Disclaimer: Yep, I own em. They are all 6 inches tall and sit on the shelf above the TV all day. Used to belong to Toy Biz. Go Figure.
A/N: This will be twice as much fun if you quickly skim back over Chapter 1. Hey, that rhymes! Elvish translations and notes to my wonderful reviewers are at the end.
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Chapter 2 The Pranks Continue
A week had passed, and Arwen still had not figured out what it was that had changed Aragorn so. His aversion to soap was no secret, but he had always been famous for sneaking in to the kitchens at night and making himself a sandwich. Until now. Since last Thursday, not only did he avoid the bathing areas, but now he avoided the kitchens as well. Especially when the cooks were cleaning up the dishes.
"It all started the day he received that last invitation," she thought out loud to herself. "Then he went to Legolas and Gimli's house to advise them of it. I wonder if either of them knows what happened…."
The dwarf and elf were frequent visitors, and were invited to come for the evening meal tonight, as a matter of fact. "I will just draw one of them aside and ask if they know what is going on," Arwen said to no one in particular.
Arwen sat at the dressing table, fingering her long dark brown hair. She picked up the brush, and started easing the tangles from it. There had been more tangles this week than she cared to think of. Now that Estel was not waking to sneak downstairs for a midnight snack, he was waking her instead!
Making love with Aragorn had always been a passionate affair, but in the last week he had begun to ask her to speak in the Elvish Tongue to him. After the height of passion had waxed and was beginning to wane, he had said "Im gelir le anirant im an buia-le," not just once this week, but twice! Come to think of it, he also was using his hands more creatively as well, especially his thumbs. I wonder what has gotten into him? she pondered.
A knock on the door startled her back to the present. There stood Aragorn. "Good morning, Lirimaer," he greeted her. "You look quite ravishing."
Arwen smiled. Yes, there was most certainly a change about Aragorn, but it was a good one. "Good morning, Melith-nin," she answered, rising to greet him. Her long full gown of cobalt blue swished and swayed around her as she moved toward him.
"That has got to be my favorite gown for you to wear. It makes your eyes sparkle like the stars in the sky. You are a beauty to rival even Elbereth," he said.
"You seek to flatter me? Mayhaps to win my affections once more this morning?" she taunted.
"Ever to win the affections of you, my lady," he cooed, moving to take her into his arms.
"Oh, I think not!" Arwen stopped him with a hand pressed to the center of his chest. "Have you not yet had the opportunity to visit the baths this morning?"
Drat! thought Aragorn. She noticed my clothing is stained from riding in the wood this morning.
"I am heading that way as we speak. Would you care to join me?" Aragorn gave her a wink and a lecherous smile.
"You know, Estel," Arwen teased, "I never realized before how much washing with soap turned you on…"
She stopped, suddenly aware of the change in his expression. A ghost of a memory seemed to have passed in front of his face. "Estel, is something wrong?" she asked.
The vision passed, and his face returned to normal. "Why no, my love," he replied, "everything is just fine." Damn that dwarf and elf! I almost gave myself away there….
With a soft kiss on the lips, they parted, each going about their duties for the day. It was evening ere they were reunited. Dressing quickly, they walked arm in arm to greet the arriving guests. Not that Legolas and Gimli were really guests, since both spent near as much time at the palace as they did at the little house down the hill.
"'Tis good to see you again Lady Arwen!" Legolas said with a smile, clasping Arwen's hands in his. "That dress, it is absolutely stunning! Im gerin al-tiria min ha."
Arwen felt Aragorn stiffen. Now what? she thought to herself.
Now, Legolas," said Gimli. "Do not seek to stun this beautiful lady with your wagging Elvish Tongue! Give her a proper greeting!" Gimli pushed Legolas to the side, and stepped toward Arwen. "Come closer to me, then. No, closer even, that I might give you a proper hug. After all, a dwarf's arms are mighty, but not very long."
Aragorn seemed ready to bolt. His face had gone a deep shade of red. Arwen had not known him to be sensitive to the sun before, but he HAD been outside longer than usual today.
Dinner progressed, the feast of fine meats and vegetables from the harvest consumed. As it would happen, Arwen found the evening had passed much too rapidly, and now their guests were preparing to depart for the night. She still had not had an opportunity to speak with either Legolas or Gimli about Aragorn. As farewells were wished, she found herself unable to let it rest.
As she hugged Legolas goodnight, Arwen whispered into his pointed ear, "Mayhaps I should speak privately with you sometime tomorrow?"
"Certainly, My Lady. Is there something troubling you?" Legolas looked concerned.
"'Tis nothing, Legolas, just a question I had that can easily wait until morning." Arwen smiled up at the Prince.
"Very well then." To Gimli he then spoke. "Hurry up Gimli. I cannot wait much longer."
The dwarf let out a snort, then with a glance at Aragorn's blushing face, they both bid the King and Queen of Gondor goodnight.
Later that night…..
"By the Valar, Gimli, someone could shoot you in the dark you make so much noise!" came the hushed tone of the elf's voice.
"Do you hear anything?" mumbled the dwarf.
"Of course I do! I am an elf! I hear everything!" came the reply. "Now be quiet!"
The dwarf and elf were crouching beneath the big oak tree just beside the balcony that led to Aragorn's throne room. Fortunately, the King's bedroom was located just to the other side of the same tree, and it appeared the King was being … uuhhh…. momentarily distracted.
Between them they had two very large sacks. Legolas leaped nimbly into the tree's branches, reaching down to take Gimli's sack from him. Gimli settled himself between the large roots of the tree as a lookout. Legolas proceeded towards the throne room, using his most stealthy elven abilities.
A few minutes later, Gimli saw a shadow on the ledge above his head, and Legolas dropped down beside him.
"Did you get it?" Gimli asked.
"Of course," came Legolas' reply. "We should have results in just a few minutes."
Suddenly a sharp piercing shriek emanated from the balcony area to their left. There was a loud round of human cursing, followed by a high pitched female voice shouting, "Get it! Get it!" Sounds of furniture tipping over succeeded the voices, and then there was a rumbling noise as if a great waterfall had been unleashed into the room above their heads.
The next sound was totally predictable. A duet, in fact. Two voices, crying out into the night as one…
"LEGOLAS!"
Snickering, the elf and dwarf bolted and ran for the camouflage of darkness.
It took almost three hours for the servants to pick up each and every one of the prickly sweetgum balls from the floor of the royal suite. It took Aragorn another hour to locate the pair of lizards that had been hidden in the bed.
"You know, I had heard of that particular trick," Aragorn said. "But I had never seen it used. It does take some stealth to tape a bedsheet to the doorframe of your victim's room, and to fill the gap with sweetgum balls. One would have thought we could hear the first ones as they rolled down the door to the threshold."
"You would have thought it impossible to convince a pair of lizards to stay in bed for what must have been several hours too!" whimpered Lady Arwen. "Sweet Elbereth, how I HATE those things! And what a terrible time for them to make themselves known!"
"What I want to know is how he knew I would open the door?" mused Aragorn.
"That part is easy. He knew you would need help, and at least that my shrieking would have wakened the guards and you would open the door to let them in," Arwen said, her eyes beginning to glimmer.
Before long, the two were laughing at the thought of how it must have looked, the King and Queen of Gondor running about naked, tipping over furniture because of two little green lizards. And then the looks on their faces when Aragorn opened the door and hundreds of prickly sweetgum balls came cascading in….
" I am SO going to get him for this," vowed Aragorn.
"And I will be at your side, my liege," answered Arwen.
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Elvish translation:
From Chapter 1
Im gelir le anirant im an buia-le: I am happy you desired me to serve you
Im gerin al-tirai min ha: I have never seen one (like) it
Chapter 2
Lirimaer: Lovely one
Melith-nin: My Love
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Notes to my reviewers:
OMERU! The world's best are reading my story! *Al faints, Lego catches her, gets sly grin on his face, and drags her off stage left…*
TreeHugger—Now look what you've started! Your encouragement means so much to me. Thanks for being my beta! I promise to give you more, more, Oh Yes! Yes! I will live up to the Goal—I want to be…..well, you know! : )
Mawgy—another plot bunny for me! Maybe I will try another "dirty spin"—Legolas learns to do the laundry? Hhmmmmm….
Nimue—I am glad you picked up the reference to Sam. There are times I think I've been turned into something "unnatural" by this whole LOTR thing! Lego's a beauty, but if we were smart, we'd all be after Sam—he can cook, clean, garden, and has undying loyalty to boot!
Silmarien—I like short, I like perverted, I like that you didn't catch on until the end! I love to write a story with a quirk. Look for more from me to come!
Nancing Elf—You sure can call me alli, or how about just 'call me Al'? I love that Paul Simon song. Maybe I'll make a plot bunny out of that too! Lets see, polishing the doorknobs—maybe Legolas could learn to dust? Do the Silver? There should be lots of mithril around at Gimli's…..
Ithilien—I loved "The Choice" and thanks for recommending it! I had not read it before. And I love "The Hunting Trip"! There are lots more pranks to come!
Irena—your pregnant Legolas fic did have something to do with chapter 1, believe it or not! I dream about having a great imagination like yours. Thanks for taking time to read mine.
And JastaElf—Girl, you have GOT TO GET HIM OUT OF THERE! Thanks for your kind words of encouragement. Doing the dishes is more fun at my house now too! You can also "call me Al" if you want! *bows humbly before the great JastaElf*
Well, did you like it? Push the little submit review button and let me know! There are more pranks in store from our favorite elf, the mischievous one that he is! Who will be next? Let's see……