[Thinlómien]

It was a beautiful day, one of those days when sun was playing hide-and-seek in the sky filled with little white clouds. It was good to be outdoors, Modtryth thought, it was good to be walking the strees of the city of Edoras.

Modtryth was strolling with a big basket in her arms and little Lèodern at her heels. She had a small basket of her own. Modtryth had talked with Garstan and they both had thought that it would be good for Lèodern to see how a household was managed. They had agreed that every now and then Modtryth would take her to town with her, but she wouldn't be purposefully taught or made to memorise anything - after all, Lèodern was still very young. This was the first time Modtryth had taken the girl with her, but as she had promised to buy the girl honeyed dried apples she had been more than willing to come with her.

Lèodern was telling Modtryth about her morning and how she had seen a little frog outside the stables. She seemed little moved by the Eorl's news. In fact, she was more concerned about the fact that the frog had seemed to have lost one of his fingers. The girl's lively chatting was interrupted by a hostile-looking skinny bearded man who stepped on her and Modtryth's way. He paid no attention to the girl and focused his attention to the woman.

"You're not wanted here. Go to your wilderness, you Dunleding whore!" he spat.
"I'm in the service of Eorl Eodwine", Modtryth replied calmly. She didn't move.
The man took it as a challenge. His eyes narrowed and fists clenched. Modtryth casually hushed Lèodern behind her.

"I can't believe the Eorl has sunk as low as to hiring barbarians", the man snarled. Another man appeared behind him. He gripped his shoulder. "Thored", he said firmly, "do not offend the Eorl's folk. Even if they are Dunleding whores." Grudgingly the man called Thored backed away. His friend cast one disrespectful look at Modtryth before following him.

Modtryth continued walking, but Lèodern wasn't following her. ”Come on, Lèodern, there's no time for idling”, Modtryth said, but her tone was gentle. Obediently, the girl came to her and took her hand. Her little face was sligthly troubled. Modtryth felt suddenly uneasy. This was not Cnebba who was more than accustomed to this kind of interactions, but a girl several years younger and probably with little experience about brutish people. Well, someday she must learn to deal with them, Modtryth thought, though she would have preferred protecting the girl from such harms, she was so young.

”Lèodern? Does something trouble you?” she asked. The girl just shook her head. Modtryth sighed. If the girl didn't want to say it to her, she shouldn't force it out of her. Lèodern would tell someone later, if it continued to trouble her.

Lèodern was a difficult case to Modtryth. Modtryth was fond of the gentle but spirited little girl. Most of the time she was affectionate to Modtryth. She seemed to enjoy her company and come to her to tell about her day or to ask something pressing her mind or something trivial. Sometimes, though, she was sullen and din't want to talk with her. Sometimes she didn't want to share her concerns with her. Modtryth suspected it had something to do with her mum missing. Modtryth believed Lèodern didn't want her to replace her mum. That was quite understandable. Modtryth wondered what had happened to Lèodern and Garmund's mother. She hadn't asked Garstan or his children about it. If some of them wanted to tell her some day, she'd be interested to hear it, but she wouldn't be fishing for the information.

~*~

Modtryth and Lèodern arrived at the beekeeper's shop. Modtryth bought candles and honey and the honeyed apples for Lèodern. As that was their last affair in town, they turned to walk back to the Mead Hall. They walked in silence. Lèodern was eating her sweets and Modtryth's mind was occupied with thoughts of the Eorl's moving and all the changes it would bring.

”Modtryth?”
”Yes?”
”Why did they call you that?”
”Why did they call me what?” Modtryth asked. She didn't feel like explainng the word ”whore” to the little girl nor to teach her the word by simply saying it was an ugly word used to offend a woman.
”A Dunleding. Why did they call you that?” She seemed angry.
Modtryth turned to face the girl. ”Because they probably thought I look like one.” Impulsively, she crouched so that her eyes were on the same level as Lèodern's. ”They were right, in a way”, she told the girl, ”I'm a half-Dunleding. My mother, she was a Dunleding.”

There was disbelief in the girl's big blue eyes when they met the woman's dark brown ones. ”You can't be”, she said, ”I've heard Dunledings are filthy barbarians. And dad said they wanted war with us.”
”I doubt they are any filthier than Eorlings. I don't think they are any more barbarians than we are, just different. And I'm sure not every Dunleding wanted war with Rohan.” Lèodern's eyes remained slightly doubtful.

”Lèodern. I'm an Eorling and porud of that. There is also Dunlending blood in my veins and I'm not ashamed of that either.” Suddenly Modtryth realised she really meant those words. There must have been mirth or triumph in her eyes, for Lèodern's face broke to a responsive smile.
”Come on, let's go now”, Modtryth said and they continued their way to the Eorl's hall.

~*~

They were already in the Mead Hall grounds when Lèodern stopped abruptly.
”Modtryth?”
”Yes?”
”Does that mean Cnebba is a Dunleding too?”
”He is three fourths a Rohanian”, Modtryth replied instinctively.
”Bu then he is part Dunleding?” Lèodern pressed.
”Yes”, Modtryth admitted. There was little point in trying to hide the facts. She had just declared she was not ashamed of her Dunleding roots. Should she then be ashamed of those of her son?
”Good”, Lèodern concluded. ”I want to see him now.”
Modtryth was confused and curious. ”Actually, I need to talk with him as well. I'll come with you to look for him, but first we must take these baskets to the kitchen.”

Luck favoured them. Cnebba was in the kitchen, chewing a carrot or what was left of it. Kara was also in the room, arranging some bottles in the corner. She greeted the newly arrived and then glanced at Cnebba. ”He said he felt like eating something so I gave him a carrot”, she told the boy's mother. She didn't say it as an excuse, merely stated a fact. Modtryth smiled and nodded. That was something she liked in the young woman.

Lèodern had moved to sit beside Cnebba at the kitchen table. ”Cnebba”, she said solemnly, ”I know you're a Dunleding, but you're still my friend.” There was a moment of awkward silence. Suddenly, Modtryth burst laughing and soon Kara was laughing too.

”Why are you laughing, mum? What's so funny?”, Cnebba demanded, his ears red. Lèodern looked puzzled, but there was a smug smile on her pretty face. Modtryth looked at the children fondly and shook her head. ”Never mind, my dear”, she said softly, ”never mind.”