Thief Prince

Title: Thief Prince

Author: Aithilin(nimcuran_aithilin@hotmail.com)

Rating: R

Pairing: Glorfindel/Elrond, Haldir/Legolas

Summary: A false King has the throne of Mirkwood and a group of Elves are determined to restore Thranduil's heir to it.

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. I do, however, own characters you've never heard of before (i.e. Legolas' brothers, random Elves and Dwarves).

Warnings: slash, AU, stuff happens

A/N: I got the idea while reading Robin Hood, so, eh, yeah.

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The Old Forest Road was dark, lighted only be the odd patch of sunlight that could break through the thick barrier of leaves. In an almost single file, a group of Dwarves made their way through the woods; carrying trade goods and pulling carts with them. There was a trudging silence as the group moved, only the sounds of their wares and armour moving broke the deafening silence[A/N: Heehee, oxymoron].

"We should have stayed with Dale," a young Dwarf said. "They say a band of thieves roam this part of the woods, Captain Gimli."

The Dwarf captain laughed, startling two or three others. "A bunch of Elf-thieves? Only a story. King Tuilinnion has eradicated any troublemakers."

The thought was shattered by an arrow striking the cart behind Gimli, having missed his shoulder by a hair. The group looked up to see a grinning blonde Elf perched on the low branches of a tree.

"Master Dwarves! Welcome to Mirkwood. Unfortunately, well, for you, there is a slight tax for all travellers."

Gimli clutched his axe, "By whose order, Elf?"

"By the order of Prince Legolas, of course," a dark-haired Elf said as he stepped out of the underbrush on the left of the path. His mirror image stepped out on the right.

"Which means that all travellers caught in the Wood, which would be you, must pay Prince Legolas his dues, which would be him."

The Dwarves all reached for their weapons, only to find eight arrows pointed at them, one sword, and one javelin/sharpened staff. The blonde, Legolas, stood on his perch, his aim never wavering.

"Now, Master...Gimli, was it? I am well aware of the fact that there are more of you than there are of us, but I would like to know which of you would like to be the first to die?"

The Dwarves lowered their weapons and the twins came in. One with lighter gray eyes smiled, "Worry not, Master Dwarf, we will be brief and you will have plenty left to trade."

The Dwarves growled as the Elves quickly picked out a few items and left, Legolas giving a little bow as he disappeared into the trees.

"We should have stayed with Dale..."

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"I don't know what you expect me to do about these thieves, Master Gimli," Elrond said. "They are not within my jurisdiction."

The Dwarf growled, "Well, forgive my insolence, Master Elrond, but they are Elves; ~make~ it your jurisdiction."

Glorfindel sighed, "We cannot just walk into the forest of Mirkwood and arrest these Elven thieves. Unless they come withing Imladris borders, they are not ours to deal with."

Elrond smiled his gratitiude to his friend, he hated dealing with the upset Dwarven traders. "You are dismissed, Master Dwarf. You should rest and find your companions."

"And what about these Elf-rogues?"

"You are dismissed, Gimli. We will speak again later."

Muttering in his own language, Gimli left, perhaps in a worse mood than when he entered. Glorfindel smiled and went to sit on the arm of the chair where Elrond sat. He began to play with the raven hair of his lover.

"Does that Dwarf get more annoying with each visit?"

"Mm. I think it's just you."

Elrond looked up at Glorfindel, "The twins have joined the band of 'rogues', as Gimli put it. Their letter arrived this morning."

Glorfindel sighed, "You agree with the cause? Tuilinnion should not have taken the throne."

"You know as well as I, Thranduil's sons had claim."

The blonde shrugged, "Well your sons think so as well. They just happen to be more inclined to do something about it."

Elrond smiled, "As are three of the Galadhrim."

"Eh?"

"Haldir, Orophin, and Rumil have joined the rogues. It was in the letter I recieved."

Glorfindel thought for a minute, absently stroking Elrond's hair. "So...Elladan, Elrohir, Haldir, Rumil, Orophin.... Who else was there? One of Thranduil's sons, at least."

Elrond nodded, "Legolas."

The Lore-Master looked up when he heard the light chuckle. "What?"

"Have you noticed how it is all of the youths that actively join this? Us politians make no progress with our words, but a few upset Dwarves and missing silver pieces has all of the forest in an uproar."

Elrond chuckled, "True."

"Now, let us turn our minds to happier thoughts?"

Glorfindel grinned and leaned down for a kiss.

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The little camp for the night was lighted only by a single fire. A number of Silvan and Sindarin Elves stood guard while others rested, waiting for the watch shifts to change. This deep in the bowels of Mirkwood, the little group was taking no chances with the possibility of Spiders and Wargs. Even with the threat of attack, there was a jovial air about the camp.

"Ai! Did you see the look on the faces of those Dwarves?" One Elf asked, laughing at the memory. Rumil and Orophin joined in on this, as did several others of the small group of about ten. One of the three guards listening in joined their game.

A little ways away from the others, two identical Elves and one haughty blonde sat with another Sindar Elf. One of the twins held out a little bowl of the stew that had been made for dinner.

"You haven't eaten in a few days, Legolas."

"I'm not hungry, Elladan."

The larger blonde took the bowl and knelt in front of Legolas. "I will personally force this down your throat if you do not eat it willingly, my friend."

Legolas smiled and took the bowl. Haldir grinned and sat comfortably. The twins each took a seat on either side of Legolas.

"What troubles you, Legolas?" Elrohir asked. "I mean, other than usual."

"Nothing, when you word it that way."

Each twin sighed and Haldir looked off into the dark forest. They had all chosen their loyalties, and they stood with an exiled Prince rather than a false King.

When Thranduil was killed, two of his sons went West, hoping to find an end to their grief in the Blessed Realms. The Crown Prince was one of them. While the second oldest, Feinereg should have taken the throne in his brother's stead, he had been off with the Northern Dunedain. And Legolas had held no claim to the throne while his elder brother still lived. The steward, Tuilinnion, took the throne instead, changing the law so that his bloodline would rule. Feinereg returned from his trip to find his youngest brother gone, and his throne taken. Unlike Legolas, however, Feinereg remained in the palace, doing what he could to hinder Tuilinnion's reign from inside.

The other Elven realms fought in the political arena to restore order to Mirkwood, trying to find ways to get Tilinnion off of the throne. However, Haldir and his brothers, as well as the twin sons of Elrond openly opposed the new forest rule and stood by their friend.

After a time, Haldir sighed, "Legolas, at least eat. Accepting the bowl is not enough."

The younger blonde smiled and lifted the bowl to his lips and drank, his tongue darting out to lick up the residue. Haldir stood and the twins grinned and returned to the warmth of the fire as Haldir took Elladan's place on Legolas' right side.

The older blonde wrapped an arm around Legolas' waist and drew the smaller Elf into a kiss. "You have no idea what you do," Haldir whispered softly.

Legolas sighed and lay his head on Haldir's shoulder, the half-filled bowl forgotten on the ground. "Why are you here, Haldir? You should be in Lorien, on patrol."

"You know why I'm here," Haldir said, reaching a hand up to stroke Legolas' hair. "And you know why I don't leave."

Legolas closed his eyes in contentment, letting his senses guide his lips to Haldir's.

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Should I continue?