Disclaimer: I think you all know by now that I own almost nothing...
An owl hooted outside Legolas' window. The Greenwood elf woke up and sat bolt upright in his bed. Quietly, Legolas dressed in a dark green tunic, grabbed his supplies, and climbed out the window onto a conveniently located tree branch. Climbing down, Legolas nimbly jumped onto the ground and tiptoed through the garden to the other side of the house. Once he arrived at his destination, he levered open a nearby window and reentered the house.
Legolas chuckled evilly as he crept through the dimly lit halls of the palace. Each time he passed a door, he paused momentarily to check if the occupant was asleep. He couldn't afford getting caught now. That was why he had climbed out the window to the garden instead of walking a long way through the unfamiliar halls.
After sneaking around for a while, Legolas finally reached the twins' bedroom, despite getting lost several times and having almost been caught by a night guard. With a sense of triumph, Legolas carefully opened the door and slid inside the room.
Inside, he blinked several times, trying to readjust his eyes to the darkness. Once he could see better, he looked over to the twins' beds. From his position at the door, Legolas saw an elfling-sized lump topped with dark hair in each bed. The sheets rose and fell steadily over the lumps, proving that there were elves in the beds, and not simply pillows. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Walking over to the beds, he drew out a bag of spiders and a sack of snakes. Jumping onto the nearby dresser, Legolas rigged the sack of snakes over Elladan's bed, and the bag of spiders over Elrohir's bed so that they would open when the twins' got out of bed.
Inside the closet, Elladan and Elrohir snickered to themselves as they watched Legolas working. Their plan would be well worth their bribes. They had bribed Arwen with promises of both their desserts for five months, sword fighting lessons, and a trip to their special, secret waterfall. Nadalle, on the other hand, had only needed a little encouragement and a kiss on the cheek from a blushing Elrohir. Nadalle and Arwen were the ones pretending to sleep in the beds, not the twins.
Finally, Legolas finished with his prank. Carefully making his way around the trigger wires, he prepared to exit the room.
"Now!" Elrohir whispered to Elladan. Elladan nodded, giggling silently, but gleefully, as he tugged on a series of strings.
Screens hiding lighted candles lifted from their places, bathing the room in light, and momentarily blinding Legolas. Before he could make his escape, a bucket of honey-glue rained down on him. This was followed by a dusting of flour, a shower of flower petals, and a coating of glitter.
Legolas ground his teeth in frustration. Suddenly, a panel concealing a mirror slid to the side, allowing Legolas to get a glimpse of himself. When he saw his reflection, he moaned in embarrassment.
Nadalle and Arwen sat up in the beds to see Legolas. They broke into peals of laughter when they saw his sorry, but glittery, state.
"There's just one more thing you need, Legolas." Arwen smirked, hopping out of bed before Nadalle or the twins could warn her. Just as her foot touched the trip wire, the sack of snakes opened, dumping three snakes on her head.
Instead of screaming, as Legolas had hoped, Arwen merely squealed in delight and promptly named each snake.
"This one is Glorfindel." she stated, pointing at the yellow-headed snake. "This one is Erestor." she smiled, patting the red and black snake. "And this is Ada." she giggled, winding the orange snake around her right hand. "I'm going to adopt them as my pets!"
Legolas rolled his eyes, trying to suppress a snort of laughter. The twins' latest prank had left Lord Elrond's hair a bright orange, making Arwen's name more hilarious.
Before Nadalle got out of the other bed, Elrohir chivalrously dismantled the trigger mechanisms and disposed of the spiders by dumping them unceremoniously out the window.
Elladan graciously held the door for a very sticky Legolas. Legolas smiled grudgingly, and trudged down the hall to his chambers.
On the way, he bumped into a very tired elf suffering from insomnia. Looking up, Legolas realized that it was Lord Elrond.
"Legolas, what are you doing out of bed?" Elrond asked tiredly. Suddenly, he leaned closer to the elfling to get a better look at him. "And why are you sticky, covered in flour, flower petals, and glitter?"
"Guess." smirked Erestor, popping his head out from his room where he had been eavesdropping. He had also been suffering from insomnia. The twins probably had something to do with that...
Elrond glared at him. "I don't suppose my sons had anything to do with this." he asked Legolas.
"And your daughter. And another elleth." Legolas grumbled.
"That would be Nadalle." Elrond sighed. He rubbed his temples. Now was the time to brew himself a calming pot of tea and go to bed...
Elrond turned back to Legolas. "Go back to your chambers. Bathe, put on clean clothes, and go to bed. I will speak to you, my children, and Nadalle tomorrow. But right now, just go to bed." He waved Legolas away tiredly.
Legolas sloshed down the hallway, leaving a trail of goop behind. Once he reached his room, he began bathing, but almost fell asleep in the middle of it. Today had been a long day, but tomorrow... He yawned. Tomorrow would be time enough for revenge.
With that, Legolas fell asleep in the tub.
Translation of Elvish words:
Elleth- female elf
Author's Note: Hooray! Another completed chapter! Hope you enjoyed this one.
Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! I really appreciate them.
~Kate