The White Horse Inn, Act II

[Horse-Maiden of the Shire]

Aleia sat eagerly, waiting for Bethberry to continue her story. But to her surprise, the Innkeeper bowed her head and began ushering her guests out. Aleia felt like a little hobbit-child who had been promised a toy but then had it taken away as she plodded wearily to her room.

Upon entering, she was delighted to see how cozy it was. It reminded her a lot of her room in her home back in the Shire. Aleia sighed as she remembered her home, with her father, brother, and sister. Her heart ached with a sudden pang of sorrow as she remembered her mother, who had passed away two years ago. Her poor father had taken it hard.

He had gotten worse when Aleia told him she wanted to be a traveller. He became sullen and tight-lipped, asking why she would ever want to do this. He thought she was deserting their family. She told him that she was tired of the traditional life, that she wanted to be true to her Tookish nature and go to see far-off places. He thought it was outlandish, even for Aleia Took to do.

Nonetheless, he had eventually given her leave and she had gone. Of course, she had no experience of travelling at all and she had not asked anyone for advice, so she got into many scrapes in the beginning. She hadn't thought of arming herself, which was foolish, but after a few incidents she got a hunting bow and some arrows. They had been used generously everywhere she had gone. Aleia shivered as she thought of the countless times she had hidden, quavering like a little mouse, in a tree while some enemy hunted below. Sometimes the enemy found her in the tree and attacked. Aleia winced as she rubbed her leg, where the memory of a sharp spear remained. A scar where a spear had stabbed her as she sat in a tree bloomed on her left ankle. Her leg had been hanging down and easy to reach. How foolish of her. Of course, after that she had become more wise about her travelling, but she had still gained a few more scars.

Oh, how hard her travels had been! She had nearly died of hunger and thirst several times, and had only been saved by the kindness of families in cottages. They took her in out of pity, fed her, and if they could gave her a bit of money. If only Father could see me now, she thought. He never believed that I would become a sort of beggar. She also gained money by trading or selling furs from animals she had shot in markets. Her thoughts travelled back to when she had been in the market in Bree and someone had tried to steal her coin pouch. He had been caught and persecuted, but that had been but a taste of the real world.

Her journey over the mountains had been cold, lonely, and hard. She had taken the easiest route she could, but she had just barely survived. There had been enemies, both alive and inanimate. Aleia had been running out of food when she finally got out of the mountains and back into the Sun. She was weak and so was Skeet, her pony, but she managed to shoot a rabbit and cook it while Skeet greedily munched the sparse grass.

Ah, Rohan! she thought. How different it was from the Shire! Everyone was so tall. The countryside was so open and the trees were so sparse. But most of the people were the same; kind, jovial, ready to laugh. The Inns were excellent, too. But after being in such different countries, Aleia now looked upon the Shire and the hobbits inhabiting it as a haven, the peoples naive to the goings-on. Everywhere else there was danger. The Shire was just about the safest place you could get.

Thinking about the Shire made Aleia homesick and weary, so she crawled into her bed. It was soft and warm, and it made Aleia realize how tired she really was. In a few moments she was closing her eyes, and in a few more she was snoring.

[ July 11, 2003: Message edited by: Horse-Maiden of the Shire ]