[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Aylwen looked out the window of the White Horse common room, sighing as darkness began to envelope the Inn. Dinner was being served, ales were being distributed and redistributed, and children began to whine with sleepiness. It had been a busy day, by anyone’s standards. The rebuilding of the stables would begin tomorrow, and Aylwen was anxious to have everything back to normal, stables intact. That was not the only thing Aylwen was anxious for, however. She had visitors coming from Gondor sometime tomorrow. Turning away from the window Aylwen smiled and went back to helping the maids and servers dole out ale and other drinks.

As she worked Aylwen contemplated ways to bring in more customers. Building a new stable would be very costly, even with all the volunteer builders who wanted naught but a job to do or a room in which to sleep. The Horse had musicians a few nights a week, but that did not bring in enough paying customers to be able to sustain the Horse through the time it would take to rebuild the stable. Entertainers might work, but how would they be any different than the musicians? The planned-for school, while they knew it would be free of cost for the children, might bring in more nighttime customers, perhaps to speak with the teachers? Aylwen wasn’t sure. How did other Inns become the hive of the town? Aylwen wondered how rough the times ahead would be.

The nightly customers began filing out as the moon became clear in the sky, and carpenters and builders who had rooms began going of to sleep. There were still some folk sitting around their tables, but they soon cleared out with a last gulp of their spirits and went on to bed or went off to their homes and families. Soon, all was quiet in the Inn save for the bustling of the few maids as they cleared and washed tables for the night. Aylwen sighed and sat down at one of the freshly cleaned tables and rested her head on her palms, propped up by her elbows on the table. Her mind raced, thinking of ideas to bring in money, thinking of what had happened that day and how the new stable would be much better, thinking of her guests arriving the next day. Aylwen had almost fallen asleep at the table when her elbows slipped and her head hit her forearm as it braced onto the table. Glad that no one was around to see her in such a tired, sorry state, Aylwen stood from her seat and trudged to her room for a good night’s rest before another morning at the White Horse Inn.

The next morning, Aylwen awoke to the bright sunlight streaming through her window. The night had been a warm one, and Aylwen had left the window open for any breeze to enter and cool the room. Aylwen made her bed and closed the window, squinting and blinking in the bright light. Then she dressed for a new day, the day that they would begin to plan and rebuild the stables. As she left her room Aylwen smiled, ready to help replace what had been lost the day before.

--

The notes of the panpipes were light and merry, the song was jovial and cheerful, and the woman blowing the lovely notes mirrored the tune. Each pipe had a little letter carved into the end, and together the pipe-letters spelled out Kendral. She was middle-aged, looking to be about forty, and creases at the corners of her eyes were beginning to etch deeper and deeper, though the laugh lines around her mouth were more prominent. Her hair was long and black, tied back in a braid that unfortunately enhanced the few streaks of grey but kept the wisps of hair out of her face. Her eyes were dark brown, and were cast down at the panpipes that she was holding to her mouth.

“Mama! You’ve been playing since we left the southlands!” A young man in front of the woman complained, turning around to face her. His eyes were of a darker shade of brown, but his short-cropped, wavy hair matched the ebony color of the woman’s hair. He was tall and lean, for the only visible muscles he had were contained to his arms. He looked to be in his twenties, and his impatience betrayed these years to anyone unsure but unwilling to ask.

“Then it is a good thing that the Inn is just up ahead, Taren,” the woman replied, laughing light-heartedly before going back to playing her tune. Her son rolled his eyes and turned back around to look ahead where a building much like every other he’d seen in Rohan stood beckoning for strangers to come inside. As they clambered up the hill the pair saw the pile of ashes and dust that covered a plot of ground just outside the Inn. Curiosity was in their eyes as they wondered what had befallen the Inn, but they dismissed this and decided to just ask when they entered the Inn.

Soon they had come to the Inn door and, smiling, Taren opened the door. It was early in the morning, so when they entered there were very few people in the common room. But they soon found the person they had traveled to see – Aylwen, the Assistant Innkeeper, Taren’s little sister and Kendral’s daughter. She was serving breakfast to an older man and when she left his table she finally looked up and saw her guests smiling in the doorway. At this sight Aylwen rushed over to them and swept up Taren in a big hug, and then her mother received the same treatment.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’ve come!” Aylwen assured them happily as she ushered them to a table. “You must be so hungry, all that traveling! Can I get you something? Anything? You could probably stay in my room while you’re here, I mean…”

“No, Aylwen!” Kendral cried, stopping her daughter and putting a hand on her shoulder. “While we are here we intend to be paying customers, spared into no exception to the rules. Understand?” Aylwen nodded, obeying her mother. Kendral smiled. “Good! Now, one thing we would like to know before you go about your job…What happened outside? There is nothing but a circle of black sooty ashes!”

“Ah,” Aylwen stalled, thinking and choosing her words carefully. “We chanced for a day of terrible luck and the stable caught flame. Today is the day we are going to start rebuilding it…”

“Then it’s a good thing Taren’s here!” Kendral’s face was nevertheless full of cheer as she spoke. Aylwen was reminded of what a wonderful woman her mother was. She’d taught Aylwen how to play the instruments Kendral had had laying around the house, and taught Aylwen how to calm a rowdy audience, and Kendral was so outgoing and matter-of-fact with everyone – especially children. Aylwen was also reminded of what a good thing it really was to have Taren around. He’d been a carpenter with Aylwen’s father and other brothers, and his completely logical but creative way of thinking was what got jobs finished and made Aylwen too confused to even do anything with carpentry but say that it was her father’s profession.

Aylwen was so glad to have them here.

“You must meet Bethberry, Mama, Taren,” Aylwen informed them before fluttering off with their breakfast orders to fulfill them and the orders of other patrons.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 9:10 AM January 15, 2004: Message edited by: Aylwen Dreamsong ]