Rating: PG-13 to R (Angst... proceed with caution)

Summary: When Legolas is forced to make a decision that could very
well determine the fate of all Middle Earth, what will he do? And
what consequences will his choice have?

Disclaimer and Acknowledgements: As in Chapter 1

// = elvish translations
# = flashbacks
* = thought

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 7 - Hiding the Secret

The first attack took him completely by surprise. As he was walking
out of his room heading downstairs to meet his friends for breakfast,
a stabbing pain pierced through his chest. Agony flared through him
and he gasped. Bright green spots danced before his eyes and a loud
ringing sound exploded in his ears. Groping blindly at something for
support, hoping against hope that he would not pass out, his hands
came in contact with a towel and he latched on to it for dear life.
Unfortunately, the soft fabric could not withstand his weight and was
ripped off the hook. The usually graceful elf stumbled forward
clumsily, crashed into the wall and landed on the floor with a loud
thud. And then, the pain was gone just as sudden as it had come,
leaving Legolas winded and disoriented. Hurried footsteps approached
his location as he was still recovering from the shock.

"Legolas!" Aragorn's voice rang out from the corridor before he
appeared at the door. The human gaped when he saw the elf slumped
against the wall, his face ashen and his breath coming in sharp
rasps. "Are you hurt?!" The ranger bent down and helped Legolas up
onto his feet. The elf prince wavered and hung on to Aragorn for
support.

"I am fine," Legolas said, taking a deep shuddering breath and
steadied him.

"What happened?!" Aragorn's brow knotted and he scanned the elf from
head to toe, worry written all over his face.

"I-I... uhh... It..." the prince stuttered, his mind spinning as he
searched frantically for a plausible explanation to douse his
friend's uneasiness. "It was a spider!" he finally blurted out and
winced inwardly at the lame excuse.

"A spider?" the ranger's voice held much scepticism.

"Yes! A very BIG spider!!" the prince emphasised the word 'big' and
held his hands a foot apart to exaggerate the size.

Aragorn laughed and Legolas could not believe his luck when the man
actually believed his ridiculous tale of giant spider lurking in the
house. Or maybe he didn't. But if he didn't, he did not show it. It
was not uncommon for small spiders to nest in the dark corners of the
house but giant spiders were only found deep in the forest. If there
really were a giant spider roaming in the house, Elrond would have a
fit. Legolas made a mental note to get away from prying eyes in the
mornings of every fifth day. Either that or he would have to come up
with some real convincing stories.

The young man watched as Legolas smoothed down his hair and
straightened his tunic. He had not believed what the elf said. If
Legolas were afraid of spiders, wargs would fly. But then again, his
friend had never ceased to amaze him and maybe this was one of the
many surprises. Smiling to himself, he ushered the elf out of the
room.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Elrohir! If you don't shut up, you will ruin everything!"

Elladan's voice was a fierce, but nearly inaudible whisper. His twin
was too close to ruining their scheme for his comfort. When Elrohir
let loose another muffled laugh, Elladan cuffed him sharply upside
the head.

"I'm sorry, brother," Elrohir squeaked between giggles.

Elladan shook his head and smiled ruefully. "I should have told you
to stay in your room. You're hopeless."

Elrohir feigned innocence, and the pair made their way silently into
Aragorn's bedroom. They smiled mischievously when they found their
human brother still fast asleep. Although that was to be expected, it
was a good three hours before anyone in their right mind would even
think about waking up.

They stalked over to the bed, and both barely stifled a shout when a
hand landed on each of their shoulders. The elven twins turned to
look behind them and found Legolas, his grin spread from ear to ear.

"And just what do you two think you are doing?" Legolas asked with
mock indignation. Elrohir fumbled for an explanation, but his
brother's eyes... or more specifically the glint of mischief he found
in them, made him pause. Elladan and Elrohir shared a glance, but
that was all it took. They communicated with no words, in a way only
possible for twins with thousands of year's experience.

A moment later their mouths curved into identical smirks; expressions
which would cause all who knew them to run screaming in the other
direction. Legolas however did not have time to react.

"Right. New plan, then," Elrohir said.

Faster than any human eye could follow, the two brothers had grabbed
Legolas and now held the Mirkwood prince suspended between them,
Elladan holding him under the arms and Elrohir holding his ankles.

"What do you..." Legolas started to protest, but Elladan cut him off.

"You get to wake up Estel," and with that, they swung the prince high
above Aragorn's bed and dropped him, so he landed directly on the
sleeping human.

The resulting struggle was quite the sight to behold, as Aragorn
attempted to get a hold of the intruder who had awoken him, and
Legolas tried to avoid getting the ranger's knife lodged in his
throat.

When he heard the familiar sound of his elven brothers laughing,
Aragorn paused and looked down at the figure he now had trapped
beneath him. In the dim moonlight, the man caught a glimpse of
platinum hair falling gracefully over delicately pointed ears. As his
eyes met the familiar silver blue ones of his long time friend, he
quickly jumped to his feet and swore lightly.

"Legolas!?"

The twins laughed even harder.

"Oh, no. This is not getting placed on my head," the blonde elf said
to his friends. Legolas threw Elladan and Elrohir a sideways glance
before returning his full attention to Aragorn. "This is most
assuredly their fault."

The human glared darkly at his brothers, waiting for an answer to his
unspoken question. Elladan chuckled at the man's expression.

"All right, all right," he said, "Yes, it was our doing."

"Legolas was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time," Elrohir
said, finishing his brother's thought, as they so often did.

"Indeed," Legolas muttered in mock annoyance. Aragorn simply shook
his head.

"What? Oh, come now. It was not that bad," Elrohir offered in their
defense.

"Aye. In fact, Estel, you should thank Legolas for showing up when he
did. Our original plan for you was much worse," Elladan added
playfully.

"Oh? And just what plan was that?" Aragorn asked as he crawled back
under the comfortable blanket.

The twins laughed. "No, no. We will not tell you. It might still come
in handy should we ever feel like playing another prank," the elder
twin said, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Legolas and Elrohir burst out laughing as the ranger's eyes widened.
Soon Aragorn was laughing as well, and the four friends slipped into
the cadence of their usual friendly chatter.

"Oh, by the way," Elrohir said. "Happy birthday, brother."

*~*~*~*~*~*

To Be Continued...

A/N: There. No cliffie so you can't complain this time *g* And the
next one will have no cliffie either... and no pain, no angst, no
torture... you get the idea. Hehehe.