Disclaimer: I own nothing. Although, I could probably claim Vennelin, Nadalle, Laurelian, and a few others, but oh well...
All Elvish translations are estimations. I am in no way an expert on Elvish; Sindarin or Quenya. Please bear with me if I make any mistakes in translation!
In this, the elves have a kind of communal bathing system of facilities for the servants. The higher-ranking elves have more private bathing arrangements.
NOT SLASH. Never, ever, ever slash.
A week later, Lord Elrond found himself waving "Namarie" to King Thranduil and his varicolored-haired warriors. Apparently, the young prince Legolas had not only wreaked havoc on his family, but also on Valar-knows-how-much of Thranduil's kingdom. Elrond sighed and rubbed his temples. He could tell that this would be a very, very long few months.
Laurelian stood next to Legolas, clinging desperately to his hand. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. When Thranduil passed out of her sight, she began sobbing. Legolas held her close to him, whispering words of encouragement.
Elladan and Elrohir stared disdainfully at Legolas and his sister. They thought themselves above the Greenwood elves. Ever since they arrived, Legolas had completely ignored them. The twins were completely bored with the elfling now. They wanted him out of Imladris, and out of their lives.
Elrohir had an idea. He leaned over and whispered, "Meet you at the secret hideout after dinner."
Elladan nodded and grinned wickedly. "See you there, brother."
At dinner, Elrond tried to ease the open hostility that seemed to have grown between his sons and Legolas. The twins sat directly opposite Legolas and made horrible faces at him. In return, Legolas glared in what he hoped was a menacing way. On the other hand, Laurelian and Arwen had become fast friends. They were sitting next to each other at dinner and giggling about something between the two of them. Elrond smiled thinly.
"At least something is going well right now." he thought. "Ai Valar. Why me, mellon-nin, why me?"
After a very quick dinner, the twins excused themselves, raced out of the Hall of Fire, and situated themselves in their secret inside hiding spot. They didn't dare to go outside to their other spot, because they thought Legolas might find them. The twins had caught Legolas snooping around the halls of the palace earlier that week, and wanted to keep their secrets safe.
"How are we going to get rid of him, 'Dan?" Elrohir asked once they were settled.
"I have just the plan." Elladan smirked.
Elrohir rolled his eyes. Recently, it seemed that their personalities had switched. Elladan had become more mischievous, and Elrohir had become more cautious.
"Well, don't leave me in suspense." Elrohir growled, after several moments of silence.
Elladan's eyes twinkled wickedly. "You know how Legolas dyed the hair of quite a few elves?"
Elrohir nodded.
"We should do something like that!" Elladan continued. "And then blame it on Legolas!"
Elrohir nodded, a grin spreading across his face. The grin faded when he realized something.
"How are we going to do that?" he asked.
"You'll see, brother, you'll see." Elladan replied loftily.
Elrohir sighed. Sometimes Elladan could be such a pain.
"Fine." he grumbled. "I'll wait and see."
The next day, Arwen and Laurelian played together in the gardens. Almost everyone in Imladris could hear the laughter of the elleths as they amused themselves with a game of tag. After they became tired, they sat down on a blanket beneath a weeping willow. They played with their dolls for a while. When they became bored, they contented themselves with talking to each other.
"What happened to your hair, Laur?" Arwen asked, touching the pink strands.
"My brother, 'Las, did it to me and Ada and Naneth and a lot of other people." Laurelian grumbled, pouting a little. "I hate the color pink, and he knew it! Why couldn't he make it black like yours?"
" 'Dan and 'Ro can be like that too. Once, they dyed 'Restor's hair pink. It's still like that. Your hair matches!" Arwen squealed encouragingly.
Laurelian stuck out her tongue, and then dissolved into giggles. Before long, they were both laughing madly. After several minutes, they finally managed to stop. Holding their sides, they flopped down together on the blanket.
" 'Las used a very special kind of dye in my hair." Laurelian said suddenly.
Arwen sat bolt upright on the blanket. "What kind of dye?" she asked innocently.
"He told me how to make it." Laurelian confessed. She leaned over to whisper confidentially in Arwen's ear. "You have to use pure honey, lots of salt, powdered ink, and natural colors. You can use cherry juice for the pink or red color, blueberry juice for blue, dark red wine for purple, orange juice for orange, lemon for yellow, lime and crushed watermelon rind for green, soaked and crushed black beans for brown, and quill pen ink for black."
"Wow. That's a lot. How can you remember all that?"
"I just do. Oh wait, I forgot something!" Laurelian cried. She whispered again, "You have to mix all the ingredients together and mix it with soap. Then, you can put the soap wherever someone will find and use it and, presto! Instant hair dye."
"That's amazing." Arwen giggled. "Do you want to go explore the gardens?"
"Yes!" Laurelian squealed excitedly. The two elleths ran off, leaving their blanket and toys behind.
As soon as they left, the twins swung down from the branches of the willow, where they had been eavesdropping on Arwen and Laurelian. Elladan grinned wickedly, displaying the notepad of hair dye instructions. Without exchanging a word, the twins set off to put their plan in action. Elrohir made a mental note to thank and reward Arwen for her cooperation. Sometimes, she came in handy.
At sunset, the twins finally completed their preparations for the colors. It was not easy finding and sneaking away all the ingredients. They could only wait until the next week, when they would have their chores again. Their father had given them several weeks off from their punishments to get to know and befriend Legolas. When their punishments resumed, they would both have to clean the entire palace from top to bottom to prepare for a grand feast. They would be cleaning the bathrooms as well...
All that week, Elladan and Elrohir actually made a forced effort to befriend the slightly Greenwood elf. Each time they would try to talk to him, however, they would be greeted with cold stares and silence. This only infuriated the twins more and made them determined to carry out their plan.
When their punishments began again, the twins immediately and secretly loaded the bottles of dye mix onto the carts of cleaning supplies. They quickly finished their regular cleaning routine and painstakingly mixed the dye with the soaps located in the bathing facilities. After finishing that, they moved onto the private bathing rooms of the other elves.
Finally, everything was completed. The twins congratulated each other and went to bathe before the banquet that night. Everyone in the palace would be there to cerebrate the Feast of Starlight. Therefore, everyone in the palace would need to bathe before attending...
TT TT TT TT TT
"But 'Dan!" Elrohir shrieked when they returned to their bedroom. "I will not do that! Not for tonight. Not ever!"
"We have to make it look convincing that Legolas did it." Elladan retorted. "I even made a point of framing him perfectly by having the servants give him something to take to the bathrooms. Everyone here knows what he did in the Greenwood. It's even his own dye recipe. Tonight, he will be the only one with undyed hair."
"Fine."
Several servants came in and helped the twins bathe in separate places. After their baths, the twins were dressed in matching outfits of blue and silver. When they looked in a nearby mirror, the twins couldn't see a change in their hair color.
Elladan sighed. "So we did all that for nothing!"
Suddenly, their hair began to change color. Elladan's hair turned a neon orange color, while Elrohir's turned lime green. Elrohir began to cry.
"I HATE the color green!" he screamed.
All over the palace, the twins began to hear ear-shattering screams from angry and horrified elves. Despite the initial shock of seeing their normally dark hair dyed in bright colors, the twins snickered and congratulated each other.
"That. Was. Amazing!" Elrohir conceded. "Even though my hair is green."
Always the practical one, Elladan replied, "Our hair doesn't match our outfits anymore."
Once they stepped into the hall, several servants choked when they saw the neon colors against the more somber and serious colors of the twins' tunics.
At the dinner table, Arwen refused to talk to the twins or acknowledge their presence. Her hair was dyed a bright crimson, which matched the color of her dress. When Elrond and Celebrian arrived slightly late in the hall, the twins had to stifle a fit of giggles at the sight. Elrond's hair looked exactly like Elladan's, while Celebrian's was a disgusting brown color. Finally, everyone was seated at the table. Elrond stiffly gave permission for everyone to begin eating.
Glorfindel stared at the pristine blond elfling sitting next to him. He had a sudden urge to strangle him.
Legolas stared innocently back at Glorfindel, trying not to laugh at Glorfindel, with his death glares and lavender hair.
Erestor merely enjoyed his dinner while the rest of the elves plotted revenge against Legolas.
"Finally." Erestor thought. "I'm not alone." He smirked inwardly.
After dinner, Lord Elrond summoned Legolas to his study.
"Legolas." he began. "Why did you do this?" he asked, pointing at his hair.
Legolas sputtered, taken completely off guard. "I didn't." he finally managed, looking meekly up at the enraged Lord of Imladris. Legolas resisted the temptation to compare him to an angry Balrog. Or his Ada.
"Come now, Legolas. You are the only one in my house without dyed hair. You also have a previous history of doing things like this." Elrond prodded, trying to get a confession out of the elfling.
"But I didn't!" Legolas burst out. "You have to believe me."
"You are dismissed." Lord Elrond waved him out of the study. "I will decide your punishment tomorrow. If there is another infraction," Elrond glared at Legolas, "I will be forced to contact your Ada, and he will decide a harsher punishment."
Legolas staggered out of the study, tears prickling his eyes. He angrily wiped them away. He knew who the real pranksters were, but he also knew that they wouldn't be punished. Legolas ground his teeth.
"Elladan. Elrohir." he muttered under his breath. "You will pay for this!"
Translation of Elvish Words:
Namarie: Farewell, goodbye
Mellon-nin: My friend
Ada: Father
Naneth: Mother
Elleth: female elf
Note: Correct me if I am wrong. I believe Ai Valar is very similar to the English "Oh lord", or something like that. In this story (previous and future as well) it is used by the characters to display frustration. *cough* Elrond *cough*.
Author's Note:
Hope you enjoyed the story! Sorry it took so long to update.
I will begin posting my future story ideas on my profile, if you are ever curious about what is happening in my head. The sequel to this story will probably be "The Annoying Adolescents", featuring the twins, Legolas, and the infamous Lorien brothers: Haldir, Orophin, and Rumil. There might be a little romance thrown in too... (NO SLASH!)
~Kate