A/N: I'm baaack! Sorry for the long hiatus, but my computer died and it was just the other day I got it back. I was sad when it crashed because I was actually writing this chapter. And forgot to save it. And it crashed. And I lost the chapter. But now I'm back and here is the next chapter! Thanks for waiting so long! PS: This chapter has some angst issues.I know, I know this is supposed to be a humor, but I put a touch of angst into almost everything I write. I'll try not to make it too depressing.

Anything between *'s is Elvish.

The three looked at each other in fury. Three pairs of egg-filled boots sat by the bed. "I am going to kill Estel!" growled Elrohir.

"Not before I kill him first," answered Elladan.

"Indeed my friends. Aragorn must pay," Legolas added.

They sat down and gingerly looked into their boots again. All three sighed heavily. The boots would probably never come clean. Elladan carefully went over to his bureau and brought the basin, water pitcher, and rag over so he and the others could wash their feet. They did so in silence and then Legolas spoke, "What should we do to him?" the Mirkwood prince asked.

Elladan and Elrohir shared a glance. Slowly, Elladan replied, "We have a prank."

Legolas nodded with eager enthusiasm, "Yes?"

Elrohir looked at him seriously, "We've never actually used this prank.You see it is somewhat."

"Frankly, it is mean," Elladan said, "We didn't think anyone deserved something this extreme."

"And there is a slight risk also, that the one being pranked could be hurt. We do not wish to harm anyone with our mischief," added Elrohir.

"What is this prank?" asked Legolas.

"It involves a rooster, some honey, and feathers. Lots of feathers," Elrohir said.

Legolas nodded expectantly and Elladan continued, "First, we begin by placing a rooster in Estel's room. At dawn it will crow and wake him. He will, of course, know that it was Ro and I, so he will come out into the hall. When he opens his door, a bucket of honey will pour down over his head. Then, he'll come down the hall-."

"He'll try to come down the hall," amended Elrohir. "Try, yes. We'll grease the floor and so instead of walking, he'll slide.out the balcony doors. As he goes out onto the balcony, feathers will be dumped on him. Because of his momentum, he will fly over the balcony rail and land on the blankets and such we've set down below," Elladan finished.

Legolas thought a moment. Then he nodded with a devious grin, "I like it. As you said, there is the possibility Aragorn could be hurt, but it seems slight.But, could we not have been injured, slipping on egg, with this prank?"

Elrohir nodded emphatically, "Indeed! Yes. This is exactly the time we were waiting for to use this, Dan! A time when our victim deserves something very nasty!"

"We must not allow Estel to suspect anything," Elladan said slowly.

"That will not be too hard, I think, "Legolas said ruefully, "I do no know about you, but my boots must be replaced. I know that they will never come clean and I intend to see the cobbler after breakfast. That will prevent me from spending much time with Estel."

"I do believe you are correct. I, too, need new boots and, Dan, don't we have a guard shift?" Elrohir said. Elladan nodded, "If you are so inclined, you may join us. We will be gone most of the day and it would not arouse suspicion if you were to come with us."

Legolas nodded, "Yes. That sounds like a good plan. It will prevent Aragorn from suspecting, he will assume we are avoiding him because of this prank."

"Which, in a way, is true," Elrohir pointed out.

"Shall we go to breakfast?" Legolas said with a mischievous smile. The twins nodded.

"You crossed the wrong Elves, Estel. And now we will show you why," vowed Elladan softly, as he closed the door to his room.

Aragorn looked at his brothers and best friend, hiding apprehension, as they entered the room smiling. Something was not right. He shrugged and put it out of his mind. He had done very well, he thought, to accomplish such a prank. The three sat and began to eat, conversing with Gandalf, Elrond, Glorfindel, and the others at the table but not with him.

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts, however, that he did not mind. Soon, the three left the table to go about whatever activities they had for the day. He did not see them again until that evening. But was very cautious the whole day, thinking that they would set a trap for him. By evening he had relaxed, forgetting about it.

That night, the three friends slipped into Aragorn's room, just before dawn and placed the sleeping rooster on the windowsill near Aragorn's bed, as he slept. With the stealth of shadows, Elladan rigged the bucket of honey- stolen from the kitchens only a short time before-to dump on Aragorn as he opened the door. Legolas slipped out and waited under the balcony as Elrohir brought the blankets and other soft items that would break Aragorn's fall, should he come over the rail. The prince looked at the distance between the ground and the balcony-about eight feet-and began heaping the soft items on the ground. Then he returned to his room at Elladan's instruction as the twin greased the hallway floor. Soon the three were asleep, catching what rest they could before it was time to rise and greet the important guests Elrond was expecting early that morning.

CROCK-CROCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOO!

Aragorn's eyes shot open at the loud and unexpected wake up call. Only half awake, the man sprang up as the cock crowed again. Unfortunately, he was off-balance and fell, cracking his head on the stone bedside table, splitting his eyebrow, and landing hard, his chin hitting first as the cock crowed a third and final time.

Aragorn lay on the cold stone floor a moment, breathing hard, his heart racing. All of a sudden he realized something wet was running into his eye and also pooling beneath his chin. Curiously, he put fingers to the liquid above his eye and winced. He looked at his hand and faintly realized it was blood. Feeling his chin, he realized that it, too, had split open and was bleeding rather freely. Pain began to throb in his head, fiery darts burning especially above his right eye and on his chin where the cuts were.

Realizing they needed to be tended and that he could not tend them by himself, Aragorn stumbled to the door to go down the hall to Elrond's chambers to ask for aid. He opened the door and the honey Elladan had planted cascaded down, feeling like millions of sharp knives delving into his cuts. He bit his lip in pain and stumbled on blindly. As he took a step outside the threshold of his room, his feet began to slip from under him. Frantically, Aragorn tried to keep his balance as he gained speed, sliding toward the open balcony doors.

He felt a string snap against his shins as he passed through the doorway onto the balcony. Feathers fell in a fluffy, white downpour as the man continued to slide, waving his arms desperately trying to stop himself. His left knee connected with the rail and he felt a fiery pain lance through his leg as he pitched head first off of the balcony.

He landed hard on his back, despite the cushioning below. Aragorn lay still, trying to breathe after the fall, which had knocked the wind out of him. Pain throbbed in his entire body. He let out a moan and tried to sit, hearing voices in the courtyard a short distance away. Spots danced before his eyes as he moved his left knee, pain stabbing mercilessly across the joint. Gritting his teeth, he looked around for something to help pull himself up with. Spotting an ivy trellis, he painfully and slowly used his arms to pull himself over to it and up onto his feet, shaking from pain and exertion. Aragorn hissed as pain assaulted his left leg when he put a slight amount of weight on it. Seeing his foster-father and a group in the courtyard, Aragorn slowly limped toward them.

Elrond heard heavy, uneven steps and ragged, shallow gasps coming toward him and turned to look in the direction of the sounds. His eyes widened in alarm at what he saw. His youngest son was a mess. Honey coated every inch of him and dripped from his nightclothes, which were stained with the blood dripping from his split eyebrow and chin. Feathers stuck to him and swayed as he limped, favoring his left leg. Aragorn saw him and gasped, "Ada!" before collapsing. Elrond hurried over and caught the man, "Glorfindel, a stretcher, now!" the Elven-lord snapped. The blonde Elf ran to fulfill the request.

*What happened, my son? * Elrond asked. Aragorn shook his head and moaned as it caused pain to shoot through his temples. Glorfindel returned with the requested stretcher and helped Elrond lift Aragorn onto it. The man moaned when Glorfindel touched near his left knee and jerked away. Switching tactics, Elrond rolled Estel on his side and Glorfindel slid the stretcher over so that, when Elrond moved Aragorn to his back again, he was on the stretcher.

*We must get him to my healing room, * Elrond said. Glorfindel nodded and prepared to lift one end of the stretcher. Elrond looked at the others in the courtyard, visitors from Rohan and Gondor, "Please, allow Erestor to escort you to the dining hall. I will come to you as soon as permitted."

"Of course, Lord Elrond. See to the injured, we will be well," the Gondorian ambassador said. Elrond nodded once and then he and Glorfindel lifted the stretcher with Aragorn on it and began to move inside. They soon reached the healing room and laid Aragorn on a bed. Elrond began by assessing Aragorn's split eyebrow and chin. Glorfindel appeared at his side with warm water and a rag, which Elrond used to clean the cuts while he began to remove Aragorn's shirt and clean the honey from the man.

As soon as the rag touched the cuts, Aragorn jerked away with a gasp. *I know it hurts, my son, but the wounds must be cleaned and I cannot give you anything for the pain because you have lost so much blood and hit your head. I cannot risk you going to sleep on me. It is not safe, * Elrond murmured, looking into his foster-son's eyes. Aragorn clenched the bed and nodded a little in understanding and acceptance. Unbidden, tears of pain leaked from Aragorn's eyes as Elrond cleaned the cuts. Glorfindel handed Elrond a small dish of salve, "Here, athelas will not put him to sleep and may help deaden the pain.Even I can see those cuts need stitching."

Elrond nodded, "Yes, athelas should help.How could this happen?" Glorfindel shook his head sadly. Elrond looked Aragorn in the eyes again, *Estel, the cuts above your eye and on your chin must be stitched.It will be painful, because, as I said, I dare not give you much to. * Elrond trailed off. It hurt him to see his son suffer so. Without a word, Glorfindel gathered Aragorn in his arms, taking the young man's hand. Aragorn looked at the blonde Elf with thanks in his eyes, shining through the pain. Biting his tongue and grasping Glorfindel's hand firmly, Aragorn looked up at Elrond with trust and nodded. Slowly, Elrond moved to place the first stitch. Aragorn trembled and Glorfindel tightened his grip on the man in comfort as Elrond placed eleven neat, small stitches across the cut on Aragorn's eyebrow. When he was finished, he paused for a moment to let Estel gather his strength. When Aragorn nodded, Elrond began to stitch his chin. Aragorn squeezed his eyes shut. Five stitches later, Elrond set aside the needle and thread and stroked Aragorn's hair as if he were a child.

"His left leg, Elrond. When we tried to lift him onto the stretcher, it seemed to pain him when touched." Glorfindel murmured. Elrond looked at the man, "Your left leg is injured as well?" Aragorn nodded and rasped, "I- I hit it.It-my knee will not take any weight." Elrond cut away the left leg of Aragon's breeches and saw that the joint was swollen and very bruised. Aragorn cried out in pain when Elrond barely brushed his fingertips over it. Looking away from Aragorn's face, Elrond whispered, "Glorfindel, hold his leg. I must feel to find the extent of the injury." Glorfindel gave Aragorn one last squeeze and then laid him down, moving to hold the man's leg still. Aragorn nearly screamed when Elrond pressed on the kneecap. The Elf-lord felt the small bone shift and it seemed to give somewhat. Elrond frowned deeply; the small bone was cracked, maybe broken into pieces. This wasn't good. Such an injury could permanently maim Aragorn, if it healed wrong. And the kneecap was not an easy bone to immobilize. Elrond took his hands away and said, "The kneecap is cracked, possibly broken into pieces. We will have to immobilize the entire leg, hip to toes. While the bone mends, any movement could jar fragments and drive them into the joint.If it heals improperly." Elrond did not finish. He did not need to; both Aragorn and Glorfindel knew what happened when one had a stiff or achy knee. Any chance they had as a warrior, a fighter was gone and it made just getting around difficult, especially stairs.

Slowly, as gently as he could, Elrond wrapped a bandage around the joint to keep the kneecap from moving side to side. Next, he wrapped the entire leg, including the toes. Last, he placed a splint that ran from above Aragorn's hip to below his foot and secured the limb to it. Then he stepped back. After a moment he gathered Aragorn in his arms, "I am sorry to have pained you so, my son.Try to rest.I, unfortunately, must return to our guests.I will return as soon as possible," Elrond whispered. Aragorn nodded, "I will be alright, ada."

"If it is acceptable, I will stay here." Glorfindel offered. Aragorn nodded and Elrond murmured, "Thank you, Glorfindel.Aragorn, I do not want you to sleep yet. We must wait a few hours to be sure that no internal damage was done when you hit your head, but try to relax." With one last embrace, Elrond tucked Aragorn in and then slowly left. Quickly changing before going to the dining hall, Elrond entered and found that the meal had just been served.

"How is he, Elrond?" Erestor asked worriedly.

"He will recover. He had a cut above his right eye and on his chin that needed stitching and his left kneecap is cracked, possibly fractured into several pieces.But, he will heal," Elrond stated softly. Erestor sighed in relief and Gandalf nodded, "Did he say how he came to have such injuries?" the wizard asked. Elrond shook his head, "No.I cannot imagine how he gets himself into such states! Since he was a small child, he has been acquiring injuries thus."

"You know your patient well, then?" ventured one of the ambassadors.

Elrond nodded, "Indeed. He is my foster-son, Estel. He was orphaned as a small child and my family had been good friends of his parents, so I took him in."

The men at the table looked surprised. At that moment, the twins and Legolas entered the room. As they sat, Elrohir looked around and asked, "Father, where is Estel?"

Elrond sighed, "In the healing room."

"What?!" cried the three.

"Why?" Elladan asked.

"Is it not obvious, Elladan? He is injured! Sixteen stitches and a fractured kneecap! How this happened, I do not know.But." Elrond replied quietly. Legolas and the twins paled at Elrond's answer.

"But he will be alright, won't he, ada?" Elrohir asked. Elrond nodded, "He will heal." It was then that the twins and Legolas noticed the visitors.

"Forgive us for not introducing ourselves!" exclaimed Elladan, "I am Elladan and this is Elrohir."

"A pleasure. You are the young man's brothers, yes?" an ambassador said. At Elladan's slight nod he continued, "I cannot blame you for inquiring after him. I know I would do the same."

"I may not be blood family to Lord Elrond, but he and his sons are as a second family to me, Estel, like a brother," Legolas said, "I am Legolas of Mirkwood."

"Nice to meet you," the ambassador said, "I'm Widford of Rohan."

"Avery of Gondor, it's good to meet you," the second ambassador told them.

"What brings you to Rivendell?" asked Elrohir.

"Trade," Widford said and Avery nodded in agreement. Accepting this with a nod, both the twins and Legolas sank into silence. The rest of the meal passed that way. Erestor showed the ambassadors to rooms and then took them on a short tour while Elrond went to check on Aragorn. "How do you feel?" Elrond asked quietly.

Aragorn sighed, "I ache. Everywhere."

Elrond nodded, "I imagine so. If there are no signs of brain injury by midday I will get you something for the pain. Aragorn, how did you manage to get yourself into such a state?"

The man shifted, "A prank."

Elrond's eyebrows snapped together, "Oh, really?"

"I put eggs in Dan, Ro, and Legolas's shoes. I'm pretty sure that's why." he stopped.

"Why what?" prodded Elrond.

"Why they put the rooster in my room," Aragorn said, "That's how it started. The blasted rooster crowed and scared me halfway to Mandos. I-I fell out of bed and hit my head on the bedside table and my chin struck the floor first.I was going to find you, because, well, I couldn't very well bandage the cuts.I opened my door and a bucket of honey poured over my head," Aragorn smiled wanly, "Honey stings in open wounds, did you know?" he remarked.

Elrond rolled his eyes, "No, I did not know. I have never had honey poured directly into a bleeding cut! So, you were doused in honey.And?"

"I stepped outside my door and went sliding.Until I went out onto the balcony where feathers were added to my attire. I was still sliding and hit the rail around the balcony. My left knee. Threw me over the side. And I landed on my back in a pile of soft cushioning with the wind knocked out of me. I pulled myself over to the ivy trellis to stand because I heard you and some others in the courtyard.And, well."

"You came over and the rest I know," finished Elrond softly. Aragorn nodded. Elrond looked at Aragorn softly, "I'm putting an end to this prank war. Relax and I'll get you something for the pain at midday. But now, I must find three certain Elves and have a little chat." With that, Elrond left the room to find his sons and the Prince of Mirkwood.

DUN DUN DUN! Okay, so what do you think? Once again, I'm sorry for not updating, but it's hard to do without a computer and without internet. Sigh. So, I tried to make this a long chapter. Not very funny but, I'm in a weird mood due to lack of sleep and whatnot. Next chapter will be funnier, I PROMISE. I hope I'll be able to post soon, but who knows? Job, school, Acts of Deity and Nature make my life unpredictable. But! At least I have a computer now! So. Let me know what you think about the chapter! Hugs and bunnies to everyone!

ivorybrowneyes: Glad you liked it!

Tari: THIS IS A LIBRARY! SHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm glad you like it! Sorry for the long break.

frodo16424: I know. I'll never look at eggs the same way again after writing that. I'm glad you like it! As I have been saying, I'm sorry for the long break! Thanks for the review.

Chrystyna Bloom: I'm glad you like it!

Elven Kitten: HI! I'm glad you like it! Please accept my most sincere apologies for the lack of updates.Computer problems.*sigh*

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Citcat299: I AM SOOOOOO SORRY! I grovel, I beg, I plead! Forgive me! I didn't have a computer to give you the update!

Lone Wolf and Guardian Elf Angel: HERE'S MORE! Not so much funny, but I'm working on the next chapter, which should be more humorous. And as you may have noticed by now, I didn't update because I didn't have a computer.

Cantora: Did I make Aragorn squirm enough, my dear? If not, let me know! Glad you liked it!

Kit Cloudkicker: Yup. Sorry, I was rushed to post.*sigh* And then I couldn't post at all.As my choir teacher says, "Life sucks and then you die." But I'm glad you liked it! Hugs and bunnies!

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Cestari: Here's the more you asked for! Sorry for the long wait!

Kawaii Elf Girl: Eggs in the boots is icky. Ooey and gooey.*shudders* not pleasant.

Rlenavampyer14: I'M SORRY I COULDN'T POST! But here you go now.

And last but CERTAINLY NOT LEAST Jade Tyger: MY FRIEND! Hee hee! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO! Give Pookie a kiss on the cheek for me! ONWARD!