Okay, this is my first Fanfic ever (insert confetti and cake here) so please help me in any way that you see fit. Send me suggestions, requests, advice, anything that will help out a fellow writer.

Susan Delgado walked back to Hambry, her heart heavy and her mind stretched. The witch Rhea had made it plain that Hart Thorin did not only want a child; he wanted a young and pretty gilly to make himself feel young again. She felt like she had aged a good ten years in the past hour. To think that a few moments ago she had been singing to the Kissing Moon!

She looked down at her feet, watching as they stepped to a well-known rhythm. One after the other. They had their destiny laid out before them: to keep stepping to that rhythm until someone told them to stop.

"Aye," she said to herself, "I can relate to that, so I can."

If only her Aunt Cord hadn't been so desperate! If only they had more money! If only Thorin's wife had given him a child!

If only, if only, said a voice which sounded like her da, Snap out of it, girl. Ye made a promise, and ye would do well to remember it.

She heard hooves along the path. Was it the Big Coffin Hunters? She stood there for a moment, debating on whether or not to hide behind a tree. She decided that she would stay on the path. After all, Pat Delgado had raised no cowards.

A man on a horse came over the hill that she had been approaching. In the moonlight she could make very little out about his appearance from this distance. She continued to walk in that direction, moving over to the side of the road to give him a wide berth. They grew closer and closer, and as they did she saw something peculiar mounted on the horn of the saddle. What on earth was it?

Finally they met, and her heart sped up a bit as the man stopped his horse. She was about to hurry on when he dismounted, coming directly before her and bowed. His face was masked by his flat-topped hat until he rose again, and she saw that it was not a man who had stopped before her. It was, in fact, a young boy, and he must have been fairly close to her own sixteen years. He took his hat off , and that revealed the large smile on his face.

"Long days and pleasant nights, sai," the boy said, repeating his bow, this time making it more ornate. How unusual this greeting was!

"Goodeven, and may yours be so as well. Stranger, I beg ye be back along yer way, for I'm not desirable company tonight."

"Nonsense, sai. If I may only look at such beauty for a few minutes more, I should say that I needn't any company again for the next decade."

She laughed at this. He was quite forward, and sometimes that wasn't an amiable quality, but he seemed to be kind thus far. She ducked her head and blushed at this compliment.

"Ah, but I've forgotten the rules of civilized conversation, haven't I, old fellow?" He looked back at his saddle. She saw what the object was, and it puzzled her: A rook's skull. Why was he talking to it?

"I'm supposed to introduce myself to a young lady before complimenting her looks. Arthur Heath, at your service." He bowed for the third time. Susan curtsied back at him.

"Susan Delgado, at yours. And will ye please withhold yer bows? I believe yer point has been made."

"If that is your wish, sai, so it shall be. Are you going to Hambry?"

"Indeed, I am."

"Then would you consider riding back with me? I'm sure that it's not safe for you to travel alone at night."

"I assure you that I will be fine. There be no murderous fiends in this part of the world." After stating this she bit her tongue. Hadn't she just been contemplating on whether or not to run for dear life? And, after all, no one could be too careful in this day and age.

"All the same, it would comfort me to do this for you. You look rather tired, and I'm sure that you're no stranger to riding, since you're Pat Delgado's daughter."

"Ye knew my da?" She asked, taken aback.

"I know of him, sai, but was never fortuneate enough to meet him. Anyway, please do climb aboard. My horse will probably not bite, and if he does I will return the favor for you."

She laughed at him. He was such a strange person, and yet she felt as though she had known him for years. She looked at his dark eyes, and even in the dim light they sparkled with a friendly glee.

"Well, I see that ye'll not give up. Since yer such a stubborn character, I'll humor ye."

Arthur held up one finger, then walked over to his horse. He brought a large bundle of cloth and handed it to Susan.

"I'd not wish to cause you embarrasment. You might want to lay this over your lap, so that you won't blush and I won't have to avoid looking in your direction."

"Thankee-sai."

She mounted the horse, and what a fine one it was! A thoroughbred, she was sure of it. She went to touch the horn of the saddle, and then cringed back from the bird skull. She looked at Arthur with one eyebrow raised.

"Ah, don't mind the lookout! He's a bit rough at first, but after a while he warms up to you." He gave her a very warm smile. She couldn't help but return it. Was he a fool, or was he clever? She couldn't tell, but either way he was kind, and that was an amiable quality. But his speech was so strange...

"Which of the Inner Baronies do ye hail from, Mr. Heath?" Susan asked as they set down the path. He looked up, startled. "I'm no idiot, sai. Anyone with half a mind could tell you were from In-World."

"I hail from Gilead, sai. And before you ask, no, I do not miss the parties, I do not miss the formalities, and yes, I'm here as pennance."

"Gilead," She whispered. She felt a strong urge to jump down from the horse and curtsy again.

"I don't understand why people say the name like that. It's just a place."

"Just a place? Mr. Heath-"

"May I be Arthur to you, sai?"

"Aye, if I may be Susan to ye. Arthur, people who live in Gilead are living a fairytale compared to the rest of us!"

"Not really. With all of the politics involved in life there, it's like a prison."