Legolas was escorted inside by some of the members. He looked at their faces and saw some of them were very serious and kept sneaking glances at him. They led him towards where his father was with Elrond. He could tell from his father's expression that he was furious. As he drew closer, he remembered the confidence he had when he faced the Orcs.
He drew on that and felt braver standing up to his father's lecture.
"Legolas, did you know what you just did?" His father's voice came out strained.
But, his confidence evaporated like water on a stove.
"N-no, s-sir."
At this point, Elrond put a hand on his father's shoulder to calm him down. It didn't do any good.
"I am very disappointed in you. Do you realize that now Sauron will wage war upon us?"
"But the Orcs killed the guards and tried to get back inside!"
Everyone stopped dead. His father looked him in the eyes.
"Are you meaning to tell me you didn't kill the guards?" His eyes seemed to penetrate his soul and it made him shiver.
"No, of course not," said Legolas, firmly.
His father looked at him again and didn't say a word.
***
After the Council of Elrond heard Legolas' say about the incident, Legolas was allowed to go home. As he and his father walked to their house, Legolas remembered his promise to Arilyte. It was too late and it would throw suspicion on Legolas if he was caught sneaking around. With a heavy heart, he set off towards his house. His father didn't say anything to him at the hearing and Legolas assumed that he would give him a good talk when they got home. They reached the door or their house and his father stopped to open the door.
When they walked in, his mother was still up, anxiously waiting for her husband. When she saw Legolas, she raised a questioning eyebrow and looked at her husband. He avoided her gaze and started to make elf coffee. Legolas and his mom watched the whole process, waiting for him to speak. First, his father got the water and put it on the stove. Then, he got the coffee can and spooned out some coffee grinds into the holder. He sat down at the table and they followed his lead. The water started to sputter and hiss and the coffee started to come out into the pot. They all watched the coffee stream into the pot and fill it up. Soon, the coffee was done and he got up to get three mugs and spoons and some sugar and milk. He set them on the table and got the coffee pot. He poured the coffee into each of the mugs and gave everyone a spoon. He poured the milk and added sugar to each. With all of this done, this was only the beginning. His father cleared his throat but did not say anything. There was an awkward silence. Then….
"If you don't mind, I'd like to know why Legolas is here," said his mom.
"Mom, I can explain," offered Legolas. He wanted to get this over with as quick as he can so he can tell Arilyte what happened.
"No, let me explain."
His father drank some coffee and started to talk.
"This is going to take a while."
Later…
His mother sat there, still absorbing all this information. Amazingly, she took this all in very calmly. Legolas was just worried that she might think this was a joke of some sort.
"So, you mean to tell me that my little baby took on THREE Orcs?" she said in slightly disbelieving tone.
"Yes, I did. And don't call me that mom."
She looked at her husband. She had always trusted him, even if some situations were...unusual. But this was the strangest by far. He looked at her and she knew he was not lying. She sighed and said abruptly, "It's late. Let's get to bed."
She knew that she was going to have a talk with her husband in bed.
***
Legolas lay in his bed in his old room He couldn't sleep. After all, he did take down three Orcs, three against one. Not very good odds. He silently got up and crept across the floor to the second-story window. He needed to talk to someone. Arilyte's house was too far away. Then, he thought of Bruck. How could he not have thought of him sooner? He was sure Bruck wouldn't be asleep because it was a full moon tonight.
Back when he and Bruck were younger, they snuck out and headed towards the river with some other friends every full moon. They used to build a campfire and tell stories and jokes until dawn. They never got caught but the tradition soon ended when Bruck's little sister found out where her big bro kept going at night. She never told but it was very risky with a little sister involved. But, he felt that Bruck was now doing it again except in a different place. And Legolas knew just where that was.
He stalked slowly through the grass in the garden. He headed towards the ford in the river, where they used to be and they weren't there. If they were where he suspected….
He turned around and headed towards the lake. He cut through the wooded parts and came upon a clearing and sure enough, they were there. He peered behind a tree at them. His heart rose. He saw all of his old friends and Bruck there, sitting around the fire. He came out and they were startled at the appearance of him.
"Um, hi, " timidly said Legolas.
"Legolas is that really you?" asked an incredulous Bruck.
"Yeah, long time no see, huh?" smiled Legolas, sitting down on a tree stump. He looked around and saw some of his old friends smiling at him. He relaxed a bit.
"Yeah, it has been a long time. So, do you want to tell some of your stories for us?"
"Well, ok." Legolas started to tell them about his adventures outside of Rivendell.
***
The sun was just rising and Legolas said his good-byes to his friends. He had to get back to his house before his parents found out he wasn't there. He half ran, half walked to his house. He climbed through the window and his right leg was over the window sill when he heard his mother's voice.
"Leggy, wake up!" she sang.
He scrambled quickly over the window sill and dove into the bed. Just in time. His mom opened the door.
"I made your favorite breakfast, Legolas. Come down and eat."
"Ok, thanks, mom."
As soon as he was sure that his mom went down, he messed up his hair and clothes to make the illusion that he had slept. He came down and sat at the table. His father wasn't there yet and his mom was busy preparing breakfast. Then, his father plodded into the room and took some coffee. He yawned and casually said," Legolas, you have to go with me to work today. They called a hearing about yesterday's…incident. You have to be there and tell what happened. Don't worry," he said quickly, seeing the look on his face. "You're not in trouble. They just want to hear your side of the story."
"Ok." He wondered when he could finally get away and talk to Arilyte.
His mom set down a plate of eggs and pancakes and he started to eat. However, the food didn't really taste like it should.
