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Old 06-10-2007, 01:44 AM   #523
Dunwen
Wight
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 107
Dunwen has just left Hobbiton.
Peri Greenhand

Riding through Stock, the young hobbit gawked openly at the village's houses, turning her gaze from one side to the other. Of course Periwinkle knew that hobbits in the Marish often lived in houses, Man-style. And many hobbits had barns -- her own family did, in fact. But an entire town of houses was a strange and exotic sight. Some rose to amazing heights! Fascinated, she craned her neck to look up at windows that must be at least 12 feet off the ground. Despite being a well-bred young hobbit lady, she bounced, just a tiny bit, in her saddle (making her pony, a sturdy little bay, toss its head in annoyance).

What a good idea it had been to come to Stock! She had never been away from the Tookland before, but she'd heard her Dad mention the Golden Perch Inn and its famous ale often enough. Now that she had reached Stock, however, she had to find the Inn. The one drawback to being on the road, Periwinkle had discovered, was that one missed regular meals. Why, she had eaten only one breakfast and her lunch all day! Granted, she had stopped for a snack at eleven that morning, but a large apple and a muffin washed down only by water from her bottle hardly constituted elevenses. She'd thought to get directions through the town from a kindly-looking farmer working a field on its outskirts, so she chirupped to the pony and continued on her way, eager to get to some hot tea and a warm meal.

Periwinkle Greenhand had missed very few meals in her brief and comfortable life. For one thing, her father had a prosperous farm near Tuckborogh, raising enough most years to feed his family with extra to sell at that town's market. For another, her mother canned, preserved, pickled and dried as much of the farm's harvests as possible, with the help of Periwinkle and her two younger sisters, as if they had to prepare for the Fell Winter every year.

And for a third thing, her mother was a Took by birth. She wasn't a member of the Old Took's immediate family, but the former Agatha Took had gained a small share of the Took fortune and a full share of her own pride. Which was why Peri had risen much earlier than usual to do her chores, then made up a small (by hobbit standards) bundle of food, saddled her pony and headed out of the farmyard down the Stock Road. She wasn't quite running away, having left a letter telling her plans where her Dad would find it. But she was sick to death of Mum's constant attempts to marry her off. Mum had always had an eye on the local lads to see who might be the most advantageous match, but since Peri had come of age last year, it had gotten much worse.

The feisty hobbit normally drove off unwanted suitors with relatively little effort, but Mum's latest favorite, Mungo Sackville, refused to be deterred. Even when Peri purposely cooked him a 'dinner' of tough, over-salted mutton, doughy bread, burnt vegetables and rock-hard cake, he had not stopped his frequent visits. If the stubborn fellow had expressed tender sentiments toward Peri herself, she might have tolerated his company. However, young Mr. Sackville's greatest interest appeared to be the the size of her eventual share of the farm and the fine furnishings in the Greenhand burrow. He also had an irritating habit of complaining about the amount of time Peri spent wandering in the woods and fields near the farm. She herself thought it was a miracle that she hadn't brained him with one of the well-made iron pots in the Greenhand kitchen. The last straw had been when Mistress Greenhand had started pointing out, on a daily basis, that Mungo's holding bordered their own, and that he had a large burrow perfect for raising large family.

"Ha!" said Peri to herself. Mungo and Mum would have a hard time pressuring her to marry when she wasn't there. 'And it's not just that I don't want Mungo,' she thought to herself. 'I don't even know what I do want, and I can't ever get a chance to think about with those two pestering me, and the garden and the chores and everything.' She hoped she'd be able to clear her mind while she visited Stock.

Before her in the fine spring evening was a large building whose sign displayed a large golden fish. She'd found the Inn, and now it was time to find a late tea, followed by an early dinner! Peri turned the pony into the yard, where she could hear several voices. Dismounting, she looked around for someone who could stable the animal.
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