Eorling Mead Hall - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

littlemanpoet · 12-29-2007, 03:36 PM

"Good night, Thornden," she half whispered, since he had left without waiting for reply.

The question the boy had asked. “Have you ever done something so terribly bad and wondered what was going to happen to you?”

I murdered my own babies, and I choked the life out of two women so that there would be a greater chance that I would live. Does that count? I wondered if I would survive. It didn't work the way the boy meant it, but they were her chains of memory.

She turned her thought away from her own hard road. The boy had burned down the stables. Rowenna had overheard Eodwine tell Thornden that he and the boy would be leaving, and had found a dark corner to hide in to overhear anything else near the eorl. The boy had come and begged. "I’ll do my best to be good!" The sheer effrontery! But coming from this boy it did not surprise her; he seemed unaware of the weight of consequence of his actions, as if nothing he did could possibly truly affect the rest of his life. She knew better.

What had surprised her were the eorl's next words. His mind seemed ever changeable. Was that a good thing, or a bad? She supposed that it depended. But what was he thinking? She forced down a sudden urge to dry her hands, run to his room and go ask him. Such a foolish thing it would be to do. She kept at the pans.

Then there were steps coming down the corridor. The eorl came in. "Good even, Rowenna. Thank you for watching the boy. Thornden took him then?"

"Yes lord."

"My teeth need something to knead. What have we to spare?"

"Kara set a loaf of black bread in the pantry, lord."

He got out the loaf and sat on a stool on the other side of the table from where she stood. She kept her hands busy, hearing him tear a chunk off and chew. She could feel his eyes watching her back, but not in that way those ruffians had had, as if she were so much meat devour.

"What is my lord thinking on?" she ventured, staying her hands.

An ironic laugh escaped from him, harsher than she usually heard from him. "The boy and how to school him."

"You mean to let him stay then?"

"I'm thinking upon it."

She dried her hands on her apron and turned. His face looked dour in the lamp light. "Why let him stay?"

He looked up and studied her. She looked down at her hands after a moment. "Why make him go?" he asked.

She allowed a half smile. Now she must play the game, having asked a question of one higher ranking than herself, who could by rights turn the game any way he liked will she or nill she. "My lord is not bound to keep as laborer one who costs him more than he pays him."

"Is that why you work so hard, Rowenna, to make sure that you cost me less than I pay you?"

She looked up and was caught by his eyes. "I-" What he was asking was probing too close. "I do what I can to earn my keep," she said. She must turn the talk back to the boy. "So why keep him?"

"Because it is the best thing for him, I'm thinking."

"Better than sending him home?"

"He was spoiled there."

"So you would make a proper Eorling of him." How had he gotten her talking so?

"Not I alone. You, I think, Rowenna, would be able to teach him things the rest of us could not."

"My lord?" Like what, how to survive at the expense of others?

He shook his head. "No more talk tonight. I am not sure I will do this. I need to sleep. And so do you. Tarry not overlong," he said, and left the kitchen.

Firefoot · 12-31-2007, 05:14 PM

Léof watched for a moment as Javan followed Thornden back to the Hall to talk to Eodwine. Léof had known that Javan could be reckless, immature. Yet they all had kept giving him chances, time and again, and this was how he repaid them. Oh, yes, it was an accident, but Javan seemed to think that somehow that fact made up for the loss. It didn’t. It was an accident, but wholly brought about by Javan’s foolishness. Trying to smoke Falco’s pipe! And using Léof’s own room to do so! Léof felt overwhelming disgust and disappointment. How could Javan ever expect Léof to trust him again? Eodwine might forgive him – at the least, Javan was not immediately being sent home, which was far more than Javan had any right to expect – but Léof would yield much less easily.

He turned to the horses that he and Thornden had saddled up and began to untack them. Imagine saving saddles while horses still were trapped! Léof couldn’t understand it. In his mind, the act was comparable to saving the crib while the baby wailed only feet away. If whoever it was that had retrieved all these saddles had taken a moment to retrieve a horse or two, Herefola would still live.

After a short while he turned the two horses loose in the paddock and draped the saddles over the top fence post for lack of a better place for them. Then he retrieved the other couple of saddles and bridles that were lying about; with a jolt, he realized that one of them was his. This, anyway, was a pleasant surprise, but Léof gleaned little joy from this find in the context of the larger loss.

Since there seemed to be little else for him to do and the sky was growing dark, Léof supposed it was about time for bed – but he didn’t have a bed anymore, Javan had burned that down with the rest of the stables. He briefly considered just sleeping outside with the horses but quickly realized the impracticality of it and headed off to find Eodwine. He wished that this whole day could just be a nightmare that he would wake up from in the morning.

littlemanpoet · 01-01-2008, 02:42 PM

Eodwine was about to pull off his tunic when he heard a knock on his door. He opened it and found Léof's drawn face looking up into his face.

"I need a bed, lord."

Eodwine shuttered his eyes as hard as he could then opened them. Of course!

"Forgive me, Léof, for failing to think of your needs." He searched about in his mind for an option. Everybody was to bed except Rowenna, whom he had ordered to do likewise at first opportunity.

"You will have my bed this night."

"But-"

"No, I will not argue it. It is the least I can do after how you have served this Hall today and ever since you became my man. I'll find another. After all," he winked, "I've rights to whatever unused bed I can find."

"But lord-"

"Tut tut!" Eodwine pulled Léof into the room and used the leverage to push himself out. "I bid you goodnight." With that he closed the door, his last view inside the stunned look on Léof's face. With a chuckle he went into the Hall and found himself a mat and bed cloths and wrapped himself up. As he nodded off to sleep he considered that the boy was probably too distraught to think of bedding down in the Hall with the footmen.

12-29-2007, 03:36 PM	#1
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	"Good night, Thornden," she half whispered, since he had left without waiting for reply. The question the boy had asked. “Have you ever done something so terribly bad and wondered what was going to happen to you?” I murdered my own babies, and I choked the life out of two women so that there would be a greater chance that I would live. Does that count? I wondered if I would survive. It didn't work the way the boy meant it, but they were her chains of memory. She turned her thought away from her own hard road. The boy had burned down the stables. Rowenna had overheard Eodwine tell Thornden that he and the boy would be leaving, and had found a dark corner to hide in to overhear anything else near the eorl. The boy had come and begged. "I’ll do my best to be good!" The sheer effrontery! But coming from this boy it did not surprise her; he seemed unaware of the weight of consequence of his actions, as if nothing he did could possibly truly affect the rest of his life. She knew better. What had surprised her were the eorl's next words. His mind seemed ever changeable. Was that a good thing, or a bad? She supposed that it depended. But what was he thinking? She forced down a sudden urge to dry her hands, run to his room and go ask him. Such a foolish thing it would be to do. She kept at the pans. Then there were steps coming down the corridor. The eorl came in. "Good even, Rowenna. Thank you for watching the boy. Thornden took him then?" "Yes lord." "My teeth need something to knead. What have we to spare?" "Kara set a loaf of black bread in the pantry, lord." He got out the loaf and sat on a stool on the other side of the table from where she stood. She kept her hands busy, hearing him tear a chunk off and chew. She could feel his eyes watching her back, but not in that way those ruffians had had, as if she were so much meat devour. "What is my lord thinking on?" she ventured, staying her hands. An ironic laugh escaped from him, harsher than she usually heard from him. "The boy and how to school him." "You mean to let him stay then?" "I'm thinking upon it." She dried her hands on her apron and turned. His face looked dour in the lamp light. "Why let him stay?" He looked up and studied her. She looked down at her hands after a moment. "Why make him go?" he asked. She allowed a half smile. Now she must play the game, having asked a question of one higher ranking than herself, who could by rights turn the game any way he liked will she or nill she. "My lord is not bound to keep as laborer one who costs him more than he pays him." "Is that why you work so hard, Rowenna, to make sure that you cost me less than I pay you?" She looked up and was caught by his eyes. "I-" What he was asking was probing too close. "I do what I can to earn my keep," she said. She must turn the talk back to the boy. "So why keep him?" "Because it is the best thing for him, I'm thinking." "Better than sending him home?" "He was spoiled there." "So you would make a proper Eorling of him." How had he gotten her talking so? "Not I alone. You, I think, Rowenna, would be able to teach him things the rest of us could not." "My lord?" Like what, how to survive at the expense of others? He shook his head. "No more talk tonight. I am not sure I will do this. I need to sleep. And so do you. Tarry not overlong," he said, and left the kitchen. Last edited by littlemanpoet; 12-29-2007 at 03:42 PM.

12-31-2007, 05:14 PM	#2
Firefoot Illusionary Holbytla Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 7,547	Léof watched for a moment as Javan followed Thornden back to the Hall to talk to Eodwine. Léof had known that Javan could be reckless, immature. Yet they all had kept giving him chances, time and again, and this was how he repaid them. Oh, yes, it was an accident, but Javan seemed to think that somehow that fact made up for the loss. It didn’t. It was an accident, but wholly brought about by Javan’s foolishness. Trying to smoke Falco’s pipe! And using Léof’s own room to do so! Léof felt overwhelming disgust and disappointment. How could Javan ever expect Léof to trust him again? Eodwine might forgive him – at the least, Javan was not immediately being sent home, which was far more than Javan had any right to expect – but Léof would yield much less easily. He turned to the horses that he and Thornden had saddled up and began to untack them. Imagine saving saddles while horses still were trapped! Léof couldn’t understand it. In his mind, the act was comparable to saving the crib while the baby wailed only feet away. If whoever it was that had retrieved all these saddles had taken a moment to retrieve a horse or two, Herefola would still live. After a short while he turned the two horses loose in the paddock and draped the saddles over the top fence post for lack of a better place for them. Then he retrieved the other couple of saddles and bridles that were lying about; with a jolt, he realized that one of them was his. This, anyway, was a pleasant surprise, but Léof gleaned little joy from this find in the context of the larger loss. Since there seemed to be little else for him to do and the sky was growing dark, Léof supposed it was about time for bed – but he didn’t have a bed anymore, Javan had burned that down with the rest of the stables. He briefly considered just sleeping outside with the horses but quickly realized the impracticality of it and headed off to find Eodwine. He wished that this whole day could just be a nightmare that he would wake up from in the morning.

01-01-2008, 02:42 PM	#3
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	Eodwine was about to pull off his tunic when he heard a knock on his door. He opened it and found Léof's drawn face looking up into his face. "I need a bed, lord." Eodwine shuttered his eyes as hard as he could then opened them. Of course! "Forgive me, Léof, for failing to think of your needs." He searched about in his mind for an option. Everybody was to bed except Rowenna, whom he had ordered to do likewise at first opportunity. "You will have my bed this night." "But-" "No, I will not argue it. It is the least I can do after how you have served this Hall today and ever since you became my man. I'll find another. After all," he winked, "I've rights to whatever unused bed I can find." "But lord-" "Tut tut!" Eodwine pulled Léof into the room and used the leverage to push himself out. "I bid you goodnight." With that he closed the door, his last view inside the stunned look on Léof's face. With a chuckle he went into the Hall and found himself a mat and bed cloths and wrapped himself up. As he nodded off to sleep he considered that the boy was probably too distraught to think of bedding down in the Hall with the footmen.