Chapter 17 reviews:

Rebell: Yes, manners are important because...well, they just are. And your welcome. The electric cha cha tells you what to do? I didn't know that! Erestor is going to drive Glorfindel crazy, you just wait. Hehehe, making crunching noises while eating an apple. I got that idea when I was eating an apple and my dad told me that the noise was annoying.

Kel: Legolas just doesn't know his own strength.

Elven Kitten: Poor Glorfindel indeed. Oh the torture!

Redleef: Glad you think the chapter was funny!

TheAmazingTecnoColorRingWraith: Thanks, I was going for that. Yes, Shadow is over protective of his new owner. Wish I had a pet like that, -sigh-

KyLaaa: That was my favorite part. When I was thinking about what to write, that came to mind, and I started laughing. My sister, who was with me, gave me a weird look.

A. NuEvil: You don't want to mess with an angry Legolas. Look what he did to poor Raindul! I do believe that he was just really confused. Erestor is evil. Bwahahaha!

Mearas: I'm the one who does the munching in my family. It annoys the rest of the family. I wanted to write something realistic with Legolas. I don't think someone would just do what you said, that's just dumb. Glad I succeeded there. I know how you feel, when Ffiction won't let you review. Its so annoying!

IwishChan: You don't know how right you are! He'll torture Glorfindel in later chapters as well. I think it's nice to know that you have an adar that still loves you somewhere when you thought you were alone in the world. I don't know if I should make Estel right or wrong. I'll think about it while I write.

Arialas: You should hit him in the head, but use a plastic cup cause I don't want you to accidentally send your brother to the hospital. It would be better if you knock him unconscious.

Chapter 18

Estel studied the ground, looking for any traces of the twins. He soon found a set of footprints, with a bit of difficulty, and followed the tracks until he heard the sound of two elves talking, or yelling, at each other.

Not being able to resist, Estel made his way towards were the sound of his brothers voices could be heard. He followed the sound until he reached a small clearing and couldn't help but laugh at what he saw. Both of the twins had leaves and twigs stuck in their hair and they also had smudges on their faces.

"What are you two doing?" He asked as soon as he was able to calm down a bit.

Elladan had Elrohir pinned beneath him. He was sitting on Elrohir's back, while Elrohir was struggling to get out. They hadn't heard when Estel walked over and, amazingly, they hadn't heard when he had started to laugh. They did hear him when he asked his question, thou. They both looked over to Estel, who had a large grin on his face and had his arms crossed over his chest. There was also amusement in his eyes.

"Nothing." Both the brothers said at the same time. Estel just raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

Estel walked over till he was standing next to the twins. "You do know that everyone is waiting for the fire wood so that they could cook something to eat, don't you?"

The twins exchanged looks before slowly getting to their feet. Estel had helped Elrohir up. "Have we been gone long?" Elladan asked. It didn't feel like they were gone to long, in fact, it only felt as if they have been collecting wood for about ten minutes. Ok, maybe more like thirty minutes.

Elrohir ran his hand though his hair, pulling twigs and leaves out of his hair as he did so. "If we're late, its all your fault." Elrohir stated as if it were a wide known fact.

"What do you mean! That's a lie and you know it!" Elladan almost yelled.

Estel looked confused. "What are you two talking about?" Sometimes his brothers confused him. They could fight over some of the smallest things, making it hard to know when an argument would brake out between them.

Elrohir crossed his arms. "I saw Elladan getting thick twigs and asked him why. He said to start the fire. I told him that it was better if you used small, thin twigs to start a fire with, cause they catch faster and all." As Elrohir continued to tell the tale, Elladan would brake into the story and point something out.

Estel just stared at the twins before rolling his eyes. I guess I was right. They can be so immature sometimes. He then began to gather firewood himself, ignoring the twins, who were shouting at each other at this point. As soon as his arms were full, he made his way back to camp, leaving his brothers behind. They'll get to camp eventually.

The next morning came quickly for the small group.

After clearing the campsite and making it seem as if no one was ever there, the elves and human got on their horses and continued on their journey.

Elladan rode over to where Raindul was, which was in front of the line. "If we continue at this rate, I would say that we would have to travel for at least three more days. Four at the most."

Raindul looked over to Elladan and nodded. "True, but do not worry. There is no need to travel in haste. As long as we get some sort of answer, the king would be glad."

A comfortable silence followed. Behind them, Elladan could hear his two brothers and Legolas talking. About what, he had no idea, but judging from the laughter that he was hearing, it was safe to assume that they were having fun.

He looked at Raindul from the corner of his eye. Well, it's now or never. "Raindul, you plan on returning to Mirkwood when this is finished, right?" Raindul nodded his head. "What are you going to do about Legolas?"

This made Raindul snap his head so that he was looking at Elladan. That got his attention for sure! Elladan watched as Raindul turned in his seat to look at Legolas. Elladan turned around and caught Legolas's eye. When said elf looked over, Elladan and Raindul both gave him a small nod of their head and a small smile. Legolas returned the favor with a bigger smile and a wave of his hand.

They both turned back around and Raindul gave out a sigh. "I was thinking of taking him back to Mirkwood with us. It would both him and the king. It would give him a chance to know his adar and to know that he has a home, and it would do the king wonders to know that his son is still alive."

Elladan nodded his head to what Raindul said. "Do you think that Legolas would want to go?"

Raindul glared at Elladan, as if to say 'how dare you ask such a question!' "Of course he would want to go! Who wouldn't want to be able to finally met their own adar? Besides, once he gets back, he can take his rightful place as the Prince of Mirkwood."

"But does he want to be a prince?" Raindul opened his mouth to speak, but Elladan beat him to it. "If his reaction yesterday is anything to go by, he doesn't seem to thrilled about being a prince." Raindul closed his mouth and looked away. Elladan put a hand on his shoulder. "To become a prince is to lose ones freedom. Sure, you can do some things that you couldn't do before, but you would not be able to leave the palace. I don't think that Legolas would be able to deal with that."

Raindul let his head drop. "Then what am I suppose to do?" This was said in a whisper. "I can't just go to the king and said that I found his son, but that Legolas was unwilling to come home, and I can't just drag Legolas back to Mirkwood with my patrol."

"Why don't you just not mention Legolas to the king?" Elladan asked. It made sense to him. After all, if you don't tell someone something, then they won't have to think about whatever it is that you tell them.

"If I don't tell him, then one of the other soldiers that is traveling with us will probable tell him, then the king will ask why I didn't tell him and I would begin to feel guilty and that will probably make the king feel ever worse and I'll probable get the title taken away from me and-"

"Okay, okay! I think I get it." Elladan shook his head. I didn't think that keeping a secret like this could cause so much trouble. "I think that you should ask Legolas what he wants to do when we get to Lothlorien."

Raindul looked at Elladan for a while before nodding his head in agreement.

They rode in silence, the sound of talking and the occasional laugh from behind being the only sounds the broke the silence that fell around the two.

Eerie.

That was the only word that could describe the woods that now stood in front of Elrond. That along with freaky, scary, evil and some other words that I can't think of at this moment.

Elrond, Talan, and the rest of the Mirkwood elves that travel with them were now standing in front of the entrance that led to the realm of Mirkwood. Unlike Raindul and the others, they had rushed so that they could reach Mirkwood in the fastest way possible.

Talan got off his horse and got out a sword that Elrond didn't even know he had. "Lord Elrond, I suggest that you get off the horse. It would be much easier if you pull the animal along instead of ridding it."

Elrond quickly got off his horse. He gave the animal a pat on the neck and turned to face Talan, who was holding a sword on a strap out towards him. "I assume that you know how to use one of these, yes?"

"Of course I know. One does not forget how to use a sword that easily." As if to prove himself, Elrond quickly and easily strapped the sword to his waste. Talan gave him a smile.

"From this point on, we must travel quietly. Do not speak louder than a whisper. Do not let your horse or yourself drink any of the water that you find, no matter how clean it looks. Do not travel off the path unless you want to get lost or eaten by spiders and other dark creatures that lurk in the darkness. Keep you horse close to you, do not allow it to wonder off. We will not stop once we begin walking, to do so is foolish. Do you understand?"

By this time, Elrond had raised his eyebrows so that they almost disappeared at his hair line. But he recovered quickly and gave a nod to show that he had understood what the advisor told him.

With that done, they quietly entered the woods. Elrond walked next to Talan in the middle of the path with the other elves making a living shield around them.

Sheesh, they don't take things lightly here, do they. Elrond thought as he watched the elves around him on high alert. Well, I can't blame them. They have to live in a place that is slowly being consumed by darkness, while I get a realm that doesn't see this much danger in a week. Elrond let out a quiet sigh. He felt a bit sorry for the king of Mirkwood, but at he same time he was amazed that the king was willing to defend his homeland and the fact that he hadn't fled.

A tap on his arm brought him out of his thoughts. Looking to his side, Elrond saw Talan motioning him to get closer.

"If we are lucky, we won't run into anything on our way back." Talan whispered when Elrond had gotten close enough. "Hopefully they still remember what happened when they attacked last time."

"You were attacked?" Elrond asked in a whisper.

"Yes." Talan whispered back. "When we first left to travel to your realm, a group of spiders attacked us before we were able to reach the end of the woods. None of us were hurt, and the few spiders that managed to get away each bore a gash or were missing a leg."

They continued in silence.

After a while, Elrond began to notice that the further they traveled, the darker it became. Looking up, Elrond saw that the leaves and branches were so close together to each other that they blocked out all the light. There were a few spots were light managed to slip threw, but the light was small and didn't really help much.

Talan noticed that Elrond was studding the branches and leaves above them. "When we get to the palace, there will be enough light, so don't worry." He whispered when he got Elrond's attention.

"I wasn't worried, I was just wondering how a tree could grow so large with so little light." Elrond whispered back.

Talan just shrugged. He didn't now the answer to his question. He didn't think that anyone knew the answer to his question.

This place is dangerous. It's a good thing that I didn't bring my sons with me. Thinking about his sons made Elrond made him start to wonder if his sons were alright. Don't begin to think about them. They are fine, after all, Glorfindel was the one who taught them how to fight and use weapons. That made Elrond feel much better. I hope they're enjoying themselves.

I got past my writers-block as was able to produce this chapter for you all to read. I hope yall liked it!