Here we go again
Disclaimers- I don't own any of the characters as they all belong to either J. R. R. Tolkien or Cassia and Siobhan. I don't have any money so there is absolutely no point in suing me.
Summary- Elrond gets fed up with Elladan, Elrohir, Estel and Legolas so sends them to Mirkwood They fight a load of orcs and spiders and end up being patched up by Elrond yet again.
Rating PG-13 Spoilers- A few hints at story lines in some of the mellon chronicles stories
I wrote this story after reading some of the fan fiction. While half way through I noticed that certain events in other stories were similar to mine but I did not copy them they just happened to be similar. I would also like to apologise for the number of commas, my sister has a fetish for them and kept adding them when I wasn't looking. I would also like to apologise for my brothers added comment, he is mentally disturbed although sometimes he can be quite funny. I thought of the first line one morning when I woke up and it progressed from there.
I'm not a very good author but I hope you like it nonetheless.
ENJOY
Here We Go Again
"Is it a bird, is a Nazgûl, no its Estel! He soars through the air faster than a speeding arrow." At this Legolas and the twins, Elladan and Elrohir burst into laughter
"Speeding arrow? More like a bumblebee with only one wing"
"Hey, are you watching or not?" an indignant voice cried which only set them off laughing again. After a few minutes though they managed to regain there composure, and watched as Estel took a long run up and leaped of the waterfall, tucked into a cannon ball and landed in the water with an almighty splash, managing to spray the three spectators with water. The three elves had been bored so had dared Estel to jump of the fall into the water below. They had all been banished from the house that morning as by breakfast Elrond had already had enough of them. The twins couldn't for the life of them think why that happened but Legolas had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with them waking Elrond up with a bucket of ice cold water at the crack of dawn for the third time that week. And then as the elf lord was making his way downstairs to the dining room Estel, thinking he was Legolas had jumped out on him causing him to fall down the stairs in shock. The final straw had been the twin's breakfast which they had "cooked" for there father to make up for the water incident. He felt so sick that after yelling for them all to get out he had gone back to bed. They could still hear him yelling about the holly in his bed a mile away. Smiling at the memory Legolas waited for Estel to surface however when a minute went by with no sign of him the smile faded and he looked worriedly at the twins.
"Do you think he's alright?" asked Legolas tentatively
"This is Estel we're talking about. What do you think?" the twins spoke at the same time then as one they dove into the lake to look for him. They found him very quickly at the bottom and got him out looking at him in concern though not really that worried.
"I think he hit his head on a stone" Elladan said
"Only Estel" Sighed Legolas in exasperation
"Ada's not going to like this"
"By the Valar your right Ro we only brought him and Legolas back yesterday to be patched up." With an impish grin Elrohir replied
"What happened yesterday, Legolas? Didn't you kill all the orcs then back into each other and thinking you were both orcs manage to shoot each other in the shoulder?"
"How exactly did you manage that Legolas? I mean, Estel's a human he's allowed to be blind but you're an elf I'm really I'm ashamed of you." Legolas swiftly changed the subject
"It's all your fault that Estel's hurt Elladan"
"My Fault? How is my fault?"
"Legolas is right, Elladan, if you hadn't dared him to Estel never would have done it."
"Well if Legolas hadn't decided to wake ada up with water again, he wouldn't have sent us out"
"Oh no, the final straw was definitely yours and Ro's breakfast, Ell, if you hadn't poisoned him" A dejected voice cut in from below.
"When you've all finished deciding who's fault this is, I could do with a hand"
"Estel you're awake" Legolas reached down and pulled him up. Elladan glanced at his twin and then said:
"You know this is all your fault Estel"
"Yeah what did you want to jump off the cliff for? Honestly, what's ada going to say when we tell him?"
"Hang on, you dared me to!"
"Well if we told you to run under a horse and carriage would you do it?"
"Don't answer that Estel" Legolas put in grinning. "and you can all stop worrying, after all what Elrond doesn't know can't hurt him."
"What don't I know? On second thoughts don't answer that. I expect I'm better off not knowing, you're all in one piece so I'll leave it at that." They jumped and spun round but recovering quickly Elladan asked
"Ada what are you doing here? I thought you went back to bed" The four started sniggering at the thought of the holly; however a minute of "the look" from Elrond soon silenced them.
"I gave up on bed and was in the study when a message came from Mirkwood and your father, Legolas. He would like you to return as he feels you've been away long enough, but he invites my sons to go with you."
"Can we go ada, please" begged the twins and Estel
"After this morning's antics what do you think?" Their faces fell
"Of course you can go. Even patching you up after one of the adventures that you swear you can't help getting yourselves into will be worth it if it means I get some peace. Now go and get ready."
"YES" they started running back to the house immediately, mentally packing their bags. Frowning, Elrond watched them go wondering why exactly his youngest was dripping water and had a large cut and bump on his fore head. Oh well, he thought I said I didn't want to know and at least I can get some sleep now. Early the next day, after giving Elrond one more early morning shower, they were off. They were in high spirits as they rode along and they lifted their voices in song.
"The road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began
Now far ahead the road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some longer way
Where many paths and errands meet
And wither then? I cannot say"
"Where did you three learn that song? Estel taught it to me" Legolas asked suddenly.
"Well" Elladan replied "do you remember those thirteen dwarves that travelled through Mirkwood that your father caught?"
"How could I forget? They practically caused the battle of five armies" groaned Legolas
"The hobbit that travelled with them, Bilbo, made it up, he said there was only one road and every path was a branch of it."
"I never met the hobbit, but he sounds interesting" Legolas said.
"You could definitely call him interesting, although I think mad is more like it. He visits Imladris quite often, next time he comes I'll tell you so you can meet him." offered Estel. Once again they started singing, this time the old walking song, and in no time at all they had reached the foothills of the misty mountains where they stopped and made camp. Setting their horses lose to graze they made a fire and sat round it eating and talking. They were telling stories when Elladan leaned forward and grinning he said:
"Legolas did I ever tell you about the time Estel snuck out one morning to go hunting alone when he was thirteen?"
Estel's eyes widened "You wouldn't tell him" Legolas grinned
"I don't think I've ever heard that story, pray tell"
"It was a spring day and Estel thought he would go out hunting on his own to prove that he could. He had heard some orcs were near the southern borders and thought he would go and slay them. To be fair he managed to kill quite a few before he got tired and decided to hide up in a tree and pick them off one by one with his bow and arrow. In the meantime me and Ro had decided to go and wake him up, us being such kind brothers and all"
"Kind? They were going to use a bucket of water, might I add" Estel put in.
"That's such a small detail its irrelevant, anyway us being incredibly intelligent we worked out were he had gone and naturally ada sent out a number of elves to rescue him including us, Glorfindel and ada himself. Estel heard us coming as we were killing the orcs as we went and he thought we were orcs ourselves-I still don't quite know how he managed that, he's been living with elves most of his life and still can't tell the difference between us and orcs- so he shot several arrows in our direction. He managed to shoot Glorfindel in both feet, Ro in the shoulder and ada in the leg. Hearing our shouts he realised it was us. I got to his tree just in time to see him try to climb out, trip and knock himself out when he hit the ground." Legolas burst out laughing and the twins joined in while Estel sat there glowering.
"Go on, what happened next?"
"Well when he came to he was lying in bed with ada and Glorfindel sitting on one side, ada with a bandage on his leg and Glorfindel one on both his feet, and me and Ro were on the other side, Ro with his shoulder in a sling. He looked around and had the cheek to ask what happened to us all. We filled him in pretty quickly, and after the lecture ada gave him I'm not surprised that he didn't go hunting for a month afterwards." By this time Legolas was rolling around with laughter
"It wasn't that funny, you can all stop laughing now" Estel said grouchily
"How did you manage to confuse elves with orcs, Estel? Honestly you never cease to amaze me." By this time it had got quite late so they settled down for the night Legolas stifling a chuckle every few minutes when he remembered the story.
"You can stop laughing any time now" Finally they managed to get to sleep and didn't wake till the next morning. Estel was the last to wake and only then it was due to his horse neighing in his ear. He sat up so fast that the twins and Legolas started laughing again. However it seemed that Estel had been taking lessons from Elrond as the look he gave them was so reminiscent of the elf lord's that they stopped almost at once. They set off soon after breakfast as they hoped to have got over the mountains by morning and start over the pass. When they reached the top they heard a howling on the wind. Looking at each other they groaned and spurred their horses to a gallop, if they could reach the foot of the mountain before the wargs caught up with them it would be a lot easier to fight them off. They were almost at the bottom when they heard a growl directly behind them. Without stopping Legolas turned round and shot an arrow directly into the beast's heart and on getting to the bottom of the mountain range they leapt of their horses and turned round to fight. Their bows sang as they shot warg after warg and when they had killed most of them the rest fled leaving the companions to collect as many arrows as they could out of the used ones. The speed at which they had travelled meant that they were ahead of time so after a brief pause to get their breath back they set of again and reached the forest edge by nightfall. After the fight they were tired out so there was no talking tonight. After a quick meal they went to sleep leaving Legolas on first watch to make sure the other wargs did not return. The night was uneventful and the next day they rose refreshed and ready to travel the final stretch to Legolas' home.
As they travelled along the forest path, they talked about what they were going to do when they got to the palace. They were planning a hunting trip when a large black shadow scuttled across their path. Quick as a flash Legolas notched his bow and shot the creature. Riding towards it they saw that it was one of the giant spiders living in the forest. The wood elves hated them as much as they hated orcs and never missed a chance to kill the evil things.
"That's strange" mused Legolas "they wouldn't normally venture so close to us"
"I'm sure its nothing, come on, Legolas, let's go. I'd like to reach your home in the next century or so"
"I agree with Ell, lets go" As they reached the gates Legolas spoke the password and they passed through into the palace grounds.
"Legolas! You're back"
"My lord, it's good to see you again." Two elves came running towards them, one unusually short for an elf.
"Ranien, Trelan, it's good to see you too. I hope you haven't been too bored without me and Estel here to take you on adventures." Ranien and Trelan were Legolas's best friends in Mirkwood and had taken part in many of Legolas and Estel's escapades.
"Are you kidding? It's been great; we haven't had to worry about you almost killing yourself every day."
"Well now you get that pleasure once again, and you get to worry about the twins and Estel as well."
"So, have you been getting our prince into any more trouble recently, Strider?" Estel pretended to consider this for a moment before answering
"Well not too much trouble; there was the time we got captured by orcs. . ."
"What!"
"Oh, and then he almost got his leg bitten off by a warg. . ."
"Don't forget the time when you locked me in the dungeons and left me there for a week."
"And then. . ."
"No, it's ok, I'm sorry I asked. Although that's not that surprising, you're very accident prone."
"I'll say. I heard a very interesting story on the way here." Legolas said smiling wickedly
"Oh, we don't want to hear that boring old story again, come on let's go and. . . see your father." Estel said hurriedly, trying to change the subject but it was to no avail.
"OK, I'll tell the story on the way." Soon they had reached the study and the elves were once again laughing at Estel's expense.
"I can't believe you shot your father in the leg, Estel, one day you'll be the death of me."
"As well as your father your brother and half the elves on middle earth." This set them of again and inside the study Thranduil heard them and came to see what all the noise was about.
"Any particular reason why you're all laughing?" Estel hurriedly replied
"Oh no, my lord, no reason at all"
"Of course, my son, it's good to see you again" he embraced his son then turned to others "and you too, sons of Elrond. I trust I find you well?" They hastened to agree and he continued "I am glad. I hope you enjoy your stay. Legolas, I'm glad you returned so quickly. The spiders have been growing more adventurous and are bothering the hunting parties too often for my liking. You know where their nest is and I would like you to lead a group of warriors there to try and lessen their numbers. However, that will not be until a week's time so till then I hope you will enjoy yourselves and be careful." Legolas nodded in acknowledgment
"One crossed right in front of us on the way here, which I thought was strange. I will be glad to try and rid the forest of these evil creatures; too long have they darkened our home."
"Now, Legolas, why don't you show your friends to their rooms?"
"Of course, ada, see you later. Come on everyone this way, you get the rooms next to mine on the other side of the palace."
"I suppose I should be glad you didn't tell your father the story, even if you have told everyone else in the palace. I wouldn't be surprised if you've told the trees." Estel said.
"Well, I did consider but then decided it would take too long to tell them all, but maybe later this evening I will."
"If you tell anyone else about the hunting story I'll be forced to tell everyone about a certain journey we took out of Moria" The twins, Ranien and Trelan had only been listening to their bickering half-heartedly till now but at Estel's last words they looked up interested immediately.
"What trip out of Moria? You've never told us about any trip out of Moria, except the one when Legolas almost died from orc poison and that one was hardly funny." the twins asked eagerly. They looked disappointed when Estel shook his head and said
"I was sworn to secrecy but if a certain elf can't keep his mouth shut I may be forced to tell you." With a sideways glance at Legolas who was glowering fiercely Estel chuckled at the memory.
"Come on, Estel tell us! You can't just say something like that and then not tell us the rest."
"Yeah, Strider what are you talking about? Come to think of it I haven't heard about the orc poison story either, though I'm not sure I want to for that matter" Ranien, Trelan, Elladan, and Elrohir were now all looking eagerly at Estel but it was no use, he just shook his head and carried on walking towards their rooms, the twins, Ranien and Trelan following behind still trying to persuade him to tell. Several hours later, after they had unpacked and exchanged news of the how the two elven realms were faring, they had strolled down to the dining room and were now seated at the table still talking and bickering as they ate much to the amusement of those nearby. The other elves wee surprised that the friends stopped talking long enough to breathe. The twins were still trying to wheedle the story of Moria out of Estel when they heard screams coming from the hall and then into the hall rushed one of the servants who called to the king
"My lord, come quickly the hunting party has just returned and well I think you should see for yourself." Thranduil quickly left the room followed at once by Legolas, Estel, the twins, Ranien and Trelan. Estel and Legolas gasped in unison at the sight that met their eyes. Slumped in a heap on the floor of the hall were a party of four elves. They were covered in cuts and scratches and two had gaping wounds in their sides. Legolas rushed to the side of the nearest elf and cried in alarm
"Beleth my friend what happened how did you get in this state?" Struggling to remain conscious the injured elf replied breathlessly
"The spiders, brought orcs, too many, had to run. . ." When he had finished he sank into unconsciousness much to the watching elves alarm. Acting swiftly, Thranduil ordered Legolas and his friends to take the elves to the healers, knowing that they would want to make sure they were ok and find out the whole story himself. Legolas and his companions hastened to agree while Thranduil returned to his study trying to figure out the answer to this new puzzle. What did Beleth mean that the spiders had brought orcs and why were the spiders becoming so brave all of a sudden. He needed to solve this new problem quickly before any more harm could come of it, but how could he stop something when he didn't know what it was. Well until Beleth and the others come to he couldn't do anything but wait. So till then he busied himself rereading all the information about the giant spiders that the elves had gathered over the years but he found nothing to link them to the orcs.
Groggily Beleth opened his eyes and peered blearily around the room before trying to sit up. "Ah you are awake my friend, no don't try to speak yet" Legolas spoke softly to the elf "Lie back down we will talk later, right now you need to rest"
"Legolas, is he ok?" Estel's anxious voice cut in from the other side of the room where he was checking one of the other elves.
"He's fine, unlike humans, elves heal very quickly" Even when worried, Legolas was quick to tease Estel.
"Prissy elf" muttered Estel under his breath though not to quiet for Legolas to hear.
"Scummy human" They glared at each other from across the room until they heard a chuckle from the doorway and saw the twins standing there.
"Honestly, you two, if this is what you're like when your friends I'd hate to see you when you don't like each other"
"Ha Ha you are so funny, oh somebody help me, my sides are splitting from laughing too much." Estel remarked though he was grinning.
"Humans always were weak"
"Yeah, imagine splitting your sides from laughing, how weak do you get? Ow!" A pillow had just smacked Elladan in the face causing him to stop. Pretty soon pillows were flying everywhere and Beleth was lying in bed watching and laughing. In the hall below Thranduil, who was coming to see how Beleth was, heard a loud thud from above him (Estel tripping over a chair) hurried upstairs wondering what was happening. He reached the doorway just in time to see his son being bundled by the twins while Estel Ranien and Trelan stood around laughing and Beleth was lying on the bed rolling around in laughter. "What do you think you are doing" Everyone froze, Estel Trelan and Ranien hid their pillows, Beleth had a coughing fit from trying to stop laughing and Legolas Elladan and Elrohir dropped their pillows and sat their looking sheepish.
"This is the healing house not a zoo, Elladan, Elrohir if you could kindly get off my son I would be very grateful, Legolas you are 2000 years old, kindly act it instead of a 200 year old child, Beleth I'm glad you feel better though not for long if you don't get some water and stop coughing, and Estel Trelan and Ranien please return your pillows to the furniture, that goes for you three as well" he said looking around the room, glaring icily at its occupants. "Beleth your companions on your trip are still asleep but they will be fine. Do you feel up to telling us what happened?"
"Yeah apart from the large split in my side" He took a quick sideways glance at Estel who glared at him before carrying on, a big grin on his face. "Apart from the large split in my side I feel fine. All that laughing did me good."
"I'm glad you're better, could you please enlighten us on what happened in the forest. You mentioned something about orcs but I thought they all left when the white council banished the Necromancer from Dol Guldur, but it seems not all of them left."
"Well" began Beleth "it's strange" and launched into his story "We had just spotted a heard of white dear and had felled a few when the spiders attacked. There were quite a few but we had almost killed them all when the orcs attacked, they might of just been attracted by the noise, but I don't think so because when we were fighting the spiders, they were making a different noise than usual, it was almost as if they were calling the orcs, as if they were working together" Legolas gasped and the others looked shocked but Thranduil just looked annoyed at the interruption and said.
"Go on what happened next"
"We thought a lot of the foul creatures but there were too many. Finally we gave up, we were covered in cuts as you saw and had little energy left, so we leapt into the trees and started running back, we only just got here before our energy ran out, but as you say luckily we are all fine."
"I don't like this ada" said Legolas worriedly "the spiders are bad enough, but combined with the orcs it going to take a lot of our energy to kill them"
"Don't forget find them" put in Estel "we don't know if they are still hiding in the ravine that they were hiding in before. If they are working with the orcs now, then they might not be living there still.
"I think they are" Beleth interrupted Estel suddenly "They came from that direction so it would make sense that they were still living there."
"In that case your highness I would suggest that you send out a small group of scouts to determine whether they are still in the ravine." said Elladan
"I agree" agreed Elrohir "And I know just who you can send" he said grinning
"Let me guess" groaned the king, "you two, Legolas, Estel, Ranien and Trelan"
" what are you groaning for, ada, we're perfectly capable of spying on a couple of spiders, good idea Elladan"
"The idea's good, it's just the thought of you six let anywhere near a nest of spiders and orcs that worries me."
"Don't you think we can handle them?" said Legolas indignantly
"I think you can handle it, I just don't think you would be capable of doing it without something going wrong, face it something always happen when you lot go out together and either me or Lord Elrond end up patching at least one of you up."
"Oh go on, ada, we promise we'll be careful"
"Yeah, please your highness, we'll try our best not to kill ourselves"
"Estel!" Legolas hissed "that probably didn't help"
"Oh, fine, but if you don't turn up in one piece when you get back, you patch yourselves up for once."
"Thank you, ada" Legolas cried as the others started jumping around in triumph "you won't regret it"
"I think I already have" he moaned clutching his head, "I've already got a headache and I've only been with you half an hour, you can leave tomorrow morning, now I'm going to bed." As he left the room the twins looked at each other and Elladan said.
"He seems tired, do you think we should tell him that we put a bucket of water over his door" Legolas grinned at him,
"Nah, I'm sure he won't mind" Just then a loud roar echoed through the house and his grin vanished. "on second thoughts maybe you two should hide for a while"
The twins however had already gone. With a hasty call saying that they would be ready on time in the morning, they had vanished. Laughing, Legolas and the others grabbed their pillows and resumed the fight where they had left off although this time Beleth joined in.
The next morning the company set off, laughing and chatting as they went at first, although as they neared the ravine they quietened and leapt up into the trees to avoid being spotted. They approached the top of the ravine, and then split into pairs and took up different spots along the edge agreeing to meet back at the top in half an hour. Legolas and Estel who had paired off together went along the east side of the ravine then settling down in a tree they watched the cave opening whispering quietly to each as they waited for a sign to show that it was inhabited. They did not have to wait for very long before a large band of both orcs and spiders approached the entrance of the cave. Estel could not hear what they were saying but
Legolas keen ears easily picked up what the orcs and spiders were saying "So, how did your hunting go today?"
"Good, the spiders managed to round up some more of their kind today to join the army and we persuaded another band of orcs to join as well"
"How many were there?"
"At least two hundred, at this rate the spiders will be able to defeat the elves soon, and with our help we can defeat the dwarves with theirs" Laughing, the last of the orcs entered the cave and silence fell again on the surrounding forest and Legolas quickly filled Estel in with what the orcs had been saying. Estel frowned at this news before saying
"Well at least we know what they're up to now but it's strange, isn't it? I mean the dwarves and the orcs have never got on so that isn't surprising but the spiders have never tried to rebel against the elves before have they?"
"No they always accepted that the forest is ours. This is a grievous turn, the half hour is up, we must now report back and tell the others what we heard." With that he leapt down from the tree closely followed by Estel, right in front of a group of orcs. Looking at each other Legolas and Estel immediately drew their swords and charged at the orcs. Swords rang and the orcs cries filled the air, the other elves who had been returning at that moment heard the noise and rushed to the help of the friends. The group of orcs were quickly dispatched of, as there were not many, but the battle cries had attracted the attention of the other orcs who came running out of the cave just as Legolas slew the last orc.
"Run" he cried "we don't want to be discovered by that many orcs as once" Quickly leaping into the trees the companions ran quickly away leaving the scene only minutes before the first orcs arrived. Looking around and guessing the direction the disappearing companions had went, they ran looking for them, but luckily they did not choose the right way and by the time they had picked up their trail the elves were long gone.
"At least we know where they are now" Estel said grinning at Legolas as they ran.
"Yes, but tomorrow we must send out a strong army to defeat them before they have had time to move, they know that we know where they are now so will leave the area quickly"
"You're right, we had better get back quickly so your father can prepare the army in time" called Elladan from behind.
"We had better hurry up then" shouted Ranien who was taking up the rear with Trelan. Ten minutes later they had reached the gates.
"Edro" commanded Legolas and the gates swung open.
"Halt" called the guards stepping in front of them, then as they saw Legolas they apologised and quickly let them past.
"Legolas your back" cried his father from the palace steps "what news do you have?"
"The spiders and orcs have definitely joined forces, they are still staying in the ravine, if we want to kill them we will have to send a large number of warriors early tomorrow"
"Why so soon, can it not wait?"
"Well weweresortofdiscoveredsowe'llhavetomovequciklytocatchthemall"
"I didn't quite catch that Legolas please repeat" Thranduil said frowning Taking a deep breath first Legolas repeated
"we were sort of discovered so if we want to catch them we'll have to move quickly" Thranduil rolled his eyes before saying
"you all look all right so I should be thankful for small mercies, I suppose I'm going to have to go and order the armies" shaking his head he walked off and left Legolas and his friends grinning at each other.
"you know I thought he took that quite well Legolas all things considered" Estel said "Yeah your right, come on we're all a mess we'd better go wash before dinner."
They split up at the top of the stairs to got to the their separate rooms to get ready. While getting ready Estel started humming to himself high spiritedly before launching into song.
A! Elbereth Gilthoniel!
Silivren penna miriel
O menel aglar elenath,
Na-chaered palan-diriel
O galadhremmin ennorath,
Fanuilos, le linnathon
Nef aear, si nef aearon
Legolas heard from next door and grimaced at the sound he went to Estel room just in time to hear Elladan say.
"You weren't quite singing loud enough for the spiders to hear, Estel." Estel looked at him blankly before asking him what he was talking about. "Well, weren't you trying to sing the spiders to death? It was a good idea but you need to be a bit louder" Elladan answered grinning before ducking and narrowly avoiding the pillow which hit Elrohir instead, who was standing behind.
"Yeah, Estel did anyone ever tell you sing like an orc?"
"Yes, you about three times, Elladan and Elrohir on several occasions, ada once, and Arwen has said it before, also"
"Don't forget me and Trelan." said Ranien laughing.
"Well, if you don't like it go away, I'm happy, and I like to sing when I'm happy"
"I wish you'd be sad more often then!" said Elladan and this time the pillow hit him.
"Get out. I'm trying to get ready" and Estel chased them all, laughing, out
of the room before starting to sing again
Firiel looked out at three o clock:
the gre night was going:
far awa. "SHUT UP!" Yelled five voices and, taking the hint, Estel went back to humming. Not long afterwards they were eating dinner listening to Thranduil telling them of the plans and informing them of what time they needed to be ready the next morning if they wanted to go as well, which of course they did. They were all tired at that days escapades, and so after going to see Beleth and the other elves who were now fully healed and ready to battle the next day, they went to bed (after smothering Estel with a pillow in the attempt to block out his singing.) The next day, the two thousand strong army left the palace grounds and marched towards the ravine with Legolas, Estel, Elladan, Elrohir, Ranien, Trelan and Beleth scouting ahead to keep watch. Pretty soon they had reached the ravine and Estel and Legolas quickly explained the plan they had learnt from the dwarves.
"OK, to try and prevent too much fighting were going to cause a cave in at the cave opening. To do that we need to quietly pile as many rocks at the top as it takes before it collapses." The warriors nodded in agreement at the plan before swiftly starting to pile the rocks on top. The roof of the cave had started shaking slightly from the weight when a lone orc came out. He spotted the elves almost at once and yelled for the other orcs and the spiders to come and help. An arrow in the heart quickly silenced him but the elves could hear the orcs running towards the entrance.
"Don't stop" Legolas cried "We're almost there, we should be able to trap most of them in if we're quick."
Most of the elves continued chucking stones onto the pile but about a hundred crouched near the entrance, Legolas and his friends included, ready to kill any orcs or spiders that escaped. The beasts inside the cave noticed the trembling of the cave roof and doubled their speed. Almost a thousand had escaped before the cave finally collapsed, but nonetheless a large number of them were trapped inside, many crushed by the falling rabble. Other elves leapt down to help their friends below, and before long all of their enemies, apart from a group of unnaturally large orcs and spiders, had been killed and few elves were injured. Legolas was fighting the leader of the orcs, the biggest one there, and his friends were nearby killing the spiders. Suddenly Estel tripped over a dead spider and, out of the corner of his eye, Legolas saw a couple of orcs leap on him. Swiftly he thrust his sword into the attacking orcs heart and, pulling out his bow, he sent a few arrows rapidly into the offending orcs before running up to Estel and helping him up.
"You Ok?" he asked worriedly
"I'm fine. Come on, there are still some orcs left" With that he picked up his sword and ran over to the nearest orc quickly killing it. Soon the spiders and orcs were all dead, apart from a small number of spiders which had managed to escape, and only ten elves overall had died. Helping the injured as they went, the elves left the ravine and started making their ways to the halls, celebrating their victory. Legolas and his friends had miraculously managed to escape unharmed, except for a few scratches, for one of the first times since they had fought together, and chuckled to themselves at how surprised Thranduil would be at how they had managed to avoid injury. Thranduil was at the gates ready to greet them and at the sight of how many had returned his face lit up and he greeted Legolas and co' with relief.
"Legolas you're safe, I can hardly believe it. All of you managed to fight without getting hurt, it's truly a miracle." After greeting the army and congratulating them on their success, he turned and went inside the palace, closely followed by the elves, to order that a feast be made immediately. That evening they were up most of the night celebrating and singing but finally at about three in the morning they had almost gone back to bed, at last Legolas and the sons of Elrond were still awake.
"We're going to go back to Rivendell in a week Legolas, do you want to come with us?" asked Estel
"I'd like to go, I'll ask my father. I love Greenwood, but even though the dark power in Dol Guldur has been banished it will still take a few years before it becomes clear of evil again, and till then, Rivendell will always seems a welcome break from the gloom"
"I hope your father says yes then, playing tricks on ada just isn't the same without you, Legolas" Grinned Elrohir wickedly.
"In that case, how could my father say no?" They went to bed soon after that and next morning when Legolas asked his fathers permission he reluctantly agreed. The week flew by, and every day was spent hunting and playing tricks on each other and Thranduil. In fact by the time the week was over the king was almost glad Legolas was going. If he had to put up with to many more things in his bed and water on his head much more, or listen to them arguing about whose fault it was that they had come back from a hunt empty handed again, he would go insane. No wonder Elrond had sent them to Mirkwood so swiftly. Oh well, at least they would be gone tomorrow, and he had to admit that there hadn't been any injuries this time which he was thankful for. The next day the companions left ready for the journey back to Imladris, they were all looking forward to seeing the realm and Elrond again.
They had crossed the Misty Mountains by the end of the second day and as they drew near to Rivendell they yet again lifted their voices in song. It was another version of the song The Road, just with different words.
"Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate;
And though I oft have passed them by,
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the moon, East of the Sun
And leave the lands that I love
As dearly as the stars above." Estel was not so much singing as yelling the words but the elves just looked at each other and grimaced at the sound without saying a word. With the events that followed however they probably wished they had. Three miles away from Rivendell with Estel still yelling his head off, a large group of orcs attacked from all sides. They reacted quickly, jumping down from their horses and drawing their swords swiftly, rushing at the orcs and starting to fight. They were seriously outnumbered though, so it was a hard fight. Legolas parried and span killing orc after orc, his twin knives ringing, and glittering in the sun, when he heard a cry that was definitely not an orc to left of him. Glancing round he saw Estel fall as an orc stabbed him in the side. Immediately he leapt towards the orc and slit his throat before the orc had time to kill Estel. The twins were to preoccupied in battle and soon the orcs were almost all killed. Legolas stood guarding, Estel killing all orcs that dared to approach him and was so busy sparring with one of them that he didn't noticed another orc come up behind him. The orc stabbed him in the back but Elladan killing one of the last orcs quickly; shot an arrow in its throat while Elrohir shot the one Legolas had been sparring. A few more quick thrusts of their swords and the orcs were defeated. The twins rushed quickly over to Legolas and Estel and examined their wounds. Estel had been knocked unconscious when he fell but Legolas was still awake.
"Trust Estel to bring orcs to us with his singing, he sounded like an orc being murdered, which probably attracted their attention in the first place" he joked weakly before slipping into unconsciousness. The twins looked at each other and groaned. They didn't seem to badly injured, but their father probably wouldn't see it that way.
"It's typical, they managed to fight a battle, getting barely a scratch, yet they can't survive a small band of orcs."
"You're right Ell, and Ada's going to kill us when we get back. Oh well, he shouldn't be too surprised."
Sighing heavily the twins heaved their unconscious companions onto their horses and started the thankfully short distance back to Rivendell. Elrond saw them coming from the study window, and seeing Legolas and Estel slung over horses, he sighed resignedly and went to see what had occurred this time.
"Ok, what's happened now?" The twins looked at each other sheepishly before Elladan replied.
"We made it back most of the way ok, until about three miles from the border, Estel was singing so loudly that we got ambushed by orcs, basically they got wounded and we brought them here." Sighing again Elrond told the twins to bring them in and went to the store room and prepared the medicines needed. Several hours later they were coming to, and Elrond and the twins who were in the room, asked them if they were ok.
"I'm fine" Estel replied "how about you, Legolas"
"Never felt better. Listen, Estel next time you start singing, remind me to knock you out."
"Don't worry Legolas; if he doesn't, then we will" said the twins
"Hey I'm hurt; you should all be feeling sorry for me."
"Yeah, maybe next time."
"Estel" Elrond said "I think I should give you singing lessons before you go on your next adventure, I knew you sounded like an orc while you sing but I didn't think you would attract other orcs as well." Everyone burst out laughing at that except for Estel, who sat their glowering. Soon however Elrond insisted that they got some rest and he and the twins left the room. A few days later they were up and back to their old tricks. They woke up both the twins and Elrond with water before perching another one above their doors. Then, when they went for a walk with Glorfindel, Elrond, and the twins, they "accidentally" tripped and pushed the elf lords into the lake. After a few days of these pranks, they heard about a band of orcs on the eastern borders and Estel, Legolas, Elladan, and Elrohir left to hunt them. Watching them go, Elrond groaned softly to himself. "Here we go again"
~THE END~
My brother wishes me to add these "wise" words of wisdom
The Monkeys are coming There is no escape
(Don't ask, I didn't)
Disclaimers- I don't own any of the characters as they all belong to either J. R. R. Tolkien or Cassia and Siobhan. I don't have any money so there is absolutely no point in suing me.
Summary- Elrond gets fed up with Elladan, Elrohir, Estel and Legolas so sends them to Mirkwood They fight a load of orcs and spiders and end up being patched up by Elrond yet again.
Rating PG-13 Spoilers- A few hints at story lines in some of the mellon chronicles stories
I wrote this story after reading some of the fan fiction. While half way through I noticed that certain events in other stories were similar to mine but I did not copy them they just happened to be similar. I would also like to apologise for the number of commas, my sister has a fetish for them and kept adding them when I wasn't looking. I would also like to apologise for my brothers added comment, he is mentally disturbed although sometimes he can be quite funny. I thought of the first line one morning when I woke up and it progressed from there.
I'm not a very good author but I hope you like it nonetheless.
ENJOY
Here We Go Again
"Is it a bird, is a Nazgûl, no its Estel! He soars through the air faster than a speeding arrow." At this Legolas and the twins, Elladan and Elrohir burst into laughter
"Speeding arrow? More like a bumblebee with only one wing"
"Hey, are you watching or not?" an indignant voice cried which only set them off laughing again. After a few minutes though they managed to regain there composure, and watched as Estel took a long run up and leaped of the waterfall, tucked into a cannon ball and landed in the water with an almighty splash, managing to spray the three spectators with water. The three elves had been bored so had dared Estel to jump of the fall into the water below. They had all been banished from the house that morning as by breakfast Elrond had already had enough of them. The twins couldn't for the life of them think why that happened but Legolas had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with them waking Elrond up with a bucket of ice cold water at the crack of dawn for the third time that week. And then as the elf lord was making his way downstairs to the dining room Estel, thinking he was Legolas had jumped out on him causing him to fall down the stairs in shock. The final straw had been the twin's breakfast which they had "cooked" for there father to make up for the water incident. He felt so sick that after yelling for them all to get out he had gone back to bed. They could still hear him yelling about the holly in his bed a mile away. Smiling at the memory Legolas waited for Estel to surface however when a minute went by with no sign of him the smile faded and he looked worriedly at the twins.
"Do you think he's alright?" asked Legolas tentatively
"This is Estel we're talking about. What do you think?" the twins spoke at the same time then as one they dove into the lake to look for him. They found him very quickly at the bottom and got him out looking at him in concern though not really that worried.
"I think he hit his head on a stone" Elladan said
"Only Estel" Sighed Legolas in exasperation
"Ada's not going to like this"
"By the Valar your right Ro we only brought him and Legolas back yesterday to be patched up." With an impish grin Elrohir replied
"What happened yesterday, Legolas? Didn't you kill all the orcs then back into each other and thinking you were both orcs manage to shoot each other in the shoulder?"
"How exactly did you manage that Legolas? I mean, Estel's a human he's allowed to be blind but you're an elf I'm really I'm ashamed of you." Legolas swiftly changed the subject
"It's all your fault that Estel's hurt Elladan"
"My Fault? How is my fault?"
"Legolas is right, Elladan, if you hadn't dared him to Estel never would have done it."
"Well if Legolas hadn't decided to wake ada up with water again, he wouldn't have sent us out"
"Oh no, the final straw was definitely yours and Ro's breakfast, Ell, if you hadn't poisoned him" A dejected voice cut in from below.
"When you've all finished deciding who's fault this is, I could do with a hand"
"Estel you're awake" Legolas reached down and pulled him up. Elladan glanced at his twin and then said:
"You know this is all your fault Estel"
"Yeah what did you want to jump off the cliff for? Honestly, what's ada going to say when we tell him?"
"Hang on, you dared me to!"
"Well if we told you to run under a horse and carriage would you do it?"
"Don't answer that Estel" Legolas put in grinning. "and you can all stop worrying, after all what Elrond doesn't know can't hurt him."
"What don't I know? On second thoughts don't answer that. I expect I'm better off not knowing, you're all in one piece so I'll leave it at that." They jumped and spun round but recovering quickly Elladan asked
"Ada what are you doing here? I thought you went back to bed" The four started sniggering at the thought of the holly; however a minute of "the look" from Elrond soon silenced them.
"I gave up on bed and was in the study when a message came from Mirkwood and your father, Legolas. He would like you to return as he feels you've been away long enough, but he invites my sons to go with you."
"Can we go ada, please" begged the twins and Estel
"After this morning's antics what do you think?" Their faces fell
"Of course you can go. Even patching you up after one of the adventures that you swear you can't help getting yourselves into will be worth it if it means I get some peace. Now go and get ready."
"YES" they started running back to the house immediately, mentally packing their bags. Frowning, Elrond watched them go wondering why exactly his youngest was dripping water and had a large cut and bump on his fore head. Oh well, he thought I said I didn't want to know and at least I can get some sleep now. Early the next day, after giving Elrond one more early morning shower, they were off. They were in high spirits as they rode along and they lifted their voices in song.
"The road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began
Now far ahead the road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some longer way
Where many paths and errands meet
And wither then? I cannot say"
"Where did you three learn that song? Estel taught it to me" Legolas asked suddenly.
"Well" Elladan replied "do you remember those thirteen dwarves that travelled through Mirkwood that your father caught?"
"How could I forget? They practically caused the battle of five armies" groaned Legolas
"The hobbit that travelled with them, Bilbo, made it up, he said there was only one road and every path was a branch of it."
"I never met the hobbit, but he sounds interesting" Legolas said.
"You could definitely call him interesting, although I think mad is more like it. He visits Imladris quite often, next time he comes I'll tell you so you can meet him." offered Estel. Once again they started singing, this time the old walking song, and in no time at all they had reached the foothills of the misty mountains where they stopped and made camp. Setting their horses lose to graze they made a fire and sat round it eating and talking. They were telling stories when Elladan leaned forward and grinning he said:
"Legolas did I ever tell you about the time Estel snuck out one morning to go hunting alone when he was thirteen?"
Estel's eyes widened "You wouldn't tell him" Legolas grinned
"I don't think I've ever heard that story, pray tell"
"It was a spring day and Estel thought he would go out hunting on his own to prove that he could. He had heard some orcs were near the southern borders and thought he would go and slay them. To be fair he managed to kill quite a few before he got tired and decided to hide up in a tree and pick them off one by one with his bow and arrow. In the meantime me and Ro had decided to go and wake him up, us being such kind brothers and all"
"Kind? They were going to use a bucket of water, might I add" Estel put in.
"That's such a small detail its irrelevant, anyway us being incredibly intelligent we worked out were he had gone and naturally ada sent out a number of elves to rescue him including us, Glorfindel and ada himself. Estel heard us coming as we were killing the orcs as we went and he thought we were orcs ourselves-I still don't quite know how he managed that, he's been living with elves most of his life and still can't tell the difference between us and orcs- so he shot several arrows in our direction. He managed to shoot Glorfindel in both feet, Ro in the shoulder and ada in the leg. Hearing our shouts he realised it was us. I got to his tree just in time to see him try to climb out, trip and knock himself out when he hit the ground." Legolas burst out laughing and the twins joined in while Estel sat there glowering.
"Go on, what happened next?"
"Well when he came to he was lying in bed with ada and Glorfindel sitting on one side, ada with a bandage on his leg and Glorfindel one on both his feet, and me and Ro were on the other side, Ro with his shoulder in a sling. He looked around and had the cheek to ask what happened to us all. We filled him in pretty quickly, and after the lecture ada gave him I'm not surprised that he didn't go hunting for a month afterwards." By this time Legolas was rolling around with laughter
"It wasn't that funny, you can all stop laughing now" Estel said grouchily
"How did you manage to confuse elves with orcs, Estel? Honestly you never cease to amaze me." By this time it had got quite late so they settled down for the night Legolas stifling a chuckle every few minutes when he remembered the story.
"You can stop laughing any time now" Finally they managed to get to sleep and didn't wake till the next morning. Estel was the last to wake and only then it was due to his horse neighing in his ear. He sat up so fast that the twins and Legolas started laughing again. However it seemed that Estel had been taking lessons from Elrond as the look he gave them was so reminiscent of the elf lord's that they stopped almost at once. They set off soon after breakfast as they hoped to have got over the mountains by morning and start over the pass. When they reached the top they heard a howling on the wind. Looking at each other they groaned and spurred their horses to a gallop, if they could reach the foot of the mountain before the wargs caught up with them it would be a lot easier to fight them off. They were almost at the bottom when they heard a growl directly behind them. Without stopping Legolas turned round and shot an arrow directly into the beast's heart and on getting to the bottom of the mountain range they leapt of their horses and turned round to fight. Their bows sang as they shot warg after warg and when they had killed most of them the rest fled leaving the companions to collect as many arrows as they could out of the used ones. The speed at which they had travelled meant that they were ahead of time so after a brief pause to get their breath back they set of again and reached the forest edge by nightfall. After the fight they were tired out so there was no talking tonight. After a quick meal they went to sleep leaving Legolas on first watch to make sure the other wargs did not return. The night was uneventful and the next day they rose refreshed and ready to travel the final stretch to Legolas' home.
As they travelled along the forest path, they talked about what they were going to do when they got to the palace. They were planning a hunting trip when a large black shadow scuttled across their path. Quick as a flash Legolas notched his bow and shot the creature. Riding towards it they saw that it was one of the giant spiders living in the forest. The wood elves hated them as much as they hated orcs and never missed a chance to kill the evil things.
"That's strange" mused Legolas "they wouldn't normally venture so close to us"
"I'm sure its nothing, come on, Legolas, let's go. I'd like to reach your home in the next century or so"
"I agree with Ell, lets go" As they reached the gates Legolas spoke the password and they passed through into the palace grounds.
"Legolas! You're back"
"My lord, it's good to see you again." Two elves came running towards them, one unusually short for an elf.
"Ranien, Trelan, it's good to see you too. I hope you haven't been too bored without me and Estel here to take you on adventures." Ranien and Trelan were Legolas's best friends in Mirkwood and had taken part in many of Legolas and Estel's escapades.
"Are you kidding? It's been great; we haven't had to worry about you almost killing yourself every day."
"Well now you get that pleasure once again, and you get to worry about the twins and Estel as well."
"So, have you been getting our prince into any more trouble recently, Strider?" Estel pretended to consider this for a moment before answering
"Well not too much trouble; there was the time we got captured by orcs. . ."
"What!"
"Oh, and then he almost got his leg bitten off by a warg. . ."
"Don't forget the time when you locked me in the dungeons and left me there for a week."
"And then. . ."
"No, it's ok, I'm sorry I asked. Although that's not that surprising, you're very accident prone."
"I'll say. I heard a very interesting story on the way here." Legolas said smiling wickedly
"Oh, we don't want to hear that boring old story again, come on let's go and. . . see your father." Estel said hurriedly, trying to change the subject but it was to no avail.
"OK, I'll tell the story on the way." Soon they had reached the study and the elves were once again laughing at Estel's expense.
"I can't believe you shot your father in the leg, Estel, one day you'll be the death of me."
"As well as your father your brother and half the elves on middle earth." This set them of again and inside the study Thranduil heard them and came to see what all the noise was about.
"Any particular reason why you're all laughing?" Estel hurriedly replied
"Oh no, my lord, no reason at all"
"Of course, my son, it's good to see you again" he embraced his son then turned to others "and you too, sons of Elrond. I trust I find you well?" They hastened to agree and he continued "I am glad. I hope you enjoy your stay. Legolas, I'm glad you returned so quickly. The spiders have been growing more adventurous and are bothering the hunting parties too often for my liking. You know where their nest is and I would like you to lead a group of warriors there to try and lessen their numbers. However, that will not be until a week's time so till then I hope you will enjoy yourselves and be careful." Legolas nodded in acknowledgment
"One crossed right in front of us on the way here, which I thought was strange. I will be glad to try and rid the forest of these evil creatures; too long have they darkened our home."
"Now, Legolas, why don't you show your friends to their rooms?"
"Of course, ada, see you later. Come on everyone this way, you get the rooms next to mine on the other side of the palace."
"I suppose I should be glad you didn't tell your father the story, even if you have told everyone else in the palace. I wouldn't be surprised if you've told the trees." Estel said.
"Well, I did consider but then decided it would take too long to tell them all, but maybe later this evening I will."
"If you tell anyone else about the hunting story I'll be forced to tell everyone about a certain journey we took out of Moria" The twins, Ranien and Trelan had only been listening to their bickering half-heartedly till now but at Estel's last words they looked up interested immediately.
"What trip out of Moria? You've never told us about any trip out of Moria, except the one when Legolas almost died from orc poison and that one was hardly funny." the twins asked eagerly. They looked disappointed when Estel shook his head and said
"I was sworn to secrecy but if a certain elf can't keep his mouth shut I may be forced to tell you." With a sideways glance at Legolas who was glowering fiercely Estel chuckled at the memory.
"Come on, Estel tell us! You can't just say something like that and then not tell us the rest."
"Yeah, Strider what are you talking about? Come to think of it I haven't heard about the orc poison story either, though I'm not sure I want to for that matter" Ranien, Trelan, Elladan, and Elrohir were now all looking eagerly at Estel but it was no use, he just shook his head and carried on walking towards their rooms, the twins, Ranien and Trelan following behind still trying to persuade him to tell. Several hours later, after they had unpacked and exchanged news of the how the two elven realms were faring, they had strolled down to the dining room and were now seated at the table still talking and bickering as they ate much to the amusement of those nearby. The other elves wee surprised that the friends stopped talking long enough to breathe. The twins were still trying to wheedle the story of Moria out of Estel when they heard screams coming from the hall and then into the hall rushed one of the servants who called to the king
"My lord, come quickly the hunting party has just returned and well I think you should see for yourself." Thranduil quickly left the room followed at once by Legolas, Estel, the twins, Ranien and Trelan. Estel and Legolas gasped in unison at the sight that met their eyes. Slumped in a heap on the floor of the hall were a party of four elves. They were covered in cuts and scratches and two had gaping wounds in their sides. Legolas rushed to the side of the nearest elf and cried in alarm
"Beleth my friend what happened how did you get in this state?" Struggling to remain conscious the injured elf replied breathlessly
"The spiders, brought orcs, too many, had to run. . ." When he had finished he sank into unconsciousness much to the watching elves alarm. Acting swiftly, Thranduil ordered Legolas and his friends to take the elves to the healers, knowing that they would want to make sure they were ok and find out the whole story himself. Legolas and his companions hastened to agree while Thranduil returned to his study trying to figure out the answer to this new puzzle. What did Beleth mean that the spiders had brought orcs and why were the spiders becoming so brave all of a sudden. He needed to solve this new problem quickly before any more harm could come of it, but how could he stop something when he didn't know what it was. Well until Beleth and the others come to he couldn't do anything but wait. So till then he busied himself rereading all the information about the giant spiders that the elves had gathered over the years but he found nothing to link them to the orcs.
Groggily Beleth opened his eyes and peered blearily around the room before trying to sit up. "Ah you are awake my friend, no don't try to speak yet" Legolas spoke softly to the elf "Lie back down we will talk later, right now you need to rest"
"Legolas, is he ok?" Estel's anxious voice cut in from the other side of the room where he was checking one of the other elves.
"He's fine, unlike humans, elves heal very quickly" Even when worried, Legolas was quick to tease Estel.
"Prissy elf" muttered Estel under his breath though not to quiet for Legolas to hear.
"Scummy human" They glared at each other from across the room until they heard a chuckle from the doorway and saw the twins standing there.
"Honestly, you two, if this is what you're like when your friends I'd hate to see you when you don't like each other"
"Ha Ha you are so funny, oh somebody help me, my sides are splitting from laughing too much." Estel remarked though he was grinning.
"Humans always were weak"
"Yeah, imagine splitting your sides from laughing, how weak do you get? Ow!" A pillow had just smacked Elladan in the face causing him to stop. Pretty soon pillows were flying everywhere and Beleth was lying in bed watching and laughing. In the hall below Thranduil, who was coming to see how Beleth was, heard a loud thud from above him (Estel tripping over a chair) hurried upstairs wondering what was happening. He reached the doorway just in time to see his son being bundled by the twins while Estel Ranien and Trelan stood around laughing and Beleth was lying on the bed rolling around in laughter. "What do you think you are doing" Everyone froze, Estel Trelan and Ranien hid their pillows, Beleth had a coughing fit from trying to stop laughing and Legolas Elladan and Elrohir dropped their pillows and sat their looking sheepish.
"This is the healing house not a zoo, Elladan, Elrohir if you could kindly get off my son I would be very grateful, Legolas you are 2000 years old, kindly act it instead of a 200 year old child, Beleth I'm glad you feel better though not for long if you don't get some water and stop coughing, and Estel Trelan and Ranien please return your pillows to the furniture, that goes for you three as well" he said looking around the room, glaring icily at its occupants. "Beleth your companions on your trip are still asleep but they will be fine. Do you feel up to telling us what happened?"
"Yeah apart from the large split in my side" He took a quick sideways glance at Estel who glared at him before carrying on, a big grin on his face. "Apart from the large split in my side I feel fine. All that laughing did me good."
"I'm glad you're better, could you please enlighten us on what happened in the forest. You mentioned something about orcs but I thought they all left when the white council banished the Necromancer from Dol Guldur, but it seems not all of them left."
"Well" began Beleth "it's strange" and launched into his story "We had just spotted a heard of white dear and had felled a few when the spiders attacked. There were quite a few but we had almost killed them all when the orcs attacked, they might of just been attracted by the noise, but I don't think so because when we were fighting the spiders, they were making a different noise than usual, it was almost as if they were calling the orcs, as if they were working together" Legolas gasped and the others looked shocked but Thranduil just looked annoyed at the interruption and said.
"Go on what happened next"
"We thought a lot of the foul creatures but there were too many. Finally we gave up, we were covered in cuts as you saw and had little energy left, so we leapt into the trees and started running back, we only just got here before our energy ran out, but as you say luckily we are all fine."
"I don't like this ada" said Legolas worriedly "the spiders are bad enough, but combined with the orcs it going to take a lot of our energy to kill them"
"Don't forget find them" put in Estel "we don't know if they are still hiding in the ravine that they were hiding in before. If they are working with the orcs now, then they might not be living there still.
"I think they are" Beleth interrupted Estel suddenly "They came from that direction so it would make sense that they were still living there."
"In that case your highness I would suggest that you send out a small group of scouts to determine whether they are still in the ravine." said Elladan
"I agree" agreed Elrohir "And I know just who you can send" he said grinning
"Let me guess" groaned the king, "you two, Legolas, Estel, Ranien and Trelan"
" what are you groaning for, ada, we're perfectly capable of spying on a couple of spiders, good idea Elladan"
"The idea's good, it's just the thought of you six let anywhere near a nest of spiders and orcs that worries me."
"Don't you think we can handle them?" said Legolas indignantly
"I think you can handle it, I just don't think you would be capable of doing it without something going wrong, face it something always happen when you lot go out together and either me or Lord Elrond end up patching at least one of you up."
"Oh go on, ada, we promise we'll be careful"
"Yeah, please your highness, we'll try our best not to kill ourselves"
"Estel!" Legolas hissed "that probably didn't help"
"Oh, fine, but if you don't turn up in one piece when you get back, you patch yourselves up for once."
"Thank you, ada" Legolas cried as the others started jumping around in triumph "you won't regret it"
"I think I already have" he moaned clutching his head, "I've already got a headache and I've only been with you half an hour, you can leave tomorrow morning, now I'm going to bed." As he left the room the twins looked at each other and Elladan said.
"He seems tired, do you think we should tell him that we put a bucket of water over his door" Legolas grinned at him,
"Nah, I'm sure he won't mind" Just then a loud roar echoed through the house and his grin vanished. "on second thoughts maybe you two should hide for a while"
The twins however had already gone. With a hasty call saying that they would be ready on time in the morning, they had vanished. Laughing, Legolas and the others grabbed their pillows and resumed the fight where they had left off although this time Beleth joined in.
The next morning the company set off, laughing and chatting as they went at first, although as they neared the ravine they quietened and leapt up into the trees to avoid being spotted. They approached the top of the ravine, and then split into pairs and took up different spots along the edge agreeing to meet back at the top in half an hour. Legolas and Estel who had paired off together went along the east side of the ravine then settling down in a tree they watched the cave opening whispering quietly to each as they waited for a sign to show that it was inhabited. They did not have to wait for very long before a large band of both orcs and spiders approached the entrance of the cave. Estel could not hear what they were saying but
Legolas keen ears easily picked up what the orcs and spiders were saying "So, how did your hunting go today?"
"Good, the spiders managed to round up some more of their kind today to join the army and we persuaded another band of orcs to join as well"
"How many were there?"
"At least two hundred, at this rate the spiders will be able to defeat the elves soon, and with our help we can defeat the dwarves with theirs" Laughing, the last of the orcs entered the cave and silence fell again on the surrounding forest and Legolas quickly filled Estel in with what the orcs had been saying. Estel frowned at this news before saying
"Well at least we know what they're up to now but it's strange, isn't it? I mean the dwarves and the orcs have never got on so that isn't surprising but the spiders have never tried to rebel against the elves before have they?"
"No they always accepted that the forest is ours. This is a grievous turn, the half hour is up, we must now report back and tell the others what we heard." With that he leapt down from the tree closely followed by Estel, right in front of a group of orcs. Looking at each other Legolas and Estel immediately drew their swords and charged at the orcs. Swords rang and the orcs cries filled the air, the other elves who had been returning at that moment heard the noise and rushed to the help of the friends. The group of orcs were quickly dispatched of, as there were not many, but the battle cries had attracted the attention of the other orcs who came running out of the cave just as Legolas slew the last orc.
"Run" he cried "we don't want to be discovered by that many orcs as once" Quickly leaping into the trees the companions ran quickly away leaving the scene only minutes before the first orcs arrived. Looking around and guessing the direction the disappearing companions had went, they ran looking for them, but luckily they did not choose the right way and by the time they had picked up their trail the elves were long gone.
"At least we know where they are now" Estel said grinning at Legolas as they ran.
"Yes, but tomorrow we must send out a strong army to defeat them before they have had time to move, they know that we know where they are now so will leave the area quickly"
"You're right, we had better get back quickly so your father can prepare the army in time" called Elladan from behind.
"We had better hurry up then" shouted Ranien who was taking up the rear with Trelan. Ten minutes later they had reached the gates.
"Edro" commanded Legolas and the gates swung open.
"Halt" called the guards stepping in front of them, then as they saw Legolas they apologised and quickly let them past.
"Legolas your back" cried his father from the palace steps "what news do you have?"
"The spiders and orcs have definitely joined forces, they are still staying in the ravine, if we want to kill them we will have to send a large number of warriors early tomorrow"
"Why so soon, can it not wait?"
"Well weweresortofdiscoveredsowe'llhavetomovequciklytocatchthemall"
"I didn't quite catch that Legolas please repeat" Thranduil said frowning Taking a deep breath first Legolas repeated
"we were sort of discovered so if we want to catch them we'll have to move quickly" Thranduil rolled his eyes before saying
"you all look all right so I should be thankful for small mercies, I suppose I'm going to have to go and order the armies" shaking his head he walked off and left Legolas and his friends grinning at each other.
"you know I thought he took that quite well Legolas all things considered" Estel said "Yeah your right, come on we're all a mess we'd better go wash before dinner."
They split up at the top of the stairs to got to the their separate rooms to get ready. While getting ready Estel started humming to himself high spiritedly before launching into song.
A! Elbereth Gilthoniel!
Silivren penna miriel
O menel aglar elenath,
Na-chaered palan-diriel
O galadhremmin ennorath,
Fanuilos, le linnathon
Nef aear, si nef aearon
Legolas heard from next door and grimaced at the sound he went to Estel room just in time to hear Elladan say.
"You weren't quite singing loud enough for the spiders to hear, Estel." Estel looked at him blankly before asking him what he was talking about. "Well, weren't you trying to sing the spiders to death? It was a good idea but you need to be a bit louder" Elladan answered grinning before ducking and narrowly avoiding the pillow which hit Elrohir instead, who was standing behind.
"Yeah, Estel did anyone ever tell you sing like an orc?"
"Yes, you about three times, Elladan and Elrohir on several occasions, ada once, and Arwen has said it before, also"
"Don't forget me and Trelan." said Ranien laughing.
"Well, if you don't like it go away, I'm happy, and I like to sing when I'm happy"
"I wish you'd be sad more often then!" said Elladan and this time the pillow hit him.
"Get out. I'm trying to get ready" and Estel chased them all, laughing, out
of the room before starting to sing again
Firiel looked out at three o clock:
the gre night was going:
far awa. "SHUT UP!" Yelled five voices and, taking the hint, Estel went back to humming. Not long afterwards they were eating dinner listening to Thranduil telling them of the plans and informing them of what time they needed to be ready the next morning if they wanted to go as well, which of course they did. They were all tired at that days escapades, and so after going to see Beleth and the other elves who were now fully healed and ready to battle the next day, they went to bed (after smothering Estel with a pillow in the attempt to block out his singing.) The next day, the two thousand strong army left the palace grounds and marched towards the ravine with Legolas, Estel, Elladan, Elrohir, Ranien, Trelan and Beleth scouting ahead to keep watch. Pretty soon they had reached the ravine and Estel and Legolas quickly explained the plan they had learnt from the dwarves.
"OK, to try and prevent too much fighting were going to cause a cave in at the cave opening. To do that we need to quietly pile as many rocks at the top as it takes before it collapses." The warriors nodded in agreement at the plan before swiftly starting to pile the rocks on top. The roof of the cave had started shaking slightly from the weight when a lone orc came out. He spotted the elves almost at once and yelled for the other orcs and the spiders to come and help. An arrow in the heart quickly silenced him but the elves could hear the orcs running towards the entrance.
"Don't stop" Legolas cried "We're almost there, we should be able to trap most of them in if we're quick."
Most of the elves continued chucking stones onto the pile but about a hundred crouched near the entrance, Legolas and his friends included, ready to kill any orcs or spiders that escaped. The beasts inside the cave noticed the trembling of the cave roof and doubled their speed. Almost a thousand had escaped before the cave finally collapsed, but nonetheless a large number of them were trapped inside, many crushed by the falling rabble. Other elves leapt down to help their friends below, and before long all of their enemies, apart from a group of unnaturally large orcs and spiders, had been killed and few elves were injured. Legolas was fighting the leader of the orcs, the biggest one there, and his friends were nearby killing the spiders. Suddenly Estel tripped over a dead spider and, out of the corner of his eye, Legolas saw a couple of orcs leap on him. Swiftly he thrust his sword into the attacking orcs heart and, pulling out his bow, he sent a few arrows rapidly into the offending orcs before running up to Estel and helping him up.
"You Ok?" he asked worriedly
"I'm fine. Come on, there are still some orcs left" With that he picked up his sword and ran over to the nearest orc quickly killing it. Soon the spiders and orcs were all dead, apart from a small number of spiders which had managed to escape, and only ten elves overall had died. Helping the injured as they went, the elves left the ravine and started making their ways to the halls, celebrating their victory. Legolas and his friends had miraculously managed to escape unharmed, except for a few scratches, for one of the first times since they had fought together, and chuckled to themselves at how surprised Thranduil would be at how they had managed to avoid injury. Thranduil was at the gates ready to greet them and at the sight of how many had returned his face lit up and he greeted Legolas and co' with relief.
"Legolas you're safe, I can hardly believe it. All of you managed to fight without getting hurt, it's truly a miracle." After greeting the army and congratulating them on their success, he turned and went inside the palace, closely followed by the elves, to order that a feast be made immediately. That evening they were up most of the night celebrating and singing but finally at about three in the morning they had almost gone back to bed, at last Legolas and the sons of Elrond were still awake.
"We're going to go back to Rivendell in a week Legolas, do you want to come with us?" asked Estel
"I'd like to go, I'll ask my father. I love Greenwood, but even though the dark power in Dol Guldur has been banished it will still take a few years before it becomes clear of evil again, and till then, Rivendell will always seems a welcome break from the gloom"
"I hope your father says yes then, playing tricks on ada just isn't the same without you, Legolas" Grinned Elrohir wickedly.
"In that case, how could my father say no?" They went to bed soon after that and next morning when Legolas asked his fathers permission he reluctantly agreed. The week flew by, and every day was spent hunting and playing tricks on each other and Thranduil. In fact by the time the week was over the king was almost glad Legolas was going. If he had to put up with to many more things in his bed and water on his head much more, or listen to them arguing about whose fault it was that they had come back from a hunt empty handed again, he would go insane. No wonder Elrond had sent them to Mirkwood so swiftly. Oh well, at least they would be gone tomorrow, and he had to admit that there hadn't been any injuries this time which he was thankful for. The next day the companions left ready for the journey back to Imladris, they were all looking forward to seeing the realm and Elrond again.
They had crossed the Misty Mountains by the end of the second day and as they drew near to Rivendell they yet again lifted their voices in song. It was another version of the song The Road, just with different words.
"Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate;
And though I oft have passed them by,
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the moon, East of the Sun
And leave the lands that I love
As dearly as the stars above." Estel was not so much singing as yelling the words but the elves just looked at each other and grimaced at the sound without saying a word. With the events that followed however they probably wished they had. Three miles away from Rivendell with Estel still yelling his head off, a large group of orcs attacked from all sides. They reacted quickly, jumping down from their horses and drawing their swords swiftly, rushing at the orcs and starting to fight. They were seriously outnumbered though, so it was a hard fight. Legolas parried and span killing orc after orc, his twin knives ringing, and glittering in the sun, when he heard a cry that was definitely not an orc to left of him. Glancing round he saw Estel fall as an orc stabbed him in the side. Immediately he leapt towards the orc and slit his throat before the orc had time to kill Estel. The twins were to preoccupied in battle and soon the orcs were almost all killed. Legolas stood guarding, Estel killing all orcs that dared to approach him and was so busy sparring with one of them that he didn't noticed another orc come up behind him. The orc stabbed him in the back but Elladan killing one of the last orcs quickly; shot an arrow in its throat while Elrohir shot the one Legolas had been sparring. A few more quick thrusts of their swords and the orcs were defeated. The twins rushed quickly over to Legolas and Estel and examined their wounds. Estel had been knocked unconscious when he fell but Legolas was still awake.
"Trust Estel to bring orcs to us with his singing, he sounded like an orc being murdered, which probably attracted their attention in the first place" he joked weakly before slipping into unconsciousness. The twins looked at each other and groaned. They didn't seem to badly injured, but their father probably wouldn't see it that way.
"It's typical, they managed to fight a battle, getting barely a scratch, yet they can't survive a small band of orcs."
"You're right Ell, and Ada's going to kill us when we get back. Oh well, he shouldn't be too surprised."
Sighing heavily the twins heaved their unconscious companions onto their horses and started the thankfully short distance back to Rivendell. Elrond saw them coming from the study window, and seeing Legolas and Estel slung over horses, he sighed resignedly and went to see what had occurred this time.
"Ok, what's happened now?" The twins looked at each other sheepishly before Elladan replied.
"We made it back most of the way ok, until about three miles from the border, Estel was singing so loudly that we got ambushed by orcs, basically they got wounded and we brought them here." Sighing again Elrond told the twins to bring them in and went to the store room and prepared the medicines needed. Several hours later they were coming to, and Elrond and the twins who were in the room, asked them if they were ok.
"I'm fine" Estel replied "how about you, Legolas"
"Never felt better. Listen, Estel next time you start singing, remind me to knock you out."
"Don't worry Legolas; if he doesn't, then we will" said the twins
"Hey I'm hurt; you should all be feeling sorry for me."
"Yeah, maybe next time."
"Estel" Elrond said "I think I should give you singing lessons before you go on your next adventure, I knew you sounded like an orc while you sing but I didn't think you would attract other orcs as well." Everyone burst out laughing at that except for Estel, who sat their glowering. Soon however Elrond insisted that they got some rest and he and the twins left the room. A few days later they were up and back to their old tricks. They woke up both the twins and Elrond with water before perching another one above their doors. Then, when they went for a walk with Glorfindel, Elrond, and the twins, they "accidentally" tripped and pushed the elf lords into the lake. After a few days of these pranks, they heard about a band of orcs on the eastern borders and Estel, Legolas, Elladan, and Elrohir left to hunt them. Watching them go, Elrond groaned softly to himself. "Here we go again"
~THE END~
My brother wishes me to add these "wise" words of wisdom
The Monkeys are coming There is no escape
(Don't ask, I didn't)