A/N: Thank you, REMdream, Galadrielcats, AndruilofTolkien, for reviewing. I'm glad you all like it. We're getting closer to the end of this part of My Mind and My Memory. I hope you like the little fluffy moment between Legolas and Eponine.

The beautiful morning sun woke me. It streamed through my window in eye-piercing rays, making me want to sneeze. I rose and with the help of my walking stick, I dressed. I decided to wear silver leggings with a dark green tunic and matching brown boots and belt. I braided my hair and washed my face. I could tell it was much earlier then I normally woke up, but that didn't bother me. I had found a new sense of peace at Oropher's words and I found it and the faith he convinced me to have in the Valar and Eru—the deities of Middle Earth—carried over to my obsessive-compulsiveness-mostly. Knowing breakfast would not be served for another hour at least, I decided to test the limit of peace of mind and meandered down to the gardens.

I was absolutely awed. Imlardis was so beautiful in the early dawn, I felt guilty for not getting up early, sooner. The pale alabaster of the Last Homely House shone like a pearl in the morning, shinning like it was made of light. The early birds called, their songs echoing across the valley, mixing with soft, ever-constant roar of the many waterfalls and the rustling of the trees in the early morning breeze. The air was cool and sweet-smelling, like flowers.

The trees of the garden sang soft early morning lullabies, teasing my faë with what I could only akin them to kisses. I couldn't help my soft smile as I closed my eyes and lost myself to the beauty of the morning.

"What are you doing up?!" The peace in my heart didn't sway as Legolas' voice graced the morning.

"I was done sleeping." I answered, opening my eyes and turning to him. I gasped. He was dazzling—he stood bathed in the brilliant light of the dawn. It encompassed him, and yet he absorbed it, only to cast it back out to the world from within, dazzling the world with his fair illumination.

A soft smirk played on his lips as he tilted his head, regarding me. I felt a small fluttering in his faë, but it was soon hidden from me. "Why do you look at me like that?"

I flushed, shaking my head. "No reason." Shaking it again, I tried to clear my head. To help, I turned away. What on earth was that? That was not me!

"I've been meaning to talk to you," He said, stepping up beside me, his arm brushing mine, sending sharp tingles through me.

Slightly startled, I took half a step to the side, turning to him at him again, as an excused for stepping away. "Good, I wanted to talk too."

Another smile blossomed on his face and though his wasn't standing in the sunshine anymore, he still seemed to glow, just much more subtly. He offered his arm to me, in a very old-fashioned and courtly way. "Would you care to take a stroll with me?" He asked, bowing dramatically.

I sniggered. "Well aren't you a gentleman." He chuckled, but didn't answer, simply taking my right hand and placing on his left arm just above his bent elbow, before leading us through the garden with no particular destination in mind. I smiled, relaxing, as I often was in his presence, and let my other hand rest easily just below my right.

"Éponine," he starts, "we're leaving next week, back home." He paused, looking at me, his expression was strained. "I would like, if you will allow…" he paused again. I stifled a giggle as his face went pink with embarrassment.

"You okay?" I asked, not doing a too good a job hiding my amusement at his predicament.

He growled, snapping his head to the side, so his hair fell over his face, hiding it from view. "Shut up." It wasn't a command, it was more like a frazzled request.

I chuckled. "Well, while you are finding the courage to ask whatever it is you want to ask, I want to talk." He looked back at me and my face went serious. "Legolas, I understand," I murmured. "I know what we share, and I know why you wouldn't want me to know. I understand how hard this must be for you, and I know you're doing you best. I don't blame you in any way and I don't mind."

As I spoke, his face turned from flustered to serious to terribly worried and enormously guilty. "Who told you?" He asked.

"Your parents."

Based on what the king and queen had said about Legolas not wanting me to know, and being unhappy at me being told, I expected him to be at least a little angry, but the anger didn't come. His kind silvery-blue eyes showed nothing but guilt and pain.

"I'm sorry, Éponine." He whispered. "I shouldn't have kept it from you, but I hardly knew how to handle it myself. To you everything is new and different. I didn't want to force such a thing on you."

I couldn't help my smile as I turned to look out over the beautiful garden. Flowers of all sizes and colors bloomed with tall beautiful trees and the soft prefect summer green grass. I realized I was irrevocably in love with the world around me, the elvish sanctuary that had become my home. I thought about Oropher and his amazing little romantic story and smiled much more brightly.

"I learned, from a dear friend, Eru is never daunted in the face of the mistakes of his Children." I turned my eyes back to him, to find him watching me, open awe on his face. Pushing aside my confusion at his expression I continued. "The Valar and though them, Eru, are more then used to us simple fools making mistakes. If you or I have a soulmate, or faëmate, out there somewhere, we'll find them. No matter how stupid we act, or close-minded, or down right bitter, everything will happen as it is supposed to, because they know what they're doing and Eru knows us better then we know ourselves." I smirked at him and the smile growing in his eyes. "After all, isn't it your lore that says He sang us into existence? Wouldn't you know something so completely, inside out, upside down, and backwards, if you'd created a whole song, just for them?"

Legolas stared at me for a little while before the smile finally appeared on his lips, followed quickly by his laugh. It was bright and beautiful, as he was, seemingly without fault—which was impossible of course, but the thought is nice. "I can't believe it, but that actually made me feel better!" He exclaimed brightly. "I've been brooding over this for ages!"

I shrugged, smiling. "I feel better now, I only had an hour or two to brood, at the most."

He chuckled again, before taking a deep breath. "Well, with that over, I feel much more comfortable asking; may I write you?"

I frowned. "Write me? What do you mean?"

"When we are gone, do I have your permission to send you letters, and would you…perhaps…write back?"

I burst into gales of laughter, much to his indignation. "OH! Of course! I'd love to write to you, Legolas." I answered between breaths of laughter.

He huffed, folding his arms across his chest, facing me with a comically dramatic look of disapproval on his face. "You don't have to laugh at me. It is a very courteous thing to ask a lady's permission before writing to her."

I continued to laugh as I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his neck to hug him. "I figured, but you were so awkwardly cute about it, I couldn't help it." He remained tense under my hug, but after a while relented with a sigh and wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging me.

"You're mean," he muttered in my ear, but made no move to pull away.

I sniggered again. "I know, but you like me anyway." I answered, pulling away. "I'm glad to be your friend Legolas."

He smiled, taking my hand, leading us back toward the Homely House for breakfast, a jovial bounce in his step. "As am I, Éponine!"

I smiled. "Nîn, Legolas. You can call me Nîn."

He pulled me into his arms again, planting a kiss to my forehead. "Then I shall, Nîn, for I feel you will become my dearest friend."

I found myself, as we walked back to the Homely House, looking forward to Legolas' departure and further, the coming of his letters. I found though I would miss him when he was gone, but the thought of getting to know him through old-fashioned letter-sending was an adorably romantic notion. And I agreed, I felt like we would become very dear friends and I liked that thought too.