A Price To Pay- The Hobbit & LoTR

Chapter 1

The night was dark and the sky was clouded as rain poured from the heavens. The skies split open as thunder cracked, and little children ran home in fright. However, a hooded form atop a great steed stayed on their path, pulling along a cart of goods for trade. No words came from this traveler, only silence.

The traveler, a woman by the name of Raewynn, had traveled a long way without rest to get to Bree in a timely manner for the festival. She finally came upon the gates of Bree, and she jumped down from her mount, a strong gelding by the name of Norethun(the pictured horse above, minus the paint), and trudged through the mud in search of a stable for her loyal mount.

She came upon a stable, one that obviously hadn't been cared for in some time but the horses were in good shape. She came upon the door to the owner's office. The owner of the stable was a cantankerous man, whose breath smelled of cheap beer and teeth were rotten. His face was wrinkled from scrunching his face over the years and his hair was in knots from abandonment of care. He glowered at the late customer, "What do yer want this late at night!?" He growled.

Raewynn looked upon the man calmly. She doubted he would listen to any story she had to tell the man, but she knew he would understand money.

She tossed a purse of coins upon his table. She watched his greedy eyes snap to the bag that held precious metals inside and he snatched it from the table. He weighed it in one hand carefully, determining the weight and value of how much there was to be offered. He threw it back down to the woman with distaste, "You'll have to do better than that" he snapped. The woman rolled her eyes and tossed another identical bag towards the man. His eyes snapped to the second bag and a smile split his face, "It's been a pleasure doin' business with yer, madam." He said in a well-greased voice. One that was 'used to kiss the arses of rich customers no doubt' Raewynn thought.

The man called for the tired, stable boy. "Boy! Come get this lady's horse, why don'tcha!? And treat 'em well! She paid a high price for 'em." The boy came running to the two adults, and Raewynn couldn't help but notice his scrawny and malnourished figure. The boy bowed respectfully to the woman who carried a regal air to her, and he went to grab her horse and lead him to his stable for the night. She followed after the boy.

She watched as the boy untacked Norethun, having had to grab a box to stand on in order to grab the tack. 'He is a hard worker' she thought, pleased that the world of Man still produced good workers. She continued to watch, mainly to make sure her stubborn horse didn't react badly and hurt the boy. But she was pleased to find her horse taken with the boy, leaning into his pockets and nudging the boy curiously. She knew her horse was raised by Elves, and had never been around children. So the prospect of being cared for by a human boy made the horse curious.

The boy laughed when Norethun nudged him, and he pulled out a sugar cube. The boy's eyes turned to the cloaked woman, "Madam, may... may I offer this to your horse?" he asked shyly, holding the sweet cube. Rae nodded her head once, and the boy lent out his hand toward the towering beast. The cube was quickly eaten, and Raewynn knew her companion would be fine here for the night under the boy's care. 'The only thing I have to worry about is him becoming a spoiled colt...'

The boy, whose name turned out to be Luke, was indeed malnourished, 'no doubt not given fair wages for his work' Rewynn thought. 'Perhaps his family is not fairing well.'

She felt pity for the boy, knowing the pains of hunger herself. She walked away from the stable toward her cart and picked out several apples and packaged cheese. She headed back to the stable, where the boy was now seated upon Norethun, grooming his mane. 

The boy turned his attention toward Raewynn and scrambled down from the beast's height, plopping down into the hay underneath. He bowed his head towards her, "I- I'm sorry, Miss. I didn't mean to- to offend you! I was just grooming him because I thought he was such a beautiful horse! That is all! I swear to you, miss!"