A/N: Well, today's my birthday... WOOT! I'M SIXTEEN! -does a quick happy dance- Ahem, now that that's over... Like I said, it's my birthday today, so in traditional hobbit fashion I have a present for you all, and no, it's not Legolas, Haldir, or Frodo. They're mine. -big grin- Instead, I have a brand new chapter for you all. So, without further ado, CHAPTER 23!

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{

Chapter Twenty Three: The Prank Wars: The Squirrel In The Corner

Meryl whirled around and stalked down the hallway. It didn't matter if Liselle caught her or not. Those guys were going to pay for this. Dae whined and sat by the door. She heard footsteps echo down the hall before Mahtan and Nessa appeared from around a corner.

"Meryl, what is wrong?" Mahtan asked between gasps of air.

Meryl thrust her hand in front of their eyes. Her palm was caked with a golden sticky sap. "Those bloody twits covered the handle of my door with tree sap. Now my hand is extremely sticky and it smells like sap, and I'm thoroughly pissed off. I need to go and teach them a lesson."

"Meryl! Please don't! I know that you are mad, but please do not go after them," Nessa pleaded. "You will get into even more trouble." She grabbed Meryl's arm and asked, "Do you not want to come to the glen again?"

Mahtan grasped her other arm. "Yes, do you not also want to see us? We have been away from our lessons for a long while because of our visiting you, and our parents are beginning to become irritated."

Meryl looked down at them. As she looked into their pleading eyes, the anger melted away from her eyes. "Eyes are so sad and puppy-like," she said, "can't resist." Her shoulders drooped. "Okay, I won't go out and find them. Happy now?"

Mahtan and Nessa grinned before dragging Meryl back to her room. She opened the door and they went in. Meryl talked to them for only a short while, before there was the deep chime of a bell.

"What was that?" she asked.

"That was the bell that announced that it is now time for us to eat," Nessa replied. "We must take our leave now, for I know that both of us are very hungry."

As they stood up Meryl asked, "Why haven't I heard it before?"

They glanced at each other in amusement before Mahtan replied, "It is because you have slept past the breakfast call almost every day. Since your food was brought to you, you did not have to wake up and leave to eat."

"May we go now?" Nessa asked. "Or do you have any more questions?"

"Nope." Meryl grinned. "Enjoy your meal."

"Thank you," they replied in unison before leaving Meryl's room. Outside, Mahtan produced a key from his pocket. As he locked the door, Nessa asked, "Do we have to do this?"

"Do what?"

"Lock her in her room."

Mahtan shrugged. "It is what Liselle said to do, but do not worry. I heard that Meryl picked the lock before, so she shall be fine." Nessa accepted that answer and they went down to breakfast.

Inside the room, Meryl went to her bed and sat down. Dae sat at her feet. "What can I do now, Dae?" she asked. "You know that I can't stay still for long." She glanced down at her hand. "I can't even clean this off. I guess that the sap will have to dry before I can get it off."

Her dog gazed at her with large brown eyes. His tail wagged in hopes of getting to go on a walk, or at least a pet. Meryl smiled and patted him on the head. She stood up and went to the curtain that separated her room from the balcony. She pushed it aside and stepped outside.

She rested her elbows on the railing and stared out. The view was incredible. She could see so many things. The waterfall was in the distance, a silver ribbon cutting through the dark rock. She heard something and glanced down. She then realized that her room wasn't located on the first floor, for right on the balcony below her, was one of the twins. He was staring out into the distance, completely distracted.

Meryl grinned and hoisted herself up onto the balcony railing. Hooking her knees on it, she carefully lowered herself down until her head was about three feet above his. Still grinning, and trying not to laugh, she asked, "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"Aye, it is," he replied. It took him a moment to remember that he was alone on his balcony, and his head snapped up. He wildly searched this way and that, for the source of the voice.

Laughing, Meryl said, "Maybe if you looked up, you would see who's talking to you."

The twin looked up and gasped. "Meryl! Get down from there, you'll fall!"

"No I won't," She replied with a cheeky smile. {After all, in elementary school I hung like this for hours,} she silently added. {Actually, I think I did this until freshman year. That is, until I got teased.}

"What are you doing up there?"

Meryl shrugged. "Oh, just hanging around."

The twin sighed at her quip and held out his arms. "You are making me uneasy. I do not wish to see you back in the Houses of Healing. Let go of the railing. Do not worry, I will catch you."

"Really?" Meryl asked. "You sure? I'm not that light."

The twin nodded. "I am sure. It is not like you are jumping out of a tree with a sword. Then I would have to be concerned."

Meryl stared down at him angrily, before a part of her brain remembered something important from many days ago. "No!" she gasped. "And I'm stranded in my room!" As she said that, she realized that her legs had lost their grip. Her mind was so distracted, she forgot that she was hanging upside down. Her eyes widened. "Oh crap."

She felt herself begin to fall. She groped for a handhold, but failed. She then closed her eyes and braced herself for the hard landing that would surely land her back into the Houses of Healing and back into bed forever. But, instead of falling on the balcony, she landed in the outstretched arms of the twin.

"See? I told you that I could catch you. You really should be more careful, Meryl."

She glared at him before her look softened. "Well, thanks, I guess." She scrambled out of the Elf's arms and stood in front of him.

"Would it be rude as to inquire what surprised you so much that you would fall off of your balcony?"

Meryl cast him a withering glance. "I remembered a promise Aragorn made to me."

"What was that?"

"That he would talk to you guys about training me with a sword. Then I realized that I'm stuck in my room for a few days." Her eyes narrowed. "Has he talked to you? Because if he hasn't I swear that the next time I see him I'll-"

The twin covered her mouth with a hand, laughing. "Enough talk so I may answer your question. Yes, he has spoken to my brother and I."

Meryl pushed his hand away. "And?"

"And we have agreed that we will instruct you in the way of the sword."

Meryl's eyes lit up. "WHEE!" she cried and hugged the twin. "Thank you very much."

At that moment, the tale of the teenage girl's hugging strength added one new story to the growing amount. The Elf found himself unable to breathe, and berated himself for ignoring both Aragorn's and Legolas's warnings about making her too happy. "Meryl, although I am immortal, I am still entitled the need to breathe."

"Oh!" she cried and she pushed him away. "I'm so sorry! I just got so excited and I got a little carried away..." She blushed and grinned at him. "Well, not a little... More like a lot."

The twin regained his breath before asking. "So, without me having to tell you my name, call you figure out who I am?"

Meryl studied the Elf closely. She found it strange that she was talking to him so freely, but she didn't even know which twin she was talking to. After a time, she shook her head. "No, not yet. I would need the two of you together to tell the difference." She smiled as a thought came to her mind. "For now, I'll just call the both of you 'El.'"

"That seems to work," said the twin. "Now when you call one of us, we both can answer at once. I cannot wait to tell my brother about this."

Meryl stuck her tongue out at the twin. Before she could retort, a very angry voice floated over her balcony to the one below. "MERYL! WHERE IN IMLADRIS ARE YOU?!"

The teenage girl winced. "That could only be Liselle." She looked at the twin with pleading eyes. "Help me?"

The Elf smiled. "Of course."

Instantly, Meryl dove to the ground and closed her eyes and gave a soft moan. The twin kneeled next to her and began speaking frantically to her in Elvish. From the few words that Meryl knew from speaking with her brother and the tone that the twin was using, he was saying something along the lines of, "Meryl! Are you all right? What in bloody hell were you thinking of, walking along your balcony railing like that? Are you trying to kill yourself? You're bloody mad! It is a good thing that I caught you, or else you would have been seriously hurt." In reality, she could only understand a few words, but she got the basic concept.

Liselle's head peered over the balcony. "What is happening down there?" She then caught sight of Meryl, lying on her back. Her eyes grew wide. "Meryl! Is she all right?"

The twin nodded. "I think so."

"What happened?"

Meryl opened her eyes at that question. She cast a pleading glance at the twin that Liselle could not see. The twin smiled and regained his mask. "I came out to sit and think, when I heard a noise above me. I looked up and saw her standing on her railing, walking back and forth, as if she were testing her balance-"

Meryl grinned inwardly at the tale that the twin was spinning. It actually sounded a lot like something she would do. She brought herself back to reality and kept up her act.

"-I spoke to her, and I must have startled her, for she lost her balance and began to fall. I caught her, and set her down. I am trying to get a response out of her, but she is too scared to even move."

That last part was at least true. Meryl was too scared of Liselle to even move, for fear of getting into even more trouble.

"I am on my way down," said Liselle as she made a move to leave.

"No!" cried the twin. "I shall bring her upstairs. Please run and get her some hot tea. Perhaps that will soothe her nerves."

"Yes my lord. I shall return shortly." Liselle's head disappeared, and they could hear her running off of the balcony.

When they were sure that Liselle had gone. Meryl stood up and brushed herself off. "Thank you," she addressed the twin. "I don't know what she would have done if she had found me out of my room." She grinned and gave him a mock bow. "That was some story."

"Thank you," the twin said, bowing as well. He held out his arms. "Shall we? Remember, this must look convincing."

Meryl laughed and patted him on the cheek, leaving a large sticky spot of tree sap. "Yes, let's." She leaped into his arms, and arranged herself to look the part of a damsel in distress. She closed her eyes. "Just to let you know, this doesn't mean that I'm going to leave you out of my plans for revenge for the sap," she murmured.

The Elf grimaced. "I know, I know. You told Legolas and I that earlier this morning after you told my brother."

Meryl's eyes opened. "HA!" she cried gleefully. "You're Elladan!" She grinned and was very proud of herself.

Elladan carried Meryl back up into her room where Liselle was waiting with a cup of tea. The twin then left the room, bidding Liselle to come with him, so that Meryl could "rest and recover." Meryl ended up spending the rest of her day in complete solitude, aside from Dae. During the mid-day meal, Liselle brought in a solution that would remove the sap from Meryl's palm. Its smell reminded Meryl of Goo Gone, which brought her to the conclusion that it was invented right here in Middle Earth first. She told Liselle that since she was stuck in her room, she was considering on weaving something on a loom to pass the time, and if she had any idea what native plants made what dyes so as she could dye wool? Liselle gladly told Meryl what plants to use to make certain colors for the dye while the teenage girl took some mental notes.

After the evening meal, which went along with no fuss aside from Meryl sending the Elves evil grins, she and Legolas reported to the library. Again, she was assigned the task of gluing damaged books back together, while Legolas reshelved others. While Erestor wasn't looking, however, Meryl slipped a few bottles of glue into her boot. It would be hell to walk with them in there like that, and Meryl didn't want to know the results if she stepped on a bottle and broke it. But, this was for part of her plan of revenge, and sacrifices had to be made.

She then went back to work, as if she didn't have something planned for later that night. She felt a touch at her shoulder a while later and turned to see Erestor standing behind her.

"Are you finished with your work?" he asked.

"Almost," she replied. "This is the last book for the day." She gestured to the book that she was currently working on.

"When you are finished, then today I shall release you early. You have done a good job for the day."

Meryl smiled. "Thank you."

As she watched the Elf walk away, she grinned to herself. "You just made my task so much easier."

Meryl sat at a table in her room, a large wine bottle and several glasses, along with some leftover silverware from her "late-night snack" in a tray beside her. Each glass was filled with some wine. She sat and waited. Footsteps echoed through the hallway before there was a knock on her door. She stood up and opened her door to see the twins and Legolas standing there. She frowned to see that the twins were dressed in the exact same outfit: gray breeches with a cream long-sleeved shirt under a sky blue tunic.

"Hey guys, I'm glad that you could come." She let them in and closed the door.

One of the twins glanced around the room, as if searching for hidden traps. "What is the reason that you called us here?"

The teenage girl gestured to the wine. "I invited you guys in for a drink." She sat at her table. "Grab a chair and sit down."

The Elves each pulled up a chair and sat down around the table. They looked at each other with confusion.

"I know that I told you guys that I would be getting my revenge on you, but I want to offer a truce. And to use as celebration, I brought wine." Meryl caught them glance at the wine uneasily more than once. She grinned. "Don't worry, it's not poisoned. I didn't slip anything in to make it taste bad either. It's wine. See?" She grabbed her glass and drank out of it. When she saw that the Elves weren't convinced, she took a sip from each of the glasses, and finally a swig from the bottle. "Now, does it look like I'm poisoned?"

Legolas studied the girl intently. She showed no sign of discomfort; her eyes weren't expressing any sort of distaste or pain, like they usually would if it did have an unpleasant taste. In fact, her eyes expressed that she enjoyed either the wine, or the Elves' mistrust of her. He picked a glass and took a sip, rolling it carefully in his mouth. The wine did not taste at all bad, in fact it was rather sweet. He nodded to the twins, signaling that it was okay.

Elladan and Elrohir joined Legolas as they drank glass after glass of wine. Meryl took small sips from time to time, just to keep the Elves satisfied that there wasn't a prank involved. After a time, the twins began to get silly, laughing at each other and trying to stand on their heads. This proved that they were finally getting drunk. A little while later, they stopped and proceeded to try and climb on the wall, to prove that one can walk on ceilings if they believed hard enough. Meryl and Legolas laughed at them, but Meryl caught the glazed look in Legolas's eyes.

"Getting a little woozy?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

Legolas looked a little peeved. "Of course not. I know my limits of drinking- Meryl!" His blue eyes narrowed into slits. "Do not move."

Meryl was confused. "Why?"

"There is a large squirrel in the back corner. It appears that it is intending to attack." Grabbing a spoon from the tray, he slowly crept to the empty corner. "Do not worry, for I will protect you."

Meryl suppressed a giggle, her shoulders shaking with the effort. "Okay Legolas, if you have everything under control," she said.

Elladan and Elrohir had stopped attempting to walk on the ceiling and were now watching Legolas stalking the imaginary squirrel with bated breath. Meryl shook with laughter as the Elven prince leaped into the empty corner and began banging the floor with the spoon. After a few good minutes of watching him "kill" the "squirrel," she finally got up and grabbed his wrist in mid-rise.

"I think it's dead now," she told him. After a thought, she added "Thank you for protecting me."

"Not a pr'blem," he slurred and saluted floppily with the spoon before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed to the floor. The spoon clattered against the hard wood.

The twins took one look at the unconscious prince and began laughing. They staggered over to him, with identical evil drunken grins on their faces. Meryl watched as one attempted to kick Legolas, but missed completely resulting with him finding himself on his back, out cold. The other twin laughed before he, himself fell over.

Meryl surveyed the situation. She had three unconscious Elves in her room. Perfect. The plan had gone well. She went over to her door, and opened it. She went down the hall and searched for a familiar face. Soon she found Glorfindel, and said that she needed his help, explaining the situation of the three Elves. He followed her back into her room, and carried each Elf to his room. Meryl followed him each time, noting where each room was. She thanked Glorfindel and sent him on his way. When he turned around the corner, she grinned evilly. It was time to get to work.

Legolas woke up in the morning to find himself atop his bed. Last thing that he remembered, he was in Meryl's room, drinking along with the others. He pressed his head against his temple, to ward off his headache. It was clear that he was suffering the effects of a hangover. He was surprised to find his hair wet, but thought none of it.

He got out of bed and began dressing in the clothes that a handmaiden had left out for him, donning a dark green tunic over breeches over a lighter green. A cream long-sleeved shirt went under the tunic. Embroidered in silver upon the tunic was the royal crest of Mirkwood. Putting his boots on, he walked out of the door. As he went down the empty hall, he was trying to remember what had occurred the previous night.

As he rounded a corner he ran into someone, trodding on his foot at the same time. There was a yelp of pain and a crash. Legolas stepped back to see Elladan on the floor nursing a sore foot, with Elrohir reaching out to help him back up. Both had no boots on their feet.

"Where are your boots?" he asked.

They looked up, and their eyes widened in shock. Elrohir was the first to compose himself. He replied, "Every single pair of our boots have been glued to the floor. Including our best pairs."

Legolas knew the answer at once, "Meryl." He thought a moment. "At least she did not take her revenge out on me."

The twins looked at each other uneasily. "Legolas," Elladan said with difficulty. "Have you looked into a mirror at all today?"

"Not at all."

"Well," Elrohir said. "You may want to before you go to breakfast."

Thoroughly discouraged, Legolas turned around and dashed back into his room. He stood in front of the mirror, and stared in horror. His long blond tresses were blond no more. They were now a distinct shade of green. In fact, the color was quite similar to the color of his breeches. Anger contorted his face as he roared one word: "MERYL!" He ran out and went to her room. He pounded on the door yelling, "Meryl! Come out here!"

"She is not there," he heard Elladan's voice from behind. Legolas turned around. "We have already tried. So, you have discovered..." At a loss for words, he tugged on a lock of his own hair.

"Yes I have." Footsteps echoed down the hall, followed by a distinct jingling noise. Then there was a voice: "I can't believe that I forgot my cane. I think that I'll need it today. I'll get murdered by the guys if I don't have it."

Meryl appeared from around the corner and stopped when she saw all three Elves. "Oh dear." Without another word, she turned and ran, chased by the three furious Elves.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{

A/N: You gotta love the Prank Wars... So, did you like? Tell me by pressing the little blue button in the lower left-hand corner! I must know!

I will also remind you guys that I'll be gone from tomorrow (the 4th) until the 11th. I'll be in Bend, Oregon for my step-brother's wedding. I'll be on a plane tomorrow. Wish me luck: I have to sit next to my little sisters.

By the Lion's Mane,

Leo

Post Script: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. I'm almost to 250! Go me!