[Nerindel]

As the delicious smells of breakfast wafted through the open kitchen window of the white horse inn, a young girl who had stopped only to rest her wary cracked, bare feet, sat on the low wall to rear of the inn hungrily breathing in the mouth-watering smells. A decision she regretted instantly as her stomach tightened in pain, protesting at it’s long emptiness. It had been several days now since she had last managed to salvage something half edible and it was beginning to tell on her, the rags she wore now practically hung off her skinny malnourished frame that only the tatty brown shawl that she wrapped so tightly around herself seemed to keep them in place.

Fat wet tears streaked her dusty face as she looked longingly at the inn she was so tired and hungry but what little money she had once owned had long gone, but she could not go back not after … she swallowed hard not wishing to relive that night , the night she had been forced to leave her home and her country. Hugging tight the long heavy object hidden beneath her shawl she sobbed quietly wondering what her father if he where still alive would think of what she had done and what she had become.

The sound of a door opening and voices floating on the morning air startled her out of her shame and self pity she quickly hid behind the wall not wishing to be noticed and watch as someone she thought must be the inns cook carry a large pot of scrap food across the yard . ‘oh no a compost heap!’ she sighed disappointedly, watching as the woman heaped the contents of the pot onto the already rotting vegetation. She did not relishing the thought of raking through decomposed vegetables searching for something half edible. But as she watched and as luck would have it the woman returned across the yard with something tucked under her arm, bread by the looks of it and sure enough putting down the pot the woman from the inn began to tear off strips and throw them to the waiting birds, but before she could finish a call from within the inn disturbed her and putting down the bread she turned and re-entered the inn.

Seeing her chance the young girl scrambled over the wall, snatched up the bread and ran hoping to find somewhere quiet to enjoy this chance meal. But weakened with hunger and lack of sleep she only made it as far as the inn’s stables, However finding it quiet she carefully snuck inside and finding an empty stall at the far end of the row she collapsed on the straw and began eating hungrily at the day old bread.