AN: A HUGE thank you to all my reviewers! Your comments were all really appreciated! Sorry about the wait for this chapter - I finished it ages ago but I didn't get round to typing it up... As I've asked before, any ideas about what I can do in later chapters are welcome. And, in case you were wondering, I do NOT own any of these characters (Sadly...) except Aglariel (formerly Caralin) and Aenith (formerly Coramelë). They're not really anyone for the moment, but I'll possibly bring them in again later.

One moment he'd been poised on the edge of the cliff, turning to face his Ada; the next his father's face was shrinking rapidly as the little prince plummeted towards the valley floor, along with several tons of cliff wall. The next few hours were a blur. He vaguely remembered choking clouds of dust billowing and eddying about him in the wake of the landslide, but he didn't remember just exactly how he'd arrived in the cave. When the dust had finally settled and he'd realised he was trapped, Legolas hadn't worried at all. He'd sat and waited patiently – he knew his Ada would come and find him and make everything all right again. In fact, he'd been so secure in the knowledge that his father was coming that he'd curled up and gone straight to sleep. But when he awoke several hours later with a parched throat, empty belly and still no Ada in sight, he'd realised that it was up to him to get himself out of his predicament. Screwing up his courage, he began to explore the huge (in his eyes), echoing cavern in the hopes of finding some means of escape, but to no avail. He hadn't been able to find a way out and, worse, even with his limited experience he could tell that the rock walls surrounding him were unstable and could cave in at a touch. Resigning himself to his fate, he wrapped himself up in his cloak as best as he could and snuggled up in a corner, against the side of a huge, curving boulder.

...

Soft noises from outside his refuge jerked the elfling back to the present. Leaping to his feet, he drew a slim white knife from his belt and settled down to wait against the boulder, ready to fight for his life if need be, his tiny body tense with excitement and adrenaline. The seconds ticked by, the soft slithering of dirt outside keeping him alert. Slowly, however, his grey eyes glazed over and his mind again wandered the familiar paths of elvish dreams – until the unmistakeable sound of someone dropping lightly to the ground jerked him back to awareness. Legolas immediately straightened, his hand bringing the knife back up again from its position at his side. A change in the sounds announced that the aforementioned Someone was making their way around the boulder. Swallowing past the tightness in his throat, the elfling shrank back into the rock as though he was trying to merge into it. Suddenly, he saw an image of his Ada, his blue eyes bold and unafraid, his tall frame drawn up to his full height. Unconsciously, he mirrored his father's posture and sucked in a deep breath. He was determined he would face what was coming in a way that would make his father proud!

He wasn't sure exactly who he had been expecting, but he couldn't keep his shoulders from sagging in disappointment as a tall Elf he had never seen before rounded the side of the boulder. He had very long, straight dark hair caught back in warrior's braids and silver-grey eyes. They stared at each other for several long moments, then the tall Elf's eyes widened in stunned recognition. "Ai Valar! Thranduil will not be happy," he whispered, and Legolas felt a sudden wave of relief wash through him. "You know my Ada?" he asked, just to make sure. "Yes, tithen pen," the Elf replied, "and he will be very pleased to know that you are safe!" As if abruptly remembering his manners, he swiftly introduced himself. "I am Elladan Elrondion, of Imladris. My brother, Elrohir, is waiting for us outside." He held his hand out and, after eyeing it warily for several heartbeats, Legolas took it. He liked the way the Elf's hand dwarfed his own – it reminded him of his Ada.

"Come, tithen pen," Elladan murmured, leading him carefully around the rock until they stood before the opening the Elf had made. Legolas wondered how he was going to get out – the hole was situated a good foot above his head – but all his worries were proved needless as Elladan lifted him effortlessly and pushed him out. Another pair of slender arms caught and steadied him gently; remembering his manners, the elfling twisted to thank the unknown Elf only to sit there in stunned amazement. When Elladan had finally pulled himself out onto the surface again, he found the elfling still sitting there in a state of stunned amazement. "We should get you home, tithen pen," he murmured and was rewarded by Legolas' jump.

Said elfling spun around to eye his rescuer in disbelief. "There are two of you!" he exclaimed, grey eyes round and wide as saucers. He couldn't believe it – in front of stood the dusty figure who had rescued him from the cave and had introduced himself as Elladan, while behind him sat an identical figure – well, identical aside from the layer of grime that coated Elladan. "Legolas, this is Elrohir, my twin brother," Elladan said at last, taking pity on the elfling. This didn't have the effect he'd expected, though, as Legolas still couldn't understand how the two of them could look so alike. "But you look the same!" he objected. "We look the same because we're twins," Elrohir tried to explain, but Legolas' mind was made up. "Aglariel and Aenith are twins but they look different! You're just trying to trick me!" he insisted, folding his arms and glaring at them in a manner so reminiscent of his father's that if they hadn't been so exasperated by his stubborn refusal to change his mind, the twins would have found it hilarious. As it was, they were too frustrated to see the humour of the situation. "We're not tricking you, Legolas," Elladan sighed, but Legolas shook his head. "My Ada has told me about your pranks; this is just what you would find funny!" Legolas informed them. With twin sighs of resignation, the brothers rose, Elladan taking Legolas' right hand and Elrohir his left. "We're never going to convince him," Elrohir remarked gloomily as the two of them guided their new companion in the direction of the horses. "Thranduil might back us up," Elladan suggested, but the look on his brother's face prevented him from adding any more. He knew as well as Elrohir did that Thranduil had been on the receiving end of too many of their pranks for him to help. He'd probably just encourage his son!

Glossary:

Ada = daddy

Tithen pen = little one

A note on names: Aglariel means brilliant daughter (or thereabouts), while Aenith means holy sister. I found the names here: (simply because I am too lazy to make any others up for the time being).

AN: Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying this! ;)

- Gabrielle Greenleaf