others began to fill the room and Éomer, Faramir and Éowyn came wondering into the dining hall. They greeted the company already in the room and they took up their seats and got comfortable for dinner. Other advisers, nobles and appointees that worked closely with Aragorn began to file in and the once quiet room became a constant buzz of conversations as people started to socialize.

Gimli and Arwen were the last ones to arrive. Arwen made a quick announcement that the king would not be joining them for the meal and Arwen only meant to stop by to see everyone this evening. After her news, she sat down and took her glass of wine and made her dutiful rounds to speak with the guests of the palace, but kept true to her word and left the mess hall not too long thereafter.

Food was brought out and placed before the guests as it usually was and everyone began to eat. The three elves sitting by each other took their meal in silence and Elladan could not keep his mind off of his brother and why he was associating with Tauriel. Neither would look at each other and Tauriel was not her usual lively self. He monitored the two for a time, but then started to reconsider what he had originally been thinking. Perhaps it was in fact Elrohir who had been the one to reach out to her to attempt a second shot?

Now he became worried. He thought he had talked his brother out of this. He looked between the pair and Tauriel took a shy glance at him but looked away quickly.

This was getting most bizarre and he watched her for a few moments to try and gauge what was going on.

Tauriel felt the elf watching her with hordes of disappointment and she knew she needed to acknowledge him. She did not need Elladan's help and decided to go for it. She took a breath and braced herself before she spoke.

"Elrohir… I wish to speak with you after dinner if you have a few moments." Tauriel looked down the table to the one watching her.

Elladan looked to his brother who had gone stone-white a ridged, but the elder twin looked away to let the two have a conversation uninterrupted. He let out a puff of air in a contained smirk and turned to his plate to feign interest with his food, but he kept his ears locked on to his brother and the she-elf.

Tauriel's brows furrowed when the elf turned from her. She felt miserable, but knew she was the one who caused this and she boldly pressed on.

"Elrohir?..." She asked, but again, the elf kept his attentions to his food while the elf sitting right beside fidgeted nervously. "Elrohir, please..." Tauriel then reached out across her neighbor and brushed her fingers over Elladan's arm to get his attention. The oldest twin had a look of complete surprise on his face and he looked to Tauriel baffled.

"I beg your pardon?" Elladan asked and looked to Tauriel, but his eyes were diverted to his brother who was using every expression on his face to try and get his brother's attention.

Elladan looked to his twin with startled bewilderment.

"What?" He asked Elrohir but the twin pursed his lips and darted his eyes over his shoulder. "What?" He repeated.

"Elrohir…" Tauriel interrupted. "I would like to speak with you after dinner and I can promise that I will make it fast."

"Wait… me?" Elladan asked.

"Yes you!" Elrohir intervened and gave his brother a steely look. "Tauriel wishes to speak with you…*Elrohir*... after dinner. Why do you not agree to it so you may have a quick chat?" Elrohir said and a sudden realization came across the older Noldor-elf. Elladan shot his brother an icy look knowing that his younger brother had convinced Tauriel that the two were switched.

Elladan opened his mouth to speak. He had every intention on making Elrohir look bad but as he gathered his thoughts, Tauriel's worried expression caught his eyes and he halted. Tauriel did not deserve to be place in the middle of this.

Elladan played along quickly, but that did not mean he was letting his brother off the hook.

"Yes Tauriel, we can speak later…. much later if it can be helped for I would very much so like a word with *Elladan* beforehand."

"Of course." Tauriel said quickly. "Elrohir... thank you." She said. Elladan just gave her a small smile before he hesitantly turned back to his plate and began to cut the meat with a knife.

Beside him, the real Elrohir let out a quiet breath and the older twin scowled. He thought fast and an idea came to him.

In loud Quenya words, the Noldor-elf spoke in no particular direction. He was testing his theory.

"So my lady..." Elladan said in High Elvish and glanced at Tauriel who was oblivious as to what was being said. "Forgive me if I seem rude, but please tell me if you can understand me, for I believe my brother to be wearing *my shirt* and I am a little confused as to why you called me by another's name..."

Tauriel seemed to be off in her own world and paid little attention to the foreign language. Elrohir on the other hand turned to glare openly at his brother.

"What are you doing?" the younger twin grit out quietly in the common tongue. The older twin just smiled and continued speaking the old Elvish dialect.

"I need to speak with you... now." Elladan said and Elrohir had a disbelieving look on his face. "Oh stop your worrying. She cannot understand us." He said.

"How do you know?" Elrohir growled back.

"Really? You do not recall that Quenya was banished by Thranduil?... You know Legolas does not know the language therefore she would not either."

Tauriel looked back to the twins as she caught two names that she easily recognized. "What of Legolas? Where is he?" she asked. She was hoping she would finally get some news on him.

"Nothing My lady, I was just using the two as examples." Elladan lied while looking to his brother with an 'I-told-you-so' stare.

"Examples of what?" Tauriel did not particularly like the secret nature these two were keeping to.

"Of…. Blond elves." Elladan smirked. Tauriel looked confused and the grin she received from 'Elrohir' was strange so she removed herself from the conversation feeling a little self-conscious.

"See, I told you. She does not understand Quenya so that leaves *us* free to clear a few things up. Why does she think I am you?" Elladan set his utensils down on the table and crossed his arms as he watched his younger brother smolder with the resentment of having to do this now.

"It was an honest mistake. She thought I was you-"

"And you did not correct her?"

"What was I supposed to do?!" Elrohir wailed back.

"Correct her!"

"Brother, listen, I am sorry! She was upset and crying and I did not want to make things harder on anyone so I went with it just so I could get to the bottom of her troubles."

"Well you did not have to drag me into this! What transpires between you and her needs to be left at that! I do not have time to deal with this and I would assume you do not either. What is wrong with you?... Chasing one of the prince's friends while he is struggling-"

"No! That is not it at all! Will you shut it for just a few moments and allow me to explain?!" Elrohir's voice was getting terse and both Noldor-elves were fuming by now. "I was on my way to my rooms. She was in the hall crying and I could not just leave her so I went to see what was wrong. I will not *bore* you with details, but to get on point, it turns out, she had Legolas' knives in her possession. She was trying to give them back!... Had the real me intervened, she would have fled. But, because I assumed your identity, I was able to speak with her and confiscated them to eliminate any risk to Legolas!"

Elladan sobered a little, realizing that despite the bad idea of lying about who he was, it proved to be the best thing to do in the situation, in a twisted sort of logic. Elrohir continued.

"I apologize for dragging you into this. I admit I did not correct her... and I did not correct her even before I knew about the weapons, but I did go along with it and it proved to serve us all well! I would hope that you can see the positive in this situation and just go along with it for a little while." Elrohir's final words were punctuated with a demanding stare.

Elladan sighed. He was not exactly happy, but backed down somewhat.

"I swear if you placed any blemishes on my name-"

"Your name is clear! Fear not."

"And I will *not* be speaking with her."

"No you won't. *I* will... after dinner. I will not come clean, but I will come back as Elrohir and put this all to rest."

"Fine." Elladan was completely flustered and stood from his chair. He gathered his utensils, plate and wine glass and began to leave the hall.

"Where are you going?" Elrohir demanded.

"I just cannot… do this. I wish to take my meal in a better setting. I want no part in this and I am removing myself now. I am leaving this completely in your hands. See to it that it is put to rest…" Elladan shot daggers at his brother with his eyes then looked Elrohir over quickly. "And for your sake, do it fast because that shirt looks terrible on you…. It is absurd how much better I wear that color than you." Elladan scoffed and walked out of the dining hall without another word.

Elrohir huffed at the comment as he watched his brother leave the dining hall. He did not know if Elladan was upset that he had borrowed the shirt or if the twin was just sour that Elrohir's lie was actually beneficial and Elladan just needed something to further complain about. He suddenly realized all eyes had turned to him and he smiled to try and make things right.

"We held a competition a while ago and he lost. He is not pleased with it." Elrohir switched into a light voice of common language and waved his hand casually to try and dismiss the tension in the room. He grabbed his wine glass and drained its contents quickly to try and prove he was not worried.

Tauriel glanced that the Noldor-elf.

"I was not the cause of that, was I?" She asked.

Elrohir suppressed a smile as he looked to her. "Not at all My Lady."