Chapter 144: Too sweet for elflings
Legolas was lying on the grass, until he realised that there was ants crawling up his legs. Legolas swatted them away and crawled over to Haldir.
Haldir sat on the ground with crossed-legs and Legolas sat on Haldir's crossed-legs, and Haldir did not mind but it did bother him with Legolas would move his feet to get more comfortable and kick Haldir where Haldir is very sensitive. Poor Haldir.
Orophin was sniggering.
"Legolas you are hurting him." Rumil smiled. Yes, Rumil found it very funny to watch the strange faces Haldir made when Legolas accidentally would kick him, but Rumil also did not want to be thrown from a tree... again... If Haldir saw that he was laughing.
"Oops." Legolas moved so that Haldir would no longer have to worry about Legolas kicking him and being in much pain.
"Sorry Hal. Did not mean to. I remember Cield spoke funny when I kicked him by accident... it was funny and Tonus laughed at him and Cield threw him in the river and Tonus got wet and smelt like fish for a week and ada got mad at me and Cield." Legolas giggled and ran over to a tree, and decided it was worth climbing.
"No, Legolas." Haldir said. Legolas stuck out his tongue and continued to climb up the tree.
"Legolas, get down." Haldir was preparing to get up. Again Legolas ignored Haldir, and climbed up further and faster.
"Haldir, get him off! The top of that tree is too thin and far too high up to hold and elfling!" Rumil said. Haldir stood up and began to climb the tree, and managed to make it to the top when the tree's top began to break off. Haldir grabbed Legolas and looked down at Rumil.
"Catch him!" Haldir dropped Legolas. Rumil seemed very confused, so Orophin grabbed the falling elfling, and Rumil watched as Haldir tried not to move.
"I'm going to fall. The tree is too weak up at the top to hold me. If I move it will break but if I stay still I will fall off with it." Haldir said to his brothers.
"Jump!" Rumil shouted.
"And break my back?" Haldir asked.
"No just... Here, give me the elfling... Orophin can catch you!" Rumil said, holding Legolas tightly as Haldir nervously looked down at Orophin.
"Catch me Orophin, if I fall I doubt I will be getting back up... Ever." Haldir said, shutting his eyes and jumped down, hoping that he'd land on his feet. And he did, on Orophin's feet.
"Get off big brother, you're crushing my toes!" Orophin snapped, and Haldir backed away and took Legolas from Rumil.
"See Legolas? If you climb trees when you are not suppose to, Orophin's toes start to hurt."
"But I always climb trees. Does that mean Orophin's toes hurt almost all the time?"
"I suppose so. So don't hurt Orophin's toes by climbing trees... Or ents, for that matter."
"Okay..." Legolas clutched a clump of Haldir's light hair.
"Ooo! He's so cute!" Two random she-elves came out of no-where and began to beg Haldir to hold Legolas. Rumil and Orophin were jealous.
"Hold him carefully." Haldir let one of the she-elves hold Legolas. Legolas did not like this very much; the she-elves would pat him on his head, pinch his cheeks and touch his hair a lot.
"Are you his father? He is soo cute!"
"No, King Thranduil is his father. That is the littlest prince of Mirkwood you hold." Haldir smiled, as the she-elves eyes grew big.
"Can we have your autograph?" The two asked at once, grabbing ink, quills and paper from their bags.
"What?" Legolas looked at Haldir.
"Write your name on the piece of paper." Haldir smiled. Legolas wrote 'LegOlas' on the paper, and the she-elves could barely read his poor writing.
"Thanks!" The two she elves left very fast with their autograph.
"Mary-Sues." Orophin grunted.
"Come on boys, the cookies are done." Mallriel shouted. Haldir, Orophin and Rumil raced inside and Legolas followed as fast as he could.
Each of them got a cookie. Haldir made a face when he bit into his, Orophin spat out his bite of cookie and Rumil ate his in delight. When Legolas bit his cookie he made a face worse then the face Haldir had made.
"Gross." Legolas said sadly.
"It's far too sweet." Orophin said.
"It is." Haldir put down his remaining cookie.
"Oops. I put too much sugar." Legolas whispered.
"How much?" Rumil asked.
"One bag."
Haldir sighed. "I still have another bag left, at least."
"I think it's great!" Rumil finished his third cookie and grabbed another.
"I ruined cookies." Legolas sighed.
"It's not your fault, Legolas. Do you want to bake something else? We can always make a chocolate cake, if Haldir allows us to. If not, we can go to my house to bake all that we want." Mallriel was happy to see that Legolas' face lit up at that.
"Can me, Haldir, Orophin and Rumil come with you to your house so that we can all make cookies together?"
"Certainly." Mallriel's children followed her out of Haldir house, Haldir carrying Legolas.
Florien dipped his toes into the bath water, and slowly he sunk into the cold bath. It was always a cold bath; no one ever had the time to heat water for him. Every now and then, yes, Galion would smile at Florien and offer him a warm bath at the palace, but other then that Florien was always bathing in freezing water.
Yáviel opened the door to the bathroom, and picked up a cloth that she lathered soap onto.
"Nana, you know I can wash myself." Florien smiled. Yáviel made no comment and turned Florien around so she could scrub at his back. Once she was done with his back she turned his around again and raised one foot to wash it. She scrubbed at the four toes Florien had on that foot.
"Nana, what's wrong?" Florien saw that his mother was looking rather sadly at Florien's foot.
"You only have four toes. You should have five." Yáviel whispered.
"I do, on the other foot." Florien raised his other foot, a foot with five toes.
"Yes but Florien, this one. Four toes. You deserve five."
"It's alright nana! I got used to having four, it does not hurt any more!" Florien said, lowering his foot back beneath the soapy water.
---------------------------Flashback
Florien was running to get to Cield. Florien held in his hands the prince's new blade that the elven smiths had just made, and Florien was to deliver it to Cield.
Florien was not wearing boots or any type of shoe on his particular day, because he had to have them washed and he only had one pair (his mother was poor, after all, and could not afford another pair). The blade was pointed downwards, and when Florien bumped into queen Aldaril wife of King Thranduil, he dropped the blade in shock and... One toe came off. And it did not plan to go back on, either.
Florien did not scream as the queen screamed first when she saw that the boy had just lost his toe. Thranduil and about ten guards came running, where they found Florien and his toe.
And that is how come Florien was short one toe.
----------------------End flashback
Yáviel put a hand on Florien's shoulder.
"You do not deserve this life. You deserve so, so much better. It's your father's fault, really." Yáviel kissed Florien on his cheek.
"I love ada, and I love you. I work to get money for us, and if it means losing a toe then so be it, king Thranduil gave me much extra pay because of my toe-loss." Florien smirked.
"Florien..." Yáviel sighed, washing her son's hair quietly.
"Nana, do you think my puppy will be alright?"
"Of course." Yáviel whispered, standing up.
"Now you can relax, I am done bathing you. Don't be too long in here." Yáviel closed the door. Florien sighed and pulled up his foot. Florien did not like being short one toe at all, and he remembered how painful it was to loose that toe. He remembered that Tonus watched as healers tried to fix him, but could not, and he remembered them injecting something into him, and then when Florien woke up he was alone in a room of the palace, with only four toes.
Other elves of his age would laugh at him for being short one toe. Florien cried sometimes because of all the mockery he had received through out his life, for having 'no father', for being poor, for having to work and other things no one cared about.
To be continued...