Once again, because I am a terrible scholar of Tolkien languages, here is the language key for this chapter. Again.

"Scarlet's normal English speak."

"Westron"

Chapter 6: Say Hello and Wave Goodbye

Scarlet was still homesick, but now, at least whenever she thought of home she would also recall Theoraan's kindness, and how he too, felt a little like home.

After the Market Menance Memory Moment (or MMMM as it will henceforth be dubbed), Theoraan brought Scarlet before Barliman, spoke some words she could not comprehend and then gestured for her to follow Barliman.

Still confused, Scarlet did as he asked and followed as Barliman showed her a small room with two beds. Barliman had shown her in and then gestured wildly to a bed and set of drawers in the corner whilst trying to explain something to her. She continued to remain silent as he then showed her to the back kitchens and gestured to the tub that was full of soapy water and dirty dishes. Barliman pointed to her, then to the tub, then to himself and finally he offered one coin in his hand. He repeated this sequence of pointing a few times.

Scarlet had guessed that Barliman was offering her a job as a dishwasher in exchange for room and board. It made sense when she thought about it. She could not communicate with the locals, not yet at least, and was thus useless as a serving girl. She could not work in the kitchen also because of the same language problem. Dishwashing was honestly the most brainless job she could be given and be trusted not to mess up.

'Theoraan must have arranged this for me.' It was the only logical conclusion. Theoraan had found her a job so that she could take care of herself and would no longer be his burden to bear. That thought, kind of hurt; if Scarlet was honest. She'd thought that they were getting closer and would continue their days together, the same way Scarlet spent most of her days back home with her father. She had fallen into her old training routines, automatically shifting into the roles and travel duties she would have taken were she with her father.

'I guess I was looking for familiarity in a world unknown and hooked onto the closest replacement I could find. But he's right. I can't become a burden, and with my inability to communicate with others, my dependency on him, that's exactly what I am or will become. At least he cared enough to see me well settled' she thought. The thought that 'at least he cared' offered small relief, but it was a mere consolation prize when compared to his company and guardianship.

'In the end, I was just a strange girl –heh, pun intended- and him, a man with too big a heart that he could not help but help me out.' Scarlet gave a wry smile to herself before ending her pity party and plastering on a false grin for Barliman and Theoraan. Theoraan had cared enough to arrange this for her. She would not be so cruel as to throw his kindness back in his face and demand he keep her around. That would have been childish, and Scarlet was no child. The least she could do, she told herself, was to let him leave with a lightened conscience.

Cheerful face on, Scarlet nodded to indicate that she understood and accepted the position.

For the rest of the day, Theoraan and Scarlet were awkward around each other. Scarlet had remained silent, more so than usual, and refused to meet Theoraan's eyes when she collected her things from their room to move into her new room. Theoraan tried to help her but Scarlet had quickly scooped everything off his arms into her arms and carried it to her new lodging.

If Theoraan were to be honest, he was beginning to doubt and regret his decision on getting Scarlet a job and leaving her behind. He had planned this since he first met her lost in the woods but never did he expect her to worm so easily onto his heart and make their parting a painful one. He had a great internal debate as he watched Scarlet edge her way around him.

'It was the right thing to do,' his fatherly-persona voice said. 'Travelling with me is dangerous and times are getting darker and darker.'

'Yes, but Scarlet has proven she can keep up and take care of herself.' Remember the group of bandits that attacked?' countered his Ranger-warrior persona who could see her potential as a warrior.

'But she's just a girl! And so young! She shouldn't have to fight!' the father in him argued back. Imagining his own daughter travelling around in the woods alone was enough to give him a heart attack. Daughters were meant to be protected, not thrown before the dangers of the wild.

'Have you seen her reflexes? Her paranoia? She is young yes, but she has clearly been trained to fight since young. She will never find peace in the mundane tumble of village life. She is far more likely to accidentally kill someone who was trying to give her a surprise greeting. If you did not see her as a warrior, why did you buy her the knives then? She would have no need for them as a mere scullery maid' reasoned the warrior within.

'Well. The knives were because it felt right that she should have them –'

'-exactly!-'

'But look. What am I to do? Take her with me on my travels? Bring her to our Dunedain camp, present her before Halbarad and simply expect her to be accepted?'

'Well. Yes.'

"No." said Theoraan; voicing the thought out aloud to overcome the voices in his head. His eyes searched for Scarlet and found her smiling and walking with a young girl who looked to be about her age; the girl had light blonde hair and a pleasant face.

"No. She should stay. She had already begun to adapt. She is happy here." Theoraan told himself as he continued to watch them carry what looked to be bed sheets to the back of the inn for what he assumed would be laundry. "She is happy here" he repeated.

'Are you certain?' questioned the voice in his head as Scarlet turned back, caught his eye and suddenly dropped her smile before the blonde girl called her name and the false cheer returned to her face.

"She will be happy here."

Meanwhile.

While Theoraan had been busy arguing with the voices in his head, Scarlet had gotten acquainted with the blonde girl with a pleasant face. She was called Collette.

Scarlet met Collette when she was exploring the inn. She had finished putting away her stuff and since she was still hurting from the realisation that Theoraan was leaving her behind, she wanted to avoid him for the moment. As lunch hour had yet to end, she did not need to actually start work as a dishwasher yet. Deciding to explore her new home, Scarlet began to wander the inn, walking along the corridors of other floors until she came across a room with an open door.

In the room, Scarlet found a girl who looked to be about the same age as her. The girl was petite. Her light blonde hair was tucked away under a handkerchief tied over her head to keep the hair out of her face. The girl sang to herself in the language Scarlet could not understand as she cheerfully made the bed. Scarlet guessed that she was a chambermaid of some sort in the inn.

Eventually the girl must have sensed the weight of Scarlet's stare and looked up to meet her eyes. The girl's eyes widened in surprise and she quickly gave a bow and mumbled something Scarlet did not understand. What Scarlet did understand is that the girl probably mistakenly thought that Scarlet was a guest.

'Well, if it were a few hours ago she wouldn't be wrong,' thought Scarlet as she entered the room to approach the girl. 'Technically I was a guest. But now I'm just another servant like her.'

Catching the girl's attention, Scarlet placed her hand on her chest and introduced herself.

"Scarlet. Please to meet you."

The girl tilted her head and gave Scarlet the confused puppy look before starting to look self-conscious. Trying to be encouraging, Scarlet gave the girl the best 'yes, come on' smile she could.

Finally the girl introduced herself as well, sounding out a quiet "Collette"

"Co-let" Scarlet repeated, sounding out the girl's name for herself.

At the sound of her own name, the girl, or rather, Collette, gave a genuine smile back to Scarlet.

After that, Scarlet decided to help Collette collect the sheets. This made Collette panic a little as she still thought Scarlet was a guest. Rushing over to stop her, Collette struggled to object to Scarlet's actions while being polite. Scarlet just ignored her for the moment, gathered everything in her arms, turned to Collette and simply said "Well, where to?"

The sight of Scarlet holding the bed sheets was sending Collette into a panic attack. Here was a guest! A guest and she was holding the laundry.

'Oh what would Uncle Barliman say!' she thought. 'He would be so disappointed that I let a guest work!'

Thankfully for her, she was not left for fret for long for just that moment, Barliman walked past. Poking his head into the room, he commented "Oh good! You've met!"

"Uncle!" cried Collette as ran up to him. "I'm sorry! She refused to listen to me!"

Hearing his niece's distress, Barliman stepped in to correct the situation. "Now then Collette, what seems to be the problem?"

Pointing to Scarlet who was silently standing there observing the exchange, Collette explained "I didn't mean to trouble her Uncle. Honest! She just came in and started collecting the sheets!"

Looking between his niece and Scarlet, who was still silent, Barliman gave Scarlet a nod of approval. "Good! I certainly did not expect her to do more than dishes but this is good! Now you have help Collette my dear."

"Help?" Collette was undeniably confused. "So she works here now? And I am not in trouble?"

"Of course not my dear." Barliman reassured his niece. "Now, on your way." He said before strolling out the door.

Left alone once again with Scarlet, Collette snuck glances at Scarlet who still had the sheets in her hand and who was simply looking back at her with a bemused expression on her face. Biting her lip, Collette decided to just go with it and collected her cleaning supplies. She then turned to Scarlet and gave her a smile.

"I'm glad you're here Ms Scarlet. It's nice to have a girl around again."

Scarlet just blinked in response before following Collette out the door and down the stairs. The entire time, Collette kept on a steady stream of pleasant chatter, seemingly unaffected that her companion was disinclined to respond.

Scarlet briefly caught sight of Theoraan in the corridor and his presence reminded her of his imminent departure but Collette's constant chatter kept her from dwelling too much on it.

It was only after she dumped the sheets in the laundry room that Scarlet waved a quick 'bye' to Collette before running out to the entrance where she was just in time to catch Theoraan about to sneak out without saying farewell to her.

"You're leaving," she called; momentarily forgetting that Theoraan could not understand her. Yet at her voice he stopped anyway.

Now facing each other, each one struggled to find something to say.

Finally, with a soft smile, Scarlet approached Theoraan, placed a hand on his arm and broke the silence.

"Thank you," she said with heartfelt emotion.

"Thank you for taking care of me and trying to help me adjust in this new world when I was completely lost. Thank you for taking in a complete strange with all your goodness. Thank you for not killing me on sight and taking very good care of me instead. I am sorry I was a burden. I am sorry I was not able to do more for you in return. I am sorry we have to part like this, with you still unable to understand me really. Gods, why am I still talking," Scarlet barked out a derisive laugh then before continuing. "Anyway, I am sorry for all of that stuff but more importantly, I am not sorry that we met. I hope we do cross paths again and hopefully by then we can actually speak to each other. I also hope by then you will not find the need to sneak away without saying goodbye because that is very rude and it's kind of hurtful. And I am rambling. I should stop." Scarlet took a moment to inhale. "I wish you safe travels on your journeys ahead. Goodbye, Theoraan."

Still wishing she could do more to show her gratitude, Scarlet's hand other hand landed on her snowflake pin. She had been reluctant to part with it for the longest time. It was the one thing she had that truly belonged to her. Her clothes and battle gear was provided by the Capitol and belonged to the Hunger Games but the snowflake; that was hers. Yet now, in this moment, Scarlet felt that giving him the snowflake pin was the right thing to do. She could not see how she would ever get home in this run down place with no technology. She could well and truly be stuck here. It would be irrationally sentimental of her to try to hold on to what was now her past and Scarlet liked to think that she was beyond irrational sentimentality. Unpinning the snowflake, Scarlet offered it to him with both hands.

Theoraan was stunned. He originally intended to leave without Scarlet's notice but he was caught and although he did not understand what she had said, her tone and gestures told him that she had wished him well. The added gesture of giving him her pin, however, was entirely unexpected through. He had seen her fiddle with it several times and clutch it tightly at night as she slept so he knew it was precious to her and yet, here she was giving it to him.

Theoraan was really touched but knowing how important it was to her, he tried to get her to keep it by closing her fingers over it with his hands and pushing it back to her. What resulted was a slight tussle as each party tried to push the pin back and forth between them. Finally they paused for a moment and Scarlet gave Theoraan the 'what are you doing, don't be childish face' before giving their joined hands one more push towards him.

At Scarlet's insistence, Theoraan gave in and took the pin. Pinning it on, Theoraan too had a spur of the moment impulse and decided to return her favour by giving her his cloak pin. His cloak pin, the Star of the Dunedain marked him as a Ranger of the North and while giving it to her may result in unintended connotations and consequences, Theoraan did not think much of them. He figured the worst that could happen would be unknown Rangers being unable to identify him as one of their own but he was confident enough in his standing that only the newer and lesser experienced Rangers would make such a mistake.

After the exchange of parting tokens of appreciation, Scarlet gave him one last really tight and strong hug which he returned with a squeeze of her shoulder. Then, Theoraan turned and walked out of the inn into the afternoon light.

When the door closed, Scarlet clutched her new pin, closed her watering eyes, inhaled then exhaled. "Well, there it is, he's gone. Best not to get hung up about him. There are dishes to wash and dry."

In the days that followed Theoraan's departure, Scarlet was quick to set out a daily routine for herself.

Refusing to turn into a fat slob, Scarlet would wake with the dawn to run around the village streets. She was often accompanied on her runs by the blacksmith's dog. After the run, she would practice her either her knives or staff work at the stables behind the inn depending on which day it was and what she felt like doing.

She would then take her morning shower, grab a bite from the kitchen that Nob would set aside for her and then tumble back into bed for a nap. Collette would then wake her a few hours later so that she could wash the dishes from the morning breakfast hour in time to be reused during the mid-day break.

During lunch hour she would help Collette with her housekeeping duties and listen to Collette chatter, trying to absorb as much of the language as possible. After housekeeping, the two would stop and take their mid-day break at a corner of the inn's pub before separating; Collette to do the laundry and Scarlet to do the dishes again.

They would then have free time to themselves again until after the dinner crowd had cleared. At that point, they would take their evening meal before washing the dishes together and then returning to their room to rest.

Having that much time together and being the only two girls working in the inn made them inseparable. Collette enjoyed having a girl around and relished doing sisterly things like helping Scarlet braid her hair in the mornings after her morning nap. Scarlet who never had a sister before was content to let her do as she pleased; though having Collette try to squeeze her into her dresses sometimes made her feel like a prized poodle. Scarlet did not do dresses, unless it was a gala event at which point image became important.

Aside from girl activities, most of their time spent together was focused on the most demanding challenge they had ever encountered; teaching and learning Common Tongue.

It was hard.

Learning a new language is hard enough but learning a new language without a translating medium was a bitch. People usually learn languages by learning what the words mean in their own language. Once they have a general basic pool of vocabulary, they use that vocabulary to build their vocabulary further. Scarlet had no easy way to start her pool of vocabulary. She had to listen closely to the words Collette spoke and then try to guess what they meant, because well… there was no one and no way to give or get and exact translation of what was said.

For example, for the longest time, Scarlet thought 'Rest well' meant 'Good Night' because that was the last thing Collette said to her every night. It technically was not wrong but it was not entirely accurate either.

Learning the names of objects and numbers was much easier. Collette simply had to point at something and repeat the name of the object many times. Scarlet was proud to say that the first thing she read, memorised and understood… was the pub menu. Such an achievement.

Teaching and learning was such a frustrating experience that there were several times Scarlet wanted to just throw in the towel. And there were times she did, in fact, throw the dish towel into the sink before storming off to vent her frustration at a mule in the stables before coming back to Collette in an apologetic and calm manner. Thankfully for her, Collette had the patience of a saint.

To assist with her learning, Scarlet and Collette ventured to the market on their day off to get Scarlet a notebook, what Scarlet figured was a charcoal pencil, a quill and an ink pot. Scarlet had just been paid and thus had enough to fund her shopping but she was still sorely tempted to sell her hair to that hag. Unfortunately, Collette disapproved and Scarlet was dragged away by Collette's insistent pulls and puppy dog eyes.

Scarlet used the notebook to facilitate her learning. New words she learnt, the pronunciation, what she assumed it's meaning to be and the context which she came upon that word. Slowly Scarlet's notebook began to fill with words from the Common Tongue. The words were mostly objects but it was certainly an improvement from before. Scarlet also noted down in the book her thoughts and observations of her time spent at Bree and at the Prancing Pony.

Originally her entries were to help her cope.

Her first entry was an entry about herself; her name, her family, who she was, where she came from. Writing about her family made her tear a little.

Her next entries were about how she got here; her time at the spectator's dome, the beeping of the transporter, her disgust at Ethan being the last thing she saw. She also wrote about how helpless she felt in the first few days before she met Theoraan. Meeting Theoraan and ending up at the inn were important events she noted down as well. Scarlet tried not to dwell on the Hunger Games for long. It was never something pleasant and she was mildly grateful she did not have to go through it in the end. She also tried not to think too much about Theoraan. It made her sad.

Those first nights when she wrote those entries were hard but Collette, thank heavens for her, was always present to make her feel less alone. The constant company of Mischief, the dog, each morning and the friendly welcoming demeanour of the other workers at the inn also made her feel more at ease.

Eventually here entries were less about her past and more about her present.

Scarlet noted down her observations about Collette's crush on the leather-worker's son; teasing her was fun. Unfortunately, Collette unintentionally getting revenge by setting her up with the tailor's nephew was not so fun. The tailor's nephew was a pervert. She spotted him peeking when she tried on her new trousers and was quick to jab her finger into his eye through the peephole. Neither party told anyone else about the incident, him because he was ashamed and her because her lack of language skills prevented it. Since that time, the tailor's nephew refused to look her in the eye and rigorously avoided her. Collette miraculously managed to interpret his demeanour as that of a bashful suitor.

She also noted her observation on hobbits and what she learnt from time spent with Hob and Nob; the most important observation being that they were eternally hungry and that Nob was an excellent cook but very protective of his labours. The first time Scarlet ever feared for her life was when she tried to sneak a freshly baked sweet bun. The knife nailing the countertop next to her arm took maybe a decade off her life and made her freeze up like no others had done before. Nob was a worthy fellow knife wielder when in the kitchen.

She also noted the men who reminded her of Theoraan. They were all tall, well-built; gruff, like Theoraan. They all wore cloaks and carried weapons and received the same distrustful looks from the people of the village. More importantly, they all had the same star pin on their cloaks. The same one pinned over her heart.

She figured they were from the same clan or something similar. She tried to avoid them and was mostly successful, since they rarely ventured beyond their rooms and the pubs; that is, until the night Nob fell sick and Barliman was short on staff in the pub.

Cliffhanger? A mild one maybe.

Well, I do hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I am clearly a fan of Les Mis. Can you tell? Anyway I thought naming her Collette, after Cosette, was fitting, you know, lone blonde girl working at an inn. Sounds about right.

Also, who spotted the A Very Potter Musical plug in the chapter? It isn't very obvious but I tried.

Anyway so yes, out walks Theoraan and in comes Collette. I know what you may be thinking. 'Wait what?! Theoraan and Scarlet just had a MOMENT the previous chapter and now they're separated? What?!'

Yeah… I didn't plan for this either. I originally wanted Theoraan to leave Scarlet behind and Scarlet to go 'no way in hell' and then chase after him because that would certainly move events along faster.

However, I felt like Theoraan is the type of guy who would put his duty as a Ranger first and foremost. Taking care of Scarlet has the potential to get in the way of that duty. Also as a father, he does not want to put a young lady in the path of danger. Yes he knows she can fight but it's a parental thing; this irrational need to protect their children no matter what. And since Theoraan is that duty/honour first type of guy, he also would not leave Scarlet just like that. He would go out of his way to see Scarlet well settled, discharging his duty to her, before moving on.

This then leads to Scarlet's character. I see Scarlet as the type of person to value honour as well. She tries to be mature and grown up. Scarlet can see that by arranging for her to have a place in this village, and on a larger scale – in this world, Theoraan is showing that he actually cares. She can see that if he did not care, he would not have bothered. Being the mature 'adult' she thinks she is, Scarlet would find it dishonourable to throw Theoraan's efforts in his face. She feels like she owes it to him to stick it out for a bit at least so that he can go on his way unburdened by concerns over her well-being.

Hence, due to their characters, Scarlet now has a new friend and a stint at the inn. My story is dictated by characters of my own creation. What?! But it's okay, it'll be fun.

Anyway, please let me know what you think of this chapter.

Omake: Collette's (mis)match-making attempts

"Oh Scarlet! The festival is in two days! Who are you going with?" asked Collette as she swept into their room.

Scarlet could only raise an eyebrow in response. All she got out of that was 'festival' and 'two days'. 'Festival' she vaguely understood because she saw the posters on the streets the last time she went to the market with Collette and 'two' and 'days' were words she had learnt recently.

Used to Scarlet's silence, Collette continued undaunted.

"I think you should go with Sam Nettles, he always has his eye on you and he's so shy! It's almost adorable"

Scarlet only understood 'Sam Nettles', the perverted tailor's nephew and 'his', 'eye', and 'you'. Despite knowing only those few words, the fact that it was Collette the swooning ever-romantic at heart who said it only meant that things would not bode well for her.

Scarlet felt the need to voice her objections.

"No."

"What?" Collette was stunned that Scarlet actually replied and wondered if she actually understood.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but no." Scarlet responded with a weird mix of English and Common Tongue.

"Oh Scarlet" seeing Scarlet's insistent face of refusal, Collette decided to drop the subject.

For that, Scarlet was thankful… until the day of the festival.

Collette and Scarlet came up to the village square all decked out in their best attire. Collette had managed to trick Scarlet into wearing a dress by stealing her other clothes while she washed up. Sneaky child.

Collette also somehow managed to pass Scarlet into the arms of some young man for a dance. Scarlet did not think she danced. Apparently, now she did. While she was dancing, Scarlet thought she could see Collette coercing Sam Nettles into joining the dancing crowd before she was made to turn and change partners and hence lost sight again.

As she danced, Scarlet tried to keep a look out for Collette. Her distraction was her downfall for as she followed the choreographed steps to change partners, she found herself in the arms of Sam Nettles.

Both parties widened their eyes at the realisation of their partner.

However, before Scarlet could inflict any damage on him, Collette and the leather-worker's son appeared before them.

"Isn't this fun!" she shouted in glee.

"Collette, I am going to kill you," was all that Scarlet replied before she whipped back to face Sam Nettles whose hand was inching lower and lower down her back. Quick to grab the offending limb, Scarlet crushed it in her hands before yanking Sam closer.

"Touch me again, and I will make you regret every breath that keeps you alive."

Scarlet then quickly shoved him into his next partner and stormed off the dance floor, miffed at the encounter bur mildly satisfied that he would never bother her again.

Unfortunately, from the angle she stood, Collette thought she saw Scarlet pull the shy boy in for a passionate exchange before fleeing in shame. Now that she knew that both of them were simply shy but overwhelmed with passion, she was determined to double her efforts. Her friend deserved a happily ever after and she would make it happen!

Oh Collette. Please don't.

Final note: Sam Nettles is named after the plant because most Men of Bree are apparently named after plants. I choose nettles for the Grimm fairytale where the princess had to suffer by making shirts out of nettles for her Seven Swan Brothers; the link being that tailors made shirt. Tada.