The Green Dragon Inn - Part 10

[Eowyn Skywalker]

Willow turned around as another hobbit maiden stepped into the conversation. "Good afternoon, girls," said the newcomer. "My name is Mirabell Baggins, and I would be much obliged if you would chat with me a bit."

Willow smiled as she introduced herself. "I would be happy to have you join us, Mira." Then she stopped. "I can call you Mira, can I not?"

Then Willow remembered her manners. "I am Willow Overhill of the North Moors, and as for my companion..." She stopped, remembering that the smaller hobbit girl had not yet introduced herself. "Well, I'm afraid that I do not know her name... I'll let her introduce herself, I suppose."

She smiled, her brown eyes twinkling in the dim light of the inn. "And what brings you to the Green Dragon, Mirabell Baggins?"

Willow sat down on one of the stools, to await a responce from both of the two hobbits. And then something came to her mind. "And do either of you to play the fiddle?"

Her eyes sparkled; Willow had an idea now...

[Beruthiel]

Daisy grinned as she said hello and introduced herself to the two other hobbit lasses. At least she wasn't alone now but the problem was, she feared she would forget their names within a few minutes...'Willow Overhill, Mirabell Baggins...Willow Overhill, Mirabell Baggins...' She repeated over in her head while she continued to smile at the two hobbits. She was trying so hard to remember their names she only realised that Willow had mentioned something about fiddles.

Daisy's entire family played an instrument of some kind but Daisy had never stuck to just one. She'd tried the fiddle but her small hands found it tiring holding up the wooden instrument after a while. In then end, she gave up trying to learn an instrument altogether and enjoyed singing a lot more.

Daisy turned towards Willow and noticed the twinkle in her eye. She was obviously a music lover as well.
"I don't play the fiddle, but you look like a fiddle player. Give us a tune, after all, this is meant to be a party isn't it?"

[Feared Half-Elf]

Elkamia, still sat quietly in a corner, drained her wine glass and stood up. She'd stayed here quite long enough, and she didn't see any point in staying longer than she had to. She really did hate parties.

Her green-blue eyes swept over the common room, taking in the three hobbit women by the bar and the other people still here, and pushed open the door to leave. Once outside, she found the great tree she had taken a liking to. It would usually only have taken her a moment to climb onto some of the lower branches, but she was wearing a dress, and the action took rather longer to complete. Finally she managed, the white fabric of her gown draping over a branch along with her feet. The evening breeze stirred her long hair, and the leaves above her moved gently too.

She began to sing, a beautiful song in her own elven tongue, that had been passed through the generations. Although many would not know what the words meant, they gave a sense of wellbeing. The party was gone from her mind, and there was only the melody and the words. She lost herself in her favourite song, the song she had sung all those years ago in Minas Tirith, as Elessar began his reign.

[Firefoot]

A hobbit lass of 17 years on a chestnut colored pony trotted up the road. Up ahead she could see a pleasant looking building with a sign that proclaimed it to be the Green Dragon Inn. That must be it, she thought. She could remember her uncle's words to her before she left: If you're looking for a place to stay while exploring the Shire, The Green Dragon's the place for you. A good, respectable inn is the Green Dragon. Presently, she became aware of a clear voice singing in an unfamiliar language. By the fairness of it she guessed it to be Elvish, though she herself had never heard it before. She listened to the song until she got to the inn, where she turned her pony over to a stablehand and prepared to enter the inn.

She took a deep breath and let it out. "Here goes," she whispered almost inaudibly. She walked into the Green Dragon and headed over to the bookkeeper to request a room. She was handed a card which read 126. She headed up to her room to put her few things away. It didn't take long and she was soon headed downstairs, eager to join the rest of the patrons.

Unsure of where to go, she stood against the wall on one side of the inn and watched the other people. Standing at three feet five inches, the lass considered herself rather tall, but she felt quite short compared to all Bigfolk in the room. Coming from Bree, this was not an unknown sentiment to her, but she particularly felt it because she knew no one in the room. She saw three other hobbit lasses across the room and was trying to decide whether she should join them or not. They looked like they were having an enjoyable time but she didn't want to intrude on them. The latter feeling took preferance so she decided not to go over there, at least not yet. It the mean time she could amuse herself watching everybody else.

[Mad Baggins]

Willow smiled, her eyes twinkling. "And what brings you to the Green Dragon, Mirabell Baggins?" Before Mira could get an answer in, Willow interrupted with another question: "And do either of you play the fiddle?"

The other hobbit, Daisy, replied, "I don't play the fiddle, but you look like a fiddle player. Give us a tune, after all this is a party!"

Mira replied, "I don't play the fiddle either, but I do play the flute." Bringing out the little flute she had in her pinny pocket, she showed it to the other hobbits. They nodded in appreciation and Mira put it back. Looking at Willow, she noticed a sparkle in her eyes, the kind of sparkle people get when they have a spectacular idea.

Mira giggled and said, "Okay, Willow. What are you thinking? That twinkle in your eyes says you've got an idea, so let's hear it."

[Eowyn Skywalker]

Willow grinned at the other two hobbits. "Okay, Willow," said Mira, "what are you thinking? That twinkle in your eyes says you've got an idea, so let's hear it."

Willow smiled. "Well," she began. "Aman asked me to play the fiddle later on tonight, for she said I did all right on the violin. However, I..." she paused, searching for the right word. "I freeze up when in front of everyone. However, I was thinking, that if you two were musical in any manner, you could join me. And it seems you are too."

She glanced over at Daisy. "You asked for a tune, ehh? One little thing here, can you sing? I'll play you one soon, if you'd like, but I'd like some acompaniment later. If we could come up with a tune that all three of us know... Mira, you could play the flute, and Daisy, you could sing. This could be... interesting."

She stopped as she heard someone enter the room, and another hobbit girl entered the room. "Or maybe four of us," she added. "I think we may have another girl joining us."

Willow handed her fiddle over to Daisy. "Hold this, please, and be careful with it," she said. "I'll go and see if this newcomer would like to join us, after all, we hobbit girls should stick together in such a place as the Green Dragon."

Willow walked over to the newcomer, and introduced herself. "I am Willow Overhill," she said. "Would you like to join Mira, Daisy and I to chat? After all, we hobbit girls should stick together."

She smiled, and walked the new girl over to their group, and waited for her to introduce herself.

[Firefoot]

The hobbit lass was still standing against the wall when she saw that one of the three hobbit girls she had seen earlier was getting up. She was thrilled when the lass walked right up to her, but she tried to stay calm. The girl said, "I am Willow Overhill. Would you like to join Mira, Daisy and I to chat? After all, we hobbit girls should stick together." They both smiled, and she followed Willow back over to where the other two were waiting and watching them with smiles on their faces.

"I'm Lily Thistlewool," she said. The other two introduced themselves as Daisy and Mira. Then she noticed the fiddle which was still sitting in Daisy's lap. "Do you play the fiddle?" Lily asked.

"Me? No, this is Willow's." Daisy replied, and handed the fiddle back to Willow. The three hobbits explained their idea of Willow and Mira playing their instruments and Daisy singing that night.

"Do you play an instrument too?" asked Mira.

"Yes, I've been playing the fiddle for a couple of years now," replied Lily. "My fiddle has been my most treasured belonging ever since -" she paused awkwardly. She hadn't meant to say so much. "Ever since I began playing," she amended hastily. "I have it up in my room. I could go get it later." She waited for their replies, and hoped they hadn't noticed her slip up.