[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Led by Toby, Snaveling turned his back to the Road and faced the Inn. On the far side of the yard, Roa and Val were walking away from him, and for a moment he felt his throat constrict with the uselessness of what he was proposing to do. How can I hope that Roa will accept me? he thought. She has released me from my bondage to her, but not from my debt. How can I pay that, but with my own life?. Galadel approached he and Toby, her eyes in turmoil. Snaveling was taken aback by the sight. He had become so used to the Elf woman's solid and comforting presence - they all had - that the very idea of her being anything but calm was disturbing to him. He wondered what it was that could have so shaken her demeanor. He was sure it was not the division between himself and Roa, such things were, he was sure, far beneath the concern of one such as herself.

And yet, when she reached his side her manner was as feelingly real as Toby's had been. "Snaveling," she began, "you have done Roa a great wrong, and she is right to feel as she does. But I fear that she does not act wisely in thus rejecting you. I know not how, but your destinies are bound together in some way. You must find a way to make amends to her."

Snaveling was stunned by Galadel's intensity, almost as much as he had been by Toby's genuine concern. "You also want me to stay My Lady?" he asked wonderingly. "Knowing now what I have done, and what I am?" But even as he spoke, he knew that she had been aware of his true nature from the moment they met. And he knew also that she saw a nature in him that might - if he allowed it - come into flower and justify her opinion of him. It was almost enough to shame him. He looked at the two entirely mismatched beings who stood before him: Tobias Hornblower, gentlehobbit of the Shire, a creature dedicated to comfort and ease, his own preferment, wholly and happily unaware of and unconcerned with the world beyond his own narrow borders; and beside him, Galadel of the Eldar, a being of descent and nobility beyond the reach of Snaveling's imagination, possessed of the power to heal and to see things beyond the ken of mortal thought. What had he done to deserve their faith, their friendship? Now he did hang his head in shame. Nothing; he had done nothing to deserve their good-will, and yet they gave it to him freely. There is no grace harder to bear than grace unearned. The thought entered Snaveling's mind in his own voice, but it was as though some other power were speaking for him. He forced himself to meet Toby's and Galadel's eyes. "I do not deserve your friendship, but I will accept it. I am not worthy to offer you my friendship - not yet - so I will not offer it. But there is one thing I may do yet that will redeem me."

He set off across the yard to speak with Roa. He found her sitting at a table in the Common Room, Val at her side. As he moved toward her, the young man glared at him with a rage so intense that it was like a slap in the face. Roa saw the look in Val's eyes and rested her hand on his forearm, stilling the violent feelings that wracked the boy's frame. She looked to Snaveling. "I have forbid you to appear in my sight, Man of the South. Why do you thus tempt me to break the oath I made never to hurt you?"

Snaveling felt rather than saw Galadel and Toby enter the Inn behind him. His courage, which had been on the point of failing when he saw the fire in Roa's eyes, revived. He met Roa's gaze and spoke in as even a tone as he could. "I will not deny what I have done, nor attempt to justify it…My Lady - I would call you Roa, as you bade me to do not so long ago, but that is a right that I must earn again. You have dismissed me from your bondage, and I was prepared to leave this place and seek my fortune in the Wild once more, but these our friends," he paused, to let the word sink in somewhat, "have convinced me to stay and attempt to heal this breach." He took a deep breath. "You know that I do not acknowledge your King, nor do I overly approve of him," Roa's eyes flashed with the bitterest resentment and, for a moment, Snaveling was afraid of what might happen. Galadel stepped forward and called to Roa softly, calming her. Snaveling continued. "I know you do not like to hear this, My Lady, but you - all of you - have made an honest Man of me, so must now bear the hard burden of that truth! I do not acknowledge the right of King Elessar to rule me or my people; I do not acknowledge his claim to lordship. I do, however, admit that I owe to you a great debt, and that your King is your one true lord. I am therefore content to let him settle this matter between us. Should you ever be called back to him, and should you be willing to let me travel with you, I will stand before your King and accept whatever judgement he deems for me. What say you Roa? Will you accept these my terms, or am I to leave this place forever and seek my own way once more in the Wild?"