[Child of the 7th Age]

Hawthorne Brandybuck:

Hawthorne had spent the remainder of the morning wandering amid the charred piles of ashes in the common room trying to salvage what few trinkets and Inn furnishings that she could. The kitchen was a total mess. All the pots and pans and dishes would need to be replaced to say nothing of the walls and floorboards! Every step she took, her heart grew heavier. She was responsible for this horrible mess. How could she have been so stupid ?

Once or twice, she heard hobbits muttering under their breath about the 'foreigners' who had purposely done this wicked thing, then shooting nasty glances over at the Men and Elves. That made her feel even worse. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She resolved to go face the Innkeeper and tell her the awful truth. Hawthorne vowed to take whatever punishment Amanduial meted out to her. She imagined herself doing dishes for the next twenty years!

Her eyes brimming over with tears, Hawthorne looked up and saw the Innkeeper leading some horses out of the stable. Thank goodness none of the animals had been hurt. Hawthorne beckoned to Aman from across the courtyard and quickly ran over to her side. She intended to explain in a clear simple manner how she had been angry at Ruby and Buttercup for snubbing her when she had worked so hard the evening before. Because of that, she had stupidly decided to show them up, and came down to the kitchen to prove that she could cook breakfast without help from anyone. That's how the oil in the pan had caught on fire, and she was very sorry indeed.

Unfortunately, what Hawthorne thought she said to Aman and what Aman actually heard were two different things. There was a great deal of noise in the courtyard, with horses neighing, dogs barking, and a few folk groaning loudly over their injuries or the loss of their possessions. As a result, it was very difficult to make oneself clearly understood. Added to this was the fact that Hawthorne was very, very tired., and she may not have explained things too clearly. The hobbit had stayed up most of the night, crept down early to the kitchen, and was now overcome with noxious fumes and smoke. By the time she came over to talk with Aman, Hawthorne could barely stand upright on her feet.

The Innkeeper's eyes widened in shock as the Bucklander's apology registered in her head. Aman could scarcely believe the words she was hearing:

Mistress Aman, I'm so sorry. But I must tell you the truth. A foreigner didn't set fire to the Inn. I did. I was very stupid. I was angry at Ruby and Buttercup for being nasty to me after I worked all evening as hard as I could. So I decided I would show them a thing or two. I came down to the kitchen in the early morning to cook breakfast, poured the oil in the frying pan, and then used it to set the Inn on fire......

Hawthorne had no idea of just how tangled her story sounded. She looked up pleadingly into the Innkeeper's eyes hoping to see even a tiny glint of understanding or forgiveness, then straightened up her head and waited for the punishment to be handed down.