[Imladris]

Aeron shivered by the fire, his clothes clinging to his skin like blood sucking leeches -- except that they, instead, sucked the warmth from him. He smiled at Gwyllion as she came and hugged him, cradling her head on his shoulder. He knew she would forgive him. The merchant had hastened the forgiveness, of course, but his personal charm would have made it irresistable for her to be angry with him for more than a few days. He smiled at her.

Mellonin draped a blanket around their shoulders, and he said, "Thank you, my lord Fingon." Gwyllion shoulders shivered with laughter and Aeron himself wrestled with a grin that strived to appear. Calling her a lord -- he wondered if she could pull it off. She was nothing but a servant woman! It would indeed be interesting if she could or not.

"You should have called her something other than a lord," Gwyllion whispered.

"I know, but if a lie is to be told, why not make it into a glorious lie," Aeron murmured into her ear. "It is more fun that way."

"Your fun could get you into trouble."

He rolled his eyes. How typical of his sister to point that out to him. He was already in trouble and if the merchant discovered his falsehood it would not matter.

What was this? The merchant was accusing Ravion of stealing the necklace? Drat and blast, how could he sully the Ravion's name as a ranger? A ranger! Aeron's mouth gaped and his brows met in a jagged frown. Of all the the things that he had been hearing today, stupid lectures and all, this was the most outrageous of them all. It was a far stretch of the imagination to imagine a ranger stealing a bit of jewelery. Aeron wondered the ranger had a young sweetheart...but still! Then again, if the ranger was accused it would make his life ten times easier. He would no longer be his servant...but...then there was Mellonin and Raefindan. They were kind folks...and the ranger would have to protect them. Shaking himself, grimacing at his stupidity, Aeron climbed to his feet as the merchant and the ranger crossed blades. "He did not take it, I took it!" Aeron shouted. Seeing as the shout had no noticable effect, he bellowed, "He did not take it, I took it!"

"Then you'll drown," the merchant said through clenched teeth.

Aeron rolled his eyes. It was most probably an empty threat. Ravion would not let him drown...but why? Aeron shrugged and sat back down. It was a mystery that he could not fathom.

He listened as Mellonin passed judgement on him, but was not satisfied that it would sway the merchant to a more lenient heart. He would be a deaf man if he did not realize that her voice was forced, a blind man to realize that her air of lordship was a bit false, and a man of dim wits if he could not see that she was shaken by the encounter.

He sighed and grinned at Mellonin. She had tried after all and she had done a pretty good job of it he figured.