[Ealasaide]

Benia

Benia watched as Gilly placed a pot of apples, potatoes and dried meat into the embers of the dry wood fire the bounty hunter had lit before retreating to a far corner of the camp to sleep. She thought for a moment about what Gilly had said, then smiled.

"Gilly," she said at last. "I can't see you as a friend to a bounty hunter. What would Carl think?"

"Being a friend of one doesn't mean becoming one yourself, does it?" countered Gilly. "If that's the case, I think Carl will understand, though I'm not so sure about his mother."

Benia laughed merrily, for the first time in days. She was trying to picture the stir it would create in the Shire if Gilly and Carl were to invite the bounty hunter over for a dinner party. While she had never met Carl's mother, she could just imagine the look on an elderly hobbit lady's face at the sight of such a person as a guest in her son's home. After a few seconds, however, her expression sobered again.

"I imagine Carl's mother wouldn't think too highly of me either."

Gilly looked surprised, then shook her head. "Now, Benia..."

"No, it's true!" Benia shook her head sadly. "I must look quite the black-hearted foreigner. Even my father's family seems to think so." She paused and stood up, brushing the wrinkles out of her skirt. "They would probably be relieved to learn that I had been dragged back to Harad by my hair."

"But-" she smiled suddenly. "I'm not with out my usefulness." She walked over to where Kaldir had left her pack on the ground and, after rummaging around for a moment, came back to the fireside with a small, octagonal wooden box in her hands, which she gave to Gilly. Then, giving the gray horse a wide berth, she retrieved a water skin from where Kaldir had left his belongings. "I give you water and tea."

As Gilly opened the wooden box and breathed in the exotic aroma of black Haradrim tea, a contented smile spread across her face. Immediately, she filled an additional pot with water from the skin and set it in the fire to boil.

Returning to the fireside, Benia sat down again. As she and Gilly waited for the water to boil and the food to cook, Benia found her gaze drifting repeatedly in the direction of the bounty hunter's sleeping form. Looking at Gilly, she nodded in his direction. "Seriously, Gilly," she whispered. "What you said earlier about being his friend...what did you mean by that?"

She was thinking of her own impulse to reach out to the bounty hunter. When Gilly said that Kaldir had treated them well, better than expected, she was right. After all, he had given them food and horses, and no longer kept them bound or shackled in any way. He had even given their weapons back. It was all very strange behavior if his intent was to kill them or sell her into the hands of hostile tribesmen. Perhaps Gilly was right that he had another plan in mind for them. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to involve mistreating them, at least not at the moment.

When Gilly didn't answer right away, Benia continued. "I was thinking, too, that it might serve us well to befriend him. That is, if he will allow it. I've never seen a man so in need of..." she trailed off, shaking her head helplessly. "In need of I don't know what. But, perhaps if we helped him, we could earn our freedom."

Gilly nodded sagely. "That's exactly what I had in mind."

In her turn, Benia nodded as well. "He seems to like you," she added. "By that I mean he speaks to you. With me, he always seems angry, as though I have offended him somehow." She shrugged, remembering the gruff way he had spoken to her for the majority of the day. "Perhaps it is my appearance and he is not fond of the Haradwaithe. Anyway, I was thinking that maybe if you made some effort to speak with him, we might make some headway.”

Benia noticed a small frown crease the hobbit's forehead. “He watches you,” the hobbit lady said. “I’ve seen him do it.”

Benia smiled. “Well, I do represent cash for his coffers, after all. I suppose he is watching his money, but the way he barks and growls when he speaks to me, I don’t think he likes me much.”

Gilly looked thoughtful, but didn’t argue. “What should I talk to him about?”

Benia gazed into the fire. “I don’t know...food? Tracking?”

“I think he thinks I talk too much as it is,” sighed Gilly. “Maybe we should give up trying to talk to him and concentrate more on just being helpful. You know, cooking dinner, cleaning up, keeping watch. That sort of thing. It does seem to please him when we cooperate with him.”

“That’s true,” agreed Benia. “Maybe he just wanted some servants, eh?” For an instant, she almost believed that of him, but then she remembered the confrontation at the cave and knew it wasn’t true. Whatever he wanted of them, it went deeper than mere servitude.