See Chapter 1 for disclaimer

Chapter 4 - Confessions

With gentle hands, Salque tied the ends of the bandage together. "There, it is all done." Taking note of the gallantly held back tears, he smiled as he packed away his small healing kit. "You were very brave, little one. If I had a gash like that on my leg, I do not know whether I could have kept still while it was being tended to."

"Really?" Legolas asked, quickly brushing a hand across his eyes before the traitorous tears could fall.

The warrior elf smiled. "Really."

Salque was about to ask the elfling for further details of his adventure when a familiar whistle pierced the afternoon air. "Ahh, we are to be joined by others." Smiling down at the elfling, he mused, "I wonder if you might be what they are looking for."

Legolas looked rather stricken. "I had not meant to stay away for so long. I thought I would not be missed, at least not so quickly."

At this, the warrior elf laughed out loud. "I very much doubt that your absence would go unnoticed for any period of time, considering who your adar is."

Legolas did not look happy at these words, but before either of them could speak again, a familiar voice rang out and Legolas found himself swept into his brother's arms.

"Legolas! Thank the Valar that you are safe!"

Legolas winced as his brother's arms pressed down on his sore back. "Stop, Aldeon! You are hurting me!"

The rather frantic embrace loosened immediately and he found himself under the close scrutiny of his brother's concern-filled gaze.

"Where? Where are you hurt, Legolas?"

"My back," Legolas replied rather plaintively. "You were pressing down on it. It is sore from the fall."

"Fall? And what happened to your leg? There is blood!"

"Be calm, Aldeon!" Salque managed to intercede. "Your brother is relatively unscathed and I have already tended to his leg, though you may wish to have the palace healers have a closer look once you have him home."

"Salque! What are you doing here?" Aldeon took notice of the other elf's presence seemingly for the first time. "Are you returning to us?"

The other elf smiled and nodded. "I have stayed away long enough, I believe."

Aldeon clasped the other's arm warmly. "Welcome back, Salque. Adar will be so pleased." Even as he spoke, his eyes were already returning to his young brother. "What happened to you, Legolas? Why are you out here? And what are the dwarves doing here?"

"Ada always tells me not to ask more than one question at a time as he can only answer one question at a time," Legolas was quick to remind his brother.

Aldeon's eyes continued to roam over every inch of his brother's body, searching for injuries that may have been missed. "All right then, let us start with why you are out here, on your own."

"I am not on my own. I am surrounded by warriors and dwarves," Legolas countered.

Aldeon's brows creased rather ominously at the flippancy of his brother's reply. When he spoke again, his voice was lacking the usual warmth that the elfling was accustomed to. "Legolas, perhaps you are not aware of just how much worry and fear you have caused us this day. I am inclined to be very angry with you."

Startled by his brother's words, Legolas peered at the other elf from under lowered lashes. His oldest brother had never been angry with him before. Aldeon did not look happy right now. Legolas wisely decided to tell the simple truth. "I was out looking for spiders. I overheard some servants speaking of a spider being found near the outer cottages. I wanted to see it for myself, though I have yet to see any spiders at all. When some finally came near, one of the dwarves carried me away while the others stayed behind to fight them."

"Why are the dwarves in our forests? Did they tell you?" Aldeon asked with a frown.

"They did not tell me," Legolas replied. "I found them instead of spiders, though I thought they were wargs at first. They did not hurt me and were going to take me back to Ada's halls. They even gave me food and drink, but I did not like it. It made my stomach want to clean itself, and it did."

Salque could not help laughing at Aldeon's puzzled look. "He was sick, all over the dwarf, apparently."

"He was very angry and threw me onto the ground. That made my leg hurt a lot. I had to cry," Legolas confessed.

"He threw you onto the ground?" There was instantly a dangerous edge to Aldeon's voice.

Salque lay a calming hand on the other elf's shoulder. "I believe it was a natural reaction, considering Legolas was emptying his stomach on him."

"But it was not my stomach, you said!" Legolas was quick to point out, looking rather anxious once more.

"Yes, you are right, of course," Salque said quickly. "It was just the food that had upset your stomach."

Legolas had heretofore rarely seen Aldeon angry and the sudden unsettled look on his brother's countenance made him feared for the wellbeing of the dwarves. Though he felt no great fondness for those stubby beings, neither did he wish to see them harmed by his brother. "Aldeon, you are not going to shoot the dwarves full of arrows, are you? They said you would do that to them and that I was to tell you that they did not hurt me."

"But they did hurt you!" Aldeon pointed out. "Your leg -"

"They did not hurt me, not really. I hurt my leg when I fell from a tree," Legolas explained, once again flushing. How many times must he confess that he fell from a tree? Soon everyone would know of this shame.

"You fell from a tree?" Aldeon echoed incredulously, looking horrified. "Are you certain only your leg is injured? You might have broken bones!"

"Aldeon, be calm. I do not think he has broken anything. Although I have not looked at his back, I think it is only bruised," Salque once again interceded.

"My bow! I broke my bow in the fall!" The mention of things broken jolted Legolas' memory and he scrabbled across the short distance to recover the broken bow, discarded when he had been tossed to the ground so unceremoniously by the dwarf.

"Legolas, do not move! You will injure your leg further!" his brother called out anxiously as he made a futile grasp for the elfling.

"But it is broken!" Legolas held out the broken bow mournfully and tears spilled once more. "You made it for me and now it is broken! I am so sorry, Aldeon!"

The sight of his baby brother's tears instantly drove away anything else that Aldeon might be inclining to feel, leaving behind only the urgent need to comfort the elfling. He scooped up his young brother and settled him onto his lap. "Do not cry, Legolas. I shall make you another bow, a better one. You have grown too big for that one in any event." Gently, he wiped at the wet cheeks and brushed a kiss across the locked brows.

Soothed by Aldeon's words and touch, Legolas brought his tears to a hiccuping end and rested his head against the broad expanse of the other's chest. "Can you make the same carvings on the new bow?"

"I shall make it however you wish it to be," Aldeon promised.

"Thank you, Aldeon." He rubbed his cheek against his brother's tunic. "Are you still angry with me?"

"No, little one," Aldeon admitted truthfully. "I am finding that I am incapable of being angry with you."

The efling nodded against his chest. "I am glad. I do not think I like you being angry with me."

Aldeon brushed his lips against the fine golden hair, breathing a silent prayer of thanks to the Valar for keeping his brother safe. He had feared for the worst when he had sighted the familiar quiver earlier, broken and abandoned amidst the scattered arrows. That and the traces of blood. It was only now, holding the soft, warm body of the elfling in his arms that the fear was finally dissipating, leaving behind the lethargy of tremulous relief.

Now that Legolas had been found, orders needed to be given and messages sent. Aldeon signaled for his second-in-command to come forward. If he had to give his orders while sitting on the forest ground with an elfling in his lap, then so be it. He was for the moment wholly reluctant to release his hold on his baby brother.

"Send the fastest rider with a message to the King, advising that Legolas has been found. Send out riders as well to recall the other search parties. I shall return with Legolas to the stronghold as soon as I can."

The warrior nodded. "Yes, my lord. And the dwarves? What is to done with them?"

"That I have yet to decide, but send the messenger to the King forthwith. No doubt he is beyond frantic with worry by now."

As soon as the warrior had departed to carry out the orders, Legolas asked, "Is Ada very angry with me?"

Aldeon pulled back a little so that he could look at his brother fully in the face. "He was very worried for you, as we all were, when we realized that you were missing. And yes, I think he will be very angry with you."

Legolas winced. "He will punish me."

"Yes, I think he will. Do you not think you deserve it?" Aldeon asked.

The elfling nodded reluctantly. "I did not mean to worry anybody. I just wanted to see a spider."

"Well, you did worry everybody," Aldeon chided gently. Seeing the look of contrition on his brother's face, Aldeon found that he could not continue his remonstration. No doubt Legolas was going to get an earful from their adar later. He could not find it in his heart to add further to his brother's distress. "Perhaps I can speak to Adar to lessen your punishment."

Legolas looked at him hopefully. "You would do that?"

"If you promise me that you will never wander off on your own again," Aldeon said.

Legolas looked at him hesitantly. "I do not know if I can keep such a promise. There are so many things that I want to see and Ada never lets me go anywhere."

"Adar only wants to keep you safe," Aldeon pointed out.

"But I get bored," Legolas protested.

Aldeon considered his brother for a long moment. "Hmm, it would seem that we need to speak of this further, but right now, we should get you home so that Adar can see for himself that you are safe and whole." He looked over to where the dwarves were huddled, guarded loosely by a circle of elven warriors. He would need to deal with the intruders before returning to the stronghold. "Tell me, Salque, how did you come upon Legolas and the dwarves?"

"Quite unintentionally, though at the time, we did not know that the little prince was part of their company." His eyes strayed over to the group of morose looking dwarves and he could not suppress his smile. "One would have to be completely deaf to not be drawn by the commotion those naugrims were making as they attempted to beat back the spiders with their axes, which, I have to say, was most ineffectual. My companions and I made short work of dispatching the spiders with our bows, but not before one of the stunted ones was bitten. It was only after we treated the injured one with antidote that they told us of the elfling in their midst and how one of their companions had spirited the said elfling away from the proximity of the spiders. They appear to be telling the truth, as corroborated by what Legolas tells us. Though I do not know why they have ventured so deeply into our forests."

Aldeon frowned. "That is my concern as well." He rubbed a gentle hand along one of his brother's arm. "The dwarves truly did not hurt you, little one?"

Legolas instinctively touched the sore spot on his head where the dwarf had hit him. "No, not really." He really did not want to see the dwarves shot full of arrows. Though their words to him had not been kind, he did believe that they had been trying to help him, in their own way. "No, they did not hurt me."

"All right, then I shall be lenient with them. Will you remain here with Salque while I send the dwarves on their way?" Aldeon asked as he set the efling down onto the ground.

Legolas nodded. "Can I have something to eat? I have not eaten since breakfast, and my stomach lost the food that the dwarves gave me."

Aldeon looked stricken at his brother's admission. "I am afraid we did not pack food with us when we came searching for you. I am sorry, but I fear that you will have to remain hungry until we return home."

"The little one need not wait so long to fill his stomach. I have some waybread in my pack, and a small amount of dried fruits," Salque spoke up as he pulled out a small bundle from his pack.

"Dried fruits?" Legolas asked, his eyes brightening.

Aldeon laughed. "Salque, you have now instantly become Legolas' saviour for there is nothing he favours more than dried fruits."

"And I am very glad to be of service to the little prince. He and I shall get better acquainted with each other while you attend to your duties, Aldeon," Salque assured the older prince. Seeing the reluctance of the other elf at leaving his young brother, he added, "Worry not, I shall keep him safe until you return."

At this last statement, Aldeon smiled sheepishly. "Of course you will. I doubt not your ability, Salque, but the little one has just recently given me a great fright from which I am only beginning to recover. Thank you for your care of him, Salque."

Salque only smiled. "The pleasure is mine. I find him quite delightful."

"Yes, Legolas is that, and much, much more," Aldeon concurred with one wryly arched brow. With that, Thranduil's heir left his brother in the company of the other elf, the little one happily munching on waybread and dried fruits and asking endless questions of spiders all the while. It was apparent that his recent adventure left very little, if any at all, trauma on his brother. Aldeon smiled at the thought. Why was that not surprising?

The dwarves watched the approach of the tall, imposing elf with trepidation, the same elf who had fretted endlessly over the pint-sized elfling since his first arrival upon the scene. There was little doubt that this elf was in charge and that their fate was in his hands. Though the elves around them had lowered their bows, the dwarves knew that only one misstep was needed before the threat of targeted arrows renewed itself. They could only hope that the elfling had truthfully told this one of all that had taken place.

Aldeon tried to keep his face impassive as he stood before the stunted ones, his sense of smell assaulted by the one who was currently wearing his little brother's regurgitated meal on his jerkin and beard. His elven sense of fastidiousness, however, got the better of him and he nodded to one of the warriors.

"Escort him to the little creek that we passed by a short way back so that he can clean himself. A bit of soap will no doubt help the cause as well." Then turning to the affected dwarf, he explained in the Common Tongue what was to transpire.

The dwarf looked relieved that he would soon be rid of the remains of the unwanted meal, though he did mutter a string of half-audible dwarvish curses as he was herded away. A collected sigh of relief was heard from dwarves and elves alike once the less than fragrant one was no longer within breathing proximity.

"My brother has told me what has taken place," Aldeon turned to address the remaining dwarves. "I am content that you have done him no harm, though I wish to know why you have intruded upon our forested realm."

"We have no intentions of intruding upon your realm, but we have been chased by spiders for many days now. We had little choice but to move in whatever direction of safety that we could find," one of the dwarves spoke up.

"I see," Aldeon nodded. "It is true that there has been a recent surge of spider sightings in our forests, though I am certain you would not be plagued by them had you not ventured so near to these forests in the first place."

The dwarves looked at one another, but none could come up with a counter response to the implication voiced by the elf. They were not about to expose their original scheme of hunting down a deer or two in these woods.

Aldeon watched them closely. There was probably more to the story than being chased unwittingly into the forests by spiders, but he did not want to expend the time needed to extract the truth from these naugrims. "I shall accept what you say to be the truth, this time, as you did try to assist my brother, for which I thank you. You may stay here for the remainder of the day and tonight so that your injured companion might regain his strength, but I expect you to be gone by the morrow. Six of my warriors will remain behind to provide the sufficient escort that you need to find your way from our forests."

"We thank you for your aid," one of the dwarves said with a great reluctance in his tone.

Aldeon nodded. "I trust you will impress upon your people on your return as to how dangerous these forests can be and that none should venture within unless they are properly escorted by our warriors."

The dwarves nodded grudgingly. The warning could not be clearer. Future trespasses would not be treated with similar leniency.

Aldeon gave them one last sobering look before he made his way back to where Legolas was still conducting his animated interrogation of Salque of all creatures dark and evil that lived in the forests. It was time to return his little brother to their father who was no doubt beyond agitation by now.

TBC