I had been alone for so long, I barely kept track. The pony I had ridden out on, had passed hundreds of years ago, and I had grown to maturity. I stood at five foot even, with a rather curvy figure. My waist was small, but I had a generous bosom, as well as 'birthing hips' as mother would have said. My curly hair fell to my knees in a thick and unruly waterfall of mahogany ringlets. I knew as I looked down at my tattered clothing, that I needed new clothes again. I checked my coins that I gathered from villages through the years. I hoped I had enough to buy my clothing, as well as some new weapons and a few nights at an inn until my clothes were made. I had gone through a few bows through the centuries, but my dagger remained the same. My clothes, as they were, were a few centuries old.
I quickly set out to a nearby village carrying only gold, my dagger, bow and arrows, and my waterskin. This village was called Bree. I quickly checked to make sure my ears were covered. I had once gone into a village, and my ear had been uncovered. The whole village had been afraid of me. But that had been centuries ago. I never went back there, afraid that I would be chased from the village. Here lately, the villages had grown wary of strangers. The last thing I needed was to get chased away before I could even procure a proper bow and arrow set or clothes that fit.
As I entered the gates, I could see the people staring at me. I moved to the shop that sold women clothing. Upon entering, I noticed the woman in charge wrinkling her nose at my tattered appearance. I could see she wished to refuse service to me, but seemed to think better of it. "I am in need of clothing." I uttered as I made eye contact with her.
"I can certainly see that." It was almost a sneer.
"A few tunics, and pants will suffice." I shifted from one foot to the other and plunked ten gold coins onto the table. I watched her stare at me for a moment before looking at the money and widening her eyes. Before I could properly think, she was pulling me to a stool I was meant to stand upon.
"Do not be ridiculous. You will not be properly dressed! You will have tunics, and pants if you so wish, but you must be fitted to a corset, and a few dresses. And fall is upon us, which means you will need a cloak." She continued to prattle as she undressed me to take my measurements. My bindings looked tight apparently, and so she unraveled them to reveal my generous bosom, and quickly brought properly fitting bindings. She quickly fit me into the new bindings, and began to measure me. "And a few more sets of bindings."
"Will you be able to make all of this in only a few days?" I asked as she moved about quickly, to find something to dress me in, instead of my old clothes. She looked up sharply.
"The haberdasher next door will be crafting your corset, and as for your dresses, tunics, cloak, and pants, I have all I need here. This dress shall have to tide you over until your clothes are fitted. As you are our only customer for now, they shall be finished by the evening of tomorrow next." She sounded very confident, and so I nodded. "Do you have any preference in color, my lady?"
I fidgeted at the title. "Please. Fagre will do just as well." I murmured.
"Then, Fagre, do you have any preference in colors?" She smiled.
"The colors of the forest." I needed to blend in as best I could. She nodded. I quickly stepped down, thanked her, and left.
I began looking for the smith in this village, and quickly found it, smoke billowing from the large floo. I made quick work of ordering a new bow. I checked my arrows over agai and decided they would still do. The smith had said he would have it ready in one day, seeing as he already had it in the making.
Finding the inn, I ordered food, and a room for few nights. I explained I was only staying long enough to have the wares I ordered made. I ordered my food to sit out in the tavern. I watched the others in the tavern make merry, and drink tankard after tankard of ale. I ate silently, eyeing the Dwarves sadly. I watched them, and couldn't help but see mother, Stierne, and Stern sitting, drinking and laughing. What have I done to deserve such a cursed existence? To die of cancer in one world, only to live a long and agonizingly lonely life right after. I turned away when I realized with some alarm, that tears threatened to surface. I pushed around my food, finding my appetite lacking. I stood, signalling to the innkeeper that I was going to my room. It was there that I succumbed to a fitful sleep.
It was my second morning in the inn, and my funds were actually hardly touched. I didn't realize just how much money I had accumulated. I made to leave my room, only to be met with one of the Hobbit help. She looked up at me, and held up a rather large bundle of cloth. I took the bundle from her and thanked her by slipping a silver coin into her hand before shutting the door. I began to sift through my new clothes to find an underbust corset that was the color of charcoal. I noticed the boning was made from whale bone, and upon closer inspection, there was jade green stitching to look like leaves that lined each panel of my corset. Small periwinkle stitched flowers accompanied the leaved ivy design. I noticed my tunics were a jade green to match the corsets stitching. The pants were a deep brown, the color of earth. My cloak was an almost silver grey and was lined in rabbit brown rabbit fur. My dresses, however, did not match the same color scheme as the rest of my clothes. One dress was a periwinkle, obviously to match my corset stitching. And the other, an emerald green color. There were a few more chest bindings and a note that read, "I do hope you enjoy your new clothes."
I sighed, quickly moving to redress in my periwinkle dress and corset. I pulled my cloak about me and clasped it closed. I decided tonight would be my last night before making my trek home. I turned to the mirror and sighed. I definitely looked... pretty. I hoped this didn't cause a stir. It was in that moment that I noticed my normally dull grey eyes shown a grey blue with this dress. I frowned. It made me look like a damned Elf, albeit a short one. Quickly making my way out of the door, I headed out of the tavern and into the streets, setting a brisk pace to the smith. It was by sheer luck that I walked in, to see a young man trying to bully his way into buying my new bow. "Is my bow ready, sir?" I spoke up, ignoring the snide youth.
"You don' need a bow! Yer a woman! What's a little thing like you gonna do with a weapon?" The young man sneered at me. My smile became more wooden as I waited for the smith to answer, ignoring the dreadful youth.
"Y-yes milady. Right here." The smith handed over my bow, which I handed over a few gold coins to him. His eyes widened at the amount I handed him.
"Such a fine bow. This ought to compensate for the rush I have put you through." I gave a smile and quickly headed back to the inn, leaving the smith and youth to gawk at my retreating back.
I quickly made my way back to my assigned room, and stashed my bow with my clothes. Turning away from my room, I went to inquire where I could find a bag to fit my needs. The kind innkeeper sent me on my way to one of the few shops in the streets. I entered, to find quite a few things any traveler would need. Before I could help myself, I found myself buying a messenger bag, and one of each of the flat ware that they had along with a new water skin. I had not used my old ones for such a long time, that they had already rotted away to nothing. When I made my way back to the inn, it was already dark. I quickly bustled back to my room, and packed everything away into my new bag. I looked around as I made my way into the tavern area. As I sat down to eat, I watched four Hobbits enter, bringing mistrustful looks about them. I watched them with some fascination, when a I had a sudden epiphany hit me. Four Hobbits. Bree. Dwarves. Elves. I was in Lord of the Rings. So caught up in my thoughts, I almost didn't catch the arrival of Strider. Right then I made up my mind. I might as well live a meaningful life, and die a meaningful death. It was in that moment I had decided to follow the Hobbits and Strider when they set out the next morning.
