8 Towards Imladris

The sparks of anger in Haldir's eyes when he discovered his most precious bottle of wine was empty, was a frightening sight, even for such hardened pranksters as the sons of Elrond. He was most definitely not amused.

"It was an honest mistake, Haldir. We did not realise that you kept your 'private' stock in amongst the dinner wines," said Elladan.

"Had you enquired first, you would have known," Haldir replied icily. He had altogether enough of these two for the moment The last few days had been a harrowing experience and all he wanted at present was a nice hot bath and to sleep in the soft bed that awaited him.

"An error on our part, I agree," said Elrohir. "Since we can not undo the mistake, we will be sure to send you a replacement as soon as we reach Imladris."

Somewhat placated, Haldir merely nodded. "Then, if you will excuse me, I will retire for the evening. It has been a trying few days since you two graced us with your presence," he said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "Perhaps you should think about heading towards your meeting with Legolas and Eldarion. I will bid you farewell before you leave tomorrow."

"I think we have just been asked to leave!" exclaimed Elladan as Haldir turned on his heel and walked quickly away.

"It would appear so brother," replied Elrohir. "He certainly does not have the sense of humour of his Woodland kin across the river.”

Elladan and Elrohir were most surprised the next morning to find they were invited to join Haldir at breakfast.

"Upon reflection, I am willing to admit that my punishment for your misdemeanour seems a little harsh, " he said without preamble as they took their places at his table.

"No, you were well within your rights. We should not have helped ourselves to your cellar," conceded Elrohir.

"Nevertheless, you are welcome to stay as long as you wish," Haldir said with an unmistakable twinkle in his eye. "There is one condition, however, you make good on your promise to send some replacement wine as soon as you return home."

"I am sure we can convince Legolas to deliver the wine on his way back to Minas Tirith," said Elladan. "Will that be satisfactory?"

"Certainly," agreed Haldir. "If it happens that Celeborn should find himself desirous of a safe haven from the four of you, please tell him he is most welcome to bring it himself." Elladan almost choked on the bread roll he was eating as he tried not to laugh at Haldir's light-hearted insult.

"It seems we have not lost our reputation, brother, ill deserved though it may be," he said sadly to his twin who, like Haldir, was unable to stop himself from laughing at the totally feigned look of innocence on Elladan's face.

"Then perhaps we should not out stay our welcome," Elrohir said, managing to control his mirth long enough to sound almost serious. "It has crossed my mind that if we leave now, we will probably meet Legolas and Eldarion just as they come to the edge of the forest."

"They will not be expecting to see you so soon, " said Haldir, rolling his eyes as he noted the knowing look exchanged between the sons of Elrond.

"Exactly!"  Exclaimed Elladan with a wicked gleam in his eye. “Elrohir, let us make haste to meet up with Legolas and Eldarion."

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"Is there going to be another storm?" Eldarion asked, looking apprehensively at the gathering dark clouds he could see through the thinning canopy of leaves. They had almost reached the edge of the forest, and would soon be climbing into the Misty Mountains where the path to Imladris was to be found.

 "Rain, definitely," said Legolas, "but I do not sense a large storm. It should clear quickly." Although he was not at all concerned about walking in the rain, he knew Eldarion hated getting wet and they had barely travelled another league before it began to drizzle. Legolas quickly found them shelter in a hollow cavity at the base of one of the older trees in the forest. They sat in silence, watching the rain, each lost in their own thoughts until Eldarion, noting the strange look on his friend's face, asked the cause.

"The forest feels different and I have just realised why. Ever since I returned, I have felt something 'missing'." Legolas explained. "I can no longer sense the Shadow."

"Since the Dark Lord was defeated many years ago, that is no surprise," replied Eldarion.

"It should not be, but do not forget, my young friend, that I have spent many centuries, all of my life in fact, living with the encroaching evil, ever mindful of the dangers that lurked in the great forest. It is a strange, yet wonderful feeling to know that I no longer need fear attack by spiders or Orcs, that I can now travel in safety through my father's realm, just as I do in Ithilien."

"I have realised something strange, too," offered Eldarion. "You are much older than I allow myself to acknowledge."

"There is nothing strange about that to me, it is a common misconception among Men," Legolas said with a slight shrug. "Although I look of a similar age to you, or even Aragorn perhaps, I have lived many lives of men already. Even so, like Elladan and Elrohir, I am still considered quite young for an Elf."

"I suppose you are," Eldarion agreed, looking slightly troubled, but not commenting further. "I think the rain has eased, shall we continue our journey? I am very eager to see Imladris, I wonder if it is as beautiful as Mother remembers?"

"There is only one way to find out," stated Legolas.

By the time they reached the outskirts of the forest, darkness had already fallen. Settling on a small glade for their campsite, Legolas wandered around the perimeter, feeling a growing sense of unease. Despite his earlier assurances of their safety, he sensed a presence growing ever nearer. To his surprise, Eldarion left the campfire he was tending and walked up to him looking concerned,

"I think there is someone out there," he whispered.

"Yes, we have been followed for quite some time by someone approaching from the south," Legolas informed him. "Keep you bow close to you and wait here, I will see if I can find our uninvited guests."

He was not gone long before Eldarion heard the sound of an arrow being loosed, followed by a now familiar voice shouting,

"Be careful with that thing, Legolas, you almost shot Elrohir!"

"If I had intended to shoot him, he would have felt the sting of my arrow," Legolas declared. "You were fortunate that I recognised you," he said to Elrohir, who was not looking amused as he and Elladan followed Legolas into the glade.

"Hello, Uncles," said Eldarion politely. "What are you doing here?"

"Something they have never succeeded at yet; trying to catch me unawares. I believe this round goes to me," Legolas said triumphantly, ignoring the glares directed at him.

"We were doing nothing of the kind. We merely thought our nephew might have need of his travel pack," Elrohir said, the look in his eye daring Legolas to contradict him.

"Or his medicines," added Elladan, in support of his brother and handing Eldarion the infamous pouch.

"Is that the only reason?" asked Legolas, easily sensing that they were not telling the whole truth and enjoying the game of teasing his old friends.

"Well, let us just say we out stayed our welcome," Elrohir said with a mischievous grin. Legolas laughed out loud, knowing the twins well enough to realise that they had probably been asked to leave Lothlórien.

"What did you two do to upset Haldir?" he asked. Elladan explained about the wine, causing much laughter with his imitation of an irate Haldir. Legolas stopped laughing long enough to comment to Eldarion,

"I think we are in for an interesting stay in Imladris, I have not seen Elladan and Elrohir in such a 'playful' mood since well before the war." The silver sweet sound of elfish laughter filled the glade when an amused Eldarion replied,

"Then I hope Lord Celeborn has a good sense of humour!"

The three Elves made themselves comfortable in front of the campfire and watched in fascination as Eldarion, who had become quite proficient at cooking during his journey, expertly prepared a pot of vegetable soup for their evening meal.

"I hope those are edible herbs, not medicinal ones that you are adding to the soup," joked Elladan as Eldarion threw a few leaves into the pot.

"They are most definitely edible," he answered, mildly annoyed at being reminded of his previous error. "I have packed my medicine pouch safely out of harm's way. Of course, if you do not trust me, you need not eat my cooking. We have a supply of lembas which you can be certain is safe," he teased in return, offering Elladan a piece of the waybread.

"No, thank you. I wish to try your soup, it smells delicious." In fact, Elladan found it to be excellent fare, as did the others and they soon finished off the whole pot.

"It has just occurred to me, Legolas, that Elladan and I did catch you unawares on one occasion, many years ago in Imladris," Elrohir said, looking directly at his friend. "Do you not remember the 'enchanted pool' incident?"

"Of course he does!" exclaimed Elladan, "why else would he be blushing?" Eldarion turned to see a faint pinkish tinge to his friend's cheeks.

"Yes, I recall the incident, I was caught out by one of your practical jokes, hardly the same thing as being unknowingly tracked through the countryside."

"This sounds intriguing, please tell me the story Elladan," entreated Eldarion.

"Yes, Elladan, do tell us the tale," seconded Elrohir. With a wicked twinkle in his eye, the elder twin turned to seek his friend's approval. Legolas sighed and shrugged slightly, knowing there was no way to prevent Elladan from relating the incident. He did not really mind, because in hindsight, it was really quite amusing.

"One time when Legolas was visiting Imladris we wished to play a practical joke on him so we told him that the pool in the garden where the willows grew was an 'enchanted pool'. We said that the waters eased tired muscles and provided a feeling of well-being, but that the spell would only work on an unclothed body."

"Of course, there are no enchanted pools in Imladris, but Legolas had not been a frequent visitor and did not know this," explained Elrohir.

"I was also very young," added Legolas in his own defence.

"Yes, you were," agreed Elladan before he continued the story. "Anyway, as it happened, we also knew that Arwen and her friends planned 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.

"Legolas swam quickly to the bank and looked for his clothes, to no avail, for Elladan and I had crept up on him and stolen them without his knowledge. As the maids entered the garden along the only pathway leading to the pool, his only option was to stand behind one of the bushes, which afforded some cover for his dignity." Eldarion could not help but laugh heartily at the image his mind conjured up of one male Elf, no clothing except a bush and several young female elves, Arwen included.

"No wonder you were embarrassed," he said, unable to control his mirth. "Were you very angry with my uncles?"

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

"Unfortunately, they felt sorry for him, and apologised for OUR behaviour. They thought he looked 'rather attractive' standing there all wet and unclothed, and invited him to dine with them that evening," Elladan said sourly. "We received no such invitation, all we received was a scolding from Arwen."

"And well deserved too!" laughed Eldarion. "I think Legolas is correct. That was more of a prank than a real attempt to track and approach him unheard in the forest."

"Aragorn managed to do it once," admitted Legolas quietly, smiling at the stunned silence his revelation produced.

"What?" asked a surprised Elladan.

"When?" asked an equally surprised Elrohir.

"How?” They all asked at once when they regained their composure and their voices.

"One question at a time!" laughed Legolas. "I had accompanied Elrond and your uncles back to Imladris after they had attended a Council meeting at Adar’s Hall."

"Oh, yes, I remember that," said Elladan. "You had agreed to teach Arwen to shoot."

"I have never seen Mother with a bow in her hand," interrupted a slightly confused Eldarion.

"That is because not even an expert such as Legolas could improve her limited skills," said Elrohir, amused at his memory of how poorly Arwen handled a bow.

"Arwen can shoot well enough to defend herself if the need arises," corrected Legolas, silencing any further derogatory remarks with a cold stare.

"Please continue," begged Eldarion, for he was eager to find out how his father had managed to catch Legolas out.

"I arranged to meet Arwen on the archery range for her first lesson that afternoon, and she arrived while I was practicing. She was curious as to how I managed to score a bullseye with every arrow so explained that once the technique had been learned, it was necessary to practice until it became like second nature to draw and shoot in one simple movement. I offered her my bow so that she could demonstrate how much technique she already possessed."

"Very little, I suspect," said Elladan, unable to resist the temptation to comment.

"Unfortunately you are correct," said Legolas. "She managed to nock her arrow but when she released the string the arrow barely went halfway to the target. We spent the rest of the afternoon practicing and I was pleased to see her improving slowly. We were forced to stop when she complained her shoulders were getting sore. I could tell she was slightly disappointed with her progress, so I offered to help her hit a bullseye. When she had taken her stance, I stood behind her and put my hands over hers and set them in the correct position. Together we drew the string and sent the arrow directly into the target."

"She bragged about it for weeks afterwards," said Elrohir, with an affectionate smile at the memory of how pleased she had been with her 'skill'.

"Yes, she was so delighted that she drew me into a wild embrace. Suddenly a second arrow flew through the air and split the one we had fired. I turned ready to shoot at our 'assailant', only to find it was Aragorn, who had come upon us totally unnoticed. He was lucky I did not shoot him."

"Aragorn never mentioned that minor detail," Elladan said, "but had you not been distracted by my dear sister's charms, you would have known of his presence."

"Without a doubt," agreed Legolas, "had Arwen not been almost choking me, I would have known of Aragorn's approach."

"And I know how he does it!" exclaimed Eldarion as realisation suddenly dawned. "The trees tell him! They speak to all the Wood Elves!" Elladan and Elrohir exchanged a look of surprise; it was something they had not previously considered, yet on reflection it was so obviously the answer.

"If that is the case, no wonder he can never be approached unknowingly," said Elrohir. "All this time we thought that you were just more skilled than we are, when in fact you are simply being warned by your precious trees."

"I never suggested that I had no warning. Besides, talking to the trees is a skill," Legolas declared highly amused. "One none of you possess, I might add."

"Well, now that the mystery of the unapproachable Wood Elf is solved, I suggest we get some rest," said Elladan, deciding that as the elder of the group he should be the figure of authority. "We still have a few days travel ahead of us, and I am sure Celeborn is anxiously awaiting our arrival. I will take the first watch, for there are still some predatory animals in this part of the country."

Much to his surprise, he encountered no objections to his assuming the role of leader, and before long all was quiet in the glade as the others drifted into sleep.