[Kath]

Astilwen had eventually found the Innkeeper after wandering through the kitchens. She was pretty busy with a pair of Big People children so she waited until she had finished with the girl child and just slipped in for a moment to ask for a room. The woman gladly gave her one and gave her directions. Astilwen hurried up the stairs to the room and gratefully sank into a warm bath. Once she was clean and had worked all the nasty kinks out her muscles she dressed again and went downstairs.

Her stomach had been rumbling in the bath and she realised that she must have missed dinner the night before and though the morning was getting late she would prefer to have a breakfast rather than a lunch. She moved to sit down at a table, not realising that there was already someone sitting there as he was so wrapped up in a black cowl. Startled she jumped up but caught her foot on the table leg. She fell, landing on the man's foot and taking the table with her with a large crash. Mortified she leapt up and began to try and put the table back to rights and apologised over and over to the poor man she had fallen on.

"I am so sorry sir I didn't realise you were there. I'll clean this up and pay for you to have another meal as I have ruined this one if you will just accept my apologies."

The man looked up as if in a daze and Astilwen realised that she had awoken him from a deep sleep. Now feeling even worse she carefully placed the broken crockery on another table and tried to right the one she had knocked over but found it too heavy. Straining with the weight she suddenly felt it lighten, and looked up to see the man setting it straight with a rather bemused smile on his face.