"Alright, Alasse. Deep breath for me." Elrond instructed, keeping three fingers pressed against her ribs. Alasse was sitting up on Thranduil's bed, nervously twiddling her toy from Bofur, while Elrond examined her. She was really, really, really hoping she'd get to go play today! She was so tired of being stuck in bed and unable to run around. Thranduil watched, standing beside the bed. "Good girl." Elrond approved. "Does this hurt?" He prodded a little harder.
"Nope! It doesn't hurt one bit." Alasse said eagerly.
"Well, my dear, I can officially say I believe you're cured. Your ribs seem completely healed." Elrond said.
"Does that mean I can go play now with Fluffy, and Estel, and Fili and Kili?" Alasse excitedly as she bounced back on her knees.
"You most certainly may, child." Elrond smiled.
"Yippee!" Alasse cheered, hugging him around the neck. "Thank you. Come on, Ada! Let's go!" She nearly flew off the bed.
Thranduil snorted, shaking his head. "Not so fast, little one." He narrowed his eyes and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her in the air. Alasse squealed in delight. "You are sure she's alright now?" He looked to Elrond.
"Oh, trust me, mellon. She is fine." Elrond chuckled.
"Thank you, Elrond." Thranduil nodded and whisked his daughter out into the hall.
"Come on, Fluffy!" Alasse called to her faithful companion. The wolf wagged his tail and bounded after his king. They met Legolas downstairs.
"Leggi! Guess what? Lord Elrond says I'm all better! So, now I can run around and play!" Alasse declared excitedly.
"Oh, that is good to hear." Legolas smiled in relief and kissed her head. "That is very good news." He squinted sneakily. "Because now I can do this!" He skittered his fingers up and down her sides, and across her middle, tickling her. Alasse laughed and squirmed in her father's arms.
"Haha! Leggi, stop! Leggi, don't!" Alasse giggled, reaching up to Thranduil's neck for protection.
"Alright, Legolas. That's enough, son." Thranduil smirked then joined in the tickling.
"No! Ohoho, not fair! Not fair!" Alasse laughed, scrambling around on Thranduil's chest for an escape. Thranduil wiggled his big finger into the back of her neck, making her scrunch up her shoulders. "ADA! Nonono!" Alasse shrieked.
"I'll save you, Tithen muinthel." Legolas chuckled, taking her in his arms away from Thranduil.
"Oh no you don't!" She protested.
"Don't worry. I'm done tickling you." Legolas assured her. She rose her eyebrow skeptically. "Are you hungry? Cook made some blueberry tarts, especially for you. I'd eat them before the dwarves devour them all!"
"Go ahead." Thranduil waved them off.
"Sure was swell of ya, to help us with this." Kili whispered to Elrohir.
"Hey, I understand. I live with some uptight elders too. It does some good to make them loosen up every now and then." Elrohir grinned.
"One thing I've learned, make sure your target is spot on. You don't want to end up pranking the wrong person!" Elladan warned.
"Sure you do! It makes it much more fun!" Elrohir argued. Elladan rolled his eyes.
"I will only help you dwarves with this once. After that, you're on your own." Elladan said.
"We appreciate it." Fili smiled.
"Hmm. Where is Estel I wonder?" Elladan grinned evilly. He'd heard and then seen his little brother's boot up in the stable loft. He heard a small voice giggling up in the straw.
"The question is, how do we lure Uncle in here?" Kili frowned.
"You mean you haven't figured that out yet?" Fili growled. "This was after all your brilliant idea, little brother! Are you telling me you didn't even come up with a full plan?"
"Don't worry. We have that covered." Elrohir promised. "Oh, and if you see Estel, let us know."
"We will." Kili nodded. The two elves shuffled out.
"Are they gone?" Estel whispered from up in the loft.
"Yes!" Fili answered. "Give us a hand, will you?"
"Sure thing." Estel nodded eagerly. He leaned over the edge of the ladder as Fili and Kili climbed up with their prizes and handed them over to the boy.
"I can't wait to see the look on his face!" Kili grinned.
"I'm rather dreading the look on his face. He'll probably send us packing and back home to Mum." Fili shrugged.
Bilbo was wandering the many halls and bridges, taking in all that Rivendell had to offer. Here, he didn't feel the least bit pressured. No gossip around town to have to live down, no neighbors trying to sneak into his hole 'full of gold', and best of all, no Sackville Baggins's! The more he explored the beautiful city, the more happy he felt. Ahh, what a perfect haven to write a book, or just read, and think, sing or eat! If he made it alive from this quest, he definitely wanted to come back here!
"You're a curious one." A deep voice interrupted his sanctuary. Bilbo cleared his throat, and tried not to show his irritation.
"Am I?" He answered, and turned back to see the massively tall Elven king standing there. "It's in our nature." He said lightly. "Though some relatives seem to make it their unofficial birthright, in places I would rather they keep a respectable distance! But respectable and certain folk do not belong in the same sentence, especially when they're related to you."
"Mmm." Thranduil mused. "So you have problematic kin too, do you? I heard that the Shire was a peaceful settlement." He remarked sarcastically, coming to stand beside him.
"Oh, indeed it is, if you count out particular townspeople who have been after my home since I was born!" Bilbo replied.
"Why don't you just shut them up or have them run out of your town?"
"Ahh, would that I could. But, the Sackville Baggins's have been trying to drive me out for thirty years! Besides, I think they would receive more sympathy than I would. Most of them I think I am odd." Bilbo sighed.
Thranduil snickered. "There are worse things to be called. Much worse." He said.
"True enough, but it isn't easy to live down when everyone thinks you are extremely wealthy just because you have the biggest house, and they come peddling at your own door like beaten down travelers! It's an exhausting business sometimes."
"You think you've got problems, Master hobbit? Try running an entire kingdom, and raising two children! And live in a world where all the other kingdoms think you're just cowardly, or a hermit." Thranduil drawled.
"Surely not all see you that way." Bilbo suggested. "You seem to get along pretty fine with Lord Elrond."
"Elrond and I have been friends and allies for centuries. But he is one of the few in Middle Earth who knows me personally. And what I have been up against."
"Well, I am sure you will find a solution to your battles." Bilbo said casually. "The prince was incredibly resourceful while he worked with us trying to rescue you. He must have learned it from somewhere."
"Well, it certainly makes my heart glad to hear that Legolas has learned something valuable from me, besides scaring everybody away." Thranduil rolled his eyes. "Speaking of rescue," He faced the hobbit, "Legolas and everyone else tells me that it was you who saved my daughter."
Bilbo blushed. "Well, I didn't actually save her." He said sheepishly. "I really only found her, then alerted the prince to where I believed she was. I'm not a hero."
"You're far too modest, Master Baggins. But you still ventured in there, on your own. How did you do that anyway? Legolas did not see you sneak in."
"Let's just say we hobbits are experts at taking people by surprise." Bilbo said, patting his pocket where the Ring lay hidden.
"And what, pray tell, is this fascinating secret you halflings have mastered at slipping passed even elves' keenness?" Thranduil arched his eyebrows.
"Sorry." Bilbo smirked. "I do believe I shall not answer you."
"And why not?"
"Because as you said, it is a secret!" Bilbo joked. Thranduil shook his head.
"I do not know what to make of you, Master Baggins.' You are no warrior, that much remains to be seen."
"Oh, thank you." Bilbo muttered.
"You are a sheltered little man, who knows little of the world outside his garden. Yet, here you are, embarking on a journey unlike anything you expected. And...you saved my little girl's life. Without you, she might never have been found, until it was too late. You have my deepest gratitude. You shall be generously rewarded, I assure you."
"No need for that." Bilbo shook his head, smiling. "I didn't do it to get a reward. I was only trying to help. Anyone would have done the same."
"If I can ever fulfill any request you ask of me, don't hesitate." Thranduil said grandly.
"Well, there is one thing." Bilbo bit his lip nervously.
"Name it and it is yours, Master Baggins." Thranduil said proudly.
"Well, if it's not asking too much, do you think you could try to patch things up with Thorin and the dwarves? Resolve your differences? The tension between your two people caused a lot of needless delay in argument when we were trying to save you." Bilbo swallowed, wondering if he had said the wrong thing.
Thranduil frowned sourly at him. You have got to be joking! "You are incorrigible." He said flatly. "Could you maybe not desire something more attainable?"
"Well, you told me to ask for whatever it is I wanted." Bilbo fiddled nervously with his hands. "I am only following the king's command."
"You are a hopeless barterer, halfling." Thranduil said pitifully. "There is positively no loopholes around you. You do not understand the magnitude of what you ask for." True that he and Thorin had reached a truce, at least until the scoundrels hurting their children had been dealt with. What now? It wasn't as if they were strong allies yet. And the two kings, though they'd come to reasonable terms about the kidnappers, that didn't mean everything about the past was forgiven. Oh, no. They weren't even close to that yet! Or, at least, that's what Thranduil kept telling himself.
"No. Maybe not." Bilbo agreed. "But if I may say so, your son and Thorin were able to lay aside their differences and work together. And well, look at them now. They are allies. Your son commanded one of your soldiers to lend his horse to Lord Elrohir, so that Kili could be brought here sooner when he was so ill. And I saw the way Thorin destroyed that Orc who attacked your daughter when none of us could reach her before she was too hurt. He was absolutely livid with the fell creature. It was quite scary, actually!
'Now, I do not know what has happened between dwarves and elves to make them loathe each other so much, nor do I care to. It is none of my business. But perhaps it does not need to remain so forever. Grudges can be mended. I wouldn't say it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Why, Thorin made Dwalin apologize to Lord Elrond for insulting him! Apologize to an elf? Thorin would never do that! Maybe there is more to both of your people than either of you realize.'"
"Highly unlikely." Thranduil rolled his eyes, pretending not to hear. Bilbo gaped at him. Had the king heard nothing he'd just said? Was he really so stubborn, or just plain deaf? "But, I owe them something for what they did to help my family. They deserve that at least."
"See? I knew you couldn't be that bad a fellow." Bilbo smiled.
"Just what were you expecting me to be?" Thranduil suspiciously asked very slowly. Bilbo paled. He looked up, wide-eyed and couldn't form a coherent sentence.
"I...well...I...do not know. Never met an elf like you before. Truth is, until this journey I had never met any elf before!"
"And what do I strike you as? Tell me, Master hobbit." Thranduil said 'sternly'.
"When I go back to the Shire, I certainly won't forget you." Bilbo answered, hoping it was respectful enough.
"You're mocking me, aren't you?" Thranduil glared.
"Never!" Bilbo sputtered. "On the contrary, I have a friendly outlook on elves. I...always heard stories of them, and dreamed of meeting them."
"So, I strike you as an uncivilized savage, do I?" Thranduil huffed, stepping stealthily toward the hobbit.
"I never said that, great King Thranduil!" Bilbo begged. "Honestly, I found your behavior rather civil, toward the fugitives who attacked you!"
"Well, at least you do not turn a blind eye at the sound of every rumor." Thranduil said haughtily.
"Uhh, if you'll excuse me, I think I shall go look for Gandalf." Bilbo grinned sheepishly, and walked away. Thranduil laughed after Bilbo scurried away.
"How could one so small and ignorant survive in the wild, with hard-pressed dwarves?" He asked himself. "Bilbo Baggins is something else. I cannot even find the words to describe him. None of them seem worthy."
"Glorfindel." Legolas greeted as he carried Alasse on his hip.
"Legolas, Alasse. It's good to see you back up and around, sweetling." Glorfindel smiled, pinching her cheek. "Enjoying the blueberry tarts, I see."
"Ai. She dragged me to the kitchens." Legolas sighed.
"No I didn't!" Alasse growled. "He took me there!" Glorfindel snickered at their banter. "Glorfindel. Are you well now too?"
"Yes, little one." Glorfindel nodded.
"Does your tummy still hurt? Is it all better?" Alasse looked seriously at his stomach where she'd watched him get stabbed. She shuddered at the memory, gripping Legolas's tunic tighter.
"Hmm? Oh. Yes, much better. It stopped hurting long ago." Glorfindel answered confidently, rubbing his side. "And I don't even have a scar!"
"You don't?"
"No. Rest assured, I'm fine. And I am greatly relieved to see you and your father back here where it is safe! I am sorry, penneth, that I couldn't save you sooner."
"You got hurt. Those men and elves were so mean! It wasn't your fault. They shouldn't have done that." Alasse said firmly.
"You are right."
"Have you seen Fili and Kili? We're looking for them." Legolas said.
"Last I saw of them, they were scurrying about with Estel somewhere. I think they were heading for the stables." Glorfindel stated.
"Thank you." Legolas nodded.
"Here he comes!" Kili whispered loudly to Fili and Estel.
"Okay!" Estel nodded. Thorin stepped into the stables.
"The sons of Elrond told me that you thought one of the ponies was ailing?" Thorin asked his younger nephew.
"Ai, Uncle. Myrtle just seems to have lost her appetite." Kili explained. "Maybe it's the Elvish horse feed they're giving her! I don't think it agrees with her stomach."
"Well, let's see." Thorin grunted. He made his way over to the pony and murmured to her gently, and stroked her nuzzle. He offered her an apple and she greedily snatched it up. Thorin gave Kili the look. "She seems to be fine to me. What is all this about? I have matters to discuss with Gandalf."
"Well, she wouldn't take any sugar from me!" Kili lied quickly.
"That's because you don't know how to ask correctly." Thorin teased. "Please tell me you had a logical reason for calling me down here, when there are other more pressing matters at hand." He crossed his arms.
"Well, uh..." Kili searched his mind for an excuse to keep Thorin around.
Estel was up in the loft, holding a rope between his fingers while Fili was behind a hay bale, gripping the end of the rope. Overhead where they hoped to get Thorin to stand, was a bucket filled with mashed blueberries. Up next to Estel was a sack of flour, and leaning against the doorway was a bucket of water. Kili's plan was to lure Thorin to stand in the entryway, where he would step on-unbeknownst to him-, a section of the rope that was loosely sitting in the dirt. Once Kili opened the corral gate it was fastened to, Thorin would trip on the rope, then be bombarded with blueberry juice, sticky flour, and then water. His beautiful, long hair would be one heck of a colorful mess. Oh, he would be so mad! But they would never be able to let him live down the way they pulled it on him! Trouble was, right now, Thorin was playing according to the script.
"Uhh, well, the ponies are restless! All of them! I think they may be catching an epidemic in this place!" Kili blurted out. Fili cringed. That was the best he could come up with? Kili was murdering their little plot.
Thorin arched his brows at Kili. "What are you up to?" He asked suspiciously.
"Nothing, nothing!" Kili answered too quickly. "I just, uhm...well, I thought..."
"Save your childish pranks for another time. I have other things that require my attention." Thorin said calmly, patting Kili's shoulder and turned to go.
"B-b-but…"
As Thorin reached outside, he spoke again with his back to him. "Oh, and don't think I didn't notice the bucket above my head when you started acting dimwitted." Thorin glanced at Kili and threw him a cheeky smirk. Kili's jaw dropped. Blast it! How had he figured it out? "Sorry, Kili." Thorin chuckled. "You'll have to try better than that." And with that, he marched away.
"Oh, come on!" Estel groaned up in the loft. "Ada's adviser would've fallen for it just like that."
"Ahh, Kili." Bilbo said with relief as he entered. "Have you seen Thorin?" Just at that moment, a gruff voice growled behind the little hobbit like a bulldog.
"There you are, Master Burglar!" Dwalin barked. "Thorin has been waiting for you!"
"Oh, I'm sorry." Bilbo shrugged.
Estel yawned, and as he did so, let go of the rope! Kili grabbed Bilbo and jerked him away, making the hobbit yelp in surprise. Dwalin stood there, staring at the prince's behavior...just before he was conked on the head with a tin bucket. Kili was so scared that he snatched up the bucket and dumped the blueberry juice all over Dwalin. Estel, taking that as the cue to start firing, dug his fist into the sack of flour and started flinging handfuls of the white powder on the purple drizzled, bald head. "Fili, now!" Kili shouted. Fili tossed the bucket of water at Dwalin, soaking him from head to foot.
Dwalin hissed and roared so loud that it startled the ponies, and everyone in Rivendell was sure to mistake his fury for that of a bear!
"Run!" Kili warned, grasping Bilbo's wrist and tugging him behind. Estel jumped down from the loft and bumped into Fili. The two of them ran for it.
"You scurvy brats!" Dwalin foamed as he charged out of the stable. "I'll get your for this!"
"Why do you want to play around with the dwarves anyway?" Legolas asked Alasse as she rode on Fluffy's back. "They're disarrayed in appearance, and will probably get you dirty."
"Because they're funny." Alasse replied. "And nice."
"Well..." Legolas was cut short when they heard a commotion coming from the stables. The elves who worked in the stables all rushed to see what the commotion was about. Thorin reappeared when he heard a very familiar, furious voice.
Kili was running for his life with Bilbo at his side. Estel and Fili were on their heels. Kili stumbled backward and landed on his backside. Estel and Fili both tripped over him, landing in a heap. Bilbo hurried to find safety beside Legolas and Alasse. The moment Dwalin came out into the sunlight, the elves belted out laughing. They couldn't help it.
Even Thorin could not hold it in. Dwalin was a sight: dribbles of purple striped him from head to foot, sticky flour clung to him, almost creating a paste, and he was soaked. Honestly, he looked like a boogie monster Kili may have created in his imagination when he was a baby. The idea that Kili had been the one to initiate this was too ironic. So, Thorin had foiled their plans, on him. But their prank had still succeeded, except on a different victim. Thorin gloated with laughter. He hated to imagine the hours he would've spent trying to wash and comb that sloppy mess from his luscious hair!
"You were right, Alasse. They are very funny." Legolas snorted.
"What happened?" Alasse asked Bilbo.
"I haven't the faintest idea. And I'm probably much better off for it!" Bilbo panted.
Dwalin bared his teeth. He was not happy, at all! "Shut up!" He hollered. "The whole lot of you!" Thorin was struggling to hide his face.
"Just what is the meaning of-" Glorfindel began to scold then stopped abruptly when he came on the scene. "Oh, Valar. What goblin tunnel did he come out of?" This only ignited the laughter, and Dwalin's temper.
"It's not funny!" Dwalin bellowed. Fluffy trotted to the dwarf and started lapping up the goo with his tongue. "What the-get away from me, ye overgrown fur-ball! Get away!" Dwalin batted his hands at the wolf who stroked the bald head with his long tongue. Dwalin glared lethally at Kili. "I'm gonna kill you!" He promised with a vengeance.
"I apologize, Master Dwalin. I can sympathize more than you know." Glorfindel managed to compose a level voice. "Come with me. We'll have you back to yourself in no time. You'll feel much better after a warm bubble bath. Dwalin huffed but followed quickly.
"Master Estel!" Lindir gasped. "Were you a party to this?"
"It was just a joke." Estel said defensively.
"Your father will not be pleased." Lindir said firmly.
"The dwarves do know how to have a good time." Legolas chuckled.
"That was almost me!" Bilbo shuddered. Fili, Kili, and Estel ran to Legolas and Bilbo.
"I shall not forget that sight in a hurry." Legolas said.
"We did do a good job, didn't we?" Kili grinned. He noticed Alasse riding astride her wolf. "He's as large as a pony!" Kili exclaimed.
"Would you like to ride him?" Alasse offered.
"Uhh..." Fili chuckled nervously, wide-eyed. "No thanks. I'm good."
"He won't hurt you. And he's really strong." Alasse persisted.
"That's okay." Fili stepped back.
"Please?" Alasse begged.
"Aww, come on, Fi. It might be fun!" Kili chimed in.
"Ahem. I think we're in hot water, brother." Fili warned in a whisper.
"Well, it could've been worse. We could have ended up with Uncle, you know." Kili shrugged.
"That is right." A deep, stern voice spoke behind him. Kili froze as he faced his uncle. Thorin stood where with his arms folded over his chest. "Lucky for you, it is not me who is heading to the bathing chambers right now."
"I, uh, think Ada's looking for me." Estel said nervously, starting to run off. But Legolas easily grabbed the back of his collar.
"Well, you gotta admit, Uncle. It was hilarious!" Kili cheered. Fili palmed his own face. While Thorin found it absolutely amusing, he would still punish them.
"Indeed. It was." Thorin chuckled. "Just who was it to cook up this wild scheme this time?" Estel and Fili pointed to Kili. Kili put on his best puppy dog smile. "So, it was you, was it?"
"Who else?" Kili shrugged nonchalantly. "But hey, they helped!"
"Lucky for you it wasn't the Elven king. He would have your head." Thorin started to sneakily walk in a circle around Kili.
"He would be most displeased." Legolas agreed.
"Just how do you expect to get out of this one?" Thorin asked.
"Sorry, Uncle. It was all in fun, I assure you!" Fili told him. "But, it won't happen again. At least, not here."
"Until my brothers get involved!" Estel added.
"Do you have any idea how humiliating and vexing it is, to get that gunk out of your hair?" Thorin spoke sternly to Kili and Fili.
"But, Uncle. Mr. Dwalin doesn't have any hair!" Kili pointed out. Legolas choked down a laugh and Thorin couldn't help smiling.
"But you do. How would you like to be pasted with the same rubbish?" Thorin threatened.
"I wouldn't like that." Kili shook his head.
"You will be punished, you know."
"But it was all for fun! And I've been sick." Kili threw in, hoping that would save him from a harsh punishment.
"You aren't that sick." Thorin glared.
"But I was."
"Point taken. But I think you've completely regained your usual foolishness now." Thorin said, reaching his hand out and digging his knuckles into Kili's side. Kili shrieked.
"Stop!" He hollered.
"Stop what?"
"You know what." Kili growled.
"You mean this?" Thorin grinned, brushing his fingers up Kili's side.
"Stop, Uncle!" Kili protested. "You're embarrassing me!"
"I'm embarrassing you? That's not going to save you this time, young dwarf. You need to learn a lesson."
"Not that kind!" Kili shook his head, wide-eyed and whirled around to escape. But Thorin tackled his nephew onto his back. He pinned Kili's wrists to the ground. "Come on, Uncle. Can't you just shrug this one off?" He grinned sheepishly. Thorin slowly shook his head with a derisive smile. Kili paled. He really was going to get it!
"Dwalin will not let you off so easily as I am."
"You call this easy?!" Kili barked. Thorin tickled his sides, to which Kili instantly giggled. He squirmed on the ground as his uncle found his sensitive spots, just like when he was little.
"Well, that was easy enough." Thorin said casually. "I still know how to make you laugh and beg for mercy."
"Uncle, stop! I can't take it! Release me!" Kili pleaded in a high-pitched voice, ringing with laughter.
"I think we'd best away from here, before my brother gets any ideas!" Alasse whispered to Bilbo. She didn't want to be the next victim, especially where her big brother Legolas was concerned!
"I believe you are right!" Bilbo agreed. The two of them shifted away with Fluffy. Estel chuckled at Kili's punishment.
"That's what you get for pranking the wrong person like my brother said." He slapped his knee. Suddenly, he felt a jab to the back of his neck. "Hey!" Legolas ran his fingers up and down his neck. "Legolas, no fair!" Estel argued.
"No reason why Thorin Oakenshield should have all the fun. Not when you have insulted your elders." Legolas said calmly, as he held Estel in a headlock and tickled him into endless giggles.
Sadly, this story has only a few more chapters. I have enjoyed it, but things must move on. Thranduil must take his family back home, and very soon the dwarves will need to leave to finish their quest.
