By: Melphie13
Disclaimer: Just like all the others. Tolkien has everything in his pocket except the Orcs and the personalities of the characters. If he wants those guys, he'll have to sew our pockets together.
*kneels down beside bed at night* Dear God, thank you for the nice sunset that is going on this evening, and thank you especially for all of the wonderful reviewers and friends that you've given me lately through my story. I really couldn't do it without them. Thank you for them, Amanalda, and Alisa and Tiffany. They're a real blessing, Lord, and I ask you to bless them and give them all good days tomorrow. Amen.
K, just though you'd all like to get a look at what I prayed for last night during my bedtime prayers. Thank you all so much for your reviews and your support.
Ok! Time for the next chapter. This time, since it's really hot today, (or at least where I come from) grab a popsicle and a smoothie or something, and pull down the brim of your hat and get ready for what's coming up next in chapter 6.
Chapter 6
By the time the Orcs had managed to get back to their hideout, it was almost sunrise. They had had a horrible time getting both Slim and their captive all the way away from the city and towards the waterfall that hid their hideout.
At last though, the waterfall was in sight, and Boss turned quickly to the others before they went inside. "Ok everyone! We're here at last. And this is what we're going to do."
"Ok..." The incredibly tired, sleep-deprived Orcs replied wearily, struggling to keep their eyes open.
"First, we're going to get the Elf inside, and then we're going to let him carefully out of the sack...and then tie him to that stalagmite we saw. Got it?" Boss continued importantly.
"Uh yeah...right..." Pugley mumbled, swaying even as he stood.
"Ok then! Get to work!" Boss ordered, pointing to the hideout in emphisism.
Bugley and Pugley glanced at each other briefly before heading after Boss into the hideout, taking the still-unconscious Slim and the Elf with them.
The moment that the Elf was let out of the sack, he threw a fit like the Orcs had never seen before.
Screaming and yelling and thrashing around like an Elf possessed, the fair being began giving the Orcs the hardest time of their lives.
"Hold him! Hold him down Bugley!" Pugley grunted in horror as he himself struggled to pin down the Elf's arms, earning himself a few terribly painful pinches on the leg.
"I'm trying!" Bugley declared in dismay, finally deciding to simply press all of his weight onto the Elf's legs to keep him from moving there too.
The Elf was not enjoying this at all, and proceeded in trying with all of his might to get free from the Orcs' horrible clutches.
Fifteen minutes later, Boss was sitting dully against the wall of the cave, keeping his eyes idly fixed on the tiring Elf's face, while Slim was just barely beginning to regain consciousness, and Bugley and Pugley were still holding the Elf down.
The Elf, however, really did not need to be held down, because he was very tired. All that flailing and escape-attempting had made him very weary. "I should not have exerted myself so much." He told himself with a scowl, finally ceasing even to tap his fingers and laying his head down carefully on the cold, dirty floor of the cave.
He could not believe this was happening. Not to him. Not to Lord Elrond of Rivendell.
This had to be a nightmare.
Yes, that was it! This was all just a nightmare that he would wake up from sooner or later.
Comforted with this thought, Elrond finally relaxed and gave in to whatever dream he was having.
Unfortunately, this little nightmare-theory was very short-lived, particularly because Boss soon walked right up to him, plopping himself down on the ground by his head, and gave him a nice big...painful...slap across the face.
"Take that you mean Elf!" Boss was really trying for Orcish evilness right there. "That's for giving us so much trouble!"
Elrond frowned and glanced up briefly at the Orc's face. "It's you." Was all he said, hoping to sound completely impassive.
Boss' dark eyebrows shot up. "You remember us?!"
"How could I forget?" Elrond replied simply. "And I thought I smelled Orcs, including the fact that no other Orc in his right mind would think of sneaking into Rivendell in the middle of the night with only three other companions and try to kidnap me in the middle of my own city."
Boss blinked. "Well...you have a point I suppose...but it doesn't matter now." He said with another evil grin. "All that matters is that no one is going to find us back here...and nobody's gonna be getting you back until they pay up the ransom that we ordered."
Elrond's eyes widen. "Ransom?!" He felt new strength, mainly from panic, flare up inside of him. "You put me up for ransom?!"
"Oh yes. Wonderful idea isn't it?" Boss answered proudly, smiling down smugly at the trapped Elf. "And we put a nice-sized death threat in there too!"
"Oh, so you plan to kill me." Elrond concluded, hoping not to sound nervous.
"Eventually, yes. But only if they don't give us the money." Boss explained with an evil look still on his face. "They give us the money, you go free. If not, well..." He reached over to the corner of the cave and held up his small, blunt dagger. "You'll be Warg-food."
"Oh great. I'm done for." Elrond groaned inwardly, despairing at this little awful moment of his life. He was being held by the most stupid, daring, weird Orcs he had ever seen, and held for ransom no less.
Things were not bound to work out very well.
~**~
Aragorn happily trotted down the stairs that went down from the upper level, cheerfully making his way to the kitchen and checking out what was for breakfast.
Passing the dining room, the deciding Dunadan guessed that it must have been quite near breakfast time, because the table was completely and neatly set, and warm, delicious smells from the kitchen were wafting through the whole house.
Taking a great big sniff of the wonderful scent, Aragorn let his stomach lead him all the way into the kitchen, where he immediately found Arwen busily mixing up some pancakes for breakfast.
"Oh, shnookums!" He called softly, lightly knocking on the open door to the kitchen.
Arwen smiled and turned from mixing a bowl of batter with a long wooden spoon, very happy, as usual, to see Aragorn up and about. "Good morning Aragorn." She said sweetly.
Aragorn grinned and rushed to her side, quickly and dutifully surveying each and every bit of breakfast that the Elf maiden was preparing. "Yes, the sausages look done..." He said, talking like some ancient Elven Lord and making Arwen laugh. "And...hmmm..." He stuck his finger quickly in a bowl of brown syrup before Arwen could stop him and took a taste. "..Oh yes, the maple syrup is acceptable..."
"Thank you very much for your essential survey of my cooking, Aragorn." Arwen said sweetly, kissing her man lightly on the cheek and turning to pour the batter for the next batch of pancakes on the griddle.
"Well, you're welcome, sweet tarts!" Aragorn replied quite happily, secretly backing up to the table where the muffins were and snatching one of the goodies from the plate. With this accomplished, he hurriedly stuffed the whole muffin (luckily they were small muffins) in his mouth and then returned to his normal position, not leaving the faintest hint that he had done anything out of the ordinary.
Unfortunately, he had a very observant wife-to-be.
"Don't think I didn't see that, Aragorn." Arwen said in a motherish "naughty naughty" tone of voice.
Aragorn rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same. He couldn't grin, like he normally did, because otherwise he would thoroughly expose the stolen muffin in his mouth.
Arwen smiled affectionately at the Man. "You're getting better, sweetie." She assured him.
"Fank 'ou mi wuv!" Aragorn tried to reply, but hurried in putting a hand over his mouth when he did.
Arwen gave him a playfully warning smile, and then turned back to her duties. "Have you seen Father yet this morning?" She asked curiously.
Aragorn quickly went to work swallowing the muffin, almost choking himself, but managing to down the whole thing. "No." He answered innocently, but then his face turned very sly and an evil smile came to his face. "Not yet anyway."
Arwen gave him a Look*.
Aragorn quickly turned his expression back to immediate innocence.
Arwen sighed and shook her head. "That's funny. He's usually one of the first ones up around here..."
"Aw, don't worry shnookums. He probably just went for a walk or something." Aragorn assured her cheerfully.
"I suppose you're right." Arwen sighed again, turning the pancakes on the griddle over onto their uncooked sides.
Aragorn nodded happily...and then suddenly stopped when the sound of hoof beats came from just outside the house. That was funny, Elrond wasn't expecting anymore visitors...
The Man quickly moved over to the window that was near the cupboard in the kitchen, peering outside and searching the grounds until his eyes finally came to rest on the lone rider that had come in on a brown horse, obviously a human from the way he walked and tended to his horse...
Then, the answer came soaring right from where the new guy stood, and into Aragorn's mind.
With a wild whoop of joy, the rejoicing Ranger gave an impossible-to- understand excuse to Arwen and then took off like a shot to go meet the rider.
Arwen frowned in confusion, and took a turn peering out the window.
A delighted smile came to her face when she also realized who it was.
Aragorn burst outside, heading straight for the newcomer who was still tying up his horse in the stables. "B!!!" He called at the top of his lungs, charging for the other Man. "YOU ARE SO LATE!!"
Well, the new guy turned right around with a very happy smile on his face, standing expectantly in once place as Aragorn came rocketing up to him.
It took about two seconds for both Men to be engaged in joyful hugs and hearty slaps on the back and wildly exchanged conversations.
The other Man, who you might have guessed, was Boromir, Aragorn's long- lost pal.
"Aw man B, you've arrived just in time!" Aragorn said excitedly. "I have this really cool new prank that needs you real bad!!"
"Ok, ok, just hold your horses for a second Aragorn!" Boromir said, though he was smiling almost as wide as the Ranger was. "I just got here, and I really hope I'm in time for breakfast."
"Indeed you are."
Arwen's voice soon broke into the conversation as he calmly walked up to the two buddies, smiling widely at them. "Just in time infact. I was just about to go wake up Gandalf and the Dwarves."
"And Pops!" Aragorn added eagerly. "He obviously never heard the phrase: "early bird gets the germs"!"
Boromir frowned at looked at Arwen in confusion.
Arwen sighed and shook her head. "That's, 'early bird gets the worm', Aragorn." She corrected patiently.
"Exactly!" The dandy Dunadan agreed whole-heartedly.
Arwen rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same. "I guess we're all here then!" She finally concluded, smiling at the Men. "We were afraid you weren't coming Boromir. The group just isn't the same without you."
"Oh, why thank you for saying so, ma'am." Boromir said humbly, as he always was around Arwen.
Suddenly, a distinct smell came to their senses.
"Oh my! I must go tend to those pancakes!" Arwen said quickly, hastily excusing herself from the Men and darting back into the kitchen.
Boromir's eyebrows went up gradually, and he looked over in surprise at Aragorn. "She's certainly a busy bee today!" He said in wonder.
"That she is." Aragorn replied proudly. "It's a lot of work cooking for seven people, but she always manages." That distinct, dreamy look was coming over his face again.
Boromir grinned and teasingly waved a hand in front of the dreamy Dunadan's face. "Hello in there!" He called happily.
Aragorn quickly snapped out of it, regaining his composure and glaring as Boromir laughed quietly at his loving actions.
"So!-" Boromir began, when suddenly, more hoof beats caught their attention.
Aragorn frowned. "You'd think Pops had invited the whole army!" The reporting Ranger announced.
Boromir nodded and turned to watch who was coming in.
It took about five seconds for the Men to immediately recognize the white horse with the silver bridle, and the golden-haired figure on top of it, dressed in the common greens and browns of Mirkwood.
"But...but..." Boromir started in shock. No one had expected...
Aragorn's mouth dropped open in complete surprise, matching Boromir's to the T.
The Elf on top of the horse just smiled brightly at them, leaping gracefully down from the horse and just staring at the two dumb-founded Men. "Surprise." He said simply and very cheerfully.
Two seconds later, Aragorn and Boromir were literally shouting in happiness and dashing at the golden-haired figure with all of the speed of their joy behind them.
The Elf just smiled and helped in the process by running forward as well and meeting the two of his friends right in the middle, allowing himself non-hesitantly to be literally crushed between the two Men in ecstatic embraces, just looking between the two delighted faces in happiness of his own.
"Legolas, we didn't think you'd be coming!" Boromir exclaimed.
"Pops said that he never sent for you!" Aragorn added eagerly.
"I know!" Legolas replied happily. "I thought a little surprise was in order here."
"Well, it sure worked." Boromir panted teasingly, dramatically wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.
Aragorn laughed along with Legolas at that, and then turned quickly towards the kitchen again. "Arwen!!" He called quickly. "Shnookums, come out here quick!"
Well, Arwen responded to that quite promptly, emerging from the kitchen once again and looking towards the direction from where the call had come from. "Aragorn what is-" She stopped short when she spotted the brightly smiling Elf standing among the two equally-grinning Men.
Not long after though, the shock wore off quite well.
"LEGOLAS!!!" She shrieked ecstatically, overjoyed at seeing the prince again after neither of them had seen each other for nearly two years.
Rushing forward like a shot, the Elf maiden practically flung herself into Legolas' arms, laughing in delight as the prince whirled her around before setting her back down and gazing brightly into her beautiful face, studying her to see if there had been any changes since they last met, as he usually did.
"Ai, Arwen, beautiful as ever." The golden-haired Elf complimented her. "You never cease to amaze me."
"And you are also equally as handsome as ever, if not more so." Arwen returned dutifully.
Aragorn was growing slightly uncomfortable at this, but Boromir quickly reached over and squeezed his arm reassuringly as if trying to tell him that nothing "dangerous" was going to come of the Elf prince and the Elf maiden spending a little happy time together.
After a few more minutes of happy reunions, Arwen turned to all of them with a bright smile on her pretty face. "I suppose you're all probably starving. Come on in and have some breakfast, it's all ready."
"Praise to the Valar!" Boromir said dramatically, causing more outbursts of laughter to come from the group, which was now a group of four.
***
Breakfast that morning was both a happy and an uneasy one.
Happy because it was simply wonderful to have Boromir and Legolas with them again, and uneasy because first of all, the Dwarves had already begun their usual insultments and tormentings on Legolas again, and that was not pleasing Legolas at all, and second of all, Elrond still had not come down from his room.
"I do wonder what he is doing right now..." Arwen said nervously, picking rather unhungrily at her pancakes.
"Aw, I'm sure he's just fine. You know Pops!" Aragorn said cheerfully. "He's such a Poppsy Floppsy that he'll be sure to take care of himself!"
"Uh, duh, but what if he's all dead and stuff?" Gandalf asked scaredly.
"And WHAT is a "Poppsy Floppsy"?!" Gimli demanded.
"It's a weird, dumb nickname, son." Gloin answered compassionately, then glared out at everyone else. "And I wouldn't doubt it for one second if Elrond was dead!"
"Yeah right. Pops? Dead? Ha! There hasn't been so much as a mess in here since the war!" Aragorn said indignantly, clearly not hearing the messy splat of Boromir accidentally pouring too much syrup on his pancakes and spilling the sticky substance all over the place.
"Still, I think we should check on him." Arwen said simply, standing up from her chair and starting to head for the stairs. "If he has gone for a walk, then we will at least see some evidence up in his room."
"But doesn't Lord Elrond usually tell you when he's going for a walk?" Boromir pointed out.
"Yeah, and he never does it right before breakfast!" Aragorn added eagerly.
Well, these comments certainly did not ease Arwen's feelings at all, and she hastened quickly in heading up to her father's room.
Once she was out of sight, Legolas frowned at the two Men. "Why did you have to say that to her?" He asked in a disapproving tone of voice.
"Well...she doesn't like it when I lie you know." Aragorn pointed out simply.
"I was just trying to be honest." Boromir added.
The Dwarves snorted, and Gandalf stared blankly.
"Uh, duh, is Elrond all gone and stuff?" The frail wizard asked dumbly.
"Maybe, maybe not." Aragorn said casually, reaching for another sausage.
At that very moment, a horrified scream rang out from the upstairs.
"ARAGOOOORRRNNNN!!!"
At that scream, Aragorn immediately went rigid in his seat, almost all of the color draining from his face. "Arwen..." He breathed in a very panicked voice.
Whenever Arwen screamed, it was for a very good reason, and all of the people sitting at the table knew that well.
Ok! There's a nice cliffie for you...though I'm sure some of you will be able to guess just what Arwen saw. *shrugs* Oh well. I tried. Please review!!! I need to know what you think...especially since two new characters have now been presented in the story. I need feedback!!!
*Hmmm...how do you describe it? I always label that kind of expression with a capitol L in it, so that you'll know what it is without having me explain it in seven paragraphs each time. I would say the best way to describe it would be kind of annoyed, in a very "yeah right"ish fashion, kind of "do you really expect me to believe that"ish, if you somehow get my meaning. Like I said, it's kind of annoyed, maybe a bit "I'm so sure"ish. I dunno. I really don't know how to explain it, and that's why I labeled it that way. *shrugs helplessly* Sorry.
Don't forget to review! Just click that little button down there to the left of the screen that says "Go". It will take you right to a screen where you just write down stuff. K? :0D
Disclaimer: Just like all the others. Tolkien has everything in his pocket except the Orcs and the personalities of the characters. If he wants those guys, he'll have to sew our pockets together.
*kneels down beside bed at night* Dear God, thank you for the nice sunset that is going on this evening, and thank you especially for all of the wonderful reviewers and friends that you've given me lately through my story. I really couldn't do it without them. Thank you for them, Amanalda, and Alisa and Tiffany. They're a real blessing, Lord, and I ask you to bless them and give them all good days tomorrow. Amen.
K, just though you'd all like to get a look at what I prayed for last night during my bedtime prayers. Thank you all so much for your reviews and your support.
Ok! Time for the next chapter. This time, since it's really hot today, (or at least where I come from) grab a popsicle and a smoothie or something, and pull down the brim of your hat and get ready for what's coming up next in chapter 6.
Chapter 6
By the time the Orcs had managed to get back to their hideout, it was almost sunrise. They had had a horrible time getting both Slim and their captive all the way away from the city and towards the waterfall that hid their hideout.
At last though, the waterfall was in sight, and Boss turned quickly to the others before they went inside. "Ok everyone! We're here at last. And this is what we're going to do."
"Ok..." The incredibly tired, sleep-deprived Orcs replied wearily, struggling to keep their eyes open.
"First, we're going to get the Elf inside, and then we're going to let him carefully out of the sack...and then tie him to that stalagmite we saw. Got it?" Boss continued importantly.
"Uh yeah...right..." Pugley mumbled, swaying even as he stood.
"Ok then! Get to work!" Boss ordered, pointing to the hideout in emphisism.
Bugley and Pugley glanced at each other briefly before heading after Boss into the hideout, taking the still-unconscious Slim and the Elf with them.
The moment that the Elf was let out of the sack, he threw a fit like the Orcs had never seen before.
Screaming and yelling and thrashing around like an Elf possessed, the fair being began giving the Orcs the hardest time of their lives.
"Hold him! Hold him down Bugley!" Pugley grunted in horror as he himself struggled to pin down the Elf's arms, earning himself a few terribly painful pinches on the leg.
"I'm trying!" Bugley declared in dismay, finally deciding to simply press all of his weight onto the Elf's legs to keep him from moving there too.
The Elf was not enjoying this at all, and proceeded in trying with all of his might to get free from the Orcs' horrible clutches.
Fifteen minutes later, Boss was sitting dully against the wall of the cave, keeping his eyes idly fixed on the tiring Elf's face, while Slim was just barely beginning to regain consciousness, and Bugley and Pugley were still holding the Elf down.
The Elf, however, really did not need to be held down, because he was very tired. All that flailing and escape-attempting had made him very weary. "I should not have exerted myself so much." He told himself with a scowl, finally ceasing even to tap his fingers and laying his head down carefully on the cold, dirty floor of the cave.
He could not believe this was happening. Not to him. Not to Lord Elrond of Rivendell.
This had to be a nightmare.
Yes, that was it! This was all just a nightmare that he would wake up from sooner or later.
Comforted with this thought, Elrond finally relaxed and gave in to whatever dream he was having.
Unfortunately, this little nightmare-theory was very short-lived, particularly because Boss soon walked right up to him, plopping himself down on the ground by his head, and gave him a nice big...painful...slap across the face.
"Take that you mean Elf!" Boss was really trying for Orcish evilness right there. "That's for giving us so much trouble!"
Elrond frowned and glanced up briefly at the Orc's face. "It's you." Was all he said, hoping to sound completely impassive.
Boss' dark eyebrows shot up. "You remember us?!"
"How could I forget?" Elrond replied simply. "And I thought I smelled Orcs, including the fact that no other Orc in his right mind would think of sneaking into Rivendell in the middle of the night with only three other companions and try to kidnap me in the middle of my own city."
Boss blinked. "Well...you have a point I suppose...but it doesn't matter now." He said with another evil grin. "All that matters is that no one is going to find us back here...and nobody's gonna be getting you back until they pay up the ransom that we ordered."
Elrond's eyes widen. "Ransom?!" He felt new strength, mainly from panic, flare up inside of him. "You put me up for ransom?!"
"Oh yes. Wonderful idea isn't it?" Boss answered proudly, smiling down smugly at the trapped Elf. "And we put a nice-sized death threat in there too!"
"Oh, so you plan to kill me." Elrond concluded, hoping not to sound nervous.
"Eventually, yes. But only if they don't give us the money." Boss explained with an evil look still on his face. "They give us the money, you go free. If not, well..." He reached over to the corner of the cave and held up his small, blunt dagger. "You'll be Warg-food."
"Oh great. I'm done for." Elrond groaned inwardly, despairing at this little awful moment of his life. He was being held by the most stupid, daring, weird Orcs he had ever seen, and held for ransom no less.
Things were not bound to work out very well.
~**~
Aragorn happily trotted down the stairs that went down from the upper level, cheerfully making his way to the kitchen and checking out what was for breakfast.
Passing the dining room, the deciding Dunadan guessed that it must have been quite near breakfast time, because the table was completely and neatly set, and warm, delicious smells from the kitchen were wafting through the whole house.
Taking a great big sniff of the wonderful scent, Aragorn let his stomach lead him all the way into the kitchen, where he immediately found Arwen busily mixing up some pancakes for breakfast.
"Oh, shnookums!" He called softly, lightly knocking on the open door to the kitchen.
Arwen smiled and turned from mixing a bowl of batter with a long wooden spoon, very happy, as usual, to see Aragorn up and about. "Good morning Aragorn." She said sweetly.
Aragorn grinned and rushed to her side, quickly and dutifully surveying each and every bit of breakfast that the Elf maiden was preparing. "Yes, the sausages look done..." He said, talking like some ancient Elven Lord and making Arwen laugh. "And...hmmm..." He stuck his finger quickly in a bowl of brown syrup before Arwen could stop him and took a taste. "..Oh yes, the maple syrup is acceptable..."
"Thank you very much for your essential survey of my cooking, Aragorn." Arwen said sweetly, kissing her man lightly on the cheek and turning to pour the batter for the next batch of pancakes on the griddle.
"Well, you're welcome, sweet tarts!" Aragorn replied quite happily, secretly backing up to the table where the muffins were and snatching one of the goodies from the plate. With this accomplished, he hurriedly stuffed the whole muffin (luckily they were small muffins) in his mouth and then returned to his normal position, not leaving the faintest hint that he had done anything out of the ordinary.
Unfortunately, he had a very observant wife-to-be.
"Don't think I didn't see that, Aragorn." Arwen said in a motherish "naughty naughty" tone of voice.
Aragorn rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same. He couldn't grin, like he normally did, because otherwise he would thoroughly expose the stolen muffin in his mouth.
Arwen smiled affectionately at the Man. "You're getting better, sweetie." She assured him.
"Fank 'ou mi wuv!" Aragorn tried to reply, but hurried in putting a hand over his mouth when he did.
Arwen gave him a playfully warning smile, and then turned back to her duties. "Have you seen Father yet this morning?" She asked curiously.
Aragorn quickly went to work swallowing the muffin, almost choking himself, but managing to down the whole thing. "No." He answered innocently, but then his face turned very sly and an evil smile came to his face. "Not yet anyway."
Arwen gave him a Look*.
Aragorn quickly turned his expression back to immediate innocence.
Arwen sighed and shook her head. "That's funny. He's usually one of the first ones up around here..."
"Aw, don't worry shnookums. He probably just went for a walk or something." Aragorn assured her cheerfully.
"I suppose you're right." Arwen sighed again, turning the pancakes on the griddle over onto their uncooked sides.
Aragorn nodded happily...and then suddenly stopped when the sound of hoof beats came from just outside the house. That was funny, Elrond wasn't expecting anymore visitors...
The Man quickly moved over to the window that was near the cupboard in the kitchen, peering outside and searching the grounds until his eyes finally came to rest on the lone rider that had come in on a brown horse, obviously a human from the way he walked and tended to his horse...
Then, the answer came soaring right from where the new guy stood, and into Aragorn's mind.
With a wild whoop of joy, the rejoicing Ranger gave an impossible-to- understand excuse to Arwen and then took off like a shot to go meet the rider.
Arwen frowned in confusion, and took a turn peering out the window.
A delighted smile came to her face when she also realized who it was.
Aragorn burst outside, heading straight for the newcomer who was still tying up his horse in the stables. "B!!!" He called at the top of his lungs, charging for the other Man. "YOU ARE SO LATE!!"
Well, the new guy turned right around with a very happy smile on his face, standing expectantly in once place as Aragorn came rocketing up to him.
It took about two seconds for both Men to be engaged in joyful hugs and hearty slaps on the back and wildly exchanged conversations.
The other Man, who you might have guessed, was Boromir, Aragorn's long- lost pal.
"Aw man B, you've arrived just in time!" Aragorn said excitedly. "I have this really cool new prank that needs you real bad!!"
"Ok, ok, just hold your horses for a second Aragorn!" Boromir said, though he was smiling almost as wide as the Ranger was. "I just got here, and I really hope I'm in time for breakfast."
"Indeed you are."
Arwen's voice soon broke into the conversation as he calmly walked up to the two buddies, smiling widely at them. "Just in time infact. I was just about to go wake up Gandalf and the Dwarves."
"And Pops!" Aragorn added eagerly. "He obviously never heard the phrase: "early bird gets the germs"!"
Boromir frowned at looked at Arwen in confusion.
Arwen sighed and shook her head. "That's, 'early bird gets the worm', Aragorn." She corrected patiently.
"Exactly!" The dandy Dunadan agreed whole-heartedly.
Arwen rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same. "I guess we're all here then!" She finally concluded, smiling at the Men. "We were afraid you weren't coming Boromir. The group just isn't the same without you."
"Oh, why thank you for saying so, ma'am." Boromir said humbly, as he always was around Arwen.
Suddenly, a distinct smell came to their senses.
"Oh my! I must go tend to those pancakes!" Arwen said quickly, hastily excusing herself from the Men and darting back into the kitchen.
Boromir's eyebrows went up gradually, and he looked over in surprise at Aragorn. "She's certainly a busy bee today!" He said in wonder.
"That she is." Aragorn replied proudly. "It's a lot of work cooking for seven people, but she always manages." That distinct, dreamy look was coming over his face again.
Boromir grinned and teasingly waved a hand in front of the dreamy Dunadan's face. "Hello in there!" He called happily.
Aragorn quickly snapped out of it, regaining his composure and glaring as Boromir laughed quietly at his loving actions.
"So!-" Boromir began, when suddenly, more hoof beats caught their attention.
Aragorn frowned. "You'd think Pops had invited the whole army!" The reporting Ranger announced.
Boromir nodded and turned to watch who was coming in.
It took about five seconds for the Men to immediately recognize the white horse with the silver bridle, and the golden-haired figure on top of it, dressed in the common greens and browns of Mirkwood.
"But...but..." Boromir started in shock. No one had expected...
Aragorn's mouth dropped open in complete surprise, matching Boromir's to the T.
The Elf on top of the horse just smiled brightly at them, leaping gracefully down from the horse and just staring at the two dumb-founded Men. "Surprise." He said simply and very cheerfully.
Two seconds later, Aragorn and Boromir were literally shouting in happiness and dashing at the golden-haired figure with all of the speed of their joy behind them.
The Elf just smiled and helped in the process by running forward as well and meeting the two of his friends right in the middle, allowing himself non-hesitantly to be literally crushed between the two Men in ecstatic embraces, just looking between the two delighted faces in happiness of his own.
"Legolas, we didn't think you'd be coming!" Boromir exclaimed.
"Pops said that he never sent for you!" Aragorn added eagerly.
"I know!" Legolas replied happily. "I thought a little surprise was in order here."
"Well, it sure worked." Boromir panted teasingly, dramatically wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.
Aragorn laughed along with Legolas at that, and then turned quickly towards the kitchen again. "Arwen!!" He called quickly. "Shnookums, come out here quick!"
Well, Arwen responded to that quite promptly, emerging from the kitchen once again and looking towards the direction from where the call had come from. "Aragorn what is-" She stopped short when she spotted the brightly smiling Elf standing among the two equally-grinning Men.
Not long after though, the shock wore off quite well.
"LEGOLAS!!!" She shrieked ecstatically, overjoyed at seeing the prince again after neither of them had seen each other for nearly two years.
Rushing forward like a shot, the Elf maiden practically flung herself into Legolas' arms, laughing in delight as the prince whirled her around before setting her back down and gazing brightly into her beautiful face, studying her to see if there had been any changes since they last met, as he usually did.
"Ai, Arwen, beautiful as ever." The golden-haired Elf complimented her. "You never cease to amaze me."
"And you are also equally as handsome as ever, if not more so." Arwen returned dutifully.
Aragorn was growing slightly uncomfortable at this, but Boromir quickly reached over and squeezed his arm reassuringly as if trying to tell him that nothing "dangerous" was going to come of the Elf prince and the Elf maiden spending a little happy time together.
After a few more minutes of happy reunions, Arwen turned to all of them with a bright smile on her pretty face. "I suppose you're all probably starving. Come on in and have some breakfast, it's all ready."
"Praise to the Valar!" Boromir said dramatically, causing more outbursts of laughter to come from the group, which was now a group of four.
***
Breakfast that morning was both a happy and an uneasy one.
Happy because it was simply wonderful to have Boromir and Legolas with them again, and uneasy because first of all, the Dwarves had already begun their usual insultments and tormentings on Legolas again, and that was not pleasing Legolas at all, and second of all, Elrond still had not come down from his room.
"I do wonder what he is doing right now..." Arwen said nervously, picking rather unhungrily at her pancakes.
"Aw, I'm sure he's just fine. You know Pops!" Aragorn said cheerfully. "He's such a Poppsy Floppsy that he'll be sure to take care of himself!"
"Uh, duh, but what if he's all dead and stuff?" Gandalf asked scaredly.
"And WHAT is a "Poppsy Floppsy"?!" Gimli demanded.
"It's a weird, dumb nickname, son." Gloin answered compassionately, then glared out at everyone else. "And I wouldn't doubt it for one second if Elrond was dead!"
"Yeah right. Pops? Dead? Ha! There hasn't been so much as a mess in here since the war!" Aragorn said indignantly, clearly not hearing the messy splat of Boromir accidentally pouring too much syrup on his pancakes and spilling the sticky substance all over the place.
"Still, I think we should check on him." Arwen said simply, standing up from her chair and starting to head for the stairs. "If he has gone for a walk, then we will at least see some evidence up in his room."
"But doesn't Lord Elrond usually tell you when he's going for a walk?" Boromir pointed out.
"Yeah, and he never does it right before breakfast!" Aragorn added eagerly.
Well, these comments certainly did not ease Arwen's feelings at all, and she hastened quickly in heading up to her father's room.
Once she was out of sight, Legolas frowned at the two Men. "Why did you have to say that to her?" He asked in a disapproving tone of voice.
"Well...she doesn't like it when I lie you know." Aragorn pointed out simply.
"I was just trying to be honest." Boromir added.
The Dwarves snorted, and Gandalf stared blankly.
"Uh, duh, is Elrond all gone and stuff?" The frail wizard asked dumbly.
"Maybe, maybe not." Aragorn said casually, reaching for another sausage.
At that very moment, a horrified scream rang out from the upstairs.
"ARAGOOOORRRNNNN!!!"
At that scream, Aragorn immediately went rigid in his seat, almost all of the color draining from his face. "Arwen..." He breathed in a very panicked voice.
Whenever Arwen screamed, it was for a very good reason, and all of the people sitting at the table knew that well.
Ok! There's a nice cliffie for you...though I'm sure some of you will be able to guess just what Arwen saw. *shrugs* Oh well. I tried. Please review!!! I need to know what you think...especially since two new characters have now been presented in the story. I need feedback!!!
*Hmmm...how do you describe it? I always label that kind of expression with a capitol L in it, so that you'll know what it is without having me explain it in seven paragraphs each time. I would say the best way to describe it would be kind of annoyed, in a very "yeah right"ish fashion, kind of "do you really expect me to believe that"ish, if you somehow get my meaning. Like I said, it's kind of annoyed, maybe a bit "I'm so sure"ish. I dunno. I really don't know how to explain it, and that's why I labeled it that way. *shrugs helplessly* Sorry.
Don't forget to review! Just click that little button down there to the left of the screen that says "Go". It will take you right to a screen where you just write down stuff. K? :0D