[Child of the 7th Age]

Hawthorne

A tale of the Shire?....

Hawthorne boldly leapt up from her chair, "You have told me a fine tale, Master Aldwine, and I will share one as well, although I am not a storyteller by nature." The lass reflected a moment and leaned over, whispering conspiratorially. "This is not a tale of the Shire, but of my family the Brandybucks who hail from Buckland. Bucklanders are not quite so calm or settled as those living in the Shire; their burrows are close to the great trees of the Old Forest, whose spirits sometimes stir and whisper odd things. But this tale goes back many years, long before my folk arrived in Buckland or even in the Marish."

As Hawthorne spoke, the nighttime shadows crept over the Inn. A number of lanterns flickered out, and the fire in the hearth burned low as soft flames died and turned to silver ash. Hawthorne nodded towards the storyteller, "You mustn't write this down. Only keep it in your head. If you promise to do that, I will tell you about the founder of our clan. My last name is ‘Brandybuck’, but long ago, our family was known as ‘Oldbuck’ and before that 'Zaragamba'."

Once Master Aldwine agreed to Hawthorne’s request, the Hobbit continued with her story, “Granny once told me, and later on Master Merry, that our family was founded by a pair of hobbits called Camelia and Merimac Zaragamba who lived in a settlement long forgotten near the banks of the Anduin. I begged Granny for stories of Mistress Cami, and she would tell them sitting before the hearth at Brandy Hall with all the children gathered round. But always she reminded us that some of Cami’s stories remained concealed in honeyed mists and even those we remembered contained mysteries that could not be understood till the end of time. That is why we never set these tales down on paper, and Cami does not appear in any of our genealogies, even though a few of us in Buckland remember her, if only as a legend. The name 'Cami Goodchild' even pops up now and again. I even had a young nanny who went by the same."

Hawthorne grabbed her satchel and reached inside, drawing out a bronzed hand mirror and passing it into Aldwine's hands. It was a sweet thing, a lady’s mirror that seemed very old. Part of its surface was rubbed clean and smooth from the gentle touch of many hands over endless years. Further up on the back of the mirror, Aldwine could see the remnents of a faint design of twining leaves and flowers surrounded by Elvish runes. He had trouble making out the letters. It was definitely Elvish, but not the common Sindarin script. He looked at the words intently but could not untangle their meaning.

“This is lovely,” he sighed, tracing his fingers over the fading design and admiring the craftsmanship before handing the mirror back to Hawthorne.

“Yes,” she smiled. “I think so too. Granny said that Cami’s closest friend was an Elf and that she cherished that friendship for all her life. Her friend gave her this mirror as a gift. Perhaps that's hard to imagine since the fair folk usually hold themselves apart from the likes of us Hobbits. But Mistress Cami was different.”

“Granny said that Cami had her fair share of happiness and sorrow in life, but time and duty carried her far from many whom she loved. And the Elf was one of these. Still, she never forgot her old friend in good times or bad. And although she did not speak of it to others except perhaps her husband, she grieved for the loss.”

“One day...it was right after Merimac's death. Her husband had been killed leading an attack against the Orcs. He’d saved their village and all the settlements along the river. Their eldest son Gamba, always restless and uneasy, was now made more so with the loss of his father. One day, he packed up his belongings, journeyed to the northern mountains, and made a new home there. He brought two of his four brothers with him and married a mountain lass.”

“Cami had a hard time accepting the fact that death and choice had broken up her family. Years before, she and Merimac had taken in the lads out of love; Cami had been the only mother they had known. The boys had not been easy to raise, especially the eldest, but she had tried her hardest and muddled through the best she could as many of us do. The departure of her three sons coming on top of Merimac’s death came near to breaking her spirit. For a while, Cami even turned away from her other children. She was despondent, constantly doubting whether she’d taken the right path in life, and wondering if she should have done things differently.”

“Burdened down with grief, the Hobbit took the mirror in her hand and stared into its depths, pondering all that she had lost. I do not pretend to understand this, but Granny said that Cami saw an image of her friend, as if the Elf actually sat in the same room with her. Then, Cami caught glimpses of the Elf and her husband flashing by in rapid succession. At the end came an image of sorrow and hope. The Elf pensively read a journal that had once belonged to her friend, while her three children played nearby on the rug. There were twins Cami had already met but with them was one new daughter, a loving but stubborn toddler who'd been given the name of 'Cami'."

"Cami wept again; only this time there were tears of healing. She understood that nothing had been lost, only tucked away in another place, and she felt at peace with herself. Perhaps someday she would meet her friend again, since the Elf had chosen a mortal husband and life. And so too it might be with her own husband and missing sons. And every time thereafter, when things seemed very hard, she took up the mirror and looked into it, sometimes seeing a shadowy image of her friend."

“Is the tale true, do you think?” Aldwine whispered.

“I believe it to be true. I have heard this mirror came from the City of Gondolin. The Elves of that time and place knew many things lost to us. And there are other strange stories told of Cami, how she had visions and dreams that were later proven true. But that is not all...”

The small hobbit stopped and looked down, hesitant to say more. Only when Aldwine gently prodded her did she continue. “One day not long ago, I journeyed through the forests of Buckland, a part of the woods that lies near the Withywindle, a truly strange place. And I took the mirror with me, for I had a decision to make and I did not know what to do. My Uncle Merry and his new wife had brought me along on the trip, but they had gone out to gather mushrooms and shoot some game. Sitting alone in the camp, I drew out the mirror and stared into it.”

She glanced sideways at Aldwine and lowered her voice. “I swear that I saw in its bronze pool not one image but two. First that of an Elf, not the sad and moping kind one sometimes sees in the Inn, but a woman who was bright eyed and commanding. Then, I saw a second figure, this one plump with a mop of curly hair that had grey and brown streaks. It was a hobbit laughing, who fit the description of Cami that Granny had given to me. The faces were gone so quickly. I have only the vaguest memory of the Elf, but the image of the hobbit stuck in my head.”

Hawthorne looked embarrassed, “Sometimes I talk to her image in my head, although she does not answer. But that moment in the woods, I decided to go out on the road as Cami had done, and that is why I have come to Hobbiton and perhaps will go to other places as well.”

Aldwine looked over interested, “Have you tried to find the Elf? In books of lore? Or perhaps her kin are still alive today?”

Hawthorne shook her head, “No, I do not even know her name. And I would not have the courage to approach an Elf to ask, even here at the Inn. I shall have to be content with my dream pictures. I have seen nothing more in the mirror, but I keep it close by. Just in case.”

She glanced at him imploringly, “Please keep this tale to yourself, for I fear that some Hobbits would call me fey. I would rather not have others know that this strange vision is one of the reasons I have decided to set out from my home. But for now, I will bid you goodnight for I have a special project planned for the morning.”

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 9:18 AM February 03, 2004: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]