[piosenniel]

Teleri's post

The shire was stuck in perpetual winter, and the snow had long become monotonous to even the children. In a hobbit hole in Tuckborough, with a white frosted roof, a woman sat hard at work in her study. She was just beginning to leave middle age, and she wore a simple brown dress, who's only adornment was a ruffel on the end of each sleeve. Her mingled black and silvery hair was pulled back into a bun, to keep it out of her face, and tied with a rag. She was making a toy.

Ah...Two months of hard work, and now I am finished at last. Estelle slipped a tarneshed old whittling knife into its worn leather sheath, and set a toy ship on the table. She stepped back to admire the effect. A pale winter light shown through the round window in a beam. She had placed the miniature vessel directly in the light, and now its glossy paint shown and glittered, like a far off twinkling star. She could see clouds off dust faintly, and they looked like golden fog, wrapping round the mast playfully, then racing away from the narrow straight of light. The ship was made with caring detail, and even the tiny ropes were knotted just so.

This one will be for my own collection. Estelle laughed, as she imagined what what many of the hobbit-mothers near by would say if she had given a toy boat to their child.

Estelle stood to put the boat in its place, and winced. Her bones ached. Only her hands, and fingers had been spared this hurt of age. She was hungery as well. She could not afford to eat more than one meal a day, and that one not so lavishly as she might wish. Curse this long cold! She thought to herself. I hope this balsted ice melts tomorrow, and then if it is never Winter again it will be too soon! The weather did not only affect her. The children were starving, or freezing their toes off outside and catching cold. Many of Estelle's young friends were sick, and two were dead. Estelle frowned as she lifted her ship to its place on the shelf.


There was a knock on her door.


"Who is it?" she hollered, already clamoring to the door.

"It is..." she opened the door as Tom Bracegirdle finished saying, "Tom."

"Mister Bracegirdle! Come in this instant before your feet turn to ice cubes!"

The hall was not much warmer than outside, and the only fire lit was in the study, so that is where they went. Estelle was bustling about happily: a visitor was always cheering.

"Now then Mister Bracegirdle! Will you take some tea?" She asked brightly, putting the kettle on the fire. "It's a good brew, though I am afraid I have no good vittles to go with it..."

"Thank you, my good lady!" said Tom, now eyeing the newest addition to to Mrs. Tunnelly's toy collection: a miniature boat. He grinned at it mischievously.

Estelle, catching the reason of his smile, said, "Do you like it? I finished just a moment before you showed up."

"Why yes I-" he was not allowed to finish.

"Speaking of which," said Estelle, " you did not come out in this weather just to have tea with an old woman. Do you need anything?"

Tom had, infact come to recruite the help of Mrs. Tunnelly in an expedition to get supplies. But once again, he was not allowed to speak.

"Mister Bracegirdle," said Estelle, "I am beginning to grow worried. If the weather does not change soon, we will miss the planting season, and everyone will starve! Now I have been thinking about it for some time, sir, and I have an idea: we should go to Rivendell, and I am sure the elves will help us. Or even Bree! They have not been so sore in their luck as we."

"Well Mrs. Tunnelly, I should have known you would want to be in on this..."