Mildred tucked Lily, her four-year-old daughter, into bed. "Comfy?" Mildred asked as she arranged the sheets around the girl. Lily nodded, snuggling down under the warm coverlet. "Good. Now, which story d'ye want tonight?"
"The one about the woman Ranger," Lily said immediately.
Mildred grinned. She might have known her daughter would request her favourite story. "Wouldn't you prefer one about elves for a change?"
Lily shook her head vigorously. "No! The woman Ranger!"
"Alright, alright," she said, chuckling, and began the story.
"Many years ago, in this very village, there lived a young woman with bright blue eyes and long dark hair, just like yours." At this, she gave one of Lily's black curls a tweak, making the child giggle.
"This girl was very adventurous, an' one thing she loved mare than anythin' was stories. All her life she had heard tales of excitin' journeys an' deadly battles. She longed to experience those things for herself so, when she grew up, she ran away to join the Rangers o' the North – the Dúnedain. Wi' them Rangers, she fought off the orcs an' wild men what were always attackin' the northern lands, an' they learned her how to ride an' fight an' heal, an' she got 'erself a new name: Mormeril which, in Elvish, means–"
"Black rose!" Lily cried, smiling proudly at her knowledge of the Elven tongue.
"Right ye are, little one," Mildred said, playfully touching the tip of the girl's nose. "Now, after two years o' livin' wi' them Rangers, she set out into the Wild on 'er own, an' she went travellin' around all the strange an' magical lands in Middle Earth. Soon, she came to a city in the South named Minas Tirith. A great an' beautiful city it was, known as the White City because it were built all out o' white stone. It was there that our Mormeril became a healer, an' she met a brave an' handsome young soldier. The two fell deeply in love, so much so that they married an' had a daughter."
Lily gave an adoring "Aww!" even though she had heard this many times before.
Mildred continued. "Now, the soldier's pa were a rich an' powerful lord, an' when he found out his son married a lowly healer woman he was furious. So, when the solider next went away to battle, the lord ordered his soldiers to kill the mother an' daughter. But the soldiers were good men an' felt sorry for 'em, an' they helped Mormeril escape with 'er daughter. An' so Mormeril returned to 'er home with 'er daughter, where they lived safely 'an happily, an' they never 'ad to worry about the wicked lord ever again."
Lily grinned widely and clapped her hands. "Again! Again!"
Mildred laughed. "That's enough for tonight, lass. Now, I think it's time ye went to sleep."
She remained by her daughter's bedside for a further few minutes, stroking Lily's dark hair and softly singing until the child drifted off to sleep. Mildred slowly rose from the bed and crept over to the door, taking care not to rouse Lily. Pausing in the open doorway, she turned back to look at the sleeping girl and sighed.
"Oh, little one," she whispered, tears welling up in her blue eyes, "if only ye knew how true that story is…"