It was among the first of my days in Bree-land. This new world had yet to make any sense to me. All I saw was a big town, far bigger than any I had ever seen. People came here, people went there, and always they seemed to have something to do. Even the people looked strange to me.
There were little children it seemed running around town, with no parents in sight. They ran around shoeless, a thought that completely bewildered me. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that not only were the feet quite large for a child's, but they were hairy, and most appallingly so. It seemed that they were always hungry, food was never enough.
Then I saw those that utterly annoyed me. They were taller than those I knew back home, and some would say their beauty was beyond compare. I certainly felt that way. It was bad enough that I was a single mother, but to them, I must look the ugliest woman alive. If my little Raedan wasn't a deterrent, surely these people who walked about would steal any hope I had of finding love. Not that I expected to find it in this town. It wasn't until I saw their pointed ears that I knew what they were... Aelfen... That gave me a little more hope. Elves as they are called in the common tongue, are a stuck up, prudish people, who look down on any that are not of their own race. They mock all those who dare cross their paths. No Man in their right mind would look upon an Aelf with affection.
I had come to the conclusion that even those of my own race were not worth talking to. I didn't know the common tongue, at least not well, so I could neither speak nor understand them. For this, I often found myself mocked as I sat on the floor of the Inn the folk called the Prancing Pony. I had determined that maybe this town called Bree was not worth the time nor the energy. It was definitely not the place to raise my little boy. I was even considering turning around and heading back to Rohan, despite the fact only an arranged marriage to a man I did not love awaited me there.
On this particular day, I sat on the floor with Raedan in my arms. I was dressed in what must have looked like rags to the well dressed folk of Bree-Town. I sat there watching everyone, desperately trying to pick out something from the conversations that I could understand. Two people turned and saw me on the ground. They said something to me in the common tongue, and it didn't make much sense to me. I looked at them, and I thought they might be married. But to them I gave as good of a response as I could, telling them I didn't quite understand them.
The man asked me where I was from, slowly and clearly. I think I recall the lady doing the same too. That was a question I could answer quite easily. 'From.... Rohan' I had told them. It never occured to me for some reason that both the man and the lady held every distinction of an Eorlinga. Perhaps it was because I did not expect to see any Rohirrim so far from home, and so far North. So it shocked me when both started talking to me in flawless Rohirric. Though, I was grateful for the gesture.
The lady introduced herself as 'Lillika' and she also mentioned something about the man being a member of her Eored. The man introduced himself as Awiergan, and both informed me they also were of the Mark. About that time, a third man approached. I am not certain if it was because of Lillika and Awiergan being by me, or that he saw a young woman with a child sitting on the floor, clearly absolutely clueless.
Lillika introduced him as the Captain of the Eored, called Edelred. They then continued to persue conversation with me, asking my name, what brought me here. I gave them as much of an account of what made me leave the Mark as I could dare. Awiergan then was called away by one of those children with large hairy feet, but the other two continued to Question me.
Finally came the question of if I had a place to spend the night. I told them that my son and I were living in the alley. Neither approved of this, but it was the lady Lillika who tried to give me a pouch of money. She told me it was enough for a few nights stay in the Pony, along with enough for food. I pushed it away telling her I could not take her money. She then dropped it on the ground in front of me, and I pushed it away. I got up and walked to a different part of the pony so that the woman could not again attempt to buy my lodgings and meals for me.
And that was how I first was introduced to the Esquires.
