SUMMARY : Legolas' brother had been possessed by a demon. And there was no other way to destroy the demon except by killing the body he had taken.
Hello, hello! Now I come back a little early just for all of you! This fic is especially for those who have been missing Keldarion so much. I hope you like this one!
NOTE : Unbetaed version. Please excuse any mis-grammar or broken tenses.
*******************************************
"Why don't you go talk to her?" Legolas urged, forcefully shoving the raven-haired elf in front of him.
Keldarion turned and glared at his younger brother. "Do you mind?"
"What?" Legolas was staring back, wide eyed.
"We shouldn't disturb her!"
"Disturb her? Kel, I know you like her! Come on, brother! Look at her, all alone by herself on the garden bench! You must do something, Kel, before somebody else join her!"
The two princes of Mirkwood had just arrived with their father at Caras Galadhon, the great tree city of Lothlorien. King Thranduil was going to attend the centennial council that will be held in another week. Gandalf, Lord Elrond of Rivendell, and several other elven lords will also be in attendance but they all had yet to arrive.
The two brothers were quite disappointed that their best friends, Elrond's twin sons, will only appear with their father in another few days. Only their sister, Arwen, was already there because she had spent the remaining summer with her maternal grandparents.
To say that Keldarion was glad to see Arwen was an understatement. Actually, he was incredibly delighted! The prince had been admiring Elrond's daughter from afar for many years now, so captivated he was by her beauty and grace. Alas, she seemed not to know that he existed.
As their father conversed with Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel up in the Lothlorien palace, the two brothers decided to walk around and look for Haldir and his brothers. On their way, they found Arwen sitting alone in the garden, reading a book.
"Go on, Kel!" Legolas prodded again. Then he smirked. "Why, are you shy?"
Keldarion gave his brother a sharp stare. "Stop it, brat! Or I will…"
"Or what? Are you going to run to father and tell?"
Keldarion's answer was a growl as he suddenly tackled his brother to the ground. Grunting and cursing, they both started to scuffle, trying to pin each other down. The two noble princes looked nothing like any noble princes at all.
"Don't you both think that you are too old for this childish feat?" a soft voice suddenly sounded.
The brothers looked up and Keldarion groaned in embarrassment. Arwen was gazing down at them with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes. Legolas grinned as he waved. "Hi, Arwen!"
Arwen couldn't help it. She laughed. Legolas always managed to give joy to her heart with his wit and charm, while Keldarion…
At this, her heart fluttered. The elder prince gazed steadily at her as he pulled his brother to his feet, looking so splendidly handsome and strong. Arwen had secretly fancied the crown prince of Mirkwood (even though he had accidentally burnt her hair once!). His charisma was appealing and his attractive features were captivating. But of course she wouldn't tell him that!
"How do you fare, Arwen?" Keldarion asked politely.
"I'm fine, thank you," she responded in kind.
Then there was silence.
Legolas rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, you two! Is that the best you can do?"
Keldarion glared at his brother. "Go away, brat!"
"Why? Don't you need my help?" Legolas smiled innocently. He raised both arms in surrender as his brother's glare grew more vicious. "Okay. I got the message."
He walked towards the bench that Arwen had just vacated and picked up the book that she left there. "The Perilous Journey of Heart and Soul," he read the title out loud. He looked up and stared at Arwen. "What does that mean?"
Laughing softly, Arwen walked back to the bench and sat down, taking the book. "It means 'life', dear Legolas."
Still glowering at his brother, Keldarion also took a seat beside her. "Don't bother explaining it to him, Arwen. He's quite slow."
Legolas scowled down at the back of Keldarion's head. "Who says I'm slow?"
"I do!" the elder prince replied, sending Arwen a smile that seemed to say, Little brother! Who needs them?
She looked down at the book on her lap, trying hard not to smile. "So, Kel, has you finally got the skill to juggle three burning torches?"
Keldarion's smile fell flat. Why must she bring that up?
Many years ago, Keldarion had tried to imitate a juggler that had entertained them during a feast in Rivendell. The prince had tried with apples and daggers successfully. But disaster struck when he used burning torches next. He had mistakenly touched the flame. Startled at the pain, he lost concentration and one of the torches flew off and landed onto Arwen who stood nearby. She had screamed in fear and outrage as he hastily slapped at her burning hair, trying to put out the flame.
She didn't spoke to him for many years after that incident.
Legolas grinned even wider behind them. Lord, Keldarion is not going to survive this! Chuckling, he said, "Oops! Looks like you both need some privacy to talk about old times! I'll take my leave."
"Legolas, wait!" Keldarion stood up to follow his brother…and stopped short by a painful yank on his hair!
"Ow!!!" To his surprise, Arwen also cried out in pain. He turned, and to his disbelief, saw that a lock of his hair was knotted with hers!
And he knew exactly how it came to be that way. "LEGOLAS!!!!!!"
The guilty perpetrator had already disappeared from the crime scene.
Grumbling and muttering, Keldarion and Arwen tried to disentangle the knot. It was not an easy feat considering how they were both fighting each other over it, and the similar coloring of their hair was making the task more confusing.
"Will you just let me do it?!" Keldarion yelled as their fingers knocked together for the umpteenth time.
"Why?" Arwen retorted. "You think you're smart enough for that?!"
Totally exasperated, Keldarion took a dagger out of his boot and prepared to cut the knot off.
She practically screamed, slapping at his hands. "Not my hair again, you stupid barbarian!! First, you've burnt it, now you want to hack it off?!!"
"Children! What on earth is going on?!!"
At that sudden voice, they both turned. Lord Celeborn and Lord Thranduil were staring at them from several feet away, greatly astonished.
"Kel, put that blade down!" Thranduil ordered. "What are you both fighting about, pray tell us!"
"That spoiled little brother of mine had tied our hair together!" Keldarion fumed. "We are trying to free ourselves!"
"Stop twisting about!" Arwen grabbed the knot and yanked at Keldarion's hair. "You're only making it worse!"
Amused, Thranduil and Celeborn looked at each other. They were smart enough to hold their laughter, but their lips were twitching dangerously.
"Grandfather, please help me!" Arwen gazed pleadingly at Celeborn.
Keeping a straight face was difficult, but Celeborn somehow succeeded. He came closer towards the two and reached up. "There, now, my dear. Stop struggling for a moment. I'll set you both free." Winking at Thranduil, he then said, "Legolas did this, didn't he? Well, my friend, your youngest son is very good at tying knots!"
Keldarion groaned while Thranduil burst up laughing. "Father, this is not funny," the prince grumbled.
But Celeborn also laughed then. Arwen scowled. "Grandfather!!!"
"Sorry, dear. This is just too good to resist!"
"Oooohhh...I'm gonna kill him!" Keldarion growled. After the knot was completely untied, he pivoted to go hounding his brother.
"Ah, Kel?" Thranduil called out. Keldarion halted and turned, still scowling. "Yes, father?"
"Give me the blade. If you want to kill your brother, make sure you use your own bare fists. It's cleaner that way."
Keldarion rolled his eyes amid Celeborn's chuckle and Arwen's strangled gasp. Relinquishing the dagger into Thranduil's safekeeping, he turned around once more.
A certain golden haired prince was in deep trouble.
A very deep trouble.
TBC….
I hope you like it so far. You might not see me updating as frequent as before because I'm at the bottom of my office workload right now. I'll try not to make you waiting for too long. Believe me, I know how it feels. But I can't assure you that I won't leave you with cliffies! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! (Evil laughter crackles in the air…)
