Disclaimer: Full disclaimer on first page.
Chapter Ten
Elrohir giggled, only to be nudged sharply by Legolas. The Elven Prince scowled at his companion, holding a finger to his lips for silence.
Haldir of Lothlorien walked below them, and he stopped as he heard the small sound. He paused and looked at the trees, but saw nothing. So, shrugging, he continued on his way along the path.
With a stifled giggle, Elrohir upended his covered bucket, dumping honey all over the unsuspecting Elf. He jerked in surprise, calling out in shock. With a broad smile, Legolas dumped the contents of his load onto the startled Elf.
Feathers floated down onto the sticky Haldir, and he was coated with them. They would not come off when he wiped his arms furiously, and he glared up into the trees and searched for the perpetrators. Laughter faded in the distance as the two Elflings ran away.
Hiding in the trees for a couple hours seemed the best thing to do, so the two companions skipped lightly through the branches, enjoying the day.
They returned to the main area of Lothlorien and ran into Gandalf and an angry Haldir. With what they hoped were innocent smiles, they watched the two approach.
"Elrohir, Legolas, where were you this morning?" Gandalf asked, being careful not to let the smile that was threatening to break through show. It would not do to have the feathered Haldir see him smirking at the Elf's plight.
"Why, away in the woods, Mithrandir." Legolas answered perkily, smiling at them with soft doe eyes.
"Really? And so who did this to me?" Haldir snarled, pointing furiously at the feathers covering him from head to toe. He growled in frustration at the method they had used to plaster them to him, the honey had been mixed with something else to make a rather nasty glue-like substance that, once dried, was difficult to remove.
Legolas went wide-eyed. "I don't know! We were out in the forest at the time."
Elrohir frowned. He was mixed up on what Legolas was saying. "Wait, I thought we were at that river?" He muttered, thinking back to the lie they had contrived before arriving.
"Oh? You were in two places at once?" Gandalf said, winking at Haldir discreetly. Both the Elflings shook their heads.
"So where were you?" Gandalf persisted.
"The river!"
"The forest!"
Gandalf shook his head at the simultaneous answers, turning to Haldir.
"I give them to you for judgment." He said, winking again. Haldir, with most his anger gone by now, winked back before turning a stern eye upon the two cringing Elflings.
"Well? What have you to say about what you did to me?" He said, leveling the two with a cold gaze.
"Sorry."
"Sorry."
Haldir frowned at them, and he heard a slight snicker behind him. Turning to see, he saw his brothers standing a few steps behind him, grinning broadly at Haldir's feathered appearance. With a scowl at them, he turned to the Elflings.
"Very well then. Just restrain yourselves from going this far on pranks please?" With that said, Haldir turned and left, his laughing brothers in tow.
With twin sighs of relief, Elrohir and Legolas raced away.
~*~*~*
"On purpose you did that." Tylendal growled under his breath, eyeing Elladan with a deadly glare.
"Oh, I that I did! It was priceless to see your face when they called on you to perform! That was great!" Elladan laughed, dodging away from a swipe aimed at his head.
"Besides, you got a pretty knife to show for it, right?" Elladan said, trying to create a truce between him and his friend. Tylendal stopped and drew the marvelous blade.
"Aye, you I have to thank for it." Tylendal muttered softly, before looking up and smiling wickedly for a moment. He leaped forwards before Elladan could dodge and tackled the Elf to the ground.
"Here now, what are ye doin'?" Chuck's stocky form could be seen coming up on them. Seeing them wrestling on the ground, Chuck smiled as Elladan deftly slipped from Tylendal's headlock and moved towards the Rohan boy.
"Just settling a debate." The Elf said, smiling at Chuck and arching an eyebrow towards the Mirkwood Elf coming up behind.
"Lose your arrogance, you might. Hope for us all, if you do." Tylendal scoffed, smiling as he said it.
Elladan snorted, grinning back. They headed back towards the traders' camps, not seeing the group of Elves with the three dwarves walking out of Lake Town's gates.
~*~*~*
"Has Lorinthel returned yet?" A low voice asked from within the King's lounge.
"Nay, no word from them." Another answered. Elrond stood by the window in the lounge, watching as Thranduil sat in a large chair by the fire, staring into the dancing golden flames.
Where could they be? Lorinthel said he was onto something, and yet no word was heard. Thranduil placed a hand over his eyes, slouching further into the warm chair. The air was chilly, summer was ending quickly. Autumn was coming, and with the fall of the leaves from the trees would come snows that would get heavier as the season proceeded into winter.
Thranduil wished for his son and the others to be found by then.
~*~*~*
Elrond walked down the halls of Mirkwood's palace, sighing and not noticing the delicately carvings and tapestries around him.
"Something troubling you, mellon nin?"
Elrond turned to see Glorfindel walking towards him, also looking restless this night.
"Aye, my sons." Elrond said, walking beside his friend and moving into the courtyard of the palace.
Fall painted the trees with bright colors, red, gold, yellow, and orange bedecking every branch, making it seem as if they were standing among fiery torches.
Elrond caught a fluttering leaf that blew by on the brisk wind, sighing as he looked at its golden hues, just turning brown at the edges.
"Once so golden and now it is withering. Life is yet the same." Elrond said to himself. Glorfindel took the leaf from the Elf lord and released it into the wind.
"But not so for Elves. Golden year around, and never withering. We shall find your sons, and the others as well. There is no reason to fear." Glorfindel said, taking Elrond's arm and leading him back inside the palace.
Overhead, storm clouds built, and it looked to be a fierce storm.
~*~*~*
Lorinthel took his leave of the three dwarves, grudgingly thanking them for their help. He turned towards the trees of Mirkwood, and led his patrol under the ever-present darkness.
Mirkwood trees seemed to keep their leaves during the colder seasons, ever since the darkness has once again began spreading. Now the brilliant colors were gone, only visible around the Palace.
Lorinthel watched the rising moon as he slipped among the dark trees, spotting Earendil with little trouble, taking comfort from its twinkling light.
~*~*~*
Marin huffed as the Elves slipped into the forest, shaking his head at the arrogant behavior they had exhibited towards the three brothers.
"Come along, we have not finished our business in Lake Town, and no matter what those Elves say, those two young Elves we found are still in there." Marin said, motioning to his brothers.
~*~*~*
"We're leaving soon." Chuck said, watching the faces of his two new friends. "We want to get past the mountains before the winter storms. It can get real bad over there with the snow."
"Aye, that it probably can. We shall miss you, and your caravan. It was great fun and we enjoyed it." Elladan said, and Tylendal nodded.
"Yeah, so..I guess we have to split now?" Chuck said, still watching the Elves with sad eyes. A gruff voice calling interrupted them.
"'Ere now! It's the young Elves that were lost! Did ye know ye just missed the rescue party sent by ye're King, eh?"
The three turned to see Marin and his brothers stumping up to join them. Chuck was watching with something approaching awe and wonder.
"Elves? You are Elves? Why didn't you tell me?" Chuck asked incredulously.
"We were being chased at the time. We thought it better for no one to know yet." Elladan said, watching the dwarves.
"So the King sent a patrol for us?" He asked Marin, hope kindling in his eyes when the dwarf nodded.
"Aye, that he did. We went to the inn, and found out what happened, so we went after those humans, and ye were gone, and we couldn't find ye after that." Farin said.
"Will you lead us to them? Chuck, don't look at us like that. We were glad to share your fire, and we are glad to call you friend." Elladan said, embracing the boy, who happily hugged the Elf back before turning away sharply to hide his moistening eyes.
"Aye, we'll take ye to the path the Elves used. We're not goin' in that forest!" Marin said firmly, watching the two for signs of agreement. Huffing when he got it, he beckoned to the Elves.
"Quickly now, before the Elves get too far ahead."
Bec: *sheepish grin * yes, I have read the book Taggerung, and I had used part of it. I love that part a lot, and had to use it. I added a warning in one of my chapters that I would use parts from other books, so I took the opportunity. You read Redwall books too? I will once in a while.
Ebony Falcon: Neat name! Thanks for your review!
Alida Fruit: Elrohir and Legolas will get into plenty more trouble in Lothlorien, don't worry. I'd say they took a shine to Haldir, hmmm? LOL.
Dawbfire: Thanks for your reviews! Glad you like that they meet Haldir in this story! Lol
Drizztluver: Thanks for your reviews! I couldn't resist not adding Gandalf in!
Chapter Ten
Elrohir giggled, only to be nudged sharply by Legolas. The Elven Prince scowled at his companion, holding a finger to his lips for silence.
Haldir of Lothlorien walked below them, and he stopped as he heard the small sound. He paused and looked at the trees, but saw nothing. So, shrugging, he continued on his way along the path.
With a stifled giggle, Elrohir upended his covered bucket, dumping honey all over the unsuspecting Elf. He jerked in surprise, calling out in shock. With a broad smile, Legolas dumped the contents of his load onto the startled Elf.
Feathers floated down onto the sticky Haldir, and he was coated with them. They would not come off when he wiped his arms furiously, and he glared up into the trees and searched for the perpetrators. Laughter faded in the distance as the two Elflings ran away.
Hiding in the trees for a couple hours seemed the best thing to do, so the two companions skipped lightly through the branches, enjoying the day.
They returned to the main area of Lothlorien and ran into Gandalf and an angry Haldir. With what they hoped were innocent smiles, they watched the two approach.
"Elrohir, Legolas, where were you this morning?" Gandalf asked, being careful not to let the smile that was threatening to break through show. It would not do to have the feathered Haldir see him smirking at the Elf's plight.
"Why, away in the woods, Mithrandir." Legolas answered perkily, smiling at them with soft doe eyes.
"Really? And so who did this to me?" Haldir snarled, pointing furiously at the feathers covering him from head to toe. He growled in frustration at the method they had used to plaster them to him, the honey had been mixed with something else to make a rather nasty glue-like substance that, once dried, was difficult to remove.
Legolas went wide-eyed. "I don't know! We were out in the forest at the time."
Elrohir frowned. He was mixed up on what Legolas was saying. "Wait, I thought we were at that river?" He muttered, thinking back to the lie they had contrived before arriving.
"Oh? You were in two places at once?" Gandalf said, winking at Haldir discreetly. Both the Elflings shook their heads.
"So where were you?" Gandalf persisted.
"The river!"
"The forest!"
Gandalf shook his head at the simultaneous answers, turning to Haldir.
"I give them to you for judgment." He said, winking again. Haldir, with most his anger gone by now, winked back before turning a stern eye upon the two cringing Elflings.
"Well? What have you to say about what you did to me?" He said, leveling the two with a cold gaze.
"Sorry."
"Sorry."
Haldir frowned at them, and he heard a slight snicker behind him. Turning to see, he saw his brothers standing a few steps behind him, grinning broadly at Haldir's feathered appearance. With a scowl at them, he turned to the Elflings.
"Very well then. Just restrain yourselves from going this far on pranks please?" With that said, Haldir turned and left, his laughing brothers in tow.
With twin sighs of relief, Elrohir and Legolas raced away.
~*~*~*
"On purpose you did that." Tylendal growled under his breath, eyeing Elladan with a deadly glare.
"Oh, I that I did! It was priceless to see your face when they called on you to perform! That was great!" Elladan laughed, dodging away from a swipe aimed at his head.
"Besides, you got a pretty knife to show for it, right?" Elladan said, trying to create a truce between him and his friend. Tylendal stopped and drew the marvelous blade.
"Aye, you I have to thank for it." Tylendal muttered softly, before looking up and smiling wickedly for a moment. He leaped forwards before Elladan could dodge and tackled the Elf to the ground.
"Here now, what are ye doin'?" Chuck's stocky form could be seen coming up on them. Seeing them wrestling on the ground, Chuck smiled as Elladan deftly slipped from Tylendal's headlock and moved towards the Rohan boy.
"Just settling a debate." The Elf said, smiling at Chuck and arching an eyebrow towards the Mirkwood Elf coming up behind.
"Lose your arrogance, you might. Hope for us all, if you do." Tylendal scoffed, smiling as he said it.
Elladan snorted, grinning back. They headed back towards the traders' camps, not seeing the group of Elves with the three dwarves walking out of Lake Town's gates.
~*~*~*
"Has Lorinthel returned yet?" A low voice asked from within the King's lounge.
"Nay, no word from them." Another answered. Elrond stood by the window in the lounge, watching as Thranduil sat in a large chair by the fire, staring into the dancing golden flames.
Where could they be? Lorinthel said he was onto something, and yet no word was heard. Thranduil placed a hand over his eyes, slouching further into the warm chair. The air was chilly, summer was ending quickly. Autumn was coming, and with the fall of the leaves from the trees would come snows that would get heavier as the season proceeded into winter.
Thranduil wished for his son and the others to be found by then.
~*~*~*
Elrond walked down the halls of Mirkwood's palace, sighing and not noticing the delicately carvings and tapestries around him.
"Something troubling you, mellon nin?"
Elrond turned to see Glorfindel walking towards him, also looking restless this night.
"Aye, my sons." Elrond said, walking beside his friend and moving into the courtyard of the palace.
Fall painted the trees with bright colors, red, gold, yellow, and orange bedecking every branch, making it seem as if they were standing among fiery torches.
Elrond caught a fluttering leaf that blew by on the brisk wind, sighing as he looked at its golden hues, just turning brown at the edges.
"Once so golden and now it is withering. Life is yet the same." Elrond said to himself. Glorfindel took the leaf from the Elf lord and released it into the wind.
"But not so for Elves. Golden year around, and never withering. We shall find your sons, and the others as well. There is no reason to fear." Glorfindel said, taking Elrond's arm and leading him back inside the palace.
Overhead, storm clouds built, and it looked to be a fierce storm.
~*~*~*
Lorinthel took his leave of the three dwarves, grudgingly thanking them for their help. He turned towards the trees of Mirkwood, and led his patrol under the ever-present darkness.
Mirkwood trees seemed to keep their leaves during the colder seasons, ever since the darkness has once again began spreading. Now the brilliant colors were gone, only visible around the Palace.
Lorinthel watched the rising moon as he slipped among the dark trees, spotting Earendil with little trouble, taking comfort from its twinkling light.
~*~*~*
Marin huffed as the Elves slipped into the forest, shaking his head at the arrogant behavior they had exhibited towards the three brothers.
"Come along, we have not finished our business in Lake Town, and no matter what those Elves say, those two young Elves we found are still in there." Marin said, motioning to his brothers.
~*~*~*
"We're leaving soon." Chuck said, watching the faces of his two new friends. "We want to get past the mountains before the winter storms. It can get real bad over there with the snow."
"Aye, that it probably can. We shall miss you, and your caravan. It was great fun and we enjoyed it." Elladan said, and Tylendal nodded.
"Yeah, so..I guess we have to split now?" Chuck said, still watching the Elves with sad eyes. A gruff voice calling interrupted them.
"'Ere now! It's the young Elves that were lost! Did ye know ye just missed the rescue party sent by ye're King, eh?"
The three turned to see Marin and his brothers stumping up to join them. Chuck was watching with something approaching awe and wonder.
"Elves? You are Elves? Why didn't you tell me?" Chuck asked incredulously.
"We were being chased at the time. We thought it better for no one to know yet." Elladan said, watching the dwarves.
"So the King sent a patrol for us?" He asked Marin, hope kindling in his eyes when the dwarf nodded.
"Aye, that he did. We went to the inn, and found out what happened, so we went after those humans, and ye were gone, and we couldn't find ye after that." Farin said.
"Will you lead us to them? Chuck, don't look at us like that. We were glad to share your fire, and we are glad to call you friend." Elladan said, embracing the boy, who happily hugged the Elf back before turning away sharply to hide his moistening eyes.
"Aye, we'll take ye to the path the Elves used. We're not goin' in that forest!" Marin said firmly, watching the two for signs of agreement. Huffing when he got it, he beckoned to the Elves.
"Quickly now, before the Elves get too far ahead."
Bec: *sheepish grin * yes, I have read the book Taggerung, and I had used part of it. I love that part a lot, and had to use it. I added a warning in one of my chapters that I would use parts from other books, so I took the opportunity. You read Redwall books too? I will once in a while.
Ebony Falcon: Neat name! Thanks for your review!
Alida Fruit: Elrohir and Legolas will get into plenty more trouble in Lothlorien, don't worry. I'd say they took a shine to Haldir, hmmm? LOL.
Dawbfire: Thanks for your reviews! Glad you like that they meet Haldir in this story! Lol
Drizztluver: Thanks for your reviews! I couldn't resist not adding Gandalf in!