Chapter 5. The Last Laugh

Leaves of gold and brown fluttered gently in the breeze spiralling lazily downwards until they finally came to rest on the forest floor. Sunlight filtered through the ancient treetops and all around there was an air of peace and tranquillity, which Elladan and Elrohir barely seemed to appreciate.

"You do realise Elrohir, that we would not be here if not for that prank with the arrows?" Elladan said. "We should have known that we were trying Adar’s patience beyond its limits."

"Yes, we should have indeed," his brother, agreed. "But do not forget that it was your idea, not mine."

"We are equally at fault, little brother," Elladan said, becoming slightly annoyed. Elrohir chose to ignore the barb.

"I wonder what awaits us in Caras Galadhon?" Elrohir pondered.

With minds totally occupied with imagining their fate, their elven senses had not warned either of them that they were being watched. A group of Elves came upon them, suddenly appearing from amongst the trees.

"The Lord and Lady of the Wood await your arrival," answered Haldir, the leader of the patrol. The twins both jumped in surprise at the sound of his voice. Haldir and his patrol could not help but laugh at the disgusted looks on the twin's faces

"Greetings to you, Haldir," said Elrohir, quickly recovering his composure. This was the second time they had been caught unawares in a forest; it was a bad habit to develop.

"Welcome to Lothlorien, Elladan, Elrohir. The Lady Galadriel has sent us to escort you to her." He had a wicked gleam in his eye as he continued, "You can both rest assured that there are no spiders in these woods, of either the eight- or two-legged variety." The other members of the patrol laughed heartily and two sets of pointed ears blushed with embarrassment.

"How did you know about that 'tricky' Wood Elf?" Elladan demanded.

"There is very little the Lady of the Wood does not know of happenings large and small, particularly where her grandsons are concerned," Haldir replied, smiling at the alarmed look that passed between the twins. "Come, let us not keep her waiting."

They had barely reached the gates of the city before Arwen came running out to greet them. Although she was often at odds with her brothers, she had missed them and was eager to hear all the news from Rivendell. Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel watched the happy reunion for a few moments before approaching the twins to welcome them to Caras Galadhon.

"Welcome Elladan, Elrohir" said Celeborn "I trust your journey was pleasant?"

"Yes, thank you, Lord Celeborn," Elrohir replied, acting as spokesman as they both bowed politely.

"Such formality is unnecessary between kin," Celeborn said with a smile.

"Of course it is," agreed Galadriel as she hugged each of her grandsons in turn. Elladan took her hand and kissed it, but Elrohir dared to kiss her on the cheek, which pleased her immensely. "I trust that Elrond is well?" she asked.

"Yes, he is, or rather he was before he went to Mirkwood to see King Thranduil,” replied Elladan mischievously.

"Do not be concerned.   I would know if anything untoward had happened to either of those two." She was extremely fond of her daughter's husband and the rather incorrigible son of Oropher.

"What news do you bring from Rivendell?" Celeborn asked. Elladan retrieved the letter from his travel bag and handed it to his grandsire. "Thank you. I think that perhaps you should let Arwen show you to the guest rooms, we shall see you at the evening meal,” he said dismissively.

Arwen did as she had been asked and once the twins were settled she found some fruit and wine for refreshment. "What are you two doing here?" she asked finally, "I am dying of curiosity."

"Then I had better answer you, before we are blamed for your tragic demise as well as everything else bad that happens in Middle Earth!" joked Elladan. Arwen's laughter was infectious as he explained the various events which had preceded them being sent to Lothlorien, and soon all three had tears of merriment rolling down their cheeks. That is until Elladan told of how they had teased Estel. Arwen's expression turned from amusement to fury in an instant.

"How could you be so cruel? I hope Lord Celeborn choses something really bad as your punishment!" she exclaimed as she stalked out of the room.

"Typical of Arwen," Elrohir commented with a slight shrug as he watched her slam the door. "It does not take much to anger her, does it?"

"No, sometimes she is very much like Adar; no real sense of humour,” came Elladan’s reply.

******

Shortly after the evening meal, the twins were summoned to attend Celeborn in his study. Their growing concern over their as yet unnamed fate had made them extremely nervous and they were dismayed to see that Galadriel was there as well. Celeborn indicated for them to be seated.

"I have read the letter from Elrond, and I must say I am disappointed with your current behaviour. Youthful exuberance and playfulness is a common trait among Elves and I do not object to expressing such in the form of pranks, provided they are harmless and do not exceed the bounds of good manners or moral behaviour. It would appear that you two have managed exceed these limits, and despite repeated requests from Elrond, you continue to do so. Even an Adar’s patience cannot be tried too far." The twins were now very worried, for the Celeborn who spoke those words sounded more like the mighty warrior lord he had been, rather then their gentle grandsire. Even Galadriel felt the power and authority in her husband's voice and the subtle warning to the twins. They received the message loud and clear and nodded in silent acknowledgement.

"You would do well to heed Lord Celeborn," she said sternly. "It would not be wise to anger him. However," she added with a slight smile, "if you must play pranks, please do so a little more responsibly." Celeborn frowned slightly, it was obvious from whom they had inherited some of their mischief making tendencies.

"I realise that you are expecting me to mete out a suitable punishment," Celeborn continued, "but Elrond has asked me to read you part of the letter you delivered.”

Two single eyebrows rose simultaneously at that, but the twins kept their silence as Celeborn read out loud.

”… I assume my sons are now in your presence, Celeborn, and that you are attempting to make them see the benefits of responsible behaviour. I have sent them to you thinking that I wish to punish them for causing havoc at Rivendell. I saw no reason to make them think otherwise. I am certain they have been concerned and anxious as to the content of this letter throughout their journey. When you see fit, please inform them that all it contains is a request for Arwen to return home.

This time the joke is on you, my sons.

Regards

Elrond.”

“Perhaps he does have a sense of humour, after all!” Elladan whispered to Elrohir.

Galadriel and Celeborn could not contain their mirth at the astonished expressions on the identical faces of their grandsons and the study echoed with the sound or their laughter.

***********

Epilogue.

Elrond watched as the red-gold fingers of the last rays of the setting sun gently caressed the treetops, welcoming the twilight of evening. Even though it had been several weeks since his sons had returned from Lothlorien, there had been no untoward incidents and no irate weapons masters, cooks or parents of maids to deal with. Rivendell remained calm, peaceful much to Elrond's relief.

Turning to Glorfindel, who stood in silent contemplation beside his friend, Elrond said quietly,

 "It seems that the spate of practical jokes is over, thank the Valar. I had hoped that the twins would heed Celeborn's words."

"Oh, I think it has more to do with them not wanting to become the subjects of another one of YOUR pranks," he replied laughing merrily. Elrond could not help but smile at that.

"A wise choice, and I sincerely hope that they have learned their lesson. Speaking of which, have you finished trying to teach the trouble -makers some elven morality and etiquette?"

"Yes, but I do not guarantee that their behaviour will remain as good as it has been recently,” commented Glorfindel wryly.

"We can only hope," sighed Elrond as the bell chimed for the evening meal and they made their way towards the dining hall.

Elrond was pleased to note that Arwen and some of her friends had taken charge of entertaining Legolas. The young Wood Elf had returned to continue his study of Quenya, and Elrond was becoming concerned that he was far too serious. Apparently he was so only when studying, for at present he appeared to be thoroughly enjoying being the centre of attention. Elrond found himself thinking that the prince would be a much more 'suitable' match for his daughter than Estel. He shook his head in resignation for he knew that eventually he would lose Arwen to Estel; even with his formidable powers, that battle of the heart was not one he could win.

As he took his seat at is usual table, Elrond looked curiously at his sons. "Why are you two not dining with that merry group over there?"   He asked, inclining his head in the direction of the table where Arwen and Legolas sat.

"Perhaps the young prince does not wish to share his admirers?" teased Glorfindel.

"We would rather be associated with the more mature members of Rivendell," Elrohir responded haughtily. Glorfindel laughed out loud.

"Since when? You do not fool me my young friends.   Has something happened to cause you to avoid our guest?" Elladan and Elrohir exchanged worried looks.   Glorfindel could not possibly have found them out, could he? Elrond noted the frowns on both their faces, and although he knew he would regret it, he had to ask.

"I think one of you had better tell me what you have done to Legolas. I assume you took your revenge for the spider incident?" They both nodded confirmation, but neither was willing to explain further.

"As the elder it falls to you to answer Adar," said Elrohir, poking his brother in the ribs. Elladan fixed him an angry glare, but proceeded with the tale when Elrond prompted him with a stern order.

“Go ahead, Elladan.”

"We told Legolas that the pool in the garden where the willows grow is an 'enchanted pool' with waters that ease tired muscles and provide a feeling of well-being when you swim in it."

"There are no enchanted pools in my gardens," Elrond interrupted.

"We know that, but he did not.   We also told him that the spell only worked if you were naked." Glorfindel rolled his eyes.

"You left him in the water and stole his clothes," he surmised. "Not a very original prank."

"I suppose not, but we also knew that Arwen and her friends were going to swim there that day, at about the same time we were there with Legolas." They both started laughing as Elrohir described how they had hidden nearby to watch the mortified look on the prince's face as he heard the maids approaching. He had swum quickly to the bank and looked for his clothes, to no avail. As the maids entered the garden along the only pathway, his only option had been to stand behind one of the bushes. That plan had afforded some cover for his dignity.

"No wonder he does not wish to have anything to do with you, he must have been very embarrassed," Elrond said trying hard not to laugh at the image of a naked prince, a bush and several young she-elfs. So much for Glorfindel's morality lessons!

"Oh, he actually was quite good about it all when we finally had a chance to speak to him," Elrohir said with a hint of sarcasm. "He thanked us for providing him with an opportunity for becoming better acquainted with Arwen's friends."

"They actually felt sorry for him, and apologised for OUR behaviour! They thought he looked quite attractive despite his state of undress, and invited him to dine with them tonight." Elladan said sourly. "We received no such invitation; all we received was a scolding from Arwen."

Glorfindel and Elrond were highly amused.

"I am glad that there is at least one elf in Middle Earth who is immune to your pranks, apparently it is very difficult to best a Wood Elf," said Glorfindel. "However, I thought this nonsense was at an end?"

Elrond merely sighed in exasperation, so much for the brief period of peace and quiet, he had enjoyed it while it lasted.