Chapter 21 - Shrieking Spiders
Legolas followed Thranduil into his bedroom and was somewhat startled to see Aralith standing there, fretting in the corner. The two brothers stared at one another - Aralith glaring and Legolas frowning - as Thranduil moved to seat himself in a comfortable chair. He sat straight, his arms resting lightly on the chairs, his eyes unreadable.
"It is his fault, father," Aralith began. "I know it is. Who else lets spiders into the palace!"
~Spiders? ~ Legolas thought with confusion. "What spiders?" he asked feeling slight exasperation rise in him. What had he said about spiders lately? He thought he was here because of Bilbo.
"It seems," Thranduil interrupted before Aralith could give vent to his own ire, "that Aralith is being . . . uh, followed by a spider. Here in the palace. Do you know anything about this, Legolas?"
"Of course not. Gwibess wouldn't follow *him* around."
Aralith glared at him.
"You are the only one who seems to want them in the palace. How many of them are there?" he asked in an accusing tone. He truly didn't like having his fear ever before him and wanted the stalking to end. He shuddered involuntarily, eyes darting about the room wondering where the spider was right now.
Legolas frowned again. He had no idea how many of them there were or for that matter where they were. He didn't even know where Gwibess was. Then he thought back to his father's face the morning after the "Dread Pipeweed Incident", perfectly made up. The other spiders . . . .He swallowed. Were they still here?
"Are we remembering now, Little Greenleaf?" Thranduil asked, a rather too bland expression on his face. He, too, was wondering if Aralith's spider was one of the ones that had decorated his face with berry juice.
The youngest Mirkwood prince grimaced.
"I . . . I really don't know how many there are. But I didn't let them in! Father, you know I wouldn't do that!"
"Do I?" Thranduil raised one elegant eyebrow. "Well, you are going to let them out. Today! Go find Tavor and Brethil, and get those spiders out of here."
Legolas sighed and nodded. At least his father hadn't mentioned Bilbo. Perhaps Thranduil would forget about Bilbo if they could make the spider chase an interesting enough tale.
Aralith scowled at him, folding his arms over his chest.
"Made sure they take them far from here, Adar." he said smugly, trying to recover some of his lost dignity.
"Make sure *they* take them far from here?" Thranduil said, turning to his middle son. "But *you* are going with them, Aralith."
A strangled cry emitted from his throat and Aralith turned imploringly to his father.
"But . . but you can't send me with them!" he began.
"I can, and I am. It is time you faced up to your fears and conquered them. This seems a good place to start. A prince of Mirkwood afraid of spiders indeed." Thranduil looked quite pleased with his solution to the spider problem and watched his sons complacently.
Legolas tried to hide his own satisfied smile as he whispered, "The king is wise and good." Unfortunately Thranduil noted it and turned to him.
"Little Greenleaf, when the spiders have been taken care of, you are to come find me. By then you had better have a good answer to this question, who is Bilbo?"
Stifling a groan Legolas left the room, followed by a muttering Aralith.
"This is all your fault, little brother," Aralith hissed. "We had better find that monster fast!" He shuddered and glanced down the torch lit hall. "I can't take this any more. I hate spiders!"
Legolas shook his head.
"Go get your bow and meet us by our old tree house."
"My bow?!" He gasped. "Alone? You want me to go to my room alone?!"
Mirkwood's youngest prince turned to look at his brother. He could see the dread and fear in the dark blue eyes. He almost felt sorry for him, but not quite sorry enough. How many times had the roles been reversed? How many times had Aralith tormented him about Silivren Hithlain Man? He laughed.
"Yes. Alone. Unless, of course, you are afraid the Big Bad Spider it going to get you first. Where is your Magic Spider Spray, big brother?""
Aralith narrowed his eyes.
"Very well, Legolas the Sparkly Green! At least I still have all my hair!" With that he spun away toward his room, ignoring the fear that hammered in his heart.
Legolas' fingers strayed to his hair.
"Ai, Valar," he moaned. "When will all this end? Why did we ever think taming Gwibess was a good thing! Wild spiders loose in the palace! Taking father's jewelry and robes. . . and then I will have to make up something about Bilbo." He shook his head. "I wish those dwarves had never come to Mirkwood. I wonder why they did. And to think Bombur doesn't want to leave . . . ." His eyes widened. What could that mean? He frowned trying to remember exactly what he and Bilbo had been discussing. It had been about the dwarves. Bombur didn't want to leave, and Gloin was thrilled with the Warrior braid that resided by his heart. And the song they had sung: the barrel song. "I hate that song." He whispered, walking down the hallway toward the magic doors. And then they had spoken of the empty barrels floating down the river. And the water- gate. Bilbo had seemed to be particularly interested in that part of the conversation. And then the island of the Men. And the Dragon in Erebor. Piece by slow piece the puzzle fell into place in his mind. "Oh, no!" he groaned. "Bilbo is going to free the Dwarves! Oh, no. And I know about it! Ai, Valar! I know about it!! I don't want to know. I don't want to know.I don't want to know! No! That can't be it! That can't! It.It is something else! Yes. He isn't going to free the Dwarves.he really isn't.he really." he groaned. "He really is. He is.and Father is going to ask me all about it.Elbereth help me! I can't afford another attack of Brethilitis!" Then slowly a twisted grin crossed his face. "Maybe a spider will get me first. Yes. That would solve everything. A spider bite! Yes! I will have to get one of them to bite me. Yes! That is the solution!"
Several Elves glanced in concern at their prince as he passed out the magic doors, muttering to himself about spider bites.
Remmith, Hiwdil, and Cablas had found an unused storage room that they had made their own. Since Remmith had acquired Aralith as a Master, the other two felt they didn't need one, since this one gave them anything they asked for. Many sparkling things adorned their room and several soft, glowing robes adorned their large bloated bodies.
"Who needs Masters?" They creaked happily, fondling their treasures.
"I think Gwibess is foolish to have Masters." Hiwdil said, stroking his long violet robe, his many eyes riveted on the silver, gold, and green stitching on the hem and the sleeves. "I look very nice. Perhaps I should be the Aran. [king] I wonder how loud I can be."
Cablas and Remmith exchanged skeptical glances.
"Why would you want to be the Aran of the shining ones?" Cablas asked, holding up a mithril chain with a smooth white stone dangling from it.
"THEN I COULD HAVE ALL THE SPARKLY THINGS AND SOFT ROBES FOR MYSELF! How was that?" He looked at his two fellow arachnids, grinning, fangs flashing.
They winced at the unexpected shriek and stopped their ears with their front legs.
"You have a lot now." Cablas said. "Remmith's new Master brings us everything we want. And I don't think the shining ones would like one of us as their Aran. They hate us!"
"And besides that," Remmith commented, lowering his legs. "You weren't nearly as loud as Thrumb Dumb."
"I wasn't?" He cleared his throat. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I WASN'T AS LOUD AS THRUMB DUMB!!?? Was that better?" He smiled hopefully.
Remmith shook his furry head and put on an emerald necklace.
"Not nearly as loud."
"HOW ABOUT NOW!!!"
"Not yet." Cablas commented dryly wondering how long they would have to listen to Hiwdil trying to out-shriek Mirkwood's Aran.
"What is that?" Tavor asked, hearing a rather high pitched sound bounce down the corridor they were walking in as they hunted for the wayward spiders.
"Spiders!" Aralith shrieked and jumped forward to grab Tavor's arm, his dark blue eyes wide with terror.
Tavor grimaced and shook his hand off.
"Really, Prince Aralith." He said, shaking his head with disbelief. "You should learn to control yourself. Honestly."
"Just as you controlled yourself when you called my father immature and a spoiled child? Or when you tamed a spider? A spider?!" Aralith shot back.
Tavor turned to stare at him.
"How do you know what I said?" He asked, his face reddening.
"I know a lot of things. The three of you never control yourselves! You always do things without thinking. That is why we are here hunting spiders! In the palace!"
Brethil stared at him and shook his head.
"We are really sorry about that spider, Prince Aralith. Honestly, we don't know where it came from. Gwibess is a harmless spider. She would never hurt anyone. She is really rather sweet for a spider. And she looks so cute in Legolas sparkly green robes from the feasts. And when she puts on the jewelry we gave her - well, your father doesn't look as pretty as she does! And well, it is true that we were going to use her to scare you, but-"
"Shut up, Brethil!" Tavor and Aralith hissed.
Only Legolas remained silent. He was still wondering how he could manage to get a spider to bite him.
TBC
Response to Reviewers
Lakergurl 13 - Oopsie indeed! That is such a fun word, isn't it! The peace and fun of the night before didn't last very long. And well, I think Thranduil would know that your one Ring is a fake. Mine is fake, too, to he knows what they look like! Gold dollars huh? Well, you can try. Better polish them first though! As for my names I blend Elvish words together for most of them or just a single Elvish word. They all do mean something. If you want to know what let me know.
Ithilien - Well, this story will go on for a little while anyway. So until the Dwarves and Bilbo go sailing away, which I guess is rather imminent, there is a story to tell. And thanks for allowing the slight bend in the rules there. You can use Brethilitis anytime you want. It is not trademarked in any way shape or form. It came about from desperation for a chapter title. Everything was ready to go except the title for that chapter and that is all I could come up with. I am lousy with titles! So I am glad this one seemed to tickle everyone.
PuterPatty - First if you need to check into rehab there are many of us that should probably join you! None of us would ever be cured then! Because then we would all sit around talking about the fan fic stories! And yes, good angst is good angst. And there is plenty of angst in JastaElf's stories!! BTW - How is your head?? Enthusiastic jumping will do you in every time! (
t - You don't have to worry about sparing me from commenting. I can do the commenting while trying to figure the chapter out as I am now. When I am not sure what to write I comment to my reviewers! You guys take the time to comment and make me feel good, so it is the least I can do! And the Wild Berry War was rather fun. Everyone needs to be childlike on occasion. It keeps you young!
Anonymous - I was wondering, do you still sing and chant the songs from the Hobbit? I go around singing The Road Goes Ever Ever On. I was singing it one day when I got out of my truck to get the trash can from the road and my neighbor was standing there (I honestly did not see him) and needless to say he gave me a rather strange look! I just grinned and continued my song. Ah, life can be fun! ( And I like Bombur a lot and he is good fodder for the back-stories. As is Gloin! And yes, it will be a while yet before the "Dreadful Night of the Pipeweed Incident" is forgotten to any extent. As for Bilbo not warning Legolas about the footsteps of approaching doom well, I think the Hobbit is more concerned with staying hidden from that doom than warning an obsessing Elf who probably would not hear him anyway. And since I have children I know all about kids wanting to sleep with you when they are scared! Though by the time they are Aralith's age I hope they will have outgrown that habit! And well Thranduil is the King and when the King tells you to forget something he expects you to forget it! (giggles) As if!! And well, yes, I suspect that Legolas will get blamed for the departure of the Dwarves. (big grin) We shall see!
phoenixfeather - Poor thing! Your face needs a break! But I am very glad that you are laughing still and as for the insane grin, it probably matches my own. When something strikes me as particularly funny I have to get up and move around! My own Silly Dance! Takes some of the stress off my face! You should try it!
annakas - We all know Legolas is a very strong Elf. He can take it. How do you suppose he got so strong?? ( And thank you so much for the silver shovel with Elvish lettering!! It is perfect for whacking anyone who takes Glorfindel's place in anyway! (grabs beautiful shovel and calls "Oh, Arwen!") Thank you!!
JastaElf - Thank you for that wonderful logic of how it could have been Legolas the king's servant who tells Bilbo what he needs to know! Slightly bent and twisted canon there, but I can live with it. Well, and of course it had to Thranduil that caught him talking to himself, since poor Aralith spilled the beans on the spiders and who else has a pet spider at the palace! And that is indeed what he gets for obsessing with his long golden locks. And there are some out there who want him to cut off more just for them or they want to fix it for him so it lays right. I think he is not the only one thinking a lot about his wondrous hair.
Irena - Yuppers. Leggy's gonna get it. He doesn't stand a chance in this story. At least I know it will all end well, which I can't say about other fics. Keep smiling! I usually end up groaning with distress at yours! Gotta love it though!
Nancing Elf - Brethilitis can strike us all at anytime I expect. I have suffered from that on occasion myself. ^_^ I liked Bilbo finding out about the water-gate from Legolas, too. But I will try to stay as close to the canon as is possible in this rather silly story which really isn't' that close to the canon any more. Hmmm..does that make sense?? (shrugs) I am sure Legolas would be deeply indebted to you for fixing his hair! He is having quite a time with it. And it would be so utterly cool if Legolas Greenleaf of the house of the Tree of Gondolin who can see in the dark like a cat was our dear Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood. And he would be very very old then!! And they both wore green, too! Tolkien is so very cool, don't you think!!?? You can tell I just read The Fall of Gondolin, can't you! (
Angaloth - My research is coming along just fine and I am learning many interesting things so expect a chapter in my Glorfindel fic soon! I guess Bilbo owes Legolas an apology for not telling him that someone was coming. That rude little Hobbit! And don't worry too much about his hair. It will grow back! I promise!
Karina - I think they will need many joint sessions at the Clinic of Mental Health of Middle Earth. And yes, Legolas really needs to pay attention to other things than his hair! Obsession is not a good thing. ( (looks slightly askance at this as she is obsessed with a certain Ff.net thingie) ( Brethilitis seems to be quite catching! Legolas really needs to get over his hair!
NiennaVala - I like Thranduil and Legolas together. They rather feed off each other. Makes writing them easier!! And much more fun!
alliwantisanelfforchristmas - I see the child's braid as more of an intricate French braid, keeps it out of the way!! Tavor does hold the ladies' opinion quite highly, and of course they hold him in rather high opinion as well, even when he is being punished. They find it quite amusing. The wild berry fight was immense fun! And yes, the moral of this is just say "NO!!" unless you want to look like an idiot in front of everyone! It took me awhile to get used to the Elves sleeping with their eyes open, and now it really seems quite natural. Well, the Battle of the Five Armies is really not funny, so if I write that story it probably won't be a silly one and I don't know that I will write it. There are other plot bunnies here begging for attention. We shall see! And I am so glad that I have finally hooked yes dear! I will try to keep it close to book verse for him! And what did he leave at your house!!?? Some one had better get Brethilitis and tell me! You don't want to see me turn into the shrieking blonde beast!! And yes the shovel brigade needs to reform I fear! And thanks to annakas I have a new silver shovel with Elvish writing on it!
Lady M - I knew the barrel song was going to be an inspiration quite a while ago, I was just waiting for the right time! Such a silly song it is! And the berry fight was fun fun fun!!! (
shirebound - I hope you are enjoying your vacation! So thank you big time for taking the time to read and review! That was sweet of you!!
Sake - Looks like Legolas isn't the only one obsessed with something! ( And yes, I can see it. So how does sake make you feel??
Aurora - You know I love it when people laugh at my fic! And like the spiders!!( Poor Leoglas is always up to his neck in this one!! Gotta love it!
Gabrielle Lawson - I wanted to thank you for reviewing my older fics! It means a lot to me that you would take the time to do that! And thank you for your honest opinions of them. I appreciate that greatly! And thanks for following this one, too!!
amlugwen - Thank you for reading my older ones, too! It is nice to know that people may be thinking differently about the Orcs and discussing whether they can be good or not! Very cool! And yes, at some point there will be a new story with Elu in it!
Jessica - Unfortunately Thrumb Dumb doesn't stay chilled out for very long. You may certainly have a pet spider from Mirkwood, as some are about to be chased from the palace and will be looking for new Masters. I am sure they will love your shiny things! And I see you are up on your history of Middle Earth! I applaud you!! (
Kerttu - Thank you so much for the email and the lovely, lovely picture of Legolas! ( I absolutely loved it! And yes, if he ever got high in Lorien that is what he would look like! I ran it off on my printer and it is hanging on the wall by my computer. I showed my husband and he said it was no wonder the Dwarves fell in love with him!! I like the spiders, too. I never really gave much thought to the Mirkwood spiders before this fic, but some of them are rather fun! And the plot bunny was utterly fantastic, he has been nibbling at my toes since I first saw him!! Thank you for him, too!!
Crystal Galadriel - Thank you for the nice email! ( I think Legolas basically stays in trouble!! That is what makes it so fun! And you kinda just did review this!! Thanks again!
Legolas followed Thranduil into his bedroom and was somewhat startled to see Aralith standing there, fretting in the corner. The two brothers stared at one another - Aralith glaring and Legolas frowning - as Thranduil moved to seat himself in a comfortable chair. He sat straight, his arms resting lightly on the chairs, his eyes unreadable.
"It is his fault, father," Aralith began. "I know it is. Who else lets spiders into the palace!"
~Spiders? ~ Legolas thought with confusion. "What spiders?" he asked feeling slight exasperation rise in him. What had he said about spiders lately? He thought he was here because of Bilbo.
"It seems," Thranduil interrupted before Aralith could give vent to his own ire, "that Aralith is being . . . uh, followed by a spider. Here in the palace. Do you know anything about this, Legolas?"
"Of course not. Gwibess wouldn't follow *him* around."
Aralith glared at him.
"You are the only one who seems to want them in the palace. How many of them are there?" he asked in an accusing tone. He truly didn't like having his fear ever before him and wanted the stalking to end. He shuddered involuntarily, eyes darting about the room wondering where the spider was right now.
Legolas frowned again. He had no idea how many of them there were or for that matter where they were. He didn't even know where Gwibess was. Then he thought back to his father's face the morning after the "Dread Pipeweed Incident", perfectly made up. The other spiders . . . .He swallowed. Were they still here?
"Are we remembering now, Little Greenleaf?" Thranduil asked, a rather too bland expression on his face. He, too, was wondering if Aralith's spider was one of the ones that had decorated his face with berry juice.
The youngest Mirkwood prince grimaced.
"I . . . I really don't know how many there are. But I didn't let them in! Father, you know I wouldn't do that!"
"Do I?" Thranduil raised one elegant eyebrow. "Well, you are going to let them out. Today! Go find Tavor and Brethil, and get those spiders out of here."
Legolas sighed and nodded. At least his father hadn't mentioned Bilbo. Perhaps Thranduil would forget about Bilbo if they could make the spider chase an interesting enough tale.
Aralith scowled at him, folding his arms over his chest.
"Made sure they take them far from here, Adar." he said smugly, trying to recover some of his lost dignity.
"Make sure *they* take them far from here?" Thranduil said, turning to his middle son. "But *you* are going with them, Aralith."
A strangled cry emitted from his throat and Aralith turned imploringly to his father.
"But . . but you can't send me with them!" he began.
"I can, and I am. It is time you faced up to your fears and conquered them. This seems a good place to start. A prince of Mirkwood afraid of spiders indeed." Thranduil looked quite pleased with his solution to the spider problem and watched his sons complacently.
Legolas tried to hide his own satisfied smile as he whispered, "The king is wise and good." Unfortunately Thranduil noted it and turned to him.
"Little Greenleaf, when the spiders have been taken care of, you are to come find me. By then you had better have a good answer to this question, who is Bilbo?"
Stifling a groan Legolas left the room, followed by a muttering Aralith.
"This is all your fault, little brother," Aralith hissed. "We had better find that monster fast!" He shuddered and glanced down the torch lit hall. "I can't take this any more. I hate spiders!"
Legolas shook his head.
"Go get your bow and meet us by our old tree house."
"My bow?!" He gasped. "Alone? You want me to go to my room alone?!"
Mirkwood's youngest prince turned to look at his brother. He could see the dread and fear in the dark blue eyes. He almost felt sorry for him, but not quite sorry enough. How many times had the roles been reversed? How many times had Aralith tormented him about Silivren Hithlain Man? He laughed.
"Yes. Alone. Unless, of course, you are afraid the Big Bad Spider it going to get you first. Where is your Magic Spider Spray, big brother?""
Aralith narrowed his eyes.
"Very well, Legolas the Sparkly Green! At least I still have all my hair!" With that he spun away toward his room, ignoring the fear that hammered in his heart.
Legolas' fingers strayed to his hair.
"Ai, Valar," he moaned. "When will all this end? Why did we ever think taming Gwibess was a good thing! Wild spiders loose in the palace! Taking father's jewelry and robes. . . and then I will have to make up something about Bilbo." He shook his head. "I wish those dwarves had never come to Mirkwood. I wonder why they did. And to think Bombur doesn't want to leave . . . ." His eyes widened. What could that mean? He frowned trying to remember exactly what he and Bilbo had been discussing. It had been about the dwarves. Bombur didn't want to leave, and Gloin was thrilled with the Warrior braid that resided by his heart. And the song they had sung: the barrel song. "I hate that song." He whispered, walking down the hallway toward the magic doors. And then they had spoken of the empty barrels floating down the river. And the water- gate. Bilbo had seemed to be particularly interested in that part of the conversation. And then the island of the Men. And the Dragon in Erebor. Piece by slow piece the puzzle fell into place in his mind. "Oh, no!" he groaned. "Bilbo is going to free the Dwarves! Oh, no. And I know about it! Ai, Valar! I know about it!! I don't want to know. I don't want to know.I don't want to know! No! That can't be it! That can't! It.It is something else! Yes. He isn't going to free the Dwarves.he really isn't.he really." he groaned. "He really is. He is.and Father is going to ask me all about it.Elbereth help me! I can't afford another attack of Brethilitis!" Then slowly a twisted grin crossed his face. "Maybe a spider will get me first. Yes. That would solve everything. A spider bite! Yes! I will have to get one of them to bite me. Yes! That is the solution!"
Several Elves glanced in concern at their prince as he passed out the magic doors, muttering to himself about spider bites.
Remmith, Hiwdil, and Cablas had found an unused storage room that they had made their own. Since Remmith had acquired Aralith as a Master, the other two felt they didn't need one, since this one gave them anything they asked for. Many sparkling things adorned their room and several soft, glowing robes adorned their large bloated bodies.
"Who needs Masters?" They creaked happily, fondling their treasures.
"I think Gwibess is foolish to have Masters." Hiwdil said, stroking his long violet robe, his many eyes riveted on the silver, gold, and green stitching on the hem and the sleeves. "I look very nice. Perhaps I should be the Aran. [king] I wonder how loud I can be."
Cablas and Remmith exchanged skeptical glances.
"Why would you want to be the Aran of the shining ones?" Cablas asked, holding up a mithril chain with a smooth white stone dangling from it.
"THEN I COULD HAVE ALL THE SPARKLY THINGS AND SOFT ROBES FOR MYSELF! How was that?" He looked at his two fellow arachnids, grinning, fangs flashing.
They winced at the unexpected shriek and stopped their ears with their front legs.
"You have a lot now." Cablas said. "Remmith's new Master brings us everything we want. And I don't think the shining ones would like one of us as their Aran. They hate us!"
"And besides that," Remmith commented, lowering his legs. "You weren't nearly as loud as Thrumb Dumb."
"I wasn't?" He cleared his throat. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I WASN'T AS LOUD AS THRUMB DUMB!!?? Was that better?" He smiled hopefully.
Remmith shook his furry head and put on an emerald necklace.
"Not nearly as loud."
"HOW ABOUT NOW!!!"
"Not yet." Cablas commented dryly wondering how long they would have to listen to Hiwdil trying to out-shriek Mirkwood's Aran.
"What is that?" Tavor asked, hearing a rather high pitched sound bounce down the corridor they were walking in as they hunted for the wayward spiders.
"Spiders!" Aralith shrieked and jumped forward to grab Tavor's arm, his dark blue eyes wide with terror.
Tavor grimaced and shook his hand off.
"Really, Prince Aralith." He said, shaking his head with disbelief. "You should learn to control yourself. Honestly."
"Just as you controlled yourself when you called my father immature and a spoiled child? Or when you tamed a spider? A spider?!" Aralith shot back.
Tavor turned to stare at him.
"How do you know what I said?" He asked, his face reddening.
"I know a lot of things. The three of you never control yourselves! You always do things without thinking. That is why we are here hunting spiders! In the palace!"
Brethil stared at him and shook his head.
"We are really sorry about that spider, Prince Aralith. Honestly, we don't know where it came from. Gwibess is a harmless spider. She would never hurt anyone. She is really rather sweet for a spider. And she looks so cute in Legolas sparkly green robes from the feasts. And when she puts on the jewelry we gave her - well, your father doesn't look as pretty as she does! And well, it is true that we were going to use her to scare you, but-"
"Shut up, Brethil!" Tavor and Aralith hissed.
Only Legolas remained silent. He was still wondering how he could manage to get a spider to bite him.
TBC
Response to Reviewers
Lakergurl 13 - Oopsie indeed! That is such a fun word, isn't it! The peace and fun of the night before didn't last very long. And well, I think Thranduil would know that your one Ring is a fake. Mine is fake, too, to he knows what they look like! Gold dollars huh? Well, you can try. Better polish them first though! As for my names I blend Elvish words together for most of them or just a single Elvish word. They all do mean something. If you want to know what let me know.
Ithilien - Well, this story will go on for a little while anyway. So until the Dwarves and Bilbo go sailing away, which I guess is rather imminent, there is a story to tell. And thanks for allowing the slight bend in the rules there. You can use Brethilitis anytime you want. It is not trademarked in any way shape or form. It came about from desperation for a chapter title. Everything was ready to go except the title for that chapter and that is all I could come up with. I am lousy with titles! So I am glad this one seemed to tickle everyone.
PuterPatty - First if you need to check into rehab there are many of us that should probably join you! None of us would ever be cured then! Because then we would all sit around talking about the fan fic stories! And yes, good angst is good angst. And there is plenty of angst in JastaElf's stories!! BTW - How is your head?? Enthusiastic jumping will do you in every time! (
t - You don't have to worry about sparing me from commenting. I can do the commenting while trying to figure the chapter out as I am now. When I am not sure what to write I comment to my reviewers! You guys take the time to comment and make me feel good, so it is the least I can do! And the Wild Berry War was rather fun. Everyone needs to be childlike on occasion. It keeps you young!
Anonymous - I was wondering, do you still sing and chant the songs from the Hobbit? I go around singing The Road Goes Ever Ever On. I was singing it one day when I got out of my truck to get the trash can from the road and my neighbor was standing there (I honestly did not see him) and needless to say he gave me a rather strange look! I just grinned and continued my song. Ah, life can be fun! ( And I like Bombur a lot and he is good fodder for the back-stories. As is Gloin! And yes, it will be a while yet before the "Dreadful Night of the Pipeweed Incident" is forgotten to any extent. As for Bilbo not warning Legolas about the footsteps of approaching doom well, I think the Hobbit is more concerned with staying hidden from that doom than warning an obsessing Elf who probably would not hear him anyway. And since I have children I know all about kids wanting to sleep with you when they are scared! Though by the time they are Aralith's age I hope they will have outgrown that habit! And well Thranduil is the King and when the King tells you to forget something he expects you to forget it! (giggles) As if!! And well, yes, I suspect that Legolas will get blamed for the departure of the Dwarves. (big grin) We shall see!
phoenixfeather - Poor thing! Your face needs a break! But I am very glad that you are laughing still and as for the insane grin, it probably matches my own. When something strikes me as particularly funny I have to get up and move around! My own Silly Dance! Takes some of the stress off my face! You should try it!
annakas - We all know Legolas is a very strong Elf. He can take it. How do you suppose he got so strong?? ( And thank you so much for the silver shovel with Elvish lettering!! It is perfect for whacking anyone who takes Glorfindel's place in anyway! (grabs beautiful shovel and calls "Oh, Arwen!") Thank you!!
JastaElf - Thank you for that wonderful logic of how it could have been Legolas the king's servant who tells Bilbo what he needs to know! Slightly bent and twisted canon there, but I can live with it. Well, and of course it had to Thranduil that caught him talking to himself, since poor Aralith spilled the beans on the spiders and who else has a pet spider at the palace! And that is indeed what he gets for obsessing with his long golden locks. And there are some out there who want him to cut off more just for them or they want to fix it for him so it lays right. I think he is not the only one thinking a lot about his wondrous hair.
Irena - Yuppers. Leggy's gonna get it. He doesn't stand a chance in this story. At least I know it will all end well, which I can't say about other fics. Keep smiling! I usually end up groaning with distress at yours! Gotta love it though!
Nancing Elf - Brethilitis can strike us all at anytime I expect. I have suffered from that on occasion myself. ^_^ I liked Bilbo finding out about the water-gate from Legolas, too. But I will try to stay as close to the canon as is possible in this rather silly story which really isn't' that close to the canon any more. Hmmm..does that make sense?? (shrugs) I am sure Legolas would be deeply indebted to you for fixing his hair! He is having quite a time with it. And it would be so utterly cool if Legolas Greenleaf of the house of the Tree of Gondolin who can see in the dark like a cat was our dear Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood. And he would be very very old then!! And they both wore green, too! Tolkien is so very cool, don't you think!!?? You can tell I just read The Fall of Gondolin, can't you! (
Angaloth - My research is coming along just fine and I am learning many interesting things so expect a chapter in my Glorfindel fic soon! I guess Bilbo owes Legolas an apology for not telling him that someone was coming. That rude little Hobbit! And don't worry too much about his hair. It will grow back! I promise!
Karina - I think they will need many joint sessions at the Clinic of Mental Health of Middle Earth. And yes, Legolas really needs to pay attention to other things than his hair! Obsession is not a good thing. ( (looks slightly askance at this as she is obsessed with a certain Ff.net thingie) ( Brethilitis seems to be quite catching! Legolas really needs to get over his hair!
NiennaVala - I like Thranduil and Legolas together. They rather feed off each other. Makes writing them easier!! And much more fun!
alliwantisanelfforchristmas - I see the child's braid as more of an intricate French braid, keeps it out of the way!! Tavor does hold the ladies' opinion quite highly, and of course they hold him in rather high opinion as well, even when he is being punished. They find it quite amusing. The wild berry fight was immense fun! And yes, the moral of this is just say "NO!!" unless you want to look like an idiot in front of everyone! It took me awhile to get used to the Elves sleeping with their eyes open, and now it really seems quite natural. Well, the Battle of the Five Armies is really not funny, so if I write that story it probably won't be a silly one and I don't know that I will write it. There are other plot bunnies here begging for attention. We shall see! And I am so glad that I have finally hooked yes dear! I will try to keep it close to book verse for him! And what did he leave at your house!!?? Some one had better get Brethilitis and tell me! You don't want to see me turn into the shrieking blonde beast!! And yes the shovel brigade needs to reform I fear! And thanks to annakas I have a new silver shovel with Elvish writing on it!
Lady M - I knew the barrel song was going to be an inspiration quite a while ago, I was just waiting for the right time! Such a silly song it is! And the berry fight was fun fun fun!!! (
shirebound - I hope you are enjoying your vacation! So thank you big time for taking the time to read and review! That was sweet of you!!
Sake - Looks like Legolas isn't the only one obsessed with something! ( And yes, I can see it. So how does sake make you feel??
Aurora - You know I love it when people laugh at my fic! And like the spiders!!( Poor Leoglas is always up to his neck in this one!! Gotta love it!
Gabrielle Lawson - I wanted to thank you for reviewing my older fics! It means a lot to me that you would take the time to do that! And thank you for your honest opinions of them. I appreciate that greatly! And thanks for following this one, too!!
amlugwen - Thank you for reading my older ones, too! It is nice to know that people may be thinking differently about the Orcs and discussing whether they can be good or not! Very cool! And yes, at some point there will be a new story with Elu in it!
Jessica - Unfortunately Thrumb Dumb doesn't stay chilled out for very long. You may certainly have a pet spider from Mirkwood, as some are about to be chased from the palace and will be looking for new Masters. I am sure they will love your shiny things! And I see you are up on your history of Middle Earth! I applaud you!! (
Kerttu - Thank you so much for the email and the lovely, lovely picture of Legolas! ( I absolutely loved it! And yes, if he ever got high in Lorien that is what he would look like! I ran it off on my printer and it is hanging on the wall by my computer. I showed my husband and he said it was no wonder the Dwarves fell in love with him!! I like the spiders, too. I never really gave much thought to the Mirkwood spiders before this fic, but some of them are rather fun! And the plot bunny was utterly fantastic, he has been nibbling at my toes since I first saw him!! Thank you for him, too!!
Crystal Galadriel - Thank you for the nice email! ( I think Legolas basically stays in trouble!! That is what makes it so fun! And you kinda just did review this!! Thanks again!