Chapter VI
Eyebrows of Doom
To waylay any suspicion Aragorn and Legolas quickly sneaked back into the house. They emerged bleary eyed from their bedrooms, inquiring what was going on from each other, just as Elrond was coming to see whether they might be the culprits behind the night's events.
"What's going on Ada? I thought I heard Glorfindel," Aragorn asks, while Legolas yawns convincingly enough to produce tears in his sleepy eyes. Lord Elrond stares hard at them for a moment. The scene looks just too innocent, but he can't in good conscience accuse the King of Mirkwood's son of wrongdoing when his own sons are probably at the hub of the matter. The twins had loudly protested their innocence, and if not for Elladan' saying "Though I wish we did think of it", Elrond might not have believed them.
"Someone played a stupid prank on Lord Glorfindel," he says gruffly. Aragorn and Legolas look at each other with wide eyes before bursting out laughing.
"But Ada, I thought you had the prerogative on that," Aragorn manages to say between guffaws.
"Gmf!" is all Elrond replies as he walks off with a slightly worried look on his face. In moments the twins join the laughing friends, and regale them with exaggerated descriptions of Glorfindel's appearance and conduct in between fits of giggles. It is not until Cerboril haughtily informs them that Some People would like their Rest, that a semblance of calm descends upon Imladris.
With the twins on their way to their bedrooms, Legolas and Aragorn lingers for a moment longer in the hallway. Before they part, Legolas whispers to Aragorn: "Well this worked better than we anticipated. I wonder how long we will have to wait for Glorfindel's revenge?" Aragorn answers with a wicked grin before walking of to his room.
They did not have to wait long. A reluctant Celboril was sent to help Glorfindel clean up the mess in the morning, but Elrond's attempt at mollifying the tall elf proved to be in vain.
A tall, dark figure approaches the house stealthily. As he reaches the wall he fires a crossbow bolt upwards. At the apex of its trajectory it just clears the balcony railing. The bolt is attached to a rope, and a sharp pull on that reveals that the bolt doubles as a grappling hook. The tall figure quickly ascends the rope and lithely vaults onto the balcony. He remains there for a moment, senses thrown outwards, listening for any indication that the house's occupants have been roused. When only the cheerful chirping of crickets greet his ears, he proceeds to enter the house through the open window. He only goes a few steps into the room before he stops and takes out a tiny bow and an even tinier little arrow. He carefully aims and fires just as the target opens his eyes, alerted to the other's presence by his keen elven senses. Sitting up abruptly, he grabs at his neck where the tiny arrow has lodged and pulls it from his flesh. Startled by its presence he looks at the hooded figure, which is already beginning to swim before his eyes. "Glorfindel, is that you?" With a sigh he falls back on the bed, the fast acting sedative stealing away panic along with consciousness.
"Yes," the figure hisses, and then approaches the bed purposefully. He stays but a few minutes before he departs as silently as he came.
Morning sees Elrond at the breakfast table being less than his usual sociable self. He had awakened with a terrible headache and a distinct feeling that there was something he should recall. He had overslept and as a result had only thrown on his dressing gown and pulled a quick brush through his hair. Even so he still beat the younger ones to the table.
No one in the Imladris household is at their best this early in the morning. A grumbled 'morning' is the best anyone can expect from his companions until at least halfway through the meal. It is at this time, when Elrohir finally lifts his sleep-puffed eyes from his plate, that he encounters a terrible sight.
"Ada!" he exclaims appalled. His shout startles his twin, who consequently knocks over a jug filled with fruit juice just as Celboril enters the room with another dish.
"Oh, you clumsy young ones. Can't you do anything without making a mess?" he continues to mutter imprecations as he cleans up the table and the floor. In the mean time Elladan has seen what his brother is staring at, and tries to choke back the laughter. Aragorn and Legolas look at them questioning.
"What?" Aragorn asks his older brother.
"Hmm, Strider, eh..." Legolas falters.
Elrond looks at them with suspicion. "What now?" he demands, frowning. Unconsciously he scratches his brow, and this sets Elladan off, soon to be followed by his two brothers. Legolas tries to retain his dignity by looking away and hiding his grin. By now Elrond's temper has risen to dangerous levels as he again demands to know what is going on from his sons. Seeing that he would find no answer there, he turns to Celboril, who is still muttering and grumbling to himself as he wipes the floor. "Celboril, what are these clowns laughing at? Have I grown a second nose?"
Celboril looks up and stares at his lord for a moment. "Well?" Elrond demands again.
"Hmm, my Lord, you seem to be missing your eyebrows. Hmm, and some of your hair."
"WHAT!" Elrond thunders, jumps from his seat and rushes out the room to the nearest mirror, knocking a plate of scrambled eggs off the table in the process.
The mirror is the same one Glorfindel used not two days ago, and again it reflects a shocked and wrathful elf. He leans closer and fingers his face gingerly where his eyebrows have been carefully shaved off. Well a few weeks should take care of that, but his hair! His beautiful tresses look as if a mouse with a hair fetish had attacked him. Several mice, in fact. He draws a deep breath to calm himself before walking haughtily back to the dining room where the youngsters are still given over to their mirth.
"Enough of that, your food is growing cold. Eat," Elrond orders them, and continues to do just that as if nothing had occurred. The youngsters join soon him, but throughout the remainder of the meal stifled giggles can be heard from the twins, and the other two desperately tries to avoid each other's eyes.
Eyebrows of Doom
To waylay any suspicion Aragorn and Legolas quickly sneaked back into the house. They emerged bleary eyed from their bedrooms, inquiring what was going on from each other, just as Elrond was coming to see whether they might be the culprits behind the night's events.
"What's going on Ada? I thought I heard Glorfindel," Aragorn asks, while Legolas yawns convincingly enough to produce tears in his sleepy eyes. Lord Elrond stares hard at them for a moment. The scene looks just too innocent, but he can't in good conscience accuse the King of Mirkwood's son of wrongdoing when his own sons are probably at the hub of the matter. The twins had loudly protested their innocence, and if not for Elladan' saying "Though I wish we did think of it", Elrond might not have believed them.
"Someone played a stupid prank on Lord Glorfindel," he says gruffly. Aragorn and Legolas look at each other with wide eyes before bursting out laughing.
"But Ada, I thought you had the prerogative on that," Aragorn manages to say between guffaws.
"Gmf!" is all Elrond replies as he walks off with a slightly worried look on his face. In moments the twins join the laughing friends, and regale them with exaggerated descriptions of Glorfindel's appearance and conduct in between fits of giggles. It is not until Cerboril haughtily informs them that Some People would like their Rest, that a semblance of calm descends upon Imladris.
With the twins on their way to their bedrooms, Legolas and Aragorn lingers for a moment longer in the hallway. Before they part, Legolas whispers to Aragorn: "Well this worked better than we anticipated. I wonder how long we will have to wait for Glorfindel's revenge?" Aragorn answers with a wicked grin before walking of to his room.
They did not have to wait long. A reluctant Celboril was sent to help Glorfindel clean up the mess in the morning, but Elrond's attempt at mollifying the tall elf proved to be in vain.
A tall, dark figure approaches the house stealthily. As he reaches the wall he fires a crossbow bolt upwards. At the apex of its trajectory it just clears the balcony railing. The bolt is attached to a rope, and a sharp pull on that reveals that the bolt doubles as a grappling hook. The tall figure quickly ascends the rope and lithely vaults onto the balcony. He remains there for a moment, senses thrown outwards, listening for any indication that the house's occupants have been roused. When only the cheerful chirping of crickets greet his ears, he proceeds to enter the house through the open window. He only goes a few steps into the room before he stops and takes out a tiny bow and an even tinier little arrow. He carefully aims and fires just as the target opens his eyes, alerted to the other's presence by his keen elven senses. Sitting up abruptly, he grabs at his neck where the tiny arrow has lodged and pulls it from his flesh. Startled by its presence he looks at the hooded figure, which is already beginning to swim before his eyes. "Glorfindel, is that you?" With a sigh he falls back on the bed, the fast acting sedative stealing away panic along with consciousness.
"Yes," the figure hisses, and then approaches the bed purposefully. He stays but a few minutes before he departs as silently as he came.
Morning sees Elrond at the breakfast table being less than his usual sociable self. He had awakened with a terrible headache and a distinct feeling that there was something he should recall. He had overslept and as a result had only thrown on his dressing gown and pulled a quick brush through his hair. Even so he still beat the younger ones to the table.
No one in the Imladris household is at their best this early in the morning. A grumbled 'morning' is the best anyone can expect from his companions until at least halfway through the meal. It is at this time, when Elrohir finally lifts his sleep-puffed eyes from his plate, that he encounters a terrible sight.
"Ada!" he exclaims appalled. His shout startles his twin, who consequently knocks over a jug filled with fruit juice just as Celboril enters the room with another dish.
"Oh, you clumsy young ones. Can't you do anything without making a mess?" he continues to mutter imprecations as he cleans up the table and the floor. In the mean time Elladan has seen what his brother is staring at, and tries to choke back the laughter. Aragorn and Legolas look at them questioning.
"What?" Aragorn asks his older brother.
"Hmm, Strider, eh..." Legolas falters.
Elrond looks at them with suspicion. "What now?" he demands, frowning. Unconsciously he scratches his brow, and this sets Elladan off, soon to be followed by his two brothers. Legolas tries to retain his dignity by looking away and hiding his grin. By now Elrond's temper has risen to dangerous levels as he again demands to know what is going on from his sons. Seeing that he would find no answer there, he turns to Celboril, who is still muttering and grumbling to himself as he wipes the floor. "Celboril, what are these clowns laughing at? Have I grown a second nose?"
Celboril looks up and stares at his lord for a moment. "Well?" Elrond demands again.
"Hmm, my Lord, you seem to be missing your eyebrows. Hmm, and some of your hair."
"WHAT!" Elrond thunders, jumps from his seat and rushes out the room to the nearest mirror, knocking a plate of scrambled eggs off the table in the process.
The mirror is the same one Glorfindel used not two days ago, and again it reflects a shocked and wrathful elf. He leans closer and fingers his face gingerly where his eyebrows have been carefully shaved off. Well a few weeks should take care of that, but his hair! His beautiful tresses look as if a mouse with a hair fetish had attacked him. Several mice, in fact. He draws a deep breath to calm himself before walking haughtily back to the dining room where the youngsters are still given over to their mirth.
"Enough of that, your food is growing cold. Eat," Elrond orders them, and continues to do just that as if nothing had occurred. The youngsters join soon him, but throughout the remainder of the meal stifled giggles can be heard from the twins, and the other two desperately tries to avoid each other's eyes.