Disclaimer: I still own nothing. (I'm also going to stop posting disclaimers on these chapters... I think you get the point!)
Elladan giggled as he raced his brother back to their bedroom.
"I'm winning, 'Ro!" he shouted playfully.
Elrohir stuck his tongue out slightly as he tried to catch up. Elladan put on an extra burst of speed and slapped their bedroom door.
"I won!" he declared triumphantly. Suddenly, the door opened. Legolas stepped out the door and saw the twins.
"Legolas?" Elrohir asked, his forehead crinkling in confusion.
Legolas' eyes looked slightly panicked, but then he recovered. "Yes?"
"What were you doing?" Elladan asked suspiciously.
"Looking for you." Legolas stated calmly. "I had some gifts for you and I wanted to give them to you. I thought maybe you'd be in your room, so I went ahead and checked."
Elladan and Elrohir glanced at each other.
"Where are the gifts?" they asked simultaneously.
"I hid then in your room and left clues so you could find them." Legolas smiled. "Arwen said you liked puzzles and challenges."
Surprisingly, the twins bought his excuse.
"I'm going to leave now so you can find them." Legolas laughed. "See you tomorrow! Hope you like your gifts."
The twins eagerly burst into their room. A piece of paper sat on the bed stand. Elladan grabbed it and read it aloud.
Where you sleep and where you rise
Find and open your surprise
"The bed!" Elrohir announced after thinking for a while.
"Which one?" Elladan asked.
The twins quickly searched both beds.
"Nothing." Elrohir frowned.
"Wait, I think I see something!"
Elladan dove underneath his now messy bed and drew out a blue gift box.
To: Elladan
From: Legolas it said.
"I don't get one?" Elrohir pouted.
"Check under your bed. We can share if you don't have one." Elladan offered.
Elrohir crawled under his bed and drew out a red gift box.
To: Elrohir
From: Legolas the card said.
"Let's open them together!" Elladan exclaimed.
The twins ripped open the boxes and were greeted by a wave of escaping spiders.
"Legolas!" they screamed.
After getting rid of the spiders, Elladan reached into his box and drew out another piece of paper.
"You read this time, 'Ro."
Elrohir took the paper in his fingertips and read the message.
A dirty elf
Hates himself
Go to a place
The cleaning space
"This makes no sense." Elrohir grumbled. "What does that even mean?"
"The bathroom!" Elladan declared.
"Do we really want to do this, 'Dan?" Elrohir sighed.
"Not really, but it'll be fun to find out what Legolas left for us. Then we can get him back!" Elladan chuckled.
The twins walked to the bathroom. They began searching the room. Elladan explored the closets, while Elrohir searched the tub for clues. Finally, Elrohir spotted a large yellow box sitting on the windowsill.
"There!" he pointed.
"Where?" Elladan asked, his voice muffled by the closet.
"Come out here!" Elrohir grabbed his brother's hand and pulled him out of the closet.
When Elladan saw the box, he groaned aloud.
"It's too high. Whoever built this building obviously didn't think about elflings who need to grab gifts from a windowsill!" he ranted.
"Then again, who would?" Elrohir quipped.
"Still, what kind of person puts windows ten feet above the ground?" Elladan continued.
"The person who built this building!" Elrohir shouted, exasperated with his brother.
"Well, if Legolas could get it up there, we can get it down here." Elladan mused. "Any ideas?"
TT TT TT TT TT
Arwen squealed when she saw the beautifully wrapped red gift box sitting on her bed. She quickly opened it and squealed again when she saw what was inside.
"Gondorian chocolates! My favorite!" she hugged the box to her chest. "I can't wait to eat these!"
She set the box down on her bed stand and skipped off to ask her naneth if she could have some chocolates.
Skipping down the hall, Arwen passed her brothers' room. She stopped when she heard muffled arguing. Opening the door, she peeked inside.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
The twins guiltily tried to hide the tower of buckets they were building behind their backs.
"Nothing." they said, trying to sound innocent.
Arwen sighed. "You promised me all your desserts. But I still haven't gotten any yet! Or any lessons."
"We'll give you dessert tonight, Arwen." Elladan soothed her. "Now, would you please go away?"
"Not until you tell me what you're doing!" Arwen demanded, crossing her arms.
"Fine." Elrohir broke in. Elladan put a warning hand on his arm, but Elrohir brushed it away. "We're playing a game."
"What game?"
"A game."
"Why?"
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Because."
Arwen threw her hands up in frustration and stomped out the room. She continued down the hall to her parents' room.
"Naneth!" she said, throwing open the door.
"Yes, dear?" Celebrian answered, looking up from her paperwork.
"May I have some chocolate?" Arwen asked, her light blue eyes pleading with her mother.
"Who gave you chocolate?" Celebrian inquired, one eyebrow raised slightly in confusion.
"Legolas."
"One piece." Celebrian said firmly. Arwen pouted, but agreed.
"Thank you, Naneth."
Arwen returned to her room, excited about her chocolate. She burst open the door and grabbed the box. Opening the lid slowly, Arwen inhaled the box's scent. Her eyes flew open in disgust.
"What is that?" she screamed, throwing open the lid. Toads jumped out and covered her face.
"Aaah!" she shrieked, trying to throw the toads off her. "I hate you, Legolas!"
TT TT TT TT TT
Nadalle flopped onto her bed, worn out from a long day of work. She quickly lit a candle so she could change. Moving the candle around, the light fell on a green gift box sitting on her bed. She reached out and took the card off the box.
To: Nadalle
From: Legolas it read.
Nadalle tore off the wrapping paper. Once she opened the box, she found a package of "Luscious Lollipops." Warily, she pulled back the lid of the container, afraid it contained something nasty. Which it did.
A bunch of frogs leaped onto her bed, croaking madly as they hopped around her room. Each frog left behind a thick trail of goop.
"Eww!" Nadalle yelped, trying to catch and/or squish the frogs. Her mother, Vennelin, burst in the door.
"Are you alr-" she began to ask, then screamed as a frog jumped onto her head. Suddenly, it croaked and leaped into her dress! The normally calm and reserved healer started dancing wildly around the room, trying to dislodge the frog. Finally, the offending creature dropped out the bottom of her skirt.
"Well then." Vennelin stated primly, straightening her dress. "I'll call a servant to dispose of these, these, creatures."
"Hannon le, Naneth." Nadalle mumbled.
Vennelin swept haughtily out of the room. Before leaving, however, she gave Nadalle a word of advice.
"Don't open anything from Legolas ever again."
Nadalle thought that was wonderful advice.
TT TT TT TT TT
Glorfindel threw open his closet door and was immediately assaulted by a nauseating stench.
"What is that?" he choked.
Grabbing a nearby broom, he viciously began attacking his clothes. Unfortunately, the stench became worse. Suddenly, he spotted the skunk.
"You fiend!" he shouted. "Prepare to die!"
Glorfindel prepared to attack the skunk, shouting curses and threats at it. Just before he struck it again, the skunk lifted its tail and sprayed Glorfindel in the face.
The blond-haired warrior screamed as his eyes burned and his mouth filled with a horrible taste.
Erestor raced into Glorfindel's room.
"Are you-" he stopped when he saw his friend's deplorable state.
Glorfindel's eyes cleared enough to see Erestor standing in front of him. Erestor's clothes were tattered, his eyes bloodshot, and his face scratched.
"What happened?" Glorfindel asked.
"Guess." Erestor sighed.
"You were hit too." Glorfindel stated. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Who do you think is responsible?"
"I have no idea." Erestor said sarcastically.
"Neither do I." Glorfindel mused. "Neither do I."
Erestor sighed.
TT TT TT TT TT
Elrond breathed a sigh of relief as he settled into a plush velvet armchair. All his paperwork was done for the day. Now, to go relax. His eyes slowly fluttered shut until...
"What is that smell?" he sniffed the air inquisitively.
Sighing, Elrond settled back into his chair for a nap.
Hiss
Hiss
Hiss
"Is that what I think it is?" Elrond massaged his forehead. His sons were so in trouble.
Elrond called for a servant.
"Yes, hir-nin?" the servant asked.
"Kindly rid my study from the skunk hiding in it." Elrond demanded.
The servant sighed and complied. Unfortunately, the skunk waddled around the room, refusing to be caught. Elrond jumped into the fight and was rewarded with a squirt of skunk spray in his face.
To make matters worse, the skunk ripped apart his fourth-best robe.
Elrond gritted his teeth in frustration. He could have sworn he saw the creature smiling at him.
"I think it smiled at you, hir-nin." the servant remarked, trying to hold back a laugh.
"You are dismissed." Elrond growled. The servant quickly exited the room.
Elrond sighed.
TT TT TT TT TT
"I got it, 'Ro!" Elladan crowed happily, holding up the yellow gift box triumphantly.
"Open it, open it!" Elrohir clapped his hands in excitement.
The twins tore open the box, forgetting their previous mishap.
The black skunk inside instantly lifted its tail and sprayed them in the face.
"This is why we will never accept anything from Legolas again." Elladan stated, wiping spray out of his eyes.
"Maybe that's why he was kind enough to put the present in the bathroom." Elrohir observed.
"You have a point." Elladan mused. "Legolas is SO dead."
Translation of Elvish Words:
Naneth: Mother
Hannon le: Thank you
Hir-nin: My lord
Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
~Kate