Anxious to purchase the supplies for her upcoming journey, Benia crossed the courtyard of the Green Dragon at a quick pace. She was still puzzling over the fear in the eyes of the elflady she had encountered in the kitchen, and even more flummoxed by the sweeping bow the lady had delivered. Benia had not seen a bow like that delivered anywhere outside of Far Harad. But, what would an elf have been doing in Harad? And what reason would she have to fear Benia? Benia glanced up at the windows of the inn and, to her surprise, caught a fleeting glimpse of the elflady's face, watching her from an upstairs window. The face vanished abruptly. Biting her lip in contemplation, Benia turned to go. She was so absorbed in concentration that she nearly walked right under the hooves of an approaching Ranger's horse.
The Ranger reined his gray stallion to the side, and Benia apologized politely, barely looking at his hooded face. Instead, her eyes were caught by the sudden subtle movement of his gloved hand toward something at the front of his saddle. Just then, Gilly burst out the front door of the inn.
"Benia!" she gasped, just a little out of breath. "There you are! I was hoping to catch you, but then I got caught up just a little bit in the kitchen. They have the most wonderful collection of mathom on display! They must be planning a marvelous party."
The man's hand stopped in it's motion and returned casually to his side. Benia turned toward the sound of Gilly's voice, a smile breaking out on her face.
"You hobbits and your mathom!" she joked. "How would you ever get on without it?"
"Of course, you wouldn't understand," answered Gilly. "Always moving about the way you do. But we hobbits know what tremendous value there is in mathom. Not monetary, of course --" she added with a nervous glance at the Ranger. "But it is very valuable nonetheless."
At that, the Ranger turned his gray horse and proceeded toward the inn's stableyard. Warily, Benia watched his retreating back. There was something familiar about him, as if she had seen him before somewhere. It's probably nothing, she told herself, just as it had been nothing with the other one, the one she had suspected of giving her the red stone. Nonetheless, something about this one made her thankful that she was soon to be leaving the Shire. When Benia turned her attention back to Gilly, she found her friend watching the Ranger as well.
[ June 14, 2003: Message edited by: Ealasaid ]
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