The rest of the night was not a good one for poor Legolas and Aragorn. Upon reaching their rooms, they immediately stripped and bathed to be rid themselves of the ketchup and porridge, hoping that the terrible stench would be washed away just as easily.
Unfortunately for them, it was not. After changing into their nightclothes, they found themselves tossing and turning in their attempts to sleep due to the smell that was filling their room. It is, after all, quite difficult to get away from the smell that is you.
As the sun rose, they began to drag themselves out of bed, though neither wanted to and both prolonged rising until much later than usual. Starting the day off tired and in a sour mood, they could only hope that it would improve.
Walking side by side slowly down the corridor, Legolas happened to catch a glimpse of one of the mirrors hanging on the wall. He quickly turned his head for a closer look. Could he have possibly seen what he thought he had seen? The second look proved his suspicions correct.
The poor elf stood there in disbelief at first. Aragorn had kept walking, but then turned and came back to Legolas when he realized the elf had stopped. Horror began to replace the expression of shock on Legolas's face.
"I have a zit!" he exclaimed in dismay.
"What?" Aragorn asked in surprise.
"A zit!" Legolas reiterated. "A pimple, a spot, a blemish! On my face!"
"Where?" the ranger demanded, turning Legolas in his direction so he could see.
"Up there!" Legolas pointed to his forehead, going cross-eyed as he tried to catch a glimpse of his own face without the aid of the mirror.
Sure enough, there was an unsightly mar on his face, placed just so on the center of his forehead. This was no ordinary zit, however. This thing was mutant or something, Legolas thought. It was the biggest pimple he had ever seen in his life, and it shone brilliantly in a bright red.
"Elves don't get pimples!" Legolas whined in despair.
"It will be all right," Aragorn reassured him. "Everyone has to go through…"
"Everyone who is not an elf," Legolas cut him off. "I am supposed to be a creature of beauty. A display of splendor for all Middle Earth to bask in the glory of. People are supposed to look up to me and…"
"That's enough, Legolas. You're not that good-looking," Aragorn stopped him.
The elf stared at him blankly and lapsed into silence.
"I bet it was that devilish concoction of Gimli's that made this happen," Legolas grumbled a moment later. "Half rotten porridge and ketchup cannot be very good for one's skin…"
"Yes, I am sure it was," Aragorn agreed with him absentmindedly, wanting the elf to quit his whining already.
Aragorn had had plenty of zits in his time, and nothing ever happened to him. He did not see what was such a big deal about it.
"I'm going to skin that dwarf alive," Legolas threatened under his breath.
----
A few hours later Gandalf and the Hobbits were found gathered around the table for a scrumptious lunch of roasted chicken and potatoes. Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn were all absent from the scene, but they, especially the Hobbits, were too hungry to care much. None of the three had been seen at all that day, and those at the dinner table correctly assumed that the previous night had held pranks for all of them.
Halfway through the meal, Pippin and Merry were beginning to look a bit mischievous… Frodo and Sam subtly tried to tell them to knock it off, but it was too no avail.
"Mmm… This ale is simply delicious," Gandalf murmured to himself.
That was enough for the Hobbits. Merry and Pippin simply looked at one another, smiles trying to be hidden slowly spreading across their faces instead. Merry let out a tiny giggle, but cut it off short. Next was Pippin. Then both of them were dying with laughter.
"Guys!" Sam hissed at the two through clenched teeth.
"What in Middle Earth is so ridiculously funny that it has you two babbling like fools?" Gandalf demanded.
"Good going," Frodo remarked, glaring at Merry and Pippin.
"I can't help it!" Pippin protested.
"We put something in your ale," Merry confessed, biting his lip to stop his giggle fit.
"You did what?" the wizard exclaimed.
He quickly rose to his feet to smash the Hobbits, but in doing so his head began to spin. He was feeling sleepy. So very sleepy…
----
Gandalf began to stir, his eyes slowly opening. He blinked quickly at the light that flooded in. Birds chirped. He was outside, somewhere, and he could not move.
As the realization of this last minor detail began to set in, Gandalf became alarmed. His eyes flew open, darting around for the reason why he had lost his mobility. There were four reasons, actually.
The four Hobbits danced merrily around a large oak tree which they were duct taping the wizard to. It seemed as if they had been at it for quite some time, for there were already spots where it was all tape and no Gandalf.
So they had planned this all along. They put sleeping powder into his mug of ale at mealtime so they could carry him out here while he slept and duct tape him to a tree. Of course, the dancing in glee was a must for this scene, and made the Hobbits look even more like little demon spawns in Gandalf's eyes.
"What is the meaning of this?" the wizard demanded.
The Hobbits giggled.
"Why, it's just for fun, of course," Frodo explained matter-of-factly.
"Not to mention to get back at you for sticking me in a mound of lime Jello!" Pippin put in. "Well, actually, I am not completely unforgiving of that incident. The Jello really was quite good."
"Argh!" Gandalf shouted. "You fool of a Baggins, Gamgee, Brandybuck, and Took! I will get all of you for this. Had you not learned your lesson before? You got off easy when you dyed my hat, but this time you shall wish you had never crossed tracks with Gandalf the Grey!"
"Pink, you mean," Merry corrected him.
"Yes," Pippin agreed. "You told me you could not be Gandalf the Grey with a pink hat, so now you must be Gandalf the Pink."
"Wait…" Sam said, looking at Gandalf. "You mean your favorite color really isn't pink?"
"Of course not!" Gandalf boomed. "Whoever told you such a thing is a deceiver. I do not doubt where you heard it. I am quite certain that it was young Meriadoc and Peregrin who told you such foolishness. If I just had my hands free, why, all of you would…"
The Hobbits heard no more. Frodo looked at Sam, who nodded in reply. They picked up the roll of duct tape and ripped off a generous portion. They then proceeded to place the strip directly over Gandalf's mouth.
"Mmm… nnrr… arrrr!" Gandalf protested.
Having silenced the complaints of their victim, the foursome giggled and resumed their merry dancing around Gandalf and the tree.
Hehe. Hope you enjoyed! This next chapter will likely be the last one, as I just don't have the time to keep this thing going right now and am more interested in some of the other story ideas I have been playing with. Please leave me a review on your way out.