The Green Dragon Inn #11 - The Last Chapter

[Primrose Bolger]

Ginger was just making her way up to her room above the kitchen, when the sound of a familiar voice made her pause. ‘Wait up!’ she heard Buttercup call. ‘What’s that you’ve got?’ Buttercup drew near and reached out her hand, as if to take one of the books, but Ginger just held the two tomes all the tighter.

‘I promised Miz Bella I would keep them nice and neat for her. She’s leant them to me to take a look at.’ Ginger opened one of the books, the one with the pictures and the riddles, and showed it to Buttercup.

Picking up her apron, Buttercup wiped her hands thoroughly on it, and sidling in next to Ginger, held part of the book in her hand. Ginger turned the pages slowly as they looked at the neatly drawn, and often very funny, pictures. ‘Can you read what it says, Buttercup?’ the younger Hobbit asked.

Buttercup looked oddly at her friend. ‘Well, yes. I had Miz Callie Proudfoot for a teacher. Very strict on learning your letters and reading and writing proper.’ Ginger looked at her blankly. ‘She was that old teacher that retired years and years ago, I was just barely a tweenager when she taught her last classes.’ A look of comprehension came across Buttercup’s face. ‘She was the last teacher we had here in Bywater! You never got to do any learning with her, did you?’

Ginger’s cheeks pinked and she hung her head as she shook it. ‘Well, that’s not your fault, is it? And you all were busy enough on the farm that such things sort of got pushed to the side, I’ll bet.’ Buttercup patted her friend’s arm and closed up the riddle book. ‘You just bring that round to my room after supper, I can help you with it. Then you can show Miz Bella how good you’re doing.’

‘Thank you!’ said Ginger, smiling at Buttercup. Her eyes widened as she remembered something Miz Bella had told her. ‘Remember you asked me to ask her where she was from?’ Buttercup nodded her head. ‘She said she came from someplace called The New Lands. Showed me a map, too. It’s sort of like the one up in the Common Room – showed where the King lives – Gondor, right? And the Shire and all the way to the big sea on the left side where the wavy lines go right to the edge.’ Buttercup nodded again, wondering where Ginger would say the woman had come from. ‘Miz Bella’s map went further on the left . . . it wasn’t just the sea, there were some lands up in that top corner . . . The New Lands. And she sounded pretty familiar with them and not like she was just making them up.’

‘The New Lands?’ Buttercup’s brow furrowed as she tried to recollect anything she’d ever heard about them. ‘Well, now isn’t that just a puzzlement!’ She linked her arm through Ginger’s as they walked toward the younger girl’s room. ‘We’re just going to have to find out about those, aren’t we? They sound very, very interesting . . .’

A great booming voice called up the stairs, startling the two young women. ‘Have mercy! It’s Cook,’ said Buttercup. ‘I completely forgot she sent me up here to find you. It’s time to be getting the noon meal started.’ Ginger ran to her room and stacked the books on her nightstand. Then the two friends raced down the stairs to see what Cook had in mind for them to do.

[littlemanpoet]

"Kirsúl is looking well," Falowik said, watching as Uien groomed the bay stallion.

"Aye," she answered. "The ostler here does well."

"Hand me the purse and I will pay for his services and our meals."

----------------------

Falowik entered through the front door, crossing the Common room with every intention of settling up. On his way he overheard a stranger's odd query: "Have you ever been in love?" Falowik stopped.

The man of whom the question was asked rubbed his chin and look mightily uncomfortable in front of his cronies, who looked more and more ready with each passing second to rib him mercilessly. On a whim that he knew to be completely out of character for himself, Falowik announced,

"I have."

The heads of the others turned to him inquiringly. The one who had been sitting and facing the others asked, "Were you answering my question, sir?"

"Aye, that I was." Falowik walked over to the group. "You asked if any of these gentlemen had been in love. I happened by and heard your question, and thought I'd answer it. I have, and am. My love grooms our horse in the stable. My name is Falowik Stonewort."

Quickly he learned the names of two of the others with whom he spoke: Denegal and Galither; Falowik forgot the names of the two others as soon as he had heard them; he thought of asking again but decided to listen and see if he would pick them up again. He greeted each of them.

"I am curious," he said. "What drew the question forth?"

[Fairleaf]

The weather had made a marked change since yesterday. Warmth and light had graced the Inn for a day of celebration, and now the darker elements crowded in, eager to restore the balance in some way. ‘No shadow without light somewhere,’ her mother had taught her. To which her granny would sometimes mutter, as if in invocation

Leaf and petal
Stem and root
From the killing darkness
That sweeps from the East

Warm Winds of the West, preserve us!

She’d kept both thoughts in her heart, knowing that the assurance of hope in her mother’s words was all the more precious in the light of her granny’s experiences.

Fairleaf shook the shadowy thoughts from her with a twitch and tremble of her limbs in the chilly wind. It was only a rainstorm that was boiling up in the dark clouds that moved nearer the town where the Inn stood. The trees would welcome the drink as would the gardens. Still, those new plantings she had seen near the house at the edge of the grounds would be beat down by the fat drops of rain that were sure to fall. Their roots had not yet time to anchor firmly in the loose soil. They would be washed out.

Amid the cover of the trees that here and there lined the edges of the Inn property, Fairleaf moved as quickly as she might toward the little garden. Most of the inhabitants of the Inn had already sought shelter within. If any saw her it would only be some brief shadow just beyond the thick leafed beeches. She chuckled at the thought as she strode along, wondering if a glimpse of her would conjure stories of some old boggart and keep prying eyes well away from her and her intended business.

[Sett]

Galither was contemplating his answer to the question. A small silence occurred between the other two because they knew of Galither and his lost love. The silence was soon broken by the interruption of another. Galither was pleased with the outcome of the question because discussing his love so far away from her would cause him great pain.

The man introduced himself as Falowik Stonewort. Galither was surprised to meet so many people in such a short period of time. The other two men sat silently and rather uncomfortable. Denegal was the first to speak to the man.

“I was telling these men a story of well, erm a time when I was in love”

Denegal was struggling to answer Falowik’s question so Galither took the initiative.

“Do you often walk into other conversations without an invitation mister?”

On a whim that he knew to be completely out of character for himself, Falowik announced,

Galither felt rather angry and upset at that statement. Others feeling love so close to each other while he has to only dream of his love were too painful to bear. A tear was starting to leak from his eyes. He did not want to look weak so he picked himself up.

Galither sat up and said, “I need to some fresh air outside and alone. I am going to scout the area and will be back after lunch.”

Galither left walked out of the common room and out of the inn hastily.
The other two sat there even more uncomfortable now, as they were not used to speaking with others without Galither. After a long silence they re- introduced themselves to try and salvage the conversation.

“I am Thenergol Lingman” and the other replied, “I am Sherman Dalsbury”

Thenergol then said “I am sorry for Galither leaving but you have to understand he is very sensitive about love after, well he will tell you if he feels right about it”


Sherman replied “Well it doesn’t matter now. We both have women back at Gondor and are deeply in love with them. Falmir on the other hand does not care for love. He only uses women for his own purposes. I think he sees love as an illusion for passion.”

The conversation seemed to be getting back into a casual flow but after all that had happened Thenergol and Sherman wished they had kept themselves to themselves during their stay at the inn.

[Mithalwen]

After parting from Uien and Falowik, Mithalwen returned to the inn and overheard much of Snaveling's conversation with Marigold. They did not notice her, for the elf moved silently and she was out of their sight lines.

A wry smile passed over her face when she heard Snaveling say that elves were a folk who live in dreams more than they do in the waking world - if anyone lived in a dream, she thought it was Snaveling who let the guilt of his ancestors become a burden that seemed to cripple him, preventing him from doing something constructive with his life. She had wondered if she had done right to clear his slate at the inn, since he seemed to have profited little from previous chances, but she accounted her gesture repaid when she heard his kindness to the orphaned hobbit girl.

The latter she recognised as the child whose cake had caused so much damage to Snaveling's tunic the day before and she wondered at the reconciliation. Strange were the twists of fortune, she mused. She noticed something glisten at the child's throat and a cry rose in her throat that she barely managed to stifle. It was the single pearl necklace that she had given the bride yesterday. She could not mistake her own workmanship. Had it been lost and found in the kerfuffle that had surrounded it's giving? She resisted immediate instinct to question the girl ... it was no longer hers to claim and perhaps the pearl would be of more use to it's current wearer.

Another thought rose in her mind and much as she wished to she could not dismiss it. The necklace was humble as elven jewellery goes but it would raise a useful sum for a penniless man. She recalled Snaveling's confession of the previous day ... he had done wrong in his time she knew but surely he would not stoop to robbing a child who had no family to defend her interests? It was time to declare her presence she decided and started to move closer .. singing softly under her breath as if she had just wandered in.

"Good morning Tar Corondir, ... good morning my lady " she said making a swift curtsy. I trust you are well rested?"

[piosenniel]

** Notice of Time Moving Forward in the Inn **

Please get any morning posts in you need to get done. When I return from work at midnight, Pacific time US, I'll be moving the Inn forward to noon and a little after.

~*~ Pio, Shire Moderator

[piosenniel]

‘Is that you?’ The sound of feet hurrying down from the attic rooms above the kitchen was quite plain as Cook stood in the doorway that led from the stairwell into the little passage way beyond the stove. Soon the two servers, Buttercup and Ginger were in view, chattering to one another as they made their way down to Cook.

‘Yes, it’s us,’ one of them called. Be there in half a tick.’ True to their word they tumbled through the doorway and skidded to a halt in front of her. Cook looked at the both of them, a bit flushed in the face, they were, and wondered what they had been up to. Ah, well, never mind that, she thought to herself, there’s work to be done. Which were here exact words to the both of them.

‘Ladies! Time we get lunch ready to serve. It’s been a long morning for those who came back to give us a hand putting away all the things from the party. Now I’ve got a nice bean with hambone soup going. It’ll be all ready by noontime. Ginger you get out the loaves I baked this morning and get them sliced up and into baskets. Buttercup you slice up platters of cheese. And where’s that Ruby now – one of you find her. She can get the pots of mustard and the pickles out to go with the bread and cheese.’ Cook turned back to the soup pot and gave it a stir. From a bowl on the counter near her, she dropped in a generous portion of ham chunks, celery pieces, carrots, and onion. ‘Scoot now,’ she said to the two Hobbits. ‘We’ve got a hungry household to feed!’

Cook stepped to the table where she was just rolling out the pastry for the topping to the deep dish apple cobbler. Once it was all baked and cooled a bit, lunch would be served. Ginger’s voice called over to her as she plied the rolling pin on the soon to be flaky pastry.

‘Oh, Miz Bunce,’ said Ginger, pausing for a moment from her work with the bread knife. ‘Miz Bella would like to see you when you have some time.’

[littlemanpoet]

“Do you often walk into other conversations without an invitation, mister?”

Falowik felt the words as if they were a hand forced into his chest. He exhaled involuntarily and felt an urge to turn his back on the man and again leave the company of other folk, forever. Uien's fair face came into his mind's eye; she had healed his heart, and this small sting need not send him back to his former despair. All this passed in his thought in a brief moment, for it was not the first time he had had to face such effrontery from another Man since he had met Uien.

"Nay. 'Tis unlike me to put myself forward in such fashion. But the question was one that I could answer easily, and chose to."

The man called Galither seemed the more angered by his words; Falowik wondered why. The man said, “I need some fresh air outside and alone. I am going to scout the area and will be back after lunch.” He walked hastily from the common room.

Falowik was relieved that it had not been himself who had walked away. Apparently he was not the only man who had darknesses to face from within.

The other men introduced themselves again, to Falowik's further relief, as Thenergol Lingman and Sherman Dalsbury.

Thenergol said, “I am sorry for Galither leaving but you have to understand he is very sensitive about love after, well he will tell you if he feels right about it.”

Sherman replied “Well it doesn’t matter now. We both have women back at Gondor and are deeply in love with them. Falmir on the other hand does not care for love. He only uses women for his own purposes. I think he sees love as an illusion for passion.”

"What of you, Denegal?" Falowik asked. "Have you ever been in love?"