Elrond's Most Forgettable Birthday (Chapters 14-15)
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Chapter 14 - Towels Anyone?

Lord Elrond Peredhil had managed to keep the most inappropriate smile from his 
face as he greeted his revered in-laws, though the touch of Galadriel's 
fathomless eyes on his was nearly his undoing.

~I should have told Erestor to have Haldir stay away if I wished to remain in 
control of myself, ~ he thought as he fought a soundless battle with his 
rebellious lips, which wanted to twitch upward into that amused smile. Even as 
he thought this his eyes slid to the younger Lorien elf, who was positively 
glowing as he gazed upon his "Lady of Light".

Elrond felt a slight nudge at his side and knew that Celebrian was trying to 
tell him that he, Elrond Peredhil, was about to embarrass them all with his 
unseemly giggles at Haldir's expense in front of the Lord and Lady of Lorien, 
and that was no way for the Lord of Imladris to behave. Indeed young Haldir's 
gaze slid to the 'Lord of Imladris' suddenly, the wide grey eyes filled with 
dismay as he wondered what elusive rule of Imladris etiquette he had broken now; 
the long slender fingers jerked slightly and Elrond knew that Haldir was 
wondering about his 'glowing' countenance. He would always wonder now.

Celeborn sighed quietly and shook his silver head. He too could feel his lips 
twitching but, as he had more experience in these matters, he managed to look as 
cool and aloof as always. His quicksilver gaze moved from his son-in-law to 
Haldir. Yes, it would be Haldir, wouldn't it?

~Really, dear heart, ~ his thoughts sped to his wife, ~must you always choose 
poor Haldir for this display? ~

Galadriel's lips did turn up in a smile as she embraced her daughter.

~He does it so well, ~ she commented silently. ~You can see how much he enjoys 
it. ~

Celeborn refrained from replying to this as he bent to kiss Celebrian's 
over-warm cheek. He greeted Elrond and then waited for his wife to say 
something, for he could feel the tinge of amusement on the edge of her thoughts 
as she regarded Elrond.

"This will be quite a gathering," she said, her melodious voice rivaling the 
birdsong about them, and indeed the birds did fall silent as her dulcet tones 
sounded on their ears.

Celeborn looked to Haldir once more and saw the enraptured look on his fair 
Silvan face at the utterance of his wife's voice. He pursed his lips slightly, 
but, after all, she had to be indulged at times, and as she had said Haldir did 
seem to enjoy it. Truly though, he did look rather foolish.

"When are Thranduil and his son arriving?" Galadriel asked suddenly, her eyes on 
Elrond's. The tall Lady of Light was rewarded by her son-in- law's slight start 
of surprise at this statement.

Elrond could feel the minute vibration at his arm, which told him that Celebrian 
was trying not to laugh . . . at him. He frowned and lifted his chin.

"Very soon I am sure," he said in a tight voice, resisting the urge to say "Why 
don't you tell me?"

"You had better send towels," Galadriel said enigmatically before turning to 
take her daughter's arm and walk slowly away.

Elrond watched as they departed, Haldir on their heels.

"What does that mean?" he asked Celeborn.

"Only the wise know," the tall silver-haired lord answered, watching his 
formidable wife and lovely daughter laughing quietly together as they turned 
into a nearby garden. Just before they disappeared from view, he saw Galadriel 
turn and say something to the young march-warden. Even from here, Celeborn could 
see the intensity of the glow increase and the young one's eyes widen in 
delight, the finely drawn lips parting in an adoring smile.

"Then you don't know either," Elrond concluded, frowning after the females and 
their prey of choice. To his surprise, Celebrian then turned to regard the young 
elf from Lorien, and Elrond's frown deepened as she spoke to Haldir, her blue 
eyes locked on the silver ones. ~I wonder if this hurts him? ~ he thought, 
seeing the glow increase once more.

Celeborn turned to look at his son-in-law, his eyes filled with the wisdom of 
the ages. Suddenly he smiled, his face lighting with amusement, and a rich 
chuckle escaped his throat.

"No, I don't know. Shall we?" He gestured after their wives. "I don't want to 
leave poor Haldir all alone with them when they are in a playful mood. So. . . 
Thranduil is coming, is he?"

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

King Thranduil Oropherion was smiling quite contentedly as he donned one of the 
rich robes he had packed for this journey to Imladris. First impressions were 
very important and he knew how to impress when he so chose. He brushed out his 
golden hair, and then chose a circlet that complimented the dark blue tunic he 
wore. He had chosen blue purposefully. He knew that Elrond favored that color, 
but he also knew that he, Thranduil, looked much more comely in it than did 
Imladris' lord. He chuckled, imagining what he might find when they passed the 
gates of Imladris. He hadn't decided yet if he hoped Elrond had already drunk 
the Morn Nen wine or not. Either possibility would be amusing, but there could 
be a slight problem if he hadn't sampled it yet- a silver-haired problem that 
stood a few feet away with a rather intense look of pain on his face. The king 
sighed as the archer swiftly began to braid his long silver hair.

"Tanglinna, what are you doing now?" Thranduil asked, his voice colored with 
exasperation. "That looks suspiciously like your 'battle braid.' We are not 
going into battle so why do you persist in this nonsense? It is because I have 
not told Elrond about the Magic Spider Water in his wine, isn't it? You are 
punishing me for it? You are trying to irritate me? Well, it won't work. I don't 
care how you are behaving. This is going to be most fun, regardless of you and 
your little games of guilt." When Tanglinna refused to look at him, Thranduil 
sighed more loudly and turned to regard Aralith.

~Not again, ~ the prince thought wearily. Too often on this trip he had been 
caught in the middle when these two got started with one another, but when 
Tanglinna would refuse to 'rise to the bait' as his father called it then 
Thranduil would turn on his son, who was not as good at the clever exchange of 
quips his adar expected in this verbal parrying. On the rare occasions Aralith 
managed to come up with a clever reply to something that his father had said, he 
would receive encouraging smiles from Calenthar and Cuil, a snort of laughter 
from Thranduil, and congratulatory smile from the Master Archer. Those were good 
times, but when his mind failed him . . . . The prince frowned unhappily. ~I 
cannot do this any longer! Oh, why did I have to be the one to come on this 
trip?! If only I could find something to occupy me so I could ignore him . . . . 
~

Then he recalled the letter from Legolas to the twins. Perhaps he should check 
to make certain that he still had it. Yes, it had seemed rather important, and 
he wouldn't want it to be mislaid somewhere in their preparations to enter 
Imladris. He started to tell Thranduil this, but the look in his adar's blue 
eyes stopped the words in his mouth. Thranduil may say that Tanglinna's 
behaviour wasn't bothering him, but it obviously was. Aralith swallowed and 
turned quickly away, practically tripping over Cuil who was kneeling by their 
small fire.

Thranduil's frown deepened as Aralith managed to evade him, and he muttered 
something to himself before moving to stand by the shallow stream they had 
camped beside. He folded his arms over his chest glaring across the water. It 
seemed no one wished to speak with him this morning.

Aralith dug in his pack for the letter and, finding it, pulled it forth and 
unfolded the rather crumpled paper. What he read chilled his blood even more 
than the thought of another verbal confrontation with his adar.

"Dear Elladan and Elrohir,
I NEED YOUR HELP! Please! We accidentally sent all of my adar's Dorwinion to 
your adar and I need you to get him to drink it! My adar, that is! As soon as 
you can! For it also has Morn Nen water in it, which will make him forget 
everything! If your adar has already drunk the wine then you know this, or if he 
has not tell him not to drink it, or he will forget everything! But, please, 
dear sons of Elrond! Get my adar to drink some, but whatever you do DO NOT tell 
him it is the Dorwinion! He will be very angry if he finds out, and you do not 
want to see him when he is angry!
Sincerely,
Prince Legolas of Mirkwood

Aralith gaped at the letter in his hands. A horrified look came over his face as 
he swung his head to look at his father. They had sent ALL of the Dorwinion to 
Imladris? That couldn't be! ALL of the Dorwinion?! He swallowed in a throat that 
had suddenly gone dry. All of the Dorwinion! His eyes slid to Cuil and Calenthar 
who were talking quietly as they put the fire out; Cuil's eyes were alight with 
excitement and Aralith knew he must be thinking of Teleriel, the elf maiden he 
had met the last time he had accompanied the king to Imladris. Obviously they 
didn't know what had happened, but Tanglinna . . . . Aralith's gaze moved to the 
tall elf who had finished his braid and now stood staring at nothing, his brows 
knit, mouth turned down in a troubled frown. Was this perhaps what had been 
bothering him the entire trip? Did the archer know about the Dorwinion?

~What am I to do? ~ Aralith thought desperately, crumpling the letter in his 
hand slightly. ~ I can't tell Adar, he would be furious! Oh, Little Greenleaf! 
How could you do this!?!? ~

While Aralith was fretting over what he could do to diffuse this situation, 
Tanglinna was wondering what he could do to remedy the situation, or at least 
forestall the inevitable. He knew that Thranduil wouldn't let him get anywhere 
near Elrond nor anyone else for that matter, to tell them about the wine, since 
the king seemed determined to see Elrond in a most forgetful state. If only 
there was something to distract the king long enough for Tanglinna to tell 
someone - anyone! - about the Morn Nen wine, then perhaps all of the problems 
could be averted. Except, of course, for the fact that the last four bottles of 
Thranduil's precious Dorwinion were part of the problem. And therein lay the 
greater problem. Elrond, if he wasn't forgetful yet, would certainly comment on 
the Dorwinion.

The Master Archer grimaced and yanked on the long braid that lay over his 
shoulder. What was he to do?! Thranduil would not be so very 'amused' by that 
one little fact. If only there were a way to distract him, and perhaps Elrond as 
well, just long enough for Tanglinna to tell someone the situation! He watched 
as the king stared over the cool waters of the stream, admiring his reflection. 
A small trickle of an idea was born in that instant, and Tanglinna knew that if 
he stopped to think about it, or the consequences of what he was about to do, he 
would never be able to do it. He swallowed, drew a deep breath, and strode 
toward the king.

Aralith had stood, intercepting the archer, having decided that he already knew 
about the Dorwinion, and deciding that if he didn't he should know about it. 
That way Aralith wouldn't have to come up with a solution on his own.

"M. . .Master Tanglinna? Please, look at this," he said, thrusting the letter at 
the silver-haired elf. "It. . . it is important. . .I think. . . I know. . . ."

Tanglinna frowned, not liking the delay in his plan, iffy as it was. He sighed 
and took the piece of paper. He scanned it, his eyes widening in disbelief. He 
stared up at Aralith, who smiled weakly.

"I didn't know what to do about it, Master Tanglinna. What . . . what. . . ?" 
Aralith felt a moment of panic knife through him when the oddest expression came 
over Tanglinna's face. It was the exact look he had seen on Legolas' face too 
many times when he was planning something that would assuredly get him into 
trouble if he were caught at it. "Master Tanglinna?"

The archer was grinning, if somewhat maniacally; the silvery eyes were 
over-bright, and for a moment Aralith wondered if this were the look that the 
sons of Feanor had worn in their quest for their father's Silmaril. Then 
Tanglinna bent toward him and whispered, "This is perfect! Whatever happens, 
Prince Aralith, do not tell anyone about that letter until you can speak to the 
twins. I think perhaps your brother may have a good idea for once."

Aralith nodded and eased slowly backward. Since when did anyone regard Legolas' 
harebrained ideas as 'good'?

"As soon as," Tanglinna continued, warming to the ideas in his own head, "I 
manage to . . . well," he gazed at the prince and smiled apologetically. "I am 
about to make your father very angry with me, but it is necessary I fear. You 
must ride for Imladris and fetch Elrond at once. Tell him that he will need to 
come bearing one of the bottles of Dorwinion. But! He must put the wine in 
another bottle first! That is most important! Your father cannot know that it 
was the Dorwinion that was sent by your brother. Then you must tell Elrond that 
he is to make your father drink it, no matter what the king may say. I only 
hope. . . ," Tanglinna's face contorted slightly. "If Elrond has already had the 
wine. . . well, I won't worry about that until we can see for ourselves. 
Do you understand me, nin caun?"

Aralith stared at him wide-eyed, but nodded anyway. One had to humor mad elves, 
after all. And for some reason, Tanglinna's 'plan' sounded entirely too much 
like one of Little Greenleaf's. It was sure to fail!

"Good," Tanglinna clapped him on the shoulder, smiling once more. "Then prepare 
to ride. . . in all haste. And remember what I have told you!" The archer 
squared his shoulders and turned, lifting his chin as he strode toward 
Thranduil. "I can do this," Aralith heard him muttering. "I can do this. It is 
for everyone's best interest. Truly, I can do this!"

Thranduil turned when he felt a sharp tap on his shoulder. He gazed impassively 
at Tanglinna, who looked slightly discomfited. The king, thinking that Tanglinna 
was going to apologize to him, which was a rarity to be savored for certain, 
smiled slightly and folded his arms over his chest. He raised one brow 
imperiously and gazed down his nose at his contrite, or so he thought, archer.

"There is something you wish to say, Tanglinna?"

The silver eyes shifted away slightly, which assured Thranduil that he had been 
correct in his assumption about the apology.

"No . . . ," Tanglinna's brows knit and he clenched his teeth. This was going to 
be harder than he had thought. "Your Majesty," he began slowly, his hands 
clenching slightly.

"Yes? I don't have all day, so please begin."

Tanglinna stared at him in confusion.

"Begin what?" he asked, truly perplexed, wondering if the king had surmised his 
plan.

"Your apology, of course. I am waiting."

The silver brows winged upward.

"Apology? And what apology is that, hir nin (my lord)?"

Thranduil felt a touch of annoyance and the blue eyes narrowed dangerously.

"If this is some game you are playing at, you will be very sorry," he said. "If 
this is some ruse to get me to soften in my determination to have some small 
measure of fun at Elrond's expense, it won't work." The king smiled then, seeing 
the slightly panicked look in the other's eyes at the mention of Elrond and the 
mischief ahead. "So apologize to me and be done with it. I am ready to ride 
out."

Tanglinna drew a shaky breath and steeled himself, allowing his own annoyance to 
surface. He was in the right after all, and therefore the king had brought this 
on himself. It wasn't his fault at all.

"I wasn't going to apologize to you. . . not yet, anyway. I thought I would save 
it until after. But if you prefer, I can apologize now. I am so sorry."

Thranduil was about to ask what he was talking about when he found himself 
flying backwards, arms flailing. Tanglinna had dared to push him! Just before he 
splashed into the icy water of the little stream, he grabbed Tanglinna's tunic 
and drug the other elf down with him.

They landed with a loud splash.

Aralith had backed slowly toward his horse, shoving the letter to the twins 
inside his tunic. His heart was pounding rather wildly and he wondered why he 
felt so . . . trapped. He himself had jumped when his father and the Master 
Archer had gone into the water together. Cuil and Calenthar were watching the 
exchange between Thranduil and Tanglinna with enjoyment.

"Relax, Prince Aralith," Calenthar called to him with a grin. "They won't hurt 
one another. Now if that were Oropher instead of your adar, then we might have a 
slight problem," he continued, winking at Cuil who laughed lightly.

"Aye, those two might well have drowned one another," he said, shaking his head 
in amusement. "Unless they strangled one another first, of course."

Aralith stood unmoving, watching as his father and Tanglinna thrashed about in 
water which only reached to their knees. They had both gone down and come up 
spluttering. Thranduil's wet face, once the shock had worn off, turned very red 
with anger. He was pinned beneath the rather stunned Tanglinna, who was hovering 
over him on his hands and knees.

"I. . . that. . . ," the archer stammered. "That wasn't part of the plan!"

Thranduil growled and shoved the other elf off him.

"You had better have an excellent reason for what you just did, Tanglinna 
Thindalagosion! Or else!"

Tanglinna knew that he was now treading perilously, but since he had gone this 
far he might as well see it through to the bitter end.

"Do I need more of a reason for this other than your own pig- headedness, 
Thranduil Oropherion?!" he demanded, glaring down at the king.

Thranduil's face darkened even more, the blue eyes shining with a most unholy 
light.

"You. . . you. . . you dare to speak thus to ME!?!?! You. . . you . . . stubborn 
Silvan !" He reached up and grabbed a handful of Tanglinna's braid and yanked 
hard, managing to shove the archer over onto his back, maneuvering so that he 
was straddling the archer. Thranduil felt a thrill of vindication at the rather 
surprised look on Tanglinna's face before he went beneath the water.

Aralith gasped, his eyes widening in shock. He glanced at Cuil and Calenthar who 
seemed very unconcerned as yet, even though their king was grappling in the 
water with the Master Archer and they did indeed look like they were trying to 
drown one another as they struggled in the knee-deep water.

~Master Tanglinna said to ride for Imladris with all haste, but surely he didn't 
mean for them to fight like this! Or did he? Elbereth, help me to know what to 
do! They didn't teach us anything about this in warrior training! ~

Cuil chuckled and glanced at the distraught prince, whose hands were clenched on 
Cuil's tunic. He extricated the prince's hands and smoothed down his rumpled 
clothing.

"Don't worry, Prince Aralith. If they need anyone to intervene Calenthar will do 
it. We don't want you to get wet as well. At least one member of the royal 
household must look dry and . . . royal."

Calenthar snorted at this and protested, saying that it was Cuil's time to 
separate the combatants as he remembered having done this duty the last time 
Thranduil and Tanglinna had disagreed about something.

Aralith was anything but reassured by their jesting, for he wondered if they 
were jesting. Was this the way Tanglinna had planned it? It didn't seem like it 
was planned.

~I will go to fetch Elrond. He can stop this madness! ~

But before he could move to mount his horse, the sound of merry singing voices 
filled the early morning air.

"O! What are you doing,
With robes all a-dripping?
Morning's doves are cooing!
Your feet are all slipping!
O! tra-la-la-lally
here down in the valley!
Ha! Ha!

O! What are you playing?
And why are you fighting?
You seem to be slaying,
And snarling and biting!
O! tril-lil-lil-lolly
the valley is jolly,
ha! ha!

O! Where were you going,
Good, wise King Thranduil?
The river is flowing!
This looks like a scandal!
O! tril-lil-lil-lilly
this is really too silly!
Ha! ha!"

At the sound of the rather ridiculous song, which was punctuated by entirely too 
much laughter, Thranduil and Tanglinna released their holds on one another and 
stood, water dripping from clothing and hair. Three young elves drifted into the 
campsite and stood surveying the scene before them, fair faces lit with delight. 
Thranduil glared at them, adjusted his circlet which hung askew over one eye, 
and raised his chin imperiously. He tossed his sodden hair over one shoulder and 
stepped onto the bank.

Tanglinna grimaced slightly, wondering if anything could be salvaged from this, 
as Aralith, instead of riding away as he had been instructed, stood on the grass 
looking stricken. Perhaps this little altercation would be enough of a 
distraction. He moved to climb back onto the bank. Thranduil held out one hand 
to assist him, his face unreadable. Tanglinna smiled apologetically at his liege 
and reached for the hand. But the moment his feet touched the bank, Thranduil 
shoved him hard. He tumbled back into the water with a "Woof!" and landed with a 
loud splash.

The three Imladris elves laughed merrily to see the Master Archer sit up, 
spitting water and looking very like a drowned cat.

"Welcome to Imladris, King Thranduil," one of them said, stepping forward and 
handing Thranduil a thick towel. "The Lady Galadriel said you might need one," 
he offered by way of explanation, before bursting into joyful peals of laughter.

TBC

Many thanks to al my beta. Long live Add A Comma indeed. :/ I was afraid to 
count them, as I fear it would take all day.

Author's Note - The song is The Hobbit, and has been doctored a bit to fit this 
tale.



Chapter 15 - Blue Meanie

"See, Prince Aralith? Everything is fine," Calenthar said with a smile as he 
straightened, gazing at the three Imladris elves. "No harm done. What did we 
tell you?"

Aralith turned wide eyes to him, his heart still thudding uncertainly in his 
chest. No harm done? He swallowed, gazing from the newly arrived elves to 
Tanglinna, who was still sitting in the water looking most unhappy, to Thranduil 
who didn't look particularly happy either. It looked as though plenty of harm 
had been done.

~He's going to do the wigglies, ~ Aralith thought, choking out an odd laugh as 
he gazed at his father.

Cuil glanced at Calenthar and murmured, "These strange Sindarin princes."

The two exchanged very knowing glances and then turned to look at Aralith.

Aralith's gaze swung to them, and then he looked down miserably. There was 
something he should be doing, but he couldn't recall what. He had totally 
forgotten that he had been asked to ride for assistance not so long ago, as the 
arrival of the laughing, singing inhabitants of Elrond's riven dell had chased 
it from his mind. He should be doing something . . . something princely he 
supposed, but just what that was he didn't know. There were certainly gaps in 
his education it seemed. He looked up once more to see Tanglinna struggling to 
his feet, wincing slightly as he stood. Thranduil was staring at the proffered 
towel still held by the Imladris elf, one eyebrow rising.

"The wigglies," Aralith murmured, his eyes meeting Calenthar's and then Cuil's. 
"You know . . . the wigglies?"

The two Wood Elves' eyes were . . . well, they were quite inscrutable. What had 
he expected? The prince sighed. He had expected nothing less. Slowly he moved 
away from them, wondering just how close he could get to his father to see if he 
were all right without getting close enough to be noticed. He could feel 
Thranduil's annoyance from here.

"Get out of the water, Tanglinna!" the king of Mirkwood barked, his blue eyes 
narrowed.

Tanglinna, who had been testing his weight on his left foot, looked up. His eyes 
narrowed as well and his lips pulled back in a snarl. Aralith grimaced. It 
seemed that the water hadn't cooled the two off at all.

"No harm done," the prince whispered morosely.

"Is it because," Tanglinna began in a very loud voice, "you don't wish them to 
know that-"

Thranduil grabbed the towel and flung it in Tanglinna's face.

"One more word out of you and you will end up in my dungeons until the end of 
time, you sad-excuse-for-a-Master-Archer-who-apparently-left-his- 
brains-and-good-manners- back-in-Doriath-IF-he-ever-possessed-either!" 
Mirkwood's king growled fiercely, reaching out to grab the archer's hand to pull 
him onto the grass.

"Are you threatening me, Oropherion?" Tanglinna hissed back after a moment of 
stunned silence at this last invective. Hadn't Oropher said that very same thing 
at one point? "It won't work, so don't even try. You -!" Suddenly he gasped in 
pain and felt his leg crumpling under him as he stepped onto his left foot, and 
he fell back into the water.

Thranduil studied him suspiciously, wondering what his Master Archer was playing 
at now.

"What is it?" he asked, rubbing one wet sleeve over his face, which was still 
dripping. "If this is some sort of ruse it isn't going to work. I am quite 
serious about the dungeons, you know."

"I am sure you are," Tanglinna muttered sarcastically, and stubbornly pushed to 
his feet once more. "I am SO scared." At present, he was too annoyed and in pain 
to think of a better return. He knew what the wondrous twinge meant: he had 
managed to sprain his ankle. His boot, very soggy indeed, felt entirely too 
tight. He growled slightly and glared up at the king. He moved to the bank and, 
refusing Thranduil's help for the king had decided that there was indeed 
something wrong with Tanglinna, the archer clambered onto the bank. Not with his 
usual grace, which only served to annoy him even more.

The Imladris elves had quieted and were watching this most unusual exchange with 
interest. It was true that Glorfindel and Erestor occasionally went at one 
another with all sorts of tricks and games, but it was never like this. They 
exchanged a quick glance with Cuil and Calenthar who nodded politely to them. 
Since the two elves from Mirkwood didn't seem concerned, they wouldn't be 
either. With that, all five turned to see what would happen next.

Tanglinna stood, a bit unsteadily, staring into Thranduil's eyes.

"I will tell them," he sneered. "I won't let this nonsense continue any longer. 
What would your father have thought of this infantile behaviour of yours?" In 
truth, he hoped that Thranduil would come to his senses on his own. He disliked 
treating the king like a wayward youngling. Well, usually he disliked it. He 
certainly disliked it now.

Both of Thranduil's dark golden brows rose at this, and Aralith gasped aloud, 
moving slowly toward them while wondering if he could pull them apart if they 
started grappling in the grass now. He stared back at Cuil and Calenthar for a 
moment, but they merely smiled at him. Amazingly Thranduil smiled, his lips 
sliding slowly over his teeth until he looked very wolf-like, or perhaps like a 
rabid warg was a better description.

"My father, as you know quite well, would have approved of my so- called 
"infantile behaviour". In fact, he probably *would* have drowned you for trying 
to halt this fun, or gagged you at the very least."

"You underestimate your father in this, nin aran (my king). He would never stoop 
to such a level as this. He-"

Thranduil cut him off by grabbing one of Tanglinna's arms. He noted the 
pronounced limp, and gently pushed the other onto a fallen log that now served 
as a bench.

"What have you done to yourself?" the king asked with genuine concern, kneeling 
before him.

"I have done nothing. This is all your doing," Tanglinna answered stubbornly, 
feeling very grumpy and uncooperative just now as he ran the towel over his face 
and stared down at his left foot in disgust. Oropher *would* have enjoyed this.

Suddenly Thranduil's eyes gleamed. He smiled solicitously then, a mask of great 
concern falling over his features.

"Aralith, please come here quickly."

Aralith jumped slightly at the sound of his name falling from his father's lips, 
but he moved to stand just behind where his father knelt in front of Tanglinna.

"Please have these good elves show you to Lord Elrond. Tell him that Tanglinna 
has injured himself and needs assistance." The king stood in one smooth movement 
and turned to regard his son. "Tell him that he must bring some very strong 
medicine with him." Another smile curved on his lips. "Very strong. I think 
Tanglinna will need some rest and relaxation after this most arduous trip." He 
smiled down at his Master Archer who was slowly turning an interesting shade of 
red.

"Aren't you supposed to be riding to Elrond already, nin caun?" Tanglinna asked 
Aralith with a pointed look.

Aralith gasped, one hand moving to where Legolas' letter rested. He grimaced and 
looked away from them. The letter! The wine! He shrugged apologetically. It 
seemed he would be riding for Elrond, but just what he should tell him once he 
was there caused a great conflict in his mind.

"I will go right now, Adar . . . Master Tanglinna." He gazed up at them once 
more before hurrying toward the Imladris elves, who were a bit disappointed that 
they were going to miss all the "fun from Mirkwood". They finally decided that 
only one of them would have to guide Aralith to their lord. Soon the prince and 
his guide were on their way, the chosen elf riding on Tanglinna's horse.

Cuil did step forward then, concern for his silver-haired friend moving him. He 
waited until the king had acknowledged him before saying, "Tanglinna has some 
wine mixed with Vandal Root, nin aran. Perhaps that would help."

Tanglinna was about to protest when he realized that if he acted too upset by 
this knowledge Thranduil would become even more suspicious than he was sure to 
be already. And Thranduil did turn to him then, one eyebrow raised 
questioningly.

"How very wonderful that he anticipated this need. Do you have a bit of 
foresight yourself, Tanglinna dear? For surely why else would you be carrying a 
bottle of wine with Vandal Root in it?"

Tanglinna met his eyes, eyebrows raised.

"Perhaps I should tell you," he said. "ALL of you." His eyes flitted to the 
Imladris elves in challenge.

"You wouldn't dare," Thranduil said in a low, conversational voice. "That is an 
excellent idea, Cuil. Please fetch it."

"I won't drink it," Tanglinna protested, wondering why he had mixed the Vandal 
Root into the wine already. This was an unforeseen turnabout if ever there was 
one! "You can't force me!"

Thranduil merely smiled at him, and turned to watch Cuil fetching the bottle of 
wine from the packhorse.

"Watch me," he smirked.

Tanglinna started to push to his feet in protest when he saw Cuil staring at the 
bottle in amazement, and suddenly the Master Archer remembered that he had put 
the Vandal Root into the Combe wine that he had taken from the cellar, only the 
Combe had been placed in an empty bottle with a Dorwinion label. He swallowed 
and sank back onto the log. How was he going to explain this? What had he been 
thinking at the time to do something so ridiculous? Well, this had not gone as 
planned either. Nothing had. Perhaps Thranduil would be able to tell that the 
wine wasn't the Dorwinion that he had requested they bring. Or perhaps he would 
be angry that he thought that Dorwinion had been tainted with Vandal Root. He 
sighed wearily. Perhaps it would be best to just drink the bottle down and sleep 
for the next several hours and let things work themselves out without him. He 
was tired of playing at these games. How did Prince Legolas do it? Did he ever 
feel this . . . defeated . . . when his grand schemes went awry?

~I didn't get into this much trouble when I was a youngling,~ he thought, 
watching as Cuil brought the wine bottle to Thranduil. "What would Little 
Greenleaf say? How would he get out of it? He is much more clever than I am, I 
suppose. He . . . ." He trailed off, seeing Thranduil looking at him oddly. "I 
said that out loud, didn't I?"

"What are you muttering about now?" Thranduil said with a frown. "It is time to 
take your medicine, Tanglinna dear."

"Don't call me that."

"I will call you anything I like." Thranduil took the bottle from Cuil, who 
handed him a goblet as well, his eyes full of questions as he gazed at the 
archer. Then he gave the king a very odd look, his brows quirking. Quickly, he 
stepped away, whispering something to Calenthar and the two Imladris elves, who 
looked inquisitively at the king of Mirkwood. He could overhear them laughing 
and saying something about the Blue King From The Great Greenwood.

Tanglinna shook his head and sighed heavily. He waited for Thranduil to say 
something, but when there was no sound but birdsong and the rush of the water, 
he looked up. Thranduil raised his head slowly and gazed impassively at the 
archer.

"Surely you didn't put the Vandal Root into the Dorwinion I asked you to bring," 
he said in an entirely-too-even voice.

Tanglinna's face contorted slightly and he shrugged.

"Not exactly."

"Oh really? What is this then? Why, it looks like a bottle of Dorwinion! Surely 
you didn't put the Vandal Root into the Dorwinion," he repeated, uncorking the 
bottle and sniffing it. "Surely you didn't . . . ! This smells like a Combe." He 
lifted the bottle to his very sensitive nose once more. His eyes narrowed. 
"Tanglinna, would you please explain to me why there is Combe wine in this 
Dorwinion bottle?"

"No, I wouldn't care to."

~Vanwahith, what have you gotten yourself into now? ~ an amused voice in his 
head chuckled.

~I am certain that I do not know, Oropher, ~ he thought back. ~Your son is most 
irritating. ~

The son of Oropher was staring intently at "Vanwahith", the bottle of wine held 
in one hand.

"I expect you to tell me what is going on here."

Suddenly Tanglinna grabbed the bottle and drank down half of it before 
shuddering and gasping for breath.

"You won't get out of it this easy," Thranduil said as Tanglinna gulped down the 
rest and then handed the king the empty bottle, grimacing and shuddering once 
more.

"Yes, actually, I will," the archer said feeling a bit lightheaded already. He 
had never gulped that much wine down at once in his life. How very strange it 
was.

Thranduil glanced back at the other elves who were staring from him to 
Tanglinna, not quite certain who to be more amazed with.

"What is wrong with you?" Thranduil asked, turning his annoyance on them. "All 
of you go to find my son and Elrond. Now!"

It was with a measure of satisfaction that he watched them depart, whispering 
among themselves still and laughing. What were they talking about!? The Blue 
King? Honestly, he didn't think he could take much more of this.

Tanglinna stared at him, wondering if he were going to be ill all over 
Thranduil's lovely blue shoes. He truly didn't feel well now, and he feared that 
the Vandal Root was already beginning to work on him. Things did look a bit 
blurry. Surely it didn't work this quickly! He forced himself to focus on 
Thranduil's face, wondering then if perhaps it was the wine that was working on 
him already instead. He lifted one brow, and blinked slowly.

"You are very mean," he said, his words slurring a bit. "Why do you constantly 
put me through this? I don't understand it at all. You used to be such a nice 
child. What happened? When did you turn into such a . . . ." He blinked and 
squinted. "Such a Blue Meanie?" Then he giggled slightly, clamping one hand over 
his mouth in amazement. ~I don't feel very well, ~ he thought.

Thranduil, who was feeling a bit anxious over what might happen to his Master 
Archer now that he had gulped an entire bottle of drugged wine, stared at him in 
disbelief.

"What are you talking about? 'Blue Meanie'? Tanglinna, are you feeling alright?"

"No, I am not. I haven't been 'feeling alright' for some time now. You and your 
children are drying me insane. . . ." He giggled slightly again. "*Driving* me 
insane," he amended. "I am not very dry at the moment, am I? Perhaps some 
'drying' would be in order." He did giggle quite a bit then, and Thranduil 
studied him with a measure of dismay.

"Tanglinna, perhaps you had better lie down. I wish you hadn't done that! What 
were you trying to prove by gulping that entire bottle down? I am glad that 
Elrond is on his way here. He will be able to help you."

"Not if he has drunk your Dorwinion he won't, Blue Meanie," Tanglinna said with 
a grin. It felt rather liberating to confess all this to the king. Really it 
did.

"You drank all the Dorwinion, you silly Silvan! Not Elrond!"

Tanglinna shook his head, which felt very funny when he did this, rather like it 
was stuffed with something very soft and rather ticklish, or filled with one of 
the thick fogs that crossed the river before the palace some nights. He didn't 
seem to be making himself as clear as he should.

"Not *that* Dorwinion. That was Combe. You knew that, Blue Meanie. Yes, you did. 
I mean the other Dorwinion."

Thranduil drew a breath, making a promise to be patient with this mixed up 
Silvan.

"What other Dorwinion?"

Tanglinna grinned at him, leaning forward slightly in a conspiratorial manner.

"The Dorwinion that . . . . You really are very blue, O Blue King From The Great 
Greenwood."

Thranduil sighed in exasperation.

"What are you talking about?!" he demanded, gazing down at his blue robes. "Is 
this because I wore Elrond's color? If it is, I . . . !" He gasped suddenly, 
staring at his long slender hands, which had turned a most fetching shade of . . 
. blue. "What is this!?" he yelped, jumping to his feet and staring at them in 
fascinated horror.

"Big Blue Meanie," Tanglinna chortled.

Thranduil glared at him and moved to stare at his reflection in the stream.

"What is this?! WHAT IS THIS!?"

It seemed that his lovely, expensive robes had bled blue dye all over the very 
wet king.

Tanglinna studied him for a moment in assessment, beginning to feel rather 
sleepy. He yawned.

"You know, Thranduil, you do look better in blue than Elrond." He smiled woozily 
and began to sing.

"O! It's the Blue Meanie,
whose Dorwinion is gone.
Father of Wicked Greenie,
I'll sing him a song!
He won't be so jolly,
What a grand folly!
Ha! Ha!"

With that Tanglinna slid from his log, rested his head against its mossy surface 
and fell asleep feeling quite content and happier than he had for some time, 
leaving a gaping Blue Meanie King from the Great Greenwood staring at his lovely 
blue face in the water of Imladris.

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

TBC in chapter 16

Author's Note - Again the song is based on the Valley song in The Hobbit. The 
"invective" and the threat that Thranduil used against Tanglinna are by 
Dragon_of_the_north. :) Plot bunnies abound, mellon nin!

Thank you to my beta al! You are entirely too kind sometimes! :) Thank you for 
the very quick job on this one!