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!
Okay people, the poll is still on so please continue casting votes! Should Aragorn be with Legolas or should it be Boromir? Or maybe even one of the twins? ::snickers:: I was just kidding about the twins part. Hehe.
Oh, and let's pretend Celebrain is only half-elfin, has passed away, and is Arathorn's sister. And that Arwen's /not/ engaged to Aragorn.
Chapter Two: Getting to Know Trouble
Legolas snickered, crossing his arms. He tilted his chin upwards and scowled.
"A prince in shining armour alright. Dashing, a charmer, and most definitely 'friendly', or should I say hospitable? Oh, and a prick too."
Ellesar looked stunned, needless to say- shocked, his eyes widening. Who did this /elf/ think he was? He glared, crossing his arms in return, tilting his chin in challenge. When he spoke, there was a sharp edge to his tongue, half of warning, half on impulse.
"And who might you be to know me? Just a stranger in the streets!!!"
"I'm an /elf/! And that proves a lot!"
"You're an elf no doubt! An elf with his brain turn upside down!"
"And /you/ are a /man/ with his brain hurled across the room and left to rot!"
There were some outraged gasps from their audience as more people gathered around the fight between their prince and an /elf/. It was actually amusing, considering that this was their prince- strict, uptight, mature, and needless to say, the all time serious Man of Gondor. And said prince was currently fighting, with an elf of all beings, and an elf wasn't usually found in Gondor, with the exception of the king's brother-in-law and his children. So now, as more voyeurs watched the prince argue needlessly and relentlessly with an elf, tension filled the normally cheerful atmosphere of the so-called White City.
Legolas was backed up by Haldir and Glorfindel, grinding their teeth and baring them as feral as a lion would. That, however, did not make Ellesar's own anger dissipate as he clenched his fists tightly with Boromir by his side, the only thing, or rather, hindrance, that was there stopping him from hurling his majestic self at the elf. And this was of course, the time where a carriage popped in appearance to save the dear elves, or perhaps the prince, or perhaps even Boromir, needless to say, to save someone from the oncoming onslaught of unprepared tongue-lash.
But the carriage wasn't there fast enough to make Ellesar bite his tongue and the words that came from it.
"You are /not/ welcomed here!"
Suddenly, as if by some mystic magic, the whole crowd, or perhaps even the whole eastern side of Gondor grew quiet. The tension was still there, heavier than it was, thick enough for a knife to be able to cut it in half. Some shuffling of feet could be heard but beyond that was no more. Boromir, who was standing in front of Ellesar with his back turned to the strangers, tightened his grasp in the prince's shoulder. Ellesar being himself, felt the increase in pressure but ignored it. Until he found, or rather, heard, the reason /why/.
"Estel!"
An outraged burst came from behind him as the future king turned around to come face-to-face with Lord Elrond and Arwen beside him. This time, he was sure he in trouble. His ears turned red, despite his face turning paler. He had his fists by his side, his eyes darting back and forth from his cousin to his uncle. Behind him, he could feel the tension and slight fear emanating from the duke's son as Boromir shifted from foot to foot.
Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse and only a miracle could rescue him, the saving grace of 'I'm-still-too-young-to-die' came. In the form of his twin cousins.
"Aragorn! We've been looking for you!"
Elrohir exclaimed, running straight to tackle the prince. Aragorn responded to the 'hug' with an 'oof' while Elladan, being the older and much more composed twin, simply strolled along. Elrond jumped slightly, scowling at his sons. He shut his mouth however, though he turned to face Aragorn with a reprimanding frown. Arwen, being her usual self, didn't notice her father's reaction as she rushed to her brothers in excitement.
"I haven't seen you in a long time! Both of you!"
"Ah, Arwen, come, you must meet up with our new friends!"
"Friends?"
"Friends, yes. Elves, visiting the land of Gondor. And you must come along too, Aragorn, Boromir." Elladan cheerfully explained to them, his hands waving in anticipation. "Oh, and father," He half-turned, smiling at the older elf. "It seems that Glorfindel, our old friend, has made a come back."
A smile broke into the usually passive face. Glorifndel had been a long time friend of the elves of Rivendell, before the elfin lord decided to move unto Lothlorien where, as a message had been sent before, informed there that he had made friends with one of the Golden Wood's guardians. Beyond that, they never did actually hear much more from their friend except that he was in top rate condition.
Arwen was giggling, as females usually did when they were excited. She turned to Elrohir, tugging his sleeves while her head tilted to the side and her eyes blinked dolefully. "So tell me of these visitors dear brother."
Elrohir laughed richly, grinning at his younger sibling. "You must meet them for yourself little sister." He said at the same time winking. Elladan, like a bubble, appeared out of nowhere, placed an arm at his brother's shoulder, and inclined towards his sister. "We're quite confident you'd get along well. Ah, but let us all go back, they must be waiting for us at the palace already."
The three siblings eagerly darted for the palace of Gondor, Elrond going back to the carriage as was his preference. Aragorn and Boromir sighed, relaxing visibly upon seeing that Lord Elrond wouldn't reprimand them. Until a chill voice sounded from behind them.
"You and your friend should hurry up as well Estel."
They stiffened, knowing that Lord Elrond was looking at them through the carriage's window. They heard the horses mof the carriage gallop off before they turned again. Or rather, Aragorn turned while Boromir got their 'earlier' forgotten horses.
And when the prince turned, the market was back to it's usual busy day-to-day course, and there were no elves there anymore.
Like they vanished into thin air.
He snapped his fingers in irritation, taking up the offered horse from his best friend. He mounted it easily, frowning. "Damn."
Legolas agilely, and easily, leapt from the certain red rooftop he was perched up to the brown one that followed as he made his way back to the castle. Behind him, he knew Glorfindel was following, and even further was Haldir. He was still annoyed, his brows crunched together, his fists curled into tight balls, occasionally muttering a curse or two. Or so he thought he was /just/ muttering.
"You know Legolas, if your father heard you talking like that, he'd probably send you into a speech behaviour private class until the end of your days."
Glorfindel grinned behind him, imitating, mock-cursing, the same way Legolas had just a few seconds ago. Legolas abruptly stopped on an open balcony, more irritated now, and turned around to face his elfin 'lord' friend. "What do you think you're doing fooling around?"
Glorfindel snickered. "Exactly. Isn't that why we came here, to fool around?"
Legolas let in his breath exasperatedly, his fingers curling then uncurling. Sometimes, Glorfindel could be a really pain in the ass.
"You know, I just noticed, I mean, out of the blue, that 'prince-in-shining-armour' has a nice rump."
Whether it was to annoy him more, or simply a passing statement, that blew of the horn in Legolas' mind and he growled at his friends. Haldir stood, grinning, albeit pretending to be interested in their surroundings. "That's it. We're going to be late. They're probably wondering where we are."
"Who?"
"Elladan and Elrohir." Glrofindel supplied.
"Oh." Was all Haldir said, before looking away again, this time no longer grinning. He was pouting, upset that 'what if' the twins were more than friends with Glorfindel. Especially with the way the elfin lord said their names, it was like he'd known them for a long time. And it upset him greatly.
Legolas perhaps noticed it, or perhaps it was the sudden tension there was that Glorfindel always seemed to /not/ notice, but he was the first one to break the silence. "Why don't we just go back? Prince Aragorn might be back, or King Arathorn might be looking for us already."
Maybe it was fate, or maybe it was coincidence, or maybe it was destiny, or maybe it was psychic intuition, or maybe it was simply the situation, but when the three elves returned to the palace, King Arathorn /had/ in fact, been looking for them, and that was because /indeed/ Prince Aragorn was back. Either way, Legolas was slightly thrilled by the thought of the prince, after all, the king sounded so proud and fond of his son. Before wonderin gif there was anything to be thrilled about.
"Aragorn's back. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to see you, he'd met a lot of elves, from Rivendell, but I'm quite sure he hasn't met any yet from Mirkwood. I /know/ you'll get along."
Enthusiasm filled his voice as King Arathorn ushered the elves in the palace, past several halls on the eastern wing, where they were supposed to meet the prince. Legolas just smiled politely and let the king lead him through the endless twist and turns of the palace.
"May I know how you knew where we came from?"
"Elladan, he mentioned it to me."
"Oh." Was all Legolas said before closing his mouth again.
"I've arranged a ball for the celebration of the Enderi, that's two night from now. Tomorrow, you could have a tour in the palace, or, if you would have it, you could take a rest. After all, you must be tired form the long travel."
It was just a passing thought, but suddenly, Legolas was curious as to why the king seemed to be fond of elves. Maybe something from his past, still it bothered the young prince. He opened his mouth, smiling politely. "May I ask, your highness, why you seem to be fond of elves?"
King Arathorn merely smiled at him, and turned around another corner. Legolas looked at his two friends with a look that said 'did-I-say-anything-wrong'?. Glorfindel just shrugged his shoulders and turned to Haldir. The younger Lorien elf shook his head 'no'. They all turned, to find the King before a large wooden door, smiling indulgently.
"They're waiting inside." He said, before pushing the doors open. As they entered, as the three elves passed him, the King gave them a knowing, aged look. "I'm fond of elves because my wife had been half of one."
Legolas wanted to ponder the statement, he really did, but when he entered the room and got a full look of everyone present, that statement suddenly flew to the back of his mind. His normally large brown eyes widened even more, turning into bright orbs that flashed in shock and annoyance. He tilted his chin, and crossed his arms. He wanted to say 'what are /you/ doing here' but knew that it was against proper manner. Beside him, he could /feel/ Haldir and Glorfindel stiffen.
"Ah, Aragorn, I'd like you to meet your cousin's friends. I believe they come from Mirkwood."
He gave the elfin prince a light nudge in the back, an indication to step forward so he could meet the prince. Legolas did so, and so did Glorfindel and Haldir, no doubt nudged by the king as well. In front of them, Aragorn swallowed the lump in his throat and stepped forward in formality.
"I am /Prince/ Aragorn, tis an honour to meet you /elf/."
It wasn't intended to be an insult, but to Legolas' ears they insult and greeting, coming from 'Aragorn', was the same. He said the word 'prince' as if he was the ruler of the world, and the word 'elf' as if it was another word for herpes, or perhaps another word for an orc. Whichever was worse, Legolas didn't think about it. Instead, he stepped another, making his way forward, a sarcastic little smile plastered to his face.
Prince Aragorn…so there's nothing to be thrilled about after all.
"I am /Prince/ Legolas of Mirkwood, tis but an honour to meet /you/ Aragorn."
Aragorn's eyes widened in mild anger, but no one else in the room seemed to notice the tensed, mock-exchange of greetings, or insults if anyone dared to call it that. As if on purpose, Legolas had said 'prince' in an even more arrogant manner than he'd known anyone was capable of, and he need not comment on the 'tis /but/ an honour…' part.
He raised his chin, smiling in greeting to his father, briefly nodding his head. "I must be going now father, the travel back here was tiring."
That was all he said, but Legolas seemed to hear more than that. And the company isn't all that pleasing. Was the thought that seemed to emanate from the prince to the runaway prince.
Arathorn frowned but said nothing. He was quite upset that his son couldn't spend more time with the elves, but dismissed it easily. He knew, true enough as he should, how tiring it was to travel. He'd let his son rest, for the night, and maybe even tomorrow, but he'd make sure his son enjoyed the company of elves on the night of Enderi. How he missed the company of elves himself, since his wife had passed away, and he knew he was growing old, unlike Aragorn, who could easily choose whether he would stay mortal or become an immortal, with the elfin blood that ran through his veins. His son grew up with the company of men, knowing only the manner of living his father had. Now it was time the crown prince be exposed to the way of living his deceased mother had.
"Go ahead Aragorn, I know how tiring it could be to travel. But ah, you'd have to make sure you're feeling strong enough again by the time of Enderi two nights from now."
"Of course father." Aragorn flashed him a smile, a sincere smile. He looked once more at Legolas and flashed him a grin of triumph before walking out of the room.
Who the hell does /he/ think he is?!
Legolas meant to turn and strangle Aragorn, but Glorfindel threw him a look, a warning look saying 'don't-even-dare, at-least-not-now', followed by a smile. He flushed, knowing he'd misbehaved in front of the King of Gondor. Briefly, he wondered how his father was back in Mirkwood.
"If you won't mind, we'd like to take rest as well."
Haldir spoke, polite and reserved as ever, though there a slight tone of boredom in it. Arathorn gave him a pat on the back, before nodding. "I'll see you three at the Enderi then."
"I- Let me take them to their rooms."
Boromir smiled passively, hands clasped behind his back. Haldir threw him a suspicious look but didn't say anything. And so, Boromir led them out of the room, to the opposite side towards the western wing.
The whole trip to the other side of the palace was a quite one, and as Boromir led the three elves to their corridors, he turned to them, inhaling and exhaling loudly in nervousness. "I'm sorry for Aragorn's earlier misbehavior."
He falshed them an apologetic grin, turning his eyes away as if thinking, before he looked directly at Legolas. "And know that you /are/ welcome here in Gondor."
'Hmph' was all the sound Legolas made before bounding for his room.
The afternoon rays of the sun was bright and cheerful, singing of a happy day. A happy day, indeed it was, as Haldir spotted his prey down below the gardens of the western side of the palace. Lucky enough, he found his blonde 'prince' best friend, as Glorfindel was nowhere in sight, leaning against the balcony across where his preys were. The elfin prince didn't seem to notice them, instead, as he sat on the cemented railing, reading.
"Hey."
Legolas looked up, seeing Haldir smirk at him. His arms were full of circular jelly-ish plastics, and his bow and quiver was slung over his shoulder.
"What's with those?" Legolas inquired, pointing at the packs of plastics in Haldir's arms. He leapt down from where he was sitting, and stood up, leaning against the balcony, watching as his friend set his things down the railing.
"You'll know." Was all Haldir told him before taking an arrow and slinging it against his bow. He took one of the plastics filled with water, that Legolas could clearly see now, pierced the sharp edge of the arrow against the plastic's tip so it wouldn't et punctured, and got ready to aim.
Legolas followed his friend's gaze down the Western Garden and found the twins walking there, chatting. In front of them was Aragorn and Boromir, quiet, as they listened to the Lady Arwen talk happily of Rivendell while she strutted at the very front of the group. Instantly, his smile turned into a scowl as he saw the prince, even just his back.
"Which one…which one…" Haldir chanted quietly, clicking his tongue. He looked sideways at his friend, who seemed to be preoccupied to even notice him, nor what he was intending to do.
He seemed to forget about his friend before he heard him snicker. Turning, he found his friend aim the arrow well, the plastic bag hanging from it. He straightened, as if suddenly realising what his friend was intending to do. "No. Stop it Haldir!"
"Why?"
"Because we're going to get in trouble."
"Really?" There was a mischievous tone in his voice as Haldir loosened his hold on the arrow, looking at his friend. Legolas relaxed a bit, thinking that his friend wouldn't shoot after all. "What makes you think we're not in trouble already?"
With that, Haldir released the arrow, sending it flying on the air downwards. Legolas sucked in his breath, looking shocked at his friend, before his eyes trained to the arrow.
"By Elbereth, why the hell did you do that?!"
"Relax Legolas! I didn't aim /the arrow/. I'm not planning on killing them!"
"But still! What if it hits someone! Haldir!"
Legolas wailed at his friend, looking distraught. He turned, saw the arrow, and followed it with his eyes.
It was aiming downwards, for the twins. Legolas winced, then relaxed when the arrow flew past the twins, or the twins seem to have ducked past it. Though he swallowed audibly as he saw the arrow go straight, flying above Aragorn's head, the plastic water bag hitting the prince square at the back of his head, drenching him impossibly.
"Uh-oh." He heard Haldir mutter. Suddenly, Aragorn turned, grey eyes flashing in anger, burning into his very skull. Legolas opened his mouth, ready to say it wasn't him, that it was Haldir. He turned to face his friend, before noticing the Haldir had ducked, sitting on the cemented floor of the palace, out of the groups' view. And so it looked like he was the culprit for the dirty joke.
And he suddenly knew he was in big trouble.
Elladan and Elrohir sensed it. Heard it cut through the air thickly, flying towards them rapidly. They both knew it insticntively, from battles and trainings, the sound of it, high-pitched and sharp. An arrow was heading straight for them. Both of the twins turned to their sides, avoiding the arrow that flew past by them in a blur.
"Is that…"
Elrohir let his sentence trail off as the next instant, the arrow had landed squarely on Aragorn's head. It sounded aloud, crisp, the sound of the plastic giving way from the impact, of the water lessening the supposed pain of the impact, as the water bursting, flowing, drenching the prince in all his glory.
"Who the hell- what the hell-"
Aragorn didn't finish his sentence, instead, he turned, angrily looking. His grey eyes were flashing in warning, and anyone in the proper mind would've ran away, but his culprit just stayed there, motionless, as if shock, as if saying 'it wasn't me!!!', even as those normally cool grey eyes turned darker in fury.
Legolas was there, standing in the balcony. The pile of plastic water bags on the railing beside him. He looked like the culprit.
And so, in Aragorn mind, a conclusion was formed.
Legolas was the culprit.
This is war.
"Hey, cool it down Aragorn."
Aragorn ignored Boromir, clenching his fist. He was glaring, and if looks could kill, the elf prince would've been six feet under the ground by now. He felt a hand clamp on his shoulder, fingers pressing, applying pressure, stopping him from charging the elf up there, right then and there.
The crown prince of Gondor suddenly turned away from the elf on the palace, as he made his way straight, getting away from the western garden, away from the western wing of the palace. He knew the duke's son would be following him, and in the back of his mind, he was already beginning to plot his revenge.
"He's at Gondor, your highness."
The messenger's voice sounded nervous. Heck, the messenger /looked/ nervous, as he shifted from foot to foot. He had his brows together in slight fear that heir king would suddenly have an outburst.
Instead, Thranduil remained silent as he digested this information.
"He's been spotted with Haldir and Glorfindel, together with the sons of Lord Elrond going towards Gondor."
"And you DIDN'T stop them?!"
Thranduil smacked a hand against his forehead. Sometimes, he knew he had to give the orders when to stop someone, but there were /emergencies/ like /this/ when they would have to stop people, elves in this case, even without the king's order!
"Well, the guards…"
The king of Mirkwood didn't hear the rest of the statement. Or more of heard it, but didn't understand it. He was tired, and he was missing his son a lot. Even though his son always caused mischief in Mirkwood. Such as bringing strangers to their kingdom, like Glorfindel and Haldir millennia ago when Legolas had first gone out of Mirkwood, going back home three weeks later with the two elves. By Elbereth, even his son's two best friends had grown so dear to him, he thought of them like his own sons!
But nonetheless, he missed Legolas more than anything.
Suddenly, a thought struck the king, making him jolt up suddenly, startling the messenger and making the elf cringe. He's with Elrond's sons? In Gondor? Then Elrond should be with them! The thought seemed to make him relax a little more as he sat back, hands dangling on his sides.
"Your majesty?" The messenger asked, worried.
Thranduil waved his hand in dismissal. The dismissal that the elfin messenger seemed to be looking forward to as he bolted for the door. Thranduil, on the other hand, rested back, his hands clasped together across his chest, thinking. Elrond better take good care of them.
*******************
Finished, April 30, 2002, 12:59 in the morning. Rayne™
Unedited. ^___^
I'm so tired. This chapter's late! I forgot to post it before classes started, and I didn't have the time to do so until now. Argh. Sorry for the long delay! I'll get the next chapter up soon (probably next week, my next free time), so I could start writing chapter four. Please, I /need/ the votes! Aragorn or Boromir?
Next chapter, I've written the Enderi celebration and Aragorn's revenge. Hehe.
Oh, and pretty much like the usual, I'm not continuing it if no one's reading it.