The Green Dragon Inn - Part 10

[Amanaduial the archer]

Aman squinted down, opening her eyes and emerging from the blissful state she had been in, and looked down to the newcomer, shading her eyes against the still-rising sun. A hot-looking, pleasant faced individual sat in the seat of a pony cart, looking back up at her.

"Can you tell me where to find Miss Amanaduial, miss?" He repeated his question. Aman smiled, her face still cast in the shadow of her hand.

"You have found her, good sir - I am Amanaduial, Innkeeper of this place, although people rarely call me by my full name," she called down. "Give me a moment - we shall talk more easily in the Common Room."

The man nodded and Aman turned quickly, sliding down agilely into the window to land with practised half-ease beside the cot that had been used for the twins and which was bathed in half light. Looking back outside, Aman let herself soak up a few more blissful moments of the calm and peace of the beautiful Shire, then turned to dart quickly downstairs and into the Common Room, and slipping under the bar as she saw a few people waiting for drinks - back to routine, she thought, with a trace of pride. Tucking a strand of chestnut hair behind one ear, she looked around again for the newcomer who had saluted her...