Chapter 11
Legolas wasn't lying about being a good smuggler.
How he had been able to pass through the guards without them seeing Legolas or the twins, nobody would know but that didn't matter right now. Passing through the guards, Legolas, Elladan and Elrohir tip-toed across the trees until they slipped down into a hole beneath a building.
As they settled there, they looked at each other. Elrohir talked. "All right, we're in...yes, don't look so smug, Legolas. We're in, so now what?"
"I already told you," explained Legolas. "We climb the towers and hope that the window to our specific rooms are open. Then we change into proper clothing."
"But what if we're seen?" asked Elladan. "And what if windows are closed?"
Legolas snorted. "And you told me not to be a pessimist. If the windows are closed, then you must open them, of course! Don't you get any of these lessons?"
"They give lessons on opening windows in Mirkwood?!" gaped Elrohir at Legolas. "How strange! I will never understand you and your people."
As Elladan laughed lightly, Legolas looked like he wanted to slam his head against a wall. He rolled his eyes. "NO, Elrohir Elrondion we do not have lessons to open windows. But we have lessons in invading, entering and smuggling into places. It is in the advance spying regime...don't you get lessons in that?"
"Eh...not really," admitted Elrohir. "Mostly they just train us for battle and how to handle uncomfortable situations. Like, having ten arrows aimed at your head or something. Why would they teach elves how to be spies in Mirkwood? I mean, what are they suppose to spy? Butterflies?"
[AN: Yeah, yeah, I know...in the Desolation of Smaug movie there are butterflies but I don't picture Mirkwood like that, you know.]
Before Legolas could start indignantly about how the advance spy regime could increase your agility and speed in battle as well as help you go into missions, Elladan shut both of them up. "First of all Ro, I don't think there are butterflies in Mirkwood. Second of all, that's not important! Well...it is important but not for us right now. We have like half an hour to go the Dining Pavilion."
"Well, do any of you have a better idea than mine?" asked Legolas.
"Actually, yes," said Elladan. "I do. Since you're only bare-chested, you can go out and ask some random maiden to get some clothes for you. Then, you go get us the clothes and we go to the Dining Pavilion."
Legolas thought that was quite simple, when suddenly, his father's voice boomed over him, with that familiar scowl and those glaring eyes. And Legolas remembered, he had to keep a good reputation for Mirkwood...and he couldn't be seen running around bare-chested. Rumors flew higher and faster than birds...and he didn't want to be seen bare-chested anyways so...it was a no.
"But I'd be the only one doing anything."
"Well, yes...but you're the best elf off here...I mean, think about it. If the maidens see you bare-chested, trust me...they wouldn't have much of a problem. But if they see us with underpants only...I think Imladris will be full of screaming," supported Elrohir.
"My idea is better," insisted Legolas. "I bet that if we did it separate, my idea would be the one that got us out of this uncomfortably embarrassing situation the quickest."
Elladan and Elrohir raised their eyebrows amusedly and the corners of their mouth twitched. In unison, they said: "Are you challenging us, Thranduilion?"
Legolas shrugged, "Maybe...maybe not."
O-O-O
"I'm sorry Gandalf, but you're going to have to do the rest of the journey without me."
Gandalf and Radagast had ended their race and well...apparently, rabbits were faster than horses in a way. Nobody challenged rhosgobel rabbits anyways. However, it had speeded their trip up and Gandalf was sure they'd be in Rivendell in a few hours, hopefully before nightfall. In nightfall...everything got darker. And especially with the Necromancer's power growing, it was better not to linger after dark. They were sitting under a beech tree, resting under it's cool shade. "And why not, Radagast?"
"Pewie says that there's something wrong," said Radagast petting the blue tiny bird in his hands. "Something in the south...all the birds are migrating their north and it's not even the season yet!"
"The South..." whispered Gandalf and then gasped, looking at Radagast. "Mordor."
The word haunted through the forests and it seemed as if the very trees trembled. Gandalf wished he could talk to the trees like some of the elves did, for surely, the trees would tell him so much that he could use.
Radagast coughed, "Don't scare Pewie! That word is dark...it is treacherous, do not say it so close to Rivendell. It is deadly Gandalf...remember, words have power."
"And power has words," nodded Gandalf. "This is not good, well...I suppose you need to investigate, don't you?"
"Y-Yes, it'll be best if I go now," said Radagast hopping to his sleigh, the rabbits jumping and eager to run. "Maybe the birds will talk to me...I'll write to you whatever I have and get."
"Thank you, Radagast," smiled Gandalf. appreciatively. "But before you go..."
"Yes Gandalf?"
"You named the bird Pewie?"
"It's not a 'the' it's a she Gandalf!" exclaimed Radagast indignantly and looking at Gandalf as if he were some kind of idiot. "And yes, Pewie is a perfectly normal and adorable name for a bluejay."
Gandalf stared, chuckling at the blurred figure of Radagast disappearing through the horizon and yet deep in his heart...he feared for the worst.
O-O-O
"He's good brother, admit it."
Elrohir stared at Elladan, bewildered. "We can't give up Dan! Nobody, especially a newbie, challenges us! We have a plan and we're going to win this challenge as we always do! We're the Trickster Twins of Imladris...remember?"
Elladan raised a dark and elegant eyebrow at him. "We do have a plan?"
Elrohir glared at him irritably. "Okay...maybe we don't have one now but we will get one. Eventually. We always do, don't we? For now we'll have to get the best of it and try to improvise something up."
"We're almost completely nude," said Elladan. "How are we supposed to improvise something like this?"
"Well I dunno! You're mostly the one with the ideas and you need me to make them!"
As Elladan and Elrohir started to think of a way to win Legolas' challenge, Legolas was trying out his plan. He had to admit...his plan wasn't that effective but he imagined what his father would say to him. "Every choice a ruler makes is for the better and once they do it, they know what the effect will be. That is what a wise ruler does." Ugh...how many times had he heard that? More than a hundred? More than a thousand? So yes...his father's haunting voice had brought the better of him and now...there was no going back in his plan.
He had swung gracefully through the trees across Imladris and was now only a few meters from his chambers, which were in a great tower. Legolas hung in the trees and crouched down, ready to jump across. And he did so, his fingers gripping firmly the edge of the wall that surrounded the tower and he pushed himself across.
Now he had to climb the tower.
It wasn't hard although his knuckles gleamed a bit red and he had blisters in his hands. The walls were smooth and slippery but advanced spy regime had taught him how to climb better and how it all depended on your footing. He kept climbing, praying nobody would see him, his muscles working to keep him going when he touched the ledge of the window.
He pushed himself up and to his dismay, found the window closed. He cursed and years of drills and spy regime came back to him. The windows here in Imladris were easier to open than the ones in the orc fortresses, but he still needed something to open them. Hanging from one hand, he used his free hand to get a knife and he installed it through the gap between the wall and the window. He preceded to use the knife as a crowbar, pushing it and trying to open the window. With a defiant crack after minutes of being there, he grinned in satisfaction as he put his knife back in his sheath and climbed into his tower, hoping for it to be alone.
Too bad.
A maid was currently folding his sheets, humming peacefully to herself about flowers when she turned to shriek at Legolas who looked pretty frightened as well. "I'm sorry my lady, did I scare you? I mere-"
To Legolas' fortune, the maid fainted before he could finish and she could do anything so Legolas closed the window, making sure it wasn't broken by his efforts and went to find a shirt. He found one in the wardrobe, a soft loose light green wool shirt that he had packed from Mirkwood. He slipped it in and looked satisfied with himself.
Legolas put the maid to sit in his bed with a comfortable position, hoping she'd think of this moment as a strange hallucination and set out of his room, opening the door and closing it gently as well. Slowly, he headed down the hall, heading straight to one place as he smiled evilly: to Lord Elrond's office.
O-O-O
Thalos had once again been allowed to walk around. And right now, he paced in the place where it seemed he could be calm the most: his mother's garden.
It had been so many years since she had sailed to the Halls of Mandos but her presence and spirit remained, and despite the little gardening her garden received, it bloomed beautifully. When he sat there or walked there, Thalos felt as if she were next to him, her sing-song laugh ringing through the air. He shuddered, shaking the melancholic memories off...he had to be strong.
He let the breeze blow his hair and he snorted...why did his hair get messy so often when Legolas' always stayed neat? Everything seemed to remind him of Legolas, the trees surrounding the palace, the music that rung in the halls, the arrows in the shooting range...everything. It was an understatement to say that he missed his little brother for it was something much stronger than missing.
It was love.
There were often times where he felt guilty, for sometimes he thought it was he was who made Legolas grow so fast. He had been a child when his Nana had died...yet he had grown from an elfling to a solemn elf in what seemed a day.
He closed his eyes and as some petal blossoms blew in the air, warm as the touch of his Nana's hugs, he remembered the day.
[BEGIN FLASHBACK]
Thalos had ordered nobody to follow him as he headed to the place Legolas would most likely be in. A discussion with his father about war tactics had ended completely wrong as they had switched out of topic and the fighting had begun. The shouting had increased and before they knew it...they had hurt Legolas' tiny heart.
As he slipped through the grass which was becoming less green and more gray everyday, he rubbed the bright red bruise in his cheek. It would take a few weeks to wear out, he decided. And then he saw him.
Legolas leaned against the willow and his eyes were closed. No tears watered his eyes but he looked solemn and calm...for the first time in weeks.
Thalos went closer and sat next to him. He expected Legolas to shift away from him but to his surprise he stayed there and he started talking, "You know Legolas...Adar didn't mean what he said."
Silence answered him and he sighed, "You're my brother Legolas, you have to stop avoiding us. You need to tell us what you feel or the grief will never leave your heart...or it'll never leave anybody's heart. You need to stay strong."
"Do you think I'm a fool?"
Legolas talking was usually sweet: soft and merry, like the childish giggles of a baby. It brought sunshine and flowers into your mind. Yet here he was, his voice sharp as ice, somber as death, quick as lightning and it...and it hurt.
"What?" said Thalos taken back.
"I know a perfectly good lie when I know one," said Legolas. "He thinks it's my fault and he's right. I don't need any of your lies to hide what he truly means."
"Legolas-"
"He thinks I'm a failure...a disgrace to the family. You don't think I know that he favors you more? That he loves you more? Not that I'm worthy to be loved of course. Don't you think I ever dreamed of being in Greenwood the Great? In the stories Nana used to tell us? I want to live there just as much as you do. And-"
"SHUT UP LEGOLAS!" he said. The words weighed upon and crushed against Thalos like a boulder and he burst out. Weeks worth of tears, pain and sadness flooded out and his eyes streaming, he continued screaming. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I miss her just as much as you do, don't you know how hard it is for me? For me to be strong for you, Adar and the kingdom?"
"You're right," said Legolas and he stood up. "I don't understand. We all know what this means...it shouldn't have been her, it should have been ME. I SHOULD HAVE DIED THERE. If I were dead, I would not cause you so much pain and you'd have Nana. Nobody would care if I died and if they did...well Nana could have just given birth to another little brother and I would be as forgotten as a piece of dirt."
[END FLASHBACK]
O-O-O
AN: WHOA! I ended with such an angst flashback! O_O Even when I read back to something I wrote like a year ago, I have goosebumps! Hm...what could Radagast find in the south? It cannot be good (wink, wink). And will the twins have a more extravagant entrance than Legolas? What do you think? Review your opinions!
Anyways, sorry for not updating guys! It's just that I've been super busy! I have french classes, french homework, a french project, summer homework (although I am only adding the final details), math lessons with my mom, writing fanfics, preparing for school and much more!
Good news though! I'm making a short, Thranduil and Legolas, father-son fic! It's almost father's day in my country so I just wanted to do something nice you know? Make sure to check that out! :) Expect it to come out soon, it is going to be called: "I FEAR LIGHTNING NO MORE." Thanks if you actually check it out and I will also be submitting it to TEITHO! :D This month's theme is 'Bonds.' How exciting! I've heard of Teitho many months before but I'd never actually submitted anything...
Now, my lovely reviews!
Black Minx 17: Haha, that's the spirit I suppose!
Aragorn-Lord: Thank you! I'm glad you're liking it! And I will try to update as much as I can!
Eraman: Haha, that must be awesome! LOL, I cannot imagine living with Elladan and Elrohir, must be...fun I guess! :) And thanks! I always really liked Gandalf and Radagast's chemistry as friends so I decided to put that here!
Luin: Hahaha...you will find out who soon. I'll make sure they don't hurt Leggy too much though (yet), don't worry. And haha, Legolas is fine but the twins are in a pretty difficult situation. Imagine if you found them running around Imladris only in their underpants (or pants, as the Brits say)! And Arwen and co.? Oh, they left but I have to tell you, they were staring at them for a pretty long time. Anyways, you are right! Thranduil is like two sides of a sword...but that just makes him more lovable! Hahaha...I don't think Radagast will let you do that, LOL. I bet that Gandalf might've beat Radagast if he'd have Shadowfax with him. And I believe the letters will come on Ch. 15. And thank you!
Guest: Hahaha, yes! :D That is SO true! Well done, mellon! You have good instincts!