[Child of the 7th Age]

Hawthorne Brandybuck:

Hawthorne grimaced and flinched as Buttercup's grip inexcorably tightened. Buttercup wrenched at Hawthorne's arm and tugged her forward until the two hobbits stood together directly in front of the Inn. It was a sorry sight. A rush of grey smoke and fumes billowed out the open doorway and windows; part of the roof had been stripped away to prevent the fire from spreading.

"Look what you've done! You.....you.....Brandybuck!" Buttercup bellowed. The serving girl spit out her words one at a time to emphasize the enormity of Hawthorne's crime and then looked away as she fought back tears. The Inn was like a home for both her and Ruby.

Hawthorne felt her stomach lurch as she spied the look on Buttercup's face and surveyed the wreckage all around. Broken glass lay strewn all over the front courtyard; flowers and bushes trampled into the ground. She'd already learned that inside the Inn the wall separating the kitchen from the Common Room had vanished in a cloud of ash and dust. Worst of all were the injured guests, all lying about on mats, or still being rescued from the Dragon.

Hawthorne swallowed back her own tears and looked up in Buttercup's eyes, "You're right. It's my fault. I shouldn't have pretended to know everything about cooking. And I shouldn't have tried to prepare a meal without anyone's help."

Hawthorne sadly continued, "Only, what can I do now to make it right? I only wanted you two to like me. I spent all evening working the hardest I could. And yet you both treated me like a wraith from the Barrowdowns. But that still doesn't make what I did right....."

"Do you think the Inn will be saved?" she whispered over to Buttercup who shrugged her shoulders and head. Hawthorne stared down at the ground.

At that instant, the wind picked up. Great gusts hammered against the wooden frame of the Dragon threatening to spread the flames still further. Those same great gusts skittered across the skies, chasing fat grey clouds in the direction of the West Farthing. All about, the world went dark, with the sun totally hidden from view. Hawthorne opened one eye and peeped upward, afraid to be too optomistic.

Then she felt it. A single drop, then two. A few more and a light drizzle had started. Buttercup stared up at the heavens as the dark clouds whirled and swirled from one end of Bywater to the other. Soon a steady rain was falling.

All about her folk lifted up their heads and marvelled as the blessed rain hit the earth. If the fire brigade could put out the blaze inside the Common Room, the steady rain would do the trick outside. This was no time to slack off on their efforts. The Inn could still be saved. Both hobbits raced over to the line of firefighters and picked up pails, joining a large number of folk who surged forward again to put a stop to the fire once and for all.