The White Horse Inn, Act III

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Saeryn smiled to see the happy faces on Eodwine and Giedd. She excused herself politely and, taking a pair of apples, headed to the stables.

Surely my dearest is well cared for, but there's no thing better than to cosset her every so often. And after she guarded me after the fall...

Saeryn entered the stables silently to the calming sounds of horses. Though it was still quite early, these were mounts of Rohan, and as such, had the love of cantering through the tall grasses as a born trait. She wanted to take out her mare for a brisk morning run, but after the head injury... she fingered the bruise, all but disappeared, yet still tender. T'was not such a good idea. She entered the stall and ran her fingers along her horse's jaw line, caressing her silky fur. The mare butted her playfully, smelling the apples that Saeryn held hidden behind her back. She gave in easily and handed the mare one, finger combing imaginary snarls in her mane.

A quiet sound interrupted her.

"Hello?" she called. "Is there anybody in here?"

[littlemanpoet]

"I am glad to see that my offensive cup has done you no more damage than a stain soon gone," Eodwine greeted the lady Giedd with a smile as she returned from Saeryn's room in a new dress. The dress was such that a young woman might wear. Eodwine took note that though Giedd was doubtless ten, maybe even twenty years Saeryn's senior, the dress became her. An enchantment, after a fashion, for dress and wearer seemed one, so well it fit her. In fact, Eodwine saw that she was fair to look upon, which her own day-clothes had hidden.

Eodwine held out her chair for her and she sat, giving him another smile of thanks.

"What a pretty dress!" Gudryn exclaimed. Giedd thanked the girl.

Eodwine sat down and still smiling, looked at the lady Giedd. It was not as if he had been dead to the world, but he suddenly felt as if he had woken up, for here sitting near him was a woman who was the wife of no man, was not too young nor too old, and she was not ugly - far from it - and he had just been talking earlier of how he needed a mother for his foster-daughter, a wife for himself. And here was this woman. She looked his way and flushed at the attention, and looked at the table before her. Eodwine did not look away.

"Tell me, lady Giedd, where do you live in Edoras? May I hear of your family?"

"Aye, Lady," said Garreth loudly, "tell us somewhat about yourself!"

Eodwine glanced at Garreth briefly, then looked back at Giedd. Gudryn's eyes were wide, darting back and forth between the woman and her foster-father. Yes, she had woken to the same thought as had see, it seemed. He winked at her and was rewarded with a big grin. Gudryn then turned to the lady Giedd.

"Yes, Lady, please do tell us all about yourself!"

[VanimaEdhel]

Giedd felt all eyes fall upon her as Gudryn too insisted that she relate her history.

“Well,” she faltered at first, “There is not much to tell about myself. But I will tell what little there is.”

When she started speaking, Giedd found herself halting every few moments, as though afraid she would spoil the tale. A few minutes into her tale, however, she found her voice growing stronger – the rest of the table seemed to melt away. She found that her voice came louder if she looked at Gudryn and, to her surprise, at Eodwine during the fairly unexciting recount of her life until this point.

“I’ve lived my entire life here,” Giedd started, “I do have an older brother – Rynan. He is five years older than I. He has a wife and two children. I do not see him as much as I did years ago – he is busy with his new life. He lives in a town not too far from Edoras, but far enough that it is a hassle to visit regularly. The two of us were raised within the walls of this city. My father worked at odd jobs all his life. We weren’t rich, but I guess you could say we were comfortable enough – we certainly were never in want of food or shelter. My mother took good enough care of us, and we played with the other children in the town.

“Fifteen years ago, when I was only twenty-three, Rynan met his wife. She was the daughter of a neighbor of ours. After her parents died, she and Rynan decided to move out of the city. That left me alone with my parents. They started growing older, and they looked to me to take care of them. My father had a little put away, so I did not have to struggle to find serious work while I cared for them.

“I spent most of my time caring for my parents – up until five years ago. Hyldo, my mother, died then – it was of old age, and she went gracefully. However, that killed what was left of the spark in Frécne, my father. He lived for his wife. Three years ago, he too passed away. It was not particularly traumatizing,” she paused and scratched her nose absently, then resumed her story, “I had been expecting their deaths for a while. To me, they were, in fact, rather like corpses to care for. Though they avoided illness in old age, it did not treat them well.

“We buried Frécne next to Hyldo – Rynan came back into town with his wife and children. He stayed with me for a bit, but then he had to return to his own business. That was when I realized I would have to start caring for myself. I was able to stay in my parents’ house, so I did not have to look for an abode of my own.

“I suppose I kind of fell into sewing. I know I am no master at it, but it supplements what little I make caring for children while their mothers are away.”

“You care for children?” Garreth interrupted. He received a sharp look from Eodwine, and he quickly fell quiet.

“Yes – mothers pay me to watch their children while they go to market and the like,” Giedd smiled at Gudryn. The girl returned the smile brightly. “I guess I just spent so much of my life caring for others, that it’s kind of what I know how to do. It is nice, though, caring for children rather than the aged and dying. Watching people in the spring of their lives is far preferable to watching autumn move to winter. Both ages have their glory, but death still always has a melancholy ring to it.”

Giedd paused for a moment, frowning now. Her life really did seem like a pattern, caring for others.

“But you never married?” Giedd found herself shaken out of her reverie.

“No, I did not,” she said, still frowning slightly.

“Was it by choice?” Garreth obviously did not intend any rudeness in his curiosity – rather like a child in his frankness, Giedd thought. This led her to smile at him as well.

“Well, I always intended on marrying when I was younger. When my brother got married, I figured it would soon be my turn. I problem was that – I don’t know. I suppose I assumed that a husband would find me. Now I know it does not work that way. Not only because of my own experience, but because I have seen young ladies that have offered their services, helping care for children with me to make an extra bit of money for their families. They never really just ‘fell into marriage,’ the way I always assumed it would be. They actually went out looking – searching for a husband, and trying until they found one. I was just never that aggressive. Now, I suppose, it’s too late.

“The thought of being alone does not depress me, necessarily,” Giedd found herself continuing, “It would be nice to have someone, but, if that is not what is to be, then there are worse things in life. Though I may come home to an empty house at night, I am not strictly alone during the day. I enjoy caring for children, and I have friends in the mothers that leave their young ones with me. Many of the women,” she mused, “Were playmates of mine when we were younger.”

Giedd trailed off again, thinking about the women she knew that had families – sometimes children preparing to be married themselves – and the times they had when they were children. The table fell silent. Garreth looked like he might want to say something again, but seemed to be wary in pushing his luck with Eodwine.

“Well,” Giedd said, smiling. The silence had become unbearable to her. “That is my story. There is far less mystery to it than many – there are no portions of my life I am ashamed of, I regret to say, so I have no need to hide any part of it. Does that sate your curiosity, Gudryn, or is there more you desire to know? And I do not mean that as any sort of reprimand: I suppose, now that I am finished with my tale, I leave myself open to further questioning from anyone.” Giedd looked around the table at the men and especially Garreth, who still looked as though he was struggling with himself – wondering whether it was safe to comment.

[Nerindel]

The young girl ate hungrily ripping great chunks off with her teeth and barely chewing before swallowing the stale bread, which rasped at the back of her dry throat as it went down. But she did not care, she was just so grateful to be at last filling at least a little of the gapping hole that sat painfully in her stomach. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a fair sized wooden watering bucket nestled amongst the straw next to the stall door, barely able to contain herself she scrambled forwards on her hands and knees and peered over the rim. Unable to believe her luck she stared for a moment at her grimy reflection in the still clear water, then plunging her hands in the cold water she eagerly brought some up to her dry, cracked lips. The water had barely passed her lips when an enquiring voice startled her.

“Hello? Is there anybody in here?”

Æòelhild froze like a frightened deer wide eyed with fear. So eager had she been to stave her hunger and quench her thirst that she had not heard anyone enter the stable. what if it was the owner of the bread she had just eaten come to find what had become of if …..what if someone had seen her enter the stable…..or the stable mistress…or… or ? As these thoughts and more filled her mind she panicked, her dark frightened eyes desperately searching for a means of escape. However without moving and giving herself away she could not see anything passed the walls of the stall she had chosen to hide in.

Silently wishing she had had sense to chose a better hiding place, she simply closed her eyes and held her breath shrinking as small as she could hoping beyond hope that whoever it was would simply think they had imagined her rustlings or even better attribute it to one of the horses currently inhabiting the stables.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

At the sound of her voice, the sounds had all but disappeared. Saeryn stepped from Dawndancer's stall and looked toward the direction of the conspicuously absent noise.

Perhaps a horse? she thought. Or did I not hear mention of a litter of kittens?

She moved down the line of stalls, stopping to caress each horse and to look in the stall. If there were kittens in there, she would move them. Accidents happened with horses' hooves, and she did not desire to find the younglings too late.

She stroked the nose of a handsome gelding. His fur gleamed golden in the morning light. A slight rustle sounded from the stall opposite. Saeryn turned, crossing the aisle in a few short steps. A small girl knelt huddled in a corner. If will could make one invisible, she surely wouldn't have been there.

"Here little girl," said Saeryn softly. "what's wrong? I thought you were a kitten." She smiled, offering the second apple to the terrified child.

[Imladris]

I licked my pink nose as I contemplated the White Horse Inn. Long had it been since I had stayed here, and, if truth be revealed, I could not remember if it had changed much. We felines care little for remembering that which is nostalgic in nature -- we care about the breeze upon a warm sunny day, or recalling a particular patch of dirt which is perfect for a lovely roll (though I usually deferred such pleasure in the company of humans, for the dirt tends to tarnish my auriferous coat), and, of course, we care mostly about ourselves. But that is niether here nor there...

The first thing to do now that I had arrived was to groom away all signs of travel and once more allow my glorious fur to glisten and shine in the bright sun. (You will not imagine how thankful I am that I was not arrayed in a sable coat, which the sun tends to dull and fade. But with my own golden fur, the sun seems to compliment it instead of destroying its beauty.) Grooming one's self is pure pleasure...I still cannot fathom why some of my human acquaintances are reluctant to take baths (which is their coarse version of grooming).

Once done with this, I sauntered towards a building that seemed to be some sort of stable. I sniffed the air delicately...ah yes, there it was. The distinct emanation of horse. My lips curled in distaste, and I wrapped my slender golden tail about my paws. Horses are -- ah how to put it in a way which does not violate my dignity -- bereft of all sort of eloquence and grace. Of course, what could one expect with such clumsy lumps of wood that served as feet. Why, they even had to suffer the indignity of wearing shoes. I could not help but laugh at the thought. Of course there were some horses that were distinguished from their common fellows, such as the Mearas, but they did not count in my general assessment of horses in general.

I yawned mightily. I was weary with my travels, and a warm puddle of sunlight beckoned to me. I licked my paws, layed down right down in the middle of it and gave myself up to sleep.

[Nerindel]

As Æòelhild slowly uncurled herself to face the voice addressing her Saeryn stepped back slightly surprise, for this was no mere child as first appeared but a girl of nearly 15 yrs. However Æòelhild neither noticed the surprised look or the warm smile that followed, she was staring hungrily at the delicious red apple in the woman’s outstretched hand, debating whether or not to take it. However her stomach decided for her as it let out another pained rumble, quickly snatching the fruit before the owner had chance to changed her mind she lowered her eyes and mumbled a quick thanks before biting into it’s crisp red skin. Within seconds only the core of the apple remained , wiping her mouth with the back of her grimy hand Æòelhild again thanked the stranger.

“your quite welcome” the young woman smiled and this time Æòelhild looked up to see bright auburn curls framing the woman’s friendly face and to her relief the woman’s eyes mirrored her smile with no hidden suspicion but a slight gleam of curiosity.

“What are you doing in here?” the auburn haired woman asked softly.

“I…I..I only wanted to rest a while,” Æòelhild stammered defensively pulling back as the stranger came to kneel beside her.

“it’s ok , my name is Saeryn, what’s yours?” the young woman asked still smiling pleasantly.

“Æò…” she began encouraged by the woman’s friendly manner and genuine interest, but stopped remembering her plight and weighing the danger of her name being overheard by others who would carry it back to…. Oh she could not even bare to think of it. “Æòel, my name is Æòel,” she quickly replied with a weak uncertain smile of her own.

“Your not the stable master are you?” she asked nervously biting her lower lip as she regarded at the woman‘s almost masculine attire, “I wasn’t going to stay long, I swear I wasn’t, I am just so tired.” she quickly explained, choosing not to rely the tale of the stolen bread. “But I will go if you tell me too.” she said, again lowering her eyes to stare at the golden straw beneath her tired aching bones.