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"Asphodel! Asphodel!" came a voice suddenly. Asphodel quickly stood up and looked around. She knew that voice.
"Asphodel?" it said again, and in another moment the owner of the voice came around the bend and towards the Dragon, only bothering to shed a fleeting glance at the ruined Inn before he took Asphodel in a tight embrace. For her part, Asphodel had never been so happy to see her father.
"I'm such a foolish Hobbit!" said Halfred Hamfast. "I should never have left you here. Imagine my horror when I heard from your aunt that the Inn had caught on fire! Your mother and sisters are worried sick. I have orders to bring you home immediately."
From his dry clothes and hair, Asphodel could tell that her father had only started his journey after the rain fall. He probably had not heard the news until then, which would explain why he had been late in fetching her.
Letting go of his daughter, Halfred said, "But Asphodel, you're soaking wet! Here," he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders, "keep warm. It is a mighty cold and windy day today." After another moment, he took her hand again and said, "I'm glad you're safe." Asphodel was glad too, but she was too tired to say so.
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