The twins had been released into their chambers by Legolas, who made sure they understood their orders clearly. Best behaviour, or they'd be on the not so pleasant end of an arrow of Mirkwood. They swore black and blue, and disappeared into their room, giggling evilly. The twins were 200 years older than Legolas, that was true, but they held with them a childlike presence that could only be subdued by acting as a father figure toward them, and the twins could never resist role play.
"What do you think of our fair friend's orders?" asked Elladan as he removed his chain mail.
"Nonsensical," laughed his twin, doing the same. "Besides, since when were you one to take orders from a younger elf?"
"I take orders from you, Ro," he smiled.
"You're the elder, my foolish tôrbain."
Both laughed, and continued disarming themselves. They crossed to their wardrobe, naked, and adopted an identical pose of pondering.
"Should we dress differently today?" asked Elrohir, sorting through dozens of velvet robes as if it mattered.
"Certainly not. Think of all the fun we can have if we fool people!"
Elrohir laughed, and pulled out two robes, both deep red and both incredibly striking. "Red, the colour of seduction," cooed Elladan. "You're wicked, my brother. Body and soul."
"Ah, but I learned it all from the morion himself."
Elladan's face crumpled up in a mock pout. "Your heart belongs to another then! I knew something was awry."
Elrohir crossed over to his brother, his lover, and took his identical body in his arms, showing him with kisses. "My love. My all. How could there ever be another as beautiful?"
Elladan pulled back and smirked. "Now you sound conceited."
"Nonsense. We are as different as can be. Your hair is longer, thicker. Your eyes glimmer with flecks of gold when you smile. You taste of perfection when you come," replied Ro, squeezing at his brother's bare torso, ruffing his hair ever so gently.
Both of them grinned wickedly, and suddenly there was a tender knocking at the door. One familiar to that of his Lordship. The same thought flashed through their minds. Did we lock the door?
"Sons of Elrond, I pray, may I have a moment of your time?"
It was indeed Aragorn. Elladan grabbed at his clothing, slipping the rouge garment over his head hurriedly.
"But a moment my Lord," called Elrohir, panic rising in his voice. His panic rose further as the tie on his robe would not fasten. He tore the garment off, and wrapped his cloak around himself in a desperate attempt.
"Come in, come in."
He stepped through the doorway, and the two twins bowed respectively. Aragorn immediately noticed the discarded red robe thrown to the floor, and Ro's bare chest underneath the modest grey cape. Elladan noticed the King's darting eyes, and quickly smoothed his hair with his hands. This action was met with an obviously suspicious smile.
"Forgive me for intruding," he said with an edge of amusement. "But I wished to have a word before tomorrow's anarchy began taking over."
"No intrusion at all," Elladan blurted out, and immediately, Ro turned red.
"May I have a seat?"
"Please, please," mumbled Elrohir, and removed his backsword from a nearby chair.
"Thankyou. I came firstly on a rather formal matter, a tradition I suppose you'd call it."
Elladan and Elrohir perched on the edge of their bed and nodded. It had not gone past Aragorn that the twins only had one bed in their lodging.
"And also on a personal matter, and one of the utmost.. privacy."
A spark lit up in Elladan's eyes. "Please. We are at your service."
Aragorn smiled, and continued.
"I wish to thank you for being part of the celebrations tomorrow. It means a lot to my lady, and that does not go unnoticed to me."
"My heru. You are as a brother to us, and you know our feelings towards Arwen. We feel we owe it to you," said Elrohir softly, smiling.
"These are from my Lady and I, as a thankyou."
He handed each of them an identical ring, glowing silver and interlaced with an engraving of ivy leaves.
"We are undeserving of such lavish gifts. Many thanks, my Lord," said Elladan, bowing his head in time with his brother. The King waved them to stop. "Such formalities are not required, my elven brothers. You are most welcome. And now to the matter that has bothered me for some time."
Elrohir could feel this getting complicated. "Aragorn, my Lord, let me explain. Elladan and I realise that our situation has caused -"
"By the Valar! Heavens, no. That was not what I meant," Aragorn laughed, standing. He crossed to Elrohir and slapped a hand on his shoulder, sincerely.
"My Lady has informed me not just of your situation, but the deep ties that come with it. I think such love is rare to find, and if one is lucky enough to find it, they should cling to it as they would dear life." He smiled lovingly as he said this, and looked from twin to twin. They smiled back.
"Your brotherly tie is not what brings me here, although, it is related. I bring news of an arriving party. They are here for the wedding. Leading them is a dear friend of mine, Haldir of Lothlôrien. His party represents the absence of the fair Lady Galadriel. I trust her name is not foreign to you. Now, granted I shall no doubt be very busy with preparations until the sun has set, I want the two of you to show Haldir the respect and hospitality you would show myself. What bothers me are your indiscretions. Whilst looking out my window this morning, I saw not sparring but...things of such a nature that I cannot begin to discuss them."
"Relax, my man-brother. Peace is stronger than war. It was just a friendly kiss," Elrohir smirked indignantly.
"Friendly kiss perhaps within my kingdom's fair walls. Incestuous and unspeakable without. I fear you will greet Haldir with such displays, and make a bad name for my reign forever more."
Elladan rose to his feet and crossed over to the door. He opened it, rather rudely, and bowed as he did so. "My Lord, you have nothing to fear but the morrow's good blessings. Now, forgive me, but let my brother and I robe up, and we shall heartily meet with this Haldir of Lothlôrien!"
"Excellent. I shall be looking forward to tonight's feast, where hopefully, Haldir will tell me of the hospitable brothers I am about to gain to my nobility."
As he exited, he bowed to Elrohir who stood politely, and likewise to Elladan. The elf shut the door with a bang.
"Thank the Valar he's gone. I feared he'd never shut up!" laughed Ro. He sat down on the edge of the bed and admired his ring. "Look, melda. Matching rings. Forever bound. You belong to me for good now." He smiled fondly as he held his glittering ring up proudly to his lover.
Elladan laughed, and crossed over to Ro, kissing his forehead in a brotherly way. "Now, we must see to this Halraw," he said, straightening his robes.
"Haldir, brother. Haldir of Lothlôrien."
"His name matters not to me," said Elladan, caressing his brother's hair. "What matters is the look in his eye, the build of his form...and the touch of his skin."
He giggled like a naughty little boy would, and his lover slapped him playfully. "I wonder if he's a blonde. How I love a blonde elf on the side."
Ro looked hurt, and Elladan stroked his face. "My raven haired God. If only he were a quarter of your beauty." They both smiled, and Elladan continued to braid his twin's locks as Elrohir began to softly sing.
"..I'm lying in my bed
The blanket is warm
This body will never be safe from harm
Still feel your hair, black ribbons of coal
Touch my skin to keep me whole..."
"Aye, I remember," smiled Elladan. These words of lullaby were not unfamiliar to him. He listened to the soft, gentle breeze of his brother's voice as he remembered their first passion. The time his beloved twin had became his. Their father had sent them into Rivendell's accompanying woods after their 200th year, and there, after slaying their first orc, the two had fallen into one another's arms under the soft moss of a sycamore tree. Neither had felt anything before or after it so right.
There was now another knocking at the door, and both elves were too enraptured in one another to leave their post.
"The welts of your scorn, my love, give me more
Send whips of opinion down my back, give me more
Well it's you I've waited my life to see
It's you I've searched so hard for.."
The knocking pounded louder. "Very well then. Come in, if you're pretty," Ro called playfully. Both laughed loudly, with the good humour and purity of two children.
The door creaked open, and Legolas poked his head in.
"Sons of Elrond," he nodded acknowledging their presence. "Have you seen the Lord, by chance?"
"Aye, but a moment ago," Elladan murmured carelessly. "Perhaps he went to meet with the blonde."
"The blonde?"
"Forgive me. I'm not thinking. I meant the Lothlôrien folk. Tell me... are they by chance blonde?" he asked, a hint of hopefulness in his voice.
Elrohir elbowed his brother, and smiled sweetly at Legolas. "Ignore my brother. His loins speak for him too often. Come sit with us."
Legolas entered the room, and closed the door softly. He crossed to the bed, and, without a second thought, climbed on and perched cross-legged.
"My, my," grinned Elladan. "Bold boy."
Legolas blushed a little, and made a motion to get off. Ro grabbed his arm. "Don't be silly. We're not going to ravish you. Here, help me with my braids. Elladan is all over the place."
Legolas slid over to Elladan's position, and gathered Elrohir's beautiful night sky hair into his hands.
The three of them sat for a long time in silence, and then suddenly:
"Do you love me, my tôrbain?"
"Aye. Like no other."
Legolas smiled, and kept braiding. "There. Fit for a king," he commented, when finished. Ro thanked him, and crossed to his mirror.
"A fine job, Legolas. Fine job," he smiled as he admired his reflection. He felt as if he were being confronted by his lover when he gazed into the glass long enough.
"Forgive me for intruding," Legolas apologised as he began re-braiding Elladan's hair, but how did you come about inventing the word 'tôrbain'? It's very curious to me. I've never heard that word, and I've studied both Quenya and Sindarin extensively."
"No intrusion. It sounds frightfully odd, but we didn't actually invent it," laughed Elrohir. "After discovering our first passions in the forest, our tutor thought it best to send us away, on a mission that would make us men. Help us discover our true selves. On our travels, we came across many a strange folk, that much is true. But never a soul like ourselves. We began to feel alienated, as if we were ill. Sick. We knew we were frowned upon, but we always assumed these things happened. It was beginning to seem as if it were unheard of," he explained.
"Until we reached that tavern on the edge of the hell mouth itself, Mordor," his twin laughed. "Be warned, O Mirkwood Brother. These stories make take a while."
"I am in no rush," smiled the elf, still braiding.
"Very well. One night, in a tavern not too far from the edges of the forbidden realm, we gave up being discreet. Our journey had been long, and we were weak with travel, and longing for one another, as lovers do. I set down my glass, and kissed my brother, very passionately. Heads turned. The tavern fell silent. People left. Perhaps that we are so alike is why it shocks so many. I cursed us being identical. I cursed each and every person in Middle-Earth that night, and I cursed the Valar, that I should fall so deeply in love with my brother, and he with I. For many weeks, we hated ourselves. We tried to stop touching each other, but that only brought physical pain. We tried to avoid our usual talks, but that made us yearn for it even more. Every time we made love, it was angrily, begging for forgiveness. I'm sorry I feel this way. I'm sorry you're my brother. I'm sorry I've sinned. I'm sorry this feels so good. The tenderness was gone, but our desire was not. My brother and I were cursed with the most perfect love ever created."
"We returned to the tavern," Elladan continued, "Feeling down in spirits. A frightfully ugly goblin approached us, and sat himself down at our table. "I know of your cursed pain," he whispered hoarsely, with a devilish grin, more evil than my fiendish brother. We listened intently to his tale, shocked at how it mirrored our own, and afterward, he scuttled off to fetch this pair of elves, Merilin and Tuilinn. To Ro's amusement, named after birds. They were barkeeps, and whilst not beautiful, amazingly similar. They had long raven hair like ourselves, both with a lick of pure gold hanging down in a braid next to their pointed ears. They looked young save for frown lines framing their features. For some reason it was obvious that their faces were worn with despair, not age. We ordered many rounds with them, and got incredibly drunk. Before retiring to bed, they gave us pained smiles, and told us that life was a horrible, painful curse. The only reason they had to live was each other. This saddened me terribly, and we thanked their hospitality, and rose to leave. As we were leaving, I heard the sweetest, most selfless thing. "You complete me, tôrbain." I was taken back by the tenderness that Merilin showed towards his brother. I never saw Elrohir and myself together, so I didn't realise the shocking impact that two twin lovers could have. Yet, it touched me. "Tôrbain," I asked. "That is a word?" They both smiled. "It is a word used by the damned. 600 years ago we met another pair like ourselves. They said the ones before them; they had used the Sindarin words for brother beauty and made it common, like you'd use adar, or pen-bain. So, you see," concluded Elladan, "We are but the beginning of a line of The Damned." He turned back to face Legolas and smiled, but there was a pain in his eyes.
Legolas had finished braiding long ago, but his fingers still darted in and out of the elf's hair, as he was mesmerised by the story. He looked from one twin to another, and his face was sincere. "My poor friends. I did not know the pain you went through discovering yourselves. May the Valar have mercy on the future feelers of this plight."
Elladan touched Legolas' hand in a friendly way. "Thank you for listening, pen-vain. We are sorry to have troubled you," he smiled. Elrohir crossed over to his brother and kissed his forehead. "Come, my love. We've wasted too much of Legolas' valuable time already. He has the King to tend to, and we have Haldir of Lothlôrien. Let us away."
The twins said their goodbyes to the elf, each bending to kiss his cheek tenderly. "Stay as long as you like after we're gone, Golden Haired One. Our door is always open to such a one as you. Now, we must depart."
"Farewell," smiled Legolas.