EXPOSED TO THE LIGHT

Ilfrith was in the process of carrying the tack over to his horse with some difficulty because of its weight and bulkiness of the saddle when Elladan emerged from his tent, yawning into the morning light and stretching his long limbs toward the sky. He was stark naked. His hair was loose, the raven-black ends flowing about his waist, and the demarcation lines between light and dark in the early morning’s brightness were clearly outlined on the hard muscle of his chest, arms and belly. Ilfrith’s arms faltered then, and he dropped his riding gear upon the ground where it fell with a clatter.

Elladan noticed immediately and came running toward the small Elf to offer some assistance. The sight of Elladan, stark naked and running towards him, caused Ilfrith to feel palpitations in his narrow chest. “Oh, no! Please do not come near me when you are naked like that –”

Ilfrith’s thoughts were cut off as his brother Penlod suddenly appeared from behind him and putting his hands on Ilfrith’s slender shoulders, turned his sibling around so that he was facing Penlod and was now turned away from Elladan. Penlod’s eyes saw the panicked look in Ilfrith’s own and understood the nature of the small Elf’s distress. “Go now! Go!” he whispered to Ilfrith and bent to retrieve the fallen saddle as Elladan reached them. Elladan stopped running and looked curious to see Ilfrith retreating hastily into the trees to the west of the encampment.

“What is wrong with your brother?” he asked Penlod.

“He is feeling sick – something has upset his stomach,” replied Penlod, his lips pressed together in a thin line. It was becoming increasingly difficult to hide Ilfrith’s secret from the others, he thought, and it would only get worse when the time came that they would all have to do battle together. Penlod really did not know when he and Bethos would run out of excuses for Ilfrith to have to explain his increasingly odd behaviour.

Ilfrith ran on and on through the woods, never wanting to stop. All the time, the vision of naked Elladan was in his thoughts and he could not erase it. The big part Maia, part Elf and part Man was indelibly etched into his consciousness. Every waking hour was spent either thinking about him or else trying to push the image of the big Elf out of his mind. This was not the time to fall in love. Ilfrith stopped running and slammed his slight body up against the smooth trunk of a beech tree, flinging his arms around its circumference and hugging himself to it. He pressed his face into its smooth comforting bark and began to sob.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Later that day, Penlod’s fears came to reality when the rangers stopped to make camp and prepare dinner. They had followed the line of trees to the north and had had an uneventful day of riding, but they had ridden hard and fast and were covered in dust and grime, as the day was warm and dust and sweat had mingled on their bodies. After they had all dismounted, Elladan spoke to the group.

“While dinner is being prepared, I want you all to bathe! There is a lake just to the east and when you have set up your tents, please avail yourselves of the fresh water to refill your skins and to swim and have a good wash. We may not be able to do so again until we reach the Hoarwell River in a few days’ time! Now I need a volunteer to be the cook tonight! Tifil has become tired of the chore, and we thus need a replacement.”

Ilfrith immediately raised his hand. “I would be happy to do it,” he called in his lilting, high-pitched voice.

“Very well, Ilfrith,” replied Elladan, looking at him curiously. “After dinner then you can avail yourself of the lake’s water. I do hope you are feeling better than you were this morning.”

Ilfrith’s face turned a deep shade of scarlet as he busied himself with gathering the cooking utensils with the help of Tifil, who had done the cooking that lunch-time and had put everything away. All of the other Elves pitched their tents as swiftly as possible and then withdrew to the lake. Some of them had already disrobed and others remained clothed as they meandered off in the direction of the water. His face in a perpetual state of flush, Ilfrith kept his head down to attend to the meal and so that he would not see the other Elves’ nudity. Elladan did not go with the others, but remained behind, watching Ilfrith closely. After a while he sauntered up to the little bronze-haired Elf while Ilfrith tasted the stew he had made with a long-handled wooden spoon.

“How goes the food preparation, Ilfrith?” Elladan asked, his eyes searching the blue ones of the Mirkwood Elf.

“Oh, it is fine,” replied Ilfrith, speaking in a low voice. “I have made biscuits out of lard and flour. Some of them contain bits of apple. I though they might make a good dessert. The main dish will be a stew made from the rabbits we caught earlier and the carrots, potatoes and celery that we brought with us.”

“It smells delightful,” said Elladan. “You are a good cook, Ilfrith.”

Ilfrith blushed prettily at the compliment and at the proximity of Elladan, and returned Elladan’s direct gaze. Both Elves felt strange stirrings in their respective bellies but neither spoke of it to the other. In fact, both of them developed an attractive flush in their cheeks and then looked quickly away from each other. Elladan resisted giving Ilfrith’s arm a comforting pat and he stood instead and walked away.

Later on, while all of the other rangers except for Ilfrith and Elladan enjoyed the meal, Ilfrith announced that he would be going down to the lake to wash. Elladan was nowhere in sight. Elrohir stated also that he would be going to gather more firewood for use throughout the night. Ilfrith turned eastward and Elrohir meandered to the south where the tree growth was heavier. When Ilfrith reached the lake, he put down his basket full of washing items: soap, brush, comb and towels; on the grass near the shoreline and stripped down to his light undershirt and leggings. He stepped into the water and dove under the surface to swim father out. The lake had a long shoreline that stretched out into the blue water and when the tide was low the water level remained shallow for at least a hundred yards out before it grew deeper.

Ilfrith surfaced when the water was waist-high and opened his eyes, pulling the long braid of his hair over his shoulder to lie against his back. Suddenly, a figure popped up beside him and he screamed with fright. It was Elladan. Ilfrith’s scream had startled the tall Elf and he reached out and grabbed Ilfrith’s arm, giving it a shake. His eyes darkened in anger. “Don’t do that! If there are Orcs about they may hear you! What is wrong with you, Ilfrith?”

Ilfrith gulped and his eyes turned downward to look over Elladan’s glistening body. The Imladrian was fully naked as he had been that morning, and he stood in the water that reached to just above his knees. Ilfrith could not help but notice the large appendage that swung between his legs, that was reflected also in the clear lake water, and found himself wondering how he was going to remain appearing aloof and disinterested in Elladan’s presence. “What are you looking at?” asked Elladan, startling Ilfrith out of his reverie. Ilfrith immediately turned crimson and averted his eyes from Elladan’s groin. He tried to turn around to flee.

“Oh no you don’t, my friend!” hissed Elladan, grabbing the smaller Elf from behind, with a long arm clasped around both of Ilfrith’s, successfully pinning them to his sides. “Now it’s your turn! Let’s see what you’ve got in your leggings!” And Elladan reached down with his free hand to grasp the waistband of Ilfrith’s leggings and yank them downwards. Ilfrith had tried to kick his legs out to prevent the intrusion on his person, but Elladan was too strong and fast and now the leggings were trapping Ilfrith’s legs together at the knees so he could not move. He bucked his hips and whimpered as he could feel Elladan’s cock pressing against the back of his buttocks. Elladan peered over Ilfrith’s shoulder to look down between his legs. What he saw made him gasp and then spin Ilfrith around to face him. “Why, you have nothing there at all!” he exclaimed in horror, and then sat down in the lake, splashing heavily into the water from the shock of the discovery. From that vantage point he gazed at the downy patch of light brown pubic hair and shapely thighs. Then realization dawned on him as Ilfrith continued to whimper and then began to cry.

Elladan jumped to his feet and reached out to lift Ilfrith’s shirt up carefully. There was revealed a band of cloth tied tightly around a shapely chest. Elladan undid its ties and gently pulled it down to reveal a pair of round, soft-looking breasts, their nipples rosy from having been squashed for many days by the uncomfortable-looking band.

“You are Elleth!” he gasped. “You are Elleth!” he repeated, and a huge smile broke out on his face. “Oh, that explains so much!” he cried, and forgetting that he was naked, he drew Ilfrith close to him, wrapping his long arms around her and hugging her to him tightly. She began to sob and he gasped suddenly and pulled away from her. He had become aroused and now sprouted a tremendous erection, huge and red and poking out hungrily from between his throbbing loins.

“What is going on?” cried a voice from the shore. They both turned to see Elrohir, who had come to the lake to join his brother for a swim and who had undressed and was naked also. This sight was clearly too much for Ilfrith, who put her hands to her face and began to cry loudly. Elladan reached out to embrace her again, but stopped and jumped back as he realized the inappropriateness of the situation. He, as a son of Elrond of Rivendell, could not allow this to continue. Not to mention that he had manhandled an Elf-maiden and had exposed her private parts in the outdoors, in the middle of a lake. He began to wade toward Elrohir, then stopped and turned back to Ilfrith.

“I am so sorry, Ilfrith. Please dress yourself. I will leave you alone now so that I may go to speak with my brother. Please accept my apologies but I will need to speak with you as soon as possible about your disguise. Would you please join my brother and I in a few moments, allowing us time to reclothe ourselves?” Ilfrith nodded, her sobs beginning to decrease as she took notice of Elladan’s kindly tone.

Elrohir noticed Elladan’s state of arousal immediately. “Brother, what is going on here?” he repeated, his curiosity piqued as he noted not only his twin’s erection, but a crying Ilfrith in the water, obviously very upset. “What have you done to our little Mirkwood Elf?”

“Nothing, I assure you!” cried a frustrated Elladan. “Come into the trees with me! I have something to tell you!”

Upon seeing his twin’s arousal, Elrohir had become aroused also. It was something that always happened to them, and at times could prove embarrassing for both, but at home they had always taken care of their mutual spontaneous erections together.

As Elladan took care of his needs while Elrohir lay on his back across a rock facing in the opposite direction and took care of his own, Elladan explained between moans and gasps that he had discovered Ilfrith’s secret, and that she was not male, but was an Elf-maiden. The thought of this was so arousing for Elrohir that he actually came before his brother did, and waited, panting, until Elladan brought himself to completion a few seconds later.

“That explains everything now,” said Elrohir. “I lied to you about the time that I spent alone with Ilfrith that night in close proximity to him – her. It only illuminated what you had told me you had been feeling also. I could feel it too, but I did not want to admit that I had felt those things for a male. And to tell the truth, I feel somewhat disappointed to have discovered that Ilfrith is a female.”

Elladan regarded his twin with curious interest. “Now that will bear some discussion between us at a later time,” he said. “Are you saying that you felt attracted to Ilfrith when the concept of her being a male was the reality and that now you are disappointed with the outcome of all the confusion?”

Elrohir shook his mane of glossy hair. “I have some thinking to do,” he said. “Ah, there—I see her approaching in the distance. I will be off and leave you two alone to discuss things.” He hurriedly pulled on his trousers, picked up his shirt and with a brief wave to Ilfrith, he was off.