[Everdawn]

“Follow me, we have things we have to attend to, we need information and I know where we can get it.” Maén called to the group who looked unsure of what the young woman was telling them.

It would be now that Maén had to be wary, of everything, even in her own city. If the word of her expedition had become so known among the seedy underworld and at the Taverns of Minas Tirith, it could be true that some may plan to assassinate her. It was one of the many scenarios which had played through her mind. Presently though, she was several strides ahead of her companions, making sure that her cloak was wrapped firmly around her and the hood of her cloak was low so that she would not be recognised. Even though she did not know this area of Minas Tirith well, Maén found it effortless to move among the crowd, unseen and unnoticed and she was quite surprised at this, when she came to the fifth gate of the city she stopped and removed the hood of her cloak and looked back to see where the others were, a few yards behind. Smiling slightly she waited patiently for them to catch up. “What’s the hurry Miss Il Galoth?” Del said, obviously not grateful to the fact that Maén was one who did not like patience.

“I don’t rightly know.” She replied looking up towards the gate. “Now, are you all going to keep up with me? Or shall I have to walk at a turtle’s stride.” There no complaints from the men, nor from Crystal. And Maén was glad at this, how she would have rued it if Crystal had been a frail woman with no personality of her own. They began to walk again and Maén was so busy thinking that she had forgotten to raise the hood of her cloak back up.

“Maén Il Galoth!” the voice rang with a horribly annoying ring to it, like that of a parrot who talks so much that you would want to put a bag over it’s head. She stopped abruptly, so much so that Roryn bumped onto her back. Maén’s eyes narrowed and she turned around to meet the speaker. There were two of them, daughters of the courtiers, one tall one as small as Maén, and both of them unsightly. They were the primary gossip spreaders, and Maén hated them with a passion.

“See, I told you it was her!” said the taller women. “I told you so Dai”.

“Well, well, well, look what the Il Galoth griffin dragged in. News is this morning that you were kidnapped… But then I said to my mother that no one would dare kidnap you- You don’t keep your mouth shut.” All the while the women were talking among themselves, Maén managed to suppress a welling anger inside her.

“I heard that you went away and you weren’t coming back, or even that you had been killed by savages when you left.” Said Dai.

“Oh I would that it were you ” she snapped, incapable to control her rising anger, The two ladies stepped back, as if they had been slapped about the face.

“Oh you are a witch Lady Il Galoth!” one shrieked.

Maén wrapped her cloak around her once again passed them saying “Then leave it be before, before I drop a house on Thee!” she did not deny that it felt good, but it was typical of the way that she was treated among the court women. For a small while Maén kept walking silently and stopped outside a large Stone building. “Here we are.” She said

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 9:42 PM February 06, 2004: Message edited by: Everdawn ]