DISTRESS

Some things are just not possible...

Lintte thought as she piled the shards of burnt wood away, drawing an unwanted breathe of the charred wood. This place used to be the workshop that her grandpa left her before passing away, and now it's burned to a crisp. Then she noticed a note nailed to what remains of a pillar. The thugs did this.

A few days ago, Lintte was walking back to the workshop after delivering some scrolls of paper to the local script. She heard a sharp shriek then, the sound of wooden-based shoes being dragged across the cobbled floor.

Then turning into the alleyway where the noise came from, she saw three thugs wrestling against a girl trapped in their arms. The girl was clearly losing the fight. Her skirt was torn from the collar showing the bodice and she was bruised in an eye.

Fortunately, she was carrying a piece of wood she found on her way back, and it was as long as a small child lying down, maybe a little too long. She tucked the wood behind her back and sneaked close to the thugs who were too distracted to pay any notice. But it wasn't long before one of them, looked up at her and glared at the wood already tucked in her arms.

Lintte kicked the closest one in the shins before smacking the wood into another's face. She noticed with a quick glance that the girl was already crawling away. Good. The one with black lanky hair, probably their leader, yelled at them to get the girl, before launching himself at Lintte.

Just as well, Lintte jammed the blunt end of the wood into his stomach and he reeled backwards in pain before dropping onto the floor. The other two already had the escaping girl in their arms and were trudging her back by the hair. The girl screamed in pain, but it was midnight and they were at the outskirts of town, no one else could help her.

Let this work. Lintte ran towards them holding out the wood. Seeing her, the thugs curled their hands into fists readying for a fight. Then before they could react, Lintte swung the long piece of wood at both of their legs as hard as she could, a dull clunk could be heard as wood met bone. The thugs fell on their faces cursing in pain. Dropping the piece of wood, Lintte quickly helped the girl up and they limped quickly out of the alleyway.

After reaching a physician, the girl who was about a few years younger, held both of Lintte's hands and thanked her. Lintte only hoped that nothing more happened to her.

Looking back at the charred site which was her home and workplace, Lintte searched through the charred furniture hoping to find that family photo of hers taken before her parents met with accident, leaving her in the care of her grandpa. Protected by the glass frame, the photo survived the fire. Lintte picked it up from the rubble and rubbed it clean with her blouse.

That was all she had, the photo and some receipts collected when she went off on a job that morning. When she came back, her workshop was on fire, and she had to quickly douse the flames before it spread further. But by then, everything was already ruined.

Lintte and her grandpa lived near the woods by the outskirts of town, as it was easier to get wood that way. When her grandpa passed on, he left her with his workshop and a carrier pigeon which he said that she could use to call for help from a beneficiary of his but only when its most needed.

Thinking back, Lintte realised with some shock that the thugs had actually tried to burn her alive. If she hadn't leave the shop early that morning to deliver some goods, she might have been trapped in the burning house. This happened before in town once or twice, where families who offended the street thugs were locked in and their houses burned. But nothing really terrible happened, as there was always a ready stream of townsfolk helping them to get out and drown the fire. But Lintte didn't live in town, so she might really have been killed.

Maybe it's time to send out a message. She might not be as lucky the next time if the thugs continue their pursue. Lintte tried to call out for the pigeon using the four-note song that her grandpa taught her but she didn't expect much, the pigeon that roamed their woods could have fled away after the fire. But to her delight, there came a flutter of wings before the carrier pigeon landed on Lintte's shoulder.

She picked up a piece of charcoal from the ground and begin scribbling on the back of one receipt. Ending off with her grandpa name, she tied that to the pigeon and sent it away.

At the elven realm of Mirkwood, Thranduil was settling down at the long table to have lunch with his son and friend. This was the last day of Aragon's visit to Mirkwood and its true to say that he was overwhelmed by the hospitality given to him by the king and Legolas.

Before long, the three of them broke into a merry conversation about times past and present. Just then, a messenger entered into the dining room and whispered into the king's ear. The king frowned lightly at the news.

"Is anything the matter my lord?" Aragon asked.

"An old friend of mine asks for help but he lives in an area that my people have never heard of, its a town named Deilia."

"It's near the edges of Gondor, not far from here. I could travel over and help him, it would be my pleasure."

Thranduil didn't look too ready to accept his proposal, he didn't wish to trouble his guest.

Legolas glanced at his friend and said with a small grin, "I could travel along with Aragon and keep him out of harm's way." Aragon shot him a mock glare.

Thranduil conceded, "You do that. You have my thanks Aragon." Thranduil smiled before signalling for the farewell dishes to be brought in.

Author's ramblings::

Well, finally I had some substantial plot to the story, the idea came when I was just lying in bed and thinking 'bout the day. I think that sometimes the best ideas come during that time. And I've just heard bad news that brain aging starts at twenty. Whoop-de-doo, just one more year to go... and Somehow, I feel the effects already...(!)

Reviews are extremely welcomed :) You can tell me how you would pronoun Lintte.