Of Princes and Runaways

Rayne (rayne_a00@yahoo.com)

Still on AU, and still YAOI (m/m slash). Not one character is mine, except for the 'extras' as you would call it. Oh, and many thanks for the reviews!

Err…just to clarify some stuff, the three elves /haven't/ reached Gondor yet. Remember when they climbed the tree? It was actually a scene meant only to give them a /glimpse/ of Gondor from miles away.

'The tree was tall, and gave them the advantage of overlooking a vast landscape miles away. Said landscape was where the smoke was coming from, and from their vantage point, the three elves could half-clearly see some rustling movements, structures built up, horses drawn, and a big castle with Gondor's flag waving from it's tower.'

Sorry if that caused any trouble in reading! Oh, and before I forget, I'm just making wild guesses on the colors of their eyes. Finally, prince charming is coming out, but /who/ the hell is prince charming?

Last note, if you flame me, I'd bitch you out- really, I'm nice unless provoked.

Iavas- winter

Firith, Nalrbereth- fading

Enderi- a period of three days in between the Iavas and Firith

Note that all elven terms are in Sindarin and taken from:

The Tolkien Companion, J.E.A. Tyler
© 1976 by J.E.A. Tyler and Pan Books Ltd.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien
© 1955, 1965 by J.R.R. Tolkien
© Renewed 1983 by Christopher R. Tolkien, et. al.

Chapter One: A Scenario of Mischief

If there was any more tiring than four consecutive days of travel, with barely any rest, that would probably be the journey to Hell, to Heaven, and back to god knows where. As it was, Haldir was tired, gently lifting his feet in a slow dragging walk. Even the Elven Lord of mischief, Glorfindel, was tiring down as he wiped sweat from his brows, licking his parched lips. The only one who didn't seem affected though, was the runaway prince who was happily bounding up North to Gondor.

"Someone could have had the courtesy to /warn/ us how far Gondor is!"

Haldir muttered under his breath, growing irritated. Glorfindel threw him a smirk that was both annoying and amusing at the same time. After four days, with a total of eight hours of rest only, the three elves were actually beginning to feel the heat and dreariness take their toll on them. Or rather, two out of the three elves. With a grunt, the two elves lagging behind abruptly stopped, wondering whether their overly-excited, pent-up, hyper-active friend would even notice.

Much to their relief, he did…after realising no one was answering him from about fifty feet from his friends. The prince threw his hands up in the air before walking the steps back, hands on his hips, eyes growling at his friends.

"Don't tell me we're stopping now!"

"Yes we are Legolas. Now sit down and get some rest."

"But I'm not tired!" Legolas retorted, pacing back and forth.

"Well we are! And if you don't mind would you please /stop/ walking lest Glorfindel and I end up dead from a painfully threading migraine and heat-stroke."

Legolas rolled his eyes but stop pacing nonetheless. "We /can't/ stop /now/! Gondor is so close!"

Haldir ignored him, purposely making no move whatsoever to get away from his spot. He instead leaned his back against a tree, wiping the sweat of his brows and taking deep, much needed gulps of breath. "Come on Leggy, we've been travelling for four days non-stop. We have no idea how long it would take us to get to Gondor from here, and we're about to die from over-exhaustion."

"Yeah right Haldir. Since when have you heard of elves dying from sun exposure? And come on, I'm pretty sure Gondor isn't that far from here!"

No one among the two older elves even bothered to move an inch. Even as Legolas, an elven prince, stood there with his hands on his hips, his brown-grey eyes glinting gold from the sunlight, glaring, looking as imposing as possible, none paid him attention. Feeling frustrated, he stomped away, his normally light feet threading loudly and angrily, grinding the helpless grass beneath his feet.

"Legolas!" Glorfindel called out, worrying for their possibly angered friend. All he got for an answer was a low, throaty growl, an uncharacteristic turn of head, followed by purposely made heavy footsteps. And that was all the answer Glorfindel needed to know that his friend wasn't mad.

Away from their 'make-shift' camp, the blonde prince sat himself down heavily, his brows furrowed, his hands paying absently with the grass, plucking them and tossing them into the air. He badly wanted to go to Gondor, and he knew that they were near the city of Men, and nooo, instead of going forth, his friends decided to call for a break! Feeling beyond agitated, he plucked more grass, clawing his fists at the luscious green. And being too pent-up with frustration, he failed to notice someone creeping up on him until it was too late.

"What-"

Legolas didn't even get to finish his sentence as he felt cold metal against his throat. Slight fear crept up his spine and he tensed, sweat forming at his brow. He didn't know who his assailant was, and obviously he was at a disadvantage. He heard a low, smooth flowing voice, and belatedly realised that his 'attacker' was talking to him until he felt the sword's blade ever-so-lightly graze more into his flesh.

"What are you doing here, in the forest of Gondor, stranger?"

Forest of Gondor? Legolas' heart jumped at thatr statement, ignoring the question as he smiled broadly. He was right, he was /damn/ right that they were so near to Gondor! That means we'll probably reach Gondor soon! That is, if Haldir and Glorfindel would stop insisting on so much rest. He scowled at that thought before being jerked back to reality with the feel of a sword's tip nudging the flesh of his throat lightly.

"Answer now stranger. What are you doing in the forest of Gondor?"

Legolas swallowed, thinking of what he would say. "We come here to explore Gondor, the city of Men."

"Explore Gondor?" The question was followed by a light laugh and the prince foound himself frowning depsite himself. He swallowed one more time before daring to look back and face his captor. Instead, he came face to face with a shadow. Actually, it was a figure that was cloaked in grey, the hood pulled over to cover his face effectively. But from underneath the cloak, Legolas could clearly see sharp piercing eyes.

"We come as visitors, wanting to explore the foreign land of Gondor."

The cloaked figure shifted slightly, loosening his sword the lightest bit. And even though Legolas knew his aggressor had let his guard down the tiniest bit, he wasn't crazy enough to risk running away, or worse, fighting against an armed 'enemy'. Said enemy was clearing his throat, flecks of gold sunrays reflecting on his bluish eyes.

"Where do you come from?"

Legolas frowned, contemplating of making up a lie, and before he knew it, his mouth was answering while his brain was still on the red-light side of the street. "I'm nothing but a mere tourist from Mirkwood."

That seemed to release some of the tension from his intruder, the silver-glinting sword brought down and sheathed again, even though a finely-boned hand stayed by it's hilt, the slender, fragile-looking fingers closed very lightly against the red hilt. Another pale hand came up, pulling the grey hood back to let the sun shine against pale complexion, finely-chiselled features, the high cheekbones, and the perfect 'almond' eyes.

Legolas' brown eyes widened, his mouth dropping open. He didn't know whether he should feel exctied about seeing the stranger, or whether he should be agitated for being attacked like that, without him even sensing his own 'attacker'. He stared in awe at the blue eyes, golden flecks swimming in them, giving the look of green, the proud head slightly tilted upwards, the small red lips curved into a small smile, and the…pointy ears.

"An elf from Mirkwood desiring to travel Gondor, the city of Men? Seemingly shocking."

Legolas couldn't answer, too caught up in excitement. His slender hand raised up, the fourth finger pointing. "Y-you're an elf!"

The stranger extended a smile to him, radiating comfort and trust. "Elrohir, son of Lord Elrond from Imladris. Oh, and," He paused, titled his head, and motioned with his hand. A moment later another elf came sprinting down from his perch on a tree, to stand beside Elrohir. "This is Elladan, my brother."

Legolas frowned, taking in a deep breath…Imladris?! These two elves were from Rivendell? He passed a look between the two elves, his frown growing. Perhaps this was some form of joke, perhaps his elven eyes were betraying him. And sensing his discomfort, the two elves grinned at each other before looking back at him. "Rivendell's twin stars. And what, may we ask, is your interest here?"

The young face relaxed slightly, smiling. So they were the twin stars of Rivendell! He extended a hand of greeting to them, radiating comfort and trust as well. "Legolas of Mirkwood. I came with friends to explore the beauty of Gondor."

Elladan took the extended hand in his own, shaking it. "Friends? Gondor?" Another grin spread on his face before his hand tightened on Legolas' own, pulled at it, and clasped Legolas' back as he stumbled helplessly. Elrohir easily caught the falling prince by the shoulder, standing him up. He rolled his eyes at his brother, wondering why the hell his brother had to ask every question he'd already asked.

"Pray tell, Legolas of Mirkwood, would you desire to accompany us in our own travel to Gondor?"

Legolas knew, if things could get better, this was it.

Glrofindel and Haldir easily sprang up, hearing more than a pair of footsteps behind them. They poised themselves for action upon seeing Legolas with two figures following the prince. Hands instantly came to the hilt of their swords until they heard a familiar jolly laughter.

"It's okay Haldir, Glorfindel. They came to assist us to Gondor."

Legolas waved his hands, coming into a few feet away from his two best friends. On his right Elrohir and Elladan's eyes widened, smiles splitting their faces. Haldir frowned, staring at the two, pondering their reaction, but moreover pondering if this was some trick of the eye. Just when he was about to voice out something, Glorfindel /had/ to cut in.

"Legolas, is this some-"

"Elrohir! Elladan!"

Glorfindel raised his hands up as the twins ran to his side, each clapping a hand in greeting. Legolas blinked, once, twice, before shrugging it off. "You know them?"

"Ah, friends from when I traveled to Rivendell millennia ago, even before you were born."

'Oh' was all Legolas could respond. Meanwhile, Haldir had his cheeks flushed, his eyes running back and forth from the twins to the blonde elven lord. He turned to Legolas, arms crossing at his chest, eyebrows raising in demand. His friend grinned, nodding.

"Ah, Haldir, these are Elrohir and Elladan, the twins stars of Imladris. They're traveling with us to Gondor."

The Lorien elf had a 'so?' look on his face, arms still crossed, glaring. He had an inkling feeling that Glorindel was more than just friends with the twins and it gave an uneasy feeling. Mixed with irritation. He raised his head, tilting his chin up, a low growl coming from his slender, pale throat.

"Why would they travel us, sure enough they can go there by themselves, unless their feet are bigger than their brains!"

He didn't mean that last comment, really, he didn't. He just couldn't help himself as he felt jealousy soar through his veins at the thought Glorfindel and the twins. He bit his lower lip, his eyes turning away in embarrassment, a red tinge coloring his usually pale cheeks.

The twins laughed at that comment, instead of being insulted. They'd sensed the uneasiness and jealousy the Lorien elf was radiating, even though it just seemed like paranoia. "Actually, we've decided to accompany you seeing that this would be your first time to travel to Gondor!"

"So? We could find Gondor without help from either of you!"

"Ah, but how much do you know of Gondor?"

That question made Haldir close his mouth and stomp away angrily. "I think we've had enough rest Legolas!" He called over his shoulder, imitating Legolas' earlier actions of killing the grass under his feet.

According to the twins, it would take them around one more day to get to the city of Men. Legolas had been more patient upon knowing that, suddenly not minding the called for breaks. Glorfindel was his usual self, flirtatious, boastful, and tactful. Although the lord seemed to be spending more of his time with either one of them twins rather than the usual, which was with Haldir. And it really agitated the younger elf. If Elrohir wasn't with Glorfindel, it was Elladan, or vice-versa, while the other twin would be either with Legolas or with him, asking him questions about 'how has Glorfindel been the past millenium' or something close to that. Right now, he was seething with anger as Elrohir cuddled up to his friends' side, resting his head on Glorfindel's broad shoulder. It seemed like Legolas' impatience suddenly left the prince and caught up to him.

"We'll probably get there around noon tomorrow. Tell me Legolas, did you choose this time specifically to go to Gondor?"

Haldir looked up from where he was prodding the ground with a stick, only to see Elrohir snuggle against Glorfindel while looking straight to his prince-ling friend. Legolas shook his head, smiling.

"Not really, it's all a spur-of-the-moment runaway."

Haldir snorted at that, tossed his stick into the camp fire they had, and walked away in a huff. Along the way, he walked by Elladan who had just refilled their water skins. The Rivendell elf passed a knowing look with his brother, just as his shoulder brushed by Haldir's, whispering.

"Jealous?"

A bright red flame colored his cheeks to the tip of his ears and below, past his tunic and the blonde elf walked even more angrily now. To him, it seemed like the twins were enjoying making fun /of/ him.

Legolas watched his friend walk away irritated, a frown crossing his features. He stood to go, but Elrohir called out to him, and as he would have it, he felt obliged to sit and talk, entertaining his 'guests'.

"Do you know that Gondor is having preparations made for the Enderi, as a farewell to Iavas and a welcome to Firith?"

A smile broke into the childish face as Legols leaned in, seemingly interested, forgetting momentarily about his angered friend.

About two hours later, Halidr had returned, albeit still burned up, and completely gave Glorfindel the cold shoulder. For whatever reason, the elven lord didn't know. They set out, turning out their make-shift fire, with Elladan and Glorfindel in the front, Legolas and Elrohir following in suite, with Haldir trailing behind. Finally, Glorfindel slowed his pace until he was walking side by side with Haldir.

"Haldir, tell me why the /hell/ you're suddenly so angry! I haven't even done anything to you!"

"Maybe that's it, right? You haven't done /anything/ at all!"

Glorfindel frowned. "What?"

"Nothing to worry yourself about." Haldir muttered under his breath as he grabbed a branch and leaped into the tree, intent on ignoring the confused lord. Elladan and Elrohir made small, chuckling noises before a glare was turned on them and they immediately shut up. Not far ahead, the five elves could spot a busy town, floored with anxious people who seemed to be preparing for an expected festivity. The streets of Gondor were lighted faintly, finely-made string like banner hanging from a stall to another.

"Halt!"

A thundering voice called them from behind, making them jump slightly. Haldir was once more settled on the ground, beside Legolas on the end of the group. They all turned, coming face to face with a large, muscled man covered in armor, a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Names yourselves and your purpose." Was all he said to make it known that he was one of Gondor's many stewards.

"Do you not recognize us at all, steward of Gondor?"

Elladan asked, stepping forward. Realization and sudden knowledge sprang into the wide grey eyes of the steward before he stepped aside, laughing slightly. He gestured with his hand, telling them to move on, as he walked side by side with one of the twins.

"Sons of Lord Elrond, how could I not have recognized earlier? Pardon my rudeness, but 'tis great to see you again. I'm sure king Arathorn would be more than pleased to see his nephews again."

With that he gave a small nod and paused before a large gate, ushering them inside before returning to his earlier post. Five steps later, Elladan suddenly turned to them, grinning.

"Welcome to the City of Gondor."

"Ah, Elladan, Elrohir, 'tis good to see both of you again. Pray tell, where is Lord Elrond?"

Arathorn said in greeting, coming up to the twins with open arms. Behind them, the three best friends stood there, quite tense, as they took in the palace structure. Arathorn noticed them, and smiled like a father would. He turned to take a good look on the twins, before voicing out his thoughts.

"Friends?"

The twins nodded, before introducing them one by one. The pointed to each of the elves and gave the names, describing to him how they had met and that, if it was possible, they stay in the palace of Gondor with them. Arathorn merely nodded in approval before clapping his hands together.

"If you are friends of Elladan and Elrohir, then surely you would get along well with Aragorn. He's quite busy at the moment, but I'm confident you'd meet him later on. Enjoy whatever you find here, treat Gondor as if it were your own homes. I'd like to stay with you, young ones, but the duties of being a king calls me. I'm afraid I'd have to leave you know, but I guess I'd see you later one then?"

All of them nodded dumbly as the king made his exit hastily, robes clenched in his fists so not to get from the way of his walking. His hal-pointed ears said it clearly that he was half-elf, and his mannerisms just proved it all the more.

Aragorn? Legolas mused, thinking over what the man would be like. He was quite assured that whoever 'Aragorn' was, he was someone the king loved, perhaps his son? He shook his head to clear his mind, trying to focus on what Elladan was saying.

"We'd better take you to your rooms then. Later on, we'll give you a tour on the preparations of the festivities." He added, grinning. He took his brother's hand and began dragging him away, with the three others behind them, following in suite.

They traveled through several stairways and passed on numerous corridors before finally slowing down to a hall on the Western wing of the palace where the twins had pointed them to their rooms before bolting off to god-knows-where.

"This is not what I had in mind." Haldir muttered under his breath as he pushed the door open. To him, it seemed like the elven twins were playing a game by setting his room here and Glorfindel's over at the end of the hall. Okay, not at the end, but to an elf who craved the lord's presence, the distance between his room and Glorfindel's was enough to stuff a whole group of kingdoms and more. However, realistically speaking, the distance was simply about 10 meters away, round the corner. Pushing those thoughts aside, the Lorien elf finally managed to push the heavy weight oak and drag himself in the room. Teal eyes quickly examined the room in approval as his feet dragged him to the welcoming sight of the bed. And before he could even flop himself down in half-exhaustion, half-annoyance, a loud, non-stop knock came to his door, rattling his mind, and without his consent, the door flew open and in stumbled Legolas.

"For the love of Elbereth Legolas! Sure you've finally learned to knock after a /full/ millennia of telling you to do so before entering, but please! Learn to wait for the other person's consent to enter!"

Legolas grinned sheepishly at him, taking three quick strides so that they were at level. With the silly grin on his face, he titled to his side, hands clasped behind his back, his golden hair falling smoothly to one side. Haldir was flustered as he nervously took a step back. Something came up. Or better off, /Legolas/ came up with something. Something not good. Something that spelled lots of trouble.

"What?"

"Let's go." Legolas whispered before the much older, albeit nervously pale elf, was dragged away.

"WHERE?!"

"Remember the promise Elladan and Elrohir gave that they would tour us?"

"…"

"Well, I want to go there." Legolas breathe out, pointing down below to a vast horizon were the busy market was even busier, if it was possible, the people crowding the streets as if for a festival preparation. Haldir merely rolled his eyes. "Legolas, perhaps you've forgotten, but Elladan and Elrohir are out busy at the moment. And where the hell is Glorfindel?"

"Who?" Legolas couldn't help but tease his friend. Somehow he /knew/ that Haldir had an attraction for their friend but he always dismissed it. Because otherwise, Haldir would fall into a fit of denial and rage. So, not waiting for a chance for Haldir to start his rampage of elven curses, Legolas beat him to it by once more leading him around helplessly. "Oh, and just in case you want to know…Glorfindel is already down there," He paused, pointing by the market's area before grabbing his friend's wrist. "Waiting."

"Legolas! Ouch, that hurts! Hey, hey—slow down, you're breaking my wrist. And aren't we supposed to ask permission from the elven brat twins first?"

"I thought you didn't like them? And besides, since when did Haldir of Lorien begin asking permission to go wherever he wants?"

"I don't! And damn it, stop breaking my wrist. But what I mean is, we're /visitors/ here…right?"

A nod.

"And we're not supposed to cause mischief right?"

Another nod.

"Cause if we get caught-" He let the sentence trail as he and Legolas finally entered the market.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around in shock to find Glorfindel with a big patronizing smile on his face. He looked back and forth between Glorfindel and Legolas before giving out a loud audible sigh.

"/If/ we get caught Haldir," Glorfindel looked at him, smiling and looking younger than all he was. "Which I hope not, but anyway, wouldn't that be more thrilling?"

Haldir shuddered despite himself and felt his reserves breaking. After all, who could resist such a tempting elven lord?

Hours later…

Loud, merry laughter rang throughout the eastern section of the market. Glorfindel tilted his chin, a puppet clutched on his right hand, his left hand on his hip, striking as if the puppet was a sword, and as if he was some valiant hero.

"Damn…it looks /so/ good on you Glorfindel."

Haldir teased, hands clutched on his stomach as he bellowed in laughter. As if things couldn't get any more whimsical, Legolas suddenly entered the scene. He ran straight to Glorfindel, wrapped up in the what looked like the cloths used by the merchants, held in one hand as his other reached out and pressed himself to Glorfindel.

"My hero!"

He screeched in an impossibly feminine voice as he batted his lashes and rested his head on Glorfindel's shoulder. This time, not only Haldir, but even the merchants from the nearby stalls were laughing, highly amused. It was, as if /again/, the trio was causing mischief.

Suddenly, the actors-on-the-sidewalk burst into laughter as they dropped their acts. In a few seconds, Legolas was bent over in laughter and the crowd was cheering their appraisal. A broomstick was tossed to the pair and Glorfindel easily caught it with his right hand before settling it in a tilted position to his side. Legolas grinned and pressed on his back, as they pretended to gallop.

Haldir ducked his head as the mock-shift horse ran past him. By now, they had gained even more attention and the audience cheered, clapping their hands wildly and calling out remarks to the pair. Despite their act, Legolas and Glorfindel were also laughing.

Not far off, the sound of horses running could be heard until they came to an abrupt stop. The trio's audience visibly tensed and quieted before relaxing once again. However, they remained quiet and the only sounds there were the trio's loud laughter.

The sound of a sword being unsheathed was ignored until the cool metal pressed against flesh. Legolas stiffened but did not move, instead dropped the cloth he was using as make-shift gowns. Beside him, Glorfindel's eyes widened as they blazed in anger, next to him, Haldir also snarled.

"And I suppose this is part of the festival's play?"

The cold voice sent shivers of thrill up the elven prince's back and he straightened, swallowing back the lump in his throat. He felt the metal dig deeper into his skin, but remained gentle nonetheless, not enough to pierce the skin. He felt breath blown into the back of his ear and he sucked in deeply, suddenly.

"And who might you be, stranger?"

Stranger?! Legolas opened his mouth to say something, anything, and at that moment, he was about to retort something dripping with sarcasm when a friendly voice beat him to it.

"Elessar, I don't think your father would appreciate you hitting on every pretty maiden in Gondor."

"Haha. Very funny Boromir."

Elessar, huh? Well, whoever he is, I'll make sure to pay him for the prick on my neck. Legolas snarled mentally as he heard the sword being sheathed again from behind. He took a step forward before turning around. His brown eyes widened slightly before narrowing.

One man was dressed in a fashion that said he was of regal blood, a red tunic and blue trousers with imprints on them. He had a sword strapped to the right of his waist, his blonde mane falling down his shoulders in wavy cascades. The other, however, had a slightly rough look on him, his black hair unkempt and slightly tousled adding more to his rough features. The black cloths he wore only enhanced the gray sparks of amusement in his eyes, as he turned to Legolas and bowed slightly. He was smiling, friendly, and very different from the rude threat he was earlier.

"You must forgive him, he's always like that."

Boromir said, laughing. Elessar scowled and ignored him before grinning at the elf. "And what, may I ask is your name?"

Behind him, Legolas /felt/ Haldir and Glorfindel cross their arms and grunt in disapproval. Legolas swallowed nervously and bit his tongue. Sarcasm was dripping in his voice as he glared at the Man.

"I'm no one but simply an elf. And who are /you/?"

Boromir and Elessar looked at each other, exchanged grins before facing the elf once more.

"I am no one but simply a prince in shining armor."

***************************************

Finished April 24, 2002. Rayne™

Unedited. Hehe. Cast your votes! Aragorn or Boromir? (I need at least five votes difference!!! Though I've got a gut feeling I already know who it would be)

I know, it was /so/ fast paced, I'm really sorry for that. Er, just tell me if it starts getting confusing 'kay?

Oh, and pretty much like the usual, I'm not continuing it if no one's reading it.