(no subject)
Dec. 5th, 2004 04:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rabidsamfanhalf an idea is better than none...
Bergil wasn’t sure anymore, not of anything. His father was back from the battle at the Black Gate, injured, but healing -- but he wasn’t in the Guard, for something terrible had happened that no one would explain. Which should have meant that his family was in disgrace, and left Bergil free to stay at home. But Pippin -- the Ernil I Pheriannath, he corrected himself hastily lest he take the habit of discourtesy even in his own head -- had asked for Bergil to be one of the boys who ran errands for the King‘s Companions, which was high honor, even if the master of the boys had given Bergil the watch from midnight till dawn, when his services were least likely to be needed.
So he had taken himself to bed early, though it hadn’t been possible to sleep very deeply with the celebrations of the King’s Coronation still echoing through the streets. The music had kept him company when he’d first taken his post, but it had quieted at last, near three in the morning. It was nearly four now, and Bergil was passing the time by walking up and down the passageway as soft-footedly as he could manage. He didn’t dare sit down, or he’d be asleep in a moment, and that would be the end of the honor, even if it was a middle-of-the-night honor, and who knew what that would mean?
He sighed as he reached the end of the corridor and made himself straighten his shoulders and do a proper about-face, the way the soldiers did it, and step out briskly, pretending that he was already a man, and assigned to the Citadel. “Hup, two, three, four,” he counted the cadence, to keep himself in step. It was twenty paces to the other end of the corridor. Twenty paces back, and turn. March and turn again, until he could do it with his eyes closed…
“Lad?” The soft word brought him out of his dreaming and he came out his dreaming to find himself clear to the side of the passage, and nearly with his nose buried in the tapestry that had been hung to keep out the draft. He turned and rubbed at his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them.
“Yes, sir?” he answered, having to bring his gaze down to meet the eyes of the perian who stood there instead of the grown-up he’d been expecting.
The halfling had pulled on trousers over his nightshirt, though he wore no shoes, and he was even shorter than the Ernil. But he had a kindly smile. “Can you tell me the way to the House of Healing? None of us thought to lay in a supply of willow bark tonight, and my master’s in need of a sip of something to help him sleep.”
“But that’s my job,” Bergil protested. “That’s why I’m here. To run errands I mean. I can get whatever you need.”
“Well, what I need is a bit of fresh air and a look at whatever herbs it is they’ve got laid in stock, in case they’ve run low on willow the way we did at Cormallen,” the halfling said. “So we’ll go together.”
TBC part two
Bergil wasn’t sure anymore, not of anything. His father was back from the battle at the Black Gate, injured, but healing -- but he wasn’t in the Guard, for something terrible had happened that no one would explain. Which should have meant that his family was in disgrace, and left Bergil free to stay at home. But Pippin -- the Ernil I Pheriannath, he corrected himself hastily lest he take the habit of discourtesy even in his own head -- had asked for Bergil to be one of the boys who ran errands for the King‘s Companions, which was high honor, even if the master of the boys had given Bergil the watch from midnight till dawn, when his services were least likely to be needed.
So he had taken himself to bed early, though it hadn’t been possible to sleep very deeply with the celebrations of the King’s Coronation still echoing through the streets. The music had kept him company when he’d first taken his post, but it had quieted at last, near three in the morning. It was nearly four now, and Bergil was passing the time by walking up and down the passageway as soft-footedly as he could manage. He didn’t dare sit down, or he’d be asleep in a moment, and that would be the end of the honor, even if it was a middle-of-the-night honor, and who knew what that would mean?
He sighed as he reached the end of the corridor and made himself straighten his shoulders and do a proper about-face, the way the soldiers did it, and step out briskly, pretending that he was already a man, and assigned to the Citadel. “Hup, two, three, four,” he counted the cadence, to keep himself in step. It was twenty paces to the other end of the corridor. Twenty paces back, and turn. March and turn again, until he could do it with his eyes closed…
“Lad?” The soft word brought him out of his dreaming and he came out his dreaming to find himself clear to the side of the passage, and nearly with his nose buried in the tapestry that had been hung to keep out the draft. He turned and rubbed at his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them.
“Yes, sir?” he answered, having to bring his gaze down to meet the eyes of the perian who stood there instead of the grown-up he’d been expecting.
The halfling had pulled on trousers over his nightshirt, though he wore no shoes, and he was even shorter than the Ernil. But he had a kindly smile. “Can you tell me the way to the House of Healing? None of us thought to lay in a supply of willow bark tonight, and my master’s in need of a sip of something to help him sleep.”
“But that’s my job,” Bergil protested. “That’s why I’m here. To run errands I mean. I can get whatever you need.”
“Well, what I need is a bit of fresh air and a look at whatever herbs it is they’ve got laid in stock, in case they’ve run low on willow the way we did at Cormallen,” the halfling said. “So we’ll go together.”
TBC part two
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-05 12:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-08 03:08 am (UTC);)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-05 02:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-08 03:08 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-05 09:13 pm (UTC)Half of something from you is better than a lot of somethings. . . .
The halfling had pulled on trousers over his nightshirt, though he wore no shoes, and he was even shorter than the Ernil. But he had a kindly smile. “Can you tell me the way to the House of Healing? None of us thought to lay in a supply of willow bark tonight, and my master’s in need of a sip of something to help him sleep.”
EEEEEEE. :D
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-08 03:09 am (UTC)*grin*
Slowly it comes...
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-05 09:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-08 03:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-05 11:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-08 03:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-05 11:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-08 03:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-06 05:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-08 03:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-07 09:11 am (UTC)Just an itsy-bitsy peeve..
“Yes, sir?” he answered, having to bring his gaze down to meet the eyes of the Pheriannath who stood there instead of the grown-up he’d been expecting.
Pheriannath stands for Halflings, if Ernil i Pheriannath is Prince of the Halflings. You might want to use the singular, Perian.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-07 02:34 pm (UTC)Feel free to point out my mistakes. If I'm silly enough to post without a beta I am at least humble enough to know I'm going to get corrected. Thank you!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-01-26 12:58 pm (UTC)