It was a common thing, really, and one the elfling truly shouldn't be ashamed of. But Legolas' little heart thundered in his chest and shame colored every inch of his pale face. His hands trembled violently, so did his lip, and tears threatened to overwhelm his bright blue eyes.

There was a spider in his room.

It had been little more than a month since the ill-fated walk through the forest that had nearly claimed his and his older brother, Thallion's, life and Legolas had yet to see a house spider. He'd promised himself he'd never be afraid of them again. But now that he was faced with one, he found that he was afraid. Those moments of bravery and determination had fled as quickly as Legolas wished he now could.

The afternoon sun filtered through the window cut into the cave wall, illuminating his bedroom in warm light. He wanted to show his big brother one of his new toys, a horse his Ada had carved just for him, when he saw it.

The spider was nearly the size of Legolas' fist, and it was just sitting there in the darkest corner of his room. He didn't even notice it at first, too excited at the prospect of showing Thallion his carved horse.

But then, his blue eyes looked around and landed on the one thing he hoped never to see again.

And then he screamed.

The palace was quiet, almost too quiet for Prince Faervere. There was hardly a sound, just the slight rustling of curtains as a light breeze drifted through the palace corridors. He was glad he'd only just returned from patrol two days ago—he could use the excuse to get out of attending council meetings—but he wished for a little excitement here and there.

Of the three eldest princes, Faervere wasn't as good at being diplomatic as Calaeron, the crown prince, was. Although he was definitely better at it than Thallion, his adopted older brother. The Avar was too reserved and never spoke up in a public setting. Give him a patrol, and Thallion could lead better than any elf Faervere knew—with the exception of the crown prince.

Calaeron had just the right mix of patience and determination to speak his mind when he needed, or to sit back and listen when the situation called for it. Faervere, however, could never sit still long enough to pay attention to the important parts of council. He inevitably ended up fidgeting so much and staring off into space, missing the most vital moments he was supposed to be attending to.

Faervere knew it wouldn't be long before he was summoned to a council meeting, especially since Calaeron had left for a patrol four days earlier. He'd missed his eldest brother by two days. He often felt as though the four princes would never be in the palace at the same time.

The younger prince was just about to head outside to look for something to occupy himself for the time being when he heard a small, piercing scream coming from the royal quarters. It sent shards of ice flowing through his blood, for there was only one elfling in the palace who could make such a sound.

Legolas!

The prince set off in a frenzied run, pushing himself to reach Legolas' room as quickly as he could, hoping he wasn't too late to save his little brother from whatever danger had presented itself. Could there be kidnappers in the palace, looking to harm the royal family? Or perhaps a fire threatening to engulf the royal chambers?

All manner of disasters filtered through Faervere's brain, forcing him to ignore the burning in his legs. Ever since he'd come back three weeks ago—before leaving for another, shorter patrol—and found his brothers recovering from a near-fatal spider attack, he was more protective of Legolas than he'd ever been before.

He reached the elfling's chambers in record time and flung open the large oak doors to be met with a heartbreaking sight far different from what his overactive imagination had been conjuring.

Legolas was curled up in a ball beneath his window, little arms wrapped tightly around his legs, rocking back and forth and sobbing so hard he was gasping. His face was covered in tears and his bright eyes were wide, staring at the corner of the room.

Faervere did the only thing a big brother could do, pulling the little one into his arms and hushing his cries, sitting on the floor with him and setting him on his lap.

"Whatever is the matter, Tithen Las?"

The older elf smoothed down the elfling's blonde hair and rubbed circles into the child's back. Legolas clung to him as though the very world were ending, and it broke the big brother's heart even further. What could possibly have hurt the child so severely?

"Th-there's a sp-spider in my r-room," Legolas hiccupped around his words, giant blue eyes locking onto Faervere's lighter ones.

Faervere merely hugged Legolas tighter and fought the knowing smile and relieved laugh that wanted to escape him. Thank the Valar it was so simple!

"That is truly terrifying, indeed, my prince," he kept his tone serious, pulling Legolas far enough away from him to look into his face once more. "This calls for an important task."

The little elfling couldn't hide his sudden curiosity, the tears subsiding for a moment.

"What's that?"

Faervere smiled, knowing he had Legolas' attention away from the spider.

"We need to go on a spider hunt," the older brother raised his eyebrows and looked very seriously at Legolas. Then, he leaned forward, whispering to the elfling as though the spider would hear him if he spoke too loudly. "Where is it?"

Legolas pointed a thin little finger toward the dark corner, whispering back at his brother, "it's over there."

"Ah, I see," Faervere gently set Legolas back onto the floor and made his way to the elfling's desk, picking up a blank sheet of paper the child hadn't colored on yet. "We'll need to catch it carefully. Come see."

Legolas stood, cautiously making his way toward the corner with his older brother. Once they were close enough, Faervere could see the spider that had frightened the elfling so greatly. It was rather large for a house spider, and the older elf couldn't blame his brother for being scared.

"Watch closely," Faervere whispered as he knelt a foot away from the spider. Legolas hid behind him, looking over his shoulder with a mix of curiosity and fear. The darker-haired elf carefully slid the paper beneath the spider, watching as all eight legs crawled atop.

Once the spider was on the paper, he grabbed a corner and folded the sheet over, shielding the eight-legged creature from view. He then stood and slowly walked toward the window, holding the paper as steady as he could.

"Ready?"

He looked over at Legolas, smiling at the child's wonder-filled face. Legolas nodded enthusiastically, obviously intrigued at what would happen next.

Faervere held the paper aloft just outside the window and carefully tipped it, allowing the spider to slide out and fall. It didn't have far to go before it landed safely on the branch of a nearby birch tree.

"Look Legolas," he beckoned the elfling forward. Legolas ran next to him and looked where Faervere pointed, his eyes widening as he watched the spider scurry further away on the branch.

"Is he going home?"

Faervere smiled at his brother.

"Yes, but the hunt isn't over, my prince." Legolas' eyes widened in excitement. "What's say we go find another?"

The two brothers hurried out of the room, Faervere tickling a giggling princeling as they ran. Soon, the palace halls were filled with the laughter of the two princes who were searching into every dark corner they could find for another wayward spider.

It wasn't long before they found one. It was slightly smaller than the first, but it was still scary to the elfling. Legolas hid behind Faervere the second the older elf pointed it out, using the taller ellon as a shield.

"You ready, Penneth?"

Legolas nodded, and Faervere repeated the process of sliding the paper beneath the spider and setting it free outside.

The elfling smiled, already appearing less afraid than before.

"Are there more?"

He whispered to his brother.

"You bet, Legolas."

The two continued on their quest, catching and releasing two more spiders before they came to a door leading to one of the many studies in the palace. Faervere's more developed ears picked up the slight shuffling of paper, causing him to smile down at the elfling nearly glued to his side.

"I think we may need another to join our quest, Tithen Pen."

Legolas nodded eagerly, and they stepped quietly into the study together.

Gray eyes looked up from a stack of patrol reports, studying the giggling figures carefully. An intrigued smile worked itself over the face of the ebony-haired elf who was suddenly very interested in what his younger brothers were getting into.

Faervere always managed to bring sunshine into every room he waltzed into, even more so when the mischievous prince involved Legolas in his fun.

"What have we here?"

Thallion had finally recovered from his wounds and was back to full strength, though he had been ordered to remain in the palace for another week to guarantee that he was fully healed.

The spark in his gray eyes told Faervere that he was willing to follow his little brothers in whatever silly game they were playing. After all, the older elf had been far too stressed lately after being cooped up in the palace for more than a month without the ability to watch over his patrol.

"We're hunting spiders, Thall!" Legolas gasped with laughter, suddenly forgetting to be stealthy. "There was one in my room, but 'Vere saved me."

Faervere and Thallion shared a look then, the older elf reading the purpose of their game in the suddenly serious look in Faervere's eyes. Legolas had been having nightmares a few times a week ever since the attack, so Thallion didn't need to reach far to guess what'd happened.

"Ah," Thallion's voice lowered, reading the mischief that quickly replaced the seriousness in Faervere's eyes. He then addressed Legolas once more. "I see. Do you think there are spiders in this study, young prince?"

Legolas' eyes lit up, suddenly excited at the prospect of "saving" his big brother from a spider, just as Thallion had done for him. The young elfling nodded, his lips stretching into an even larger grin. He bounced on his feet, eager to search the room.

"We were actually hoping to recruit another warrior to our quest, Muindor," Faervere added. "Would you be willing to assist us in this monumental task?"

Thallion's eyes flashed in amusement before directing his gaze to Legolas' dark blue eyes.

"I would be honored to serve Lord Legolas on this journey."

He then offered Legolas a very serious bow, hiding his smile as Legolas giggled at his antics.

Soon after, the three princes were stalking more corners, releasing spider after spider. Thallion and Faervere followed Legolas' lead, while Faervere added some very convincing somersaults down the corridor and Thallion offered very "serious" strategy to their quest.

The palace guards broke out in hysterical laughter at the sight of two of their most respected warriors following the lead of the beloved princeling, using hand signals to communicate the locations of the next spiders.

Just down the hall from the laughing, playing princes, King Thranduil was completing the final touches on the latest border agreements he'd been delivered earlier that afternoon. His head was beginning to ache and he begged the Valar for some kind of distraction, when suddenly his door creaked open.

Needless to say, the agreements were left on the desk and a fourth member was added to the quest. And instead of laughing when Queen Lanthir found her husband and three of her sons crawling around the palace halls, she instead joined the fun.

Not a single spider was left in the palace that day.