Ciendriel could not hold back her tears. They were tears of frustration and anger as much as anything else. Legolas put his arms around her and held her against him, and that made her cry even more. She knew that she had to tell him that she had made love with Haldir last night, but she did not know how to put it into words. She remembered the night in the woods when they had both spoken of their desire for the Marchwarden, but that Legolas had been the one who turned him away, unable to watch her kissing him.

"I thought you were dead," she sobbed.

"Did no one tell you I would survive?" he whispered. “It is a well known fact that the poison of the spider does not kill. Frodo knew this, Sam knew this...Haldir knew this.”

Legolas kissed her cheeks, kissed her lips softly. The tears dried up slightly with her embarrassment over the fact that she had tried to swallow the poison so as not to leave him. She kissed him slowly, her lips moving over his with a graceful longing. Fire burst up in side of her. She loved him so desperately... but she had to, absolutely had to be honest with him.

“I was affected by the poison, too, but not as badly,” she said. “I woke up last night. Haldir was there...”

“Was he?” there was a distinct note of jealousy in Legolas’ tone.

“Yes...”

“What happened?” Legolas sounded so cold, so distant, that it made her tremble. She let go of him and sat up to look into his blue eyes, still reddened from the poison that remained in his body.

“I was seeking comfort and he offered it.”

“What sort of comfort?”

“I...gave myself to him.”

“I see.” Legolas closed his eyes and a shiver ran through her.

“I’m sorry! I thought you were dead...” she said numbly.

“And so quick you were to move on...”

“I did not move on! I was beside myself with grief! Can you not understand?”

“Did he force you?”

“No, but--”

“Then, I cannot understand.”

“I did not seek him out, Legolas. He was there. I needed someone, and he was there. I thought with you dead that I would be stuck marrying him anyway, and that there was no harm in it.”

“Ciendriel--” Legolas said opening his eyes again, but the door opened then to allow Lord Elrond to enter, followed by Aragorn and Haldir.

“Ah, Legolas, I am glad to see that you are awake,” Elrond said, moving to the bedside. Ciendriel got up to allow him to examine Legolas. “You are looking as well as to be expected,” he said. Haldir snickered. “How do you feel?”

“Tired,” Legolas said.

“Do you feel any nausea?”

“No.”

“Hunger?”

“No.”

“We gave him some water,” Aragorn said helpfully.

“Good. He should drink plenty of water.” Elrond took the goblet and filled it from a pitcher which sat on a small table for that purpose and drew forth a small vial containing a crushed herb, which he mixed into the water and gave to Legolas. “This will help restore your strength, but I recommend you do not try to get up tonight.”

“Thank you,” Legolas whispered.

Ciendriel stood beside the window, fidgeting while Elrond looked over Legolas and prepared the medicine. She glanced at Haldir, but he was unreadable. Aragorn looked concerned, but relaxed. She would not feel right until Legolas forgave her... and she was not entirely certain she had done anything wrong!

Elrond stood up from the bed. “He needs to rest. I will check back on him...frequently.”

“Come, Princess,” Haldir said, slipping over to her side and putting his hand on her elbow. “I’ll take you to the bathing chamber.”

“I’d rather stay with Legolas,” she said softly. She looked over at him.

“Go ahead. I need to rest,” Legolas said. He rolled over, to face the wall.

Ciendriel held back her tears. She would not cry in front of Haldir, Aragorn and Elrond. She let Haldir lead her out.

***

He should not have let her go, not to the bathing chamber, not with Haldir. He was feeling childish and hurt, and now she would probably just lie with Haldir again. Who could blame her? He knew she had not been lying when she had said she thought he was dead. He knew how commanding Haldir could be. Offered herself to him? Had she not, could he really believe that Haldir would not have tried to claim her? Haldir had to have known he was alive. He could have told her at any time, and then she would have refused him...would she not have?

Legolas lay in his bed, his mind restless. It was so tempting to give in and go back to sleep. He felt someone put a hand on his shoulder and stroke his arm and suspected it was Elrond. He did not move or react. After a few moments, Elrond stood up.

“We may let him to his peace, I think,” Elrond said softly.

“I will stay for a few moments,” Aragorn said.

“As you wish. But not long,” Elrond cautioned.

Legolas heard the door open and close. He wished that Aragorn would go with him. He wished that Ciendriel would come back.. but he knew that she would not, and that he had not the strength to go and seek her out.

“Legolas.” Aragorn spoke his name. Legolas did not reply or move. “Do me the courtesy of listening when I speak to you, friend,” Aragorn said a moment later. “I know you are not sleeping, and we have matters of importance to discuss.”

Guiltily Legolas rolled over so that he could meet Aragorn’s eye. “Ever have you been able to make me see my own poor behavior. I am sorry, Aragorn. You deserve better than my sullen silence.”

“So does Ciendriel.”

“Yes.”

“She seems to love you. Even Haldir says that she wants you. Why are you pushing her away? It seems to me that if you do that now, you may convince her that she will be better off with him.”

“Are you taking my side in this, Aragorn?”

“I am not taking any side, Legolas. I am here simply to put my blessing on whatever is decreed. You know that I can do no more, and that had I not wed Elrond’s daughter, I do not know that I would even have been asked. But I will tell you this -- if you love her and she loves you and she loves not Haldir, you should not roll over and give up so easily.”

“That is not what I’m doing,” Legolas said heatedly.

“That is what it looks like.”

“I can not exactly get up and go after her.”

“You should not have to do that,” Aragorn agreed, which frustrated Legolas even further. “If you call her back to you, I will go and fetch her. Let her stay by you this night. It may be your last, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“Morgone means to celebrate the betrothal of Ciendriel and Haldir with a banquet tomorrow night.”

“No! My father is allowing this? Does he know--”

“He knows. He met yesterday with Morgone and Elrond. Perhaps you ought to speak with him.”

“I would take her away with me, Aragorn, before I would lose her. But right now, I have not the strength. If she is forced to wed with Haldir while I lie in a sick-bed, I will never forgive myself.”

“I will tell Thranduil to call a council meeting tomorrow morning.”

“And will you speak for me?”

“I will give my observations,” Aragorn said vaguely, but this was enough. Legolas knew that the King of Men would not let him down.

“Will you fetch her for me, Aragorn?” Legolas whispered. He sacrificed all his pride to ask for this, but he knew that Aragorn would not see it as such. Aragorn merely smiled at him, patted his arm, and left the room.

When the door opened a moment later, Legolas was surprised, but it was not Ciendriel. Thranduil entered the room, and Legolas felt a pang at the sight of the father he had not seen in many moons.

“My son,” he said, and enfolded Legolas in his embrace. “Welcome home.”

***

Angelica was drunk. She was quite sure she had been drunk for a couple of hours, at least, but the fine Elven wine had snuck up on her. The surest sign of this drunkenness was that she was currently sitting on Frodo’s uncle Bilbo’s lap. Bilbo had encouraged this, at least an hour ago, and since Pippin had not seemed the least bit inclined to get jealous, she had gone ahead and done it.

“Why not? I’ve sat on his lap!” Pippin had said. “Quite comfortable. Sam, pass me those potatoes. Sam!”

At dinner the wizard Gandalf had announced Angelica’s engagement to Pippin and Sam’s engagement to Rosie. This surprised Angelica in that she had only just met Gandalf, and as far as she knew, Sam had not yet proposed to Rosie (she decided not to count his flub that afternoon.) Yet she was not one to question the ways of wizards, and everyone had cheered and congratulated the three of them, and then Thranduil had called for bottles of his best wine.

It seemed her glass had never emptied, and it soothed her heart that everyone seemed to wish her the best, even those suitors whom she had rejected. Gimli was back to calling her his sister. Merry seemed genuinely happy for Pippin, and had insisted that the three of them could live together, at least for a little while. Angelica wondered if this would not make it difficult for her to obey Galadriel’s edict (would it count as cheating if she, Merry, and Pippin shared a bed?) but she would worry about that later. Frodo seemed unfathomable, but that was not so unusual for him.

She loved his uncle. Angelica and Bilbo had gotten along like the house on fire immediately, and part of her wished she had met him before they had arrived in Lothlorien. After several cups of wine, his lap looked like the best seat in the house.

Dinner had been a festive affair, and Angelica only wished that Ciendriel and Legolas could have been there to celebrate with them. Haldir and his brothers had joined them for dinner along with the Elves of Thranduil’s retinue, and Haldir had even condescended to congratulate Angelica and Pippin.

“I am sorry for the trouble I brought to you so long ago,” he said, “But as it seems to have worked out to your advantage, perhaps you should thank me. In any event, congratulations. I hope to be celebrating my own engagement soon.”

Morgone, the lovely Queen of the Ingra Elves, had taken her dinner by Haldir’s side, speaking with him almost exclusively in Elvish. Whatever Haldir was saying to her seemed to be far more pleasant than his words to Angelica, for often did she hear the Queen’s laughter through the course of the meal.

Eventually the two of them departed together. Aragorn stuck his head in the door and motioned for Elrond, who followed him out, but as far as Angelica knew the King of Men took no supper himself. Some of the other Elves trickled out over the next few hours, but many stayed on for drinking, playing music, and dancing.

Angelica had danced so much that her feet hurt, taking spins about the floor with all of the boys except Gimli, who claimed the Dwarves didn’t dance. He was now involved in losing a drinking contest to Rúmil. Orophin was teaching Merry how to say something in Elvish (Angelica didn’t want to consider what) and she, of course, was on Bilbo’s lap. Gandalf sat beside them on one side, Frodo on the other.

“Frodo, my lad, you’re lucky she didn’t choose you! Your old uncle would have stolen her right out from under you,” Bilbo chuckled.

“But she did choose me, Bilbo. She chose me as a friend. And sometimes, that is enough,” Frodo said. He yawned widely and put his head down on the table. His yawn was infectious, and Angelica teetered on Bilbo’s lap.

“Pippin!” Bilbo called. “Your lass wants her bed!”

“I want it too!” Pippin cried. He flung his arms around Merry’s neck, kissed him on the cheek, and hurried over to take her hand. Merry said something in Elvish that made Orophin laugh so hard he knocked over a goblet of wine, but he was smiling.

Hand in hand Angelica and Pippin left the dining hall. Angelica clung to Pippin’s arm to keep from weaving, but as he was weaving too, it made little difference and they bumped into the wall several times as they traversed the passage.

“Angelica? Do you know where we’re going?”

“I think so... this door on the left.”

“No, not that one... I saw something naughty in there today.”

“Oh, all right, well this one, then.”

“That’s the library, love.”

It took a few tries, but at last they found the bedroom where she had spent the previous night alone. Angelica knew that now she would never face another night alone again. She would have Pippin, the most succulent Hobbit, by her side always.