"Mind yourself Sam" Adie laughed as Sam dived to catch the cup as it feel from the nightstand.
"If you don't mind me saying Mr. Cuif it should be you who minds yourself seeing as how you knocked it over to begin with" Sam said begrudgingly dusting himself off and packing the cup up into his travelling pack.
Frodo sat by the window looking out into the street below and down at the people going about their lives.
"Look" he said finally " they don't now about any of this, they don't know about Pippin or Merry or Roisin, they just know that somebody's behind bars, they don't care about what he did and what he's left behind and the monster isn't even dead!"
"Frodo what a horrible thing to say"
"But its all true" and then Frodo burst into tears and Sam went to console him, Frodo latched on to Sam and pulled himself into his lap, kissing the young gardeners face, Sam made soothing noise in the back of his throat and stroked Frodo's hair.
Adie coughed and looked the other way, he was still not completely at ease with the hobbit shows of affection. .
"Be as that may Frodo, Pippin is alive and healing, Merry bares no scratch and Roisin.......is better, far better" Adie said, a slow smile creeping across his face.
A knock came at the door that sent Frodo and Sam jumping apart and Adie's smile turning to a frown.
Adie opened the door and the fat little Mayer stood there wiping his head with a cloth.
"I need to speak to you Mr. Cuif, in private" he said throwing pointed looks at Frodo and Sam.
"of course" Adie ushered the Mayer into the smaller room that had been Frodo and Sam's during their stay at the inn, then shut the door.
Frodo was by the door at a flash ear pressed against the wood desperate to hear what was being said.
Slowly his own frown became a look of horror and silent tears began to trickle to his cheeks.
*********************
Merry could almost believe it to be back to the days before Neit and leaving the shire.
Pippin warm and contented in his arms made a little mumbled sound that could have been his name and Merry sighed blissfully leaning back into the pillows.
His head hurt from drinking too much and his mouth tasted like bile but it was alright because Pippin loved him.
Some clinical voice at the back of Merry's head tried to pose the question for how long but Merry didn't bother to listen to it, he was too cheery to think troubled thoughts.
In the kitchen a pot hit the floor and Roisin swore, outside the birds sang and hobbits walked past Bag-End believing it still deserted but inside the bed room all was quite and all was peaceful.
**********************************
He wasn't hearing this; he couldn't be hearing this.
Frodo pressed his ear to the door and sighed, shaking his head in anger and fear.
Inside the room Adie clenched his fist and bit into the back of his hand to keep from shouting at the Mayer.
Finally he looked up, anger in his eyes.
"You should have put more guards on the door, Neit is dangerous and now a man is dead, do you understand now?" Adie asked in a low voice.
"The only thing I understand is that you are a threat to my town and its people, I want you and those hobbits out tonight" the Mayer said coldly.
"Don't worry, we wouldn't want to stay another moment" Adie made it sound vicious and angry but inside he was terrified for Roisin and Pippin back in hobbiton.
No time to waist they must get home tonight and warn them, save them.
*********************************
Rose cotton angrily threw a stone at the nearest tree.
"why are you doing that me lass?"
Rose turned to face a man who was by all accords quite handsome apart from the run branded into his cheek, if she could read she would have known to run and scream for help but she didn't know so she smiled her best smile and batted her eye lashes.
"I was just think how unfair Mr. Meriadoc treats me after I looked after his cousins house for him, complaining because I wont give his whore a drink of water"
"his whore?"
"Some women he got up at Bag-end with him, though if roomers are anything to go by then Peregrin took his is whore right as anything"
Neit smiled and took the hobbit lasses hand in his own.
"You poor thing being treated so badly, ort you to tell someone about those too, I mean it is forbidden by your laws isn't it?"
"'Tis, no male shall take another male into his bed on penalty of exile from the shire" Rose's voice dropped to a whisper "or hanging"
This was too perfect for Neit.
"You really must tell someone," he said kindly.