Saruman's Revenge
by SkyFire
For Disclaimer, see part 1.
A/N: 1)Aaaaaahhhh! So everybody wants to know about the lists, huh? Argh! Sorry it's taken so
long for this chapter, but I *had* thrown the whole list-thing as a kind of afterthought. I
*still* have no idea about most of what's on them, and when people kept asking about them... can
we say "freak-out of monumental proportions"? ;o)
2)Okay, it seems the general consensus was: "Skip the Interlude! Get on with the story!" So I
did. ;o)
--
LoveChilde: I think Elves eat the same sort of things that the humans do. I mean, in the Hobbit,
the Mirkwood Elves had this hunt for deer. There's no good reason why they *wouldn't* eat meat.
--
Sprite: Sure, Saruman's mad at Gandalf too. Thing is, he isn't crazy... um... well, he *is* crazy,
but not stupid. Gandalf already kicked his butt once, and broke his staff-- Saruman wants to go
up against someone he knows (or at least *thinks*) can't beat him. That rules out Gandalf.
--
D45: Well, I'm pretty much writing it as the plotbunnies tell it to me now. I'm all caught up in
posting. I have no idea what I'm going to think up for next chapter, and no more snippets
squirreled away, or I'd have sent them... I write at the whim of the plotbunnies. *sigh* ;o)
--
Thanks to everybody who reviewed last chapter! Twenty of you! Wow! Thanks!! ;)
*****
Saruman's Revenge
by SkyFire
Part 9
He woke to the sound of soft laughter coming from further in the room. Quietly, he stretched and
yawned, shifting in the bed, only then realizing that he was both cuddled up with his new friend
and dressed in a set of nightclothes that were unfamiliar to him.
He lifted a sleep-tousled head, looked in the direction of the soft words and laughter. Sleepy
eyes narrowed upon seeing Elladan and Elrohir sitting at a table, staring down at pages of
parchment, speaking quietly together, eyes sparkling with laughter.
/How did I get here from the garden?/ he wondered. A small hand brushed mussed golden hair from
his face, rubbed at his eyes. /And what did *they* have to do with it?/
He sat up in bed, the covers sliding down, then got out of bed, carefully covering the still-
sleeping Elrond once more. Then he looked again to the twins.
/What's on the papers that's got them laughing like that?/ he wondered. They were speaking too
quietly for him to make out the words they said. He would have to get closer. He grinned
slightly; he *was* the *best* at hiding, and sneaking around a room with no one seeing him was
nearly exactly the same thing, to his mind. /It had better not be a list of chores! If it is,
I'm going to hide again and *this* time, they won't find me to bring me here./
He slid to the floor, then snaked his way under the bed and over to the side nearest to the next
bit of concealment he needed-- a hanging wall-tapestry. He looked to the twins, waited until he
was certain that neither was looking his way, then ran silently over to the tapestry and slid
behind it.
/This is easy!/ he thought to himself as he edged his way along the wall, careful not to shift
the heavy fabric. He crept along until he was concealed nearly directly behind Elladan, then
stopped to listen.
"-think that's funny, listen to this one, from Glorfindel's list: 'When I was small, I had a
small doll. It had buttons for eyes and an embroidered mouth. It had orange yarn for hair and a
set of wings stiffened around the edges with wire. Its name was Fluffy the Balrog-'"
"Fluffy!" Elrohir laughed, joining his brother. They just barely managed to keep the volume low
enough not to wake the sleeping ones.
Behind the tapestry, Glorfindel frowned in confusion. /My list? I wrote a list? And why are
they laughing at Fluffy? When did I write a list? And why do *they* have it?/ Then another
thought popped into his head. /*How* did I write a list? I can't even write yet!/
"That was good, brother," Elrohir said, still chuckling. "We have to remember that one so we can
tease him about it tonight."
They looked more through the lists, looking for something embarrassing to tease their father with.
Then Elladan, senses sharpened after many orc-hunts, grew aware that someone was hiding in the
tapestry behind him. He cast a quick look to the bed, saw only Elrond's dark hair on the pillows.
So Glorfindel was missing, which meant-- he grinned. At Elrohir's curious look, he motioned him
closer, then whispered into his brother's ear. Soon, Elrohir was grinning too.
Glorfindel didn't know how it happened. One second he was hiding behind the tapestry, the next,
he was caught up by Elladan, wrestled to the rug on the floor and tickled mercilessly by the
twins. His shrieks and giggled laughter pierced the air.
Awakened by the sounds, Elrond sat up in bed and looked to the source, blinking the sleep from
his eyes. He saw his friend Glorfindel on the floor at the far side of the room, getting tickled
by the twins, laughing and calling for help, breathless from laughing so hard, face red. Silently,
Elrond grabbed up his weapon of choice, a pillow, and crept over to the three.
Elrohir's first warning that Elrond was awake was the pillow blow to the head. With a shout of
laughter, he turned, wrestled the small one to the floor and set to work tickling *him*. The
pillow itself was soon captured by Elladan and tossed aside.
At last, nearly ten minutes later, all four lay breathless on the floor.
Elladan rolled over onto his side, looked to Glorfindel. "Why were you hiding behind the
tapestry?" he asked.
Glorfindel sat up, fidgeting. "I wanted to know what was on the papers. I wanted to know if it
was chores or not." The word 'chores' was said with a grimace that showed quite plainly what the
golden-haired Elfling thought of the whole concept. The grimace was, to the twins' amusement,
mirrored nearly exactly on Elrond's small face.
Elladan and Elrohir exchanged a look. So far, the lists had been right; both had had 'chores'
written under the 'dislikes' column, as well as 'vegetables'. Glorfindel also had hide-and-seek
under the 'likes' column, even as Elrond had 'pillow-fights'.
Then the twins looked to the young ones. "How about we get you dressed, then go down to eat?"
Elladan asked.
The small ones looked to each other, then to the twins. "All right," Elrond said simply.
Then, before the twins even rose, the two were at the clothes-chest, digging through the clothes,
tossing aside those they didn't want, making a huge clothing-mess on the floor around them.
Elladan and Elrohir stared, somewhat startled, at the mass of flying clothing, then sighed. The
day might have started out better, but they had a growing suspicion that it was going to be even
*more*... interesting... than the day before. They looked to each other and wondered *how* they
were going to survive, with sanity intact, having to take care of the small ones for the two
weeks until Gandalf arrived, then however long after that it took for him to find a cure.
Then the younglings were there, dressed in their chosen clothes, and were tugging at the arms and
legs of the twins, trying to get them moving so that they could go eat.
"Get up!" Glorfindel said, tugging at Elladan's arm. "I'm hungry!"
"Me, too!" said Elrond as he pushed at Elrohir's back, trying to get him to stand up. "I want to
eat. Then we can go play! Can we play in the mud puddle again today, can we?"
"Yes! We *have* to visit the mud puddle!" Glorfindel exclaimed. "And go swimming, and berry-
picking, and-"
"Berry-picking! Berry-picking!" Elrond crowed, eyes sparkling. "We *have* to do that!"
"-hide-and-seek, and caterpillar-hunting, and-"
"We *have* to play leapfrog, and pin-the-tail-on-the-Balrog," Elrond said enthusiastically. "Oh!
Can we go looking for tadpoles or frogs? Can I keep one? I'll take good care of it, I promise!"
With a last heavy sigh, Elladan and Elrohir got up off the floor and went to face the beginning
of the day with the children. Their bruises were already throbbing and already they felt headaches
coming on.
TBC...
The next two weeks until Gandalf's arrival will pretty much be squished into next chapter, I
think. Suggestions for more things for The List are welcome, as well as trouble the two could
get into... or get the *twins* into (mwahaha!). Anyways, please review! It made me really happy
to watch the reviews just pile up last chapter! They were a great read! ;o)
by SkyFire
For Disclaimer, see part 1.
A/N: 1)Aaaaaahhhh! So everybody wants to know about the lists, huh? Argh! Sorry it's taken so
long for this chapter, but I *had* thrown the whole list-thing as a kind of afterthought. I
*still* have no idea about most of what's on them, and when people kept asking about them... can
we say "freak-out of monumental proportions"? ;o)
2)Okay, it seems the general consensus was: "Skip the Interlude! Get on with the story!" So I
did. ;o)
--
LoveChilde: I think Elves eat the same sort of things that the humans do. I mean, in the Hobbit,
the Mirkwood Elves had this hunt for deer. There's no good reason why they *wouldn't* eat meat.
--
Sprite: Sure, Saruman's mad at Gandalf too. Thing is, he isn't crazy... um... well, he *is* crazy,
but not stupid. Gandalf already kicked his butt once, and broke his staff-- Saruman wants to go
up against someone he knows (or at least *thinks*) can't beat him. That rules out Gandalf.
--
D45: Well, I'm pretty much writing it as the plotbunnies tell it to me now. I'm all caught up in
posting. I have no idea what I'm going to think up for next chapter, and no more snippets
squirreled away, or I'd have sent them... I write at the whim of the plotbunnies. *sigh* ;o)
--
Thanks to everybody who reviewed last chapter! Twenty of you! Wow! Thanks!! ;)
*****
Saruman's Revenge
by SkyFire
Part 9
He woke to the sound of soft laughter coming from further in the room. Quietly, he stretched and
yawned, shifting in the bed, only then realizing that he was both cuddled up with his new friend
and dressed in a set of nightclothes that were unfamiliar to him.
He lifted a sleep-tousled head, looked in the direction of the soft words and laughter. Sleepy
eyes narrowed upon seeing Elladan and Elrohir sitting at a table, staring down at pages of
parchment, speaking quietly together, eyes sparkling with laughter.
/How did I get here from the garden?/ he wondered. A small hand brushed mussed golden hair from
his face, rubbed at his eyes. /And what did *they* have to do with it?/
He sat up in bed, the covers sliding down, then got out of bed, carefully covering the still-
sleeping Elrond once more. Then he looked again to the twins.
/What's on the papers that's got them laughing like that?/ he wondered. They were speaking too
quietly for him to make out the words they said. He would have to get closer. He grinned
slightly; he *was* the *best* at hiding, and sneaking around a room with no one seeing him was
nearly exactly the same thing, to his mind. /It had better not be a list of chores! If it is,
I'm going to hide again and *this* time, they won't find me to bring me here./
He slid to the floor, then snaked his way under the bed and over to the side nearest to the next
bit of concealment he needed-- a hanging wall-tapestry. He looked to the twins, waited until he
was certain that neither was looking his way, then ran silently over to the tapestry and slid
behind it.
/This is easy!/ he thought to himself as he edged his way along the wall, careful not to shift
the heavy fabric. He crept along until he was concealed nearly directly behind Elladan, then
stopped to listen.
"-think that's funny, listen to this one, from Glorfindel's list: 'When I was small, I had a
small doll. It had buttons for eyes and an embroidered mouth. It had orange yarn for hair and a
set of wings stiffened around the edges with wire. Its name was Fluffy the Balrog-'"
"Fluffy!" Elrohir laughed, joining his brother. They just barely managed to keep the volume low
enough not to wake the sleeping ones.
Behind the tapestry, Glorfindel frowned in confusion. /My list? I wrote a list? And why are
they laughing at Fluffy? When did I write a list? And why do *they* have it?/ Then another
thought popped into his head. /*How* did I write a list? I can't even write yet!/
"That was good, brother," Elrohir said, still chuckling. "We have to remember that one so we can
tease him about it tonight."
They looked more through the lists, looking for something embarrassing to tease their father with.
Then Elladan, senses sharpened after many orc-hunts, grew aware that someone was hiding in the
tapestry behind him. He cast a quick look to the bed, saw only Elrond's dark hair on the pillows.
So Glorfindel was missing, which meant-- he grinned. At Elrohir's curious look, he motioned him
closer, then whispered into his brother's ear. Soon, Elrohir was grinning too.
Glorfindel didn't know how it happened. One second he was hiding behind the tapestry, the next,
he was caught up by Elladan, wrestled to the rug on the floor and tickled mercilessly by the
twins. His shrieks and giggled laughter pierced the air.
Awakened by the sounds, Elrond sat up in bed and looked to the source, blinking the sleep from
his eyes. He saw his friend Glorfindel on the floor at the far side of the room, getting tickled
by the twins, laughing and calling for help, breathless from laughing so hard, face red. Silently,
Elrond grabbed up his weapon of choice, a pillow, and crept over to the three.
Elrohir's first warning that Elrond was awake was the pillow blow to the head. With a shout of
laughter, he turned, wrestled the small one to the floor and set to work tickling *him*. The
pillow itself was soon captured by Elladan and tossed aside.
At last, nearly ten minutes later, all four lay breathless on the floor.
Elladan rolled over onto his side, looked to Glorfindel. "Why were you hiding behind the
tapestry?" he asked.
Glorfindel sat up, fidgeting. "I wanted to know what was on the papers. I wanted to know if it
was chores or not." The word 'chores' was said with a grimace that showed quite plainly what the
golden-haired Elfling thought of the whole concept. The grimace was, to the twins' amusement,
mirrored nearly exactly on Elrond's small face.
Elladan and Elrohir exchanged a look. So far, the lists had been right; both had had 'chores'
written under the 'dislikes' column, as well as 'vegetables'. Glorfindel also had hide-and-seek
under the 'likes' column, even as Elrond had 'pillow-fights'.
Then the twins looked to the young ones. "How about we get you dressed, then go down to eat?"
Elladan asked.
The small ones looked to each other, then to the twins. "All right," Elrond said simply.
Then, before the twins even rose, the two were at the clothes-chest, digging through the clothes,
tossing aside those they didn't want, making a huge clothing-mess on the floor around them.
Elladan and Elrohir stared, somewhat startled, at the mass of flying clothing, then sighed. The
day might have started out better, but they had a growing suspicion that it was going to be even
*more*... interesting... than the day before. They looked to each other and wondered *how* they
were going to survive, with sanity intact, having to take care of the small ones for the two
weeks until Gandalf arrived, then however long after that it took for him to find a cure.
Then the younglings were there, dressed in their chosen clothes, and were tugging at the arms and
legs of the twins, trying to get them moving so that they could go eat.
"Get up!" Glorfindel said, tugging at Elladan's arm. "I'm hungry!"
"Me, too!" said Elrond as he pushed at Elrohir's back, trying to get him to stand up. "I want to
eat. Then we can go play! Can we play in the mud puddle again today, can we?"
"Yes! We *have* to visit the mud puddle!" Glorfindel exclaimed. "And go swimming, and berry-
picking, and-"
"Berry-picking! Berry-picking!" Elrond crowed, eyes sparkling. "We *have* to do that!"
"-hide-and-seek, and caterpillar-hunting, and-"
"We *have* to play leapfrog, and pin-the-tail-on-the-Balrog," Elrond said enthusiastically. "Oh!
Can we go looking for tadpoles or frogs? Can I keep one? I'll take good care of it, I promise!"
With a last heavy sigh, Elladan and Elrohir got up off the floor and went to face the beginning
of the day with the children. Their bruises were already throbbing and already they felt headaches
coming on.
TBC...
The next two weeks until Gandalf's arrival will pretty much be squished into next chapter, I
think. Suggestions for more things for The List are welcome, as well as trouble the two could
get into... or get the *twins* into (mwahaha!). Anyways, please review! It made me really happy
to watch the reviews just pile up last chapter! They were a great read! ;o)