As usual, they made camp when the sun began to set. Rúmil and Orophin patrolled the surrounding area while the Hobbits built a fire and made dinner for themselves and Gimli. Ciendriel and Legolas volunteered to collect firewood, but then disappeared into the trees and did not return. Haldir sat with his back to the rest of the group, several feet away.

Angelica stared at his back for a couple of minutes. Part of her wished that he would disappear into the trees and never come back. Another part of her felt almost sorry for him. He might be a big jerk, but surely he had feelings, too… Still, she wasn't going to offer him any dinner. He could eat his cold lembas.

Sam was making dinner. She had volunteered to help, but Sam wouldn't hear of it, especially as she had already made breakfast that morning. She sat on the ground, reclining against a small pillow that Merry had purloined from Lothlorien and proudly presented to her when they made camp.

"Is that why you asked me to carry half of your things this morning?" Pippin said with outrage when he saw it. "So you could carry that?"

"It's for Angelica, Pippin," Merry explained patiently.

"I didn't ask for it!" Angelica said, holding up her hands when Pippin rounded on her.

"I could swear the two of you teamed up to make more work for me," Pippin groused. He sat down on the ground and put his head in Angelica's lap. "If you're going to be comfortable, so am I!"

While Frodo and Gimli gathered the wood that the Elves had never returned with and made the fire, Sam had picked a bouquet of wildflowers for Angelica. She had been pleased when he presented them to her, but then he spent an hour explaining what each type of plant in the bouquet was, where he had found it, how he normally grew them back in Hobbiton, and what healing or eating properties the plants were known to have. During this lecture, while Angelica fought to look interested, Pippin actually dozed off in her lap, making loud snoring noises.

When Merry started snickering, Angelica remembered that she had never, ever heard Pippin snore before. She pushed his head off her lap.

"Ow!" he said as he hit the ground. This made Merry laugh even harder. Just then Frodo and Gimli returned with the sticks for the fire, and Sam, glaring at both Merry and Pippin, stalked off to start cooking.

"Come on, Angelica, let's go off for a walk while Sam's making dinner," Merry said slyly. "We can…ahh… get firewood."

"There's plenty of firewood."

"We can pick flowers."

"Sam already picked me some flowers… want me to tell you about them?" Angelica lifted up the bouquet, preparing to repeat Sam's eloquent speech about the origins of each flower, but Merry took a step backwards shaking his hands.

"No! That's all right!" he paused, looking thoughtful. "I know! We can look for Elfinwort! To restore your memory!"

Angelica froze. She peered behind Merry at Sam, Frodo, and Gimli, who were all looking at her expectantly. She had told Merry about Galadriel's command, but completely forgotten to mention that her memory had been restored by Haldir in Rivendell.

Haldir! Angelica looked over at Haldir, but he hadn't turned around. She didn't believe for one moment that he hadn't heard Merry's comment, but at least he hadn't taken this opportunity to humiliate her further.

"That's a good idea," Angelica said slowly. She stood up and put the flowers Sam had given her on her pillow. "Pippin, will you come with us, too, please?"

Pippin was still lying on the ground where he had fallen when she shoved his head out of her lap. He had folded his arms under his head and grinned up at her. "No thanks. I'm too hungry. I'm just going to wait here for dinner. Now, if we went after dinner--"

"No, I want to go now," Merry said, slipping his arm through Angelica's. "Come on, Pip."

"Well, just go on without me, then," Pippin said.

"Pippin--" said Angelica and Merry.

"You know, it's really too dark to find plants now."

"I have very good eyesight," said Merry.

"The moon is full," Angelica added.

Pippin frowned at them. "No, thank you."

Angelica sighed. She would just have to talk to Pippin later. "All right, then, come on, Merry."

"Don't go too far," Sam called after them as they headed into the trees. "It's dangerous."

They were barely out of sight of the camp when Merry pushed her excitedly up against a tree, kissing her, starting to fumble with her dress.

Angelica fell into his kiss ravenously, almost forgetting what she meant to tell him. Her dress was almost over her head and Merry's yellow vest was on the ground before she remembered. "Wait, Merry, wait!"

"What? Why?"

Angelica pulled her dress back down. "I have to tell you something."

"All…right…" Merry looked disappointed.

Angelica took Merry's hands in hers and looked into his eyes. "We don't need to look for Elfinwort," she said gently.

Merry grinned. "Well, of course we weren't going to look for Elfinwort, Angelica." He reached out and trailed his fingers softly over the side of her face, leaning in towards her, inhaling deeply. "Mmm, you smell so good…"

"That's the dinner cooking."

"Is it?" Merry kissed her lazily, slowly, his hands on her waist, squeezing gently.

Angelica moaned softly. He had such wonderful hands, almost as broad as Sam's… but Merry's wonderful hands were causing her to forget what she was trying to explain to him.

"Merry-- wait. Please."

He stopped immediately. "What is it?"

"I should have told you this sooner, and I hope you won't be angry."

"You're going to pick one of the others," Merry whispered. "You want Frodo, with his lovely blue eyes. Or Sam the cook. Or-- ohh, you want a Mithril wedding gown! You're a Dwarf fancier!"

"Merry!"

"I just wanted a chance--"

"Merry, you still do have a chance," Angelica said, trying not to sound impatient. "But only if you will listen to me. It's not that. I am far from making up my mind. Very far. I have all the way until we reach Mirkwood to do it--"

"That's only two weeks."

"--and I intend to use all of that time." She frowned. "What's wrong with fancying a Dwarf?"

"I just never heard of a Hobbit fancying one, that's all."

"What about Frodo?"

"Frodo's a Hobbit."

"He fancies Gimli as much as I do, if not more."

"Well he did, that's for sure, but now, not so much, I think," Merry said.

"They went to collect firewood together," Angelica pointed out.

"Well, yes, but they actually brought firewood back with them! I'll be right surprised if Legolas and Ciendriel even remember that is what they told us they were going to do, never mind actually bring any back."

Angelica laughed. "I rather agree with you, Merry, but now, at last, will you let me tell you something?"

"Of course. Don't I always listen to you, Angelica? I'm a good listener."

She ignored that. She decided she better just blurt it out before Merry opened his mouth again. "Haldir gave me the brewed Elfinwort in Rivendell. I've had my memory back for a while now."

Merry just stared at her for a long moment, looking surprised. "Well, then. Wow. So you have."

She nodded slowly. "Yes. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner. I just didn't know how you would take it...and I wanted to stay with you all."

"But where are you from, Angelica? Haven't you people at home missing you? Surely they're frantic…and want you back."

"I…have no home. Not any more. I'm from Hob's Corners, in Long Cleeve, but I cannot go back."

"Hob's Corner's! That's a nasty little place, if you don't mind my saying so. Beautiful girls, though." Merry smiled at her. "I wouldn't want to go back, either."

He was making it easy for her, too easy, not to tell him. "I was banished from there."

"Banished! Well that proves my point. What a great lot of idiots, to banish someone like you!"

"I was sent away for…"

Merry put a finger over her lips. "You don't have to tell me."

Angelica bit her lip. Tears filled her eyes. He was trying to be kind. "Yes, I do, Merry. And if it means you no longer care for me, at least I'll have been honest."

Merry looked at her, all seriousness. "Very well, then. What was it?"

She took a deep breath. "I was banished for being…a trollop."

"A what?"

"A trollop… and for having relations… with… someone who wasn't a Hobbit. That was it, mostly."

"Aha! I knew you were a Dwarf fancier!"

"It wasn't a Dwarf, it was an Elf."

Merry laughed. "Sure. Next you're going to tell me it was Haldir."

Angelica looked at him helplessly, not sure what to say. "Merry--"

"Angelica. None of that matters, now. I don't care how many other Hobbits, Dwarves, or Elves you've danced with. Choose me. Erase the past. Come live in Hobbiton, happily ever after with me and Pip."

"That would be a dream. But…"

"But? No, don't answer. Has to be just one, doesn't it?"

Angelica nodded. Merry kissed her slowly. She gave herself up into the kiss. Kissing always erased her pain, her sadness, her longing. No wonder she did it so often.

"If you choose me, it will never be just one. I'll never leave Pippin out," Merry said softly. He stepped away from her and picked up his vest from the ground, and started buttoning it up. He looked down at the space where it had been lying and squinted. "No…couldn't be…"

"What is it?"

"Carrots! Wild carrots! Come on, help me dig them up!"

Merry fell on his knees in the dirt and Angelica joined him, catching his enthusiasm. It drove away her slight sadness entirely. Soon they had a small stack of carrots, and Merry's face was smudged with dirt. He grinned at her, then held up the biggest carrot he had found.

"We're going to have some fun tonight! Let's go show this to Pippin!"

***

Females.

She really was something, that Angelica, Haldir thought as he listened to the tread of her feet as she led Meriadoc Brandybuck into the woods. Maybe he should have told them not to go, to stay together with the group, but if anything was lurking out there, his brothers would have alerted them by now. No doubt they were doing the same thing that Legolas and Ciendriel were doing.

Haldir had often envied his brothers' closeness. They would include him in their games if he let them, but he had always stayed apart from that. He wasn't sure why. He did not have any reservations about it simply because they were related. Maybe he just didn't want to be part of a trio.

Until now. Now, a trio tempted him. He imagined what it would be like to be looked on with love by Legolas and Ciendriel… but they did not want him. Separately, he could have seduced either one of them, he knew. But united, they were impenetrable. They were a wall.

He reached back and ran a hand through his hair, making sure it was free from sticks. He had never been able to catch Pippin in his rock-pelting today, but he was sure it was him. He had a lot of nerve, and Haldir could admire that, but it didn't stop him from being irritated just the same.

Haldir frowned. He didn't want to be sitting here thinking about his feelings, which he could scarcely fathom, as they were many and foreign. He had to be patient and emotionless. Ciendriel had been promised to him and would be given to him in due time. Morgone and Galadriel were among the highest of Elves, and Elves did not make such promises idly.

And when she was his… he would then be able to give in and love her. He would be able to take down the wall inside of himself and feel. He would adore her, if only she could give back some small crumb of that affection. In time, she would forget Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood, just as he had…

Hadn't he?

Until then, there was little that Haldir could do to separate them. After all, Legolas was the leader of the expedition. He wasn't about to assign Haldir and Ciendriel to patrol together. Haldir didn't blame him. Legolas wasn't stupid. Haldir would take advantage of either one of them, any time that he could.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Maybe he ought to try a new tactic. After all, every wall had its weakness. He could chisel his way between then if he tried. He smiled with determination. This might even, he thought, be fun.