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?

// = elvish translations
# = flashbacks
* = thought

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Disclaimer and Acknowledgements: As in Chapter 1

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Chapter 8 - Fun and Game

Elladan ruffled his little brother's hair affectionately and then
threw back his blanket abruptly, attempting to drag him away from the
comfort of the bed. Aragorn yelped, wrapping his fingers around the
bedpost and digging his heels into the sheets as his brother
proceeded to pull him off the furniture.

"Get up little brother. It's time."

"It's too early to be out of bed!" the man protested as he struggled
against his brother's strong grip. "Legolas!!" Aragorn shouted to his
friend hoping that the blond elf would come to his aid. To his
surprise, Legolas just sat there with a lopsided grin. The elf
watched as Elrohir joined the game, prying his human brother's
fingers off their anchor.

"That's not fair!!" the young man squealed as his fingers started to
slip.

"Oh come on Estel, you know you're not going to win so why not give
up," Elladan teased.

Aragorn let out a low growl and glared sideways at the elf prince who
was desperately trying to look calm but failing miserably.

"Don’t look at me Estel. I’m not getting involved in your
family matters," the elf said between gasps of laughter.

With an irritated cry, Aragorn’s fingers finally gave way and the
man was dragged unceremoniously onto the floor, landing with a loud
thud. Shooting his brothers his famous death glare, he feigned anger
and snarled when they tried to help him up. The scene caused Legolas
to laugh even harder and it took all his determination to recompose
himself and wiped the tears from his eyes. Pushing himself off the
bed, the prince brushed the crinkles out of his tunic and offered his
hand to Aragorn, who was still rooted to the floor silently
expressing his displeasure at being dragged out of bed before dawn.

"Get dressed brother," Elrohir tossed a bundle of clothes at the
ranger who caught it with ease and in turn flung it over his head
onto the bed.

"Come," Legolas grabbed the twins by their sleeves and dragged them
towards the door. "Let’s give him some time to get over his
grouchiness," the elf said with a small smirk which earned him an
annoying glare from the human. Laughing lightly, the prince closed
the door behind him.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Aragorn strolled into the dining area looking much more awake and
refreshed than he had ten minutes ago. He was not surprised to see
his father, brothers and friend already seated at the table waiting
patiently for his arrival. The young man greeted his father and slid
into the vacant chair beside his elven friend who was smiling broadly
at him. Aragorn returned the smile kindly. He was grateful that his
friend seemed to have fully recovered from the bandits’ attack
and back to his own mischievous self.

Elrond pushed the basket of freshly baked bread and honey jar in
front of Aragorn. "Eat up Estel. I believe you have a long day ahead
of you," the elf lord smiled at his foster son. He knew that Elladan
and Elrohir had made plans to keep their little brother occupied
until evening. They had asked Celboril to prepare a picnic basket for
them the day before packed with the boy’s favorite food and
desserts and Elrond had no doubt that they were going to spend the
day at their much loved hideaway.

Stuffing the last bit of bread into his mouth, Aragorn sank back into
the chair with a contended sigh as his brothers and friend excused
themselves to prepare for their departure. Elrond reached over and
laid his hand on Aragorn’s shoulder affectionately giving it a
light squeeze.

"Enjoy your birthday."

The smile on Elrond’s face was contagious and soon Aragorn found
himself grinning from ear to ear. He knew that his father had
prepared a surprise for him and would be revealed later in the
evening along with the rest of the surprises from his brothers.
Clasping his father’s hand, a twinkle shone in his eyes.

"Thank you Ada," Aragorn said as both of them stood from the table.

Elrond gave his son a light shove to send him along. "And stay out of
trouble," the elf lord called out at the retreating form.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The water was crystal clear and the afternoon sun had warmed it
enough for Aragorn to dare put his feet into the lake. The human sat
on the edge of a large rock with the water immersed to his knees,
watching his brothers and friend dip and dive in the lake. He wished
to join them but the weather was a little too cold for him and he did
not want to catch a chill on his birthday. So he settled on watching
the twins trying to dunk a helpless elf prince.

Earlier that morning, Elladan and Elrohir had enlightened him and
Legolas in a war game. The twins had prepared balled-up rags and some
dyes, one color for each of them. When the game started, each of them
would try to hit the other with dye-soaked rags and the one with the
most hits would lose. The results were a multicolored human and three
hysterical elves. The three elves had apparently agreed upon teaming
up and attacking the human while leaving each other alone. Aragorn
did manage to get some hits on his brothers and friend but not enough
to discourage their attacks on him. Finally, the human surrendered
and admitted his defeat when his brothers and Legolas converged on
him and backed him up against a tree.

Smiling to himself, Aragorn dipped the towel into the lake. Fishing
the soggy material out of the water, he wrung it and wiped at his
hair trying to get as much of the dye out of them as possible. His
brothers had brought him a set of clean clothes which he had
gratefully changed into, thanking them for their consideration.
Elladan and Elrohir were fortunate since they had dark colored hair
and the dye did not look as prominent on them as it would have on
blond hair. Legolas however was not that lucky. His once blond hair
now had streaks of bright pink in them and the twins were helping him
wash it off before it stained them permanently.

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To Be Continued...

A/N: No cliffie again... but that doesn't mean you don't have to
review. *hint* *hint* :D