Eorling Mead Hall

[littlemanpoet]

Eodwine's dreams kept him in a fitful slumber all night long. He was walking on the main road in Edoras, and King Eomer and Queen Lothiriel passed him on horses, saying "Catch up!" "I can't! My feet are stuck in this mud!" he called back. Mud? He looked down, and sure enough he was knee deep in the stuff. Marenil walked right by him, on solid ground. Lefun and Ritun came by and stopped, offering a hand up. Eodwine reached for his hand, but Lefun and Ritun were suddenly Saeryn and Kara, and he recoiled from them. "Go your way! I'll struggle through!" Saeryn began weeping. "I won't be your broom handle, nor your shoes!" As they ran off on one pair of legs, Kara looked back reproachfully. Then he was in bed, his covers all mussed up. Falco was his nurse, trying to force a milky Hobbitish concoction down his throat. "Drink your Old Toby!" he said. Eodwine spit the white pipeweed out of his mouth. "Leave me be!" "Fine!" cried the Hobbit, "I'll go look for monsters instead!" He stomped from the room and slammed the door, the sound of which was suddenly Garreth's tankard slammed against the Mead Hall board. "More mead! More lasses! More more more!" There was Marenil at his shoulder. "You really need to make him pay for his food and drink, Eodwine." Then the Mead Hall melted away and they were at Sorn's old landholding, and Linduial was scolding him for not coming sooner. "But the mud held me up!" he insisted. "That's no excuse! With all of your servants you should have had the mud brought along with you!"

A cock crowed. Eodwine lifted his bleary eyes. His bed covers were indeed thoroughly mussed up. He struggled out of the knotty mess and went to the window. The sun was bright and he had to squint. Nasty sun. Who was that in the courtyard, horse already packed, ready to leave before breaking fast? Saeryn. What is she doing up so early, and where is she going?

Then he recalled: after he had left Kath in the kitchen, he had gone to Saeryn's room, his way lit by a single candle, and knocked on her door. She had come out in the corridor and they had spoken. Their words could not be heard farther than a few yards distant, but Eodwine's face was serious and he was calm as he spoke his peace. Saeryn did not meet his eyes, but listened, her eyes steadily staring at the floor a few paces away. Finally she sighed and nodded. They bid each other a good night's sleep, and Saeryn went into her room. Eodwine had gone to bed and quickly fell into his fitful slumber.

She was going to the Queen, to live under her tutelage for the time being. Though his intention was to be as a father to her, they had finally agreed that for the time being it would be best to stay with Lothiriel. She would be at peace and free from rumors; at least those of a certain variety.

"Saeryn!" he yelled. She looked over her shoulder once, to reveal a face not altogher happy. He waved from the window. She lifted her hand in a half-hearted gesture, then quickened her actions with the horse.

Eodwine sat on his bed glumly. All in all, things had not gone very well at all in regard to Saeryn, for he felt that he had forced her away by his ill-handled warrings of wants. He considered going back to bed, but decided to get up. He did so, but in an ill-humored mood.

[Celuien]

"Garmund. Wake up." Garstan rocked his son's shoulder, trying to stir him out of sleep. Garmund rolled in his blanket and rubbed his eyes. He opened them and seeing his father, quickly closed them again.

Garstan laughed and pulled the blanket away. "Out of bed! You wouldn't want to be late for work, would you?"

Garmund slowly sat up, swinging his legs around to the side. "Do I have to do this? I'd really rather stay and work with you." His voice was hopeful for a moment. If he could win his father's good graces again, maybe he could avoid going to shear sheep with Cnebba.

"I'm sure you would, but it's still time to be off to the sheep."

There was no way out. "What about breakfast? We have to have breakfast first."

Garstan had thought of that. "So you must. Here." He handed Garmund sweet rolls and milk. "You can eat that while you dress for the day. No time to lose! Hurry!"

Garstan left the room grinning, and as he closed the door, gave way to laughter. The boys would learn a lesson today.

[Folwren]

Javan woke only a little bit after first light. He rolled out of bed at once and as quietly as he could contrive, he slipped into his clothes and quietly exited the room. He hurried down the dim, silent corridor, down the stairs, and long that hall, and then out the side door. He went at once to the stables, knowing that there he would probably find Léof already up and at work.

As he entered the stables, though, he nearly ran into someone who he did not expect to see. He stepped back quickly. It was Saeryn, and she was leading her own horse out. Javan said nothing, but let her pass with only a look of wonder. Then he turned and went on to find Léof. He found him at work in the recently emptied stall.

“Good morning, Léof,” Javan said, looking in. “I thought I’d be the first one up and in here visiting you and the horses.”

----

Thornen woke sometime later. He yawned and rubbed his eyes and then sighed a little as he saw his brother’s empty bed. He must have slept like a log in order to have remained asleep while Javan got up and dressed. As he washed his face and arms quickly and pulled on his shirt, he wondered absently how long Javan had been up, and what he had done with himself.

In a few minutes, Thornden made his appearance in the hall. There were a few people up already. Garstan with Garmund were just passing through. Garmund seemed to be eating his breakfast on the run, with a roll in each hand. Thornden looked after the two with curiosity. Garstan had a strange look of trapped merriment in his face, and Garmund looked grumpy, more so than a boy might usually look just roused out of bed. In a moment, they had left and Thornden was left to wonder.

Eodwine also was there. He sat alone, at the edge of the long table, eating his breakfast. Thornden went quickly to the kitchen to get a plateful, and then came back out and approached the eorl. He studied Eodwine as he approached. The man did not look altogether refreshed after his full night’s sleep, and a strangely sad expression hung about his face. Thornden placed his plate down on the table opposite him.

“Good morning, my lord,” he said. “May I join you?”

Eodwine looked up. “Of course, Thornden! Please, sit down.” Thornden did so at once. For a few moments there was silence between the two of them.

“Eodwine,” Thornden said, breaking the silence at last. “Last night I introduced my brother to you. I have been thinking, or I did last night before going to sleep, about what he should do while he is here. I was wondering if it would be at all possible for him to work with Léof in the stables? I know that he loves horses and always has. I am not certain, though, of how well he handles them or anything. But I thought…I thought that since Léof is always there, almost, Javan would have the chance to learn a lot about horses by working with them personally, but would also have someone with him to make sure that he did nothing detrimental to the horses. Would that be possible – for him to help Léof? I am not sure that Léof needs help, you understand. And I am also not certain that you had nothing else you wanted Javan to do instead. That is why I speak with you before I suggest it to either Javan or Léof.”

[littlemanpoet]

Thornden sat quietly a few moments, busying himself with both his fodder and his thoughts. Not that Thornden ate like a horse, except perhaps in quantity. Eodwine thought to himself that he could hardly expect to have a quiet breakfast alone, sitting in the mead hall. Pah! Mere selfishness mixed with self pity. Enough of that! If Saeryn needs to go rousting about like a vagabond instead of a lady of the court who knows better, that is her business and not yours. His mind growled nonetheless.

Thornden spoke up with his typical earnestness. Eodwine forced himself to keep irritation at bay, and not wish that the young man would come to his point - it would just be more grumpy self-pity - so he listened in silence.

Javan as Léofric's helper. Eodwine barely knew the boy. Thornden's brother he was. Which meant that he was just as earnest, or just as likely the flip side of that coin. Oldest brothers had a way of being responsible, and their young brothers tended not to be. But it would not be fair to base judgement on mere likelihood.

"If Léof will have him, then Javan may work with him. He shall be answerable to Léof for all that he does in the stables, and Léof will report to both you and me in a week's time as to Javan's fittedness to be ostler's helper. Does that suit your wish?"

[Firefoot]

“’Morning,” answered Léof. He smiled briefly over at Javan before returning to mucking the stall. “You weren’t quite the first person here – you may have seen Saeryn on her way out – but I think you could claim to be the first one out here to visit.” Although Javan had only been here at the inn for a day, Léof thought he could easily get used to having him around – he didn’t typically mind, but most of his days were rather lacking in human company.

“So how did your meeting with the Lord Eodwine go?” asked Léof. “Have you found what you will be doing at the Hall?”