"What is he going to do to me?"
"Nothing, Jed-eye," hissed Legolas, grabbing onto Anakin's arm and drawing him away from the rest of the elves.
They were very near Thranduil's halls. Anakin had been quiet most of the way, but he had been a little nervous. Now he was bugging Legolas, and making the elf prince on edge as well.
"Then why do I have to see him at all?" pleaded the Jedi.
"Because it is the law," Legolas said. "You were trespassing. Yes, even though you got lost, you were still in Mirkwood without my Adar's permission. He would probably ask you a few questions, tell you off, and perhaps lock you in prison for a day or so, and then you'll be free to go. He's a good king. Sure, not much of an Adar, yet he is used to trespassers. It won't be too bad."
"But... but... but I didn't get lost!!! I-"
"No. You... got... lost. That is what you are going to tell Adar. That is what you are going to tell everyone who asks you. Understand?"
Anakin blinked. Legolas gave him a hard look. If Thranduil heard Anakin say that he was from Coruscant and belonged to a secret cult of Jed-Eyes he would probably be much more harsher with the boy than giving him a day or so in his dungeons.
"Well... all right," said Anakin. "But I really would rather not spend a day in a prison. Do you think there's any way that I could just be let go?"
"No," Legolas said.
"I think there might be a way," Anakin said, more persistently.
"No, there isn't."
"I..."
"No." Legolas was getting annoyed. "You may ask Thranduil to spare you, but I assure you, you will not get a better answer."
Anakin scowled. So mind tricks didn't work on elves. Maybe Legolas was just exceptionally strong-minded.
They walked in silence for a while. Except, the dwarves still groaned and moaned and complained under their breath as they were led along, and Anakin could swear he still heard the sound of someone following him. He himself was walking in the back, and Legolas was next to him. Yet whenever the Jedi turned, he saw nobody. It was giving him the creeps. Eventually they came to a bridge that had been built over a swiftly flowing river. Anakin walked dismally over it, feet scuffing dejectedly at the stone, Legolas sometimes prodding him from behind with his hand when he went too slowly.
~*~
Reggon brought his group of prisoners to Thranduil first. Anakin and Legolas had to wait at the back of the room as the dwarves were herded towards the king Thranduil, who was sitting in a throne-like chair in the middle of the room and was glaring at a dwarf, who had stood up among the others and was explaining the reason of their 'trespassing'. Reggon and Legolas muttered angrily to each other about another dwarf that had been brought in not long ago. Anakin watched the dwarves in interest. They seemed remarkably bold for ones of their age and stature. And bitter. He guessed that the two races, elves and dwarves, must have some kind of grudge against each other, judging by their tones, body language, and their harsh words to each other.
"Er... do elves really keep spiders as pets?" Anakin was curious after hearing the words of the dwarves and seeing the general revulsion in the king's eyes.
The look that Legolas gave Anakin could have shattered glass. Oh, if looks could kill...
"Nay! And you better keep your mouth shut before it is shut for you in the permanent silence of death!" the prince spat. "Such words will bring the wrath of Thranduil upon your overly-large head. As I expect will happen to these insolent dwarves."
Indeed, Thranduil seemed wroth. He sat up in his throne and promptly dismissed them to be locked into his dungeons until they saw fit to tell him why they trespassed to begin with. Then Reggon bid goodbye to Legolas and with his Elven men started to push the loudly complaining dwarves away. Anakin frowned and shifted nervously. What was the bloody problem??? Why couldn't the dwarves say "sorry" and just... go on their merry way, and the elf-king shrug and say "that's ok. Just don't do it again."
"Now, Jedi," hissed Legolas in his ear, as they got ready to face the king. "Say nothing at all. Nothing, until the king speaks to you expressly, and even then... lie."
He was about to remark upon the fact that it wasn't in his nature to lie to his elders, but then the Jedi shook his head. He remembered his original thought of the elves being cannibals. He shuddered. Maybe he planned to eat the dwarves. Roast them all together in one big bonfire, and ... no! That was just wrong. Nonetheless Anakin was not quite comfortable with standing in front of that angry elf king, so Legolas had to poke him in the back until he was quite close enough. Thranduil pierced him with an icy glare.
"Legolas, why do you bring a human to my throne?" he asked abruptly.
"Well..." Legolas frowned. He seemed to be fighting some inner battle. "Er... Well..."
"Spit it out, boy!" Thranduil cried, turning to his son in irritation.
Legolas looked just like his father. Except that Thranduil was quite terrifying when he was angry.
"Well, I found him," Legolas said slowly. "And..."
"Was he trespassing?" The Elven king asked flatly.
Anakin exchanged a nervous glance with Legolas. Was Legolas going to condemn him to death by cannibalism? The elf prince fidgeted.
"Uhm... yes." And he added quickly. "But he-"
"No buts!" snapped the king. "If you were trespassing, man, then you are to go into the dungeons too. With a dwarf."
"But ada!" cried Legolas, appearing startled and befuddled. "His case does not warrant..."
"I do not care what it warrants or does not! I am king and I say that he is to be put in a cell."
Anakin was paralyzed with shock. Legolas bit his lip.
"But he has done nothing to -"
"I do not care," the elf replied irritably. "He is to stay in the cell until it pleases me to let him go. I am tired of everybody trespassing on my land. If you are to be king someday, Legolas, than you should be too. Not another word! Lock him up or I shall get one of the other guards to do so."
"Very well," Legolas mumbled, and, taking hold of the now-animated and very angry Jedi's arm, started to drag him after the dwarves.
"I am not going to be locked in a bloody cell!" Anakin snapped once they were walking down a long, dark, winding passage, and out of earshot from the agitated Elven king. "Let me go!"
"Sorry," Legolas said, but he tightened his grip on his arm as he attempted to wrench it free. "But I have no say in the matter, at least when ada's in such a mood. Hi, calm down, or I'll have to bind you. Would you like that?"
Anakin stilled, but he glared at the elf all the same.
"'Tis not fair!" he whined. "I did not even know that I was trespassing!"
"I know," Legolas looked annoyed. "Yet Thranduil does not. Do not worry, 'tis not so bad, besides the fact that you are to have a dwarf for company," he winced at the mere thought. "I will make sure you are fed properly though, and perhaps I can annoy the king until he decides that you're too much of a hassle to keep around anyway. Or I could bribe Galion..." he paused, musing. "But then you'd be an outlaw and serve a heavier sentence if you are escaped and found."
"Hmph. How long do you think I have to stay down here? 'Tis dark and damp and cold. I don't like it."
"Neither do I. But I am an elf, and you are a man, so you should cope better. Like I said, I will bother the king. Maybe... in a week or so he'll let you go."
"What! A week!???! I cannot stay so long! I'll die!"
"You will not. If you're quiet and good perhaps you'll get out quicker. And you can spend the time picking out a valid excuse for you being in Mirkwood in the first place."
"But I already told you how I came here! My ship -"
"Ack! Stop! No, this is how you came here: You are a son of a woodman, and you got lost while you were hunting. THERE! No more words. That is it. As prince of Mirkwood, that is what you will say or you can rot in the dungeons for all of eternity for all I care!"
Anakin was in an icy silence as he was led through the receding passage. Eventually they reached a wall, where the passage branched off in two opposite directions. Legolas paced to the right, and the Jedi realized that there were doors on both sides. He shuddered. Cells. Eventually there appeared to be a glow of torchlight some way ahead. Besides for that one glow Anakin could see nothing, it was so dark, but Legolas seemed to not notice at all. Another elf it was that held the torch, and they met soon. Anakin glared at the strange elf. He was tall, and looked like Reggon, with dark hair and gray eyes. He had a ring of keys at his belt, and a knife, and looked at Anakin blankly.
"New prisoner?" he asked.
Legolas nodded.
"Ada says he is to be put into a cell with one of the dwarves, Galion."
The elf shuddered.
"A sad day for you!" he said mockingly, and abruptly turned and paced down the opposite directly. Legolas and Anakin followed. "They are bellowing and moaning and complaining like a herd of Oliphants! Tis disgraceful the way the Naugrim* behave. They do not even have the decency to serve out their time with pride. Very well, here we are."
Galion stopped beside a closed, thick oaken door to take the ring of keys off of his belt, and shifted through them. Anakin glanced at Legolas. The elf prince was biting his lip, and looking at Anakin with pity. They would not exactly call each other friends, but Anakin would rather stay with Legolas than in some lightless hole. Apparently Galion found the key, and opened the door. Immediately a dwarf gave a squeak and attempted to run out the door, but with a well-placed foot the elf tripped him. He took the sprawling creature and pushed him back inside before turning to Anakin.
"In you go!" Galion said.
The Jedi shuddered, and walked into the cell dismally. Legolas gave him an apologetic smile before the door was shut with a loud thud, and Anakin was locked in a cell with a miserable sniveling dwarf. He gulped.
"Nothing, Jed-eye," hissed Legolas, grabbing onto Anakin's arm and drawing him away from the rest of the elves.
They were very near Thranduil's halls. Anakin had been quiet most of the way, but he had been a little nervous. Now he was bugging Legolas, and making the elf prince on edge as well.
"Then why do I have to see him at all?" pleaded the Jedi.
"Because it is the law," Legolas said. "You were trespassing. Yes, even though you got lost, you were still in Mirkwood without my Adar's permission. He would probably ask you a few questions, tell you off, and perhaps lock you in prison for a day or so, and then you'll be free to go. He's a good king. Sure, not much of an Adar, yet he is used to trespassers. It won't be too bad."
"But... but... but I didn't get lost!!! I-"
"No. You... got... lost. That is what you are going to tell Adar. That is what you are going to tell everyone who asks you. Understand?"
Anakin blinked. Legolas gave him a hard look. If Thranduil heard Anakin say that he was from Coruscant and belonged to a secret cult of Jed-Eyes he would probably be much more harsher with the boy than giving him a day or so in his dungeons.
"Well... all right," said Anakin. "But I really would rather not spend a day in a prison. Do you think there's any way that I could just be let go?"
"No," Legolas said.
"I think there might be a way," Anakin said, more persistently.
"No, there isn't."
"I..."
"No." Legolas was getting annoyed. "You may ask Thranduil to spare you, but I assure you, you will not get a better answer."
Anakin scowled. So mind tricks didn't work on elves. Maybe Legolas was just exceptionally strong-minded.
They walked in silence for a while. Except, the dwarves still groaned and moaned and complained under their breath as they were led along, and Anakin could swear he still heard the sound of someone following him. He himself was walking in the back, and Legolas was next to him. Yet whenever the Jedi turned, he saw nobody. It was giving him the creeps. Eventually they came to a bridge that had been built over a swiftly flowing river. Anakin walked dismally over it, feet scuffing dejectedly at the stone, Legolas sometimes prodding him from behind with his hand when he went too slowly.
~*~
Reggon brought his group of prisoners to Thranduil first. Anakin and Legolas had to wait at the back of the room as the dwarves were herded towards the king Thranduil, who was sitting in a throne-like chair in the middle of the room and was glaring at a dwarf, who had stood up among the others and was explaining the reason of their 'trespassing'. Reggon and Legolas muttered angrily to each other about another dwarf that had been brought in not long ago. Anakin watched the dwarves in interest. They seemed remarkably bold for ones of their age and stature. And bitter. He guessed that the two races, elves and dwarves, must have some kind of grudge against each other, judging by their tones, body language, and their harsh words to each other.
"Er... do elves really keep spiders as pets?" Anakin was curious after hearing the words of the dwarves and seeing the general revulsion in the king's eyes.
The look that Legolas gave Anakin could have shattered glass. Oh, if looks could kill...
"Nay! And you better keep your mouth shut before it is shut for you in the permanent silence of death!" the prince spat. "Such words will bring the wrath of Thranduil upon your overly-large head. As I expect will happen to these insolent dwarves."
Indeed, Thranduil seemed wroth. He sat up in his throne and promptly dismissed them to be locked into his dungeons until they saw fit to tell him why they trespassed to begin with. Then Reggon bid goodbye to Legolas and with his Elven men started to push the loudly complaining dwarves away. Anakin frowned and shifted nervously. What was the bloody problem??? Why couldn't the dwarves say "sorry" and just... go on their merry way, and the elf-king shrug and say "that's ok. Just don't do it again."
"Now, Jedi," hissed Legolas in his ear, as they got ready to face the king. "Say nothing at all. Nothing, until the king speaks to you expressly, and even then... lie."
He was about to remark upon the fact that it wasn't in his nature to lie to his elders, but then the Jedi shook his head. He remembered his original thought of the elves being cannibals. He shuddered. Maybe he planned to eat the dwarves. Roast them all together in one big bonfire, and ... no! That was just wrong. Nonetheless Anakin was not quite comfortable with standing in front of that angry elf king, so Legolas had to poke him in the back until he was quite close enough. Thranduil pierced him with an icy glare.
"Legolas, why do you bring a human to my throne?" he asked abruptly.
"Well..." Legolas frowned. He seemed to be fighting some inner battle. "Er... Well..."
"Spit it out, boy!" Thranduil cried, turning to his son in irritation.
Legolas looked just like his father. Except that Thranduil was quite terrifying when he was angry.
"Well, I found him," Legolas said slowly. "And..."
"Was he trespassing?" The Elven king asked flatly.
Anakin exchanged a nervous glance with Legolas. Was Legolas going to condemn him to death by cannibalism? The elf prince fidgeted.
"Uhm... yes." And he added quickly. "But he-"
"No buts!" snapped the king. "If you were trespassing, man, then you are to go into the dungeons too. With a dwarf."
"But ada!" cried Legolas, appearing startled and befuddled. "His case does not warrant..."
"I do not care what it warrants or does not! I am king and I say that he is to be put in a cell."
Anakin was paralyzed with shock. Legolas bit his lip.
"But he has done nothing to -"
"I do not care," the elf replied irritably. "He is to stay in the cell until it pleases me to let him go. I am tired of everybody trespassing on my land. If you are to be king someday, Legolas, than you should be too. Not another word! Lock him up or I shall get one of the other guards to do so."
"Very well," Legolas mumbled, and, taking hold of the now-animated and very angry Jedi's arm, started to drag him after the dwarves.
"I am not going to be locked in a bloody cell!" Anakin snapped once they were walking down a long, dark, winding passage, and out of earshot from the agitated Elven king. "Let me go!"
"Sorry," Legolas said, but he tightened his grip on his arm as he attempted to wrench it free. "But I have no say in the matter, at least when ada's in such a mood. Hi, calm down, or I'll have to bind you. Would you like that?"
Anakin stilled, but he glared at the elf all the same.
"'Tis not fair!" he whined. "I did not even know that I was trespassing!"
"I know," Legolas looked annoyed. "Yet Thranduil does not. Do not worry, 'tis not so bad, besides the fact that you are to have a dwarf for company," he winced at the mere thought. "I will make sure you are fed properly though, and perhaps I can annoy the king until he decides that you're too much of a hassle to keep around anyway. Or I could bribe Galion..." he paused, musing. "But then you'd be an outlaw and serve a heavier sentence if you are escaped and found."
"Hmph. How long do you think I have to stay down here? 'Tis dark and damp and cold. I don't like it."
"Neither do I. But I am an elf, and you are a man, so you should cope better. Like I said, I will bother the king. Maybe... in a week or so he'll let you go."
"What! A week!???! I cannot stay so long! I'll die!"
"You will not. If you're quiet and good perhaps you'll get out quicker. And you can spend the time picking out a valid excuse for you being in Mirkwood in the first place."
"But I already told you how I came here! My ship -"
"Ack! Stop! No, this is how you came here: You are a son of a woodman, and you got lost while you were hunting. THERE! No more words. That is it. As prince of Mirkwood, that is what you will say or you can rot in the dungeons for all of eternity for all I care!"
Anakin was in an icy silence as he was led through the receding passage. Eventually they reached a wall, where the passage branched off in two opposite directions. Legolas paced to the right, and the Jedi realized that there were doors on both sides. He shuddered. Cells. Eventually there appeared to be a glow of torchlight some way ahead. Besides for that one glow Anakin could see nothing, it was so dark, but Legolas seemed to not notice at all. Another elf it was that held the torch, and they met soon. Anakin glared at the strange elf. He was tall, and looked like Reggon, with dark hair and gray eyes. He had a ring of keys at his belt, and a knife, and looked at Anakin blankly.
"New prisoner?" he asked.
Legolas nodded.
"Ada says he is to be put into a cell with one of the dwarves, Galion."
The elf shuddered.
"A sad day for you!" he said mockingly, and abruptly turned and paced down the opposite directly. Legolas and Anakin followed. "They are bellowing and moaning and complaining like a herd of Oliphants! Tis disgraceful the way the Naugrim* behave. They do not even have the decency to serve out their time with pride. Very well, here we are."
Galion stopped beside a closed, thick oaken door to take the ring of keys off of his belt, and shifted through them. Anakin glanced at Legolas. The elf prince was biting his lip, and looking at Anakin with pity. They would not exactly call each other friends, but Anakin would rather stay with Legolas than in some lightless hole. Apparently Galion found the key, and opened the door. Immediately a dwarf gave a squeak and attempted to run out the door, but with a well-placed foot the elf tripped him. He took the sprawling creature and pushed him back inside before turning to Anakin.
"In you go!" Galion said.
The Jedi shuddered, and walked into the cell dismally. Legolas gave him an apologetic smile before the door was shut with a loud thud, and Anakin was locked in a cell with a miserable sniveling dwarf. He gulped.