Benders: Web of Lies

Eating Ice Cream

"Ada," said Brenen. "Do people have wolves as animal friends?"

"Sometimes," said Thranduil.

"What about panthers?" Brenen asked.

"Sometimes," said Thranduil.

"Or owls?" Brenen persisted.

"Sometimes," said Thranduil.

Brenen sighed.

"Can I have a pet wolf?" he asked.

"No," said Thranduil.

"Can I have a pet panther?"

"No!" said Thranduil.

"What about an owl?"

"Not yet," said Thranduil.

"Can I have a bowl of ice cream then?"

Thranduil's head jerked up. "Brenen, I am trying to do my work in peace! Out!"

Brenen grinned as he skipped out the door. "I will take that as a yes!"

Thranduil dipped his pen into the inkstand and frowned after his son. But Brenen was beyond the hearing of his shouts. As he placed the pen nib on the paper before him, the door opened and Legolas peeked in.

"Can I ask you something, ada?"

"You have," said Thranduil.

"Do you think Web is all right? He is not back yet and the rain has stopped."

"I am sure he is fine," Thranduil replied. "Go have a bowl of ice cream."

The door banged and Legolas retreated before his father could change his mind. Thranduil smirked. His face turned to a frown as he saw the awful inkblot beneath his pen nib.

OoOoOoO

Brenen sat at the base of a tree trunk, in the cool shade and finished the last licks of ice cream from his once over-loaded bowl. He let out a sigh of satisfaction. A bowl appeared in front of his face. Brenen looked at it and blinked before he reached up and took Legolas's bowl. His brother leaned down off his branch to hand it to him before he straightened up, laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back.

Brenen sighed as he stared out at the rippling water of the river. Cool weather was on its way but the air was still warm. Drizzly, dreary rains were in the habit of falling, and the leaves were losing their vibrant colors.

"Where are Realn and Mykar?" Legolas asked, his leg dangling down at Brenen's nose level.

"Naneth roped them in to make social calls," said Brenen with a grin. "You should have seen them in high collars and silk robes. Dolls. Mykar looked right at home though, and his tiara was not crooked."

"It is our turn next," Legolas said gloomily.

"I will run away," Brenen said with venom in his voice as he considered the option with delight in his eyes.

Legolas looked down in alarm. "Please stay. I would die wondering if wolves had eaten you."

"You could come with me," Brenen offered.

Legolas slipped off his branch and came to sit beside Brenen, leaning his head on his brother's shoulder. Even though the quadruplets were minutes apart, Legolas was the smallest of all of them. Perhaps the weeks of abuse had halted his growth. As such, Brenen often made the mistake of treating him like an adorable baby.

"I do not want to run away," Legolas said. "I want to stay home with ada and naneth and my brothers. And muinda's Ciran, Ellhamier, Raileen and Galion. And Jaiz."

"You would name the whole kingdom if you could muster enough breath," Brenen said. He looked at Legolas's neatly combed hair and thought a little guilty of his own tangled locks. Legolas's hair was always neat, no matter how much he ran and wrestled. His, on the other hand, was a bird's nest. Brenen reached over and tousled Legolas's hair. "There; you look more my quadruplet now!"

Legolas grinned. His smile faded and he said, "Do you think Web is all right?"

Brenen shrugged.

"Do you care?"

"Yes," said Brenen. "

"Ada seems to think he is fine," Legolas said despondently.

"I was by the healing wing," said Brenen after a moment's hesitation. "And I heard ada and Healer Helix talking. They said Web was already weak from what he had been through and even in two months he was still weak. Healer Helix said if he was caught in the cold rain of a few days ago, he might have caught a fever or chill. He said—he said Web might not be strong enough to survive it without care and if he was alone . . ."

Legolas's eyes opened wide in horror. "You—you mean he could he lying in the woods dying? Or be dead?"

"Healer Helix seemed to think so," Brenen said uncomfortably. He felt Legolas shudder beside him and saw him close his eyes. "Ada sent the scouts out to find him but the rain must have washed all scent and traces away."

Legolas swallowed. After a moment he buried his face in Brenen's shoulder and tried to block out the terrible visage of Web dying alone and uncared for or wolves eating his already empty shell. He felt Brenen hug him tight.

"Legolas? Tithen las? Are you hurt?"

Legolas looked up as he saw Cinwe dashing toward him off the path a few feet away, dressed in her green silk dress, her slippers soft against the grass. Behind her came Realn, walking and looking miserable in the high-necked rustling of his robe and Mykar, his head held high, a perfect visage of young royalty. Realn's tiara was crooked; Mykar's sat proudly on his head.

"No, naneth," Legolas replied. "Me and Brenen were just eating ice cream and wondering how Web is."

Cinwe knelt down beside her two sons. "I know you are worried; the healers and your father are worried to. The scouts will find him, Legolas, I promise. He will come back safe and sound. Now come; your father will be done in the office and I am sure Galion is getting impatient for us to come and have the lunch he has served by now."

As Legolas followed his mother, holding her hand, Brenen hissed in his ear as he walked behind his brother, "Legolas! Do not tell ada what I heard him and Helix discussing! He would furious; you know how he hates eavesdropping."

Legolas met Brenen's eyes and grinned. "Eavesdropping? You just happened to be passing by."

Brenen snapped his fingers. "Exactly. But ada never understands."