[Lalwendë]

Derufin’s words had been wise and Jinniver gained comfort from them. She had long thought that she had been touched by shadow, tainted by the past, but as he said, it was how a person acted that was the true test, and she had strived every day to be one of the good people.

On their way to inspect the flowerbeds, Derufin asked Jinniver what her halting speech about shadow had meant. She felt comfortable enough with her two new companions to say a little more, but she kept her head down all the same. It was still a painful memory and it was not so long ago.

“Before the Black Riders came, men came to Bree. They were not unlike us, though their manner of dress was somewhat foreign. At first, we avoided them, but soon we saw they wanted work, and lodging, and that they meant to stay. My father took on one young man as a hand on the farm and he became a friend to us, so much so that though I was young, we were betrothed quite soon. I was a silly thing, always dancing and singing. My head was full of dreams.

“My father said, and I thank the stars that he did this, that we must wait until we were both older before we were married. About that time the Riders passed through, and not long after came more men. My betrothed, he started to give me many gifts, urging me to go away and marry him. Something in me made me tell my brother about this, who told my father of course, and he turned out this…man” Jinniver did not want to say his name, that would be too much. “I did not see him again for some weeks.”

“One night, in the middle of the winter, myself and my father were woken by a gang shouting outside our farmhouse. They had flaming torches, and clubs, and they were brutish and drunken. I knew who they were, he was among them. ‘We are the masters now’ they shouted. ‘If you won’t give us this land then we are taking it’. My father, he came out in a fury. ‘Get you gone you ruffians!’ he shouted, and he made a run at them. He was still a lithe man at that time, but they were too many for him. They overpowered him, and had a knife at his throat, so out I came, grabbing the first thing I could find, my old hoe. I ran and took hold of the first man I could catch, throwing him to the ground. It was the man I had been going to marry.”

They had arrived at the cottage and Jinniver stopped a moment to look about her. This was a tale she did not like to think of, but it had still haunted her dreams ever since. It was a vivid tale to her, and her blood ran cold as she told it. She looked up and straight at Derufin and Andwise, fire in her eyes.

“I was shocked but I kept him pinned to the floor, his arms trapped under him. ’Release my father or this man dies’ I said. Of course they scoffed, so I swung the hoe about me using all the strength I had. Sharpened to a knife point it was, and I soon cut one of the men. He yowled like a dog, and they all shrank back into the darkness, dropping their weapons. I sat there until their voices had retreated far away. The man I had been going to marry, he had gone limp and lifeless and I tied his hands behind his back.

“My father and I, we left him in the road and packed all we could into our cart and rode into Bree as fast as we could go. And there we stayed through the winter while our farm was occupied. I saw the fight, and all those men were involved, but I did not see…him. When all was right again, and we returned to the farm, we found our crops spoiled and our nursery destroyed, and I forgot all about any dreams I might have had and set to work. I had to make amends, and that is why you see me here today. To earn a little more, that I might be able to give my old dad the retirement he deserves, and that he’d have had a long time ago, were it not for me being a silly girl.”

Jinniver looked away, and knelt to examine the old flowerbeds, gently handling a long forgotten rose which was struggling through the weeds. “This simple flower is worth more than dreams.” She sighed with relief and looked up, smiling at Andwise and Derufin. “That’s enough of dark and dramatic tales. You can be sure I will make you a fine little garden. I can already see what will flourish here, and that this will be a fair place.”