5  The Feud Continues

 There were many paths marked with signs visible only to Elves through the forest once known as Greenwood the Great, and Haldir quickly found the one leading to the north and the realm of Thranduil. He was not comfortable being the bearer of bad tidings but he consoled himself with the thought that although Legolas would not be pleased with the trouble Elladan and Elrohir had managed to land themselves in this time, he would wait until he had found his young friend before taking action against the Twins. The friendly feuds and battles of wits between the sons of Thranduil and Elrond had once been the cause of much amusement amongst many of the Elves of both realms, and Haldir wondered what the outcome of this latest incident would be.

The urgency of his errand in mind, Haldir decided to travel through the night rather than take a break and was delighted that there was sufficient starlight for him to follow the trail. Early the next day he sensed someone up ahead of him and although he knew there were no real dangers in the woods anymore, he approached the travellers warily. He was surprised, and very relieved to find Thranduil and Legolas heading south along the common path.

"Well met, Thranduil, Legolas," he said, bowing politely to the King of Eryn Lasgalen. "It is a strange coincidence that we meet on this road."

"Greetings Haldir. We are simply investigating a disturbance in the woods to the south. What brings you to this part of the world?" Thranduil asked, wondering if this was the stranger about whom the trees had been speaking.

"Bad news, I am afraid." Haldir said, deciding to take the direct approach. "I come to ask your aid in finding Aragorn's son It seems he has disappeared somewhere near Dol Guldur."

"What?" asked Legolas, eyes alight with a mixture of anger at Haldir's news and concern for his young friend. "How did he come to be missing? Why would he be this far from Lothlórien?"

"One question at a time, Legolas," said Thranduil, placing a comforting hand on his son's shoulder. "There is no point in venting your anger on Haldir, I am sure it is no fault of his that the boy is missing."

"No," hissed Legolas, "undoubtedly the fault lies with his uncles. They have always been irresponsible." Thranduil merely raised an eyebrow at the venom in the accusation as Legolas continued his questioning.

"You say he disappeared somewhere near Dol Guldur?" Haldir nodded in the affirmative. "Then I will head there directly," he said, addressing Thranduil. "I am more concerned about Eldarion's welfare at present than in hearing the explanation for this situation."

"Very well," agreed Thranduil. "Haldir and I will follow shortly." He had barely finished speaking before his son leaped gracefully into the nearest tree and vanished.

"I can see you are weary from your travel, Haldir. Shall we take a brief rest before following Legolas? I am interested in hearing your tale and there is little chance we could keep up with him in his current mood."

"Yes, I would appreciate time to rest a little." Haldir replied, marvelling at how Thranduil seemed to have mellowed since last they met. They selected a small glade and sat beneath the shade of the trees, and after they had refreshed themselves with a meal of lembas and water, Thranduil listened intently to the whole saga.

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Legolas made good time, spurred on by his anger at Elladan and Elrohir and his worry for Eldarion. As he travelled further south, he realised the trees were subtly guiding him, branches leading him in the right direction were being placed easily within his reach. The trees spoke to him, more with feelings than words, easing his fears with comforting sounds and he sensed they were reassuring him that his friend was safe.

Unfortunately the feeling of safety suddenly vanished as he reached for the next branch. He did the unthinkable and almost fell from the tree when the limb he was standing on suddenly bowed beneath him. Worry turned to fear that something terrible had happened for there was a distinct air of sadness pervading the woods now and it seemed whatever contact there had been with Eldarion was suddenly lost.

Legolas quickly regained his balance and then leapt gracefully to the ground, deciding that a brief rest was in order. He chose a spot amongst the soft grass that grew in the shade beneath the tree and stretched out, allowing his body to relax even though his senses remained fully alert. Suddenly amongst the myriad small noises that were a natural part of the forest, a new sound reached his ears. From somewhere quite distant, he could just make out the welcome sound of voices; voices he easily recognised. In an instant he was on his feet and moving swiftly but surely through the trees, his heart filled with relief.

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"Elladan, come quickly! I have found something!" shouted Elrohir as he bent to dig out a small muddy triangle of greenish grey cloth from beneath a rock.

"That is definitely an elvish weave," Elladan said, as he took the scrap and examined it more closely. "It looks like a piece of Eldarion's Lothlórien cloak."

"Yes, it must have been ripped off when he tripped on this rock."

"I wonder how we missed this in our search yesterday?" mused Elladan.

"It was well hidden under the rock," replied Elrohir casually. He did not bother to explain that he had stubbed his toe rather painfully on the rock and had only made his find when he had picked up the cause of his pain intending to toss it forcefully into the bushes. "Maybe we should ask Legolas to help us improve our tracking skills?" he said, deliberately baiting his brother.

"Never! We are just a little out of practice." Elladan replied hotly. "Come on, we are wasting time. I am sure there are other traces of our nephew to be found. At least we know the direction he was heading." With renewed hope, and applying a far more intense scrutiny than they had the day before, they searched for any sign of Eldarion having passed that way. This time their efforts were rewarded and they easily followed the trail of broken leaves and bent stems of flowers that Eldarion had left in his wake during the storm.

It took them several hours, but eventually they arrived at the outcrop Eldarion had made his temporary home. Relief quickly turned to disappointment, as the young man was nowhere to be found.

"Eldarion! Eldarion! Can you hear me?" Called Elladan, certain his nephew was simply hiding from them. After a few moments and still no response, Elrohir tried a different approach.

"Eldarion! Please come here! We are not angry with you, we are worried about you!" Elladan gave his brother a scornful look and whispered,

"I AM angry with him, and his foolish behaviour."

"Well, you cannot reprimand him if he is not here, now can you?" claimed Elrohir rolling his eyes with exasperation.

"No, but speaking of reprimand, can you imagine what Arwen will say when she hears of this?" Elladan said, with a wicked grin.

"I certainly would not like to be in Legolas' place when he returns to Minas Tirith," agreed Elrohir, "but this is no time for levity. It is obvious that he did not hear us. Let us check his campsite, there may be some clue as to how long age he left here,” he suggested, deciding to follow the next logical course of action.

"Wherever he went, I am certain he meant to return," said Elladan grimly, holding up Eldarion's water bottle and partially eaten lembas. "I hate to say this, but perhaps he does not answer because he cannot."

"Then the sooner we find him the better. If you are right, he may be injured and in need of help."

Fortunately it did not take long for them to find the unconscious form of their nephew sprawled beneath a tree. Elladan examined him quickly and discovered a large bump on the back of his head.

"It appears he fell from this tree," he said as he gently patted the pale cheeks in an attempt to rouse his nephew. His efforts were rewarded when a very groggy Eldarion slowly opened his eyes.

"Where am I? What happened?" he asked, closing his eyes again in an attempt to stop his head from aching.

"That is exactly what I wish to know," said an angry voice from behind them, startling the Twins who had not heard anyone approach.

"Oh, I remember! I climbed the tree to see if I could locate the river. I must have fallen," answered Eldarion, also recognising his friend's voice. Legolas ran quickly to his side, relieved to see that he was suffering no more than a slight concussion. Then he turned and confronted the Twins.

"I assume you two are responsible for Eldarion being here," he said, the anger in his voice reflecting the fire in his eyes. "I should have known better than to leave him with you."

"What do you mean by that?" demanded Elladan.

"Just what I said! You two can not even be trusted to see to the welfare of your own kin!" retorted Legolas.

"Calm down, Legolas! Elladan! No harm has cone to him. I take offence at your accusation, Legolas. Eldarion’s own foolishness brought him here," said Elrohir, the patronising tone of his voice doing nothing to appease Legolas' anger.

"Explain!"

"You explain, Elrohir," said Elladan, suddenly more concerned with treating his patient than dealing with an irate Elf. "I am going to get some water to make a potion to relieve Eldarion's headache."

"There is nothing much to tell. We were teasing him about his young lady and he took offence, it is that simple," Elrohir said with a slight shrug of this shoulders.

"There has to be more to the story than that," said Legolas sceptically. "What did you two do that made him leave Lothlórien?"

"We did nothing!" exclaimed Elladan, who had just finished forcing Eldarion to swallow the unpleasant tasting medicine. "He was boasting about his wood craft skills and challenged us to find him. How were we supposed to know he would be foolish enough to try and cross the river when a storm was brewing?"

"I was just trying to make you regret your insulting remarks about my skills as a woodsman," said Eldarion, feeling well enough to rise to his own defence. "I saw no sign of a storm brewing before I left."

"Every Elf in Lothlórien felt the warning signs," scoffed Elladan, becoming increasingly angry and unconsciously offending his nephew again.

"I AM NOT AN ELF!" shouted Eldarion.

"No you are not," agreed Legolas the compassion in his voice turning to anger as he continued. "You are definitely your father's son. Whilst I understand you wanted to take revenge on your incorrigible uncles that is no excuse to place your own life in danger. I hope you have learned your lesson and will consider your actions more carefully in the future."

"Yes, I admit I behaved foolishly, and I apologise to you all for causing so much trouble," said Eldarion, with sincere regret in his voice, he was truly sorry that he had caused Legolas, in particular, so much concern.

"And you, Legolas? Are you going to apologise for your accusations against us?" asked Elrohir, knowing better than to expect one, but asking nonetheless.

"I have nothing to apologise for. Had you not angered Eldarion in the first place, none of this would have happened," he stated flatly. Everyone began speaking at once in response,

"I will take the blame..." Eldarion was trying to say,

"Now wait just a minute...." shouted Elladan.

"I would not expect any kind of decent behaviour from a Wood Elf, " said Elrohir.

"SILENCE!" boomed a thunderous voice, full of power and unquestioned authority from amongst the trees. Everyone stopped speaking, and even the rustling of the leaves was stilled in response to the order. "What is the meaning of this nonsense?" demanded Thranduil as he and Haldir stepped into the clearing.

Nodding a curt greeting to Elladan and Elrohir, Thranduil walked purposefully over to where they now stood silently, waiting to see what would happen next. Ignoring Legolas for the moment, he directed his attention to the young man who was sitting propped up against the tree trunk.

"So you are Eldarion, son of Aragorn?" he asked needlessly, since there was no mistaking the young man's resemblance to the King of Gondor.

"Yes, Sir," said Eldarion nervously looking up at the imposing Elf towering over him.

"I am Thranduil, King of Eryn Lasgalen," stated Thranduil by way of introduction. "I hear you fell from the tree. How are you feeling, child?"

"I am not... " he began, stopping suddenly as Legolas, guessing that he was about to say 'not a child,' caught his eye and mouthed a silent 'no!'

Eldarion did not know that Thranduil would not take kindly to being corrected in his current mood, but he heeded Legolas' warning. "I am not injured, aside from a slight headache, thank you, Sir," he answered politely.

"It would appear you also suffer from the trouble making malady that infects anyone who comes into contact with these three," he said with a hint of sarcasm, indicating Legolas, Elladan and Elrohir. Legolas looked slightly miffed at that remark; although he had to admit it was not the first time his adar had cause to accuse him of such. The Twins were not sure whether they were being insulted or teased but taking the hint from Legolas' earlier warning, they said nothing.

"I assume you have treated your nephew for his headache?" Thranduil asked Elladan.

"Yes, the swelling on the back of his head is already disappearing, it is nothing serious,” he answered.

"Excellent. Then perhaps I can impose upon you Haldir, to keep young Eldarion company whilst I speak with my son and his friends," he said turning to where Haldir was standing, watching the proceedings with very poorly restrained amusement.

"Of course," Haldir agreed with a bow, slightly disappointed that he would miss hearing what was bound to be a very interesting conversation. "I think we could all do with a refreshing mug of herb tea, that is if you are able to walk over to your campsite?" he asked Eldarion. The young man answered by standing slowly but gratefully accepted the arm Haldir offered as support as they walked slowly over to the outcrop. Tuning his attention back to Legolas and the twins, Thranduil indicated for them to be seated in the shade of the tree.

"Haldir explained to me how it is that your nephew came to be wandering alone in unfamiliar woods," he began without preamble, "and rather than assign blame, I would like to point out something for your consideration. I know you were all feeling guilty and responsible for the disappearance of Eldarion and his subsequent injury, but was that raucous display of false accusations and bad temper really necessary?" he asked, surprising them all with the conciliatory tone in his voice, and the calmness of his demeanour. To Legolas' ears, Adar was treating them as adults, something he had not done when similar situations had arisen in the past. "You have all been friends for many centuries, surely you should apologise to one another for words spoken in anger? Legolas?" he queried, hinting his son should be the first to comply.

"You are right, Adar," he agreed, returning the compliment by behaving as the adult he was. He turned to face Elladan and Elrohir as he spoke, "I was so worried about Eldarion that I was not thinking clearly. No matter how offended he was he should not have placed himself in such jeopardy. As men count years, he is an adult, and as such responsible for his own actions. I accused you both unjustly and for that, I apologise."

"We accept your apology, mellon nin," said Elladan. "We do not know our young kinsman as yet, but we should have had more respect for his feelings. In that I admit we were irresponsible."

"We will apologise to him for our behaviour," Elrohir assured him, "but are you sure it was only for Eldarion's safety you feared?"

"What do you mean?" asked Legolas looking puzzled. Thranduil almost stopped Elrohir from replying, but recognising the mischievous glint in the eye of Elrond's son, he merely waited for the inevitable.

"I thought you might be more afraid of what our beloved sister would do to you if you were forced to report her son missing," he replied innocently. "I know I would be."

Elladan could not contain his laughter and Thranduil's eye twinkled with amusement.

"Me? Afraid of Arwen? Not likely," Legolas replied, knowing he was being teased but trying hard to keep a straight face. "Rest assured, mellon nin, that if I had needed to make such a report, both your names would have been mentioned, and not in a favourable light!" Elrohir laughed and clapped Legolas on the back,

"Then we are all fortunate that Eldarion is safe and sound,” he said lightly.

"And I daresay so is Aragorn," suggested Thranduil, pleased to see that all was well between his son and his friends, and deciding to take this opportunity to show the younger Elves that he considered them adults.

"What has this to do with Aragorn?" asked a very curious Elladan.

"I recall a similar incident that occurred when Legolas was still an elfling," he said. "Shall I tell the tale?" Legolas rolled his eyes in disgust, but said nothing, for he knew Thranduil fully intended to do just that.

"Please do," insisted Elrohir, smirking at his friend's sudden discomfort.

"As I said, Legolas was but an elfling and he decided that despite my protests, he was of an age and capability to take one of the trading barges down river on his own. He disappeared early one morning and my Hall was in a state of panic for he was nowhere to be found. Naturally I went looking for him and finally brought him home safely, though soaking wet from where he had fallen into the river. None of you are parents, but speaking from my own experience, there is nothing fiercer than a mother's protective instincts over her child. His sweet mother blamed me for his disappearance; for his state when I found him and for the chill he suffered as a result. It was several weeks before I found myself once again in her favour."

"Yes, now that you mention it, I can easily imagine Arwen blaming Aragorn as well," laughed Legolas, for he also recalled how his mother refused to admit that he was in any way to blame for the incident, when, in hindsight, he knew he had been at fault. Elladan and Elrohir were also highly amused by the story and the thought of the trouble they had prevented their foster brother from experiencing.

"I believe Aragorn owes us a debt of gratitude," said Elrohir. "Next time he comes north to visit the Shire, I think we will pay him a visit!"

"Definitely, we will be sure to seek payment for our help," agreed Elladan.

"I see nothing ever changes with you two," commented Thranduil, suddenly feeling a little sorry for Aragorn.

"Ah, I see Haldir has brewed the tea," Thranduil said nodding acknowledgement to Haldir's call. "There are two small observations I would make before we join him; Eldarion looks much as I remember his father did when you four were growing up together, but do not make the mistake of thinking he is Aragorn, and try to remember that he has grown up in the world of Men, not Elves."