The Green Dragon Inn #11 - The Last Chapter

[Firefoot]

Lily was shocked that Posco had walked out on her again. Maybe he really didn't want to see her! But why, then, had he told her to meet him at the inn? Her first inclination was to go out and follow him to get everything straightened out right away. She even made a move to follow him, and then she realized that it would be exactly the wrong thing to do. He was shaken up, clearly, and would need time to regroup.

She tried to step back from the situation, see it from his point of view, and figure out what she had done wrong. He had been sitting up here, waiting for her, presumably. Then she had stormed into the common room and demanded... Lily stopped there, for she knew that was precisely her error. What had happened to encouraging him, being understanding? He was so shy, that of course he would freeze up and try to flee if she came at him angry. It was her own fault, and she knew it. It was that temper of hers... it could get mighty fierce, as she had shown Marcho their first night here. She wondered what Posco would have thought if he had seen her then. Most of the possible outcomes made her wince. An apology was in order, she knew. As soon as he was ready.

But wait. If she waited until he was ready, she might well wait until her dying day. No, she would have to go to him, but where had he gone? Surely he had not left? Lily feared it might well be so. She was no hungrier than she had been earlier, and abandoning all thoughts of waiting for Posco there she hurried outside. She did not intend to find him just yet, but she would not let him leave under her very nose. They would understand each other, Lily determined. She was relieved that the road was empty for a good stretch in either direction; he was still here somewhere. She sat down on the steps leading up to the Inn door to think and wait.

First of all, mused Lily, he must understand that I am not angry at him, and all I want is to talk things out. I will need to bring him back out of his shell, most likely. Trust is a precious thing to gain, and not easily regained once lost. If she had severed that, Lily knew that she would have a lot of ground to cover again. She wouldn't give up, though, because if he did love her, it would be all worth while. She could only hope that he did, for she had given her heart over to him, whether he knew it or not, and the thought of him leaving for ever wrenched inside of her. All seemed hopeless to her, but as surely as Lily had a temper, she had ambition to match, and she had set her goal for nothing less than marrying Posco. Did he not realize that she loved him, even after admitting it straight out? Patience, she told herself. She did not like being patient. Alas that perhaps the most important virtue she needed was the one she lacked!

Finally she could stand the waiting no longer. Lily got up and dusted herself off. She did not see Posco anywhere nearby, so she decided to head back to the stables. A glance inside showed her he was not there. On a hunch, she looked back around where she had found him earlier. She was sorely disappointed to find the space empty save for the tree she had climbed yesterday and a robin poking around in the ground for worms.

"Posco, where are you?" she said outloud, a tone of dispair in her voice. Maybe he had left, and she had missed him. With a sigh, she turned around to go back to the inn. He had said he would come back, or at least it had been implied. She would have to trust him.

[Nurumaiel]

Posco heard Lily calling his name, and words sprang to his lips. He forced them away, closing his eyes, trying to pretend she was not there. Things were bad enough as they were; he would not make them even worse by seeing her again. It would be too risky. He might say something to make her even angrier. Yet, as he reflected upon it, he had not heard anger in her voice but worry and despair. Very well! He had known that girls were curious creatures, or at least his father always said so, but this was quite shocking. Was she repentant? Was she worried that he was angry? What was she? Maybe she was trying to fool him, trying to bring him out so she could speak angrily with him again.

This was too much!

Posco burst into laughter, and moved himself carefully along the branch until he was closer to the edge. Rustling the leaves loudly, he called softly down, 'Lily! I'm up here; come along up yourself!'

[Firefoot]

Surprised, Lily turned around. She had spoken out of hopelessness, never actually expecting to be answered, and yet he had! She felt a sense of simple delight. He was at least willing to listen to her still; he must not have totally turned from her. She could only hope.

Lily took a bit more care hoisting herself up into the tree now that she was not alone. She gratefully took Posco's proffered hand for help in getting up to the higher branches, releasing it as soon as she was secure. She took a deep breath before speaking, trying to remember everything she had thought out so carefully only a few minutes before. It came to her in bits and pieces, but she plunged on, not caring overmuch that her speech was rather disjointed.

"Posco, I'm not angry with you, as I imagine you must think that I am. I was just a bit, er, flustered. Something I suppose you will find about me is that I do have a pretty bad temper, though I do try not to let it show," she added hastily seeing the apalled look on his face. "Please bear with me on that. So what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry if I ever made you think I was mad at you. I was confused, is all. And I still am." This last part was said very carefully but pointedly. She did not give him time to answer just yet, though. She still had more to say. "Another thing I should tell you is that I do not lie often, Posco. If I say something, I likely mean it. And I meant it when I told you that I loved you last night."

[Witch_Queen]

"Fáinu, my fate is to die by your side. I do not fear what fate has instore for me. I fear nothing now that I have the only thing I sought out for. I left Eryn Lasgalen because there was nothing there for me, I left to find you. What makes you think that I won't lay my life down for you? You are not my kin and it has been long since I have been your companion. If you care anything about me then you will have nothing against me going with you." Fáinu's words had struck a nerve. Cree wouldn't spend the rest of her life running from her curse. She wasn't going to let Fáinu get rid of her so fast. She had finally found him and didn't want to loose him again.

How can he say he cares when all he wants to do is get rid of me. His words are poison to my heart. Why do I stay here and listen to him. He talks about a fate he's not sure of. Well may his curse bring him end. I will not abandon him when he needs someone. Cree's eyes told her every thought. "Fáinu, why won't you be content with me going with you. There is nothing you can do that may change my mind. I will not let you abandon me again and I won't abadon you again." She felt Avalon's eyes on her. The bird was staring at Cree and wasn't even blinking.

Avalon not you too. I will not be subject to such thoughts. I am going, if you choose to stay here then go right ahead, but I'm going. Not you or him can stop me. Cree returned the crow's looks before she broke out in a laugh. No matter how serious she was trying to be, Cree couldn't help but laugh at the bird and herself.

[Nurumaiel]

'You do?' Posco gasped, and then he took Lily's hands in his and kissed them, his face flushed with wonder and delight. 'I am so very glad!' He hesitated for a moment then, and then he released her hands and sat more at ease. 'Lily, you have explained that you must explain, or at least all I would want of you, though I wanted nothing more than to know that you still loved me. Now it is my turn.' He sighed, and struggled with the thoughts in his mind. How was he to put this? How could he say it without offending her? Her eyes were shining; surely she would not be so easily offended!

'Lily, I must apologize for my seemingly cold behavior last evening,' he said, blushing as he spoke. 'I was raised by a father that had the highest standards of honour when it comes to a girl. I don't blame these high standards, but coupled with my awkwardness and shyness, it produces an awful effect. When you told me last night that you loved me, I replied that I thought it was nice. I did think it was nice, but I also thought it was glorious beyond belief. To learn that my dream had been shared by you... Perhaps it would have been the appropriate thing to tell you that I loved you and then kissed you right there, but it would only cause trouble for both of us. My parents would not look favourably upon it, for I would not have known you long. I do not know what your family would think about it, but it seems likely to me that they would wish to know me a little while before consenting to my marrying you. It doesn't seem right to marry you so soon after I had known you. We must seek consent from our guardians, we must go about things in a manner that will not draw attention -that is to say, we should wait until we've known one another a bit longer- and ridicule, and we must be absolutely sure it's the right thing to do. We wouldn't want to be married and regret it afterwards.

'It is a very difficult concept to explain, Lily. My father and mother met each other when they were still in their tweens, and it was love at first sight. However, being so young and so unacquainted, it wasn't consider proper for them to appear on very friendly terms. My mother hid her feelings amply, even from my father, and he made no move towards her until he was sure she loved him, and sure that he was really willing to spend all his life with her. Even then, he did not say a word to her on the matter until they were out of their tweens. By then they had known each other for some time and were quite confident that they were willing to spend their lifetimes with one another. Only then did he tell her his true feelings and ask her to marry him. Of course she said yes.

'He raised Blanco and I in the same manner. It is honourable and gallant, or that is what he said. You don't want to put a girl in a spot where she either has to refuse you or marry you and face all gossip because she is young, or because she has not known you for long, or some other such thing. And if she accepts, you'll have her in a situation where if she realizes she was simply immature and foolish she will be stuck as your wife for all time. Two or three days is not really enough time to be absolutely certain. I know girls that fall in and out of love, and only a fair amount of time could say if it's a love that will fall out or not.'

He stopped to take a breath and steady himself, for he was making one of the longest speeches he had ever made. At last he looked earnestly into her eyes and spoke the same way, saying, 'So, you see, Lily... or at least you see the point I am trying to make, even if I don't describe it right... You see, no matter what I feel for you, I can't say. Not yet, anyway.'

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Fáinu looked up at her; he showed not fear or worry. He did not want to get rid of her, merely warn her against rash deeds.

"I know that you are faithful," he said, "Many a time hath you proved so, I simply sense a foreboding. I accept that you will go with me, but you must realise, that this is an unexpected turn of events."

He tried to get rid of the thoughts Smaug had planted in his mind and re gain his own sanity. He knew his cold words had struck a nerve, and he knew he should not have said such things. It was one more thing to regret.

"You never abandoned me, Cree," he said after a pause, "I never blamed you for aught that happened to me. Nay, ever my curses fall upon Smaug and all his kin." then his hand began to burn more then ever, but he flinched not. He clenched his hand and looked Cree in the eyes.

"You have known hurt, Cree," he said gravely, "Thou hast know deep wounds, you know what it is to wander in a nightmare world, haunted and cursed. More than any other in this world, I would have you accompany me to whatever end!"

For now, it seemed he had come back to his common thinking. Why those cold words had come before he knew not. Perhaps, the memory was burned into his mind, like the wound was burned into his hand.

[starkat]

Gwenneth had not ridden far, before Elenath stumbled. After the stumble, the mare began limping so the elf maid returned to the inn. She entered the stables and began tending to her horse. Repeating a list of things that she needed, she went looking for the stable master.

She found him at a small cottage where several hobbits were working. The stable master noticed her and came over. Gwenneth asked him where to find the needed items and returned to her horse. She soaked Elenath's foot and then returned to the inn.

She walked up to the bar and ordered a glass of tea. Then looking around the room, she took a seat at an empty table.