[Orofaniel]

The sun was shining outside. Its warming rays were about to melt the ice cubes, which were now lingering around the window frames. Every so often, you could hear the melted ice drip down from the window frames and fall to the ground, making small rivulets. But in order to hear it from inside, there had to be a perfect silence and you had to concentrate. This however, was not a problem for Aedre; she’d already heard it many times. “Ahh…How much it reminds me of spring!” She had said each time and laughed merrily.

It was still cold outside, but the winter was soon to fade away and a new season was about to dominate the country. The warmth would come, and Aedre could feel it already. It was a very comforting thought.

Even though it was early, Aedre had a job to do; there were tables to clean, dishwashing to do, floors to sweep and it didn't really stop there. She didn’t want to complain about how tired and exhausted she was though, because the poor innkeeper had already been up for hours. Complaining wasn’t really one of those things Aedre did either. She had decided long ago to see things in a more positive way; instead of complaining about the lack of sleep, she would be happy for even having such a wonderful job. Aylwen Dreamsong was also a wonderful and caring innkeeper and Aedre was happy to work for her.

Aedre was originally a chef, but lately she’d been working as a servant and a maid at the Horse. When she’d first come here to find a job, for around half a year ago, Aedre had been insecure about applying for a job. She knew that the White Horse Inn had a great reputation, and there seemed to be nothing but nice words to describe the Inn, but she had feared of being rejected. She had tried to get jobs like these before, and it had always been the same answer. The thing that was so great about the White Horse was that it was very close to her home. By this, she had the opportunity to see her parents as often as she liked. This was absolutely the best place to work, and she would always be grateful towards Aylwen for taking her in. Aedre had felt at home at once, which wasn’t a big surprise because Aylwen had always been very polite towards her and Aylwen welcomed her right away.

Without even noticing it herself, she’d been standing thinking about the past for quite some time. She shook her head, hoping that it would take her into the present, and it certainly did.

The employers at the Inn had many things to prepare since it would soon be some very special and important events for the Rohirrim. Aedre was quite curious about how the Inn was going to mark these events, but she hadn't been able to ask Aylwen yet. Even though she didn't know what they were going to do, she wanted to join the preparations. That she knew for certain.