Author's note: Thank you, my wonderful- yet sadly few- reviewers! You are awesome, cause you read my story! And then you took the time to review it! *huggles them* Hehe. Here, I'll give a free Bill the Pony sticker to the next person who reviews! *grins* Buahaa.

Dark wraith: Thanks for the advice. I probably should listen to you and edit the beginning, but I'm lazy. Heh. Besides, I'm planning for her memories to build op an idea of her relationship with her father, so they're important as well. However, I think I'll wait a bit before I write the next memory.

Arayuldaiel: Thanks. One of the reasons I decided to write about Elanor is because of the limited amount of stuff there is on her.

Ugh. I know, I'm really slow in updating. Weekdays are very busy for me, so weekends are generally my only writing time. I'll have more time in a month or so, once swimming ends. Until then, be patient with me.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Does that work for you? ;-)



I was jolted out of my half-sleep by a shout of surprise. I quickly sat up, surprised at the darkness that filled the cart. I had slept through the day. Glancing up, I saw Mr. Pippin looking in at me with a mixture of amusement and dismay.

"Merry!" he called to the front of the cart. "Merry, I think you should come look at what I found in among the ale jugs!" He looked back at me, and I tried to win him over with a smile. It did not seem to work, for he frowned at me, but I thought I detected a hint of laughter in his eyes.

A curly head popped around the edge of the wagon. "Elanor." Mr. Merry groaned, running his fingers through his hair. "What in Middle-Earth are you doing here?"

I slid out of the back of the cart and stood up straight in the clearing they had stopped the wagon in. They were much taller than I, and I found myself wishing I were back in the cart so that I could have the extra height. "I heard you talking last night, with Father. I want to go to Gondor and Rohan with you, and see all the places in between as well."

Mr. Merry sighed and sat down on the edge of the cart, looking distressed. "Elanor, you should not have snuck off like this. What will your father think?"

"I left him a note," I offered. I could see that he did think this was an appropriate manner of informing my father where I was.

"Yes, I saw your note, although I assume you left a more. Iinformative/I one as well. You thought deceit was the best way to go about doing this?"

I bit my lip and did not respond. I had been feeling rather guilty that I had lied to Father and Mother. Mr. Pippin seemed to pick up on this.

"Oh, come now, Merry," he said, smiling cheerily. "Don't make her feel too bad. What is so wrong about her coming with us? We could send Sam a note at Bree to let him know that she is safe." I grinned up at him thankfully.

Mr. Merry raised his eyebrows at Mr. Pippin and shook his head. "It would take days for the note to reach Sam. He would be out of his mind with worry by then. Besides, it is too dangerous- though, I suppose, the lands have gotten safer in the past few years." He turned to me. "Elanor, you have been to Gondor once before. Why are you so set on going with us?"

I shrugged. "We did not travel to all of the places in the stories. Father wanted to take the route that was easiest for Mother and I. We did not pass through the Forest of Lothlorien, and I very much wanted to see my flower." I paused. "Besides, last time was with Mother and Father, which was not as much fun as traveling with you."

"Oh really?" Mr. Pippin said, straightening and crossing his arms. "And what makes you think we are so much fun to travel with?" Though both Mr. Pippin and Mr. Merry can be very imposing when standing at their full heights, I saw Mr. Pippin's mouth twitch into a smile, and I grinned. He noticed this, and continued. "I know for a fact that Merry can become quite disagreeable when traveling for a few hours, and he smells terribly after a few days without a bath."

Mr. Merry's looked at his cousin, eyes twinkling in amusement. "I am only disagreeable because of your endless whining, Pippin. And would you like me to share the story of the time you drank a whole jug of ale while on watch? The results, if I recall, were not pretty."

"No, no, no need to relate that tale," Mr. Pippin said hurriedly. "Perhaps another time."

Mr. Merry laughed, but turned somber as I joined in. My laughter died as he looked at me with solemn eyes. "Elanor, you cannot come with us. Your father will be horribly worried about you, and with good reason. The wilds of Middle-Earth are not proper stomping grounds for a pretty young hobbit- lass such as yourself." I winced at the use of the word 'pretty'. "I am afraid we will have to turn around straight away and bring you home." He turned away to close the cart, and I heard him mutter, "Two days of traveling wasted."

"I could go myself," I said quickly, realizing with disappointment that there was no way of convincing him to let me stay with them. Mr. Merry looked at me out of the corner of his eye, eyebrows raised.

"No, I think not. The Old Forest is dangerous, even if you stick to the road. I will not let you go on your own. Pippin and I will go with you." I sighed unhappily and sat upon the ground, feeling extremely put out. So much for my adventure; I had barely even gotten past the borders of the Shire.

My two companions began to walk around, gathering the few things they had taken out of their packs as we prepared to turn around. I noticed Mr. Pippin giving me sympathetic looks out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't say anything. I wished he would, for I was certain he could change Mr. Merry's mind if he wanted to. But both of them remained silent as they cleaned up. As Mr. Merry walked across the camp to fetch his pipe, Mr. Pippin picked me up and placed me on the seat at the front of the wagon. Dejectedly, I drew my knees up and rested my chin on them. Mr. Pippin looked at me for a moment, then turned to lean against the cart, crossing his legs idly as he waited for his cousin.

As Mr. Merry walked up and swung his pack onto the wagon, Mr. Pippin put his hand on his arm. "Do you hear something?" he asked quietly, glancing around at the trees surrounding us.

Mr. Merry turned to do the same, and I lowered my feet to the floor of the cart and raised my head. Around us the woods were fairly still. A light breeze rustled the treetops, and a small bird flew lazily across the clearing in search of a place to spend the night. I was beginning to think Mr. Pippin had been hearing things when I heard it: The sounds of bushes rustling every few seconds, accompanied by a dull thud.

Mr. Merry put his hand to his hip, and I saw his sword hanging there. Mr. Pippin glanced at him. "It could be nothing," Mr. Merry said, his eyes scanning the darkness around the trees. "But in the Old Forest, especially at night, I would rather not take any chances." Mr. Pippin nodded, and his hand moved to his sword hilt as well.

"Elanor, you stay where you are." For once, I decided not to argue with Mr. Merry. The sounds were growing closer, and the faces of the older hobbits were grim. I moved my hand to grab the side of the cart, and I noticed it was shaking. Feeling ashamed of my fear, I held the cart tightly to as to stop my shivering.

By this time, the sounds were quite loud, and any suspicion that we might have had about it being nothing had all but vanished. The thuds were heavy, and I shuddered to think how big a creature would have to be in order to make such noises.

Without saying anything, Mr. Pippin pointed to the trees on the left of us. I followed his gaze. A shadow had appeared, and was growing larger as it approached us. The first thing that crossed my mind when I saw the shadow was, I Troll! /I As soon as I thought it, I realized how silly a thought it was. There were no trolls left near the Shire, or anywhere, for that matter. The King Elessar had worked hard to ensure-

A enormous trolls stepped through the trees, sniffing at the air. I was struck with fear, and shrunk back into my seat, making myself as small as possible. Still sniffing, the troll turned out way, and in the darkness I could almost make out a smile on its face. A smile that clearly said, "Ah, dinner!"

With a swift glance at each other, Mr. Merry and Mr. Pippin charged forward, drawing their swords as they went. The troll growled, unhappy with the way its dinner was behaving. It swiped a large hand at them, narrowly missing them both. It snarled as Mr. Merry's sword pierced its knee, followed closely by Mr. Pippin's as it struck the creature's side.

I watched in terror as it flung them, one by one, away from it. Growling angrily, the troll started toward Mr. Merry, who lay against a tree. His head had struck the trunk rather hard, and he seemed to be stunned. I was about to cry out to him when something flew at the troll, distracting it from its target. It was Mr. Pippin, and he was stabbing the creature fiercely as he gave his cousin time to get to his feet. Mr. Pippin ran to the front of the troll to assist Mr. Merry in regaining his balance. Troll and hobbits paused, looking at each other. Then the troll brought his hand up to swipe at them again. Immediately, the two hobbits ran around the troll to the side closest to me.

I sat in my seat, gripping the cart tightly, racked with terror. I saw Mr. Merry stumble briefly, and Mr. Pippin caught his arm. But Mr. Pippin was tired from the fight. Neither was in a position to continue the skirmish. I could not let them do this alone. Summoning up any shred of courage I could find-there did not seem to be much of it-I scrambled down from the cart, ready to help in any way I could.

Mr. Pippin saw me move, and turned as the troll came towards them again. "No, Elanor!" he shouted. "Run! Get out of here! Run home!"

I stood where I was, unwilling to leave them to fight the monster alone. Mr. Merry turned his head.

"Do as he says, Elanor! Run home! We will be all right!" He turned, and both hobbits struck at the troll with their swords once again.

Feeling like a horrible coward, I turned tail and fled into the trees.