I brought my sister the hunting leathers I hemmed in for her and watched her change. I could not help but feel a coal of jealously ignite in my heart. Traveling was something I have always dreamed of and now she's going to the mountains. The Blue Mountains, I've heard the dwarves speak of them in reverence and I dreamed of their icy peaks and biting winds, the hidden coves and trickling waterfalls.
Now I watch Piperel pack and I can't help but resent her a bit, as much as I dislike to admit that. She never wanted to go past Bree, she doesn't even like to bait her own hook or be unwashed. I don't think she knows what she's getting into. I used to try to take her on hunting trips into the woods near the farm, she complained of stinging nettle burns and bug bites. She cried when she saw me finish off a struggling deer with a knife and this is the girl that wants to venture into the wilds outside the Shire? I do hope her boyfriend can handle himself because as much as I love dear Pip she's never been the handy type when it came to anything involving the outdoors.
Piperel told me she's working for this Bloody Dawn now, just as a cook and such but I'm proud of her. She wanted off the farm and to live on her own and she's doing it. Corrben's got his Watch and Hollace has his wife and impending child. I have this farm and our parents. I never will speak of any disquiet, how I yearn for horizons because someone must take the lead here. Mother and Father are still hale but years grow long and their hair is more grey than it used to be. Gram is frail and I don't know if she'll make it another winter.
As I watch my sister strut around in the leather trousers, I ache to be where she is. To be free of any responsibility to anyone but myself and yet, I could not turn my back on the farm or the family. Even with a thrill of love and adventure, I am here. I will stay here. And watch from the window and from the field. I asked her to bring me back a stone from the mountains and she promises she will. I wonder if she'll remember, my little sister with all the brightness of the sun around her. I wonder if she'll remember her sister, the moon in shadow beside her.
