Mellaithwen : I know one maiden who doesn't like that chapter. ME! Because I wasn't in there!
Meisalliam : No one will get lost again…in this story, at least.
Fire Breathing Ferret : Knock! Knock! Is that you in the cupboard, ferret! Want me to lock you in from outside?
szhismine : They will try to tell Big Daddy. But will Daddy listen?
Lady Lenna : No. He only dances naked in front of me. Author's privileges. He! He!
Legolas' Garden Light : Calm? Who says it is calm? More cliffies up ahead!
The Cheese Turkey : Yes, I read the Mellon Chronicles. But where in Arda has Cassia been hiding to? I haven't seen her works in months!
Legolas Troy Gurl : In this story, Leggy's age is equivalent to human's twenty year old while Keldarion is thirty.
Someone Reading : Wit and sarcasm? You should see my siblings. Loads and loads of sarcasm and a bucketful of wit, especially when you didn't need it! But I love them anyway.
Dur En Thurin Naur : Evil you! Now you get me thinking about Thranduil dancing naked in the garden! Ha! Ha! Ha!
astalder27 : Your lap? What about my lap? I repeat; I'm not sharing Leggy! (Sorry. Sounded a little possessive there, didn't I?)
Legolas Greenleaf : (Removes the wall and let LG fall down the cliff.) Bye, mellonnnnnn!
WitchofNZ : Thank you so much. I like it when someone could detect the nasty side of me. (I wanted to do more onto Leggy and Kel, but that means I have to switch this story into NC-17 to do that, and the FFnet won't ever allow it. Sigh…)
Rath : Hi! Glad you like my works! If you want to know when to start, I suggest you go to my biopage. There, you will find out that I've arranged the series to its chronological order. Or you can start from the earliest date. Go through the list to the very bottom of my biopage, and climb the way up from there. Happy reading!
Young Storyteller : You are evil, too! Which I so like! Uh…just hot cocoa? How about iced Milo for the author?
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The next time when Legolas woke up, everything came back to his mind in full clarity.
He instantly shot out of the bed, shouting, "I REMEMBER!"
Keldarion, who was dozing beside the bed, was so startled that he toppled over backwards onto the floor along with his chair. "Blast it!" he yelled, scrambling back to his feet. "Have you lost your bloody mind? What's the matter with you?"
"I remember it now," Legolas explained enthusiastically. "I remember all that had happened."
"Oh, really? But did you have to shout it out like that?" Keldarion grumbled as he rubbed his smarting backside. "And can't you wait until morning?"
Legolas glanced outside. "But it is morning…I think. There's too much snow to actually tell."
Keldarion righted his chair to its upright position. "Very well, then. Tell me what you remember. But first, cover yourself," he said with a crooked grin. "If any of the maidens saw you like this, they will tie you to their bed and never set you free!"
Legolas looked down, and blushed. He was totally and gloriously naked. With a grimace, he snatched the coverlet off the bed and wrapped it around his waist, glaring as Keldarion chuckled uncontrollably.
"You know, you look good naked," Keldarion teased, repeating Legolas' exact words from yesterday. "You are what the maidens would call 'scrumptious'. From the way they keep mooning over you wherever you go, I would be surprised if you told me that you are still a virgin."
Legolas grew even redder, as red as a ripe tomato. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly like a fish, glowering at his brother.
Keldarion's eyes widened when he finally understood. "Good God! You still are, aren't you?"
"Am I still what?!"
"A virgin?"
"I'm not going to answer that question!"
"Hot blast! You are a virgin!"
"Will you shut up?!"
"Oh, I will certainly not! This is too good to…"
With a loud roar, Legolas leaped and tackled his brother to the floor. Keldarion couldn't stop laughing as they grappled about, pinning and pushing at each other. The blanket flew off Legolas in the wild struggling, leaving him completely in the buff.
And that was how the servant found them when he suddenly entered the chamber.
"Uh…your highnesses?"
The two princes ceased moving at the quiet voice. They looked up to see the great astonishment on the poor servant's face.
"Yes?" Keldarion and Legolas asked simultaneously, hands still wrapped around each other's throat.
Blinking, the servant stared and gulped nervously, clearly noticing Legolas' nude state and the foolish grin on Keldarion's face. "I…I was…well…Err…Never mind. I'll come back later."
The servant hastily turned around and escaped, looking as if some demented elves were hot on his heels…which was not that far from the truth.
Legolas groaned out loud. "Ai. There goes my good reputation."
Keldarion snorted. "Reputation? I'm not aware you have any!"
Muttering an oath, Legolas raised his hand to swipe the back of his brother's head, but Keldarion moved quickly out of the way. "Get back under the covers," he told Legolas as he walked towards the door. "I'll go and get you your clothes from your room. After that, you can tell me what you've recalled about last night."
A half hour later, Legolas was fully clothed and was eating a late breakfast that the servant had just brought in. To his relief, it was a different servant, not the one who had seen him in all his…err…naked glory earlier.
"You were right. She was a beauty," Legolas said with his mouth full, munching on a toast. "I had just fallen asleep when she suddenly came to my bed and woke me up, asking me to come out and play in the garden with her."
"And you just followed her wishes?" Keldarion asked with a frown. He put down his empty cup back onto the tray.
Legolas shrugged before he sipped his tea. "Like you've said, it was hard to resist her. She was all charms and smiles. I was so captivated by her I wasn't thinking straight."
"Actually, you rarely think straight in your entire lifetime," Keldarion glibly responded, causing his brother to glare back at him in annoyance. "So, what happened afterwards?"
Still glowering, Legolas snapped, "We didn't make love, if that what you are truly asking. Maybe she found me too inexperienced for her taste, with me being a blasted virgin and all!"
Keldarion laughed hard, nearly falling off his chair. He tried to control his mirth but when he took one look of his brother's sullen expression, he couldn't help himself and broke into laughter all over again.
Legolas rolled his eyes. "Right. Ha. Ha. Ha. I'm so glad you are enjoying this!" he fumed, his arms crossed over his chest.
"So…sorry, Legolas," Keldarion gasped, wiping the tears of his eyes, still chuckling. "I didn't mean to offend you but…" He took a deep breath for composure and tried again, "If you have…uh…relationship problems with the maidens, why didn't you just tell me? I can help."
Legolas threw his hands up in the air. "This is not about me and the maidens! Hel-lo! This is about the maiden! The one who disturbed our sleep? Remember?!"
Keldarion blinked. "Oh. Of course. I guess we have gone way off track here, haven't we?"
"You sure have," Legolas said, giving his brother a sidelong glance. "Anyway, the lady didn't take me to the statue in the maze. I'm glad for that because I would hate to repeat your 'magnificent' performance of that night."
Before Keldarion managed to respond, Legolas quickly continued, "She pulled me to the fish pond instead, saying that she loved to have a swim."
"But it was freezing! How did you stand the cold?" Keldarion was incredulous.
"I didn't feel the cold at all. I knew I saw the snowflakes, but I didn't seem to register what it meant. I was aware of only her; her eyes, her voice, her laughter. She even asked me to race her in the pond."
"Ah." Keldarion finally understood. "You were racing each other. That's why you told her to go faster."
"Exactly." Legolas nodded. "I thought I was being a gentleman, you know, cheering her up to best me, foolish though it may sound. But one thing was really strange. She didn't get all wet like I had. It was as if she was water resistant."
Keldarion held his chin and pondered. What Legolas just told him confirmed what he already suspected; the mysterious maiden was trying to seduce them into madness.
"What are we to do?" Legolas asked quietly. "Is it really a good idea to tell father about this?"
Releasing a heavy sigh, Keldarion stood and walked towards the door that led to the balcony. Leaning against the doorjamb, he stared at the white scenery outside. "We might lose our pride, looking like a fool if we do so. But our life is more valuable. You nearly died last night, that's for sure. And I don't want that to happen again. So father must be told. He might know what to do. But I'm still worried about one thing, though."
"What?" Legolas asked, standing next to his brother.
"What if father didn't take us seriously? What if he thought we have totally lost our mind?"
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Thranduil didn't think that his sons' had lost their mind. In fact, he wasn't even there to begin with.
"What do you mean, he is not here?" Legolas demanded to know from the servants who were straightening up the king's grand chamber. "He should be here."
The servants could not provide them the appropriate answers, so Keldarion and Legolas went to search for their father in the hall of council and the king's study, but Thranduil was nowhere to be found.
"Come. Let's go find Linden and ask him where father is," Keldarion suggested.
They found the commander at the front courtyard, giving a briefing to the royal guards. The two princes waited until he finished before they hounded him with questions.
"Where's our father?"
"He has gone missing!"
"Has something happen to him that we should know about?"
Bemused, the commander stared at the brothers. "Don't you know?"
"What?"
"The king has left for Rivendell early at dawn. Lord Elrond has asked for his attendance in a conference of the lords. I thought you would know. I heard him informing you of this at dinner last night."
Keldarion and Legolas glanced at each other, their shoulders slumped. They could barely recall what they ate at dinner, let alone what their father had told them.
"He has gone to Rivendell?" Legolas was clearly disappointed.
"Yes, your highness. He took Jaden and ample guards with him, if his safety is what's concerns you."
"Well, then. We are glad to know he's fine. Thank you for telling us," Keldarion said and started pulling his brother away.
Linden frowned. "Your highnesses? Is something the matter?"
Keldarion and Legolas exchanged looks, sending some strange eye gestures between them, and finally shook their heads. "No, Linden. Everything is fine," the elder prince answered for them both.
Linden was still not convinced. But he kept his silence and watched as the Mirkwood princes walked away with heavy steps. What is wrong with those two?
Meanwhile, Keldarion and Legolas were pondering at one same question; What should we do now?
TBC….