Chapter Seven—There's Something on Your Head
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Elven Dragon Rider—SLASH! +faints+ Heavens, no! I'm a pretty firm believer in girl/boy and nothing else. Call me a narrow-minded idiot (it's not like I haven't gotten it before) but no, there will be strictly nothing but male/female pairing in my fanfiction. But I can't tell you the pairings just yet. Sorry, but that would definitely be ruining something. And I must say, I have to agree with you on Alasse's hobbit-like mentality. She's very productive and ambitious (just like you said), and I think—that in the real world—she'd probably be like a business owner or something.
Avey—Weird ending, eh? Well, yeah, I was sort of in a rush. I wasn't particularly worried how it ended; I just wanted to spit something out so you guys would be at least partially pleased.
Lamoo—Ah, Lamoo, it seems that every time I begin to feel disheartened about my fanfiction you raise me to unreachable heights, and I can yet again find inspiration. You're very good about making me feel like I've accomplished something, and I thank you profusely for that. I'm also really glad you like Elros. I happen to think of him as very precious too, he's kind of the more naïve and vulnerable of the entire group, which I've always thought is a cute characteristic on some boys.
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Iell- Sindarin for "daughter"
Naneth/Nana—Sindarin for "mother"
A/N: Okay, there's one thing I'd like to make very clear to all of you, because I'm not sure I really cleared this up, but a lot of this fanfiction is going to be romance related later on. In fact, most of the friendship is what leads to all of the romance later on, and it suddenly becomes a very angst-ridden, hurtful break-up that later leads to love. So, just so everyone knows, most of this is going to be about love-like relationships. Sorry to have mislead anyone if that's what I've done, but I thought I should just clear that up, so that no one gets all pissed because they thought it was going to be all about these friends. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm going to elaborate on that much more later on, but in this particular story I'm emphasizing something different.
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LegolasI could have laughed out loud when I saw Ireth struggling so horribly with a particularly large and reluctant log. In fact, I did. She didn't appreciate it very much, but it was just so comical: her pulling with all her might while the log remained firmly in place. We were on the edge of the clearing near Forest River rolling out the larger logs, while Elros was away on the other side helping to cut down some more of the trees. I'd begged and pleaded to be allowed to help him in his much-easier task, but Lord Amras had refused, and inwardly I knew that Lord Amras and my father had conspired to make Ireth's workload and mine harder. I'd been right about my earlier suspicion, too. My father had made this harder than it had sounded. Not only were Ireth and I the only ones rolling logs, but also most of them were covered in some type of sordid yellow sap that left one covered in sticky stuff and smelling absolutely repulsive. Not to mention that there was about a billion small flies that were attracted to the foul juice. They resembled midges, and they acted like them too. Needless to say, Ireth and I were already pretty miserable from itchiness alone, but I must say, this made her little log-maneuvering act all the more funny, because she would try to scratch her arms at the same time that she pulled on the log.
Straightening up and placing a very challenging look on her face, Ireth narrowed her eyes and pointed to the log. "Okay, Prince Legolas Thranduilion, perhaps you could demonstrate your massive muscular upper build and try and move that log from its place to the river…"
I stopped laughing and blinked. Me? That log? Forest River? Hmm…
Putting on my own composed expression, I looked down at the log and then at Ireth who was triumphantly watching my reaction. I would not be made a fool of. Furrowing my brow, I rolled up the long sleeves of my tunic and popped my neck.
"Okay, then, I'll show you," I said taking my place near the log and grabbing onto a branch that was protruding out of it in order to better grasp it. Looking back at Ireth once more in order to show her that I thought this was going to be a piece of cake, I began hauling on the log. It didn't budge. Feeling a bit perturbed, I gazed down at the log and dug my feet in and tried again.
Still no movement…
Grumbling, I wrapped my arms around it, and with a furious grunt that I'm pretty sure made me sound like a wild boar, I once again tried to heave the log backwards and off the ground slightly. Sadly, this rather fervent expression of strength on my part caused me to forget about my feet, and, not five seconds after I started to pull, I fell flat on my posterior with a rather un-princely thud. Ireth burst out into such a raucous laughter that I turned my head to glower at her in aggravation. Standing up, I dusted off the leaves and dirt that had attached itself to my breeches and continued to glare at Ireth as her laughter turned into full-out hilarity. Finally, after she began to turn slightly red, her breathing calmed and she was able to look at me with a straight face.
"'I'll show you' you said," and she chuckled some more.
"Okay, so I can't move the stupid log, who cares? We'll just get one of the other workers to get it. It's not that funny."
Ireth just laughed a bit more, "You've got such the ego, Legolas. To be truthful, I'm laughing more at your bruised self-esteem than your bruised rear."
I gave another harrumph and chose to ignore her last comment. It was then that I noticed something slightly odd, or rather, heard something odd: a slight chirping, like the sound of frightened birds. And I wasn't the only one that heard the sound. Lord Amras' dog, Neled, heard the noise and began barking noisily. Rushing over to where we stood, the animal began to sniff about everywhere frantically, as though searching for something terribly important. The dog looked positively mad with excitement, and Ireth and I forgot our conversation as we watched Neled curiously. The dog seemed to find whatever it was he wanted somewhere near the object of our argument: the log. He began to scratch a one particular hole at the top of the log, his black claws trying to dig into the wood.
Neled became even more frantic with his discovery in the log, and looked like he might burst with all of his energy.
"My goodness, Neled," said Ireth, moving towards the log, "What is so wonderful that you've found?"
Walking over next to the dog, Ireth pushed him away (much to his irritation) and looked down into the hole inquisitively. It was at that moment that Neled decided he wanted his spot back and pushed over Ireth in order to shove his nose inside the hole. Nearly cursing, Ireth sat up and was about to say something very mean to Neled when a very small something came tumbling out of the hole. No sooner had the miniature something hit the ground then Neled attacked it ferociously. The frightened lump of black and gray fluttered upwards and made it about five feet before it landed precisely on top of my head. I nearly jumped out of my skin when some tiny, cruel claws came into contact with my scalp and grabbed my hair in a strong vice grip. Trying to avoid to frenetic leaps of Neled, I grabbed the small creature on top of my skull, and as carefully as I could, pried it out of my hair.
Opening my hands I gazed in wonder at a perfectly formed baby bird. Its little claws had wound their way around my fingers and its small fragile body was shaking visibly from the fright it had received. Looking up, I saw Ireth wrathfully trying to ward of Neled who was trying to get the other babies while she tried to rescue them. Leaping on Neled, I pinned the dog to the ground, while still holding the bird safely in my hands.
"Haste, Ireth!" I called out as she quickly gathered up the birds that had fluttered off in mad frenzies to escape Neled. She was having difficulty considering they could almost fly, and they would sit on the ground until just the moment that she would show up and then flap away quickly. Neled's noisy barking also seemed to scare the poor creatures to death, which wasn't helping any. The birds in the clearing were also making quite the racket. They seemed to realize that others of their kind were in peril, and all about the canopy around us they were flapping their wings and shrieking. Finally, Ireth managed to gather up the last of the baby birds and she quickly hurried off towards—I assumed—her father. I let go of Neled and hurried after her. Of course, Neled did too, and I had to make one of the workers grab him before I could continue on.
Lord Amras was at the river with several of his men when I saw Ireth come running down the hill to meet him. I was a few yards behind her, panting to catch up. "Ada! Ada!" Ireth shouted. She sounded quite urgent, and Lord Amras immediately dismissed his other workforce to come to her aid.
I came in right behind Ireth as she was explaining about the babies. Lord Amras looked positively unconcerned as he explained to Ireth that the birds were fine and as long as they could find a place where the parents could find them they would be okay. Ireth didn't seem as convinced, but she reluctantly agreed to go ahead and take them home so her naneth could take care of them. As Ireth began to turn around I hastily scuttled up to Lord Amras, "My Lord, could I please go, too?"
Lord Amras smiled and pointed to Ireth, "Agh, be gone. But I expect both of you to be back before it is time for us to head back."
I nodded, "Of course, Master Amras." And I ran after Ireth.
Ireth's home was a rather odd type of…well, tree house, if you will. Her father had made it so it spanned over three different trees, with the trunks going through where they pleased, and small walkways coming to and from each part of the house. Ireth had proudly told me that it was the only one of its kind in Mirkwood, and I envied her. It was such an extraordinary place, and myself, Ireth, Alasse and Elros always found excuses to go there to play some of our favorite games. Usually Alasse would play some sort of helpless damsel and Elros and I would valiantly come to her rescue, while Ireth (on her own request, too) played the evil man who had stolen Alasse away. Sometimes Elros didn't want to play the hero though, and he'd just be my noble steed. It was always pretty comical when he played that part, but Elros really was strong and he had no trouble in carrying me around, even "galloping" at times.
I smiled happily as I thought of these reminiscences, and was almost unaware that we were coming up on the subject of my thoughts at that moment. The house had been purposely set near Forest River, so that Lord Amras could constantly be close to his family. Quite suddenly, Lady Artanis, Ireth's mother, appeared on the edge of the family's small flet. She stood upon the outer porch, looking down at us in odd concern. "Is something the matter, iell?" she called down.
"Nay, nana. Legolas and I found some baby birds that were abandoned in a log near the river. Ada said to bring them to you. Neled almost ate them."
"Ah, is that it," Lady Artanis replied as though this was a common occurrence, "Then come, bring them up here. We shall find a spot for them."
Climbing the steps that wound around the trunk of one of the trees supporting the house, Ireth and I carried the small birds into the main of the flet and handed them to Artanis. Several times they tried to flutter away, but Ireth managed to snatch them back and hand them to her mother. "My, my," she would say, looking down upon them in motherly concern, "You know, I do believe they are almost grown to the point they could fly. I'd say give them a week more—or even a bit less—they'll be flying. The only problem is: they probably won't live that long if they're without a mother."
Ireth looked highly upset, "Oh, nana, can't we help them some how?"
"Yes," I pleaded, looking up to the much-taller she-elf, "Don't you think we could care for them?"
Artanis shook her head, "Nay, I think not. These little birds' hope is with their mother. But come, do not look downtrodden, there is a possibility we can save them." Leaving us hanging on this unhelpful sentence, Lady Artanis walked off quickly to outside of the flet. Standing on the edge of the porch, she looked about her until she found what she sought. She hurriedly strode over to a tree next to the porch that had the broken edge of a branch protruding over next to the portico. The stump was rotten and straight down the center there was a hollow cavity that looked like the perfect place for a birds' nest. "Here we are," Lady Artanis said to herself, and she turned to us proudly. "Right here. If the parents are still looking for the babies they will find them here, but if they do not come back for their offspring then we can still take care of them."
"Very clever, mother," said Ireth, reflecting on her mother's words, "but suppose that now that we've touched them the parents will want nothing to do with their offspring?"
"I doubt it, iell. Birds are very trusting of elves for the most part; however, if it had been a human they might not have been so easy. But no, I do not think they will abandon the babies, for look! The birds are already in a flurry as it is."
Sure enough, most of the birds around the flet were squawking ceaselessly. I suddenly remembered the birds back at the clearing. "Yes, I think you're right. They do not seem at all unaware of the babies' presence."
So, Lady Artanis quickly settled the tiny creatures into their current home, and Ireth and I returned back to the clearing intent on finishing our workload and finding Elros.
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ThranduilFor nearly an hour, all I did was sit in the library thinking to myself and occasionally looking over at the door, waiting for Aerandir to walk in; back from the clearing where'd he'd left my son, Ireth, and Elros. When he finally did, I was abruptly incapable of communicating my situation to him. I couldn't be sure what to say, or how to say it. Aerandir, my faithful advisor, I think that I have been lied to by my son. No, somehow that just didn't encompass the dreadful hurt that was throbbing inside of me that comes with being deceived by one you love.
Now, most would think it silly to be so hurt by such a simple act as lying, but lying is not very common with elves. It was looked upon with a certain degree of disgust in my race and rightfully so. The Valar hated it, so it was ordained that we should as well. So, why then, had my son not told me the whole truth? It couldn't be too trivial, for he wouldn't have done it then. But the point was that he did it. And when I finally did manage to tell Aerandir, the elderly elf seemed to understand my pained being. He could see the intermingled hurt, anger, and rage that now subsisted in me. It was one thing for my son to get into serious trouble that could have cost him his life and that of his friends, but lying about it! Oh, that earned him and Ireth at least a good three more weeks of logrolling. I was going to kill that boy when he got back, and I was going to hold Ireth by the ear until I got out every bit of the story. And THEN proper discipline could ensue. Now, Elros…he I wasn't so sure about. Something told me that he wasn't really quite sure of the entire thing himself. I'd probably have to interrogate him a bit more later on, but more than likely he was oblivious to the lie.
Legolas, Ireth, and Elros showed up back home a good four hours after Aerandir returned. I was pleased to see that they visibly sagged from all of the labor they'd been forced to do today, (Elros less so, though; also according to plan) and they looked ready to fall over already. Ireth and Legolas were covered in a nasty-smelling yellow sap that seemed to have dried to their skin and in between their fingers. The smell was quite awful and I was hard put to stop my hand from going up to my nose.
I greeted them at the entrance to the Hall, and I could see how their faces turned from weary to positively wretched upon my entrance. It made me giddy and guilty at the same time, but giddy more than anything. "Ah, you both look so exhausted. You do realize that you have another entire day of this tomorrow." And more than that, if what I hear from you two displeases me.
It was like I'd hit them with a shovel rather than reminded them of later work. Ireth stumbled on one of her steps coming up, and Legolas' face turned a sickly color of green. Elros didn't look as troubled, but neither did he look happy.
"Legolas, Ireth…" I tugged my head in the direction of my study, "I need to speak with you two."
Legolas and Ireth glanced at each other, then me, and then began to follow me as I walked eerily quiet back to my study. I waited at the door as they passed into the room and closed the door behind them with a finalizing thud. (I was going into quite a bit of dramatics to scare them, and my labors were well rewarded with some pretty petrified looks.)
"So," I placed myself in my chair in the corner and leaned forward to look at them intently, "How was logrolling? I've gone quite easy on you, so I expect no complaints."
There were none.
Both of the elflings looked at me miserably, and in unison replied, "It was fine, my king."
I smiled grimly and stood up to pace the floor in front of them. "Do each of you remember my tracker, Gelmir? He was the one who helped me find you across the river." Legolas and Ireth seemed to search their brains for a moment but they seemed to remember something, because they nodded their heads. "Well, it's funny…a good while ago I had him return to the clearing we found you in, two days after your painful return, and he reported back to me after you both recovered from your injuries. And such strange news he brought, too." I looked at Ireth and Legolas who both had looks of fear plastered on their facades, "Tell me, Legolas, do you have any idea what he might have told me?"
Face pale and flushed, Legolas choked out a reply, "No…ada..."
"Do not lie to me, Legolas!" I reacted fiercely, "You know exactly what he found. Evidence of another creature, a very large and dangerous one, more than likely a spider, was found. Now, tell me again, Legolas, did that giant purple bruise painted on your rib cage really come from the backslap of a tree?"
"No…ada."
"Legolas!" he jumped, eyes clenched as though he wanted to shut out reality. But I wasn't going to feel sorry for him now, "Why did you lie? You could have died! Ireth could have died! Elros could have died! You had nothing to gain or prove by not telling me about the spider! What were you thinking? I've warned you about them thousands of times, and yet somehow you get into a situation with one…What if we'd treated your wounds the wrong way, because we'd thought it was just a branch? Or maybe some of the venom could have gotten on you or Ireth and you didn't even know? There are so many horrible possibilities. Not to mention the fact that we wouldn't have known to protect that area from spiders. Someone else could have gone out there and been killed. It's not a restricted area for full-grown elves."
I sighed and sat down wearily. After a moment I looked back up, this time at Ireth, "And you, Ireth. You should have known better as well. I know I gave you both this lecture earlier, but this lie proves to me that neither of you are responsible enough to go further than Elros' house anymore, not until you're both grown up."
Both of their jaws dropped, and in unison they began to spew out excuses, pleas, and anything else to persuade me otherwise.
"No, ada, please—"
"Please, lord, it really was—"
"Couldn't you—"
No. My mind was made up. They'd done dumb things before, but this, by far, had been the dumbest. I quickly raised my hand to stop their clamoring efforts. "And also—your punishment is prolonged, as well as neither of you are allowed to go to the festival."
That did it for both of them. Legolas just stared at me with unbelieving eyes, and Ireth's face fell to the floor in complete defeat. I felt momentarily guilty, but I had to remind myself that they'd brought this on themselves. Bad actions have consequences. And there was no way I was going to be lenient about this. If I did, I would be holding back from them a most valuable lesson, one that I was quite sure they would need in the future.
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A/N: Hallelujah! I'm finally finished! And I'm seriously sorry this one took so long, I swear it wasn't my fault. Fanfiction was having some type of server problem and I couldn't even upload the chapter, and then afterwards I couldn't because I was going to my sister's house in Austin, so I couldn't somehow upload it from her comp. Anyway, I hope I made up for it with a rather long chapter.
MusicalCharlatan
P.S. IT'S SUMMER! MAY GOD BE PRAISED!
