T/N: Thanks reviewers! I'm shallow enough to not want to post until I get
at least one review for the last chapter posted, and I got two! HURRAY!
Alida: Well, blackberries are very yummy you know. When I'm alone I play cute little games with them too. . . I know, isn't Cali great? I have some very nice plans for her near & far future. . . *grins wickedly* I love her character so much! Too bad, neither of those characters are seen in this chapter. Or the next, for that matter. But they will be seen very soon!
Bekky: So. . . lemme guess. . . do you like this fic or something? Now before you blow my head off screaming "YES!" at the top of your lungs, please note I'm being sarcastic. I hope you like this chapter! More whimpering Legolas, Mr. Door Linen, "Reindeer," and an almost-intro to a new character.
Now that I'm satisfied that I've been mildly mysterious, please read and enjoy!
Chapter 4
"Legolas? Legolas?" Someone was shaking his shoulders and slapping his cheeks. "Legolas? Come on, get up!" He heard muffled laughter off to his side. Opening his eyes, he saw his brother leaning over him. Randir looked torn between amusement and frustration. Dorlinen was sitting next to him, his hand covering his mouth.
"Wha- what happened?"
Randir sighed impatiently. "You screamed like a twenty-year-old little girl and fainted."
Legolas frowned. "What?"
"You squealed and fainted!" Dorlinen said happily. Randir started to snicker.
"Why?"
Randir rolled his eyes. "How should I know?" he asked with an exaggerate shrug. "All I did was touch your shoulder . . ." Dorlinen giggled.
Legolas suddenly remembered. He was lost alone in the forest, and something strong grabbed his shoulder. "That was you?"
Randir and Dorlinen giggled.
"I thought you were a spider!"
"A spider?" Randir asked incredulously. "The nearest house is about fifty meters away! The palace gates are just over a hundred meters over there! What would a spider be doing here?"
"I don't know, grabbing me so it could eat me?" Legolas scowled and stood up. "Why'd you do that?"
Randir shrugged again. "Because I could, I guess. Honestly though, you should have known better! It would be killed before it ever got this close! Children play where you fainted!"
"I passed out, I didn't faint."
"No, you fainted," Dorlinen said, shaking his head. "You screamed like a little girl, like Prince Randir said. And then you let out a tiny high- pitched sigh and your eyelashes fluttered. Then, you just collapsed." He snickered.
"Shut up, Dor."
"I'm not a door!"
"Dor!"
"Stop it!"
"DOR!"
Randir stood between them. "Don't start."
"We already did," Legolas pointed out.
"Yes," Dorlinen agreed, "it started when he said I was a door."
"You know what I mean," Randir snapped.
Legolas frowned. "What's wrong with you?"
Dorlinen patted Randir's back. "You ruined his plan, my prince. When you screamed, you called attention to us."
"Yes," Randir nodded, "as you can see, people are still looking curiously at us." He smiled and waved to a nearby Elf woman and called out to her. "Prince Legolas is fine. He just ran into a branch, that is all."
"Hey! Now everyone's going to think I'm clumsy!"
"I don't care," Randir glared at him, but his mouth suddenly spread into a wide grin. "But we'll have to come back tonight. Somehow or another, word of your passing out will reach Father. He won't believe you're just clumsy; he'll suspect something."
Legolas bit his tongue nervously. That didn't sound good. "So we're going into the wilds of the forest to steal a little bit of a nocturnal spider's web?"
Randir scrunched his nose in thought before nodding. "That's about it. Of course, there'll probably be at least a few dozen spiders." Legolas gulped. "I think I have a pretty good plan. Legolas, you'll get the thread using a small knife. Don't worry, Dor-"
"I'm not a door!"
Randir completely ignored him. "-and I will be hiding a little bit off with our bows. We'll watch your back."
Legolas sputtered, searching for words to express how insane Randir was. "B- but . . . t-th-that's . . . I'll be KILLED!"
Any Elves nearby looked worriedly at the younger prince.
"Legolas, shut up!" Randir hissed. "I promise, on Tavari's grave, that we will protect you."
"Tavari's not dead!"
"Well . . ." Randir sighed. "On Tavari's heart, then. We swear on Tavari's heart that you will live. Now come on, we might as well go back. We're missing lunch!"
Dorlinen looked up. "It was served about an hour and a half ago." The princes swore quietly.
~*~
Randir paced uneasily in his bedroom. They were going to be caught. He had never been caught. 'Well, at least not until after the trick has been done,' he mentally corrected himself. The eldest prince scowled at Dorlinen, who was asleep in an extra bed that had been brought in earlier that day. It was all his and Legolas' fault. When he and Tavari did pranks together, they never got caught. 'Until afterwards, of course,' he reminded himself.
The prince sighed and looked solemnly back at Dorlinen. The young Elf snored quietly. Randir rubbed his tired eyes. He shouldn't blame him. Dorlinen had been through a lot recently. Randir nodded, agreeing with himself. He'd just blame Legolas.
The reason he was so uneasy gnawed at him again. The king had seemed very suspicious during supper. He had asked his sons and Dorlinen why they hadn't showed for lunch. Thranduil had used a kind, mildly curious voice to cover that he knew what they were up to. Randir held his forehead in one hand. The king hadn't eaten much. He hadn't eaten at all, when Randir thought about it. He'd had a half-filled glass of wine. Then he sat back and muttered something about having his fill for the day. Had his father been listening in any muffled conversations the boys had had? Randir racked his brain to try to remember if Dorli- he wasn't blaming him. Had Legolas said anything stupid? Randir slapped his hands when they threatened to shake. Could the king read minds?
Randir rolled his eyes. He was being stupid. The only reason he was so nervous was because this was the first time in his life he had ever done anything without Tavari. Randir stopped half-pace with one foot in the air. Tavari! He hadn't seen her all day! 'She must be wondering what I've been up to today,' he thought with a grin, but it soon disappeared. 'Or she'll be plotting to kill me!'
He stood on both feet again and nearly kicked himself. Tavari loved romantic stuff and thought that sunset was very romantic. Actually, she preferred sunrise, but she never wanted to wake up that early. Randir quickly pulled on a robe. They had seen every sunset together since they'd become friends thousands of years ago, with the exception of any time he was traveling with a war party or hunting overnight. Now it was midnight. He raced through to palace to her quarters.
T/N: So, how was it? Look for the next post on Friday, or maybe Saturday. . . very possibly Sunday. . . look for the next post next weekend!
Alida: Well, blackberries are very yummy you know. When I'm alone I play cute little games with them too. . . I know, isn't Cali great? I have some very nice plans for her near & far future. . . *grins wickedly* I love her character so much! Too bad, neither of those characters are seen in this chapter. Or the next, for that matter. But they will be seen very soon!
Bekky: So. . . lemme guess. . . do you like this fic or something? Now before you blow my head off screaming "YES!" at the top of your lungs, please note I'm being sarcastic. I hope you like this chapter! More whimpering Legolas, Mr. Door Linen, "Reindeer," and an almost-intro to a new character.
Now that I'm satisfied that I've been mildly mysterious, please read and enjoy!
Chapter 4
"Legolas? Legolas?" Someone was shaking his shoulders and slapping his cheeks. "Legolas? Come on, get up!" He heard muffled laughter off to his side. Opening his eyes, he saw his brother leaning over him. Randir looked torn between amusement and frustration. Dorlinen was sitting next to him, his hand covering his mouth.
"Wha- what happened?"
Randir sighed impatiently. "You screamed like a twenty-year-old little girl and fainted."
Legolas frowned. "What?"
"You squealed and fainted!" Dorlinen said happily. Randir started to snicker.
"Why?"
Randir rolled his eyes. "How should I know?" he asked with an exaggerate shrug. "All I did was touch your shoulder . . ." Dorlinen giggled.
Legolas suddenly remembered. He was lost alone in the forest, and something strong grabbed his shoulder. "That was you?"
Randir and Dorlinen giggled.
"I thought you were a spider!"
"A spider?" Randir asked incredulously. "The nearest house is about fifty meters away! The palace gates are just over a hundred meters over there! What would a spider be doing here?"
"I don't know, grabbing me so it could eat me?" Legolas scowled and stood up. "Why'd you do that?"
Randir shrugged again. "Because I could, I guess. Honestly though, you should have known better! It would be killed before it ever got this close! Children play where you fainted!"
"I passed out, I didn't faint."
"No, you fainted," Dorlinen said, shaking his head. "You screamed like a little girl, like Prince Randir said. And then you let out a tiny high- pitched sigh and your eyelashes fluttered. Then, you just collapsed." He snickered.
"Shut up, Dor."
"I'm not a door!"
"Dor!"
"Stop it!"
"DOR!"
Randir stood between them. "Don't start."
"We already did," Legolas pointed out.
"Yes," Dorlinen agreed, "it started when he said I was a door."
"You know what I mean," Randir snapped.
Legolas frowned. "What's wrong with you?"
Dorlinen patted Randir's back. "You ruined his plan, my prince. When you screamed, you called attention to us."
"Yes," Randir nodded, "as you can see, people are still looking curiously at us." He smiled and waved to a nearby Elf woman and called out to her. "Prince Legolas is fine. He just ran into a branch, that is all."
"Hey! Now everyone's going to think I'm clumsy!"
"I don't care," Randir glared at him, but his mouth suddenly spread into a wide grin. "But we'll have to come back tonight. Somehow or another, word of your passing out will reach Father. He won't believe you're just clumsy; he'll suspect something."
Legolas bit his tongue nervously. That didn't sound good. "So we're going into the wilds of the forest to steal a little bit of a nocturnal spider's web?"
Randir scrunched his nose in thought before nodding. "That's about it. Of course, there'll probably be at least a few dozen spiders." Legolas gulped. "I think I have a pretty good plan. Legolas, you'll get the thread using a small knife. Don't worry, Dor-"
"I'm not a door!"
Randir completely ignored him. "-and I will be hiding a little bit off with our bows. We'll watch your back."
Legolas sputtered, searching for words to express how insane Randir was. "B- but . . . t-th-that's . . . I'll be KILLED!"
Any Elves nearby looked worriedly at the younger prince.
"Legolas, shut up!" Randir hissed. "I promise, on Tavari's grave, that we will protect you."
"Tavari's not dead!"
"Well . . ." Randir sighed. "On Tavari's heart, then. We swear on Tavari's heart that you will live. Now come on, we might as well go back. We're missing lunch!"
Dorlinen looked up. "It was served about an hour and a half ago." The princes swore quietly.
~*~
Randir paced uneasily in his bedroom. They were going to be caught. He had never been caught. 'Well, at least not until after the trick has been done,' he mentally corrected himself. The eldest prince scowled at Dorlinen, who was asleep in an extra bed that had been brought in earlier that day. It was all his and Legolas' fault. When he and Tavari did pranks together, they never got caught. 'Until afterwards, of course,' he reminded himself.
The prince sighed and looked solemnly back at Dorlinen. The young Elf snored quietly. Randir rubbed his tired eyes. He shouldn't blame him. Dorlinen had been through a lot recently. Randir nodded, agreeing with himself. He'd just blame Legolas.
The reason he was so uneasy gnawed at him again. The king had seemed very suspicious during supper. He had asked his sons and Dorlinen why they hadn't showed for lunch. Thranduil had used a kind, mildly curious voice to cover that he knew what they were up to. Randir held his forehead in one hand. The king hadn't eaten much. He hadn't eaten at all, when Randir thought about it. He'd had a half-filled glass of wine. Then he sat back and muttered something about having his fill for the day. Had his father been listening in any muffled conversations the boys had had? Randir racked his brain to try to remember if Dorli- he wasn't blaming him. Had Legolas said anything stupid? Randir slapped his hands when they threatened to shake. Could the king read minds?
Randir rolled his eyes. He was being stupid. The only reason he was so nervous was because this was the first time in his life he had ever done anything without Tavari. Randir stopped half-pace with one foot in the air. Tavari! He hadn't seen her all day! 'She must be wondering what I've been up to today,' he thought with a grin, but it soon disappeared. 'Or she'll be plotting to kill me!'
He stood on both feet again and nearly kicked himself. Tavari loved romantic stuff and thought that sunset was very romantic. Actually, she preferred sunrise, but she never wanted to wake up that early. Randir quickly pulled on a robe. They had seen every sunset together since they'd become friends thousands of years ago, with the exception of any time he was traveling with a war party or hunting overnight. Now it was midnight. He raced through to palace to her quarters.
T/N: So, how was it? Look for the next post on Friday, or maybe Saturday. . . very possibly Sunday. . . look for the next post next weekend!