[piosenniel]

Sharon's post

As rays of sunshine filtered through the lace curtains, Cami groggily looked up to see Maura staring at her with a serious expression on his face. She sat bolt upright, waiting for him to speak. "You've a note from Pio," he hastily explained, "It was left late last night, after we'd gone to bed."

Cami unfolded the paper with shaking hands, sensing that the moment she'd been waiting for had finally arrived. She read the note quickly, then set her feet on the floor, tossed on some clothes, and stuffed one piece of bread into her mouth and another in her pocket. "I have to go. Now. Pio says the twins will be here today. And Elves always know these things, or so she tells me." Cami raced around the burrow, searching for a few useful items that she'd set aside specially for this moment. She hastily thrust them into her apron, but continued ransacking the closet shelves.

"What are you looking for now?" Maura appeared to be genuinely curious.

"That bottle of ale, the one from the Green Isle, that Frodo gave to me." She bent down and reached to the very back of the bottom shelf and pulled out a strangely shaped flask filled with a mysterious dark brown liquid. The bottle had some sort of paper label glued to it which Maura thought looked very unusual, and there were oddly shaped letters that he'd never seen before.

"What in all of Arda is this?" He held up the flask to the sunlight and squinted at it.

Cami shrugged, "I'm not sure. Something about the modern day nectar of the Ainur. It's supposed to taste delicious. Pio says it's a hearty, nourishing brew. To tell the truth, I've never seen anything like it before."

In any case, since her friend had made a special point of telling Cami to bring it, she tucked the bottle under her belt, and ran off towards the Inn, yelling back at Maura that he should take care of Holly.

********************************************

Cami was uncertain what she'd find within the Elf's bedchamber. Perhaps, Pio would have all the difficult business finished, and be sitting regally like an Elf queen with one twin perched on each of her knees. Then again, perhaps not.

As she left the courtyard and came through the back door, Cook grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked her into the kitchen, "Thank goodness you're here. We're trying to take care of customers and tend to Miz Pio. It's not easy. Ruby's gone and collapsed on us." Cook pointed over to the corner where a limp hobbit figure had been hastily deposited in a large chair. Then she shook her head, "The girl was supposed to be helping the midwives with their supplies and drinks and such. Poor Ruby isn't used to such things. I hope you're more reliable than that."

Cami nodded vigorously and stood up straight, trying to look serious and competent as Cook carefully scrutinized her from the top of her curls down to her toes. Cook scowled a bit. The woman had obviously never given birth, but she did look to be the steady type, not prone to fits of fainting. With a shake of her head and an audible sigh, Cook handed Cami a tall stack of clean towels with a pot of boiling water balanced on top. "Go on with you then, but don't dawdle too much. Come right back as we've a cool drink for Miz Pio and the midwives as well."

Cami nodded, then scurried over to Piosenniel's bedchamber as fast as she dared, with a pile of supplies precariously perched between her eager, outstretched arms.

********************************************

For the remainder of the morning and on into the early afternoon, Cami ran back and forth from the bedchamber to the kitchen, fetching and lugging all the supplies that Peony and Angelica needed. By lunchtime, she'd lost track of how many trips she'd made. She finally collapsed on a chair in the kitchen with her feet and legs hoisted up over the arm. But one scowl from Cook, coupled with dire threats of being replaced, pulled her up abruptly, and sent her scurrying out with another pot of boiling water.

To be truthful, the Elf did not look at all well to Cami. Pio's eyes seemed strained, and her face had a greenish tinge. Her friend had spoken so comfortably about the birth of the twins, as though she could do it in a single afternoon with no more effort than it took to knock off an armed opponent. But this seemed quite different.

Pio's body shook in obvious discomfort, yet she strained and bore down horribly in the precious moments that came between. For most of the time, Cami stood at the back of the room, worrying about what was happening and trying to stay out of the way of the midwives who seemed to know what they were doing. The fact that the Elf was so much larger than the hobbits meant that the two of them had to work together if they wanted to lift her shoulders or encourage her to sit up.

Once however, the hobbit tiptoed up close to Pio's bed and knelt down beside her friend. Cami placed her hand on the Elf's jagged curls and swept them out of her eyes, whispering how much she loved her and that Pio should relax so that the twins could come very soon. Then she slipped out one of the little things from her pockets, a sweet smelling sachet of herbs, and placed it near her friend's pillow. But then the tides turned and Cami was again whisked away as Angelica and Peony cried out for more cool rags.

[ April 30, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

[ April 30, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]