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Old 02-15-2004, 04:01 PM   #110
piosenniel
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Gondor

‘Then it’s settled,’ he boomed out in his deep voice, catching her quite by surprise with his impulsiveness. ‘We’re bound for the south.’

Baran’s dark eyes glinted in the lamplight, and he gave the Elf a toothy smile, reminding her of a predator whose prey is now in sight. For one brief moment, Pio’s smile mirrored his. ‘Ah, Baran! How you tempt me!’ Her thoughts already whirling with plans of what was needed, where she could get a ship, who she would need to crew it, she plunked herself into the chair opposite him and drawing the map toward her made to speak further. But before the words could form, a loud scuffling was heard from the fireplace.

With a knowing sigh, Pio rose from her chair, whispering to the frowning Beorning. She motioned for him to stay seated and keep silent. ‘Little spies,’ she assured him, speaking low. ‘Let me just take care of this.’

The seats of their sooty breeches’ bottoms were all that could be seen of her three inquisitive children as she slipped quietly into the adjoining room. Cami was trying to wriggle in for a better vantage point between her brother and sister. Isilmir had his elbow out blocking her progress as he vied for position. Gilwen, exasperated by the both of them, loudly whispered for them to keep still - she couldn’t hear anything over their racket.

‘Hear what, Gilwen?’ came the clear question from behind the three. Silence ensued, and then they turned their smudged faces to her. Isilmir was the first to stand, rubbing his sooty hands on his breeches in a vain effort to appear presentable. He looked toward his twin, who had also stood and was now bent on examining her toes as they squirmed on the flagstone of the raised hearth. It was Cami, who came running toward her and gave a fierce, ashy hug to Pio’s leg. Her great brown eyes peered up at her mother as she spoke in a tremulous voice.

‘You’re not leaving me here by my own self are you, ammë? Gilwen said you might leave me behind and take them south with you.’ She sniffled once and then continued in her best pleading tone. ‘I wanna go too! I’m not too little! I wanna go . . . please!’ Pio crouched down, taking the little girl into her arms, motioning the other two into the little circle. ‘I am not going anywhere, sweetling. We were just talking and ammë was only playing along in a pleasant fantasy.’ She shook her head at the twins, her half smile cushioning her words to them. ‘Please do not tease your younger sister in that way. It was mean spirited. I would never leave any of you to fend for yourselves. And I expect the same of you for each other. Are we agreed on this, all of you?’ There were murmurings of agreement, sincere for the most part, punctuated by a smug look from Cami to her sister. Pio laughed, saying, ‘You, too, Cami!’ and hugged them all once more, knowing that this would be another admonition oft repeated.

Baran, by this time, had left his seat in the kitchen and come to the doorway. His bushy brows were raised as he heard her talking to the three children. She stood, a rueful smile on her face, and shook her head at him. ‘A tempting offer, Baran . . . but I cannot just pick up and go south with you.’ Her hand reached down to ruffle Isilmir’s hair. ‘A counter offer, perhaps . . . if you are willing. I would offer you the hospitality of my house until Mithadan returns with the Star. We can discuss plans then to seek Bird in the southern lands with him. Until then, I can show you the library in the city. I know most of those who work there and have some privileges in getting into the collections not open to the main populace.’ The Beorning did not offer an immediate answer to her, nor did she press him.

The children were hurried off to a warm bath and their waiting beds. An old, familiar story of sea-loving Hobbits, their little lost island, and the crosspatch dragon with golden eyes who watched over them ushered in pleasant dreams for the three. Pio pulled the quilts up over them and stepping to the doorway picked up the little lamp on the dresser to the left of the door with her hand. Her right hand went to the familiar picture that hung to that side of the door. A worn piece of vellum, now sandwiched between a small sheet of thin glass and the frame which held it.

The Elf’s fingers touched the rough wood of the oak frame gently as she stepped through to the hallway. She had no need to see the drawing; she could trace every line by heart. Near a river, roughly drawn, was a Hobbit family. Five boys, and a little girl. A mother, too, with a newborn baby on her knee. Above them shown a circle of stars. And there at the apex a smudged in figure – another Hobbit, his features not quite seen. The mother was leaned forward slightly, a stick in her hand. She was telling a story to her own little ones, and there, crudely drawn in the dirt before her, was a ship whose mast bore a banner with a single star upon it. Pio smiled as she blew out the lamp, leaving it on the small hallway table.

Baran had gone back to the kitchen and was sitting at the table, a glass of wine in his hand. They sat and talked for a space of time. Then it grew late and Pio, growing tired, wished to seek the comfort of her own room. Lighting a small lamp to lead the way, she showed him to a large room at the end of the hall. ‘You will at least spend the night, will you not, Baran? Tomorrow you can decide what you would like to do. Feel free to wander the house as you will. The pantry is well stocked. There is also a door from your room that leads out to a small garden just beyond it. Come and go as you like; you will not disturb us.’ She nodded at him as she turned to go toward her quarters.

‘If you wish,’ she said over her shoulder to him as she proceeded down the hall, ‘you can come into the city with us tomorrow. I am going to the Library and then the children want to stop at the Inn on the way home. No need to answer now; the new day will come soon enough.’

Last edited by piosenniel; 02-16-2004 at 02:34 AM.
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