[Imladris]

Nerindel's post :

A young woman carefully cracked several large eggs into an iron cooking pot that sat over the log-burning stove in the kitchen of The Vineyard Tavern. The young woman was Ædhral, the Taverns kitchen assistant. However, at present the inn was short a cook and Ædhral was forced to assume the position until an adequate replacement could be found, but she never complained in fact she rather quite enjoyed preparing the taverns meals and as yet, there had been no complaints. Her face was red from the heat of the stove but she paid it no heed and carried on diligently, adding milk to the eggs and stirring the pots contents into a scrambled consistency. The smell of sizzling bacon wafted up from the oven, fresh bread and rolls cooled by the open window and now the eggs where almost done, she allow herself a satisfied grin as she removed the eggs from the heat and took the bacon from the oven. Setting the bacon aside, she wiped her brow with the back of her hand, tucked a loose strand of escaped dark hair behind her ear and returned to give the eggs one final stir.

A sudden clatter from behind her made her start and she turned her head to see a greasy mop of dark hair poke through the door that connected the kitchen to the common room of the Tavern. It was only Finian the young proprietor of The Vineyard Tavern, “We are having a bit of eggs and bacon this morning, Finian,” she smiled.

“We have not had bacon for a very long time” Finian grinned. She smiled back with a slight nod of her head, it had been a long time but the butcher’s young enigmatic son had offered her some at a reasonable price and she knew it would go down well.

“We do not have as many hungry guests this morning as we normally do,” Finian said, and although he did not say it, she knew that he was thinking of when his father was alive and the tavern was near bursting at the seams with guests. “But we have enough.” He nodded a half smile about his lips.

Ædhral watched him retreat into the common room, it had been a year since Aeron had been lost in a spout of Dragons fire and the original tavern crushed under the belly of the beast. But even in his grieve Finian had been determined to rebuild the Tavern, though he had not been sure how. But they all helped out where they could. Rochadan like the other able-bodied men of Esgaroth had gone with Bard and the elves to the lonely mountain and left little Sallie in her care, but on his return, he helped Finian to rebuild the Tavern. It had taken them months but she knew that if Aeron were able to see what they had accomplished he would be proud. She just wished that Finian could see it and believe a little in himself.

She had to admit that it had been strange at first thinking of Finain as the new innkeeper, he was two years younger than her and like a brother, all the staff where like family to her, even the inn’s server Kannah who’s dry humour was almost always last on her. Finian’s father Aeron had taken her in almost three years ago, when her grandfather a regular of the tavern had passed away leaving her an orphan at the age of sixteen. She was always grateful to Aeron, for the opportunity he had given her and looking up to him as a father. His passing hit her hard, but she had to be strong for the others. Giving Finian the support he looked for, comforting and consoling Ærosylle and looking after Sallie for Rochadan, Even Kannah had taken strength from her, though she knew her friends pride would never allow her to admit it. But she did not grudge any of them, they where her family and if they needed her to be strong then she would be strong, she had grown a lot in the past year they all had, but with it their bonds of friendship had also grown stronger.

“Daydreaming again, now there‘s a surprise!” The Sarcastic remark caught her of guard and she blinked as she snapped out of her thoughts. Kannah walk across the kitchen floor towards her an empty tray in her hands waiting impatiently for it to be filled. Ædhral merely smiled as she spooned the scrambled eggs on to plates and sided them with bacon, and continued to listen as Kannah went on to describe how one young man had had the audacity to ask her if she was having a nice day. She bit her bottom lip to suppress a laugh as she put the bread and rolls into baskets and heaped the orders carefully upon Kannah’s tray and as soon as she had, Kannah turned and pushed her way back into the common room.

She let a quiet laugh escape her lips as she turned back to the stove, Kannah was always amusing company, even if she was a little sarcastic and dry, but Ædhral never took any of the woman’s biting retorts to heart. It was just the way Kannah was and she had learned to accept that that was just the way it was.

The rear door to kitchen opened and in walked the Taverns Stable Master, Rochadan with little Sallie firmly attached to his hip. “Good Morning, Ada!” The little girl smiled brightly.

“And good morning to you my lady,” she grinned, wiping her hands on her apron and dipping a playful curtsy, which made the little girl giggle. “Oh my, what have you two been up too?” she laughed seeing the mud that caked Sallie’s hands and the stable master’s face.

“Making mud pies for the kitties.” Sallie laughed as she too saw the mud caked to her fathers face.

“What!” Rochadan exclaimed defensively now that the two of them were laughing at him.

“It seems the princess has bestowed a gift upon you noble knight, in fact two gifts good sir!” she laughed. Taking a cloth from the table and soaking it in the warmed water in the kitchens stone sink and wringing it out she offered it to Rochadan who had now remembered the muddy handprints on his cheeks and was playing along. She listened to father and daughter as they washed for breakfast and she set the table for the Taverns staff, several times Kannah returned to fill her tray, but then was gone again as quickly. They took meals in shifts; so that there was always someone waiting on the Taverns guests, once she had eaten, she would relieve Kannah and Finian so that they could eat.

“Did you find Ærosylle?” Rochadan asked as he and Sallie returned to sit at the table.

“No, I had hoped she would return for breakfast, but ….” her dark eyes wandered to the door as if she half expecting the troubled young girl to walk through it as if nothing was wrong.

“I will go look for her!” Rochadan said rising from his seat.

“Thank you Rochadan, I am worried about her, you know how she can get.” The Stable master nodded his understanding.

“I won’t be long, save me some bacon!” he winked to Sallie and lifted a warm roll as went out to look for Ærosylle.

Ædhral sat down to have some breakfast and to keep Sallie Company until her father returned, hopefully with Ærosylle in tow.